'Sellouts', Eskom and state capture: Top five stories of the week

From the State of the Nation (Sona) debate to testimonies at the Zondo Commission of Inquiry into State Capture and Caster Semenya, here are five stories that dominated headlines this week.

Lekota calls Ramaphosa a “sellout”

Congress of the People (Cope) leader Mosiuoa Lekota caused a stir in parliament on Wednesday when he accused President Cyril Ramaphosa of selling out comrades to apartheid security police in the early 1970s.

“I can testify I’ve never been a spy, I have never worked with the enemy. All I’ve ever done in my life is my commitment to the president of our country,” President Ramaphosa told parliament on Thursday.

Vytjie Mentor’s shaky testimony

Former ANC MP Vytjie Mentor appeared before the Zondo Commission of Inquiry into State Capture this week for cross-examination.

The commission presented evidence that did not corroborate Mentor’s first testimony at the inquiry in 2018, including her description of the Gupta compound in Saxonwold, Johannesburg, and her flights to that city.

Eskom

This week, South Africans were left in the dark for several hours a day as the power utility implemented stages two, three and four load-shedding.

Eskom said it implemented power cuts  due to generation shortages and constraints in diesel supply.

Minister of Public Enterprises Pravin Gordhan announced that international experts would be brought in to assess the malfunctions at Eskom power stations. 

Caster Semenya and the IAAF 

The International Association of Athletics Federation denied media reports that it wanted to classify Caster Semenya as a “biological male”.

Semenya’s lawyers said the athlete would fight her battle with IAAF in court and that the proceedings were confidential.

New Tshwane mayor

Stevens Mokgalapa was appointed mayor of Tshwane. He took over from Solly Msimanga, who left office to focus on his candidacy for premier of Gauteng.