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One of the men accused of the Lusikisiki massacre has contradicted his own confession in an attempt to clear a co-accused of taking part in the shooting that left 18 people dead. Aphiwe "AP" Ndende, 27, told the Mthatha High Court, sitting in Lusikisiki, that Siphosoxolo "BG" Myekethe was present when the two Ngobozana homesteads were attacked on September 28 2024, but was unarmed. Ndende maintained this version during both his evidence-in- chief and cross-examination. "We were all armed with AK-47s, but BG was not armed. He did not shoot, kill or injure anyone," Ndende said. He denied the state's allegation that Myekethe was armed with a shotgun while keeping watch at the gates of the two homesteads. "He had an injured hand and could not operate a rifle," he said. "That was why he did not climb over the perimeter walls at either homestead and instead remained at the gates keeping watch.' However, Ndende was confronted with his confession, in which he gave a different version and implicated Myekethe, 45, as being armed. In the confession, Ndende said Vuma had three AK-47 assault rifles in addition to the shotgun carried by Myekethe. Under cross-examination, Ndende admitted that this part of his confession was false. "The version I am giving the court now is the truth. Accused number three, BG, was not armed. "The investigating officers told me that when I made my confession, I had to say BG was armed with a shotgun," Ndende said. "I told Captain Sigcu that BG was armed even though I knew it was not true. "I did so because I was afraid the police would torture me again. "That is why I objected to the statement being admitted as evidence." Ndende, Myekethe, alleged mastermind Mzukisi Ndamase, 46, Bonga "Rico" Hintsa, 33, Songezo "Mashiya" Vuma, 23, and Mawethu Nomdlembu, 38, face a total of 29 charges. These include conspiracy to commit murder, 19 counts of murder, attempted murder, kidnapping, robbery with aggravating circumstances and charges relating to the unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition. The state alleges gunmen armed with assault rifles attacked two neighbouring Sinqina family homesteads at Ngobozana village in Lusikisiki on September 28 2024. Four people were killed at one homestead and 14 at the other. The accused are also charged in connection with the assassination of ANC leader Mncedisi Sncane Gijana, who was shot dead at his Lubhacweni home in KwaBhaca on August 19 2024. Myekethe is not charged with Gijana's murder, while Nomdlembu faces only charges relating to the unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition and is not accused of taking part in the murders. All six accused have pleaded not guilty. Ndende, Myekethe, Hintsa and Vuma made confession statements after their arrests. They have, however, alleged that they were compelled to participate in the crimes by Ndamase, who they claim threatened to have them killed if they refused. Ndamase challenged Ndende's credibility during cross-examination, accusing him of lying and arguing that he should be charged with perjury. He also questioned Ndende about an alternative place of residence in Ntabankulu and asked judge Richard Brooks to conduct an inspection in loco. Brooks declined the request. Ndende has admitted involvement in both the Lusikisiki massacre and Gijana's killing, but maintains he acted under compulsion because he feared for his life. Vuma's defence attorney, Velile Mgcotyelwa, also challenged inconsistencies in Ndende's testimony and pressed him to explain how and when Vuma allegedly compelled or threatened him to participate in the crimes. The state alleges the killings were linked to a drug turf war. Ndende testified that on September 26 2024, he and Hintsa received a call from Ndamase, who was an inmate at Wellington Prison and identified himself as Mzukisi "Ntandane". According to Ndende, Ndamase asked them to help find a group known as the Gqubeni Boys, who were allegedly responsible for shooting his nephew, Bhongo, in a dispute over drug territory. Ndende said that when the group could not be found, Ndamase directed them from prison to attack the two Sinqina homesteads, claiming their occupants were working with the Gqubeni Boys.

A teacher employed by the provincial government has admitted in court that she has earned her full salary with benefits for more than 18 years without working a single day. Nontsikelelo Albertina Ngumbela, 64, was recently testifying in the high court sitting in KuGumpo City in a defamation case in which she is a defendant. She said during cross-examination by advocate Shaughan Cole, SC, that she had become a ÔÇ£displaced teacherÔÇØ in about 2007.She explained that she had initially taught at the East London Technikon until it was merged with two other colleges to form the Buffalo City TVET College. She said in 2007, teachers were offered the option of becoming employees of the TVET or remaining in the employ of the government. What makes NgumbelaÔÇÖs case even more mystifying is that she continues to draw a teacherÔÇÖs salary at the age of 64, though teachers in SA are required to retire at 60. She insisted that she remained a teacher and was recognised as such by the department.ÔÇ£Is it fair for me to say that you are a ghost employee in the department of education?ÔÇØ Cole asked. Ngumbela said: ÔÇ£My employer still knows that I am still a teacher. We went through all those phases and also through arbitration and my employer still regards me as a teacher. ÔÇØThe department has closed hundreds of schools over the past decade as part of its school rationalisation programme. Teachers at mothballed schools are supposed to be redeployed to vacant positions at other schools.And while Ngumbela gets to sit at home, basic education minister Siviwe Gwarube revealed in a written reply to a question in parliament recently that there were 27,092 vacant teaching posts in the country.

