Pretoria – Twenty Boeremag members convicted of high treason were given jail terms of between five and 30 years in the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria on Tuesday, according to reports from the court. 

The charge arose from a rightwing plot in the late 1990s and early 2000s to violently overthrow the African National Congress government and chase all black, coloured and Indian people out of the country.

The first of the Boeremag members was arrested before others commenced a bombing spree, attacking among others the police air wing at the Grand Central Airport, and blowing up railway lines, bridges and a Buddhist temple.

Members of the Boeremag’s bomb squad, Herman van Rooyen, Rudi Gouws and brothers Johan, Kobus and Wilhelm Pretorius, were also convicted of culpable homicide and conspiring to murder former president Nelson Mandela.

Soweto mother Claudia Mokome was killed when the bomb squad blew up a railway line and a piece of steel landed on her shack.

The men also planted a bomb on the road Mandela he was supposed to use on his way to open a rural school, but the plan was thwarted when he arrived by helicopter instead.

The decade-long trial has been one of the most expensive in South African history.

Legal Aid SA said it had spent just over R36m on the accused’s legal costs to date.

On Monday, Judge Eben Jordaan described the personal circumstances of each accused in detail, stressing that their involvement in the case had caused financial ruin, the end of promising careers and also the end of marriages for many of them.

He said Pretorius had ignored warnings that he was busy with unlawful activities and had bullied underlings to become part of the coup plan.

Jordaan rejected Prestorius’s claim that the others had misled him, and said he must have understood the consequences of being complicit in the plot.

– Sapa and News24

Johannesburg – Two children were found dead in a car in Zwide, Port Elizabeth, on Tuesday morning, Eastern Cape police said.

The two boys, aged 3 and 4, were discovered in Scheepers Street just after 01:00, said Warrant Officer Thembi Gwe.

They were found after a search by residents and police.

Gwe said the grandmother of one of the boys visited a house in the area with them on Monday.

“They wanted to play with vehicles that were parked outside. She ordered them to go back home,” said Gwe.

When she arrived home a few hours later the boys were not there.

A search was initiated and the boys were found in a vehicle parked in a yard in the street near the house they went to visit.

“The vehicle has been standing there for two months as it had mechanical problems. It is not clear how the children got into the vehicle.”

It was not known how the children died. Police were waiting for post-mortem results, she said.

SAPA

East London – ANC president Jacob Zuma launched a thinly veiled attack against the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) in the Eastern Cape at the weekend, the Daily Dispatch reported on Tuesday.

“Some say they are fighting for economic freedom. Who is oppressing them economically? Who do they want economic freedom from?

“It is only the ANC that brought South Africa freedom. When it was time to fight, it was us who died for freedom. We were arrested and went to Robben Island and we are the only party that will change our people’s situation in South Africa,” Zuma said.

He was speaking to about 500 people at the Mdantsane’s Nonzwakazi Primary School before delivering the Organisation of African Unity/African Union anniversary lecture in East London in his capacity as ruling party leader.

Zuma told residents not to waste their votes on opposition parties, saying this would be as futile as “throwing your vote in the ocean”.

“There will be many who will come and say nothing has changed since 1994. They will criticise the ANC and yet they have not done one thing for you and will never do anything because they are not in government.”

The EFF was created by former African National Congress Youth League president Julius Malema after being expelled from the ruling party.

SAPA

North West Premier Thandi Modise has welcomed that no bail was granted to the two suspects arrested in connection of abduction and rape of two women during their court appearances in Mmabatho and Lehurutshe Magistrates Court on Monday.

In commending police for the arrests over the weekend, Premier Modise has called on women to avoid walking alone along isolated spots even during the day.

“Escalating incidents of abduction and rape of women suggest that perpetrators target women are walking alone in isolated spots. Thought it might be advisable for women to start carrying whistles to draw attention in the event they are attacked. We call on communities not to ignore pleas for help from women who might desperately need help,” said Premier Modise.  

A 38-year-old suspect was arrested for allegedly kidnapping and raping a 38-year-old victim from 24 October 2013 until 26 October 2013 during an incident that police said took place at about 16:00 in Imperial Resort, Mahikeng.

According to police the victim was allegedly crossing the road between Imperial resort and Ramosadi village when she was confronted by the suspect who grabbed her from behind, assaulted her and forced her to his residential place where he raped her.

The victim reportedly managed to escape from the suspect’s place on 26 October 2013 and went straight to the police station to report the matter and the suspect was arrested.

A 21-year-old suspect was also arrested for allegedly raping a 28-year-old victim on Saturday, at about 19:00 in Ntswelentsoku, Lehurutshe.

According to police, the victim was allegedly on her way to the shop when she was confronted by the suspect who forcefully took the complainant to the nearby bushes and raped her.

It is further alleged that after the incident the suspect took the victim to a nearby tavern from where she managed to run away whoever, the suspect  reportedly followed her and took her back to the bushes and threatened her with a knife before he raped her again and robbed her undisclosed amount of cash.

Charges of rape and common robbery were laid against him.-TDN

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British security group G4S denied that its workers had electrocuted and drugged prisoners at Mangaung prison, the maximum security facility it ran before the government stepped in to restore order earlier this month.

The Wits Justice Project said some prisoners were forcibly injected with anti-psychotic medication and subjected to electric shocks.
For more http://www.citypress.co.za

JOHANNESBURG – Johannesburg bar chairperson Advocate William Mokhari on Monday laid a formal complaint against North Gauteng High Court Judge John Murphy with the Judicial Service Commission (JSC).
The two clashed in court last week during the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA)’s application for leave to appeal a judgment regarding former Crime Intelligence head Richard Mdluli.

Mokhari says his complaint against Murphy has been laid with the secretariat of the JSC.

But he says he won’t disclose its contents in much detail.
“The complaint relates to what happened in court as well as what happened outside court in the passage after Judge Murphy had abruptly adjourned the proceedings.”

The two exchanged words when Mokhari refused to answer a question posed to him by Murphy.

The judge adjourned proceedings and the standoff spilt over into the passage outside Murphy’s chamber.
Murphy apparently called Mokhari an idiot while waving a finger in his face.

For more http://www.ewn.co.za

The Telkom Knock-out Cup semifinal set to take place this weekend has been postponed to November the 23rd to accommodate Orlando Pirates who are playing in the CAF Champions League final.

The first semifinal between Kaizer Chiefs and Platinum Stars was set to be played on Saturday, while the second semifinal between SuperSport United and Pirates was scheduled for the 20th of November.
For more http://www.sabc.co.za

The state prosecutor has wrapped up her submissions in closing arguments in the Anene Booysen murder and rape trial in the Swellendam Circuit High Court in the Western Cape.

The state aims to prove that the accused, Johannes Kana raped, murdered and mutilated the Bredasdorp teenager in February this year.
For more http://www.sabc.co.za

The Democratic Alliance (DA) says Home Affairs Minister Naledi Pandor must act to ensure the fast and efficient electronic registration of births.

DA MP Manny de Freitas says they will write to Minister Pandor requesting that she explore alternative and innovative solutions to ensure that all hospitals are on-line.
For more http://www.sabc.co.za

Gauteng police say a detective from Silverton in Pretoria has been arrested for kidnapping and extortion in the case which allegedly led to hip hop star Khuli Chana being shot and wounded. Police say they’re also looking for other kidnapping suspects.

They allege that during the manhunt, police spotted a vehicle in Midrand, similar to that used by the kidnappers which sped off. Shots were fired and the driver Chana was wounded. Police had mistaken him for a kidnapper.
For more http://www.sabc.co.za