Johannesburg – With reports that it will depend on his family how long Nelson Mandela will remain on life support, a specialist said on Thursday that it was almost impossible to wean an elderly person off a ventilator.

Mandela has been in the Medi-Clinic Heart Hospital since 8 June, when he was admitted with a recurring lung infection.

Court papers showed that Madiba is in a “permanent vegetative state” and that doctors suggested his life support should be turned off.

According to the chief executive of the Faculty of Consulting Physicians of South Africa, a younger person put on mechanical ventilation – life support – can be weaned off the machine and recover, but that it can be difficult or impossible for an older person.

The longer a person is on ventilation the less the chance of recovery, Dr Adri Kok, who has no connection to Mandela’s care, told AP.

“It indicates a very poor prognosis for recovery because it means that he’s either too weak or too sick to breathe on his own,” Kok said.

“Usually if a person does need that, any person, not keeping in mind his age at all, for any person it would be indicative of a grave illness.”

“When they [the family] say ‘perilous’ I think that would be a fair description,” she said.

Graves saga

In Mandela’s hometown, Qunu, on Thursday, the bodies of three of his children were returned to their original resting place following a court order.

Mandela is said to have indicated he wants to be buried in Qunu alongside his family.

Mlawu Tyatyeka, an expert on the Xhosa culture of Mandela’s family, said the court case over the graves was decided quickly because the family knows that Mandela will soon die.

“It’s not a case of wishing him to die. It’s a case of making sure that by the time he dies, his dying wish has been fulfilled,” he said. “We have a belief that should you ignore a dying wish, all bad will befall you.”

AP reported that Mandela’s wife said the former president is sometimes uncomfortable but seldom in pain while being treated in a hospital.

Graça Machel spoke about her husband’s condition at a fundraising drive for a children’s hospital on Thursday.

“Whatever is the outcome of his stay in hospital, that will remain the second time where he offered his nation an opportunity to be united under the banner of our flag, under the banner of our constitution,” she said.

Denis Goldberg, one of the men who was convicted with Mandela, told AFP after visiting him on Monday: “He is clearly a very ill man, but he was conscious and he tried to move his mouth and eyes when I talked to him.”

“He is definitely not unconscious,” he said adding that “he was aware of who I was.”

Goldberg said he was asked by Machel to pay him a visit “just to give him mental stimulation.”

According to a statement on Thursday by President Jacob Zuma’s office, Mandela “remains in critical but stable condition”.

Zuma visited Mandela on Thursday, said the statement.
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South Africa has climbed one place to 59th in the latest FIFA/Coca Cola World rankings released on Thursday (04 July 2013).

Bafana Bafana have also moved one position up on the continent, as they break into the top 10, one place ahead of 2012 African champions Zambia.

South Africa recently played two matches – both World Cup qualifiers – winning one (3-0 against CAR) and losing the other (Ethiopia, 1-2). Bafana Bafana also defeated Lesotho 3-0 in an international friendly ahead of the two 2014 World Cup qualifiers.

Meanwhile, Spain remain top of the world rankings ahead of Germany, Colombia, Argentina, and the Netherlands. Making up the rest of the top ten are Italy, Portugal, Croatia Brazil, and Belgium.

Top 10 in Africa:

1. Cote d’Ivoire

(13 world)

2. Ghana

(24)

3. Mali

(28)

4. Algeria

(34)

5. Nigeria

(35)

6. Burkina Faso

(42)

7. Tunisia

(47)

8. Cape Verde Islands

(49)

9. South Africa

(59)

10. Zambia

(60)

The next rankings will be released on Thursday, 8 August.
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By-elections will be held in Tlokwe, in the North West, after 14 ANC councillors who voted to unseat mayor Maphetle Maphetle were expelled, the party said on Thursday.

“By-elections will be held. The IEC (Independent Electoral Commission) will make a decision [on the date of the by-elections],” African National Congress spokesman Keith Khoza said.

The decision to expel the group was made in a provincial disciplinary committee (PDC) meeting held on Wednesday.

The councillors were found guilty of “acting contrary to the directives” of the party and violating the ANC constitution, the PDC said in a statement.

On Thursday, the North West Congress of SA Trade Unions (Cosatu) condemned the actions of the councillors.

“For us… this is the worst reactionary act that we have ever seen since the dawn of democracy — that comrades who are deployed by the revolutionary alliance connive with the opposition to oust a comrade deployed by the ANC,” it said.

“For us, as Cosatu, these councillors deserve the harshest punishment available in the rules of the ANC, as this is for the second time.”

