The US is apparently coming to the G20.
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29 May 2025
/ The Wrap /
Hi there 🙋🏽♀️
We’re back with this week’s edition of The Wrap, and what a week it’s been.
First up: the US says it’ll attend the upcoming G20 Summit. Wonder if they’ll still feel welcome after a former president defended that song Trump was fuming about last week.
The latest stats say crime is down, but the brutal killing of Olorato Mongale has us asking: really?
A new service provider is running the lottery, and we’re giving them the side-eye. We’re also raising eyebrows at Brigitte Macron’s “playful moment” with the French president in Vietnam.
And finally, South Africa mourns the loss of two cultural figures who passed on Tuesday.
We’d also love to know what you think of the new Wrap format. Do you like the new format of 10 super-short briefs and then four longer stories, or do you prefer the old version of eight stories of about 300 words each?
Reply to this mail with your thoughts or vote in our poll here.
Now, let’s dive into these stories and more in this week’s wrap, brought to you by Verashni Pillay and the explain.co.za team. 😄
1. The US will attend the G20 in South Africa. According to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s weekly newsletter, US President Donald Trump agreed to this… we hope. 👀 In response to questions on this and BEE in Parliament on Tuesday, Ramaphosa noted all South Africans were equal, but race-based inequality persisted, which must be addressed.
2. Former president Thabo
Mbeki defended the 'Kill the Boer' song. Talk about spicy! In an interview this week, he said, “It’s a chant to motivate people. It was never taken literally.” Meanwhile, Julius Malema has vowed to keep singing it and believes the White House has boosted the EFF’s election hopes. No comment. 😶
3. SA’s violent crime rates have shown a promising decline. 🙌🏾 The release of the January-March 2025 statistics on Friday showed a 12.2% drop in murders and a 10.4% decrease in aggravated robberies. The Institute for Security Studies attributes the improvement to stronger governance. More of this, please.
4. Cameras captured the French President’s wife pushing him in the face as their plane doors opened. Emmanuel Macron has dismissed the incident, insisting it was playful joking. Awkward. 🫣 The couple met when Macron was 15 and his wife, Brigitte, was his 40-year-old teacher, leading some to speculate about grooming. Mon dieu!
5. A politically exposed company won the bid to run SA’s lottery, and those who lost are NOT happy. Trade Minister Parks Tau awarded the R90bn eight-year licence to Sizekhaya Holdings. The decision will likely be challenged in court. Separately, a high court effectively gave incumbent Ithuba five months to hand over to a new operator, which they say is not financially viable. Remind us why we need a lottery again?
6. Icasa is probing the illegal use of Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite services in SA. Meanwhile, government is mulling changes to BEE rules to let foreign firms like Starlink invest in local development instead of selling equity. Many Saffers aren’t happy, saying it's bending the rules for Musk; officials insist it's about boosting rural internet access.
7. Olorato Mongale was murdered on a first date. The 30-year-old Wits University master’s student was killed on Sunday in Johannesburg despite informing a friend of her plans, sharing her location, and keeping her phone’s location services active. Loved ones frantically searched for her when they realised something was wrong, but it was too late. 💔 Police have intensified the manhunt for three suspects.
8. Two beloved South African figures passed away on Tuesday. “Tsotsi” actor Presley Chweneyagae died, aged 40, due to “breathing complications”, according to his family. Radio DJ Darren Scott, aka Just Plain Darren, passed at 61 following a decades-long battle with skin cancer. Our thoughts are with their families. 😔
9. Kelly Smith, Jacquen Appollis and Steveno van Rhyn were sentenced to life imprisonment today. This was for kidnapping and trafficking of then-six-year-old Joshlin Smith. In delivering his sentence, Judge Nathan Erasmus noted premeditation and the convicted showing no remorse for their crimes. Joshlin remains missing.
