Johannesburg – A Nike advert of paralympian Oscar Pistorius with the tagline “I am the bullet in the chamber” was removed from his official website on Thursday following a shooting at his home in Pretoria.

The advert shows Pistorius dressed in a green lycra body suit coming off the starting blocks wearing his distinctive blades. The Nike “Swoosh” and its slogan “Just Do It” are shown on the advert.

Earlier, the international sportswear brand declined to comment on its future relationship with Pistorius.

“This is a police matter and is under investigation,” Nike SA spokeswoman Seruscka Naidoo said.

“From Nike we extend our condolences to everyone affected by this.”

Nike is one of Pistorius’s five major sponsors. He has appeared in a number of commercials for the company since 2008.

Pistorius’s model girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp was shot dead in his home in Pretoria on Thursday morning.

Pistorius is in police custody and will appear in court on Friday.

Nike’s website was down on Thursday afternoon. – Sapa

By Obakeng Maje

Bafana Bafana’s good showing in the recently-ended Orange Africa Cup of Nations South Africa 2013 has seen the team move up an incredible 25 places on the latest FIFA World Cup rankings released on Thursday, 14 February 2013.

South Africa has jumped to 60th in the world, while also returning to the top 10 on the continent. Bafana Bafana put up a remarkable performance in the AFCON 2013, reaching the quarterfinals where they lost to Mali on penalties after both sides were locked 1-1 after extra time.

“This is a good start for our country, and is certainly in line with our pledge to see Bafana Bafana in the top three on the continent and top 20 in the world,” said SAFA President Kirsten Nematandani.

“We should at this stage congratulate coach Gordon Igesund and his technical team as well as all the players for this remarkable achievement. We now need to keep the momentum going so we can climb even higher in the rankings, and this move has clearly shown that it can be done.”

Under Igesund, Bafana Bafana have played seven friendly matches – Brazil, Mozambique, Poland, Kenya, Zambia, Norway and Algeria – as well as four competitive games in the AFCON 2013 – Cape Verde, Angola, Morocco and Mali.

“We should also take this opportunity to wish our head coach speedy recovery from his operation. We hope he will come back stronger to continue with the good work that he has started,” added Nematandani.

TOP 10 African countries 1. Ivory Coast    (12th) 2. Ghana    (19th) 3. Mali     (25th) 4. Nigeria    (30th) 5. Algeria    (32nd) 6. Tunisia    (42nd) 7. Zambia    (47th) 8. Central African Republic  (51st) 9. Burkina Faso    (57th) 10. South Africa   (60th)

AFCON 2013 champions Nigeria have risen 22 places to 30th in the world and fourth on the continent. AFCON 2013 finalists Burkina Faso were the biggest movers -up 37 places to ninth in Africa and 57th overall.

Spain still tops the world rankings

BY Obakeng Maje

Rustenburg– North WEest police arrested two armed suspects at about 03:15 in Rustenburg.

The Rustenburg Tactical Response Team arrested two suspects for allegedly being in possession of unlicensed firearms and ammunitionS.

The two suspects aged 33 and 35 respectively were arrested at Manamakgoteng and Moruleng village police said.

“They are detained at Mogwase Police holding cells” Brigadier Thulani Ngubane said.

“Police were conducting their patrol duties when they received information about a suspects who are in possession of unlicensed firearms” Ngubane said. “They went to the first suspect’s house at Manamakgoteng village for investigation” He said.

It is alleged that while police were searching the suspect’s room they discovered a black plastic with a hunting rifle.  Police also discovered live rounds, frontier magnum live rounds, shotgun live rounds, nirinco 9mm live round, R5 rifle live round, black and brown holster,black and brown Guerria and 1911 gas hunt pistol.

” Police asked the suspect where he obtain the weapons and ammunitions, but he couldn’t gave an explanation or produce the relevant documents. 20 live rounds ammunition were discovered”lice said.

Police proceeded to Moruleng village to search the house of another suspect who is also linked to the case.

Police also discovered  9mm pistol live rounds. 

The 33-year-old suspect was also arrested.

The suspects are expected to appear before Magwase Magistrates’ Court on Friday for charges of possession of unlicensed firearms and ammunitions.

Follow us on Twitter@Taung_DailyNews

Sasol-sponsored Banyana Banyana agile goalkeeper, Roxanne Barker has set her sights on being amongst the top South African goalkeepers when she begins the new season for the Portland Thorns FC ; a top side in USA’s National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) in March.

The National Women’s Soccer League is professionally run Women’s League that was recently revived following its demise in 2011. The NWSL compromises of eight teams under the administration of the U.S Soccer Federation to create a sustainable league for the country’s National Team.

The eight founding clubs are Boston Breakers, Chicago Red Stars, FC Kansas City, Portland Thorns FC, Seattle Reign FC, Sky Blue FC, Washington Spirit and the Western New York Flash.

