The Best And Worst of A Memorable 2025 And Why We Should Look Back On It

As we look forward to what 2026 has in store for us, 2025 has been a memorable year, but in more ways that one.

Trump holds centre state

January 7-31 The year had hardly begun when the first major news story erupted, fires in California devastated the Los Angeles region, caused tens of billions of dollars in damage, killing at least 31 people and likely contributed to hundreds more deaths.
The wealthy suburb of Pacific Palisades went up in smoke with many of its movie-star residents losing their homes and everything in them, among the affected were Mel Gibson and Anthony Hopkins. The fires left firefighters overwhelmed as water supplies dried up, and were only extinguished on January 31.

January 20 US President-elect Donald Trump was sworn in for a second term of office, becoming the country's 47th president, having also been Potus (President Of The United States) #45.

February 7 Trump orders a halt in US aid for South Africa after accusing it of confiscating land under new land laws and for its genocide case against Israel (the US and Israel have always had  a close bond).

February 28 In a contentious, televised US Oval Office meeting, Trump and Vice-President JD Vance publicly criticised Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, ended the meeting abruptly and left a crucial mineral deal unsigned. The images went viral, marking a dramatic shift in international relations that would define geopolitics for the rest of the year.

March 14 The US declares South African Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool persona non grata, accusing him of making negative remarks about Trump.

May Trump falsely declares that South Africa is engaged in genocide against whites, specifically Afrikaners. He draws heavily on advice from AfriForum’s right-wing leader, Kallie Kriel and the richest man in the world, South African-born Elon Musk, a close ally of Trump. US president offers asylum to Afrikaners, but only 59 take up the offer initially, with most repudiating his claims. By the end of 2025, about 400 were believed to have left Mzansi.

President Cyril Ramaphosa leads a heavyweight entourage to the US to meet Trump and discuss the rapidly deteriorating relations between the two countries and to try rescue trade deals. The visit to the Oval Office changed tone rapidly when Trump ambushed Ramaphosa with videos, images and articles allegedly proving the existence of a 'genocide' against Afrikaner farmers. But Trump misrepresented the articles and the contents of the videos shown. In one instance he showed a photo from the DRC as South Africa, as well as claiming years-old footage to be current, and shared it out of context.

June 13 Israel launches a lightening attack on Iran’s military and nuclear sites, beginning a conflict dubbed the 12-Day War, during which the US Air Force and Navy attacked three Iranian nuclear facilities in Iran. The attack was given the code name "Operation Midnight Hammer". Although the war lasted 12 days, it caused unprecedented destruction in Israel and considerably weakened the Iranian Republic.

November 8 Trump announces that he will boycott the G20 Summit because it will be held in South Africa. After failing to successfully undermine the meeting of the leaders of the world's top economic nations, the first on African soil and held from November 22-23, he says South Africa will not be invited to attend the 2026 G20, at his own resort, on a golf course in Florida?

Trump slaps trade tariffs on just about everyone, claiming it's for the good of the US. Critics, including those within the US, find much wrong with the tariffs plan, which certainly wasn't good for the rest of the world.

Russian advances in Ukraine were meager as the war dragged on into a fourth year. Russia increased its control of Ukrainian territory by less than 1%. Those gains came at a frightening cost, with Russia losing roughly one thousand soldiers every day. Ukraine’s losses were far lower, but its population is just a third of Russia’s.

In the Middle East, Israel, heavily supported and armed by the US, continued it's aggression in Gaza. To date it has killed over 70 500 Palestinians, about 80% of whom were civilians, including aid workers and journalists. Israel says the attacks was retaliation for deadly attacks on their soil by Hamas on October 7, 2023. In contrast, the death toll from the Hamas-led attack was 1 219. 

In accusing Venezuela's leader, Nicolás Maduro, of being a 'narco-terrorist', Trump orders his aptly named Secretary of War (previously the Secretary of Defence) Pete Hegseth to blockade the oil-rich country and sink any vessels suspected of drug-running. He also authorises covet operations, all without a declaration of war. 

Other world news

Chinese firm DeepSeek captured global attention in January when it released an AI model that matched the best the US had to offer, without using advanced Nvidia chips that had been seen as essential to cutting-edge AI operations.

Sudan’s grueling three-year civil war drags on with little global interest in stopping the bloodshed in which as many as 400,000 people have died and more than 12 million have been displaced. Much of the country faces famine, and the demand for humanitarian aid far outpaces available resources. The prospects for a mediated end to the civil war remain dim, and the country’s de facto partition is a possibility.

