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March and March leader Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma has opened a criminal case against alleged ANC member Sello Lemonka Gemba after he allegedly made rape and death threats against her on social media. Ngobese-Zuma confirmed she opened the case at the Durban Central police station on Tuesday. Screenshots of the Facebook post containing Gemba's alleged threats have gone viral. In some posts, Gemba is seen wearing ANC T-shirts and campaigning for the ANC Youth League, linking him to the party. His Facebook profile has since been locked. In the post, Gemba allegedly stated he wanted someone to rape Ngobese-Zuma before killing her. He must be found this ANC liability. @MYANC@MbalulaFikile pic.twitter.com/GwNMPWBjVv - Madumetsa- TeffuJoy (@MadumetsaTeffu) October 6, 2026 The threats sparked outrage from March and March, particularly against the backdrop of gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF). "Why would you make such comments in the wake of brutal murders of women? "It's unacceptable. That is the most gruesome statement you can make. It reminds us of all those horrific acts where women were killed," March and March spokesperson Sandile Dube told TimesLIVE. Dube urged that Gemba's behaviour be strongly condemned and that he face full legal action. "This must be condemned in the strongest possible terms. Moreover, he must be held accountable. He wrote that knowing full well the severity of GBV in this country," Dube said. "Even if it wasn't Jacinta, even if it were an ordinary woman, it would still demand action. He must pay for it." Dube said March and March intends to face Gemba in court after a case has been registered. On September 30, March and March led nationwide protests addressing high crime rates, GBVF and illegal immigration. Their anti-femicide advocacy gained momentum following the discovery of women's bodies in Ekurhuleni. Dube stressed the movement stands firmly against GBVF and other critical issues affecting South Africans. "As a civic organisation, we are entrusted with that responsibility by South Africans who are affected by these issues," Dube said. "What affects South Africans becomes our key focus area. We will march against any issue impacting our citizens, whether it is crime or illegal immigration." He said this is not the first time March and March has confronted GBVF. "Fighting GBV has always been central to our work." TimesLIVE reached out to Gemba and the ANC Youth League for comment. Their responses will be added once received. TimesLIVE

The South African National Taxi Council (Santaco) says it is not making any announcement at this stage regarding possible taxi fare increases. The latest monthly price adjustments announced by the department of mineral & petroleum resources on Monday showed motorists will pay R3.12 more for 93-grade petrol, while the 95-grade price will soar by R3.33. This means 95-grade petrol will cost R30.25 in the economic hub of Gauteng and other inland areas and R29.38 in coastal areas. "The council will communicate its position once a collective decision has been concluded," said Santaco national spokesperson Mmatshikhidi Rebecca Phala. "Santaco therefore appeals to the public and commuters to remain calm and not act on speculation regarding possible fare increases. No decision to increase taxi fares has been announced by Santaco at this stage." Following the council's national office bearers meeting held in Kempton Park on Tuesday, Santaco has resolved to engage with its industry members to assess the impact of rising fuel prices on taxi operators, employees across the industry and commuters. The council recognises that any adjustment to fares has a direct impact on commuters and therefore believes that all possible options must first be explored before a position is reached - Mmatshikhidi Rebecca Phala, Santaco spokesperson Phala said the council will also engage fuel suppliers and business partners on possible measures to cushion the impact of the fuel price increases, which could be achieved through the industry's collective buying power. She said the organisation will further engage the national department of transport and other relevant government stakeholders on possible solutions to mitigate the impact of rising fuel costs on the taxi industry and the travelling public. "The council recognises that any adjustment to fares has a direct impact on commuters and therefore believes that all possible options must first be explored before a position is reached." She said the council's objective is to arrive at an ideal and sustainable solution that takes into consideration the interests and financial realities of taxi operators, employees within the industry and commuters, particularly at a time when all sectors of society are experiencing significant economic pressure. Santaco will continue with its consultations and will table the matter before its national executive committee, which will sit on Wednesday for further consideration, Phala added.

