For Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Halima Frost.

Making headlines: Three suspects appear in court in Ekurhuleni cases; DA challenges Lamola to oppose ‘ANC’s race-based’ policies after US Apartheid 2.0 remarks; And, seven Ethiopian armed groups announce anti-government alliance

Three suspects appear in court in Ekurhuleni cases

Three suspects are expected to appear in the Boksburg Magistrates’ Court today, marking a major breakthrough in the investigation into a horrifying string of women's murders that has gripped the country.

The South African Police Service  announced the arrests of one man and two women over the weekend, following an operation by members of the Gauteng Murder and Robbery Unit, in connection with the murder of a ninth victim.

Between July and September 2026, the bodies of nine women have been discovered dumped across the Ekurhuleni municipality, east of Johannesburg.

The discoveries over this two-month period have sparked national outrage, widespread community protests, and a large-scale police probe into whether a serial killer or multiple perpetrators are behind the atrocities.

Acting National Commissioner of the SAPS, Lieutenant General Puleng Dimpane, confirmed that police are “fully seized” with all nine murder cases, promising that each is receiving priority attention.

DA challenges Lamola to oppose ‘ANC’s race-based’ policies after US Apartheid 2.0 remarks

The DA has challenged International Relations and Cooperation Minister Ronald Lamola to oppose race-based policies within South Africa’s own Cabinet, following his recent public condemnation of race-based entry systems while visiting the US.

This after Lamola addressed the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation in Washington, where he criticised certain US refugee and immigration frameworks, reportedly describing race-preferential entry systems as "Apartheid 2.0".

Lamola argued that allocating opportunities or entry based on race undermines peaceful coexistence and revives historical injustices.

DA spokesperson on International Relations and Cooperation Ryan Smith seized on Lamola's remarks, calling for consistency between South Africa's foreign rhetoric and its domestic policies.

He said if opposing race-based policies is now a matter of principle for Lamola, and not merely a matter of diplomatic convenience, he must use his position in Cabinet and Parliament to condemn the ANC’s own battery of race-based laws and policies back home.

The party argued that the ANC continues to classify citizens by race and allocate economic opportunities along racial lines, which the DA claims divides and impoverishes citizens rather than empowering them based on actual need and merit.

And, seven Ethiopian armed groups announce anti-government alliance

Seven Ethiopian armed groups, including longstanding enemies who fought on opposite sides of a 2020-2022 civil war, said they have formed an alliance aimed at overthrowing Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's government.

The announcement of the Ethiopian Peoples' Forces Alliance for Survival brought together a geographically and ethnically diverse body of groups ranging from Tigray in the north to Somali Region in the south. Some remain at loggerheads with other members over territory and other issues.

Last month, after reports of a possible coalition of armed groups, an adviser to Abiy said any such formation would seek to wreak havoc but would not be able to overthrow the federal government.

The new alliance, announced late on Sunday, includes the Tigray People's Liberation Front  and the Amhara Fano National Movement. Fano, a coalition of armed groups from the Amhara region, fought in support of the federal government against the TPLF during the 2020-2022 Tigray war, which resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths and was marked by ethnically driven atrocities.

Fano subsequently rose up against the federal government in a conflict that has killed thousands in Amhara since 2023.

Many of the groups have accused the government of centralising power and marginalising the regions. The government says it has launched a national dialogue meant to address longstanding political divisions and internal conflicts.

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today

Don’t forget to follow us on the X platform, at the handle @PolityZA