Johannesburg – The murder of a traditional healer in Khutsong after an anti-crime meeting on Sunday appears to have been a gang-related revenge killing.

On Sunday seven people were burnt to death and another was beaten to death as an angry mob went on the rampage.

A pregnant woman who was having a bath rushed naked out of the sangoma’s house followed closely by a barefoot man.
For more http://www.iol.co.za

Bloemfontein – The treason trial of two alleged rightwing plotters was postponed by the Bloemfontein High Court on Monday.

Mark Trollip, 48, and Johan Prinsloo, 50, made a brief appearance during which the case was postponed until November 11.

A small group of close family members attended court on Monday.

Trollip’s legal representative withdrew from the case last week and Judge MB Molemela postponed the matter at the request of his new lawyer Kenny Pretorius, to give him time to study the case and consult his clients and other witnesses.

Pretorius received the docket only on Friday. The State did not oppose the request.

Trollip and Prinsloo face charges of high treason for their involvement in plans to execute President Jacob Zuma and other ministers during the African National Congress’s national conference last December.

On October 31, Judge Albert Kruger declared a third accused, Martin Keevy, 49, unfit to stand trial.

He was declared a State President’s patient last week, and will be held at the Free State Psychiatric Complex.

During a short sitting on Thursday, prosecutor Silas Chalale informed the court that four psychiatric reports concluded that he was unable to stand trial.

After attending a rightwing meeting in Kroonstad, Keevy apparently told people the “Slag van Mangaung” (Battle of Mangaung) was imminent and would take place on “Geloftedag”, December, 16, 2012.

Keevy also went to the University of the Free State campus in Bloemfontein and took photos of the ANC’s elective conference halls and surrounding areas.

According to the charge sheet, the accused planned to gather weaponry, such as AK-47, R1 and R4 semi-automatic firearms, mortars and a G6-canon, to execute their plans.

The ANC held its 2012 national elective conference at the UFS Bloemfontein campus from December 16 last year.

In relation to the treason and conspiracy charges, the State alleges the men tried, between July 2012 and December 2012, to overthrow the government.

They apparently tried to get hold of mortars, firearms and ammunition to kill, among others, Zuma, Cabinet members, and other ANC members in Mangaung.

The State alleges the men intended putting themselves, other people unknown to the State, and the “Boerevolk” in a position to govern South Africa.

The State attached a list of 36 witnesses who would testify at the trial.

Sapa

Johannesburg – A man who claimed to be a spectator in the murder of Kirsty Theologo was actually a participant, a prosecutor submitted in the High Court in Johannesburg, sitting in Palm Ridge on Monday.

In her closing argument, prosecutor Karien Coetzee recalled Harvey Isha’s testimony that he froze and watched from behind a tree as Theologo, 18, was doused with petrol and set alight in an apparent Satanic ritual.
For more http://www.iol.co.za

Durban – All the parties involved in a court case to try to overturn restrictions on fireworks have been given until November 15 to identify as many cultural and religious organisations with an interest in this constitutional issue.
For more http://www.iol.co.za

Durban – A Durban North student with an apparent penchant for speed and flashy cars, has admitted that his negligence caused the death of a father of two.

The 20-year-old pleaded guilty in the Verulam Regional Court on Friday to a charge of culpable homicide and driving without a licence. He would likely know his fate on Monday.
For more http://www.iol.co.za

Durban – An alleged drug dealer from Seaview was expected to appear in court on Monday after he was found with bags of rock cocaine and ecstasy tablets.

Members of police Crime Intelligence, Durban Organised Crime, KwaDakuza drug team and metro police arrested the man, a Nigerian national, at the corners of Titren and Hazeldene roads.
For more http://www.iol.co.za

Johannesburg – Those involved in killing six people accused of gangsterism in Khutsong on the West Rand will face the full might of the law, Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa said on Monday.

“We strongly warn the perpetrators of such disturbing incidents because mob justice is unjustifiable,” Mthethwa said in a statement.

“You cannot resolve crime through committing crime; it is simply unacceptable.”

Six people, including a sangoma, were killed in Khutsong allegedly by residents on Sunday.

This happened after about 400 men, believed to be Khutsong residents, held a meeting to discuss gangsterism.

Gauteng police spokesperson Brigadier Neville Malila said a group of men went to a house in Khutsong Extension Three, where they attacked a 61-year-old traditional healer, setting him and his house alight.

The man died on the scene.

Perceived as heroes

Other splinter groups from the meeting went to Extension Four, Phase Two, where two young men, allegedly members of a gang, were assaulted and set alight. They also died at the scene.

Malila said that in Extension Five, Carletonville, the groups assaulted a number of people they accused of being gangsters.

