Johannesburg – Three more people have been arrested and could be linked to the murder of Dustan Blom, the Randburg Magistrate’s Court in Johannesburg heard on Wednesday.

“Another matter related to this – three people have been arrested and another could be arrested soon,” prosecutor Yusuf Baba told the court.

“We are busy eliminating whether they will be part of this matter or not.”

The three were expected to appear in the Randburg Magistrate’s Court on Thursday. It was unclear on what charges or when they were arrested.

Earlier, Jean-Pierre Malan and Maruschka Robinson appeared briefly in the court.

State wants matter postponed

Malan and Robinson were called and stood in the dock away from each other. Robinson, dressed in a black shirt and blue jeans, looked at the public gallery briefly during proceedings. Malan stood looking straight ahead.

Baba asked for the matter to be postponed to January for further investigation.

The court heard that the State received the post mortem report but that the toxicology report and some forensic evidence were still outstanding.

Shaun Hamilton, for Malan, requested that the postponement be the final postponement because he wanted to get his client out of jail.

However, Baba argued that it would be premature to mark the postponement as final.

“The State has been going through a wealth of evidence that links these two directly,” he told the court.
“And there is still a lot to go through.”

He said the evidence included cellphones and various downloads and information.

Body found in boot

The State needed to go back as far as 18 September to gather evidence, he said.

Malan is the boyfriend of Robinson, believed to be a former stripper. She was arrested on 24 September, after Blom’s decomposing body was found in the boot of his own car at Montecasino, Fourways.

Security guards noticed a bad smell coming from it. Malan was arrested on 26 September.

Robinson had allegedly rented a room from Blom, the widowed father of infant twins.

The case was postponed to 16 January for further investigation. Both Malan and Robinson remain in police custody.

– SAPA

Johannesburg – The killing of a 10-year-old boy in the Ramaphosa informal settlement, on the East Rand, is devastating, Ekurhuleni Mayor Mondli Gungubele said on Wednesday.

“This is shocking,” Gungubele said in a statement.

“As a parent myself, I cannot even begin to think what the parents are going through right now,” he said.

“In fact, as I got the gory details of the incident, I felt shivers going down my spine wondering how another person can carry out such a brutal attack on a helpless boy.”

He urged parents to be more vigilant about their children’s whereabouts and said the community should help the police to find those responsible.

Siphamandla Madikane was reported missing on Monday at the Reiger Park police station.

His body was discovered that afternoon by a passer-by in a field in Ramaphosa.

He was last seen on Sunday evening with friends.

“The boy was found dead with socks stuffed in his mouth and a used condom was found next to his body,” said police spokesperson Tsekiso Mofokeng.

“The body matched the description of the boy, who was reported missing earlier on Monday.”

A case of rape and murder had been opened. No arrests had been made.

– SAPA

A former National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) shop steward at Lonmin has died in hospital after he was shot seven times, the union said on Wednesday.

“The NUM is again outraged at the cold-blooded murder of one of its former shop stewards at Lonmin, Percy Letanang, 45, who was shot on Sunday by unknown gunmen,” said Mxhasi Sithethi, Rustenburg regional co-ordinator.

Letanang was shot when he arrived home in Segwaelane near Marikana on Sunday evening.

“He got out of the car to open the gate and gunmen shot him. His brothers took him to a hospital. Unfortunately he passed away last night [Tuesday].”

He said Letanang was employed at Lonmin’s Eastern Platinum mine, and took a voluntary severance package (VSP) after Lonmin de-recognised the NUM, after the number of its members fell below the required threshold.

The Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) had since become the majority union at Lonmin.

Several killings of union members are believed to be due to rivalry between the two unions.

“After Lonmin decided to de-recognise us, most comrades took their VSPs fearing for their safety at the mine, and comrade Letanang was one of them.”

Sithethi said the NUM was worried about the increasing murders of its shop stewards in Marikana and the greater Rustenburg area.

“In less than three months four of our members have been killed… How long is blood going to have to flow in Marikana?

“It is impossible not to feel heavy-hearted when our shop stewards are brutally killed…”

North West police said he was shot around 21:00 as he arrived home from work.

“The wife heard gunshots… He was taken to a clinic in Bapong and he was transferred to George Mukhari Hospital,” police spokesperson Pelonomi Makau said.

No arrests had been made.

– SAPA

Johannesburg – There are four Facebook profiles impersonating Higher Education and Training Minister Blade Nzimande, his department said on Wednesday.

