The Springboks opened their 2026 international season with an 80-31 win over the Barbarians at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Saturday, but coach Rassie Erasmus said the world champions still had discipline and defensive lapses to fix before facing England.

The Boks ran in 12 tries in a dominant attacking performance, but Erasmus said the scoreline did not tell the full story after the Barbarians exposed defensive lapses and capitalised on periods of poor discipline.

“Our discipline wasn’t great, and they (the Barbarians) scored tries in quick succession, so yellow cards were not ideal,” said Erasmus after the match.

Yellow cards were handed to Grant Williams and Aphelele Fassi, even though the Boks also benefited from Barbarians cards in the first half.

South Africa led 40-26 at halftime after a loose and entertaining first half in which the Barbarians found space and kept the Boks under pressure despite the hosts’ early dominance.

“[W]e have to remind ourselves that it’s been six or seven months since we’ve played together, and some guys were new in the mix, while we also didn’t know when the DHL Stormers or Vodacom Bulls players would be available at some stage, which are all aspects we have to keep in mind,” Erasmus said.

The Barbarians arrived with a strong invitational side drawn from 11 countries and including 19 Test-capped players.

The team was captained by former All Blacks scrumhalf TJ Perenara and included South African-born Scotland and British & Irish Lions wing Duhan van der Merwe, former Springbok fullback Warrick Gelant, Wallabies back Andrew Kellaway, France centre Virimi Vakatawa and Argentina flyhalf Tomás Albornoz.

Edwill van der Merwe led the Bok scoring with a hat-trick, while Pieter-Steph du Toit, Jasper Wiese, Riley Norton, Cheslin Kolbe, JJ Kotze, Faf de Klerk, Jesse Kriel, Andre Esterhuizen and Zachary Porthen also crossed for South Africa.

Kolbe was influential with the boot and ball in hand, converting nine tries and scoring one himself before Vusi Moyo added the final conversion after Porthen’s late try.

Despite the size of the victory, Erasmus said the Boks could not ignore the way the Barbarians broke through before halftime.

“To score 80 points is nice, but the Barbarians were thrown together quite late, and had only three training sessions, which makes them difficult to analyse. They scored four or five great tries, so we need to eliminate those defensive lapses and be better as a unit when we play against England.”

The Boks will play England at Ellis Park, Johannesburg, on 4 July, in their opening Test of the Nations Championship.

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A Democratic Alliance (DA) by-election candidate and community activist has been shot and killed in Dunoon, Cape Town, after spending the day assisting with voter registration activities.

The DA on Saturday night confirmed the death of Sinovuyo Dyokwe, its candidate for the Ward 104 by-election, describing the killing as “tragic and shocking”.

According to the party, Dyokwe was “gunned down” while travelling home from a voter registration venue after participating in the first day of the national voter registration weekend.

In a statement, the DA said Dyokwe had dedicated her day to helping residents register or re-register to vote ahead of the upcoming local government elections.

“The Democratic Alliance is saddened and outraged by the murder of our Dunoon Ward 104 by-election candidate and community activist, Sinovuyo Dyokwe,” the party said.

The DA extended its condolences to Dyokwe’s family, friends and colleagues, describing her as a committed activist who played a key role in strengthening the party’s support base in the area.

“Known for her bright smile and bubbly personality, Sinovuyo was instrumental in growing the DA voter base in Dunoon and cemented herself as a reliable and effective community activist,” the statement said.

DA constituency head Nicholas Gotsell said he was engaging with the South African Police Service (SAPS) to establish the circumstances surrounding the shooting.

The party said it had arranged counselling support for Dyokwe’s family, friends and colleagues following the incident.

The DA also vowed to monitor developments closely and called for justice to be served.

“We will fight to ensure Sinovuyo’s loved ones receive the justice they deserve,” the party said.

The circumstances surrounding the killing remain unclear, and police had not yet publicly disclosed a motive at the time of publication.

Dyokwe’s death comes as political parties across the country conduct voter registration campaigns ahead of the local government elections.

The DA paid tribute to its candidate, thanking her for her dedication and service to both the party and the Dunoon community.

