Johannesburg – Some Diepsloot residents angered by the killing of two children vowed on Friday to vote for the Economic Freedom Fighters in general elections next year.

“In other countries if you kill you get killed, but in South Africa you are awarded with a comfortable life in prison. You eat healthy food and you have a television,” said Reneilwe Mokwena, 34, a mother of four.

Another mother, Darksha Fenyane, 36, said the two of them would be voting for the EFF, saying President Jacob Zuma had let them down.

“We voted for him not knowing he is like this. He must not come here because we will hurt him,” said Fenyane.

The bodies of two-year-old Yonelisa Mali and her cousin Zandile Mali, three, were found on Tuesday. They were reported missing at the weekend. Four men appeared in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court on Friday on charges of rape and murder. The case was postponed to Thursday for the men to apply for Legal Aid.

A fifth man, who was arrested early Friday morning in Alexandra, would appear in the court on Monday.

Gauteng premier Nomvula Mokonyane urged Diepsloot residents to support the family of the two toddlers.

“This is something that must never happen to anybody’s child,” she said outside the family’s home in Diepsloot, north of Johannesburg.

She said police received information which helped them make the arrests.

“What has happened today 1/8Friday 3/8 in Diepsloot is a demonstration that community and police relationship are very important. Their partnership can go a long way.

“Now that the suspect has been arrested let’s all rally behind the family give them the necessary support. Give the mothers space to grieve the loss of their children so that they can find closure.”

She told reporters the family was thankful and looking forward to a swift prosecution of the perpetrators.

Earlier, residents gathered outside the police station to protest about the murders. They demanded that police release the fifth man so they could burn him.

Police were in the area as Economic Freedom Fighters supporters and African National Congress supporters clashed. EFF supporters accused ANC supporters of beating them.

Sapa

Johannesburg – Cope North West has welcomed Friday’s South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg ruling naming Mosiuoa Lekota as the party’s president.

“We [are] now certain that the storm is over and we have only one Cope in South Africa under the stewardship of Lekota, therefore once again [we] recommit to our founding principles of 2008,” said Congress of the People (Cope) acting provincial secretary Rammupudu Mooketsi.

He apologised to the party’s members and thanked them for their support.

“We… apologise to our members, supporters and everybody who looks with hope upon us for the disappointment they endured because of this matter,” he said.

The party’s youth movement also welcomed the ruling.

“This long-awaited judgment finally brings to an end the most painful period for Cope, its leadership, members and supporters across the country,” said Cope Youth Movement leader Nqaba Bhanga.

Cope’s leadership battle

Earlier on Friday, Cope spokesperson JJ Abrie said acting Judge Craig Watt-Pringle had ruled that Cope’s leadership, led by Lekota, and elected during its inaugural congress in Bloemfontein in 2008 was the party’s only legitimate leadership.

“The ruling further confirms the conclusion of [Cope] that the aborted first national congress of December 2010… in Thaba Tshwane was not quorate and, therefore, did not happen, let alone elect new leadership of the party,” he said.

The leadership battle started when Lekota expelled Mbhazima Shilowa from the party after an internal disciplinary hearing found him guilty of mismanaging the party’s parliamentary funds. Shilowa had refused to participate in the inquiry.

On 18 July 2012, the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria struck from the roll an application by a Cope faction aligned to Shilowa to stop disciplinary hearings against Cope members pending the outcome of the Shilowa-Lekota leadership dispute.

In February 2011, Lekota obtained an interim court order recognising him as the party’s president and restraining Shilowa from claiming the title of party leader.

– SAPA

Johannesburg – Fifteen teenagers suspected of setting part of the agriculture department building alight, just outside Malamulele, were arrested on Friday, Limpopo police said.

The building, situated 10km outside the town where protests are flaring, was partially burnt resulting in substantial damage, police spokesperson Hangwani Mulaudzi said.

“We are trying to douse the fire, though it is proving to be tricky as there are cars that also caught fire,” Mulaudzi said.

The 15 teenagers, aged between 15 and 18, were due to appear in the Malamulele Magistrate’s Court soon.

“These are small groups of young boys [they] also attempted to burn a hardware store and a bus depot, but we managed to contain that,” Mulaudzi said.

