Kaizer Chiefs have confirmed the signing of Bafana Bafana international Siboniso Gaxa from Belgium’s Lierse SK.
KickOff.com broke the news two weeks ago that Amakhosi were interesting in the 28-year-old defender, and he was released by Lierse a few days later.
Gaxa has signed a three-year contract with the option to renew for one year. He is the first of the 10 players club boss Kaizer Motaung suggested he will invest in ahead of next season.
After years of abuse from fans, the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) on Tuesday finally showed its commitment to our soccer.
The SABC have guaranteed coverage of Bafana Bafana, the national Under-23s and Banyana Banyana for the next three years, hopefully bringing to an end some of the debacles around ‘delayed live’ and sometimes ‘not broadcast at all’ national team matches.
Don’t miss: SABC gives fans the middle finger
Said SABC group chief executive Lulama Mokhobo: “The days of blackouts are over. Not even a tsunami will move it.” –Kickoff.com
Orlando Pirates have promised not to shatter the hopes of their legion of supporters in their League title-deciding match against Golden Arrows on Saturday at Moses Mabhida Stadium.
With just two points separating the Bucs and second placed Moroka Swallows (who will be in action against Maritzburg United at Harry Gwala Stadium), the defending champions have their own destiny in their hands.
A clear victory over Arrows will see Pirates clinching their fourth League title in the modern era of the PSL. A win will also hand them the right to have another crack at the African Champions League trophy next year.
Pirates spokesperson Mickey Modisane is confident the team will successfully complete the defence of their title against Arrows.
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“Our fans will not be disappointed,” Modisane says in a chat with KickOff.com.
“Durban is a home away from home and fans should come in their numbers to see us romping to victory. We are aware that there are a lot of high expectations but the supporters will not be disappointed,” Modisane says.
“The mood is very high, all the players are fully focused and have been showing good signs during training,” adds the Pirates spokesperson.
He dispelled fears that the Bucs would be affected by the sudden departure of Portuguese winger Louis Boa Morte, who was released from the club by management.
“These things happen in football, it is part of the game. It has not affected the preparations of the team in any way,” said the Bucs spokesperson.- Farirayi Kahwemba
BY Stephen Grootes
JOHANNESBURG – Chairman of Parliament’s Justice Committee Luwellyn Landers said the committee is drawing up its own draft bill to fix problems with the Sexual Offences Act.
On Friday the Western Cape High Court made a ruling which could see some people convicted under the act, go free.
The judgment said the perpetrators arrested for certain offences in the act cannot be formally charged because legislators omitted to prescribe sentences for the offences.
The problems with the current legislation has led to calls for the law to be amended.
“The law allows the committee to table a bill and then effectively it short-circuits the normal processes that bills follow,” said Landers.
He confirmed they want to speed up the process.
“Because the court has pointed out the anomaly in the act, we can very quickly draw up a bill that fixes that anomaly,” he added.
The ruling particularly relates to sexual crimes against children and the mentally handicapped.
Under the act, offenders may not be charged for include sexual assault, compelled sexual assault, consensual sexual acts with children, sexual exploitation and sexual grooming of children, as well as sexual offences against mentally disabled people.
(Edited by Clare Matthes)
Andrea van Wyk
JOHANNESBURG – The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) defended its members’ hostility on Wednesday when what was meant to be a peaceful demonstration by the Democratic Alliance (DA) turned violent.
The DA was protesting the union federation’s opposition to the youth wage subsidy and had planned its march to Cosatu’s headquarters in Braamfontein.
The march started calmly, but as the crowd of about 2,000 demonstrators neared the Johannesburg Theatre, they were confronted by angry union members resulting in clashes between the two groups.
As DA members neared the Johannesburg Theater on Jorrison Street, Cosatu members started throwing stones, while also launching insults at the oncoming crowd.
While Cosatu did not support the violent outbreak, the trade union federation insisted that most of its members had behaved well and the hostility by a handful of union members was justified.
Several DA members were injured and a Mail & Guardian journalist was wounded when a rock hit him on the head.
“There were lots of people in the DA camp that pelted stones at the Cosatu members,” said Cosatu’s Zwelinzima Vavi.
“We feel that the actions that took place were completely undemocratic and despicable at the highest level,” responded the DA’s Mmusi Maimane.
Cosatu claimed some of its members were also injured when DA members retaliated.
Despite the mayhem on Tuesday the DA still wants to meet with Cosatu to hand over its memorandum.
(Edited by Clare Matthes)
By POLOKO TAU
Ten-year-old Tsholofelo* drew up a sketch. One human figure with long hair represents herself and the other bigger person in the picture, her alleged rapist.
She wrote next to it in Setswana: “He then took me to his bedroom, undressed me and turned on the television showing me how people did nasty things like he was doing.”
Tsholofelo’s writing is legible for a young girl who had not completed her third grade due to epilepsy, and who needed specialised care that saw her dropping out of school.
