Monthly Archives: May 2012

‘Killer’ mom will face trial this year

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Her three-month-old baby, born in jail, has been put in the care of her sister.

A NORTHERN Cape woman accused of murdering her five children will go on trial in September.

Venolia Siwa, who gave birth to her sixth child in February this year, appeared in the Pampierstad Magistrate’s Court with a purple towel wrapped around her head on Friday.

Magistrate Jan Brits had to ask her to move it slightly to identify her.

Siwa is accused of killing her five children by forcing them to drink a cocktail of brake fluid and cool drink. She is then believed to have drowned them when she realised they were not dying quickly enough.

She allegedly went to a nearby river where she unsuccessfully tried to kill herself.

She faces five counts of murder.

Her children – Sizwe, 13, Lukanyo, 10, Edward, 5, Reatlegile, 4, and Matiki, 2 – were killed in October at their grandmother’s house in Lower Majeakgoro village.

Brits set down the trial for Septem ber 3 to 7 in the high court, which will be sitting in Vryburg .

Brits said before the beginning of the trial, a pre-trial conference would be held at Mafikeng High Court on August 14.

Siwa was sent for a psychiatric evaluation in November for 30 days. The results will be revealed during the trial.

It is alleged Siwa fetched two of the children – Edward and Lukanyo – from Matlhare Moholo Primary School and took them home, where the other three were waiting.

Before she left home to fetch the children from school she asked her nephew to fill the bath tub.

She said she was going to do laundry when she came back.

She returned with the children and gave all five some of the concoction to drink.

She locked all the doors so that people could not see what was happening inside.

According to a report compiled by the West End Hospital in Kimberley, Siwa was unable to engage in a coherent conversation and was diagnosed with “acute psychosis”.

Her lawyer, Nzame Skibi, earlier told the court Siwa was unable to follow court proceedings, so she couldn’t make a proper defence.

“It is possible that she was in a similar condition at the time of the alleged offence and that she could not appreciate the wrongfulness of her action at the time.”

Siwa’s three-month-old baby, born in jail, has been put in the care of her sister.

 

Gould chooses Chiefs

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Bafana Bafana defender Morgan Gould has told his agent to go ahead and finalise a deal with Kaizer Chiefs as he prefers to play for the club.   

KickOff.com got some insight into the race for Gould’s services at the PSL Awards on Sunday night and though the player couldn’t comment, his agent Glyn Binkin revealed all.
 
“We are finalising a deal with Kaizer Chiefs, because Morgan indicated that he would like to go to Chiefs and that’s where we are at the moment. I’m very confident that we are going to finalise in the next couple of days,” he says.
 
Binkin has admitted that Mamelodi Sundowns and Orlando Pirates are also interested in the player, but Gould prefers a move to Naturena.
 
“To be honest all the three big clubs are interested, but in my opinion the club that dealt with us in the most professional manner was Kaizer Chiefs. We were directly approached by them and they made it clear they want the player to be part of their squad next season so I sat down with the player to discuss his options and after a couple of days he made it clear that he want to join Chiefs,” Binkin confirms.

“It is clear which team he would like to join and that club is Kaizer Chiefs  “
– Glyn Binkin 

“We are pretty far advanced with the negotiations and the only challenge was to wait for him to play his last match of the season, which he did with aplomb (by helping SuperSport United beat Mamelodi Sundowns in the Nedbank Cup final).
 
“Now it is clear which team he would like to join and that club is Kaizer Chiefs so now we have to make that a reality,” Binkin adds.
 
Gould, who also attended the PSL Awards in Gold Reef City, Johannesburg, was taken to one of the rooms at the venue by Chiefs officials including Jessica Motaung and though the meeting lasted a few minutes, he spent at least half an hour with the Chiefs officials from 23h00.
 
However, he offered little when asked about the pending deal which may have been signed and sealed last night in that meeting.
 
“Mentally, I have made my decision and I will be joining Whoever FC but my focus now is on the national team so I can’t comment,” Gould concludes.
 
He is part of the Bafana squad to play Ethiopia and Botswana in World Cup qualifiers next month.
 

