The Citizen (KZN)
Kicking into overdrive
Golf legend Gary Player after his ceremonial opening tee shot during the first round of the 2026 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club yesterday in Georgia. The 90-year-old Player, tongue-in-cheek, called on Tiger Woods to ‘get a chauffeur’...
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US, SA light peace pipe
‘I have fallen in love with South Africa...’ With these words to President Cyril Ramaphosa, US ambassador to SA Leo Brent Bozell smooths over the rocky path between the leaders since he arrived. From firebrand rhetoric on the ‘Kill the Boer’ chant and...
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Time for a snorkel?
A motorist drives through potholes and sewage along Khoza Street in Mohlakeng ext 4, west of Johannesburg, yesterday – a problem for the past two years with the community claiming the ward councillor is aware of the problem but nothing is done.
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Does parole work?
The data gives the answer: nearly 6 000 parolees have reoffended since June 2024, committing violent crimes from rape to murder. Complaints and legal challenges against parole boards expose systemic flaws, fuelling public distrust and intensifying...
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Joburg writes off massive debt
Just days after it agreed to hike its wage bill by R10.3 billion, the Joburg city council has adopted a motion to write off its indigent residents’ debt, but hasn’t said how much it will cost. What is known is that overall debt owed to the city is...
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You will pay for Joburg’s pay deal
Service delivery has already gone for a loop since the city’s R10.3 billion wage deal with its workers as money is shifted from the maintenance budgets of its core providers: City Power, Joburg Water and Pikitup. This affects what it can do about leaks...
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Vibes of cosmos
Lyn Kennedy, left, and Val Groenewald take selfies among the cosmos flowers at Delta Park in Randburg yesterday. In March and April, the park’s cosmos blooms in full force. Cosmos, or Cosmos bipinnatus, is originally from Central and South America. Its...
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Suburb to slum
Residents of Ferndale in Randburg are battling ‘slumification’ as hijacked homes, shacks and crime overwhelm their suburb. Despite years of complaints, Joburg officials are turning a blind eye. Community leaders demand enforcement of bylaws and the...
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‘Where’s our raise?’
SA Municipal Workers Union members march at Mary Fitzgerald Square in Johannesburg yesterday after the DA took legal action to block the City of Joburg’s R10 billion wage deal with municipal workers. The party claims it could plunge the city into a...
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Do the Baartman
Proteas’ fast bowler Ottniel Baartman celebrates after taking the wicket of New Zealand’s Dane Cleaver during the fifth T20 at Hagley Oval in Christchurch yesterday. The Proteas won the game by 33 runs to clinch the five-match series 3-2.
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‘Stop, stop... Oh, I messed up’
– A plane carrying dozens of people collided with a fire truck late on Sunday on a runway at New York’s LaGuardia airport, killing the pilot and copilot and forcing a halt to flights, authorities and US media reported. AFP pictures showed the heavily...
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A quacking good time
Spectators dressed in duck attire at the rainy final day of LIV Golf South Africa at Steyn City yesterday. The Southern Guards, SA’s four-man team, finished second in the team event of the tournament staged on African soil for the first time.
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‘Please cut off my hand!’
Meet 24-year-old Jonothan Gerds, a man in so much pain for eight months now he’s willing to walk out of hospital, find the nearest butchery and use a bandsaw to sever his left hand – and he blames it all on a doctor who gave him an unnecessary...
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Me, Tarzan...
Poison Ivy, played by Cecilia Nahel, with Adrian van Niekerk as Tarzan, at Nasrec Expo Centre in Johannesburg yesterday for the launch of Rand Show. A magical themed world for young adventurers features face painting, trampolines and interactive...
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Rough road
South Korean Buddhist monks perform full bows as they march towards the US embassy in Seoul yesterday during a protest against the war on Iran.
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Simply the best
The Blitzboks sealed the 2025-26 World Sevens Series division one title in a thrilling winner takes all final shootout against Fiji at the New York Sevens in the US over the past weekend. The Blitzboks and Fiji went into the final series event level...
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This is what R90m gets you
Ovegrown with weeds, Kaalfontein’s promised hub in Ekurhuleni lies unfinished despite nearly R90 million being spent. Civil society demands answers as weeds replace opportunity, exposing budget excuses, incompetence and possible corruption in municipal...
