Daily Archives: January 4, 2014

Escaped murder accused caught


Pietermaritzburg – A man charged with murder and robbery is back behind bars after he previously escaped from a Pietermaritzburg court building, KwaZulu-Natal police said on Friday.

“[Sthembiso Vincent] Shabalala made a court appearance in the Pietermaritzburg Magistrate’s Court… [on Friday] on a charge of escaping from lawful custody,” said spokesperson Thulani Zwane.

Shabalala had been on the run since escaping from the court building after an appearance on 2 December 2013 linked to a murder and vehicle theft case, as well as another of assault.

The 34-year-old was nabbed late on Thursday night in a house in Morning Rise, after police were tipped off with information as to his whereabouts.

Shabalala was accused of shooting and killing a 39-year-old farmer and stealing his bakkie at his farm in Richmond in August 2012.

He was arrested shortly afterwards. However, on January 7 last year, while detained at the New Prison in Napierville, he assaulted a prison warder with a chair, apparently after being asked a question about a light.

“The warder sustained fractures to his right arm,” Zwane said.

Thereafter, Shabalala was charged with assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

He was also accused of other armed robberies in the Bulwer and Umzinto areas.

Shabalala remained in custody and would appear in court again on 22 January.

SAPA

Brakpan ‘serial rapist’ moved to safe place


Johannesburg – A man accused of raping and killing a four-year-old girl in Brakpan, Gauteng, has been moved to a place of safety after death threats were made against him, Eyewitness News reported on Friday.

The girl’s family said they had received requests from prisoners asking if they could “take care” of the man, the radio news station reported.

The grandfather of the girl said he was not ready to speak to or forgive the man, but could not allow the man to be killed.

“They have a way of getting messages out and are sending messages asking if we want them to take him out,” the grandfather said.

The 23-year-old man appeared in the Brakpan Magistrate’s Court on Monday, and the case was postponed to Tuesday.

Eyewitness News also reported on Friday that hundreds of people had gathered at a Brakpan church for a memorial service for the girl.

Many bikers dressed in pink, ANC Women’s League members, and police, including national commissioner Riah Phiyega, attended the memorial service.

Captain Tsekiso Mofokeng said on Monday a missing person’s report for the girl was issued on Saturday morning.

“The police and the community started looking [for the girl]. We had to do our own investigation,” Mofokeng said.

Checked stories

Police then interviewed the family.

“We identified that one of the family members did not give a confident story… He gave many versions.”

He said the man was charged with kidnapping.

Later “he gave in and confessed” and helped the police find the body underneath a bed in her father’s flat.

“We will hear from the post mortem what caused the death and whether there was sexual assault,” he said.

Police on Friday directed queries related to the man being moved to the correctional services department.

The department had not yet responded.

SAPA

Internet scammers using Mandela name


Johannesburg – The Africa Rising Foundation warned the public on Friday about an internet scam that illegally uses the name of former president Nelson Mandela’s grandson Ndaba.

“The Africa Rising Foundation does not ask the public for money in lieu of membership fees,” Ndaba Mandela, who is the foundation’s chair, said in a statement.

“We appeal to the public not to respond to this scam,” he said.

“If anyone has indeed paid over any money, we ask them to report this to the police. We have also reported the matter to the police and have opened a criminal case.”

The foundation said it became aware of the scam on Friday, after Proudly South African contacted the Nelson Mandela Foundation about the authenticity and suspicious nature of two Facebook pages relating to the membership drive.

It said the scammers were asking people to send an e-mail to a specific address to request membership forms in order to join the foundation.

“This is not Ndaba’s genuine e-mail address. A notification and form is then sent from the fake e-mail account, requesting that money be deposited at specific supermarkets,” the foundation said.

The people behind the scam then requested that a deposit code be e-mailed to them.

The foundation appealed to the public to come forward with information that could lead to the arrest of the fraudsters.

SAPA

Maluleka: It wasn’t difficult decision to make


The new Kaizer Chiefs midfielder George Maluleka has expressed his excitement after signing a three and half year deal with the Amakhosi.

kaizerchiefs.com caught up with Maluleka on Friday afternoon;

“It is a great feeling to join Kaizer Chiefs. Chiefs is a big Club with a professional infrastructure. This is of course a big step and a new challenge in my footballing career,” said a delighted Maluleka.

“I had to dig deep but I can confidently say, it was not a difficult decision to make. I would like to bring an additional dimension of football to the Team. There’s a lot of quality at Chiefs and I would like to see myself as adding to that quality,” commented Maluleka

“I know and have a close relationship with some of the players at Chiefs. I have played alongside most of the guys at the national team level. I am looking forward to meeting the guys and then get on with the job of playing a role in the Team,” commented Maluleka.

Maluleka will join his new teammates at his new base, the Kaizer Chiefs Village, in Naturena from Saturday, 4 January 2014.-TDN
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