February 12, 2026 – South Africa Headlines

Story gist: Eastern Cape Judge President Selby Mbenenge was placed on special leave pending a decision by the Judicial Service Commission.

Bias summary: Left-leaning outlets provided no coverage, leaving that perspective absent. Center outlet News24 uses the full title, emphasizing ‘pending JSC decision’ to highlight the temporary status. Right-leaning The Citizen shortens to ‘placed on special leave,’ omitting the pending detail, which may frame the action as more conclusive without contextual qualification.

Story gist: Helen Zille stated there is no bad blood with John Steenhuisen amid leadership shifts in South Africa’s Democratic Alliance. The party will enter municipal elections with new leaders.

Bias summary: Left- and right-leaning outlets absent, omitting progressive critiques of opposition infighting or conservative endorsements of DA stability. Center coverage by The Conversation frames story analytically, emphasizing electoral implications of leadership changes with neutral questioning (‘what does it all mean?’), downplaying personal tensions highlighted in the story title and focusing on forward-looking party strategy.

Story gist: South Africa holds critical minerals valued at $2.5 trillion. Exploration lags challenge the nation’s mining ambitions, with criticism of Minister Gwede Mantashe’s BEE policies.

Bias summary: No left-leaning outlets cover the story, omitting defenses of BEE or equity-focused angles. Center source Moneyweb frames it neutrally as an exploration lag testing Africa’s critical minerals ambitions. Right-leaning Politicsweb criticizes Mantashe’s ‘defiant BEE grip’ for dooming mining to doldrums, emphasizing policy blame and economic stagnation.

Story gist: Over 17,000 farms in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, have been devastated by foot-and-mouth disease. The province became the epicenter as the government awaits vaccine stock.

Bias summary: Left- and right-leaning outlets omitted coverage, absenting perspectives on farmer impacts or government accountability. Center outlet EWN neutrally frames KwaZulu-Natal as the disease epicenter, emphasizing the government’s vaccine stock wait without assigning blame, focusing on factual spread and official response delays.

Story gist: Parents protested outside the Gauteng premier’s office over an ongoing scholar transport strike.

Bias summary: Left- and right-leaning outlets provided no coverage, omitting the story entirely and leaving perspectives from those lanes absent. Centrist eNCA framed it neutrally with a factual headline mirroring the event: parents protesting amid the strike. Lack of left/right reporting suggests minimal partisan interest, with only centrist tone emphasizing the direct action without added context or blame.