April 21 An increasingly frail Pope Francis, the first Jesuit pontiff, suffers a stroke and dies after a dozen years in office, one day after an Easter Sunday appearance in St Peter's Square to bless the faithful.

May 7 The world hold's its breath as nuclear-armed powers India and Pakistan after India launched coordinated strikes (missiles/air/drones) into Pakistani territory – an operation codenamed Operation Sindoor – in response to the deadly Pahalgam attack in Indian‑administered Kashmir on April 22. It was the most serious escalation between the two nuclear‑armed rivals in decades, involving missile exchanges and other military actions over several days, with intense military exchanges between May 7 and 10, before diplomatic pressure brought the 86-hour crisis to an end.

May 8 North American cardinal Robert Prevos, who becomes Pope Leo XIV, the 267th head of the Roman Catholic Church, which numbers 1.4 billion followers. He succeeding his South American predecessor.

Sport

Football

January 22 Socialite Shauwn Mkhize's Pietermarizburg-based Royal AM was in the news for all the wrong reasons. Back in November 2024, the SARS (the South African Revenue Service) issued a preservation order against the club to secure its assets while it pursued MaMkhize's unpaid tax debts of about R40 million. The result is that on this day, the club is suspended from the PSL. Players at Thwihli Thwahla (The Dazzling Foxes) were also not getting paid, and the PSL's board of directors eventually expelled by the club on April 10 from the league because of financial misconduct and constitutional violations of the league's code of conduct.
In the cups, Royal AM was withdrawn from the 2025 Nedbank Cup in late February as part of the continued fallout.
Royal AM no longer competes in the PSL and its place in South African professional football has effectively been vacated, leaving its players free to pursue other clubs after rulings confirmed their eligibility outside of the Royal AM structure.
As for MaMkhize, she simply moved on and was unveiled in July as club president/owner of Mbabane Highlanders, one of Eswatini’s most successful football teams. The club was rebranded as Mbabane Highlanders AM FC, with the 'AM' in the name reflecting her son Andile Mpisane’s initials.

June 4 Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos announces that he will step down from his role after the 2026 World Cup, regardless of whether the the team qualifies or not. Since taking charge in 2021. Broos has steered Bafana to bronze at Afcon 23/24 and has won 26 of the 52 games he has been in charge of, losing just 7. It gives him one of the strongest records in the modern history of the South African national team and reflects more than four years of stability, improved performance, with Bafana climbing in the world rankings from 75th to 61st.

October 14 Bafana Bafana qualify for the 2026 Fifa World Cup in Canada, Mexico and the US, marking a returning to sport's biggest event after being away for 16 years. They last played in a World Cup in 2010 when they hosted the global showpiece. Coach Hugo Broos' team  beat Rwanda 3-0 in Mbombela to book their place. South Africa was drawn into Group A and will play all its group matches in Mexico, alongside co‑hosts Mexico, South Korea and a European qualifier.

December 29  Bafana win their Afcon first-round  match against Zimbabwe 3-2 in Marrakesh to advance to the Last 16, where they will face will face the second-placed team in Group F – either Ivory Coast, Cameroon or Mozambique in the new year.

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In domestic football Orlando Pirates win won the 2025 Carling Knockout Cup, defeating Marumo Gallants 1-0 in the final after extra time. with the  hugely popular Buccaneers also retaining the MTN8 title, winning the final 3-0 against Stellenbosch – making it their fourth straight MTN8 crown. To that the PSL table toppers added the Carling Black Label Cup after becoming the first team to beat the Carling All Stars, winning the final 2-0 at Durban's Moses Mabhida Stadium. However, Pirates were eliminated by Saint‑Eloi Lupopo after a penalty shootout in the CAF Champions League qualifiers.

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Kaizer Chiefs, probably the most popular club in the land, won the 2025 Nedbank Cup, defeating Orlando Pirates 2-1 in the final at Moses Mabhida Stadium in May, ending a 10‑year trophy drought. Amakhosi also qualified for the 2025‑26 CAF Confederation Cup group stage, and are placed alongside Egypt’s Zamalek, Al Masry, and Zambia’s Zesco United, a challenging group.