Neeskens: I don’t fear for my future

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Johan Neeskens © Gallo Images

Mamelodi Sundowns coach, Johan Neeskens has told journalists that he is not worried about his future at the club.

Sundowns lost the Nedbank Cup final against rivals and neighbours, Supersport United at the Orlando Stadium on Saturday afternoon. The loss means Sundowns will finish this season without any trophy despite boosting a star-studded dressing room.

“I’m not afraid of what might happen to me in the. There are only two people who decide my future; it’s myself and the president. Right now, I will be going on holiday. I don’t want to talk about my future here,” Neeskens told the media during the post match press conference.

“I don’t want to talk about next year. First we have to think about this game, analyse it tomorrow then everyone can go on holiday except the internationals.”

The Sundowns coach said he will discuss the new season when he returns from holiday in his native land, Netherlands.

The defeat to SuperSport in the Nedbank Cup was a bitter pill to swallow for most of the Sundowns fans.

“If you do not score (your) chances, you don’t win games. Today was a different story; we played against a strong team with 10 men. I think it could have been a different story with 11 players.”

“We tried, the players gave their best but against SuperSport and being one man down, that was hard. At least we tried. It was a difficult game for us. It was too easy for SuperSport – that is football and we have accepted that.”

Sundowns started the season as favourites to win the League. However, following a spate of draws, they fell out of the championship race.

Neeskens said he has been able to establish rapport with his players.

“This was my first year. The players were new to me, I was new to them. Over the season, there were a lot of improvements. Football is decided by scoring goals and we did very well at the start of the season. Then we started not winning games – it doesn’t mean we were bad or we were not playing well, but we were not scoring goals.

“I have enjoyed my first year in South Africa. It is always exciting to start with a new club and new culture. In this league, you have a lot of good teams. I said during the break that the title would be decided on the last game of the season, I was right. The competition means everyone can beat each other, that is a good for the league.”

 

 

Nomvethe steals the show at PSL awards

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Siyabonga Nomvethe © PSL

The ever-green Siyabonga Nomvethe stole the show at Sunday night’s Premier Soccer League End of the season awards.

Nomvethe was the big winner on the evening scooping the coveted PSL Footballer of the Year Award alongside the Absa Premiership Player of the Season, Absa Premiership Players Player of the Season and the Absa Premiership Top Goal Scorer Award.

Nomvethe finished as the League’s top goalscorer with 20 goals. He inspired Moroka Swallows to a tenacious Absa Premiership title chase which they ultimately lost on the last day to Orlando Pirates.

He was honoured together with a host of other outstanding individuals in Johannesburg during the PSL Awards.

“We salute all our players this evening,” said PSL CEO, Stan Matthews.

“It’s been a tough season and we need to recognize the achievements of the players and the PSL Awards does just that.”

“Congratulations to all the winners and nominees,” added Matthews.

Below is a list of winners

Absa Premiership Player of the Season – R150 000

Siyabonga Nomvethe

Absa Premiership Players Player of the Season – R150 000

Siyabonga Nomvethe – Winner

Absa Premiership Goalkeeper of the Season – R50 000

Wayne Sandilands – Winner

Absa Premiership Red Hot Young Player of the Season – R50 000

Ronwen Williams – Winner

Absa Premiership Coach of the Season – R75 000

Gordon Igesund – Winner

Absa Premiership Absa-lutely Awesome Goal of the Season – R50 000 Benni McCarthy – Winner

Absa Premiership Top Goalscorer – R50 000

Siyabonga Nomvethe

NFD Top Goalscorer Award – R50 000

David Radebe

Nedbank Cup Player of the Tournament – R100 000

Nyasha Mushekwi – Winner

Nedbank Cup Young Player of the Tournament – R25 000

Thabiso Nkoana – Winner

Telkom Knockout Player of the Tournament – R200 000

Benni McCarthy – Winner

MTN8 Last Man Standing – R150 000

Oupa Manyisa – Winner

Referee of the Season – R50 000

Victor Hlungwani – Winner

Assistant Referee of the Season – R40 000

Zakhele Siwela – Winner

 

 

Naked man ‘was chewing on victim’s face’

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iol pic wld police line

A Miami police officer fatally shot a naked man who was chewing on the face of another man on a downtown causeway off-ramp, police and witnesses said.