Malamulele police had been bracing themselves for protests over a demarcation dispute in the north eastern Limpopo town.

Mulaudzi said police were still monitoring the situation and remained on high alert in the area.

Around 20 000 residents went on the rampage earlier in the week after the municipal demarcation board did not grant them a meeting in which they planned to demand their own municipality.

The protesters burnt down a government building and shops during the protest.

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Johannesburg – A man was arrested in Tokoza on Friday in connection with the murder of lesbian Duduzile Zozo, Gauteng police said.

The 22-year-old man would appear in the Palm Ridge Magistrate’s Court on Monday, said police spokesperson Lungelo Dlamini.

“Police had been following up information since her body was found. Several suspects were arrested for questioning and released,” he said.

Dlamini said the man was co-operating with the police.

On 30 June, the half-naked body of 26-year-old Zozo was discovered in Tokoza, Ekurhuleni.

Her mother Thuziwe Zozo reportedly said she suspected her daughter was killed because she was a lesbian.

Dlamini said the police had been following up information since her body was found.

“A toilet brush was inserted into her vagina. It is suspected that she died of strangulation,” he said.

– SAPA

Cape Town – The correctional services department must take immediate steps to take both national and regional demographics into account when setting equity targets, the Labour Court in Cape Town ruled on Friday.

This was applicable at all levels of the department’s work force.

Judge Hilary Rabkin-Naicker ruled in favour of 10 Western Cape Correctional Service officials who had challenged the department’s employment equity plan.

Initially five officials challenged the department and they were followed by another five, who had been overlooked for promotion on racial grounds.

Trade union Solidarity, which took up the matter on behalf of the 10, said in a statement earlier that coloured employees were disadvantaged by the use of national demographics in the implementation of affirmative action targets.

The judge ruled that all 10 officials were black employees in terms of the Employment Equity Act.

He found that they had suffered unfair discrimination in the selection process used for promotion to various posts.

Solidarity deputy general secretary Dirk Hermann said in the earlier statement: “In terms of the DCS’s affirmative action plan, the national demography has to be reflected in every workplace, even at a provincial and regional level.

“As a result, in the Western Cape, coloured employees, in particular, almost have no chance anymore to be promoted or appointed.”

– SAPA

Johannesburg – The IFP will fight to keep control of Nongoma in KwaZulu-Natal in next week’s by-elections, party leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi said on Friday.

“We enter three by-elections on Wednesday, fighting for all we’re worth to keep Nongoma free and to keep the voice of Nongoma audible above the fury of empty promises and empty slogans from the ANC,” he said in a statement.

“We have a relationship of trust in Nongoma, built over years of toiling together for the benefit of our people.”

Buthelezi accused the ANC of trying to buy votes in the area, especially in ward five, by distributing food parcels, fences, and irrigation systems.

“They effectively gave the people what already belongs to the people, for they used money that is already earmarked for delivering services… this was not the ANC delivering it was government doing what it’s meant to do,” he said.

The ANC in the province denied this.

“They [IFP] always say that we issue food parcels to buy votes, it’s a recycled attack,” ANC provincial spokesperson Senzo Mkhize said.

“We’re not buying any votes, people are not stupid but we will not stop providing services in areas because elections are coming.”

– SAPA

Johannesburg – Service delivery protests in Missionvale, Port Elizabeth, and Cookhouse, near Cradock, were under control on Friday afternoon, Eastern Cape police said.

“Earlier this morning [residents] were throwing stones at police,” said police spokesperson Alwin Labans said.

Police fired rubber bullets to disperse them.

“The situation is under control,” he said around 15:00.

They burnt tyres and blocked roads to express their dissatisfaction with the rate of housing delivery and other services.

No one had been arrested, Labans said.

In a separate protest, residents of Cookhouse set a municipal building alight on Thursday around 21:00, said spokesperson Stefanie Smith.

“About… 600 dissatisfied community members took to the streets and started stoning the municipality building to express their alleged dissatisfaction [with municipal services].”

The protesters later set the building alight, set fire to a tractor tyre under a railway bridge on the R63, which disrupted traffic, and stoned a police car.

“Today everything is under control. Local police are monitoring the situation,” Smith said.

A case of public violence was being investigated, but no one had been arrested.