Roxanne will begin the new season with Portland Thorns FC next month where she has also enrolled at the Portland Community College with the ultimate objective of attaining a BSC Degree in Biology this July.

Roxanne feels it is an honour to have been selected amongst a group of 3 796 potential players and she is going to give her best in her first season at Portland Thorns F.C.

“The call up to play for the Portland Thorns FC in the professional Women’s League came as a surprise to me but I am incredibly excited about beginning a new season there and will be looking forward to learning a lot as I will be playing among some amazing players. It’s an opportunity of a lifetime.

“It will be a great honour to get a national call-up because South Africa is my home and I love playing for my country. Banyana have accomplished so much for South Africa and I want to be part of the team,” said Barker.

Barker was previously based at the Pepperdine University in California and has been the first choice goalkeeper for the Waves of Pepperdine University.

Banyana Banyana national team coach, Joseph Mkhonza is proud of Roxanne’s achievements in the United States and hopes that the experience she gains there will come in handy for Banyana.

“I would like to congratulate Roxanne for her achievements so far. Playing in a professional Women’s League means that she will be playing in a competitive league among some of the world’s highly ranked players. This is a good start for her more so because she is young and would play a major role in the national set up in the coming years.  It would be great to see some of our players play in these competitive leagues and progress to become some of the greatest women footballers in the country as well as the world.” said Mkhonza.

At Portland Thorns FC, Barker will be playing with the Canadian national team goalkeeper Karina Le Blanc and several other highly ranked Women’s football players who received accolades in the 2012 London Olympics. These include: • Alex Morgan – forward (U.S. Women’s National Team Olympic Gold Medallist) •  Tobin Heath – midfielder (U.S. Women’s National Team Olympic Gold Medallist) • Rachel Buehler – defender (U.S. Women’s National Team Olympic Gold Medallist) • Christine Sinclair – forward (Canadian National Team) • Karina LeBlanc – goalkeeper (Canadian National Team) • Luz Saucedo – defender (Mexican National Team) • Marlene Sandoval – defender (Mexican National Team)

Barker who has been capped 7 times for Banyana Banyana featured in the opening match at the Olympics in Banyana’s 4-1 loss to Sweden.

BY Obakeng Maje

Bafana Bafana coach, Gordon Igesund was successfully operated at a Johannesburg Hospital last night.

According to Dr Ephraim Nematswerani who is attending to the national coach, as per initial diagnosis of appendicitis the decision was made to do appendicectomy (operation to remove appendix).

“The operation was successfully done last night and Mr Igesund is feeling very well, he is in good spirits and should be released by the weekend,” said Dr Nematswerani.

Igesund himself said he wanted to thank all South Africans for their support.

“I want to thank all South Africans from all walks of life for the overwhelming support they have shown towards me. I feel very humbled and want to thank each and everyone from the bottom of my heart,” said the coach from his bedside.

Durban – The alleged leader of a gang of robbers which targeted people selling cars on online advertiser Gumtree, was nabbed by police on when they noticed him sitting in a police cell.

The 44-year-old convicted killer had been in custody after allegedly stealing beds and air conditioners, and the link to the more serious crimes had not yet been made.

Two policemen from the SAPS Provincial Task Team – which has been searching for him since May – went to fetch another prisoner for questioning from the holding cells at Durban Central Police Station.

The sharp-eyed policemen, Warrant Officers Rajen Nagesar and Krishna Naidoo, suddenly spotted the fugitive sitting in a cell.

He is expected to appear in the Durban Magistrate’s Court today on seven counts of armed robbery, hijacking and kidnapping.

Nine months ago, another member of the so-called “Gumtree gang” was arrested and pleaded guilty to six counts of armed robbery.

He was sentenced to six terms of 25 years.

Soon after the arrest, the gang leader fled his Chatsworth home and has been on the run from police since.

Police have since established that he had been living in a lodge in central Durban. He was originally arrested for placing orders for beds and air conditioning units to be delivered to a false address, where he would be waiting.

The accused had been released on parole last January, after serving 14 years for murder.

A police source said the gang had targeted victims on the Gumtree website and set up appointments on the pretext of wanting to buy used vehicles.

“Once they met the victim they asked to take the car for a test drive,” the police source said. During this time the gang leader allegedly introduced one of his accomplices as his personal mechanic who needed to check out the car before it could be bought.

“During (the test drive) the victims were accosted, robbed and cable-tied,” the source said. “They were also taken to ATMs and made to withdraw large sums of cash.

“The suspects then dumped them in remote locations and made off with the cars and other valuables.”

In May, gang member Raventhran Kistensamy Chetty pleaded guilty to six counts of armed robbery.

He was given a prison sentence of 150 years – 25 years for each count. The sentences run concurrently, meaning he will serve an effective 25 years in prison.

Two suspects belonging to the gang are still on the run.

