By Obakeng Maje

Manokoane,Taung-North West Provincial government sent its representatives at Manokoane, in Taung to respond to the residents grievances.

The residents of Manokoane went on strike almost a year ago protesting against poor service delivery in their area.

They burnt two houses belong to their headmaster and councillor respectively.

A month ago they allegedly burnt a half-built house of the headmaster again during protest.

The residents wanted a tarred road between Manokoane and Taung Station.

The provincial government taday held a meeting with concerned residents in Manokoane.

Even though some of top guns were not available,the committe that were responding to the residents grievances promised that a road that link Magogong via Maphoitsile and Taung Hospital will be tarred soon.

The provincial government was led by Sam Sethubamagala and promised that the construction will commerce in two weeks time.

The residents had different views and mixed emotions as they say they will believe this when the preparations started.

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Johannesburg – She was allegedly raped, then thrown naked from the 10th floor of a building by her boyfriend or his friend.

But both are walking free as no criminal charges have been brought against them, despite the curious circumstances around her death.

The couple lived in a building on Market Street on the east side of the Joburg CBD and the alleged murder is said to have taken place in the early hours a day after Valentine’s Day.

According to a security report that The Star has seen, the couple were seen on CCTV footage entering the building just before 11pm on February 14 with another man. The woman was named only as Cynthia.

Johannesburg – The police watchdog is not revealing its findings into the events that led up to the supercar crash earlier this year, although they have finished their investigation.

A high-powered Audi R8 smashed into three pieces in January, killing the driver Areff Haffejee and policeman Goodman Lubisi, who was in the passenger seat. At the time, the police said Lubisi had been kidnapped by Haffejee after he found dagga in the car and a high-speed chase ensued.

However, this did not explain why Lubisi was in the passenger seat and did not use his service pistol to force Haffejee to stop the car.

CCTV footage seen by The Star showed the Audi travelling at normal speeds along Rivonia Road followed by a police van without its blue lights on.

The police watchdog, the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid), has refused to reveal its findings.

For more details go to www.iol.co.za

By Obakeng Maje

Taung-Taxi drivers in Taung on the rampage after the taxi rank that they were using went under construction.

Taung municipality put Taung taxi rank under construction early this year. This cause confusion within taxi industry as the makeshift taxi rank allocated to them is too far from CBD.

The municipality moved all taxis to a temporary taxi rank just behind Extention 6.

According to taxi drivers say since they were moved to that makeshift taxi rank, business has took a knock as they accuse other motorists of stealing commuters from different hiking spot.

However the municipality refutes their claims as hogwash and absurd.

According to municipality spokesperson Charity Modikwe says the agreement was reached between all stakeholders and Taxi Associations operating in the area.

“The old taxi rank is under construction and we expecting to reach its completion in January 2014” Charity Modikwe told local radio.

“We followed all procedure before we move all taxis to a makeshift taxi rank in Extention 6. The temporary taxi rank is user-friendly” said Modikwe.

Modikwe said the temporary taxi rank have electricity,water and sanitation.

According to municipality the new taxi rank will have bays for various destinations including bus bay.

“The new taxi rank will be more bigger than the old one and that will be more efficient” Charity Modikwe said.

Taxis are not using the allocated taxi rank and some of taxis are parked in the streets including others operating next to the railway station in the area which put commuters lives in jeopardy.

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The shadow of the Marikana massacre hung over Human Rights Day celebrations on Thursday as the country commemorated another day of police brutality – more than 50 years before Marikana – when 69 people were gunned down in Sharpeville.

Speaking at a rally in Mbekweni, Paarl, President Jacob Zuma said there had been “regrettable, shocking and unacceptable incidents involving the SAPS since the last Human Rights Day commemoration”.

For more details go to www.iol.co.za

Johannesburg – Johan and his wife thought their home in Bassonia, Johannesburg, was perfect. Their townhouse complex is near good schools, shopping malls, a golf course and city highways for easy access to provincial highways. In this quiet neighbourhood they owned a spacious house and were proud of their achievements.

But Johan (not his real name) and his wife were shocked when, during a residents’ annual general meeting one resident wanted it minuted that owners would never sell to black people should they decide to leave the complex. The AGM duly minuted the resolution.

For more details go to www.iol.co.za

An autistic teenager died after being covered in self-tanning oil and set alight during drunken “horseplay” at his 18th birthday party, a UK court heard.

Steven Simpson, who suffered from Asperger’s syndrome, a speech impairment and epilepsy, died from horrific burns the next day.

The court heard that as Simpson became increasingly drunk at his party he was dared to strip to his boxer shorts.

Defendant Jordan Sheard, 20, who had gatecrashed the house party, was seen taunting the host, who was openly gay, and then scrawling obscene and homophobic insults on his bare stomach, face and forearm.

Sarah Wright, prosecuting, said “it was described as good-natured fun” but in reality was “cruel behaviour” to someone who was “vulnerable and an easy target”. 

After 2am a partygoer took the tanning oil from Simpson’s bedroom and, as it was poured over him, others chanted: “Light it, light it.” Wright said: “Steven did not object; he seemed to be enjoying the situation.”

But the court heard that Sheard then held a cigarette lighter to Simpson’s groin, and instantly the highly flammable liquid caught alight and flames engulfed his body.

Instead of putting out the fire, Sheard ran away. The court was told that neighbour Sean Banner was the only person who helped Simpson, and burned himself extinguishing the flames. Simpson died in hospital from 60 percent burns the next day.

Sheard, who initially tried to blame the college student for setting himself alight, eventually admitted manslaughter and was jailed for three-and-a-half years at Sheffield Crown Court on Thursday.

Passing sentence, Judge Roger Keen told Sheard that the evening had involved “good-natured horseplay” but that putting a flame to a man doused in flammable fluid was “a highly dangerous act”. 

He also regarded the decision to run away as “serious aggravation” in setting the jail term.

Wright said Sheard only vaguely knew Simpson but was allowed into the party in Barnsley, Yorkshire, last June with two friends anyway. She said that despite Simpson’s learning difficulties, he was sociable and had lots of friends.

Andrew Smith, defending, said the incident was a “criminally stupid prank that went wrong in a bad way”. 

He added that the defendant had been “deeply and significantly affected by what he has done and the tragic consequences that ensued from it”. – Daily Mail

Free State – The seven policemen accused of killing protester Andries Tatane are expected to apply for the charges to be dropped in the Ficksburg Regional Court on Friday, SABC news reported.

Two of the State’s police witnesses claimed they were threatened into making statements to the Independent Police Investigative Directorate.

Neither could identify any of the accused in a video of the protest because the officers were wearing helmets, according to the report.

State witness, officer Kabelo Pule, was discredited last year when he alleged the police had used excessive force when restraining Tatane. It emerged that in an internal hearing he had claimed the opposite had happened.

Tatane was killed on April 13, 2011, allegedly by police using rubber bullets, during a service delivery protest in Ficksburg.

Last year the case was postponed after the State cast doubt on its own witness, Captain Matshidiso Lesomola, an observer at the service delivery protest. – Sapa