In a significant twist to a long-running legal saga, Minister of Justice Mmamoloko Kubayi said Home Affairs would lift the five-year entry ban on Nigerian evangelist Pastor Timothy Omotoso if the National Prosecuting Authority succeeds in its attempt to appeal his acquittal on sexual offences charges. Omotoso was declared an undesirable person in South Africa and handed a five-year ban in May 2025, after which he left the country voluntarily. The move came on the heels of his acquittal following a seven-year trial on…

Seasoned political negotiator Roelf Meyer formally presented his credentials to President Donald Trump on Thursday, stepping in as South Africa’s new ambassador to the US at a moment when political relations between the two countries remain frosty.

South Africa will begin offering the twice-yearly HIV prevention shot lenacapavir (LEN) on June 5, Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi announced, hailing a major step forward in the fight against the virus. For individuals who are HIV-negative, the long-acting injection has proven to be almost completely effective at preventing sexual transmission. But new drugs alone won’t end the epidemic, argue Mitchell Warren, executive director of the international health advocacy group AVAC, and Wawira Nyagah, executive director of…

After coordinated protests by the anti-immigrant group March and March targeting undocumented migrants in Pretoria, Johannesburg, and Durban, Human Rights Watch urged South African authorities to act decisively. South Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch Nomathamsanqa Masiko-Mpaka said authorities "should intensify efforts to address anti-immigrant sentiments and violence to ensure the safety and protection of at-risk foreign nationals in the country," calling for stronger measures to curb hostility and safeguard…

South Africa’s political temperature rose sharply after the Constitutional Court ordered Parliament to relaunch impeachment proceedings against President Cyril Ramaphosa, reigniting the Phala Phala scandal and placing him under fresh legal and political scrutiny. Ramaphosa has dismissed demands that he step down and says he will fight the process in court. He intends to seek a judicial review of the 2022 Section 89 panel report, which concluded there was preliminary evidence he may have breached the Constitution or engaged…

South Africa’s top court has drawn a clear line in the sand: foreign nationals whose asylum bids have already been rejected may not file fresh applications. In its ruling, the Constitutional Court warned that permitting repeat filings without a legal framework to govern them would fuel a “never-ending cycle,” stall deportations, and overwhelm the system with administrative disorder. Leon Schreiber, the minister of home affairs in South Africa’s coalition government, hailed the judgment as a “major victory” against what he…

Defying mounting pressure, President Cyril Ramaphosa says he will stay in office after the Constitutional Court’s judgment on the Section 89 impeachment process connected to the 2020 theft of cash at his Phala Phala farm, where thieves reportedly made off with thousands of dollars stashed in furniture at the game property. Ramaphosa says he will launch a legal challenge to the report that cleared the way for parliament to weigh impeachment proceedings. He denies any wrongdoing and maintains the funds were the lawful…

South Africa has escalated its response to the extreme weather battering the country, declaring the ongoing severe storms a national disaster. The crisis spans six provinces — the Western Cape, Eastern Cape, Northern Cape, North West, Free State, and Mpumalanga — where communities are contending with widespread disruption. The South African Weather Service cautioned that heavy downpours and powerful winds will persist in parts of the Western Cape. In a precautionary move, the Western Cape Education Department (WCED)…

Migration has emerged as a pivotal issue both in Africa and globally, fueled by factors such as conflict, job scarcity, economic disparities, unstable governance, environmental challenges, and the universal human pursuit of improved living conditions. While the phenomenon of migration is longstanding, the resulting tensions have escalated into more perilous and politically fraught confrontations. Recent xenophobic incidents in South Africa serve as a stark reminder that hostility toward foreign nationals can never be…

African nations, including Kenya, Malawi, Lesotho, and Zimbabwe, have advised their citizens residing in South Africa to exercise caution and remain indoors due to a series of attacks targeting foreign nationals. In response to the escalating situation, Ghana has called for intervention from the African Union. South Africa is experiencing significant unrest as protests against illegal immigration have erupted, leading to violence directed at migrants from other sub-Saharan countries in Africa's leading economy.…