Latest news with #Mbatha
The Citizen
26-05-2025
- Sport
- The Citizen
PSL veteran midfielder set to hang up his boots
Mbatha has previously been on the books of Mpumalanga Black Aces, Mamelodi Sundowns, Platinum Stars, and Highlands Park. Lindokuhle Mbatha of TS Galaxy FC during the Betway Premiership game against Stellenbosch FC at Mbombela Stadium on 18 February 2025 © Jana Kotze/BackpagePix TS Galaxy veteran winger Lindokuhle Mbatha might have laced up his boots for the last time this season. The 39-year-old is preparing to call time on his playing career. New role for PSL veteran The seasoned campaigner, who turns 40 next month, is expected to transition into a new role within the club, marking the end of his time on the pitch. ALSO READ: Pirates beat Chiefs to midfield signing According to sources close to Phakaaathi, Mbatha informed the club ahead of the 2024/25 season that this would be his final campaign in a playing capacity. He made 12 Betway Premiership appearances for Galaxy with his last league game coming up against Stellenbosch FC in February. The Rockets have reportedly responded by preparing a post-retirement position for him to honour his contribution both on and off the field. Mbatha has previously been on the books of Mpumalanga Black Aces, Mamelodi Sundowns, Platinum Stars, and Highlands Park. Key figure In recent years, he became a key figure at TS Galaxy where spent the last five seasons. His most notable successes came with Platinum Stars, where he lifted both the MTN8 Cup competition and Telkom Knockout. ALSO READ: Pirates midfield signing is a 'done deal' Galaxy have not yet announced his retirement, but Mgosi squad has it on good authority that Mbatha has called time on his illustrious career.
IOL News
09-05-2025
- Sport
- IOL News
Mbatha vs Cele: KwaMashu's Finest Set for Nedbank Cup Showdown at Moses Mabhida Stadium
KWAMASHU'S finest Thalente Mbatha of Orlando Pirates and Thabo Cele of Kaizer Chiefs to master the midfielder behind the likes of Relebohile Mofokeng and Gaston Sirino in the Nedbank Cup final. | ACM Image: ACM Thalente Mbatha and Thabo Cele, both sons of KwaMashu, will go head-to-head when Orlando Pirates take on Kaizer Chiefs in the Nedbank Cup final at a sold-out Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban. Kick-off is set for 3.30pm on Saturday. While the clash marks a major football occasion for the country, for the Durban township of KwaMashu, it's a moment of pride as the current two of its most talented exports meet on the grandest stage in South African football. Mbatha, who has quickly become a midfield mainstay for Pirates since joining from SuperSport United last season, acknowledged the magnitude of the moment, though he downplayed the idea of a personal duel. 'It's something that's really special for people that are coming from KwaMashu and the community,' said Mbatha. 'I wouldn't say it's really a battle because for us it's to inspire the people that are coming from the community of KwaMashu, that it's possible, black child. So I believe as Orlando Pirates we have prepared well and we have the right mentality.' Both players are expected to play key roles in Saturday's clash — Mbatha for his ability to dictate play and Cele for his energy and work rate in the Chiefs midfield. Cele, 28, arrived at the Glamours Boys in the January transfer window but has quickly become one of the most integral components of the side. He is an ever present figure with leadership qualities that have been immediately felt at the Soweto giants. Mbatha, who could collect his third trophy with Pirates in just over a year, made it clear that his focus remains on the collective. 'I'm not going out alone there, we as Pirates are a family and winning the cup will be something that's dear to us.' The 25-year-old's rise under coach Jose Riveiro has not gone unnoticed. He has since broken into the Bafana Bafana setup, scoring two goals in his first six appearances. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Kaizer Chiefs midfielder Thabo Cele and Thalente Mbatha in action in the Soweto Derby at the FNB Stadium. Image: Khabba Cup
IOL News
07-05-2025
- Entertainment
- IOL News
Nomzamo Mbatha channels African elegance in MmusoMaxwell for the Met Gala
"Shaka iLembe" actress and executive Nomzamo Mbatha attended the 2025 Met Gala as the Africa Fashion International (AFI) red carpet correspodent. Picture: Instagram/theoluwaseye Actress and philanthropist Nomzamo Mbatha attended one of the biggest nights in fashion, the Met Gala, as the red-carpet correspondent for Africa Fashion International (AFI). Africa Fashion International (AFI), a leading luxury fashion company in Africa, is one of the major sponsors for this year's Met Gala. Mbatha for the big night, Mbatha entrusted the womenswear label designed by the duo Mmuso Potsane and Maxwell Boko, known as MmusoMaxwell to bring Superfine: Tailoring Black Style to life. 'MmusoMaxwell have shown their incredible craftsmanship over the years when it comes to tailoring - with short notice they went above and beyond and we made it to the Met,' shared Mbatha on Instagram.
