Cape Town – Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu said he “felt sorry for God” as he celebrated his 82nd birthday on Monday.

Tutu made brief reference to the strife in Syria and the Democratic Republic of Congo as he introduced former UN secretary general Kofi Annan – who delivered the 3rd annual Desmond Tutu International Peace lecture at the University of the Western Cape.

“Can you imagine what it must be like for God… looking down saying those are my children in Syria, those using chemical weapons are my children, those dying are my children,” Tutu said.

Annan praised Tutu’s contribution to world peace.

“Desmond has always found the courage, no matter how uncomfortable or dangerous, to speak truth to power,” he said.

Annan later warned serious challenges remained and that new threats were emerging in Africa, despite progress on the economic front.

Sub-Saharan Africa was the world’s “most recent economic success story” and achieved successes in health care, education and gender parity.

“But real and exciting as this progress has been, we cannot afford to become complacent, “Annan said.

Annan warned the growth experienced in Africa had not yet resulted in the eradication of high rates of poverty and unemployment.

“Despite Africa’s extraordinary wealth of natural resources, poor governance and lack of transparency have too often led to corruption, exploitation and environmental damage,” Annan said.

– SAPA

Cape Town – Acting judge Patrick Maqubela’s death was extremely unlikely to have been natural, the Western Cape High Court heard on Monday.

“My submission is that the State has proved a non-natural cause of death,” prosecutor Bonnie Currie-Gamwo said in closing argument in the murder trial of Maqubela’s widow, Thandi.

Judge John Murphy said that while both medics on the scene at the time testified an unnatural death could not be excluded, he was unsure whether the State had gone far enough to prove suffocation.

Thandi is charged with murder, forgery, and fraud. Her co-accused, her business associate Vela Mabena, is charged with murder.

The indictment originally alleged that Maqubela and Mabena caused the death of the judge by suffocating him with a piece of plastic cling wrap placed over his face.

Murphy subsequently ordered the indictment to be amended so as to allege, in the alternative, that death was caused if not by strangulation, then by means unknown to the prosecution. The court said the amendment had been to “better serve” the proper administration of justice.

Maqubela’s body was found in his luxury Bantry Bay apartment on 7 June 2009.

Currie-Gamwo said a security guard and two friends who gained access to his flat that day found no forced entry or break-in, no damage to the door, nor signs that anything had been removed.

They said they were met by a strong stench and saw the body shrouded in a sheet, covering a pillow on the judge’s face.

Murphy said another official in the complex testified that when he entered, the pillow was on the judge’s face and the sheet was further down by his chest.

Cellphone records

Currie-Gamwo said it was likely the scene had already been disturbed at that point.

“If the sheet was over the pillow, it rules out the possibility that, in the throws of death, the pillow fell over the face,” Murphy said.

“I don’t know if it rules out natural causes but it puts someone in the room after death and why didn’t they take appropriate action [to help him]?”

Currie-Gamwo said cellphone records placed Thandi Maqubela at the flat at the time.

“The only person, on the State’s version, who had access to that flat the entire day, was accused number one [Maqubela].”

The State said the judge’s clothes also pointed to possible human intervention. A security guard last saw him alive two days previously wearing a suit.

Currie-Gamwo said a tracksuit top and pants had been put on over the judge’s suit and another tracksuit top draped over his shoulders, underneath the sheet.

“It means somebody was trying to create the impression that the deceased didn’t leave the flat that morning and [they] did so in a hurried fashion,” she said.

The pedestal next to his bed contained various flu medications.

“It also appears odd because no medications were found inside the body of the deceased. Again, perhaps, someone was trying to create the impression he was ill.”

– SAPA

Johannesburg – A Johannesburg teacher who was suspended for allegedly sending a 16-year-old pupil a picture of himself naked will be back in court in November, Gauteng police said.

“He is going to appear in court again on 6 November 2013,” said Warrant Officer Moses Maphakela. The appearance would take place at the Alexandra Magistrate’s Court.

The teacher was arrested in August.

EyeWitness news reported earlier on Monday that the teacher was out on bail after the mother laid criminal charges against him.

The Gauteng education department reportedly said an independent investigation had been launched into the school and the district office’s handling of the case.

“The teacher is suspended and we have put in place an independent investigation that will cover all circumstances regarding this case,” spokesperson Gershwin Chuenyane was quoted as saying.

“The department will be guided by the outcome of the investigation on what action to take.”

According to the report, on 30 July the teacher engaged in a late-night WhatsApp chat with the boy’s mother, thinking it was him. The teacher allegedly sent numerous sexual images and made sexual suggestions.

