Category Archives: South Africa

Rwandan ex-police chief arrested in South Africa over 1994 genocide

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Fulgence Kayishema, 62, charged with playing leading role in church killing of more than 2,000 people

One of the world’s most wanted genocide suspects, a Rwandan former police chief, Fulgence Kayishema, has been arrested in South Africa and charged with playing a leading role in the murder of more than 2,000 people in a church in April 1994.

Kayishema has spent more than two decades as a fugitive and was living under a false name at the time of his arrest on Wednesday afternoon in Paarl, 35 miles (60km) north-east of Cape Town. He was detained by the South African police and members of a tracking team from the Rwandan war crimes tribunal based in Arusha, Tanzania.

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Injectable HIV-prevention drug to be made in South Africa for the first time

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Indian drug company to make cheaper generic version of CAB-LA, potentially protecting millions of people in Africa from the virus

An affordable version of a groundbreaking HIV-prevention drug will be made in South Africa for the first time, potentially giving millions of people at risk of HIV infection in Africa access to a two-monthly jab that can almost eliminate their chances of contracting the virus.

The Indian drug company Cipla confirmed that a generic version of the prophylaxis, long-acting cabotegravir (CAB-LA), would be manufactured at its plants in Benoni, near Johannesburg, or Durban.

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South Africa summons US ambassador over his claims it is arming Russia

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Foreign ministry says there is ‘no record of approved arms sale’ after allegations by Reuben Brigety

South Africa’s foreign ministry has summoned the US ambassador over allegations he made that the country had provided arms and ammunition to Russia for its war in Ukraine.

Amid the diplomatic fallout, South Africa’s foreign minister, Naledi Pandor, would also speak with the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation said in a statement posted on Twitter.

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US accuses South Africa of providing arms to Russia

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Ambassador says weapons were brought to Russia on cargo ship from Simon’s Town naval base, local media reports

The US ambassador to South Africa has accused the country of covertly providing arms to Russia – a charge that drew an angry rebuke from Pretoria.

Reuben Brigety told a media briefing on Thursday that the US believed weapons and ammunition had been loaded on to a Russian freighter that docked at a Cape Town naval base in December.

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Colonialism and controversial guests inform Africa’s reaction to Charles’s coronation

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While some paid tribute to the British monarch, the presence in London of certain guests proved less than welcome

In South Africa, as across the African Commonwealth countries, Saturday’s coronation of King Charles III prompted mixed reactions.

There was much interest in Pretty Yende, the South African soprano who sang at the beginning of the ceremony, and some high-profile public figures sent their best wishes to the monarch.

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Fugitive who faked death with burnt corpse returned to prison in South Africa

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Rapist and murderer’s escape sparked outrage over competence of country’s police and criminal justice system

A fugitive rapist and murderer who left a burnt corpse in his cell during a jailbreak has returned to prison in South Africa after fleeing to Tanzania.

The case has embarrassed authorities and sparked fresh outrage over the competence of South Africa’s police and criminal justice system.

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Swimming pools of the rich driving city water crises, study says

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Pools and well-watered gardens at least as damaging as climate emergency or population growth

The swimming pools, well-watered gardens and clean cars of the rich are driving water crises in cities at least as much as the climate emergency or population growth, according to an analysis.

The researchers said the vast difference in water use between rich and poor citizens had been largely overlooked in seeking solutions to water shortages, with the focus instead on attempts to increase supply and higher prices for water. They said the only way to protect water supplies was by redistributing water resources more equally.

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UAE refuses to extradite brothers accused of corruption in South Africa

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UAE accused of non-cooperation by South Africa after court rules against extraditing tycoons Atul and Rajesh Gupta

South Africa said on Friday it had learned with “shock and dismay” that the United Arab Emirates had turned down its request to extradite two brothers accused of orchestrating industrial-scale corruption.

The justice minister, Ronald Lamola, bluntly accused the UAE of “non-cooperation” after being informed late on Thursday of a court ruling against extraditing the tycoons Atul and Rajesh Gupta.

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Snake on a plane forces South African pilot to make emergency landing

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Rudolph Erasmus praised for ‘great airmanship’ after discovery of deadly cobra in cockpit of private plane

A South African pilot was forced to make an emergency landing after a 5ft deadly cobra slithered past his side and curled up under his seat.

Rudolph Erasmus was flying four passengers in a private plane at 11,000ft when he said he felt a “cold sensation” on his hip. Thinking that his water bottle might have been leaking, Erasmus looked down instead at the sight of a highly venomous snake disappearing underneath him.

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Oscar Pistorius denied parole over killing of girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp

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Former Paralympic and Olympic star was automatically eligible for parole consideration after serving half his sentence

The South African former athlete Oscar Pistorius has been denied parole over the killing of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp 10 years ago.

