Johannesburg – Eastern Cape police were on Thursday searching for three men who allegedly set a car alight and burned themselves in the process in Kwalanga near Uitenhage.

The car was torched on Wednesday evening in Limekaya Street, said Warrant Officer Basil Seekoei.
It was allegedly set alight by three men travelling in a white Polo Playa.

“It’s further alleged that the men set themselves alight but managed to flee from the scene.”

The owner of the burned vehicle was apparently the uncle of one of the three men.

Police were investigation a case of malicious damage to property, said Seekoei.

– SAPA

Johannesburg – Two men accused of attacking advocate Dali Mpofu told the East London Regional Court it was not a robbery but a struggle over pants, the Sowetan reported on Thursday.

Mpofu was stabbed on a beach in East London in April last year. Accused Chuma Komeni and Thulani Simon both pleaded not guilty on Wednesday.

Sivuyile Ntlonze, for the accused, said his clients stabbed Mpofu in self-defence.

Ntlonze said Komeni was relieving himself in the bush when Simon walked down to the beach to get sea water to use as a laxative.

He saw a pair of pants lying unattended and walked over to it. Mpofu then appeared from the bushes.

Komeni went to help his friend when Mpofu assaulted him, said Ntlonze. When the assault got serious, Komeni stabbed Mpofu with a nail clipper.

Mpofu reportedly said this was a lie as he was stabbed with knives.

Mpofu said he sitting on the sand dunes at the beach. When he realised the sand was wet, he took off his pants and placed them next to him.

It was then that the assault ensued.

– SAPA

Moretele – Economic Freedom Fighters leader Julius Malema scolded the police on Wednesday for shooting at protesters.

He told a crowd outside the Moretele local municipal offices in North West that no one would stop them from protesting.

“I was told by EFF officials in North West that you would be marching. They said the officers here are used to killing people and we have come to join you so that they may kill us also,” Malema said.
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Johannesburg – There was no point to the DA’s march for “real jobs” on Wednesday, ANC deputy secretary general Jessie Duarte said.

“We are going to have to stand our ground every time the DA wants to do something ridiculous, illogical and silly,” she told reporters after the DA’s march.

The Democratic Alliance’s march for “real jobs” started at the Westgate transport hub in Johannesburg on Wednesday morning and was supposed to end at Beyers Naude square, about a block from the African National Congress’s headquarters Luthuli House.

However, the procession was cut short when police stopped the DA at the corner of Marshall and Rissik streets and told them it was too dangerous to continue.

A short while later, a group of people wearing ANC attire ran towards the marchers and police fired stun grenades at them. On Miriam Makeba Street, a group, also dressed in ANC attire, threw petrol bombs at police.

Duarte said the DA came to Johannesburg looking for a confrontation.

“They meant to be confrontational. They took the undemocratic process of marching to another political party.”

If any other political party decided to march to the ANC’s headquarters it would get the same response, Duarte said.

The ANC admitted some of its members were carrying sticks and stones, but said party officials confiscated these.

Four people wearing ANC T-shirts were arrested for public violence.

Colonel Katlego Mogale said people became violent when DA supporters arrived in Rissik Street and police officers were stoned and petrol bombed.

Despite this, no injuries were reported, she said.

“If there are members arrested we want to know who they are, and if they are members we will take action,” ANC spokesperson Jackson Mthembu said.

– SAPA

Pic: (By Obakeng Maje)
Pretoria – Financially embattled EFF leader Julius Malema will make it to Parliament after the elections, his party vowed on Thursday.

Several strategies were being implemented, including legal processes, to prevent Malema’s sequestration, Economic Freedom Fighters spokesperson Mpho Ramakatsa said in Pretoria.

“The legal work to prevent the sequestration includes lodging an appeal to set aside an admission of a R16m tax bill which Sars [the SA Revenue Service] tricked him [Malema] to sign on the basis that an agreement will be reached.

“The debt owed to Sars by a trust linked to Julius Malema is not R16m, but R4m. Sars ballooned this with 50% interest and 200% penalties,” Ramakatsa told a media briefing.