Her visibly distraught mother Noni* took Tsholofelo’s tiny hand, placed it between her own hands and began rubbing it in a comforting way.
“This child has been through hell and needs all the support she can get,” Noni said. “She was raped by a neighbour who is known to her, hence she went over when he called her, because she trusted him. We then placed our hope in the court to take that dangerous man out of the society but he was released on bail and is back to haunt and traumatise (Tsholofelo).”
Noni claimed the same man “had raped a young girl before and it was baffling how the court had decided to grant him bail and let him loose in society when he had proved that he had not been rehabilitated”.
Noni said her daughter was raped on New Year’s Day. The man lives diagonally opposite their home in the next street in Tlhabane township outside Rustenburg, North West.
She said the alleged rapist was released from prison late last year after serving time for murder and rape.
Recollecting the New Year’s Day events, Noni said Tsholofelo left home and was on her way to a house her mother had visited around the corner.
“When she arrived she had a handful of coins which she later told me were given to her by (her alleged rapist) after doing nasty things to her.
“She was threatened by the same man not to tell anyone about what had happened,” she said.
“(Tsholofelo) said she was made to watch pornography, had her private parts wiped with a wet hand-towel before and after she was raped.”
A case of rape was opened and the suspect arrested the same day, but Noni said she was surprised when she saw him walking the streets, sparking fear in her and Tsholofelo.
“The thing is, (Tsholofelo) was raped by another man about four years ago. The case never went anywhere because he was not from the neighbourhood. He vanished and was never found by the police,” Noni said.
“The first incident affected her a lot and this second one is being worsened by the fact that she often sees the man walking past out house. When she sees him she runs back into the house and hides behind me.”
Noni said the man was known as a dangerous person and the community was not happy that he was out on bail. “We all are disappointed in the court and feel let down by the law for releasing him on bail,” she said.
“I have tried to raise my concerns with social workers but they can’t over-rule a court decision. I feel helpless and it hurts a lot looking at the enormous trauma that my young girl is forced to go through.”
Noni said before the incident Tsholofelo was a “bubbly child” who normally went out to play with her peers, but things had changed dramatically.
“Now she beats other children when they come to the house. She wants to be around me at all times and can’t leave the house without me,” she said.
“She now hates all men and openly expresses her hatred against (her alleged rapist) and how he had done painful and nasty things to her. We will only feel safe once this man is back behind bars, but now we’re in the dark and the police are not updating me on the case. I don’t even know when (the suspect) is due to appear in court or when and how he was granted bail.”
A neighbour, who asked not to be named, said children in the neighbourhood were suddenly afraid of the alleged rapist and afraid to pass by his house after the incident.
“Everyone is against his release. Our children are obviously not safe with him out there and the rape of young children is becoming a trend in our townships, yet nothing much is being done to address it,” she said.
“People take advantage of children, but the police, government and courts are not helping, and are instead favouring rapists over helpless children.”
Mirriam Willimse, ward councillor in Tlhabane, said people like the alleged rapist did “not belong to the society”.
“Police and courts should bear the blame for letting him out on bail but we’ll stand up and support the young girl and her family. Pressure should be put on courts to lock up rapists, especially those who rape young, disabled children,” she said.
North West prosecutions spokesman Frank Lesenyego said the suspect was granted bail on his third appearance on January 18 after an investigating officer failed to attend court proceedings on two occasions, citing ill health.
“(Accused’s defence) successfully opposed state application for further remand and proceeded with application for bail by handing in affidavits showing exceptional circumstances justifying the accused’s release on bail,” Lesenyego said.
He said the suspect’s bail was fixed at R2 000 and he was warned not to interfere or threaten identified state witnesses.
The Star Africa
Johannesburg – The DA plans to lay charges against Cosatu after its march in Johannesburg on Tuesday turned violent.
Several DA supporters were injured when rocks and pieces of cement were thrown at them, and police used teargas and water cannons to disperse Cosatu members who had stopped DA members from protesting over the government’s youth wage subsidy outside Cosatu’s headquarters, according to reports.
DA leader Helen Zille said the violence was “absolutely deplorable”.
“I think we were on Jorissen (Street) when I saw the first rock hailing down on us, huge rocks came at us. It was completely uncalled for. We were peaceful, and when Cosatu threw rock at us, we told our supporters not to retaliate.”
Zille slammed Cosatu for being “very selective” about constitutional rights, saying it would not tolerate anybody else doing what it claims it has the right to do every day.
“We will definitely lay charges, and continue to protest as we see fit, and not as Cosatu sees fit. We had the legal march. They had the illegal march,” Zille told the Cape Argus.
Meanwhile, Cosatu has defended the hostility displayed by some of its members during the DA march.
“DA policies… will create no new jobs… and [will] lead to the impoverishment and enslavement of workers and [an] economic meltdown for South Africa,” spokesperson Patrick Craven said in a statement.