“Two alleged gang members were stoned, one died on the scene and the other at the Carltonville Hospital.”

The body of a sixth man was found on Sunday night. He had been set alight.

Mthethwa said: “What is really worrying is the fact that the perpetrators of such acts are often perceived as heroes by some members of communities when such barbaric killings take place.

“Police are in hot pursuit of these so-called ‘heroes’ because there is nothing heroic when you burn and kill people.”

Police have increased visibility in the area and were being assisted by the public order policing unit to stabilise the area.

“Currently, the area is volatile and police are patrolling,” said Mthethwa.

– SAPA

Durban – Police are searching for the driver of one of the vehicles involved in a head-on collision near Nongoma that killed eight people.

The driver of a Ford Sierra escaped unscathed from the accident with a Nissan bakkie late on Saturday evening on the R618 between Nongoma and Vryheid.
For more http://www.news24.com

Cape Town – Judgment in the murder trial of Thandi Maqubela and her business associate will take a few days to hand down, Judge John Murphy said in the Western Cape High Court on Monday.

The judgment was over 220-pages long, he said. It contained complex issues of facts and law and would take two to three days to read out.

He asked the media to be prudent in this time and avoid reaching preliminary conclusions “because the judgment is so complex and there are so many factual findings to be made”.

Murphy denied an application by Maqubela on Monday morning to re-open her case.

Marius Broeksma, for Maqubela, had told the court they wanted the case to be opened “to a very limited extent” on counts two and three, that of fraud and forgery.

He handed up a founding affidavit and said the intention was to call more witnesses.

Maqubela and her co-accused Vela Mabena have pleaded not guilty to suffocating her husband, acting Judge Patrick Maqubela, with cling-wrap in his Sea Point, Cape Town, flat on 5 June 2009.

Forgery charge

She has also pleaded not guilty to forging her husband’s signature on his will, and then fraudulently presenting it at the Johannesburg office of the Master of the High Court.

The forgery charge on the indictment was recently amended from “making of the signature” to “making of the will”.

The State previously told the court no will was lodged at the time of Maqubela’s death and his financial adviser was adamant there was no will.

It was only on 23 April 2010, that the Master’s Office received a letter from his widow stating she had found a will among some documents in boxes and that it was dated March 2009.

Broeksma said on Monday he wanted to call witnesses to prove that the boxes contained the judge’s personal effects.

He said the application would not be pursued if the State conceded this fact.

“No such concession will be forthcoming from the State,” replied prosecutor Bonnie Currie-Gamwo.

She criticised the defence for bringing an application at such a late stage and questioned when the matter would be finalised when some witnesses were in Johannesburg and the United Kingdom.

“None of them [the witnesses] can tell us what exactly was inside the boxes in any event,” she said.

Randall Titus said his client, Mabena, wanted the trial to conclude as soon as possible and asked the court to consider his interests.

– SAPA

Johannesburg – A case of attempted murder against musician Khuli Chana is continuing, Gauteng police said on Monday.

“He has not been charged yet. The investigation has not been completed. The director of public prosecutions would be the one to decide whether to charge him or not,” said police spokesperson Neville Malila.

A case of attempted murder against Chana, whose real name is Khulane Morule, was brought on Friday.

Police said they had obtained CCTV footage and statements from witnesses about what transpired last Monday at the Caltex garage along the N1 highway.

Malila said the evidence obtained corroborated the claim of police officers at the scene, that instead of stopping, the driver had tried to run over the uniformed police officers who were flagging him down.

Chana was then accidentally shot and wounded by police when they mistook his luxury vehicle for that of kidnappers they were tracking.

Enoch Motsepe, a detective from Silverton, in Pretoria, was arrested in connection with the kidnapping and appeared in the Germiston Regional Court on Wednesday.

The case was postponed to 11 November for further investigation and a formal bail application.

Ransom money

Motsepe was arrested last Monday after collecting the R100 000 ransom money at the filling station.

Chana’s lawyer, Cliff Alexander, defended his client.

“Whether or not Khuli was or was not flagged down by unknown people still does not justify the [SAPS] having fired shots at him,” he said in a statement.

“They [the police] have certainly exceeded the bounds as contained in section 49 of the Criminal Procedure Act.”

Alexander said neither he nor Chana were aware of any CCTV footage.

“At this stage, we are unaware of any other CCTV footage other than the footage from the garage.

“We have not been provided with an opportunity to view any CCTV footage, despite having a constitutional right to view the same in order to fully protect his rights.”

An attempted murder case brought by Chana is under investigation by the Independent Police Investigative Directorate.

– SAPA