Pietermaritzburg – One man has been shot dead and another severely assaulted with a brick in the Lynnfield Park area just outside Pietermaritzburg.
Police spokesman Captain Thulani Zwane said the men had been confronted at their home at about 6pm on Monday. It is believed Thembelani Mkhize, 34, and Thobani Ncube, 35, were returning home when they were attacked.
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Durban – Community Safety MEC Willies Mchunu has condemned the brutal killing of two men in KwaNongoma yesterday.
Police were reluctant to speculate on the motive for the killings of Bhande Joseph Khumalo, 71, and Hlehla Sibiya, 61, but Mchunu has linked the deaths to a long-running feud between two families in eMatheni village.
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Johannesburg – The Economic Freedom Fighters is pleased that Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi uses a public health hospital instead of a private one, the movement said on Wednesday.
“The EFF approves because one of our fundamental principles and policy positions is that all elected public representatives should use public services and institutions,” the organisation said in a statement.
“All public representatives in all legislatures and Parliament will use public institutions and services, particularly schools and heath care.”
On Tuesday, Motsoaledi was admitted to Steve Biko Academic Hospital in Pretoria for a surgical procedure.
He is likely to be off work for about a week, health ministry spokesperson Joe Maila said.
– SAPA
Durban – Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa urged Ulundi residents on Tuesday to help police in their hunt for the killers of an ANC councillor.
“We call upon members of the community to come forward with information, no matter how little it may seem, which would assist in the apprehension and most importantly securing of convictions,” Mthethwa said.
Earlier, Mthethwa and the KwaZulu-Natal provincial police commissioner Lieutenant General Betty Mmamonnye Ngobeni visited the family of the slain councillor Makhosonke Msibi in Ulundi.
Msibi was gunned down on Sunday night after returning from a meeting in Nongoma.
Police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Vincent Mdunge said on Monday that a man knocked at the door of Msibi’s house. His son opened the door and a man asked to see the councillor.
According to Mdunge the man fired shots at Msibi when he emerged. The 48-year-old councillor sustained multiple gunshot wounds and was declared dead at the scene.
Mthethwa called for political tolerance ahead of the 2014 national elections.
“We are aware that we have now entered a silly season where some leaders would make inflammatory remarks which fuel violence and political intolerance. We urge them to exercise maturity and refrain from making remarks that are destructive and perpetuate killings and violence,” said Mthethwa.
– SAPA
Johannesburg – Paralympic sprinter Oscar Pistorius will likely know his trial date when he appears in court next Monday on murder charges for shooting dead his girlfriend, a family spokesperson said.
The 26-year-old double amputee athlete known as the “Blade Runner” will return to court on the day slain model Reeva Steenkamp would have turned 30.
“We don’t foresee long proceedings… Chances are very high that a trial date will be set,” family spokesperson Anneliese Burgess told AFP.
Case finalised
Prosecutors said on Tuesday they have finalised their case against the sprinter.
“We have finalised the indictment, which contains a full list of the charges,” said Bulelwa Makeke, the National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson. “It will be served on Monday.”
A one-day appearance was expected and “shouldn’t be long”, Makeke told AFP later.
In a statement police confirmed they had also completed the murder investigation.
Pistorius is charged with fatally shooting Steenkamp in the early hours of 14 February through a locked bathroom door in his upmarket Pretoria home.
The star athlete claims he mistook her for an intruder, but prosecutors argue it was premeditated murder, which carries a sentence of life imprisonment.
Pistorius’s lawyers want the charge reduced to culpable homicide. His attorney Kenneth Oldwage told AFP he would meet with prosecutor Gerrie Nel to discuss the trial date before the appearance.
Steenkamp, a model and law graduate who had been dating Pistorius for just a few months, suffered gunshot wounds to her head, elbow and hip.
British television channel Sky News broadcast graphic leaked images of the blood-spattered bathroom where she was killed.
Postponement expected
Police expect Monday’s procedural hearing to be postponed after the indictment is served.
By then the prosecution and defence may also have finalised a start date for the trial, which is supposed to take place early next year.