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Mamelodi Sundowns were crowned champions of the 2024‑25 PSL season, securing their eighth consecutive league title, a South African record, with a 3-0 win over Chippa United to clinch the title. It was the Brazilians' 15th PSL title. As runners‑up of the CAF Champions League and based on continental ranking, Sundowns qualified for the expanded Fifa Club World Cup in June in the US. Playing in Group F, they recorded a historic 1-0 win over Ulsan Hyundai FC, but lost a high‑scoring match against Borussia Dortmund, losing 4-3 in the group stage.

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Durban club Amazulu's mixed results in the PSL, under Arthur Zwane, indicate a solid mid‑to‑upper table position, with competitive showings against both strong and mid‑table opponents, while Lamontville Golden Arrows had a mixed campaign in 2025. Capable of big results (like beating Sundowns) and some tight matches, inconsistency saw Abafana Bes’thende finish in the middle of the PSL table with an early cup exit and a disappointing run of form towards the end of the year.

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Durban City FC, formerly Maritzburg United, finished top of the Motsepe Foundation Championship in the 2024-25 season, winning the title under coach Gavin Hunt and securing automatic promotion to the Betway Premiership. Under new coach Sinethemba Badela, The Dolphins will be hoping for an even better showing in 2026.

Cricket

The Proteas won their first major international cricket title since 1998 after defeating Australia by five wickets at the 2025 ICC World Test Championship final at Lords, in London, on June 14.

The South African Women’s team had a breakthrough ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup, reaching the final, where they lost to the hosts, India. 

Rugby

Rassie Erasmus' world champion Springboks have a good year, winning 12 games of their 14 matches with loses against Australia at home (losing 22-38 after a remarkable comeback by the visitors) and to New Zealand in Auckland (17-24 ).

New stars came to the fore, and generational talent Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu claimed the flyhalf jersey as his won. Before finishing their end-of-year tour with an unbeaten clean sweep, the Boks had delivered a dazzling performance in a 43-10 thrashing of the All Blacks in Wellington – the All Blacks’ heaviest ever home defeat.

Other very satisfying wins were against France in Paris 32-17 with just 14 men, against Ireland in Dublin 24-13, and putting poor Wales to the sword in Cardiff, 73-0.

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Springbok hooker Malcolm Marx becomes the best player in the world when he receives the World Rugby Men’s 15s Player of the Year award, becoming the fourth South African to earn the honour. previous winners were Schalk Burger (2004), Bryan Habana (2007) and Pieter-Steph du Toit (2019, 2024).

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The Springbok women qualified for the 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup, in England, where they reached the quarter‑finals, losing 17-46 to New Zealand. It represented a significant step forward for the Springbok Women, showing their competitiveness and growth on the world stage.

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Springbok captain Siya Kolisi who announced in December that he will leave the Sharks at the end of the URC season to return to Cape Town to be closer to his kids.

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Bulls coach Jake White left the franchise after an apparent player revolt and a string of poor results. He was replaced by Johan Ackermann, who hasn't had much success.

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At the Sharks, John Plumtree finds himself shifted sideways after a number of poor results. Plumtree's deputy, JP Pietersen, steps up as the interim coach and team start winning again, but Sharks management say he won’t be considered for the full-time position. Nevertheless, his charges beat Ackermann's Bulls 21-12 in a home derby on December 20 to give his employers food for thought.

Other News and Politics

January 27 A fire at the Booysens slum in Johannesburg destroys 1 500 homes and displaces hundreds of residents.

February 15 Muhsin Hendricks, described as the world’s first openly gay imam, is shot dead in an ambush near Gqeberha.

February 19 The annual presentation of the government budget is abruptly canceled for the first time since the end of apartheid in 1994 and is moved to March amid opposition by the Democratic Alliance to a 2% increase in value-added tax proposed by the ANC.

June 26 DA deputy minister in the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition, Andrew Whitfield is removed from office over corruption claims. Later, Forestry, Fisheries, and Environment Minister Dion George gets the boot after accusing DA leader John Steenhuisen of misusing his party credit card.

Umkhoto WeSizwe MP and former Secretary-general Floyd Shivambu is demoted to an ordinary member, parliamentary Chief Whip Colleen Makhubele was replaced by Des van Rooyen but reinstated by Jacob Zuma in November, who also suspended his deputy John Hlophe. And in a family twist, Brumelda Zuma was sworn in as an MP in December, taking over from her disgraced sister, Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla.

March 9 A bus crashes through a barrier and plunges down an embankment in KwaZulu-Natal, killing nine people on the N2 between Mandeni and Stanger. At least 80 passengers were transported to different medical facilities with 12 people in critical condition.