“Thank you for your unwavering commitment to the DA. Your dedication and sacrifices will forever be remembered,” the party said.

This is a developing story.

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National Assembly Speaker Thoko Didiza will not oppose President Cyril Ramaphosa’s urgent court bid to stop Parliament’s Phala Phala impeachment inquiry from proceeding.

Didiza, who has been cited as the first respondent in the case, filed a notice indicating that she would abide by the Western Cape High Court’s ruling.

Ramaphosa is seeking an interdict against the National Assembly’s Section 89 impeachment committee while he pursues a review of the independent panel report, which the Constitutional Court ordered Parliament to refer to the committee.

The matter is set down for hearing on 15 and 16 July. Ramaphosa launched the urgent application on 12 June.

The impeachment committee has resolved to oppose the president’s application, saying it remains under a constitutional obligation to continue with the process unless a court orders otherwise. It had also asked Didiza to join the opposition to Ramaphosa’s court bid.

The committee is due to meet on 24 June to consider its draft terms of reference and the appointment of evidence leaders.

The impeachment process was revived after the Constitutional Court ruled on 8 May that the National Assembly’s 2022 decision not to refer the Phala Phala report to an impeachment committee was invalid.

The court ordered that the independent panel report be referred to the impeachment committee for consideration under the National Assembly rules.

The Phala Phala matter relates to the theft of foreign currency from Ramaphosa’s private farm in Limpopo in February 2020. Ramaphosa has denied wrongdoing and has previously said the money came from the sale of buffalo on the farm.

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Young people have emerged as the biggest group of new voter registration applicants as more than 330,000 voter registration transactions were processed by midday on the first day of the Electoral Commission’s voter registration weekend.

Briefing the media on Saturday, IEC Deputy Chief Electoral Officer Masego Sheburi said early indications showed that young people made up the majority of those registering ahead of the 4 November local government elections.

“Indeed, the preponderance of new applicants today are young persons,” Sheburi said.

The IEC said over 300,000 registration transactions were processed at voting stations across the country, while another 30,000 applications were submitted through the online registration platform.

Sheburi said the registration weekend had started on an “overwhelmingly positive note”, with nearly all of the country’s 23,706 voting stations opening and operating as planned by 8am.

KwaZulu-Natal recorded the highest number of registration applications, followed by Gauteng and the Eastern Cape.

Despite the availability of online registration, the IEC said most applicants chose to register at voting stations. 

Sheburi said the commission expected online registrations to increase later in the day and overnight because the platform remains available 24 hours a day.

The commission also reported a small number of technical complaints involving delays in receiving one-time pins needed to complete online registrations. However, Sheburi said the registration system remained stable.

The IEC revealed that fewer than 16 voting stations across the country remained closed because of community protests. Sheburi said the commission was working with community leaders and the South African Police Service to resolve the disruptions.

Addressing concerns about voting station relocations, including a dispute at the University of Limpopo, Sheburi said the issue had been resolved and the voting station had been reinstated at the university.

He explained that voting stations are only moved when municipal ward boundaries change or when new settlements and population shifts require additional voting facilities.

Sheburi also appealed to South Africans who feel disillusioned with politics to still register.

“You may not have a political home,” he said.

“All we can ask is that register so that during the campaigns, if there’s a party or a candidate that speaks to your issues, you’ve already taken the first step of being on the voters’ roll.”

The IEC will release the final registration figures on Tuesday and will then decide whether a second voter registration weekend will be necessary.

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A Malawian man was killed and two other people were seriously injured after a group broke away from an anti-immigration march in Pietermaritzburg and attacked people at the Jika Joe informal settlement, KZN Premier Thamsanqa Ntuli said on Saturday.

The killing took place on Friday after a march of more than 2,000 people — led by March and March — moved from Dales Park to the Pietermaritzburg City Hall “without incident”, according to the provincial government.

But after the march ended, a group allegedly went to Jika Joe, where the Malawian national was fatally attacked.

News24 reported police saying the man was found near a riverbed, where he had slipped, with a cut to his head and injuries to his mouth. Two others were assaulted and admitted to hospital for treatment. Police said the circumstances leading to the attack were under investigation.

