Celani Sikhakhane brings you KwaZulu-Natal’s latest news.
ENcome/Blood River: Preparations by the KZN government are underway to commemorate the Battle of Blood River/eNcome in Nquthu, where Zulu regiments under King Dingane kaSenzangakhona were defeated by the army of Andries Pretorius in 1838.
This comes after the KZN MEC for Arts and Culture met with traditional leaders for consultations over the commemoration of the Battle of Blood River. The Voortrekkers/Afrikaners then made a vow at a stone placed on the banks of the river that they would commemorate their victory there every year on 16 December.
The 16th of December was known to the Zulus as Dingane’s Day, as they remembered the blood of their warriors who died there. The Afrikaners named it the Day of the Vow to thank God for their victory, which turned the river red with the blood of Zulu warriors whose bodies were thrown into it.
The democratic government later renamed 16 December as the Day of Reconciliation.
Durban: Various police operations, including Operation Shanela and day-to-day policing, resulted in the arrest of 13,164 suspects for different categories of crime in the month of October 2025 in KwaZulu-Natal.
Tracing and tracking teams cornered and arrested 195 suspects linked to cases of murder and 214 suspects in connection with cases of attempted murder. Two hundred and sixty-two (262) suspects were arrested for rape, while 11 suspects were arrested for attempted rape. Forty-five (45) suspects were also arrested for sexual assault, and 271 people were arrested for transgressions of the Domestic Violence Act.
Two hundred and thirty-six (236) suspects were arrested for robbery cases, with 108 of them arrested for house robbery. Those who resolve personal differences through violence were not spared, with 1,865 suspects arrested for assault with intent to inflict grievous bodily harm (Assault GBH).
Mashobeni Royal Palace: Advocate Morumo Moerane SC paid a courtesy visit to the Zulu King after being appointed to investigate the alleged mismanagement of funds at the Ingonyama Trust Board.
Advocate Moerane was accompanied by the Minister of Rural Development and Land Reform, Mzwanele Nyhontso, on Thursday. He was appointed by the Rural and Land Reform Portfolio Committee in Parliament last month after King Misuzulu kaZwelithini raised concerns about missing funds, which the board has accused former chairperson Jerome Ngwenya of mismanaging.
Ngwenya was recently ordered by the court to repay some of the millions.
Pictured above: KZN government officials and traditional leaders during the consultation at the Ncome Museum in preparation for the commemoration of the Battle of Blood River.
Image source: KZNDAC
