Off the field, the Temba Bavuma Foundation continues to uplift children and communities in need.

Bavuma has spoken powerfully about the violence women live with in South Africa and demanded men reflect on the responsibility they have, their role in society and for the government to lead.

As a father whose firstborn celebrated his third birthday last Tuesday with a brightly coloured cake topped with Power Rangers figures, Bavuma understands the profound example he sets.

It’s a load to bear, and that’s before he begins the most important season of his career, on Friday. “It’s scary,” he said about the daily horror South African women face.

Bavuma has highlighted how his wife, Phila, purchased a taser for herself. “And that’s when it’s real… it’s here at home, and you can see the fear and panic that our females have. As men we are seen as providers; that’s the traditional role… whichever way you want to look at it. I think we are failing there.”

Whatever criticism Bavuma is almost certain to face for what happens on the field this summer will be insignificant when seen through that social prism.

One of most respected

Starting his 12th season as an international and his fourth as Test captain, the 36-year-old is firmly established as one of the most respected leaders in the game. In that same period he has elevated his game, averaging over 50 across 13 Tests to become his side’s best batter.

Australia provides a momentous challenge at the start of a consequential 13 months for Bavuma. “I don’t know if I will have the opportunity to play against Australia again in a Test series. Every game that I play from now on, there’ll be a lot of embracing and wanting to feel every moment and every experience that comes before me,” he said.

We are on this hunt for trophies. We have two opportunities for silverware next year. Personally, I want to be the guy at the front leading the team to that

Temba Bavuma, Proteas captain

Bavuma has twice been part of series wins against Australia. On a tour where he gained global acclaim for running out David Warner in Perth, his two half-centuries in 2016 were even more crucial to South Africa’s third consecutive series win Down Under.

Yet despite those successes, profound lessons would still be learned from the Australians in a chastening series loss in 2022/23. “I had a decent tour. But I got a proper sense of what I needed to do to compete with the best in the world.

“From there things have improved quite a lot in my game, more mentally, finding ways to get into the game, to be competitive and look for ways to make a play for the team. I regard that tour as one of the important ones in my career.”

How he leads

Those lessons have been applied to how he leads the current side. “I’m very fortunate in the confidants that I have around me, who help me drive the team in a certain direction and speak and act in a way that I like and allow us to achieve what we want to achieve.

“It’s also been nice for us to embrace each other and not force guys to act a certain way. When I think about my early days with the Proteas, you always felt you had to be a certain way. You looked at the seniors, and they acted a certain way, and you would feel, naively, that you had to be like AB [de Villiers] or like an [Hashim] Amla for you to be successful.

“It’s only later on in my career that I understood, by just embracing yourself and whatever your strengths and weaknesses are, whatever makes you odd, that allow, when you put all of that in a pot as a team, to have this certain culture and outlook.”

Having won the World Test Championship last year, Bavuma is acutely aware that there is a target on the Proteas.

“Our biggest thing as a team, which I didn’t think was there, was to get over that insecurity or imposter syndrome. How do we carry this mantle of being world champions? People will speak, but it is not for us to make it a part of our thing.”

Hunt for trophies

Proof that they were comfortable with the crown was immediate; a drawn series after being 0-1 down in Pakistan was followed by a first Test series win for the Proteas in India in 25 years.

Motivation is easy to summon, but it is about controlling and directing the energy the players draw from it in the right way.

“Personally, I want to be the guy at the front leading the team to that. Whether that defines who I am, we will only know come November next year.”

An era in which legacy is on the line starts at Kingsmead, against an opponent to which South Africa no longer plays second fiddle.

“We look at this series as a hurdle to overcome, and to get to where we want to be, we have to overcome the Australians. We have the advantage that it is at home. We know the bigger picture — the goal is to find ourselves in the WTC [World Test Championship] final,” Bavuma said.

“That is at the back of our minds, but in front of us now is how to put our best foot forward to be successful on that first day in Durban.”

Even residents of a loony house can vouch for the skyscraper standing of the two-time Caf Champions League winners and current holders, who are making impressive inroads into the global terrain with their Fifa Club World Cup and Intercontinental Cup excursions.

Despite the quality of players at their disposal and their contribution to entrenching the marauding mellow-yellow train from Mamelodi as exceptional kings of the Betway Premiership in this decade, successive Downs coaches have punched below their weight in local cup competitions.

While Manqoba Mngqithi, Rhulani Mokwena and Miguel Cardoso cracked the league title code, each adding a title to the five won by Pitso Mosimane to complete a record unprecedented eight straight swoop — and winning it by big margins, with games to spare — that success has been sporadic in knockout silverware, strikingly poor by their lofty standards.

A Mauricio Affonso brace bagged the 2019 Telkom Knockout gong. Gaston Sirino’s solitary strike won the Nedbank Cup the following year. The Brazilians lifted the MTN8 in 2021 and a Thapelo Morena extra-time winner secured the 2022 Nedbank Cup title to complete a treble.

Shocked senseless

Sundowns were shocked senseless when they lost the Carling Knockout to rookies Magesi FC, a result that contributed to Mngqithi’s sacking and hiring of Cardoso.

The Portuguese mentor’s main challenge was to win the Champions League, and with the mission now accomplished — and the Fifa Intercontinental Cup in the cabinet — attention shifts to capturing the first trophy on offer in the domestic league.

On Saturday, the African champions will enter a sold-out Moses Mabhida Stadium hellbent to shift the needle and scupper the supremacy of Orlando Pirates in a competition the Sea Robbers seek to scoop a record fifth time on the trot.

Not only will it be a contest between two sides that have contributed a strong base of selection for the Bafana Bafana, what will play out down in Durban is a clash with a tinge of vengeance.

In ending a 14-year league drought by pipping Downs to it by a single point, Pirates coach Abdeslam Ouaddou handed Cardoso an unwanted record: the first Downs coach to fail to deliver the holy grail in nine years.

It is an itch Cardoso is eager to scratch and an appetite the yellow nation is salivating to satiate.

Internationals returning

Both teams will welcome back their internationals from a three-week national deployment, where they helped Pitso Mosimane get his Bafana return off to a flyer with a 2-1 defeat of Guinea and a 5-0 demolition of Eritrea, to sit six points atop Group D in the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifiers.

Cardoso will welcome back Ronwen Williams, Aubrey Modiba, Thapelo Morena, Iqraam Rayners, Fawaaz Basadien, Cassius Mailula, Themba Zwane, Tashreeq Matthews, Thabang Motuludi, Ricardo Goss, and Khulumani Ndamane after Bafana complete their commitments with a friendly match against Egypt at Cairo International Stadium tonight.

Bathusi Aubaas and Teboho Mokoena are walking wounded, though the latter is expected to recover in time for the final.

Ouaddou will have Sipho Chaine, Nkosinathi Sibisi, Oswin Appollis, Thabang Moremi, Lebone Seema, Kamogelo Sebelebele and Yanela Mbuthuma back in the squad.

The Ghost harbour hopes of seeing a side that has assumed the mettle of cup specialists, adding another piece of silverware to a collection of nine trophies in the past four years (Nedbank Cups, a Carling Knockout and four MTN8s).

For that to happen, Chaine should show the same safe pair of hands that has seen the reigning goalkeeper of the season concede one goal in seven games in this league campaign, and hope that Bryan Leon [with three league goals] does not break his duck in this game. The Colombian has contributed only an assist in this MTN8 competition.

It is a great final in prospect, with all the main ingredients: two of South Africa’s standard-bearers bursting at the seams with a galaxy of international players, two top-class coaches and a full house at the 56,000-capacity coastal venue.

Roll on Saturday for the latest instalment of the clash of the titans.

X-@bbkunplugged99

Campbell, of Belgian Pro League side KV Kortrijk, and Puso Dithejane, of MLS side Chicago Fire, were spectators during the recent 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifier wins over Guinea and Eritrea.

Mosimane went with his best possible teams in those matches, but the high-profile friendly against the Pharaohs presents an opportunity to unleash the highly rated duo.

They have been in good form for their clubs, and Mosimane rewarded them with places in the squad to increase depth as he looks beyond next year’s Afcon in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.

Campbell, Dithejane, Mbekezeli Mbokazi, Ime Okon, Olwethu Makhanya, Lebone Seema, Khulumane Ndamane, Samukele Kabini, Relebohile Mofokeng and Thapelo Maseko are the younger players Mosimane will rely on after the Afcon in East Africa.

Players expected to feature against Egypt are Nkosinathi Sibisi, Fawaaz Basadien, Khulumani Ndamane, Thabang Matuludi, Thapelo Morena, Brooklyn Poggenpoel, Tashreeq Matthews, Tshepang Moremi, Yanela Mbuthuma, Luther Singh and Cassius Mailula.

Mosimane set to make wholesale changes for Bafana’s friendly against Egypt.#BafanaPride @StandardBankZA @adidasZA @HonorAfrica @SABC_Sport @REXONA_SA @NUTRITECHFIT @socios @10bet_ZA @CastleLagerSA @flysaa @southernsungrphttps://t.co/Me9wIkxz7m

— Bafana Bafana (@BafanaBafana) October 2, 2026

Fifa rankings

Okon said they could not wait to take on Egypt in their own backyard. “Egypt is one of the biggest teams in Africa, and as a player you always want to challenge yourself against the best teams and players,” said the central defender, expressing delight at Bafana breaking into the top 50 bracket on the Fifa rankings.

“We are excited to play against them and show what we are all about. We are headed in the right direction. We are doing well, the junior national teams are also doing well, and we can only up [our game] from here.

“It is motivating to see the team moving a few places up on the rankings. When we look at the teams that are around us, it makes us realise that we can go higher from here and everything is possible.”

Bafana have been on a long camp, but Okon said they have to get on with it.

“Yes, the camp has been long but the group has adjusted because we know each other very well. The fact that we are winning matches makes it easier.”

Relationship with clubs

Mosimane recently spoke about maintaining good relationships with the clubs; and resting some of the players who played most of the minutes against Guinea and Eritrea would be welcomed by coaches.

From a South African context, there is a serious issue of the MTN8 final between Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns on Saturday at Moses Mabhida Stadium.

Players are expected in the country latest on Tuesday, which will be four days before the crucial final, and Abdeslam Ouaddou and his Sundowns counterpart Miguel Cardoso would be happy to see some of their players rested.

For Pirates, Ouaddou would be happy to see Oswin Appollis and Kamogelo Sebelebele not featuring against Egypt as part of their recovery for the weekend.

In the same breath, Ouaddou, who is gunning for his second MTN8 crown, will probably have no issues if Sipho Chaine, Sibisi, Lebone Seema, Mbuthuma get minutes ahead of the final for the much-needed match fitness.

It is motivating to see the team moving a few places up on the rankings.

Bafana defender Ime Okon

Things are a little trickier for Cardoso because key players Teboho Mokoena, Aubrey Modiba and Bathusi Aubaas have picked up injuries and are doubts for the final.

Hammer blow for Downs

Their situations may be complicated by long travel back home, and it will be a hammer blow for Downs if they lose the trio for the final.

In the same breath, Cardoso would probably not mind seeing Morena, Basadien, Matthews and Mailula play against Egypt.

There is a lot to play for in this Egypt match because Mbokazi and Evidence Makgopa will be in contention if they are fit when Bafana return to Afcon qualifying action against Kenya in back-to-back matches in November.

While Bafana were busy with Afcon qualifiers, the South African U20 team [Amajita] won the Cosafa U20 Championships last weekend in Mozambique, and Mosimane took an interest in their matches.

He is also following the U23 side, who kicked off their 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games preparations with a come-from-behind 3-1 win over Algeria at Dr Petrus Molemela Stadium in Bloemfontein on Thursday.

“We saw the U23s, we watched the game, and we are happy with what we saw; we are happy with the prospects,” said Mosimane.

His return is a statement about the club’s ambitions and their leadership’s investment in experience, as there is an emphasis on youthful development of players within the province.

Kolisi is a Stormers centurion, having made his professional debut in Cape Town. He played his first match for the Stormers in six years on Friday night against Edinburgh in the United Rugby Championship (URC).

The result did not favour Kolisi or the Stormers, but one defeat on a windy night on an artificial pitch in Edinburgh will never be the measurement of Kolisi.

Neither will it be a statement of panic for a team that has the squad depth and potential to win the competition and challenge for the Investec Championship title.

Kolisi, the biggest name in world rugby, remains one of the best loose forwards in the sport.

More than a player

But the value of his return extends beyond his playing.

Kolisi has influence and presence and a natural gift to mentor and inspire.

Here is a back-to-back World Cup-winning captain, and he’s helping with strapping, carrying the water and ready to serve the team in any capacity if he is not on the field.

Riley Norton

The Stormers have three recent Junior Springbok captains in their system and established loose forwards. Kolisi adds a dimension to this collective.

Stormers coach John Dobson was emphatic when Kolisi’s return was announced.

“Siya will be able to help develop these players and mentor them in a way that nobody else could, given what he has achieved and what he represents to all South Africans, and especially our fans,” he said.

That value was evident before Kolisi pulled on the jersey on Friday night.

After the Springboks’ Greatest Rivalry series win against the All Blacks, Dobson told Kolisi to return to Cape Town and rest. Instead, Kolisi travelled from Perth via Dubai and Dublin, then by bus to Galway in Ireland for the Stormers’ tournament opener against Connacht.

“The best way to connect to the team is on tour, and I want to connect to this team,” Kolisi told Dobson.

Dobson understood the significance. “That’s actions, not words,” he said.

“He’s just done the best act of bridge-crossing you could possibly do. This guy is special.”

South Africa Under-20 World Championship captain Riley Norton made his Stormers debut in Galway and he raved about the impact of Kolisi at the Stormers and with the Springboks.

Charisma, humillity and song

Norton made his Springbok debut against the Barbarians in a non-Test match earlier this season. “Siya lifts the energy and the mood of a room whenever he walks into it,” he said this week during the Champions Cup launch in Lyon, France.

“And he does it with charisma, humility, humour and song. He has an ability to calm everyone, encourage young players, like myself, and mentor [them]. He shares so much knowledge and his own experiences, but he does it in a conversational and heartfelt way.”

Then came the line that defines Kolisi’s leadership.

“Here is a back-to-back World Cup-winning captain and he is helping with strapping, carrying the water and ready to serve the team in any capacity if he is not on the field,” Norton said.

“As a player, you just want to follow him into battle.”

There is also the business of professional rugby, and Stormers CEO Johan le Roux makes no apology for recognising Kolisi’s commercial power. “Siya is a national icon who has such a strong connection to our team and our supporters,” he said.

“Our sponsors are very excited to see players of Siya and Cheslin Kolbe’s calibre back in the Stormers squad. This class of superstars increases the commercial value for our sponsors through the attention they draw from around the world to the Stormers.”

Esterhuizen, inspirational as the Sharks skipper, deserved the Bok captaincy against Australia in Perth.

The player and leader earned that honour. But the teenager he was 14 years ago could never simply be wished away, hidden from questions or treated as somebody else’s inconvenience.

In 2012, Esterhuizen was found guilty of directing a racial slur at Thabo Molete while playing schoolboy rugby. He was 18. He received a one-year ban, suspended for six months on condition he completed a life-skills course, and was removed from the Leopards’ Craven Week squad.

Do not sanitise it. Do not minimise it as teenage banter. It was wrong, and he was found guilty and punished. Equally, do not pretend an 18-year-old must forever be imprisoned by the worst words he spoke as a schoolboy.

That is why the Springboks’ leadership’s response was so disappointing.

The moment Esterhuizen was named captain, the incident’s return on social media and in the media was inevitable. Erasmus and the Boks management should have anticipated it, owned it and addressed it immediately.

Instead, there was silence.

Retreated into a laager.

Journalists were prevented from asking questions at the press conferences before and after the Test match. A management group celebrated for its frankness and transparency retreated into a laager.

It was defensive, arrogant and naive. It also protected nobody.

Silence did not protect Esterhuizen. It left him exposed to the conclusion that nothing had changed because nobody was permitted to explain how much had changed.

This should have been a good-news story. Not one that erased the sin, but one that showed the value of education, consequence, growth and redemption.

The punishment was meant to correct the player and the person, not condemn them. If it worked, as Esterhuizen’s subsequent life suggests it did, then rugby had a duty to show why discipline and education can matter so profoundly.

Esterhuizen has built a 14-year professional life since that incident. He played four seasons at Harlequins in southwest London, in a different country and among different races, nationalities and cultures.

He returned to Durban and was appointed a Sharks captain by JP Pietersen, a coach of colour and a Springboks World Cup winner, to lead a squad in which more than half the players are of colour.

Learned from Kolisi

Erasmus then trusted him to lead a culturally and racially diverse Springboks team. Esterhuizen has shared a changing room with Siya Kolisi at the Sharks and at the Springboks, and before the Test, he spoke about what he had learnt from Kolisi’s leadership.

This is evidence of trust, maturity and a life expanded far beyond the ignorance and crassness of one schoolboy moment.

I wanted to hear Esterhuizen tell that story. I wanted to hear what the life-skills programme taught him, what he understood about the hurt of that word and how his view of South Africa and its people had changed.

This was not about forcing a grown man through another public punishment. It was about giving him the opportunity to educate every white teenage boy who may still inherit prejudice before he develops the wisdom to reject it.

South Africa cannot be a country in which a teenager is condemned for life, nor can it be one in which fame and success buy silence about the past.

Diversity lived, not advertised

Accountability and redemption must live together. Remove accountability, and redemption becomes public relations. Remove redemption, and punishment becomes vengeance.

Erasmus’s Springboks, inspired by Kolisi, have come to represent the best of South Africa’s present and the possibility of its future. They are loved because their diversity is lived and not advertised.

Perth offered them another platform to show that change is possible and education is stronger than inherited racial rhetoric.

Instead, the Boks management’s refusal to engage reinforced a narrative of convenient transformation that I do not believe accurately reflects this team, Esterhuizen or Erasmus.

This should have been the story of a sinner becoming a better person, not a saintly refusal to own the sin.

Some demonstrators waved posters calling for a general strike after the measures drawn up to address mass anger over the eviction of an 87-year-old woman in Madrid, and other housing issues, were rejected in parliament on Friday.

“It’s a shame,” said Nando de Anguulo, 26, who joined Saturday’s protest in Madrid. “It only proves that it is us the people who have to adapt to the political parties, and not the politicians to what the people want, and this can’t go on like that.”

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez might call a snap election for November after the legislation failed to pass, Spanish media reported on Friday, and would be watching the strength of Saturday’s protests before making a decision.

Sanchez’s office refused to comment on the reports.

In the southeastern city of Valencia, demonstrators clashed with police who fired rubber bullets and tear gas to break up protests.

About 30 protesters managed to get inside the City of Arts and Sciences, a landmark cultural building in the city, before they were ousted by police. Other demonstrations in 50 Spanish cities were peaceful.

Valeria Racu, spokesperson for the Tenants Union, told reporters in Madrid that a general strike would be called after talks with labour unions.

About 70,000 protesters took part in Saturday’s demonstration in Madrid, the Spanish government said.

Protests planned in Barcelona and the nearby city of Hospitalet de Llobregat were called off because of heavy rain.

Reuters

Story audio is generated using AI

FNB Insure CEO Himal Parbhoo is confident of the insurer’s growth prospects, pointing to its solutions to meet customer needs and the sizeable distribution network compared to its peers in a fiercely contested market.

Parbhoo said one of the ways to grow was through integrating its insurance products into the sale of devices, whether merchant devices or smartphones sold through FNB Connect. “This is an example of how we’ve got the product and we can improve the process.”

He said another example was scaling its motor insurance through its partnership with WesBank; and it was also wooing customers by including eBucks rewards in insurance products.

Since last year, customers have been able to get up to 80% off flights for taking up short-term insurance, and at a certain level, they can get up to 40% back on their premium. “We’re looking to do more of those value additions to help with the growth and the scale of the product.”

FNB Insure is able to sell policies to existing clients and concedes that the competition is fierce in funeral insurance, with more people changing insurance providers when they switch banks.

“Competition in the market is rife, but we can also see the clients tend to take on multiple products and multiple funeral policies across the different providers and so tend to have more than one policy, but we seek to try and keep the customers,” Parbhoo said.

The end-to-end management and the ease of use of the products and the service from advisers in the FNB ecosystem were an advantage, Parbhoo told Business Times.

“Not many other institutions can tie everything up and see for you from your banking, borrowing, insurance, and that kind of thing not only for an individual, but we do it across the family. We can protect and deliver that through our channels,” he said.

We’ve got a wide distribution network, plus our insights into the clients, and the client base itself is also an opportunity to grow into customers

Himal Parbhoo, FNB Insure CEO

South Africa’s insurers are under pressure to adapt not only to technology but also to faster claims processing, which is a differentiator, and FNB Insure has gone further by focusing on service.

Parbhoo takes service seriously and a year ago increased its advisory capacity. He maintains that South Africa won’t get to a stage where it does away with advisers, saying when it comes to money, people want to talk to someone about their affairs. “They invest large sums of money, they protect large sums of money, and they want to talk to someone about it.”

This is why FNB Insure is removing the “administrative burden” to ensure advisers can have the honest conversation with the customers.

The Insure profit grew 8% to R4.1bn in the last year and gross written premiums jumped 12% to R9.6bn over the last year in its short-term insurance segment, underscoring efforts to grow customers by the FirstRand retail segment.

The business has been scaling its product distribution using its banking channels and financial advisers to retain and grow customers across the lender’s vast payment network.

Parbhoo said the lender uses the branch and adviser network to cross-sell products to customers and uses the channels to distribute products. For example, in terms of underwritten insurance, customers may take policies elsewhere, and with the growth of advisers, the lender is able to advise them on their policies, as they are able to see when customers are underinsured or not insured at all.

“We’ve got a wide distribution network, plus our insights into the clients, and the client base itself is also an opportunity to grow into customers,” he said.

The lender’s digital platform is also increasing customers, as they are able to take up funeral policies on the app.

He said a large proportion of those clients are able to do straight-through processing of the policies, which means they don’t need someone in the back end to oversee the deals and applications.

FNB Insure comprises short- and long-term insurance and investments and is taking advantage of the bank’s portfolio, including FNB Connect, which will be used to sell its short-term products.

In short-term vehicle insurance, the growth in Chinese vehicle sales is changing the dynamics for FNB Insure. Its share of the vehicle insurance market is moving in the direction of the client.

“In fact, we’re making sure that we can manage the value change when cars are in accidents so that we can get parts and panelbeating because now that we need more use of those parts. We’re seeing more Chinese vehicles being insured now by our clients.”

Business Times

Story audio is generated using AI

Women are usually good at creating meaningful work relationships but can be less adept at translating them into supportive professional networks.

“For many women, friendship is rooted in genuine connection, trust and mutual understanding, rather than being viewed as a potential pathway to professional opportunity. Men, by contrast, may be more comfortable allowing social and business relationships to overlap,” says Amanda Markman, head of sponsor services at financial services company Tamela.

“The answer is not for women to replicate traditionally male approaches to networking but to build on the strengths they already possess — trust, communication, empathy and close-knit relationships — and turn those strengths into networks that actively support one another.”

She advises:

• Move beyond conversation towards connecting with mentors (who provide advice and perspective) and sponsors (who use their credibility, influence and access to open doors for others);
• To progress, women need more than inspiration; they need access to informal networks, introductions, capital and decision-making spaces; and
• Developing stronger female networks requires showing up, building trust, making introductions, sharing connections and using our influence to ensure that more women gain the access they require.

Story audio is generated using AI

What do you do?

I’m an entrepreneur focused on helping people and businesses find opportunities. My latest venture is Echo Collective, a local lifestyle app that puts businesses, services and local events in one place. It helps people discover what’s happening around them and gives local businesses a way to be found when customers are ready to buy. We are rolling this out now so that each town in South Africa gets its own Echo platform.

I run other businesses and from time to time will spot an opportunity that resonates and will buy into or invest in a business or a fellow entrepreneur I believe in.

What has made you successful?

I think it’s my willingness to start before I have everything figured out and then keep learning as I go. I’m good at spotting a problem and seeing a business opportunity in it, but an idea means very little until you test it with real customers. I’ve made mistakes, changed direction and started again more than once. Being willing to do that, and to keep selling and doing the work when things get difficult, has made the biggest difference.

What advice do you wish you had had sooner in your career?

I wish someone had told me that you don’t need everyone to believe in your idea before you begin. Take advice from people who have built something themselves, but don’t let every sceptical opinion become a reason to stop. In fact, I would advise that you tell very few people about what you’re doing.

What would you tell a young person wanting to start their own business?

Start with a problem you can solve for someone, even if it seems small. Ask people what they need, offer a solution, and see if they’ll pay for it. You don’t need an office, a fancy logo or a perfect business plan to make your first sale.

Tell me a little about your first and most recent ventures?

My first venture out of the corporate world was a recruitment company aimed at the motor industry. My most recent venture is an app that I’ve started rolling out in KwaZulu-Natal that allows users to access local service providers and events and activities in their town.

What do you look for when recruiting for your team?

I look for enthusiasm, a willingness to learn and someone who isn’t afraid to work hard. You can teach a person the details of a job, but they have to bring the curiosity and the drive. I want people who ask questions, take feedback and keep getting better. That’s the kind of team I want to build.

Business Times

The protesters say the changes benefit Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s governing party and are demanding the resignation of India’s election chief.

The demonstrations mark the latest in a series of youth-led protests that have emerged this year, putting pressure on Modi unprecedented in his 12 years in power.

About 100 demonstrators removed security barricades on Saturday and chanted “vote thief, leave the post” and “Gyanesh Kumar, step down” before police forcibly detained some of them.

Independent MP Kapil Sibal, left-wing All India Students’ Association president Neha Bora and political activists Prashant Bhushan and Yogendra Yadav were among the protesters, according to a Reuters witness.

The police declined comment on the number and identity of those detained.

“First they removed people from the voters’ list and now they are not letting us raise our voice against this. This is not acceptable,” Bora told Reuters.

The chief of the Election Commission, Gyanesh Kumar, ⁠has not commented on the protests and the demands to step down.

On Friday, police stopped a group of protesters from gathering, bundling them into buses. Several nearby metro stations remained shut amid tight security.

Though police released many of those detained on Friday, they charged several of them with allegedly violating orders banning mass gatherings in Delhi, according to a police source.

Critics say a nationwide voter-verification exercise launched last year has led to millions of eligible voters being removed from electoral rolls.

The commission, long regarded as one of the country’s most trusted institutions, says the exercise is intended to remove duplicate, deceased or ineligible voters.

On ⁠Friday the commission directed officials to register newly eligible voters and those omitted from electoral rolls.

Reuters

Story audio is generated using AI

Gold Fields CEO Mike Fraser’s audacious $27bn (about R451bn) bid to buy Australian gold major Northern Star, in what would be the biggest deal ever struck by a South African gold mining house, is set to dominate high-finance circles over the next few weeks.

If successful, the bid would create the world’s second-largest gold producer, capable of producing about 4.1m oz of gold annually — second only to Newmont, headed by South African mining executive Natascha Viljoen.

Northern Star rejected Gold Fields’ initial bid, with the Johannesburg-based group expected to come back with an improved offer.

Under the initial offer, about 73% of the consideration would comprise Gold Fields shares and 27% cash, with the cash component at $4bn.

Rating agency Moody’s on Friday said it expects Gold Fields to tap the debt market to raise a portion of the cash component, adding that the proposed transaction was credit positive for Northern Star, which has deemed the approach by Gold Fields “opportunistic”.

“The transaction would be credit positive for Northern Star if it proceeds because the company would become part of a larger, more diversified gold producer with greater operational resilience and potential cost benefits,” Moody’s said in its initial thoughts on the deal.

The debate is less about whether Northern Star is a good asset and more about whether Gold Fields can acquire it on terms that preserve sufficient upside for its own shareholders

Mish-al Emeran, portfolio manager at Abax Investments

“The implications for Northern Star’s ratings would depend on the final group structure and whether rated obligations remain outstanding following completion.

“Northern Star’s Western Australian reserves are near Gold Fields’ processing infrastructure, creating opportunities to access higher-grade feed and reduce haulage and processing costs. Execution risk would stem from Gold Fields having to integrate Northern Star while advancing a sizeable development pipeline, including its Windfall project and Northern Star’s Hemi project.”

Gold Fields has pencilled in $4bn-$5bn of post-tax net present value synergies from operating, procurement, maintenance, corporate and tax efficiencies.

Gold Fields currently operates eight mines across six countries, operations that produced 2.44m oz of gold in 2025. The company has guided for 2.4m oz to 2.6m oz in 2026.

Fraser, riding a wave of record-high gold prices, has already struck two deals over the past two years: Gold Road Resources and Osisko Mining — worth a combined $4bn.

Mish-al Emeran, portfolio manager at Abax Investments, said the geographical overlap in Western Australia was meaningful for Gold Fields, bringing about potential operating synergies.

“The market will want comfort that Gold Fields is not simply using a strong balance sheet and supportive gold price environment to pursue scale for its own sake. The concern is that scarce high-quality gold assets command high prices, and the more Gold Fields has to increase its offer, the greater the risk that the value of the synergies is effectively paid away upfront,” he said.

Emeran said the market will want to see that management is focused on returns on invested capital, not scale, and that it is prepared to walk away if the price dilutes shareholder value.

“The debate is less about whether Northern Star is a good asset and more about whether Gold Fields can acquire it on terms that preserve sufficient upside for its own shareholders,” he said.

Gold Fields’ previous CEO, Chris Griffith, stepped down in 2020 after the company’s failed takeover of Canadian miner Yamana Gold; however, Emeran believes the lesson remains relevant in that strategic logic alone is not enough.

“Large mining acquisitions can destroy value if the buyer overpays, underestimates integration risk or relies too heavily on optimistic synergy assumptions,” Emeran said.

Bruce Williamson, a mining analyst at Integral Asset Management, said Gold Fields has had a lot of success with its Western Australia gold mines.

“I have no doubt it would have no problem operating the Northern Star mines,” he said. “While there are no contiguous mining opportunities, I guess there are processing, procurement, corporate services, and certainly exploration opportunities and benefits outside of the mutual exploration opportunities.”

The planned transaction underscores Gold Fields’ ambition to create the world’s biggest gold producer and replace depleting ounces as it grapples with headwinds in Ghana.

Williamson said that from a broad commodity viewpoint it is challenging to discover and build a new 500,000oz a year gold mine, pointing to issues around permits, activists, ESG (environmental, social and governance) and communities, adding many years to finding, building and ramping up to full production.

“Given the turmoil and changing world order, I think that the gold price might hold its current level; this presents a great opportunity for Gold Fields to build its production base to 4m oz and have a proper look at the combined exploration opportunities in Australia.”

From a shareholder perspective, the deal comes months after activist shareholder Elliott Investment Management in June called for a strategic reset for Northern Star and for it to explore strategic alternatives, including a sale of the company.

The planned transaction underscores Gold Fields’ ambition to create the world’s biggest gold producer and replace depleting ounces as it grapples with headwinds in Ghana.

In April 2025, the Ghanaian government took ownership of the Damang mine after rejecting the company’s application to renew the licence, while the licence for its Tarkwa operation expires in April 2027.

Stephan Erasmus, investment analyst at Anchor, said that like most of the majors, Gold Fields has to replace what it mines, and a deal would put 80% of production in Australia, North America and Chile, arguably more stable jurisdictions.

He said that by publishing its offer, Gold Fields is already appealing to Northern Star’s shareholders, including Elliott, which wants talks.

“Northern Star objected to its shareholders being paid mostly in Gold Fields shares, so any new offer would likely need more cash. But Gold Fields’ management has stressed staying disciplined for its own shareholders, so it may simply walk away.”

Gold Fields, which operates mines including South Deep outside Johannesburg and Gruyere in Western Australia, is aiming to be a leading pure gold player.

Business Times

Story audio is generated using AI

Resource-rich Mozambique may grapple with rising public debt and foreign currency shortages, but the potential for further growth lies with SMEs, says Nedbank Mozambique’s MD Joel Rodrigues.

While the country’s key industries include heavy mineral sands extracted from sand dunes, coal, LNG, and aluminium, a focus on SME growth could provide more expansion.

“We need to diversify the base of the economy. But at the same time, what is the normal SME in Mozambique? It’s an SME that is run by a self-made woman or man without the knowledge to internationalise the entity,” said Rodrigues.

While SME growth is gaining traction across the country, larger local corporations are also expanding their footprint and investing in regional growth. Among the businesses financed by Nedbank Mozambique is Merec, a family-owned milling and food production company.

Founded in 1998 as a corn/maize mill, Merec owns the only industrial lines for breadmaking in Mozambique, where it remains mostly artisanal. Its distribution channels include 300 kiosks where bread is sold daily.

Mualide de Sousa, director for quality and I&D at Merec, said its main mill in the city of Beira was not only the biggest in Mozambique, it was one of the biggest in the region. It was commissioned in 2025.

Merec has two other mills in Beira. “This is why Beira has become the biggest site; this means from here we can export. We can send [bread] to the north and south. It is a strategic decision we took considering Beira’s position,” she said.

Merec has three pasta production lines in Beira and two in the capital Maputo; and the plan is that by next year another pasta line will be opened in Nacala, in northern Mozambique.

De Sousa said because the group does not produce wheat, it imports it and has significant storage capacity. “Having the capacity to store wheat means we can bring in vessels every 45 days. We have sufficient storage to keep us going even if something happens. We can still have a buffer stock. Without it we would be without our main raw material,” she said.

Because the quality of wheat from South Africa does not serve the group, Merec imports high-quality wheat from markets including Canada and Russia. It has silos at the Port of Maputo, which improves efficiencies.

“We are not only increasing the capacity of the silos, but we also have a project where we are putting in railways to serve inland countries,” she said.

Since 1998 Merec has expanded into biscuits and pasta. Its pasta division has one of the strongest local brands, Bela.

De Sousa said the group created a market for pasta in a country where staples include xima, a porridge made from maize flour, and matapa made from crushed cassava, by appealing to the youth market. She said young people found pasta more convenient after a long day at work.

Merec currently exports its pasta from Beira to Zambia, Zimbabwe and Malawi. It produces Bela, an entry-level pasta, and Davinci a premium pasta made from durum wheat.

It is more expensive to bring a truck from Beira to Maputo than to bring a ship from Argentina to Maputo per tonne

Luis Aveleira, executive board advisor at Merec

Merec also exports the Bela brand to South Africa from its Maputo plant, and soon it will be exporting the brand to the Middle East

Luis Aveleira, executive board adviser at Merec, said logistics were a problem in Mozambique. “It is more expensive to bring a truck from Beira to Maputo than to bring a ship from Argentina to Maputo per tonne. It is the quality of the infrastructure. Our fuel is expensive, but it is still half of the international price,” he said.

Nedbank in Mozambique previously operated as Banco Único until it rebranded in 2021 and is now the sixth-biggest bank in the country. The expansion into the country was part of diversifying into the rest of the continent. It has 15 branches covering major cities including Maputo, Beira, Nampula and Nacala.

Rodrigues said while Mozambique had short-term challenges, the long-term fundamentals remain strong. He said the country’s strengths included how it had been supportive of the South African economy, pointing to the Port of Maputo becoming an alternative for South African exports.

He said Nedbank was bullish about Mozambique in the next five years, even considering all the challenges it faces. “We should not confuse short-term challenges with long-term value, long-term growth,” said Rodrigues.