10. Kardashian “momager” Kris Jenner got a new facelift that has everyone talking. She debuted her new face in Paris earlier this month, partly to attend Lauren Sánchez’s star-studded bachelorette party. Sánchez is due to marry Amazon founder and billionaire Jeff Bezos. It’s all giving Hunger Games if we’re honest.
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President Emmanuel Macron, Credit: Valsts kanceleja/State Chancellery of Latvia/Flickr; Radio Broadcaster Darren Scott, Credit:@poormanscaviar/X; Elon Musk, Credit: Gage Skidmore/Flickr; Kris Jenner, Credit: @krisjenner/ Instagram; Actor Presley Chweneyagae, Credit: @Shadaya_Knight/X; G20 Summit in 2014, Credit: Andrew Taylor/G20 Australia
▁ ▂ ▄ ▅ ▆ ▇ █ The Big Stories
SA–US trade ties get a reboot with billion-dollar gas deal on the table
South Africa and the United States appear to be turning the page on a rocky chapter, with President Cyril Ramaphosa hailing his recent Washington visit as a “turning point” for trade and diplomatic relations. At the heart of the renewed engagement is a proposed deal that would see South Africa purchase around $1 billion a year worth of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the US annually for 10 years — a move aimed at averting steep tariffs and boosting bilateral trade.
In exchange, South Africa would secure duty-free access for 40,000 vehicles, 385,000 tonnes of steel, and 132,000 tonnes of aluminium exports to the US during this time.
This comes after a tense Oval Office meeting last week between Ramaphosa and Trump — a moment we previously told you about, where Trump aired a controversial video and raised concerns about crime in South Africa. The visit followed the US’s threat to impose 30% tariffs on South African exports, including cars and metals, part of global tariff threats.
Trade Minister Parks Tau, who led technical talks with US officials, noted the urgency of the deal amid South Africa’s looming “gas cliff”. “Given our impending shortage on gas, the appetite to procure LNG from the US … was positively received,” he said.
President Ramaphosa emphasised the broader objective: “Our visit came at a time when US–SA relations have come under increasing strain… it was critical for us to engage directly with the US administration to correct misinformation and provide a true account of the progress we have made as a democracy,” said Ramaphosa.
The revised trade framework also touches on critical minerals, digital trade, and the future of the African Growth and Opportunity Act. With over 600 US companies already operating in SA and 148,000 locals employed through these ties, the stakes are high.
As
Ramaphosa put it, “Our two countries have everything to gain from working more closely together.” Let’s hope the momentum holds.
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President Cyril Ramaphosa was in the United States of America last week for a working visit at the invitation of President Donald Trump. Credit: GovernmentZA/Flickr
Reader poll: Why SA can’t strip Afrikaners of their citizenship
You’ve heard all about the Trump administration granting asylum to around 49 white Afrikaans South Africans under a controversial refugee programme.
We asked our readers what they thought: should these Afrikaners, who claim persecution, be allowed to keep their South African citizenship? Most of the roughly 200 who responded said no.
A recent poll across explain’s platforms found that:
🔹 66% support revoking the citizenship of Afrikaners who’ve accepted US asylum,
🔹29% support dual citizenship.
But legally, it’s not that simple.
In a separate case, the Constitutional Court ruled earlier this month that Section 6(1)(a) of the Citizenship Act was unconstitutional. This section allowed for the automatic loss of SA citizenship when acquiring another nationality without permission. The court found this violated the right to citizenship and due process. Citizenship, it ruled, can only be removed via a lawful, transparent process — or voluntary renunciation.
The Afrikaners in the US still legally remain SA citizens unless they formally renounce it through the Department of Home Affairs.
Whether they qualify as “refugees” is debatable. The UN Refugee Convention defines refugees as those with a “well-founded fear of being persecuted.” Experts argue these Afrikaners don’t meet that bar. Trump cited racial persecution and land expropriation, but observers, including global human rights groups, reject claims of systemic white persecution.