“The department wishes to put it on record that these accounts do not belong to the minister and any content uploaded on these accounts should not be attributed to Minister Blade Nzimande,” spokesperson Manana Makhanya said in a statement.

“In the social media space, it is only the department of higher education and training’s Facebook and Twitter accounts that should be deemed genuine and any information emanating from these accounts can be attributed to the minister.”

He said Nzimande was aware of the essential role social media played and was committed to engaging with the public through these genuine and credible platforms.

Other ministers have also been impersonated on social media networks.

Last month, Women, Children, and People with Disabilities Minister Lulu Xingwana’s department said a Facebook user was impersonating the minister and asking for funds in her name.

In August, a person pretending to be Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe on social media tried to solicit bribes from members of the public. 

SAPA

Men who are insecure in their relationships should urgently seek urgent counselling and professional help instead of resorting to violence which results in dire consequences for all parties involved, North West Premier Thandi Modise urged in expressing shock and condemning in the strongest terms the incident in which a 33-year-old man allegedly fatally shot his wife’s male colleague and his wife in a fit of jealousy.

“The escalating incidents of gender based violence we have experienced in the past few weeks in our province is a worrying trend and as alarming as preliminary results from a Gender Links GBV Indicators Study that highlighted that more than three quarters of South African men have perpetrated violence against women in their lifetime and more than half of women in South Africa have experienced gender-based violence. These are unacceptable and call for united action to expose perpetrators,” emphasised Premier Modise. 

Modise called on real men to support prevention of violence against women and for women to break the silence on abuse.

“Women should no longer accept that their partners are simply jealous by allowing them to answer their cellphones or question them after every phone call they have received. Mistakening this for love has proved to be costly to many women in the long run,” added Premier Modise who wishes to convey her condolences to the family of the murdered man and speedy recovery to the injured wife.

The recent incident allegedly took place on Monday at Mahlatsi Marwana Section, near Lefaragatlhe village in Rustenburg.

According to police the suspect allegedly phoned his wife to ask her to pick him up after work, but his wife’s phone was allegedly answered by her male colleague. This angered the man who confronted his wife about the incident on his arrival at home leading to a bitter argument and the couple driving to the colleague’s place to confront him about the incident.

It is reported that a bitter confrontation occurred between the two men before the couple left for their home where the argument continued until the suspect drew a fun and shot his wife a few times on the thigh before she fled for her life.

“The man allegedly went back to the wife’s colleague after he could not locate his wife and pumped him with bullets. He purportedly died on the scene after he was shot on his head and lower body,” said Spokesperson for the North West Police, Captain Pelonomi Makau.

Makau says that the enraged man who handed himself to police was charged with murder and attempted murder and will appear before Bafokeng Magistrate Court later today (Wednesday)

In an earlier incident that occurred over the past weekend, 38 year-old man  from Stilfontein allegedly killed his wife and set her house on fire. The couple’s 12 year-old daughter suffered minor injuries from the fire during the horrific incident which Premier Modise had also condemned as horrendous and appalling.Police investigations into cases of murder, attempted murder and arson are also continuing while the man is behind bars.

ABSA Premiership

Result: Ajax Cape Town 1-0 Kaizer Chiefs

Date: 5 November 2013

Venue: Cape Town Stadium

Ajax Cape Town beat Kaizer Chiefs 1-0 at the Cape Town Stadium on Tuesday night in an ABSA Premiership match.

The goal was scored in the last five minutes by teenage substitute Tashreeq Morris, who headed in from man of the match Abbubaker Mobara’s cross.

The win sees Ajax move up the log to tie Mpumalanga Black Aces in ninth place, who they meet in their next game. Chiefs remain sixth.

In the fourth minute George Lebese tried a shot from far out, but it rolled wide of Anssi Jaakkola’s goal.

A minute late Stelio Ernesto (Telinho) had an attempt from outside the box for Ajax, but it went across the goal and wide.

In the 16th minute Siphiwe Tshabalala tried to score from a free kick, but the ball went straight to Jaakkola, who held on.

In the 23rd minute Lebogang Manyama played Telinho in down the right, and he was able to get a shot off despite being surrounded by two defenders, but it went straight at Itumeleng Khune.

Thulani Hlatshwayo had a chance from a corner kick in the 26th minute, but his headed effort went straight to Khune.

In the 32nd minute Hlatshwayo played a good ball towards Eleazar Rodgers, but Rodgers’ attempt bounced out off the upright.