“Sometimes the only news is not so good news, because people tend not to comment more on that kind of news. But I also think that everyone has a role building up the story of the country. So, if we can support that, we are more than happy to do it.”

Mozambique, with a population of 36-million, generates the bulk of its revenue from agriculture and gas extraction, including mega gas projects that have attracted billions in investments.

• Faku was a Nedbank guest during a media tour to Maputo

Story audio is generated using AI

Even as new vehicle sales continue to grow at a double-digit pace, at least one car sector leader believes the data reveal alarming trends that show the severe pressure on the sector, and motorists.

Bobby Ramagwede, CEO of the Automobile Association of South Africa, told Business Times this week that the car sector cannot be expected to save the beleaguered South African steel industry, as the sector itself is in dire straits.

“The challenge that we’re faced with right now is the lack of real central planning. It’s been a point that we’ve raised for a while, [albeit] not vocally enough. We, unfortunately, if you take ArcelorMittal out of the equation, are not in a position to bring in rolls of steel any cheaper than anywhere else in the world.”

Ramagwede told a Nedbank-Automechanika media roundtable in Cape Town, that the local market does not have any fabricators of steel other than Allied Steelrode, the biggest for the automotive and construction industries.

“Allowing that industry to fall flat on its face is going to have downstream implications. So, auto sector aside, you’re going to see these ripple effects creep into other industries that rely on steel, specifically construction.

“So, the question we often ask ourselves is, in a world where we cannot source our own steel, or cannot produce our own steel, and cannot source it cheaply, what direction are we taking as a country?”

The Automotive Business Council (Naamsa) reported this week that the local car sector achieved 61,645 in domestic sales in September, representing a 12.7% increase compared with 54,706 units sold in September 2025.

Ramagwede said that while new vehicle sales seem healthy, there is a strong leaning towards entry-level vehicles, indicating consumer income strain.

“I’m often quoted as a guy who walks into a room and says that the emperor is naked. And indeed, the emperor is naked. Of concern to both myself and the Automobile Association is the direction in which the auto industry is headed and whether or not South Africa has got a good handle on what’s coming.

Naamsa’s figures showed that South Africa recorded 305,899 new passenger vehicle sales in the year to August, up 13.5% from the 269,400 recorded in the same period last year

“It looks good, it looks rosy, you’ve got some great Naamsa figures, but when you scratch beneath the surface, there’s a story that’s emerging. And that story is quite concerning. Most of the vehicles that are being sold, whose stats are being published, are entry-level vehicles.”

Naamsa’s figures showed that South Africa recorded 305,899 new passenger vehicle sales in the year to August, up 13.5% from the 269,400 recorded in the same period last year.

According to its report, 422,459 passenger vehicles were sold in 2025. This was higher than the 351,553 sold in 2024 and the 347,367 in 2023, but both these last two figures were lower than the 363,682 sold in 2022.

South Africa is allowing things to fall flat, Ramagwede said, but holding the same policy regime in place while “paying a double whammy” because it costs a lot of money to import steel, but it also costs a lot of money to import steel fabricators.

On the consumer side, TransUnion’s Industry Insights report for the second quarter of 2026 said South Africa’s consumer credit market remained resilient, but growth was becoming increasingly selective, segmented and dependent on how consumers manage affordability.

“Vehicle buyers are placing greater emphasis on financing costs, fuel efficiency and total cost of ownership, while lenders across multiple products are increasingly focused on managing exposure, credit limits and portfolio quality. The result is a market where growth remains achievable but is becoming increasingly dependent on product design, affordability management and risk discipline.

“Demand for credit remains evident across major products, yet both consumers and lenders are adapting to a more complex operating environment. Rather than withdrawing from the market, consumers continue to seek credit, mobility and household spending solutions, although they’re becoming more deliberate in how they access and use them.”

The report said lenders are increasingly balancing growth opportunities against affordability and portfolio risk, and that rising sales and appetite for new finance solutions show the market is more value-conscious than demand-constrained.

“The Mobility Insights Report showed passenger vehicle sales increased 15.8% year on year during [the second quarter], while Chinese manufacturers continued to gain market share through competitively priced vehicles and strong value propositions.

“At the same time, consumers showed growing interest in technologies that could reduce long-term ownership costs, with hybrid vehicles emerging as an increasingly attractive alternative for consumers focused on fuel efficiency and operating costs.”

Charles Dednam, general secretary of the South African Iron and Steel Institute, recently told parliament that the local steel industry remained in distress and that steel production has dropped 18% since 2018.

Acting deputy director-general of sectors at the department of trade, industry and competition, Tebogo Makube, said the Newcastle Amsa steel plant remains under care and maintenance. The department has temporarily allowed importation to support inputs into the car sector.

Business Times

Story audio is generated using AI

The state-owned special risk insurer, the South African Special Risk Insurance Association (Sasria), is inching closer to its R30bn reserve target after the 2021 riots, and could reach it as soon as 2029.

Finance minister Enoch Godongwana said Sasria’s R5.2bn profit and R23.8bn reserves protect the economy against the lasting damage of systemic unrest, and restore Sasria’s capacity to respond to future catastrophic events.

“In respect of capital strength, the National Treasury commends Sasria’s strategic objective of reaching R30bn in own funds. Retaining earnings to rebuild this buffer is important because it strengthens Sasria’s resilience and ultimately protects the fiscus,” he said.

“On [its capacity], there are serious cases for examining whether the risks Sasria carries should extend beyond politically motivated unrest to climate-related and agricultural perils, which are increasingly systemic and from which conventional insurance markets are retreating.”

Sasria board chair Nolwandle Mgoqi said the accumulated loss that had weighed on the balance sheet since the events of July 2021 had been fully reversed.

“The company now carries positive retained earnings of R1.8bn. This represents an important milestone in Sasria’s recovery and reflects the disciplined execution of the strategy, prudent financial management and the sustained commitment of the organisation’s people,” she said.

Sasria has effectively closed the chapter on the July 2021 unrest, with only R77m in claims remaining open from total losses of R31.3bn. This represents substantial closure of a difficult period, achieved alongside the rebuilding of the balance sheet

Enoch Godongwana, finance minister

Work also continued on the reintroduction of wrap cover, which became effective on 1 April 2026, she said. “The arrangement has been structured so that Sasria retains 20% of the risk, with the balance ceded to reinsurers. Work also continues on the proposed enhancement of ministerial powers to provide greater clarity regarding Sasria’s mandate.”

The arrest of then president Jacob Zuma in 2021 triggered protests in KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng and Mpumalanga, causing an estimated R50bn in damages.

However, according to Sasria’s integrated report for 2025/26, the insurer recorded a profit of R5.2bn and ended the year with reserves of R23.8bn, marking continued progress in rebuilding its capital base following the events of July 2021.

Godongwana said Sasria had assessed the pricing, reinsurance and operational implications at a preliminary level, and that the work was under consideration. A broader mandate had to be matched by capital, reinsurance capacity and the actuarial discipline.

“Sasria has effectively closed the chapter on the July 2021 unrest, with only R77m in claims remaining open from total losses of R31.3bn. This represents substantial closure of a difficult period, achieved alongside the rebuilding of the balance sheet,” he said

The minister said the pressures that shape Sasria’s operating environment remained firmly in place, including strained municipal service delivery, failing water infrastructure, labour unrest, youth unemployment and protests against undocumented immigrants — pressures no economy could absorb indefinitely.

“The local government elections of November 2026 fall within the year ahead. Government expects that Sasria will continue to strengthen its risk intelligence, extend affordable cover to the small and medium enterprises least able to absorb a loss, and price its products so that this cover remains within reach.”

Growth outpaced the market with premium up 9.2%, exceeding a budget of R6.2bn, and our transformation mandate was carried through R43.7m of CSI investment focused on education and skills development

Mpumi Tyikwe, Sasria CEO

He said comparable institutions in Spain, the UK, the US and Australia assisted private markets to carry risks, while the role of the respective states remained, making certainty possible where the private market could not.

Sasria CEO Mpumi Tyikwe said the company grew gross written premium by 9.2% to R6.4bn, achieved nine of its 11 key performance indicators and recorded a profit of R5.2bn, taking equity to R23.8bn at year-end.

“The growth in equity is critical to building reserves to withstand future catastrophic events like the one experienced in July 2021, which caused claims of R31.3bn over 10 days. The year was the second of Vision 2029, our strategy to build a resilient, relevant and sustainable special risk insurer with reserves of R30bn by 2029. At R23.8bn of equity, we are firmly on that path,” he said.

Capital was strengthened through earnings and a fully subscribed reinsurance programme for the first time in three years, he said. Predictive capability was also being built through the data and intelligence programme.

“Growth outpaced the market with premium up 9.2%, exceeding a budget of R6.2bn, and our transformation mandate was carried through R43.7m of CSI investment focused on education and skills development.”

Insurance expenses decreased by 20%, and the combined ratio of 40.0% was well within the 80% target. The claims function settled 93% of claims within the targeted turnaround time — against a target of 85% — and no claims were overturned by the ombudsman during the year.

The investment portfolio returned 7.51% gross against a benchmark of 5.47%, generating net investment income of R1.3bn. The net reinsurance expense increased by 91% to R1.1bn, reflecting the increased quota-share ceding rate.

Business Times

Story audio is generated using AI

South African households are shopping more often but buying fewer items on each trip as consumers take an increasingly selective approach to managing grocery budgets while changing how they prepare and consume food.

New findings from consumer research organisation Worldpanel by Numerator’s “Plate of the Nation” report show the South African fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) market reached R422bn in the 12 months to June 2026, growing 2.3% in value. Volume growth was just 1.3%, while overall household consumption remained broadly flat.

The change was evident in shopping behaviour. Households made an average of 108 grocery trips during the year, up from 105 a year earlier. At the same time, the number of packs purchased per trip fell from 6.55 to 6.37, while average pack size declined by 0.5%.

Vanessa Hall, commercial growth partner at Worldpanel by Numerator South Africa, said households were becoming more deliberate about how they allocated grocery spending.

“The story is not simply that consumers are managing their spend. They are becoming much more selective about how they spend, and that is changing the composition of the basket,” Hall said.

The longer-term trend points to ongoing pressure on consumers. Hall said lower-income households had largely maintained spending levels despite inflation, effectively buying less volume over time.

“Households have absolutely been buying less. That decline has slowed down, and we’re now flat,” she said.

Growth is increasingly concentrated in products that save time and effort

Food, which accounts for about 62% of the tracked grocery basket, is showing slightly stronger momentum. The market was worth R260bn in the year to June, with value growth of 2.4% and volume growth of 1.8%. Households bought about 0.5% more food volume than a year earlier.

Growth is increasingly concentrated in products that save time and effort. Instant noodles recorded an 11.5% increase in volume per buyer, while bread and breakfast cereal volumes rose 1.3% and 1.9%, respectively. By contrast, products associated with longer preparation times declined, including flour, down 6.8%, and pasta, down 4.6%.

Hall said the shift was also visible in prepared frozen poultry products such as nuggets and steaklets that can be quickly cooked in an air fryer. Household penetration of prepared frozen poultry increased from 18.7% in 2024 to 23.3% in 2026, while non-prepared frozen poultry declined.

The trend may also suggest consumers are eating at home more often, although Worldpanel does not have data showing whether restaurant spending has fallen.

“What we are seeing is this growth in convenience,” Hall said. “If it’s saving me time, but actually also saving me money because I would have been eating out, then potentially people are eating out less and bringing more in-home.”

She said products such as grocery-store frozen pies appeared to offer consumers a cheaper substitute for some out-of-home meals.

The report shows that convenience, however, does not mean consumers are sacrificing taste.

Flavour enhancers account for 10.5% of food value, while hot-sauce penetration increased from 45.5% of households in 2024 to 52.3% in 2026. Marinade penetration rose from 25% to 29.4%, and the average number of table-sauce varieties bought per household increased from 2.9 to 3.1.

“South Africans still want flavour, but they just want it easier,” Hall said.

The market is flat in terms of volume, but there is absolutely growth when you’re meeting the needs of shoppers

Vanessa Hall, Worldpanel by Numerator SA commercial growth partner

Eggs and dairy have also emerged as key growth categories. Together they accounted for 16.3% of food value in June 2026, up from 14.9% two years earlier.

Egg penetration increased from 82.5% of households in 2024 to 88.1% in 2026, while annual volume per buyer rose from 183 to 234 eggs.

Milk consumption is also shifting away from fresh milk towards UHT milk and milk alternatives.

Health-focused products are another growth area, particularly among higher-income consumers. A basket that includes products such as oats, honey and milk alternatives recorded 12% household-level volume growth, despite remaining a relatively small R4.7bn segment.

Consumers are also not abandoning treats altogether. Snacking spend continues to rise gradually, with salty snacks increasing their share of category volume from 35.7% two years ago to 38% in 2026.

For manufacturers and retailers, Hall said the challenge is finding growth in a market where overall household volumes remain flat.

“The market is flat in terms of volume, but there is absolutely growth when you’re meeting the needs of shoppers,” she said.

The research is based on a panel of 6,500 South African households that record purchases through an app by scanning products and uploading receipts. It covers purchases across both modern and traditional retail channels.

Hall said the findings reflect a consumer weighing price, convenience, time, taste and health in increasingly connected purchasing decisions.

“Products that save me time, make it easy to get flavour and are healthy” are increasingly meeting those needs, she said.

Business Times

Story audio is generated using AI

The department of communications & digital technologies will get a second chance at drafting a white paper on artificial intelligence next month, after the previous iteration was exposed as an AI-generated document riddled with hallucinations.

Communications & digital technologies deputy minister Mondli Gungubele said he had been told the final draft was due for ministerial input before the end of November, ahead of going to the cabinet by the end of the financial year.

“My understanding is it’s at an advanced stage … I was briefed three weeks ago … before it goes to [the relevant ministerial] clusters, and then finally to cabinet [before the end of] November,” Gungubele told Business Times this week.

Earlier this year, the AI draft policy was released but was found to have been generated using AI, including hallucinated citations, prompting communications & digital technologies minister Solly Malatsi to withdraw it.

Gungubele was speaking on the sidelines of Bloomberg’s 2026 Africa Business Media Innovators (ABMI) gathering in Hermanus in the Western Cape on Monday. During a panel discussion at the event, he was grilled about whether the government would allow Elon Musk’s SpaceX access to the South African market — and on what terms.

Asked whether he was concerned about the apparent fixation on SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service provider entering the local internet market — despite South Africa having about 140 internet service and infrastructure companies — Gungubele said such questions were inevitable. He pointed out that many multinational companies operated in South Africa and had no problem complying with the country’s laws and policies.

Africa’s digital economy by the year 2035 is estimated to bring in over $700bn [R11.7bn]. That digital economy will largely be driven by AI. We have rules. We have a protocol on digital trade that enables investment in new technologies, emerging technologies

Wamkele Mene, AfCFTA secretary-general

“We always expect that, especially at an international forum like this ... The problem is that people don’t want us to talk about multinational corporations; they want us to talk about Starlink,” he said. “There are a lot of multinational corporations in South Africa who are working well with our policies.”

Gungubele said a failure by countries to agree, bilaterally or multilaterally, on how AI should be managed and regulated could lead to a lot of “mischief” by malefactors. At the same time, he said developing AI capacity had become an imperative for economic modernisation and national sovereignty.

“If you accept that you want to leapfrog in terms of economic transformation, AI is critical. There’s no doubt that cabinet is interested in exploiting the potential of AI. But what cabinet is awaiting is the tabling of the policy. You know, AI is already operating in South Africa, with or without policy, but the policy is there to ensure that it operates within the confines.”

During the panel discussion, Gungubele said Starlink would enhance the government’s ambitions to expand connectivity but urged Musk to respect the nation’s equity laws in the process.

“There’s a lot of private operators in Africa … We always need more. That’s why the president is ... saying we are ready. [Recently] in Greece, the president was saying we’re ready for business.”

Musk has been highly critical of broad-based BEE as a policy that aims to address past economic injustices by making patterns of ownership more representative of the country’s demographic, even going as far as calling it “racist”.

Gungubele said it would be beneficial if Musk stopped to consider the urgent need for South Africa’s patterns of economic ownership to be transformed.

“It should not be ridiculous, therefore, to say, when we invest here, can you get along with us, walk with us in this journey of improving, minimising inequality, reducing all the discriminatory laws and all the affinities that are unequal. We are saying, for instance, 30% here.”

According to a paper by Maria Lungu of the University of Virginia and Kennesaw State University, African governments’ growing reliance on foreign vendors for AI-enabled surveillance raises questions about enforcing constitutional protections when such systems remain technically and legally beyond domestic oversight.

Lungu states: “The theoretical contribution is the concept of the algorithmic sovereignty gap, which names the persistent disjunction between constitutional guarantees and the operational realities of vendor-controlled tools.”

Wamkele Mene, secretary-general of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), told Business Times that the continent’s digital infrastructure requirements were a significant challenge but also an opportunity to grow its economies and provide skills and jobs to young Africans.

“Africa’s digital economy by the year 2035 is estimated to bring in over $700bn [R11.7bn],” he said. “That digital economy will largely be driven by AI. We have rules. We have a protocol on digital trade that enables investment in new technologies, emerging technologies.”

Mene said Africa would need more than 700 data centres by 2035, but for now these centres were concentrated in Cape Town, Lagos and Nairobi.

Business Times

Story audio is generated using AI

Rainbow Chicken, South Africa’s largest poultry producer, has urged the government to help the industry access foreign markets, arguing that exports are the key to long-term growth.

The company, which supplies KFC, Chicken Licken, Hungry Lion, Nando’s, Shoprite, Boxer, Pick n Pay and Spar, among others, said the industry needs the government to create an enabling environment to penetrate the lucrative export market.

Company chair Pieter Louw used his annual letter to shareholders to drive the point home. “South Africa’s next phase of poultry growth will increasingly depend on the ability to export. Expanding export opportunities will require government support to unlock markets and assist with overcoming veterinary and other barriers and regulatory requirements,” he wrote.

“While South Africa has benefited from reduced poultry imports in certain categories, mechanically deboned meat and offal remain structurally important in the domestic market. Trade policy uncertainty continues to be a concern, including import controls, anti-dumping duties, disease-related restrictions, and the future of trade arrangements such as the African Growth & Opportunity Act (Agoa).

“Although AGOA has been extended to December 31 2028, its longer-term future remains uncertain. Our view is that a fair, predictable and consistently applied trade policy is essential to protecting local production capacity, employment, and food security.”

South Africa’s continued participation in Agoa has come under scrutiny as the relationship between Pretoria and Washington deteriorates.

US secretary of state Marco Rubio last month announced visa restrictions targeting South Africans the US regards as complicit in uncompensated land seizures, race-based discrimination, or inciting racial violence — talking points pushed by domestic actors such as AfriForum.

South Africa is a major net importer of chicken, ranking in the top 10 importers of Brazilian poultry.

A major complaint raised by agricultural bodies is the billions lost due to state-level administrative delays. Failure to streamline veterinary certification, delayed export approvals and rigorous sanitary protocols keep South African meat products locked out of prospective markets.

Marthinus Stander, CEO of Rainbow, told investors and stakeholders the poultry industry is a national asset as it supports food security — especially in the form of affordable protein — creates employment, sustains small towns and rural economies and supports the agricultural sector by driving demand for maize and soya.

We are proud of the role we play in the sector, not only as one of the largest producers, but also for our targeted efforts on integration and development

Marthinus Stander, Rainbow CEO

Stander stressed that exports are important for growth. “Africa is a particularly important area as part of our long-term growth ambition outside of South Africa.” The industry has invested in quality assurance systems and customer-centred capabilities “to ensure we meet the standards required in international markets”.

“We are proud of the role we play in the sector, not only as one of the largest producers, but also for our targeted efforts on integration and development. We continue to support small-scale farmers and broader participation in the poultry value chain through integrated initiatives that improve access to affordable, high-quality chicks, feed and technical expertise,” Stander said.

“These initiatives align with our belief that a sustainable poultry sector must be inclusive, competitive, and capable of supporting both national food security and economic development. Following the substantial import replacement since 2018, the scope for further growth through import substitution is increasingly limited.”

The Competition Commission a year ago launched its comprehensive poultry market inquiry to examine potential market distortions, high concentration, and structural barriers across the poultry and egg value chains.

The commission noted that South Africa’s poultry sector is highly concentrated, with Rainbow and three other major producers — Astral Foods, Country Bird and Sovereign — controlling nearly 63% of domestic production. The watchdog raised concerns that vertical integration creates barriers to entry for independent, small-scale, and historically disadvantaged farmers.

Louw said transformation must be practical, commercially viable and supported by co-ordinated action across the public and private sectors.

“While we support the importance of affordability, consumer outcomes, transformation, and fair competition, it is crucial to recognise that integration and scale are central to low-cost, reliable supply,” he said.

“The significant progress made by the industry on global competitiveness also benefits the small-scale producers with access to the same genetics, technical support, and affordable day-old chicks. Ultimately, consumers benefit from an efficient and inclusive industry that improves food security and provides safe, affordable and nutritious protein nationwide.”

Business Times

Story audio is generated using AI

South African consumers are becoming more selective about how they use credit, while lenders are growing increasingly cautious about who they lend to, according to a report.

TransUnion’s second-quarter 2026 Consumer Credit Industry Insights Report paints a picture of a credit market that remains resilient but one increasingly shaped by affordability pressures and diverging borrower behaviour.

While demand for credit remains evident across credit cards, personal loans, vehicle finance, home loans and retail credit, lenders are placing greater emphasis on portfolio quality and consumers’ ability to absorb additional debt.

“Rather than withdrawing from the market, consumers continue to seek credit, mobility and household spending solutions, although they’re becoming more deliberate in how they access and use them,” TransUnion said.

The credit card market highlights this shift. Active credit card accounts rose 4.6% year on year to 7.7-million in the second quarter, while outstanding balances increased 6.9% to R199.3bn. Yet new account originations fell 16.8% to 221,500. At the same time, the average credit line on newly opened accounts increased 8.2% to R24,600.

The combination of fewer new accounts and higher credit limits suggests lenders remain willing to extend meaningful credit, but only to carefully selected borrowers. Growth is increasingly being driven by existing customers rather than the aggressive acquisition of new ones.

The data suggests banks are growing through larger-value lending to stronger borrowers, while non-bank lenders are serving consumers seeking smaller amounts of short-term liquidity

A similar divergence is evident in the personal loan market, where banks and non-bank lenders are following different paths.

Bank personal loan originations increased 7.7% year on year, while outstanding balances rose 8.9%. Average new loan values climbed 9.2%, and balance-level delinquency improved substantially.

Non-bank lenders, by contrast, recorded faster growth. Originations jumped 21.3%, while the number of consumers carrying balances increased 12.7%. However, the average loan size declined 5.9%, indicating growing demand for smaller loans. Repayment performance also weakened, with balance-level delinquency increasing by 636 basis points year on year.

The data suggests banks are growing through larger-value lending to stronger borrowers, while non-bank lenders are serving consumers seeking smaller amounts of short-term liquidity.

Vehicle finance has remained relatively resilient. Outstanding balances increased 8% year on year to R604.8bn, supported by a 5.5% rise in average new loan values. However, origination growth was modest at 1.1%.

According to TransUnion, consumers are increasingly weighing financing costs, fuel efficiency and overall ownership costs when purchasing vehicles. The shift suggests affordability concerns are influencing buying decisions rather than suppressing demand altogether.

The housing market reveals a different trend. Home loan originations declined 10.5% year on year, while the number of mortgage accounts fell 4.6% and consumers carrying balances dropped 7.5%. Despite this, outstanding mortgage balances increased 4.6% and average balances rose 9.6%.

The figures indicate a market increasingly concentrated among higher-income borrowers able to afford larger property purchases. TransUnion noted that prime and above-prime consumers accounted for a growing share of mortgage activity, while participation among lower-risk tiers moderated.

Retail credit presents a mixed picture.

Clothing credit remained relatively strong, with accounts increasing 6.6% and active consumers rising 7.9%. Although new account originations declined 7.8%, total credit lines expanded 12.4%, suggesting retailers continue to extend credit to existing customers.

Retail instalment credit faced greater pressure. The number of consumers carrying balances fell 13.9%, and originations declined 10.3%, while delinquency worsened and balance-level delinquency rose by 150 basis points.

Retail revolving credit moved in the opposite direction. Although accounts and balances declined, delinquency improved significantly, suggesting a smaller but healthier borrower base.

Taken together, the data does not point to consumers abandoning credit. Instead, it suggests households are becoming more deliberate about the type of credit they use, while lenders are focusing less on growth in volumes and more on sustainable lending.

“As the market becomes more segmented, competitive advantage is likely to depend less on expanding exposure and more on understanding where growth is occurring, how sustainable it is and which consumers have the capacity to absorb additional credit responsibly,” said TransUnion.

Business Times

Story audio is generated using AI

The Presidency has withdrawn a bill proposing the creation of the State Asset Management SOC (Samsoc), a centralised holding company to oversee and manage strategic state-owned enterprises, after criticism that it fails to address the financial and organisational challenges at key national entities.

The department of planning, monitoring & evaluation (DPME), led by minister in the Presidency Maropene Ramokgopa, quietly withdrew the bill without putting forward reasons for the action.

President Cyril Ramaphosa’s office referred Business Times to the DPME, which declined to provide reasons for the withdrawal of a bill the presidency has championed for more than three years.

The implementation of the bill would have seen the ownership and control of key SOEs such as Eskom, Denel, the South African Post Office, Transnet, Prasa, the Land Bank, Airports Company South Africa and SAA, among others, centralised in Samsoc.

The National State Enterprises Bill was first published for public comment in September 2023, drawing comments from members of the public, businesses and lenders.

Critics of the bill, including businesses and bondholders, argued that a single holding company offered no protection against the risk of political interference in the administration of SOEs.

That many SOEs are financially and operationally challenged is undisputed. That some of the laws in our legislative framework need review and possible overhaul to be fit for purpose is also undisputed

Olga Constantatos, Futuregrowth’s head of credit

The bill, according to critics, also blurred the lines of accountability and decision-making between the board of Samsoc and the underlying subsidiary boards, with key decisions such as capital expenditure and allocation sitting with the holding company — functions that are normally in the domain of the subsidiary company’s board.

Another concern was that Samsoc and its subsidiaries would not be subject to the Public Finance Management Act, elevating misgivings over political interference and a lack of transparency in the procurement and financial management systems applicable to commercial SOEs — with the history of state capture still fresh in the minds of South Africans.

The business argument was also that the bill’s exclusive state shareholding stifled the potential for private sector participation or the exploration of public-private partnerships.

The last iteration of the bill was published in December 2024, with a deadline of the end of February 2025 for comments.

Old Mutual’s fixed income investor Futuregrowth, which has a large exposure to SOEs’ bonds, has been a consistent commentator on the different iterations of the bill.

“That many SOEs are financially and operationally challenged is undisputed. That some of the laws in our legislative framework need review and possible overhaul to be fit for purpose is also undisputed,” said Olga Constantatos, Futuregrowth’s head of credit.

“What we are struggling to understand is how this new piece of legislation outlined in this bill fits within the existing legislative framework and what problem it is intended to solve.

Eskom and Transnet, which are indispensable to South Africa, have been showing green shoots over the past few years, despite still being heavily reliant on state guarantees to stay afloat

“In and of itself, we fail to understand how inserting an additional law and another statutory legal entity to govern SOEs will achieve the outcomes articulated in the bill without also simultaneously reviewing all other legislation applicable to SOEs to test (and possibly amend) for ongoing relevance, alignment with the shareholder’s objectives and consistency as between each other.”

The DPME last year requested R615m from the National Treasury, saying this would be seed capital for the holding company for the first three years, and that thereafter its operations would be funded from dividends to be received from subsidiaries of the holding company.

Eskom and Transnet, which are indispensable to South Africa, have been showing green shoots over the past few years, despite still being heavily reliant on state guarantees to stay afloat.

Eskom last month reported a profit after tax of R30.3bn for the financial year ending March 2026, the second consecutive year the group has been in the black and more than doubling the R14bn profit recorded in the previous financial year.

Minister of electricity & energy Kgosientsho Ramokgopa has laid down the law for Eskom, saying the taxpayer will no longer dish out multibillion-rand bailouts and will not accept aggressive tariff hikes under the Eskom 2.0 blueprint.

Transnet swung to a profit of R4.6bn in the year ended March — the first time it reported a profit in four years.

The likes of Prasa and Denel are yet to turn the corner, while the South African Post Office had a near-death experience. The government is again looking for a private equity partner for the troubled SAA.

Most of South Africa’s SOEs previously reported to the defunct department of public enterprises.

Business Times

Story audio is generated using AI

Cell C says worsening consumer finances and changing customer expectations are reshaping the telecommunications industry, with affordability and digital engagement becoming increasingly important drivers of competition.

In its latest integrated annual report, the mobile operator said persistently weak economic growth, high unemployment and cost-of-living pressures were making consumers more price sensitive and placing growing pressure on telecommunications providers to deliver affordable services while protecting margins.

“These conditions have intensified price sensitivity among customers, driving demand for affordable connectivity solutions and value-based propositions,” the company said.

Cell C has spent several years restructuring its operations and implementing an asset-light strategy centred on roaming partnerships and wholesale growth. The annual report suggests the next battleground in the sector will be more about how operators respond to increasingly demanding and financially constrained consumers.

According to the company, customers now expect telecommunications providers to offer the same seamless digital experiences they receive from banks, retailers and other tech-driven businesses. Digital self-service channels, personalised offers, AI-enabled engagement, real-time support and omnichannel experiences are becoming central elements of customer acquisition and retention strategies.

Cell C said changing customer expectations were encouraging operators to simplify products, reduce friction and use data-driven insights to develop more relevant offerings that balance affordability and value. “[We] respond to changing economic conditions and evolving customer expectations by placing affordability, simplicity and digital engagement at the centre of its customer strategy,” the report said.

Management said the company would focus on personalised products and offers, seamless customer experiences and the use of customer insights to develop new propositions.

The mobile operator, which completed its listing in November last year, has reiterated its ambitious growth strategy that centres on prepaid expansion, wholesale services, enterprise offerings and a rapidly growing mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) business.

“Our strategy, executed between 2023 and 2026, created the stability to reset the business. As we move into our next strategic horizon to 2030, our strategy seeks to embed our position as South Africa’s most agile, customer-led, capital-efficient connectivity platform. Here, our growth is underpinned by a diversified platform spanning four lines of business: prepaid, postpaid, wholesale and other revenue (including enterprise),” it said.

Cell C has positioned itself as the ‘home of MVNOs’, providing network infrastructure to retailers, banks and consumer brands that offer mobile services under their own names

At the end of its financial year in May, Cell C had a total of 8.9-million subscribers. Its MVNO numbers were 5.7-million.

Cell C has positioned itself as the “home of MVNOs”, providing network infrastructure to retailers, banks and consumer brands that offer mobile services under their own names. The model allows the company to grow without the customer acquisition costs typically associated with traditional telecoms operators.

“Cell C views the MVNO market’s growth as an important long-term opportunity, enabling the company to reach new customer segments. Cell C’s relationship with MVNO partners has evolved well beyond that of a traditional wholesale provider. Cell C supports its partners with technology platforms, commercial models and product innovation to enable them to grow their businesses,” the report said.

CEO Jorge Mendes said the company is “prioritising the expansion of our enterprise offerings, a segment in which Cell C has historically had a limited presence, but we see significant opportunities”.

On the regulatory front, Cell C said the landscape continues to evolve in response to technological innovation, increasing competition and changing market structures.

Key regulatory developments include proposed amendments to the Electronic Communications Act, reforms to national roaming, future spectrum licensing and renewal, evolving spectrum management approaches, and discussions on regulating the rapidly growing MVNO market.

“These developments could reshape competitive dynamics by promoting greater infrastructure sharing, more efficient spectrum utilisation and broader market participation.”

The company said there was still regulatory uncertainty about such isssues as spectrum renewal and low earth orbit satellite connectivity, transparent, technology-neutral and pro-competitive rules would support innovation and investment.

Business Times

Story audio is generated using AI

With South Africa’s sky-high electricity prices having decimated industrial demand, Eskom has turned to cryptocurrency miners to offset losses in sales — offering them tariff relief as it moves to implement its pilot to provide electricity to the sector.

Eskom’s plan is to let cryptocurrency miners and other flexible-load customers use the country’s excess electricity, with the power utility — which still supplies 80% of South Africa’s energy — proposing a benchmark tariff of R1.20 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) for participating customers.

Eskom expects 2028 to be a watershed year for its operations and anticipates sitting on excessive extra capacity as renewable energy projects come on stream — surplus capacity it is looking to sell to cryptocurrency miners at a reduced price.

The utility’s scenario planning shows it will be saddled with five terawatt-hours (TWh) of surplus energy, which is enough to power about 450,000 average South African households for an entire year.

In a public document, the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) says that while cryptocurrency mining has evolved into an energy-intensive industrial activity that can both challenge and support electricity-system stability, it may, if unmanaged, place additional pressure on system capacity, increase emissions and create pricing distortions.

Nersa, which is mulling the tariff relief proposed by Eskom, says two cryptocurrency companies have already shown an interest in participating in the pilot launched by the power utility.

South Africa’s electricity prices have surged more than 800% since 2007, putting significant pressure on households and industry

“Eskom has proposed a two-year pilot tariff aimed primarily at new, high-load and flexible customers, including cryptocurrency-mining operations. The proposed tariff is intended to test whether a differentiated tariff structure can encourage consumption during periods of surplus electricity availability while discouraging consumption during periods of system constraint and peak demand,” the regulator says.

“Eskom’s application is informed by generation-production planning and National Transmission Company South Africa (NTCSA) system studies indicating periods of substantial surplus energy, particularly during periods of high photovoltaic (PV) generation and low demand.

“The proposed pilot seeks to provide a mechanism through which flexible loads can consume energy that might otherwise be curtailed while generating incremental revenue for Eskom. The proposed pilot would apply for 24 months and would incorporate time-of-use pricing and location-based pricing signals, with the applicable electricity price determined by the voltage category, transmission zone and operating period.”

South Africa’s electricity prices have surged more than 800% since 2007, putting significant pressure on households and industry.

The data from Eskom’s 2025/26 annual report, published last month, shows industrial demand plunged 22% (R8.8bn) in the past year because smelters curtailed production as electricity costs gobbled up about 40% of costs.

While industrial demand has plunged, the cost of energy for South Africa’s miners and industrial stalwarts has surged, with the sector paying a combined R115bn for electricity in the 2025/26 financial year, nearly R50bn more than they paid in the 2021 financial year.

To assuage a plunge in industrial demand, Eskom has been entering into negotiated price agreements (NPAs) to provide relief to high-energy users in a bid to save thousands of jobs, the latest being the country’s last remaining manganese alloy smelter, Transalloys.

Nersa has admitted that the NPAs — originally designed to protect trade-exposed heavy industries such as smelters — have not been the economic panacea they were intended to be

In June Nersa approved a new electricity tariff framework that provides a cumulative 54% discount on power rates for the Glencore-Merafe Chrome Venture and Samancor Chrome compared to their late-2025 pricing.

The regulator in August granted a special discounted base tariff for the Manganese Metal Company (MMC), the world’s largest non-Chinese producer of selenium-free electrolytic manganese metal.

