HERE’S WHAT’S HAPPENING IN SOUTH AFRICA TODAY

Fri 09 January 2026:

Here’s what’s happening in South Africa today:

◼️ SA to host BRICS naval exercise amid strained relationship with the US: Chinese and Iranian warships are docked off the coast of South Africa for planned military exercises that officials said were also meant to involve Russia. The presence of the countries, which the United States has repeatedly characterised as its enemies, risks putting South Africa further at odds with the US, amid already tense relations between the two. Local officials have called the exercise relationship-building among the BRICS nations. Analysts, however, differ, calling the move a provocation.
https://newsday.co.za/international/14590/south-africa-to-host-brics-naval-exercise-amid-strained-relationship-with-the-us/

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◼️ DA calls for SAPS body cameras: Eight people were killed in an alleged confrontation with police in the province this week alone. “The Democratic Alliance (DA) will formally call on the Ministry of Police to urgently brief Parliament on the stalled rollout of police body-worn cameras, amid a growing number of fatal South African Police Service (SAPS) operations in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN).” He said previous commitments made in this regard never materialised.
https://www.ewn.co.za/2026/01/09/da-calls-for-saps-body-cameras-after-8-killed-in-kzn-shootouts

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◼️ Only 31% of South Africans trust other races: Limpopo was the most racially trusting province, with 41%, with KwaZulu-Natal recording the lowest at 19% of respondents indicating they trusted other races. Coloured respondents trusted other races the most with 44%, followed by black respondents at 32%, white respondents at 17% and Asian respondents at 8%.
https://www.citizen.co.za/news/south-africa/afrobarometer-survey-31-south-african-trust-races/

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◼️ Nestlé baby formula contamination hits South African shelves: While the local impact is narrowed to one batch, the incident is merely a ripple in a much larger global storm. The NCC further stated that this specific batch was distributed through all major retailers and distributors across South Africa and was also exported to neighbouring Namibia and Eswatini.
https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-01-08-nestle-baby-formula-contamination-hits-south-african-shelves/

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◼️ Illegal guns, systemic failures and lethal violence: SA’s shadow firearms economy: Over the past five years, the South African Police Service (SAPS) confiscated 21,702 illegal firearms, with 6,853 linked to murder cases, according to official SAPS data. GroundUp calculated that firearms are involved in more than 40% of murders nationally, with provinces like the Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, and Gauteng seeing the highest confiscation rates and highest gun crime.
https://iol.co.za/news/crime-and-courts/2026-01-09-investigation-illegal-guns-systemic-failures-and-lethal-violence-sas-shadow-firearms-economy/

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