Monthly Archives: March 2014

Teen arrested after raping a 3 year-old


A 16-year-old youth was arrested for allegedly raping a 3-year-old girl at the Jabulani hostel in Soweto, Gauteng police said on Wednesday.

The girl was playing with other children when the youth allegedly took her to the toilet and raped her on Tuesday night, said Warrant Officer Kay Makhubela.

“Her parents came into the toilet and found the man raping her,” said Makhubela.

She was taken for medical care.

The youth was arrested and taken to a place of safety.

He would appear in the Protea Magistrate’s Court on Thursday.

SAPA

Zuma shocked at North West nazi salute


Mahikeng – President Jacob Zuma expressed shock on Tuesday at reports that students at the North West University had used the Nazi salute.

“The use of gestures associated with Nazism are shunned upon throughout the world and are relics of a time which symbolised oppression, persecution and some of the worst atrocities committed in human history,” Zuma said in a speech prepared for delivery at the university.

Beeld newspaper reported on 21 February that some students had used the Nazi “Sieg Heil” during an initiation ceremony.

Photographs were published by the newspaper showing groups of students at the University of the North West doing Nazi salutes.

Zuma said universities should develop responsible citizens and future leaders who were just, free thinking and committed to building a society free of intolerance and injustice.

“The ANC government takes this matter seriously and will not tolerate any unconstitutional activities that are perpetrated at any education and training institution,” he said.

Zuma told students that Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande was looking into the matter.

SAPA

Oscar Pistorius case: ‘Aggravated questions’ expected in court


Pretoria – Paralympian Oscar Pistorius arrived at the North Gauteng High Court at around 09:10 on Wednesday for the third day of his murder trial.

He was surrounded by police and security as he walked through a contingent of media waiting to catch a picture of him.

Pistorius was wearing a dark suit and carrying a laptop bag.

The Pistorius family was seen walking in a few minutes later.

Proceedings got under way at 09:30.

Setting up

Earlier, journalists were running extension cords to power their mobile devices and sorting out technical problems before the start of proceedings.

One man climbed up the bars of the heavy iron gate used to secure the front entrance of the court. He used duct tape to secure a mini camera to the bars, in the hope of snapping footage of Pistorius arriving at court without being crushed in the melee.

Another stood on a concrete dustbin, arranging his camera on the roof of the bus stop outside the court so that it faced the entrance.

Outside court two men were handing out free bottled water and energy drinks to police and journalists.

“We came because it seems all of you are here,” one of them said.

Inside the court, one journalist, on the phone to a colleague, speculated there would be a lot of “aggravated questions” from Barry Roux, SC, for Pistorius, to the “fit, slim” State witness Charl Johnson, who started testifying on Tuesday.

Johnson is married to Michelle Burger, who was the State’s first witness.

The State will try to prove that Pistorius committed premeditated murder when he shot his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp through the toilet door in his Pretoria townhouse on 14 February last year.

In addition he is charged with illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition, and recklessly discharging a firearm in public.

Pistorius contends he mistook her for an intruder when he shot through the door.

SAPA

‪‪ SAFA President inspires Bafana Bafana


Johannesburg-SAFA President Dr Danny Jordaan visited Bafana Bafana players at their training camp where he urged them to rekindle the Madiba
(Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela) spirit of never giving up against any adversity.

The late Father of the Nation spent 27 years in prison but on his release, became a symbol of unity, beacon of hope and a true winner in the eyes of the world.

Bafana Bafana play Brazil in an international friendly at FNB Stadium on Wednesday, 5 March 2014 in a 19h00 kick off.

Dr Jordaan reminded the players that in whatever they do, they should do so in memory of the late statesman.

“Let Madiba be your inspiration, his spirit must drive you to achieve greater targets regardless of the odds being stacked against you.

“Tomorrow (Wednesday) you have a special responsibility, so go out there and enjoy yourself. It should be a spectacular day,” said the SAFA President in his address to the players and the technical staff”.

He said Wednesday’s encounter with Brazil had lots of symbolic significance.

“We want to wish Brazil well in hosting the 2014 FIFA World Cup in addition to us celebrating 20 years of our cherished democracy. This match is also a tribute to Nelson Mandela.

“The two teams will be unveiling their respective new kit. Brazil will unveil their 2014 FIFA World Cup playing kit and Bafana will showcase their new Nike limited Edition gear.”

The SAFA President said in all of the previous friendly matches which date back to 1996 when a last minute Bebeto over-head kick gave the Samba Boys a come-from-behind 3-2 victory, Brazil had always beaten Bafana Bafana through late goals.