ArcelorMittal South Africa, which spent R3.5bn in the past financial year on electricity, has also asked for tariff relief.

Nersa has admitted that the NPAs — originally designed to protect trade-exposed heavy industries such as smelters — have not been the economic panacea they were intended to be.

A new report by Bloomberg shows the yawning gap between the cost of electricity in China versus South Africa, which has handed Beijing a competitive advantage in its mass industrial expansion. The study by Bloomberg found industrial electricity prices reached R1,652/MWh in 2025, compared with R964/MWh in China, while weak rail performance continues to constrain mining and exports.

Nersa shed further light on the crypto companies that have raised their hand for Eskom’s pilot. “Two cryptocurrency-mining companies have expressed interest in connecting to Eskom’s network, with combined initial demand of approximately 10MW and potential expansion of up to 500MW,” it said.

“These operations are characterised by flexible, containerised infrastructure and a willingness, subject to technical and commercial feasibility, to locate near generation facilities such as Grootvlei Power Station. The applicants have also indicated potential ancillary community-development initiatives.”

Business Times

Story audio is generated using AI

South Africa’s failing municipalities, marred by what seem like insurmountable financial and governance challenges, have been a drag on the national and local economies for well over a decade, stretching across several administrations.

Major economic hubs such as Johannesburg, which accounts for R16 of every R100 produced in the country, face gradual decline, dragging down broader national GDP growth.

Several failures have become common across many of the country’s 257 councils:

• weak financial management and revenue collection;
• failure to maintain infrastructure;
• ineffective supply chain management;
• irregular and wasteful spending; and
• weak consequence management.

A report released this week by the department of co-operative governance & traditional affairs — under the political leadership of Velenkosini Hlabisa — lays bare the entrenched lack of consequence management in local government, with North West emerging as the most errant province.

Hlabisa this week published the consolidated annual local government performance report for the 2024/25 financial year, which points to a weakening of enforcement even as the financial misconduct that should trigger it grew.

The data shows that the national balance of unauthorised, irregular, and fruitless and wasteful expenditure rose to R268.13bn, up from R264.10bn the year before. Recovery of these amounts was minimal, with municipalities relying on write-offs rather than recovering the money or disciplining those responsible.

The North West carried the largest balance of any province, at R71.14bn, up from R66.97bn, and remained the largest contributor to the national total in both years. Gauteng, at R53.32bn, the Eastern Cape, at R49.63bn, and the Free State, at R43.41bn, were the only other provinces above R40bn.

The Western Cape carried the smallest balance nationally in both years, falling further from R3.52bn to R2.77bn.

The consequences of this failure extend well beyond municipal accounts. Another serious problem is South Africa’s landfills, which require billions of rands to overhaul

“Enforcement declined,” the report states. “Criminal referrals to the South African Police Service fell from 37 municipalities to 20 where the accounting officer was implicated, and from 59 to 34 where the accounting officer was not implicated.

“This occurred even though more municipalities had adopted the required policies. The number of municipalities with signed systems of delegation also fell, from 130 to 127, weakening the assignment of responsibility for decisions and expenditure.

“Consequence management depends on a functioning disciplinary process once misconduct is identified.”

Nationally, 178 municipalities had a disciplinary board established in 2024/25, up from 147 the year before, though the number of financial misconduct allegations reported fell from 1,116 to 614 over the same period, while the number of officials formally charged with a financial offence rose 56% to 313.

The establishment of disciplinary boards ranged from 85% of municipalities in Mpumalanga and 82% in the Eastern Cape to 61% in the Northern Cape and 55% in the North West. Even the better-performing provinces on this measure therefore left a meaningful share of municipalities without a board.

The consequences of this failure extend well beyond municipal accounts. Another serious problem is South Africa’s landfills, which require billions of rands to overhaul.

The Western Cape provincial government is preparing an application to access at least R3.1bn from the budget facility for infrastructure (BFI) to address waste-management infrastructure backlogs and the “many non-compliances” experienced by municipalities at waste disposal facilities.

To bolster its application, the provincial government is looking to rope in advisers to help it prepare an application to the National Treasury, acknowledging that it has resource constraints in submitting a BFI application and therefore intends to use the services of a provider to prepare and submit the application.

A 2014 study found that about 394,969 tonnes of waste a year were disposed of at landfill sites within the Sedibeng region and about 378,436 tonnes a year within the West Rand region

The tender document says the Western Cape “is facing increasing pressure on its waste management infrastructure due to population growth, urbanisation and rising waste generation. Many municipal landfills are approaching capacity, while others require significant improvements to meet compliance standards under the National Environmental Management Act.

“Recent departmental and external audits have revealed that many shortcomings occur at waste management facilities, with the areas of concern being the lack of sufficient infrastructure and the high rate of non-compliance of the environmental authorisation conditions, etc.”

It says an assessment study conducted last year found that the cost for the required infrastructure updates — for the five district municipalities and 24 local municipalities in the Western Cape — would amount to about R3.1bn.

In Gauteng, Infrastructure South Africa (ISA) — established to support project preparation activities aimed at developing investment-ready infrastructure projects — is also looking for transaction advisers to prepare bankable projects for six municipalities looking to repair their deteriorating waste management infrastructure.

According to their tender document, the province’s waste management system “is under significant strain, with several landfill facilities approaching their design capacities”.

A 2014 study found that about 394,969 tonnes of waste a year were disposed of at landfill sites within the Sedibeng region and about 378,436 tonnes a year within the West Rand region.

“These constraints have contributed to increased illegal dumping, environmental degradation, growing compliance obligations and escalating landfill management costs.”

The six participating municipalities are:

• Emfuleni Local Municipality;
• Lesedi Local Municipality;
• Midvaal Local Municipality;
• Merafong City Local Municipality;
• Mogale City Local Municipality; and
• Rand West City Local Municipality.

Business Times

And it is not the largely raw Leinster team that went down to the Lions at Ellis Park last weekend.

The abrasive Robbie Henshaw, capped 85 times by Ireland, is back at inside centre.

Ronan Kelleher, another Ireland stalwart, returns to captain the team from hooker, flanked by international props Thomas Clarkson and Andrew Porter.

Josh van der Flier, the 2022 World Rugby Player of the Year, has been included in the loose trio, while last season’s man of the match in the final, Sam Prendergast, the exciting flyhalf who Leinster are building their future hopes around, is on the bench.

Durban weather: you have one job. Just one. All weekend ☀️ 🌞

Captain’s run for the Hollywoodbets Sharks with Leinster in town 🦈 ☀️ #SharksRugbyClub #BlackWhiteForever #HollywoodbetsSharks #VodacomURC #SHAvLEI pic.twitter.com/vPRn0WEqPn

— Sharks Rugby Club (@SharksRugby) October 2, 2026

The Sharks have also strengthened their team with a half-dozen Springboks who have shiny resumes of their own.

Andre Esterhuizen (captain), Edwill van der Merwe and Thomas du Toit all start, while Ox Nche, Eben Etzebeth and Ethan Hooker will be tasked with bringing new energy off the bench.

“It was quite easy to pick the Springboks. When asked if they were keen to play, they immediately put their hands up, and that was even before the Australia Test,” Sharks coach JP Pietersen said.

“We know Leinster are the champions, and whatever team they put up will be really good because such good structures have been put in.

“We want to measure ourselves against the best, and meeting Leinster comes at the right time for us. We can measure ourselves and see what we need to improve while playing at home,” Pietersen said.

While there is no doubting the quality of those players, how quickly they can gel with their teammates will be the big question, having only arrived back from Australia on Tuesday.

And it’s not as if they were with the team much in pre-season either.

In terms of the bigger picture, it is also the question that has dogged the Sharks in their entire URC history.

We know Leinster are the champions, and whatever team they put up will be really good because such good structures have been put in

Sharks coach JP Pietersen

Can their big-name Springboks successfully integrate with the journeymen who have to play most of the campaign when it really matters?

Though the Bulls face a very testing clash with Munster at Thomond Park on Saturday night, coach Johan Ackermann has resisted the temptation to go nuclear with his selection.

There are rotational changes which see Willie le Roux and Paul de Wet shifting to the bench, but probably the most exciting move is Stravino Jacobs going to inside centre due to Harold Vorster being injured.

Jacobs has the power to split defences at close quarters, while Ackermann said his defence has also “always been good”.

The Lions host the Ospreys at Ellis Park on Saturday afternoon and will be favoured to win, having produced electrifying rugby in beating Leinster last weekend.

TimesLIVE

The PSL announced on Friday evening that the sold-out signs have gone up in Durban after tickets went on sale at 10am, showing strong appetite from football supporters for this match.

Though all the tickets have been snapped up, football supporters were left frustrated for most of the day as Open Tickets online ticketing system encountered countless technical problems.

🚨 𝐒𝐎𝐋𝐃 𝐎𝐔𝐓 🚨

Tickets for the #MTN8 final between @orlandopirates and @Masandawana are officially sold out. pic.twitter.com/7i0LfuBAtB

— Official PSL (@OfficialPSL) October 2, 2026

The Buccaneers host the Brazilians where they are looking to continue their dominance in the tournament, as they have won it for the past four seasons.

Sundowns and their coach Miguel Cardoso are looking for their first success since 2021 when they defeated Cape Town City after penalty shoot-outs.

Pirates coach Abdeslam Ouaddou doesn’t have serious injury concerns, but Cardoso is sweating about the fitness of Aubrey Modiba, Teboho Mokoena and Bathusi Aubaas who suffered injuries with Bafana Bafana.

TimesLIVE

The 20-year-old produced a bewildering display of hitting, blasting 13 sixes and 15 fours in the YesPlay Pro20 Cup clash against a hapless Free State Knights team in Bloemfontein.

Pretorius, who shot to prominence two years ago for the Paarl Royals in the SA20 and has subsequently been capped 22 times by the Proteas, including twice in Tests, sizzled on a flat Mangaung Oval pitch. Pulls, hooks and power sweeps were all on offer, as were a few signature lofted drives over the covers in an innings that lasted 79 balls.

The self-titled “Universe Boss”, Gayle, produced his innings for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL in 2013.

Lhuan-dre Pretorius deals in maximums 🤌💥

His 188 runs in the #Pro20Cup is a new T20 record for an individual innings 🤯👏#SSCricket pic.twitter.com/PbHrjGFWfh

— SuperSport 🏆 (@SuperSportTV) October 3, 2026

The previous highest individual score by a South African was made by one of Pretorius’s teammates on Friday, Dewald Brevis. Coincidentally, Brevis’s 162, scored in Potchefstroom four years ago, was also against the Knights.

The Titans’ final total of 267/3 is the second highest T20 innings on South African soil, behind India’s 283/1 against the Proteas at the Wanderers two years ago.

The Knights, no doubt still dizzy from the ferocity of Pretorius’s efforts, were bowled out for 143, losing by 124 runs.

Meanwhile at the DP World Wanderers, the North West Dragons claimed a stunning six-wicket victory against the Lions in a high-scoring but far more competitive clash than the one in Blomfontein.

Wihan Lubbe’s 55 and a thunderous 51 not out off 28 balls by Dian Forrester, saw the Dragons surpass the Lions’ target of 206 with four balls to spare.

JJ Basson, who took 11 wickets on his first class debut recently, was the best of the Lions bowlers, finishing with 2/27 from four overs in his first professional T20 match.

Mitchell van Buuren top-scored for the Lions with 66 off 36 balls, while Rassie van der Dussen blasted 46 off 33 deliveries.

In the evening’s third match, the Mpumalanga Rhinos beat the KZN-Inland Tuskers by 17 runs.

TimesLIVE

But while independent reports indicate an unsecured database exposed sensitive information and crime victim locations, the Gauteng department of e-government insists the security incident was thwarted, and no personal data was compromised.

An investigation by independent news agency GroundUp, which focuses on human rights, social justice and community-level reporting, revealed an unsecured database linked to the Gauteng government’s e-Panic Button app exposed sensitive citizen data, including crime reports, GPS coordinates, and personal contact information.

The technical partner has since secured the loophole, with the DA complaining that the provincial government has yet to notify people whose details have been shared.

But according to government news agency SANews.gov.za, “The matter was swiftly identified and addressed, and the department has established that no citizens’ personal information was compromised as a result of the incident.”

The e-government department acknowledged that an “attempted security breach involving the e-Panic Button environment” was detected, and explained that the incident involved a highly specialised organisation with advanced cybersecurity expertise and capabilities in vulnerability identification and security testing.

MEC for e-government Bonginkosi Dhlamini said: “We have gone further by requesting additional testing and verification to ensure that all identified security requirements have been addressed and that our systems remain resilient. Cybersecurity is not a once-off exercise. It requires continuous testing, monitoring, strengthening and improvement.”

The department is urging residents, particularly those living in townships and underserved areas, to download and use the smartphone application.

The downloadable platform is a public safety innovation designed to “connect residents to emergency assistance when every second matters”.

Information released by the department indicates that the platform has recorded: 288,307 active users; 114,414 emergency call-outs; 27,929 citizens assisted; 12,051 lives saved; 59,394 crimes reported, with the average response time being ⁠15 minutes 57 seconds.

TimesLIVE

The co-pilot was identified as Hammam al-Hammami, an Omani national, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said. A second source briefed on the investigation confirmed the co-pilot’s name. UAE authorities did not immediately respond to a request for confirmation of his identity.

Disaster was averted on Wednesday when passengers and crew subdued the co-pilot, who had attacked the captain in what Israeli officials said was an apparent attempt to crash the plane carrying more than 170 passengers and crew.

While Emirati authorities and the airline have not publicly identified the co-pilot, Israeli officials have previously said he is an Omani national. Oman has not commented on the incident.

“Investigations into the incident involving flydubai flight FZ1073 found that the co-pilot had attempted to carry out a terrorist attack,” prosecutor general Hamad Saif Al Shamsi said in a statement carried by the UAE’s state news agency.

The co-pilot attacked the pilot in the cockpit with a crash axe and attempted to take control of the aircraft, the prosecutor general said.

A crash axe is typically kept in the cockpit for use during emergencies such as crashes.

The investigation into flight FZ1073, including the suspect’s motives, is ongoing, and the findings will be released once the “necessary procedures” have been completed, the prosecutor general said. The UAE is leading the investigation. The airline is owned by Dubai’s government.

Most passengers on flight were Israeli

The prosecutor general’s comments were the first by Emirati investigators to describe the incident as an attempted terrorist attack. After the release of the prosecutor general’s statement, Anwar Gargash, a senior adviser to the UAE president, said on X that the Gulf country had zero tolerance for terrorism and would show no leniency towards extremist rhetoric.

Flydubai said the circumstances surrounding the incident were still under investigation and it was not in a position to comment further, a spokesperson said on Saturday.

Reuters could not immediately verify professional and social media pages reportedly belonging to the co-pilot, which suggested he had worked for other airlines.

Royal Air Maroc (RAM) told Reuters, in response to a question about his potential employment there in the past, that he had undergone a three-month training with the airline in 2025, but his application to work there afterwards was rejected. RAM did not elaborate.

In his first public comments on the incident, flydubai CEO Ghaith al Ghaith on Friday said the flight diverted after a “safety incident” in the cockpit.

Most of the passengers on board were Israeli nationals.

A reserve flydubai pilot travelling on the flight took control of the aircraft and landed it at Tabuk Airport in northwestern Saudi Arabia, where the co-pilot was detained by Saudi authorities.

The co-pilot was transferred from Saudi Arabia to Abu Dhabi on Thursday. A source briefed on the investigation said on Friday that Israeli officials were expected to question the co-pilot in the UAE. The source declined to say which Israeli agency or authority would take part.

An Israeli government official said Israeli investigators would take part alongside Emirati authorities in the UAE-led investigation.

Israel does not have official diplomatic relations with Oman, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said pilots from such countries were not permitted ​to operate flights to Israel. It was ​not clear how the co-pilot came ⁠to be assigned to the flight to Tel Aviv.

On Friday, Netanyahu said Israel was looking into whether the co-pilot had acted under anyone’s direction, warning that anyone involved would pay a “heavy price”.

The aircraft dropped about 16,625 feet in just over 30 seconds while flying over Saudi Arabia on its journey from the UAE to Israel, according to flight-tracking data from Flightradar24. The route is popular among Israeli travellers.

Reuters

The South Korean military said earlier on Saturday that North Korea fired a ballistic missile which flew more than 700 kilometres towards the sea off its east coast.

Kim Yo Jong, who is a director of North Korea’s ruling party, said a drill of a “strategic weapon” was conducted towards the sea off its east coast using the intermediate-range missile.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw the drill which was carried out by “a firepower sub-unit undertaking an exclusive special mission”, his sister said.

Citing statements by Seoul and Tokyo regarding how far the missile flew, she said that their results showed the limitations of their tracking capability.

“Whenever we applied the wave-like trajectory mode to missiles, the enemy failed to track the targets from their first skip points,” she said, without showing any evidence.

South Korea and Japan also “should acknowledge the speed of the missile”, she said without disclosing the speed. The missile was also capable of changing its flight orbit at a low altitude with artificial intelligence technology applied, she added.

“In other words, this means that there is no way to avoid this attack,” she said.

North Korea has launched missile tests on more than 10 occasions so far this year. Pyongyang has sometimes said it was testing new types of weapons systems. Some of the tests have come after North Korea protested against joint military drills between Seoul and Washington.

The launch came after Kim Yo Jong issued a statement on Friday that dismissed Seoul’s demand for an apology for what it said were North Korean mines that seriously wounded South Korean soldiers in the Demilitarized Zone, a heavily fortified area between the two Koreas.

Reuters

Once regarded as one of Johannesburg’s top-performing government schools, with over 1,500 pupils, the 1952-established institution is now scrambling to manage a massive reputational fallout.

What was supposed to be a milestone celebration at the elite Avianto venue ended in absolute chaos — with a gun pulled, intoxicated pupils, a venue smelling of dagga and vomit and parents behaving badly.

The scandal was laid out in detail in an open letter penned by school principal Cristèl Venter. Suffering from a severe illness, Venter initially stayed home, but left her sick bed to shut the event down early after receiving escalated reports of trouble. The dance was chaperoned by teaching staff who attended voluntarily to show support, even paying for their own tickets.

According to Venter, arrivals were scheduled from 4pm to allow time for photographs and comfortable seating. Instead, the drama kicked off immediately when a firearm was produced during arrivals and aimed at an Avianto staffer. The incident was captured on film and witnessed by parents in the queue behind the vehicle.

“This is a serious allegation. Security camera footage has been obtained and reviewed, and the matter will now be dealt with through the appropriate lawful channels,” Venter stated, adding that firearms are strictly prohibited as “dangerous objects” under public school legislation, which extends to school activities outside school premises.

Things got worse. Venter revealed that teachers were subjected to verbal abuse from parents, pupils and transporters while trying to clear traffic. One female teacher was shoved by a parent and told she was in the way. Another parent barged into the venue to pull their child out to make a second, grander entrance with a larger crowd. In another clash, a father aggressively pointed his finger in a female teacher’s face when asked to move along.

Pupils also responded with open contempt when teachers tried to hurry them inside because they were late. Meanwhile, Avianto staff reported excessive car revving and reckless driving, with one vehicle revving so violently it stalled and had to be taken away by venue staff.

Inside the luxury estate, the atmosphere degraded further. Several pupils arrived “severely intoxicated”. Bathrooms and other areas around the property were covered in vomit, leaving the venue in an “unacceptable condition” while the unmistakable smell of dagga drifted through the air. Avianto employees reported feeling afraid while hosting the school function.

Venter noted that while some concerned parents reached out to complain, they did so anonymously out of fear that their children would face backlash.

“I will not accept insinuations that Roosevelt High School or I as principal would victimise a learner because a parent raises a legitimate concern,” Venter fired back.

After ordering the venue to halt the dance early, Venter arrived at the scene to witness firsthand the tail-end of the chaos.

“In my 19 years at Roosevelt High School I cannot recall another evening in which I apologised as many times as I did last night – to venue personnel, to staff members and to learners who had done nothing wrong,” Venter said.

Dedicated staff members stayed behind to help pupils contact their parents and arrange safe collections, waiting for parents with those too drunk to be left. While the police were called, they failed to pitch, prompting Avianto to deploy their private security so teachers wouldn’t have to act as guards.

Responding to critics demanding to know why the school didn’t stop substance abuse at the door, Venter stated: “Roosevelt High School did not travel to a matric dance with a busload of drug-testing equipment to carry out forensic investigations in the bathrooms.”

Now facing massive damage control, the principal promised a thorough, formal investigation.

“There will be no trial by WhatsApp, Facebook, rumour or school grapevine. There will be evidence, procedure, fairness and accountability,” she said. Addressing the pupils who stayed out of the fray, she added: “How did we reach this point where a venue’s employees reported feeling afraid while hosting a school function? To those who behaved well — you deserved better.”

Venter vowed that this wild behaviour “will not become normal”. Her open letter quickly went viral across social media platforms. Public responses from parents and community members have largely backed the school’s “house-cleaning” approach, expressing dismay at the disruptive group while sharing deep sympathy for the educators and well-behaved pupils whose special night was ruined.

Avianto, which markets itself as “a venue destination of sophistication”, was contacted for comment and its response is awaited.

TimesLIVE

Verstappen became the first driver this year to put a car without a Mercedes engine on pole, with Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton joining him on the front row at the Sepang International Circuit.

Championship leader Kimi Antonelli could only manage fourth-fastest for Mercedes but will move up to third due to a five-place grid penalty for Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar.

Antonelli’s teammate George Russell was eighth fastest in qualifying and will start seventh on the grid.

“Very difficult to understand, we have been a little bit caught out on Friday with some car behaviour we didn’t see all year. But you can say it is very hot, and the tarmac is very different from other tracks,” Wolff told Sky Sports.

“We looked good in [FP3], at least with Kimi, but then there was a return to those issues. We are very draggy, losing time on the straights to Max, and then we have understeer in the low speed, which we haven’t seen all year.”

The session was a major blow to Antonelli and Russell, who is second in the championship and was riding a wave of confidence after reducing his teammate’s lead to 66 points in Azerbaijan last weekend.

Antonelli seemed to have found his rhythm when he topped the final practice session on Saturday but could not squeeze anything more out of the car in Q3.

“All in all, we have to be happy because it could have been much worse. We’ll focus on tomorrow [Sunday],” said Antonelli, who leads the championship with 302 points while Russell is second, 66 points behind.

Russell hopeful of podium

Russell said they had not made improvements since the first practice session and tyre degradation was hurting Mercedes more than their rivals.

“It’s a very demanding circuit on the tyres, the tarmac is all broke up, it’s extremely rough, it’s so hot out there and the tyres are going through hell,” Russell said.

“For whatever reason, it seems to be affecting us far more than others.”

Wolff remained confident in the potential of the upgrade package.

“Something else is going on which we need to understand. We need to look through the data and put our heads together as we still believe the upgrades work,” he added.

“We expected to be three-tenths [of a second] forwards, and we are four or five backwards.”

Reuters

Gauteng police spokesperson Col Dimakatso Nevhuhulwi said police were called to the scene in Tshwane and were shown the bodies of the twins lying in a bedroom. She said both boys had suffered multiple stab wounds.

“The circumstances surrounding the incident are unknown at this stage, and no one has been arrested. Police investigations are under way,” she said, adding that no further details could be made known yet.

TimesLIVE

Verstappen’s teammate Isack Hadjar was third fastest but will start eighth due to a grid penalty, with championship leader Kimi Antonelli in third alongside Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.

Verstappen was the last driver to win a Grand Prix in Malaysia in 2017, in what was his second career victory, before the race was taken off the calendar after the government said it could no longer justify the costs.

Nine years and four championships later, the Dutchman showed he was still the man to beat in Sepang with a time of 1:35.130 seconds.

“It’s fantastic; we’ve been trying for many Grand Prix to get more, sometimes a bit closer to the others. But to finally get it from where we started the season, pretty incredible,” said Verstappen as he eyed his first win of the season.

Hamilton, who also has one victory in Sepang, struggled with tyre degradation in practice sessions, but the veteran Briton snatched second from Hadjar in the dying stages of the final qualifying session.

“It’s so hot here; I keep saying it. But that’s made it a massive challenge for the tyres, for the car, for the mechanics in the garage,” Hamilton said.

“We made so many changes through all these practice sessions because the cars are sliding, these tyres are overheating. It was really hard to find a good balance. We made one last change going into qualifying, and I think we hit the sweet spot.”

Hadjar exceeded his seasonal allowance for engines, which resulted in a five-place grid penalty.

“It’s a bit unfortunate we take the penalty on a track that fast,” Hadjar said.

“But you know, from P8, I’m confident we can go through the field and come back for a good result.”

Reuters

He saw a sport that has become increasingly accessible, a growing pool of young talent and athletes pushing themselves beyond limits they may not have known existed.

That is one of the most important legacies of RMB’s 10-year partnership with Rowing South Africa, he said.

The Universities Boat Race 2026 took place from September 10 to 12.

The financial services group has backed rowing across the development spectrum, from schools and universities to the national squad, helping to create platforms where athletes can compete, develop and aspire to represent their country on the international stage.

For Edwards, one of the clearest signs that the investment is making a difference is the changing composition of the Universities Boat Race.

“Every year we see the depth of the crews as well as the diversity of the crews increasing year-on-year,” he said.

“The smaller, traditionally smaller, clubs that five years ago couldn’t afford to come or couldn’t or weren’t here are now here with two men’s crews and two women’s crews. And that’s incredible.”

Every year we see the depth of the crews as well as the diversity of the crews increasing year-on-year

Michael Edwards

That development is significant in a sport that has traditionally been viewed as expensive and inaccessible.

“There’s no two ways about it; it’s a very expensive sport,” Edwards said.

“The boats are expensive, the travel’s expensive, the equipment’s expensive, coaches, athletes — you’ve got to account for all of that.”

RMB’s sponsorship has therefore been directed not only at the elite end of the sport but also at creating opportunities for more people to participate.

Over the past decade, the company has supported rowing at school level, university level and through the national squad.

The objective is to make sure talent does not disappear simply because an athlete cannot afford to pursue the sport.

“RMB sponsorships over the years have contributed to making it, whether it’s at the school level, university or the RMB national squad, making the sport more accessible for more people,” Edwards said.

The result could be seen at the Kowie, where athletes from universities around the country came together to compete.

For Edwards, the growth in participation is as important as who crosses the finish line first.

“There are unbelievable athletes here this weekend from around the country,” he said.

“But there are also people who are just trying out a new sport, and it’s pushing them to their own limits.”

Those limits do not necessarily have to result in an Olympic medal or a place on a national team.

But there are also people who are just trying out a new sport, and it’s pushing them to their own limits

Michael Edwards

“Those limits are pushing them to success in whatever they choose to pursue in future endeavours, in their future careers,” Edwards said.

That is a particularly important part of the impact Edwards sees in university rowing: the sport develops people regardless of whether they ultimately become elite athletes.

More than 200 students were on the water at the Universities Boat Race, and for many the experience was about testing themselves against a demanding physical and mental challenge.

Edwards pointed to an incident during the event involving the Rhodes women’s crew.

After encountering a problem shortly before the finish, the crew continued rather than abandoning the race.

“Everybody was cheering,” he recalled.

For Edwards, those moments captured what the sponsorship is ultimately trying to support.

His message to athletes after the event was straightforward.

“Whether you’re going home with a medal around your neck or not, I hope you’re proud.

“I hope you’ve used this event to your advantage to build character, build new friends, and create a stronger bond between yourself and your peers, but also take the opportunity to engage with people that you wouldn’t have.”

The physical demands of the Kowie course make that lesson particularly powerful.

“I’ve never done it. Six kilometres down the Kowie is unbelievably tough,” Edwards said.

“You’ll never forget that as long as you live, you’ll lean on that as a point of departure for future grit and resilience that you need in life.”

It’s a beautiful aspect of this rowing community; it’s how intimate it is and how much they are willing to come back and give back

Michael Edwards

The impact is also visible in the athletes and coaches who have come through the rowing system and subsequently returned to contribute to the sport.

Edwards describes rowing as a sport “defined by reciprocity”, with successful athletes frequently coming back to coach and support the next generation.

“99.9% of those rowers will come back and give back,” he said.

He pointed to people such as Sizwe Ndlovu and John Smith as examples of people who have come through the sport and subsequently contributed to its development.

“That makes us incredibly proud, and it’s something we want to contribute to,” Edwards added.

For RMB, seeing former athletes return to the sport reinforces the sense of community around rowing.

“It’s a beautiful aspect of this rowing community; it’s how intimate it is and how much they are willing to come back and give back,” Edwards said.

The achievements of the country’s Olympic and world championship medallists demonstrate to young athletes that international success is possible.

“And I think all those names you just mentioned, in the Olympic gold medallists, are so accessible. That’s inspiring; it’s aspirational for people to come onto the water and see, ‘Well, I’ve watched your journey, and I’m at the same point where you were.’”

One of the challenges has been breaking down the perception that rowing is a sport for a limited section of society.

Edwards acknowledged that in some communities the sport has historically been seen as expensive and inaccessible, while there can also be a barrier for people who are unfamiliar or uncomfortable with the water.

He said programmes such as indoor rowing and learn to row initiatives are helping to address that.

Before an aspiring rower even gets into a boat, indoor rowing can provide an accessible introduction to the sport and a way of identifying physical potential.

“You can teach technique; you can’t teach talent,” Edwards said.

Rowing South Africa, together with programmes such as those facilitated by Virginia Mabato, is helping to create that foundation.

The progression from indoor rowing and swimming to the water and ultimately university competition creates a pathway that previously may not have been available to many young people.

For Edwards, that is where the long-term significance of the sponsorship lies.

“Importantly, it’s the full breadth of the sport,” he said of RMB’s commitment.

“But you have to start at the grassroots to get that talent, maintain the talent, and stick it into the pipeline that ultimately gets to LA.”

The reference is to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, but Edwards is careful not to reduce success to medal counts.

The RMB national squad has consistently made the company proud by competing against much larger international budgets, he said.

“Regardless of whether we are winning medals, the RMB national squad has made us so proud of the 10-year partnership history that we’ve had.

“Yes, we are always dreaming of medals,” he added, but the journey matters too.

That philosophy is reflected in what Edwards believes constitutes a successful Universities Boat Race.

For the athletes, it is about leaving with greater confidence, stronger relationships and a deeper understanding of what they can achieve.

For the sport, it is about growing participation and creating a sustainable pipeline.

And for RMB, it is about using its resources to ensure that talent has somewhere to go.

The exciting part for Edwards was watching the finals.

“Likely, there is an Olympic rower on the water this weekend [September 10 to 12], and we may unearth them in 2028, maybe 2032,” he said.

That possibility is perhaps the most tangible expression of what a decade of sponsorship can achieve.

Not simply supporting the champions who have already emerged, but helping create the conditions in which the next ones can emerge.

TimesLIVE

Charles and his wife, Queen Camilla, will visit ​the Bahamas and Guyana before heading to Antigua and Barbuda, where he will ​attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), which is being ​held from November 1 to 4 this year.

The trip comes amid growing clamour from Caribbean and African nations for Britain and other colonial powers to pay reparations for their involvement in slavery, with the issue likely to be prominent at CHOGM.

The British government has ruled out paying any reparations, though Charles, who remains the head of state of a number of Caribbean nations, including the Bahamas and Antigua and Barbuda, has previously expressed his sorrow about slavery.

As such, reparations and apologies were a matter for the government, a palace spokesperson said.

“There are important discussions taking place in various fora about colonial legacy and the intergenerational impact of the transatlantic trade in enslaved persons,” the Buckingham Palace spokesperson said, adding the visit was coming at an important time in the relationship between Britain and Caribbean nations.

“The visit programme will therefore not shy away from ‘the darkest days of our past’, as his majesty has described them, but — in keeping with the wishes of our host nations — it will principally be orientated to the vibrant present and promising future of each country.”

From the 15th to the 19th century, at least 12.5-million Africans were abducted and sold into slavery by European merchants, with Britain responsible for transporting an estimated 3.2-million people, making it the second most active European nation after Portugal.

Charles, who is head of the Commonwealth group of 56 nations — mainly former British colonies — encompassing about 2.7-billion people, has backed research into the British monarchy’s own historical links to the trade.

Last month, the Jamaican government also formally asked him to seek legal advice on whether Britain should pay reparations and said it was “encouraged” by the engagement of Buckingham Palace.

“It is important to note here the work his majesty himself has done over many years, to acknowledge the wrongs of the past and to find creative ways to right inequalities that endure,” the palace spokesperson said.

“As you would therefore expect, opportunities will be found during the visit to reflect and renew his personal, wholehearted, and continuing commitment to that process.”

In February, Commonwealth secretary-general Shirley Botchwey said she expected its members to make progress towards beginning negotiations on reparations.

Reuters

Story audio is generated using AI

Bishop Azwihangwi Maumela says he does not believe his friend, suspended deputy national police commissioner Lt-Gen Shadrack Sibiya, committed the sexual offences of which he stands accused.

Sibiya, 59, faces charges including rape, human trafficking and the sexual grooming of a minor. He is accused of raping an 18-year-old woman at a Sandton hotel in May 2026. Additionally, he faces multiple counts of sexually grooming a 16-year-old girl and human trafficking charges linked to those interactions.

Following his arrest on September 21, Sibiya appeared in the Randburg magistrate’s court to apply for bail. He has denied all allegations against him.

Speaking on a recent episode of Podcast and Chill, Maumela described Sibiya as a God-fearing man who would not commit such crimes.

“Sibiya is a friend of mine,” Maumela said. “We have known each other for some time and met through church activities. Sibiya goes to church without fail every Sunday. He is a man who loves to pray, and I have met many pastors through him.”

Addressing the charges, Maumela expressed scepticism about the allegations, while emphasising that justice must run its course if Sibiya is proven guilty.

“I don’t believe these things could have happened, knowing the environment surrounding Sibiya and me. However, we cannot turn a blind eye to gender-based violence. If he has done this, he must face the full might of the law and not be protected.”

Maumela also recounted the day of Sibiya’s arrest, explaining that Sibiya called him to say he was being followed and felt under siege. He asked Maumela to join him at a nearby restaurant, where the bishop met him shortly before the arrest took place.

During the arrest, Maumela asked Sibiya directly if he was guilty. Sibiya replied, “Bishop, you know me. I did not do it. I have been framed.”

Maumela said he had no reason to doubt Sibiya’s word, as the denial came directly from him, and he prayed for his friend right there.

The bishop also addressed a viral image circulating online that purports to show him and Sibiya at a strip club. Maumela insisted the image is AI-generated, pointing to clear discrepancies in his appearance. He noted that the hat and glasses in the photo are not his, and pointed out that he is depicted wearing a ring, despite being unmarried and never wearing one in real life.

“You can tell there is an agenda at play because of deeper issues in this country,” Maumela said. “What you are seeing is a reaction; when you challenge certain narratives, you inevitably face pushback. I wouldn’t be shocked if I were arrested tomorrow on fabricated charges.”

He added that the image has severely damaged his reputation, stressing: “I have never been to a strip club. I don’t even drink alcohol. I don’t visit such places, not even a pub.”

TimesLIVE

The 20-year-old was only eighth fastest in Friday’s FP2 but improved to clock 1:36.302 seconds on soft tyres.

Red Bull’s four-time champion Max Verstappen, the last driver to win at Sepang in 2017, was second fastest, while his teammate Isack Hadjar was third, a little over half a second slower than Antonelli.

