By Obakeng Maje

PRETORIA – Minister of Police, Nathi Mthethwa has expressed his condolences to the family of a 14-month toddler who died at Mooiplaas, outside Centurion who was allegedly hit by a stray bullet during scuffles between the police and community yesterday.

“I wish to convey my heartfelt condolences to the family of the deceased during this difficult period. No amount of words can begin to describe my saddened emotions following the loss of an innocent young life” Minister Nathi Mthethwa said.  

He said he have now tasked the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) to investigate this incident and to provide with answers on what led to this tragic death.

Interim reports indicate that police were responding to a call out on alleged mob justice. Upon arrival at Mooiplaas, they were allegedly prevented from entering the area by community members and began attacking the police.  Chaos ensued and in between the altercations, a warning shot was fired by one officer and it is alleged it mistakenly struck and killed the toddler.  

Two officers were injured.

Coincidentally, on Friday during the official opening of the Lamberts Bay Police Station, Minister Mthethwa cautioned against some members of society who often take the law into their own hands. 

He stressed that there is no reasonable justification for any member of the public to take the law into their own hands and further warned that any such perpetrators will face the full might of the law.  

“He stated that no matter how angry communities are, government will not tolerate any kangaroo courts” said Ministry spokesperson Zweli Mnisi. 

 

“Any attempt to hamper a police investigation is a punishable criminal offence and we discourage members of society from doing so. Society’s task is to report the perpetrators of crime to the police and in turn police have a duty to apprehend those who torment society,” added the Minister. 

 

“As the ministry we have strengthened oversight on police, particularly on those who police the police, which is the IPID, to ensure that as police fight crime they do so within the law.  Whilst at times we can understand the community’s frustrations and unhappiness with some of the police, there are proper and legitimate channels to be followed in reporting such matters.” Mthethwa said.

Follow us on Twitter@Taung_DailyNews

 

 

A pay deal is in sight to end a nationwide strike by bus drivers, the South African Transport and Allied Workers’ Union has said.
“We are very close to an agreement. We will be convening at around lunch time to finalise,” said South African Transport and Allied Workers’ Union (Satawu) secretary general Zenzo Mahlangu on Monday.

He said it was likely the strike would be officially declared over after their meeting with employers.

“I might be telling the strike is over after lunch.”

Thousands of commuters were left stranded across the country since the strike started four weeks ago.

Last week, the Commuter Bus Employers’ Association chief executive Barry Gie said that most of the other issues had been worked out.

He indicated there was a big chance that unions might agree to the recent wage offer.

Employers were offering a 9% increase, up from their original offer of 6.5%.

The unions had decreased their wage demand to 10%.

Wage negotiations deadlock
On April 19, Satawu announced the strike and said it was a result of a wage negotiations deadlock.

Errol Braithwaite, spokesperson for the Gautrain company Bombela Concession, said none of the Gautrain buses were operating.

“We are waiting to hear what comes out of the negotiations at the bargaining council,” Braithwaite said at the time.

Jo’burg Metrobus spokesperson Esther Dreyer said on April 19 that municipal buses were operating across the city.

Workers were demanding an 18% wage increase at the time and the employers had offered only 2.5%, said Satawu spokesperson Vincent Masoga in April.

However, Gie said employers had put a 6.5% offer on the table.

On April 19, he said the unions’ claim of a 2.5% offer was “misleading”.

“Negotiations are a two-way process; both parties need to compromise in order to resolve the dispute … the unions are misleading the public.”

Workers were also demanding a minimum wage of R6 000 a month across the industry, a R1 000 housing allowance and an increase in medical aid contributions, said Gie at the time. – Sapa

CAPE TOWN – A Parliamentary debate about the so-called Guptagate scandal is scheduled for June, but Members of Parliament (MPs) are already butting heads about how it should be held.

The ANC’s chief whip has accused the Democratic Alliance (DA) of wanting to make President Jacob Zuma the main focus of the upcoming debate about the influential family’s use of the Waterkloof Air Force base.

