HERE’S WHAT’S HAPPENING IN SOUTH AFRICA TODAY

Sat 08 August 2026:

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

◼️ 70 years after South Africa’s women challenged apartheid: Ramnie Dinat, 84, was just a teenager during the August 9 1956 march. She recalled helping her mother, Ama Naidoo, an anti-apartheid activist, organise women before the rally. Black women, women of Indian heritage like Naidoo, and even some white women marched that day. But seven decades after risking arrest, torture and even death to challenge racist laws, many women say their fight for freedom is unfinished as they continue to grapple with high rates of gender-based violence (GBV), poverty and inequality. A UN Women-supported study in 2024 found more than one in three South African women have experienced physical or sexual violence in their lifetime.
Read more here:
https://www.businessday.co.za/news/2026-08-08-70-years-after-south-africas-women-challenged-apartheid-some-say-their-freedom-isnt-complete/

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◼️ Zuma’s R246 million Nkandla homestead deteriorating: Macpherson responded, saying it was not their responsibility to maintain chicken coops, cattle kraals, amphitheatres, swimming pools, or visitor centres. “It is not the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure’s responsibility to maintain non-security upgrades that took place at Nkandla,” he said. “This is something that is well articulated in the Public Protector report in 2014, where it found that R246 million of public funds had been improperly spent.”
Read more here:
https://newsday.co.za/south-africa/24650/jacob-zumas-r246-million-nkandla-homestead-deteriorating-in-front-of-everyones-eyes/

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◼️ Monument to honour whistle-blower Babita Deokaran to be unveiled on Women’s Day: Deokaran, the former Chief Director of Financial Accounting at the Gauteng Department of Health, was gunned down outside her Johannesburg home on August 23, 2021, shortly after assisting investigators probing alleged corruption involving personal protective equipment and procurement at Tembisa Hospital. Several men have since been convicted for carrying out the murder, while investigations into those accused of orchestrating the killing have continued.
Read more here:
https://iol.co.za/news/2026-07-06-community-campaigns-to-honour-whistle-blower-babita-deokaran-with-a-monument/

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◼️ ‘An immeasurable void’: “Upon arrival at the scene, members found a 19-year-old male and a 17-year-old female. Both were declared dead at the scene.” The South African Police Service (Saps) initially opened an inquest docket, but investigators added a murder case after postmortem results. “The postmortem results suggest that the 17-year-old female may have been strangled, while the 19-year-old male may have taken his own life,” Masondo said.
Read more here:
https://www.citizen.co.za/news/south-africa/crime/an-immeasurable-void-murder-case-opened-after-teens-found-dead-at-mpumalanga-lodge/

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◼️ Criminals targeting anyone making home deliveries in SA: As the e-commerce and courier sectors are growing in South Africa, cybercriminals are exploiting the rise in parcel deliveries to carry out highly sophisticated courier-related scams. And along with increased purchases, increased deliveries are also putting couriers and drivers in the crosshairs of hijackers and thieves. The department said that courier drivers are attractive targets for criminals looking to steal valuable parcels, electronic devices and vehicles.
Read more here:
https://businesstech.co.za/news/lifestyle/869336/criminals-targeting-anyone-making-home-deliveries-in-south-africa/

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