TimesLIVE - In The News

'Are we free or dom?': Survivors of Usindiso fire march to Gauteng premier's office over poor living conditions

The survivors of the Usindiso building fire and shack fires in Johannesburg marched to premier Panyaza Lesufi's office on Friday with a letter of demands.   More than 70 people died in the fire on August 31. The survivors were moved to a temporary shelter in Denver, close to the Johannesburg…

26 Apr 10AM 4 min

Let's get criminals out of the ANC, says Mbeki

Former ANC president Thabo Mbeki says he has not put aside his grievances with the ANC and the party will have to get the criminals out. Campaigning for the party in Soweto on Thursday, Mbeki acknowledged problems within the ANC and said the party would attend to them. Mbeki told…

25 Apr 11AM 4 min

SAHRC slams municipality, Eastern Cape Liquor Board for not protecting Enyobeni victims 

The South African Human Rights Commission has slammed the Eastern Cape health department, Eastern Cape Liquor Board and the South African Police Service in relation to the Enyobeni tavern tragedy. Twenty-one young people died during school end-of-year celebrations at the tavern.   Presenting the commission's report on the investigation into the…

25 Apr 8AM 4 min

Almost 700 government officials found guilty of corruption in past five years: NPA

About 700 government officials have been found guilty of corruption in the past five years, according to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA). National Director of Public Prosecutions advocate Shamila Batohi and NPA executive committee members held a media briefing on Wednesday. Batohi said in complex corruption cases guilty pleas are rare. 

24 Apr 8AM 4 min

Malema changes tune on vote rigging as elections loom

EFF leader Julius Malema claims load-shedding will be implemented when vote counting starts and votes will be stolen. When counting starts after the May 29 national and provincial elections, stage 6 load-shedding will be implemented, according to Malema. “They must find you ready, that’s why I’m telling you this, I’m…

23 Apr 5AM 2 min

Fight fire with fire: Malema says criminals must live in fear

EFF leader Julius Malema says the language criminals understand is violence and police should fight fire with fire so offenders live in fear. He said the rate of crimes such as murder, gender based violence and rape is staggering and criminals have declared war on law-abiding citizens. "Today law-abiding citizens…

22 Apr 1PM 4 min

“No load-shedding for 26 days has nothing to do with the elections” — Ramakgopa

Electricity minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa says the 26 days of no load-shedding so far has nothing to do with the elections and has cautioned against the big improvement being used as an “electioneering tool”.Briefing media on Monday, he urged the public to avoid the noise and look towards a further reduction…

22 Apr 4AM 1 min

Expert confirms communication between Meyiwa accused 

Cellphone data analyst Gideon Gouws confirmed communication between the five men accused of murdering football star Senzo Meyiwa.  The evidence ties in with that of previous witness, police cellphone analyst Col Lambertus Steyn. Gouws was asked to analyse data downloaded from Bongani Ntanzi and Sifisokuhle Ntuli's cellphones to check if there…

17 Apr 10AM 5 min

Drones, speed boats, handheld biometric devices to help manage borders: Motsoaledi

Home affairs minister Aaron Motsoaledi says they have ordered surveillance drones, speed boats and handheld biometric devices to help manage the country's porous borders. South Africa's land borders cover about 4,700km. Insufficient security and the poor state of fencing make the borders insecure, with foreigners entering illegally and allowing other…

15 Apr 7AM 2 min

Case against six suspects charged with the murder of Luke Fleurs postponed to April 19 

The Roodepoort magistrate's court has postponed the case against six suspects charged with the murder of Kaizer Chiefs player Luke Fleurs to April 19.  The suspects face charges of murder, robbery under aggravating circumstances, possession of an unlicensed firearm, possession of unlicensed ammunition and defeating the ends of justice. The suspects are…

12 Apr 6AM 1 min

'Whoever becomes president must not have a bloated cabinet' — Limpho Hani

Chris Hani's widow Limpho says whoever becomes president after the May 29 general elections should not have a bloated cabinet.  She was speaking during an event in Ekurhuleni on Wednesday commemorating her late husband's death.    She questioned the role of some deputy ministers. 

10 Apr 9AM 1 min

E-tolls scrapping — what you need to know

From April 12 e-tolls will no longer exist, and Gauteng road users will no longer be required to pay for the service.  This was announced during a media briefing on Wednesday held by the department of transport, with the South African National Roads Agency (Sanral) and Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi. …

10 Apr 6AM 7 min

'The intensity of load-shedding is decreasing' — Ramokgopa

Electricity minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa says the intensity of load-shedding is dropping.  He briefed media on Tuesday to give an update on implementation of the energy saving system.   Stages 1 and 2 load-shedding accounted for half the power cuts South Africans experienced so far this year. 

9 Apr 5AM 1 min

“ Prison stats demonstrate foreign nationals are not the primary source of crime” — Cele 

Police minister Bheki Cele says South Africa's prisons hold almost 14,000 foreign nationals and more than 144,000 South Africans. He was briefing the media on Sunday to provide an update on successes achieved by the police service in response to serious and violent crimes and how crime intelligence has improved. Cele said…

8 Apr 7AM 2 min

Malema prepared to offer EFF votes to ANC but with one condition

With less than two months to go before the May 29 elections, EFF leader Julius Malema says he is prepared to give the EFF vote to the ANC nationally if it doesn't get 50%. He was speaking to JJ Tabane on the Frank Dialogue podcast. Malema said he will have one…

5 Apr 5AM 2 min

Mapisa-Nqakula granted bail, claims state’s case is 'weak'

Former National Assembly speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula was granted R50,000 bail after her first appearance before the Pretoria magistrate's court on Thursday. The former speaker faces 12 charges of corruption and one of money laundering. In her affidavit read by her lawyer, advocate Graham Kerr-Phillips, Mapisa-Nqakula said she believed the state’s…

4 Apr 8AM 5 min

Political parties sign IEC code of conduct for elections. 

The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) hosted the signing of the Electoral Code of Conduct and ballot paper draw at Gallagher Estate in Midrand on Thursday ahead of the May 29 elections. 

4 Apr 7AM 2 min

Mashaba lists ActionSA’s most wanted prosecutions

ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba on Wednesday announced the top 10 politicians his party would prosecute if it was elected into government after the May 29 general elections.  Mashaba announced this in Saxonwold, Johannesburg, outside the former Gupta residence. He said two years after the Zondo commission submitted the final state capture report,…

3 Apr 7AM 1 min

Age limit for government programmes discriminates against those older than 35 — Rise Mzansi 

Rise Mzansi led a picket on Tuesday at the labour and employment department in Pretoria. The party believes the age limit for government programmes is discriminatory against people aged 35 and older who are looking for employment or to improve their skills.The National Youth Commission Act and the National Youth…

2 Apr 8AM 1 min

Speaker Mapisa-Nqakula loses urgent court bid to block her arrest

The Pretoria high court on Tuesday dismissed with costs the urgent application by National Assembly speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula to interdict law enforcement authorities from arresting her during corruption investigations. Last month the National Prosecuting Authority’s Investigating Directorate (ID) conducted a search and seizure operation at Mapisa-Nqakula's home in Bruma, Johannesburg. The…

2 Apr 5AM 4 min