The tree-loving Georgian billionaire, the Pretoria landscaper and the SA baobab export row

South Africa’s baobab export row deepens as five trees languish in Durban, a landscaper faces charges and links emerge to a billionaire tree collector in Georgia.

Bad news for Mkhwanazi’s naysayers as Cachalia backs him to head Hawks

Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia wants KwaZulu-Natal cop boss Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi to head the country’s priority crimefighters, the Hawks. While some will welcome this, it will probably not go down well with Mkhwanazi’s detractors, including former national deputy commissioner for crime detection Shadrack Sibiya, who is now in custody and criminally charged.

Five Tshwane polls give DA an edge in coalition negotiations

The DA might have an edge in forming a coalition in Tshwane, but according to the polls, ActionSA remains the deciding factor.

Why the Northern Cape’s only state cancer paediatrician left for the private sector

Dr Liezl du Plessis tells Biénne Huisman about the public sector paediatric oncology unit she established in Kimberley, and how a broken system forced her to abandon this dream. She now pursues her passion treating children and teenagers in Pretoria’s private sector.

Pay R110.7m, or face liquidation — the ultimatum facing WP Rugby Football Union

The Western Province Rugby Football Union (WPRFU) has until 12 November to repay R110.7-million to the company that cleared its debts six years ago, or face an application to have it wound up.

No rhyme or reason

Khampepe probe — Selebi ordered TRC files sealed, says ‘master file’ keeper Louis Bester

The retired police colonel has told the Khampepe Commission of Inquiry that the then national commissioner, Jackie Selebi, ordered 10 boxes of TRC files sealed amid allegations that a disputed memorandum had been altered to suggest prosecutors planned to arrest senior ANC figures, including Thabo Mbeki.

EFF secures Zuma-era SSA spy records as Idac stands by R12m case

More than a decade after the State Security Agency (SSA) allegedly infiltrated its ranks, the EFF has secured access to court records detailing how the party was targeted and infiltrated. This comes as the two men accused in the R12-million Project Mayibuye case prepare to ask the court to discharge them without presenting a defence.

Coalition fights to save pristine Limpopo bushveld from huge Chinese industrial land grab

Conservationists, farmers and local communities are fighting to halt a multibillion-rand, high-polluting string of Chinese-owned factories planned for a pristine biodiverse corridor along the Limpopo River. The first coal pit has already been dug.

Local Elections — Build a coalition in your metro

Apartheid’s scapegoat — the jarring paradox of mass killer Eugene de Kock

Testifying at the Khampepe Inquiry, the former Vlakplaas commander lays bare how political interference and a ‘rotten system’ shielded the generals while leaving him to take the fall alone.

SA ‘refugee’ in US faces decades behind bars on child sexual exploitation charges

The American Dream of ‘refugee’ Arno Venter has come crashing down after just four months with his arrest and indictment on 11 charges involving child sexual abuse material.

Dig first, find water later: Limpopo’s industrial insanity

Urgent questions need to be asked about a huge Chinese development in a bushveld biosphere to produce steel the world no longer needs.

R1bn in recovered loot to fund Firoz Cachalia’s police reset

Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia says money taken from criminals is funding the fight against organised crime, while broad reforms are under way to depoliticise the police, rebuild Crime Intelligence and clean up SAPS procurement processes.

Belligerent Proteas on back foot, but stay in the fight against Aussies

South Africa 329 and 140 for 4 (Marques Ackerman 62, Temba Bavuma 35, Mitchell Starc 2-29) lead Australia 429 (Josh Inglis 102, Alex Carey 80, Matt Renshaw 74, Simon Harmer 4-104, Marco Jansen 3-60) by 40 runs.

Baobab trees seized in Durban ship warehouse probe

Criminal charges have been laid after officials in Durban halted the shipping of several specially protected South African baobab trees, allegedly destined for a ‘landscaping project’ in the Black Sea nation of Georgia.

The SAPS continues to flounder through delayed reforms

Prolonged delays in implementing the Police Advisory Board have left the South African Police Service trapped in ‘operational quicksand’, where it can’t translate oversight findings into genuine institutional reform.

Watch – The pipeline between US white supremacists and the SA right

Watch – The pipeline between US white supremacists and the SA right

ActionSA takes the anti-foreigner slogan to the ballot box

The anti-immigrant movement is becoming a voting bloc, as ActionSA makes ‘South Africans first’ central to its election campaign, while Tshwane’s water crisis fuels attacks and tests the anti-foreigner vote.

Why are SA’s cannabis rules still up in smoke?

Eight years after a court ruling, South Africa still lacks workable cannabis rules, frustrating consumers, businesses and efforts to bring the industry into the formal economy.

Misinformation, disinformation and the threat to electoral integrity

Harmful online content around elections is changing, with institutions like the Electoral Commission of South Africa becoming a target in campaigns to discredit the credibility of the electoral process.

SA unveils Durban as candidate city in its bid to host the Olympic Games

The South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee has identified Durban as its preferred host city in its bid to host the 2036 or 2040 Olympic Games. But questions remain about the country’s readiness.

Bronkhorstspruit gastro outbreak: A failure to keep people safe

With 833 people seeking treatment, Bronkhorstspruit’s outbreak highlights how failures in water treatment and government leadership put vulnerable communities at risk.

Brazil’s election — a victory for Lula, a wake-up call for democracy

Lula’s narrow victory matters far beyond Brazil. It represents Brazil’s place in a fractured world while questioning whether the country can finally convert extraordinary potential into prosperity. But the message from voters and a right-leaning legislature is clear: political history and ideological loyalties are no substitute for delivery.

Paris Mashile — regulator who fought to make SA’s phone calls cheaper

The engineer, political activist and Shakespeare lover turned the technical machinery of communications into a public argument about power, access and accountability.

From ballot box to Just Energy Transition — participation without power

South Africa’s Just Energy Transition is reproducing a familiar democratic contradiction: communities are repeatedly invited to participate, while the power to determine their futures remains firmly in the hands of others.

Watch — Frank Chikane, DA polls and the ANC’s retreat from the cities

Watch — Frank Chikane, DA polls and the ANC’s retreat from the cities

SSA operation targeting EFF lacked national security basis, court told

Project Mayibuye should have been stopped before it started. Instead, the Gauteng High Court heard, the secret State Security Agency operation went ahead, targeted the EFF and had millions channelled through it.

Six parties share how they’ll tackle the cost of living

In episode two of Politically Aweh’s Elections Showdown mini-series, we ask six political party representatives about the cost of living – including transportation costs, electricity tariffs, and municipal rates.