It called on the ANC to investigate the cause of the councillors’ conduct, so that similar incidents could be prevented in future.

Maphetle was unseated for a second time on Tuesday.

Democratic Alliance councillor Annette Combrink was voted in as the new mayor.

DA North West leader Chris Hattingh said 29 councillors from all parties, including the ANC, had unanimously voted to return Combrink to the position of mayor.

In November, ANC factions in the municipality passed a motion of no confidence in Maphetle.

He was replaced by Combrink — the first DA mayor in the province — when she defeated ANC candidate Lucky Tsagae by 20 votes to 19.

However, Maphetle was returned as mayor in February, when he won by 31 votes to Combrink’s 21.

While the DA was in charge, it asked for a forensic investigation into irregularities at the municipality.

The probe found the council had irregularly bought Maphetle a R736,000 customised Mercedes-Benz. Maphetle was also found to have allegedly abused the municipality’s disaster management fund and poverty relief fund.

The report recommended that formal disciplinary action be taken against him and other officials.

In May, the DA laid criminal charges against Maphetle. In June Public Protector Thuli Madonsela said she would investigate the claims of corruption involving Maphetle.
SAPA

A Pretoria woman has been arrested in connection with the murder of her husband, police said on Thursday.

Captain Doniah Mothutsane said the man was shot dead on Wednesday night at their home on Plot 17, Welbekend.

“Police were called to the home where they found an old man in his blue working suit lying on the floor and a .38 revolver with 43 live rounds on the bed,” said Mothutsane.

Police said the 39-year-old wife seemed dazed when they spoke to her, and neighbours said there had been numerous incidents of domestic violence at the house.

The woman was expected to appear in the Bronkhorstspruit Magistrate’s Court on Friday on a charge of murder.

-Sapa

One person died in a building fire in Boshoek in the North West on Thursday morning, paramedics said.

It was unclear whether it was a man or woman, said Netcare 911 spokeswoman Santi Steinmann.

“Another person sustained minor to moderate injuries and after receiving treatment on scene, the injured person was transported to a nearby medical facility for further medical care,” she said.

The cause of the fire was not immediately known.

-Sapa

Mthatha – A feud between factions of Nelson Mandela’s family descended into soap opera farce on Thursday, when his grandson, Mandla, accused relatives of adultery and milking the fame of the former president.

In a news conference broadcast live on TV that stunned millions, Mandla confirmed rumours that his young son, Zanethemba, was in fact the child of an illicit liaison between his brother Mbuso and Mandla’s now ex-wife Anais Grimaud.

With Mandela on life-support in a Pretoria hospital, the escalating feud has transfixed and appalled many in equal measure as it contemplates the reality that he will not be around forever.

“Mbuso impregnated my wife,” Mandla said in Mvezo.

Mandla, 39, first raised questions about his son’s paternity last year when he split from French-speaking Grimaud, who has since moved back home to the Indian Ocean island of Reunion. He also revealed then that he was unable to have children.

His attempts to get the family to address the questions of Zanethemba’s paternity had been rebuffed in the interests of preserving a semblance of family unity.

“This matter has never been discussed by the so-called members of the family, who say that they want to ensure there is harmony in this family,” he said, challenging reporters to conduct DNA tests to confirm his allegations.

“The facts are there. You may go and find out, do the necessary tests that are needed,” he said. His brother Mbuso has denied being the father of the child.

Newspapers have plastered “Mandela vs Mandela” headlines across their front pages and editorials have bemoaned the cruel irony of bitter divisions inside the Mandela family.

The government said that Mandela remained “critical but stable” after nearly four weeks in hospital.

‘The Mandela wagon’

Mvezo has been at the centre of a vicious dispute that may ultimately determine where Madiba will be laid to rest.

Two years ago, Mandla exhumed the bodies of three of Mandela’s children from Qunu and moved them the 20 km to Mvezo, where Mandla has built a visitor centre and a memorial centre dedicated to his grandfather.

Mandla said he moved the bodies based on his right as chief to decide the final resting place of family members, especially his father Makgatho, who died of an Aids-related illness in 2005.

“I hold the right to determine where he is buried. I am the chief of Mvezo, as a traditional leader and the head of the royal house of Mandela,” said Mandla, dressed in a black leather jacket and red shirt.

Despite his assertions, many believe the exhumations were part of a deliberate plan to ensure Mandela was buried in Mvezo.

Last week, a rival faction of the family, led by Makaziwe and Mbuso, won a court order for the bodies to be returned to Qunu – an edict carried out late on Wednesday after a last-minute legal bid by Mandla failed.

