Table of contents for 2025-11-06 in Cape Argus

OFFICIALS meant business when they carried out a multi-departmental crackdown in Bonteheuwel on Guy Fawkes day, targeting the illegal sale of fireworks and anti-social behaviour. Fireworks, knives, a zip-gun and a paintball gun resembling an assault rifle were confiscated. This was just the beginning for the officials which included SAPS, Metro Police, Fire and Rescue Services, and City health inspectors, which targeted those involved in paint-smearing and vandalism. Officers were also on high alert for makeshift weapons and contraband, particularly in areas known as hotspots for crime and festive mischief. Guy Fawkes 2025, for some is just another day, but for many residents living on the Cape Flats, they were fearing the worst. In the past, people have been stoned, burnt with acid and dogs wounded in the…

George Municipality has confirmed that it had to withdraw its claim for recovery costs of R10 million due to the owners, Neo Victoria Developments, being in a state of liquidation. Questions surrounding the sale of the property and its future were also a point of concern. The GOOD Party said it was disappointed by the municipality’s decision to withdraw its nearly R10m recovery claim against the owners of the property where 34 workers were killed and 28 injured in last year’s tragic building collapse. The municipality hit back, stating: “The George Municipality wishes to clarify recent media enquiries and public interest relating to the liquidation of Neo Victoria Developments and the municipality’s withdrawal of its claim for recovery costs. The property concerned is privately owned, and as such, any disposal,…

New murals at Altena Primary School in Strand have brought the drawings of the school’s learners to life. Mieke Hall, the lecturer at the Visual Arts Department at Stellenbosch University, recently created the four murals together with the teachers, parents, pupils, and volunteers as part of her PhD research. “I worked with learners in different classes through art lessons where they drew the school’s values. I chose to start with their drawings because I did not want to impose my own ideas of what should be on their walls,” she said. The murals face each other in a courtyard in the foundation phase block, between Grade 1 to 4 classrooms. Hall said the existing murals at the school primarily depicted characters from prescribed reading books imported from England and Europe,…

Bafana Bafana will begin their preparations for the Africa Cup of Nations next month in Morocco with an international friendly against Zambia next Saturday — at a venue yet to be announced by SAFA. Coach Hugo Broos faces a crucial few days ahead of that clash, as he prepares to name his final 23-man squad at SAFA headquarters in Johannesburg today. While the Belgian mentor is expected to stick largely with his tried-and-tested core, a few in-form players are making strong cases for inclusion. One such player is Kaizer Chiefs’ Mduduzi Shabalala, who has hit a rich vein of form in recent weeks. The 21-year-old has made the most of his opportunities at club level, impressing with goals, assists and an increasingly mature all-round game. Having been called up late…

THE Kaizer Chiefs train is slowly but surely moving. Amakhosi have their return on capital investment - the youngsters, particularly Mduduzi Shabalala and Mfundo Vilakazi - to thank for it. Shabalala and Vilakazi were on song when Chiefs thrashed newcomers Orbit College 4–1 at FNB Stadium in a league match on Tuesday night. Shabalala scored a brace and assisted Vilakazi’s third goal and Flavio Silva's late strike. Chiefs not only drew level with champions and league leaders Mamelodi Sundowns on 22 points after the game, but they also eased the pressure on the team and co-coaches Cedric Kaze and Khalil Ben Youssef. The duo had come under heavy scrutiny after the club decided to retain them as co-coaches following the sacking of their superior, Nasreddine Nabi, who had originally brought…

LIV Golf will abandon its abbreviated 54-hole format in favor of 72-hole tournaments in 2026, officials said on Tuesday. The Saudi-backed circuit, whose name is derived from the Roman numeral for '54', had previously touted its three-round tournaments as a core distinction from traditional golf events. However the 54-hole format prevented LIV events from earning Official Golf World Rankings points, making it harder for LIV players to qualify for golf's majors. A statement from LIV on Tuesday said the circuit's events will now be played over four days, with most starting on a Thursday. "As we enter our fourth season as a League, the move to 72 holes marks a pivotal new chapter for LIV Golf that strengthens our League, challenges our elite field of players," LIV Golf chief executive…

Jacques Henry Kallis has always laid the biggest claim to GOAT - Greatest of All Time - status in South African cricket. Kallis’ exploits stretch the discussion even further to him arguably being the world’s greatest cricketer ever due to the incredible numbers that he achieved over the course of his illustrious career. It is hard to argue with 13 289 Test runs, average of 55.37, and 292 Test wickets. It's almost the equivalent of India’s legends Sachin Tendulkar and Zaheer Khan’s numbers morphed into one. Add a further 11 579 and 279 ODI runs and wickets with the T20I small change of 666 runs and 12 wickets, and you have yourself one helluva cricketer. However, the question remains, and in some circles, it would be considered blasphemy considering we…

ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula's recent decision to replace Western Cape leadership with a task team is viewed by political analysts as a strategic move towards his potential bid for national leadership. With a similar structure in place in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, all indications are that Mbalula is making strategic moves, especially with suggestions that party leader Cyril Ramaphosa may step down next year. The decision to reconfigure the Western Cape leadership has had almost immediate ramifications, with the high-profile departure from the ANC of Provincial Secretary Neville Delport, who on Wednesday was announced as a new member of the DA along with three other former ANC members. Delport said despite winning an elective conference, former PEC members were discarded and replaced by “leaders who lost a conference”. “Now those leaders…

Political parties and independent candidates contesting the 2026 local government elections could have to do with less time to canvass for votes through political election broadcasts (PEBs) played on television and radio stations. The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) is proposing a reduction in the length of political election broadcasts from 50 seconds to 40 seconds. Icasa has released its draft amendments to the Municipal Party Elections Broadcasts and Political Advertisements Regulations 2026, inviting interested parties to make written representations by no later than the close of business on January 9 next year. In terms of the draft regulations, political election broadcasts must not exceed 40 seconds in duration, and Icasa explained that the reduction has been justified by financial implications on broadcasting service licensees (BSLs), which are…

THE Western Cape Education Department (WCED) is expanding and maintaining essential education infrastructure by delivering six new schools and over 500 new classrooms in the past financial year. Earlier in the year, Bronagh Hammond of the WCED revealed that the department was scheduled to complete six new schools and 180 additional classrooms at existing schools in time for the start of the school year in January 2025. The department said at the time it aimed to complete a further 3 new schools and 85 additional classrooms at existing schools by the end of March this year. This brings the total to 9 new schools and 265 additional classrooms for learners in the current school year. In February the Cape Argus reported that the WCED had announced its 2025 Rapid Build…

The Western Cape High Court has ordered a persistent litigant to undergo a psychiatric evaluation at George Hospital following his latest application for the recusal of the judge who deemed him vexatious. Thabang Motjamela was ordered to undergo the evaluation within 10 days of the court order, which was issued by High Court Judge Daniel Thulare on Monday. Judge Thulare said the order was made because it appeared to the court that the applicant, due to mental illness or intellectual disability, is not capable of understanding the proceedings to make a proper case. The court directed that the matter be enquired into and be reported on by the head of George Hospital or by another psychiatrist delegated by the head concerned. Motjamela, after being declared vexatious by the High Court…

Corbin Bosch claims the Proteas have no option but to approach the remaining two matches of the ODI series as “must-win” if the visitors are to salvage their tour of Pakistan. The Proteas have spent a lengthy period in Pakistan, their first all-format tour since England three years ago, which has been further exacerbated with the stringent security measures in place. Bosch, along with Tony de Zorzi, are the only Proteas still standing that have been in Pakistan from the start of the tour. Dewald Brevis is also still in Pakistan but is undergoing rehabilitation on a shoulder injury after being ruled out of the one-day series on Tuesday. The Test series finished on a positive note with the Proteas levelling the series in Rawalpindi - their first Test win…

With head coach Rassie Erasmus set to name his Springbok line-up today, all eyes are on the selection dilemmas that will have tested the Bok brains trust ahead of Saturday’s crunch November Test against France at the Stade de France in Paris (kick-off 10.10pm). Injuries, form, and tactical balance have made this one of Erasmus’s trickiest team sheets since returning to the hot seat. The loss of Ox Nché has forced a rethink in the front row, while flyhalf, lock, and midfield combinations all carry intriguing questions of experience versus evolution. Whichever way Erasmus leans, the selection will reveal plenty about how the Springboks plan to approach this Test — whether to grind it out the traditional way, or unleash a fresher, faster brand of rugby that signals a new…

AmaZulu’s coach Arthur Zwane was disappointed after his team lost at home on Tuesday, saying that they tend to drop points whenever there’s an opportunity to move up the log standings. AmaZulu lost 1-0 to Polokwane City at the Princess Magogo Stadium. The result saw them remain sixth on the log, although they could have climbed as high as third had they secured all three points. Usuthu were expected to be a top-four team according to chairman Sandile Zungu. However, they have only achieved that once, when Benni McCarthy impressivlly led the team to a runners-up finish a few seasons ago. With the season not yet at its halfway mark, AmaZulu could still turn their fortunes around and find some consistency going forward. Zwane has identified what they need to…

