Catch up on some of the biggest stories from Sunday, 23 August 2026, that you may have missed.
Illegal electricity connections are among the chief frustrations of municipalities. Picture: Michel Bega/The Citizen
In the news today, police confiscated 100 firearms and ammunition during a raid on a security company in Soweto.
Meanwhile, EFF leader Julius Malema said his party would campaign in KwaZulu-Natal despite what he described as a tough political environment.
Furthermore, five Emfuleni Local Municipality employees were arrested over an alleged electricity reconnection scheme.
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100 firearms and ammunition confiscated in Soweto
100 firearms and ammunition were confiscated in Soweto on Saturday in a police raid on a security company in the area.
According to a preliminary police report, the security company’s Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority (PSiRA) accreditation was recently suspended, requiring it to destroy the firearms.
“The compliance inspection further revealed that the company’s firearm storage facility does not meet the requirements stipulated in the Firearms Control Act,” explained police spokesperson Lt Col Amanda van Wyk.
The confiscated firearms will now undergo ballistic testing to see if they were used in any crimes.
‘Not even the IFP can stop me’: Malema on KZN campaign
EFF leader Julius Malema says his party will campaign in KwaZulu-Natal despite that province being described as a tough political terrain.
He was speaking in Pietermaritzburg on Saturday, where he addressed his party’s ground forces ahead of the local government elections this year.
“There should never be a place in KZN where there is no EFF. The EFF must exist everywhere in the backyard, if not the yard of President Zuma. We have to find his children who will become EFF members,” he said.
Calls for municipal consultants to be penalised for poor work
The DA in Limpopo wants service providers to face penalties for botched financial reporting.
This follows Auditor-General Tsakani Maluleke’s concerns about Limpopo’s municipalities’ use of financial consultants in the 2024-25 financial year.
In the Consolidated General Reports on Local Government Audit Outcomes 2024-25, the auditor-general (AG) raised concerns that all 27 municipalities in the province used consultants for financial reporting, at a total cost of R235.85 million.
Five Emfuleni employees arrested over electricity reconnections
Police have confirmed the arrest of five employees of the Emfuleni Local Municipality for running an alleged electricity reconnection scheme.
They were nabbed by the Gauteng Political Killings Task Team (PKTT) in a takedown operation on Friday in Vanderbijlpark.
The arrested suspects are employees of the Emfuleni Local Municipality, attached to the Revenue and Electrical Departments.
NACA winners walk away with R50,000
Sport, Arts and Culture Minister Gayton McKenzie says his department is changing how artists are treated, with winners at the 2026 National Arts and Culture Awards (NACA) receiving R50,000 each.
The NACA awards ceremony was held at Sun City Resort in the North West on Friday, 21 August. The awards aired on SABC 1 the following night, Saturday, 22 August.
Speaking to The Citizen after the ceremony, McKenzie said artists should not leave government awards ceremonies with certificates alone.
“For me, people can’t just come here and get certificates. All these years they’re getting certificates. What is that?” McKenzie said.
“People are doing their hair, it costs money. Their nails, makeup, all these things. Then they come here with no money. No, not under Minister McKenzie.”
