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National police commissioner General Fannie Masemola’s precautionary suspension by President Cyril Ramaphosa, after being criminally charged for violating the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA), will not fix the challenges facing the SA Police Service (SAPS).

Ramaphosa this week announced that he had agreed with Masemola that he be deemed to be on precautionary suspension pending the conclusion of the case after the top cop appeared before the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court.

The president appointed divisional commissioner for financial management services Lieutenant-General Puleng Dimpane as the acting national police commissioner.

Masemola is charged with contravening the PFMA in relation to the alleged irregular awarding of a R228 million contract to Medicare24, which is owned by controversial attempted murder accused businessman Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala.

Masemola and his 16 co-accused including Matlala will be back next month and the others face charges of corruption, fraud and money laundering.

Prof. Kholofelo Rakubu, criminologist and Assistant Dean: Research and Innovation at the Tshwane University of Technology’s Humanities faculty, described Masemola’s precautionary suspension as once again highlighting a recurring governance pattern within the SAPS: the reliance on suspension as a substitute for deeper institutional reforms.

Five high-ranking SAPS officers suspended as Madlanga Commission investigates corruption

“While suspension may serve as a short-term accountability measure, it does not address the systemic vulnerabilities that repeatedly place national commissioners in positions where suspension becomes inevitable,” she said.

According to Rakubu, the SAPS has long struggled with structural weaknesses such as opaque procurement systems, politicised appointments and inadequate oversight that create fertile ground for governance failures.

“These vulnerabilities mean that leadership instability is not an exception but a recurring feature. The result is a cycle where commissioners are suspended, acting appointments are made and the institution remains in a state of paralysis,” she explained.

Rakubu also stated that Dimpane’s temporary leadership must be understood within this context and that while she may bring professionalism and stability in the short term, the limitations of acting appointments are clear: they lack the authority and long-term mandate to drive reform.

“This is compounded by the fact that the police ministry itself is under acting leadership, which further weakens strategic direction and continuity,” she added.

Rakubu believes that the impact of having both an acting minister and an acting commissioner is significant and creates uncertainty, undermines morale within the ranks, and signals to the public that the institution is in a perpetual state of crisis management rather than reform.

“Without a commitment to institutional restructuring, strengthening governance frameworks, depoliticising appointments, and ensuring accountability mechanisms beyond suspension, the SAPS will remain trapped in this cycle,” she warned.

In addition, Rakubu stated that in the short-term, the current situation within the SAPS reflects not just the challenges of individual leadership but the failure to address systemic reform.

“Until governance is strengthened at its roots, acting appointments will continue to serve as placeholders rather than solutions, perpetuating paralysis within the SAPS,” she declared.

The Independent Police Union of South Africa (Ipusa) said Masemola’s precautionary suspension was a necessary move to uphold the SAPS’s integrity and that his court appearance highlighted the pressing requirement for accountability at the highest levels of policing.

Ipusa said Dimpane’s acting stint as national commissioner should emphasise the importance of utilising this interim period constructively to restore public confidence in SAPS.

“The institution faces deep-rooted challenges, including corruption, inconsistent enforcement of disciplinary measures, and political interference, all of which have steadily undermined public trust,” the union added.

Ipusa said Dimpane has a valuable, though possibly brief, opportunity to show that SAPS leadership can be defined by transparency, fairness, and robust protection for whistle-blowers.

“Her effectiveness will be measured not by words, but by actions – specifically, the consistent application of disciplinary processes, safeguarding procurement procedures from manipulation, and ensuring that honest officers are protected rather than targeted,” Ipusa stated.

It suggested that to move SAPS forward, she must prioritise independent investigations that are allowed to proceed without fear or favour, and institutional reforms should reinforce compliance and oversight mechanisms.

The union also said that while Dimpane’s challenges will be rooted in operational experience, her relationship with the board of commissioners will be pivotal to her success or failure.