Meanwhile, many Afrikaners say they are staying, not just because emigration is expensive or hard, but because SA is home. France Postumus, an elderly resident of East London, told explain: “I was born here. This is my father’s land.” Nicole Randall shared this sentiment: “Most of my friends are black… I would never leave.” Others say they don’t buy into the “white genocide” narrative and see more value in staying and adapting than fleeing.
Of course, some did emigrate, like Charl Kleinhaus, who now lives in a budget hotel in Buffalo, New York, after getting refugee status. But experts warn that being labelled a “refugee” in the US can limit your opportunities and expose you to the same discrimination you’re supposedly escaping.
Read the full articles here and here
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Pictured: 49 White South Africans who left South Africa as refugees, citing discrimination. Credit: Africa Facts Zone/X
Keep our grants for those who really need them
More than 210,000 beneficiaries have been flagged and won’t receive their June social grant payouts. Why? Sassa suspects they might be earning extra income they didn’t declare. Most of the affected recipients — about 184,000 — are in KwaZulu-Natal, particularly in areas like Chatsworth, Phoenix, and central eThekwini.
The agency is working with credit bureaus to sniff out undisclosed income or bank accounts. Those flagged must visit a Sassa office within 30 days for a review or risk having their grants permanently stopped.
This is part of Regulation 30 of the Social Assistance Act, which requires beneficiaries to report changes in their financial situation. New job or bank account? Tell Sassa.
“This initiative aims to ensure beneficiaries confirm any changes in their financial circumstances and update their personal details,” said Sassa’s spokesperson, Paseka Letsatsi. Treasury’s new rules mean grant recipients now face monthly income checks, and Sassa’s also rolling out biometric verification for those without a standard South African ID number.
KZN’s Sassa head, Thamo Mzobe, put it bluntly: “This grant is meant for poor people … for people who don’t have income.”
Even if someone hasn’t been flagged, Sassa is urging all beneficiaries to update their details and to upgrade from the old green barcoded ID to a smart ID card to prevent fraud.
Sassa has also dismissed rumours of ‘double’ grant payments, calling the claims misinformation.
With over 25 million people relying on grants and a budget of R284 billion for the year, Sassa says it’s under pressure to ensure support reaches those who need it most while keeping the system fair and fraud-free.
For those with questions, Sassa has advised seeking information directly from official channels — not your cousin’s Facebook post.
Read more here
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President Cyril Ramaphosa visiting a local SASSA Office in Alexandra, Johannesburg in 2018. Credit: GovernmentZA/Flickr
Why the case of Cwecwe was dropped
As we told you, prosecutors announced they had dropped charges in the high-profile Matatiele rape case involving a seven-year-old girl, known publicly as Cwecwe, saying no foreign DNA was found on the child.
The alleged rape happened at Bergview College in October 2024. Cwecwe’s mom accused the school principal, Jaco Pieterse, of refusing to do a DNA test, and the issue is still a hot point across social media. Why wouldn’t Pieterse provide a sample if he wasn’t guilty, as he said? But here’s the catch: Pieterse was never officially a suspect, so legally, police couldn’t force him to give a sample.
Advising Pieterse was AfriForum’s Private Prosecution Unit, who said their client was never a suspect and that DNA can only be taken with solid legal grounds.
Speaking to explain, their spokesperson, Barry Bateman, confirmed that on 12 February 2025, the police asked Pieterse for a DNA sample. “As confirmed by the South African Police Service and National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), no foreign DNA was found on the child, therefore the request for DNA samples from any person related to this case was irregular,” Bateman said.
The NPA has now confirmed there just wasn’t enough evidence to move the case forward.
Meanwhile, social justice organisations have criticised the NPA for deciding not to prosecute anyone in the case. They’re calling it a failure of justice and are now pushing for a full review of how the police handled the investigation.
Read the full article here
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A placard calling for justice for victims of sexual abuse. Credit: Women For Change/X
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