Mercedes driver George Russell, who trails his teammate by 66 points in the standings, was fourth fastest, over six-tenths of a second slower, but ahead of the two Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton.

“It felt like a pretty decent lap considering the tyres were not great,” Hamilton said over the team radio.

McLaren’s reigning world champion Lando Norris, the only driver in the top 10 on medium tyres, was seventh fastest, followed by his teammate Oscar Piastri.

Alpine’s Franco Colapinto and Racing Bulls’ Arvid Lindblad completed the top 10.

The session was briefly red-flagged midway through to remove debris from the circuit after it got tangled in Haas driver Oliver Bearman’s front-right tyre, with the Briton asking his team on the radio if they knew what it was.

Malaysia is hosting the Bahrain race due to the conflict in the Middle East.

Reuters

Marquez made a scorching start and held the inside line on the first turn of the opening lap to surge past Martin, who set a lap record at the Motegi circuit earlier on Saturday to grab pole position.

Reigning champion Marquez maintained his lead and coasted to victory, moving him to 306 points — seven behind Martin (313) — before Sunday’s race.

“The target was the front row in the qualifying. Starting first or second was the best place to do a great sprint race,” seven-time world champion Marquez said.

“We did a small modification for the sprint race, and I felt much better on the bike.”

Aprilia’s Martin finished second but was demoted to third behind LCR Honda’s Diogo Moreira.

The Spaniard found it hard going towards the end of the sprint as he was put under pressure by Tech3’s Enea Bastianini, with the thrilling duel leading both riders to stray outside the track.

“I tried in the last lap to do everything I could to keep Enea behind. I achieved that,” Martin said.

“I don’t know exactly where I touched [the outside], because I was really focused on not doing it. So, big mistake.”

Brazilian Moreira earned his first sprint podium. It was also the first sprint podium for satellite team LCR since 2023.

“Today [Saturday] was the day. We saw the crash, and I said, ‘OK, today I will try to push to see.’ At the end, lap by lap, I was feeling more comfortable with the bike,” the 22-year-old said.

KTM’s Pedro Acosta, fresh off the first MotoGP victory of his career, started in the front row but quickly found himself in the gravel after being involved in a three-rider crash with Alex Marquez and Fabio Di Giannantonio.

Japan’s Ai Ogura (Trackhouse) finished fifth, ahead of Martin’s Aprilia teammate Marco Bezzecchi, whose outside bid for the championship was dealt another blow.

South Africa’s Brad Binder finished last.

Reuters

The journalism school announced on Thursday it was pausing admissions to its master of arts (MA) offering to conduct a “critical evaluation”, without giving further details about the reasons.

Jelani Cobb, the journalism school’s dean, said admissions to its master of arts programme would pause for one year while the school reworked a degree created in 2005, when the “journalism marketplace looked different”.

“The dynamics of visas and all those other kinds of things were part of the consideration,” Cobb said. Additionally, the department needs time to think through changes to the programme, he added.

The connection between the admissions pause and US visa policies has not been previously reported, nor has the length of the admissions pause.

The drop in international applications shows how uncertainty over President Donald Trump’s visa policies is affecting one of the preeminent US journalism institutions, which also administers the profession’s highest US honour, the Pulitzer Prize. The people did not disclose the exact size of the drop in applications.

Last year, the Trump administration temporarily halted new student visa appointments, then resumed them with expanded screening of applicants’ online activity, saying the checks were needed to identify potential threats to US national security.

Columbia was among the universities targeted by his administration over pro-Palestinian campus protests in 2024. Last year, it agreed to pay more than $200m (R3.33bn) to settle federal investigations and regain most of its suspended federal funding.

A new rule this year also sought to limit how long foreign students and journalists could stay in the US without seeking extensions, but a federal judge blocked it before it took effect last month, calling its rationale “exceptionally weak”.

Reliance on international students

Visa difficulties and immigration policy uncertainty have deterred prospective Columbia journalism students from abroad, the four people said, requesting anonymity to discuss its admissions. International students make up about half of the MA programme’s enrolment, the people said.

Kaushik Raj, an Indian journalist admitted to Columbia’s separate masters of science (MS) programme in data journalism, was denied a US student visa last year, the Intercept reported. His rejection letter said he had not shown sufficient ties to India to establish he would return after his studies, according to the report.

Geared towards mid-career journalists seeking expertise in subjects such as politics, business and science, the MA programme is smaller than the MS programme aimed at students with less journalism experience. The school is not pausing the MS programme.

Lower enrolment has prompted changes to the MA programme, including the combination of science and politics seminars in the 2024-2025 academic year, two of the people familiar with the matter said.

On Thursday, the school also announced a two-year, part-time online MS programme. The move could allow Columbia to enrol international students without visas, but Cobb said it was unrelated to the MA admissions pause because the programmes serve different students.

Changing dynamics of journalism

The MA pause comes as news organisations grapple with AI’s potential to reshape how stories are produced and found, while falling search traffic piles pressure on their business.

Last year, at least 3,434 journalism jobs were cut in the UK and US, according to a Press Gazette tracker. The BBC and CBS News have announced layoffs this year.

Some journalists took to social media on Thursday to criticise the MA programme as too short and too expensive. The course spans nine months, and Columbia estimates the cost of attendance at $120,000 (R2m) before financial aid.

The year-long MS in data journalism costs about $180,000 (R3m).

Two of the people familiar with the matter said the financial assistance made tuition less of a deterrent because most students receive financial aid.

About 80% of the students receive financial aid, including grants, loans, or scholarships from institutional, federal and private funds, according to its website.

Cobb said the journalism school wants to create a new fundraising strategy for the MA programme and is considering starting a part-time version.

Reuters

The department said the longstanding religious position against blood transfusions had posed challenges for health-care workers, particularly when treating patients in emergency and critical-care situations.

Blood transfusions can be used to replace blood lost through injury, surgery or illness and to treat conditions affecting the blood’s ability to function properly.

Health minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi said the department welcomed the development, while noting that Jehovah’s Witnesses still prohibit the transfusion of whole blood.

“We note that Jehovah’s Witnesses still prohibit transfusion of whole blood, but we wish to reassure the nation that this prohibition is not of significance to the health-care system,” said Motsoaledi.

He explained that whole blood is rarely used in ordinary medical practice because it is expensive and, in many cases, unnecessary.

“This is because doctors and hospitals or any other health facility have for decades discouraged the use of whole blood for ordinary transfusions,” he said.

Motsoaledi described the change as a “giant leap”, saying it would ease a longstanding burden on health-care workers.

For decades, doctors have faced difficult situations when religious objections to blood transfusions conflicted with the need to provide potentially life-saving treatment.

The minister said some health-care workers had previously been forced to approach the courts to obtain permission to provide blood transfusions to children whose parents objected to the procedure on religious grounds.

The department said blood transfusion remains an important medical intervention in situations involving life-threatening blood loss, inadequate oxygen delivery and problems with haemostasis — the process by which the body stops bleeding.

It said transfusion medicine has enabled complex medical procedures that might otherwise be unsafe and has contributed to saving millions of lives.

The department said it viewed the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ change in position as a significant development for health-care workers and patients.

TimesLIVE

Its history is closely tied to Subaru’s World Rally Championship programme, but that is only part of the story. For much of its life, the STI was measured against the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution. By the late 1990s, Gran Turismo had introduced both cars to an audience far beyond the world of rallying.

Subaru Tecnica International, better known as STI, was established in April 1988 to oversee the company’s motorsport activities and performance-car development. The Impreza arrived four years later, replacing the larger Legacy as the basis of Subaru’s rally programme.

The WRX went on sale in Japan in November 1992. Less than a year later, the Impreza made its World Rally Championship debut at the 1993 1000 Lakes Rally in Finland, where Ari Vatanen finished second.

Subaru’s first win with the Impreza came at the 1994 Acropolis Rally. Carlos Sainz and Luis Moya took victory in Greece, establishing the car as a genuine contender during its first full season in the championship.

By then, the first Impreza WRX STI had already reached Japanese showrooms. Introduced in January 1994, it used a more powerful version of the WRX’s 2.0l turbocharged boxer engine, producing 184kW. STI also fitted uprated suspension and strengthened the five-speed manual gearbox.

Those early cars were relatively simple by later STI standards. The WRX provided the starting point, after which STI added power, revised the chassis and strengthened the components most likely to suffer during hard use. The same process would be repeated throughout the car’s life.

Three championships in three years

The Impreza’s defining period in rallying came almost immediately. Subaru won the WRC manufacturers’ championship in 1995, 1996 and 1997, becoming the first Japanese manufacturer to take the title three years in succession.

Colin McRae won the drivers’ championship in 1995 after a fractious season with teammate Carlos Sainz. Richard Burns secured Subaru’s next drivers’ title in 2001, followed by Petter Solberg in 2003.

Subaru’s success in the WRC changed the standing of the road car. Blue paint and gold wheels became familiar well beyond the usual rally audience, while the bonnet scoop and rear wing made even the showroom version easy to identify.

It also arrived at much the same time as its closest rival. Mitsubishi released the first Lancer Evolution in 1992, beginning a contest that would follow the two manufacturers for the next two decades.

The similarities were obvious. The STI and Evolution were both Japanese four-door cars with turbocharged four-cylinder engines, manual gearboxes and all-wheel drive. Both had their roots in rallying, and neither made much effort to disguise the fact.

They did not go about the job in quite the same way. Subaru used a flat-four engine and its Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive layout. Mitsubishi chose an inline-four and gradually introduced systems such as Active Yaw Control as the Evolution became more technically advanced.

Their WRC records gave supporters on both sides plenty of ammunition. McRae won the 1995 drivers’ title for Subaru, only for Mitsubishi’s Tommi Mäkinen to claim the championship in 1996, 1997, 1998 and 1999. Mitsubishi also won the manufacturers’ championship in 1998, the year after Subaru completed its run of three.

Away from the rally stages, Subaru continued developing the first-generation STI through a succession of updated versions. Power increased, the suspension was revised and changes were made to the gearbox and all-wheel-drive system, sometimes from one year to the next.

The best-known result was the 22B STI. Introduced in 1998, the two-door model marked Subaru’s 40th anniversary and its three consecutive WRC manufacturers’ titles.

Its swollen wheelarches covered a wider track, while power came from a 2.2l turbocharged engine. Bilstein dampers and a twin-plate ceramic-metal clutch were also fitted. Subaru initially produced 400 examples for Japan, followed by a small number for export markets.

The 22B has since become the most valuable member of the Impreza family. Surviving cars seldom appear for sale and, when they do, command prices far removed from those of an ordinary WRX STI.

It was not the only rare STI produced during this period. The S-series, Spec C and Type RA models allowed STI to experiment with more power, reduced weight and different chassis settings. Some were built in numbers small enough to make the regular STI appear commonplace.

The STI changes shape

The second-generation Impreza WRX STI arrived in 2000. It remained in production for seven years and appeared with three different front-end designs, subsequently nicknamed the bugeye, blobeye and hawkeye.

This generation introduced the six-speed manual gearbox that would remain with the STI until the end. Brembo brakes became another familiar feature, while later versions received the Driver Controlled Centre Differential. The system allowed the driver to alter the operation of the centre differential, though an automatic mode could also manage the torque distribution without intervention.

Japanese versions continued with a 2.0l engine. Several export markets, including South Africa, eventually received a larger 2.5l unit.

A much bigger change arrived in 2007, when Subaru unveiled the third-generation STI as a five-door hatchback. The decision divided opinion. Though hatchbacks were common in the WRC by then, many buyers still believed an STI should be a four-door sedan with a large wing on its boot.

Subaru widened the bodywork, fitted four exhaust outlets and retained the bonnet scoop, so the hatchback was not difficult to distinguish from an ordinary Impreza. It also gained double-wishbone rear suspension and more advanced versions of the Driver Controlled Centre Differential and Vehicle Dynamics Control systems.

The sedan returned in 2010. So did the tall rear wing, restoring the profile most closely associated with the STI. During the same period, Subaru began competing with the car at the Nürburgring 24 Hours, where the STI recorded six class victories between 2011 and 2019.

The fourth-generation WRX STI was introduced in 2014. It was the first version sold without the Impreza name, though its mechanical layout remained familiar.

Export models retained the 2.5l turbocharged EJ25 engine and six-speed manual gearbox. The body was stiffer than before, the steering was quicker and the DCCD system had been revised. Active Torque Vectoring was also added, and braking was again handled by Brembo.

By this stage, however, the EJ25 was beginning to show its age. Its fuel consumption was difficult to ignore, and the engine lacked the efficiency and broader spread of performance offered by several newer rivals. Subaru continued to update the car, but it never received the newer FA-series engine fitted to the standard WRX in some markets.

Production ended in 2021. Subaru later confirmed that a new STI based on the current WRX would not be developed with the existing internal-combustion platform.

The PlayStation years

Rallying introduced the Impreza to one audience, but video games introduced it to another. The WRX and WRX STI were regulars in the early Gran Turismo games, which included an unusually broad selection of Japanese-market models. Players could choose between different generations and specifications of the Impreza, often before those versions had been covered in any detail by motoring publications outside Japan.

The Lancer Evolution was given much the same treatment. As a result, the Subaru-Mitsubishi argument became part of the experience of playing Gran Turismo. Even players who had never seen either car on the road knew the names STI, Evolution, Type RA and Tommi Mäkinen Edition.

The games arrived at a time when Japanese performance cars were becoming internationally fashionable, but many of the more specialised models were still unavailable outside their home market. Gran Turismo filled in some of those gaps. It told players what the cars weighed, how much power they produced and, within the limits of the game, how differently they behaved.

By the early 2000s, the STI and Evo were no longer known only to rally fans. They had become two of the defining cars of the PlayStation generation.

The argument soon extended beyond the games. Motoring magazines seldom tested one without bringing up the other, and each new version was judged partly on whether it had moved ahead of its rival.

The Mitsubishi was generally considered the more clinical of the pair, particularly once its electronically controlled differentials became more advanced. The Subaru had the lower centre of gravity of its boxer engine and a distinctive exhaust note, but was not always as sharp or as technically adventurous.

The WRX STI in South Africa

South Africa’s relationship with the fast Impreza began with the Impreza GT in the 1990s. By the time the WRX and WRX STI names became established locally, Subaru’s WRC success had already made the car familiar to enthusiasts.

The STI also made sense in local conditions. Its turbocharged engine lost less performance at altitude than a naturally aspirated engine, an advantage that was particularly noticeable in Gauteng. All-wheel drive made the power easier to use, while the four-door body meant the car could still serve as daily transport.

Then there was the noise. The unequal-length exhaust headers used on South African cars produced the offbeat boxer thrum that became almost inseparable from the STI. Modified exhaust systems usually made it considerably less discreet.

Rally coverage, motoring magazines and video games had already done much of the groundwork. When used examples began to become more affordable, the STI found an enthusiastic local following. Many were modified in pursuit of more power, and genuinely standard cars became progressively harder to find.

Subaru Southern Africa also commissioned the STImulating Edition in 2004. Only 15 were produced, each fitted with a Prodrive exhaust and revised engine software, resulting in a power bump from 195kW to 225kW. Prodrive lowering springs and uprated dampers were fitted, and each car received its own wheel-alignment set-up. Naturally, the revisions were covered by Subaru’s standard warranty.

Visually, there was little to separate it from a regular STI beyond the STImulating badges. Its significance lay under the skin: it was a locally developed, factory-backed STI produced in extremely small numbers.

What comes next?

Production of the WRX STI ended in 2021. Not long after that, the Japanese marque announced that a new STI based on the current WRX would not be developed using the existing internal-combustion platform.

The STI name has not disappeared, however. At the 2025 Japan Mobility Show, Subaru revealed two concepts wearing the hallowed badge. The Performance-B STI concept was the more conventional of the pair, featuring an internal-combustion engine, a horizontally-opposed engine layout and Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive, though the brand stopped short of confirming it for production.

Alongside it was the Performance-E STI concept, an electric performance car intended to explore another possible direction for STI-badged performance vehicles. For now, neither amounts to a direct replacement for the WRX STI.

Mitsubishi ended production of the Lancer Evolution in 2016, while the STI followed five years later. The two cars that spent much of the 1990s and 2000s being compared with one another are now both absent from the market.

Story audio is generated using AI

The defence team of suspended deputy national police commissioner Lt-Gen Shadrack Sibiya has raised concern about his detention in solitary confinement at Pretoria C-Max prison, telling the Randburg magistrate’s court that the conditions were making it difficult for his legal team to consult him.

Sibiya is in custody while his bail application hearing is set to continue next Wednesday.

He faces six charges, including rape, human trafficking and sexual grooming of a minor. He has denied the allegations.

During court proceedings on Friday, his lawyers said the defence had experienced serious difficulties in getting access to Sibiya for consultations.

The defence argued that Sibiya should not be held in solitary confinement while awaiting the outcome of his bail application.

Sibiya should be detained in normal circumstances where his legal team can have access to him and consult him.

The magistrate asked whether the defence could make arrangements with the prison and Sibiya’s surgeon to ensure that the legal team had access to him. His lawyers said access was not the only concern.

They argued that keeping someone in solitary confinement was a punishment normally associated with prisoners who had broken prison rules.

“There’s no reason why the accused should be kept in those circumstances,” Sibiya’s advocate Estelle Kilian SC said.

The magistrate questioned whether Sibiya was being kept separately for his own safety because of his position.

Kilian responded that they had made enquiries and understood that there were single cells in the general prison.

“He doesn’t need to be separated from other people in his penal circumstances,” she said.

The state, however, said there were security and safety reasons for Sibiya’s detention conditions.

The prosecutor told the court that arrangements had been made with the head of the prison because of Sibiya’s position and for security reasons.

The state maintained that the conditions were appropriate.

TimesLIVE

“I wrote a little story about the passing of time in relation to Tswana cosmology and other indigenous cosmologies,” she says. “I also looked at maternal knowledge.”

The result of that story — along with a lot of painting and the making of ceramic vessels — is a new exhibition titled So Quick the Crocodile Has Eaten the Sun, opening on October 10 at Kumalo | Turpin gallery in Parktown North.

“I realised that I could start pulling threads from my life, artistically, and create stories.”

I met Diale at her studio in Bramley. It’s everything you’d expect an artist’s space to be. Natural light floods in from the garden and there’s the smell of paint and turpentine. In the middle of the room is a long table cluttered with jars of brushes and pencils, and sketches in various stages of completion. Nearby is a brown leather couch spattered with paint. The exposed roof trusses make you think you’re inside a whale’s stomach. But the centrepieces, of course, are the large canvases leaning against the walls, pulsing with colour.

The paintings are populated by the things that have long appeared in Diale’s work: women, bodies, vessels, symbols and the strange interior worlds we form in childhood, where memory, imagination and experience become difficult to separate. But something has moved. The new work feels less concerned with explaining Diale herself than with exploring time and the ways we build a world around ourselves.

Birth of a new world

At the centre of that world are three women. The largest work in the studio, The Maternal Table, depicts a girlish Diale seated at a table, flanked by her mother and grandmother. On the table are a chopping board with slices of carrot, a teapot, a plate and a glass of juice. Behind her are three rectangular windows — another thread connecting the works.

Diale has spoken frequently about the influence of both women, particularly her grandmother, whose home in Rustenburg was a constant throughout her childhood. That’s where those three windows come from: Diale vividly recalls sitting in her grandmother’s kitchen, marvelling at the light spilling through them and filling the room. Sunlight and moonlight both.

But in these new works, Diale’s expressions are less about her own experience of the maternal and more about maternality in a broader sense. She became interested in an idea she encountered in Taoist cosmology, in which something at the very beginning was pregnant with possibility and gave birth to time and existence.

“I was thinking about the maternal, as in this womb,” she says. “Not about actual pregnancy, but the birth of a new world.”

This idea of creating, containing and protecting runs throughout the work. Just as a womb encloses the unborn, borders surround some of Diale’s paintings. And, as a rule, the paintings without a border contain a vessel. The borders are filled with symbols drawn from different traditions, including Ghanaian Adinkra symbols, but they also serve a deeper, more ritualistic purpose.

“The border is like a protection spell,” she says, “closing in and protecting whatever this dreamlike reality is that I’m creating.”

We go quiet for a moment. The high roof of the studio ticks under the springtime sun. In the garden, weavers are going berserk, building their own grassy containers before it’s too late.

Some of those dreamlike realities come from memory. Others, she says, are envisioned.

Another work shows her again as a young girl, a Bible and candle perched on a shelf behind her. The scene draws on her Christian upbringing, but the objects also point to something broader: the tools and talismans we use to protect ourselves, “whether you believe in something or not”.

The vessel has become equally important. Diale is interested in its ordinary function, as something made to carry or contain, but also in the spiritual history of the object. Clay can be transformed into something useful or beautiful, but vessels have also been used in rituals.

“In a lot of indigenous and old African practices, they’d create vessels and break them to call upon things, bury or seal them,” she says. “It’s my made-up religion, this practice. I create my own meaning with things.”

The mystery waving back

Diale, 26, grew up moving between Joburg and Rustenburg, between the suburbs and her grandmother’s home. As a young girl, watching the landscape change from the back seat of the car, she noticed how different those worlds were, and began to understand the inequalities of post-apartheid South Africa.

At her grandmother’s, she’d sit at a table and draw and paint — a practice she returns to today — a way of tapping into the simplicity of early memories: red soil, tea, thick slices of buttered bread.

Later, attending a Model C school in Joburg produced another set of contrasts. “That brought up a lot of questions for me, sociopolitically in the context of what it means to be a black South African woman in a post-apartheid landscape,” she says. “What was going on? Why did some people have access to things while others didn’t?”

As a teenager, Diale began going to art fairs. “I was emo,” she says. “Until then, being an artist hadn’t presented itself as a possible life. What? I can spend all day painting and listening to music, and get paid for it?”

“I realised that I could start pulling threads from my life, artistically, and create stories.”

Those threads have included race, mental health, family, spirituality and childhood. Her earlier work turned towards her identity and family history. In Going Home, which won the Tomorrows/Today Prize at the 2024 Cape Town Art Fair, ideas of home, prayer, her grandmother and mental health were central.

Her newer works push those concerns outward. Folklore and cosmology are woven into family history. Christianity holds hands with indigenous ritual. Inherited symbols and talismans intermingle with a connection to the divine that Diale has invented herself. Research and intuition occupy equal realms.

“A lot of my spirituality is anchored in archive,” she says. “I have a spiritual reflection and response to what I read about.”

Sometimes, in the best moments, the artist’s process crosses over from rational, structured thought into something that feels like magic.

“When I’m working I experience a literal download,” she says. “It pops up in my head, I don’t know where it comes from. In that flow state I open a channel to receive those messages.”

Hope as radical

Diale works best in summer. The studio is warm, she can go barefoot, and there’s always the promise of a Highveld thunderstorm to bring in the memory of lightning and petrichor, thunder rolling through the body. Music goes on as soon as she enters it, and continues for the day. When things are going well, she breaks into dance. Picture it: arms and legs moving to a rhythm that extends to the brush in her hand, the strokes on the canvas.

“A day in the studio starts in a rise and then a fall,” she says. “I begin with upbeat music. Towards the middle of the day the music is slower and more connected — at the peak, I might listen to Thandi Ntuli, speaking about the cosmos.”

Diale says she thinks in colour before she thinks in images. Her current obsession: pink. There’s something useful in that instinct. For the references to cosmology, ritual, family history and inherited knowledge, the paintings aren’t burdened by their ideas. They remain bright, bodily and strange. Earlier work dealt with generational trauma, identity and mental health, but Diale has consistently used colour and playfulness against the weight of those subjects.

This new work expresses hope. “Maternality as hopefulness,” she says. “Especially in the world we live in where it’s radical to have hope.”

Maybe that’s what the vessels and borders are doing — holding something long enough for another possibility to emerge.

Diale has been working as a full-time artist since she was 24. What that life has given her, she says, is control over her own time. There’s an echo of the freedom she allows herself inside the work: to borrow, invent, remember, distort and combine.

“I don’t believe in limited thinking,” she says. “You can make it up as you go along. There aren’t any rules.”

Somewhere inside that invented world, the crocodile keeps eating the sun.

• So Quick the Crocodile Has Eaten the Sun runs from October 10 to October 31 at Kumalo | Turpin gallery, Nine Yards, Yard 7, 167 Jan Smuts Avenue, Parktown North, Johannesburg. Visit kumaloturpin.com

Story audio is generated using AI

It wasn’t dancing that first captured the heart of the, frankly fabulous Johannes Radebe, best known for his mesmerising moves on BBC One’s Strictly Come Dancing competition (this year, his role in the show changed to co-presenter). “It was the sparkles that got me,” he tells me, referencing the sparkly waistcoat he fell in love with that was worn by a ballroom dancer in the community centre near his home.

Unlike other dancing genesis stories I’ve come across, his wasn’t a childhood epiphany involving Fred Astaire, nor a pushy mother who spotted prodigious talent in her toddler. No, Radebe was just a boy from Zamdela, a township outside Sasolburg in the Free State, who was looking for his friends when he wandered into the local recreation hall and found a couple demonstrating ballroom and Latin dancing.

“I went up to the man wearing a silver waistcoat and tail jacket and said, ‘What do I need to do to wear that?’,” Radebe says, laughing. The answer that came back was simple: stick around and learn to dance. So he did.

In hindsight, it’s tempting to turn successful lives into neat narratives of destiny. Radebe’s story is different. “It was a complete fluke,” he insists. But he’s taken that fluke and run, or rather, danced with it. There were years of training, competitions his family could barely afford, jobs washing cars and dancing in shopping malls, cruise ships, South African dance championships and two seasons on our own Strictly Come Dancing. He joined the British show in 2018 and steadily transformed himself from a professional dancer into one of its most recognisable personalities.

At 39, the boy who wanted the sparkly waistcoat has effectively been handed the keys to the sequin cupboard. Radebe, as co-host of the show alongside Emma Willis and comedian Josh Widdicombe, cements his place in British hearts as the BBC’s juggernaut enters its 24th season. It’s the first three-person presenting team in the programme’s history, and for South African viewers there’s a pleasing amount of local talent involved: Motsi Mabuse remains on the judging panel while South African Latin champion Lethabo Monametsi joins the professional dancers.

Anyone that looks like me and can relate to my story will realise that it’s also possible for them.

The promotion has flummoxed Radebe. “I couldn’t have written the story for myself,” he says. “From a boy in Zamdela, dreaming but thinking that a world stage was out of reach … I’m just very proud. I’m pinching myself.”

Of course, dance wasn’t simply an extracurricular activity for Radebe. It became, he says, his “refuge”. He’s spoken about being bullied as a boy for being effeminate and about the economic obstacles facing a talented black ballroom dancer whose family didn’t have the money to send him gallivanting around the country to competitions.

But he persisted, eventually becoming a multiple South African Latin champion, dancing professionally overseas and finding his way onto Strictly and notable acclaim. One standout moment was in 2021 when he was partnered with The Great British Bake Off winner John Whaite. They became Strictly’s first all-male competitive pairing and reached the final. There was predictable muttering but soon that was overwhelmed by their chemistry and skill as they rapidly became seen as simply two men dancing exceptionally well.

Radebe doesn’t claim too much credit for the normalisation of the same-sex pair. “I’m happy to be a small part of making viewers more tolerant,” he says. “John and I understood that we’d play that little part, but I realised the impact of it after we did it.” There were doubts about how audiences would respond. Instead, “we’ve opened up conversations in homes about what’s possible in this world” — with a Viennese waltz and a good amount of Swarovski glitz.

Radebe says he never set out to be a role model. Now he accepts that visibility comes with obligations. “Anyone that looks like me and can relate to my story will realise that it’s also possible for them. Nothing’s out of reach.”

His question now is: “What can I do for others that are coming behind me?” That person is Monametsi. “We love her,” he says. “She’s the personification of joy.” More importantly, he says, she’s brought something recognisably South African into the UK Strictly family: “She’s demonstrated Ubuntu.”

His advice to her is refreshingly free of show-business guff about believing in yourself and reaching for the stars. “Darling, enjoy this ride. It’s not afforded to many people … It can absolutely change your life for the better.”

Radebe has been doing a lot of changing lately. He made his West End debut as Lola in Kinky Boots, a role he’d wanted for years, winning praise for a performance requiring him not merely to dance but act and sing in towering heels. His memoir, Jojo: Finally Home, was published in 2023, and he’s built a successful solo stage career. Earlier this year, asked to name his greatest achievement, he didn’t choose Strictly, the West End or any trophy. He chose building his mother her dream home.

Now presenting has replaced dancing on Strictly. Instead of communicating with his body — one raised eyebrow now contains his emotional range, and the autocue presents a different challenge.

He admits he’s not naturally a broadcaster. The producers knew that too. When he was first approached, he was told: “We wouldn’t give you this job if we don’t think you could do it. We want to afford you an opportunity to walk into the room and give it a go.” He did, and he immediately got the job.

Subsequently, he took classes and was trained by the BBC. “They know how to make great telly,” he says. “I was in good hands.”

There’s one obvious big perk to changing sides. After years of smiling bravely while judges dissected his choreography, Radebe will now have a microphone. “We’ve changed roles, Andrea,” he says with relish. “I cannot wait to hold them accountable.”

Infamous Strictly judge Craig Revel Horwood should consider himself warned. Then again, Radebe concedes, “Craig is brutal, but he’s right most of the time.”

Lastly, I ask Radebe who he thinks about when he walks onto that floor, no longer standing behind a celebrity partner but at the front of the whole enormous glittering enterprise. Suddenly he’s emotional. “My mother. My family,” he says. “I’ve dedicated my life to them ... and everyone back home, because I didn’t think this life was possible.”

He returns to the little boy in Zamdela who thought “there must be more to life than these streets”, and then wandered into a recreation hall and saw a man dressed in sparkles. “I want to honour that child,” Radebe says.

There will be consolation in giving up the weekly competitive dancing. “My bunions will be resting, definitely,” he says with a smile. The feet are getting a break, but Radebe, I suspect, is only getting started.

Story audio is generated using AI

South African dancer Lethabo Monametsi grew up watching Strictly Come Dancing. Now, 10 years later, the then 13-year-old who discovered ballroom through TV is one of five new professionals joining the UK show.

Strictly inspired you to start dancing?

I started dancing at 13 because of Strictly Come Dancing South Africa. We watched it as a family every Sunday and I fell in love with dance. I’d always been the dancer in the family — the one dancing when music came on — but I didn’t know it was something you could learn in a studio or do professionally. Strictly opened that world for me.

And now you’re actually on the British show. How does that feel?

Amazing. It feels like an extension of my family back home. Everyone has been incredibly kind and warm. The established professionals have been so patient with the five of us who are new this year. I’m loving the experience, on stage and off.

You don’t have a celebrity partner this season. Are you disappointed?

Not at all. I’m taking it as a learning opportunity. Strictly is a completely new world and I get to watch the older pros and see what they put into it behind the scenes. I can observe, learn and soak it all in at a slow, digestible pace. Hopefully, in the future, I’ll get a partner.

What’s your favourite dance?

The tango. I love its passion and control. You have to feel every movement. On the Latin side, it’s the rumba because everything slows down and you can really be in tune with your emotions and how you articulate your body.

And those Strictly costumes?

One of my favourite parts! The moment I put on a Latin or ballroom costume, my brain says: “It’s showtime.” You get to step into a character and live multiple lives.

Finally, dancing in heels: glamorous or torture?

In the beginning, the worst! You have to break the shoes in and mould them to your feet. There are blisters and sore feet. Walking in heels is already a mission — now you’re dancing in them. But the body gets used to it.

Story audio is generated using AI

When Pierce Brosnan first prepared to play Conrad Harrigan, he arrived with an accent and a plan. Guy Ritchie swiftly disposed of both.

“He said, ‘No. Be Irish. Go more Irish. Go mad’,” Brosnan recalled at the global press conference for the second season of Paramount+’s MobLand. The character, he says, came together in about 15 minutes before they shot his first scene.

It was good advice. MobLand is Guy Ritchie territory at its most enjoyable: violent, stylish, funny and populated by people you might cross several roads to avoid in real life. Tom Hardy plays Harry Da Souza, the fixer attempting to hold together the Harrigan criminal empire, with Paddy Considine, Toby Jones, Joanne Froggatt and Janet McTeer among a formidable supporting cast. Season 2 adds Johnny Flynn and Ophelia Lovibond to the mix.

But the great pleasure is Brosnan and Helen Mirren as Conrad and Maeve Harrigan, the husband-and-wife heads of a crime family whose domestic arrangements are almost as dysfunctional as their business model.

There’s murder and mayhem, certainly, but also gangsters attending couples counselling, arguments about clothes left on the floor and confusion over whether Conrad is the father or grandfather of a particular child. And Harry may be employed to clean up bodies, but at home he can still be reprimanded for failing to put something in the laundry basket.

Brosnan is particularly good. In person, he’s an utter gentleman, with an unexpectedly strong Irish lilt and a lyrical way of speaking. Watching him transform into the ageing, impulsive Conrad — frequently goaded by Maeve towards acts of spectacularly poor judgement — is part of the fun.

I’d pay a lot of money to work with Pierce Brosnan for the rest of my life. — Helen Mirren

Mirren has “gone Irish” too. “It gives the show a lyricism, and a rhythm,” she says.

The two veterans are clearly enjoying themselves enormously. “We come to work, open the suitcase and we put the character on,” Brosnan says. “And off to the races we go.”

Asked to analyse his acting method more deeply, he practically squirms. Mirren has a more vivid way of explaining the Harrigans. Conrad, she says, is “a volcano”, while Maeve is “a snaky river”, winding her way in and out of everybody’s lives. “I guess she’s the ultimate manipulator really,” she says. Yet Mirren doesn’t regard Maeve as a cold strategist. Her emotions — jealousy, fear, hatred, desire, love — sit close to the surface. She feels them and acts accordingly, which can be unfortunate for anybody standing nearby.

Season 2 pushes the series further into the Gothic and Jacobean territory Mirren clearly relishes. The Harrigans are fighting to hold together their increasingly fractured empire as rivals circle and loyalties inside the family begin to splinter. The 10-episode season premiered on September 18, and Paramount+ has already ordered a third.

What prevents all this dynastic bloodletting from becoming ridiculous, Mirren argues, is the contrast between the Harrigans’ professional and domestic lives.

“They can go out and commit murder and mayhem, but when they’re at home, they’re like an old married couple.” She immediately launches into one of those arguments: “Put your bloody socks away!”

Brosnan agrees. The bedroom and bathroom scenes are, he says, “almost their own little play within this madcap world” — two parents trying to run an empire of violence while arguing about laundry and who feeds the dogs. It’s precisely this personal lens that gives MobLand its humour.

Mortality comes for Conrad

The jokes disguise a darker trajectory. Season 2 finds Conrad increasingly fractured as a medical condition begins affecting his mind. Brosnan describes him as a man confronting the fact that the end is no longer theoretical.

“Mortality is circling the wagons,” he says. Conrad is “like a trapped spider in a bottle, trying to find his way out”. Whichever direction he turns, there seems to be no exit.

Maeve, meanwhile, is discovering the dangerous arithmetic of power. “The higher you aim, the further there is to fall,” Mirren says, invoking Icarus.