“Ipusa advises her to draw on the collective expertise of the board, uphold the Constitution, and avoid advancing personal interests,” the union opined.

The Freedom Front Plus said Dimpane was the SAPS’s chief financial officer during a period marked by extensive financial irregularities, in which significant sums of money were misappropriated and that evidence of this has recently been presented before the Madlanga Judicial Commission of Inquiry, among other platforms.

“This does not mean that Dimpane is directly implicated in any wrongdoing, but the fact that these transgressions occurred under her watch does not instil confidence,” the party said.

GOOD secretary-general Brett Herron said long-suffering South Africans should not have had to wait for Masemola to be suspended after appearing in court in relation to alleged tender oversight failures.

“He should have been pushed out last year when the levels of depravity in the senior ranks of police under his command became clear in the early proceedings of the Madlanga Commission and Parliamentary Ad-Hoc Committee probing police malfeasance,” he said.

Herron added that there is no evidence that Masemola benefitted from corruption but his weak management enabled corruption and that the police need stronger leadership.

This article was originally posted by IOL

South African actress Sindi Dlathu has shared a moving farewell to veteran performer Cynthia Shange, reminding fans just how deeply the late star touched those around her.

Taking to social media after news of Shange’s passing, Dlathu chose simplicity over spectacle, but her words carried weight.

In a tribute that read like a quiet conversation with someone she respected, she wrote: “Grace, love and gentleness… this is how I will always remember you Ma. You carried such depth and intelligence, sharp wit and a remarkable sense of humour. Our conversations flowed so effortlessly, each one meaningful and enriching. Those are moments I will forever cherish.

You were always warm and always brought light into every space you entered. Your presence was both grounding and uplifting. I could write a book about you, but I will leave it here. You wore your crown with grace Ndlovukazi, in every sense of the word.”

While the two may not have shared the screen in long-running roles together, they moved in the same creative circles that have shaped South African television for decades. Dlathu remains widely recognised for her commanding roles on "Muvhango" and "The River," while Shange built a respected legacy with appearances in productions like "Imbewu: The Seed".

Their connection, it seems, was less about shared credits and more about shared space, shared wisdom and those off-camera conversations that clearly left a mark.

It is often in these personal reflections that the real legacy of an artist is revealed. Dlathu’s words paint a picture of a woman who was not only talented but intentional about how she showed up in the world. Warm, grounded and quietly powerful, Shange’s presence seems to have lingered long after every conversation ended.

Shange leaves behind more than a body of work. She leaves behind a feeling, carried in the memories of those who knew her and the audiences who watched her.

This article was originally posted by IOL

The wife of a man who was killed in a fatal shooting following a violent road rage incident in Emmarentia, Johannesburg, could be charged for handing a gun to her husband during an argument.

Human rights lawyer and director of civil society Accountability Now, Advocate Paul Hoffman, said she could be arrested for “aiding and abetting” her husband in attempting to shoot the 58-year-old man, who is now a suspect after killing her husband.

The incident, which resulted in the death of 48-year-old Faisal ul Rehman and left his wife, Tehseen, in a critical condition, reportedly began with a minor bumper-bashing and a dispute over overtaking on Barry Hertzog Avenue on Sunday afternoon.

According to police, during the verbal argument between the two drivers, Tehseen allegedly retrieved a firearm from their vehicle, which led the suspect to draw his own weapon, leading to the shooting of Rehman and Tehseen, while their children watched in horror.

Rehman was declared dead on the scene, while Tehseen was taken to the hospital.

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said that there was insufficient evidence to proceed with the case at this stage. The case may be re-enrolled once the police have completed further investigations.

Hoffman said that although this was a difficult case, it could have been the other way around if the suspect had not been armed.  Chatsworth family disappointed as murder charge against their son's alleged killer is provisionally withdrawn

“She was arming someone who was in a fight, and if the person who was intruding had not been armed, it might have been the other way around, and the husband would have been accused of murdering the man who is now the suspect in the case.