The road to the local government elections appears bleak and dark or some Johannesburg residents, with parts of the inner city still without electricity and residents questioning whether voting will bring any change to their lives. Sunday Times walked the streets of Marshalltown, speaking to residents about whether they are ready to vote in the upcoming local government elections and what they want to see change in their communities. For some, the lack of basic services has deepened their frustration and contributed to their decision not to vote. Browns Langa, 24, who lives in Marshalltown and runs a fruit business in central Johannesburg, said he has never voted and sees no reason to do so. ''I dont see a reason to vote for something that is not going to benefit you back'' he said. Langa said he dropped out of school in 2021 during the Covid-19 pandemic after his unemployed parents could no longer afford his school fees. "My parents lost their jobs during Covid, so I had to stop going to school and help out my uncle, who runs a farming business back home," he said. "Since then, it's been a struggle to land a proper job, let alone internships for what I studied for," he said. He said he would only consider voting once he sees meaningful change. "We currently don't have electricity. We are using generators to survive and that's more money wasted on what we ought to have," Langa said. The electricity crisis in the Johannesburg inner city has continued for more than a week following a fire at City Power's Central Substation on September 26. City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena said technical teams were continuing with transformer testing, cable work, the installation of new equipment and safety checks as the utility worked to restore the remaining customers affected by the outage. Mangena said significant progress had been made overnight, with power restored to four distributors supplying Marshall Street East, Grahamstown, Standard Bank and Carlton Centre. "Power had also previously been restored through alternative supply routes to Selby, Wemmer West, Wemmer East, Selby Central, Rand Daily Mail and Anderson Street West. However, customers in parts of Selby West, Selby East and Albert Street West were still awaiting restoration," he said. "We are estimating full restoration on Thursday, October 8, subject to the completion of outstanding repairs, testing and safety checks," Mangena said. The outage followed a fire in the underground tunnels at Central Substation, which City Power said was the third incident in the tunnels and was suspected to be linked to criminal syndicates targeting the network. For residents such as Langa, the prolonged outage has become another reason to question whether their lives will improve after the elections. Another resident, Bhekumuzi Ntuli, originally from Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal, moved to Johannesburg for work in 2005. He said he had been a loyal voter but stopped voting in 2010. "I used to be a regular voter. I made sure my vote was cast, but now I don't see a reason to vote," Ntuli said. He said he had not seen enough change since democracy and believed things had instead become worse. "I see no need to vote. What am I voting for if I have to vote because all the leaders in power are corrupt?" Ntuli said. He said the rising cost of living was making it increasingly difficult for people to survive. "Petrol has increased for no reason. Each time we try to make a living, things go up. Bread, oil, school fees and now car expenses. It's too much," he said. But not everyone has given up on voting. Nicholas Abrahams, 72, from Florida, said he had registered to vote because he believed not voting could benefit the ruling party. "I have to vote because if I don't, my vote by default will go to the ruling party," he said. Abrahams said there was uncertainty about the direction South Africa was taking. "There's so much going on in the country. We don't know whether we are progressing or not, but with the corruption going on, it's hard to tell whether we are on the right track," he said. Lenga Mamy, who lives in the CBD, said his experience at the 2021 elections left him feeling that he had no reason to vote. Mamy, whose mother is Haitian and father is Congolese, said he attempted to vote in 2021 but was turned away because he is a foreign national. "In 2021, I already had my documents in check. I remember standing in a line with my mother and when we got to the voting station, I was told to go back because I am a foreign national. Since then, I saw no need to vote," he said. He said the experience left him frustrated. "How can I legally be in a country that does not allow me to have a voice of my own?" he said. "Ever since that experience, I have never registered to vote and I don't think I will," Mamy said young people needed more opportunities, particularly jobs and programmes that could help them build stable careers. "There need to be more youth centres and programmes that will generate jobs. So many of us are depending on internships but never have a stable job. Once that internship contract is over, we apply for another one," he said. "Young people must be brought to power and old people must retire," Mamy said.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has shared highlights from his recent working visit to Egypt, reflecting on key diplomatic milestones and memorable personal moments. As the chairperson of the Southern African Development Community (Sadc), Ramaphosa participated in the plenary of the 8th AU Mid-Year Co-ordination Meeting in El Alamein. The gathering brought together leaders from across the continent to deliberate on key issues, particularly the strengthening of regional integration. During the visit, Ramaphosa held bilateral talks with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi to reinforce ties between the two nations. "Our visit to Egypt has been meaningful," Ramaphosa said in a video while touring the Pyramids of Giza and the Great Sphinx. "We attended the AU Mid-Year Summit where leaders from various regions gathered to review progress on continental development. We took part in fruitful discussions and adopted strong declarations." Ramaphosa and El-Sisi signed several key agreements to further normalise and expand relations between South Africa and Egypt. Beyond high-level politics, Ramaphosa also took time to support South Africa's national football team before their international friendly against Egypt's Pharaohs at Cairo International Stadium on Sunday, where Bafana Bafana secured a 1-0 victory. "After the summit, we attended the Bafana Bafana match against Egypt, where our boys won," Ramaphosa said. "It was a wonderful, friendly atmosphere that, in many ways, deepened the relationship between our two countries. We go back home full of knowledge and with victory in our hearts. "We beat them in a good match, but we will invite them to South Africa when President El-Sisi visits so we can have another friendly. Maybe they will be lucky enough to win next time, but this time, we were the fortunate ones and the best team won." Ramaphosa also expressed admiration for Egypt's rich history. "This is a treasure trove of history and knowledge; we have learnt a lot simply by being here. We've gained great insights into establishing a world-class historic museum to complement the institutions we have back home. Learning about the Pharaohs and the ancient dynasties highlights the incredible contribution Egypt has made to the history and civilisation of our continent."