Pistorius was the first double amputee to compete against able-bodied competitors at the London Olympics last year.
His family said in June he had started training again for “mental and emotional equilibrium” after taking a break.
He is free pending trial on bail of R1m.
– AFPJohannesburg – Paralympic sprinter Oscar Pistorius will likely know his trial date when he appears in court next Monday on murder charges for shooting dead his girlfriend, a family spokesperson said.
The 26-year-old double amputee athlete known as the “Blade Runner” will return to court on the day slain model Reeva Steenkamp would have turned 30.
“We don’t foresee long proceedings… Chances are very high that a trial date will be set,” family spokesperson Anneliese Burgess told AFP.
Case finalised
Prosecutors said on Tuesday they have finalised their case against the sprinter.
“We have finalised the indictment, which contains a full list of the charges,” said Bulelwa Makeke, the National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson. “It will be served on Monday.”
A one-day appearance was expected and “shouldn’t be long”, Makeke told AFP later.
In a statement police confirmed they had also completed the murder investigation.
Pistorius is charged with fatally shooting Steenkamp in the early hours of 14 February through a locked bathroom door in his upmarket Pretoria home.
The star athlete claims he mistook her for an intruder, but prosecutors argue it was premeditated murder, which carries a sentence of life imprisonment.
Pistorius’s lawyers want the charge reduced to culpable homicide. His attorney Kenneth Oldwage told AFP he would meet with prosecutor Gerrie Nel to discuss the trial date before the appearance.
Steenkamp, a model and law graduate who had been dating Pistorius for just a few months, suffered gunshot wounds to her head, elbow and hip.
British television channel Sky News broadcast graphic leaked images of the blood-spattered bathroom where she was killed.
Postponement expected
Police expect Monday’s procedural hearing to be postponed after the indictment is served.
By then the prosecution and defence may also have finalised a start date for the trial, which is supposed to take place early next year.
Pistorius was the first double amputee to compete against able-bodied competitors at the London Olympics last year.
His family said in June he had started training again for “mental and emotional equilibrium” after taking a break.
He is free pending trial on bail of R1m.
– AFP
Johannesburg – National police commissioner Riah Phiyega has concluded discussions with Gauteng commissioner Lieutenant General Mzwandile Petros regarding his employment contract, her spokesperson said on Wednesday.
“Discussions about Lieutenant General Petros’s employment contract and other related issues have been concluded,” said Lieutenant General Solomon Makgale.
“She [Phiyega] has undertaken to engage the public on the matter before the end of August 2013.”
Petros’s contract ends in mid-August.
He served as provincial commissioner of the Western Cape for seven years and has held his current position in Gauteng for almost three years.
– SAPA
Johannesburg – EFF leader Julius Malema is reportedly in Nigeria, where he is visiting a popular preacher and prophet.
eNCA reported on Wednesday that Malema and an EFF delegation are visiting TB Joshua to receive blessings for the journey ahead. Joshua is widely known for his miracle healings and prophecies.
“We all seek divine intervention, we all seek blessings of spiritual leaders, and it happened that this time we came to TB Joshua… and it shouldn’t be seen to be any controversial activities,” he told the news channel.
Malema would not elaborate on what counsel he received from Joshua.
Praise for Mugabe
However, he did speak of his desire to emulate Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe, and congratulated the Zimbabwean people on the recent elections.
“They have made their wishes very clear and we want to congratulate President Mugabe because we are happy that he has returned the land to the people and Zimbabwe will be one of the fewest African countries which is truly owned by Africans,” he said.
The Economic Freedom Fighters announced the visit on their Facebook page last week, saying Malema and fellow leaders would go on a “spiritual visit to meet and create friendship with this son of Africa and his congregation and ask for blessings for the journey ahead”.
City Press reported that other visitors to Joshua have included Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, King Goodwill Zwelithini, Zimbabwe’s Morgan Tsvangirai, late Ghanaian president John Atta Mills and Malawi President Joyce Banda.