“If she is arming a person who is in a fight with somebody who is unarmed, which is what she knew at that time (I don’t think she would have pulled a gun if she knew that the man she was fighting with her husband had a gun), she would be guilty of aiding and abetting her husband to shoot the suspect,” he said, adding that he understood why the NPA did not jump to any conclusion as the suspect could have acted in self-defence.

Asked if this was possible, Gauteng police spokesperson Colonel Dimakatso Nevhuhulwi said investigations are ongoing, adding that police will communicate updates as they arise.

Meanwhile, the founder of Arrive Alive, Advocate Johan Jonck, said that even though there is no specific law concerning road rage, this case falls under normal common law crime, which includes assault, attempted murder, and murder.

He said the court would have to look at whether there was self-defence and whether the suspect acted reasonably.

“It has to look at what his intention was and if he really felt that his life was in danger in order to establish if there was an intention for murder, which is a normal criminal procedure,” he said.

Non-profit organisation Gun Free South Africa (GFSA), said the legal standards governing firearm use remain strict, including on the road.

The organisation’s executive director, Dr Stanley Maphosa, said that although Section 13 provides for licensing a firearm for self-defence, it does not create a blanket right to introduce a firearm into conflict.

“Lawful use still turns on narrow principles of immediate threat, necessity and proportionality. We would also draw attention to Section 120, which addresses negligent and reckless conduct involving firearms, including conduct that may endanger others in public spaces. Roads are shared public spaces. That matters,” Maphosa said.

He added that the issue is not only whether a gun is legal or illegal, or whether an owner is ordinarily law-abiding. It is whether a lethal tool is being introduced into conditions where emotions are heightened, judgment is impaired, control may be compromised, and public risk expands rapidly.

The Motor Industry Staff Association (MISA) said road rage is not only a criminal justice issue but a societal challenge that requires collective responsibility. The union said motorists must remember that every journey carries risks, and a moment of anger can destroy lives forever.

“We call on all motorists to exercise restraint and never allow anger to dictate their actions. A minor collision or insult should never escalate into violence. South Africa cannot afford to lose more lives to road rage. Let us commit to protecting one another on our roads, for the sake of our families and our children,” said Martle Keyter, MISA’s chief executive officer for operations.

Jonck also warned that there were numerous incidents of road rage on the roads, which are the result of responses to aggressive and irresponsible, reckless, and inconsiderate driving.”

He said the most dangerous shift happens when drivers stop thinking and start reacting.

“Look out for these examples of selfish driver behaviour, and do not get involved; conflict can only continue to exist with participation,” he said.

“The best is… to let it go, do not get involved, and breathe.”

Jonck warned that confrontation rarely resolves anything and often worsens the outcome.

“A physical or verbal confrontation is not going to repair vehicle damage or make the roads safer,” he said, adding that motorists should also consider the emotional state of other drivers.

"You may not know the other person's mental state, and many drivers have legal and illegal guns."

This article was originally posted by IOL

ANC Deputy Provincial Secretary Dibolelo Mance meets with Fezile Dabi RTT

By JN Reporter

The African National Congress (ANC) Fezile Dabi regional conference has hit an early snag, with delegates still unable to complete the registration process.

Although branch registration was reportedly completed on Friday, a number of delegates from the Regional Task Team (RTT) and affiliated leagues have yet to be granted access to the gathering.

The party’s spokesperson, Mongamotse Tsotetsi, has confirmed that proceedings are expected to begin soon once the RTT meeting concludes.

“Currently, the leadership — comprising RTT and PEC members — is in a meeting to adopt the conference programme as well as the rules. Once that is concluded, we will proceed with the conference,” said Tsotetsi.

THE popular adage goes that war is the continuation of politics by other means, or at least that’s what Carl von Clausewitz, the Prussian general is posthumously published to have said in 1832.