Pistorius killed Steenkamp, a model and law graduate, when he fired four times through the bathroom door of his high-security house in February 2013. The parole board’s decision was taken at a hearing at the correctional facility on the outskirts of the capital, Pretoria, where the 36-year-old is being held.

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Oscar Pistorius could be freed within weeks after serving half his sentence

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Parole board in South Africa to decide if Paralympian who murdered his girlfriend can leave jail

Oscar Pistorius, the South African Paralympian convicted of murder, could leave prison within weeks if a parole board decides on Friday to release him halfway through a 13-year sentence for killing his girlfriend.

The parole hearing will take place in a prison in the administrative capital of Pretoria and the decision is likely to be the final chapter in a harrowing story that attracted worldwide attention.

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‘Farmgate’: Cyril Ramaphosa inquiry ‘clears’ South African president but police still investigating

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ANC leader was accused of failing to report theft of foreign cash hidden in sofas at his ranch

South Africa’s anti-corruption watchdog has reportedly cleared president Cyril Ramaphosa of any wrongdoing in a preliminary report on a cover-up scandal known as “farmgate”, involving between $580,000 and $5m of foreign currency hidden at his private game farm.

The Public Protector said it had notified implicated parties of the preliminary findings of its probe over the theft of the cash from Ramaphosa’s luxury farmhouse – something the president is accused of having attempted to conceal.

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South African rap artist AKA shot dead outside restaurant in Durban

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Parents of Kiernan Forbes pay tribute to ‘beloved son’ who was killed alongside another man while walking to car

One of South Africa’s top rap artists, known as AKA, has been shot dead outside a restaurant in the eastern city of Durban, his family said.

Kiernan Forbes, 35, won multiple South African awards, was nominated several times for a Black Entertainment Television award in the US and was once nominated for an MTV Europe music award.

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Eswatini: murder of pro-democracy activist prompts outrage

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Fears security agencies may have been involved in shooting of Thulani Maseko in his home on Saturday

Authorities in Eswatini have promised a full investigation of the murder of a leading pro-democracy activist amid widespread fears that state security agencies may have been involved.

Thulani Maseko, chairperson of a coalition of pro-democracy groups, was shot dead at his home in Luyengo, about 45km from the capital, Mbabane, on Saturday.

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Ramaphosa cancels Davos trip amid South Africa energy crisis

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Africa’s most industrialised economy being hit by daily power cuts as anger grows among opposition and public

Cyril Ramaphosa has cancelled his trip to the World Economic Forum in Switzerland as South Africa grapples with an unprecedented energy crisis that has resulted in daily power cuts of between eight and 11 hours across the country.

Anger is growing as offices, hospitals, factories and tens of thousands of small businesses are forced to close, with outages also causing increased crime, traffic disruption and massive wastage as food supply chains collapse.

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‘A search for ourselves’: shipwreck becomes focus of slavery debate

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Vessel that sank with more than 200 transported people onboard is being used to humanise the story of slavery

In 2015, a delegation from the Smithsonian Institution travelled to Mozambique to inform the Makua people of a singular and long-overdue discovery. Two hundred and twenty-one years after it sank in treacherous waters off Cape Town, claiming the lives of 212 enslaved people, the wreck of the Portuguese slave ship the São José Paquete D’Africa had been found. When told the news, a Makua leader responded with a gesture that no one on the delegation will ever forget.

“One of the chiefs took a vessel we had, filled it with soil and asked us to bring that vessel back to the site of the slave ship so that, for the first time since the 18th century, his people could sleep in their own land,” says Lonnie Bunch, now the secretary of the Smithsonian.

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Blair government had misgivings about Mandela mediation role over Lockerbie

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Files show Downing Street felt former South African leader’s attempt to mediate was ‘unlikely to be helpful’

Downing Street believed Nelson Mandela’s attempt to play mediator between it and the Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi over the question of compensation after the Lockerbie bombing was “unlikely to be helpful”, documents reveal.

But despite misgivings, No 10 aides did not rule out using Mandela “back against [Gaddafi] if Libya rejected a reasonable offer”, the documents released by the National Archives in the UK show.

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Boxing Day Test: Victorian fast bowler Scott Boland retains spot over Hazlewood

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  • Victorian quick will return to the scene of his famous Test debut last December
  • Boland has taken 25 wickets in his five Tests

Boxing Day Test hero Scott Boland has retained his spot in Australia’s star bowling attack and will line up at the MCG against South Africa.

The Victorian quick will return to the scene of his famous Test debut last December, with Australia selectors opting for Boland over Josh Hazlewood, who continues his recovery from a side strain.

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Ramaphosa re-elected as ANC leader following ‘farmgate’ scandal

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South Africa’s president wins second five-year term and will lead party into elections in 2024

The South African president, Cyril Ramaphosa, has been re-elected as leader of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) for a second five-year term in a party leadership contest.

Votes casts by delegates at the party conference gave Ramaphosa a clear victory over his rival, Zweli Mkhize, a former party treasurer and health minister.

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