Eyewitness News revealed on 30 April that a jet chartered by the Gupta family controversially landed at the Waterkloof Air Force base with nearly 200 wedding guests on board.

DA Parliamentary Leader Lindiwe Mazibuko said, “The DA has been calling for the President to come to Parliament because this is a golden opportunity for him which we believe he should take up. It’s an opportunity for him to set the record straight.”

However, the ANC’s Moloto Mothapo said Zuma should not be the focus.

“He’s not supposed to be in Parliament when this matter is debated precisely because he is not a Member of Parliament in terms of the constitution and the rules of Parliament.”

National Assembly speaker Max Sisulu earlier granted the DA’s request that the issue be discussed as a matter of national importance.

The landing of the Guptas at the air base has created controversy throughout the country.

Opposition parties and the Congress of the South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) have condemned the incident citing security issues.

Meanwhile, government departments are currently investigating the saga.

Last week, Indian High Commissioner Virendra Gupta shrugged off several questions about the scandal, but did re-iterate that an application for landing authorisation was submitted in February.

The high commissioner said all the relevant details of the landing were handed over to the Department of International Relations and that an application was submitted at the end of February for the plane to land at the base as the aircraft was carrying government ministers.

DRUGS ON A PLANE

Meanwhile, Tshwane Metro Police said on Sunday they were now investigating the possibility of a video which allegedly shows what is believed to be drugs being off-loaded from a plane used by the controversial Gupta family.

According to the Sunday Independent, 11 metro police officers who were suspended for moonlighting as VIP security for the Gupta family, were in possession of the video.

The report suggests the officers had planned to use this video to blackmail police into dropping the charges against them, but the Tshwane Metro Police’s Console Tleane said they have yet to prove the existence of such a video.

“We don’t want to comment on this because we are doubting its existence their motive.”

Tleane said the internal processes against the 11 officers implicated in the Gupta wedding scandal will continue and criminal charges may be laid by the South African Police Service (SAPS).

PROPERTY TAXES

Meanwhile, the Gupta family on Sunday landed in hot water again as allegations that they received a massive property tax cut on their R26,5 million home in Saxonwold.

The City Press reported that the home had been valued for less than a third of its actual worth, and the Guptas are paying a fraction of the taxes on the property.

The report said that if the valuation of the home had been correct, the Guptas would have paid an extra R100,000 in property taxes per year.

DIPLOMATIC PASSPORTS

Media reports emerged on Sunday that the Guptas’ had tried to bully their way into receiving diplomatic passports.

International Relations at the weekend said if the Gupta family had applied for diplomatic passports they would have been denied such a privilege.

The family allegedly argued that they deserved these passports because they often travelled with President Jacob Zuma on trips to promote South Africa.

But the Department of International Relations’ Clayson Monyela said they have no record of such an application.

“We’ve got no record of such an application. Generally speaking, I can tell you that any individual that wants to ask for a diplomatic passport when they don’t qualify, our response will be that they cannot get a diplomatic passport if you are not a diplomat.”
For more http://www.ewn.co.za

JOHANNESBURG – Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) president Joseph Mathunjwa had on Monday revealed the union’s slain North West Regional Chairperson Mawethu Stevens, had received several threats because miners in the area disagreed with his association, Amcu.

Stevens used to be a member of rival union National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and was an employee at Lonmin.
The slain Amcu member was killed by four men on Saturday while sitting at a tavern in Rustenburg.

He was due to give evidence at the Farlam Commission of Inquiry, which is investigating last year’s Marikana shooting which left 34 miners dead.

Mathunjwa has appealed for calm as tensions rise in Marikana following the deaths of three people over the weekend.

The Amcu regional chair was gunned down on Saturday and two other miners were killed in their shack in Marikana just a few hours later.

He added that it is still unclear if the other two victims were members of their union, but he is relying on the police to find the culprits.