The troubled Eastern Cape judiciary will have to wait a bit longer for the appointment of a deputy judge president for the province. The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) interviewed four candidates for the position as it seeks to stabilise the province's judiciary amid judge president Selby Mbenenge's legal battle to block parliament's impeachment consideration. At the conclusion of the interviews on Tuesday evening, the JSC said it would announce the results of its deliberations when "the results are ready". The latest interviews are the second by the JSC after unsuccessful interviews in 2025 that were dominated by allegations that court staff accepted bribes to allocate dates to certain firms and of court files going missing, which prompted chief justice Mandisa Maya's oversight visit. This year was no different. Allegations of bribery from law firms to get court dates in Mthatha in 2025 triggered interest from the panel on the leadership's ability to implement reform measures. Eastern Cape high court senior judge Fathima Dawood, who has 18 years' experience on the bench in Mthatha, was asked by Eastern Cape premier Oscar Mabuyane whether there was "court capture". "It is definitely not a court capture issue," she said, brushing aside the suggestion that the court's credibility may have been tarnished. Dawood, like all the candidates, told the commission that the main problem facing the division was not having enough judges and resources. This is a common issue flagged by judges in the high court and the Supreme Court of Appeal. Dawood proposed the judiciary seek assistance from senior lawyers to be appointed as acting judges and even consider this on a pro bono basis to assist the court with capacity. In her interview, Eastern Cape judge Buyiswa Majiki, who has 13 years' experience, moved to allay the concerns of the panel and Maya that the Mthatha high court, where the chief justice was first appointed as a judge, was still troubled by bribery syndicates. Having been appointed as one of the permanent judges for at least four years, I am one of the most junior judges in the division. History has shown that lack of seniority is no bar to appointment to a senior position in the judiciary, especially a management position. - Judge Vuyokazi Noncembu She described problems of court dates allocated to preferred law firms as "a thing of the past". "One of the things we've seen is that, for instance, if we look at the fourth term roll now, you see new firms in the court rolls these days," Majiki said. The court's leadership made changes to improve its operations after Maya's visits, she added. "There has been a change at the registrar's office. The staff has been swapped around. Regarding the issue of lost files, you could run a motion court in Mthatha on temporary files. We no longer see that," she said. Judge Vuyokazi Noncembu, the most junior of the candidates, having been appointed as a high court judge in 2022, relied on her judgment skills. Noncembu said she was not aware of any of her judgments being set aside on appeal, which she said was an indication of her writing skills. "Having been appointed as one of the permanent judges for at least four years, I am one of the most junior judges in the division. History has shown that lack of seniority is no bar to appointment to a senior position in the judiciary, especially a management position," she said. A case in point for Noncembu's stance could be the appointment of judge president Mbenenge, who was appointed to the top position in 2017, having been appointed as a permanent judge in 2015. Noncembu also relied on her previous role as the North West Regional Court president for four years as a reference for her leadership skills in the judiciary. In her interview, Eastern Cape judge Bulelwa Pakati, who worked as a magistrate for 21 years and was promoted to different levels over the years, focused on her vision to support the modernisation of courts. "As deputy judge president ... I will lead an aggressive eradication of case backlogs by implementing robust technology-driven scheduling systems with strict adherence to judicial timelines. Justice delayed remains justice denied," Pakati said. Competition Appeal Court The JSC will also advise President Cyril Ramaphosa to appoint two high court judges to be judges of the Competition Appeal Court, including one judge with six law degrees. There was not much competition for two vacancies at the court, and the JSC on Tuesday agreed on the appointment of both candidates interviewed: KwaZulu-Natal high court judge Dumisani Lekhuleni. Lekhuleni has six law degrees and is awaiting an LLM on competition law. The appointments take place as competition law processes in South Africa face criticism for taking years to conclude matters regarding mergers and acquisitions, posing challenges to attracting foreign investment and negatively affecting economic growth. Nkosi, who was appointed to the bench in 2021, was part of the appeal court bench that decided the rand-rigging case by the Competition Commission against 28 banks. Business Day

