Daily Archives: July 29, 2013

White smells another upset

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Cape Town – Brumbies coach Jake White is confident his side can pull off a second upset in a row by beating the Chiefs in the Super Rugby final.

 

A late try from centre Tevita Kuridrani gave the Brumbies an upset 26-23 over the Bulls in Pretoria over the weekend. But White’s team now have to fly back to Australasia for this Saturday’s final and will be firm underdogs against a Chiefs side brimming with confidence following a 20-19 semi-final win over the Crusaders.

 

“Belief in something is a wonderful thing,” White told the Beeld website. “I repeatedly said it last week. People follow sports teams because they want to be there the day that history is made.

 

“People go to World Cups to say they were there when it happened. People follow golf tournaments to say they were there when Louis Oosthuizen won the Open.

 

“Yes, nobody has won Super Rugby by travelling back and forth over the world. (But) who knows? Maybe it’s another challenge that the guys will take with both hands,” said White.

 

The Brumbies will play in the final for the first time since 2004, when they beat the Crusaders 47-38 in the final in Canberra.

 

“The most important thing is to mentally and physically recover as quickly as possible. Further, we just have to believe we can do it,” said White.

 

The clash at Waikato Stadium kicks off at 09:35 (SA time) on Saturday.

 

Officials for the Super Rugby final:

 

Chiefs v Brumbies

Waikato Stadium, Hamilton, New Zealand

Kick-off (19:35 local time/09:35 SA time)

Referee: Craig Joubert (RSA)

AR1: Chris Pollock (NZL)

AR2: Garratt Williamson (NZL)

TMO: Vinny Munro (NZL)

 

Sport24

Five nabbed for deadly house fire

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Durban – Five people have been arrested for allegedly setting fire to a home in which five people died near Eshowe, KwaZulu-Natal police said on Monday.

 

Captain Thulani Zwane said the five, aged between 19 and 36, were arrested on Sunday morning and were expected to appear in the Eshowe Magistrate’s court on Tuesday on charges of murder.

 

Thulani said four houses in a homestead in the Mbongolwane area were set alight on Saturday night.

 

Thulisile Mnyango, 50, Cebile Mnyango, 21, Lungelo Mnyango, 17, Mlamuli Mnyango, 10, and two-year-old Qiniso Mnyango, died in one of the houses.

 

The motive for the attack was unknown.

 

SAPA

NUM won’t comment on Vavi

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Johannesburg – The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) would not comment on rape allegations against Cosatu general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi until it heard from the trade union federation, it said on Monday.

 

“It will be irresponsible to make statements at this stage,” NUM general secretary Frans Baleni told reporters in Johannesburg after the union’s national executive committee meeting.

 

“We do not want to engage on details about this matter until it is formally brought to us,” he said.

 

Vavi has admitted to having an extramarital affair with a married woman who was employed by the Congress of SA Trade Unions (Cosatu) and claimed she later tried to extort R2m from him.

 

He denied raping her, and said the sex was consensual.

 

However, she brought a complaint of sexual harassment against him. An internal grievance proceeding was being held on Monday morning

 

Baleni said the union would wait for internal processes regarding the matter to take place.

 

SAPA

Keep your pants zipped, says Malema

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Johannesburg – EFF leader Julius Malema has come out in defence of Cosatu general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi, while urging EFF members to be careful and keep their “governments” inside their zippers.

For more http://www.news24.com

DA must be in charge of Tlokwe, Court rules

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By Obakeng Maje

Tlokwe-The Democratic Alliance is elated about the North Gauteng High Court decision in which the former Tlokwe Mayor Maphetle Maphetle and Speaker Barei Segotso’s application to have the Tlokwe Council’s motion of no-confidence was rejected with costs – to be carried by the applicants (Maphetle and Segotso) in person.

In his judgement Judge Tuchten castigated the ANC for not using democratic means after they became a minority party in the Tlokwe Council in Potchefstroom. He referred to the Maphetle-group in their illegal occupation of the municipal offices as squatters. 

“It is obvious that the ANC’s illegal occupation of the Tlokwe Council offices for a month , had no legal basis and was intended to frustrate not only the elected DA Mayor, Annette Combrink, and her team, but also in an act of defiance, the community of Potchefstroom” DA Chris Hattingh said.

Hattingh said it is indicative of a belligerent ANC’s regard for the Rule of Law and the Constitution when the loss of power and the control of financial resources are inevitable.

“The DA mayoral team, led by Mayor Annette Combrink, will be claiming their legitimate places in the municipal offices tomorrow morning bringing stability and delivery back to the Potchefstroom community” he concludes.

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DA’s Hattingh- ANC’s forked tongue revealed

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By Obakeng Maje

While the ANC is contesting the legitimacy of a Council meeting in which their Executive Mayor, Maphetle Maphetle was removed after a motion of no-confidence, they simultaneously submitted a motion of no-confidence in the DA Executive Mayor Annette Combrink. 

This was done on the 26th July, three days before the judgement in their application was to be handed down.

“This vindicates the DA’s viewpoint that the ANC’s application had no merit, the ANC’s occupation of the municipal offices was illegal, intended to cling to power and to control the financial resources of the municipality” DA Chris Hattingh said.

