Spring Chicken

jaded observer who puts a spring in her step

[amaBhungane @amaBhungane]

[ICYMI] In July 2025, Eskom bought 40 million litres of diesel from a supplier. It recorded it as “received” it in its books and paid R721-million. But a year later, the diesel – now worth R1-billion – has not been delivered.

Three weeks ago, Eskom released a quiet press statement saying: “Eskom … received an independent verification report confirming that there were no discrepancies between the diesel delivered or available to Eskom and the amounts paid”.

But amaBhungane’s investigation digs deeper, exposing how Eskom prepaid hundreds of millions for little more than an IOU for diesel to be delivered at a later stage.

Read: Eskom paid hundreds of millions for diesel that ‘didn’t exist’
https://t.co/DndWBo5Bai

[Michael Morton @MMORTON6]

Just drove to my hotel at the airport in Kempton Park at 10pm after the Pirates game..

Not a SINGLE street light is on, not a single robot is working… COMPLETE DARKNESS where we are supposedly on high alert and in a state of emergency!?

What a disgrace..

but the powers at be try to convince us they are doing all they can to protect our women.. but they can’t even keep the lights on! 🤬🤬

[Mike @mike_superb]

Was thinking yesterday whilst watching the rugby and seeing our sports minister and was thinking of him robbing a bank and now in a position of leadership in our government and i just couldn't put the 2 together, there are so many criminals in our parliament, no sense to me

[amaBhungane @amaBhungane]

The Department of Agriculture paid Centurion Bus Manufacturers R26.8-million of a R31-million contract for seven mobile veterinary clinics signed in 2015. More than a decade later, the department has not received a single truck.

https://t.co/WjLRQczl8W

[Spring Chicken @GillianNic]

@Leon_Schreib #Oshoek Border post today Sunday 30 th August was understaffed, no uniforms and unapologetic for only two counters open and the poor slow service.
Mozambique and Swaziland borders on the same day were cordial and at least twice as efficient.
We deserve better please 🇿🇦

[Ferial Haffajee @ferialhaffajee]

One year after IDT boss ‘bribe’ sting, no arrests or prosecutions https://t.co/1phm6QOXmG

[Ferial Haffajee @ferialhaffajee]

Fever trees felled, fencing destroyed near iSimangaliso — 52 people arrested https://t.co/jtklr6JZ4l

[amaBhungane @amaBhungane]

[ICYMI] In its R31-million mobile veterinary clinic contract, the Department of Agriculture was only meant to pay Centurion Bus Manufacturers against a bank guarantee, or full insurance, or delivered trucks. None of that happened. The department paid anyway, in five tranches between 2015 and 2016. https://t.co/dEeJPoh00O

[Wayne Duvenage @wayneduv]

Whooo boy, it’s getting really smelly in Mashatile’s kitchen. Nexus: The links between Paul and Humile Mashatile, their trust and the lottery https://t.co/MdbMENmnJ4 via @news24

[Giulietta Talevi @GTalevi]

So we wake to huge swathes of no power, our bins are still not empty and the city is a disgusting mess, some suburbs still don’t have water and we’ve all had to pay above inflation for our rate increases. Have I got it right?

[Slaughter. @BafanaSurprise]

Major Breaking News:

Oom Dr Pieter Groenewald has again shown the entire Country why he stands out to be one of the best Ministers in South Africa at the moment!

All prison officials mainly wardens are banned from using their Cellphones while on duty. Prison officials work tirelessly, help criminals with in prison to receive favours from outside, like smuggling cellphones, drugs and weapons to prisoners.

This move by the Minister of correctional services will ensure that, law and order in prisons is being enforced.

[OUTA @OUTASA]

Julius Mkhwanazi is now facing 4 separate criminal prosecutions.

So how did an official facing allegations across four criminal matters rise to become deputy chief of a metro police department?

Where were the controls? The oversight?

Watch: https://t.co/ZDy3XuQdeu

#OUTA

[Jack Bloom @JackBloomDA]

#DeputyJack was invited by a school principal to see the poor state of the Klip River in Soweto. Despite THREE criminal charges for pollution against Joburg Council, it’s still poisoned by sewage spills. Tougher action is needed!

[Jordan Griffiths @JordiGriff]

Zero streetlights and a minefield of excavations cost 51 year old Hugo van Der Berg from Secunda his life in Pretoria on Saturday night.

While returning from the rugby at Loftus, Hugo fell into one of the many open excavations left open by construction by the City of Tshwane.

Thousands of spectators leaving Loftus stadium had to navigate literal deathtraps to get to their cars. Pitch black due to no streetlights and zero proper blockages or markings. Hugo was the third person to fall into the excavations.

Despite numerous warnings to the Metro, Mayor and MMC. Absolutely zero was done. They have yet to even go to the scene or issue a statement.

It's too late now. They should have deployed immediately. What a tragedy. Please keep this man's family in your prayers.

Totally avoidable. Gross negligence.

[Ian Cameron @IanCameron23]

Information came to my attention on 19 May 2026 suggesting that firearms and ammunition seized during April were left sitting in SAPS 13 stores at several Cape Town police stations instead of being sent promptly to the Forensic Science Laboratory for analysis.

