Catch up on the biggest stories this Friday, 7 August 2026, in our simple daily news update.
Johannesburg deputy mayor Loyiso Masuku monitoring clean ups. Picture: X @CityofJoburgZA
News today includes a 26-year-old woman abducted outside her Northcliff home earlier this week has been found and is said to be recovering, security specialist Mike Bolhuis confirmed to The Citizen on Friday morning.
Meanwhile, Johannesburg’s refuse collection services have resumed, although under the close watch of law enforcement.
Furthermore, if you’ve been anywhere near social media this month, you’ll have seen it – another glued-down lace front, another caption about ‘snatched’ edges, and then, a few slides later, a trichologist stitching that same clip with a warning about traction alopecia and glue burns along the hairline.
Weather tomorrow: 8 August, 2026
The Northern Cape faces a risk of runaway fires on Saturday, 8 August, as damaging winds sweep through the province’s central parts. Overall, it will be a fine and cool day across SA. Full weather forecast here.
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Kidnapped Joburg woman Alex van Heerden found safe, ‘resting’ after ordeal
A 26-year-old woman abducted outside her Northcliff home earlier this week has been found and is said to be recovering, security specialist Mike Bolhuis confirmed to The Citizen on Friday morning.
Alex van Heerden was seized moments after arriving home at 6:57pm on Wednesday, 5 August, according to Bolhuis’ Specialised Security Services (SSS).
She had reportedly travelled by Uber from News Café in Rosebank to her Northcliff residence shortly before the attack.
CONTINUE READING: Kidnapped Joburg woman Alex van Heerden found safe, ‘resting’ after ordeal
Mbalula threatens to take Dlamini-Zuma to court after vote-buying allegations
ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula has threatened senior National Executive Committee (NEC) member Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma with a court battle.
This comes after Dlamini-Zuma accused Mbalula of using money to ensure that he is elected as secretary-general at the party’s 54th national conference in 2022. Dlamini-Zuma made these allegations on Mbuyiseni Ndlozi’s podcast.
“Oh, you remember there was money that was found in somebody’s room, half a billion, on the first morning of the conference… and also Mbalula was dishing the money in the clinic. So, money has played a role in the ANC,” she said.
CONTINUE READING: Mbalula threatens to take Dlamini-Zuma to court after vote-buying allegations
JMPD to assist Pikitup as refuse backlog is tackled over the weekend
Johannesburg’s refuse collection services have resumed, although under the close watch of law enforcement.
Contract workers disrupted Pikitup operations throughout the week as they attempted to strongarm the municipality into absorbing them as permanent employees.
No deal between the contract workers has yet been confirmed, but parties close to the ground have received sporadic information.
CONTINUE READING: JMPD to assist Pikitup as refuse backlog is tackled over the weekend
‘Flip-flop Juju, that’s what he does’: MacG responds to Malema attacks
Popular podcaster MacGyver “MacG” Mukwevho says he will not fight back against EFF leader Julius Malema.
This comes after Malema accused MacG and his co-hosts of entering the political space and negatively influencing young people. Several other podcasters were also criticised at this press briefing.
“That thing is called MacG Podcast, it’s a political party that thing, its role is to depoliticise the youth, that is its role. That is why he drinks alcohol during presentation, making alcohol fashionable and telling those who are calling themselves chillas that when you are chilling you must drink and then speak loosely about everything black and African.
CONTINUE READING: ‘Flip-flop Juju, that’s what he does’: MacG responds to Malema attacks
PODCAST | The real price of being a baddie on a budget and chasing ‘the look’ – Part 1
If you’ve been anywhere near social media this month, you’ll have seen it – another glued-down lace front, another caption about ‘snatched’ edges, and then, a few slides later, a trichologist stitching that same clip with a warning about traction alopecia and glue burns along the hairline. It’s become a whole genre: the baddie tutorial followed by the this is what it did to my scalp reveal.
And it’s not just wigs. Skin lightening is back in the group chats under softer names like “glow” and “brightening.”
Veneers and contouring have basically become baseline expectations rather than glow-up extras. And somewhere in between, brands have figured out that if you call any of this self-care or body positivity, people feel good about buying it – even when what they’re buying is a fix for a problem the industry helped convince them they had.
CONTINUE READING: PODCAST | The real price of being a baddie on a budget and chasing ‘the look’ – Part 1
Yesterday’s News recap
READ HERE: Fadiel Adams’ ‘stupid mistake’ | Calls for Mkhwanazi to be fired | Tsakane Matlala’s Rolls-Royce