Said Ntuli: “The loss of human life under these circumstances is deeply regrettable and unacceptable. While citizens have a constitutional right to raise concerns and participate in peaceful demonstrations, no grievance, frustration or disagreement can ever justify acts of violence, vigilantism, mob justice or the targeting of any individual or group,”

“Criminality must never be allowed to masquerade as activism or community action.”

30 June anti-illegal immigrant ‘deadline’

The killing comes as KZN — known for xenophobic violence and murders in the past — and other parts of South Africa face increased tensions over immigration, with anti-illegal immigration groups led by March and March pushing a 30 June “deadline” for undocumented foreign nationals to leave the country, or be forcibly removed by locals.

Government has not endorsed the ultimatum and has repeatedly said immigration enforcement must be handled by the state.

In Durban, thousands of Malawian nationals have been camped at the Sherwood Hall area, about six kilometres from the city centre, where many have sought help to return home because of the escalating threats and intimidation. Dozens of those at the site were chased from informal settlements in and around the Durban area.

But overcrowding at the Sherwood site has led to a second processing hub being set up at the old Durban Drive-in site, close to prime tourist attractions Suncoast Casino and the Gold Mile beachfront precinct. Marquees and other facilities were already erected at the drive-in site when Inside Politics visited it on Saturday morning.

eThekwini mayor, Cyril Xaba, said on Saturday that two 5 000 capacity marquees had been erected at the site, and that “meals, and other basic necessities donated by non-governmental organisations” would be available for the foreign nationals.

“We are grateful to officials from the Department of Home Affairs and the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development for the excellent work they have done in the past few days in processing individuals.

“To date, close to 4 000 people have been deported or repatriated,” he said.

“We have seen a significant improvement in the pace of deportations.

“Yesterday (Friday) alone, we were able to dispatch eight buses carrying 784 people returning to Malawi,” Xaba said at the press briefing.

“To speed up the process, we have now migrated from deportation to repatriation, which has several advantages.

“This process is less bureaucratic as it is implemented through cooperation with the Malawian government and it does not require court processes.”

Home Affairs has been processing repatriation and deportation cases using mobile facilities at Sherwood. That site will remain open, according to the municipality.

Home Affairs said earlier this week that 1,876 Malawians processed at Sherwood had been found to have flouted immigration laws, including visa overstays, expired permits and undocumented status. A special virtual court was also set up at Sherwood to deal with processing.

The situation at Sherwood turned tense this week when police clashed with the Malawian nationals who said they were frustrated by delays in the repatriation process. Police used rubber bullets and flash bangs to calm the crowds, who started pelting officials and police with stones, because of the delays.

Strong police presence at Sherwood

When Inside Politics visited the site on Saturday, some of the Malawians were already being bused to the drive-in site. The area was calm, with an exceptionally high police presence, but the stench of urine and faeces hung in the air, forcing police and other officials to wear masks, they told Inside Politics.

Police and an immigration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorised to speak to the media, said it was their understanding that only women camped at the site were being moved to the drive-in site, for now. Xaba confirmed that at his press briefing.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has warned citizens against scapegoating foreign nationals for unemployment, crime and poor public services, saying government must address immigration lawfully while preventing “vigilantism and instability”.

Ntuli said communities had genuine concerns about illegal immigration and socio-economic pressures, but said that these could not justify violence.

“[T]he actions of criminal elements who exploit public gatherings and community concerns to commit acts of violence undermine legitimate civic activism and threaten social cohesion. Such conduct must be condemned in the strongest possible terms,” he said.

“It is therefore unfortunate that criminal elements appear to have hijacked the situation and tarnished thedemonstration. Those responsible for these acts must face the full might of the law.”

Ntuli called on police and other law enforcement agencies to identify, arrest and prosecute those responsible for the killing and assaults.

“We expect a thorough and swift investigation. Those who planned, incited or participated in these criminal acts must be brought to book. No one is above the law, and there can be no impunity for acts of violence and murder.”

Cachalia briefed on demonstrations

Also on Saturday, Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia met with police management to be briefed about the state of readiness ahead of the 30 June demonstrations.

