Mkwanazi march turns chaotic as protesters storm SAPS building
The march was supposed to start at Curries Fountain Sports Development Stadium and end at Hoy Park.
It was intended to show support for Mkhwanazi after he made damning allegations against Police Minister Senzo Mchunu for interfering in police investigations and disbanding a task team investigating political killings.
The march was nearing its end when protesters suddenly turned in a different direction.
Police rushed to block the marchers; some were standing outside the headquarters with their guns and shields to protect themselves from the protesters.
The South African spoke to one of the marchers, who chose to remain anonymous, on why they redirected the protest to the SAPS headquarters.'
'To be honest, we are angry and sick and tired of what's happening in this country. Mkhwanazi is a hero for being brave enough to tell us of the hidden things in this country. The president did not show that he took this thing seriously and just put Mchunu on leave while he was supposed to suspend him.'
'That's why we are here today to show support for Mkhwanazi. We, as South Africans, are saying Hands off Mkhwanazi. This country must be free from thieves and criminals,' said the anonymous protester.
National Police Commissioner Fanie Masemola urged the public to comply with the commission of enquiry that the president has implemented.
'From my side, all I'm requesting from society is that the president has spoken and there is a commission appointed; let's give the commission time to do its work. Let us continue with our lives, but at the same time let's work with the police,' said Masemola.
He added that citizens should not damage any infrastructure and should behave responsibly.
He says, 'Don't even think of damaging a light pole or a dustbin. Let's behave, let's be responsible and wait for the process that has been announced by the president. Let us cooperate with police.'
Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1
Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Citizen
13 minutes ago
- The Citizen
Hitman sentenced to life for murder of ANC councillor
The man has been in custody since 2022 after he was arrested . The South African Police Service (Saps) Political Task Team has registered another conviction, after a 28-year-old hitman was sentenced to life in jail for the murder of an ANC councillor in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN). Phathisakhe Thuthukani Ngiba appeared in the Ntuzuma Magistrate's Court on Friday, July 18, 2025, where the sentence was handed down. Murder Ngiba has been in custody since 2022 after he was arrested for the murder of ANC councillor Zakhele Shezi Khuzwayo, who was attached to the KwaMaphumulo Municipality. Khuzwayo was shot and killed on 15 September 2022 while sitting in his vehicle. Police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said the Saps Political Task Team investigated the case, which led to the arrest of Ngiba. Ngiba was declared unfit to possess a firearm in terms of section 103 (1) of Act 60 of 2000. Ngiba is also an accused in a matter where ANC candidate Councillor Siyabonga Mkhize and ANC member Mzukisi Nyanga were shot in Cator Crest. The matter is currently on trial. ALSO READ: Gauteng businessman jailed for R66 million Transnet fraud ANC Youth League leader Earlier this month, the political task team secured the conviction of former ANC Youth League leader Sindiso Magaqa's killer to 25 years imprisonment. Sibusiso Ncengwa admitted that he was part of a group of men who were paid R120 000 to kill Magaqa in 2017. His lawyers had pleaded for leniency. They argued that he had apologised to the Magaqa family and had shown remorse for his deeds. Ncengwa is also serving time in prison for other crimes unrelated to Magaqa's murder. These include armed robberies. Jail Judge Nontuthuzelo Mlaba said it was in the best interests of society for Ncengwa to be imprisoned. 'Your conduct in agreeing to take the life of a person demonstrates a clear disregard for human life. The right to life is currently one that you enjoy, but one that you took away from the deceased and for selfish reasons,' Mlaba said 'The deceased had a family. He had young children who will forever be denied the privilege of having a present father. 'You did not seem to have considered all the above when you decided to arm yourself, attack and kill the victim in this matter,' Mlaba said. Political killings Mathe said since July 2018, more than 130 accused were sentenced for various crimes linked to murders and attacks of councillors, which were proven to be politically related. 'This number includes hitmen and hit orderers,' Mathe said. NOW READ: 'David vs Goliath': Meta agrees to hand over child porn channel creator information
Daily Maverick
6 hours ago
- Daily Maverick
The GNU has failed the only test that matters: growing the economy and delivering jobs
