JANUARY
• School shortage crisis: The shortage of schools in the City of uMhlathuze reached crisis level as scores of learners were unable to secure positions at primary and high schools for the 2019 school year.
• Bay jump park a suspected scam: Potential investors in the much anticipated Richards Bay Jump Stars indoor trampoline park escaped being defrauded by what appears to have been a scam.
• Bay bomb scare: A man brought Richards Bay CBD to temporary standstill after threatening to blow up the Partridge Place office block.
• Herbie gets her freedom: Herbie the loggerhead turtle was released off Sodwana Bay after spending 16 years at Sea World. She was rescued in 2003 after being entangled in shark nets.
FEBRUARY
• Taxi protest shuts down city highway: A taxi protest severely disrupted traffic on the John Ross Parkway, preventing hundreds of motorists from travelling between Empangeni and Richards Bay.
• Hillside job jolt: As many as 500 jobs were reportedly at stake as South32’s embattled Hillside Smelter attempted to counter losses amounting to millions.
MARCH
• Strike continues at Bay plant: A two-month-long strike affected operations at Foskor Richards Bay.
• Residents fume: A gas leak from the harbour caused many Meerensee residents to feel ill. They reported nausea, headaches, sore throats and respiratory symptoms.
APRIL
• Billions boost for Bay: Richards Bay Minerals announced the go-ahead of its R6.5-billion Zulti South expansion.
• Sad passing of beloved editorial colleague: ZO staff mourned the death of journalist Thando Ndlovo (48), who passed away after bravely battling a long illness.
• Probe into church tragedy: 13 congregants of the Pentecostal Holiness Church died and 16 others were injured when a church wall collapsed on them during a severe storm the evening before Good Friday.
• Celebrating 50 years in Zululand: The Zululand Observer celebrated 50 years in business in 2019. A big commemorative supplement, as well as a fun social media campaign marked the occasion.
MAY
• Free and fair: The voting process in Zululand ran smoothly.
• World Cup hot seat for Marius: Rugby referee Marius Jonker was selected to officiate as Television Match Official during the 2019 Rugby World Cup held in Japan.
• Family massacre: Three family members, including a two-year-old girl, were shot dead before their house was torched at eMpembeni.
• Rob equipped to be the ultimate survivor: Richards Bay’s very own Rob Bentele outwitted, outplayed and outlasted his rivals on Survivor SA.
JUNE
• Deadly robbery: Three Richards Bay residents were brutally killed during a home invasion. Police fatally shot the main suspect, Israel Dlamini, a few months later when he and three accomplices robbed a supermarket in eNseleni.
• TV station drama: Board chairperson of KZNTV, Themba Fakazi defends himself after being accused of fraudulent activities.
JULY
• Gruesome murder: A homeless man murdered his mother on Naval Island, setting her and her vehicle alight. The man apparently admitted to the killing and was arrested, but later refused to sign a formal confession.
• ‘Death trap’ anger: The horrific death of young father caused a public outcry over the need for traffic lights at the John Ross parkway’s EcoJunction intersection. Traffic lights were finally installed in September and came into operation in October.
• Vigilante revenge: Richards Bay CBD became a war zone as an angry mob took the law in their own hands, attacking drug users (‘paras’), setting stalls alight and vandalising buildings.
AUGUST
• Women’s Day tragedy: Two young children, Sambulo (8) and Unamandla (4), were murdered at their hands of their very own father on Women’s Day. Nkosinathi Ndlela (38) handed himself over to the police.
• Mob targets vagrants: Vagrants living in Richards Bay’s greenbelts were hunted down and brutally assaulted by a mob accusing them of doing drugs and carrying out petty crimes.
• Order restored? Chaos erupted in the Richards Bay CBD as protesters took to the streets, closing Bullion Boulevard and Krugerrand with burning tyres and other debris. Threats of violence led to schools, businesses and shops closing.
SEPTEMBER
• Activists to challenge oil and gas drilling along KZN coast: Environmental activists vowed to fight the exploration of oil and gas off the KZN coast. This
follows the Department of Mineral Resources’ decision to grant Sasol Africa and Eni South Africa authorisation to drill up to six exploration wells just 62km off the coast of Richards Bay.
• RBM signs Zulti South agreement: Richards Bay Minerals signed a procurement principles agreement with its four host traditional authorities for the R6.5-billion Zulti South Project.
• Campus turmoil: Violence broke out at the University of Zululand after a male student was shot and injured during a suspected house robbery at his off-campus rental cottage.
OCTOBER
• Students’ deadly revenge: Unizulu students reportedly beat a 28-year-old thief to death after he was caught stealing clothes from a washing line at an off-campus accommodation cottage.
• SPAR wars: Spar stores across Empangeni and Richards Bay temporarily closed their doors owing to a legal battle between the Giannacopoulos Group and Spar Guild of Southern Africa Limited.
• Art backlash: A video of a controversial artwork displayed at the Grantleigh prize-giving caused a public outcry, making headlines nationwide and even reaching commentators abroad.
• Shutdown: Caught in the middle of community conflict, Richards Bay Minerals (RBM) was forced to close down its mining operations following two shooting incidents near the plant in less than a week. Work at Richards Bay Minerals’ R6.5-billion Zulti South project was also halted.
DECEMBER
• Anger over city power outages: Empangeni residents and business owners suffered the consequences of extended power outages, which left them in the dark for three days. This was just a taste of things to come as Eskom reintroduced countrywide loadshedding soon afterwards.
• Baby kidnap controversy: A nationwide search for a newborn baby from Richards Bay ensued after she was alleged kidnapped by her father. The case was closed when the father later visited a police station in Pretoria with his legal team and the newborn child.
• Gunned down: A community leader was gunned down in Richards Bay CBD. The assassination appears to have direct links to the long and bitter succession struggle that has divided the Mbonambi community and spilled out to unrest that caused the temporary cessation of RBM activities.
• Summer shocker: Naval Island, a popular recreational area in Richards Bay, was closed off to the public by Transnet National Ports Authority after increased incidents of disorderly parties and unsightly littering.
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