The State versus Shadrack Sibiya — unpacking the explosive rape, grooming, human trafficking charges

A charge sheet sets out the grim case against top cop Shadrack Sibiya, alleging that he plied a group of friends with alcohol at what he called a ‘classy place’ – a strip club – then raped one of them, aged 18, at a hotel. He is also accused of sending explicit messages to a 16-year-old.

Death penalty: Let’s not aspire to being a bloodthirsty, barbaric nation

As ANC leaders revive calls to restore the death penalty, evidence shows capital punishment neither deters crime nor protects survivors from wrongful convictions.

Honoured in Constantia, reviled in Liberia — fugitive war criminal Guus Kouwenhoven dies free

Dutch war criminal Guus Kouwenhoven recently died. Some honoured his life at a church service in Cape Town, where he lived opulently while fighting extradition to the Netherlands.

We walk to remember what apartheid erased of Newlands and Claremont

This Heritage Day, NCHERS undertakes its fifth Walk of Remembrance not as an exercise in nostalgia, but as a symbolic act of resistance against the slow violence of forgetting.

Watch – Swimming SA to pay Tatjana Smith interest, faces scrutiny over kit’s deal

Watch – Swimming SA to pay Tatjana Smith interest, faces scrutiny over kit’s deal

Djibouti frees top SA investigative journalist Micah Reddy

South African investigative journalist Micah Reddy of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists was detained on Saturday, but is now on his way back to South Africa.

Pacifist Emily Hobhouse’s 1926 state funeral to be brought back to life in Bloemfontein

A century after the state funeral of British pacifist, feminist and humanitarian, Emily Hobhouse, in Bloemfontein, the Emily100 movement is planning to re-enact the event. The recreation, taking place on 31 October 2026, will bring new life to Hobhouse’s story and connect younger generations to an important chapter in South Africa’s history.

Proteas’ David Miller pumped for exciting home summer as World Cup nears

The Proteas begin their busiest home summer of cricket in nearly a decade with a 50-over series against Australia. Later on in the year, South Africa will also host Bangladesh and England in multi-format series.

‘Send out the plumbers and the water bills!’ deputy minister tells leaky councils

Deputy Water and Sanitation Minister Dr Jack Bloom has outlined plans to ‘narrow the gap’ between government promises and the delivery of water and sanitation services. But with roughly 13,000 unfixed leaks in the Durban area alone, these bold promises are unlikely to be fulfilled any time soon.

Young SA gymnast has turned self-doubt into a winning routine

Daniel Mclean placed fifth in his debut Commonwealth Games and is now heading for his first senior World Championships.

A Swartland Grand Prix? Now isn’t that grand...

Plans for a privately funded Swartland Formula One Grand Prix could boost tourism, investment and jobs, while avoiding the financial and governance risks of government-funded hosting.

Letter to US ambassador Bozell — Afrikaners are being used as a political football

South Africa’s problems with crime, racial rhetoric, land reform, economic empowerment and foreign policy are serious. They do not add up to ‘white genocide’.

SA is under cyber siege — and the situation will only get worse

Over the past month, Hungry Lion, Bidvest Bank, the Furniture Bargaining Council, CarTrack, Serengeti Estates and Toyota South Africa all experienced cybersecurity incidents. South Africa doesn’t even have a national AI policy yet, but the loudest conversation at GovTech 2026 was about digital sovereignty.

Xenophobic surge dials up trauma for many immigrant pupils at SA schools in 2026

XenoBarometer tracks the anti-immigrant movement and its impact. We aim to surface underreported stories, paying close attention to potential rights abuses, emerging patterns in anti-immigrant mobilisation and failures in the government’s response.

AI and the future of creativity — can artists’ histories travel with their work?

During a Creative Cnergy panel on AI, one core question emerged: as AI makes content creation seamless, will the human stories and history behind the art get erased?

Europe’s political centre is almost out of time

Europe’s political centre is fracturing as economic stagnation fuels the far right, threatening Germany, the rules-based order and South Africa.

Health policy trailblazer Precious Matsoso credits patience, faith and The Beatles

Precious Matsoso tells Spotlight how, over three decades, she helped shape some of the most consequential health policy negotiations in South Africa and in global governance. She also shares memories about her Soweto childhood filled with music, science and political uprisings.

Consent vs dangling carrot — what must change to stop funeral policy killings?

Murder for Money schemes have appeared on the National Financial Ombudsman’s radar. She suggests that urgent changes need to be made in how insurance companies sell funeral policies to avoid putting unsuspecting victims’ lives at risk.

Joburg breathes new life into the history on its streets

A jazz legend whose shoe is regularly kept polished by a mysterious admirer, giant steel pigeons honouring Johannesburg’s Asian community and the story of Pickhandle Mary are among the pieces of Joburg’s history being brought back to life on its streets.

National Shame

Windbag Mbalula’s stupidity is emblematic of the ANC’s plunge into ignominy

There is a lot wrong with the ANC, so the stupidity of its secretary-general should ordinarily be the least of our concerns. However, he shows us why the party has become the punchline in a bad joke.

Everyone’s doing the side-hustle shuffle — just don’t hide your job-juggling

One or two or three or four jobs – that’s how we roll these days. And as long as you don’t take the approach of a certain V&A Waterfront staffer, most employers are okay with it.

Gayton McKenzie promises debt write-offs, ‘Abahambe’ crackdown in Nelson Mandela Bay

With the 2026 local elections approaching, PA leader Gayton McKenzie says voters should give his party five years to govern Nelson Mandela Bay, promising a fresh approach to the metro’s debt, jobs, services and immigration.

Beyond the World Cup — Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry gives Boks, All Blacks cash lifeline

While the recent Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series between the Springboks and All Blacks was a rousing on-field success, it is also a long-term financial stabiliser for the two stressed unions.

War and drought threaten world food security — 645m people at risk

An estimated 645 million people worldwide face hunger. When disruptions occur, they reverberate far beyond an immediate conflict zone. The global food market faces the impact of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, the war in the Middle East and the incoming El Niño. While everyone is affected, the most vulnerable countries, communities and persons are least able to absorb another shock to food prices and supplies.

Top cop arrested for alleged rape and sexual grooming amid Madlanga inquiry, GBV scourge

A senior South African Police Service officer is facing criminal charges for allegedly raping a teen in a Sandton hotel earlier this year and recently sexually grooming a 16-year-old girl. Acting National Police Commissioner Puleng Dimpane has reiterated that an officer’s seniority or rank does not place them above the law.

SA’s living heritage — Home Affairs’ reforms honour equal citizenship

There is something distinctly South African about dedicating a public holiday to heritage and then spending a good part of it debating what, exactly, is being celebrated.

‘This time the decision is mine’ — Tatjana Smith returns to competitive swimming

South Africa’s most decorated Olympian, Tatjana Smith, has reversed her retirement and will make her competitive return at the South African Short Course Championships this weekend.

A deadly silence — SA’s failure to protect whistleblowers and human rights defenders

As killings of whistleblowers and activists go unpunished, South Africa's delayed legislative reforms expose a fatal lack of political will to protect those exposing corruption.