Catch up on the biggest stories this Friday, 4 September 2026, in our simple daily news update.
Picture: Samuel Shivambu/BackpagePix
News today includes a private VIP security guard has lifted the lid on alleged criminal practices inside parts of SA’s private security sector, claiming guards are routinely handed firearms they are not legally competent to use and, in some cases, are deployed to stage burglaries and robberies.
Meanwhile, personnel changes in the All Blacks line-up show they want to double down on their ball-in-play DNA while restoring their breakdown dominance, said Springbok assistant coach Mzwandile Stick ahead of their third Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry Test on Saturday.
Furthermore, the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) has imposed a R3 million administrative penalty and a 20-year debarment on former Miss South Africa Tatum Keshwar-Wheatley for her role in coordinated share trading that regulators say artificially inflated Altvest Limited share prices in 2022.
Weather tomorrow: 5 September, 2026
The South African Weather Service has warned of severe thunderstorms in the Northern Cape, North West and the Free State, while parts of KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape face strong coastal winds and rough seas. Full weather forecast here.
Stay up to date with The Citizen – More News, Your Way.
I’m part of the problem – VIP guard lifts lid on criminal practices
A private VIP security guard has lifted the lid on alleged criminal practices inside parts of SA’s private security sector, claiming guards are routinely handed firearms they are not legally competent to use and, in some cases, are deployed to stage burglaries and robberies.
The 48-year-old KwaZulu-Natal-based guard, who cannot be named for fear of retaliation, said some security personnel were also used to intimidate businesses and individuals who refused to pay protection fees.
He claimed guards were sometimes presented as debt collectors to provide cover for harassment and intimidation.
CONTINUE READING: I’m part of the problem – VIP guard lifts lid on criminal practices
Forget poisoned water, a cyberattack’s real threat to SA is empty reservoirs
Cybersecurity experts said this week that the greatest danger posed by a cyberattack on a utility like Rand Water is not contaminated drinking water, but the loss of pressure and control across a gravity-fed network serving millions of people.
Their comments came after Rand Water confirmed a cybersecurity incident that hit its payments and GIS systems. The water utility insisted that water treatment and quality control had continued without interruption.
Anna Collard, SVP, content strategist, and CISO advisor at KnowBe4, said the scenario most people imagine when they think of a water utility being hacked is actually the hardest for attackers to pull off.
CONTINUE READING: Forget poisoned water, a cyberattack’s real threat to SA is empty reservoirs
Stick: All Blacks’ changes show intent, Boks out to prevent 2-1 result in SA
Personnel changes in the All Blacks line-up show they want to double down on their ball-in-play DNA while restoring their breakdown dominance, said Springbok assistant coach Mzwandile Stick ahead of their third Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry Test on Saturday.
The teams clash at FNB Stadium with the series 1-1 after the All Blacks first won in Johannesburg, and then the Boks bounced back in Cape Town.
With just two games to play, only the winner on Saturday (kick-off 5.10pm) can secure the series outright.
CONTINUE READING: Stick: All Blacks’ changes show intent, Boks out to prevent 2-1 result in SA
Phala Phala panel report: ‘There is no way out for Ramaphosa, he is unsaveable,’ Mpofu tells court
MK party legal representative, Advocate Dali Mpofu SC, has argued that the Western Cape High Court lacks jurisdiction to hear President Cyril Ramaphosa’s application to set aside the Section 89 panel report.
On Friday, Western Cape Judge President Nolwazi Mabindla-Boqwana and judges Mark Sher and Ncumisa Mayosi heard arguments in Ramaphosa’s review application of the Section 89 independent panel report on the Phala Phala burglary in February 2020.
In November 2022, an independent panel appointed by then-National Assembly speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula found that there was “prima facie” evidence that Ramaphosa may have violated sections 96(2)(a) of the constitution and 34(1) of the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act (Precca), with the aim of keeping the investigation into the burglary private.
CONTINUE READING: Phala Phala panel report: ‘There is no way out for Ramaphosa, he is unsaveable,’ Mpofu tells court
Miss SA 2008 Tatum Keshwar-Wheatley debarred, fined R3m over Altvest share price manipulation
The Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) has imposed a R3 million administrative penalty and a 20-year debarment on former Miss South Africa Tatum Keshwar-Wheatley for her role in coordinated share trading that regulators say artificially inflated Altvest Limited share prices in 2022.
According to the statement, Keshwar-Wheatley, crowned Miss South Africa in 2008, acted in concert with her husband, then-Altvest CEO Warren Gregory Wheatley, and chief investment officer Akshay Suresh Karan between 5 and 8 September 2022.
The FSCA says it found their conduct created an artificially inflated share price and/or a false or deceptive appearance of demand, supply, or trading activity in Altvest shares, which were listed on the Cape Town Stock Exchange (CTSE) at the time. The conduct is said to have contravened section 80 of the Financial Markets Act.
CONTINUE READING: Miss SA 2008 Tatum Keshwar-Wheatley debarred, fined R3m over Altvest share price manipulation
Yesterday’s News recap
READ HERE: Trafficked SA girls return | Did Ramaphosa’s engage in ‘paid work’? | DStv’s sports-only package