The national coalition is entering yet another week it may not survive. While there have been real mistakes of leadership – and the ANC and the DA cannot give up their patterns from the past – it is becoming increasingly obvious that what is missing is a sense of mission. Because the parties involved are not focusing on the economy, and particularly youth unemployment, the coalition can give the impression that it is doomed. When the national coalition was formed and the ANC and the DA agreed to work together, along with eight other parties, there was some discussion about how to assess, in the future, whether the coalition was a success. Because the lived experience of so many South Africans has become so much tougher so quickly, it was pretty obvious, back in June 2024, that the real test was the economy. As has been said many, many, many times before, our youth unemployment is now so bad that it is easily the biggest long-term problem we face. Despite this obvious fact, disputed by nobody, the coalition has done nothing. At the same time, it appears the coalition is missing a sense of unity around a purpose. There appears to be no sense of 'mission' that could help bring people from different political backgrounds together. Instead, it can give the impression of a group of people united only by their belief that they should be in Cabinet and the MK party and the EFF should be out of it. If the coalition had created a sense of mission by focusing on youth unemployment, perhaps this could have brought them together. Surely parties as far apart politically as the PAC and the FF+ agree that helping young people into jobs and giving them hope is vital for our future. If the coalition had this sense of mission, perhaps it would have been able to overcome the lack of leadership and personal chemistry that is currently on display. It would have been much easier to overcome disagreements over the Budget, or the still-strange firing of the DA's Andrew Whitfield, if there had been another ultimate aim. But that is curiously lacking. And, strangely, it is not just the coalition. Direction unknown While there are many differing views about whether a National Dialogue would really be constructive, one of the most powerful arguments against it is that it will lack focus. It appears to include people from almost all parts of our public life. And their job is to discuss pretty much everything. This will probably be fatal to the process. It is hard to see what can really be achieved. Surely no decisions will be made that will alter the nature of our economy. Instead, it appears that many of our politicians, whether they are a part of the coalition, or supporting a dialogue, are more comfortable discussing issues other than the economy. There is a curious lack of focus. Of course, Operation Vulindlela and the progress it is making should not be ignored. Some of its measures, dealing with load shedding and the progress it's made at Transnet, are making slow changes to our economy that should be celebrated. But our politicians appear to lack the will to make the real changes that will matter. This is part of a pattern which took hold some time ago. Fifteen years ago, I made the same point about the ANC's lack of focus on the economy. At least eight years ago, ANC members made the same point on these pages. Government itself said back in 2020, even before the pandemic, that the economy was not going to grow unless there was action. This lack of focus obviously predates President Cyril Ramaphosa. Rather, it may be a feature of how the ANC has governed over the years. In 2007, days after winning the ANC leadership at Polokwane, Jacob Zuma gave very few clues on governance priorities. In 2009, the ANC said it had five 'apex priorities'. During the Zuma era in government, this lack of focus revealed itself in interesting ways. For example, in 2014 he appointed inter-ministerial committees to deal with particular issues. These committees were huge. The committee appointed to work against corruption (this was in the relatively early days of the Zuma era – the full irony of this committee would emerge later) included nine ministers. The committee on information and publicity had 12 (twelve!) members. It should be no surprise to anyone that nothing constructive was done here. Too many cooks There is, of course, a structural reason for all of this. As our society is so diverse, with so many different constituencies, politicians often struggle to be involved in discussions that will involve trade-offs. They do not want to be seen to be losing a single vote. The fact that the ANC set the tone for this may well be because it had the most diverse group of constituencies of all our parties. Simply put, it was always too broad a church to create economic policy that could include trade-offs. Something similar might well be happening today. The coalition is simply too broad to make the decisions that matter. For this reason, the National Dialogue might well appear to fail as well. It is true that there are many other factors holding our economy back. They include the fact that so many people have literally been betrayed by our education system, that inequality generally harms economic growth and that our infrastructure has been allowed to rot. None of this will be overcome without political will. For the moment, members of the national coalition are displaying none of the will, and the unity, necessary to change this. There will be many casualties as a result of this inaction.
