JOHANNESBURG - The application to have retired Justice Sisi Khampepe removed as TRC Cases Inquiry Chairperson has been dismissed.
The application was brought forward by former presidents Thabo Mbeki and Jacob Zuma. The judgment was handed down electronically on Monday, 30 March.
READ: Khampepe Commission of Inquiry to resume after failed removal bid
It said that they failed to get prior consent from the Chief Justice before instituting the review proceedings against Khampepe.
The court also slammed Zuma and Mbeki for what it termed “direct attacks” on Khampepe’s character and integrity in their founding affidavits.
On Tuesday, former National Director of Public Prosecution Advocate Menzi Simelane testified at the Inquiry.
READ: LIVESTREAM | Adv Menzi Simelane testifies before TRC Cases Inquiry
READ: LIVESTREAM | Adv Nomgcobo Jiba testifies before the TRC Inquiry
Then former Acting National Director of Public Prosecutions, Advocate Nomgcobo Jiba also testified after she was accused that Cradock 4 dockets went missing after being taken to her office.
In more court matters, the High Court in Johannesburg dismissed Thabo Bester's application to be reclassified.
The murder and rape convict applied to have the court reclassify him as an awaiting trial detainee.
According to Bester, he never escaped from prison because he was out for a very long time. He told the court that he was 'on holiday' in Tanzania when he was captured.
The court found his argument to be without merit and rejected his application as baseless.
Bester remains a sentenced prisoner, held at Ebongweni Correctional Facility, facing further charges linked to his escape from the Mangaung Correctional Centre.
The Department of Mineral Resources and Petroleum and Treasury Department decided to reduce the fuel levy by 70 percent on Tuesday.
This resulted in a R3 fuel levy reduction, cushioning consumers to the fuel price increase that kicked in on Wednesday.
READ: Temporary relief for motorists as govt cuts fuel levy by R3
The move follows surging global oil prices linked to escalating conflict in the Middle East.
This will bring the petrol levy to just over R1 per litre, and diesel to below R1. The relief is expected to cost the fiscus about R6 billion in lost revenue.
READ: Minimum wage workers forced to make tough decisions amid electricity, fuel increases
The R3 levy cut, according to government, is only temporary for one month. However, Mineral Resources Deputy Director-General, Tseliso Maqubela says this allows for them to look at other measures and find other places in which the consumer can be cushioned.
The department has, since March, been assuring that the country's oil supply is stable. Maqubela says they continue to monitor the situation.
READ: Govt looking to curb food inflation after fuel price increase
"The Ministers who have been tasked to look into this will make the necessary announcements," he says.
"One of the things, for example, that we have to think about is how do we minimise the impact of this on food inflation," he adds.
The electricity also went up for Eskom customers on Wednesday by 8.76 percent. Municipal customers' electricity will increase in July.
South African National Defence Force (SANDF) troops arrived in the Western Cape on Wednesday.
Over 2,200 soldiers have been deployed to patrol crime-ridden areas in the Western Cape, Gauteng, Eastern Cape, Free State and North West.
The deployment, which forms part of Operation Prosper, will run until March 2027.
Troops are expected on the streets from Wednesday across the five provinces, after President Cyril Ramaphosa gave the green light.
Western Cape deputy police commissioner Luyanda Damoyi said the SANDF members were fully equipped to deal with gangsterism, extortion and taxi violence in the province.
Without disclosing the number of troops deployed on the ground in the province, Damoyi said the troops were sufficient to achieve the province’s crime-fighting mission.
Damoyi said the SANDF members have been urged to conduct themselves in a professional manner and serve with humility.
The army will be on the ground in Gqeberha on Friday.
Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi said his cabinet shakeup is a necessary move aimed at preventing a looming financial crisis in the province.
On Wednesday, Lesufi announced the appointment of Economic Freedom Fighters' Nkululeko Dunga from the EFF as Finance MEC.
Dunga takes over from Lebogang Maile who has now been moved to Education and Sports, Arts, Culture and Recreation.
He said the looming crisis necessitated them to take tough decisions.
READ: Panyaza Lesufi reshuffles Gauteng cabinet, brings in EFF
Earlier this month, opposition parties in Gauteng rejected the budget for 2026/7, which grew by R3.6 billion from the previous financial year, saying it focuses on the wrong priorities.
Cabinet has expressed "disgust" and said the coronation of an Igbo king in the Eastern Cape was a mere “kindergarten gimmick".
Briefing the media in Pretoria on the outcomes of last week's Cabinet meeting, Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni said Cabinet strongly criticised the act.
READ: ‘It is a mere kindergarten gimmick’ - Cabinet on Nigerian king coronation in EC
Outrage erupted across the country after videos and photos went viral on social media showing Chief Solomon Ogbonna Eziko being crowned “Igwe Ndigbo” of KuGompo City.
Ntshaveni said while Cabinet noted the apology from the Nigerian High Commission, it has directed the Department of International Relations and Cooperation to engage with the High Commission on the unacceptable conduct of Nigerians in the country that is unbecoming of visitors.
READ: Nigerian officials apologise to South Africa for "king" coronation
She said it was deeply concerning that legitimate grievances over the matter had resulted in acts of violence.
This week, anti-illegal migration organisation March and March and other parties have brought traffic to a grinding halt in KuGompo City, protesting the coronation.
READ: Eastern Cape march against Nigerian 'king' turns violent
The situation escalated to violence when the protesters, some of whom had travelled from KwaZulu-Natal, forced the closure of local businesses in the CBD and torched vehicles.
After almost a decade, Intercape can finally breathe sigh of relief.
Six men and a woman appeared in the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court on Monday in connection with disrupting long-distance buses across three provinces.
READ: Intercape main complainant in bus 'protection racket' case
The seven were arrested at the weekend in a coordinated operation across Cape Town, Matatiele and Mbombela.
The arrests follow a multidisciplinary coordinated investigation across three provinces, spanning over seven years.
The seven aged between 35 and 65 face 124 charges involving extortion, intimidation and protection money.
While Intercape is the main complainant in the matter before the court on Monday, there are other service providers with similar complaints of falling victim to the suspects arrested.