He said “misleading claims” were being spread by Sars and the media saying that Malema would not be able to assume public office after the May general elections.

“Commander in chief Julius Malema will form part of the EFF commissars, organisers, and fighters who will be sworn in as members of Parliament and provincial legislatures immediately after May 7.”

Ramakatsa added: “Concerned South Africans” had offered to establish a fundraising mechanism to cover the debt, should the legal challenges falter.

“An independent trust, with an independent board of trustees and operational autonomy, will therefore be set up and announced to deal with issues relating to fundraising that will prevent the [final] sequestration in case the legal processes do not succeed.

“Thousands of South Africans have contacted the EFF offering to donate and contribute money to the commander in chief, which will help prevent the sequestration.”

Malema was provisionally sequestrated by the North Gauteng High Court on Monday.

A draft order was signed and made an order of the court.

Malema and anyone else who does not want the order to be made final has until 10:00 on 26 May to give reasons as to why this should not happen.

– SAPA

Johannesburg – A police constable was jailed for 24 years by the South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg on Wednesday for killing a colleague, the Independent Police Investigative Directorate said.

The court – sitting in Palm Ridge on the East Rand – sentenced Constable Benson Lwayiphi Lufele to 18 years for murder and six years for attempted murder, said IPID national spokesperson Moses Dlamini.

“The sentence follows the accused’s conviction by the same court in December 2013,” said Dlamini.

Lufele, 35, killed 48-year-old Captain Mthembeni Walter Sibisi, while they were both off duty, on 19 August 2012.

Lufele was driving his private vehicle along Enoch Sontonga street in Katlehong on the East Rand. Sibisi was driving with his son along the same street in his private vehicle at the time.

The two vehicles then collided at an intersection, which led to an argument between the policemen.

Both men were unaware that they were both policemen at the time, said Dlamini.

Lufele allegedly shot Sibisi in the leg and when Sibisi tried to take away Lufele’s car keys, he fired multiple shots at Sibisi.

Sibisi died at the scene, said Dlamini.

SAPA

Johannesburg – Half of South African adults believe that President Jacob Zuma and his government are not doing their jobs well, market research company Ipsos said on Wednesday.

These were the results of face-to-face interviews with 3 564 randomly selected adult South Africans who were interviewed in their homes and home languages, Ipsos SA’s director of public affairs Mari Harris said in a statement.

The interviews were conducted in November last year.

Fifty four percent of respondents said Zuma was not doing well.

Of the remaining 46%, 17% said Zuma was doing very well and 29% said he was doing fairly well.

“On Thursday evening South Africans will listen to President Zuma’s State of the Nation speech with interest, as they would like to hear… some clear direction regarding the way in which the government plans to address the issues the electorate are concerned about, how the government will rebuild credibility, consolidate resources and deliver on the plans that exist, and make new plans to create some hope for the future,” Harris said.

South African public perception of how well government was doing had declined in the past three years, Harris said.

“Only about a third of South Africans are of the opinion that the country is going in the right direction. It should come as no surprise that the public are not impressed with government performance in most of the policy areas we measure.”

This was according to the “Ipsos Government Performance Barometer” which measures public perceptions about the government’s performance in handling key policy areas as well as the views on the performance of the president, deputy president and the national government.

Harris said the polls were done every six months.

The results indicated that in the five years since the previous election, the proportion of South Africans who said the country was moving in the right direction had steadily declined.

“Currently almost half of South Africans (48%) feel that the country is moving in the wrong direction.”

Twenty-five government policy areas in economy, social issues and governance and administration areas were evaluated by the public and measured by Ipsos.

Harris said in the last three years the “traffic light measurement” rating for the 25 policy areas in the “red light” zone had increased from 15 to 22.

Red light areas (50% and below) needed immediate attention and action.

Orange light areas (from 51% to 74%) needed urgent attention, and green light areas (75% and above) needed maintenance, Harris said.

In November 2011, 15 of the 25 policy areas fell in the “red light:” category.

A year later 17 into the category, and in November last year, 22 were in the red light category, Harris said.

SAPA