Asked whether Maeve is ultimately the person holding the Harrigan family together, Mirren laughs. Family harmony is hardly her priority. What matters is the continuation of the dynasty and its criminal success. “She’ll sacrifice anyone to that.”

Mirren is particularly pleased that the women of MobLand are not decorative additions to a gangster story. None, she says, is merely a cipher, and the younger women are increasingly becoming threats to Maeve’s authority.

Guy Ritchie role plays

The new season begins at a dog-racing track, with the sort of gunfight that immediately establishes we’re not watching All Creatures Great and Small. It was also among Brosnan and Mirren’s first days filming together.

Mirren remembers Ritchie directing the sequence “with such élan and fun”. Brosnan recalls the director pulling the two stars aside in front of the crew and demonstrating exactly what he wanted — playing both Conrad and Maeve himself, shooting imaginary adversaries with his fingers while supplying his own gunfire sound effects.

As for handling actual prop guns, neither actor claims great expertise. “They’re wonderful and awful at the same time,” Mirren says. “I just pretend to know what I’m doing,” Brosnan adds.

Breaking the Brosnan mould

Conrad also gives Brosnan the opportunity to dismantle the polished image that’s followed him for decades. He famously modelled aspects of his breakthrough character in Remington Steele on Cary Grant, before becoming James Bond and cementing himself as one of cinema’s most reliably suave men.

Conrad Harrigan isn’t suave. “It’s liberating,” Brosnan says. “It’s wonderful to crack the mould of what you’ve created over so many years.”

Mirren calls the role “a cherry on the cake”, suggesting the producers must have sensed that somewhere beneath all that elegance, “that volcano was there inside Brosnan”.

This is the third time Mirren and Brosnan have worked together in three years, and their affection is obvious. “I’d pay a lot of money to work with Pierce Brosnan for the rest of my life,” Mirren says.

They don’t particularly socialise away from set. Instead, they share an old-fashioned working rhythm: arrive, prepare, stay quiet and get on with it. Both came through theatre, and Mirren loves the long scenes written for MobLand, which allow them to experience something close to stage acting without, as she points out, having to perform eight shows a week.

Brosnan reduces the philosophy further, quoting advice once given to him by director Bruce Beresford: “Show up, say the lines, don’t bump into the furniture, get off the stage.” Simple enough, although Conrad might add one further instruction, “Do whatever Maeve tells you”.

“She’s my oxygen,” Brosnan says of his fictional wife. “Without her, I’d be rudderless.” Considering Maeve is quite capable of steering him directly towards murder, that could be the problem.

• MobLand Season 1 is on Netflix while Season 2 is available on DStv in South Africa.

Story audio is generated using AI

Guy Ritchie has built an entire pop-cultural universe out of people behaving badly in very good clothes. Gangsters, aristocrats, dynastic crime families, double-crosses, improbable quantities of violence and the occasional corpse requiring discreet disposal: both The Gentlemen and MobLand return for second seasons firmly inside the director’s familiar territory. But beneath all the swagger and bloodshed, both are really family dramas — albeit families in which succession planning is more likely to involve a gun than a lawyer.

THE GENTLEMEN: THE CURSE OF INHERITANCE

Ritchie doesn’t much like answering questions as they’re asked. At the global press conference for the second season of The Gentlemen, he interrupted the moderator to recast a lengthy question about power, distinguishing between “actively desire” and “self-generate”.

“That’s a different thing,” he insisted. One “wants”, the other “achieves”. It’s a distinction that drives Season 2. “How does one ascend without self-imploding?” Ritchie asks. “How does one remain aggressive and ambitious and simultaneously not get decimated by their own ego?”

Eddie Horniman, the aristocrat-turned-reluctant-crime-lord played by Theo James, is trying to escape what Ritchie calls “the curse of inheritance”. Season 1 forced Eddie to stop being dependent on what he inherited; Season 2 lets him spread his wings.

Susie Glass (Kaya Scodelario), daughter of crime boss Bobby Glass, faces a similar dilemma: how much power does one inherit and how much does one create for oneself?

This season also moves some action from English country estates to the Italian lakes — partly thematic and, Ritchie admits, “partly an indulgence”.

“If you’re going to choose a substructure of nefarious villains, Italy is the place you’d pick.” Conveniently, Italy also has impoverished aristocrats, allowing The Gentlemen to export its delicious collision of old money and new crime. The trick, Ritchie says, is to make plots “plausible but simultaneously fantastic”. If a storyline is boring, it goes back to the drawing board until it becomes “suitably naughty and provocative”.

James describes Eddie’s transformation as a moral erosion, “a blackness that’s etching into his sense of self and his soul”, while comparing Eddie and Susie to Macbeth and Lady Macbeth.

Ritchie is more succinct: “They’re both the biggest threat to each other ... and their biggest help.”

* The Gentlemen, Season 2 is on Netflix.

MOBLAND: MARRIAGE, MURDER AND DIRTY SOCKS

When Pierce Brosnan first prepared to play crime boss Conrad Harrigan, he arrived with an accent and a plan. Ritchie swiftly disposed of both.

“He said, ‘No. Be Irish. Go more Irish. Go mad’,” Brosnan recalls. And mad is about right. MobLand is Ritchie territory at its most enjoyable: violent, stylish, funny and populated by people you’d cross several roads to avoid.

Tom Hardy returns as fixer Harry Da Souza, but the great pleasure is Brosnan and Helen Mirren as Conrad and Maeve Harrigan, the husband-and-wife heads of a criminal family whose domestic arrangements are as dysfunctional as their business model.

There’s murder and mayhem, but also gangsters attending couples counselling, arguments about clothes on the floor and confusion over whether Conrad is the father or grandfather of a particular child. “They can go out and commit murder and mayhem,” Mirren says, “but when they’re home, they’re like an old married couple. Put your bloody socks away!”

Brosnan describes Conrad as “a volcano”; Mirren’s Maeve is “a snaky river” winding through everybody’s lives — and frequently manipulating them into spectacularly bad decisions. Season 2 finds the Harrigan empire fractured, with enemies circling and loyalties splintering.

For Brosnan, the role is a joyful demolition of the suave image forged through Remington Steele and James Bond. Conrad is ageing, impulsive and decidedly unpolished. “It’s liberating,” he says. “It’s wonderful to crack the mould of what you’ve created over many years.”

Mirren and Brosnan have now worked together three times in three years and their affection is obvious. “I’d pay a lot of money to work with Pierce for the rest of my life,” Mirren says.

Brosnan is equally devoted — at least in character. “She’s my oxygen,” he says of Maeve. “Without her, I’d be rudderless.”

Considering Maeve is perfectly capable of steering him directly towards murder, that may be the problem.

• MobLand Season 1 is showing on Netflix while Season 2 is available on DStv in South Africa. See TimesLIVE Lifestyle for expanded articles.

Story audio is generated using AI

Retired Constitutional Court justice Mbuyiseni Madlanga has called on South Africans to stop speaking as though historically disadvantaged universities lack talent, saying the real problem is the conditions in which that talent is expected to grow.

Madlanga was speaking on Friday after the University of Fort Hare conferred an honorary Doctor of Laws degree on him at its spring graduation. It is his third honorary doctorate, after those from Walter Sisulu University and Rhodes University.

In a speech that steered away from the law, he said he wanted to talk about what he called the “quiet power” of universities.

“Today I have decided not to be predictable and talk about law. I wish to reflect on what I choose to call the quiet power of universities,” he said.

Madlanga said much of a university’s most important work happens out of sight, in lecture halls, laboratories and the offices of academics, and may only show years later in the lives of its graduates.

“A university’s influence is thus measured not only by what happens within its walls, but also by what its graduates go on to imagine, create and contribute beyond the university itself,” he said.

He said a university was more than a place to collect a qualification. “It is an institution that serves an even greater public good.”

Madlanga, who taught constitutional law at Fort Hare as a visiting professor in 2018, said he arrived expecting to share what he had learnt in practice and on the bench. He left having learnt just as much.

“What I did not anticipate was how much I would learn in return,” he said. “When my teaching stint came to an end, I left Fort Hare deeply inspired and profoundly hopeful.”

He said the students did not simply memorise legal principles for exams. They wanted to understand where the principles came from and why they mattered.

Madlanga used the moment to raise what he described as the difference between getting into university and truly being able to succeed there.

“A student may have formal access to a university and yet struggle to obtain meaningful access to the knowledge, resources and opportunities that the university is intended to provide.

“The question, therefore, cannot simply be how many young people have been allowed into our universities. We must also ask: what have we enabled them to do once they are there?”

He reminded the audience that South Africa’s universities did not start from the same place, because the higher education system was deliberately built along racial lines.

“The democratic constitution changed the legal order. It did not by itself erase the material consequences of the order that preceded it,” he said.

Madlanga said Fort Hare had shown that talent was never the missing ingredient. He pointed to two of its law students who won the public interest law moot court competition at the Constitutional Court in 2025 and went on to represent Africa at Oxford University.

“Talent has never been confined to particular institutions, provinces, or communities. What has too often been unevenly distributed is opportunity,” he said.

He also spoke of Fort Hare graduates who served as law clerks in his chambers at the Constitutional Court. He said he had pushed for the court to recruit beyond the universities it had traditionally used, so that talented young lawyers were not shut out because they lacked the right networks.

One of them was among the best he had ever worked with.

“Without any hesitation, I rank her in the top 1% of all law clerks with whom I had the privilege of working,” he said.

His message to critics was blunt.

“I caution those who do not know, and those who choose not to know, not to speak as though historically disadvantaged universities are deficient of talent. They are not. Often what is deficient is not talent, but the conditions in which talent is expected to develop,” he said.

While he praised Fort Hare’s proud history, he said it could not be the only thing the university was known for.

“A university cannot live on history alone,” he said.

“And that is why institutions such as Fort Hare deserve not only our admiration, but our sustained investment.”

Madlanga ended by turning to the graduates, borrowing words Nelson Mandela used in 1992 when he received his own honorary law degree.

“You have acquired skills that can either be used purely to enrich yourselves, or they can be put at the service of our community,” he said, quoting Mandela.

“I want to appeal to you to acknowledge that the community has a claim on your skills.”

Madlanga retired from the Constitutional Court on July 31, 2025, while serving as acting deputy chief justice. He now chairs the judicial commission of inquiry into criminality, political interference and corruption in the criminal justice system, which was set up after allegations made by Lt-Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi.

In August, Fort Hare’s law faculty launched the Justice Mbuyiseni Madlanga International Moot Court competition in his honour.

TimesLIVE

Story audio is generated using AI

A new-look Bafana Bafana will run on to the field when they take on Egypt in a friendly at the Cairo International Stadium on Sunday night (9pm) with coach Pitso Mosimane set to ring wholesale changes.

Mosimane played his best possible teams during Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifier wins over Guinea and Eritrea as Bafana moved to the top of Group D.

He is expected to start the match against the Pharaohs with players like Sipho Chaine, Ricardo Goss, Nkosinathi Sibisi, Fawaaz Basadien, Khulumani Ndamani, Shandre Campbell, Puso Dithejane, Tashreeq Matthews and Cassius Mailula.

The team is going to be made up mainly of players who saw little action or did not play at all against Guinea and Eritrea.

“It is a friendly game and we need to see what they are capable of at this level,” he told www.safa.com from the team’s camp in Cairo on Friday afternoon.

It is a friendly game and we need to see what they are capable of at this level.

Bafana coach Pitso Mosimane

“So we plead for patience and support for these youngsters. The country must understand that we have played the qualifiers [against Guinea and Eritrea] and we are done.

“That is the most important thing. It is important to build for the next Fifa World Cup, and if we don’t put them in now, when are we going to see them?

“We do not have friendly games until the Africa Cup of Nations next year, so this is the only chance they have. They are breaking through and we need to see what we have in our ranks.

“Unfortunately, we have a big team [Egypt] that we have to play against on Sunday. The challenge is we have to let them [the players] swim with the sharks, but we have nothing to lose,” he said.

Mosimane also confirmed the Mamelodi Sundowns midfield duo of Bathusi Aubaas and Teboho Mokoena would not be considered due to injuries.

TimesLIVE

Story audio is generated using AI

For more than half a century, Cape Town’s unfinished highways have hung above the Foreshore, concrete reminders of an ambitious transport project abandoned before it could connect the city.

Now, more than 50 years after construction began, the City of Cape Town wants to finish the job, but with a far broader vision than simply completing two bridges.

Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis on Friday unveiled plans to transform the Foreshore’s unfinished highways into a new bridge-and-tunnel system aimed at easing congestion, while opening up land for a new inner-city neighbourhood with affordable housing, public spaces and a tree-lined promenade stretching towards Sea Point.

The unfinished highways were conceived in the late 1960s, with construction beginning in the early 1970s as part of plans to connect the Eastern and Western Boulevards and ease traffic congestion into the Cape Town CBD. Construction stopped in 1977, largely because of financial constraints, leaving sections of elevated freeway abruptly suspended above the Foreshore.

Over the decades, the unfinished structures have become among Cape Town’s most recognisable man-made landmarks, featuring in films, photographs and urban legends.

City manager Lungelo Mbandazayo said the project presented an opportunity to turn what had become a symbol of an unfinished chapter in Cape Town’s history into part of the city’s future.

“These structures have captivated imaginations, featured in films and stories, and more recently became the subject of their own urban legends,” he said.

Mbandazayo said the city began examining the precinct’s future about two years ago, with officials considering the challenges facing the area, Cape Town’s future infrastructure needs and how the development could ultimately benefit residents.

“Cities are not built for the buildings, roads or infrastructure. Cities are built for people, and so, as we develop a vision for the Foreshore precinct, our residents have remained at the centre of every conversation, every proposal and every possibility,” he said.

He described the proposal as some of the boldest thinking the city had put forward for the CBD in recent years.

“What was once a symbol of an unfinished chapter in our city’s story could now become the starting point for a new one,” Mbandazayo said.

Hill-Lewis said completing the unfinished highways would go beyond solving a decades-old infrastructure puzzle, with the city hoping the development will unlock investment, jobs and affordable housing in the heart of Cape Town.

“We’ve been working on this project for the last few years in detail, but in truth, we’re getting the ball rolling on finishing some 50-year-old unfinished business,” he said.

“These are not just bridges. They will help address some of Cape Town’s biggest congestion headaches, while unlocking huge investment, job creation and more affordable homes for Capetonians.”

Under the proposal, the unfinished highways would be transformed into a new link bridge and tunnel aimed at improving the connection between the Foreshore and the Atlantic Seaboard.

The longer-term plan would also unlock land for a new Foreshore neighbourhood, incorporating affordable housing, pedestrian-friendly streets, public spaces and a tree-lined promenade along the harbour edge towards Sea Point.

Hill-Lewis said the development was also intended to reconnect the CBD with the coastline.

“Cape Town is one of the world’s great port cities, and everything about our identity is shaped by the sea. By removing the physical barriers between city and sea, we will reconnect with our maritime identity and heritage,” he said.

The proposal is still at an early stage and construction is not imminent. The city will first take the plans through public consultation before final designs are developed into detailed engineering plans, followed by procurement and, ultimately, construction.

Hill-Lewis said Friday’s announcement marked the beginning of the public phase of the project.

“There is still a lot of work to do and a long way to go. Today is the beginning of the public-facing phase. We are releasing drawings to begin a process of public consultation,” he said.

To minimise disruption to traffic, the city proposes carrying out construction in two phases while keeping existing freeways operational.

During the first phase, a new bridge would be built over Buitengracht Road and the incoming elevated freeway widened to link inbound traffic directly to Helen Suzman Boulevard. The plans also include a large public park and public spaces beneath the infrastructure.

The city believes the link would allow motorists travelling from the Foreshore towards Green Point, Sea Point and other parts of the Atlantic Seaboard to bypass sections of the CBD, easing congestion in the city centre.

In the second phase, an outbound tunnel will be constructed and the existing outbound elevated freeway demolished.

Removing that section of freeway will open up land for the proposed promenade and new Foreshore neighbourhood, potentially turning one of Cape Town’s most famous unfinished projects into the centrepiece of a major redevelopment of the inner city.

TimesLIVE

Story audio is generated using AI

Following the discovery of 11 women’s bodies in the Ekurhuleni region and another in Soweto, Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi, Gauteng mayors and police officials on Friday announced decisive measures to strengthen the province’s response to gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF).

The developments have intensified pressure on authorities to strengthen safety measures across the province. During the media briefing, officials examined gaps in existing interventions and outlined the province’s response to the killings.

Lesufi announced a four-point plan aimed at strengthening the government’s response to GBVF. It includes a national operation to investigate unresolved cases involving women and children.

The measures focus on policing, investigations, forensic processing, prosecution and community safety. The goal is to ensure that cases are handled more effectively and that victims and survivors have improved access to justice.

The first part of the plan focuses on case recovery, which Lesufi described as “an audit of unresolved murders, attempted murders, rapes and serious sexual offences involving women and children”.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has directed the police and justice ministries, working with the South African Police Service and, with due regard to prosecutorial independence, the National Prosecuting Authority, to conduct an audit of these cases.

The second intervention focuses on forensic backlogs. Police, the national police commissioner and relevant forensic authorities have been directed to produce a funded plan within 60 days to reduce backlogs and establish clear turnaround standards for priority GBVF cases.

The plan must detail the size and age of the backlog, shortages of personnel and equipment, resources required and dates by which the backlog is expected to be reduced.

Forensic samples linked to the rape or murder of women and children are to be prioritised, with progress against turnaround standards reported publicly every quarter.

The third intervention requires every municipality to conduct a women’s safety audit to identify high-risk areas.

The audits are expected to identify hazards such as broken streetlights, overgrown public spaces, abandoned buildings, unsafe transport routes and poorly secured parks.

The government has set a 90-day deadline after completion of the audits for urgent hazards to either be addressed or included in a funded implementation plan with clear completion dates.

This follows measures announced by Ramaphosa, who on Tuesday gave municipalities 60 days to identify and address safety hazards, including broken street lights, abandoned buildings and dangerous transport routes.

“Women should not have to live in fear because the government has failed to repair a light,” Ramaphosa said.

The fourth intervention will focus on reducing alcohol-related violence through a co-ordinated legislative and enforcement package involving several government departments.

Ramaphosa said harmful alcohol use is an aggravating factor in interpersonal violence and should be addressed as part of broader prevention efforts.

Residents are urged to report criminal activity, provide information that could assist investigations and support survivors of GBVF.

The Inter-Ministerial Committee and National Council on GBVF will monitor implementation of the measures and issue consolidated public progress reports every quarter.

The government said the measures are part of efforts to accelerate implementation of the National Strategic Plan on GBVF and strengthen the criminal justice and prevention response to violence against women and children.

TimesLIVE

Story audio is generated using AI

The meaning of the word “blesser” became a point of debate in the Randburg magistrate’s court on Friday during the bail application of suspended deputy national police commissioner Lt-Gen Shadrack Sibiya.

Sibiya’s lawyer Amanda Nel questioned investigating officer Det Nokukhanya Ndlovu about the term while challenging the state’s human trafficking case against her client.

Sibiya faces six charges including rape, human trafficking and sexual grooming of a minor.

Nel asked Ndlovu, who had told the court that she is a mother of a teenager, whether she knew the colloquial term blesser.

Ndlovu said it referred to someone who was financially able to provide for another person and could use that financial power to exploit them.

She said the term was commonly associated with older men and younger women, where money or power could be exchanged for sexual favours.

Nel then asked whether Ndlovu regarded a man referred to in court as Mr M as a blesser.

Ndlovu rejected the suggestion and added that she did not judge people according to whether they were blessers.

The exchange came as Nel challenged the state’s allegations that Sibiya had recruited or transported young women through deception and abuse of power.

Nel asked Ndlovu what the alleged deception was.

Ndlovu said Sibiya had told the women that he knew a place where they could get good food.

She also referred to an alleged conversation in which the women were told they needed to dress appropriately because the venue was classy and of certain standards.

The defence questioned whether those actions could amount to deception in a human trafficking case. Ndlovu maintained that the state had a strong case.

Nel also challenged the allegation that Sibiya personally transported the women, arguing that another man, Mr M, who was Sibiya’s driver, was involved.

Ndlovu said the vehicle was under Sibiya’s control and that the transportation allegedly happened on his instructions.

The defence put it to her that the trafficking allegation was false. However, Ndlovu disagreed.

Nel argued that, based on the state’s own evidence, there was a weak case on this count.

Ndlovu disagreed and said she believed there was a strong case.

The questioning was part of a wider challenge by Nel to the state’s version of what happened on the night of May 16.

The court has heard that Sibiya allegedly took teenagers to a Sandton venue before they returned to a hotel.

The state alleges that one of the women, an 18-year-old referred to in court as MC, later became unconscious after consuming alcohol. Sibiya admits having sexual intercourse with her but maintains it was consensual.

Ndlovu told the court that Sibiya remained in the room with the 18-year-old after she had allegedly become unconscious.

The defence has challenged the circumstances surrounding the alleged rape and has pointed out that the other women did not witness the sexual intercourse.

The state maintains that the evidence will show what happened and that it has a strong case against Sibiya.

The bail application has been postponed until next week.

TimesLIVE

Story audio is generated using AI

A voice recording in which suspended deputy national police commissioner Lt-Gen Shadrack Sibiya allegedly threatens a man linked to his case was played in the Randburg magistrate’s court on Friday as the state argued against his release on bail.

The man, referred to in court as Mr M, is the father of one of the alleged victims in the case.

Sibiya is facing charges including rape, human trafficking and sexual grooming of a minor. He denies the allegations.

The state played the recording to support its argument that Sibiya could interfere with witnesses if released from custody. In the recording, Sibiya accuses Mr M of betraying him after he had allegedly helped him financially.

“I took you as my little brother. I even gave you my card for you to buy groceries and I used to give you R4Ks and R10Ks of money, helping you out,” Sibiya is heard saying.

He then accuses Mr M of spreading lies about him behind his back.

Now it’s you who is betraying me and even want to get me to get arrested

Lt-Gen Shadrack Sibiya in voice recording

“I even heard that you were spreading lies about me behind my back and I have never confronted you about it because I took you as my brother and had patience for you,” he says.

Sibiya then becomes more heated, accusing Mr M of trying to have him arrested.

“Now it’s you who is betraying me and even want to get me to get arrested,” he says.

Another section of the recording played in court includes Sibiya saying: “It’s easy to deal with you. I can deal with you very quickly and easily.”

The recording also refers to Sibiya allegedly continuing to work with Mr M despite hearing that he had been speaking about him.

The state says the recording is relevant to its opposition to bail because it raises concerns about possible interference with people connected to the case.

The court also heard evidence about Sibiya allegedly contacting Mr M during the events surrounding his arrest.

Sibiya’s lawyer, Amanda Nel, challenged the investigating officer, detective Nokukhanya Ndlovu, over whether there was evidence that Sibiya had instructed others to threaten or interfere with Mr M.

Nel put it to Ndlovu that there was no evidence that what another man, referred to in court as Bishop Maumela, allegedly did was on Sibiya’s instructions.

The defence also questioned the detective about an alleged statement that there would be a “big bomb” on Monday and that the case would be withdrawn

The court heard that Maumela had taken Sibiya aside to pray for him at the scene of his arrest.

Nel suggested that Maumela could have been acting independently.

Ndlovu disputed this, saying Sibiya had mentioned Mr M’s name in Maumela’s presence before being pulled aside by him and later made a call to Mr M.

The defence also questioned the detective about an alleged statement that there would be a “big bomb” on Monday and that the case would be withdrawn.

Nel suggested this could not necessarily have come from Sibiya.

The state maintained that the circumstances around the call and the people involved raised concerns about possible interference.

A second recording, which appeared to contain a verbal telephone threat involving “Duke”, identified as Sgt Matome Rasekgokga, was also raised during proceedings.

However, the court decided to delay hearing that recording and have it played on the next court date to allow for proper interpretation of what was said.

The court postponed the matter to October 7 for further hearing of the bail application.

Sibiya will remain in custody until then.

TimesLIVE

Story audio is generated using AI

Rhodes University says its immediate priority is ensuring its 2026 spring graduation proceeds “with dignity and respect” after police dispersed protesting students outside the graduation venue in Makhanda on Friday.

The university’s spokesperson Olwetu Gwanya told TimesLIVE that the graduation ceremony was proceeding as planned while management remained guided by agreements reached with the Student Representative Council (SRC) earlier this week.

“Our immediate focus today is ensuring that graduation proceeds with dignity and respect appropriate to this important occasion for our students and their families,” said Gwanya.

The comments come after police arrested 13 students outside the 1820 Settlers National Monument where the graduation ceremony was under way. Police said the students, aged between 19 and 23, were arrested for allegedly contravening a court order.

Public order police used stun grenades and rubber bullets to disperse the group, and no serious injuries were reported.

Students disputed the police account of events, saying they had been sitting peacefully outside the monument before being instructed to leave.

One student, who asked to remain anonymous, said: “Things are bad. Thirteen students have been detained, majority female. These were students who were already surrendering by lying on the floor.”

Gwanya said the university’s executive leadership was participating in Friday’s graduation while the institution continued working through the issues raised by students.

Gwanya said the issues raised were not dismissed.

“Further work was required to establish what could be accommodated, how this could be implemented, and the associated financial and operational implications,” she said.

Gwanya said the SRC and university executive had jointly decided that further discussions would take place next week.

The dispute centres on the university’s proposed 2027 student fee payment protocol. Students have raised concerns about the financial burden of the proposed measures, while the university has said growing student debt is placing pressure on its finances.

Gwanya said the university sought the interdict after students blocked campus entrances and essential-services employees were unable to access the campus and residences.

Earlier this week, the university warned that the shutdown threatened services including the preparation and serving of meals, cleaning of residences and provision of water.

Gwanya declined to comment directly on Friday’s arrests, saying questions about police action should be directed to the SAPS.

Police spokesperson Brig Nobuntu Gantana said protesters were given warnings and time to disperse after an operational commander read the high court order barring protest action aimed at disrupting the graduation. Police said officers moved in after the group failed to comply.

Gwanya said despite the tensions, Rhodes is committed to continuing discussions with students.

TimesLIVE

A former senior UN food agency official has said he has launched an appeal against his dismissal, alleging it was motivated by his stance on hunger in Gaza, in a case that has exposed tensions within the Rome-based organisation.

Benjamin Davis, 62, a Spanish American director at the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), was informed his employment would end on September 30 at the request of director-general Qu Dongyu, according to documents seen by Reuters.

The papers cited breaches of international civil service standards which require staff to act with impartiality. Davis rejected the allegation.

Joined moments of silence for Gaza

“I feel it’s a terrible injustice. I’ve been disciplined without due process for speaking up about a subject at the core of FAO’s mandate about the right to food which is the most basic of human rights,” he told Reuters. He said he had filed an appeal.

The FAO did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Davis’s allegations or on the grounds for his dismissal.

Davis, said he had worked at the FAO for 26 years on a renewable contract, and that his dismissal was linked to staff activism over the Gaza war.

Under UN rules, staff are allowed to express political opinions but must ensure these do not adversely affect their official duties or UN interests

He was one of hundreds of employees who have joined moments of silence for hunger victims in Gaza where an international hunger-monitoring system used by UN agencies determined famine in August 2025.

He also authored a report on food availability in the Palestinian enclave in May 2025.

The dispute burst into public view this week when Qu, speaking at a FAO conference, defended the dismissal of an unnamed staff member whom he accused of having “played the political game”.

“We will not allow you to play the game here of human rights,” Qu said.

Debate over staff activism

The remarks prompted fresh debate about whether UN employees are able to express views on humanitarian crises without jeopardising their careers.

A large crowd of staff gathered at FAO headquarters in Rome on Wednesday to applaud Davis as he departed, according to UN officials and video seen by Reuters.

Under UN rules, staff are allowed to express political opinions but must ensure these do not adversely affect their official duties or UN interests.

Davis, who was head of the Rural Transformation and Gender Equality Division, said he was concerned that other employees would face retaliation over their participation in the Gaza moments of silence.

The case, now with the FAO’s internal justice process, could later be escalated to a UN tribunal which has the authority to award damages in employment disputes.

Reuters

“In February, Google AI referred to me as ‘the late Kwanele Asante’ — almost like a premonition,” says Asante, who developed abdominal pain in her right side a few weeks later, and was urgently admitted for surgery to remove an inflamed appendix.

“Then all these other things started happening. When I was finally discharged 19 days later it was April, the month (she first says “anniversary”, then shakes her head and says, “no, no, that’s not the word”) of my diagnosis with breast cancer 20 years ago.”

Asante, who has always rejected the designation “breast cancer survivor”, talks about her health in an all-encompassing way, to make a larger point: people don’t necessarily experience the health system as a series of separate diseases and specialist programmes. We are the sum of our ailments, not defined by any one illness.

“I am in chronic treatment for chemotherapy-induced congestive heart failure, bipolar mood disorder [a mental health disorder that causes mood swings], anxiety and now functional neurological [brain] disorder, which means the brain software is not functioning properly. The cancer survivor label doesn’t quite cover it,” she says.

Even in name, Asante refuses to remain static. She was born Anne Molebatsi Pooe but called herself Molebatsi Anne Pooe at university, and later Molebatsi Pooe-Shongwe, before legally changing her name to Kwanele Asante-Shongwe in 2012 (although she mostly goes by Kwanele Asante in her professional life).

Every change has been a waymarker in a life that began like an unwritten Zakes Mda novel, in a TB sanatorium in Soweto.

“My mother and father met in Charles Hurwitz [TB hospital], probably in the canteen from that famous Ephraim Ngatane painting. I was reflecting the other day that my entire life has been defined by health care,” says Asante, who was born in Meadowlands in 1969.

Her father, Aaron Sonnyboy Pooe, and mother, Lerato Nokoane (born Dikeledi Lydia Nokoane), were divorced before Asante turned five. She and her younger brother Lesele never saw their father again.

Her tone changes when she begins talking about her mother.

“She was a very tenacious woman,” Asante says, chuckling.

“My father was her second husband, and she had six children before my brother and I. We were very poor, and to provide for us after our father left she took a job as a teacher at Batswana Teacher’s Training (BAT) College in Mafeking (now Mahikeng), later becoming a live-in boarding master to supplement her salary.”

It was a solution that held until the 1976 Soweto Uprising, which triggered student protests across the country.

“We were kicked out of our little room because the kids felt we were leeching off them,” recalls Asante, who was in Grade 1 at the time, at Diphetogo Primary School.

“It was a difficult time because mum was reinventing — she went away to Baviaanspoort [Zonderwater Prison and Training College near Tshwane] for six months to train as a prison officer, leaving us with a relative we only met the day before she left,” says Asante, who wasn’t coping at school.

“One particular teacher used to split the class into ‘smart ones’ and ‘donkeys’. I was in the donkey group. I was unhappy. Then I met a woman who saved my life.”

Dineo Mpofu, a teacher at Diphetogo, saw something in the struggling seven-year-old.

“She told me, ‘You are actually smart. Come to me during break and we will work on your cursive writing.’ She was by my side until standard four, by which time I was a very strong student,” says Asante, who moved across to the new middle school that had been established at BAT.

The Bantustans

It was the early 1980s and Mafeking had just been incorporated in the recently proclaimed Republic of Bophuthatswana. To combat liberation ideologies in the Bantustans, the South African Defence Force had started sending conscripts with university degrees and teaching diplomas to teach in certain Bantustan schools, including the new Batswana high and middle schools. And so Asante’s teachers were mostly white servicemen.

“They saw it as a way of winning hearts and minds. We saw it as a sneaky way of getting a kind of private school education,” Asante recalls.

There were some civilian teachers, too, and Asante remembers one man with particular fondness — Denzil Fincham, her Standard 5 English teacher, who would go on to become the headmaster of Kingswood College in Makhanda.

“He used to say, ‘Anne, stand up, give us an unprepared speech. You need to learn to speak properly because you’re going to be an important person one day.’ At first I thought, ‘Oh no! This man is really irritating me,’ but it was actually really formative,” says Asante, whose polished elocution saw her through door after door later in life.

Before her world cracked open, however, it was unusually cloistered.

“Mum took a job at Rooigrond Maximum Security Prison [now Rooigrond Maximum Correctional Centre], and here we lived for years, on this prison base in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by prisoners.”

White prison officers, says Asante, “stayed in their own quite opulent section, literally called ko makgoweng [the white side]” whereas black families stayed in a row of tiny houses on “the black side — ko Batswaneng”. She can’t quite recall when this changed but change it did, and by this time her mother was a senior officer at the prison, so the family moved across into one of the nice houses.

If Rooigrond embodied the racism that was coded into South African society at the time, it also provided object lessons in what Asante refers to as “the inequality of power”.

“There was a lot of saluting. Even when mum was in civilian clothes, the other officers would strek [stand to attention], whereas the prisoners would drop to their knees and take off their hats. For me, as a teenager, this was like, ‘Joh, weird’.”

The prison nevertheless provided a form of stability, which ended when her mother transferred to Odi prison in Mabopane, north of Pretoria (she was later reposted to Rooigrond, and appointed inspector of prisons for the Republic of Bophuthatswana).

“I had attended six schools by the time I reached matric. It was very destabilising,” says Asante, who was taken in hand by the principal of Pelotona Middle School in Mabopane, ZK Mogodiri.

“He was a pan-Africanist: a short man who would stand in front of us at morning assembly and say, ‘African child, we are not going to be door mats of other nations.’ He was strict but he took a liking to me, and when he realised that we were about to move again he drove a 100 kilometres to Motswedi in Zeerust to find me a place at the boarding school there, so that I would have some stability,” says Asante, who matriculated in 1987. The following Easter she met Isaac Shongwe, whose family paid lobola for Asante in 1989.

“I was a fast-moving girl,” she chuckles, adding, “I didn’t change my surname, which is the only thing I have from my father.”

Shongwe — today a prominent South African business personality — had just graduated from Wesleyan University in the United States, and suggested Asante might want to apply.

“I had been fascinated with America most of my life until then. I needed no urging. We moved abroad in August 1989.”

Like her husband before her, Asante received a full scholarship. She studied sociology and psychology, and felt very at home in Wesleyan’s vocal liberal arts culture.

“I was the only black African woman there at the time, so naturally I was the most oppressed person on campus,” she says, with a wink.

From Anne to Molebatsi

“People would ask, ‘You’re African, yet your name is Anne. How?’ and so I switched it around, and became Molebatsi Anne.”

Shongwe, by this time a Rhodes Scholar, was at Oxford, and so the two travelled between England and America, with a trip home in 1991 for the birth of their first child, Sibusiso Mandla Shongwe, today a well-known film director and multimedia artist (better known by his alias Sibs Shongwe-La Mer). Their second child, Mbali-Pfeiffer Shongwe (today a notable young mental health advocate and gender-based violence activist), was born in 1999.

After graduating in 1994 Asante returned to South Africa for good. Her memories of the job market at the time have her smiling before she speaks.

“It was that time when everybody was looking for a black. The moment you accepted a role others would be knocking, looking to poach!”

From Pretoria Portland Cement, where Asante worked as an internal communications coordinator, she was employed by First National Bank as a group journalist, writing articles and booklets (including one on breast cancer) for the bank’s 36,000 employees, before being lured across to Anglovaal Minerals (since incorporated into African Rainbow Minerals) to oversee their internal communications.