He probably had conventional war in mind and its routines. In such conventional setting, the vicissitudes of politics tend to dictate the rhythm of war. In a battle of wits, however, where the party with more leverage tends to dominate, the sophistication of negotiations is the natural continuation of the battles of leverage by other means.

It may have been the verbosity of Trump or the cunning of the successor Ayatollah, no matter. But someone or some fortuity has led to the uniqueness of this happenstance. A kinetic war has quickly mutated into a war of leverage.

As such, it has quickly altered the calculus of victory by the US/Israeli led coalition, if ever there was one.

The sudden mutation from a war of muscle to a battle of wits had melodramatic consequences. A lot of calculations became imponderable permutations. A direct assault on the Kharg Island would be irreducibly suicidal.

There would be no sustainable logistical supply lines for the expeditionary assault units. Neither would there be adequate cover against an unceasing barrage of unmanned attack drones and bombardment by ballistic missiles from impenetrable jagged folds of the Zagros Mountains.

Besides, there are no convenient approach lines to the Kharg Island that would not expose the airborne divisions and the paratrooper forces to mortal harm. Every simulated attack scenario keeps revising the required forces from modest figures to ridiculously high numbers. From a modest number of 5000, the estimates are now sitting at 50 000.

In fact, the true scale of the plan as staggering as it is absurd, is borne of the realisation that there could be no attack on the Kharg Island without first implementing a regime change in Iran. Or put simply, the assault on Kharg Island would be a mission creep to eventually achieve a regime change.

Given the size of the Iranian landmass, even 200 000 Iraqi forces could not subdue an Iranian force half their cumulative strength. The US, therefore, will require a massive force approximating half a million men and women to achieve the absurdity called regime-change!

The Iranians had long understood that in all the projected war scenarios, from opening salvos to escalatory peaks, the curiosity of the politics of the United States will inevitably get mired in Iran’s political economy, especially of its production of oil and gas.

Particularly, when the hydrocarbon molecule is produced, to enquire where it is destined, if for no other reason than to determine which points of Iran’s economy or those of its partners, could be rendered militarily vulnerable.

Further that, the point of loading of these commodities in the Kharg Island and their passage through the Strait of Hormuz, present the attacking forces with strategically sensitive targets which by a single stroke, could cower the Iranians to a humiliating surrender.

This means therefore that the internal politics of the US and its regime change ambitions, were bound to dictate how its war against Iran, would be the continuation of its politics by other means.

The Iranians for their part, understood their leverage from day one.  Or to be sure, they invested in the prescient identification and broad definition of such leverage. For one, the United States is too far away an adversary, located thousands of miles across the pond.

At any rate, they are too big to confront directly, renowned as they are for their apex dominance in the hierarchy of blue water navies. And in a conventional confrontation, they would immediately assume escalatory dominance.

From a long and acrimonious history with the United States and its allies, the Iranians had somehow learnt that all military power has definitive limits. Given all that dominance, the Americans could not master the tempestuousness of a Vietnamese bamboo jungle, nor were they endowed with enough patience to.

The expanse of the bamboo green shoots for their part, resplendent in their turgidity and intelligence, were empathetic to the plight of the Vietnamese hands that have nurtured them over the ages. That is leverage, so vast, so mysterious and indomitable.

Iran had to define its own leverage which would, in all probability, take critical factors into account. The primary consideration for Tehran, is that Israel as an attacking force, should be within reach and striking distance of their ballistic missiles’ stockpiles, and in that distance, must bear the brunt of their retaliation.

Second, the US military forces and forward mission assets including aerial defence batteries, are located all over the Persian Gulf and other proximate locations in the Gulf of Oman. Any retaliation should portend a commensurate effect both visually and politically, with surprising and demoralising effect, especially to the US electorate.

Third, that any pain suffered by the people of Iran because of the US/Israeli bombing campaign, shall in like manner, be horizontally extended to the Gulf states who are collaborating with the US and Israel in prosecuting this unprovoked and illegal war against them.

