With more than 80 mass shootings recorded in 2024 — almost one or two every week — South Africa is facing a gun violence crisis worsened by weak accountability and a dangerous normalisation of mass killings. Gun Free South Africa says the scale of the bloodshed, coupled with limited consequences for perpetrators, is fuelling public desensitisation and emboldening violent behaviour.

Gun Free South Africa says Bitou deputy mayor could face criminal charges regardless of whether the firearm was real or a replica, and praised police for opening an investigation.

The ANC has linked the fatal shooting of media personality DJ Warras in Johannesburg’s CBD to the broader crisis of inner‑city crime and building hijackings, and called on the public to assist police as investigations continue.

The ANC will meet next week to assess its election losses, progress on renewal, alliance tensions and the state of government performance

The Department of Public Service and Administration has moved to dispel public concern about the employment of foreign nationals in state institutions, saying their presence in the public service is both minimal and tightly regulated.

The National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure (Natjoints) says it is expecting protests around Nasrec, where world leaders will gather for the G20 Summit this weekend. “It is the right of any person in South Africa to protest. Some have applied but even if you haven’t, you will still be taken care of” lieutenant-general Tebello Mosikili told journalists at Nasrec.

On the eve of the G20 Summit, the ANC Women’s League has turned up the pressure, warning the ‘ANC-led GNU’ to declare GBVF a state of disaster by Friday — or “die poppe sal dans”.

Amnesty International South Africa calls for justice for three-year-old Unecebo Mboteni, who died after falling into a pit toilet at his preschool in the Eastern Cape last year, saying it is “outrageous” that no one has been held accountable.

Political analyst Professor Susan Booysen says this week’s turmoil in the MK Party illustrates how the organisation operates with double standards under Jacob Zuma’s control.

President Cyril Ramaphosa admitted that South Africa’s decaying cities often receive urgent national attention only when international visitors are due to arrive.

Acting police minister Firoz Cachalia has blamed the rot in the police on unheeded ‘red flags’ from oversight bodies.

ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula says he was asked by officials in the White House to give up some of the ANC’s redress policies, including Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) laws.

Former police minister Bheki Cele has implicated his successor, Senzo Mchunu, in having ties with controversial figure Vusumzi “Cat” Matlala, saying the two met in person alongside Mchunu’s “comrade” Brown Mogotsi.

Police minister Senzo Mchunu admitted years-long communication via Signal, a secure messaging app known for its end-to-end encryption, with Brown Mogotsi - the he’s believed to have ‘an unethical relationship’ with.

During parliamentary hearings, suspended police minister Senzo Mchunu shared a secretly recorded exchange between KZN police commissioner Lt-Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi and his chief of staff, Cedric Nkabinde. The clip captures Mkhwanazi’s fustration over the letter disbanding the political killings task team and his alleged threat to “fight back” if it wasn’t reversed.

Suspended deputy police commissioner Shadrack Sibiya told parliament that he knows Brown Mokgotsi as an activist, not a close associate and that Mokgotsi twice warned him about an intelligence probe. Sibiya was testifying before the Ad Hoc Committee investigating allegations made by police commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi.