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Embattled African National Congress (ANC) Women's’ League president Bathabile Dlamini has been found guilty of perjury.

Dlamini stood accused of lying under oath during a 2017 inquiry into the social grants debacle at the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) that saw millions of grant beneficiaries unsure if they would receive their money.

Magistrate Betty Khumalo found that the prosecution had proved its case beyond a reasonable doubt and that the former minister had lied under oath.

Dlamini's defence team argued last month that she should not be found guilty of perjury as Section 38 proceedings, such as the Ngoepe Inquiry, were not formal judicial ones.

The court has since disagreed with that argument.

South Africa recorded 801 new cases of Covid-19 on Monday, which represented a 5.5% positivity rate.

According to a statement by the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), as of Monday, the country recorded 3 685 120 laboratory-confirmed cases. Six new Covid-19 deaths were recorded, bringing the confirmed death toll to 99 609.

Most new cases were recorded in Gauteng, which accounted for 32% of new infections, followed by the Western Cape with 20%. KwaZulu-Natal accounted for 15%; North West 11%; Mpumalanga 8%; Eastern Cape 6%; Free State and Limpopo 3% each; and the Northern Cape 1%.

Gauteng recorded 255 new cases on Monday, the Western Cape 157 and KwaZulu-Natal 124.

As of Monday, Gauteng recorded 1 196 846 cumulative cases, KwaZulu-Natal 654 069 and the Western Cape 642 310.

There were 28 new hospital admissions in the last 24-hour reporting cycle. In total, 2 482 people were in public and private hospitals for Covid-19.

South Africa conducted 23 259 839 cumulative tests, of which 14 466 were carried out in the last 24-hour cycle.

According to the Department of Health, 32 126 152 vaccine doses have been administered. Of those, 92 015 were administered on Monday.

To date, 17 135 488 adults are fully vaccinated. Among children aged 12 and older, 1 695 402 vaccine doses have been administered.

The African National Congress (ANC) has voted to scrap a planned Parliamentary investigation into the state's much-delayed plan to fast-track the building of emergency power plants.

Parliament's oversight committee on mineral resources and energy voted in August last year to launch a probe into the Risk Mitigation IPP Procurement Programme (RMIPPPP), an initiative to add 2 000 MW of new power to SA's grid quickly. The inquiry's terms of reference were agreed on in December.

The inquiry was set to probe problems relating to the programme as well as allegations surrounding the awarding of a R22-billion contract to Turkish-led consortium Karpowership SA, which faced subsequent litigation.

Rival bidder DNG Energy had alleged that the procurement process that led to Karpowership being named largest preferred bidder had been riddled with corruption. These allegations contributed to the committee initially voting to conduct its own probe. But late in January, the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria dismissed DNG's challenge, ruling that it had been excluded for not meeting procurement requirements.

On Tuesday, six ANC committee members, including committee chair Sahlulele "Zet" Luzipo, voted to scrap the probe. The Democratic Alliance's (DA's) two members objected.

The vote followed a briefing by Parliamentary legal advisor Andile Tetyana, who said a recent court ruling had found no evidence of wrongdoing in the RMIPPPP process.

"The court has put the procurement process under a microscopic eye and came to a factual and legal finding that it was fair and transparent," said Tetyana.

He said that while there were no legal impediments to the committee continuing with its inquiry, there was no need to "reinvent the wheel".

'Witch hunt'

While Tetyana's input convinced the ANC that there was no need for the committee to continue the probe, the DA argued that the inquiry could cover new ground.

DA MP Kevin Mileham said the probe would have a far broader scope than the court case by focusing on things like costs, delays and the rationale behind the emergency power in the first place.

He added it was "fishy" that ANC members wanted to halt the inquiry and not investigate the matter further.

But ANC members were adamant the court ruling had put the matter to rest, and it would be a waste of time and money to continue.

"I don't think there is any basis for us as a committee to continue with this investigation any further. All the issues that were raised as red flags have been addressed by a competent court of law," said the ANC's Sibusiso Kula.

"We have been dealing with a witch hunt for a long time," he added. "We must put the matter to rest".