In the 39th minute Abbubaker Mobara had a chance for Ajax from a corner, but his header flew over the goal.

In the 45th minute Bernard Parker had an attempt from a free kick, but his attempt was never on target, and at half-time it remained goalless.

Substitute Keagan Dolly had a chance in the 48th minute, but his shot went high and over.

A minute later Tshabalala had a chance on the other end, but his shot was well dealt with by Jaakkola, who got down well to save.

In the 54th minute Hlatshwayo robbed Reneilwe Letsholonyane of the ball and launched a counter attack, but Rodgers was unable to get a proper shot away, and it went wide of Khune’s goal.

A minute later Lebese tried another shot for Chiefs from outside the box, but it lacked power and Jaakkola saved easily.

Dolly had another chance in the 58th minute when Toriq Losper played him in down the left, but once again he skied his shot.

Eric Mathoho rose well at a Kaizer Chiefs corner in the 72nd minute, but his headed effort went just over Jaakkola’s goal.

In the 85th minute, Parker tried another long range effort, but his left-footed shot went across the goal and wide.

In the 87th minute, Mobara made a good run down the left and combined well with Dolly, before sending in a cross, and substitute Tashreeq Morris got in-between two defenders to head past Khune and make it 1-0.

In the 89th minute Tshabalala tried another long shot, but it flew wide and when Dladla’s effort in the final minute of stoppage time went over the goal, Ajax had held on for the win.

Man of the Match: Abbubaker Mobara

How they Started Today:

Ajax Cape Town: Anssi Jaakkola, Mosa Lebusa,Aidan Jenniker, Thulani Hlatshwayo, Dominic Isaacs, Stelio Ernesto, Cole Alexander, Toriq Losper Abbubaker Mobara, Lebogang Manyama, Eleazar Rodgers

Kaizer Chiefs: Itumeleng Khune, Siboniso Gaxa, Eric Mathoho, Tefu Mashamaite, Morgan Gould Tsepo Masilela, , Reneilwe Letsholonyane, Lucky Baloyi, Siphiwe Tshabalala, George Lebese, Bernard Parker

For more http://www.soccerladuma.com

Parliamant – Almost a year after 10 new ambulances were donated to the Northern Cape’s Kuruman Hospital, five of them have yet to hit the road, according to Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi.

In a written reply to a parliamentary question on Friday, he pinned the blame for this on paperwork.

“(The) trust (that donated the ambulances) did not provide the necessary documentation required to register the vehicles as ambulances, and this delayed the registration,” Motsoaledi said.

The question was posed by Congress of the People MP Paul Mnguni, who wanted to know if the minister had been informed “that 10 brand new ambulances donated to the (hospital) by the John Taolo Gaetsewe Developmental Trust last December are still standing unused at the back of the hospital”.

Motsoaledi said he knew about the vehicles.

“The department had to start the process of registration and five of the ambulances have been registered and operational.

“The other five were incorrectly registered and this error is being rectified,” he said.

The John Taolo Gaetsewe Developmental Trust is located in the Northern Cape municipal district of the same name. Kuruman is the administrative centre.

According to its website, the trust aims to carry out “public benefit activities in a non-profit manner and with an altruistic or philanthropic intent”.

Sapa

Kuruman-Boxing legend Mike Schutte’s son shot himself with a hunting rifle last week, Beeld reported on Tuesday.

Pieter Schutte, 40, was found in the Seodin Cemetery in Kuruman in the Northern Cape on Thursday afternoon.

He and his wife Carin had reportedly been discussing the family’s relocation to Pretoria and he had been emotional.

Carin Schutte said he calmed down and told her he was going to fetch boxes for packing.

A few hours later he called her from the cemetery and told her what he was planning to do, and asked her to come to him.

He had their bakkie so she called their pastor and arranged a lift there for herself.

When she got there, the pastor had already arrived and held her back as she tried to run towards her dead husband, who was lying next to their bakkie.

A memorial service would be held at 6pm on Tuesday night.

Pieter Schutte leaves his wife and two children.

His father Mike died in 2008. – Sapa

Kimberley – There was no white Audi on the road the night of the Steenkamp murders near Griquatown, the Northern Cape High Court heard on Tuesday.

Earlier, the court heard evidence about a white car, allegedly an Audi, that passed a stranded bakkie a group fleeing farm workers used.

