GroundUp News: Police and NPA found liable for murder by man released on bail

The Gqeberha High Court has ruled that the Minister of Police and National Director of Public Prosecutions are liable to pay damages for negligence to the family of a man who was murdered by a man who was released on bail. With the 2026 local government elections just a few weeks away, the GroundUp…

GroundUp News: Farmers and state clash over handling of foot and mouth disease

South African cattle farmers are concerned that the Agricultural Research Council veterinary research campus in Onderstepoort has not sent any new Foot and Mouth Disease samples to the Pirbright Institute in the UK, to test whether the vaccines being produced are properly matched to the strain affe…

GroundUp News: Thousands kept behind bars due because they cannot make bail

Lester Kiewit speaks to Barbara October, deputy editor of GroundUp News, about the latest local stories.  This includes the nearly 3300 people stuck in prison because they cannot afford bail of R1000 or less; the SAHRC going back to Bloekombos a year after service delivery findings, and the Silent…

GroundUp News: Cape Town’s water programme beset by further delays

Lester Kiewit speaks to Barbara October, deputy editor of GroundUp News, about the latest local stories.  This includes the City of Cape Town’s New Water Programme, including its desalination plant, which is now only expected to be operational by 2036; a Zimbabwean community among those arrested i…

GroundUp News: World’s largest funder of medical research lifts ban on South Africa

Lester Kiewit speaks to Barbara October, deputy editor of GroundUp News, about the latest local stories.  This includes the United States National Institutes of Health (NIH) lifting its ban of nearly 18 months after an order to stop working with South Africa, Cape Town parentings closing a school …

GroundUp News: Draft sex work decriminalisation bill heading back to Parliament for consideration

Lester Kiewit speaks to Barbara October, deputy editor of GroundUp News, about the latest local stories.  This includes the long-awaited draft sex work decriminalisation bill will be returning to Parliament for consideration, three years after it was sent back to be redrafted; and the booming ille…

GroundUp News: Jamestown luxury development row

Lester Kiewit speaks to Barbara October, deputy editor of GroundUp News, about the latest local stories.  This includes the future of a farming community in Jamestown, which is under pressure as residents oppose plans for a new luxury gated development, while a police torture case involving three …

GroundUp News: The Morita Forestry investment scam

Lester Kiewit is joined by GroundUp investigative reporter Joel Cedras for a special follow-up on the Morita Forestry investment scam, which GroundUp reports has cost South Africans hundreds of millions of rand. Cedras explained how the scheme attracted investors through promises of daily returns,…

GroundUp News: Getting scammed to understand the mechanics of the fake jobs syndicates

Lester Kiewit speaks to Masego Mafata, journalist at GroundUp News, about the latest local stories.  This included exposing the inner workings of a fake job syndicate and how the banks and police aren’t very helpful; an elderly couple still in search of answers four years after their son’s body wa…

GroundUp News: Beacon Valley housing project stalled for years as desperate Mitchells Plain residents continue waiting for homes

Lester Kiewit speaks to Masego Mafata, journalist at GroundUp News, about the latest local stories.  This includes Mitchells Plain families still waiting for homes, but delays at Beacon Valley Housing Development continue to stall; five gambling myths that may bankrupt you; and Capetonians take a …