The Weekend View

City Power is continuing its cut-off operation in Johannesburg’s Inner City, targeting problematic buildings affected by electricity theft, illegal connections and vandalism. The entity says five buildings in Doornfontein and surrounding areas owe almost five-million-rand. City Power says it is monitoring more than 108 problematic buildings, with combined outstanding debt of about 115-million-rand, while also addressing safety risks. Joburg City Power Spokesperson is Isaac Mangena,

Four people, including businessman Vusumuzi Matlala and his wife Tsakani, have appeared in the Pretoria Magistrates’ Court on fraud, forgery and uttering charges linked to an alleged fraudulent lease agreement. NPA says three accused were granted R20, 000 bail each, while Matlala abandoned his bail application. The National Prosecuting Authority says the State will oppose his bail application, which is scheduled for 14 and 15 October. The matter against the other three accused has been postponed to 29 October for further investigations. NPA Gauteng Regional Spokesperson for the Pretoria Division, is Lumka Mahanjana. 

SAPS has activated a 72-hour operation to track suspects linked to the KwaMakhutha mass shooting, south of Durban. Eleven people were killed and three others injured after armed suspects opened fire at a house in the Ziko area on Tuesday night. The motive remains unknown, while police say they are following a promising lead.  SAPS Head of Communications  is Major General Nonkululeko Phokane 

KwaZulu-Natal Transport and Human Settlements MEC Siboniso Duma says verification following Saturday’s fire in the Swapo informal settlement in Copesville, Pietermaritzburg, found that 20 shacks were destroyed. Duma says 19 foreign nationals occupied the affected shacks, while one South African had an identification document whose authenticity is being verified by Home Affairs. He says the woman who died, her injured partner and their child are foreign nationals. Duma says the fire started in their shack. He also alleges that some South Africans are fronting for foreign nationals to access government assistance. Duma says foreign nationals will not qualify for emergency housing assistance, building materials or RDP houses. Ndabezinhle Sibiya is the spokesperson for the KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Transport and Human Settlements.

SAPS and the Border Management Authority have arrested a 52-year-old South African man at OR Tambo International Airport. Police say suspected heroin worth more than two million rand was found in his luggage. Police say the suspect had arrived from Accra, Ghana, when he was intercepted during an intelligence-led operation. Police say they found bullet-like objects and blocks containing substances suspected to be heroin. He is expected to appear in the Kempton Park Magistrates’ Court later this week on drug trafficking-related charges. This is the third suspected drug mule arrested at OR Tambo in three weeks. Police spokesperson is Lt Col Amanda van Wyk

Feminist movement - Black Women Caucus has given the Kempton Park police station in Ekurhuleni 10-days to convene a multi-stakeholder engagement to outline how to deal with the murder of women. The group led a picket outside the police station on Friday. This follows the discovery of a woman's body in Villa Liza in Boksburg on Thursday- bringing to NINE the number of women's bodies discovered across Ekurhuleni since July this year. 

For our Sunday morning discussion on gender-based violence and femicide, Bongiwe Zwane spoke to Deputy Minister in the Presidency for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities Steve Letsike, Kwanele Foundation founder Sihle Sibisi, NOT IN MY NAME INTERNATIONAL President and Founder Themba Masango, and South African Human Rights Commission Commissioner Sandra Makoasha

In Cape Town, the GOOD Party and the United Democratic Movement's (UDM) election campaigns ahead of this year's Local Government Elections saw a focus on issues including making the City of Cape Town more affordable for Capetonians and the ongoing scourge of Gender-Based Violence and Femicide. Tando Ntunja reports

Chronic stress may be doing far more than affecting South Africans' mental health – it could be contributing to the country's growing burden of obesity, diabetes and other metabolic disorders, many of which are also major risk factors for cardiovascular disease .  While stress is often viewed as an unavoidable part of modern life, mounting scientific evidence suggests that prolonged psychological stress can trigger biological changes that increase the likelihood of developing obesity, type 2 diabetes (T2D) and cardiovascular disease . Bongiwe Zwane caught up with by Pamela Naidoo, CEO of the Heart and Stroke Foundation SA and asked her what are we talking about essentially when referring to chronic stress

One woman has died, while her child and partner sustained serious burn wounds following a fire that destroyed between 13 and 14 shacks at the Swapo Informal Settlement in Copesville, Pietermaritzburg. KwaZulu-Natal Transport and Human Settlements MEC Siboniso Duma says he was contacted by a distressed community leader at around 3:30 this morning. Duma says teams from his office, provincial and national human settlements departments have been assigned to work with the Msunduzi Municipality to assist affected residents. He says the fire has caused further emotional and financial trauma for families already facing socio-economic challenges. Ndabezinhle Sibiya is the spokesperson for the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport and Human Settlements.

The Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Criminality, Political Interference and alleged Corruption in the Criminal Justice System, commonly known as the Madlanga Commission, has welcomed the final extension of its deadline announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa. The Commission says the extension to 25 January 2027 will allow it to hear outstanding testimony and finalise its report. The Commission's Spokesperson is Jeremy Michaels