The ANC's Mike Mahlaule then accused "some people" in the meeting – in an apparent reference to the DA – of not respecting the arguments made by Parliament's legal advisor because he was a black African.

"It borders against some element of racism, because a legal mind that is African is saying things that some people don't agree with," he said. "It is a dangerous degeneration of the very worst kind."

His fellow ANC MP, Sibusiso Kula, later said that objections to dropping the probe were based on "whiteness", saying the "minority" was trying to overturn the will of the majority. He said the country would not return to "pre-1994".

"That Christmas could never occur," he said.

The DA, which understood itself to be the object of the remarks by both Kula and Mahlaule, asked the committee's chair to rule that the claims of racism against it were un-parliamentary.

When the chair declined to do so, the party said it would be taking the matter to Parliament's rules committee as it was "absolutely unacceptable" that such language be accepted in Parliament.

The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) argued before the Special Tribunal that the Digital Vibes contract was a money-laundering scheme designed to siphon funds to former minister Zweli Mkhize's family while also shielding the family from accountability.

The SIU appeared before the Special Tribunal on Tuesday.

The unit wanted the court to add six companies to the main Digital Vibes review application.

The application sought to review and set aside the R150-million contract between Digital Vibes and the Department of Health. The unit also wanted to recover the funds linked to the contract.

In its investigation into the contract, which led to Mkhize's resignation, the SIU said it had found six other companies that received proceeds from Digital Vibes.

These monies were later paid over to companies linked to the Mkhize family.

Cedar Falls Properties was one of the companies the SIU sought to add to its review application.

The other companies included: All Out Trading (Pty), Tusokuhle Farming, Azwakele Trading and Projects (Pty) Ltd and/or Sithokozile Khaliphile Mkhize.

Cedar Falls Properties' sole director is May Mkhize, the minister's wife.

Cedar Falls benefitted from an R1.8-million payment made to Ithala Bank by Sirela Trading for a loan the company had acquired.

Sirela Trading made the R1.888 727.84-million to the benefit of Cedar Falls.

Mateta Projects, after receiving money from Digital Vibes, transferred the money paid by Sirela, the SIU believed.

Mateta, a company run by Mdu Mthethwa, a business associate linked to the Mkhize family, had received a R6-million payment from Digital Vibes, the SIU said in court papers.

The SIU argued that the Mkhize family had received close to R10-million from the Digital Vibes contract.

Advocate Barry Roux argued on behalf of the SIU that the six additional companies that had received proceeds from Digital Vibes should be liable to pay back the proceeds.

Roux argued that the payments paid from Digital Vibes and eventually to entities linked to the Mkhize family could be described as a money-laundering scheme intended to benefit the family.

The "siphoning scheme" in the series of payments made through middlemen companies was designed to shield the family from accountability.

Cedar Falls had argued against the joinder application, saying the SIU had failed to prove it was liable in the Digital Vibes matter.

Digital Vibes was appointed to lead the Department of Health's NHI media campaign.

The former minister was alleged to have pressured his staff to appoint the company, which was linked to his associates Tahera Mather and Naadhira Mitha.

The contract was irregularly expanded to cover media campaigns for Covid-19, the SIU said in its report.

The hearing continues.

No Covid-19-related deaths were reported in the last 24 to 48 hours, according to the Department of Health, which means the death toll remains at 99 543.

The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) reported that 1 147 new Covid-19 cases were identified in South Africa, which represent a 6.1% positivity rate.

Gauteng is the most impacted, with 1 196 591 cases in total, followed by KwaZulu-Natal with 653 945 cases and the Western Cape with 642 153.

Most new cases are from Gauteng (36%), followed by KwaZulu-Natal (23%). The Western Cape accounted for 21%; the North West 6%; the Free State and Mpumalanga 4% each; the Eastern Cape 3%; Limpopo 2%; and the Northern Cape 1%.

Gauteng recorded 418 new cases on Sunday, KwaZulu-Natal recorded 259 and the Western Cape 236.

As of Sunday, according to the NICD, the country recorded a total of 3 684 319 laboratory-confirmed cases.

