Newspapers from South Africa

Marriage ruling sparks fears of potential ‘disaster’

A CONSTITUTIONAL Court judgment on customary marriages has sparked concern among legal experts who warn that it could affect thousands of couples who entered into civil marriages after first marrying under customary law. The case centred on a couple...

Saved by a twist of fate

In a bizarre twist of fate, all four children of the man who owns the minibus taxi involved in a collision in which 14 school pupils were killed this week survived. Jimmy Vinger’s son, Ayanda Dludla, 22, who was driving the minibus, and his schoolgirl...

A mother’s world shattered as she says goodbye to her child

As tears stream down her face, a mother clings to the comforting embrace of a neighbour – two souls united by grief in the aftermath of an unimaginable loss. The accident between a scholar transport minibus and a truck claimed 14 innocent lives.

The shoes my mother sent me

In the tapestry of childhood, there are moments that refuse to fade. They linger quietly, resurfacing years later with clarity, emotion, and meaning we could never have grasped at the time. This is one such moment, a story about love, simplicity,...

COVER

We assume that superpowers will play their geostrategic game of controlling global mineral wealth by compromising our leaders with a loan here, a grant there and a threat here. Few consider the far subtler, yet more opaque, pathways made possible by...

Human Rights Commission inspects Van Coller Primary

The Human Rights Commission is set to write to the department of education after visiting Van Coller Primary School on Monday. The school’s pupils resumed classes on Monday after parents would not let children enter the school gates on opening day...

‘They turned my pain into content’

THE mother of Buhle Radebe, widely referred to on social media as the “Lady in Red” after she was filmed crying uncontrollably at the scene of the Vanderbijlpark crash that killed 14 pupils, has broken her silence, describing her daughter as a devoted...

Let this be a lesson – bereaved families speak

“WE CAN’T complain. I believe everything happens for a reason. But let this be a lesson for each and every taxi owner and any driver that is driving to be very cautious and do some introspection and monitor cars.” Those were the words of Themba...

Public spaces under f ire

BULLETS, gangs and fear have overrun South Africa’s public institutions, leaving citizens terrified in the very spaces where they should be safe. This week, gunfire erupted in broad daylight outside the Booysens Magistrate’s Court in Gauteng, leaving...

Khoikhoi man’s ‘special’ name costs him an ID

A FRUSTRATED mother is at her wits’ end after Home Affairs denied her son an identity document, all because of an exclamation mark (!) in his name. For nearly a year, 18-year-old!Khúboab Oedasoua Lawrence has existed in a bureaucratic limbo, even...

ANGRY AT GOVERNMENT INACTION

Dairy farmers in the Midlands are angry and frustrated at the government’s failure to help them battle the foot and mouth disease (FMD) outbreak. Neil van Laun, who owns Fifehead Dairy in Lidgetton, described battling the virus without vaccines and...

Royal Show to go ahead as farmers urged to stand together amid FMD crisis

As the foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) outbreak continues to place farming communities in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands under strain, there is a growing call for unity and mutual support across the sector. It is against this backdrop that the Royal...

End of road for Malema?

He has alienated parties and infuriated people during his 17 years in politics, but the wheels can come off for EFF leader Julius Malema today if the court decides to send him to jail for his antics with a rifle at a rally – an offence that carries a...

Undoni uqhakambise ugandaganda ogqame ngokubhikla ingoma

ARIES: Mar 21 - Apr 20 Qiniseka ukuthi isimo sakho semali sivikelekile ngokuyeka okungenasidingo nokungazenzi izikweletu. Uzozisola ngokwenza ubulima uma uzama ukuthenga okuyinani eliphezulu. Ungayisebenzisi budlabha imali yakho. TAURUS: Apr 21 - May...

A DISORDER WEEK OF

A vehicle transporting school children bursting into flames; a bakkie crashing into a bus ferrying 109 pupils; 60 vehicles impounded; and the driver behind the deadly scholar transport crash in the Vaal charged with 14 murders. These are the troubling...