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SA wife tells of Dubai hell
A South African woman claims Dubai is not safe, ‘no matter what anyone says’, amid fears for her husband’s life. The damage to a building hit by a drone strike in Creek Harbour yesterday is clearly seen – but ‘you get fined if you tell...’
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Sky’s birds of prey
With the United States demanding its outstanding issues from South Africa, the country is facing a conundrum – to toe the line and benefit economically from the US, or to reject and get ostracised by the superpower. Political and international...
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Will we run out of fuel?
While the Middle East war is about to rocket fuel prices into the stratosphere – by between R4 and R6 a litre for petrol – an even bigger worry is that if the conflict drags on, South Africa may face an actual fuel shortage. The last time this...
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Motsepe: I don’t want Cyril’s job
The billionaire businessman is adamant he will not be the hero saving the ANC. Patrice Motsepe has, for the first time, publicly denied he is campaigning for the leadership of the party, saying he doesn’t need politics to contribute to SA. ‘The minute...
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Toll of war on innocents
A boy plays with his sheep next to an unexploded missile that landed in an open field on the outskirts of Qamishli, eastern Syria, yesterday. Thousands of civilians across the Gulf are becoming displaced as the Iran war with the US and Israel...
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Ripping off the dead
Thembisile Hani local municipality in Mpumalanga faces fury over cemetery fees, with residents decrying ‘grief taxes’ amid neglected graveyards, broken fencing and a lack of facilities. They demand accountability and clearer engagement with traditional...
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‘We want water, not statues’
Residents wanting water in their dry taps protest at the unveiling of a statue of Oliver Tambo at North Beach in Durban yesterday. The statue celebrates the historic contribution made by former ANC president Tambo to SA’s liberation and democracy. Also...
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NVaontihtyinprgoljecft strtioppsetdebaalre
In tatters, like this forgotten grow tunnel – that is what’s left of the R30 million ‘vanity project’ of late Mpumalanga premier David Mabuza to polish his image. The agricultural hub, hailed to benefit large- and small-scale farmers, is stripped bare,...
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World holds its breath
Some celebrate the killing of Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei by the US and Israel in a wave of strikes; others fear the conflict will engulf the whole of the Middle East and have ramifications worldwide as thousands of flights – including...
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Business as usual
Proteas captain Aiden Markram acknowledges the crowd after reaching his half-century during their ICC Men’s T20 Cricket World Cup super eights match against the West Indies at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad yesterday. Markram scored an unbeaten...
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It’s a give and take
No painful tax hikes, social grants are increased and tax inflation is adjusted for the first time in years... it’s a feel-good budget Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana presented yesterday. But those who indulge in booze and smokes will cough up,...
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All fired up over dry taps
Coronationville resident Candace Gani and community members picket as Westbury and Newclare battle with dry taps. Residents have been living with the water crisis for the past three years and took to the streets yesterday, burning tyres.
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Three murdered every hour
This is the shocking statistic released by the SA Police Service, hailing a 10% year-on-year decrease in murder cases. Not good enough, say experts, calling the ‘absolute scale of violence devastating and unacceptable’. A lot of the victims are young...
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Massive statement
The Proteas need to build on their momentum now, captain Aiden Markram said yesterday, after they thumped defending champions India by 76 runs in their first match of the Super Eight stage at the T20 World Cup in Ahmedabad. “It was a great...
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Bitter end to sweet life
Boardroom shenanigans wiping R12 billion off the value of Tongaat Hulett were the start of a slow death for the sugar giant. The imminent liquidation of the KwaZulu-Natal company threatens to topple the livelihoods of tens of thousands, with ripple...
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Teen spirit
Lara Markthaler of Team South Africa during her second run in the women’s slalom at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, yesterday. The teen celebrated her 19th birthday on the slopes two days ago, when she finished 47th out of 54...
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Joburg bills: watch out
If you owe the council, do not sign any agreement to pay off your municipal debt. Amid the Joburg billing chaos, putting your signature on a debt acknowledgement form may just lock you into paying money you may not actually owe, especially if you are...
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‘Help us bury our boy’
Not donning any hat like the woman in the haunting video of the murder of e-hailing driver Isaac Satlat, an emotionless 24-year-old Dikeledi Tears Mphela appeared with two co-accused in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court yesterday. Mphela, Goitsione...
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Can Cyril save our towns?