Daily Maverick
06-05-2025
- Health
- Daily Maverick
Invasive species threaten livelihoods of small-scale farmers
Billions of rands in damage is inflicted on South Africa's economy every year — invasive alien species are the single biggest threat to the country's biodiversity. Invasive alien plants (IAPs) pose a direct threat not only to South Africa's biological diversity, but also to water security, food security, the ecological functioning of natural systems and the productive use of land. Joseph Mbatha is a small-scale farmer from kwaNongoma in Northern KwaZulu-Natal who has lost goats and viable planting land due to an invasive species, parthenium. The plant has taken over the vegetation in the area. 'The worst thing about this plant is it replaces grass and nothing grows next to it. We tried to cut it, but its seeds lay there and came up the next time there was rain. Goats feed on it and become very sick; they get diarrhoea and die,' said Mbatha. Nhlanhla Mthembu, project manager at HPSA, formerly known as Heifer International South Africa, said farmers had been raising concerns over the spread of parthenium. HPSA has linked the plant to the livestock mortalities and a high rate of sickness. HPSA is a nonprofit and a public benefit organisation that works with impoverished rural South African communities to end hunger and poverty by empowering them to develop skills in sustainable agriculture and commerce. 'It was important for the project team to carry out a short study to find out if there are any links to parthenium and livestock mortalities. This was carried out in five districts – Zululand, uMkhanyakude, King Cetshwayo, uMzinyathi and uThukela. 'The main objective of collecting data was to also find solutions regarding the exact causes of mortality and treatment interventions going forward. It was essential to collect … information from farmers to initiate discussions on what parthenium is, what its impacts are on livestock and humans and also discuss control methods, if any exist,' said Mthembu The interviews discovered that 76.58% of farmers who said parthenium was a problem found coccidiosis/diarrhoea to be an issue. A total of 373 farmers owning 5,939 goats were interviewed. Most farmers said they began to notice parthenium between 2012 and 2016. Although the findings note that the deaths are not exclusively from the weeds, of the 5,935 goats, 3,737 goats had died — 76% of these from coccidiosis/ diarrhoea. A study released in 2024 looked at the impact of parthenium in South Africa, stating that parthenium hysterophorus, commonly known as famine weed, is highly invasive in South Africa; it causes significant ecological and economic impacts. 'It threatens food security, native biodiversity, livelihoods and human health, particularly in savanna regions. Parthenium outcompetes native grasses, reducing fodder for livestock,' the study finds. Parthenium is progressively spreading across the country and covers vast areas of KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga, as well as North West, Limpopo, and Gauteng, says the study. Aaron Mlambo, a small-scale farmer in the area, said, 'Our goats are going hungry; this is an even bigger problem for pregnant goats and mothers because when they are hungry, they cannot feed their young; they kick the kids. I have lost so many young goats because of this.' Interventions KZN agriculture MEC Thembeni kaMadlopha-Mthethwa said: 'We have a land care programme where communities organise themselves and ask the department to help with an invasive plant species. What we do is send our officials to assess and clear the area with major involvement of community members. It ends up providing short-term employment where communities themselves are part of clearing the area.' The land care programme has moved to the KZN Department of Economic Development under its environmental wing. However, small-scale farmers Daily Maverick spoke to were not aware of the programme. Solutions Mthembu said the HPSA was investigating how to get rid of the weed while it helped farmers treat the symptoms in livestock. Currently, farmers treat coccidiosis and diarrhoea with antibiotics and other medicines. This was not ideal as there could be antibiotic resistance. The treatments were expensive for lower-income farmers who often 'sell livestock to afford the medicine', said Mthembu. 