With the intense heatwave and temperatures soaring to more than 40º C in some parts of the country, including the Vhembe region, for people, particularly from rural areas, to seek relief in the cool waters of nearby rivers or dams is totally understandable.

Residents of Madombidzha and Tshiozwi, in the Sinthumule area, are so fed-up with theft, robbery, and housebreaking that they are sending out a warning to the culprits to leave their villages or face the consequences.

Mulamuleli Nemanganya, a visually impaired woman from Tshikota, has made the final in the Miss Congeniality 2023 pageant. The 22-year-old comes from a poor background and lives with her family of four, who all depend on her disability grant. Despite her circumstances and being blind, she has many plans for the future and hopes to represent her province in the Miss SA competition one day.

Frustration over the lack of clean drinking water for nearly a month reached boiling point for the residents of Mavambe, Ghandlanani, in Malamulele on Monday, 20 November, when they took matters into their own hands by shutting down the Malamulele Water Treatment Scheme.

A rather desperate and lonely fight is playing out in the Thohoyandou High Court, involving a traditional leader who has effectively been stripped of his powers, with no say as to what is happening on his land. 

The Chauke family from Dopeni village, Nzhelele, is grappling with unanswered questions after one of their sons was killed on Friday, 17 November, when a man randomly showed up at their home and started shooting at them.

The community of Magangeni village outside Louis Trichardt is still trying to process a recent event where a dog was found devouring body parts of a newborn baby. According to reports received, a local resident was walking on the gravel road along the Lemana Dam when he saw a dog eating what looked like meat. Upon closer inspection, he discovered that the dog was, in fact, eating parts of a dead infant. The gruesome discovery was made on Thursday morning, 23 November.

In another incident of mob justice, this time in the Nzhelele area, two suspected criminals, accused of terrorising the communities of Biaba, Tshituni, Mawoni, and surrounding areas, died at the hands of members of the Tshituni Tsha Ntha community.

Teams campaigning in the Motsepe Foundation Championship League are preparing for the Nedbank Cup Tournament’s preliminary-round matches. Five matches will be played next Tuesday (05 December), while the remaining three are scheduled for the following day.

Tshilamba-based, up-and-coming boxer Adivhaho Nemutanzhela expresses his gratitude for local veteran boxing trainer Mr John “Smoking Joe” Nemakonde, who has already organised his first professional boxing fight since he joined the trainer’s boxing stable earlier this year. Nemutanzhela is scheduled to fight Zweli Nhlapo in Mpumalanga on 15 December.

The last-16-round matches of the Mafhungwana Soccer Tournament will be played at two different venues this Saturday. Four matches will be played at the Khubvi Benjie’s Grounds, while the other four will be played at the Tshivhilwi Tshiberetheni Grounds.

The fight for promotion and to escape the relegation axe at the end of the season will continue among the teams campaigning under the auspices of the Motsepe Foundation Championship League this weekend. Three matches will be played on Friday afternoon, with the remaining five scheduled for Saturday afternoon.

This weekend will be a busy one for the teams affiliated to the Limpopo Stream of the ABC Motsepe League. After donating points to their opponents in the opening match against Emmanuel FC, to whom they had lost 0-1 at the Giyani Stadium last Saturday, United Artists will be on the road again this weekend.

After defeating Marumo Gallants 3-2 in their Motsepe Foundation Championship League match at Thohoyandou Stadium last Saturday, Black Leopards aim to add more points to their league account when they face NB La Masia FC at Bidvest Stadium in Johannesburg on Friday afternoon.