“It was the same issue with the Confederations Cup in 2009 and in 2012 in Sao Paolo,” he said. “So keep guard and avoid conceding the last minute goal again.”

The SAFA President said the match against Brazil was part of the Association’s goal of attaining the 2022 Vision whose ultimate goal is to see Bafana Bafana consistently ranked among the top 3 on the African continent and top 20 in the world.

Tickets for the match can still be purchased at Computicket, Shoprite and Shoprite Checkers stores throughout the country. They are selling for R50, R100 and R200.-TDN
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Zille: No DA official will survive MEC’s record


Bloemfontein – No public official in the Democratic Alliance would survive a track record such as that of the ANC’s Free State Health MEC Benny Malakoane, DA leader Helen Zille said on Tuesday.

“Dr Malakoane would be fired,” Zille told party members at the announcement of the DA’s governance plans for the Free State.

Malakoane was arrested in July on charges of corruption and fraud involving about R13m, with five other people.

The charges relate to crimes allegedly committed while Malakoane was the municipal manager at the Matjhabeng local municipality in Welkom.

Zille told the gathering the DA had called for Malakoane’s suspension.

“But in [President Jacob] Zuma’s ANC the corrupt are safe.”
In Zuma’s government, if “number one does not face any charges, why should anyone else suffer?”.

Free State citizens knew about the issues around Zuma and Malakoane because they were in the open.

Zille urged voters to make sensible choices about what they wanted for themselves, their children and others.

Referring to the track record of parties in the coming general election, Zille said the issue was not race-related.

“It is how do we deliver proper services such as water, sewerage, right through to education and health which was of real quality for all people,” she said.

Replying to questions, Zille said the DA was now a governing party and not just an opposition party.

“We no longer call for a stronger opposition,” she said. The DA now said vote for a new government.

This was the reason for the DA’s open candidate lists.

“A new government, who are they? We need all our candidates out there to show people who would lead them,” she said.

The ANC did not tell voters for whom they would be voting.

“They give one name, Jacob Zuma. Look at his record.”
She said that compared to the DA’s open lists, the ANC had a closed, corruptible system, which mostly looked after the leadership’s family and friends.

“Leaders are unknown before elections in the ANC. It depends on the leadership clique at the top.”

Free State premier candidate and leader Patricia Kopane told the gathering the province needed a clean and corruption-free government.

She said that under the leadership of former presidents Nelson Mandela and Thabo Mbeki, South Africa had moved forward.

“The DA wants to continue along that road to make sure that everyone has a chance at success in South Africa.”
Kopane said the Free State had lost 99 000 jobs in the past 10 years.

“We have gone backwards. We are the only province where every year more people are unemployed.”
She said the DA would double its support in the province during the coming elections.

– SAPA

June Steenkamp: Oscar did not look me in the eye


Pretoria – June Steenkamp, the mother of Oscar Pistorius’s dead girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, said he walked straight past her in court on Monday, denying her the opportunity to look him in the eye.

Speaking to the American channel NBC, Steenkamp said Pistorius never made eye contact with her on the first day of his trial for murdering her daughter.

“He just walked into the courtroom and looked straight ahead. And then he sat down and never looked my way.”

“I wanted him to see me. I’m the mother of Reeva,” said the 67-year-old, who travelled from Port Elizabeth to attend the trial in Pretoria.

She said it was important that he saw her in court. “I can’t explain to you why, that’s what I wanted to do today.”

Steenkamp was not in court on Tuesday. She added that her husband Barry, who suffered a minor stroke last month, could not travel to Pretoria.

She said she had never met Pistorius and that Reeva’s relationship with the double-amputee sprinter was brief.

“I think it was three months.”

“I just want the truth. We want the truth of what happened. Only she and Oscar were there, and she’s not here anymore.”

Pistorius, 27, is charged with the murder of the blonde model, whom he shot in the early hours of Valentine’s Day last year. He claims that he mistook her for an intruder and fired at her through a locked bathroom door.

On Monday, he pleaded not guilty to the murder charge.

His trial has been dubbed one of the biggest in South Africa’s recent history, attracting huge local and international media interest.

Steenkamp said she wanted the truth on what happened on the night her daughter was killed, adding that it was important to forgive the Paralympics gold medal star.

“I’ve got to depend on the justice system that we get justice and we get answers. I’ve got confidence in that.”

“It doesn’t matter what happens to Oscar because my daughter is never coming back.”

But, she said: “It’s actually important to forgive him, for me. Because I don’t want to live with bitterness in my life.”