According to SAPS, Cachalia received “detailed presentations on national and provincial operational plans aimed at ensuring that all demonstrations take place in a safe, secure and peaceful manner”.

“Following the briefing, the Acting Minister expressed satisfaction with the measures that have been put in place by the SAPS,” police said.

They said Cachalia and deputy ministers of police will, in the coming weeks, meet with the minister of defence and premiers of all nine provinces to “reinforce effective coordination and monitoring among all relevant security role players and to ensure adequate support ahead of the planned demonstrations”.

“In addition, they will also meet with representatives of the private security industry, recognising their important role as force multipliers in enhancing safety and security.

“The Ministry of Police will further conduct visits to identified areas that have experienced heightened levels of instability to assess operational readiness and reinforce policing efforts.”

Said Cachalia: “While the constitutional right to peaceful protest will be respected, no acts of lawlessness, violence, intimidation or criminality will be tolerated.

“Weekly enforcement operations remain ongoing to verify the legal status of foreign nationals in the country.

“These operations are aimed at ensuring that all foreign nationals residing in South Africa are in the country legally and are in possession of valid documentation.

“Where violations of the law are identified, appropriate action will be taken in accordance with the law.”

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ANC President Cyril Ramaphosa led the party’s voter registration campaign in Ekurhuleni on Saturday as South Africans head to voting stations for the first day of the voter registration weekend ahead of the November Local Government Elections.

Ramaphosa arrived in KwaThema on Saturday morning, where he received a briefing from ANC Gauteng convener Panyaza Lesufi, provincial spokesperson Mzi Khumalo and other party leaders on preparations for the registration drive.

Speaking to the media while he was engaging with citizens, he said: “I’m finding that there’s a lot of enthusiasm amongst voters, and particularly the young voters.

“I’ve encountered a number of them, and they all are enthusiastic to register to vote, and for me that is really uplifting, that the work that is being done by government is resulting in young people wanting to participate to be active citizens and to register to vote, so that their voices can be heard.”

As cold as it was in Johannesburg on Saturday, he said, there was “quite a lot of buzz and activity”.

It was also good to meet older citizens who were “braving the cold”, he said, to check their voter registration status.

“This is what citizenship and citizenry is all about, so there’s a very joyous and pleasant mood from young people to older people,” he said.

The ANC said the campaign is aimed at encouraging eligible citizens, particularly young people and first-time voters, to register and verify their voter details ahead of the local government elections on 4 November.

Ramaphosa is expected to visit four voting districts in KwaThema and Katlehong during the day as part of the party’s mobilisation campaign.

Voting stations across the country opened at 08:00 on Saturday and will remain open until 17:00. The stations will reopen on Sunday, allowing voters to register, update their details or check their registration status.

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The Department of Health says it has not received any official communication from the United States (US) government regarding reports that Washington intends to end PEPFAR funding in South Africa, but maintains that plans have been in place to cushion the impact of any withdrawal.

The response follows reports that the Trump administration is preparing to terminate support through the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), a programme that has been a key contributor to South Africa’s HIV response for more than two decades.

While the department could not confirm the reports, it said it began preparing for reduced US support after foreign assistance was frozen and several USAID grants were cancelled in January 2025.

“The Department of Health has not received a formal correspondence from the US Government, directly or indirectly, regarding what has been published in the media recently on the wind down of PEPFAR funding in South Africa,” the department said on Saturday.

“However, this did not come as a surprise because the Department has long been working on a self-reliance plan since the initial freeze on foreign assistance and a cancellation of USAID grants in January 2025, to minimize the impact of President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief withdrawal.”

The department stressed that the country’s supply of antiretroviral (ARVs) medicines would remain secure because treatment is primarily funded by the South African government.

“There is no doubt that PEPFAR was a big contributor to our HIV programme, but not to the provision of life-saving Antiretrovirals because we procure 90% of ARVs from government fiscus, supported by 10% from the Global Fund.”

According to the department, PEPFAR’s support was concentrated in 27 HIV/AIDS high-burden districts across eight provinces, with the Northern Cape not among the beneficiary provinces.

