The South African Police Service (SAPS) has confirmed that no explosive devices were found at the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court, following a tip-off about a bomb reportedly planted inside a car, outside the court today.

SAPS says a bomb threat case is being investigated by the Wynberg police.

“According to reports, the anonymous caller told the police that there would be a car with a bomb outside the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court.”

The police immediately alerted Wynberg police, Radio Control, the Bomb Disposal and K9 Unit.

“After a thorough search was done around 12:50pm at Wynberg Magistrate’s Court and the nearby streets, nothing was found. Investigation regarding this case continues.”

City of Cape Town officials are warning that the window to avoid water restrictions later this year is narrowing as dam levels continue dropping, amid high-level consumption.

The City maintains that there is no drought, but concerns are rising, with dam levels currently on 55%. This is roughly 19% lower than at the same time last year. 

Updated projections shared on Wednesday indicate that dam storage could drop to as low as 40% by May, if current usage persists and if rainfall is average in winter. 

“Cape Town is not facing an immediate drought emergency, but dam levels are about 20% lower than last year and the system is entering a phase where early choices will shape the months ahead,” said Mayoral Committee Member for Water and Sanitation, Zahid Badroodien. 

While there is no immediate threat to the water supply, an “Early Drought Caution” phase has been triggered, due to “lower-than-expected dam levels” signalling the need for responsible and careful water use.  

Daily water consumption spiked to 1,073 million litres per day (MLD) on Monday, with average per-person use at around 178 litres per day.  

“Saving water at a household level is now essential to reducing collective consumption and returning our status to below the 975MLD mark,” read the City’s statement.  

The City said the next 90 days, “between now and May really matter”.  

Officials note that small reductions in demand now could help keep dams fuller and maintain flexibility. 

The City added that long-term projects, including groundwater schemes, water reuse and desalination, are also underway to strengthen Cape Town’s future water security. 

READ MORE: City of Cape Town – The next 90 days will shape Cape Town’s winter water outlook

As tensions continue to rise in the Atlantis area, following a surge in taxi-related violence this week, the City of Cape Town is offering a reward of R100 000 for information leading to the arrest and prosecution of those responsible for the latest attack, which resulted in the death a 14 year old learner from Atlantis High school and a 42-year-old taxi driver yesterday.

READ MORE: Outrage after Atlantis school shooting claims learner & taxi driver

Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis says the community has been hit by a spate of violent incidents, clearly linked to disputes within the taxi industry.

“We stand with the peace-loving residents of Atlantis who should not have to suffer because of the internal fights between taxi bosses. I have now instructed that the City offers a reward of up to R100 000 for information that leads to the arrest and prosecution of those responsible. Anyone who can help should please come forward, and may do so anonymously.”

Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security, JP Smith, has pledged his department’s support, stressing that there is an urgent need to crack down on illegal taxi operations through amendments to the Traffic By-law.

“Action must be taken against those responsible for this shooting. At the same time, the City is pushing to finalise amendments to the Traffic By-law so that we can act more decisively against vehicles operating illegally. I support the mayor’s call for a reward and call on the community of Atlantis to help us with information related to this killing.”

As taxi-related violence escalates, authorities are appealing to the community for tips to help bring perpetrators to justice and restore safety in Atlantis.

Anyone with information can do anonymous tip-offs by calling 0800 00 6992 or emailing SSIMS.SSIUReporting@capetown.gov.za

The City of Cape Town has been announced as a winning city in the global Bloomberg ‘Mayor’s Challenge’ 2025, securing a $1 million prize, which will be used towards community co-designed waste management solutions in informal settlements.

Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis’s winning entry was selected from 630 applications for the global competition. Each of the 24 winning cities receives $1 million as well as operational support and additional funds to scale up innovations.

Cape Town’s entry was for a project aiming to improve waste management solutions in partnership with informal settlement residents to reduce illegal dumping and achieve cleaner, healthier communities.

Hill-Lewis says cleaning up informal settlements is a problem that has concerned him for years.

“That’s why I nominated this project for consideration for the Mayor’s Challenge Prize. We are most appreciative of this prize money and support, and we will use the money to scale up our pilot project on waste management in informal settlement communities. Our project recognises that success can only be achieved with the insights and collaboration of residents. We are energised by this global recognition as we work towards better, cleaner, more dignified living conditions for all residents, in line with our mission to build a city of hope for all.”

The initiative was piloted in Dunoon, and will feed into the development of a scaled-up solution, including:

• community-led waste separation-at-source projects;
• design and testing of greywater diversion infrastructure systems;
• and exploration of a new model for informal settlement waste and cleansing services.

The challenge took place over two phases, with Cape Town competing among 50 cities during the finalist phase where ideas are pressure-tested and ultimately chosen for ‘novelty, potential impact, and strength of implementation plans.’

Cape Town’s project aims to transform how waste services are contracted and operated in informal contexts in a way that can be replicated across Cape Town, and even in other municipalities and metros.

🇿🇦 Excited to announce that Cape Town has been named as a winning city in the Bloomberg ‘Mayor’s Challenge’ 2025, with a prize of $1 million! 🎉

We will use this prize money to fund a project we’re running with residents to co-design better waste management in low income… https://t.co/QjLru2IohL

— Geordin Hill-Lewis (@geordinhl) February 26, 2026

A suspected drug mule, who failed to appear in court has been re-arrested in Cape Town. According to Lieutenant Colonel Siyabulela Vukubi from the Hawks, 36-year old Jacques Schoeman was arrested last year in October at Cape Town International Airport with drugs worth millions of Rands in his possession.

A suspected drug mule has been re-arrested

Vukubi says the Western Cape Hawks’ South African Narcotics Enforcement Bureau (SANEB) team had received information about a South African citizen who was being used as a drug mule. This person was allegedly bringing drugs into the country on a flight from Doha in that month. He says an operation was carried out, where the suspect was stopped and searched. Vukubi says cocaine with a street value of more than R2 million was found concealed in his luggage.

Drug mule had failed to appear in court

Schoeman was re-arrested on 25 February 2026. He had failed to appear in court and subsequently a warrant was issued for his arrest for failing to appear. Colonel Vukubi says Schoeman first appeared in the Bellville Magistrates Court on 10 October 2025. Six days later on 16 October 2025, he was released on bail. The bail amount was R20 000. The judge then postponed the case to 20 January 2026 but he did not appear on the day. Vukubi says Schoeman is expected to appear in court again today (26 February 2026.)