The Miami Herald reports that gunshots were heard at about 2pm on Saturday on the MacArthur Causeway off-ramp, which is near the newspaper’s offices.

Witnesses said that a woman saw two men fighting and flagged down a police officer, who came upon a naked man mauling the other man.

The newspaper quoted witnesses as saying that the officer ordered the naked man to back away, and when he ignored the demand, the officer shot him.

Witnesses said that the naked man continued his attack after being shot once, and the officer shot him several more times.

Police said the other man was transported to Jackson Memorial Hospital Ryder Trauma Centre. The newspaper said he had suffered critical injuries.

The police department confirmed in a news release that there was an officer-related shooting, but did not include many details provided by witnesses to the newspaper.

A police spokesman couldn’t be reached for comment by The Associated Press.

The police news release said the identities of the two men were not known. – Sapa-AP

Rugby camp abuse probe was biased – dad

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raped schoolboy's father

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The father of a former Edgemead High School pupil is “disappointed” in the Western Cape Education Department’s investigation into the alleged sexual assault of his son on a school rugby camp.

The department has issued a warning to the school on initiation practices and ruled that supervision at a rugby camp where the pupil was allegedly sexually assaulted by fellow teammates had been “far from adequate”. It also said no evidence had been provided to prove any sexual assault took place.

Last week district officials completed their investigation of the incident, in which the 16-year-old pupil alleged that fellow pupils had sexually assaulted him with a broom and a banana in March.

The boy has since been moved to another school.

He said his fellow pupils had also shaved his head and eyebrows while they were on the camp in Velddrif.

On Friday, Education Department spokesman Paddy Attwell released a statement saying the aim of the investigation was to determine whether the pupil had been subjected to any act of sexual violation, humiliation or initiation at the camp.

“The investigation found that learners engaged in initiation practices which included shaving the hair of newcomers and drinking a non-alcoholic mixture of various substances. Certain team members consumed alcohol, despite a warning by the coach to the team not to do so.”

Attwell said some team members had subjected the victim to “humiliating treatment” and had taken photographs that surfaced on social media.

Edgemead High School responded to the incident two weeks ago saying it was “a prank” and it had found no evidence of criminal activity. Seven pupils were suspended for seven days.

The father of the boy spoke out to highlight the danger of initiation practices and said he had not been aware of the disciplinary action or that the boys had been suspended until the school communicated this through a media query.

 

“The only conclusion I can draw is that the internal investigation conducted by the governing body was flawed and deliberately biased.”

Attwell said the family had appointed lawyers to represent them should the case be reopened when the National Prosecuting Authority completes a review of the docket. – Cape Times

Japan overpower Kenya in 8-Nation International tournament

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BY Obakeng Maje

Japan proved to have too much class as they strolled to a comfortable 3-0 win over Kenya in a Group B 8-Nation International tournament match played at the Cape Town Stadium on Saturday (26 May) afternoon.

The Asian side was simply too polished for Kenya, who battled to cope with their opponents’ superior movement and tactical ability.

It was Japan who made the running in the first half – their cohesion, technical skill and movement ensuring a constant supply of possession.

Their dominance was converted onto the score-sheet with the opening goal after 10 minutes.

Playmaker Gakuto Tanabe picked the ball up just outside the box and thread through a lovely through ball to Ryota Tanabe, who beat Kenya keeper Joel Bataro with a low shot at the near post.

Kenya should have equalised in the 15th minute when Meshak Karani found himself clean through on goal, but in trying to curl the ball around Japan keeper Matsatoshi Kushibiki, he succeeded only in shooting over.

The African side began to find some penetration around the 35 minute mark as they began to put their opponents’ goal under pressure.

Karani however squandered another great opportunity when after 38 minutes he failed to get a hold of Danson Kago’s superb 45-yard pass, when better control would have seen him in on goal.

The second half took a while to get going, with the first real chance of the stanza resulting in Japan’s second goal.

It came via a 57th minute corner, with Tanabe netting his brace with a headed effort.

