The Standard Bank Joy of Jazz Festival is introducing a new addition to its 2026 programme with the inaugural “Free the Jazz” concert. This public event is slated for Heritage Day. The concert will take place on 24 September at the Sandton City Rooftop in Johannesburg. 

“Free the Jazz” hopes to make live jazz accessible to younger audiences. The programme will feature artists working in different musical genres. 

Photo: Instagram/@joyofjazz

The line-up includes Jazz Maestro Sbu, who won the Joy of Jazz #JazzReignited DJ search competition. Jazz and Afro-rock group The Brother Moves On will also perform, alongside Namibian house DJ and producer DJ Castro. Jazz vocalist, songwriter and composer Bokang Ramatlapeng and trumpeter Robin Fassie are also part of the programme.

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The Jazzaholics, featuring radio personalities Nothemba Madumo and Nonn Botha, will join the programme, while Kids Love Jazz will bring its sound to the event. Other music platforms connected to the festival include Sankayi Jazz Series, Hugh’s Jazz Club, Jozi Gold, Untitled Basement, Umanyano Lwe Jazz Festival and SAMPRA.

Photo: Instagram/@joyofjazz

The event starts at 10am and ends at 7pm. However, gates will open at 9am. Although entry is free, attendees must reserve tickets through Quicket. Admission is subject to venue capacity.

Organisers say the event is aimed at students, young professionals, and jazz fans. 

The Heritage Day event will lead into the main Standard Bank Joy of Jazz Festival, which takes place on 25 and 26 September. General admission day passes are listed at R1,150, while weekend passes cost R2,250.

Photo: Instagram/@joyofjazz

With “Free the Jazz”, the festival is adding a free public event focused on emerging talent to its annual programme. The concert also gives audiences an opportunity to experience  African sounds before the main Joy of Jazz programme begins.

Concern is growing in Kempton Park, Gauteng, after the bodies of four women were discovered in the area between July and September. Police have cautioned against concluding that one person is the perpetrator. 

The first woman, aged 37, was found near the R21 on July 15. According to police, she was found naked and had allegedly been restrained with cable ties. A suspect was arrested two days later and remains in custody.

Photo: Getty Images

A second woman, aged 32, was found near the R21 on August 24. She was partially clothed when her body was discovered.

On September 10, police found another woman’s body in a state of decomposition. She was initially unidentified. The fourth body was discovered on September 12 behind a hotel in Rhodesfield. The woman was 38 and had been wearing sports clothing.

The fourth victim was later identified as Elizabeth “Tsontso” Moselakgomo. She had been reported missing after leaving her Kempton Park home. Her family  identified her body at the Germiston mortuary on September 14.

Photo: Getty Images

Moselakgomo’s death has raised concerns among residents, especially women in the area. Police have urged women in Kempton Park and Rhodesfield to exercise extreme caution. 

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Acting Gauteng police commissioner Major General Fred Kekana said there are similarities between some of the cases, but no connection for now. He said they are considering all possibilities. 

“We are not limiting ourselves to one suspect or one theory.

“Once we have balanced and analysed all the available evidence, we will be able to determine whether these cases are connected, whether multiple suspects are involved, or whether these are separate investigations.”

Police are examining the evidence from each case, including timelines, locations, and victim profiles. 

Advocacy group Women for Change leader Merlize Jogiat said the situation was angering.

“What is the purpose of having a protective service like the police if we have to make sure… we are [protecting] ourselves,” 

Photo: Getty Images

The circumstances have also prompted the authorities to warn the public about meeting strangers on dating platforms. Police in Kempton Park have identified about 10 cases in which people allegedly met strangers online before being lured to locations where they were assaulted. 

Residents’ concerns intensified further on September 14 when another woman’s body was discovered in Olifantsfontein, near Kempton Park. This brought the number of women’s bodies found since July to five. 

Police appeal to residents, motorists, security personnel and anyone who may have witnessed suspicious activity in Rhodesfield  to provide information. Investigators are also asking families who have missing relatives to report them.

Camron Jones will play Tupac Shakur in Snoop, Universal Pictures’ upcoming biopic about Snoop Dogg. The casting of Camron shows the opportunity given to young talented actors. There will be a theatrical release on August 6, 2027, but production starts in September.

Jones has been acting for many years. He played Bishop Moore in Panic. He acted in  Grown-ish, The Purge and Shameless. 

Tupac and Snoop were close at Death Row Records in the 1990s. They worked on songs including “2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted”. The East Coast–West Coast rivalry intensified as artists and record labels from both regions exchanged insults, diss tracks, and public accusations, deepening the divide within hip-hop.

Photo: Instagram/@camronjones

Shakur was 25 when he was shot in Las Vegas in September 1996 and died six days later. Jones is the latest actor to portray Shakur on screen, following Demetrius Shipp Jr. in the 2017 biopic All Eyez on Me and Anthony Mackie in the 2009 film Notorious. 

Jonathan Daviss will play Snoop Dogg. Myles Bullock will portray Dr. Dre, while Lauren London portrays Snoop’s late mother, Beverly Tate.

Read Also: Diddy Could Face Criminal Charges in Tupac Murder Case

Dr. Dre introduced Snoop to a wider audience and produced his 1993 debut album, Doggystyle. The film will cover this period as Snoop established himself alongside Dre, Tupac and other major Death Row artists. 

Photo: Instagram/@camronjones

Craig Brewer will be directing the movie . Brewer’s previous films include Hustle & Flow and Dolemite Is My Name. The screenplay is based on Joe Robert Cole’s original script and Brewer’s rewrite. 

Snoop Dogg is producing the film alongside Brian Grazer, Death Row Pictures president Sara Ramaker and Allan Mandelbaum. The project is the first film connected to Death Row Pictures’ overall deal with NBCUniversal Entertainment and will feature music from Snoop’s catalogue.