Author: Darlington Majonga

A 33-YEAR-OLD man has been sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of a well-known Hennenman taxi owner, in a case that shocked the Phomolong community in the Free State. The Hennenman Regional Court handed down the sentence to Pitso Mokebe, who was also given an additional 15 years’ imprisonment for housebreaking with intent to rob and robbery with aggravating circumstances. The conviction follows the brutal killing of Johannes Thinane, 67, a respected taxi owner in the Phomolong community, at his home on the evening of 30 November 2020. According to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), Mokebe, who was known…

A 70-YEAR-OLD man linked to a string of violent, organised robberies targeting clothing stores across the Free State has been sentenced to an effective 25 years’ direct imprisonment by the Virginia Regional Court. Taole Tlatsa was convicted on multiple serious charges, including contravention of the Prevention of Organised Crime Act (POCA), money laundering, conspiracy to commit robbery with aggravating circumstances, several counts of robbery with aggravating circumstances and unlawful possession of a firearm. The court imposed 25 years’ imprisonment on each robbery count, ordering that the sentences run concurrently. The court heard that between 2019 and 2021, Tlatsa operated as…

THE National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has secured a major legal victory in the long-running Free State asbestos roofing tender scandal, with the High Court ordering the final forfeiture of luxury assets worth approximately R32 million. The High Court in Bloemfontein granted the order this week in favour of the National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP), allowing the state to seize six high-end properties and a Mercedes-Benz G63 AMG linked to proceeds of crime. According to the NPA, the court found that the assets were acquired through unlawful activities, including fraud, corruption, theft, contraventions of the Public Finance Management Act and…

THE University of the Free State (UFS) Council has accused unnamed external forces of inciting the violent protests that disrupted campuses this year, warning that the unrest bore the “hallmarks of those who understand neither the value of education nor the patience required for genuine institutional transformation”. In a statement issued this week, the Council said the violence – which left several security officers and other members of the university community injured – threatened the very foundations of the institution. While acknowledging that legitimate student concerns exist, it said it had “observed with growing concern what appears to be the…

THE Free State Department of Education has urged communities across the province to intensify efforts to combat gender-based violence (GBV) as South Africa marks this year’s edition of the 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children. The campaign is running under the theme “30 years of advancing collective action to end violence against women and children”, reflecting three decades of national and global initiatives aimed at eliminating GBV and promoting safer, more inclusive communities. Free State Education MEC Julia Maboya said her department remained committed to protecting learners and staff within the schooling system. “As a…

THE Free State provincial government has begun an intensive verification of its staff establishment in a bid to root out long-suspected “ghost employees” draining public funds. This comes after the Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) issued a directive ordering all national and provincial departments, as well as public entities, to conduct full head counts by February 2026 and submit progress reports on their findings. Tabling the 2025/26 adjustment budget before the Provincial Legislature on Tuesday, MEC for Finance, Economic Development and Tourism Ketso Makume said provincial departments had already initiated internal head-count verification processes in response to the…

THE Free State provincial government has posted its strongest audit performance in years, with no departments receiving adverse or disclaimer opinions and a major service-delivery department securing a clean audit for the first time. Delivering the 2025/26 adjustment budget in the Provincial Legislature on Tuesday, MEC for Finance, Economic Development and Tourism Ketso Makume said the province was “making meaningful progress in advancing good governance, accountability and sound financial management”. For the second year in a row, all Public Financial Management Act auditees in the province avoided adverse or disclaimer outcomes. Three institutions – the Provincial Treasury, the Provincial Legislature…

THE Free State government has spent 59 percent of its 2025/26 budget in the first seven months of the financial year, slightly ahead of its own benchmark, according to Finance, Economic Development and Tourism MEC Ketso Makume. Delivering his adjustment budget speech to the Provincial Legislature on Tuesday, Makume said departments had shown “some improvements” in expenditure, recording R27.071 billion spent by the end of October against an allocated budget of R45.856 billion. The provincial benchmark for this point in the year is 58 percent. Makume said the province continued to face long-standing cost pressures on the compensation of employees,…

THE Free State economy remains trapped in a low-growth cycle despite demonstrating resilience over the past three years, Finance, Economic Development and Tourism MEC Ketso Makume warned during his presentation of the 2025/26 adjustment budget at the Provincial Legislature on Tuesday. Makume said the province’s economic performance has failed to generate sufficient jobs or reduce widespread poverty, with growth indicators pointing to a fragile and uneven recovery. Real GDP growth in the Free State slowed dramatically from 2.0 percent in 2022 to just 0.2 percent in 2023 and is expected to recover only marginally to 0.5 percent in 2024, according…

THE Free State provincial government has increased its 2025/26 budget by R1.256 billion, with health and education receiving the largest shares. This was announced by the MEC for Finance, Economic Development and Tourism, Ketso Makume, in the Provincial Legislature on Tuesday. The adjustment budget is intended to address in-year budget pressures, conditional grant rollovers, and revenue adjustments, while ensuring frontline services remain a priority. “Our fiscal challenges remain very much before us, and there is no better time than now for us to pull together, exercise discipline and collectively strive for fiscal sustainability,” Makume said in his presentation. Of the…