Celani Sikhakhane brings you KwaZulu-Natal's latest news.
Pietermaritzburg: The Minister of Land Reform and Rural Development Mzwanele Nyhontso has finally dissolved the board of Ingonyama Trust. This comes after a public meeting with the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Rural Development and Land Reform to dissolve the board. This decision follows the recent resignation of two more board members in February and March, which reduced the board to only four active members, which is below the number required for it to lawfully work and do its job. His Majesty the King had previously told the Minister directly, making it clear that he would not participate in or recognise a board whose conduct has been marred by allegations of bad administration, bad management and wrongdoing. The continued problems of the board made it incapable of doing its legal and fiduciary responsibilities. In light of these developments, and after talking with His Majesty the King, the Premier of KwaZulu-Natal Province, the Chairperson of the KwaZulu Provincial House of Traditional Leaders and Parliament, the Minister has taken the necessary step to dissolve the board.
Ntuzuma: A suspect who was arrested for attempted murder on Saturday was shot and killed when he tried to kill police officers at the police holding cells at Ntuzuma police station on Monday morning. Two police officers were charging the suspect at the cells when he overpowered them and started beating them after taking keys of the main door from the officers. Police managed to call for backup and when uniformed police officers came to help, the suspect grabbed the gun from one of them and started shooting as he locked them inside the cells. Police took cover as the suspect continued firing shots. The hostage situation continued for several minutes before tactical police teams managed to get into the cells and during the operation, the 22-year-old suspect was shot and killed. Two police officers, a male and a female, sustained minor injuries during the fight. Police officers who were held hostage will be temporarily withdrawn from active operations for them to undergo psychological counseling sessions.
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Madadeni: The Madadeni Regional Court has sentenced a 36-year-old woman to eight years in prison after she pleaded guilty to charges of child abuse and child neglect involving her four-month-old infant. The offences occurred in the Osizweni area in northern KwaZulu-Natal between March and August 2025. During this period, the woman would repeatedly leave her home without telling anyone where she was going. On these occasions, she would leave her infant child in the care of her mother. When she came back, her mother would scold her, saying the infant needed to be breastfed. However, the woman ignored these concerns and continued to disappear from home for days and sometimes weeks at a time. On one such occasion, after the woman had again left the child behind and failed to return, her mother opened a case with the police. When the woman eventually came home, she was arrested. The court sentenced her to eight years in prison.
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