News

Civil rights organisation AfriForum has refused to back down after receiving a formal legal warning from African National Congress (ANC) Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula, who is demanding the cancellation of a media conference scheduled for tomorrow. 

The group plans to release a detailed dossier alleging corruption, fraud, and money laundering linked to Mbalula’s 2016 family holiday to Dubai.

In a strongly worded letter dated today from A Mothilal Attorneys Inc on Mbalula’s behalf, the ANC leader’s lawyers accuse AfriForum of preparing to disseminate “unfounded allegations” and warn that the planned briefing at the organisation’s Centurion studio could amount to defamation. The letter demanded an immediate retraction and cancellation of the event by 16h00 today, threatening High Court interdicts, damages claims, and a public apology if AfriForum proceeds.

AfriForum’s communications head, Barry Bateman, and executive director Kallie Kriel responded swiftly on X (formerly Twitter), confirming the organisation will not be deterred. “ANC SG Fikile Mbalula has threatened to gag us… We’re not going away,” Bateman posted, quoting Kriel’s earlier statement. The group says Advocate Gerrie Nel, head of AfriForum’s Private Prosecution Unit, will outline the allegations at the 10h00 press conference tomorrow, which will be streamed live on AfriForum’s Facebook page.

The controversy centres on Mbalula’s luxury Dubai holiday, which reportedly cost approximately R684,000 while he served as Sports Minister. AfriForum has long alleged that part of the trip was funded through irregular cash payments by Yusuf Dockrat, a director of Sedgars Sport a supplier to the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) at the time. The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) declined to prosecute Mbalula in 2023, a decision AfriForum has repeatedly described as “patently irrational” and possibly selective. The organisation obtained the police docket in 2024 and formally asked the NPA to reconsider prosecution last October.

Tomorrow’s conference marks the latest escalation in what has become a protracted private prosecution campaign by AfriForum against high-profile ANC figures. The group says the “Mbalula Dossier” contains new developments it intends to make public.

Neither Mbalula nor the ANC had issued a public statement at the time of writing, but the legal letter insists Mbalula “vehemently denies” all allegations and is entitled to the constitutional presumption of innocence.

The press conference is set for 25 March at 10:00.

The Democratic Alliance has called on Minister of Defence Angie Motshekga and the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) to appear before Parliament to provide a full breakdown of the R823 million set aside for an imminent military deployment.

The party says urgent clarity is needed on how the amount was calculated and what safeguards are in place to prevent waste or corruption.

DA NCOP member on Security and Justice Nicholas Gotsell highlighted the broader concerns around Defence spending, pointing to recent reports of lavish Armed Forces Day celebrations, including subsistence and travel payments of up to R70 000 per individual, alongside ongoing spending on golf days and social events.

He said these reports “demonstrate precisely why Parliament cannot take the Department of Defence’s financial assurances at face value.”

Gotsell added that this was not an isolated incident. “The Department has failed to obtain a clean audit from the Auditor-General for years, and 34% of current SIU and Hawks investigations within the security cluster relate to the Department of Defence and Military Veterans, to the tune of R2.5 billion.

''Against this backdrop, reckless or poorly controlled spending is not merely embarrassing – it is a direct risk to operational readiness and public trust.”

The DA raised these concerns during a recent meeting of the Joint Standing Committee on Defence, where Minister Motshekga was present for an earlier agenda item but was excused when the Committee turned to the critical matter of the President’s employment letters authorising the SANDF deployment.

Gotsell described this as the second ANC Minister to snub the committee to provide answers to urgent deployment questions.

Gotsell said the party objected to Motshekga’s departure, particularly given the many unanswered questions regarding the timeline, planning, command and control structures, and, most importantly, the very specific figure of R823 153 960 attached to the deployment.

“This is a figure that was already presented to Parliament as early as 6 March, yet to date no detailed breakdown has been provided to justify how this amount was calculated or how it will be spent,” he said.

He also referred to the Sunday revelations about excessive spending on Armed Forces Day, noting that they “illustrate how easily public funds can be mismanaged when Ministers continuously fail to appear before Parliament or answer oversight questions.”

The DA has formally requested that Minister Motshekga and the SANDF appear before the joint meeting of the Joint Standing Committee on Defence and the Portfolio Committee on Police on Friday, 27 March, to provide a full and proper breakdown of the deployment cost.