The Trump administration for their part, had to juggle many balls in the air to contrive a counterpoint to such capabilities, especially the most vantages of them all, the Strait of Hormuz. Any greater harm they could conceive to punish the Iranians, could in retaliation, be the same harm Iran will visit on its Gulf neighbours, including far removed Israel.

It would be as if Iran found the switch first. A little pain for Iran, a little pain for its neighbours. The conundrum for the invaders is fairly pronounced. The Strait of Hormuz is closed except for those ships that pay tribute of two million dollars equivalent in Yuan to Iran. Iran proposes to share that toll with Oman.

Trump contrived a plan. If he had one eye patch, he would be called Pirate Trump. For, the scheme involves blockading a blockaded strait. This time, the US blue water navy would lie in wait in the Indian Ocean, targeting ships passing through the Strait into the Gulf of Oman.

The thinking, it would seem, is that if Iran is blockading the Persian Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz, the US will blockade the Gulf of Oman, of any ship that passes through the beleaguered Strait.

This thinking posits a battle of tactic against leverage. If only the US president would have perused the translated pages of Sun Tzu’s war epic written circa 544 BC. But then again, Sun Tzu and his legacy is indubitably Chinese.

In that wise, why would Donald J. Trump be relying on the wisdom of the Chinese art of war to asphyxiate the Chinese oil economy? Make it make sense. After all, he has Netanyahu as his own personal Sun Tzu!

There could be no doubt that leverage, is a concentration of advantages. And what, pray tell, could be the difference between advantage and leverage.

From the lessons drawn out of this unfolding crisis, it would seem as if advantage, properly defined, is some tactical facet of a military strategy. Leverage on the other hand, is a facility provided by the quirks of the universe.

Much as General Vo Nguyen Giap of Vietnam enjoys the distinction of having been a master war tactician, combining minimalist resources with the leverage of a vast jungle, King Moshoeshoe II emerges as one of the greatest war strategists ever lived.

He had the ultimate leverage. He bivouacked his forces on the commanding heights of Thaba Bosiu. He vanquished all his enemies who tried to reach him at the zenith by liberally rolling down massive boulders on their advancing calvary.

Somehow, and this may not be completely accurate, Donald J. Trump has awoken to the reality that a nature endowed leverage is impossible to dislodge. He has therefore announced an indefinite ceasefire.

Not surprising. He now knows that leverage, of the ilk of the Strait of Hormuz, is a permanent force marjeure!

* Amb Bheki Gila Esq is a Barrister-at-Law.

* The views expressed here do not reflect those of the Sunday Independent, Independent Media, or IOL.

This article was originally published by IOL news

Observed annually on April 25, World Malaria Day shines a spotlight on the ongoing fight against one of the world’s deadliest mosquito-borne diseases.

By Bernell Simons

This year’s campaign message, “Drive to End Malaria: Now We Can. Now We Must,” calls for urgent global action to eliminate malaria and protect vulnerable communities.

The National Institute for Communicable Diseases has warned that malaria remains a serious public health concern, particularly in malaria-endemic provinces and neighbouring countries where warmer temperatures and seasonal rainfall increase mosquito activity.

From the Department of Health, spokesperson Mondli Mvambi, said awareness and early treatment remain key in saving lives. “Many people ignore early symptoms such as fever, chills, headaches and fatigue, thinking it is just flu. Delayed treatment can become fatal, especially for children, pregnant women and people with weakened immune systems,” she explained.

Malaria is caused by parasites spread through the bites of infected female mosquitoes. Medical professionals urge travellers and residents in high-risk areas to take preventative measures seriously, including using mosquito repellents, sleeping under treated mosquito nets and avoiding stagnant water around homes.

Mvambi added that community education and access to healthcare are essential in the fight against the disease. “Ending malaria requires collective action from governments, healthcare workers and communities alike,” she said.

World Malaria Day continues to raise awareness while encouraging investment in prevention, treatment and research efforts aimed at eliminating malaria globally.