First Take SA

The South African Litigation Centre has argued in the high court in Pretoria that the decision to withdraw from the International Criminal Court was made to protect Sudan's leader Omar Al Bashir from arrest when he visited the country for the African Union summit in June 2015. SALC's advocate, Max du Plessis, says the Supreme Court of Appeal ruled that the hosting agreement for the summit did not confer any immunity on Al Bashir and that the South African government had an obligation to detain him. The DA is challenging government's withdrawal from the International Criminal court .

The Nelson Mandela Foundation will mark the third anniversary of Nelson Mandela's passing at an event which will include guest speakers Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa, Deputy Minister Ayanda Dlodlo and Dr Leon Wessels. Speakers will offer reflections on Madiba's legacy in relation both to what is happening in the world today. The event will take place at the Foundation's Houghton office.

Auditor General Kimi Makwetu says government's pharmaceutical, water infrastructure and urban renewal departments face serious skills shortages as well as lack of accountability problems and funding challenges. He was tabling three performance audits. He was tabling three performance audits dealing with the managements of the pharmaceuticals, water infrastructure and urban renewal projects.

The Fatuous State of Severity is a collection of short stories written by Phumani Pikoli. The book is full of diverse stories that vary from the very relatable experiences of young black millennials, to the profoundly absurd and jarring. The self-published work will be the author's debut. Phumlani is a former multimedia journalist, playwright aspiring filmmaker

A massive HIV vaccine trial is under way after the first participant was injected with the HVTN702 vaccine at Verulam north of Durban. The trial is also being formally launched at sites at Soshanguve and on the Cape Flats, but it' s not clear if injections will begin at the other two sites. Trials will be run over the next three years in the world's latest attempt to find a vaccine for HIV. More than five-thousand volunteer participants between the ages of 18 and 35 years will be enrolled across the country.

The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa, PRASA has told parliament that it has spent 108 million rand on a forensic investigation into 102 contracts the entity entered into in the past five years. The state owned company was appearing before the Standing Committee on Public Accounts over irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure of 14 billion rand.

President Jacob Zuma will not be recalled. ANC Secretary General Gwede Mantashe made the announcement at Luthuli House, Johannesburg, today. This follows an extended NEC meeting in Irene, Pretoria, during which a motion of no-confidence in President Zuma was introduced. Mantashe says party veterans, who have been critical of President Jacob Zuma's leadership in recent weeks, have committed to working with the ANC to address challenges.

The Msukaligwa local municipality in Ermelo Mpumalanga has fired two hundred (200) workers for embarking on an illegal strike. This, after workers from the South African Municipal Workers Union ( SAMWU) downed tools last week and locked the entrance to the municipal offices.

National Director of Public Prosecutions Shaun Abrahams has handed in his representations to President Jacob Zuma, arguing why he should not be suspended. This after President Jacob Zuma instructed Shaun abrahams to provide reasons why he should not be suspended. Zuma wrote to Abrahams and NPA directors, Sibongile Mzinyathi and Torie Pretorius two weeks ago, asking them why they should not be suspended. This was after a request by the Helen Suzman Foundation and Freedom Under Law asking Zuma to suspend the officials following Abrahams's u-turn in the Pravin Gordhan debacle. Last week, the High Court in Pretoria struck off the roll an urgent court application to compel Zuma to suspend Abrahams.

Local and foreign media are camped outside a hotel in Irene, south of Pretoria, where the ANC's National Executive Committee is discussing a request by Tourism minister Derek Hanekom for President Jacob Zuma to resign. ANC spokesperson Zizi Kodwa has told journalists that the meeting will go on until late. Three cabinet members are reportedly supporting Hanekom's motion.