A woman has been found dead on a street in Bronville near Welkom, Free State police said on Monday.

Her half-naked body was found in Watermeyer Street on Sunday morning by a patrolling police officer, said Warrant Officer Malebo Khosana.

“Her head was crushed with a big stone found on the scene and made it difficult to identify her.”

No arrests had been made and police were investigating, said Khosana. – Sapa

A Mozambican man suspected of rhino poaching was arrested on Sunday, Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife authorities said.

“Two gunshots were heard late afternoon on Sunday inside Hluhluwe iMfolozi Park,” Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife spokesman Musa Mntambo said in a statement on Monday.

Field rangers were sent to search the area and additional rangers were posted at all possible exit routes.

At 5.45pm, there was a shoot-out between the rangers and three unidentified men.

“One suspect was injured during the shooting and was later arrested, while two managed to escape,” said Mntambo.

When the man was searched, rangers found a set of horns, a bag, a torch and an axe. On Monday morning, rangers found the carcass of a white rhino.

Ezemvelo CEO Dr Bandile Mkhize expressed concern at the recent increase in the number of shooting encounters faced by rangers.

“Poachers are always ready to shoot to kill our field rangers. This is very concerning as it puts our rangers in danger whenever they are confronted with poachers,” he said.

He said Ezemvelo would continue to intensify its war against rhino poaching.

At least 39 people have been arrested for poaching in KwaZulu-Natal this year, with 63 rhino poached in the province. – Sapa

Johannesburg – The High Court in Johannesburg will hear Numsa’s application to have Cosatu general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi’s suspension overturned on Tuesday.

National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) general secretary Irvin Jim confirmed on Monday that the application would be heard.

In court papers, Numsa called Vavi’s suspension “unconstitutional and unprecedented”.

Earlier this month, Jim said the union had been forced to take legal action as “Cosatu’s internal and democratic processes are being undermined and flouted”.

He said the decision to legally challenge the Congress of SA Trade Unions (Cosatu) had not been made lightly, and it was not the preferred option of engagement after delegates called for Vavi’s suspension in the February and May central executive committee meetings.

The Food and Allied Workers’ Union and the SA Football Players’ Union are listed as co-applicants in Numsa’s court action.

Vavi was suspended last month for bringing Cosatu into disrepute after he admitted to having an affair with an employee.

Cosatu spokesman Patrick Craven confirmed that it had been served with the court papers. – Sapa

The industrial action by members of the SA Democratic Teachers Union (Sadtu), would be in its seventh day.

Members are expected to attend the meetings after school to decide whether they will continue working just seven hours.
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Twenty-four suspected rhino poachers have been arrested in the Kruger National Park in the past two weeks, the water and environmental affairs department said on Thursday.

“The law enforcement agencies, and rangers in the Kruger National Park, are commended for their actions and commitment to the fight against rhino poaching,” said Water and Environmental Affair Minister Edna Molewa.

The arrests brought to 191 the number of suspected rhino poachers arrested across the country since January 1.

“Among the total number of rhino poached, 64 have been killed in Limpopo, 62 in KwaZulu-Natal, 62 in North West, and 42 in Mpumalanga,” said Molewa.

She said 618 rhino had been poached since the beginning of the year, 381 of them in the Kruger National Park.

“The commitment to conservation requires the support of everyone in order to stem the tide of rhino poaching,” Molewa said.

Sapa

Pretoria – The Justice Department has no right to interfere in the Farlam Commission of Inquiry, the commission was told on Friday.

“It is unfortunate and inappropriate as they are not parties in the commission,” said Dali Mpofu, for miners arrested and wounded during the unrest at Lonmin’s platinum mine at Marikana last year.
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Survivors and families of the victims of the Marikana massacre will march to the Union Buildings next week because of the government’s refusal to pay their legal fees at the Farlam Commission.

The march is scheduled for September 12 – the day on which Black Consciousness leader Steve Biko was killed by the apartheid regime exactly 36 years ago.

South African Council of Churches president Jo Seoka, who testified at the commission, is the convener of the march.
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Johannesburg – The body of a 14-year-old girl was found on Monday in a field in Thombo location, Port St Johns, said Eastern Cape police.

The girl was discovered at 13:30 by a passer-by, who then alerted the police, spokesperson Mduduzi Godlwana said.

“The victim had marks on her neck, which are believed to have been from strangling,” he said.

The girl had not yet been identified.

A rape and murder docket had been opened.

– SAPA

Johannesburg – A 53-year-old man was jailed for eight years by the Mahikeng Regional Court on Monday for raping a woman, North West police said.

The man raped a 50-year-old woman in Itsoseng Township, near Lichtenburg, in 2011, said police spokesperson Pelonomi Makau.

The man learnt that the woman was a dressmaker and asked her to accompany him to his house to stitch his trousers.

When they got there, he raped her.

– SAPA

Cape Town – Oil from the cargo ship that ran aground off Buffels Bay near Knysna a month ago did not enter the Swartvlei Estuary, a SA National Parks (SANParks) official said on Monday.

Garden Route National Park spokesperson Nandi Mgwadlamba said sandbags were used to partially close the estuary after the Kiani Satu ran aground on 8 August, preventing oil from entering.

She said the sandbags were now being removed.

This was an “incredibly challenging task” because some of them were deeply buried and would surface only with time.

“However, a concerted effort will be made to ensure that as many of the sandbags as possible are removed.”

After it ran aground, the captain and 19-member crew of the Kiani Satu were forced to abandon ship.

The vessel reportedly suffered an engine breakdown in heavy seas while carrying 330 tons of fuel oil and 15 000 tons of rice.

The SA Maritime Safety Authority (Samsa) pumped the fuel oil from the ship’s engine room to higher parts of the vessel and flew it off the ship in plastic tanks.

Samsa later towed the Kiani Satu out to sea. It sank three weeks ago in 1 000m of water, 110 nautical miles south of Buffels Bay.

Mgwadlamba said the reopening of the estuary mouth and the restoration of the channel to the same dimensions as prior to the artificial closure, were improbable.

SANParks scientist Dr Ian Russell said the estuary was just over a metre above mean sea level, significantly reducing the chance of breaching.

However, reports that the estuary would be damaged if it were to remain closed and breach only when the water level reached two metres above mean sea level, were unfounded.

“This is a naturally open/closed system where such variability in mouth state and water height is natural. In fact, these extremes have been significantly suppressed by man’s alteration of the system,” he said.

“If the estuary were to remain closed now, and for a period forward, then yes, recruitment opportunities for marine fish and some estuarine invertebrates could be temporarily altered.”

An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of water that is either permanently or periodically open to the sea, and which contains a mixture of seawater and freshwater.

– SAPA