The organiser’s death brings the number of Marikana witnesses who have been murdered to three.

A leader from the National Union of Mineworkers was killed last year and a sangoma was gunned down outside his home earlier this year.
For more http://www.ewn.co.za

Pretoria – Allegations in The Sunday Times of extravagant spending by Communications Minister Dina Pule will not stick, the department said on Monday.

The newspaper was continuing to peddle slander and salacious rumours in what appeared to be a desperate attempt to convict Pule in the court of public opinion, said departmental spokesperson Wisani Ngobeni.

“We believe there is an attempt to convict the minister and the department in the court of public opinion. We must be careful as South Africans,” he said.

Ngobeni said the department was not aware of the documents published in The Sunday Times as proof of Pule’s alleged R700 000 travels to Mexico and New York with her boyfriend Phosane Mngqibisa, her personal assistant, and a deputy director general.

“We do not know the source of these documents and we do not have these documents on our records. We are unable to express a view on documents which we do not have knowledge of,” he said.

Under investigation

The Sunday Times was well aware that the department and Pule could not publicly respond to the allegations, because they were being investigated by Parliament’s ethics committee and the Public Protector.

The newspaper published what it claimed was a departmental travel form, on which Pule stated that Mngqibisa was travelling with her as a “companion”.

In March, The Sunday Times alleged that Mngqibisa organised the appointment of his relative, Lulama Makhoba, to the post of SABC CEO.

– SAPA

Cape Town – A video clip has been posted to YouTube showing a Pretoria cyclist being manhandled in a roadside scuffle, apparently by a diplomat’s security guards.
For more http://www.news24.com

Three teams are tied on points on top of the fourth Q-Innovation quarter, while the position of likely title winners Kaizer Chiefs may surprise you!

Amakhosi are still top of the log as a whole, but have won just one match in five – a woeful run of form that sees them slip to 11th on the Q4 log.

FULL PREMIERSHIP LOG HERE

Chiefs do have two matches to play, however, as do SuperSport United, Orlando Pirates and Black Leopards.

However, as it stands Platinum Stars are still leading Q4 on goal-difference, with Mamelodi Sundowns and Bloemfontein Celtic equal with them on 11 points.

Bidvest Wits are close behind on 10 points, while University of Pretoria and Chippa United bringing up the rear.

Sundowns have jumped from 11th to second in just 12 days – an impressive leap, coming off the back of three wins, two draws and just one defeat, to Celtic.

The Brazilians run of form has also boosted them into the top eight on the full log for the first time this season, and they will hope a win against Wits seals their spot in the top half.

See all Q-Innovation logs compared HERE

At the other end of the table, Ajax Cape Town and Chippa’s recent resurgence is plain to see on the Q4 log, with the two relegation-threatened sides sitting in seventh and sixth, respectively.

Ajax, Leopards and Chippa can all still be automatically relegated, but on form the Cape sides look safer, much to the relief of fans in the province, who were facing a season without a team in the Premiership.

Follow me on Twitter @ProjectJennifer

Q4

Team

Played

Won

Draw

Lost

GF

GA

GD

Points

1

Platinum Stars

6

3

2

1

10

4

6

11

2

Mamelodi Sundowns

6

3

2

1

9

5

4

11

3

Bloemfontein Celtic

6

3

2

1

7

5

2

11

4

Bidvest Wits

6

3

1

2

9

6

3

10

5

University of Pretoria

6

2

3

1

11

8

3

9

6

Chippa United

6

2

3

1

8

7

1

9

7

Ajax Cape Town

6

2

2

2

10

9

1

8

8

Moroka Swallows

6

2

2

2

8

7

1

8

9

SuperSport United

5

2

2

1

4

3

1

8

10

AmaZulu

6

2

1

3

8

8

0

7

11

Kaizer Chiefs

5

1

3

1

5

5

0

6

12

Free State Stars

6

1

3

2

9

11

-2

6

13

Orlando Pirates

5

1

2

2

2

3

-1

5

14

Golden Arrows

6

1

2

3

5

9

-4

5

15

Maritzburg United

6

0

4

2

4

7

-3

4

16

Black Leopards

5

1

0

4

5

17

-12

3
For more http://www.kickoff.com

Kaizer Chiefs captain Itumeleng Khune tells KickOff.com that the imminent departure of goalkeeper coach Rainer Dinkelacker has left him feeling ‘very emotional’.

