Catch up on the biggest stories this Saturday, 31 October 2026, in our daily news update.
Picture: Arrive Alive
In today’s news update, six trucks have been set alight in Mpumalanga, while Home Affairs has gazetted proposed changes affecting asylum seekers.
Furthermore, Limpopo Premier Phophi Ramathuba has warned traditional leaders not to sell livestock allocated through a government programme. A truck driver has also been awarded R25 000 after being subjected to a racial slur at work.
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Here are your top stories of the day: 31 October 2026
Six trucks set alight in Mpumalanga as search for two drivers continues
The South African Police Service (Saps) in Mpumalanga has confirmed the torching of six trucks in just two days in the Gert Sibande District.
In the first incident, five trucks were torched on the N3 Road near Grootvlei in the Gert Sibande District on Thursday evening.
It is alleged that a truck driver travelling towards Villiers encountered a tanker standing in the roadway. As he approached, four armed suspects allegedly emerged from the side of the tanker and ordered him to stop.
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Home Affairs gazettes new changes affecting asylum seekers
The Department of Home Affairs has gazetted proposed changes affecting how asylum seekers enter South Africa.
The proposals come as the department seeks to introduce a more manageable system for processing asylum seeker applications after its earlier attempt this month failed.
In July, the Constitutional Court ruled that refugees and asylum seekers must be given the opportunity to access processing centres, regardless of whether they entered South Africa illegally. The case between the Scalabrini Centre of Cape Town and the Minister of Home Affairs concerned the constitutionality of certain provisions of the Refugees Act relating to the asylum application process.
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‘Don’t sell the livestock’: Ramathuba warns traditional leaders
Limpopo Premier Dr Phophi Ramathuba has warned 13 senior traditional leaders who received breeding livestock from government not to sell the animals, saying the programme is a development investment that comes with public accountability.
Ramathuba was speaking on Tuesday during the distribution of breeding livestock to senior traditional leaders at Mara Research Station, under Makhado Local Municipality in Vhembe District.
The distribution forms part of the Traditional Leadership Livestock Improvement Programme, which aims to transform communal livestock farming from subsistence to a commercially viable sector.
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Truck driver awarded R25 000 over k-word slur
A truck driver who was called the k-word by a co-worker has been awarded R25 000 in damages by the Equality Court in George, Western Cape, in a judgment that also ordered a formal apology and anti-racism training for the perpetrator.
The judgment, delivered on 25 June 2026, followed an incident in which the applicant was subjected to repeated use of the k-word by his co-worker at their workplace on 29 November 2024.
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Tshwane mayor warns informal traders not to pay for Marabastad stalls
Tshwane Mayor Nasiphi Moya has warned informal traders against paying anyone for space at the new Marabastad stalls, saying only the city can allocate them.
Moya cautioned traders on Saturday that no one outside the municipality could sell them trading space at the newly built stalls in Marabastad.
“I want to clarify that these stalls are not for sale,” Moya said.
According to the mayor, the city alone would decide who received a stall. “The City is in charge of allocating trading space,” she stated.
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