A forensic audit should be conducted into the purchase of a Mercedes-Benz for the Tlokwe Municipality’s former mayor, the DA said on Monday.

“The DA will ask the Auditor General to look into this transaction and recommend ways for the exorbitant cost to be recouped so that money can be channelled to delivery projects in Tlokwe instead,” said Democratic Alliance MP Juanita Terblanche.

She said the vehicle, which cost R760,000 had not yet been delivered to the municipality because “luxury customisations” had yet to be installed.

Terblanche said the vehicle was bought for the use of former mayor Maphetle Maphetle.

Maphetle was replaced by the DA’s Annette Combrink in November after warring factions within the ANC filed a motion of confidence in him.

The DA continues to run the Tlokwe Municipality, even though the ANC is pushing for Maphetle’s reinstatement.

In January, the ANC North West said it would not rest until it reclaimed the leadership of the municipality.

Combrink uses her personal car, a Volkswagen Jetta, to fulfil her mayoral duties.

The municipality confirmed it had approved the purchase of the new car.

“There is nothing untoward with the matter as the item was budgeted for under the 2011/2012 [budget], that was passed in a full council session and [to] which [the] DA never raised any whimper of objection or displeasure,” said spokesman William Maphosa.

He said Maphetle had been using a vehicle which had been used by three mayors before him.

ANC Chief Whip Dakota Legoete said it was standard council procedure to continually renew its fleet of vehicles.

“If their mayor wants to drive her Jetta, we welcome that and applaud her, but they must stop making unfounded insinuations.”

Legoete also welcomed the DA’s call for the investigation.

-Sapa

Johannesburg – Gordon Igesund’s position as coach of the national team has not been threatened by Bafana Bafana’s elimination in the quarter-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations, according to the SA Football Association (Safa).

South Africa were knocked out in a dramatic penalty shootout defeat against Mali in Durban on Saturday night.

“Yes, we did set the objective for the coach of taking the team to the semi-final stage, but you have to aim high,” Safa president Kirsten Nematandani said on Monday.

“More important was the manner in which Bafana performed in the Afcon, improving to a level that exceeded our expectations since Gordon took over as coach six months ago.

“And if this level of performance is maintained, there is no reason why Igesund should not be entrenched as the Bafana coach for the 2018 World Cup.”

Nematandani said Bafana held their own against one of the top sides on the continent as they had played with a great deal of “skill, honour and determination” in their quarter-final clash on Saturday.

He said what Igesund had achieved thus far was worthy of a great deal of praise.

“I believe Igesund remains the best man in the country for the position of Bafana coach,” Nematandani said.

“We can only hope this continues as Gordon assumes the next critical challenge of taking Bafana to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.”

Nematandani said South Africa had already made the ongoing Afcon tournament a resounding success, but joined Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula in calling on the public to support the competition until the final on Sunday, in spite of the host team’s elimination.

“We must demonstrate our stature as true sportsmen, and support the semi-finals and final to the hilt no matter which teams make it to the finale,” he said.

“Ultimately we could be judged by this very factor.” – Sapa

KwaZulu-Natal – Two security officers were wounded in a shoot-out with a large gang using AK-47 and R-5 assault rifles after they drove into an ambush at a North Coast petrol station on Monday morning.

A third man, one of the robbers, was also shot in the firefight.

One officer was expected to undergo surgery on Monday to have his fingers amputated, after he was shot more than six times. Deon Chinnian, 35, is in a critical condition with wounds to his chest, hand and legs. Chinnian’s firearm, bulletproof vest, two-way radio and handcuffs were stolen.

A second security officer, Rubendra Chetty, 30, is also in hospital with serious injuries after he was beaten unconscious with an AK-47.

Officers from security company, Reaction Unit South Africa, were responding to a robbery by 10 to 15 men when they were ambushed by robbers hiding in bushes around a garage in Waterloo.

Innocent Dube, a security guard on duty at the garage, said the gang arrived at around 2am, saying they wanted to refuel. They were travelling in three vehicles – a BMW, a Honda Civic and a Toyota Corolla.

“I was inside the convenience store. Two of the men came inside. Both of them pulled out guns. One of them placed the gun to my back. He told the cashier to unlock the door to the cash office, or he would shoot me,” Dube explained.

He said the robbers forced him at gunpoint to lie on the floor. He managed to press a silent panic button in his pocket, to alert his control room to the robbery.