The 64-year-old has confirmed that he will leave the club at the end of the year because of family reasons and he has recommended his countryman Dennis Rudel to take over. Rudel is currently the goalkeeper coach at Germany’s regional League side VFL Wolfsburg II.

READ: Dinkelacker: It is time to go

Khune says he will forever be grateful to Dinkelacker for the sterling work the German has done at Chiefs over the years.

“It is an indescribable feeling. I’m very emotional at the moment after you mentioned his name,” Khune admits. “Jeez, I really have no words. I don’t know what to say about him.

“You know what he has done for me. You know what he has done for Kaizer Chiefs. You know what he has done for South African football. He has really nurtured the talents of goalkeepers who have even represented the country.

“He has taken goalkeeping to another level. I’m not gonna blow my own horn, but it is there for people to see what Rainer has done for me,” he says.

Khune adds: “I have been the number one for Chiefs and Bafana for the past four to five years and that is because of him. So all thanks to him for finding myself where I am.

“He is the best in the world and we will miss him.”
For more http://www.kickoff.com

South Africa confirm their participation in the Cosafa Cup in Zambia and will be bringing a decent squad.

Bafana Bafana coach Gordon Igesund wanted to be able to take the strongest possibe team to the regional championship which starts in July if they were to participate.

READ: Safa to meet PSL over Cosafa Cup

Talks between the South African Football Association (Safa) and the Premier Soccer League (PSL) for the release of the best possible players for the July 6-20 competition have been positive.

Safa CEO Dennis Mumble says he is pleased with the outcome.

“We will have a competitive team going to Lusaka,” Mumble told reporters. “The meeting went well and we were able to find agree and there were firm commitments.

“Obviously [club] coaches would like to take their players to camp in the off-season, but it’s also important we honour our commitment to Cosafa and we are hopeful we will have a strong team going to Zambia.”

South Africa has been drawn to face the winner of Group A in the competition, which comprises East African guests Tanzania, Namibia, Mauritius and Seychelles.
For more http://www.kickoff.com

Johannesburg – The community of the Nkaneng informal settlement, near Marikana, in the North West, must seek “calm” after three fatal shootings in the area, the ANC said on Monday.

“The African National Congress… urges the people of Nkaneng to seek the restoration of peace and calm within their community, and to co-operate with the SA Police Service in restoring lawfulness and order,” spokesperson Jackson Mthembu said in a statement.

 

On Saturday, two brothers were killed and two women were wounded at Nkaneng, outside Rustenburg, when a group of armed men, wrapped in blankets and wearing balaclavas, stormed into their shack.

 

Police responding to the scene were shot at when they passed Wonderkop.

 

They returned fire. No casualties were reported.

 

Amcu member killed

 

Also on Saturday, Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) North West organiser Mawethu Khululekile Stevens, 46, was killed at a tavern in Nkaneng.

 

Mthembu said the ANC condemned the shootings “in the harshest terms”.

 

“Marikana cannot be allowed to deteriorate into a bastion of lawlessness and the [ANC] urges the law enforcement agencies to act determinedly and with urgency to bring those involved in these crimes to answer before the judicial system.”

 

The party called for restraint in the spreading of rumours and unproved theories about the cause of the violence, as this could lead to further tension in the area.

 

Mthembu called on the police to ensure the crimes were punished, regardless of the identity of the killers or their motives, and to restore peace in the area.

 

SAPA