It seems the water crisis is a wake-up call for SA’s president: he is laying criminal charges left, right and centre against those that fail to serve residents and promises ‘a far-reaching overhaul’ of municipalities. But only those managed by his...
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Will water pull plug on ANC?
President Cyril Ramaphosa’s pre-Sona scramble by sending two ministers to help Jozi’s water crisis may be too little, too late to save his party as irate residents roast not only government, but also Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi’s ill-timed: ‘We also...
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‘Don’t fiddle while SA is dry’
Water experts’ message to the president is clear: ‘Cyril, stop giving us wild promises about big projects saying this dam is being built because, on the ground, we don’t see it. Use your State of the Nation Address today to declare water a national...
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‘I’m no agent’
Investigator Paul O’Sullivan was yesterday grilled over his background, insisting he was not a spy, during the parliamentary ad hoc committee inquiry into alleged corruption and political interference in the criminal justice system in Cape Town.
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No rabbit in Cyril’s hat
It seems President Cyril Ramaphosa’s bag of tricks is empty as he prepares for his ninth State of the Nation Address. Youth unemployment soars past 45% and the economy has been stuck in neutral since 2009, as analysts warn the speech may recycle old...
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On top of the world
Blitzbok Ryan Oosthuizen celebrates with team-mates after being announced as player of the final after winning the Perth leg of the World Sevens Series at HBF Park in Perth, Australia, yesterday. South Africa beat Fiji 21-19 in the final.
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In the spirit of the lion
People perform a lion dance during an event to celebrate the Chinese New Year in Cape Town on Sunday. The bustling Victoria & Alfred Waterfront in Cape Town came alive with vibrant colours and lively performances, attracting hundreds of local residents...
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Johnny the walker
He walked away from the DA leadership race, saying: ‘Simply, mission accomplished’ – but John Steenhuisen’s decision to not seek a third term has sparked a succession debate, with some citing capable contenders; others criticising the party for relying...
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Epstein’s Cape girls ties?
E-mails surface not only showing former president Jacob Zuma dined with the disgraced financier and a model, but also tells of a scout, known only as Daniel, telling Jeffrey Epstein ‘the potential of girls is huge’ in Cape Town...
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It gets tougher for battling consumers
The decision to leave the repo rate on hold will hit embattled households.
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Stop wasting our money
This week we told you about government not using a budget increased by nearly R21 billion to create jobs for unemployed doctors, and the Gauteng health department’s unspent R725 million that landed back in Treasury’s kitty. Today, you’ll read about the...
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Prince William’s haunt ablaze
Nearly 300 tourists were evacuated as a fire rips through the five-star Grandes Alpes hotel at the upscale French Alps ski resort, Courchevel, a frequent haunt of Britain’s Prince William and his family. A room for the night costs an eye-watering £11...
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Syndicate weaves a tangled web...
By the time doors were kicked in across Johannesburg’s northern suburbs, the operation had already been years in the making. The investigation that culminated in yesterday’s coordinated takedown stretched back five years in South Africa, with threads...
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Tins for Africa
From left, Jacaranda FM presenters Martin Bester, Philicity Reeken and Xola Ntshinga yesterday among some of the many cans of food donated by listeners, before being packed and transported by Gift of the Givers to victims of the recent floods in...
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Captain fantastic
Sunrisers Eastern Cape captain Tristan Stubbs celebrates after he sealed a victory with a six as they claimed the SA20 title by beating the Pretoria Capitals by six wickets in the final at Newlands yesterday. Stubbs scored 63 off 41 balls as they won...
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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...
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Red vellies day
From left, iconic singer/songwriter David Kramer, Cape Town mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis and Jawaahier Petersen, the daughter of singer and composer Taliep Petersen, who worked extensively with Kramer, at the first awarding of the Freedom of the City in...
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Big fish to fry
Japan’s Naomi Osaka walks into the Rod Laver Arena ahead of her first round match against Croatia’s Antonia Ruzic at the Australian Open in Melbourne yesterday. Taken by the jellyfish’s beauty and power, Osaka shared her inspiration with the Nike team,...
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‘Where’s my child?’
A rescue worker comforts a woman, centre, at the scene of an accident where a minibus carrying school pupils collided with a truck, killing 13 children, in Vanderbijlpark yesterday. Distraught parents gathered at the scene, demanding to see their kids.
