SANParks accused of rubbishing an anti-poaching measure so it can cash in on legalised trade. By Sipho Mwanza

With three rhinos being killed in South Africa every day (1,004 in 2013), you’d think those responsible for preserving our wildlife would be waging a war on poaching. Instead they seem to be waging a propaganda war. And, as is so often the case, there’s big money at stake. 

South Africa’s vast stockpiles are estimated to stand at 20 tonnes, which, at a price of US$60,000 a kilogramme, could raise R11 billion.

That, no doubt, is why the government makes little effort to hide its preference for the so-called “pro-trade” camp.

Pensioner threatened with eviction after family row over property. By Donwald Pressly

An 84-year-old man who has repeatedly expressed the wish to spend his declining years in his own home, cared for by one of his daughters – is set to lose his home as a result of a court order placing him under curatorship.

On August 13, Acting Judge K M Savage found Dennis Arthur Bagnall to be incapable of managing his own affairs as a result of his declining mental capacity and placed his estate under curatorship.

Silence reigns on the shameless pillaging of Randgold. By Barry Sergeant

The nefarious pastime of money laundering is normally associated with dodgy characters carousing in exotic tax havens where palm trees hide more than the sun. However, this antisocial conduct also takes place under grey and gloomy skies in heavily regulated financial centres like London.

As time goes by, it becomes increasingly apparent that the late Brett Kebble’s most constant companion, whether he liked it or not, was probably Investec, the somewhat controversial Johannesburg-based niche bank.

The primary clue is that Investec profited, savagely and ruthlessly, from a good number of the precarious situations that the doomed entrepreneur dug himself into. Whether he was led into those holes by Investec is a subject well worth examining.

Food security threatened by incompetence and nepotism. By Mandy de Waal and Jon Pienaar.  

Fisheries research expert Moeniba Isaacs remembers a time when kreef (crayfish or rock lobster) and perlemoen (abalone) were staples of the poor and working class. But over the past five years South Africa has mismanaged its fisheries and fish stocks to the point where once-common species are all but wiped out.

Sly ambulance-chasers pull forex fiddle Noseweek’s favourite ambulance chasers, Johannesburg attorneys Ronald Bobroff and son Darren, never fail to enthral. What an endless fountain of stories. The latest concerns bricklayer Oagiles Stephen Malothane, who went to Australia, in 2002 as part of a reservoir building team, working at Lake Cargellico, 590km west of Sydney.

Malothane, 55, who lives in Wolmaransstad, North West, had thought the trip was “the opportunity of a lifetime” but soon realised he was a victim of human trafficking, having to work 14-hour days, seven days a week, for a “slave wage” of R600 in total.

Then, in October that year, he and four others were pumping concrete on to “falsework” (a supporting framework) for the roof of a water tower, when the 120-tonne slab collapsed, causing Malothane to fall 20 metres. Two people died, and three survived their injuries.

The devious doings of the Theodosiou boys. By Gavin Foster

Auctioneer Joff van Reenen surely set a new speed record of sorts when he sold Farm Bothasfontein (Kyalami) (Pty) Ltd, with its historic racetrack, to Porsche South Africa’s Toby Venter in under two minutes on 24 July.

An elaborate scam in which 73 hectares of the most valuable real estate in South Africa slid into the clutches of the infamous Theodosiou brothers had taken a full decade to dismantle, and Nedbank and Imperial Holdings were doubtless relieved to finally scrape the ordure of dealing with the unlikeable mall developers from the soles of their corporate shoes.

For years there have been rumours about the Kyalami hijacking by Pietermaritzburg wheeler-dealer Mike Fogg and his devious Theodosiou sidekicks. Noseweek brings you the closest you are ever likely to get to the facts. 

ZIMBABWE: Coup de Grace. President’s wife assumes the position.

ZIMBABWE: Family entitlement. Mugabes scramble for title deeds.

SOUTH AFRICA: Zuma knows my father. The power behind Motsoeneng's rise.

Sexual politics in the Aussie senate.

Tasmanian Senator Jacqui Lambie said on radio about what she’s looking for in a man: “They must have heaps of cash and they’ve got to have a package between their legs…” Explaining why she was also “not so worried about my waxing,” the senator said she had not been in a relationship for 11 years because of stress. “Right now, the state I’m in, I can tell you what, you’d want to bring out that whipper snipper first.” Later she apologised for her jokes, saying she was covering for her embarrassment at her lack of a love life.