Civil rights organisation, Action Society, is opposing the bail relaxation for alleged baby snatcher Sameemah Jacobs, citing that this was one of her apparent manipulative tactics. Jacobs’ bid to have her bail conditions amended is expected to take place today at the Bellville Magistrates’ Court. The 37-year-old is currently out on R4 000 bail. She is keen to amend her bail conditions in order to visit her son in Mitchells Plain and to collect her belongings at a residence she once rented. She is also asking the court to allow her to sign in at the Delft police station instead of Kleinvlei. Action Society said it had written to the Bellville Magistrates’ Court, opposing any relaxation of the bail conditions for Jacobs – the woman accused of abducting baby Mogamat…

Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia has come out in support of the continued existence of the Political Killings Task Team (PKTT), saying there was a need for a strategy to fight organised crime utilising prosecution-led investigations. Testifying at the parliamentary inquiry probing allegations made by KwaZulu-Natal Commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, Cachalia said National Commissioner Fannie Masemola had submitted a report in mid-August at his request when he was enquiring whether the PKTT was disbanded. “In that report, he made a recommendation essentially recommending that, in his view, the task team that has been established should continue to exist and that similar capacity needed to be developed, and he was in the process of doing so in Gauteng,” he said. The acting minister is testifying at the inquiry to investigate the alleged…

Despite facing significant challenges both in Gaza and at home, Gift of the Givers (GoTG) continues to demonstrate an unwavering commitment to humanitarian relief efforts. On Tuesday, during a visit to the Independent Media’s Cape Town offices, the organisation’s founder, Dr Imtiaz Sooliman, said it stood ready to increase aid operations tenfold following a ceasefire, even as its teams navigate war restrictions, resource limitations, and security threats. From rebuilding infrastructure in conflict zones to persevering after a recent staff kidnapping in Khayelitsha, GoTG exemplifies resilience in its mission to deliver aid wherever it’s needed most. Dr Sooliman said after the recent Gaza ceasefire, their involvement “could increase tenfold” if they were not restricted. Dr Sooliman said they have had teams in Gaza since 2009, assisting with humanitarian aid, but have…

Proteas Women’s coach Mandla Mashimbyi is known for wearing his heart on his sleeve. His passionate pre-match speeches along with his bold statements are fast becoming his trademark. Upon arrival back in South Africa, he hauled one out of the top drawer. “We’ll bring the tsunami there,” said Mashimbyi, in reference to next year’s ICC T20 Women’s World Cup in England. “I’m kind of excited now, because when no one gave us a chance, we gave ourselves a chance. I know what to do going forward. We’ll make sure we leave no stone unturned for England,” he added. The fact that Mashimbyi is already looking ahead to the next major ICC event, and not simply basking in the glory of becoming the first national team coach to lead a senior…

Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk said the English champions must build from the back after producing their best performance of the season to beat Real Madrid 1-0 in the Champions League on Tuesday. Prior to a 2-0 win over Aston Villa on Saturday, Liverpool had lost six of their previous seven games and gone 10 matches without a clean sheet. Madrid arrived in Merseyside in free-scoring form, but were limited to very few opportunities as goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois prevented an embarrassing score for the 15-time European champions. "It is easy to say now because we won twice in a row. In a world of chaos you have to stay calm and see perspective of things," said Van Dijk. "We all know how football works - it can change overnight." Arsenal…

Former France lock Paul Willemse says his successor at international level Emmanuel Meafou can become "the bully" the team needs as Les Bleus prepare to host the Springboks in the Autumn Nations Series on Saturday. The 27-year-old Meafou, who weighs an imposing 145kg, is set to make his 10th Test appearance in this weekend's highly anticipated re-run of the 2023 Rugby World Cup quarter-final in Paris. The highly physical Springboks return to the Stade de France for the first time since going on to lift the Webb Ellis trophy on a fourth occasion two years ago. Pretoria-born Willemse made the bruising, ball-carrying role his own for France during a five-year Test career before having to retire aged just 32 in September due to concussion. Meafou has inherited his number five…

Aston Martin are making no secret of their ambitions — they want to be the next Red Bull Racing. Over the past two years, the Silverstone-based outfit have embarked on an aggressive recruitment drive, poaching some of Milton Keynes’ most prized technical minds and even securing Honda as a works power-unit partner for 2026. But while the green team are building a car that looks every bit like a Red Bull in disguise, they’re missing the one ingredient that made Red Bull unstoppable — a Max Verstappen, the relentless hunter who never stops chasing victory. The transformation began with Dan Fallows, Red Bull’s former Head of Aerodynamics. After more than a decade developing the airflow philosophies that shaped multiple title-winning cars, Fallows switched allegiances in April 2022, becoming Aston Martin’s…