Author: Malebogo Putu

A new luxury accommodation venture has officially opened its doors in Khayelitsha, as South Africa’s tourism sector continues its strong recovery. According to South African Tourism, the country welcomed more than 10 million international visitors between January and December 2025, a 17.6% increase compared to 2024 and the highest number on record. Domestic travel also grew, with passenger numbers rising by 7% to 7.8 million. Riding this wave, local businessman Luzuko Mteto has launched Mteto’s Child Villa, a high-end boutique accommodation offering aimed at both local and international visitors. The villa opened on Friday, 3 April 2026. Mteto, who also…

Easter blitz as South African cops storm nine dealers and seize R137000 of killer narcotics Hard as nails cops from the Free State Anti Gang Unit have smashed a drug ring in a blistering four day Easter crackdown. The elite squad stormed suspected poison pushing dens across Mangaung to keep families safe over the holiday weekend and left dealers reeling. Using search warrants, they hit multiple hotspots in Bloemfontein known for flooding the streets with deadly gear. In total they nabbed nine suspects and seized drugs worth a staggering R137,000 on the streets, including the notorious Mandrax, crystal meth and…

The inclusion of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) in Gauteng’s Government of Provincial Unity has triggered sharp internal criticism within the African National Congress (ANC), even as the Patriotic Alliance (PA) leader Gayton McKenzie publicly defended the arrangement. On 5 April 2026, the ANC Veterans League issued a strongly worded media statement expressing dismay over Premier Panyaza Lesufi’s appointment of EFF Gauteng provincial leader Nkululeko Dunga as MEC for Finance. The league criticised the decision to entrust the province’s R179 billion budget to Dunga, who was previously relieved of his position as MMC for Finance in Ekurhuleni amid allegations of…

A 35 year old man has been charged with possession of unlicensed firearms and ammunition after South African police swooped on a tip off in Mooinooi, North West province. The suspect was already in custody over an armed robbery and kidnapping in the area earlier in April 2026 when intelligence from Brits Crime Intelligence led officers to a stash of weapons in nearby Bapong. Four firearms and ammunition were recovered and immediately confiscated on Saturday, April 4. The haul included: Officers from the Brits Trio Task Team, Public Order Policing and Mooinooi Visible Policing carried out the intelligence driven operation.…

Northern Cape cops swoop after driver smells weed on long haul coach Cops in Colesberg have seized dagga worth an estimated R1.2 million after a bus driver reported a strong whiff of cannabis on an overnight coach from Cape Town to Johannesburg. Officers acting on a tip off from the bus company stopped the vehicle at a fuel station in Colesberg, Northern Cape, in the early hours of Sunday, April 5, 2026. The bus was escorted to the local police station where a search of the luggage compartment uncovered two travel bags packed with dagga. Further checks revealed the bags…

The North West provincial government has escalated its financial intervention in the City of Matlosana, appointing Dr. Moatlhodi Dilotsotlhe as Provincial Executive Representative (PER) in a move aimed at restoring governance and stabilizing the municipality’s deteriorating financial position. The appointment was announced on Thursday by the Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Finance, Kenetswe Mosenogi, and the MEC for Cooperative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs, Gaoage Molapisi, as part of a revised Provincial Mandatory Financial Intervention and Support Strategy. Provincial authorities said the intervention is being implemented in terms of Section 139(5)(a) and (c) of the Constitution, alongside…

Members of the South African National Defence Force and the South African Police Service officially launched Operation PROSPER on Friday, marking a coordinated effort to combat escalating gangsterism across the Eastern Cape. The initiative was unveiled during a joint parade of security personnel, signaling a strengthened partnership between the country’s military and police services. The operation is expected to deploy integrated teams in intelligence driven missions targeting identified crime hotspots throughout the province. Authorities say the campaign forms part of a broader government strategy to restore law and order in communities heavily affected by violent criminal activity. By combining resources…

The South African chapter of the Anti Apartheid Movement is denouncing the military strikes launched by the United States and Israel against Iran as an “illegal war” and an act of “imperialist and expansionist aggression.” In a statement by Reverend Frank Chikane, chairperson of the organization, the Movement asserts that the attacks have caused thousands of civilian casualties, including schoolchildren, displaced millions, and destroyed civilian infrastructure. It specifically cites an incident at a school in Minab on the first day of the offensive. According to Chikane, the war was launched while Iran was engaged in negotiations with the U.S., with…

In primetime address, president hails ‘overwhelming victories,’ pays tribute to fallen troops and warns of further strikes if no agreement reached President Donald Trump declared on Wednesday evening that the United States military has delivered “swift, decisive, overwhelming victories” in its month-long campaign against Iran, asserting that core objectives of Operation Epic Fury are nearing completion and that the Iranian regime’s military capabilities have been largely dismantled. In a primetime address to the nation from the White House on April 1, 2026, Trump first congratulated NASA and the crew of the Artemis II mission, which launched the previous day on…

NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket successfully lifted off from Launch Pad 39B at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 6:35 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, carrying four astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft on the Artemis II mission, the first crewed lunar flyby in more than 50 years. The launch marks the beginning of an approximately 10 day test flight that will send the crew farther from Earth than any humans have traveled in a generation. Aboard Orion, named “Integrity” by the crew, are NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, along with Canadian Space Agency astronaut…