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Birds of a feather
Entertainment at the Cape Town Carnival launch at Nasdak Media24 Building in Cape Town. The carnival blends imagination, creativity and the South African spirit as each group of performers showcase the magic of community, culture and the vibrant energy.
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Blue lights, fat cats
R2.5 billion – that is what it will cost the SA Police Service for VIP protection for President Cyril Ramaphosa and his Cabinet ministers this year – nearly R300 million more than last year, Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia tells parliament. At...
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Finally, GNU finds its rhythm
The government of national unity (GNU) is beginning to settle into rhythm. Analysts say the coalition shows early signs of stability as partners learn to cooperate and place national interest above party disputes. The relative calm has surprised many...
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Arson or Eskom?
Failing grid sparks fires, while cable theft adds fuel, say residents. Allegations of arson with nefarious motives and poor maintenance by Eskom have sparked fears that more electricity-related fires could ignite, or that arson may be emerging as a...
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Back to school shock
This is just a little taste of how back-to-school essentials will hit your pocket. Be prepared to fork out much more before your child even gets through the school gate. We break down exactly how much it costs to equip a Grade 8 pupil at a public...
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‘The void is real,’ DJ Warras
Victor Majola appears in the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court for a bail application in the Warrick ‘DJ Warras’ Stock murder case yesterday. Stock was shot in the CBD on 16 December. Stock’s sister, Nicole, says ‘the void is real’ for his family and...
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Courting the crowd
A young dancer catches a baton during Cape Town’s annual parade of Tweede Nuwe Jaar, or Second New Year, yesterday, despite a last-minute court wrangle over changing the venue and route between the city and the organisers.
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Durbs does it Klopse-style
The Durban Carnival procession makes its way through the streets of the city on Friday. Durban Tourism, in partnership with the eThekwini municipality, hosted a New Year Carnival Parade through the inner city’s streets, celebrating South Africa’s rich...
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Eskom prices kill jobs
The ‘unaffordable’ high price of electricity is forcing a smelter to close some of its operations, putting about 7 000 livelihoods and 600 staff at risk, with a union now calling on the government to urgently address the power utility’s financial woes.
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What is wrong with parents?
Religious and community leaders have created with outrage after a video on social media showed young children drinking alcoholic beer on Christmas Day. Half a dozen children, some as young as three, were seen swigging from bottles of Flying Fish and...
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Going head to head
Acrobats Ismail Athman, top, and Kbrashidi prepare backstage before a performance of the Circus Galassia in Sandton recently. The traditional all human circus focuses only on human entertainment, with performers assembled from all over the globe,...
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Harties ‘race war’
Hartbeespoort Dam’s shoreline dispute reverberates beyond leases – noise complaints against black venues expose racial double standards, where music, land, and livelihoods collide with apartheid’s residue, leaving human rights and dignity contested in...
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‘How ANC must fix Joburg CBD mess’
Former Joburg mayor Amos Masondo urges the ANC to return to basics, reconnect with voters and revive the CBD through partnerships. He rejects decay claims, warns against Helen Zille’s candidacy and insists leadership rooted in Freedom Charter values is...
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SA’s R3 trillion hidden wealth
The country holds a massive township and rural property wealth. Fintech platform E-DEED uses AI and blockchain to value homes without deeds, unlocking equity, insurance access and financial inclusion. Recognising this invisible asset class could boost...
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Meet the winner of our car
Lucky car winner Caroline Ndungwana from Tembisa celebrates at the Chery Northcliff dealership yesterday as she collects her brand-new Chery Tiggo Cross HEV Elite valued at R470 000, which she won in a competition run by The Citizen. Ndungwana won the...
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‘Our rivers are sewers’
Arecent snap survey of South Africa’s water resources indicates E. coli is present in up to two-thirds of the country’s water supply. The Water Community Action Network (WaterCan) sent 500 test kits to random locations nationwide in September – and the...
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Sending tons of love
Proteas batter Suné Luus celebrates after reaching her century during the second women’s ODI against Ireland at St George’s Park in Gqeberha yesterday. Luus and captain Laura Wolvaardt both scored hundreds as the Proteas won by 74 runs to lead the...
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Some early Xmas cheer
A person participates in a Christmas parade in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Saturday. Inspired by the annual New York spectacle, the parade featured giant inflatables, musicians and dancers – and, of course, Santa Clause.
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