“I can forgive.”

SAPA

Pistorius gets emotional at graphic evidence


Pretoria – Oscar Pistorius buried his head in his hands and wiped away tears after the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria on Tuesday heard grisly details of the killing of his girlfriend, the first sign of emotion from the track star in his two-day murder trial.

The Olympian and Paralympian has been largely impassive during the trial for the murder of model and law graduate Reeva Steenkamp in his Pretoria home on Valentine’s Day last year. Pistorius has plead not guilty, saying he shot Steenkamp through a toilet door after mistaking her for an intruder.

He leaned forward in the dock and clasped his head between his hands as lead defence lawyer Barry Roux read out details from the post mortem, including that “some fragments of the bullet” were removed from the 29-year-old’s head.

Roux also heaped scorn on the testimony of neighbour Michelle Burger, who said she heard a scream fade away after the shots, saying that Steenkamp would have “dropped immediately” due to a bullet in the head.

Steenkamp was declared dead at the scene after being hit in the head, arm and hip from three bullets from a 9mm pistol.

Pistorius, dressed a dark suit and tie, later appeared to wipe away tears.

Comparisons to OJ trial

The trial, which could see one of global sports’ most admired figures jailed for life, has drawn comparisons with the high-profile murder trial of American football star and actor OJ Simpson two decades ago.

Burger broke toward the end of her own testimony, following an angry exchange with Roux, who had sought to show she had mistaken the screams of agitated Pistorius for that of a woman.

The court also heard from a another neighbour, Estelle van der Merwe, who testified that she heard what sounded like an argument early on the morning Steenkamp was killed.

“From where I was sitting it seemed like two people were having an argument but I couldn’t hear the other person’s voice,” she said through an Afrikaans language interpreter.

Media warning

The judge also warned the media to behave after eNCA leaked a photo of the state’s first witness, who had asked that her image not be broadcast, another delay to a trial that has already been hampered by late starts and problems with court interpreters.

Judge Thokozile Masipa ordered an investigation after eNCA showed a photo of Burger during the audio broadcast of her second day of emotional testimony.

While the trial is being televised live, a previous court order had ruled witnesses must give their consent to be filmed.

Burger, a university lecturer who testified on Monday that she heard “bloodcurdling” screams from a woman followed by gun shots, had not consented to being filmed and only the audio of her testimony was being broadcast.

The station accompanied the audio feed of her testimony on Tuesday with a picture of her. After prosecutor Gerrie Nel pointed out the leak, Masipa called for a brief adjournment.

“I am warning the media, if you do not behave, you are not going to be treated with soft gloves by this court,” Masipa, herself a former journalist, said when the court resumed.

The station’s head of news apologised, saying in a statement it was a “bad judgement call” to use the photo.

Masipa has also restricted the media from publishing photos of witnesses who have not consented to be filmed.

A separate court ruled last month that the trial should be televised, saying it was vital for impoverished South Africans who feel ill-treated by the justice system to get a first-hand look at the proceedings.

The start of the trial was delayed by 90 minutes on Monday due to a problem with the Afrikaans language interpreter. Burger began her testimony in Afrikaans but later switched to English after disagreeing with the interpreter’s translation of some words.

Reuters

Exciting to play the best in the world – Furman


Johannesburg-Bafana Bafana midfielder Dean Furman says he is looking forward to the international friendly match against Brazil scheduled for FNB Stadium on Wednesday. Kick-off is at 19h00.

The match will form part of the country’s celebrations for the 20 years of freedom. It will also be an occasion to hand over the FIFA World Cup baton to 2014 hosts Brazil as well as an opportunity to unveil the two countries’ new playing kits.

Furman said it was disappointing that Bafana Bafana were not going to the World Cup but highlighted a number of positives in the national team.

“First of all, our work rate is a given. That’s part of our game that will never be questioned. That should be a given to the starting 11 and the subs that will come on. We know against these top sides that anything less than 100 percent, we are going to be found wanting. It’s vital that our work rate should be right up there with everything we’ve got,” said Furman.

The Doncaster Rovers midfielder said the team will go into the match with a positive approach and a winning mentality.

“We want to impose ourselves on the game. Yes we will give them the respect that they deserve, we watch their world-class players on TV every week and we know everything about them. Same as the Spain game, we will give them the respect they are due but great thing about the Spain game is that we grew in confidence as the match progressed. The more and more spells we had, we grew in confidence.

