Author: Malebogo Putu

Home Affairs Committee Calls for Specialised Refugee Courts as Backlog and Duplicate Applications Grow Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs has raised serious concerns over what it describes as the growing abuse of litigation processes by asylum seekers and refugee applicants, warning that the trend is placing immense strain on the country’s immigration and refugee systems. During a meeting on Tuesday with the Department of Home Affairs and the Refugee Appeals Authority of South Africa (RAASA), the committee examined measures aimed at reducing the persistent backlog in asylum seeker and refugee applications. Committee chairperson Mosa Chabane said while the Constitution…

The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) has welcomed a Special Tribunal order freezing an upmarket property in Meyersdal Nature Estate, Alberton, linked to businessman Thapelo Samuel Buthelezi, in an escalating legal effort to recover more than R532 million allegedly irregularly paid under Free State emergency medical services (EMS) contracts. The order, issued by the Special Tribunal, prohibits Buthelezi from selling, transferring, mortgaging, or otherwise dealing with the property. The matter forms part of a broader SIU investigation into inter-facility EMS contracts awarded by the Free State Department of Health to Buthelezi-linked companies, which the Tribunal has already found to be unlawful,…

Pharmacy professionals implicated in the unlawful manufacture and sale of unregistered weight-loss medicines could face severe disciplinary action, including removal from the professional register, the South African Pharmacy Council warned on Saturday. The warning follows a joint enforcement operation by the SAPC and the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority at Sentra Pharmacy in Silverton, Pretoria, where authorities seized injectable products containing semaglutide, tirzepatide and related combination formulations. The products, promoted largely for weight management purposes, were allegedly being produced and distributed outside the legal scope of pharmaceutical compounding permitted under South African law. The South African Pharmacy Council said…

South African health regulators have intensified a crackdown on the unlawful manufacture and distribution of unregistered weight-loss medicines containing semaglutide and tirzepatide, following a joint inspection that uncovered major regulatory breaches at a Pretoria pharmacy. The operation, conducted on 11 May by the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority and the South African Pharmacy Council, targeted iDexis (Pty) Ltd, trading as Sentra Pharmacy in Silverton, Pretoria. Authorities seized all injectable GLP-1 and GIP products found at the premises after investigators uncovered what they described as unlawful manufacturing activities involving semaglutide, tirzepatide, and combination formulations marketed for weight loss. Regulators said…

Authorities investigating the murder of an elderly South African couple in the Kruger National Park believe the victims’ missing vehicle may have crossed into neighbouring Mozambique through a damaged fence in the northern section of the reserve. The victims, Dina Marais (73) and Ernst Marais (71) from Mossel Bay, were found dead in the Levubu River near Crooks Corner on Friday afternoon after tourists spotted two bodies floating in the water and alerted park authorities. The couple had last been seen on Wednesday morning, 20 May, at the Pafuri picnic site in the northern region of the park. A search…

Tourism Minister Patricia de Lille has expressed condolences following the discovery of the bodies of a South African couple in the Kruger National Park, amid a police investigation now treating the case as murder and hijacking. The victims have been identified as Dina Marais (73) and Ernst Marais (71) from Mossel Bay. Their bodies were recovered from the Levubu River in the northern section of the park. De Lille said she was saddened by the incident and extended sympathies to the family and friends of the deceased. “The safety of all travellers is of utmost importance to the tourism industry.…

Police have launched a murder and hijacking investigation after the bodies of an elderly couple were found in the Levubu River in the northern section of the Kruger National Park, officials said. The victims, Dina Marais (73) and Ernst Marais (71) from Mossel Bay, were last seen on Wednesday morning, 20 May, at the Pafuri picnic site. When they failed to return to their accommodation, a search operation was initiated by park authorities and law enforcement agencies. On Friday afternoon, tourists alerted officials after spotting two bodies floating in the Levubu River near Crooks Corner. The bodies were later recovered…

South Africa has received a boost in investor confidence after Moody’s revised the country’s sovereign credit rating outlook from stable to positive, while affirming its long-term foreign- and local-currency ratings at Ba2. The decision, announced alongside comments from the South African government, places the country in a unique position among Group of Twenty (G20) members, with the National Treasury noting that it is currently the only G20 economy with a positive outlook from Moody’s. The upgrade comes despite a broader trend of sovereign rating pressure globally, with more than 23 sovereign credit ratings reportedly downgraded or negatively affected since the…

Seventeen suspects have been arrested following a coordinated anti illegal mining operation conducted in the Pilgrim’s Rest area on Saturday, 23 May 2026, involving the South African Police Service, local security companies, Farm Watch members, and other law enforcement stakeholders. The suspects, aged between 19 and 53, were arrested for offences linked to illegal mining activities. They face charges relating to contraventions of the Immigration Act of South Africa, as well as possession of gold-bearing material (GBM) and gold bearing equipment (GBE). The operation forms part of ongoing efforts to curb illegal mining and related criminal activities in the region,…

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations has arrested Adys Lastres Morera, a lawful permanent resident of Cuban origin, citing what authorities describe as “serious adverse foreign policy consequences” linked to her continued presence in the United States. According to a statement by ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Lastres Morera was taken into custody in Miami on May 22. Officials say she is “removable” under provisions of the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act following a determination by the U.S. Department of State on May 20. HSI officials allege that Lastres Morera has familial ties to senior figures within…