“There can be no price tag on people’s lives, but there must always be accountability for how public money is spent – especially when hundreds of millions of rand are involved and when the same Department has repeatedly failed to meet basic standards of financial governance.

''Friday’s meeting must provide answers to MPs and the people waiting urgently for this deployment,'' said Gotsell.

*This article was first published by IOL News

Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen on Tuesday reiterated the department’s intention to vaccinate 80% of the national herd by December.

Speaking at the meeting of the Agriculture Portfolio Committee to give an update on Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD), Steenhuisen said they have more than enough vaccines to not only do the initial doses, but to do secondary doses.

“I do not want anybody to be under the illusion or misapprehension that there will not be enough vaccines. We are procuring vaccines at scale, and there will be plenty of vaccines to meet that target by the end of the year,” said Steenhuisen.

Dr Botlhe Modisane, chief director for animal health, said there was a total of 1,152 outbreaks of FMD mainly in the Free State, KwaZulu-Natal, and a slight increase in the Eastern Cape as of March 20.

The latest outbreaks were in KwaZulu-Natal, the North West, and Limpopo, and 35,000 doses were distributed to manage the latest outbreaks in the affected provinces.

Modisane ascribed the increase in the outbreaks to the detections as reports were received from provinces.

Suspicious cases remain unconfirmed at a feedlot in the Northern Cape and a suspected case has been reported in the Western Cape.

“Many highly suspected outbreaks are based on clinical signs and are still waiting for laboratory confirmation.”

Modisane also said of the 2.5 million doses of vaccines received, 1.17m have been used, and 1.35m were to be distributed.

“We have done over a million animals at this moment with the 2.5m doses we received.”

Modisane also said the department has placed an order for an additional two million vaccines with supplier Dollvet.

The South African Health Products Regulatory Authority issued a permit for the importation of the vaccines on Monday.

“We also placed an order already for 1.5m of vaccines. It will arrive anytime from tomorrow (Thursday) onward,” he said, referring to an order with supplier Biogenesis Bago.

Modisane added that there was an intention to do booster vaccination throughout the country after six months.

“Whenever there are challenges regarding potential reinfection, we must revaccinate the herds.”

MPs wanted a report on the economic impact of FMD, raised concerns about the shortage of land to quarantine infected animals, asked questions about the under-reporting of reported cases of infections, and the compensation of farmers who lost animals, among other things.

ActionSA parliamentary leader Athol Trollip said he was pleased to hear there were enough vaccines to handle the outbreaks and follow-ups.

“We discovered there is a shortage of vaccine and people who have not yet had herds infected were distressed that they will not access vaccines. When the minister says that we will meet our 80% target by the end of the year, that is reassuring,” he said.

“What is less reassuring is that organisations that were litigating against the department when they were instructed by a court to undergo arbitration,” said Trollip, adding that the arbitration was not successful and the litigation was set to proceed.

In response, Steenhuisen said the under-reporting was initially due to people not wanting to report for fear that animals would be quarantined in the absence of vaccines and the effect on production.

“With advent of vaccines arriving, we see greater level of reporting and people come forward to seek treatment.

“This is, obviously, a good thing and certainly part of the communication strategy the department and provinces roll out in encouraging people to report cases of FMD.”

He also said it might be worthwhile to invite Land Reform and Rura Development Minister Mzwanele Nyhontso to discuss the issue of access to land.

Responding to a question about payments for the vaccine, Steenhuisen said the department will adhere to the Public Finance Management Act guidelines for purchasing goods and services.

Director-General Mooketsa Ramasodi said the Animal Act has a provision for compensation of farmers when a person loses an animal due to the control of a disease.

“We are in discussions with the National Treasury on how we respond to the environment of lost animals,” said Ramasodi.

*This article was first published The Citizen

Convicted murderer and rapist Thabo Bester is contesting his status as an escapee, maintaining that he was lawfully released from prison in 2022.

Bester appeared in the High Court in Johannesburg on Tuesday, 24 March 2026, bringing an urgent application to challenge the warrants of sentence that authorise his continued detention.

He is facing multiple charges tied to his escape from Mangaung Correctional Centre in Bloemfontein in May 2022, where he staged his death in a prison cell fire.

The body of Katlego Bereng was later found in the cell.

