Top Stories
- KEMPTON PARK KILLINGS: A fifth woman’s body has been found in Olifantsfontein — she has been named as Elizabeth “Tsontso” Moselakgomo, the missing runner. SAPS rules out a proven serial killer but has opened 10 online-dating scam cases, warned women and is now facing DNA backlog questions. Residents are picketing.
- N1 DISASTER, WESTERN CAPE: 21 people killed in a single crash — the N1 remains closed. One of the deadliest road incidents of the year.
- ECONOMY CONTRACTS: GDP fell 0.2% — a reality check that undercuts the government’s growth targets. Refinery closures have added R76bn to South Africa’s oil-import bill.
- ANC CANDIDATE CRISIS: Mbalula is under pressure as the mayoral-list fallout widens — Andile Lungisa is in court over his removal, the ANC denies a fallout with Frank Chikane, and Eastern Cape battlelines are forming. “ANC sinks to new depths” (Citizen).
- XENOPHOBIA CLOUDS BRICS: Anti-immigrant violence overshadows South Africa’s BRICS presence — 300 Zimbabweans are stranded at the Joburg consulate. Ramaphosa is in New Delhi pushing $10bn in SA-India trade.
Madlanga / Justice / Accountability
- No Madlanga Commission sitting reported today — but the courts and regulators were busy.
- Julius Mkhwanazi granted R10,000 bail in the blue-lights case — he stays in prison on other charges.
- Port Shepstone cocaine theft: businessman Lucas Legabe gets R50,000 bail.
- Capitec fined R28m by the Prudential Authority for anti-money-laundering failures; other banks were also sanctioned.
- Zolani Tete murder case: bail bid postponed. The Senzo Meyiwa trial and the Matlala trial-within-a-trial continue.
- Eskom will switch off power in parts of Gauteng this week for planned maintenance.
Why It Matters
Violence against women (a fifth body) and 21 deaths on the N1 dominate the day, while a 0.2% GDP contraction kills the growth story and the ANC’s candidate-list war shows a party fighting itself ahead of the local elections. That triple hit — crime, economy, ANC infighting — is the week’s real theme.