Johannesburg - The African Mirror

Sep

14

2024

Johannesburg’s underbelly is explored in Niq Mhlongo’s fresh new novel about a messy break-up

LITERATURE

NIQ MHLONGO was born in Soweto, Johannesburg in 1973 and grew up under apartheid, South Africa’s institutionalised racial segregation under white minority rule. He graduated in political studies and African literature in 1996 and then studied law, but dropped out in his final year to become a writer instead. Mhlongo entered the South African literary scene with his novel Dog Eat Dog (2004). He’s since published three more novels and three short story collections, and has edited three volumes of writing. Critics have called him “one of the most high-spirited and irreverent new voices of South Africa’s post-apartheid literary scene”.…

Jul

19

2024

By The African Mirror

Special, emotional farewell for soccer legend Stan “Screamer” Tshabalala

NEWS

ON a sombre mid-winter July day in Johannesburg, the football world gathered to bid farewell to Stan "Screamer" Tshabalala, a legendary figure in South African soccer. The funeral service, held at a packed Grace Bible Church in Soweto, was a testament to the impact Tshabalala had on the sport both locally and internationally. The atmosphere was heavy with grief, yet charged with respect and admiration for a man who had given so much to the beautiful game. Black and white banners, representing Tshabalala's favourite team colours, draped the venue, fluttering gently in the winter breeze. The South African government honoured…

Jul

05

2024

By SETH ONYANGO, BIRD STORY AGENCY

Johannesburg scientists fight back against poachers with radioactive chips

NEWS

SCIENTISTS at South Africa's University of the Witwatersrand are implanting radioactive chips into rhino horns in what promises to disrupt the poaching trade. Embedding tiny, harmless radioactive isotopes into rhino horns of living rhinoceross would enable precise tracking and monitoring, making it nearly impossible for smugglers to move the horns undetected. The Rhisotope Project, founded in 2021 by Professor James Larkin, began with the injection of chips into the first of 20 rhinos last month. It has already shown significant promise and comes at a critical time, as rhino populations continue to dwindle due to relentless poaching driven by the…

May

29

2024

By LESEGO KHOMO

South Africa: Gold mine pollution is poisoning Soweto’s water and soil – study finds food gardens are at risk

ENVIRONMENT

FOR 140 years, gold mines in Johannesburg, South Africa have been leaking wastewater contaminated with heavy metals. The acid mine drainage from Johannesburg’s estimated 278 abandoned mines and 200 mine dumps includes uranium (a radioactive metal), toxic arsenic, copper, cobalt, nickel, lead and zinc. Acid mine drainage can pollute land and water sources up to 20 kilometres away from a mine unless it is remediated by mining companies. The contamination cascades through food webs and poisons river water, plants and animals. Before 1994 in South Africa, African communities were forcibly relocated to places near mine dumps in Soweto, south-west of…

May

06

2024

By TIM COCKS

SA authorities blamed for fire tragedy in which 77 people died

NEWS

AN inquiry into a fire that killed 77 people in Johannesburg last year blamed neglect by authorities for allowing a building to become a den for guns, murder, drugs and combustible trash, and failing to evacuate it once it was clear it was a hazard. South Africa opened the inquiry last October to determine responsibility for the blaze on August 31 last year in the rundown centre of its commercial hub. The fire cast light on the gangs that seize abandoned public buildings to illegally rent them out. Many victims were so badly burned they had to be identified with…

Apr

24

2024

By SETH ONYANGO, BIRD STORY AGENCY

African cities with the most millionaires

NEWS

GROWING private wealth in Africa is transforming the continent's major cities into hubs for millionaires and billionaires, according to the latest Henley & Partners Africa Wealth Report. Collectively, these urban centres are home to 135,200 millionaires, 342 centi-millionaires with fortunes exceeding US$100 million, and 21 billionaires. With the number of high-net-worth individuals projected to jump by 65% over the next decade, these cities are not only expanding economically but are also setting the stage for a new era of prosperity and influence. bird TenX lists the top ten cities and regions for private wealth in Africa:1. Johannesburg, South Africa: 12,300…

Apr

25

2024

By BRONWYN LAW-VILJOEN

Johannesburg in a time of darkness: Ivan Vladislavić’s new memoir reminds us of the city’s fragility

LITERATURE

IVAN Vladislavic is Johannesburg’s literary linkman. He tells us, in the first pages of his new book, The Near North, that before cities were lit, first by gaslight and later electricity, people of means paid torchbearers to escort them through dark and perilous streets. “In Paris,” he observes, “these linkmen were often police spies or informers, while in London they were more likely to be in league with criminals”. For his part, Vladislavic believes that the real linkmen are Johannesburg’s car guards. They emerge from the darkness not so much to guard cars as to give middle-class drivers the illusion…

Apr

05

2024

By The African Mirror

Former South Africa junior international shot dead in hijacking

NEWS

FORMER South Africa junior international Luke Fleurs, who played for the country’s most popular club Kaizer Chiefs, has been killed in an attempted hijacking in Johannesburg, police officials confirmed. The 24-year-old was shot in the chest at a petrol station on Wednesday night and the assailants drove off in his vehicle. "While waiting to be served by the petrol attendant, he was confronted by two armed males," police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Mavela Masondo told reporters, adding no arrests had yet been made. Centre-back Fleurs played every minute for South Africa at the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2021, and that same…

Feb

01

2024

By SAKHILE DUBE, BIRD STORY AGENCY

From the high-flying aviation industry to working the highways and byways of Johannesburg

BUSINESS

LOBISA Nhlapo spends her days contending with a mix of the traffic jams and open highways and byways of one of Africa's oldest developed cities: Johannesburg. The diversity of the storied surroundings is echoed in the multitude of stories told by her clients. That rich tapestry, along with regular improvements in her working conditions, is what has prevented her from going back to the aviation industry, where she worked before Covid. However, questions over her role as a woman driver in the male-dominated ride-share still rattle her. "Personally, I love meeting all kinds of people, which makes my work more…

Dec

01

2023

By BONFACE ORUCHO, BIRD STORY AGENCY

NBA Africa expands in the East

BASKETBALL

NBA Africa has established a subsidiary in Nairobi, adding a fifth office to a network that includes Cairo, Johannesburg, Dakar, and Lagos. According to NBA Africa/s new CEO, Victor Williams, the NBA Kenya office will bolster basketball within the country, especially in the school curriculum. “We want to train more teachers and coaches in the game to strengthen the administration of the game by also offering clinics to referees. We also want to work with prospective partners who see the game as a vehicle to engage young people,” Williams explained. The NBA launch event on November 29th included a junior…