His criminal trial is scheduled to take place in the Free State High Court in Bloemfontein from 20 July to 18 September 2026.

After fleeing South Africa, Bester was arrested in Tanzania in April 2023 alongside his former partner, Nandipha Magudumana, and deported back to SA.

At the time of the escape, he was serving a life sentence for rape and the murder of his girlfriend, Nomfundo Tyhulu, in 2011.

Thabo Bester challenges sentence warrants

Central to Bester’s argument is the legal validity of the warrants of sentence issued against him.

He maintained that his rights were being infringed upon, as the courts have not yet determined whether his “release” from Mangaung Correctional Centre was lawful.

Bester accused the department of correctional services (DCS) of disregarding his constitutional rights on the basis of his conviction.

“So, basically, what they’re arguing is that because I am convicted of rape and murder – which is being challenged in a different court – they feel that I have no rights, that I cannot defend myself in this manner and that the warrants are absolute.

“There is no warrant in the world that is absolute. A warrant may be amended in terms of the Correctional Services Act, through executive power, or by way of an application to the court,” Bester said on Tuesday.

He argued that no court had confirmed that the warrants were violated when he was returned to South Africa.

“The criminal court can come to an understanding that there was executive power that released me and that executive power then makes the warrants no longer valid.”

Constitutional rights

Bester told the court he is already being treated as guilty of escaping, despite the issue not yet being decided in court.

He further contended that this classification undermines his ability to receive a fair trial, claiming he is being treated as a sentenced prisoner rather than an accused person.

The convicted offender added that the prison escape trial is effectively “moot”, as he will continue serving a sentence irrespective of the outcome.

“It basically puts the judiciary itself in a position where the proceedings are not relevant to the current status that I am in because of the fact that my constitutional rights are violated by the respondents.”

‘Not a typical escape’

Bester also accused the correctional services department of acting beyond its role.

“They are basically opening a charge as a complainant, they are taking a decision as a judge and then they are also executing it.”

Bester maintained there is “overwhelming evidence” that he did not escape.

“The escape is not a typical escape where a person broke out of a wall and jumped, it’s a situation where somebody has been out for a very long time and then they decide that this person escaped.”

He insisted he was not responsible for the circumstances surrounding the staged death, reiterating his claim that his “release” was lawful.

“Whatever they allege with bodies and whatever, that has nothing to do with me.”

Bester cited the 2021 release of former president Jacob Zuma on medical parole, which was later ruled unlawful after former correctional services national commissioner Arthur Fraser overruled the medical board’s recommendation.

“The Constitutional Court found that the respondents released the person unlawfully, but there was executive power and authority used, meaning that the person serving was not at fault.”

Bester further alleged that he has been held in solitary confinement for three years due to being classified as a high-profile inmate linked to an “alleged escape”.

“The point is that why am I going to a criminal trial where I am already guilty of a crime where I am supposed to defend myself.”

State pushes back

The DCS opposed the urgent application, arguing that Bester’s detention remains legally valid.

“It was lawful then, it is lawful now and continues to be lawful,” the department’s lawyer told the court.

He emphasised that the warrants committing Bester to prison have not been legally set aside.

“It is a warrant that cannot be ignored,” the lawyer said.

The state also argued that the application lacks urgency, highlighting that Bester waited years after his arrest to approach the court.

“He only decided to do that when it suits him, when there is a looming trial in November or December of last year.

“Now, that approach is impermissible. It means he is a man who has been sitting on his laurels for three years. He is a man who creates his own urgency.”

The court has reserved judgment.

Prison transfer

Earlier this month, Bester’s attempt to challenge his transfer to eBongweni Correctional Centre in Kokstad, KwaZulu-Natal was dismissed.

The court ruled on 3 March that there were no grounds to move him back to Kgosi Mampuru II Correctional Centre in Pretoria, where he had been held in the C-Max high-security section.

A similar application had already been struck from the roll in February.

His transfer in January followed a threat and risk assessment conducted by correctional authorities.

*This article was first published The Citizen

The South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (Sahpra) has not clarified the potential risks associated with thousands of packs of Citro-Soda, which are being recalled over contamination concerns.

Sahpra briefed the media on the recall of specific batches of Citro-Soda Regular products on Tuesday.

