Des Erasmus

Middle Earth

Christian; wife to the brilliant @JonathanErasmus; journalist; sea lover. Frequent abuser of semi colons. Tea can never be too strong - Pliny The Elder

Featured in: Favicon

dailymaverick.co.za Favicon

msn.com

telegraph.co.uk Favicon

news24.com Favicon

allafrica.com Favicon

mg.co.za

newsday.co.zw Favicon

newzimbabwe.com Favicon

rapport.co.za

Articles

Three accused are going to jail but Joslin’s fate remains unknown

1 week ago | mg.co.za | Des Erasmus

The judge has handed down sentences — but a little girl is still missing and a community’s anguish remains raw This content is restricted to subscribers only. Join the M&G Community Our commitment at the Mail & Guardian is to ensure every reader enjoys the finest experience. Join the M&G community and support us in delivering in-depth news to you consistently.
Joslin Smith: Life in prison for Appollis, Van Rhyn and Kelly Smith

1 week ago | mg.co.za | Des Erasmus

Judge Nathan Erasmus on Thursday sentenced Jacquen “Boeta” Appollis, Steveno van Rhyn, and Kelly Smith, convicted earlier this month of kidnapping and trafficking Joslin Smith, to 10 years in prison for the former, and life imprisonment for the latter. The sentences are to run concurrently. There were whoops of joy from the multi-purpose centre in Saldanha Bay, where the trial has been sitting for the past two months, when Erasmus handed down the life sentence.
Kelly Smith’s mother uses victim impact statement to confront daughter about parenting, indifference

1 week ago | mg.co.za | Des Erasmus

Kelly Smith sat hunched, her expression almost unreadable as her biological mother, Amanda Daniels, delivered a searing victim impact statement before the Cape Town high court on Wednesday. When Smith raised her eyes, the shimmer of tears from a prior impact statement betrayed her attempts at a stoic composure. The courtroom was silent as Daniels spoke of the pain and permanence of the loss she felt since Kelly’s middle child, her granddaughter, Joslin Smith, went missing in February 2024.
Trump confronts Ramaphosa over farm murders in White House exchange

2 weeks ago | mg.co.za | Des Erasmus

A meeting between United States President Donald Trump and President Cyril Ramaphosa on Wednesday night South African time veered sharply off course when Trump abruptly turned the focus to farm attacks in South Africa, relegating trade discussions to the sidelines.
Ramaphosa in Washington: Charm offensive or collision course?

2 weeks ago | mg.co.za | Des Erasmus

President Cyril Ramaphosa arrived in Washington DC this week on a mission few would envy: to rescue a bilateral relationship that has descended into open hostility. For months, his government and United States President Donald Trump’s administration have traded accusations and recriminations — each viewing the other’s policies and ideologies as fundamentally misaligned with their national and international interests.
Ramaphosa in Washington: Charm offensive or collision course?

2 weeks ago | mg.co.za | Des Erasmus

President Cyril Ramaphosa arrived in Washington DC this week on a mission few would envy: to rescue a bilateral relationship that has descended into open hostility. For months, his government and United States President Donald Trump’s administration have traded accusations and recriminations — each viewing the other’s policies and ideologies as fundamentally misaligned with their national and international interests.
Budget 3.0 - Godongwana’s last shot

2 weeks ago | mg.co.za | Des Erasmus

With VAT increases off the table, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana must find a new path to making up the budget shortfall while staying true to the treasury’s vow to stabilise the country’s debt. Godongwana is set to return to parliament on Wednesday to present a revised budget, the third attempt since the first one in February, and the second tabled in March.
Border reform Bill welcomed, but rights concerns dominate public submissions

2 weeks ago | mg.co.za | Des Erasmus

Public feedback on South Africa’s One-Stop Border Post Bill, which Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber presented in parliament in September last year, has shown support for trade facilitation, but also unease about human rights protections, legal ambiguities and corruption. A summary of the eight submissions, described as “fairly substantive”, was presented to parliament’s home affairs portfolio committee on Tuesday.
Solidarity threatens Ntshavheni with defamation over ‘inflammatory rhetoric’

2 weeks ago | mg.co.za | Des Erasmus

Trade union Solidarity has issued a letter of demand to Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, accusing her of defamation, intimidation and unconstitutional conduct in a series of public statements that it says were “false, harmful and insulting” and intended to damage its public standing. The letter outlines a set of grievances against Ntshavheni arising from statements she made during a media briefing on 27 March, and public statements she made on 13 May.
Johannesburg will expropriate property, but ‘not just for the fun of it’

3 weeks ago | mg.co.za | Des Erasmus

Johannesburg mayor Dada Morero plans to use the Expropriation Act to seize derelict and illegally occupied buildings in the inner city. The move, Morero said in an interview with the Mail & Guardian, is aimed at accelerating the delivery of long-promised Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) homes to residents who have been on the government housing waiting list since 1996 and 1997. “We are facing a backlog of around 300,000 people who are waiting for homes,” he said.