The department also said patients affected by the closure of PEPFAR-funded clinics had already been integrated into the public health system.

“When the PEPFAR funded clinics were closed, the Department removed their files of these clients from those clinics to the nearest public facilities to ensure the affected patients continue with their treatment journey at the public health facilities.”

The issue of HIV funding is expected to feature at the United Nations High-Level Meeting on HIV/AIDS on Monday and Tuesday, where Health Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi will participate in discussions on the future of global HIV/AIDS financing.

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KwaZulu-Natal Social Development MEC Mbali Shinga has won the first round of her legal battle against NFP president Ivan Barnes, whom she has accused of trying to engineer her removal from the provincial legislature and take over the party’s seat.

Shinga scored an interim legal victory on Friday when the High Court in Pietermaritzburg interdicted the NFP and the KZN Legislature from proceeding with steps to remove and replace her as the party’s MPL, pending the finalisation of further internal and legal processes.

The court ruled that Shinga should remain an NFP member and a member of the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature for now, after finding that the party’s disciplinary and appeal processes had not been finally determined.

That was after Shinga argued in her court papers that the appeals tribunal which upheld her expulsion last month was not the final body that should hear her case.

She argued that the constitution of the party was clear that its general national conference was the highest internal structure and that Barnes and leaders aligned with him had jumped the gun when they wrote to the Legislature Speaker Nontembeko Boyce to say she had been expelled and should be replaced.

The NFP had moved to remove Shinga after its appeals tribunal upheld a decision to expel her for defying a party directive to support the removal of KwaZulu-Natal Premier Thami Ntuli in December last year.

The court also ruled that, if Boyce had already acted on the directive by Barnes and the NFP to remove Shinga, that decision was set aside and the status quo should remain as it was before the attempted removal.

The court further ruled that Shinga could not be removed from the legislature while her internal appeal and the party’s decision were still unresolved.

Shinga told the court her application was urgent because, if she followed the normal court roll and procedures, it could take up to two years for the matter to be heard.

By then, she said, Barnes and other NFP leaders would have succeeded in removing her unfairly and without following proper internal processes.

The dispute has placed renewed pressure on KwaZulu-Natal’s Government of Provincial Unity, in which the NFP holds one seat but plays a potentially decisive role.

In her application, Shinga had cited Advocate Zweli Zakwe, who chaired the appeals tribunal that upheld her expulsion.

She accused Zakwe of acting outside the party’s constitution and said his appointment as appeal chairperson was imposed on her.

Shinga’s lawyer, Sithembiso Mbhele, said his client would now return to work.

Barnes said on Saturday: “The NFP National Executive Committee will meet [on Sunday] to attend to the interim (court order) and abide by the ruling.”

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U.S. President Donald Trump’s personal envoy and Iran’s foreign minister were headed to Switzerland for talks, Axios news said, although deadly strikes by Israel in Lebanon on Saturday could test a new ceasefire key to ​ending the Iran war.

The talks, led by Steve Witkoff and Abbas Araqchi mark an effort to turn this week’s interim 14-point pact into a lasting regional ‌deal to end the war that the United States and Israel launched on February 28.

But just hours after a ceasefire took effect in Lebanon between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah, Israeli air strikes and drone attacks killed at least five people in the south on Saturday, Lebanese state media said.

A halt to the fighting in Lebanon is a condition for starting 60 days of U.S.-Iranian talks to resolve ​disputes over Iran’s nuclear program and other thorny issues needed to forge a more durable deal critical to reopening the Strait of Hormuz and stabilising global oil ​supplies.

Witkoff-Araqchi talks arranged after Vance pulls out

The Lebanon ceasefire took effect around 4 p.m. (1300 GMT) on Friday in Lebanon after an exchange ⁠of fire, a senior U.S. official said. Two sources from Hezbollah and a senior Israeli official confirmed the ceasefire.

But Israeli warplanes and drones launched a series of strikes across ​the Nabatieh area overnight and into Saturday morning, destroying residential buildings, while Israeli artillery shelled Nabatieh and its outskirts before dawn, Lebanese state news agency NNA said.