The Madlanga commission of inquiry has announced the postponement of the in-camera testimony of former crime intelligence boss Feroz Khan, following the fatal shooting of his relative on Monday night. Khan's uncle-in-law and close associate Preggy Padayachee was shot and killed on the R21 highway heading toward OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg. Although Khan was scheduled to testify in camera on Tuesday, the commission confirmed that while he appeared remotely, the incident left him unable to proceed with his testimony. "The commission has therefore postponed the testimony of Mr Khan to a date that has yet to be determined," the commission stated. "The commission will make further announcements in this regard." Gauteng police have opened investigations into cases of murder and attempted murder. The motive for the attack remains unknown. According to police spokesperson Col Dimakatso Nevhuhulwi, preliminary information indicates that a driver in a Fiat experienced a breakdown and called a friend for assistance. The friend arrived at the scene accompanied by two other people. While they were attending to the vehicle, gunmen opened fire on them. The driver sustained fatal injuries and was declared dead at the scene after losing control of the vehicle while attempting to evade the gunfire. Nevhuhulwi added that one passenger was injured in the attack, while another managed to escape unharmed. No arrests have been made. TimesLIVE

The greatest threat facing Nelson Mandela Bay's upcoming local government elections is not a political party. It is voter apathy. The late Archbishop Desmond Tutu once warned South Africans against taking their vote for granted, saying: "Think! Don't vote mindlessly. Don't be voting cattle. Remember, it will decide what quality of life you will have for the next five years." Frustrated by slow progress and the persistent challenges confronting their communities, many now question whether participating in elections can still make a difference. But disengaging from the democratic process does not solve our problems. It simply weakens the ability of communities to shape the future they want to see. That is why encouraging voter participation can no longer rest with the Electoral Commission alone. While voter education rightly falls within its constitutional mandate, building an informed electorate requires a much broader societal effort. Voter education is about far more than explaining how or where to vote. It is about helping citizens understand the powers and responsibilities of local government, how municipal decisions affect their daily lives and why informed choices matter. An informed voter is an empowered citizen. Democracy is strongest not simply when people vote, but when they make thoughtful decisions based on facts, careful consideration and a genuine understanding of the issues affecting their communities. Building that kind of electorate cannot be left to institutions alone. It requires a movement driven by communities themselves. Every church, school, university, business, sports club, neighbourhood association, labour organisation, civic movement, non-profit organisation and community leader has a role to play.

The defence's attempt to use photographs taken just hours before court proceedings could resume, to illustrate the scene in the attempted murder of taxi boss Joe "Ferrari" Sibanyoni, was rejected by the Johannesburg high court on Wednesday. This was after Judge Cassim Moosa found that the same authenticity concerns previously raised against the state now applied to the defence. The ruling came during the third day of cross-examination of state witness Bethwell Cele, a Bidvest Protea Coin security officer who was on duty at Centurion Golf Estate when Sibanyoni was ambushed on August 10, 2022. Vusimusi "Cat" Matlala, his wife Tsakane Matlala, Musa Kekana, Tiego Floyd Mabusela and Nthabiseng Nzama are facing 25 charges that include the attempted murder of actor Tebogo Thobejane and Sibanyoni. Before introducing the photographs, Mabusela's lawyer, advocate Nardus Grove questioned Cele about his recollection of the scene, including when he first noticed the white BMW allegedly carrying the gunmen.

Having shared the stage with gospel music legends including US star CeCe Winans and award-winning Lebo Sekgobela, Nelson Mandela Bay's Sesethu Maneli is stepping into the spotlight with two newly released singles and an album due later this year. Signed by The Voice Lounge's launched record label, which debuted on March 19, Maneli is preparing to release her debut album later in 2026.

https://music.apple.com/za/album/righteous-redeemer-single-ep/6784703548