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Mail & Guardian
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Graphic: John McCann

South Africa’s parallel State: The cost of letting crime govern

Because in the end, the true cost of crime and corruption is not only measured in billions of rand lost. It is measured in a country that could have been built. And wasn’t

Government delegation together with saps officials during the official the opening of a SAPS  forensic laboratory in Durban. Photo: Supplied.

New forensic science laboratory unveiled in KZN as SAPS grapples with severe DNA backlogs

The privately owned facility was presented in Durban on Friday by Dean Macpherson, the minister of public works and infrastructure.

On AI itself, Pope Leo calls for technological projects that protect what he describes as the grandeur of humanity. He warns against reducing people to measurable outputs, predictive profiles or behavioural categories.

South Africa’s universities are outgrowing a transition-era governance settlement

Universities now operate amid electricity instability, water risk, municipal decay, crime, cyber vulnerability and public distrust

Targeted: Martha Mani Rantsofu was an accountant in the municipality’s finance department where she handled municipal accounts and debts. Photo: Facebook

Political killings task team investigates assassination of municipal accountant

Martha Mani Rantsofu, a finance clerk at Emfuleni local municipality, was gunned down while waiting for her vehicle at a tyre-fitting shop

Fannie Masemola, the national police commissioner, has denied receiving financial gratification from businessman  Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala’s contract.

Government deploys SANDF, SAPS in joint operation to tackle organised crime hotspots

Security forces say the integrated deployment aims to dismantle illegal mining syndicates, curb gang violence and restore order in affected communities

Non-starter: The Greater Lanseria Master Plan in 2020 outlined a city that intended to house between 350 000 and 500 000 people. Yet there is not
much to show other than large areas of open land and growing informal settlements. Photo: Delwyn Verasamy

Taking stock of Ramaphosa’s promises

The Lanseria smart city remains a dream and hunger, unemployment and crime continue to be high but there has been progress in Eskom’s turnaround

Minister in the Presidency for Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation Maropene Ramokgopa. Photo: Supplied.

High levels of corruption cripple SA municipalities but government optimistic about improvements, Ramokgopa says

Minister in the presidency for planning, monitoring and evaluation said there had been progress in implementing the country’s medium-term development plan, running from 2024 to…

Screenshots: Thabo Bester and Dr Nandipha Magudumana in court after they were caught in Tanzania. Photos: Netflix

Nothing new under the sun in Netflix’s Beauty and the Bester

Netflix’s Beauty and the Bester retells a scandal already splashed across headlines — but does it add insight or merely feed obsession?

Stolen dockets, tender corruption, unaccountable leadership and criminals rob South Africans of their dreams of a safe future. Photo: File

South Africans, stop complaining in whispers and unite to fight corruption

We can’t let a few rob us of what Mandela and others fought for. Our future depends on taking action together

Looking to the future: Nkosinathi Biko (left) heads the committee that will steer the National Dialogue. He and Samora Biko (right) are the sons of Steve Biko. Photo: GCIS

‘National Dialogue is no talk shop,’ organisers say

But the Democratic Alliance has said it will boycott the dialogue that will take place over nine months, calling it a waste of time and money

Grave concern: President Cyril Ramaphosa (above) regards allegations against Police Minister Senzo Mchunu as requiring ‘the highest-priority attention’.

Ramaphosa puts Mchunu on leave of absence over police infiltration scandal

President Cyril Ramaphosa has placed Police Minister Senzo Mchunu on leave following explosive allegations of criminal syndicates infiltrating law enforcement agencies

Raid: South African Police Service members patrol the streets on the Cape Flats (above). The Democratic Alliance wants the Western Cape to take over policing responsibility from the national government.

DA renews bid to control policing in Western Cape

The party has bristled at billionaire Johann Rupert’s remarks that the Cape Flats are the epicentre of South Africa’s violent crime problem

Growing reliance on military-grade surveillance has drawn concern from civil society and privacy advocates.

Watching from above: Surveillance in Cape Town

As Cape Town continues its investment in digital security infrastructure, the challenge lies in balancing innovation with accountability, and enforcement with the protection of…

Afrikaner refugees from South Africa holding American flags arrive, Monday, May 12, 2025, at Dulles International Airport in Dulles, Va. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

The legal position of the 49 Afrikaner ‘refugees’: Sorts facts and misinformation

The FW de Klerk Foundation affirms that no South African citizen is being persecuted on the basis of race

 Judge Nathan Erasmus

Judge condemns cyberbullying as Joslin Smith kidnapping trial enters fifth week

Judge Nathan Erasmus said online harassment threatened trust in South Africa’s justice system and caused ‘suspicion’

Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi.

Opposition parties dismiss Lesufi’s State of the Province address as bluster without actionable plans

They criticised the Gauteng premier’s water and electricity solutions as misguided

File photo by Oupa Nkosi

Correctional services grilled over contraband crisis

The portfolio committee has demanded tougher action as thousands of illicit items flood prisons

The disbandment of a KwaZulu-Natal-based political killings task team was a surprise, and the handover of 121 dockets it was working on to the South African Police Service head office was “messy” Photo: David Harrison

Political meddling, budget cuts hamper cold case murder investigations

National cold case detectives battle with missing dockets, poorly trained juniors and interference from senior officers

Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla. (Delwyn Verasamy/M&G)

Police confirm arrest of Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla

The daughter of former president Jacob Zuma will appear in court on Thursday on charges of domestic terrorism

Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla. (Delwyn Verasamy/M&G)

Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla to appear in court over July 2021 riots

Police minister Senzo Mchunu has said he is not aware of Zuma-Sambudla’s arrest or court appearance