State Aids drug suppliers fall into business rescue

Two of the pharmaceutical companies that won a slice of the health department’s latest Aids drug tender are in business rescue and have been unable to reliably supply the state. Avacare Health subsidiaries Barrs and Innovata, which last year each won...

South Africa marks another historic step in the battle against HIV/AIDS

THE launch of a first-in-human clinical trial at the Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation (DTHF) site at Groote Schuur Hospital has been hailed as a historic step toward contributing to the development of an HIV vaccine in Southern Africa. The first...

WINDE RESPONDS TO DISASTER CALLS

WESTERN CAPE Premier Alan Winde says calls for a disaster declaration in response to escalating violent crime in the province are receiving urgent attention, but stressed that the authority to declare such a disaster lies with national...

Don’t wait

There’s something about the first few months of a new year that tricks you into believing you still have time. Time to catch up later, to phone later, to plan later. It feels normal; the calendar still looks wide open, the holiday memories are fresh...

Jobless teachers camp at KZN education HQ

HUNDREDS of qualified but unemployed teachers have vowed to endure harsh weather outside the Kwazulu-natal Department of Education’s headquarters, camping day and night until officials address their plight. The protesters, members of the KZN...

KZN backs Steenhuisen’s push for DA leadership

DEMOCRATIC Alliance leader John Steenhuisen appears to have weathered the recent political storm, with his home province of KwaZulu-Natal endorsing his bid to retain the leadership of the party. Provincial leaders who spoke to The Mercury said leading...

Let this be a lesson – bereaved families speak

“WE CAN’T complain. I believe everything happens for a reason. But let this be a lesson for each and every taxi owner and any driver that is driving to be very cautious and do some introspection and monitor cars.” Those were the words of Themba...

Mandela s daughter hails verdict ’ on auction of icon s belongings ’

“My responsibility and duty as Nelson Mandela’s eldest daughter, as it has always been, is to continue managing my father ’ s legacy — and that is my only concern.” These were the words of Dr Makaziwe Mandela after she emerged victorious in the...

Community group marches over ‘bogus’ projects

THE VALSPAN Communal Interest Group embarked on a peaceful march to call for an end to alleged ghost and bogus projects that are being used to “milk” the finances of Phokwane Municipality. It was alleged that there was a “web of maladministration”...

End of road for Malema?

He has alienated parties and infuriated people during his 17 years in politics, but the wheels can come off for EFF leader Julius Malema today if the court decides to send him to jail for his antics with a rifle at a rally – an offence that carries a...

Beckham battles

The son of popstar-turned fashion designer, Victoria Beckham and renowned soccer player, David Beckham, has exposed his family for their apparent disapproval of his marriage. Brooklyn Beckham, aged 26, said he refused to reconcile with his family,...

Roads closed, buses roll in as Malema returns to court

East London roads have been cordoned off, with hundreds of EFF supporters from across the country shuttled to the city on Thursday, ahead of Julius Malema’s sentencing proceedings in the city’s regional court. Malema has been found guilty of charges...

‘Absolutely terrifying’

“There’s not a blade of grass left – just soot and dry ground – and it just doesn’t want to rain.” David Mauer is the owner of Pine Ridge north of Port Alfred, one of the first properties to be hit by a fire that by midday on Monday had torn through...

Religious bodies urged to comply with safety laws

The South African Hindu Maha Sabha has issued a warning to religious and cultural organisations to comply fully with building regulations and safety laws when constructing places of worship, following the fatal collapse of a temple construction site in...

ANC revises its access control

:ith Must two months to go before the ANC’s provincial elective conference, the party has moved to centralise and tighten delegate accreditation processes, signalling heightened sensitivity around internal contestation and conference...

Mossel Bay tightens its taps

Assuming the water consumption remains constant and there is no rainfall, Mossel Bay is currently left with about 380 days of water. This is based on the average daily consumption - 25.87 million litres - measured during November 2025, said the...

