Nomvalo emotional over MKP axing; FirstRand trims execs’ bonuses: Today’s top 7 stories - News24

News24 brings you the top stories of the day, summarised into neat little packages. Read through quickly or listen to the articles via our customised text-to-speech feature.

- Former IDAC head Andrea Johnson and former Crime Intelligence officer Feroz Khan each received R10 000 bail after appearing in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court.

- The pair face charges including assault, defeating the ends of justice, and contravening the NPA Act.

- Both appeared jointly in court, with the case now formally before the criminal justice system.

- Donovan Marx was ambushed on his farm in Ventersdorp, the North West, where he was shot, stabbed and had both ears severed.

- Three balaclava-clad gunmen carried out the attack, and police said they have since identified the suspects.

- The suspects are believed to have fled the province; no arrests had been confirmed at the time of reporting.

- The KwaZulu-Natal High Court in Durban has restricted March and March protests to between 09:00 and 16:00, banning night gatherings, weapons and face-covering masks.

- The interim order also prohibits members from looting, damaging property, setting fires or marching near voting stations during the election period.

- The order, granted by Judge Peter Olsen following an urgent police application, remains in place until 18 January, when the parties return to court.

- Sibonelo Nomvalo was fired via WhatsApp on 22 October following a series of fabricated intelligence reports and internal complaints alleging misconduct.

- At a tearful media briefing, Nomvalo declared he would never be destroyed by “drunkards and womanisers”, saying rivals were exploiting Zuma’s age and limitations to force his removal.

- Nomvalo revealed the ordeal nearly destroyed his marriage, with his wife hospitalised with severe depression, and said he was speaking out to protect his integrity.

- FirstRand’s most senior executives had their 2026 short-term incentives reduced as a result of a UK regulatory probe into commissions in the bank’s vehicle finance business.

- CEO Mary Vilakazi’s short-term incentive was trimmed by R1.3 million due to the UK car finance issue.

- Despite the reductions linked to the UK probe, the executives’ overall remuneration still increased, with the cuts absorbed within broader pay hikes.

- Mikel Bezuidenhout, an 18-year-old racing driver from Johannesburg, is competing at Silverstone in the Walter Hayes Trophy, a premier Formula Ford event held at the iconic British circuit.

- Bezuidenhout described the experience as feeling “unreal”, reflecting on the significance of racing at one of motorsport’s most celebrated venues.

- The South African teenager’s appearance at Silverstone marks a notable milestone in what is still the early stage of his motorsport career.

- M-Net’s continuity presenters – the familiar on-air faces who became South Africa’s living-room celebrities – reflect on 40 years of the pay-TV channel in a feature by Thinus Ferreira.

- The presenters describe their roles as the channel’s original “influencers”, pulling back the curtain on the “beautiful chaos” behind the scenes that helped define early South African pay-TV.

- Their recollections span four decades of M-Net history, capturing how the channel’s on-air personalities shaped its identity and earned a place in South African popular culture.

These summaries were written with the support of Toqan AI.

News24 surveyed 5,001 registered voters to reveal who leads, what voters want fixed, and which coalitions South Africans could support.

News24’s free audiobook for subscribers this month is ‘Checkmate: How Shoprite Checkers rewrote the rules and won’ by Steven Boykey Sidley.

From Babita Deokaran to Mpho Mafole, whistleblowers remain at the forefront of News24’s intensive investigative work.

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.