The ANC’s simultaneous acceptance and rejection of the legitimacy of the DA’s mayor is further indicative of the ANC’s disregard for the constitution, legislation and the Municipal Rules of Order and a total disregard for the interests of the community. 

“In their desperate attempts to cling to power no Council or Committee meetings were held and Maphetle claimed his salary as Executive Mayor” Hattingh said.

Chris Hattingh says, The DA positively awaits the outcome of today’s High Court Judgement to install stability and sanity to the Tlokwe Municipality in Potchefstroom.

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No formal rape charge yet against Vavi

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Johannesburg – The family of the woman who alleged that Cosatu general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi raped her say she has not yet laid a formal charge against him.

For more http://www.news24.com

Vavi rape claim “political-motivated”

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Johannesburg – The rape allegation against Cosatu general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi is politically motivated, the National Union of Metalworkers of SA’s (Numsa) Kwazulu-Natal branch said on Sunday.

 

“This latest rape allegation cannot be de-linked from the poisonous, malicious and well-calculated political offensive directed towards destroying comrade Vavi’s political integrity and standing in society,” Numsa regional secretary Mbuso Ngubane said in a statement.

 

He said the union was “fully behind” Vavi.

 

“The presumption of innocence until proven otherwise… should be upheld by all, as opposed to the gutter of public opinion.”

 

Meanwhile, the Azanian People’s Organisation said it was “disturbed” by the rape allegation.

 

“We hope this allegation would not stick on him,” said Azapo spokesperson Funani ka Ntontela.

 

“We hope this allegation is not engineered within the tripartite alliance as a weapon to weaken Vavi in his stand against graft and maladministration in this country.”

 

However, if Vavi was charged, Azapo would encourage him to step down from public representation, Ntontela said.

 

The Sunday Times published an open letter from a woman accusing Vavi of raping her.

 

In it, she claimed Vavi went to her office in January last year.

 

“He is a big man. When I got up, he grabbed me and then kissed me. Then he locked the door. I still have the dress I wore on that day, ” she said without giving more details.

 

On Saturday, Vavi released documents to the media, including an internal complaint by the woman in which she accused him of rape.

 

Vavi admitted to having an extramarital affair with her, and claimed she had later tried to extort R2m from him.

 

He denied raping her, and said the sex was consensual.

 

The police could not confirm that a charge of rape had been laid against him.

 

SAPA

One dead, 54 hurt in pile-up

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Johannesburg – One person died and 54 were injured in a 16-vehicle pileup near Bronkhorstspruit on Sunday, said emergency workers.

 

A truck and 14 cars piled into the back of another truck when thick smoke blew across the road from a grass fire raging in the area on Sunday afternoon, said Tshwane emergency management service spokesperson Johan Pieterse.

 

The vehicles appeared to have been travelling towards Pretoria at the time of the crash, said ER 24’s Chris Botha.

 

He said a man died in the crash. A critically injured woman had to be airlifted to hospital. The rest sustained injuries raging from serious to minor, and were stabilised on the scene before being taken to hospital.

 

 

 

 

SAPA

Church Leaders must help cons: Ndebele

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Johannesburg – Religious leaders should do more to rehabilitate criminals, because this was not the sole responsibility of the correctional services department, Correctional Services Minister Sibusiso Ndebele said on Sunday. 

 

“We call upon religious leaders to play a more active role in our concerted efforts to heal victims of crime, and rehabilitate offenders so that they return to society as better human beings,” he said. 

 

“Corrections is not the sole responsibility of the department of correctional services. Corrections is a societal responsibility.” 

 

On Friday, Ndebele met religious leaders and officials at the East London Correctional Centre. 

 

“As government, we will not win the battle against crime and re-offending if victims of crime, and the religious community, are not at the centre of the justice system,” he said in a statement on Sunday.

 

“The religious community can encourage moral regeneration, coupled with basic values and cultures; be more prominent with its role in rehabilitation…. We cannot allow a situation where the poor are being punished because of their lack of money.”

 

He said religious leaders should play a major role reintegrating convicted criminals into society, and providing social and economic assistance to the families of people serving time in prison. 

 

Ndebele said there was a church in every community and it was time for them to play their part. 

 

“We all have a duty to play in the eradication poverty. We must perform charitable deeds as Buddhism, Christianity, Judaism, Islam and indigenous cultures dictate,” he said.

 

“Like slavery and apartheid, poverty is not natural. It is man-made and it can be overcome and eradicated by the actions of human beings.” 

 

Research showed a correlation between a lack of education, poverty and crime, he said. To reduce re-offending, the department had made education compulsory, he said. “Education breeds confidence. Confidence breeds hope. Hope breeds peace,” Ndebele said. 

 

“The hand that previously held an okapi, to harm others, must be transformed into a hand of a tailor, carpenter, builder and writer. 

 

“We are, indeed, humbled to see offenders taking pride and working hard….” 

 

He said his department was putting the victims of crime at the “core of the justice system” and their pain did not go away until the offenders were sentenced.

 

“I have no doubt in my mind that the religious community is best positioned to play a decisive role in setting right the hearts, minds, and souls of South Africans. 

 

As long as we do not make moral regeneration a central theme of our conduct, we will find ourselves having progressed one step forward, and regressed 10 steps backward,” he said.

 

SAPA