“One thing the coach said at halftime (against Spain) was that ‘why can’t we go on and win this game?’ we had the belief among ourselves. Thankfully we went on and did that and I am sure we will be going into the game with the same kind of belief. We know it’s going to be difficult but we are very much looking forward to it,” he said.

Furman said playing at FNB Stadium was memorable and that it was always inspiring to the players to play in front of a capacity crowd. He urged the local fans to come in their numbers to urge the team on.

“We hope that the fans will come out in their numbers and really get behind us as they did against Spain. As a player there is no better atmosphere than to play in front of a big home crowd that is behind you. It’s definitely exciting to play against the best team in the world, a team that is fancied to win the World Cup. It’s great for us as individuals and collectively to test ourselves against such caliber of team and individual players,” he said.

Meanwhile, coach Gordon Igesund said he had not yet decided on the starting line-up or the captaincy.

“I have not yet decided on my starting 11, I am very close to it. I want to make sure we do things properly. We still have to analyze tapes for the opposition and once I have finalized my starting 11, I will be able to announce the captain,” he said.

The coach said training in the rain did not have any impact on his plans. He also spoke about the disappointment of missing captain Itumeleng Khune.

“The rain is part of the game and missing Itumeleng Khune is a huge blow. He is a top class goalkeeper, probably in the top 10 or top 15 in the world and to miss a goalkeeper like that is a bit of a blow.

“As far as our preparations are concerned, it’s not difficult when you have a squad that has been with you for some time. Most of the players have been with me for 18 months and over those 18 months we have worked on how we want to play, the philosophy and so forth. In the two days that I have had them they understand quickly what we need to do because we have been doing that for 18 months.

“For me it’s very important that we go out there and put up a performance that we are capable of putting up. We have to continue from where we left off against Morocco and against Spain. I am very confident that the guys will put up a very competitive performance tomorrow night,” said Igesund.-TDN
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Pistorius judge warns media on witness photo

NEWS Leave a comment

Pretoria – The North Gauteng High Court made an order on Tuesday that no photographs of witnesses who don’t wish to be shown in the Oscar Pistorius trial could be used. 

 

Judge Thokozile Masipa said that the use of a still photo of witness Michelle Burger’s face by various media houses was “very disturbing”. 

 

She warned the media that if it doesn’t “behave”, it will “not be treated with soft gloves”.

 

Mapisa said the source of the photos was not important. 

 

Mapisa said there will be an investigation to find out exactly what had happened and the extent of the non-compliance with the court order.

 

Defence lawyer Barry Roux was cross-examining Burger when prosecutor Gerrie Nel stopped him and said he had just discovered that a still photo of Burger’s face was being shown on broadcast television.

 

As Nel was telling this to the court, news channel eNCA was showing a still photo of a smiling Burger.  

 

Minutes after, eNCA tweeted the following: “NOTE: ‘We have not shown any footage of Michelle Burger in court…’ – Patrick Conroy, Head of News, eNCA.”

 

“We used a still picture from the university website – also carried in daily newspapers,” Conroy also said. News24

Neymar arrives for Bafana Bafana game


Johannesburg- World superstar Neymar has arrived in South Africa. The Barcelona and Brazil striker landed at the OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg around 22h25 on Monday (3 March) leading a group of European-based Brazilian stars who will take on Bafana Bafana at FNB Stadium on Wednesday.

The match will kick off at 19h00.

Neymar was in the company of the likes of defenders Thiago Silva, Dante, Daniel Alves and Marcelo.

“The last arrivals also included midfielders Fernandinho, Paulinho and strikers Bernard of Shakhtar Donetsk and Hulk who plays for Zenit Saint Petersburg.His fans braved the wet Johannesburg weather to catch a glimpse of the Barcelona megastar, and one even managed to get an autograph before the player was quickly whisked away to the team bus” Bafana spokesperson Matlhomola Morake said.

This was the third and last batch of the Brazilian squad, and they joined the likes of Fred from Fluminense, Jo, a striker with Atletico Mineiro and goalkeeper Jefferson who plays for Botafogo.

The trio was the first group of players to arrive in South Africa. They landed at the OR Tambo International Airport at 07h15 on Monday morning while Chelsea’s quartet of David Luis, Ramires, Oscar and Willian jetted in three hours later at Lanseria Airport.

“Brazil will have their one and only training session at the FNB Stadium on Tuesday (4 March) at 16h00” Morake said.

Meanwhile Neymar and his teammates landed with the South African duo of Anele Ngcongca (Belgium) and Thulani Serero (Holland) to complete the 22-man Bafana Bafana squad. Earlier in the evening Ayanda Patosi also arrived from Belgium.-TDN
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