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The Department of Home Affairs will refer what it describes as a coordinated disinformation campaign about South Africa’s asylum system to the Electoral Commission of South Africa following false claims about a new operational directive. The department said on Wednesday, 7 October 2026, that the directive was issued to implement a binding Constitutional Court judgment delivered on 7 July and was not initiated by Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber, the department or a political party. The dispute matters to asylum applicants and residents because the judgment changes how certain applications must enter the assessment process, but does not automatically grant refugee status, citizenship or legal status to applicants.

The Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources has confirmed the official fuel price adjustments taking effect on Wednesday, 7 October 2026, with Gauteng motorists facing sharp increases across petrol and diesel. Inland 95 petrol has risen by R3.33 per litre to R30.25, while 93 petrol has increased by R3.12 to R29.88 per litre. Diesel has recorded even larger increases at wholesale level, adding further pressure to motorists and transport operators.

The South African Township and Village Tourism Organisation has welcomed the newly appointed South African Tourism Board and pledged to support its leadership, while calling for existing tourism commitments to be translated into practical programmes for enterprises in townships, villages and small dorpies. In a letter dated 1 October 2026, the Johannesburg based organisation said it wants to work with the Board and South African Tourism on market access, tourism product visibility, quality assurance, grading and enterprise development. The development matters to Gauteng because SATOVITO is based in Marshalltown, Johannesburg, and represents tourism enterprises operating in communities that it wants included more meaningfully in tourism growth.

A 38 year old man kidnapped in the Johannesburg CBD has been rescued unharmed after police traced him to a plot in Randfontein, Gauteng, on Sunday, 4 October 2026. Five men were arrested following an intelligence driven investigation into the kidnapping, during which a ransom of $2 million was allegedly demanded from the victim’s family. The case also highlights what Gauteng residents should know about responding to an attempted kidnapping and preserving potentially useful information without putting themselves in greater danger.

Johannesburg Metrobus has recorded more than 1 609 fatality free operational days and launched a campaign to reach 1 860 days during Transport Month in October 2026. The bus operator has also expanded its focus to women commuters, pledging stronger action against gender based violence and femicide on its network. Metrobus Managing Director Bongani Radebe said reported incidents on buses will be treated as emergencies.

Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi has called an urgent meeting with mayors, municipal managers and law enforcement agencies on Friday, 2 October 2026, following the deaths of 11 women in Ekurhuleni since July. The meeting will review the province’s response to gender based violence and femicide, identify gaps in existing measures and consider further interventions aimed at protecting residents, particularly women and children.

Illegal mining in Gauteng has triggered an intensified security response across the West Rand, with police and soldiers conducting repeated operations in Fochville, Westonaria, Mohlakeng and surrounding communities during 2026. The latest operation saw 121 suspected illegal miners arrested in Mphahla village near Fochville on Tuesday, 29 September, while five firearms, ammunition, gold bearing material and mining equipment were recovered.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced four immediate measures to strengthen South Africa’s response to gender based violence and femicide (GBVF), with new deadlines for police, municipalities and government departments. The measures, announced in an address to the nation on Tuesday, 29 September 2026, follow a series of killings of women in Ekurhuleni, Gauteng, and include reviews of unresolved cases, action on forensic backlogs, municipal safety audits and stronger measures targeting alcohol related violence.

A 23 year old woman was shot dead during an alleged robbery in Tembisa on Monday morning, 28 September 2026, as Gauteng police continued investigating a series of women’s deaths in Ekurhuleni and a mass shooting that killed 17 people in Wedela over the weekend. The woman was reportedly on her way to work when she was attacked on Mapungubwe Street at approximately 5:45am. Police have opened a murder and robbery investigation and are searching for those responsible.

South Africa has recorded four additional laboratory confirmed Mpox cases, taking the national total from 18 to 22 as of 22 September 2026. Gauteng has recorded three cases, while 18 are in the Western Cape and one is in KwaZulu Natal.