By Obakeng Maje

Northern Cape High court sentenced Samuel Mbalula (22) and his co-accused Andre Lebohang Mogakwe after they were found guilty yesterday on a murder and rape case, which they committed on the 25 December 2009. 

“On the day of this atrocity it was the day on which the victim Patricia “Mandu” Mogotsi (30) supposed to have celebrated the Christmas Day” Lieutenat Olebogeng Tawana said.

“However the day turned sour after she was raped and attacked by Samuel and Lebohang at the Tyson Park in Galeshewe” Tawana said. 

According to police they raped her several times and afterwards assaulted her. 

Mogotsi suffered head injuries during the attack and later died at the hospital as results of the severity of the injuries she had sustained.

During this it happened that Patricia’s brother walked and passed by the crime scene; unknowingly that one of her close family member was a rape and murder victim. 

As he took a closer look up he saw Lebohang red handed raping his sister. 

In the meantime Samuel fled the scene and ran away. 

He alerted the police about the matter and handed Lebogang to the police and Samuel was arrested shortly.

Samuel was charged with murder, while his co-accused Lebohang Mogakwe was charged for rape. 

Both Lebogang and Samuel spent three year in jail while awaiting trial. Before the Northern Cape High Court acting Judge Johan Van Niekerk could hand down judgment against them, he took into consideration the mitigating factors that have been brought to the attention of the court by the probation officer and the defense team. 

He noted the probation officer’s report, which stipulates that during the commission of the crime Samuel Mbalula was only 17-years of age and 11 months old. 

He started to consume alcohol and smoke dagga at the age of 16.

 He is born in a Christianity faith base family, although he did not participate in the church activities. 

Following their disappointing performance against Cape Verde in the opening game of this year’s African Cup of Nations, Gordon Igesund has rung the changes in his starting line-up to face Angola.

There have been five exclusions from the side that took on Cape Verde with Thabo Matlaba, Kagisho ‘KG’ Dikgacoi, Reneilwe ‘Yeye’ Letsholonyane, Siphiwe Tshabalala and Lehlohonolo Majoro all being dropped from the line up.

Matlaba has been replaced at left back by Kaizer Chiefs defender Tsepo Masilela, while the centre pairing of Dean Furman and May Mahlangu have come in for KG and Yeye.

On the wing, Thuso Phala has kept his position on the right, and Bernard Parker has dropped onto the left hand side from the striker’s role that he played in the tournament opener.

Up front Orlando Pirates supporters will be eager to see their former employee, Tokelo Rantie, start up alongside Mamelodi Sundowns forward and current Bafana top goal scorer, Katlego Mphela.

After the lacklustre 0-0 draw with Cape Verde, fans will be hoping to see a much improved performance in tonight’s must win game against Angola.

Bafana Starting XI:

Itumeleng Khune; Tsepo Masilela, Bongani Khumalo, Siyabonga Sangweni, Anele Ngcongca; Bernard Parker, Dean Furman, May Mahlangu, Thuso Phala; Tokelo Rantie, Katlego Mphela.

For more details go to http://www.soccerladuma.com 

Sasolburg, Free State – Police looted shops during the violent protests in Zamdela, in Sasolburg, residents of the Free State town alleged on Wednesday.

“If I had a camera, I would have taken photos. They took stuff in one Chinese shop and the community followed,” said a security guard at a municipal office.

“At Save Right (a local shop near the police station) they even advised us not to injure each other, and when the ATM was robbed, their van was nearby.”

The 32-year-old man claimed that Sasolburg police were also unhappy about the proposed merger of the Ngwathe and Metsimaholo local municipalities.

He said this was evident in Tuesday’s shooting, in which two people died and others were wounded when police from other provinces were deployed.

“We protested on Sunday (and) no one was wounded or died; we did it again on Monday… (there were) no injuries we heard about. So why are people being shot at when there is police from other provinces?”

Earlier in the week, police from Gauteng and Welkom were deployed in the area to help control the situation.

Police spokesman Colonel Motantsi Makhele said he was aware of the allegations that police were among the looters.

“People must come to the front if they have information,” he said.

“We welcome anyone who has information so that we can investigate this.”

Resident Nthako, 47, said he was happy Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Richard Baloyi had announced that the process of merging the municipalities had been stopped.

However, Nthako criticised government officials for not arriving at Moses Kotane Stadium, where residents had expected to be addressed on the matter at 10am on Tuesday.

Residents ran out of patience and left the stadium at 11am.

“If they came to the stadium and addressed people, no one would have died or got injured,” Nthako said.

A protester was shot dead at the Zamdela police station during a clash with protesters on Tuesday.

Earlier in the day, police said another protester was shot dead by a motorist after a group of protesters tried to block his way.

Nine people, two of them police officers, have been injured since the protest started on Sunday. At least one of whom was in a critical condition.