The mother saw an image of a man sitting naked in a bathtub appear on the screen of her son’s cellphone, it was reported.

She has not been named to protect her son’s identity. The mother went to the national education department. She said it took over a week for the teacher to be suspended.

– SAPA

Johannesburg – Two opposition parties voiced concern on Monday over reports that former police chief and convicted fraudster Jackie Selebi was spotted shopping in Pretoria.

“If Mr Selebi had indeed made a miraculous recovery from his illness or not been adhering to all his parole conditions, the decision to release him could potentially be reviewed,” Democratic Alliance MP James Selfe said.

Freedom Front Plus spokesperson Pieter Groenewald said Selebi’s “shopping spree over the weekend” made a mockery of the country’s justice system.

“Medical parole is being used as a political instrument to get loyal ANC supporters out of jail.”

Selebi was released on medical parole last year after serving only 229 days of his 15-year prison sentence.

Selfe said the correctional services department stated at the time of his release that Selebi had “a medical condition which is terminal, chronic, progressive and has deteriorated or reached an irreversible state”.

“It was reported that Mr Selebi had end-stage renal disease for which he was receiving dialysis. End-stage renal disease means the person has irreversible kidney damage and they end up on dialysis for life,” Selfe said.

Given public scepticism about medical parole in South Africa, it was essential that the department monitor convicted criminals released on parole to determine whether the parole conditions remained valid.

“There cannot be one law for the politically connected and another for the rest of us,” Selfe said.

Groenewald said: “The message is that if one has the right political connections, one can commit crimes and if you are sent to jail it will only be temporarily.”

Life of luxury

It was clear Selebi was leading a life of luxury while owing the State R17.4m for legal fees, he said.

Selebi was pictured in Beeld newspaper on Monday being chauffeured in his luxury BMW 6-series to a shopping centre in Monument Park to buy the Sunday papers.

He walked without any assistance and, according to Beeld, seemed to be in good health.

Selebi told reporters his illness kept him at home and prevented him from driving.

The medical parole board on 20 July 2012 decided that Selebi could be released because he was suffering from irreversible kidney failure, high blood pressure and diabetes.

His sudden decline into ill health surprised independent doctors, who said kidney failure was normally a disease with slow progression.

At the time of his release on medical parole, Correctional Services Minister Sibusiso Ndebele said Selebi was being sent home because his department had limited capacity to provide care for terminally ill patients.

Selebi was sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment on 3 August 2010 for taking bribes from convicted drug dealer Glenn Agliotti.

He collapsed at his house in December 2011 after his final appeal failed.

– SAPA

Mbombela – A pregnant woman and her colleague were raped and robbed at a guesthouse in Hazyview, Mpumalanga.

A Sapa correspondent reported that the 32-year-old, who is five months pregnant, and her 23-year-old co-worker, 23, from Pretoria, were attacked by two armed men at the Tatenda Guest House around 03:00 on Sunday.

“Two men broke through the security gate and gained entry to the room, after which time they raped the two ladies and took valuables including cellphones, jewellery and laptops,” guest house manager Christel Mathee said on Monday.

“I escorted the ladies to the hospital. They were very traumatised, the whole town is in shock.”

The Hazyview area has been plagued by violent crime in the past few years.

Last week, three masked men armed with a shotgun and two pistols reportedly attacked 108 pupils and 10 teachers from Laerskool Hennopspark in Centurion, Pretoria.

The children, who represented their school choir, stayed at the Aan de Vliet Resort and Guest House. Three teachers were robbed.

Mathee said visible policing in Hazyview had increased since the Aan de Vliet robbery.

Rudi van Niekerk, operations manager for a local security company, said residents and the police relied on informers such as farmers and workers on information regarding the Aan de Vliet robbery.

He said there seemed to be no link between the two incidents.

Police spokesperson Colonel Leonard Hlathi said no arrests had been made, and that security around Hazyview has been beefed-up.

“We have more officers stationed in Hazyview, we have a new station commander and branch commander there and have implemented interventions,” he said.

– SAPA

Johannesburg – A woman appeared in the Meadowlands Magistrate’s Court after cutting off her boyfriend’s penis, Gauteng police said on Monday.

The woman caught her boyfriend with another woman on Sunday and ordered them to strip naked, said Constable Sibusiso Chauke.

“It is alleged that the woman took out the knife and cut off her boyfriend’s penis,” said Chauke.

Chauke said the 21-year-old woman was arrested the same day.