“The were speaking in Zulu. They said they did not want to hurt us. They just wanted the money. They had a huge angle grinder and (failed) to cut the safe open. ”

He said the robbers took R10 000 in cash and cigarettes from the convenience store, disconnected the CCTV cameras and took one of the recording devices.

“After about eight minutes, one of the robbers shouted that… they needed to get out.”

But when they disconnected the CCTV cameras, the robbers accidentally pulled out the plugs that operated the automated doors, locking themselves in the store.

“They were angry and started panicking. They then opened fire and shot the door down,” Dube said.

Spokesman for the security company, Prem Balram, said within two minutes of the panic button being activated, Chinnian and Chetty responded.

“Unfortunately, both my reaction officers were ambushed. More suspects were hiding in the bushes around the garage. They saw two of the vehicles in the garage and proceeded with caution.

“But the suspects outnumbered them. They came under heavy fire. More than 50 spent cartridges were found at the scene.”

For more details go to http://www.iol.co.za

The ANC and the government will make sure education is declared an essential service, party secretary-general Gwede Mantashe said on Monday.

“The lekgotla agreed that a mechanism to monitor all-round accountability in the (education) sector be devised as a matter of urgency,” Mantashe told reporters in Johannesburg.

“As a number one priority, the ANC and its government will leave no stone unturned in making education an essential service.”

-Sapa

Johannesburg – The Protea Magistrate’s Court has heard how one of the two female relatives accused of sexual assault asked a 17-year-old boy to undress and show them his penis.

The two relatives, who have been dubbed “the two sisters”, are accused of sexually assaulting and raping two mentally challenged boys, both aged 17. Taking the stand on Friday, one of the boy’s guardians testified that she came to know about the incident after the grandmother of her nephew’s friend had arrived at her home on April 15 last year.

“She called me outside to ask me if Bheki* had told me what happened. I said no. She said her grandson told her that Bheki was ordered to take off his trousers and show his private parts to one of the accused,” she said.

The guardian said while talking to the grandmother, Bheki approached the kitchen when she then called him outside to join them. “When I enquired, Bheki took time to answer me but confirmed the incident.”

She said after the boy’s grandmother had left her home, about 20 minutes later, the grandmother called to inform her that she was coming again.

“She told me not to sleep as there was something going on again. When she arrived, she told me that her grandson told her that he was raped by accused two. I asked what do we do now when things are like this? I then called the police.”

Asked by the defence lawyer, Freddie Silamulele if the boy drank alcohol or kept secrets from her, the guardian replied and said “No”.

However, Silamulele brought to her attention that the boy had told the court that he was given wine during his visit at the accused’s home.

Asked if she knew about that, she said she knew but forgot to include it in her statement.

Warrant Officer Arinao Kharibe testified that he made an arrest on April 21. He told the court that he had been at the suspects’ home before, but found no one.

He added that he was surprised one day while on duty, when a woman had arrived at the station looking for him. He said it was the suspects being brought to the station by the accuser’s guardian.

The court also heard that no DNA tests were conducted after the incident. Silamulele told the court that no arrests should have been made because investigations were not done properly.

The trial continues on March 19.

For more details go to http://www.iol.co.za

By Obakeng Maje

Kimberley-Police are investigating a case of assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. 

“On Thursday at about 18:00 police were busy with their normal patrol duties when they noticed a 30-year-old-man who was heavily bleeding” Lieutenant Donald Mdhluli said. They quickly stopped to assist the man whilst contacting the ambulance. 

“The man was still conscious at the time and he managed to describe the suspect who stabbed him with a bottled neck” he said. 

Other police officials began a manhunt and eventually found the 31-year-old suspect still holding the alleged bottled neck. 

“These officials took in the suspect and the complainant positively identified the suspect, and he was immediately arrested” police said. The complainant was taken to hospital and is receiving medical assistance.

 The suspect is facing a charge of assault with intention to cause grievous bodily harm and will appear before the Kimberley Magistrate Court on Tuesday . 

The investigation continues.

By Obakeng Maje

Modder Rivier-Police are investigating a case of murder that took place on Saturday between 13:00 and 13:45 in the area of Ritchie in Modder Rivier. 

A 22-year-old man was allegedly murdered. 

“Following this murder, it is alleged that a shanty believed to be the dwelling place of the suspect, was torched down by angry members of the community” Lieutenant Donald Mdhluli said. 