Haunted by Epstein horror

Traumatic memory is a tricky beast. It doesn’t unfold neatly in a clean sequence. It lives in the nervous system, triggered by a sound, a smell, a word, a fragment. Short. Sharp. Staccato. Juliette Bryant’s most visceral memory begins with one instant...

Abatshelwe ngamatyotyombe bazithuma ehlathini ngenxa yokungabi nazindlu zangasese

KUQENGQELEKA iintsuku abahlali bamatyotyombe aseEast Bank Squatter Camp, nawaziwa ngokuba kuseC2, belala phandle nabantwana babo bengasayi nasesikolweni. Oku kuza emva komlilo wangoMgqibelo, umhla weshumi elinesixhenxe (17), ekuzeni kusa olwatyuze...

Graham Dickason has a new life after the killing of his daughters in New Zealand

IT’S the end of October, one of the most beautiful months in the Western Cape, and nearly 1 000 riders are lining up for the first stage of the Wines2whales cycling race. The route will take them more than 60km from the Benguela Cove estate outside...

Public outcry as R40 near Klipkopjes fails

MBOMBELA - Motorists, local businesses and opposition parties sought answers from Sanral after the R40 near Klipkopjes Dam was again rendered impassable a few weeks after it was reopened to traffic. The newly resurfaced road, which Sanral reported was...

Kucasule amalungu ekomidi ukuziphatha kukaMcBride

UBELOKHU ekhuzwe njalo lowo owayeyinhloko yophiko oluzimele oluphenya amacala athinta amaphoyisa, i-Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID), uMnu Robert McBride (osesithombeni), njengoba ebevele eKomidini lePhalamende, eliphenya...

Andrew kry sy ry ná hy uit sy huis én familie geboender word

Go! community to the rescue

The Go! community has rallied behind Raymond Calder, the elderly pool cleaner who walks kilometres around East London daily carrying heavy equipment on his back. Currently, good Samaritans have managed to raise R14,600 toward a R25,000 motorcycle that...

The future is prepaid

● Lunga Siyo, CEO of Telkom Consumer and Small Business, sees a massive opportunity to expand its business, anchored in prepaid, with plans to “double down and continue to grow” this segment. “I think the biggest opportunity is in prepaid — both...

Moenie wag nie

Daar is iets aan hierdie beginmaande van ’n nuwe jaar wat ’n mens laat glo jy het tyd. Tyd waarmee jy later weer kan inhaal, later weer bel en later weer beplan. Dis normaal, want die kalender is eintlik nog relatief oop, die vakansieherinneringe vars...

Stellies benefit from Bucs-Mabasa stalemate

Battle for George

Two by-elections took place in George yesterday, 21 January, following heated and aggressive campaigns by political parties marked by allegations of intimidation and crimen injuria. The stakes were underlined by the arrival of two national...

Goudvisse: Nuutste teiken vir straatkinders

Nie eers visse is in Oudtshoorn veilig nie. Een van die vreemdste misdade is die afgelope naweek blootgelê na wakker buurtwaglede besig was met patrollie in die dorp se woonbuurte. Volgens Donovan Kleinhans, voorsitter van AfriForum-buurtwag, het...

Mtuba pastor jailed for murder

JUSTICE has finally been served for a woman who was bludgeoned to death by her former lover in 2020 - but not before the man fled court in December, delaying sentencing by more than a month. Thembelihle Nxumalo (25) died after being beaten with a...

Disaster area declaration on the cards

KNYSNA - Western Cape Premier Alan Winde visited the Akkerkloof Dam in Knysna on Tuesday 20 January to receive a first-hand update on efforts to address the municipality’s critical water situation. Earlier in the day, Western Cape MEC for Local...

THEBOLLA ACKNOWLEDGES SERVICE DELIVERY CHALLENGES

Msunduzi Mayor Mzimkhulu Thebolla has acknowledged the service delivery challenges affecting the city and surrounding areas. He said the issues were discussed in detail during a recent strategic planning session and that a report will be tabled before...