'We have spoken to scientists on solutions to get rid of the invasive species and they suggested introducing a pest that can eat these plants. But communities are concerned because they don't know if these pests will eat their crops as well, so we are still looking for a viable solution that communities will also be comfortable with.' Food security and climate change The prevalence of invasive species has been attributed to climate change, which took centre stage at the G20 food security working group in Durban last week. South African Minister of Agriculture John Steenhuisen, with KZN agriculture MEC KaMadlopha-Mthethwa, hosted world leaders to familiarise themselves with best practices and create platforms of collaboration to build resilience. In response to a question on how his department was planning to help small-scale and commercial farmers with the impact of climate change, Steenhuisen said, 'KwaZulu-Natal is a primary example of the impact of climate change – there have been floods, fires, drought, and the province has experienced everything but the plague.' He said there were multiple interventions targeted at building climate change resilience, which included biosecurity and enriching biodiversity. 'This is a tactical meeting; the outcome will be learning best practices from international bodies, such as the [UN Food and Agriculture Organization], that also provide project funding, so we want to see how we can have a general meeting of minds. 'I look forward to having further discussions on greater collaboration between countries. As you know, a lot of our small-scale farmers and commercial farmers struggle with input costs such as fertiliser and other costs that end up impacting the cost of food. We also discussed how to cooperate on technology; Ukraine, for example, uses a lot of precision agriculture technology, and we can learn how to increase yields.' Steenhuisen said. 'This is a moment of both urgency and opportunity. Urgency, because food insecurity, climate volatility and systemic exclusion continue to threaten the stability of global food systems. 'Opportunity, because never has the world had such scientific insight, technological capacity and a shared policy platform to do something about it,' said Steenhuisen. DM
The South African
05-05-2025
- Business
- The South African
Orlando Pirates make move by reuniting with treble-winning man
Orlando Pirates to make a power move by reuniting with a treble-winning man. The Buccaneers are gearing up for a bold administrative shakeup as they prepare to welcome back one of their most accomplished former officials, Senzo Mbatha. According to a source, Pirates are finalizing plans to reinstate the experienced football administrator as part of a major strategic revamp ahead of the upcoming season. Industry insiders confirm the move aims to build a high-powered backroom unit that can match the club's on-field ambitions. 'What they are trying to do is build a strong backroom staff with well-learned and travelled administrators,' a source revealed. 'That's why they are also believed to be bringing in Senzo Mbatha.' Mbatha is expected to join a heavyweight administrative trio alongside current officials Floyd Mbele and Mcebo Dlamini. This elite team will spearhead the club's mission for dominance across all levels of operation. 'If all goes according to plan, they will have Senzo, Floyd Mbele, and Mcebo Dlamini working together for the good of the team,' the source added. 'So apparently, Mbatha will be joining the team at the start of the new season.' Though not officially reinstated yet, Mbatha has reportedly already started contributing to the club's operations behind closed doors. 'As far as we know, there were other things that Senzo was helping the team with,' said the source. 'I can't exactly say what it was, but during some of the CAF Champions League games, he was hands-on with the team. But it's believed that he will be returning full-time to the club next season.' Senzo Mbatha brings more than just experience—he brings a winning pedigree. Having previously played a key role in Pirates' historic treble-winning campaign, his return promises stability, structure, and international flair. His resume includes stints at Bay United, the University of Pretoria, and Platinum Stars. On the international stage, Mbatha led Tanzanian clubs Yanga SC and Simba SC as CEO and worked with the Botswana Football Association. By bringing Mbatha back into the fold, Orlando Pirates aren't just hiring a familiar face, they're rearming with one of the most respected football minds in Africa. Stay tuned with The South African as Orlando Pirates to make a power move by reuniting with a treble-winning man. 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.
