Mail & Guardian
Mail & Guardian
phalaborwalatest news & developments
PRETTY FLY FOR A WHITE GUY: Francois Venter is a big rock climber who once drank tequila with the virologist rockstar Dexter Holland of The Offspring. He’s also one of the country’s leading HIV researchers. (Delywn Verasamy)

HIV research: Professor screw it, let’s do it

Francois Venter talks about his unorthodox inaugural lecture, his work during the Aids crisis and his shoot-from-the-hip fix of our healthcare system

Contractors from Paragon Tailings doing trial hydraulic reclamation of the phosphogypsum stacks. Photo supplied

Limpopo rare earths project aims to clean up the environment

At least six decades of mining has caused significant environmental damage in the Phalaborwa area

David Mlondobozi is one of dozens of small farmers in Phalaborwa, Limpopo, who lost land or grazing rights to a huge citrus farming project sponsored by the Motsepe Foundation. (Photos by Bernard Chiguvare)

Farmers fear loss of land to Motsepe Foundation citrus project

The foundation has injected millions into the project and the Limpopo Department of Agriculture and Rural Development has also approved millions in funding, but farmers say they…

Witness: ‘Petshop’ recruited me to terrorise blacks

A state witness has told a Phalaborwa court how he was recruited to join "Operation Petshop" to bomb ANC leaders’ homes and terrorise townships.

Limpopo tries culture as tourist draw

Limpopo tries culture as tourist draw

Sitting on tree stumps in a semi-circle, men wait patiently for a woman in a brightly coloured Venda dress to dish out her marula fruit beer.

Scott-Crossley trial: ‘What is going on here?’

The family of jailed murderer Mark Scott-Crossley say they have ”substantial ammunition” to justify the granting of leave to appeal his conviction and life imprisonment for the…

‘Let him rot in jail’

There were gasps in the public gallery as Mark Scott-Crossley, one of the men who threw farmworker Nelson Chisale to lions at Hoedspruit in January last year, was sentenced on…

Marriage and murder in Phalaborwa

Convicted killer Mark Scott-Crossley was married in the Phalaborwa Magistrate’s Court on Friday ahead of his sentencing for the murder of farmworker Nelson Chisale. Meanwhile,…

Lion trial: Killer has ‘good attributes’

Mark Scott-Crossley, who threw a man to lions to die, was not a bad person, the Phalaborwa Circuit Court heard on Thursday. ”He [Scott-Crossley] has got good attributes,” his…

Lion murder trial: Witness returns to stand

A witness to an alleged assault on farmworker Nelson Chisale, who was fed to lions, will be called back to the stand in the lion murder trial in the Phalaborwa Circuit Court on…

Community rejects family of lion man’s killer

The community of Acornhoek has evicted the family of Simon Mathebula, who was found guilty in April of killing farm worker Nelson Chisale, the Phalaborwa Circuit Court heard on…

Evidence starts on sentencing in lion trial

Phalaborwa Circuit Court state prosecutor Ivy Thenga will give reasons on Friday why the killers of Nelson Chisale, who was fed to lions, deserve heavy sentences. This follows…

Scott-Crossley complains of unfair treatment

The media have concentrated on his bad deeds but ignored his good actions, convicted murderer Mark Scott-Crossley told the Phalaborwa Circuit Court on Thursday. Reporters at the…

‘I did not even see the corpse’

He has been found guilty of a crime he did not commit, Simon Mathebula told the Phalaborwa Circuit Court on Wednesday during deliberations on the sentence he should receive for…

Sentencing starts in lion murder trial

Mark Scott-Crossley has a previous conviction for theft, the Phalaborwa Circuit Court heard on Tuesday while considering his sentence for throwing farmworker Nelson Chisale to…

Lion trial: Guilty verdict cheered

With smiles from ear to ear at the guilty verdict handed down on Thursday to the killers of ”Lion Man” Nelson Chisale, the public gallery in the Phalaborwa Circuit Court tried to…

Guilty verdict in lion murder trial

”Lion Man” Nelson Chisale’s killers were convicted of his murder on Thursday, more than a year and three months after he was viciously beaten with pangas and then fed to lions at…

Judgement day in lion murder trial

Bomb-disposal experts swept a Phalaborwa courtroom for incendiary devices, the front row of the public gallery was cleared to make way for a line of police crowd-control…

Lion murder trial: ‘Disregard tantrums’

Temper tantrums by lion murder accused Mark Scott-Crossley during his trial in Phalaborwa Circuit Court should not be held against him in deliberations on the evidence presented…

Police officer ‘deceived’ lion murder accused

A police officer tricked two farmworkers into revealing all they knew about the murder of a fellow worker, who was fed to lions after being assaulted, the Phalaborwa Circuit…