For Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Lumkile Nkomfe.

Making headlines: SAFA president Danny Jordaan arrested; South Africa declares national disaster after floods, storms; And, Mpox vaccination shortage delays Kinshasa's drive against outbreak

SAFA president Danny Jordaan arrested

South African Football Association President Danny Jordaan was arrested today over allegations he used the organisation's money for his own purposes, according to local media reports.

Jordaan, who was a leading figure in bringing the 2010 World Cup to South Africa, had tried to interdict his imminent arrest yesterday.

The arrest stems from a raid by police on the SAFA offices in March, after which police spokesperson Katlego Mogale said the allegations are that "between 2014 and 2018, the president of SAFA used the organisation's resources for his personal gain, including hiring a private security company for his personal protection and a public relations company, without authorisation from the SAFA board."

Jordaan, 73, and his reported co-accused, SAFA chief financial officer Gronie Hluyo and businessman Trevor Neethling, appeared in court today.

South Africa declares national disaster after floods, storms

South Africa declared a national disaster after floods and storms caused widespread damage in the country, allowing the government to free up funds for relief and reconstruction.

Disruptive rains, floods, strong winds and hail from October 22 to 29 affected the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Free State, Limpopo, North-West, Gauteng and Mpumalanga provinces, Elias Sithole, head of the National Disaster Management Centre, said in an official notice today. That caused damage to property, infrastructure and the environment, and disrupted the provision of basic services, he said.

The floods left at least 10 people dead and hundreds more displaced in the Eastern Cape alone.

The declaration of a national disaster assigns primary responsibility for the coordination and management of the clean-up to the national government, Sithole said.

The announcement comes almost a year after South Africa proclaimed a climate-related national disaster following floods and storms in three coastal provinces in September and October 2023.

And, Mpox vaccination shortage delays Kinshasa's drive against outbreak

Democratic Republic of Congo has been unable to launch an mpox vaccination campaign in the capital Kinshasa due to a shortage of doses, the country's response leader said, while cases countrywide continue to rise, especially among children.

The World Health Organisation declared mpox a global health emergency in mid-August, after a new strain began spreading from Congo to neighbouring countries.

However, donors have been slow to translate their promises into money and vaccines, according to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.

Cris Kacita, the head of operations for Congo's mpox control programme, said it had 53 921 doses of vaccine left for use in prisons - where people are at high risk due to squalid conditions - but it needed over 162 000 doses to launch a vaccination programme in the capital.

So far, the capital, with nearly 20-million inhabitants, has been less affected than regions elsewhere in the country. Vaccination programmes are under way in six other provinces.

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today

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