Joshua is listed as one of the five wealthiest pastors in Nigeria, and heads the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN). He visited South Africa last year, according to City Press.
Durban – Five members of a suspected criminal syndicate have been arrested in Durban, police said on Wednesday.
“The suspects, aged between 34 and 36, were arrested in the early hours on Wednesday morning in Ntuzuma, Umlazi, and KwaDabeka,” Colonel Vincent Mdunge said.
They were allegedly involved in several crimes, including hijacking, house robberies, armed robberies, and possession of unlicensed firearms, he said.
“In July the suspects [allegedly] committed house robberies, hijackings, and car thefts in the Isipingo area. In one house the suspects took R60 000, a Toyota Fortuner, Kia Sonata, four cellphones, and an amplifier.”
In a separate robbery in the same township they allegedly stole a Toyota Fortuner, R7 000 in cash, and a plasma TV, Mdunge said.
The vehicles stolen from both house robberies were recovered at Umlazi G section where they had been abandoned.
“When arresting the suspects police recovered eight cellphones, a laptop, plasma screen and a Z88 pistol belonging to a Chatsworth policeman who was robbed of the firearm,” he said.
They will appear in the Durban Magistrate’s Court on Friday.
– SAPA
Pretoria – Translations, many witnesses, and problems with funding have delayed the Farlam Commission of Inquiry, its chairperson said on Wednesday.
Retired judge Ian Farlam said the commission had held 114 sessions and over 12 000 pages of submissions had been handed in.
Established by President Jacob Zuma it began its hearings in Rustenburg in October last year. It had since moved to Pretoria.
“I am happy to announce that the department [of justice] has agreed to provide simultaneous translations for the proceedings,” Farlam said.
The commission had many witnesses to question and many legal teams wanted to cross-examine them.
Funding
The lack of funding for the lawyers representing miners wounded and arrested during the Marikana unrest had caused further delays. Despite this, the commission still intended completing its work and reporting back to the president and the public, Farlam said.
Earlier, he said the decision on funding could be made soon. “I was informed this morning that the decision has not been made, but will definitely be made by the end of the week,” he said.
Friday marks a year since 34 people, almost all miners, were shot dead in a clash with police, at Lonmin’s Marikana mine in the North West. Ten people, including two police officers and two security guards, were killed in the preceding week.
Farlam said the commission would not sit on Friday so that those who wanted to attend various commemoration ceremonies could do so.
The commission continues on Monday.
– SAPA
Johannesburg – The health ministry denied on Wednesday that Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi received preferential treatment at the Steve Biko Academic Hospital in Pretoria.
“There is no such thing as preferential treatment. It’s unfortunate that people can say those kinds of things,” spokesperson Joe Maila said.
He was reacting to Democratic Alliance Gauteng MPL Jack Bloom who had raised this, saying waiting time for surgery at the hospital was very long.
“According to an official reply to my questions in the Gauteng legislature in September last year, 1 629 patients were waiting for surgery at this hospital because of staff shortages and budget cuts. Waiting periods are terrible,” Bloom said.
On Tuesday Motsoaledi was admitted to the hospital for a surgical procedure, and was expected to be out of office for at least a week.
Admirable example
Maila said Motsoaledi always used state hospitals.
Bloom said Motsoaledi had set an admirable example, but he believed high-level politicians using state hospitals were never treated as ordinary patients.
“They also take up a bed that would have been used by someone who cannot afford private care,” he said.
The Economic Freedom Fighters was pleased Motsoaledi opted not to use a private facility.
“The EFF approves because one of our fundamental principles and policy positions is that all elected public representatives should use public services and institutions,” it said.
“All public representatives in all legislatures and Parliament will use public institutions and services, particularly schools and heath care.”
The Democratic Nursing Organisation of SA (Denosa) wished Motsoaledi a speedy recovery.
“He is a passionate minister of health who is driven by ambition to see the success of his job of improving health for the millions of South Africans,” Denosa said.
“We are confident about the capability of our colleagues who will be looking after him at the hospital.”
– SAPA
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