Students at the University of Fort HareÔÇÖs Dikeni campus say leaking roofs, broken windows, faulty electrical plugs, unusable bathrooms and inadequate security have made their residences unsafe and are hampering their studies. They claim the conditions fall below the norms and standards prescribed by the department of higher education and training, saying they are not getting value for their accommodation fees. The grievances boiled over into a protest on Tuesday, with students gathering at the main gate and threatening to halt lectures until the university addressed their demands. The protest spilt onto the nearby R63, where about 300 demonstrators blocked the road with burning tyres and shrubs, prompting police to fire stun grenades to disperse them. The Student Representative Council leader on the Dikeni campus, Someleze Ndamase, said students had long demanded that their residences be renovated and properly maintained. Leaking roofs had become a big problem. "When there are two students that are accommodated in a single room, they are bound to share the same bed because the other side of the room is leaking, to an extent that those leakages damage their laptops and any other,ÔÇØ he said. ÔÇ£On Monday there was a mass meeting wherein students came to a resolution that they would draft a memorandum of demands and submit it to the university,ÔÇØ Ngqwangi said. "We concluded that we would ask the university to buy items such as windows and lights [and other items] at a hardware store.ÔÇØ She said students had resolved to continue their protest action on the campus until Friday, when they had been promised some of the materials would be delivered. ÔÇ£Classes will be postponed or moved online because the students will be closing the gates,ÔÇØ she said. Nomfundo Mesani said the problems included broken windows, bathrooms that had been out of use since the beginning of the year, faulty plugs, dark passages and kitchens, missing chairs and broken study lamps. ÔÇ£We never bath with hot water, our geysers are leaking, our residence is not safe because some days we do not have security guards and the cameras are not working,ÔÇØ Mesani said. University spokesperson JP Roodt said the university was aware of videos circulating showing maintenance problems at its residences, but said the footage reflected specific instances and should not be viewed as representative of the entire residence portfolio ÔÇ£The university acknowledges that, while substantial maintenance work has been undertaken and progress has been made across a number of residences this year, the programme remains ongoing, with further work required in some areas,ÔÇØ Roodt said. He said that since November 2025, the university had carried out maintenance work at about 25 of the 53 student residences on the Dikeni campus. The work included electrical, plumbing and water-related repairs, window and roofing repairs, structural work and repairs to ablution facilities. Roodt said four tenders were being processed through the universityÔÇÖs supply chain management to address additional maintenance backlogs. Eastern Cape police spokesperson Brigadier Nobuntu Gantana confirmed that Public Order Policing units had been deployed to the R63 after protesters blocked the road.

The Eastern Cape, where most municipalities are plagued by weak internal controls, aims to bring in external experts to teach officials in its 39 municipalities basic accounting skills, reducing reliance on costly outsourced accounting services. The move exposes the dearth of critical skills at local government level in the province. In June, auditor-general Tsakani Maluleke said the province had made some progress in municipal audit outcomes over the past five years, but persistent governance weaknesses, struggling metros and service delivery failures continued to hamper progress, she warned. She credited the Eastern Cape provincial treasury, the co-operative governance department, and the premier's office for providing technical support to struggling municipalities. However, the province has expressed its dissatisfaction with the progress made in the lead-up to what is expected to be hotly contested local government elections, slated for the first week of November. To this end, the province's department of corporative governance has gone to the market to establish a panel that will, over the next years, capacitate officials at the municipalities across the province, including the two metro municipalities, Buffalo City and Nelson Mandela Bay with financial skills to wean them off their dependance on consultants. "The directorate: municipal development finance and supply chain has identified a gap in the training of municipal officials in the financial spectrum, specifically on supply chain management, internal audit and risk audit," the request for proposals reads. This is the manifested by the serious negative audit outcomes in municipalities, with only eight municipalities with only eight municipalities with clean audits and the most qualified audit outcomes on financial management. "Having sound Financial management in municipalities is essential to maintain effective service delivery to the communities". "The municipal capacity development directorate is intending to launch a large-scale training programme targeting municipal councillors and officials. These training programmes will cover contemporary and compliance topics to assist municipal leadership to engage with the demands". The tender lists seven key outcomes the province wants to achieve through the process.