Speaking calmly and deliberately in front of a bank of cameras, Mandla lashed out at Makaziwe and members of the family, accusing them of trying to cash in on the Mandela legacy.

“This is the very family that has taken their own father, their own grandfather, to court for his monies,” he said, referring to a long-running legal bid by Makaziwe to remove the guardians of a Mandela charitable trust.

“It seems like anyone and everyone can come and say ‘I am a Mandela’ and demand to be part of the decision-making in this family,” he said. “Individuals have abandoned their own families and heritage and decided to jump on the Mandela wagon.”

Makaziwe has declined to comment on the graves dispute, telling reporters that it is a “private family matter”.

The three Mandela children exhumed from Mvezo are an infant girl who died in 1948, a boy, Thembi, who died in a car crash in 1969, and Mandla’s father, Makgatho. In all, Mandela fathered six children from his three marriages.

– Reuters

Johannesburg – Doctors treating Nelson Mandela said he was in a “permanent vegetative state” and advised his family to turn off his life support machine, according to court documents dated 26 June, obtained by AFP Thursday.

“He is in a permanent vegetative state and is assisted in breathing by a life support machine,” said a legal filing related to a family dispute over reburying the remains of three of Mandela’s children.

“The Mandela family have been advised by the medical practitioners that his life support machine should be switched off.

“Rather than prolonging his suffering, the Mandela family is exploring this option as a very real probability.”

The “Certificate of Urgency” document was obtained from a lawyer representing Mandela family members, who had successfully sought a court order to return the disputed children’s remains to the Madiba’s childhood home, after a grandson had them moved to his own village.

The document was presented to the Eastern Cape High Court as President Jacob Zuma reported that Mandela’s health had faltered and cancelled a trip to Mozambique.

The next day Zuma reported that Mandela’s condition had “improved during the course of the night”.

“He is much better today than he was when I saw him last night. The medical team continues to do a sterling job,” Zuma said in a statement dated 27 June.

Since then the government has said Mandela’s condition remains “critical but stable”, but has provided few details, citing patient confidentiality.

Lawyers for Mandela’s relatives, family members themselves and government officials were not immediately available for comment.

– AFP

Clive Barker (Gallo)

Johannesburg – Mpumalanga Black Aces have confirmed the appointment of former Wits coach Clive Barker as their new head coach.

“We always wanted Clive who has shown to be an incredible motivator of players and we firmly believe to be the best coach in South Africa.

We are delighted to welcome him to our club and have full confidence in his abilities and are convinced that Black Aces under his guidance, will become a force in the PSL,” confirmed the Black Aces official website.
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Johannesburg – Businessman Kenny Kunene has received unofficial warnings from the Hawks that it would be investigating him, the so-called Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) said on Thursday.

“There are people who have called him from the Hawks, but not officially,” EFF spokesperson Floyd Shivambu said.

“The people said that there could be an investigation [into him].”

Hawks spokesperson Captain Paul Ramaloko said he could not comment on “speculation”.

“If Kunene becomes a subject of an investigation, he will be officially informed by the Hawks,” he said.

Intimidation

Shivambu said in a statement on Thursday that there had been attempts to intimidate Kunene “through bogus investigations and threats of the Hawks”.

The Sunday World reported this week that an investigation was being co-ordinated from the office of Brigadier Lesley McFinn of the Gauteng Hawks.

It reported that the investigation emanated from Kunene’s dealings with investors who claimed to have been conned into supporting an application for mining rights by Central Rand Gold (CRG).

Kunene was reportedly CRG’s community liaison, and was instrumental in securing the rights.

Last year, the Sunday Times reported that CRG had allegedly misled investors with lucrative tenders, share offers, and directorships in an attempt to secure their backing.

Zuma criticism

This week Kunene said in a statement published on a politics website he had been warned not to criticise President Jacob Zuma.

Kunene said he had been told he would be “dealt with” after he published an open letter to Zuma last month, saying he was disillusioned with his leadership.

“I got so many calls from people warning me: ‘They are going to deal with you’. People know this is a government that ‘deals with people’. But is that something we are willing to just accept?”

Kunene confirmed he was joining the EFF alongside ousted African National Congress Youth League leader Julius Malema.

Shivimbu said on Thursday Kunene was part of the “fearless young lions in the Free State who rendered the apartheid machinery unworkable and apartheid system ungovernable”.

“Even when he was on the wrong side of the law, fighter Kunene was part of efforts that exposed prison corruption and was released a changed man who did motivational talks and ran anti-crime campaigns in many schools across South Africa,” he said.

“It is that form of courage and dedication that welcomes him into our ranks of fearless fighters.”

– SAPA