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.…

South Africa’s top court has struck down Parliament’s 2022 move to halt impeachment proceedings against President Cyril Ramaphosa, ruling the decision unconstitutional in a judgment that immediately reshapes the political landscape. The Constitutional Court sided with opposition parties, which argued that lawmakers from the ruling party improperly shut down a process designed to test grave allegations against the head of state. The dispute traces back to an independent panel’s findings that the President had a case to…

President Cyril Ramaphosa has signaled a firm response to unrest, with his spokesperson saying he expects law enforcement to act against violent demonstrators, while stressing that South Africans are not xenophobic, as protests against undocumented immigrants spread across several major cities in South Africa.

In a concerning development, Health Minister Dr. Aaron Motsoaledi addressed Parliament's Portfolio Committee on Health following the alarming confirmation of Hantavirus in a severely ill British national in South Africa. Additionally, the health minister reported on a woman who collapsed at OR Tambo International Airport and unfortunately succumbed to her condition in South Africa. Her husband, who also fell ill, later died in St Helena. Both individuals were among the passengers aboard the cruise ship MV Hondius, which was…

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa’s low-key weekend trip to Zimbabwe carried a sharp warning for Emmerson Mnangagwa, according to former ally Rutendo Matinyarare: drop any plan to dismiss Vice President Constantino Chiwenga and rethink Constitutional Amendment Bill No.3, the measure seen as paving the way for Mnangagwa to stay beyond his two-term limit. Ramaphosa visited Mnangagwa at Precabe Farm in Kwekwe, where he was photographed alongside a tight circle of the Zimbabwean leader’s allies who back the proposed…

In a decisive intervention, the national government has taken full control of the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS), with Higher Education and Training Minister Buti Manamela placing the entity under administration amid mounting governance turmoil. Manamela said the move follows a protracted spell of governance failures, legal disputes and operational fragilities that have eroded NSFAS’s stability and credibility. The board has been rocked by multiple resignations, including that of its chairperson, while…

Nigerian authorities have announced that their recent discussions with Thamsanqa Mseleku, South Africa's High Commissioner to Nigeria, aimed to "officially express the Nigerian Government's deep concerns" regarding the reported "mistreatment of Nigerian nationals and their enterprises" amidst anti-immigrant demonstrations occurring in South Africa.

Echoing through the streets of Johannesburg and Pretoria, wave after wave of self-styled civic groups has marched in recent years with near-identical grievances. The banners and leaders may rotate, and the slogans get a fresh coat of paint, yet the refrain rarely shifts. From Operation Dudula to the more recent Put South Africans First, along with the Fiyela Movement, the All Truck Drivers Foundation, and several predecessors, the pattern endures. The labels evolve; the message persists, writes Jan Bornman for Our City News…