HERE’S WHAT’S HAPPENING IN SOUTH AFRICA TODAY

Tue 16 December 2025:

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

◼️ SA in talks with Russia over men ‘tricked’ into fighting in Ukraine: Vincent Magwenya, a spokesperson for South Africa’s president, Cyril Ramaphosa, said: “The process to retrieve those young men remains a very sensitive process. They are in a dangerous environment. They are facing grave, grave danger to their lives and we are still in discussions with various authorities, both in Russia as well as in Ukraine, to see how we can free them from the situation they are in.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/dec/16/south-africa-russia-men-tricked-fighting-ukraine

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◼️ SA’s growing appetite for gambling and betting: While this expansion of the sector supports employment and contributes to tax revenue, it also reflects deeper structural and financial dynamics – from shifting consumption patterns and digital monetisation to household vulnerability and regulatory lag. What was once a niche pastime has become a mainstream economic force and now, increasingly, a social concern.
https://www.moneyweb.co.za/moneyweb-opinion/soapbox/rolling-the-dice-sas-growing-appetite-for-gambling-and-betting/

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◼️ Madlanga Commission report will be made public: Earlier this month, Marius van der Merwe, a Brakpan-based security industry member and former Ekhurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department official, who recently testified before the Madlanga Commission was shot multiple times in full view of his family outside their Brakpan home. According to Magwenya, there has been extensive engagements in government on protecting witnesses before the commission or those who are to appear at the commission.
https://independentpress.cc/presidency-confirms-final-madlanga-commission-report-will-be-made-public/2025/12/16/

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◼️ Where SA’s illegal guns come from: “Concealment methods used include bulk carriers, using land (vehicles), air (cargo), and sea (containers) routes. Corruption within law enforcement agencies, in this instance SAPS, leads to the non-detection of concealed firearms.” The minister added that these weapons are then smuggled inland to commit violent crimes and facilitate crimes such as illegal mining, armed robberies, murders, kidnapping, vehicle robberies, cash-in-transit heists, and other gang-related activities.
https://newsday.co.za/south-africa/13424/where-south-africas-illegal-guns-come-from/

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◼️ Big risks for South Africans who use email signatures: This email footer constituted a valid amendment to an existing agreement. The court found that if the email footer was intended to serve as a signature, it clearly identified the sender and was logically connected to the email’s content. It thus met the legal requirements for an electronic signature under the ECT Act.
https://businesstech.co.za/news/business-opinion/845315/big-risks-for-south-africans-who-use-email-signatures/

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