I immediately wrote to SAPS, requested urgent intervention and asked for a full written explanation. Despite several follow-ups, I have received zero feedback. The matter appears to be stuck at the SAPS Western Cape Provincial Office.

The exhibits reportedly include firearms with serial numbers removed, prohibited firearms, homemade “zip guns” and live ammunition. They were linked to cases across Philippi East, Manenberg, Mitchells Plain, Khayelitsha, Nyanga, Delft, Mfuleni, Athlone, Grassy Park, Steenberg and Bishop Lavis, among others.

I will not disclose details that could compromise any criminal investigation. However, the underlying allegation demands an urgent explanation.

When a firearm is seized, the work is not finished. Its chain of custody must be protected and the necessary ballistic and forensic examinations completed without unnecessary delay. A seized firearm may provide evidence linking a weapon or suspect to other shootings, robberies or murders. If it remains in a storeroom, those links may not be identified in time.

I asked SAPS to confirm where each exhibit is, when it was received, when it was sent for analysis and why any delays occurred. I also requested an audit of SAPS 13 stores in high-crime precincts, proper docket inspections and accountability where procedures were ignored.

This exposes a broader weakness in Cape Town’s policing system. Municipal officers may seize illegal firearms and arrest suspects, but they remain heavily dependent on SAPS to carry the investigation and forensic process forward. When that handover fails, the entire case may be weakened.

The powers of appropriately trained and accountable municipal law-enforcement agencies should be expanded so they can perform a greater investigative role in defined offences, supported by proper forensic access, prosecution-led investigations and strict oversight. This is not about creating competing police services. It is about closing gaps that criminals exploit and ensuring that good arrests lead to strong prosecutions.

Illegal firearms drive gang violence, robbery and murder. Every exhibit must be processed properly, every possible ballistic link must be tested, and officials must be held accountable where procedures were not followed.

More than seven weeks after I first raised this matter, SAPS owes the public an explanation. IC

[Spring Chicken @GillianNic]

@zapiro @dailymaverick @MalemaFlipFlops Brilliant, so very clever Zapiro 🤣

[Inside Rugby With Mark @insiderugbymark]

South Africa 42 v Scotland 28
Final Score - Pretoria.

That was the best game of rugby of the Nations Championship this far.

That was the best game of rugby I have seen Scotland play for years.

Some observations.

~ Handre Pollard still has it.
~ Execution is everything at this level, it's a game of very small margins.
~ Grant Williams will be a star of RWC 2027.
~ Based on current form my top 5 nations in the world are South Africa, France, Scotland, New Zealand, Ireland.
~ Ben Jason Dixon - Discipline
~ Hiddleson for Scotland is one for the future.
~ Cummings played his best game for Scotland - ever.
- Fassi is not the Boks Fullback option.
~ Nortje is awesome.
~ Zachary Porthern has the wow factor.
~ Willemse needed at Fullback.
~ Paul de Villeras good for first half
~ To beat the Boks you need to go full gas 80mins and score more than 30 pts to have a chance.
~ Springboks depth is confirmed.

Well done Scotland. Awesome from the Springboks.

Rugby was the winner in this game.

#RSAvSCO

[OUTA @OUTASA]

🚨 South Africa we need your help.

A malicious cyberattack compromised OUTA's Meta advertising account. No supporter or donor information was accessed or compromised- your privacy remains secure.
Despite exhausting every support channel, our advertising account remains restricted, limiting our ability to reach South Africans with campaigns that expose corruption, fight tax abuse and raise the donations that fund our work.

If you work at Meta, or know someone who does, please help us get this resolved.

Corruption doesn't take a day off. Neither do we.
#OUTA #SouthAfrica #FightCorruption #Meta #Accountability

[Ian Cameron @IanCameron23]

In December 2024, I received a lawyer’s letter on behalf of Major General Feroz Khan.

The letter accused me of making “defamatory” remarks, said it was “not unreasonable” to understand my reference to a “major general” as a reference to Khan, and demanded that I “formally retract” and “cease and desist” from making similar remarks.

The relevant issue then was already clear: allegations around questionable procurements, the secret service fund, media smear campaigns, and defeating the ends of justice in relation to a cocaine seizure case.

Now, less than two years later, Major General Khan is at the centre of the very kind of Crime Intelligence corruption crisis we warned about. The Madlanga Commission has now heard serious allegations involving Khan, his seized devices, and alleged interference in investigations. He has also reportedly withdrawn court attempts to block access to those devices and to have parts of the process heard behind closed doors.

This raises a much bigger question: how did a person with this level of controversy remain protected for so long inside one of the most sensitive environments in the SAPS?

It also demands proper scrutiny of how he rose through the ranks. Khan was promoted from colonel to major general, skipping brigadier. If that was irregular, who approved it, who protected it, and why?

Just remember that Khan reportedly also skipped the rank of lieutenant colonel. He went straight from captain to full colonel and straight from colonel to major general.

South Africans deserve a police service run by people committed to law, discipline and integrity, not a Crime Intelligence environment where warnings are met with lawyer’s letters, while the truth only surfaces years later through commissions and court papers.

[Brett Ben Raphael @Brettbenraphael]

It's absolutely criminal that over 1,800 qualified South African doctors sit unemployed due to "no funding" — yet government hospitals have money to keep hiring foreign doctors, especially Cubans over our graduates. Unfknbelievable