Cape Times

12/12/2025

A LANSDOWNE Primary school has conceded to a “potential gap” in its bullying reporting protocols after a parent reported discovering her child had been self-harming following months of bullying.

The mother said she was shocked that the teacher, to whom the incident was reported, never informed the principal.

🔗 https://capetimes.co.za/news/2025-12-12-latest-bullying-incident-at-cape-town-school-exposes-gaps-in-reporting-protocols/

12/12/2025

Inside your Friday edition of the Cape Times:

🗞 LATEST BULLYING EXPOSES GAPS IN REPORTING PROTOCOLS
🗞 Bafana hope to emulate the Class of 96 at AFCON
🗞 ANC’s National General Council kicks out SACP from joint election structures
🗞 Education official in hot water over leaked exam papers

12/12/2025

AGAINST all odds, baby Leo Parker has passed the critical 100-day milestone following a life-saving stem cell transplant.

The one-year-old from Cape Town suffers from MECOM-Associated Syndrome - a rare disorder with only 23 cases worldwide.

🔗 https://capetimes.co.za/news/2025-12-12-one-year-old-leo-survives-against-all-odds-after-life-saving-stem-cell-transplant/

11/12/2025

DIAMOND GIFT FROM CONTROVERSIAL DEALER IS CLOSED CASE, SAYS MASHATILE

DEPUTY President Paul Mashatile has side-stepped questions about his ties to alleged diamond dealer Louis Liebenberg, who gifted a diamond to his wife.

This latest development follows a recommendation from the Ethics Committee that Mashatile be reprimanded and fined R10,000 for failing to disclose the diamond in the confidential section of the register of financial interests.

🔗 https://capetimes.co.za/news/2025-12-11-diamond-gift-from-controversial-dealer-is-closed-case-says-mashatile/

📸:Parliament RSA

11/12/2025

The breach was first flagged on December 2, when markers in Gauteng noticed an unusual similarity between a candidate’s answers and the official marking guidelines for English Home Language Paper 2.

This triggered a deeper investigation, revealing that several key exam papers, including English Home Language Papers 1, 2, and 3, Mathematics Papers 1 and 2, and Physical Science Papers 1 and 2, were accessed prior to the exam date. These papers had been circulated via a USB storage device.

Minister Siviwe Gwarube has confirmed a leak of seven NSC exam papers in Pretoria, traced to DBE staff. The breach, affecting a small group of learners, is under investigation, with swift actions taken to protect exam integrity.

11/12/2025

World-renowned epidemiologist and infectious disease expert Prof Salim Safurdeen Abdool Karim has received an honorary doctorate from Stellenbosch University for his research and scientific contributions to policy development that have shaped the local, continental, and global response to HIV and Covid-19.

In a special message for new graduates, Abdool Karim encouraged them to find their passion, strive for excellence, and persevere through challenges.

🔗 https://capetimes.co.za/news/2025-12-11-renowned-epidemiologist-salim-abdool-karim-receives-honorary-doctorate-from-stellenbosch-university/

📸: Stefan Els

11/12/2025

WHISTLEBLOWER Tumiso Mphuthi believes that the protected disclosures she has made have led to her being “targeted”.

The Construction Education and Training Authority (Ceta) supply chain management (SCM) official has been suspended for three years following her efforts to expose alleged corruption. She was honoured with the Blueprint for Free Speech Whistleblowing Prize for 2025.

🔗 https://capetimes.co.za/news/2025-12-11-whistleblower-tumiso-mphuthi-targeted-for-exposing-corruption/

11/12/2025

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11/12/2025

'POOR PROSECUTION RATE' HAUNTS WESTERN CAPE CANDIDATES VYING FOR NDPP POST

WESTERN Cape Director of Public Prosecutions Nicolette Bell, and her deputy, Advocate Adrian Mopp were questioned about the poor performance of the Western Cape in securing, especially, gender-based violence and murder prosecutions.

Bell said she and her provincial team reflected on the Western Cape’s poor prosecution rate, have put several measures in place to address these problems and things were now looking up.

🔗 https://capetimes.co.za/news/2025-12-11-poor-prosecution-rate-haunts-western-cape-candidates-vying-for-ndpp-post/

📸: Timothy Bernard / Independent Newspapers

11/12/2025

Many South Africans felt that national leaders neither listen to nor act in the interests of ordinary people.

This is according to the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation's (IJR), 2025 South African Reconciliation Barometer (SARB), conducted one year into the first term of the GNU.

🔗 https://capetimes.co.za/news/2025-12-11-public-confidence-in-south-africas-gnu-remains-low-says-2025-reconciliation-barometer/

📸: GCIS

11/12/2025

Inside your Thursday edition of the Cape Times:

🗞 DISTRUST, DOUBT REMAIN HIGH IN GNU
🗞 'How whistleblowing made me a target, got me suspended'
🗞 ‘Poor prosecution rate’ haunts Western Cape candidates vying for NDPP post
🗞 Suspect arrested over murder of mother-to-be buried in shallow grave

11/12/2025

POLICE MAKE BREAKTHROUGH IN THE MURDER OF ELDERLY MOTORIST KILLED DURING SMASH AND GRAB IN LANGA

A 33-year-old suspect has been arrested in connection with the murder of 64-year-old Karin van Aardt during a violent smash-and-grab incident on Jakes Gerwel Drive, with police warning more arrests are likely.

🔗 https://capetimes.co.za/news/2025-12-11-police-make-breakthrough-in-the-murder-of-elderly-motorist-killed-during-smash-and-grab-in-langa/