The suspect arrested for allegedly starting at Paarl Hospital on Tuesday morning, 27 January, has been identified as Morné Dampies, a patient in the psychiatric section of the hospital. The 35-year-old appeared at the Paarl Magistrates Court on Thursday, 29 January, charged with arson. It is alleged that he made a fire in a waste bin that was next to the hospital, which in turn caused a nearby car to catch alight.
An Austrian paraglider was rescued after he landed on a remote mountainside near Genadendal at the weekend. According to the Wilderness Search and Rescue(WSAR), the 49-year-old paraglider launched from Rusty Gate Mountain Retreat, on the mountain pass between Villiersdorp and Greyton, on Saturday, and had already covered approximately 153 km in just over two hours when changing conditions forced him to deploy his emergency parachute mid-flight and hard land on the mountainside.
The Department of Home Affairs (DHA) has set a new record, issuing more than 4 million smart Identity Document (ID) cards in 2025, the highest number in the department’s history. This milestone marks a 17% increase from the over 3 million smart IDs issued in 2024, which had itself been a record year. Compared with 2023 and 2022, the 2025 total is about 1.3 million more cards issued, reflecting a steady upward
Ten of the Western Cape Anti-Gang Unit (AGU) members charged with the murder of Manenberg resident Wade Price are set to attend a bail appeal hearing at the Western Cape High Court tomorrow. Price was arrested in December and died shortly after, allegedly from suffocation during a police interrogation. AGU Legal Representative, Advocate Bruce Hendricks, says bail should be granted to the accused, and that they will appeal on 60 grounds.
The City Council has passed Cape Town’s Adjustment Budget, tabled by Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis on 29 January, who described it as a key tool to keep major projects on track while maintaining financial sustainability. The mid-year budget adjustment realigns spending with the pace and scope of projects already underway, shifting funds forward or back where necessary to ensure priority programmes are properly resourced. Major focus on N2 safety project A significant