– SAPA

Johannesburg – The ANC can retake the Western Cape, the ANC Youth League said on Friday.

“It is possible for the ANC to take back the Western Cape,” ANC Youth League president Mzwandile Masina told reporters at a media briefing in Johannesburg.

“We have a number of people in the province doing work… We should have no less than 5 000 people stationed there [soon],” he said.

The ANCYL national task team also called for a speedy conclusion to the case involving the National Youth Development Agency’s (NYDA) former CEO Steven Ngubeni.

He was dismissed earlier this month after the NYDA board found him guilty of seven charges of financial misconduct following a disciplinary inquiry.

Ngubeni said he would challenge the dismissal in court.

He said the board’s decision was unfair and that he would present his side of the story.

“We have noted with sadness the shenanigans within the NYDA, and we call for a speedy conclusion regarding the case involving the CEO of the board,” said ANCYL task team co-ordinator Makasela Mzobe.

‘Mickey Mouse’ parties

The national task team also commented on the launch of former ANCYL leader Julius Malema’s Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) on Sunday.

Masina said the ANCYL would not tolerate “Mickey Mouse” parties which continued to undermine the ANC.

“We must build on the foundation of our presidents [Nelson] Mandela, [Thabo] Mbeki, and Zuma,” Masina said.

“The programme of economic freedom will be delivered in our lifetime by the ANC. Sound bites don’t build policies.”

The team said parties like the EFF and movements such as Red October worked against the country’s vision of a rainbow nation.

“Let us minimise divisions against [racial] lines,” the team urged, and said people like Malema were “blowing hot air”.

Last Thursday a call was made, via various social networks, for people to join a march against the oppression of and violence against white South Africans.

The movement was called “Red October”.

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Johannesburg – Trade union Solidarity will appeal certain aspects of the judgment in a correctional services affirmative action case, it said on Friday.

The judge had not dealt with certain constitutional issues, deputy general secretary Dirk Hermann said in a statement

“We can’t expect the Labour Court to pass judgment on important constitutional matters and, therefore, we still want to go to the Constitutional Court.

“This victory is significant, but it’s not the end of the road,” he said.

The Labour Court in Cape Town ruled on Friday that the correctional services department take immediate steps to take both national and regional demographics into account when setting equity targets.

This was applicable at all levels of the department’s work force.

Judge Hilary Rabkin-Naicker ruled in favour of 10 Western Cape correctional service officials who had challenged the department’s employment equity plan.

Initially, five officials challenged the department.

They were followed by another five who had been overlooked for promotion on racial grounds. Solidarity took up the matter on behalf of the 10.

The union said it was making the necessary arrangements to appeal.

– SAPA

Johannesburg – The Commission for Gender Equality (CGE) expressed outrage on Friday at the killing and raping of children in Diepsloot and elsewhere in the country.

“It is with great sadness that we experience yet another rape and murder of children,” the organisation said in a statement.

“It should be noted that this happens at the time when the CGE has taken measures to ensure that there is public awareness… of gender-based violence in our society.”

It welcomed the arrests in Diepsloot.

“[We] applaud the police for moving swiftly in arresting the alleged perpetrator and believe justice would be served. The CGE will closely monitor the case as part of its internal mandate.”

On Tuesday, Diepsloot residents took to the streets after the bodies of 2-year-old Yonelisa Mali and her 3-year-old cousin Zandile Mali, were discovered in a communal toilet. They had been reported missing at the weekend.

Four men appeared in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court on Friday on charges of rape and murder. The case was postponed to Thursday for the men to apply for legal aid. A fifth man, who was arrested early Friday morning in Alexandra, will appear on Monday.

The girls’ funeral will be held on Saturday.

Katlehong mom in court

In a separate case, on Wednesday, Katlehong residents found two toddlers, aged 1 and 3, dead in a field near Zonkizizwe. Their mother, Esther Moyana, faces two charges of murder for allegedly poisoning them.

She initially told police that her husband had abandoned her and the children in the veld on Tuesday, while on their way from Witbank to Johannesburg.

She claimed he left them with cooldrink, which they drank on Tuesday night. When she woke in the morning, the children were dead.

Police said there appeared to be discrepancies in Moyana’s story.

– SAPA