Woman, 26, gunned down in Kariega
A 26-year-old woman died after she was shot multiple times in Kariega on Wednesday morning.
Police spokesperson Captain Sandra Janse van Rensburg said the incident occurred in Wild Olive Street, Joe Slovo, at about 7am.
'Kamesh police confirmed that they are investigating a case of murder following a shooting incident that occurred [on Wednesday] in Kariega,' she said.
'On arrival, they found the body of a 26-year-old female with gunshot wounds to the head and the body.
'The motive and the suspects are unknown, and the investigation is ongoing.'
Janse van Rensburg urged anyone with information to contact Warrant Officer Swanepoel on 071-475-2294, Crime Stop on 08600-10111, or their nearest police station.
The Herald
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

The Herald
3 hours ago
- The Herald
Cape Town law enforcement officer arrested for 'kidnapping, extortion, murder'
A City of Cape Town law enforcement officer was arrested on Monday on charges of kidnapping, extortion and the murder of a man who disappeared after going to purchase a vehicle in Bellville. The 43-year-old suspect was apprehended during a multidisciplinary intelligence-led operation comprising the Hawks and the provincial anti-kidnapping and organised crime units. The victim was allegedly kidnapped in Kraaifontein on May 16 after telling a friend he was going to view the vehicle. Another friend received a phone call from the victim who reported he had been kidnapped and was being assaulted. 'Simultaneously, a ransom of R100,000 for the victim's release was demanded by the suspects. Further phone calls were made by the suspects whereby the ransom was reduced to R10,000,' said Hawks spokesperson Lt-Col Siyabulela Vukubi. An amount of R5,000 was deposited into a given bank account and the suspects demanded the balance. A day after the kidnapping, police swooped on addresses in Philippi and Kleinvlei which resulted in the arrest of four suspects aged 30 to 36 who have already appeared in court. 'The team was led to an open field on the dunes between Monwabisi beach and Macassar, where one of the accused pointed out a shallow grave where the victim was killed and buried,' said Vukubi. 'It transpired that the City of Cape Town law enforcement vehicle, which was driven by the suspect, was used in the commission of this heinous crime.'


Mail & Guardian
4 hours ago
- Mail & Guardian
Trigger fingers: The rise of digital gangsterism
Social media has become a theatre for violence and intimidation, particularly where gang affiliation is concerned. Social media has become a theatre for violence and intimidation, particularly where gang affiliation is concerned. Members of these digital gangs assert power, dominance and street credibility through livestreams, posts and viral videos. The ephemeral nature of platforms such as Facebook, WhatsApp and TikTok — often described as 'digital cocaine' creates an addictive pull for passive users. For some, that pull is not towards connection, but toward chaos, where co-opted gang culture seduces users into a cyberring of violence and intimidation. According to Derica Lambrechts, in the study Online Geographies of Gang Content on TikTok, published last year, there is limited research on the proliferation of gang activity in digital spaces, particularly in South Africa. Yet, platforms are being exploited to glorify territorial dominance and criminal achievements. This is not unique to the South African context. In the US, similar phenomena are referred to as 'cyberbanging'. Disturbingly, this digital baiting has real-world consequences. There have been multiple incidents where online disputes have spilled over into physical assaults. Influencers, commentators and ordinary users have been attacked for voicing controversial opinions. Digital violence is no longer virtual — it spills into everyday life. This type of cyberviolence has evolved and proliferated to harmful behaviours and exploitation, breeding grounds for gangs. A 2021 global review by the K4D Helpdesk reveals that between 16% and 58% of users, particularly women and girls, have experienced some form of online discrimination and intimidation, with Facebook We must then ask: 'What role does technology play in amplifying gang culture?' Social media, once hailed as a tool for connection, is now weaponised for rivalry and intimidation. Does it glorify gangsterism? Gang-related activity is a symptom of inequality. It flourishes in under-resourced communities facing unemployment, poor education, water scarcity and limited electricity. These conditions are not only exacerbated by gangsterism — they are fertile ground for its growth. While technology promises progress, it can deepen social divides when access is not paired with education. If digital literacy remains out of reach, especially in disadvantaged areas, the digital space becomes a breeding ground for exposure — not expression. Rivalries thrive. Threats go viral. What this reveals is that gangsterism no longer hides in alleys or on street corners. It is broadcast in real time via timelines and live streams. If left unchecked, these platforms risk being hijacked by those who use them not to connect, but to control. Philosopher Pak-Hang Wong refers to these figures as 'malignant actors' — individuals who exploit digital tools to assert power and gain 'street credibility'. They often cloak their violence in cultural loyalty and tradition, creating moral camouflage for manipulation. In this context, deference to culture becomes a loophole legitimising control while disguising harm. Technology becomes both the battleground and the weapon. Although the issue may seem local, it calls for a broader ethical lens — digital equity. In South Africa, Ubuntu ethics offers a counter-narrative to digital alienation by emphasising communal interdependence. Yet Western liberal traditions, which centre on autonomy, often overlook the structural inequalities these communities face. The question, then, is: 'What kind of ethical framework can protect the rights of digital users?' Looking globally, a human rights approach offers an equitable foundation. It affirms that dignity, participation and non-discrimination are universal principles that must extend to digital environments. These include the right to digital safety and the right to algorithmic dignity, where no one should be subjected to harm, exclusion or erasure. But ethical frameworks need implementation. Integrating AI into school curricula; Offering specialised training programmes; and Fostering academic-industry collaboration. These reforms aim to cultivate AI literacy from the ground up. But unless ethical practices are prioritised, particularly in communities vulnerable to gang exploitation, policy alone will fall short. Technology is not neutral — it reflects the values of its users and mirrors the society in which it exists. To confront cyberviolence, we must address both its surface use and its underlying ethical roots — roots that too often reflect a world of gangsterism and intimidation. South Africa's ethical AI vision is an important step. But without addressing inequality, we risk turning AI into just another tool for control. So, the question remains — are we empowering communities to navigate the digital age, or abandoning them to the algorithmic battlegrounds of social media? Nasreen Watson is completing a master's with a focus on ethics of artificial intelligence in education and digital literacy in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Johannesburg.


