King Misuzulu KaZwelithini has rejected Rural Development and Land Affairs Minister Mzwanele Nyhontsho’s assertion that he cannot suspend the Ingonyama Trust Board (ITB). In a letter dated 7 January 2025, the Zulu monarch said he does have those powers and that Nyhontso is mistaken for claiming anything to the contrary.  The ITB is a South African public entity that oversees land owned by the Ingonyama Trust, established in 1994 to administer land traditionally owned by the Zulu monarchy.  The Ingonyama…

The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Public Works and Infrastructure has expelled a senior official who illegally awarded more than R1 billion worth of tenders to a single company. It said its director for supply chain management (SCM) awarded 29 tenders to a single service provider in the space of two years — amounting to 60% of the department’s annual budget. Released on Wednesday, January 8, the department’s statement did not name the official in question but his identity is known to…

Former President Jacob Zuma has reignited his fight to claw back his ANC membership, giving the party an ultimatum to reinstate him or face legal action. In a letter of demand issued on Wednesday, January 8 and addressed to ANC secretary general Fikile Mbalula, Zuma’s lawyers say his expulsion is illegal and he must be allowed back to his former political home before the end of this month. The ANC expelled Zuma late last year for founding and leading the…

Amid a messy divorce storm engulfing the Zulu Monarchy, King Misuzulu KaZwelithini has announced a date to marry his third wife, Queen Nomzamo Myeni of Jozini in northern KwaZulu-Natal.  The King, currently embroiled in a Pietermaritzburg High Court battle to divorce one of his wives, would be officially marrying Myeni (to conclude the marriage as they are already married and living together) towards the end of this month this year. This would happen shortly after he had presided over the…

The ANC in Mpumalanga province has made a dramatic U-turn on its earlier decision barring members from attending the governing party’s January 8 rally in Khayelitsha, Cape Town, this weekend.  This was after an earlier communique said branches should not travel to the Mother City as the chosen venue is too small to accommodate everyone. In the communique dated 6 January 2025 and signed by Muzi Chirwa, the provincial secretary, branches were told to focus on planning for the upcoming…

ANC Deputy President Paul Mashatile’s foray into Khayelitsha township in Cape Town turned into a political disaster when a resident tried to eject him and his party’s delegation conducting a door to door campaign ahead of the January 8 rally. The embarrassing spectacle was beamed live on Newzroom Afrika on Tuesday, January 7, as the 24-hour news channel was tailing Mashatile and his ANC delegation in the area. The governing party is set to hold a rally at the Nelson…

The battle for control of Ingonyama Trust in KwaZulu-Natal is heating up after King Misuzulu KaZwelithini reasserted his authority and ordered the entity’s “suspended” board members not to enter the trust’s offices in Pietermaritzburg. In a January 3 letter sent through his lawyers, Van Rensburg Kruger Rakwena Attorneys, the Zulu king instructed Advocate Linda Zama, Inkosi Mabhudu Tembe, Inkosi Phallang Molefe, Inkosi Sibonelo Mkhize, Dandy Matamela and Nomusa Zulu not to bother setting foot in the trust’s offices.  The purported…

A restaurant manager who allegedly strangled and killed a KwaZulu-Natal woman before burying her body in his yard at Amaotana (Inanda) in Durban will spend at least two months in jail after abandoning his bail application.  Mfanafuthi Kunene, accused of killing Ayabonga Mjilo, abruptly gave up his bid for bail when he appeared before the Durban Magistrate’s Court on Monday, January 6. According to KwaZulu-Natal police, Kunene (37) was the last person seen with Mjilo (22), who disappeared on December 23,…

In an unprecedented move within the Zulu royal family, King Misuzulu KaZwelithini has filed for divorce against one of his wives, saying their marriage has broken down. The King has three wives and ascended to the throne in May 2021 amid a tussle with his brother Prince Simakade Zulu.  In papers quietly filed before the Pietermaritzburg High Court in KwaZulu-Natal and seen by African Times, the Zulu monarch detailed the “irretrievable breakdown of the marriage.” This is the first time…

Former Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) Deputy President Floyd Shivambu claims he’s the party’s sole founder, and that current leader Julius Malema and others joined later. He says he conceptualised the EFF, gave it a name and party colours, and decided where its Johannesburg headquarters would be. Shivambu, who left the EFF in August 2023 amid a public fallout with Malema, was speaking at a Christmas gathering hosted by his new party, Umkhonto we Sizwe (MKP), at his home village of…