A case of arson was opened and investigations continue.

On Sunday at about 13:10 members of the Modder Rivier Visible Policing managed to arrest a 25-year-old suspect linked to the murder. 

“The suspect was found with a knife and it is alleged that this might be the one used in the commission of murder” Mdhluli said. 

The motive for the killing is not yet known at this stage. The Police are still looking for the suspects to arson. 

The SAPS would like to commend members that managed to arrest the suspects within few hours.

“We like to urge community members not to take the law into their own hands. This poses a challenge as some valuable information or items can be destroyed or lost during these burning down of shanties(shacks)/houses belonging to so called ‘alleged suspects” Northern Cape police said. 

“This information and items are normally used in court to link suspects to the commission of certain crimes. Therefore, destroying such can weaken our cases in court, or alternatively the culprit can literally walk free” police add. 

The investigation continues.

PUPILS at the Lerutse Lesedi Secondary School in Makwassie, near Wolmaransstad in North West, are suffering from the negative effects of the bad sewage system in the area.

Last week pupils were told to go home because the stench was unbearable. Acting deputy principal of the school, Nikiwe Mxulu, confirmed to Sowetan that they had dismissed the pupils.

“We have elements who splash sewage into the classrooms and makes it difficult to teach,” Mxulu said.

“The smell is bad and not healthy for the learners to inhale, so we told them to go home.”

A Grade 9 learner at the school said it was difficult to concentrate.

“Grade 9 classes had sewage thrown around it. It was so smelly that we could not concentrate. It was not the first time we had been told to go home. It happened quite a lot last year,” the learner said.

A parent, Morakane Makhoane, whose daughter is also a learner at the school, said she was worried that her studies would suffer because of the constant disruptions.

“It is not good for children to be told to go home because of the smell,” Makhoane said.

“We had a meeting at the school about the issue and were promised that it would be fixed, but it hasn’t. If it carries on like this, her studies will ultimately suffer.”

For more details go to http://www.sowetanlive.co.za

The ANCYL in the province has welcomed the arrest of Boy Mamabolo, a fierce political enemy of fired youth league president Julius Malema, in connection with fraud amounting to R460000.

Mamabolo, 30, who was bust by the Hawks on Wednesday night, appeared in the Polokwane Regional Court on Thursday on 72 counts of fraud and released on R10000 bail.

He is accused of stealing the money about three years ago from the Limpopo Geographic Names Committee while he was still the chairperson of the body.

ANCYL provincial spokesperson Klaas Mabunda said: “We reported the theft to the police and the Hawks. Theft of public funds has nothing to do with politics, justice must be done. Besides, Mamabolo is not a member of the ANCYL, he has established his own parallel youth league.”

Mamabolo over the weekend admitted that he ran his own league but insisted he was a member of the youth wing. “I have disowned the current leadership of the ANCYL. Remember, they (Mabunda’s ANCYL) held a so-called provincial conference in April last year and we held our own conference on the same day. I was elected the provincial chairperson,” said Mamabolo, a supporter of President Jacob Zuma’s leadership of the ANC.

During his bail application on Thursday, he told the court he was the chairperson of Milo Malatji branch of the ANCYL in Seshego.

It is alleged he defrauded the names committee by withdrawing money as claims for nonexistent meetings, and inflated travel expenses.

Hawks spokesperson Capt Paul Ramaloko said there was a tight case against the suspect.

“The case is at an advance stage of completion. We have been investigating him for some time,” Ramaloko said.

But Mamabolo’s lawyer, Pholoto Seopela, said his client intended pleading not guilty to all the charges when he appeared again in court on March 20.

For more details go to http://www.thenewage.co.za

By Obakeng Maje

Mahikeng-ANC North West announced that disciplinary hearing will be taking place if their mayors not heed to their call.

The ANC in North West recall their elected mayors after they said procedural matters were not followed.

“As the ruling party we intend to instill discipline within the party and this matter will be treated with no difference” Kenney Morolong told sabc radio.

Mayors Audrey Saku and Afrika thale were elected by their branches in the last provincial elections.

They leading Ngaka Modiri-Molema and Ramotsere-Moilwa respectively.

Afrika Thale’s case is different as ANC announced that he will be re-elected and only correct channels need to be followed.

The mayors are not willing to burge as their continue ignoring ANC’s call.

“Those who ignore ANC mandate and objectives will severely dealt with” Morolong said.