Meanwhile, there has been an increase of six hospital admissions in the past 24 hours.

There are 2 545 people in public and private hospitals.

South Africa has conducted a total of 23 245 373 tests and 18 709 of those were carried out in the past 24-hour period.

According to the Department of Health, 32 027 146 vaccines were administered and of those, 7 414 were administered on Sunday.

To date, 17 114 044 adults are fully vaccinated. Among children 12 and older, 1 679 622 doses have been administered.

Ukrainian ambassador to South Africa, Liubov Abravitova, on Monday commended the much-needed emergency medical and non-medical relief to be provided to Ukraine by Gift of the Givers, one of the largest disaster response non-governmental organisations in Africa.

Addressing the media virtually, Abravitora said, "We acknowledge the donation that is provided as humanitarian aid by the organisation Gift of the Givers, and we encourage even the government and other organisations also to support Ukraine as we are struggling not only for our land but to retain the main principles of international law and the United Nations Charter.

"We are glad the world supports Ukraine, and we urge that Russia's isolation continues."

Gift of the Givers noted over the weekend that it would provide much-needed emergency medical and non-medical relief to displaced individuals inside Ukraine, as well as fund the repatriation of South African students looking to return home.

The organisation announced its intentions on Saturday, after having a "very private international discussion where representatives from Slovakia, Romania, the Ukraine health ministry, Croatia, one of the chief co-ordinators of humanitarian assistance in Ukraine, a doctor in Kyiv, surgeons from the US and Europe participated".

"Following that important session, we received a call from the Ukraine aid coordinator for guidance on various issues," said the organisation.

Abravitora also bemoaned Russia's "continued attack on civilian sites" and the placing of civilians under "severe risk".

Russian troops on Saturday seized the biggest atomic power plant in Europe after an attack that set it on fire and raised worldwide fears of a nuclear catastrophe.

Ukrainian firefighters put out the blaze, and no radiation leaks had been detected, according to United Nations and Ukrainian officials.

Abravitora again reiterated that Russia had failed to reach its key goals and said that Ukraine would continue to fight and win the war.

The media briefing comes as President Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday also explained South Africa's decision to abstain from voting on last week’s UN resolution on the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

Ramaphosa, writing in his Monday weekly newsletter, said the resolution did not "foreground the call for meaningful engagement".

"SA expected that the UN resolution would foremost welcome the commencement of dialogue between the parties and seek to create the conditions for these talks to succeed. Instead, the call for a peaceful resolution through political dialogue is relegated to a single sentence close to the conclusion of the final text.

"There have been some who have said that in abstaining from the vote condemning Russia's military operation in Ukraine, SA has placed itself on the wrong side of history. Yet SA is firmly on the side of peace at a time when another war is something the world does not need, nor can it afford [it]," said Ramaphosa.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has once again pushed government’s mediation stance in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and called on both countries to reach an agreement that will lead to the cessation of hostilities.

Ramaphosa said the reason why South Africa declined to support the United Nations (UN) resolution against Russia was because it did not focus on the call for meaningful engagement.

Last week, the UN General Assembly voted on a resolution demanding Russia stop its war against Ukraine. Thirty-nine nations, including South Africa, abstained from the vote. 141 of 193 UN member States voted for the non-binding resolution. Five countries voted against the resolution.

Political parties have criticised South Africa for its decision to abstain.

Ramaphosa said since the outbreak of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, South Africa’s position has been to affirm peace.

He explained that prior to the resolution being passed at the UN last week, talks between Russian and Ukrainian officials had already started, adding that South Africa expected that the UN resolution would welcome dialogue between the parties and seek to create the conditions for these talks to succeed.

“Instead, the call for peaceful resolution through political dialogue is relegated to a single sentence close to the conclusion of the final text. This does not provide the encouragement and international backing that the parties need to continue with their efforts,” he said.

Ramaphosa said whatever agreements are brokered must be sustainable in the long run and address the concerns of both parties to the conflict.

He said South Africa’s own experience with ending apartheid, and the country’s role in mediating conflict elsewhere on the continent, have yielded a number of insights.