“That is why workers are so hostile towards [DA leader] Helen Zille‘s party and want to express their justified anger, most especially when there are confronted on the street outside their federation’s head office,” he said.
By VUYO MKIZE
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Fifty-one. That is the number of charges Jazzman Rikhotso has been found guilty of by Johannesburg High Court Judge Colin Lamont.
Charged with 58 counts, Rikhotso, the man dubbed the “Avalon Cemetery Rapist” was found guilty on Tuesday on:
* 19 counts of rape;
* 11 counts of kidnapping;
* six counts of robbery;
* six counts of assault;
* two counts of assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm;
* four counts of sexual violation;
* two counts of the unlawful possession of a firearm; and
* one count of pointing a firearm.
For two years, Rikhotso preyed on helpless women and children either visiting graves of their loved ones or passing through the cemetery.
His youngest victim was 12 years old and the eldest is now aged 69.
All the victims share the same trauma of having been held against their will, throttled, robbed and raped by the man who stood before court and denied he ever knew or committed the crimes against them.
Unfortunately for Rikhotso, eight of his victims had positively identified him during an identity parade and his DNA matched the samples taken from his victims – his number was up.
The final nail on his coffin was when police traced a cellphone stolen from one of the victims to him.
“The accused is an extremely intelligent person. It was apparent to me that he sought to manipulate the evidence against him … He saw an opportunity to raise questions over the blood samples, that it was a different person’s blood, but subsequently, the blood proved to be his,” the judge said. “The State has proved beyond reasonable doubt that samples taken from the complainants matched the samples taken from the accused.
Rikhotso had told the court during his evidence how unhappy he had been about the way the identity parade had been conducted. He claimed the officer in charge of the parade kept leaving the room and insinuated that he could have been telling witnesses where he was positioned in the line-up.
He also claimed that during his arrest on October 7, 2010, the investigating officer in the case had taken copies of his ID, which led him to believe he had shown those pictures to the victims so they could point him out.
“The first difficulty with that is that there is no evidence the witnesses saw the photos, and the fact that there is a blanket denial from each of the witnesses that they saw the photos.
“Also, not all the witnesses pointed him out; if they had all seen the photos, one would expect he would have been pointed out by all the witnesses,” Judge Lamont said.
Rikhotso had said there had been an elaborate plot by the investigating officer to have him convicted of the charges because he wouldn’t pay him a R20 000 bribe. In terms of that complaint, the judge said: “In order to concoct such a plot, the police would have had to involve each complainant and the nurse.
“All evidence is that that (the plot) didn’t happen, and I accept that evidence.
“The complainants appeared to tell the truth in the best way they knew how and were traumatised by the incidents.”
The judge also withdrew his previous order for Rikhotso’s name to not be published saying: “There’s no reason why his name may not be published. It’s in the interest of society that people know the perpetrator of the crimes has been captured by the diligence of police and has now been convicted.”
Rikhotso is scheduled to be sentenced on Tuesday.
The Star Africa
BY Tiyani Mabasa
Kaizer Chiefs midfielder Reneilwe Letsholonyane will miss the club’s last match of the season against AmaZulu on Saturday at the FNB Stadium.
Yeye has just returned from a long lay-off owing to a knee injury and he suffered another setback when he was cautioned against in Chiefs’ 2-1 win over Free State Stars over the weekend.
Letsholonyane received two yellow cards earlier in the season and his booking against Stars was his third of the campaign, which culminated in the suspension.
Also sitting out the clash against AmaZulu is Tefu Mashamaite, who will also be serving a one-match suspension.
However, Chiefs will welcome back Lucky Baloyi who missed the trip to the Free State also due to suspension.
BY Lovemore Moyo
Mamelodi Sundowns will reshuffle their squad again, with up to 10 players to leave or be loaned out – including all three foreigners not in the first team.
Sundowns are keen to offload many of the reserve team players with first-team contracts.
Word is that Nigerian midfielder Solomon Okpako, who has battled for regular game-time since joining at the beginning of the season, will be part of that list.
Also due to leave though on loan is Zimbabwean striker Simba Sithole who has battled to break through into the team despite being registered as one of the club’s five foreigners this season.
Fellow Zimbabwean Lionel Mutizwa, whose injury at the beginning of the season led to him not being registered, will also be let go, although there have to be negotiations about his contract, which is still running.
The duo of Tshepo Ramokala and Lucky Nguzana will definitely leave at the end of the season.
The club is also considering letting go of Innocent Mdledle, while the interest in out-of-favour defender Ramahlwe Mphahlele might tempt the club to let him go.
Mphahlele has attracted the attention of Platinum Stars, SuperSport United and Bloemfontein Celtic.
Further word from within the club is that one “big name player” could be let go if the club finds a way of selling him, as he is no longer giving his best for the club.
The player in question has not made as much of a contribution as was expected this season, with his body language reportedly “no longer being that of a hungry player”.
The Guardian 