“Women were only just being allowed underground at the time, and I remember I would get into my white things — boots, overalls, helmet — and at some point the men underground would see the curves and they would scream that the earth was gonna fall down,” says Asante, who witnessed firsthand the toll HIV was taking on mineworkers, and became frustrated with management’s apparent reluctance to “walk the talk” of safer sex practices in their own lives and professional spaces. (“There were no condoms in the head office or mining office bathrooms, even though it was well known that many of the metallurgists, geologists and mining engineers, 95% of whom were white men, practised unsafe sex!”). Faced with this hypocrisy, and seeing the sector’s stark social inequality on her daily commute to work, she felt increasingly conflicted about her high salary.

“I’m not sure that any of the corporations I worked for actually had a job for me, and that’s a heavy suspicion to live with, especially when you see things happening that you don’t agree with,” says Asante, who often complained to family friend (and former Constitutional Court judge) Edwin Cameron about her ethical conundrums.

“I think Edwin grew tired of hearing me complain, because one day he said, ‘Listen, when I first met you at 19, you said you wanted to become a lawyer. I think you’re a natural-born lawyer. I think you should go to law school.’”

Asante was 32 at the time. She thought about it, and remembered her mother’s uncle, the writer JB Leseyane (author of the classic Setswana novel Monageng), who lived in a village in Swartruggens. She, her brother and their cousins all called him Ntatemogolo [grandfather], and visited often.

“He would wash on the patio in the morning, and the rest of us ‘grandchildren’ would bathe in the same water in order of seniority. ‘It will make you smart like me,’ he used to say, and he was indeed a smart man. He would invite me to attend these kgotlas [traditional court sessions] under a distant tree, where people could come and report their issues — how somebody stole somebody else’s cow, or beat their wife, and so on — and I would be the only child at these things, but he kept taking me, until he was murdered when I was 10. Looking back, I realise this was my introduction to law.”

Asante decided to take Cameron’s advice, enrolling for an LLB at Wits University, and afterwards joining Deneys Reitz to do her articles.

“I hated it,” Asante bluntly says.

‘No health without mental health’

“Candidate attorneys were basically messengers, serving summonses and doing pagination. I was 35, from a campus activist background. I had worked three corporate jobs. I was like, ‘Guys, I’m not here to photocopy.’ I was a difficult candidate attorney, and in fact the experience just worsened from one rotation to the next.”

Asante had one champion during this lonely period, an institutional aviation law specialist called Pierre Naude, who treated her as a colleague, taking her out to crash sites and commending her written opinions. When she was not retained as an attorney after her two years’ candidature he walked across to her office.

“He closed the door, asked if he could sit, and said, ‘You are a very good lawyer — don’t let this make you forget that. I know that you love human rights, perhaps your future lies in this direction.’ He wrote me the most beautiful letter of recommendation as a lawyer and a thinker.”

Three months later, at 37, Asante was diagnosed with breast cancer.

“The lump had been in my breast for some time, and I knew from that booklet I wrote for FNB that it was more than likely a problem, but I was just hoping it would miraculously disappear.”

‘Kwanele, Baba. Asante.’

A breast biopsy confirmed breast cancer — Asante received the news on the way to fetch her daughter, then seven, from school.

“Suddenly, I was a very sick woman. I found my heart would be palpitating after chemo sessions, but when I reported this to my oncologist, he was dismissive.”

She read on the website of the American Society of Clinical Oncology that some of the chemotherapy medicines can cause heart damage, and immediately called her GP, who had a cardiologist meet her in a nearby emergency room.

“The cardiologist greeted me with, ‘I believe you are a Google self-diagnosed patient’, but the moment he listened to my heart he shouted, ‘Code Blue!’ and people descended on me.”

It was discovered that Asante had chemotherapy-induced cardiomyopathy, a disorder of the heart muscle. Three years later, during a routine check-up (and shortly after her divorce from Shongwe), her cardiologist told her she was at imminent risk of a fatal heart attack.

“He said I needed a machine implanted under my skin, called an implantable cardioverter defibrillator, which detects irregular heartbeats and gives an electric shock to restore it to normal. I had the procedure, and when the bill came to my apartment I saw how much it had cost, and I cried and cried. My medical aid had covered it. All I could think to say was, ‘Kwanele, Baba. Asante.’ Kwanele is isiZulu for ‘it is sufficient’. Asante is Kiswahili for ‘thank you’.”

In 2012, Asante formalised her gratitude by taking these words as her legal name, or what she calls her “healing name”. Her experience had left her with troubling questions, however.

A health rights approach to breast cancer

“In the Sandton Oncology Centre I was struck by how few black women there were in the waiting room — I only saw two the whole time, and they were from Botswana. I asked my oncologist, ‘Am I the first black woman to have breast cancer?’ and he said, ‘No, there are many. Most go to Helen Joseph, Charlotte Maxeke and Chris Hani Baragwanath hospitals. Some come here, but they come at odd hours because they don’t want people to know.’”

Asante decided to find out for herself.

“I visited Chris Hani [Baragwanath Hospital], and there were about 30 women sitting in a little room, all half-naked from the waist up with decaying breasts. It was before they had the breast clinic, and there were no gowns. It was a mess.”

Asante confronted the surgeons, one of whom countered that the patients were all women (so why would they mind?).

“I said, ‘Would Gogo traditionally be sitting like this with a woman half her age?’ and he got it. The next week — because the clinic was only held on Wednesdays then — everyone had gowns. My friends in the northern suburbs and I pooled together to buy some things but that doctor bought the first 20 gowns himself.”

Out of this experience came BreastSens, the NGO Asante founded to promote health rights, human rights and breast cancer education among indigent black women in Soweto.

“It was nothing new, I simply copied Edwin and others’ work on treatment access for people living with HIV, and I transposed it to breast cancer,” says Asante.

While it is true that South Africa’s HIV response is rich in transferable lessons, they are lessons that advocates for NCDs such as cancer, diabetes and high blood pressure have struggled to take up and apply with similar success. In Soweto, Asante demonstrated it was possible to take a health rights approach to breast cancer.

Her legal training proved invaluable (Asante never did work as a lawyer) although she acknowledges that it, and her relative privilege, were also barriers that needed to be overcome.

“I was coming at it with the self-importance of an activist lawyer. The women who let me into their lives were my saving grace. I spent six years working in Soweto’s communities. I met the families, and came to know their realities. Three of the women I knew developed cardiotoxicity [when the heart or cardiovascular system is damaged during or after cancer treatment], like I had, and died. They didn’t get defibrillators, like I did. They died, and they were all remarkable, single mothers of young children. They all died at 35. At that time, I was 44.”

Off pink

Asante says she did join the “pink ribbons” for a time, meaning the established network of breast cancer advocacy organisations, “but very quickly got to understand what they were: the commodification of a woman’s disease by marketing companies. So I stopped wearing the pink outfits,” she says, demonstrating the (at times acerbic) contrarianism that has been a hallmark of her advocacy. (Another hallmark has been her vivacious style: an orange polo neck sweater today, with pearl drop earrings.)

Her community-based approach saw her nominated by Soweto communities to join the inaugural ministerial advisory committee on the prevention and control of cancer, which she was later elected deputy chairperson of. She then served a second term, chairing the committee. In parallel, she decided to study again.

“I was often the loudest ‘lived-experience’ person in the room at the conferences I was attending at home, on the continent and abroad, and cancer researchers and cancer doctors would say, ‘What’s this lawyer doing in medicine?’ A very dear and faithful mentor and friend [the retired academic and education champion Gillian Godsell] advised me to do a master’s degree with the word medicine in it, and after some scouting around I enrolled for an MSc Medicine in bioethics and health law, health and human rights at Wits’ Steve Biko Centre for Bioethics,” says Asante, who was asked to stay on and lecture upon graduating in 2016.

“I loved my students but only lasted one year because teaching is very exhausting, and little paid!”

Asante returned to patient advocacy, deepening her commitment to the African Organisation for Research and Training in Cancer, which she had been involved with for some years, eventually serving as the secretary general in 2020.

In the same year she became a member of the World Health Organization’s civil society working group on NCDs. With her well-honed sense for inequality in health care, Asante became a fierce critic of the global health advocacy system she had joined. In a 2025 BMJ article, for example, she and her co-authors argued that global NGOs and health organisations are often guilty of advocating for patients, families and communities in generic and potentially extractive ways, while remaining stubbornly headquartered in Europe or North America.

She travelled back and forth from Geneva, but at some point experienced a crisis of conviction.

“I found I was reacting to these white women doing their higher degrees in global health and development, who would come and say” — and here Asante affects an American accent with extraordinary disdain — ‘I’m here to talk on behalf of my community in Ndola, or Lusikisiki’ — and I’m sitting there thinking ‘your community?’ And after I had reacted that way three or four times over the years, I was like, ‘Actually, who appointed you [Kwanele Asante] a spokesperson for Black women? How well do you know your community?’ I was born in Soweto, but … hmm.”

It’s a fittingly self-aware and self-questioning ending to our conversation about her protean life — a life that I suspect (based on her grumbling about private medical aid billing practices, after her recent hospital stay) has strident activism in it yet.

This story was produced by the Bhekisisa Centre for Health Journalism. Sign up for the newsletter.

They are accused of fraud, theft and money laundering involving about R1.75m.

Video courtesy of SABC.

Sowetan

The league said on Tuesday that ​City had used “sham” commercial contracts as part of schemes to inflate revenue and understate costs by more than £900m (about R19.73bn) over nearly a decade.

City were found guilty of all charges relating to breaches of the league’s financial rules over nine seasons from 2009/10 to 2017/18, as well as three out of four charges concerning failures to co-operate with the investigation.

The club has denied wrongdoing throughout the process.

“Manchester City Football Club can confirm that at 7pm on Thursday 1st October 2026 the club lodged its comprehensive Appeal against the opinion of the Premier League Commission, in relation to the Premier League disciplinary matter,” the club said in a statement.

“The club’s firm position is that, on multiple grounds, the opinion contains clear material errors, of law, principle and fact and is unsafe.

“The club is innocent of the accusations made by the Premier League and a comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence exists in support of all of its positions, relating to this case.”

The club lodged the appeal to the chair of the judicial panel. The independent Appeal Board hearing will remain private and confidential until publication of the outcome is permitted

Premier League

The appeal will be heard by an independent three-member appeal board appointed by the chair of the league’s judicial panel.

“The club lodged the appeal to the chair of the judicial panel,” the league said in a statement. “The independent appeal board hearing will remain private and confidential until publication of the outcome is permitted.”

The Premier League’s rules state that an appeal hearing should be held within 12 weeks of an appeal being lodged, with a decision due within 30 days of the hearing concluding.

The appeal will take place in private, as did the original hearings.

The board will review the commission’s decision, but will not conduct a full rehearing of the case. The board can:

• dismiss the appeal;
• allow it;
• refer the case back to the commission for further consideration; or
• alter any sanction or compensation order imposed.

A decision by the appeal board is final and cannot be challenged further except in limited circumstances that permit a subsequent arbitration process.

With potential sanctions including heavy fines, points deductions and other sporting penalties, and with relegation or the removal of titles also discussed as possible outcomes, the case could have consequences across the league.

City can also separately appeal against any sanctions.

It remains unclear whether sanctions will be announced before the appeal is heard, and whether they would take effect immediately.

A league representative told Reuters they could not discuss the process for confidentiality reasons.

While the fate of the case remains unresolved, the season will continue, with leaders City looking for their sixth straight league win when they visit Liverpool on October 11.

Reuters

Story audio is generated using AI

Johannesburg is among the worst cities in the country when it comes to the killing of women and children — and that should concern everyone.

Mayor Dada Morero made the remark at the public launch of the National Strategic Plan on Gender-based Violence and Femicide (GBVF), adopted by the City of Johannesburg at FNB Stadium in Soweto on Friday.

Morero said the latest crime statistics painted a grim picture for the metro.

“The South African Police Service indicates that Johannesburg is amongst the highest cities nationally in GBV and sexual offences. We’re classified as a hotspot,“ he said.

“This narrative has to change because Johannesburg is our home, a land of opportunities. It depends on us to build safer communities.”

The city is part and parcel of a national fight against GBV and femicide. We are here to say enough is enough and to stop the bleeding

Dada Morero, Joburg mayor

Morero said the city could no longer stay silent while women and children were killed daily.

“The city is part and parcel of a national fight against GBV and femicide. We are here to say enough is enough and to stop the bleeding.”

The strategy focuses on:

• preventing violence;
• supporting survivors; and
• strengthening enforcement and accountability across all city departments.

He called for a united front, urging all departments, law enforcement agencies and the taxi industry to play their part.

The launch was also marked by painful testimony from GBV survivor Disele Mokgatle, who said she was married to a prison warden at the age of 21 and now lived with permanent scars.

“I live with a permanent scar after tearing a muscle on my right hand. On that day I tried running away and I was injured trying to push a sliding door,” she said.

Victims also need protection from family, she added.

TimesLIVE

Join The Political Arena’s election series as it, in partnership with Wits University, facilitates a public dialogue that will bring together political parties and voters for a conversation about the CoJ’s future.

TimesLIVE

Hyundai’s Adrien Fourmaux and Thierry Neuville won stages 2 and 3 respectively and filled the top two places at the midday break, with Toyota’s Oliver Solberg the first of the title contenders in third place.

Toyota’s Sami Pajari was lying fourth, with experienced teammate Evans, who had the disadvantage of being first on the rough gravel roads, in sixth place.

“At least I’m faster than Elfyn, but I’m a bit worried that it’s not enough,” said Pajari.

There are 35 points to be won this weekend, the final round of the championship after Saudi Arabia was cancelled, and Welshman Evans is 17 clear of Finland’s Pajari and 21 ahead of Sweden’s Solberg.

All three title contenders would be first-time champions if they prevail.

Solberg won Thursday’s opening stage and was also fastest on Friday’s fourth stage, 0.8 seconds quicker than Toyota’s reigning champion Sebastien Ogier, who is out of contention for the title but was running fifth in Sardinia.

As things stand, Evans would be champion — after finishing runner-up five times in the last six seasons — but there are plenty of pitfalls ahead before the rally ends on Sunday.

Friday sees the same loop of three stages repeated in the afternoon, with six stages on Saturday and four on Sunday.

Reuters

Rescuers are still searching for more than 5,000 people missing in the border region with China after August’s glacier collapse unleashed landslides and a flash flood that tore through valleys.

“Our aim is to lower the risk of the lakes breaching their natural dams and reduce the risk of downstream floods,” said Subash Tuladhar, an expert with a government research centre tasked with overseeing the new project.

Canals will drain water into nearby rivers in a regulated way, he said, adding that workers faced health risks as a result of the lengthy periods of high-altitude work required, in addition to the dangers of sudden flooding.

Design work and detailed studies targeting the central and eastern lakes of Thulagi, Lower Barun, Lumding Tsho and Hongu II, will begin in the fiscal year that runs until mid-July 2027, authorities said.

The lakes, at heights ranging from 4,050m to 5,483m, rank among Nepal’s most potentially dangerous, the UN Development Programme and the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) said in a 2020 report.

Nepal had the skills and experience required for the $50m project to be funded by the Green Climate Fund, the UNDP and the government, added Tuladhar, of Nepal’s Centre for Hydrology and Water Resources Research.

Draining project could take six years

The work of draining “through gated structures” will start after a detailed study, and could take up to six years to complete, said Sanjeeb Baral, the Centre’s executive director.

It will encompass installation of sensors, a flood forecasting and warning system, and efforts to build downstream resilience and prepare communities for the risks.

In similar previous efforts, Nepal lowered by 3m the level of the central Himalayan glacial lake of Tsho Rolpa in 2000 and that of Imja in the vicinity of Mount Everest, the world’s tallest peak, 10 years ago.

Urgency after recent floods

Nepal’s disaster served as a warning to the world, Prime Minister Balendra Shah told the UN in an impassioned speech last month that blamed climate change despite his country’s negligible emissions.

Retreating glaciers, unstable mountain slopes and increasingly unpredictable rivers showed Nepal was paying a heavy price, he added.

Nepal, which has reported about 26 glacial lake outburst flood events in the past four decades, loses more than 300 lives and property worth millions of dollars to extreme climate events annually on average.

The latest floods devastated a dozen hydroelectric plants, roads, bridges, farms and settlements. Cash-strapped Nepal would need nearly $5bn for early recovery, officials have said.

Climate scientists say as temperatures rise glaciers in the Himalayas retreat, leaving behind ​unstable glacial lakes held back by little more than loose rock and ​ice, above valleys home to millions.

Lowering the lakes by 3m would significantly reduce the threat, said Samjwal Ratna Bajracharya, a retired ICIMOD expert on glaciers, glacial lakes and outburst floods.

“They are growing fast, are high up in the Himalayas and could cause outbursts any time, due to earthquakes, avalanches, climatic conditions and unplanned human-induced activity,” he said.

Reuters

Story audio is generated using AI

Mercedes-Benz must be quite pleased with the impact its V-Class made on the South African market over the past decade.

When you cut it down to the wire, this is essentially a more luxurious version of the hard-grafting Vito — and yet, the V-Class is as coveted as many of the premier automotive status symbols money can buy.

The car has an interesting reputation, from being deployed in fast-moving state cavalcades, to being a preferred choice among well-heeled private owners with active social lives. One also sees them used in the funeral business.

My time with the upmarket minibus involved neither of those pursuits — just the typical commute between work, home and typical errands in between. But it was an enjoyable reminder as to why the vehicle is so liked.

Visually the V-Class wields quite a stern presence, especially in black. Last month a Volkswagen T7 Caravelle came into my possession and it wore a very serious black-on-burgundy colour scheme. But while the Volkswagen still has an air of friendliness about it, the Stuttgart minivan is a decidedly more severe character.

That is thanks to its prominent grille — and the retention of the three-pointed star hood ornament, which you hardly see on the passenger cars from the brand these days. From behind the wheel, however, you cannot see the upright emblem, as it is obscured by the sizable dashboard.

We have tested the Vito and V-Class (and the now retired Viano) through its various iterations over the years. But this current version of the V-Class clearly tries harder to offer an experience on par with that of the Mercedes-Benz passenger car range.

The interior is outfitted with the same lengthy, rectangular screens that would be found in a typical Mercedes-Benz sport-utility vehicle. As is the steering wheel design and central tracking-pad. If you daily drove a GLE and wanted something larger for weekend getaways with your family, this V-Class would remain familiar from behind the wheel — in appearance, anyway.

The driving experience, while nicely resolved for a minivan, still gives off certain hints to the Vito origins. To be fair, there is so much that can be done to make a vehicle of this kind plush and dynamic. In my view, the high-end versions of the Ford Tourneo and Hyundai Staria remain hard to beat in terms of overall dynamism and comfort. But the V-Class is not bad. Certainly not as poor as the Renault Trafic we tested earlier this year, which does very little to disguise its panel-van roots.

The V-Class V300d gets top marks in the area of powertrain, with a well-hushed 2.0l, four-cylinder turbocharged-diesel unit. Not as sophisticated as the hybrid T7 Caravelle, but a stout oil-burner remains exactly what most people want in this application.

It has the torque-rich thrust required for hauling heavier loads — and the benefit of lengthy range and frugality. The unit has a hearty 174kW/500Nm output which is the highest in the category. Transmission is handled by the proven nine-speed automatic unit, which is remarkably smooth, while drive is to the rear wheels. Our car returned an average of 9.7l/100km over a week of driving.

With its high-up seating position and large side windows, the V-Class feels akin to piloting a truck. A very well-appointed one, with leather upholstery and creature comforts such as ventilated seats, electric sliding doors as well as a panoramic roof.

Of course, the rear is where the magic happens in a vehicle of this kind: you get two rows, five seats in total, with the middle-row having individual chairs. These can be swivelled around to create a conference-type environment. But you can also remove the seats if you actually want to use the V-Class as a cargo hauler.

Even with the rear seats in place, luggage capacity is hardly limited at 542l. Driving the V-Class in tighter spaces one is reminded of its generous length (5,140mm); it is 1,880mm tall and 2,249mm wide.

Good thing there is a full suite of driver aids included to make life easier, from a surround-view camera to blind-spot assist and adaptive cruise control. The rearview mirror has a camera-in-mirror configuration. Airbag quantity is seven.

Mercedes-Benz positions the V-Class as an exclusive offering and the range now consists of one fully equipped model, the V300d Exclusive, which costs R2,301,578. That includes a five-year/100,000km warranty but the maintenance and service plans are sold as optional.

There are a number of high-grade people-movers available to South African buyers. Think of models such as:

• the Hyundai Staria 2.2D Luxury (R1,324,900);
• Ford Tourneo Custom 2.0 SiT Titanium X (R1,278,500);
• Volkswagen Caravelle 1.5 TSI eHybrid Style 4Motion (R1,794,000); and
• Toyota Quantum 2.8 LWB VX Premium for R1,282,400.

All are closely matched in terms of specification, offering the same abilities where moving human cargo is concerned. But the person who buys the considerably pricier V-Class ticks differently — and given how many examples you see on our roads, this type of buyer wants the cachet of the three-pointed star, without consideration for affordability.

TimesLIVE

Story audio is generated using AI

Suspended deputy national police commissioner Lt-Gen Shadrack Sibiya allegedly told the young women he allegedly took to a Sandton “strip club” venue to say they were celebrating a birthday because they were under the age of 21.

The Randburg magistrate’s court heard from Det Nokukhanya Ndlovu, who is investigating the case, that Sibiya spoke to the manager, who allegedly allowed the women into the venue.

She told the court that she had statements from complainants about what happened at the venue.

However, the defence challenged this version and questioned whether the investigating officer had direct evidence that the women had been taken into the strip-club section.

Ndlovu maintained that she did.

Sibiya faces charges including rape, sexual grooming of a minor, and human trafficking. A firearm-related charge has also been added to the case. He denies the allegations.

The court heard that Sibiya allegedly became involved in plans for a night out involving three young women in May. According to Ndlovu, Sibiya suggested that the women be taken to The Grand in Sandton, a venue he allegedly knew well.

The defence disputed the state’s description of the venue as a strip club.

Sibiya’s lawyer, Estelle Kilian, questioned Ndlovu about the different parts of the premises, pointing out that it also has a restaurant and hotel.

Ndlovu agreed that the venue included those sections but maintained that the women were taken through the strip-club area before being seated in a VIP section.

“The point where I entered is a strip club and the point where I found the applicant is at the strip club,” she told the court. Ndlovu said the women were taken through the strip area to a VIP section where they could eat and drink.

The defence questioned whether Ndlovu had direct evidence that the women had actually been taken into the strip-club section.

“I have direct evidence from the complainants that they were taken to the strip club,” Ndlovu said.

The court previously heard that the women were supplied with alcohol and were allegedly encouraged to take part in a drinking game.

The state alleges that after returning to their hotel, one of the women became unconscious while Sibiya remained in the room with her. Sibiya is accused of raping an 18-year-old woman at a Sandton hotel on May 16.

The state alleges that she had consumed alcohol and later lost consciousness.

Sibiya has admitted having sexual intercourse with the woman but maintains that it was consensual.

The court has also heard allegations involving a 16-year-old girl, who is the daughter of an associate of Sibiya. The state alleges Sibiya communicated with the teenager privately on WhatsApp and engaged her in sexually explicit conversations.

Ndlovu told the court the teenager’s father had worked as Sibiya’s bodyguard and had previously asked him to collect his daughter. The detective said the girl later told her father about her communication with Sibiya.

During Friday’s proceedings, the defence also raised claims about the relationships between some of the young women and people connected to Sibiya.

Sibiya’s lawyer, Amanda Nel, put it to Ndlovu that the father of the 16-year-old was allegedly in a relationship with another teenage girl linked to the case.

Ndlovu said she had no knowledge of such a relationship.

Nel also suggested that one of the girls was the girlfriend of an associate of Sibiya. The investigating officer said she could not reveal the identity of a witness she had interviewed.

The defence has also questioned the state’s presentation of the young women, with Sibiya’s lawyers arguing that the evidence could create an unfair impression about their client.

The state, however, says its evidence is relevant to its opposition to bail and the allegations Sibiya faces.

Ndlovu has told the court that Sibiya’s position within the police could make witnesses vulnerable to intimidation or interference if he is released. The bail proceedings continue.

TimesLIVE

But Daniel Rada, director of My Wooden House, says this can lead to a common design mistake, with outdoor spaces planned around the few months when the weather is at its best rather than how the garden will actually be used for most of the year.

“It’s very easy to design a garden around the weather you wish you had all year, but that isn’t how most of the year is going to look.”

Beyond sunny weather

Rada says the first thing homeowners should consider is what they want the garden to be used for outside of summer. Rather than waiting until spring to discover what does and doesn’t work, she recommends paying attention to the garden as autumn arrives.

“Autumn is actually quite useful for looking at a garden because you start to see what you miss when summer disappears. You notice which areas are sheltered, where you lose the light and which parts you stop using altogether.”

Rada says this is particularly important when homeowners are considering a permanent addition to their garden. A structure should fit the space and its intended use, rather than being chosen first and then squeezed into whichever part of the garden is available. That could mean thinking carefully about:

• where people will sit;
• how they will get to the structure from the house; and
• whether the area remains comfortable when the weather changes.

When summer is over

Transitional months are also a useful time to think ahead, with gardening experts recommending the months for planning and preparing for the next spring while the soil remains warm and workable.

“If you’re thinking about making a bigger change next year, spend some time using the garden as it is now. You might find that the place you thought would be perfect for a seating area is actually the first part of the garden you avoid when the weather turns.”

The aim isn’t necessarily to make every part of the garden usable in every season. Instead, Rada says homeowners should think about whether the areas they invest in will still have a purpose once summer has finished.

That could influence everything from the position of an outdoor structure to the way different areas connect with the house.

With garden projects potentially representing a significant investment, considering the space properly before building can also help homeowners avoid having to rethink the layout later.

TimesLIVE

Young people in Syria’s Sweida province are unable to progress through school and university due to a deepening rift between the post-Assad Islamist government and the Israel-aligned Druze leaders of the last area outside central control.

Their dilemma reflects deep trauma and lingering instability in the province, where hundreds of Druze were killed last year in sectarian violence by government-linked forces and Israel struck Syria’s military, saying it was defending the minority.

Maram Abu Hamra had been pursuing her dream of studying architecture in Syria’s northern city of Aleppo but has been back in Sweida for more than a year, too afraid to return to government-held territory.

“Every student had a dream of being an engineer, a doctor, an artist — or anything that they can achieve. But sadness, fear and resentment took control instead,” the 20-year-old told Reuters.

SWEIDA LEADER SAYS DRUZE ARE ‘PART OF ISRAEL’

Sweida, home to many of the estimated 700,000 Druze in Syria, lies in the southwest, bordering Jordan. Most of it is now controlled by forces loyal to Sheikh Hikmat al-Hajari, a Druze cleric who declared his community “part and parcel of the state of Israel” in an August video.

Facing calls from Israeli Druze to help Syrian Druze, Israeli leaders have cited protecting them as a reason for attacking Syria repeatedly.

Syria’s President Ahmed al-Sharaa, who aims to restore the country’s relations with the West after overthrowing longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in 2024, has vowed to reunite Syrian territory under a single leadership.

But many Druze, Arabs who follow a branch of Islam seen as heretical by some Sunni Muslims, do not trust assurances that he will protect their rights, citing his earlier links with Al-Qaeda as well as last year’s mass killings.

“What I want to say is that our fear is justified, because there are past incidents that were not that long ago, that were barely a year ago,” said Fahed Abu Saad, whose son and daughter missed their final exams this year.

Syrian authorities first cancelled exams for high school and university entry in Sweida last year as a result of the killings. Syrian government troops withdrew from most of Sweida and Hajari barred them from returning, hardening his stance against integration and founding an armed faction called the National Guard.

Hajari’s areas are now the only ones outside government control, after Kurdish authorities in Syria’s northeast began integrating earlier this year after a lightning government offensive.

Even there, Syria’s Kurds are seeking to preserve schooling in their mother tongue.

DEEP DISTRUST LINGERS

Many Druze students studying in other parts of Syria returned to Sweida in 2025.

But this year, student exams were disrupted again, with the government and Druze factions trading blame once more.

In the spring, Damascus offered to send proctors into Sweida to supervise exams, but some Druze saw it as an attempt to redeploy government forces.

Qutaiba Azzam, the government’s media relations director for Sweida province, said local factions threatened the proctors, a claim Reuters could not independently verify.

In August, Damascus proposed that students from Hajari-held areas take their exams in a northern part of Sweida province now held by the government.

But that spooked students and their parents.

“It is not allowed for us to be scared that our children go to the northern countryside, but it is allowed for the ministry of education to be scared for its envoys to come here,” Abu Saad said.

Some Druze, still shaken by the 2025 killings, fear Hajari’s forces would label students as traitors for travelling into government-held territory for the exams.

Government-appointed provincial official Tarek Adwan said armed factions in Sweida city had attacked buses meant to carry students to their exams, a claim Reuters could not independently verify.

Hajari’s office did not reply to repeated requests for comment. Syria’s education ministry declined to comment.

Only 150 of 13,700 school students in Sweida managed to take exams this year that they need to progress into high school or university, according to government figures shared on Syria’s state news agency.

The rest — as well as university students like Abu Hamra — remain in limbo, along with the Sweida province as a whole.

The area has traditionally been fairly autonomous, including during the nearly 14-year civil war that killed hundreds of thousands of Syrians and forced millions from their homes.

Syria’s government, Jordan and the US agreed last year on a seven-step roadmap to resolve the Sweida dispute, but the UN said in June that it had made “no progress”.

Reuters

With styling inspired by the German brand’s larger S 1000 R, the F 450 R has a more road-focused setup than its adventure-oriented sibling, with a chassis tuned for easy handling and direct rider feedback.

Its sport suspension setup comprises a 43mm KYB upside-down front fork and a KYB central rear shock absorber. The fork offers adjustable rebound and compression, while the rear shock can be adjusted for spring preload and rebound.

Five-spoke cast aluminium wheels are fitted with 110/70 front and 150/60 rear tyres.

The F 450 R has a standard seat height of 790mm, while optional seats can raise or lower the riding position by 20mm and 15mm respectively. The tapered aluminium handlebar is positioned relatively high and close to the rider, while the 14l fuel tank is shaped to provide support for the knees.

As with the F 450 GS, the F 450 R is powered by a 420cc fuel-injected parallel-twin engine producing 35kW at 8,750rpm and 43Nm at 6,750rpm. BMW says 80% of the engine’s maximum torque is available from 3,000rpm.

The claimed fuel consumption is 3.8l/100km, giving the bike a claimed range of more than 350km.

The engine is paired with a six-speed gearbox that drives the rear wheel via an X-ring chain. Shift Assistant Pro, which allows clutchless up- and downshifts, is standard on all models except the base version, though it can be specified as an option.

An optional Easy Ride Clutch automatically operates the clutch according to engine speed. BMW says the system is intended to make low-speed riding, manoeuvring and riding in urban traffic easier. When combined with Shift Assistant Pro, it allows the rider to change gear without using the clutch lever, though the lever remains available for manual operation.

Three riding modes — Rain, Road and Dynamic — are standard, along with ABS Pro, Dynamic Brake Control, Dynamic Traction Control and engine drag torque control. On M Sport models, Riding Modes Pro adds an individually configurable Dynamic Pro riding mode.

Stopping power comes from a 310mm floating front disc with a Brembo four-piston monobloc calliper, while the rear uses a 240mm disc and ByBre single-piston calliper. ABS Pro allows ABS intervention while the motorcycle is leaned over, while Dynamic Brake Control is designed to prevent unintended throttle inputs during braking.

In terms of standard equipment, the F 450 R comes fitted with LED lighting and a 6.5-inch TFT instrument display. The display offers BMW’s Pure Ride screen, while models fitted with Riding Modes Pro gain additional Sport screens showing information such as traction control intervention, braking force and lean angle. A lap timer is also included.

The TFT system can also be used for phone calls, music and navigation when connected to a compatible smartphone.

The F 450 R will be offered in four variants. The base model is finished in Cosmic Black, while the Exclusive version adds Shift Assistant Pro and Sport Suspension.

The M Sport and M Sport with Innovation Package variants are finished in Snaefell White/M Motorsport colours and include Riding Modes Pro, Shift Assistant Pro and Sport Suspension. The Innovation Package adds the Easy Ride Clutch.

The BMW F 450 R will be available in South Africa from the second quarter of 2027. Pricing will be announced closer to the time.

TimesLIVE

Story audio is generated using AI

The South African Rugby Union (Saru) is responsible for a group of men who have conquered the rugby universe and the Springboks are rightly revered around the world as the best in the business.

To many South Africans, the Siya Kolisi-captained and Rassie Erasmus-coached green and gold warriors are not only a symbol of success, they are a shining example and enforcers of a winning spirit that swells the pride of our troubled nation.

It is to Saru’s credit and the genius of Erasmus that the back-to-back world champions are 12 months away from attempting an unprecedented third successive World Cup crown in Australia next year.

But by not dealing with the André Esterhuizen elephant in the room with the diligence it deserves, Saru and Erasmus have dropped the ball big time.

By appointing Esterhuizen the 68th captain for last Saturday’s defeat to the Wallabies, Erasmus erred in that he overlooked an element of the player’s racist past that can neither be erased nor wished away. That incident was when Esterhuizen racially abused Potchefstroom Gymnasium coach Thabo Molete in 2012.

To plead ignorance of the incident is disingenuity and dishonesty by Saru. Not heeding the public outcry over the matter and treating the backlash as a mere irritation is a refusal to accept that tackling the demon of racism is an ongoing process to which we must remain alive across all aspects of our society.

Kicking this Esterhuizen matter into touch is poor form. Barring journalists from asking about the issue during the pre-match press conference in Perth is censorship that should not be tolerated in a democratic state.

His sympathisers argue that not only did the then 18-year-old apologise, he was also banned from rugby for a year, though half of that sentence was suspended.

An undeniable truth is that racism is a festering wound. It remains a lived reality decades after racist laws were repealed en route to a democratic dispensation.

They omit to mention that in 2017 he made a mockery of that apology when he denied using the racial slur against Molete.

There’s plenty of evidence of how Erasmus has contributed to help transform the Boks from an exclusive club of a select section of our population.

Confronting uncomfortable truths about our actions, past and present, should be part and parcel of the stronger together mantra embodied by all that embrace the Springboks, warts and all.

An undeniable truth is that racism is a festering wound. It remains a lived reality decades after racist laws were repealed en route to a democratic dispensation. Regrettably, there are some among us who still wear racism as a badge of honour and hanker for the days of white supremacy.

Sport in general and rugby in particular, has made a massive contribution to social cohesion. Where the Springbok emblem was once a source of hate, it is now a crest worn with pride in support of all Erasmus selects to represent the nation.

Accountability and transparency should be the cornerstones of our collective conscience. Though South Africa is bedevilled by a leadership crisis where those in authority get away with a myriad of misdemeanours and foul-mouthed tirades against the very public they purport to serve, we should never tire of holding people responsible for their actions.

From politicians to sportsmen, everyone must put in the work necessary to curb the scourge of racism whenever and wherever it rears its ugly head.

He faces charges of rape and sexual assault for allegedly raping an 18-year-old teenager and sexually grooming a 16-year-old girl. He is being held at the Kgosi Mampuru prison.

Video courtesy of SABC

TimesLIVE

The utility said technical teams had completed joining damaged sections of several high-voltage cables and had pulled the repaired cables into position.