EXPLOSIVE ELECTRICITY POWERING OUR WORLD

EXPLOSIVE ELECTRICITY POWERING OUR WORLD

School secretary, granddad and tuckshop owner mauled

TWO pet pit bulls in Phoenix have been euthanised after they mauled a school secretary, grandfather and a tuckshop owner in two separate attacks. While one owner described her heartbreak at losing her “special needs baby” after it attacked her father,...

University of the Free State’s cuttingedge research to save the giraffe from extinction How AFGRI uses technology to unlock farm finance from asset to market Adele’s Mohair: a living tapestry of craft, colour and rural heritage

PRINTING CTP Printers Cape Town, a division of CTP Ltd, 12-14 Boompies street, Parow, 7500, PO Box 6060, Parow East, 7501. Telephone: 021-203 8000. PUBLISHED by the proprietors, Caxton Local Media, a division of CTP Ltd, Caxton House, 368 Jan Smuts...

Van plaas tot gholflandgoed op Robertson: Só leer mens ‘kleiner dink’

Hanli hou van die tuin se kothuisgevoel en dit pas by die voorkoms van die huis. Vingerhoedjies, bitterbos (Scabiosa columbaria), salie, vergeet-my-nietjies (Cynoglossum amabile) en vlooikruid blom in die bedding wat deur lamsore (Stachys byzantina)...

CELEBRATING the best IN THE INDUSTRY

Awaking

This month saw the achievement of another milestone for the international Square Kilometre Array (SKA) radio telescope programme, which is being developed by the UK-based SKA Observatory (SKAO) and is composed of two instruments, based in South Africa...

Tobias Maier, CEO of DHL Africa, on the role the continent is playing in shaping global logistics

Q & A What are the opportunities in global trade as we go into 2026? Global trade is very volatile, with tariffs in particular driving that instability. During COVID times there was a lot of talk about more regionalised trade patterns emerging, but...

‘We downsized from a farm to a pocket-sized plot’

‘Plase dalk onkoopbaar’

TECH BILLIONAIRES AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF NEW CITIES.

In 2020, Marc Andreessen—the investor behind some of the most influential tech companies of the modern era—wrote: “Every Western institution was unprepared for the coronavirus pandemic, despite many prior warnings. This monumental failure of...

TESTED

Crossfire LRF-CF1400 Rangefinder Viper HD 10x42 Binocular Crossfire 20-60x80 Spotting Scope Mountain Pass Tripod

Readiness

THE majority of schools in KZN are not ready to resume teaching and learning when schools reopen on Wednesday. This is according to National Teachers’ Union (NATU) president Sibusiso Malinga. Speaking in an exclusive interview with the ZO on...

GET EVEN MORE FASHION, BEAUTY, WELLNESS AND FOOD CONTENT ONLINE

January has a certain power. It brings a sense of possibility that feels grounding yet energising, as well as hopeful, because it encourages us to reflect and envision what our lives could look like if we allowed ourselves to begin anew. After the rush...

Highlights

A New Dawn There is something quietly ceremonial about the first sunrise of a new year. That hush before the light breaks, that sense of standing on the threshold of something unformed and promising. Southern Africa offers some of the most...

CEO LETTER

January always arrives with a sense of calm after the festive rush, yet it also carries a quiet optimism that feels uniquely South African. It is a moment to pause, reset and look ahead to a year filled with possibilities. For many of our passengers,...

TOP TRAVEL OF THE MONTH

La Baleine Beach House Collection in Paternoster offers a quiet luxury: striking coastal retreats with white sand, wood, and whitewash for slow, beautiful seaside living.

ED’S LETTER

BUCKLE UP FOR A WILD RIDE The South African motor industry rarely enjoys a quiet year, yet 2025 felt unusually energetic even by our standards. Model launches came thick and fast. Long-absent badges returned to the fold. Buyers showed a level of...