Mail & Guardian
6 hours ago
- Mail & Guardian
At least three officials must collude to create one ghost worker, says public service chairperson
Graphic: John McCann/M&G Creating one ghost employee on the public payroll requires the collusion of at least three officials, the chairperson of parliament's portfolio committee on public service and administration said on Monday. Jan de Villiers also said that the era of treating ghost workers as a clerical irregularity was over. 'This is not merely a payroll anomaly. It is a deliberate and orchestrated form of The briefing follows a renewed government focus on eliminating waste and corruption in the public sector wage bill, triggered by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana's Godongwana announced a sweeping expenditure review of more than R300 billion in government spending since 2013, using a data-driven strategy to root out inefficiencies, including ghost employees. De Villiers said the portfolio committee, acting on this directive, convened on 28 May to interrogate the pervasive and corrosive problem of ghost workers. Its conclusion was that the issue was systemic, criminal and far more widespread than previously acknowledged. 'The department of public service and administration confirmed before parliament that ghost workers are present across all three spheres of government — national, provincial and municipal. They are also embedded in state-owned entities and agencies,' De Villiers said. Among the examples cited were 230 unverifiable employees whose salaries were frozen by the Gauteng department of health in May, and R6.4 million in salaries paid to ghost workers in the Mpumalanga department of education, which was uncovered by the During a September 2024 hearing, the standing committee on public accounts was briefed by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) on the discovery of 1 277 ghost employees in the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa's (Prasa) system. According to the SIU, These were not isolated incidents, De Villiers warned. 'The numbers are staggering. They are not anomalies. They are symptoms of a system that needs structural intervention.' The creation of a ghost employee required collusion, De Villiers said. 'At least three officials need to work together to insert a ghost worker into the payroll system. This means we are dealing not with random lapses in judgment, but embedded criminal syndicates.' Although efforts were under way to identify and remove ghost employees through integrated audits between the department and the treasury, De Villiers said more was required. 'A data audit alone is not enough. Every person drawing a public salary must be verified in person and through biometric identification. The public has the right to know the names on the payroll correspond to individuals who really exist and who serve the public,' he said. 'Currently, the three tier authentication system used to validate employee status is open to manipulation. Internal controls have failed. Oversight has been diluted. The opportunity for fraud persists because the tools needed to prevent it have not been enforced, and worse, have been exploited by those meant to protect them.' Departments must take the lead in developing a formalised framework to ensure protection and prevention, and regular audits searching for ghost employees should be carried out, he said. The framework will mandate formal, periodic payroll audits and reconciliation, in person verification and biometric registration, centralised authorisation of appointments and terminations and digital certification of employee attendance and performance. The committee would also call on the auditor general to expand its scope, said De Villiers, requiring that all department and entity audits include a verification of whether internal ghost employees audits have been conducted and whether they were done credibly. 'We will push for disciplinary and criminal action to follow every detection of ghost workers. Names must be handed over to the SIU, the Hawks and the South African Police Service. Fraudsters must not be shielded by departmental silence or internal collusion,' he said. Consequences of inaction were 'grave', he added. 'Every ghost worker represents a post that could have been filled by a qualified graduate, a dedicated nurse, a teacher at a rural school, or a social worker supporting the vulnerable. Every fraudulent salary paid is a step backwards in the fight for a professional, ethical and responsive, responsive state. 'In light of this, the portfolio committee cannot and will not stand idle. Among our priorities in the seventh parliament is to push for the cleanup of the PERSAL system, which remains the foundation of the human resources and vital records in the public sector.' Incomplete performance reviews, poor attendance tracking, and manual leave registers must become early warning indicators, and should trigger automatic investigations. Asked by journalists about the departments most affected by ghost workers, De Villiers said the issue was impossible to localise. 'Every single department, agency, level of government, and state-owned enterprise probably has ghost workers,' he said. But, he added, positions that involved out-of-office work were more easily exploited. He said the lack of uniformity in how public servants were employed — each department using its own HR processes without central oversight — was part of the problem. 'We need a national approach, led jointly by DPSA [department of public service and administration] and treasury, and involving the auditor general, Cogta [department of cooperative governance and traditional affairs] and law enforcement.' The departments would reconvene in the third quarter of 2025 to review progress, scope, preliminary findings, and enforcement mechanisms, De Villiers said. 'This is not going to be another talk shop.'