Author: The Free Stater

TENSIONS remain high at the University of the Free State (UFS) after six students arrested during violent protests over the scrapping of provisional registration appeared in court on Monday. Police said the students were arrested in the early hours of Saturday, 11 October, for allegedly throwing a petrol bomb at a security guard room on Bedenhoust Street near the institution’s Bloemfontein campus. They were released on warning after appearing in the Bloemfontein Magistrates Court. “The nine students arrested for public violence and the six for malicious damage to property and attempted arson are expected back in court on 4 November…

MORE than 14 years after her husband died in a crash allegedly caused by a pothole-ridden provincial road, Martha Johanna Petronella Rossouw’s battle to hold the Free State government accountable has been revived – thanks to a ruling by the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) that has breathed new life into her case. Rossouw is suing the Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Police, Roads and Transport in the Free State for damages on behalf of her two minor children, claiming loss of support after the death of her husband, Marthinus Lucas Rossouw, in May 2011. He died when…

THE Free State’s residential property market recorded a steady rise in home prices in May 2025, reflecting growing confidence in the province’s housing sector amid a broader national recovery. According to the latest Residential Property Price Index (RPPI) released by Statistics South Africa, residential property prices in the Free State increased by 4.8 percent year-on-year, up from a revised index of 115.5 in May 2024 to 121.1 in May 2025. Month-on-month, prices grew by 0.3 percent, indicating a consistent – though moderate – upward trajectory. While the Free State’s contribution to the national property inflation figure was modest compared to…

THE Free State High Court has dismissed an appeal by the Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality, confirming a 2023 ruling that the Woodland Hills Wildlife Estate – a private estate north of Bloemfontein – is responsible for collecting and transporting its own household refuse to a designated landfill. The judgment concludes a long-running legal dispute between the city and the Hillandale Homeowners Association, which manages the property. The dispute stretches back over two decades to the establishment of Woodland Hills. When the township was approved by the Free State Department of Local Government and Housing in 2000, two subsequent government proclamations in…

THE Free State High Court has granted an interim order reinstating Centlec spokesperson Lele Mamatu, amid a contentious legal battle exposing allegations of forged resignations, abuse of power and internal strife at Mangaung’s electricity utility. The ruling, delivered on Monday, follows Mamatu’s urgent application to block Centlec from processing what he says is a fraudulent resignation letter orchestrated by chief executive officer Malefane Sekoboto. The court order allows Mamatu to return to work and access Centlec premises pending a full review, which he must file within 14 days or risk losing the interim relief. Costs will be decided later. Reacting…

A 51-YEAR-OLD Lesotho national has been sentenced to 18 years of direct imprisonment after being caught red-handed stealing underground copper cables belonging to Telkom, a crime the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) says threatens South Africa’s economy and public infrastructure. Mathokoa Sebaka was convicted by the Bloemfontein Regional Court on 25 June 2025 for damaging essential infrastructure and theft, after he was arrested on 4 November 2023 on Victoria Road in Bloemfontein while digging up copper cables valued at approximately R5 000. The court further found that Sebaka was in South Africa illegally and sentenced him to a fine of R5…

THE High Court has ordered the eviction of a Bloemfontein business and its residential occupants, ending a years-long dispute over a failed property sale and unpaid rent involving the Free State Development Corporation (FDC). In a judgment delivered on 26 May, Judge Opperman declared Telgobrite (Pty) Ltd and other unlawful occupiers as having no legal right to remain on the property located in Universitas, Bloemfontein. The court gave the occupiers 30 days to vacate and authorised the Sheriff, with assistance from the South African Police Service if necessary, to enforce the eviction if they fail to comply. The FDC brought…

MORE than 200 learners from Kagisho Secondary School in Phahameng, Bloemfontein, fell ill in a suspected food poisoning outbreak during matric study camp over the weekend. The Free State Department of Health reported that by Monday, 214 learners had exhibited symptoms consistent with food poisoning, including nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal cramps and fever. “On Sunday afternoon, several learners began reporting symptoms consistent with food poisoning,” Free State Department of Health spokesperson Mondli Mvambi said. The outbreak occurred during a camp attended by approximately 355 matric students. Health authorities mobilised emergency medical services, transporting affected learners to various health facilities. A…

THE Free State Executive Council (Exco) has moved to accelerate the completion of two major low-income housing projects that have been delayed for years, affecting thousands of residents awaiting homes. The Dark and Silver City development in Mangaung, which was initially set to provide 812 housing units, remains incomplete almost two decades after the project began. That project’s budget has reportedly surged from R110 million to R485 million, with only 78 percent of the work finished. The G-Hostel project in Welkom, which aims to deliver 780 homes, is also behind schedule, with just 55 percent of the project completed. In…

A DEVASTATING accident on the N6 highway in the Free State has claimed 10 lives and left 27 others injured, some critically. The tragic collision occurred around 04:20 am on Wednesday, approximately 15 km south of Reddersburg towards Smithfield. A City to City bus, carrying 35 passengers, was involved in a side-swipe head-on collision with an oncoming truck. Among the deceased are a two-year-old girl, six women and three men, all of whom died at the scene. The drivers of both the bus and the truck survived the crash. Emergency services responded swiftly, with five critically injured passengers rushed to…