Baywatch se PAMELA ANDERSON

Baywatch se PAMELA ANDERSON Die nuwe sy ná skandes en pyn

EDITORS NOTE

The act of giving – and receiving – at this time of year can be truly special. And no, it doesn’t have to involve crowded shopping malls or maxed-out credit cards. Sometimes the most meaningful gifts are the ones that aren’t wrapped in glittering paper...

Unwanted Guests

I expect Ben and Clare will be on our doorstep again this year,’ I said to my hubby Jake. ‘They’ll be looking forward to tucking into the usual buffet.’ Jake and I laid on an upmarket buffet (for just us four) for Christmas Eve lunch. We had to...

ST ALBAN’S COLLEGE STAR THABISO SIMELANE

Students turned innovators powering South Africa

Arion Power is rapidly establishing itself as one of South Africa’s most dynamic young manufacturers in the renewable energy and backup power sector. Founded in 2020 by University of Cape Town postgraduate students Brian Gadisi and Alan Gie, and...

Conversations with leaders

The Public Prosecutor is rebuilding trust between citizens and the State

Wishing you all a peaceful and restful festive season Sininqwenelela iiholide zokuphela konyaka ezimyoli nezinoxolo

Grocott’s Mail displays the FAIR stamp of the Press Council of South Africa indicating our commitment to adhere to the Code of Ethics for print and online media which prescribes that our reportage is truthful, accurate and fair. Should you wish to...

VOORBLADFOTO

CHARL STOLS PANGOLIN PHOTO SAFARIS IG: @charl_stols pangolinphoto.com

Decoding Digital: The New Rules of Business

Dear Reader, As we head into the final stretch of the year, we bring you an edition that could not be more relevant. The digital revolution is not just on the horizon; it is already shaping the way we live, work and grow. In this issue, we explore...

1 MAZHOU

Campsite 10 level sites ranging from small to very spacious, all with ample shade. Each has electricity and a tap. Guests may use the swimming pool next door at Limpopo Forest Tented Camp. Ablutions 1 small, neat bathroom, with a kitchen...

This season’s standouts in furniture, art and fashion, from sleek loungers to surprising Hermès collabs

The community swimming pool in the town of Gotha in Thuringia, Germany, is a listed building – a rare surviving example of early 20th-century Jugendstil (the German term for Art Nouveau) civic architecture. Designed by William Goette in 1909, it...

Cook the whole menu ahead!

Ahead of her time The secret? All the heavy lifting is done with dishes that practically cook themselves, leaving you to scatter pink strawberries and rose petals around the table, basking in smug-host glory

PUPILS CREATE SOCCER BALLS FOR UNDERPRIVILEGED SCHOOLS

In a creative blend of recycling and community spirit, Etham College grade seven pupils have transformed discarded plastic into soccer balls for underprivileged schools. Shaneen Ulyate, the teacher who led the project, said it aimed to promote both...

TRENDS TO MAKE YOUR OWN

Mocha Mousse Bobbin furniture Green all over! Curated maximalism Colour drenching Gallery walls

ADVENTURE XTREME

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Lank leef die

Dit is met 'n mengelmoes van emosies dat ek aankondig dat hierdie einste koerant van 27 Februarie 2025 wat jy nou in jou hande vashou, die heel laaste papieruitgawe van Graaff-Reinet Advertiser sal wees. Maar, hier is die goeie nuus: dit is geensins...

IBIZONYUSWA NGO-R150 IMPESHENI YEZALUKAZI, BESE KWELULWA ISIBONELELO SABANGASEBENZI

BHEKI NDLOVANA KUVELA ukuthi impesheni yezalukazi ibizokwenyuswa ngemali ethe xaxa kulesi sabelomali obekufanele sethulwe ePhalamende ngoLwesithathu kodwa sabhuntsha. Enkulumeni yesabelomali eputshukile, okubikwa ukuthi ibizokwethulwa nguNgqongqoshe...