March 13 South Africa announces the withdrawal of its poorly equipped military contingent from the Southern African Development Community peacekeeping mission to the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.

April 2 The DA votes against the passage of the government budget despite being part of the unity government. The budget passes with support from non-coalition member ActionSA.

May 12 The Trump administration brings the first group of white South Africans to the United States through its refugee programme.

May 22 An incident at a gold mine outside Johannesburg leaves over 260 miners stranded underground at the Sibanye-Stillwater mine.

June 8 A light aircraft crashes near Greytown, KwaZulu-Natal, killing all three people on board.

June 10 At least 101 people are killed following floods in the Mthatha area. Heavy rain, caused by a cold front, swept away victims and their houses, trapped others in their homes, damaged roads and other infrastructure and cut electricity supplies.

July 6 KZN Police Commissioner, Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi holds a press conference and drops a bombshell, accusing Police Minister Senzo Mchunu and Deputy National Commissioner Shadrack Sibiya of shielding crime syndicates, raising fears about who really controls the country's criminal justice system.

Mchunu is placed on Special Leave and Ramaphosa names Firoz Cachalia as Acting Police Minister, overlooking the two deputy police ministers, Cassel Mathale and Shela Polly Boshielo. Cachalia is openly critical of Mkhwanzi, whose claims lead to the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry (officially called the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Criminality, Political Interference and Corruption in the Criminal Justice System) and the Parliamentary Ad Hoc Committee.

November 22–23 The G20 Summit is held for the first time in Africa, in Johannesburg, with the US glaringly absent after its president, Donald Trump, said he would not attend because of South Africa’s violent persecution of minority whites, particularly Afrikaners.

November 28 Jacob Zuma's daughter Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla resigns from the National Assembly and MKP amid allegations that she had recruited 17 South Africans to fight as mercenaries for the Russian war effort in Ukraine.

Justice

The fight for justice took centre stage in the early part of the year, with heart-wrenching cases that exposed deep societal wounds that demand change. Publicity and protests over the alleged rape of a seven-year-old girl, known as Cwecwe in Matatiele, Eastern Cape, horrified the nation, shining a spotlight on the scourge of child abuse that leaves scars that no one should bear. Alongside this, were the trials for the murders of Joshlin Smith and Olorato Mongale.

April 14 The National Prosecuting Authority reopens an inquest into the death of Nobel laureate and ANC president Albert Luthuli in 1967.

July 24 The Senzo Meyiwa trial, which has been dragging on for more than a decade, saw the State finally close its case after three years of evidence, allowing the Defence to step up – a slow but steady pursuit of truth for a nation still mourning the football star.

August 19 John Hume, the former owner of the Platinum Rhino site that was formerly the world’s largest rhinoceros farm, located in North West, is arrested on suspicion of trafficking 964 rhino horns to the black market in Southeast Asia.

August 27 EFF leader Julius Malema is convicted of hate speech by the Equality Court over comments he made at a political rally in 2022.

September 12 The government reopens an investigation into the 1977 death of anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko.

September 12 A judge rejects a petition by convicted rapist and murderer Thabo Bester and his partner Nandipha Magudumana to prevent Netflix from releasing a documentary series about him, titled Beauty And The Bester, saying that the issue is in the public domain.

October 3 The Constitutional Court rules that all parents are entitled to equal parental leave, declaring parts of the labour law unconstitutional and giving Parliament three years to amend it.

October 30 A court in Pietermaritzburg rules that Nobel laureate and anti-apartheid leader Albert Luthuli was beaten to death in 1967, overturning a previous finding of accidental death.

November 10 Jacob Zuma’s outspoken daughter, Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla pleads not guilty in the Durban High Court to charges of inciting violence during the 2021 unrest.

November 11 The extradition of the Ndimande brothers from Eswatini brought fresh hope for justice in the February 10, 2023, murders of rapper Kiernan 'AKA' Forbes and Tebello 'Tibz' Motsoane.

November 13 South Africa admits 130 Palestinians at OR Tambo International Airport after initially blocking entry over missing travel documentation, following a humanitarian accommodation offer.

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Weather events added to the difficulties of living in Mzansi, with floods ravaging KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape, causing property damage, injuries, and deaths.

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Storms in Gauteng and Mpumalanga in September, plus biting cold fronts, hit hard, emphasized how climate change is no distant threat – it’s here, flooding homes and upending lives.

Deaths

These are some of the better known faces that we said goodbye to in 2025:

January 7 Beloved singer and actress Winnie Khumalo, 51.