Midway through the half the Kenyans again began to show more promise in attack.

But although they earned a succession of corners, their general play in the final third of the field did not pose much of a threat.

It was Japan that was to score next, putting the game beyond doubt in the 77th minute when substitute Ryuji Hirota scrambled the ball into goal into the net off the post and then a defender.

Banyana Banyana beat goalkeeper-handicapped Zambians in Lusaka

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BY Obakeng Maje

Banyana Banyana dominated the second half proceedings to run out 4-1 winners over Zambia in the first leg of their African Women Championship 2012 qualifier – in a match which saw two home team goalkeepers sent to hospital for medical treatment.

The clash took place at the Nkoloma Stadium in Lusaka, Zambia on Saturday, 26 May 2012

The Sasol-sponsored Banyana Banyana will carry their advantage through to the return leg fixture to be played in Nelspruit, Mpumalanga on June 16.

The visitors went into the match ranked 65th in the world compared to the 126th placing of the Zambians.

While the first half produced no goals, the hosts lost the services of their goalkeeper Mirriam Katamauda who was carried from the field and taken to hospital after pulling off a close range save from Matlou in the 20th minute.

Substitute goalkeeper Delly Lumwaya was kept busy for the remainder of the first period, but the goal scoring chances that went the way of Matlou, fellow striker Portia Modise and midfielder Mary Ntsweng – a header put over the cross bar from close range – were not converted.

The South Africans were lucky to escape being a goal down at the break after a pile driving effort from the left by Musonda Sakala was cleared away from the Banyana Banyana goal-mouth with goalkeeper Thoko Mndaweni  beaten.

Matlou, the CAF Women’s Player of the Year 2009 and current SA Sportswoman of the Year, headed home two minutes after the half-time break to continue her goal-scoring form. She also scored in the national team’s 2-1 win over the Zambians in an Olympic qualifier there in January last year.

But the Zambians showed great character to equalize in the 60th minute when a looping ball played in to the right hand side of the Banyana Banyana penalty area was blasted home by Etas Banda with the South Africans appealing unsuccessfully for an offside ruling.

But three minutes later, Lumwaya made an awful blunder as she dropped a relatively easy cross at the feet of second half substitute Sanah Mollo who scored with ease.

This was the Bloemfontein Celtics (Sasol League Free State) striker’s third goal in two matches having scored twice as a substitute in Banyana Banyana’s 5-2 win over Tanzania in an international friendly match played in Dar es Salaam last weekend.

Things went from bad to worse for Zambia when, eight minutes later, Lumwaya was left red-faced as she dropped the ball into her own goal-net at the near post. This was after a free-kick taken from the right by Banyana Banyana defender Nothando Vilakazi.

Lumwaya, who was later rushed to hospital, spent five minutes on the grass receiving medical attention after she collided with the goal post as she lost control of the ball.

Substitute midfielder Chisala Musonda changed into the goalkeeper’s jersey – becoming the third goalkeeper for Zambia in one match.

Banyana Banyana took advantage of the make-shift goalkeeper with Mollo cruising through the host’s defence and scoring her second goal of the match with ease.

Banyana Banyana head coach, Joseph Mkhonza is happy about the results as the players applied themselves to see them score the four winning goals.

“I am happy that we got a win here in Zambia, I am proud that the girls showed a lot of mental strength in front of a very supportive home crowd. We came here to accomplish one of our missions and that’s playing towards the number one spot on the continent. The girls showed character and applied what we learnt as they scored two goals from set-pieces,” said Mkhonza.

“Going into the second leg, we don’t want to dwell on the four-one lead but rather aim at scoring more goals.”

Mollo, who scored another two goals in this match, is happy that the game went in their favour.

“I am happy that I scored two of the goals that led my country to victory against Zambia. Scoring has boosted my confidence levels and I am hoping to carry this momentum into the second leg of the qualifier,” said the player known as Diego.

Banyana Banyana will arrive back in the South Africa on Sunday 27 May, they are expected to land at 09h20.

Tickets for the SA-Ethiopia WC qualifier already on sale

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BY Obakeng Maje

Tickets for the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil qualifier between Bafana Bafana and Ethiopia are already on sale.