Daily Maverick
7 hours ago
- Daily Maverick
FSCA cleared to go global and pursue R50m fine for Viceroy over Capitec report
Following a high court ruling, South Africa's market cop has grown a new set of teeth that can pierce across borders. In a landmark ruling on 9 July, the Pretoria High Court handed the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) a powerful new weapon: the ability to fine foreign entities that mess with South Africa's markets, even if they've never set foot in the country. The FSCA said that it considers this a significant legal victory and believes that it is an 'essential part of protection of the public in an interconnected, digital global financial environment'. For the likes of Viceroy Research, which became a household name in 2018 after detonating a bomb under Capitec with a dodgy research report, the rules of the game have changed. The next time a hedge fund hit squad fancies nuking a JSE-listed stock with dubious 'research', they might want to budget for a fight in a South African court. How to burn R9.3-billion before lunch In January 2018, Viceroy lit a match in the form of a report titled Capitec: A wolf in sheep's clothing. The report accused the bank of 'predatory lending practices', pushing clients into debt spirals and called for an immediate curatorship by the South African Reserve Bank (SARB). The report went on to claim that Capitec had to write off more than 42% of the gross collectible principle due to it in the 2017 financial year, even suggesting the loan book was an 'irreconciliable R3-billion'. Twitter went feral, media outlets amplified the claims, and by closing bell, Capitec's price share had plummeted 23%, erasing R9.345-million in market value, according to a FSCA newsletter sent out in September 2021. The SARB scrambled to calm markets, assuring everyone that Capitec was solvent, capitalised and had adequate liquidity. The stock might have bounced back, but the reputational shrapnel lingered. The FSCA later warned that Viceroy's falsehoods 'posed a clear and present threat to the stability of the South African financial system'. Capitec told Daily Maverick that the bank has 'consistently maintained the 2018 report was misleading and caused unwarranted harm'. A calculated hit and a big payday The watchdog eventually pieced together that Viceroy was executing a targeted hit. A transcript of a hearing held by the Financial Services Tribunal (FST) in October 2022, reveals that Viceroy had a deal with a hedge fund, Oasis. It would $100,000 a month for tailor-made hit pieces plus 12.5% of the profits from short positions. Oasis banked an estimated R82-million, and Viceroy's cut was estimated by the FSCA to be close to $744,482 (R10-million at the time). All while ignoring legal obligations to correct falsehoods under the Financial Services Act. Dodging the net The FSCA initially slapped Viceroy with a R50-million fine for breaching Section 81 of the Financial Markets Act, which bans false or misleading statements about listed securities. FSCA commissioner Unathi Kamlana hoped the penalty would be 'a deterrent to those hoping to make a quick buck by peddling false information'. Viceroy cried foul, basically saying, 'You can't touch us, we're not in South Africa'. Shockingly, the Financial Services Tribunal largely agreed. The tribunal admitted that Viceroy's actions 'had an effect' on South Africa. But under common law, they said, you need to serve a foreigner in person while they're in the country to establish jurisdiction. The fine was set aside and the case was closed. Or so Viceroy thought. Closing the loophole The FSCA fought back and launched an application to review the decision to scrap Viceroy's fine. The Pretoria High Court ruled on 9 July 2025 that clinging to an area of physical service would 'hamper and frustrate the effective regulation of financial activity that takes place extra-territorial and digitally'. Citing section 173 of the Constitution, the court developed the common law. The FSCA can fine a foreigner if: Notice is delivered by any means (including electronically); and The conduct's link to South Africa is 'sufficiently close'. 'The court remitted the reconsideration application brought by Viceroy Research and partners back to the Financial Services Tribunal, so that a decision can be made on the merits,' the FSCA said. The case is not yet closed, but the R50-million penalty is back on the table. The FSCA remains confident that it made a clear and compelling case against Viceroy. 'The public can take confidence from the fact that the FSCA will not shy away from taking appropriate action to protect its investigation and enforcement powers to ensure appropriate investor protection and the integrity of financial markets,' it said. DM