January 9 Doc Shebeleza, 51, kwaito musician.

January 13 Niel Barnard, 75, director-general of the National Intelligence Service (1979–1992).

February 24 Roberta Flack, 88, whose tender vocals made her one of R&B’s most beloved singers. Best known for The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face, and Killing Me Softly With His Song.

February 26 Gene Hackman, 95. The two-time Oscar-winning actor for the movies, The French Connection and Unforgiven, was found dead with his wife, who had died a few days before.

March 8 Athol Fugard, 92, doyen of South African theatre, playwright, novelist, actor and director. Well-known for Boesman and Lena, a poignant play that explores the lives of two marginalised characters, Boesman and Lena.

March 21 Boxing legend and two-time world heavyweight champion George Foreman, 76. He is survived by his wife and 11 children, including five sons, all named “George Foreman”.

April 1 Top Gun, Maverick and Batman Forever star Val Kilmer, 65, 

May 14 Cornal Hendricks, 37, rugby player (Bulls, Boland Cavaliers, national team). His premature death stuns sports fans.

May 22 Gertrude Shope, 99, politician.

May 27 Veteran radio broadcaster and former East Coast Radio DJ Darren Scott, 61, of cancer. His voice, wit and passion for radio made him a household name over a career spanning four decades.

May 27 Presley Chweneyagae,40. Catapulted to stardom at 21 with his role in Gavin Hood’s Oscar-winning crime drama, Tsotsi. The film, about a hardened criminal who begins caring for an infant, won the 2006 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. It marked the first South African film to win the award. Chweneyagae featured in a number of significant releases, including Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, More Than Just a Game, State of Violence, and Africa United.

June 11 Brian Wilson, 82, songwriter for the hugely popular band, the Beach Boys, and who penned hits like Good Vibrations and God Only Knows.

July 3 David Mabuza, 64, deputy president  from 2018–2023.

July 24 Hulk Hogan, 71. The charismatic US wrestler who brought the sport to the mainstream.

August 27 Mathilda Bains, 67, Permanent Delegate to the National Council of Provinces from the Western Cape.

September 10 Charlie Kirk, 31, right-wing commentator, shot dead at a university in Utah. Known for his viral Prove Me Wrong series, Kirk became an influential media and internet personality and a staple on college campuses, where he would man a booth and invite students to challenge his stances. Similarly, at events he would bring audience members on stage to debate him. His death made headlines for days afterwards.

September 16 Oscar-winning actor and heart-throb Robert Redford. 89, the founder of the Sundance Film Festival. 

September 30 Nathi Mthethwa, 58, former minister of police and of sport, arts and culture, and ambassador to France, in an apparent suicide.

October 1 Jane Goodall 91, legendary zoologist who dedicated her life’s work to the study of chimpanzees in Tanzania. Her research revealed that chimps are capable of using tools to fish for ants, that they hunt and eat smaller primates, and that they would sometimes cannibalise their own in acts of aggression.

October 11  Actress Diane Keaton, 79, who rose to fame for her iconic roles in beloved films such as Annie Hall, The First Wives Club, The Godfather.

October 27 Prunella Scales, 93, the British actress who became a household name playing the long-suffering and domineering Sybil Fawlty opposite John Cleese in Fawlty Towers.

November 3 Dick Cheney, 84, US president George W Bush's vice-president and a polarising political figure whose life inspired the 2018 Oscar-winning film Vice.

November 24 Charismatic Jamaican reggae pioneer and a contemporary of Bob Marley, Jimmy Cliff, 81. With Marley, they popularised reggae.

November 10 Jonathan Pienaar, 63, the prolific South African star of films including Blood Diamond and the soapie, Binnelanders.

November 17 Twins Alice and Ellen Kessler, 89, famous for their performances with Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr, Fred Astaire, and others, die at home near Munich from assisted suicide, which is legal in Germany.

December 3 The death of SARS commissioner Oupa Magashula, 63 marks a loss in public service.

December 4 Edward Gabriel Risi, 76, Roman Catholic bishop of Keimoes–Upington.

December 16 DJ Warras, 40, DJ and television presenter.

December 22 Influential English rock and blues singer-songwriter Chris Rea, 74, , best known for the Christmas classic, Driving Home for Christmas.

December 28 Brigitte Bardot, 91, singer, model and animal rights activist.  Famous for portraying characters with hedonistic lives, she was one of the best-known symbols of the sexual revolution.

Here's to 2026. May it be a good one.

DAILY NEWS