In his guilty plea, Chetty admitted that in all the hijacking and robberies, the victims were held at gunpoint, and that violence and force was used to instill fear. He had said his crime spree started last February when he met the gang leader, who allegedly promised to organise him a job as a driver.

Chetty had said the first victim was from Chatsworth and that he (Chetty) was identified by the gang leader as a mechanic.

“He told the buyer that I needed to test drive the car,” he said in his plea.

“Once on the road, he produced a gun and told the victim he was being hijacked. The victim jumped out of the vehicle and ran away.”

Chetty said the vehicle was recovered that same day by police.

He said they committed six armed robberies from February until May 1. Victims were targeted in eManzimtoti, Sydenham, Malvern, Verulam, Savannah Park, Merebank and on the South Coast.

The same modus operandi was used in all instances.

Chetty said after each hijacking, he was paid up to R800 and the gang leader drove off with the stolen car.

Charges against his co-accused, Thiloshan Chetty, were provisionally withdrawn last month

Johannesburg – Pay TV channel M-Net is pulling campaign adverts featuring “Blade Runner” Oscar Pistorius off air with immediate effect, a company official said on Thursday.

Pistorius was due to appear on Thursday, but the court appearance was later moved to Friday.

The man known as the ‘Blade Runner’ will spend the night in jail, police confirmed.

This was after the shooting at his home of model and law graduate Reeva Steenkamp.

“We are at this stage as the SA Police Services not able to disclose why are we opposing the bail,” said Beukes.

Pistorius was held at the Boschkop police station on Thursday morning, then taken to the Mamelodi Day Clinic for forensic tests.

Pistorius was co-operating with police, she said.

Beukes said there had been other incidents of domestic violence at his place.

“I confirm there had been previous incidents of a domestic nature at his place but this will form part of the investigation,” she said.

She said there was no sign of forced entry into Pretorius’ house and reports that the woman was shot after she was mistaken for an intruder were not coming from the police.

“As SA Police Services we do not have a report based on those allegations. We only heard over the radio that the woman was shot after she was mistaken for an intruder.”

Beukes said forensic detectives were busy collecting evidence from the crime scene and journalists would not be allowed in until the police handed over the scene to the estate’s security company. – Sapa, Reuters, AFP

THREE policemen who are alleged to have been part of a long-running car theft
and hijacking syndicate were arrested in a series ofpre-dawn raids on their
homes in Soweto

The arrests, led by the Hawks, come after 14 months of investigations and sting operations where investigators bought eight stolen vehicles from the syndicate to strengthen their case.

The policemen were arrested in Protea, White City Jabavu and Jabulani. One of them is believed to be a ring leader and the other kingpin is a civilian.

When officers arrived at his home, his children were preparing for school.

The man’s youngest daughter broke into tears as police searched the home.

“The cells are cold, can I take a jacket?” the suspected rogue cop pleaded with his colleagues before being frog-marched out of the house.

The other officer was not at his home and police had to detain his sister, who led them to another property where he was arrested.

The third officer was due to be arrested at Protea police station just before he knocked off at 6am. But he had left work earlier.

He was nabbed elsewhere later in the morning. The operation netted nine of 10 targeted gang members.

Hawks spokesman Captain Paul Ramaloko said the officers, who faced charges of defeating the ends of justice and corruption, would trace stolen vehicles and instead of registering the recovery with the SAPS, they passed them on to vehicle thieves who would sell them.

The rest of the syndicate will face charges of hijacking, vehicle theft and housebreaking.

Ramaloko said many of the vehicles were stolen from yards at night and others were hijacked.

He said in one incident the officers recovered a stolen vehicle and then sold it back to the legitimate owner.

One other suspected stolen vehicle was recovered.

Ramaloko said the gang was expected to appear in the Protea Magistrate’s court tomorrow.

For more details go to www.sowetanlive.co.za

The president of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) returned to the stand at the Farlam commission of inquiry in Rustenburg on Thursday.

Senzeni Zokwana did so because Karel Tip, for the NUM, sought clarity on a strike by rock drill operators in the North West in June.

The inquiry heard that the rock drill operators at Lonmin platinum’s Marikana mine met with rock drill operators from another mine who indicated they could not get a wage increase.

The morning’s procedures started with Dali Mpofu, for the injured and arrested miners, seeking clarity from Zokwana on the songs union members sung at protests.

Zokwana earlier testified they were threatening. However, on Thursday he said not all the songs should be taken literally.

Zokwana was finished by the tea break and Mpofu indicated he would call a new witness, one of the miners shot and injured in August.

The commission is probing the deaths of 44 people during an unprotected strike at Lonmin’s Marikana mine. On August 16, 34 striking mineworkers were shot dead and 78 injured when police opened fire while trying to disperse a group that had gathered on a hill near the mine.

Ten people, including two police officers and two security guards, were killed near the mine in the preceding week.

The inquiry continues.
      
Sapa