Morning Newspaper Report

The headlines of the leading newspapers on 17 September 2026:

NATIONAL:

# Business Day:

Reports a record number of 241 parties will participate in the Gauteng metro elections. The paper notes that opinion polls cannot predict an outright majority, making the formation of post-election coalitions a certainty.

# And the Netwerk24 website:

Reports the Electoral Commission has disqualified five-thousand-and-96 candidates who failed to meet statutory requirements. However, there remain more than 98-thousand candidates for ward seats and over 38-thousand for proportional representation seats.

Secondly, the website reports the ANC has urged its members to remain calm after losing its case in the Electoral Court regarding the registration of candidates past the deadline. The ANC states that the legal process concerning the matter is ongoing.

GAUTENG:

# The Star:

Reports another victim has been identified following the discovery of a woman’s body alongside the road in KwaThema, Springs. She is 38-year-old Dineo Evelyn Motapane. Motapane was last seen alive on Sunday. The paper reports police have meanwhile intensified their investigation into the eight murders.

# And Sowetan:

Reports on the decay and deterioration at the Protea police station in Soweto. Once a model of modern policing, the facility is now in a deplorable state, and officers are forced to use surrounding police stations to detain suspects.

WESTERN CAPE:

# Die Burger:

Reports on US punitive measures against South African officials involving the imposition of visa restrictions. The minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Ronald Lamola, described the move as unilateral. US Ambassador Brent Bozell says this is just the beginning.

Secondly, the paper reports the National Consumer Commission is developing a so-called “opt-out” registry to allow people to decline intrusive marketing calls and messages.

EASTERN CAPE:

# The Herald in Gqeberha:

Reports 42-year-old Louis Lategan, a farmer from Xamdeboo [Aberdeen] in the Eastern Cape, has been convicted of human trafficking and rape in the High Court in Makhanda after six young women, hired to look after his children, laid charges.

Secondly, the paper reports the Bayworld oceanarium in Gqeberha is on standby after three dolphins washed up on the city’s beaches.

KWAZULU-NATAL:

# The Witness in Pietermaritzburg:

Firstly, reports on the next of kin of the eight women murdered in Ekurhuleni; the newspaper spoke to them.

And secondly, the paper reports on the ANC’s defeat in the Electoral Court.

And finally, from NAMIBIA:

# Republikein in Windhoek:

Reports there is no public record of which child-care facilities are legally registered to provide a safe haven for vulnerable children.

And secondly, the paper reports Walvis Bay International Airport has been downgraded to Class G. This follows concerns regarding delays and inaccurate Terminal Aerodrome Forecasts, which provide critical weather information to pilots.