Israel did not immediately comment ​on the NNA report.

Witkoff is heading to Switzerland to join Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, who is already there, while Araqchi would travel there on Saturday, Axios said.

The White House did not respond to questions about Witkoff’s travel. Iran has not confirmed Araqchi’s plans.

Vice President JD Vance cancelled plans on Thursday to travel to the Swiss mountaintop resort of Buergenstock as preparations for technical talks were well advanced, amid ​rising tension between Israel and Hezbollah.

Switzerland stood ready to facilitate the U.S.-Iran talks and preparatory work continued, the Swiss foreign ministry said.

Wednesday’s interim deal requires the United States, Iran and ​their allies to declare an immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon.

Israel, left out of the talks, says it is not party to the deal.

Lebanon key to durable U.S.-Iran peace deal

Araqchi, in a telephone call with his Pakistani counterpart on Friday, said the United States would be responsible for any violation of its commitments under the deal, including ending the fighting in Lebanon, his ministry said.

Lebanon was sucked into the regional war when Hezbollah opened fire at Israel on March 2, prompting it to launch an offensive against the group and invade the south of the country.

Before Saturday’s attacks, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun discussed holding Israel-Lebanon negotiations in Washington from Tuesday to Thursday, ​the State Department said.

The Lebanese presidency said ​a comprehensive ceasefire was a fundamental pillar ⁠of these talks.

The Iran war has killed at least 7,000 people, mostly in Iran and Lebanon. It has pushed up energy prices, stoking inflation worldwide.

Brent crude fell about 8% this week, and oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz picked up after the signing ​of the interim deal.

The strait carried nearly a fifth of global crude oil and liquefied natural gas supplies before Iran blockaded it ​during the war.

The body ⁠Iran set up to manage the strait said on Friday it would waive planned fees during the interim deal’s negotiation period.

The interim deal foresees relief for Iran from economic sanctions, the unfreezing of assets worth tens of billions of dollars and immediate U.S. waivers for its exports of oil.

It also provides for a $300-billion reconstruction fund for Iran and other financial incentives.

Trump again defended the ⁠deal after ​criticism in Washington, including some from Republican allies in Congress who question whether he conceded too much to ​end a war unpopular with most Americans ahead of midterm elections in November.

“The War has diminished Iran!” Trump wrote on social media on Friday, adding, “We didn’t meet out of desperation, Iran did. They are FINISHED! We’ll play ​out the 60 days. They get no money, not 10 cents!” — Reuters

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The United States is to end funding for HIV programmes in South Africa, escalating a dispute over Washington’s allegations that Pretoria has failed to protect Afrikaners and other white South Africans, according to reports by the Daily Caller and BBC.

The Daily Caller first reported on 18 June that the Trump administration had notified South Africa it was ending its President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) support after Pretoria “failed to protect white South Africans from violence and displacement”.

The State Department posted the Daily Caller article from its official X account late on Friday.

The BBC reported the decision was “over claims of Afrikaner persecution”.

According to the Daily Caller, the State Department said it was ending the funding because South Africa had failed to:

• Provide exemptions or alternatives for US companies to Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment laws and other race-based mandates.
• Have senior government officials unequivocally condemn all race-based incitement to violence, including the “kill the Boer” song, more frequently.
• Prevent the implementation of measures that would allow expropriation without fair compensation and due process under the Expropriation Act of 2024.
• Designate rural crime a “priority crime,” and increase resources dedicated to high-crime rural areas.
• Refrain from actions that would significantly interfere with the implementation of the refugee programme within the confines of South African law.

A State Department spokesperson, quoted by the Daily Caller, said: “South Africa is a middle-income country and is more than capable of supporting its own health programs”.

PEPFAR, launched by President George W. Bush in 2003, has been a major source of support for HIV treatment and prevention in South Africa, home to one of the world’s largest HIV populations.

PEPFAR makes up about 17% of the country’s HIV/AIDS programme, while the state funds most antiretroviral procurement.

It was not immediately clear when the drawdown would be completed or what transitional arrangements, if any, would replace the current programme.

This is a developing story.

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