GroundUp

Inside the Johannesburg Master’s office on 17 August. Archive photo: Seth Thorne Justice minister Mmamoloko Kubayi said a long-running digitisation project has contributed to service disruptions and delays at the Masters’ offices across the country. The SIU will investigate whether Veritas Engineering and Project Management Consultants (Pty) Ltd, which was paid R415-million between 2022/23 and October 2025, delivered value for money. Its contract for various IT systems ends on 10 September 2026.

28 years after the first deadline to lodge land claims, 5,160 claims still need to be finalised. Between 2014 and 2016, a new window to lodge claims was opened. But the Constitutional Court ruled that all the “old order” claims lodged by December 1998 must be finalised before “new order” claims can be assessed. At the current rate, it will take at least 15 years for all the old order claims to be settled.

The inpatient unit at St Luke’s Combined Hospices in Kenilworth closed nearly two years ago. The organisation concluded it was unsustainable. But former staff and volunteers argue it needs to be reopened. Photos supplied St Luke’s has been providing care to very ill and dying people in Cape Town since 1980. In December 2024 its inpatient unit, which treated very ill or dying people in pain or with severe symptoms that could not be managed at home, closed.

Informal homes erected on Transnet land in Woodstock, Cape Town. Some say they have been living on the site for more than a decade. Photos: Matthew Hirsch Last month the court ordered the eviction of more than 160 people living on ten Transnet-owned properties in Woodstock and Salt River by 30 September. The court accepted the City and Transnet’s contention that the land is occupied for the purposes of criminal activity. The court also found there was no obligation to provide emergency housing.

Some judges expressed alarm when they were provided plane ticket options for R8,500 and R9,195 for a Johannesburg–Durban roundtrip that normally costs about R3,000. Illustration: Lisa Nelson A conference of the judiciary took place in Umhlanga, Durban from 13 to 16 July. The conference was organised by the Office of the Chief Justice (OCJ) and the travel agent was TWF, also known as Travel With Flair, based in Johannesburg.

Naboth Madoro is one of several hundred people who live in Wembley Stadium, a space demarcated by the City of Johannesburg as temporary housing for people who were evicted or lost their homes in fires. Photos: James Oatway Hundreds of people are living in Temporary Emergency Accommodation in squalid conditions across Johannesburg. About 350 people who were displaced by inner-city fires and evictions have been living in Wembley Stadium for years.

Workers at Tongaat Hulett protested outside the company’s offices north of Durban on Wednesday. They have been on strike since Monday demanding a 13% wage increase. Photo: Tsoanelo Sefoloko Tongaat Hulett workers protested outside the company’s offices north of Durban on Wednesday, demanding a 13% wage increase against the employers’ offer of 5.4%. They are also asking for a R1,000 transport allowance and a R1,500 housing allowance.

The LRC legal team that successfully represented the Makhanda Circle of Unity, with the governing bodies of three Makhanda schools, in their case against the Eastern Cape Department of Education. From left: Daniel Linde, Michael Mbikiwa, Cecile van Schalkwyk and Claire Rankin. Photo: Gcina Ntsaluba The Eastern Cape Department of Education has conceded in court that withholding several billion rand from public schools since 2020 was unlawful.

A soldier during a joint oversight visit by the police and defence portfolio committees in Mitchells Plain on 14 August. The purpose of the visit was to monitor the progress of the Operation Prosper army deployment in Cape Town. Photos: Matthew Hirsch Cape Town mothers who have lost sons to gang violence said they had seen little justice. They pleaded with Parliament for protection at a parliamentary inquiry on Wednesday.

During a mass meeting on Wednesday, Cape Peninsula University of Technology student leaders told students not to vacate their residences. Photos: Ashraf Hendricks On Tuesday, the Cape Peninsula University of Technology told students to leave their residences within 24 hours. This followed days of protest, which included incidents of violence and destruction of property. But by 4pm on Wednesday, only a few students had left.