The cables serving Fox Street east, Commissioner Street west, Dalton Centre No 3, Marshall Street east, Marshall Street west and End Street have been repaired.

A fire at the central substation has left residents in Marshalltown and surrounding parts of the Johannesburg CBD without electricity for six days since September 26 and damaged a feeder board and associated cables.

City Power said it suspected that vandalism and attempted cable theft may have triggered the incident.

City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena said the restoration work scheduled for the night shift was disrupted by protest activity in parts of the CBD, which delayed the movement and deployment of technical teams.

“The remaining work involves completing the final connections and testing before the cables can be returned to service, and our teams have since resumed work as conditions permit.”

He said the electrical equipment had already undergone high-voltage testing, with the latest test reaching 15kV.

“Further cleaning and preparation is under way before additional tests can be conducted at higher levels.

“Once the equipment has passed the required checks, technicians will connect the repaired cables to available equipment so that electricity can be restored to more residents,” Mangena said.

City Power said it had reached 45% restoration by 7pm on Wednesday, helped by network changes made after the previous fire that allowed some sections to be brought back into operation while repairs continued.

The restoration would continue in stages as individual sections are repaired, tested and confirmed safe to energise.

“There is therefore still no full restoration time for all remaining affected areas.

“The work was being carried out in a damaged underground environment and had to be done carefully to protect workers and members of the public,” he said.

Residents and businesses have been urged not to go to the central substation to check on progress because the site is dangerous and access is restricted.

TimesLIVE

About 100 students arrived at the 1820 Settlers National Monument, where the university was holding a graduation ceremony. They then started protesting at about 8.30am, prompting police to intervene.

SAPS spokesperson Brig Nobuntu Gantana said the operational commander read out a court order from the high court in Makhanda that barred protest action aimed at disrupting graduation proceedings.

Eastern Cape police have arrested 13 Rhodes University students for allegedly violating a court order barring them from protesting. The arrests were effected on Friday morning outside Settlers Monument where a graduation ceremony was underway. More on the story to follow.… pic.twitter.com/zZGAwnK1Zt

— Sowetan (@Sowetan1981) October 2, 2026

She said the crowd was given ample time and warnings to disperse peacefully but did not comply.

Gantana said the public order police unit then moved in to clear the area, using stun grenades and rubber bullets. The 13 arrested protesters, aged 19 to 23, were charged with contravening a court order.

No serious injuries were reported.

Students, however, gave a different account, claiming they were sitting peacefully outside the monument when they were told to leave within five minutes and that police used teargas and chased them once the time was up.

“We weren’t doing anything; we were sitting on the grass, and then we were told we had five minutes to leave, and then after the five minutes ended, they started throwing teargas and started arresting students,” one said.

“We weren’t blocking the road or trying to get inside the monument; we were on the grass, and they said they’re giving us five minutes to leave because we’re not allowed to protest, then they started chasing us and arresting some of us,” said another student.

The arrests come after tensions have been rising at the university since the beginning of the week. The students are against the university’s new protocol on the payment of student fees, which takes effect in 2027. The new regime will require self-funded students to pay part of their existing debt before they can register next year.

The university said the payments were important to manage its cash flow.

Sowetan

Stream courtesy of SABC

TimesLIVE

Companies routinely warn that policy changes could affect their business, particularly government contractors. For example, SpaceX said in its IPO filing that maintaining strong relationships with US government agencies is critical to its business and warned that any deterioration in those relationships could materially harm its ability to retain existing business and win new opportunities.

Anthropic’s disclosure appears broader, suggesting that government perceptions of the company and its conduct could extend beyond its direct dealings to affect customers, partners, other commercial relationships — and even civilisation. The filing warns that advanced AI could pose “catastrophic or existential risks to humanity”, an extraordinary warning by a company planning an IPO that could be valued at $2-trillion (R33.44-trillion) for the firm’s capacity to profit from the same technology.

The company said revenue from government agency contracts accounts for less than 1% of its annual revenue.

The company has become a magnet for concern about the risks carried by the rapid advancement, intense global competition and limited oversight of AI technologies. The broad question of AI safety has come into the public eye recently with Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei’s call for the industry to slow its development after repeated accounts of hacking activity by so-called rogue autonomous AI agents.

Amodei met US President Donald Trump last Sunday for dinner as calls for greater regulation of AI have grown. Trump has largely rejected those calls, though the Federal Trade Commission is conducting an industry-wide probe of AI firms, including Anthropic, Reuters reported on Wednesday.

In the prospectus, Anthropic cited several interactions with the US government over the past year as examples of actions that could hurt its business.

The filing said that in February the president ordered federal agencies to stop using the company’s models and that the US department of defence designated Anthropic a supply chain risk to national security.

“The company may experience material revenue losses or business disruptions attributable to these events,” Anthropic said.

It also said that in June the US department of commerce imposed worldwide export restrictions on its Fable 5 and Mythos 5 models, prompting the company to disable the models for all customers to ensure compliance.

While the commerce department later lifted those restrictions and Anthropic redeployed the models, the company warned that similar actions could occur in the future.

Such measures could result in “significant reputational harm, including adverse media coverage, public scrutiny, and negative perceptions among existing and prospective customers, partners, employees, and investors”, regardless of the ultimate outcome.

The company added that selling to government agencies carries additional risks, including changes in the government’s view of Anthropic or its technology.

Reuters

Leclerc lapped the 5.543km circuit with a time of 1:37.528 seconds, less than a tenth of a second faster than Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar who improved his lap time on the soft tyres.

McLaren’s reigning world champion Lando Norris was third-fastest in FP2 after finishing 12th in the first session at the Sepang International Circuit, which is hosting the Bahrain race due to the conflict in the Middle East.

Red Bull’s four-times world champion Max Verstappen had dominated the opening session and still held the fastest time of the day (1:37.520) from FP1, but could only manage fourth in the second session as he eyes his first win of the season.

Verstappen won the last Malaysian Grand Prix in 2017 before it dropped off the F1 calendar, with the government saying it could no longer justify the costs.

Friday’s sessions unfolded under sunny skies, though a dusty start-finish straight created hazy viewing conditions, and teams were relieved to see the rain stay away.

Stewards investigate Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton found himself in hot water when he impeded Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto at turn nine and the Ferrari driver was summoned to meet the stewards after the session.

“I can’t see through my right mirror, so keep me up to date,” Hamilton said later on the team radio.

The seven-times world champion was also investigated last weekend after the practice session in Baku for impeding Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson through a high-speed section of the track.

Hamilton was fifth-fastest while McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, who had been 11th in FP1, improved to sixth.

The Mercedes duo of George Russell and Antonelli were seventh and eighth fastest while Liam Lawson and Pierre Gasly completed the top 10.

Russell had been second-fastest in FP1 despite struggling with tyre degradation.

Mercedes, who brought a new upgrade package to their car, arrived sporting a vibrant teal-green livery at the home track of their title sponsor Petronas.

While Russell appeared to adapt quickly to the circuit he was driving on for the first time in FP1, Antonelli was more than a second off the pace but improved to a little over half a second off the pace in FP2.

The Mercedes duo are separated by 66 points at the top of the championship standings.

Virtual safety car

With two minutes to go in the session, Bortoleto was forced to stop his car on the track and the Brazilian climbed out while complaining over the team radio about his gearbox, triggering the virtual safety car as marshals pushed his car to the side.

Earlier, the FIA said Hadjar, Lindblad and Franco Colapinto exceeded their seasonal allowances for engines and the three drivers received grid penalties.

Racing Bulls confirmed Lindblad was taking a fifth new power unit and would start at the back, while Colapinto received a 10-place grid penalty for exceeding his internal combustion engine allocation for the first time.

Colapinto had already been given a five-place grid penalty for causing the crash at turn one in Baku, which took out teammate Gasly and Norris.

Reuters

Senegal faced frequent power cuts throughout September in the capital and elsewhere.

Minister El Hadji Abdourahmane Diouf said on Thursday that electricity demand was rising rapidly and hot weather caused it to hit a higher-than-expected peak of 1,400MW in August.

While Senegal has an installed capacity of more than 2,300MW, the system was not able to meet demand due to insufficient fuel supply and technology breakdowns, he said.

Senegal mainly depends on diesel to generate electricity and is moving towards gas to lower costs, aiming to cut its dependence on costly imported fuels.

The country is expected to build about 340km of gas pipelines to enable it to transport its own natural gas, Diouf said.

Senegal has not signed any oil or gas contracts since 2017, but the energy ministry has redrawn its map of blocks, making them smaller and potentially more attractive to investors.

Out of 113 offshore and onshore blocks, five will be evaluated by an Italian oil company, Eni, and 104 will be presented to investors on a roadshow, he said.

Reuters

Some Republican candidates are unsure whether Trump’s presence helps or hurts them, but he wants to be the face of the party’s midterm effort and plans to campaign in a number of competitive House of Representatives and Senate races.

“Pretend I’m running, please,” he said on Thursday at a rally in Durant, Oklahoma.

Trump’s rallies took place in safe Republican territory, starting in Denton, Texas, before going to Oklahoma, as he looked to build momentum before plunging into more competitive races. But visits to solid conservative areas have sparked worries from some party officials about the number of seats Republicans risk losing and the spectre that some candidates may not want to appear alongside their party’s unpopular standard bearer.

On landing in Texas, Trump said his campaign trips this week, which will include a stop in Alabama on Friday, are gestures of “respect” to states that supported his three White House bids.

During his winding 55-minute speech at a Peterbilt truck factory in Denton, Trump said he was throwing himself into Republicans’ midterm efforts. “My heart is in it like never before,” he said.

Weather concerns kept the presidential aircraft grounded after Trump arrived in Texas, so he travelled to Oklahoma by motorcade at high speed. The press vehicle reached 158kph at one point.

Later, in Durant, Trump expressed concern about how Republican candidates were doing in some key states. “We’re worried about Michigan, we’re worried about Texas, and we’re worried about a few states,” he told the Oklahoma crowd, instructing them to encourage their friends in other states to vote.

Trump told supporters at a White House event on Wednesday that he had done a bad job so far in selling his economic record since returning to the White House in January 2025. Voter discontent over his handling of the economy has fuelled a shift in the electoral map, with some safe Republican seats now viewed as competitive in November by political analysts.

“We have the greatest numbers of any president in the history of our country, and I can’t get the word out,” he lamented on Thursday at the Texas event.

Heavy spending

Texas is among eight US Senate races rated competitive. Republican candidate Ken Paxton, the state’s attorney-general, appeared with Trump on Thursday, the day after a report about a recording in which Paxton told campaign donors that Trump’s midterm convention in September hurt him and other Republican candidates.

In Denton, Trump called Paxton one of the “most loyal people”.

“I have to always remember that because he can be a pain in the ass sometimes,” he said without elaborating.

The Paxton campaign dismissed the recording as “manipulated nonsense”. Trump on Wednesday told reporters he had not heard about the recording. “I can tell you that the convention was amazing,” he said in the Oval Office.

Trump backed the scandal-plagued Paxton over incumbent Senator John Cornyn in the Republican primary, forcing the party to spend heavily to defend a traditionally safe Republican seat from Democratic challenger James Talarico.

Diesel prices

Trump has drawn fire around the world for his use of tariffs. He used his trip on Thursday, including a stop at the Peterbilt factory, to defend his trade policy.

Some companies have challenged Trump’s tariffs in court, but the administration said Trump’s truck tariffs had enabled companies such as Paccar, owner of Peterbilt, to add more than 2,000 jobs nationwide, including about 1,000 at the Texas plant.

The costs to power these diesel and petrol trucks recently reached record levels in Texas, stemming from the economic fallout of the Iran war. Diesel in the state hit a record high of $5.97 (R99) per gallon two weeks ago, and the average petrol price of $3.92 per gallon is almost 44% higher year-over-year, according to travel analyst AAA.

On Friday, Trump will continue his campaign rallies in Alabama, another reliable conservative state.

The president is set to hit more competitive territory on Saturday in Ohio, a state he won with 55% of the vote in the 2024 election but where Senator Jon Husted now faces a close re-election race. Trump will also rally on Monday in Nebraska, where Republicans are facing a challenging House race in Omaha and a Senate race that has shown signs in recent days of tightening.

Reuters

The outbreak, caused by the Bundibugyo species of Ebola, became the largest and deadliest in the DRC after surpassing the 2018-2020 epidemic.

It is now second only to the 2014-2016 West African Ebola outbreak, which infected more than 28,600 people and killed more than 11,000 in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

Government figures showed on Friday that the death toll had risen to 4,018, and confirmed cases had reached 8,300 in seven provinces.

More than 2,000 patients have recovered from the disease.

The DRC government and the UN said last month there were signs that transmission was slowing in some parts of Ituri province, where the outbreak began. But it continues to spread fast across eastern DRC, including in neighbouring North Kivu.

South Ubangi province, located in the northwest of the country, became the seventh province to declare the outbreak last month after a man who had travelled from eastern DRC died of the virus.

Reuters

Story audio is generated using AI

Bafana Bafana mentor Pitso Mosimane couldn’t stop raving about 21-year-old Relebohile Mofokeng, who scored a brace in Bafana’s 5-0 win over Eritrea on Wednesday in Cairo to break his duck in the national side.

Mofokeng, who’s also been in great form for his Belgian topflight side Royale Union Saint-Gilloise, had never officially scored for Bafana in his previous 16 appearances.

It is worth noting that the young sensation scored in Bafana’s 2-0 win over Lesotho in a World Cup qualifier in March last year, before Fifa nullified the fixture because SA had unlawfully played suspended Teboho Mokoena.

“Rele is a top player, and he’s showing why he’s gone to Europe. And he’s scoring, by the way, in Europe ... He’s not only scoring for us, he’s also been doing it at his club,” Mosimane said.

Mofokeng has now scored six goals and racked up two assists in the last six matches for both club and country.

I’ve told him that he needs to score goals; No 10s score goals. [The] No 10 isn’t just there to give assists and play between the line

Pitso Mosimane, Bafana Bafana coach

Mosimane has stressed that Mofokeng, who joined Saint-Gilloise from Orlando Pirates in July, must continue to find the back of the net as a playmaker.

“It’s good that we have Rele back, and that’s the most important thing. Rele must score goals and he’s scoring goals, so we know what he can do with the ball. He’s a magician on the ball, a clever and intelligent player,” he said.

“I’ve told him that he needs to score goals; No 10s score goals. [The] No 10 isn’t just there to give assists and play between the lines ... you have to score goals because of that opportunity.

“He’s intelligent, and you don’t teach him anything ... he’s just God’s gift. What a brilliant player! I am happy for Rele.”

Mofokeng is expected to play a crucial role again when Bafana face Egypt in a friendly at Cairo International Stadium on Sunday (8pm SA time).

Mofokeng has developed to be a starter under Mosimane, having struggled to convince the previous coach, Hugo Broos, that he was ready to start matches. He started six of the 15 games he played under the Belgian, coming off the bench nine times.

Sowetan

Global policymakers are expected to discuss the huge challenges facing developing countries at the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank in the Thai capital Bangkok from October 12 to 18, UNDP administrator Alexander De Croo told reporters.

He warned that events could trigger a “domino effect with many countries being pushed into financial distress” but stopped short of calling for a new round of debt relief.

The IMF-World Bank meetings will bring together top financial officials from around the world for talks on the global economy, AI, climate change and other challenges, as government borrowing costs hit their highest in several decades on heightened concerns about inflation as the Iran war drives up energy prices.

At the same time, the strongest El Niño weather effect since 1950 is expected to trigger more floods in some regions and droughts in others, plunging an expected 49-million more people into food insecurity by the end of 2027.

De Croo said the UNDP surveys conducted since the start of the war in the Middle East showed it had morphed from a regional conflict to “a crisis which has an impact on about 100 countries”.

Many governments have taken steps to shield their citizens from the surge in oil prices, but their fiscal coffers are now running low and their debt levels are rising, with no real relief in sight, he said, adding that countries should focus on measures to help the most vulnerable.

While some countries were diversifying their energy sources and adapting their food systems, those efforts would take time, leaving them in a “really tough, tough spot” for now.

Subsidy burden

UNDP chief economist George Gray Molina said a major shift was seen in September, as some governments began to allow higher energy prices to flow through to citizens and started rolling back subsidies, tax relief and other steps that had kept food and energy prices largely in check since the war began.

“That means they’re not able to contain, fiscally and financially, that burden,” he said. “We think this is a significant issue that needs to be discussed.” Even middle-income countries had rapidly depleted their fiscal buffers as they raced to mitigate rising energy prices.

Molina said bond market and oil price developments over the next 60 days would be crucial. Higher prices had already contributed to protests and social unrest in 10 countries in September, the UNDP said.

And many countries expect conditions to deteriorate.

Twenty-two of 26 nations surveyed by the UNDP rated the crisis as a high or medium priority; 13 said it came on top of an existing economic or fiscal crisis, and all 26 judged that the worst was still to come.

Reuters

Messages of condolence have been pouring in, with the Southern African Music Rights Organisation (Samro) also extending its condolences. The organisation described Mlangeni as an influential voice in South African music for nearly six decades, celebrated for classics such as “Sala Emma”, “Bua Nnete” and “Botsotso”.

Mlangeni spent more than five decades in the music industry. His distinctive voice and songs about love and life became part of the soundtrack of many South Africans’ lives.

Born in Orlando East, Soweto in 1943, he lost his sight at the age of three. He later went to the Athlone School for the Blind in Cape Town, where he learnt to play the guitar. There he also helped start a student band that became known as The All-Rounders.

The group’s sound helped to shape what became known as township soul, or South African soul. Mlangeni was its lead singer.

His best-known song, “Sala Emma”, was a tender Sesotho ballad that he wrote about his wife, Emma. It made him a household name and is still seen as his signature hit. The song reached people well beyond the Sesotho-speaking community.

“Bua Nnete”, which came out in the early 1970s, was another big moment in his career. More popular recordings followed, including Botsotso, Lonely Man and Umadlembathini.

Mlangeni sang in isiZulu, Sesotho and isiXhosa, which helped his music cross language and cultural lines. He built his career at a time when blind musicians faced many obstacles. Beyond singing, he was also a guitarist and composer.

His work was honoured multiple times. He received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the South African Music Awards in 2017, and another at the National Arts and Culture Awards in 2025.

Mlangeni also made time for the next generation and mentored fellow visually impaired musician Steve Kekana.

His songs, which span several decades, remain an important part of South Africa’s rich musical heritage.

TimesLIVE

Cost cap has made it worse, not better

James Vowles, Williams team principal

Teams have a limit for spending on performance-related activities each season, with the cap at $215m (about R3.56bn) for 2026.

That, said Vowles, has created a “two-tier championship” where the top four teams — Mercedes, Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari — have actually tightened their grip, rather than levelling the playing field.

“Cost cap has made it worse, not better. I’m probably unique because — it’s not a compliment — but I went from the best team to the worst team,” said Vowles, who has the unique perspective of moving from championship-winning Mercedes to struggling Williams.

“What I hadn’t appreciated or realised when you do that jump is just how little exists. When you make a cost cap, I’m not spending money on the car, I’m spending tens of millions just on basic systems just so you know where a part is in the factory.

“That’s not going to the car, that’s not going to an upgrade. It’s going on systems that I need to just do the basics, so we’re caught in a cost cap trap,” he added at a press conference.

Vowles said statistics backed him up, with the top four teams scoring 83% of available points over the past five years under the cost cap regulations.

“In other words, we have made the situation worse, where the top four are the top four and all the rest of us are fighting over 17% of the points,” the 47-year-old said.

Williams finished fifth in the teams’ standings last year, 261 points behind Ferrari, which Vowles described as “an absolute gulf” despite podium finishes.

However, he said the solution was not to scrap the cost cap entirely, as the sport was financially stable as a result.

“But we do need to think about what mechanisms we have in there to make sure we all play with the same tools and the same mechanisms to be able to make things better,” he said.

Williams are ninth in the standings this year with 12 points, and Vowles admitted that they have “gone backwards”.

“The reality is we’re too far away, which is what I was fearful of, and it’s still exposing those weaknesses. Those will not be addressed this year.”

Reuters

Bafana beat Guinea 2-1 in Mosimane’s first match back in charge before producing a convincing 5-0 win over Eritrea in Cairo on Wednesday.

The results have left South Africa in a strong position in their Afcon qualifying group, while the team’s attacking display has given fans plenty to talk about.

Relebohile Mofokeng was one of the standout players against Eritrea, scoring twice to register his first international goals.

Oswin Appollis also played a key role, providing three assists in the match.

Mosimane has also brought younger players into the squad, with the 30-player group having an average age of 24. He said the aim was not simply to lower the age of the squad but to combine young talent with experience.

“We had to bring in five new players and had to bring young players, [some based in] Europe, give them the opportunity to play,” Mosimane said. “That’s all we wanted, to bring the age down, but also don’t focus only on bringing the age down; experience also helps.”

Mosimane said the team’s foundation was good but wanted Bafana to improve further. “The foundation is good. It’s the team coming from the World Cup. But just improve it a little bit and let’s try to score more goals.”

The 5-0 victory also showed the attacking options available to the coach, with Mofokeng, Appollis, Siphephelo Sithole and substitute Luther Singh among the players involved in the goals.

There has been some criticism that Bafana could have scored even more against Eritrea, but it remains early in Mosimane’s second stint.

TimesLIVE

After months of tension, fighting has erupted in northern Ethiopia between federal troops and a rebel alliance headed by Tigrayan forces.

On the surface, the clashes look like the revival of the 2020-2022 civil war that pitted the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) against the federal government and killed hundreds of thousands of people.

This time, however, the Horn of Africa region with Ethiopia at its heart is much more unstable.

Tangled alliances and rivalries

The opposing sides in the fighting have ties to countries embroiled in a string of other interconnected conflicts, rivalries and alliances, all driven by past enmities and competition over influence and territory.

That tangled web stretches from Chad in north-central Africa to the heart of the Middle East. Each intervention across one border risks adjusting calculations across others. Experts fear war could spread far beyond Ethiopia’s frontiers.

Unlike in the 2020-2022 war, Ethiopia and neighbouring Eritrea now find themselves on opposing sides.

Conflict in their shared neighbour, Sudan, has drawn in both countries, alongside other states in Africa and the Gulf.

Down the coast, Somalia’s security crises are deepening, threatening to fragment the country further as foreign powers eye its self-governing regions for their coastline.

Against this background, the Iran war and the involvement of Yemen’s Houthis just across the Red Sea from Eritrea have increased concerns about trade routes through that waterway.

Underpinning much of the tension is the feud between Saudi Arabia and the UAE, which escalated in Yemen last year but has spilt over into the Horn of Africa.

How important is the fallout between Ethiopia and Eritrea?

In the last war, Eritrean forces supported Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government. This time, Ethiopia accuses Eritrea of backing the rebel alliance, an accusation Eritrea denies. Eritrea severed diplomatic ties with Ethiopia after Addis Ababa ordered the closure of its embassy in Asmara.

Diplomats and analysts say Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki is, for now, providing rebels with access to the coast and the rest of the world through his country. During the last war, Tigrayan forces were cut off on all sides.

At the heart of the shifting alliances are decades of conflict and distrust. Ethiopia and Eritrea fought each other between 1998 and 2000. One core point of contention is Ethiopia’s long-standing quest to restore direct access to the sea, lost when Eritrea gained independence in 1993.

The head of Ethiopia’s military has accused Sudan and Egypt of supporting Eritrean operations in Ethiopia. Both countries have denied any meddling.

Both are also at odds with Ethiopia over its development of a giant hydroelectric dam that they say could threaten their access to water.

Why is the Ethiopia fighting linked to the war in Sudan?

Sudan has been divided by a three-year power struggle between its military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) that has created one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.

Both sides rely heavily on support from external backers, who are pressing for regional influence and pushing their own causes.

The UAE, a major backer of the Ethiopian government, has supported the RSF, according to UN experts. The UAE denies the accusations.

While relationships are not hard and fast, Saudi Arabia is broadly aligned with Sudan’s military, Egypt and Eritrea — all of whom are rivals of Ethiopia

Ethiopia has also been accused of backing the RSF, including hosting a secret training camp in the west of the country. Addis Ababa denies it supports the RSF.

For its part, Sudan’s military has had backing from a range of actors, including Egypt and Eritrea, while maintaining close ties with Saudi Arabia.

Underscoring how such ties can stoke conflict across borders, several diplomats said some Tigrayan forces have fought alongside Sudan’s army and that Khartoum hosted meetings that led to the creation of the Ethiopian rebel alliance.

Why does the UAE-Saudi rivalry matter in Africa?

In recent years, the UAE has become an influential player, forging relationships in the Horn of Africa through multibillion dollar investments, robust diplomacy and discreet military support.

The UAE has struck deals with Somalia’s breakaway region of Somaliland and semi-autonomous Puntland — both of which could help give its landlocked ally Ethiopia access to the Red Sea.

Israel, also an ally of Ethiopia, is the only country to have recognised Somaliland as independent and is training local forces there.

Saudi officials say Emirati activities in Yemen and the Horn threaten their national security, and Riyadh has been building its own alliance south of the Red Sea. An Emirati official said the Gulf and the Horn of Africa regions depended on each other, and the UAE was providing essential investment and security that African leaders were calling for.

While relationships are not hard and fast, Saudi Arabia is broadly aligned with Sudan’s military, Egypt and Eritrea — all of whom are rivals of Ethiopia.

Reuters

A long-running dispute over minority rights had strained ties between Budapest and Kyiv and complicated Hungary’s support for Ukraine’s ambition to join the EU.

“The bill strengthens the legal guarantees of education in the Hungarian language, and the network of educational institutions,” Prime Minister Peter Magyar said in a Facebook post.

Magyar has taken a less confrontational stance towards Kyiv than his predecessor Viktor Orban, but he too has said that progress on boosting the rights of about 100,000 ethnic Hungarians in Ukraine is a prerequisite for Budapest’s backing of Ukraine’s EU accession.

Hungary’s foreign minister, Anita Orban (no relation to the former prime minister) said on Friday that Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Vsevolod Chentsov had informed her that the bill on education rights would be submitted to the Ukrainian parliament with a decision expected this month.

“We welcome this step, which was preceded by bilateral Hungarian-Ukrainian expert-level talks in recent weeks and consultations with representatives of the Transcarpathian Hungarian community,” Orban wrote in a Facebook post.

This step follows a June announcement from Magyar that Hungary and Ukraine had reached an agreement on the language, cultural and educational rights of the Hungarian minority in Ukraine.

At the time, Magyar said that once Ukraine enshrines the terms of that agreement in legislation, as well as its action plan for its EU accession talks, Hungary would support the opening of the first cluster of Ukraine’s accession talks.

Magyar has repeatedly said his government does not support accelerated membership talks for Ukraine.

Reuters

Story audio is generated using AI

The Gauteng High Court in Pretoria has authorised a warrant for Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula after she failed to appear in court on Friday.

The warrant will be held until her scheduled appearance on November 11.

Mapisa-Nqakula’s testimony was cut short on Tuesday when she fell ill while on the stand. Although she was scheduled to resume testifying on Friday, she failed to appear in court.

Defence counsel Siyabulela Mapoma presented a medical certificate on her behalf and requested a postponement. The state acknowledged receipt of the medical report and did not oppose the application.

The trial has been postponed to November 11-20, with a second session set for November 30 to December 4.

Mapisa-Nqakula faces 12 counts of corruption and one count of money laundering linked to her tenure as defence minister between 2016 and 2019. She is accused of soliciting R4.5m in bribes, R2.1m of which was allegedly paid in cash from South African National Defence Force (SANDF) logistics contractor Nombasa Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu to secure and maintain government tenders.

Mapisa-Nqakula has denied all charges.

TimesLIVE

Volvo Cars, which is majority owned by China’s Geely Holding, has struggled to meet previous profitability targets because of tariffs, weaker electric vehicle demand and high development costs.

It said in a statement that the market backdrop had resulted in lower than expected sales and a weaker full-year outlook for the company. It did not specify new guidance.

“This is partly expected because we’ve seen that the market has been very tough,” Handelsbanken analyst Hampus Engellau said of the pulled sales guidance.

Shares in the company were down 3% at 08:00 GMT after losing as much as 4% in early trade to a record low of 14.60 crowns per share. The shares have lost about 50% of their value this year.

“The decline is primarily driven by further deteriorating market conditions in China and slower than expected recovery in the US, while Europe remains resilient,” Volvo Cars said.

In a separate statement, the company said it sold 141,609 cars in the third quarter, down 11% from a year earlier.

Industry volumes remained under significant pressure in China, with the market downturn showing no signs of easing, it said, adding that recovery in the premium segment of the US market had been slower than expected.

Previous guidance, given in July, was for significantly stronger sales in the second half of the year and strong positive free cash flow towards the end of the year.

The company said last month that Skoda boss Klaus Zellmer would become its chief executive within a year as it seeks to revive sales in an increasingly competitive market.

Reuters

In a long-awaited report released on Tuesday, the commission has proposed two new pieces of legislation that would allow public sector patients and their families to seek redress either through the courts or through a new administrative system overseen by the national health department.

It does not consider medical negligence claims against private healthcare practitioners, which are the focus of a separate inquiry into culpable homicide charges against healthcare professionals and the soaring cost of indemnity insurance.

The commission’s proposals seek to tackle the government’s long-standing concerns about the scale of the medico-legal claims levelled against the state and the risk they pose to provincial health budgets.

Provincial health departments reported contingent liabilities (the cost if all claims were successful) of R62.4bn in the 2023/24 fiscal year. While only a small fraction of medical negligence claims are paid out, the sums are not budgeted for and divert funds allocated for frontline health services. Total payouts to successful claimants ran to R1.5bn in 2023/24, half of which was paid out in Gauteng.

“The extent of medico-legal litigation against the state has reached a level where it is adversely and prejudicially impacting in a serious manner on service delivery in the public health sector and endangering the constitutional right of access to healthcare services,” said the SALRC.

Unscrupulous lawyers

Officials have frequently expressed concern at the ease with which unscrupulous lawyers and relatives can syphon off money from lump sum settlements, leaving victims dependent on public services and effectively making the state pay twice.

A nationwide probe by the Special Investigating Unit into medico-legal claims that began in 2022 saved the state more than R3.1bn.

The legislation proposed by the SALRC is also important because it gives parliament the task of amending the law to accommodate structured settlements, which several provincial health departments have tried to do but failed.

In the most recent case, the Supreme Court of Appeal jettisoned the Eastern Cape health department’s plan to use public sector services to provide support to a child born with severe cerebral palsy instead of paying out a one-off, multimillion-rand sum for care in the private sector.

In a ruling handed down in February, the court said the matter was so controversial it should be dealt with by parliament. The Eastern Cape, which had conceded negligence, is appealing the ruling in the Constitutional Court.

The Redress for Medical Negligence Claims against State Bill, overseen by the health minister, proposes establishing a public health redress commission to consider applications for compensation from the state without taking the matter to court.

Successful claimants, who have proved there was medical negligence, will receive structured settlements with three components: health services that are provided or procured by the state; a lump sum award for general damages, past expenses and the cost of devices and technology that cannot be provided or procured by the state; and periodic payments based on compensation guidelines for future damages such as the loss of earnings and caregiving services.

The Medico-Legal Litigation Against the State Bill, which will fall under the minister of justice & constitutional development, proposes a series of pre-trial measures that seek to reduce the number of cases that go to court.

The bill also contains provisions to set up dedicated medico-legal units in provincial health departments and establish provincial and national databases of medical negligence claims to eliminate duplicate claims. It too provides for redress in the form of structured settlements.

The SALRC said its proposed legislative reforms should be accompanied by measures to raise the quality of public health services, including improved oversight, accountability and financial management. It also urged provincial health departments to implement better record keeping and not to defend indefensible claims.

Wits chair of Social Security Systems Alex van den Heever said changing how compensation is paid would not remove the actual cost of caring for injured people or the systems failures that generate new claims.

“Public provision and periodic payments could be considered, but only where reliable care, funding and payment can be demonstrated, with timely alternatives when these arrangements fail. Otherwise, some cashflow relief, which only defers rather than eliminates costs, simply transfers risk and administrative burdens to the injured parties and their vulnerable families,” he said

“The priority should be to prevent instances of negligence and secure valid compensation and not merely reduce the amount paid out today,” he said.

*This story was updated on October 2 2026 with comment from Alex van den Heever.

Business Day

Addis Ababa has accused Eritrea, Sudan and Egypt of supporting an opposition alliance led by the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) that has battled troops loyal to Ethiopia’s federal government since last week. The three countries deny the accusation.

The AU commission urged the three countries to exercise maximum restraint and refrain from actions or statements that could worsen tensions and undermine regional peace and stability.

The clashes mark the biggest escalation of fighting in Ethiopia since the end of a 2020-2022 civil war in which hundreds of thousands of people were killed. Eritrea had fought in support of Ethiopia’s federal government in that conflict.

Ethiopia’s foreign ministry said on Thursday it had “decided to close its embassy in Asmara, Eritrea, in response to Eritrea’s direct and indirect acts of hostility and belligerence against Ethiopia”.

It also said in a post on its X account that 10 Eritrean diplomats, whom it did not name, were required to leave Ethiopia within 48 hours.

Response

Eritrea’s information minister, Yemane Gebremeskel, said that by expelling all Eritrean diplomats from Ethiopia, the government was effectively closing its embassy in Addis Ababa.

“Eritrea has no option but to reciprocate in kind and sever all diplomatic ties with Ethiopia with all the negative corollaries that this entails,” the foreign ministry said.

Ethiopia’s government also declared an Egyptian diplomat persona non grata and ordered him to leave the country within 48 hours, the state-run Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation and two sources with knowledge of the matter said.

Egypt’s state-affiliated Al Qahera News, citing a senior Egyptian source, said Cairo had responded in kind by declaring an Ethiopian embassy counsellor in Egypt persona non grata and giving him 48 hours to leave.

The source described Ethiopia’s move against the Egyptian diplomat as “unfortunate” and unjustified and said Egypt had consistently rejected interference in the internal affairs of other countries.

Egyptian foreign ministry spokesperson Nader Zaki said Cairo’s action was justified.

“Reciprocity is the currency of diplomacy,” he said.

The sabre-rattling moves came hours after explosions were heard in Ethiopia’s capital and added to concerns that the fighting could spiral into a wider regional conflict.

The AU commission late on Thursday urged the three countries “to address their differences through established diplomatic channels and peaceful dialogue”.

A source linked to the opposition alliance said it had carried out several drone strikes in Addis Ababa, including some that targeted the military’s headquarters.

If confirmed, it would be the first known drone attack by anti-government forces on Addis Ababa, which is hundreds of kilometres from the front lines in the northern regions of Tigray, Amhara and Afar.

Three diplomatic sources, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter, confirmed the blasts. Witnesses said there was no damage visible near the military base.

Spokespeople for Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s office, the federal government, the Ethiopian National Defence Force (ENDF) and the TPLF did not respond to requests for comment.

Friend turned foe

Ethiopia’s embassy in Eritrea was reopened in 2018 as part of a rapprochement with Asmara that won Abiy Ahmed the Nobel Peace Prize.

The militaries of both countries fought side by side against the TPLF, Tigray’s main party, during the 2020-2022 war. But Eritrea was not a party to the peace deal that ended the fighting in November 2022, and relations between the two nations quickly soured.