“The first is that even the most seemingly intractable differences can be resolved at the negotiating table. The second is that even as talks may collapse, they can and do resume, as was the case in our own negotiating process. And that even when it seems the parties cannot see eye to eye, breakthroughs can and do happen,” added Ramaphosa.

Ramaphosa explained that for South Africa to continue to support the call for negotiation and dialogue does not render its commitment to human rights any less, noting that since the outbreak of the conflict South Africa has expressed its concern about the impact of the conflict on civilians.

“Our country is committed to advancing the human rights and fundamental freedoms not only of our own people, but for the peoples of Palestine, Western Sahara, Afghanistan, Syria and across Africa and the world. It is our hope that negotiations between Russia and Ukraine yield positive outcomes that pave the way for an end to the conflict,” he said.

The reopened inquest into the 1982 death of anti-apartheid activist Dr Neil Aggett has found that he did not die by suicide, but was killed by the police while in custody.

On Friday, Judge Motsamai Makume handed down judgment in the inquest that spanned two years.

Aggett, who was 28 at the time, was found hanging in his cell at the infamous John Vorster Square police station, now known as Johannesburg Central, after being detained there for 70 days on suspicions of treason.

A 1982 inquest chaired by Magistrate Pieter Kotze cleared the apartheid government and ruled his death a suicide.

In his judgment, Makume found that Kotze was biased and not interested in finding out what had happened to Aggett, but rather why he had killed himself.

"Dr Neil Aggett did not commit suicide. He was killed by the members of the security branch. When Neil didn’t regain consciousness (after he was tortured), they took him back to his cell, propped him up and hanged him," Makume found.

After Aggett's death, members of the security branch even visited his family home in the Western Cape to find evidence that corroborated the claim that Aggett had killed himself.

"If they were convinced that he had committed suicide, why did they go all the way to the Western Cape to find evidence that wasn’t there?" Makume asked.

The judge said he was appalled by how Kotze had ignored testimony that Aggett was tortured on numerous occasions and had even filed a complaint.

In one incident, just days before his death, he was interrogated for 62 hours.

"The finding that Neil consented to 62 hours of sleep deprivation boggles my mind," said Makume.

He said that the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) should pursue criminal charges against those involved in Aggett’s death.

The disinformation shared during the July unrest, sowed anger and contributed to the widespread violence and looting in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng, the SA Human Rights Commission heard on Friday.

"We do know that concerning and at times harmful content was being spread, which appears to have contributed to the anger and facilitated the incitement to violence and disorder," Media Monitoring Africa (MMA) director, William Bird, told the commission.

Bird said one of the biggest failures during the unrest was the state's inability to respond to the violence.

"One of the biggest problems that we saw in the unrest was the failure by various bodies and non-government [entities] to communicate what was going on. It was only when media started to get there, we started to get a better sense of what was going on.

"As a result, there was a clear sense that the state had no answer to anything. The police and intelligence services were nowhere to be found," he said.

During his testimony at the commission's hearing into the unrest that caused destruction and led to widespread looting last July, Bird said that their goal was to review what had also occurred and to prevent and act on them.

Bird said they used their online public complaint platform Real411 to review posts shared during the unrest.

Some of the complaints received on the platform during the July unrest included fake tweets shared of prisoners refusing to eat and going on a hunger strike in protest of former president Jacob Zuma's incarceration.

He said MMA also received posts of old taxi strikes being shared online.

"We know that the unrest and the violence and the deaths were all tragically far too real, but there were all of these other things going on to help stoke and promote and encourage and incite that."

There was also a WhatsApp message showing a fake letter of apology by the Venda nation for alleged mistreatment of Zuma by President Cyril Ramaphosa, he said.

"So, again these things have a very clear line and link to the politics that was occurring at the time and tying directly into that and encouraging violence," he said.

Bird said the second group of posts received on Real411 spoke directly to the incitement to violence.

"Burn everything forces. President Zuma was sent to prison by thugs with robes who take bribes. Burn everything. We must find addresses of judges," said one post.

