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Ghana’s Foreign Minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has lodged a formal protest with his South African counterpart after widely shared videos purportedly showing xenophobic assaults on Ghanaian nationals sparked outrage online. Calling the footage “extremely disturbing,” Ablakwa pressed South African authorities to act swiftly. “The South African Foreign Minister has expressed empathy with the victims and promised full-scale investigations into these depressing incidents,” Ablakwa said on social media. He added that…

Cynthia Shange, celebrated as the first Black woman to represent South Africa at Miss World during the apartheid era, has died at 76. Her daughter, Nonhle Thema, confirmed her passing and honored Shange’s enduring compassion and influence. Shange became a household name in the 1970s when she took the Miss World stage for South Africa. Under apartheid, Black women were barred from entering Miss South Africa and instead built their own platforms through parallel pageants. Shange captured one of those crowns, winning Miss…

By  MOGOMOTSI MAGOMEThursday April 16, 2026 Julius Malema, one of South Africa’s most prominent and polarizing opposition figures, was handed a five-year prison sentence Thursday after being convicted of violating firearm laws for firing a rifle at a political rally in 2018. He was released while he awaits the outcome of an appeal, which will be heard at a later date. If the conviction and sentence are ultimately confirmed, Malema would lose his seat in Parliament. Under South African law, anyone sentenced to more than 12…

Opposition politician Julius Malema has been handed a five-year prison term for firing a rifle into the air during a 2018 political rally. The opposition leader was found guilty last year on five counts, including unlawful possession of a firearm and discharging a weapon in a public place, linked to the 2018 incident at a stadium in the Eastern Cape province. His lawyer said he would appeal the ruling.

South African Firebrand Politician Julius Malema Jailed for Gun-Law Violation CAPE TOWN - South African opposition leader Julius Malema has been sentenced to five years in prison after a court found he fired a rifle into the air at a political rally in 2018. The ruling closes a case tied to an Economic Freedom Fighters celebration held that year. What was the case against Malema? Malema was convicted in October of illegally possessing a firearm and discharging it in a public place. Prosecutors said he fired the rifle into…

Breaking a long-running diplomatic lull, President Cyril Ramaphosa has named Roelf Meyer as South Africa’s next ambassador to the United States, filling a role that has stood empty since 2025. The move follows the expulsion of former ambassador Ebrahim Rasool, who was declared persona non grata in 2025 after comments he made during a webinar on US politics. Frictions deepened afterward when Trump launched a refugee programme for white South Africans, asserting that they face government-led persecution at home. Meyer, a…

In a powerful gesture ahead of Independence Day, South Africa will return Zimbabwe’s last remaining soapstone bird and ancestral human remains, closing a chapter that began with the artefact’s theft more than a century ago during the colonial period. The items will be handed over in a symbolic ceremony. Carved from soapstone and originating from Great Zimbabwe, the bird stands as a defining national emblem of identity and pride. Minister Gayton McKenzie said the move follows a directive from President Cyril Ramaphosa,…

Kelly Ng Wednesday April 15, 2026 The outrage began with a kiss, but it ended with a jail sentence: American livestreamer Johnny Somali has been sentenced to six months behind bars after offending South Koreans by violating a statue that commemorates wartime sex slaves. Seoul authorities charged him with public nuisance in November 2024 after he uploaded footage showing himself kissing and performing lap dances on the statue during a visit to South Korea. Since then, he has been barred from leaving the country. The…

Wednesday April 8, 2026 IDP mother and her children find shelter in IDP camp/File Photo A fresh wave of fighting in southern Somalia’s Bay region has driven thousands of families — including people already uprooted before — into parched rural communities where food, safe water and shelter are in painfully short supply. Gudey Abdullahi Malin, a mother of eight, told Radio Ergo that she fled her home in Baidoa with her children after violence broke out in her area in late March. She is now living in Buula Gedisoy village,…

Southern Lebanon is facing a grave humanitarian emergency under Israeli military occupation, Lebanese MP Najat Saliba has said, warning that thousands of civilians remain trapped in their homes as violence intensifies. In an interview with RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, Ms Saliba said about 10,000 people were cut off in the country’s south. "Israel is invading, and when they come to a village, they actually destroy all houses, and they burn the land. "At the same time, we have almost 10,000 people, or probably a little more, who are…