“The woman failed to pay the R2 500 bail money and was remanded in custody till 23 October.”

– SAPA

The draw for the 2013 Telkom Knockout quarter-finals has been completed! Click here to see the fixtures…

Teams are once again seeded for the Telkom Knockout quarter-finals, but the process is complicated, as Mpumalanga Black Aces and Orlando Pirates are yet to play their last 16 tie.

Pirates would be one of the seeded teams should they make it through, while Aces would not.

“In an unseeded draw we would simply have a slip showing Orlando Pirates/MP Black Aces, and the winning team would go through to the next round as drawn,” PSL general manager Derek Blanckensee explains.

“This particular round of the Telkom Knockout is however seeded, meaning that the highest finishing four teams from last year’s Premiership are kept separate from the remaining four teams.”

If means that if Aces beat Pirates at Mbombela Stadium tomorrow, the four seeded clubs would be Kaizer Chiefs, Platinum Stars, SuperSport United and Free State Stars.

But if Pirates win, they will be seeded along with Chiefs, Platinum Stars and SuperSport.

Thus the draw was completed as follows:

The first (seeded pot) had the names of Chiefs, Platinum Stars, SuperSport and a slip Orlando Pirates/Free State Stars.

The second (unseeded pot) had the names Golden Arrows, Moroka Swallows, Mamelodi Sundowns and Mpumalanga Black Aces/Free State Stars.

Once the Aces-Pirates match is completed on Tuesday and the winner known, the following will occur, according to Blanckensee: “We will delete the name of the losing team out of Orlando Pirates or MP Black Aces on the one draw slip, leaving Free State Stars to play as drawn.

“On the other draw slip we will delete the name of Free State Stars and retain the name of the winner of the outstanding match to play as drawn.”

FULL DRAW

Quarter-final 1: Orlando Pirates/Free State Stars vs Lamontville Golden Arrows

Quarter-final 2: Platinum Stars vs Mamelodi Sundowns

Quarter-final 3: Mpumalanga Black Aces/ Free State Stars vs Kaizer Chiefs

Quarter-final 4: SuperSport United vs Moroka Swallows
For more http://www.kickoff.com

The former Orlando Pirates striker replaces Mark Harrison who resigned on Sunday to join Golden Arrows.

The former Santos coach is set to be on the bench when the Chilli Boys take on Roses United in a National First Division fixture at Philippi Stadium in Cape Town on Friday.

Club boss Chippa Mpengesi confirms to KickOff.com that Palmer has signed a one-year contract with an option to extend.
For more http://www.kickoff.com

Orlando Pirates have agreed to release Kermit Erasmus for Bafana Bafana, despite facing a tough encounter against Mpumalanga Black Aces in the Telkom Knockout tomorrow.

Bucs will face Aces at Mbombela Stadium.

Erasmus is part of the Bafana squad announced by coach Gordon Igesund to face Morocco in an international friendly on Friday.

The striker was the only player from Bucs selected.

Overseas based Kagisho Dikgacoi and Kamohelo Mokotjo have already pulled out of the squad through injury.

Bafana squad to face Morocco

Bucs administration manager Floyd Mbele confirmed to KickOff.com that his club have decided against recalling Erasmus for the game against Amazayoni in Nelspruit.
For more http://www.kickoff.com

Lucky Lekgwathi’s future at Orlando Pirates looks uncertain, after he was left out of the squad for tomorrow’s match against Mpumalanga Black Aces.

Bucs travel to Nelspruit for a Telkom Knockout last 16 clash with Amazayoni on Tuesday evening.

Lekgwathi has not seen any action for three matches, after claiming in his column in the Daily Sun that “sinister forces” were behind his omission from the squad for the MTN8 Final.

The club captain was then absent from Pirates’ CAF Champions League fixture against Esperance, although Roger de Sa insisted he left Lekgwathi out purely for footballing reasons.

But according to our sources at Pirates, Lekgwathi’s comments did not go down very well with club boss Irvin Khoza, and the veteran skipper was hauled before a club disciplinary committee.

‘Phinda Mzala’ has already sent a letter to the club apologising for his outburst.

“Lekgwathi has sent an official apology to the club about his statements made in one of the daily newspapers. The club is yet to respond and lay charges against the captain,” says our source in Parktown.

“He is not included in the squad to play Aces and will not be until he faces the club DC.”

Bucs administration manager Floyd Mbele insists he is not aware of any issues with regards to Lekgwathi as he was out of the office preparing visas for the team’s upcoming trip to Tunisia.
For more http://www.kickoff.com