South Africa will face the east Africans on Sunday, 3 June at the Royal Bafokeng Sports Palace in Phokeng near Rustenburg.

Gates open at 12h00 and kickoff is at 15h00.

Tickets for the West grand stand will go for one-hundred-rand (R100) each, while anywhere else will be fifty-rand (R50) each.

They are available at Computicket outlets, Shoprite and Shoprite  Checkers stores around the country.

Meanwhile there are 24 players in camp at the Royal Marang Sports Complex in Phokeng following the arrival of Sweden-based midfielder May Mahlangu as well as Santos striker Eleazar Rodgers.

Only the six players from Mamelodi Sundowns and Supersport United – Teko Modise, Katlego Mphela, Lebohang Mokoena, Punch Masenamela, Wayne Sandilands and Morgan Gould – are still to report for national team duty. The players will be contesting the Nedbank Cup final on Saturday, 26 May at the Orlando Stadium. They will then join the Bafana Bafana camp on Sunday night.

On the injuries front, both Oupa Manyisa and Siyabonga Nomvethe have started training with their teammates, while Siyabonga Sangweni sat out the morning training session after suffering a bout of flu.

But he was back in the gymnasium with the rest of the team in the evening, and is expected at full training on Monday, 28 May.

Amajita superb in Ghana victory

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BY Obakeng Maje

The South African Under-20 bounced back from their defeat to Argentina in scintillating style with a 2-0 win over Ghana in an 8-Nation International tournament game played at Cape Town Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

Ghana had looked a very strong side in their 3-2 win over Nigeria at Athlone on Friday, but couldn’t come anywhere near to replicating that performance, finding themselves surprised by the purpose and intensity of the home side, who were outstanding on the day and could even have won by three or four goals.

It was South Africa who dominated the first half, by far enjoying the better and more frequent chances on goal, and their two goal lead at half time was well deserved.

Despite Amajita’s inferiority in terms of physical stature, a spirited and lively display by Solly Luvhengo’s side saw them putting the Ghana goal under threat.

The host nation had the first opportunity of the match in the eighth minute when Snethemba Ngidi fired a free kick inches over the bar.

A minute later Andile Nqabeni had an even better chance to put Amajita ahead, but from 10-yards out in front of goal he shot straight at goal-keeper Felix Annan.

Midway through the stanza the west Africans started to show some threat in front of goal, but managed no better than a couple of half chances as Moro Ibrahim had a shot deflected marginally wide and also got a header on target.
In the 34th minute the home side were unfortunate not get on the score-sheet when Ebrahim Seedat’s shot found its way to Thabani Thembu, but the Ghanaians were able to scramble the ball off their line.

South Africa finally got the goal their play deserved when in the 38th minute Ngidi’s angled free kick was headed in by Thembu; his second goal of the tournament.

Five minutes later and Amajita were celebrating again as they doubled their lead.
Bidvest Wits’ Junior Sibande was the scorer, netting from close range after a goalmouth scramble had come about after Annan had spilled a cross.

The second half remained intense and fast-paced like the first, the difference this time though that the Black Satellites were far more dangerous on attack.

It was Amajita however who could have netted the first goal of the second stanza when Thembu found himself in on goal, but from the edge of the box his low drive was well saved by Annan.

In the 55th minute the home team were fortunate to escape conceding a goal as Fatawu Abdul struck the base of the post, the rebound falling to Benjamin Annan-Fadi, who shot straight at goal-keeper Lebo Ngubeni.
The South Africans though always appeared to be good for a third goal and were able to carve open the Ghana defence with relative ease.

Ngidi was the main instigator, the diminutive SuperSport player twice setting up chances in quick succession around the hour mark, but both Thembu and Jerruy Mxabo failed to make use of the opportunities that came their way.

With 10 minutes to go Ngidi again showed his class when a mazy run took him past several` defenders and into the box, but he then elected the wrong option in trying to pick out a team-mate instead of shooting.

Ghana pushed hard for a goal late on, but South Africa were able to hold on without conceding – the clean sheet yet another positive aspect to a fantastic day.