What’s in City Press
TOP STORY
Military chiefs blatantly defied Ramaphosa's order to exclude Iran
The military and navy were given orders almost three months ago that Iran must under no circumstances participate in the recent naval exercise near Cape Town.
The instruction was apparently repeated on various occasions in the weeks thereafter, but in an act of “blatant defiance”, no heed was paid to it.
News
Drug charges and family feuds: Mbuso Mandela evicted
Nelson Mandela’s grandson, Mbuso, is battling on two fronts after being served an eviction notice from his grandfather’s iconic Houghton home by the Mandela Family Trust, just days after his arrest at Montecasino on drug possession charges.
‘We all trusted Papa Jimmy’: Families mourn 14 victims of scholar transport tragedy
Grieving families, who had trusted a long-established transport service, are calling for justice, while three children remain hospitalised and investigations into the crash continue.
Mpumalanga education department blows R800m on unusable tablets
Amassive R800 million pupil device scandal exposes alleged tender manipulation, faulty tablets, and predetermined outcomes in the procurement process that has already cost taxpayers R200 million.
Mbeki claims apartheid forces orchestrated MK Party’s electoral success
Two former presidents are engaged in a fierce mudslinging match, with Thabo Mbeki claiming that apartheid forces are behind the explosion in support for Jacob Zuma’s uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP).
Gwarube lobbied for senior DA leadership
Siviwe Gwarube, the minister of basic education, is being lobbied by DA party members to make herself available for a senior leadership position at the party’s federal conference in April.
Limpopo ANC leadership battle intensifies as branches call the shots
The race for the ANC leadership positions in Limpopo is intensifying, with each of the province’s five regions jostling to secure representation at the top of the provincial executive committee.
Watch | Teen’s environmental project earns spot at international science summit
Meet Nkateko Moyane, a bright 16-year-old Grade 11 pupil from Daleview Secondary School in Ennerdale, Johannesburg, who’s one of four talented young scientists heading to India to represent our country at the prestigious Initiative for Research and Innovation in STEM Global Symposium.
Emergency workers traumatised by calls from deadly school crash scene
Emergency responders who took the call about a deadly crash that left 14 schoolchildren dead have been left deeply shaken.
MONDLI MAKHANYA
Donald Trump: Yes, let’s poke the bear
Voices
NDIM LO | Ntaba kaNdoda: More a statement than a place
In a country forever negotiating its relationship with the past, Ntaba kaNdoda does not demand worship; it invites return, writes Vukile Pokwana.
Why rural students
do not fare well at university
Universities and government must take information to deep rural areas through mobile career services and application support long before final high school exams that determine university entrance, writes Helen Agumba.
Bullets, broken dockets and the death of accountability
The Madlanga Commission should examine the adequacy of protection mechanisms for investigators, auditors and whistleblowers; probe intelligence, firearms control and inter-agency failures that enable contract-linked assassinations, writes Tebogo Khaas.
Trump’s Davos speech proves the war on reality is all but won
America spent decades feeding the world their brand of democracy. Their cultural hegemony has been a tour de force. Now they’ve proven that even the most privileged society can voluntarily lobotomise itself, writes Earl Coetzee.
Dashiki | When cheap becomes expensive
An incident with a plumber reminded Timothy Molobi why taking shortcuts usually backfires. We’ve all been there – trying to save a few bucks by going the cheap route, only to end up spending more in the long run.
Internet blackouts from Uganda to Iran
George Orwell once said: “Freedom of the press, if it is anything at all, means the freedom to criticise and oppose.” Now, despotic governments are weaponising the internet to crush dissent, writes Kenneth Moeng Kgwadi.
EDITORIAL
Taxi industry must face might of the law
Trending
ConCourt ruling could leave Black Coffee bitter
This week’s Constitutional Court ruling has just made Nkosinathi “Black Coffee” Maphumulo’s legal strategy around his divorce a whole lot more expensive – and a lot less likely to succeed.
Losing her daughter pushes Sihle Sibisi to educate others
After the sudden death of her 10-year-old daughter from a ruptured brain aneurysm, media personality Sihle Sibisi turned grief into purpose.
Watch | Simphiwe Dana celebrates her birthday with the release of Moya
her mom’s passing caused Simphiwe Dana’s body to reject food and sleep, compelling her to seek refuge in the studio, and six years later, she has released a new album.
Tim Spirit
The Afcon final fiasco: Morocco’s entitlement and Senegal’s tantrum shamed African football
Sport
Safa NEC hits out at Gayton's Afcon bid bombshell
While the football associations of Botswana and Namibia have thrown their support behind a joint bid with South Africa for the hosting rights of the 2028 Afcon, some Safa leaders claim they know nothing about the purported bidding plans.
Safa election war heats up - two rival lobby groups emerge
Danny Jordaan is bidding for a fourth term, but the fight for control of South African football is intensifying ahead of Safa’s elections later this year, with two rival lobby groups mobilising support across the football association’s 52 regions.
SA’s road running money league: Who’s paying best?
The Hollywoodbets, Spar, Absa and Totalsports races lead the way in terms of where SA’s top runners cash in and where hundreds of thousands of rands in prize money can be won.
Bavuma speaks out on his 2027 World Cup hopes
Temba Bavuma is at peace with his absence from T20 internationals and is focused on leading the Proteas in Tests and ODIs. Despite being snubbed by SA20 franchises, Bavuma hopes to captain South Africa at the 2027 Cricket World Cup.