The two governments have also exchanged words over the issue of access to the Red Sea, with landlocked Ethiopia insisting that sea access is vital for its security and economy. Asmara has said it fears Addis Ababa will try to take its Assab port by force.

Days after the latest clashes broke out, the chief administrator of the northern Afar region, Haji Awol Arba, told Al Jazeera that Eritrean soldiers had crossed into Afar to join the opposition alliance’s offensive.

Eritrea’s information minister did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Federal troops and allied militiamen, meanwhile, made fresh gains in Tigray and Afar, a pro-government militia said on Thursday. Reuters could not independently verify the claims.

Drone flights over capital banned

The national intelligence service has banned drones over Addis Ababa. Opposition forces had not previously been known to use armed drones, but there is growing evidence they may possess some capability.

On Tuesday, the pro-government Tigray Peace Forces (TPF) militia said it had captured drone frames and batteries from forces linked to the TPLF, which is the main political party in Tigray.

Edward Bach, senior Africa analyst at risk intelligence company Verisk Maplecroft, said the opposition’s ability to strike Addis Ababa would be “a political game-changer”, undermining any government narrative that the capital is unaffected by the war and narrowing a key tactical advantage for federal forces, their aerial superiority.

Federal forces have been advancing in southern Tigray, edging closer to the regional capital Mekelle, while the opposition alliance has captured towns in neighbouring Afar.

Pro-government forces also recaptured the town of Erbeti in Afar, which TPLF forces had seized at the start of the conflict, the TPF said on X, thanking the ENDF for “magnificent air support”.

In Afar, where the TPLF captured several towns in the early days of the new conflict, fighting has forced tens of thousands of people to flee their homes, Valerie Browning, a founder of the Afar Pastoralist Development Association, said.

Reuters

The companies said on Friday that they intend to begin with a Phase III trial in first-line triple-negative breast cancer.

The deal builds on AstraZeneca’s $2bn (about R33.15bn) investment in Summit to collaborate on a series of studies testing their cancer treatments together.

Under the agreement, each company will contribute its respective medicine and share trial costs while retaining development and commercial rights to their own drugs.

Reuters

Domestic sales of 61,645 units last month represented a 12.7% increase compared with the 54,706 units sold in September 2025, reported motor industry body Naamsa.

This was despite rising fuel prices and the repo rate being increased by 25 basis points to 7.25% in September, while headline CPI inflation edged higher to 4.4% year-on-year in August, from 4.3% in July.

Against this backdrop, the performance of the domestic new vehicle market was particularly noteworthy, said Naamsa CEO Mncane Mthunzi.

“The South African new vehicle market closed the third quarter of 2026 on a remarkably resilient footing. This performance is particularly encouraging given the increasingly difficult operating environment facing consumers and businesses, including higher borrowing costs, renewed inflationary pressures and subdued economic growth,” he said.

“With affordability remaining a central consideration for vehicle buyers, competitive pricing, attractive financing propositions and a wider range of entry-level and value-orientated products are helping to sustain demand even as traditional macroeconomic fundamentals remain constrained.”

The passenger car segment was again the best performer in September, registering 44,291 sales, a 14.7% increase compared with September 2025. The car rental industry accounted for 18.4% of sales.

Light commercial vehicles, bakkies and minibuses accounted for 14,361 sales last month, a 9.6% increase over September 2025. Medium commercial vehicle sales reached 789 units, up 3.4%, while heavy trucks and buses sold 2,204 units, a decrease of 25 units.

South Africa’s new energy vehicle (NEV) market continued to grow strongly, noted Naamsa. During the first eight months of 2026, NEV sales reached 18,945 units, already surpassing the 16,703 units sold during the entire 2025 calendar year by 13.4%, with four months of 2026 still remaining.

Traditional hybrid electric vehicles continue to lead the NEV market, accounting for 49.6% of total NEV sales year-to-date, followed by plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) at 36.5% and battery electric vehicles (BEVs) at 13.8%.

The composition of the market is changing rapidly, with rechargeable vehicles — PHEVs and BEVs combined — now accounting for just more than half of all NEV sales, signalling an important shift from a market historically dominated by conventional hybrid technologies, said Naamsa. Year-to-date, about one in every 20 new vehicles sold in South Africa is now electrified.

Export sales amounted to 31,473 units last month, reflecting an 18.8% decrease compared with September 2025.

Toyota maintained its domestic market leadership last month, selling more than twice as many vehicles as its nearest competitor, Suzuki.

The top 15 brands were:

Toyota: 15,366 units

Suzuki: 6,668

Volkswagen group: 5,968

Ford: 3,190

Hyundai: 3,057

Isuzu: 3,022

Chery: 3,004

GWM: 2,700

Jetour: 2,036

Kia: 1,840

Renault: 1,711

Omoda & Jaecoo: 1,503

Mahindra: 1,398

BMW group: 1,396

Tata: 883

Story audio is generated using AI

The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) has pushed back on the ANC’s appeal before the Constitutional Court seeking to overturn the exclusion of the party in contesting in six municipalities.

The ANC, in a race against time, urgently seeks leave to appeal to the top court against the Electoral Court’s order, which dismissed the party’s appeal against the decision of the IEC to not accept the ANC’s nominations to contest in six municipalities due to failure to submit nominations before the deadline.

The litigation puts into the spotlight the commission’s requirements regulating the process of parties submitting nominated candidates on the commission’s online portal and whether such pass constitutional muster.

The top court’s judgment will set a precedent on the grounds on which a party can be disqualified in running for elections.

The ANC, led by Fikile Mbalula in the litigation, effectively challenges being unable to contest elections for proportional representation (PR) in four municipalities. It can only contest for ward councillors. In two municipalities it is not contesting wards or the proportional representation ballots in the November 4 municipal elections.

The ANC in its appeal asks the top court whether pressing “submit as final” is a condition of a valid electronic submission under the Municipal Electoral Act and regulations. The ANC was excluded from contesting in the six municipalities for failure to press “submit as final” nominations before the deadline.

The ANC argues a total of 2,274 candidates, from different parties, were captured on the system but were not finally submitted by the deadline and therefore excluded, affecting voters’ political rights in the affected municipalities.

IEC deputy chief electoral officer Akhtari Henning, in an affidavit before the top court, argues the Electoral Court’s judgment is final.

“Uploading and capturing nominations onto the [system] but without completing the last step of final submission does not constitute a submission or nomination in terms of the requirements of the law. This is the core finding of the Electoral Court. The court’s finding is unimpeachable,” Henning said.

He said the ANC’s litigation effectively challenges a decision taken by the commission in 2016 in regulating the submission of candidates contesting an election.

The litigation concerns the legal effect of a political party uploading candidate information to the IEC’s online candidate nomination system (OCNS) without clicking on the system’s “submit as final” function.

The substantive decision of the commission was taken in 2016, 10 years before this case arose, when the commission designed the OCNS to include the final submit requirement. The ANC accepted, consistently complied with and has never challenged that design decision until now.

Akhtari Henning, IEC deputy chief electoral officer

Henning argues the ANC has for the past decade been aware of the commission’s rule that failure to click on “submit as final” constitutes an incomplete submission.

“The [online system] in turn makes it clear that in order for the forms to be ‘completed’ the ‘final submission’ button must be pushed. In other words, there is no ‘submission’ of lists and nominations without a final submission ― even if information has been captured and uploaded,” Henning said in asking the court to dismiss the appeal.

Henning argues the regulations expressly require a party wishing to submit PR lists and ward candidate nominations electronically to do so by “completing the electronic forms” on the commission’s online system. The Electoral Court found that by failing to click on “submit as final” the ANC did not complete the nomination submissions.

The ANC has been operating on the system for 10 years and has never challenged the requirement to click the “submit as final” button as a step of completing the nomination process.

“The substantive decision of the commission was taken in 2016, 10 years before this case arose, when the commission designed the OCNS to include the final submit requirement. The ANC accepted, consistently complied with and has never challenged that design decision until now.”

The Electoral Court in dismissing the ANC’s case found that the requirement to click “submit as final” was important to confirm a political party’s final decision on the list, because before that step a candidate can be withdrawn from a party’s list.

“Until ‘submit as final’ is clicked, nominations remain provisional, capable of amendment, replacement or withdrawal. Only the clicking of that function communicated to the Electoral Commission that the party had finalised its nominations and intended them to be treated as its official nomination,” the court found.

Henning argues the ANC was aware of the requirement to click submit as a final step for nominations to be considered.

“The ANC knew that final submission was a requirement. First, the commission repeatedly emphasised the OCNS requirement to make a final submission, including at various training sessions across the country. The ANC representatives attended these meetings.”

The ANC complied with the requirements in 251 municipalities. Henning argues the reason the ANC could not comply with requirements in the six municipalities was because it ran out of time and stands to be disqualified for failure to meet the deadline.

“But why did it not do so for the six in issue? The ANC blames technical problems with the systems. It still does so in this court. But it has provided no evidence of such problems whatsoever.

“And the commission has shown the OCNS was working. The ineluctable inference to be drawn from all objective evidence is that the ANC simply ran out of time.

“By leaving the final submission step to the last moment for a number of municipalities, it could not complete the process.”

Business Day

Story audio is generated using AI

A public protector report released on Thursday, which relates to former Ekurhuleni city manager Imogen Mashazi, succinctly and timeously highlights how vitally important it is to ensure that qualified, competent people run our municipalities.

Among a series of investigation reports released by public protector Kholeka Gcaleka was one that found Mashazi had committed improper conduct by appointing an official who did not qualify for a senior metro police post.

That official was Ndumiso Gcwabe, who was appointed deputy chief of Metro Police: Security and Loss Control despite not having the required qualifications.

It seems no one bothered to check that his national diploma was an NQF level 7 qualification. As the accounting officer at the time, Mashazi was found guilty of improper conduct.

Unfortunately, Mashazi, who we all came to know well for her disdainful demeanour at the Madlanga commission and her penchant for luxury private jets, is now retired and cannot be sanctioned for her carelessness. But the silver lining is that she is facing potentially far more serious censure: criminal charges of corruption and defeating the ends of justice, alongside other City of Ekurhuleni officials.

With the 2026 local government elections a month away, South Africans have a window of opportunity to vote for a party they are confident will prioritise clean, efficient service delivery by ensuring officials are suitably qualified and can capably do the jobs they are hired to do.

Gcaleka raises two similar issues at other municipalities, in which unqualified applicants were appointed to senior positions due to a lack of basic checks, and adds that her office has received multiple complaints following the same pattern.

With the 2026 local government elections a month away, South Africans have a window of opportunity to vote for a party they are confident will prioritise clean, efficient service delivery by ensuring officials are suitably qualified and can capably do the jobs they are hired to do.

The Madlanga commission exposed the Ekurhuleni metro as an incubator for corruption and incompetence. A few wrong people in key positions can have a wide-reaching impact on the financial and operational stability of a municipality. And the knock-on effect of that, as we all know, is a marked drop in service delivery levels.

So before you mark your cross on the ballot paper on November 4, do your homework. Research track records. Put your local candidate on the spot and make it clear that your vote comes with a condition: they will be consistently assessed and held to account.

No jobs for pals or tenders for party donations. Clean governance all the way. Only with this zero tolerance approach will we be able to regenerate our battered towns and cities.

Story audio is generated using AI

There’s an obvious contradiction in telling women that their worth has nothing to do with their appearance when you have spent most of your adult life in industries involving catwalks, evening gowns, judges and crowns. Joani Jacobs knows that. The former Mrs South Africa is now CEO of the organisation she once competed in, founder and CEO of Ace Models International, wife, mother, entrepreneur and, with the publication of Crowned in Confidence, author. Her central message is that women need to stop outsourcing their self-worth to other people. Easier said than done.

Modern humans now carry several million other people around in their phones specifically so we can all judge one another.

“I want to remind women of their worth,” Jacobs says when I meet her for a coffee. “We start tying our worth to external factors — validation, other people’s opinions, success, looks. But worth is something we already have within.”

Her authority on the subject comes partly from having spent two decades building businesses in precisely the territory where external validation flourishes. Jacobs founded Ace Models in 2005, won Mrs South Africa in 2009 and, when the then owner of the pageant emigrated, was offered the opportunity to take over. She didn’t, she says, think twice. “I made a plan and I made it happen.”

She carries around the confidence of which she writes. Beneath the talk of crowns and confidence is a formidable businesswoman. Ace Models has grown from one academy into an international operation with more than 30 franchises, while Mrs South Africa has been deliberately repositioned under Jacobs from conventional beauty pageant to commercial business and female development programme.

The crown, in other words, didn’t create the entrepreneur. The entrepreneur worked out what to do with her crown. Jacobs argues that pageantry taught her things university couldn’t: how to walk into a room when terrified, speak in public, deal with clients and sponsors, work with people and, crucially, project confidence before she had any.

“You fake it till you make it in the beginning,” she says. “Even though you don’t know what you’re doing or you’re scared, you have to show up. People respect that.”

“If you want to change something because of an insecurity, because you feel you need to fit a certain mould, then it’s coming from the wrong place.”

It’s produced results. Under her watch, South Africa has had two Mrs World winners: Candice Abrahams and, most recently, Tshego Gaelae, who became the first black woman to win the international title in its then 40-year history. Ace Models’ alumna Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters, who started at the academy aged 12, went on to become Miss South Africa and Miss Universe.

But Jacobs immediately dismisses the notion that pageantry is just a collection of beautiful women smiling competitively at each other. She talks repeatedly about “sisterhood”: women she met through modelling and pageants who became mentors, friends and eventually bridesmaids. At Ace, modelling sits alongside public speaking, personal development and life skills. At Mrs South Africa, there are no height or weight restrictions, she says, and contestants come in different ages, shapes and sizes.

Still, it’s undeniable, beauty matters. Pretending otherwise doesn’t square with reality. Jacobs laughs when I tell her about an argument with my husband, who maintains women shouldn’t need make-up to feel good.

Her response? “Okay, well then tell him to leave the Porsche at home.”

It’s a good line because it neatly captures her philosophy. Wanting to look good and possessing substance aren’t mutually exclusive. The problem begins when enhancement comes from the conviction that the original product is defective.

“If you want to change something because of an insecurity, because you feel you need to fit a certain mould, then it’s coming from the wrong place,” she says. “It needs to come from confidence rather than insecurity.”

That distinction has become considerably harder for girls growing up in the age of Instagram faces, filters, fillers, likes and algorithmic approval. Jacobs sees it at close range with her teenage daughter, Jesse — the same adolescent negotiations around popularity, belonging and confidence that she remembers from growing up in Welkom, except now conducted before a potential audience of millions of strangers.

Her answer isn’t banning social media. “You can’t get away from it,” she says. Better to teach girls how to navigate it while repeatedly reinforcing who they are away from the screen.

Crowned in Confidence draws on Jacobs’s own experiences of bullying, motherhood, divorce, remarriage, faith and building businesses. It also makes a case for femininity in leadership — another word that’s become oddly contentious. She says she once believed female leaders needed to become harder to succeed in traditionally male environments. Age and experience changed her mind. “Femininity is a strength,” she says. “Vulnerability is a strength.”

There’s steel beneath the softness.

Her twenties started the businesses; her thirties, she says, were “building, building, building”. At 45, she’s written her first book and still intends doing an MBA, maybe at 50. “You’re never too old,” she says.

Jacobs’s book impresses me most on this topic. She doesn’t rather photogenically claim to have conquered insecurity. She admits that she hasn’t. There are wrinkles that weren’t there a few years ago, a changing body, perimenopause, days when she doesn’t feel her best. Confidence, she shares, doesn’t arrive with a tiara and remain permanently installed. Life keeps chipping away at it. The trick is knowing that what gets chipped is not your worth.

Jacobs has spent much of her life around women competing for crowns. Her book argues that the important one is the crown that isn’t an award — and that’s the crown no one gets to take away.

Jean-Paul Willemse, Kwela Books

Whether you love true-crime podcasts or are obsessed with the designer-clad gangsters on SA’s TV screens, gangsterism has been a subject discussed in many different forms. It’s also become synonymous with the townships of Cape Town, with a tendency for people to oversimplify this complex world and obsess over the crimes — the violent rape of women, the rags-to-riches tales and even dingy drug addictions. These become cautionary tales that are charged with moralistic codes that don’t seem to empathise with their characters or subjects.

But that is not the case with the debut novel from Jean-Paul Willemse. In Ashes of Euphoria, we get a window into the minds of youths trying to just see another day alive. Not necessarily to punish them or the gang-ridden Kraaifontein they call home in Cape Town, but to understand the psyche of township nihilism.

We follow three characters, Jameel, Zaid and Stacey. Each one goes through life-changing choices following the events of one fateful night.

Don’t get my summary of the story wrong — this is not some teen slop dripping with love triangles and neon-coloured eyeshadow. It is an immersive dive into the thick skin you need to develop when you live a life with so few options.

Rather than shame the need to resort to crime, it unpacks the decisions each character makes to have a better life or to simply keep scraps of food on the table. Something each thug at the top is trying to do in their own decrepit way.

The story is best understood through the eyes of Jameel: a people-pleaser who is too passive and, quite frankly, too high to grow a backbone. We get a great sense of gang-dominated Kraaifontein through his eyes — its dusty streets, the vibrant music from its humble homes and the loneliness left by his neglectful parents.

Jameel’s cousin, Zaid, is an OnlyFans star who sets off the events that change their lives forever. After filming a scene with Stacey (Jameel is a passive observer of the whole affair), their fame gets the attention of Vonkie, a local drug lord. This gets Jameel stuck in Vonkie’s gang while Stacey is human-trafficked.

It’s not a shack in an offshore country or a murky dockyard but rather a luxe mansion in Yzerfontein run by queenpin Abidemi. While she carries herself with the classiness of a British royal, she has the unyielding cruelty of Cersei Lannister and Griselda Blanco combined. It’s a trait many of the drug lords and corrupt officials operate with throughout the book. Vonkie’s Machiavellian plots used to trick Jameel into his gang showcase his lack of conscience.

Not a single page is wasted as events move quickly. The quiet town of Darling is the backdrop for the many shady deals and gunslinging fights the characters are embroiled in. And the speed at which it moves does not go without adverse effects on Stacey, Zaid and Jameel. Willemse unfurls the whiplash they feel as they try to adapt to unaccommodating circumstances, people and environments.

There’s a grossness that sticks to your skin as we learn about the fetishes of Abidemi’s sex-trafficking business and how Stacey plots her escape. But you quickly come to understand how to survive this dark corner of the world and how it’s really the consumer that seems to be the true monster, not just the suppliers.

It’s a faster pace compared with the spider’s web laid by Vonkie and the emotional chess expected of the cops and his lackeys. Jameel in particular struggles as a character who is often a bystander of his own life — the perfect victim to manipulative criminals who can pin him for murders he never committed and watch him as he normalises unwarranted violence. His arc best carries the book’s themes, while Stacey’s human trafficking ordeal quickly turns her into a John Wick-like character.

While we all have the opportunity to do the right thing and choose our destinies, what happens when those choices are unequal? Like any small town with poor services and cycles of poverty that are built to keep people stuck in a rat race to nowhere, Willemse’s Kraaifontein unfurls the difficulty of believing in better opportunities. It’s not the lack of money or education that makes the crime lord, but the systemic issues that are not resolved. A lawlessness that makes any young or old person normalise their resignation with no hope for positive outcomes.

Ashes of Euphoria adds to the literature with a fresh perspective on surviving a hard-knock life. It helps us sympathise and understand how these systems work, and that it’s not only up to those communities to push back but also to those engaged in the problem.

“If the refusal to acknowledge the facts and issue a public apology continues, we will take additional measures,” Lee said in a post on X.

Lee also expressed “grave regret” over what he described as Ukrainian remarks about an imminent military clash between North and South Korea, saying they amounted to encouraging war on the Korean peninsula.

Seoul and Kyiv have been locked in a diplomatic dispute since Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced at the United Nations General Assembly last month that Ukraine had transferred two North Korean prisoners of war captured while fighting for Russia to South Korea.

Seoul subsequently accused Kyiv of breaching an agreement to keep the transfer confidential to protect the soldiers, while Ukrainian officials denied any such agreement existed.

Kyiv’s embassy in Seoul did not immediately reply to a request for comment on Lee’s remarks.

‘Neither side benefits from dispute’

Ukraine was seeking to mend ties with South Korea, Ukrainian media reported, quoting foreign minister Andrii Sybiha.

“I would not like to call this an incident. Let’s say, it’s a diplomatic misunderstanding,” Sybiha told journalists at an event, according to a report on Thursday on news website nv.ua and other media.

A senior South Korean foreign ministry official told reporters on Friday that the countries’ foreign ministers had been discussing how Kyiv could address Seoul’s concerns, including a possible apology, according to South Korean media reports.

Foreign minister Cho Hyun and Sybiha had been in direct contact and were discussing what level of response Seoul was seeking and what Ukraine could accept, while taking into account Ukraine’s wartime circumstances and the need to avoid causing either side a loss of face, according to the reports.

The dispute comes at a sensitive time for Lee’s administration, which has sought to reduce tensions with North Korea and is also dealing with the political fallout from a recent landmine incident in the Demilitarised Zone that separates the two Koreas.

Cho Han-bum, a senior fellow at the Korea Institute for National Unification in Seoul, said any additional measures would most likely involve support South Korea already provides to Ukraine, including humanitarian, financial and reconstruction assistance.

“Ukraine has more to lose than South Korea because it is receiving support from Seoul,” Cho said.

South Korea has provided humanitarian and financial assistance to Ukraine since Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion and in July pledged an additional $100m (about R1.66bn) in non-lethal support on the sidelines of the Nato summit.

“However, neither side benefits from a prolonged confrontation,” Cho said, noting that South Korea relies on Ukraine for information related to North Korea’s military activities.

Reuters

With spring in full swing and the summer season around the corner, we look at some of his best outfits for inspiration on how to put your best cleats forward.

Collegiate

A key element to building a closet like Mntambo’s is the preppy approach he takes. Throughout his looks there are elements of kofifi influences, with vintage flat caps and a vibrant vintage colour palette.

Give neutral shirts, shoes and trousers a splash of colour through accessories such as backpacks, glasses or neckties.

Short ’n sweet

If you don’t like the trendy kilts and bermuda shorts, you are going to have a hard time adjusting to this part of the soccer star’s limitless style. The appeal of this look is that it can accommodate any changes in your day. It can go formal with the addition of a blazer, yacht-ready with sandals or boat shoes, and even sunset drinks with a scarf and retro sunglasses. Just have fun.

Co-ord king

Matchy-matchy? Not necessarily. There is a playfulness to Mntambo’s style lingo, and co-ords are some of the best ways for him to embrace bold colours or striking prints. It’s also one of the best ways you can take notes on bold accessory choices, which he uses to finish a look. Other than his staple hats or glasses, look to complementary watches or rings to spice up an ensemble. Keep the silhouette relaxed, as these pieces often move between work and play.

On trend

Mntambo always has a finger on the pulse of menswear trends — and when he doesn’t, he’s already at the forefront of those starting to take over. Among these is a focus on the men’s waist. Whether you go for high-waisted trousers or cinched jackets, have fun with scarves as belts or layered pieces that bring attention to your silhoutte — regardless of your shape. It’s an inclusive approach to style and anyone can have fun with it.

TimesLIVE

China denies widespread accusations about abuses of the Uyghurs, a mainly Muslim people, saying its policies there were aimed at combating terrorism, separatism and religious extremism.

Starbucks opened its first two stores this week in Xinjiang’s capital, Urumqi, including one at the city centre’s grand bazaar and a second at its international airport.

John Moolenaar, chair of the select committee on China of the House of Representatives, called on Starbucks to “immediately reverse course and close its stores”.

“This is a shocking and morally bankrupt decision by a company that prides itself on social responsibility,” he said in a statement published on Thursday.

“There is no justifiable reason for a US company to do business in a region where the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) has detained more than a million Uyghurs and is stripping them of their faith, language, and culture.”

Neither Starbucks nor China’s foreign ministry immediately responded to requests for comment. China is in the middle of its week-long national day holiday.

Starbucks said on its official WeChat platform this week that they were not just new coffee outlets in Xinjiang but a new experience that blended local culture and customer needs.

The company would continue investing in Xinjiang, its China CEO Liu Wenjuan said in the WeChat post.

Pictures of the stores posted on the platform showed Starbucks’ logo in English and Chinese. There were no obvious images of any Uyghur-language signs. Uyghur is written in an Arabic-based script and is meant to enjoy official parity in Xinjiang.

In April 2026 Starbucks finalised its China joint venture by bringing in a strategic investor, Boyu Capital, as its 60% stakeholder. The joint venture operates about 8,000 outlets in China.

Reuters

LEN is near-perfect at preventing HIV for six months at a time.

That makes lenacapavir more than a test of HIV prevention. It is a test of South Africa’s ambition to manufacture more of the medicines Africa needs, while ensuring that access comes first.

South African researchers and trial participants helped generate the evidence showing that LEN can prevent HIV. The health department started rolling out the injection in June. Potential local manufacturers are also being assessed for a voluntary licence to produce generic versions in the country.

But wanting to manufacture a medicine locally and being able to make enough of it, at the right quality and price, are very different things.

If South Africa wants local production of LEN to improve access, we need to answer difficult questions now. Who will buy the locally made product? At what price? How much will manufacturers need to produce to make it viable? What technology and licensing will they need? And how quickly can this happen when lower-cost generics made elsewhere are expected from 2027?

Where the local manufacturing process stands

The process has started. In July deputy health minister Joe Phaahla announced that a committee convened by the South African National Aids Council (Sanac) and health department selected three South African manufacturers as potential candidates to make LEN and submitted the list to the injection’s developer, Gilead Sciences, for assessment and possible voluntary licensing. Sanac says that process will take between three and six months.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Bhekisisa Health Journalism (@bhekisisa.health)

Any local arrangement will require technology transfer — giving manufacturers the knowledge and skills needed to make the product — as well as investment by the manufacturer and regulatory approval before locally made LEN can leave a production line.

A South African licence is also likely to differ from the six generic licences Gilead has already granted to manufacturers in Egypt, India and Pakistan. Those licences were designed to supply 120 low- and middle-income countries, including South Africa, from established generic manufacturing bases.

They require manufacturers to make LEN from start to finish, including its main ingredient, known as the active pharmaceutical ingredient, or API.

A South African licence would be more developmental: companies would not necessarily have to make the API themselves and could instead import it.

Local production would probably start with parts of the process that can be established fastest, such as making the finished product, producing the sterile injectable, packaging or quality control.

That can still be valuable.

But we need to be clear about what “local manufacturing” means, rather than confusing it with complete independence from global supply chains.

What must happen before a local injection is ready

A shortlist of manufacturers is only the beginning.

To make LEN locally, a manufacturer needs a licence with clear terms, access to the technical knowledge needed to make the product, reliable supplies of ingredients and materials, and strict quality systems for producing a long-acting injection. It also needs to meet the production and registration requirements of the country’s medicines regulator, the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (Sahpra).

Then come the practical steps: adapting a production line, testing and validating the manufacturing process, proving that the product remains safe and stable, training staff, passing inspections, registering the product and monitoring its safety once it is being used widely.

South Africa has regulatory experience, clinical trial expertise and a pharmaceutical manufacturing base. But none of this happens simply because local manufacturing is desirable.

The biggest risk is easy to predict: a manufacturer invests in the capacity to make LEN, but the market is too small or uncertain to produce it affordably.

If locally made LEN is produced in small volumes only for South Africa, it may struggle to compete on price with large generic manufacturers supplying many countries. If South African manufacturers can supply a regional market, particularly if countries combine their orders and buy together, the economics look very different.

Demand is the missing piece

The question, then, is not only whether South Africa can make LEN. It is whether enough of it will be bought, at a price that allows local production to survive.

South Africa’s HIV prevention needs are large; we have around 134 000 new infections per year.

But government budgets are under pressure, and prevention programmes already have to pay for a daily HIV prevention pill, condoms, HIV testing, sexually transmitted infection (STI) services, community outreach and treatment.

LEN should expand people’s choices; it should not drain resources from prevention methods people already use.

That is why guaranteed demand matters, which Unitaid has indicated it would be prepared to help with.

Governments can give manufacturers more certainty about demand through national roll-out plans and commitments to buy the product.

Donors and large buyers, including the Global Fund to Fight Aids, TB and Malaria, can help by buying LEN made in Africa. African countries could also join forces to place larger orders, which could help bring down the price.

Without predictable demand, a local licence risks becoming a symbolic victory rather than a practical way to expand access.

Can local production happen quickly enough?

Timing is the hardest question.

Existing generic licence holders are expected to start supplying lower-cost LEN from 2027, subject to regulatory approval. If those products arrive quickly and cost around the projected $40 (around R650) per person per year, South Africa will have to ask where a locally made product fits.

The answer should not be defensive. The fastest route to access may be to import affordable generics while local production is being developed.

Access and manufacturing are related goals, but they are not the same goal. People at risk of HIV should not have to wait for local production if safe, affordable products are available sooner.

At the same time, relying only on imports leaves South Africa and the region vulnerable to the next supply shock, pricing dispute or new medicine that takes too long to reach us.

Local manufacturing is worth pursuing because learning to make LEN could help South Africa make other important medicines locally in future, including for HIV, TB, STIs and future pandemics.

What needs to happen now

South Africa shouldn’t have to choose between getting LEN to people quickly and making it locally. We need to do both — without allowing local manufacturing to slow down access.

First, government should publish a realistic plan for how much LEN it expects to need and buy. Manufacturers need to know likely volumes, timelines and price expectations.

Communities need to know that LEN will be introduced as part of a broader package of HIV prevention options, rather than replacing existing choices.

Second, Gilead and its licensing partners should be clear about what South Africa will gain from a licence, including the knowledge and technology that will be shared with local manufacturers. A licence that initially allows only some parts of LEN production to happen locally could still be valuable. But over time, South African companies should be allowed to learn to do more of the work themselves.

Third, donors and organisations that buy medicines for African countries should help make local manufacturing work. If LEN made in Africa is safe, works well and is affordable, they should be willing to buy it. If it costs more at first, donors and governments will have to decide whether it is worth paying a little extra for a limited time to help build a reliable supply of medicines made in Africa.

Finally, Sahpra must have the resources it needs to move quickly without lowering its standards. Speed matters, but public trust depends on quality.

The real test

LEN gives South Africa a rare HIV prevention opportunity. A twice-yearly injection could help people who struggle with daily pills because of stigma, privacy concerns, transport costs, relationship dynamics or simply the difficulty of taking a pill every day.

But having the product will not, by itself, reduce HIV infections. Access will depend on price, procurement, trained health workers, community trust and services that reach the people who need LEN most.

South Africa helped prove that LEN works. The next question is whether we can make it affordable and widely available, while also strengthening our ability to make medicines in Africa.

Local manufacturing should not be used as a reason to delay access. Nor should getting affordable LEN in the short term become a reason to give up on local manufacturing.

The task is to do both: import affordable LEN when that is the fastest way to protect people now, while building the licensing, demand, financing and regulatory conditions that will allow South Africa to manufacture it for the region in the future.

That is the real LEN test. Not whether South Africa can announce an ambition, but whether it can turn that ambition into injections in clinics, a reliable supply for the region and a stronger medicines manufacturing base for the next breakthrough.

• Prof Vinodh Aroon Edward is group chief operating officer at The Aurum Institute, where he helps to advance clinical research and health innovation across Africa. He has more than 20 years of experience in biotechnology and clinical research and has provided leadership in major international trials.

This story was produced by the Bhekisisa Centre for Health Journalism. Sign up for the newsletter.

Video courtesy of SABC.

TimesLIVE

She told the packed senate room at the Political Arena elections debate at Wits University that Luthuli House’s plan is to engage in voter contact to win over electoral support.

“We have extensive experience of being on the ground. We have 114 years of existence.

“We are rooted in the voting districts, we are ward based in our campaign and we are now closer to the people. As part of the renewal, we have come to realise that the ANC is the ANC of the people.”

The deputy secretary-general vowed that the party is on a path of renewal, saying they have a grand plan to restore stability to fractured municipalities.

“I want to affirm that the ANC seeks to fix local government, to work together with communities and various other partners in ensuring that we’ve got inclusive growth. It is the ANC that wants to move from the current challenges, to make sure that there is delivering of services, accountability of public representatives and sustainable management of resources.”

The Luthuli House leader said the party is currently dealing with a crackdown in local government and insists that they have interventions in place to accelerate progress.

She said the party is rooted in communities and will mobilise all its volunteers to woo supporters to back the ANC on the November 4th ballots.

“We must attract cadres that engage in community work, we are an ANC that operates in the streets and street committees, through a cell, and we are an ANC that maintains contact at least four times before the election.”

Mokonyane maintained that the party will perform better than what is being projected by polling, saying that they have learnt their lesson from the blow dealt at the 2024 national and provincial election.

“We respect research and we don’t want to undermine it, but we have become smarter than 2024. We have been able to ensure that we work together with communities.”

Democratic Alliance federal leader Geordin Hill-Lewis

“The idea that we have a preconceived idea of who should be appointed city manager is exactly why we are where we are.

“There’s a lot that the parties can agree on.”

TimesLIVE

Story audio is generated using AI

Inkatha Freedom Party leader Velenkosini Hlabisa says it is impossible for anyone to capture traditional leaders and the Zulu royal household.

Hlabisa was responding to a question posed at the elections debate hosted by Arena Holdings on Thursday, asking him to explain how the uMkhonto weSizwe party is seemingly making inroads and winning over the support of the traditional leaders in KwaZulu-Natal.

However, Hlabisa rejected this, insisting that the traditional authorities govern and preside over all subjects and citizenry of the country.

“All I’m aware of is that people will be surprised with the results of eThekwini. We’ve fielded a young person with a lot of experience, and we are doing the groundwork. We will prove the polls wrong.”

Recent polls suggest that the MK party is in pole position to take over the hotly contested eThekwini municipality, with questions about the influence of traditional leaders in party political support.

The IFP leader said it was impossible to cosy up to traditional leaders in the hope of winning elections.

“The Zulu royal household has played an important role in the political dynamic in the country. The IFP is well experienced when it comes to royal household politics. We have seen it for quite a long time and we know that the royal household is above politics. Anyone who would think or try to capture the royal household is missing the point.”

The people of KwaZulu-Natal are free to think beyond one political party. They are free, they respect the royal household, but are able to think beyond the household of the royal Zulu king

Velenkosini Hlabisa, Inkatha Freedom Party leader

Asked to reflect on the question of ethnic mobilisation and whether it has the ability to potentially influence who governs in KwaZulu-Natal, Hlabisa insisted that the people of the province had the freedom to associate with whomever.

“The people of KwaZulu-Natal are free to think beyond one political party. They are free, they respect the royal household, but are able to think beyond the household of the royal Zulu king.

“I wouldn’t want to drag the king into politics because we are all subjects of the king, all political parties. The political parties have all gone to pay their respects to the king, to demonstrate that the king is above politics and no one can capture the king.”

Hlabisa, who serves in cabinet as the minister of co-operative governance & traditional affairs (Cogta), was probed on the Ingonyama Trust and its land and why he has not developed an economic policy that would push for growth in the province.

“I am a national leader and minister responsible for nine provinces. We will be adopting a wrong precedent to minimise the minister of Cogta to one province. The Ingonyama Trust is not just large parts of land; it is a small portion in KZN and the larger parts are not under the trust. I am responsible for the whole country.”

TimesLIVE