Why ActionSA leaders despise DA; SSA had no say in Smith exit: Today’s top 7 stories

Detailed summary

News24 brings you the top stories of the day, summarised into neat little packages. Read through quickly or listen to the articles via our customised text-to-speech feature.

News24 brings you the top stories of the day, summarised into neat little packages. Read through quickly or listen to the articles via our customised text-to-speech feature.

- Suspended Police Minister Senzo Mchunu is challenging in the Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg a September 2026 search warrant, calling the replacement-device allegation dishonest.

- Lead investigator Brigadier William Kunene obtained the warrant after service-provider records showed IMEI numbers not matching any device seized in 2025, suggesting handsets remain outstanding.

- Mchunu denies surrendering replacement devices, saying the failed search of his phones seized in 2025 confirms he has no case to answer for corruption.

- ANC spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu has signalled a municipality-by-municipality approach to coalition talks, contradicting the party’s announcement this week that it would centralise negotiations.

- The ANC’s NEC met at the Birchwood Hotel in Boksburg to debate coalition formations and potentially rework the framework it adopted in 2023.

- The ANC’s 2023 coalition framework bars local structures from finalising deals alone, requiring all agreements to be approved by the NEC before taking effect.

- Registrar’s clerk Thozamile Semekazi denied under oath calling Eastern Cape High Court judge Belinda Hartle’s journalist husband, admitting the call only after hearing recordings.

- Retired Supreme Court of Appeal Justice Boissie Mbha, the tribunal president, ruled the recordings could not be played, finding Semekazi had acted as a whistleblower.

Opening of the article, excerpted from News24. To read the rest, open the article on the publisher's site.