A Jacaranda radio journalist’s car was pelted with stones and a Sapa cameraman was threatened with a knife, also on Tuesday.

The situation was quiet on Wednesday and police were seen patrolling the area and taking photographs of damaged properties on the main road.

Three police nyalas (armoured vehicles) were seen driving around in the area while a helicopter hovered overhead.

Lucky Malebo, a community leader, said people had gone to hospital to check on people who were wounded.

“A list of those who were injured and those who died is being compiled, and we might get it around 3pm,” he said.

Malebo said the residents had wanted to hold a meeting at the stadium on Wednesday, but could not apply for permission as no one was on duty at the council. – Sapa

Microsoft announced on Tuesday that its business-oriented Surface Windows 8 Pro tablet computer will debut in the United States and Canada in February with a lofty starting price of $899 (R7961).

Microsoft also said that the consumer-focused version of Surface released late last year here will soon be available in 13 new markets around the world.

Techcrunch said that Microsoft built the Surface Pro to be the reference standard for Windows 8 tablets.

“It was either build a device internally or rely on its tradition partners of HP, Dell or the rest. One look at the Surface’s competitors and it’s clear Microsoft choose wisely,” the website reported.

The Surface Pro will be available on February 9 at Microsoft stores in the United States and Canada, at the online Microsoft store and at Staples and Best Buy and other retailers.

“The response to Surface has been exciting to see,” said Microsoft Surface general manager Panos Panay. “We’re thrilled to continue growing the Surface family.”

Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft described Surface Pro as providing “the power and performance of a laptop in a tablet package.”

Pro tablets, which Microsoft originally said would be released in January, will be available in 64-gigabyte and 128-gigabyte models.

Microsoft introduced the Surface tablet in the middle of last year and began sales in time for the holiday shopping season.

Although Microsoft has provided no sales data, analysts have said Surface is getting only a small segment of the tablet market led by Apple’s iPad, Amazon’s Kindle and several others powered by the Google Android system.

Hardware Zone said: “The Surface Pro will also look almost identical to the already released Surface RT, except it will be slightly thicker and heavier. The reasons behind its extra heft are better and more powerful components.”

The lower-cost version of Surface, with a starting price of $499, is now sold at Microsoft retail stores in the United States and Canada and online in the US, Australia, Britain Canada, China, France and Germany.

Last month, Microsoft said it would begin selling the tablet in third-party retail outlets.-Relaxnews

The ANC in North West is proceeding with disciplinary charges against its suspended provincial secretary Kabelo Mataboge.

ANC provincial spokesperson in North West Kenny Morolong said yesterday Mataboge had been formally charged by the provincial disciplinary committee.

However, he was unable to give the date for the disciplinary hearing against Mataboge. He said the matter was between Mataboge and the provincial disciplinary committee.

He did not disclose the nature of the charges. Mataboge was put on suspension shortly before the ANC’s national conference in Mangaung in December last year.

He was prevented from attending the conference because of the disciplinary action against him.

Before Mangaung Mataboge and provincial chairperson Supra Mahumapelo were at loggerheads over their support for Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe and President Jacob Zuma respectively.

Their differences spilled over into the nominations conference where the two leaders held parallel meetings in different venues in the province to nominate their preferred candidates to lead the ANC.

This led to an intervention by the ANC in Luthuli House which instructed the two parties to have one nominations conference.

Mahumapelo and Mataboge have not seen eye to eye for some time. The faction led by Mataboge suspended Mahumapelo a few months ago prompting the ANC’s national executive to intervene.

For more details go to http://www.thenewage.co.za

Registration started in earnest at the North West University, Mafikeng campus, yesterday, with aspiring students thronging the institution in their hundreds, ready to start their new journey in higher education.

The university structured its registration plan in such a way that students registered in their respective faculties to avoid congestion and long queues at the admission centre.

University communication officer Phenyo Mokgothu said they expected all first-year students to have registered by Thursday.

“Registration will run until Friday for all first-year students. All other returning students will register from Monday next week. Our target is to have the orientation week running from January 28 to February 7 so that new students are given a proper induction on how campus life and higher education in particular are run at this institution,” he said.

He urged all students to utilise the registration period fruitfully to avoid last-minute disappointments.

“Students are urged to register early because our spaces are limited. This also applies to the issue of accommodation. We operate on a first come first served basis. Late applicants will have to look for alternative accommodation outside campus.”

In the past the university has approached property owners to book accommodation for students but Mokgothu said the number of students had kept on increasing and not everyone could be guaranteed accommodation in such facilities.

“Like other campuses across the country, we have accommodation challenges but we are trying our best to build our own structures on campus, but for now students will have to seek for places to rent outside campus,” he said.

Some of the students said their first experience of university had been confusing but they hoped to adjust quickly.

For more details go to http://www.thenewage.co.za