The East London Golf Club has finally put pen to paper, singing a 10-year lease with Buffalo City Metro (BCM), Allowing the club to continue operating from its Bunkers Hill grounds in kuGompo City. The agreement, which effective from August 1, follows the BCM council's approval of the lease extension after months of uncertainty over whether the club would remain at the municipal facility. The two parties had been at loggerheads after the metro proposed increasing the club's rent from R4 a month, which it had paid for 50 years, to almost R100,000 a month. In April, the council approved a compromise lease that would benefit both the municipality and the club. The Council resolved that the lease be extended, which the club paying what the municipality considered a "fair lease" of R21,500 a month - a 50% discount on the assessed rental of R43,000. Earlier reports indicated the lease would run until February 2036. However, municipal spokesperson Luzuko Buku said the signing process was delayed by "necessary clarifications between the municipality and the club". "While the process of signing experienced minor delays due to necessary clarifications between the municipality and the club, these fruitful engagements ensured that the final terms provide long-term certainty for both parties".

Tributes are pouring in for community philanthropist, businessman and faith leader Mandla Phakamile Makinana, who died on Sunday evening on the N2 near the Amalinda off- ramp in KuGompo City. Eastern Cape social development MEC Bukiwe Fanta said Makinana's work in communities reflected an unwavering commitment to helping others and had left a lasting impact. "His legacy of love and compassion will always be remembered. My thoughts are with the family as they mourn this great loss," Fanta said. The ANC in the Eastern Cape said Bishop Makinana formed part of a proud tradition of faith leaders who recognised that religion in Africa carried both a political and moral responsibility. The party said his pastoral work was rooted in the belief that faith should confront injustice, affirm human dignity and stand with people pushed to the margins of society. ANC provincial head of communications Gift Ngqondi said Makinana's principled stance on justice and human dignity had continued to shape young leaders and strengthen the moral fabric of society. "As the ANC, an organisation born in the church and deeply rooted in values of justice and equality, we recognise his immeasurable contribution at a time when our movement is striving to rebuild and restore trust among our people. "We will remember him for his great sense of humour and down-to-earth humility," Ngqondi said. Buffalo City Metro mayor Princess Faku extended condolences to Makinana's family, friends and loved ones on behalf of the municipality, its council and residents. "On behalf of BCMM, the council and people of the metro, I extend our deepest and heartfelt condolences to the family, friends and loved ones of Mandla Phakamile Makinana. "We are deeply saddened by the loss of a man whose generosity, compassion and selflessness touched the lives of so many," Faku said. She described Bishop Makinana as a true philanthropist who never hesitated to help those in need.

The greatest threat facing Nelson Mandela Bay's upcoming local government elections is not a political party. It is voter apathy. The late Archbishop Desmond Tutu once warned South Africans against taking their vote for granted, saying: "Think! Don't vote mindlessly. Don't be voting cattle. Remember, it will decide what quality of life you will have for the next five years." Frustrated by slow progress and the persistent challenges confronting their communities, many now question whether participating in elections can still make a difference. But disengaging from the democratic process does not solve our problems. It simply weakens the ability of communities to shape the future they want to see. That is why encouraging voter participation can no longer rest with the Electoral Commission alone. While voter education rightly falls within its constitutional mandate, building an informed electorate requires a much broader societal effort. Voter education is about far more than explaining how or where to vote. It is about helping citizens understand the powers and responsibilities of local government, how municipal decisions affect their daily lives and why informed choices matter. An informed voter is an empowered citizen. Democracy is strongest not simply when people vote, but when they make thoughtful decisions based on facts, careful consideration and a genuine understanding of the issues affecting their communities. Building that kind of electorate cannot be left to institutions alone. It requires a movement driven by communities themselves. Every church, school, university, business, sports club, neighbourhood association, labour organisation, civic movement, non-profit organisation and community leader has a role to play.

The defence's attempt to use photographs taken just hours before court proceedings could resume, to illustrate the scene in the attempted murder of taxi boss Joe "Ferrari" Sibanyoni, was rejected by the Johannesburg high court on Wednesday. This was after Judge Cassim Moosa found that the same authenticity concerns previously raised against the state now applied to the defence. The ruling came during the third day of cross-examination of state witness Bethwell Cele, a Bidvest Protea Coin security officer who was on duty at Centurion Golf Estate when Sibanyoni was ambushed on August 10, 2022. Vusimusi "Cat" Matlala, his wife Tsakane Matlala, Musa Kekana, Tiego Floyd Mabusela and Nthabiseng Nzama are facing 25 charges that include the attempted murder of actor Tebogo Thobejane and Sibanyoni. Before introducing the photographs, Mabusela's lawyer, advocate Nardus Grove questioned Cele about his recollection of the scene, including when he first noticed the white BMW allegedly carrying the gunmen.

Having shared the stage with gospel music legends including US star CeCe Winans and award-winning Lebo Sekgobela, Nelson Mandela Bay's Sesethu Maneli is stepping into the spotlight with two newly released singles and an album due later this year. Signed by The Voice Lounge's launched record label, which debuted on March 19, Maneli is preparing to release her debut album later in 2026.

https://music.apple.com/za/album/righteous-redeemer-single-ep/6784703548