Risks

According to Sahpra, the recall follows the identification of a potential risk of foreign material contamination during an inspection at the Adcock Ingram Clayville manufacturing facility in Johannesburg.

Citro-Soda is a fast-acting, effervescent granule treatment used to treat heartburn, stomach acidity, and urinary tract infections.

Products affected

As a precautionary measure, Sahpra said it took regulatory action to recall the affected batches.

The recall is limited to specific batches of the following Citro-Soda Regular products

Citro-Soda Regular 60 g

Citro-Soda Regular 120 g

Citro-Soda Regular 4 g x 30 Sachets

No specifics

Sahpra CEO, Dr Boitumelo Semete-Makokotlela, was not specific about the effects the contaminated materials could have on patients.

“We’re not sure. We haven’t received any ADRs (adverse drug reactions) at this point. Some of the particulates we’re noting, we’re not sure of the type of reactions they could have.”

Sahpra assured the public that it is monitoring the situation and engaging with the manufacturer to ensure full compliance with regulatory requirements.

“Retail pharmacies, wholesalers, and distribution centres have been instructed to cease the sale of affected batches and to return all stock to their respective suppliers. Consumers who have purchased the affected products are advised to return them to the nearest health facility, pharmacy, or store.”

Adverse effects

Semete-Makokotlela said people who may have consumed the affected products and are experiencing any adverse side effects are urged to visit their nearest health facility and report such incidents to Sahpra.

“The safety and well-being of the public remain our highest priority. Sahpra will continue to act decisively and transparently to ensure that all health products on the market meet the required standards of quality, safety and efficacy.”

Sahpra said it will continue to monitor this recall to ensure that all affected batches are destroyed.

Expose

The regulator urged the public to exercise caution when purchasing the products, which could still be available in some shops across the country.

The recall was first announced last week, 20 March 2026, in an expose on Carte Blanche.

Carte Blanche raised questions about potential contamination of Citro-Soda lemon flavour products at Adcock Ingram’s Clayville manufacturing plant.

*This article was first published The Citizen

At least 12 high-ranking police officers and a company director have been arrested in connection with the awarding of an irregular R360 million tender to attempted murder accused tenderpreneur Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala’s company, Medicare 24 Tshwane District.

The group was handcuffed by the National Prosecuting Authority’s Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (IDAC) in a series of raids on Tuesday night.

Arrests

IDAC spokesperson Henry Mamothame said the arrests are linked to a tender awarded to Medicare24 Tshwane District.

Matlala allegedly bribed top police officers, including generals, to facilitate the award of the contract. 

“All accused are expected to make their first appearance before the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court on charges of corruption, fraud and the Contravention of the PFMA (Public Finance Management Act).”

Contract

The irregular contract, which was awarded in 2024, has been at the centre of proceedings of the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry and a parliamentary inquiry into crime networks infiltrating the South African Police Service (Saps) and the country’s criminal justice system.

In November last year, Matlala reluctantly explained how his company, Medicare24 Tshwane District, was awarded the R360 million South African Police Service (Saps) health services contract.

While the contract was advertised for R360 million, R600 million was available in the Saps budget.

Saps chief financial officer (CFO), Lieutenant-General Puleng Dimpane, told Parliament’s ad hoc committee that the contract was flagged as a possible irregular expenditure in the first week of March 2024 and confirmed as irregular in May.

Medicare24

R466 million was disclosed as irregular expenditure.

The idea of Medicare24 Tshwane District came through Mike van Wyk, who lives on the same estate as Matlala.

The deal between Matlala and Van Wyk is between a franchisor and its franchisee, with Van Wyk owning Medicare24 Holdings.

The agreement was that Matlala would register his company under Medicare24 Holdings and pay a management fee to the company on every contract secured by Medicare24 Tshwane District.

Charges

Matlala is already facing multiple charges, including attempted murder, money laundering, and defeating the ends of justice, related to the shooting of his former lover, actress Tebogo Thobejane, in 2023.

Thobejane’s vehicle was allegedly shot at. She sustained injuries after her vehicle was ambushed.

Matlala was also implicated in the Thembisa Hospital corruption saga, in which the Special Investigations Unit revealed that he benefited from at least R13 million through procurement deals.

He single-handedly redefined the purpose of the Woolworths shopping bag, so much that the retailer reworked it.

*This article was first published The Citizen