Bird said there was also an expletive-ridden tweet depicting an image of the Constitutional Court with the message: "You better hurry up mother f #Concourt we waiting for your f judgment on Pres Zuma this time around if you get it wrong, we burn your mother f court."

He said the account associated with this tweet had since been suspended.

Bird said there was also a WhatsApp group called Indians will know us which contained images of firearms on display and messages of hate speech and incitement to violence against Indians in the Phoenix, Chatsworth and Isipingo areas.

"Obviously, these things in a time of great anxiety, in a time of actual ongoing violence, are things that are clearly deeply and profoundly problematic."

There was also a group of posts that sowed fear.

Bird highlighted the video shared on TikTok of prisoners being released and also a WhatsApp message falsely claiming Checkers Hyper in Roodepoort had been set alight by looters.

"In addition to the horrifying incidents of actual violence against various communities, we received a number of reports of social media posts which falsely claimed to show evidence of current incidents of racial abuse against certain communities, but which used old footage from previous events."

He said another trend was the false or misleading claims about Zuma's arrest and detention.

He highlighted a tweet by the JG Zuma Foundation falsely claiming that it was "just pure malice to incarcerate President Zuma whilst litigation on his detention without trial case was ongoing".

"Those kind of things that border on the outrage and clearly false, are thin...

Health Minister Dr Joe Phaahla said on Friday that while vaccination mandates remain a difficult topic, the “undisputed fact” is that as more people vaccinate, the more economic and social activities will open up.

A team of senior South Africa government officials has been leading consultations with various stakeholders, including the National Economic Development and Labour Council, and they will be ready to report at the next National Coronavirus Command Council (NCCC) with recommendations.

South Africa recorded 1 853 new Covid-19 cases on Thursday and two deaths.

An additional 48 deaths were reported as part of an ongoing audit, increasing the confirmed death toll to 99 499.

To date, 17 081 913 adults are fully vaccinated. Among children aged 12 and older, 1 656 951 doses have been administered. The department has also administered 1 282 996 booster shots and 58 811 were in the last 24 hours.

In the last week, South Africa has seen a 20% reduction in new cases from 16 000 a week to 12 800 a week.

Gauteng province is still leading with 38.4% of new cases, followed by the Western Cape with 20% and KwaZulu-Natal with 15.5%.

In the past week, all provinces reported a decline in weekly incidence risk except for KwaZulu-Natal which showed no change.

Phaahla said his department had been hard at work revising its regulations to control notifiable infectious diseases and was ready to present at the next NCCC meeting.

“As the World Health Organisation has stated at various forums, two of which I attended this week, including yesterday, Covid-19 is not over, as can be seen from the global numbers and we must avoid reversing the hard earned gains we have made as we strive to end the pandemic,” he said.

He hopes that reviewed health regulations and reviewed regulations from other departments will assist in the guided reopening of various economic and social activities, especially in the leisure and tourism areas, with less risk of super spreaders.

The proposals will include amendments to travel requirements which could make it easier and cheaper to travel safely.

He said details would only be available after the discussions of the NCCC.

“We want to make a clarion call again to all South Africans that Covid-19 can be defeated if we all work together to protect ourselves and those around us with vaccination. One always feels very envious when participating in various international meetings and you hear fellow health ministers reporting vaccination coverages of between 70% to 90% and unlike in the past you cannot blame vaccine apartheid because you are sitting with sufficient stock including donations which are not being taken up,” the Minister stated.

He reminded South Africans that vaccines were proven to be safe and effective in preventing severe illness and death and he warned that beyond 2022 it would be difficult to interact with other nations without vaccination.

He is concerned that the country is far from reaching the 70% coverage required for population immunity.

He said the 60+ cohort remained the country’s best performers with 68% having been vaccinated.

The Free State province is still the leading province with 57.2% coverage. In terms of absolute numbers Gauteng is leading by far with 8.9-million doses administered to just over 5-million people, but coverage is at 45% owing to the province housing a big population.

He said the biggest drawback is the 18 to 34 age group with just 34% vaccination coverage and 29.3% full vaccination.

“We need at least another 5-million of this cohort to get to 60% coverage,” Phaahla said.