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Stuff from Johannesburg

Debate of National Importance Following Murders in Ekurhuleni

Statement by Lisa Schickerling MP – DA Spokesperson on Police:

The DA has succeeded in having an urgent debate of national importance scheduled in Parliament, on the escalating violence against women in Ekurhuleni, where at least nine women have been murdered in just three months.

Scheduled for 29 September 2026, this debate comes at a critical moment when the safety of women in our country hangs in the balance. Parliament must respond, and it is not business as usual.

The women of Ekurhuleni are mothers, daughters, sisters, and neighbours whose lives were brutally cut short. Their murders indicate a system that has failed in its most fundamental duty: to protect its citizens.

Ekurhuleni is not an isolated tragedy; it is a stark reflection of a national wound that continues to bleed across every province, township, and city in South Africa.

The responsibility for women’s safety lies squarely with the government. Government must be held responsible for failing to protect the dignity of our women and children.

The women of Ekurhuleni and all women in South Africa deserve to live without fear. They deserve justice.

The DA will continue fighting for a South Africa where every woman and girl can live in safety and dignity.

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The FNB Stadium: The “Calabash” of a Nation

While the original stadium was built in 1989, its current iconic form was the result of a massive reconstruction for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The design, led by the architectural firm Boogertman + Partners, is deeply rooted in African symbolism. Its exterior is modeled after a calabash, the traditional African gourd or “melting pot.” The facade is composed of thousands of fiber-cement panels in eight different earth-toned colors, mimicking the fire and earth used to kiln the traditional pot. At night, the stadium is illuminated from below, creating the visual effect of a glowing fire beneath the “pot,” a symbol of the warmth and hospitality of the African continent.

The stadium’s capacity is a staggering 94,736, making it the largest stadium in Africa and the fourth largest in the world. But its significance transcends its scale. The site is a “theatre of history.” In 1990, just days after his release from 27 years of imprisonment, Nelson Mandela delivered his first speech to a massive, roaring crowd at the original FNB Stadium. It was here that he effectively signaled the beginning of the end of Apartheid. Decades later, in 2013, the same stadium hosted his memorial service, bringing the world together in a final farewell to “Madiba.”