Jan Koopman, owner of the white Nissan 1400 bakkie, told the court there was no other vehicle on the road accept for two police cars.

“No, there was no Audi, I was freaked out,” he replied in cross-examination to defence counsel Willem Coetzee.

On Tuesday, various farm workers and their friends testified about their activities on Good Friday 2012.

Northern Cape Judge President Frans Kgomo is hearing evidence in the murder trail of a boy accused of murdering Steenkamp, 44, his wife Christelle, 43, and daughter Marthella, 14.

They were murdered around 6pm on April 6 on the their farm Naauwhoek, near Griquatown.

Koopman, also known as “Makazol” locally, apparently told police that an Audi had passed them on the Naauwhoek road and smashed his bakkie’s side mirror.

Investigators could not find any evidence of this.

“Abagail testified that there was a vehicle?” Coetzee asked.

Koopman replied: “She was very intoxicated and sat in the middle.”

He said he eventually got his head together, and later told police the truth.

He told the court the stains found on the bakkie were his blood as he injured himself trying to fix the exhaust.

Earlier, Abagail Pieterse, known as “Poppie”, told the court Koopman’s bakkie never had rear-view mirrors, as they were broken off long ago.

The court heard the workers of the Steenkamp farm started drinking home-made beer on the morning of Good Friday in Griquatown.

They went to town with the Steenkamps, who were on their way to church.

State witness Martha Watermond, who is known in Griquatown as “Voetpad”, said she worked in the house on the farm and baked cookies. Christelle Steenkamp had a cookie business on the farm.

Watermond testified that she spent some time in town. She and another farmworker’s wife, Katrina, then bought petrol worth R40 for Makazol, to take them back to the farm in his bakkie.

“We would take ‘gemmer’ out,” she said, explaining that gemmer was a home-made beer.

“You get drunk if you drink that,” she said.

Watermond told the court that, by the time they left town with Koopman, they were already drunk.

During the testimony, Kgomo interrupted to ask whether they ate in between the drinking. Watermond replied that they had something earlier that day.

Testifying about what happened at the police station later that night, Watermond said she passed out there on hearing of the Steenkamp murders.

“I shock (sic) myself sober,” she said.

She woke up in hospital the next day. The court heard that the drinking continued at the farmworkers’ house at Naauwhoek.

Farmworker Abraham van Rooy, known as “Ou Hen”, testified that they started Good Friday by checking on the traps set for jackal and caracal. Before leaving for town, Deon Steenkamp had visited his house to hear about the traps.

Another farmworker, Jannie Ludick, testified that the sheepdogs on the Steenkamp farm would bark when anybody visited the house.

Sapa

Mombela – A witness told the Nelspruit Regional Court on Tuesday that she saw the man who attacked and raped her 85-year-old neighbour, a Sapa correspondent reported.

The young woman was testifying in the trial of Mduduzi Sydwell Mnguni, 25, who has pleaded not guilty to raping the 85-year-old and another woman, 49.

Mnguni, from Pienaar Trust outside Mbombela, was arrested by residents and handed to the police on February 11 last year.

On Tuesday, the State revealed that the accused was linked to the rape through DNA evidence. He faced a separate charge for allegedly raping a 49-year-old woman from the same area.

The witness, who cannot be named to protect the identity of the victim, told the court that she first saw Mnguni in the woman’s yard around 8pm on the night of the attack.

“When he saw me and my sister, he hid inside a mealie field. I decided we should alert gogo about him. After she opened the door, I told her she should lock all her doors as there was an intruder outside. After she did, we returned home,” the young woman testified.

She testified that she could not sit back and wait. She then contacted another neighbour and alerted her about the man she saw in her neighbour’s yard.

“I went out of the house to speak to my neighbour at the fence. When I returned to the house, I saw a man jumping out of the gogo’s kitchen window,” she said.

“When he landed outside, he moved and there was a light above him. He turned his head towards me. As he looked straight into my face, I realised it was the accused who is now before court. When he saw me, he moved backwards into the dark wall.”

The woman testified that she screamed for help and other neighbours came.

Police Sergeant Jabulani Sydney Nkosi testified that he decided to take the woman and her neighbours to the police station to open a case.

“On the way, we stopped at the accused’s home to tell his parents. The accused opened a curtain and saw us. After we spoke to his mother, she said he had just arrived and I decided to arrest him at once.”

Magistrate Willie Wilkens postponed the matter to March 12, 2014.

Sapa