Daily Archives: April 9, 2014

Player-coach rift at Dikwena


Cape Town – A rift is developing at Platinum Stars between coach Allan Freese and one of his senior players, Benson Mhlongo, a report on the SPORT LIVE
website
indicates.

Other senior players are reportedly unhappy with the situation, and have insisted on a meeting with club management.

It is alleged the defender and coach disagree on certain aspects of his coaching method, which resulted in Mhlongo missing three PSL matches – against Maritzburg United, Moroka Swallows and Bloemfontein Celtic.

Mhlongo is also not in the Dikwena squad Wednesday’s away game against Wits (19:30 kick-off).

Both Freese and Mhlonga have denied the rift, citing tiredness as the reason he was omitted.

Stars are currently 9th on the
overall PSL log
.
Sport24

Exco intervention task team to visit Bloemhof and Itsoseng protests


Bloemhof-North West Premier Thandi Modise is to lead a Provincial Executive Council (Exco) task team that is to engage with protestors in violence torn Bloemhof and Itsoseng, Exco resolved in its meeting held in Mahikeng on Wednesday.In condemning thetorching of private and public properties in Boitumelong and Coverdale Townships over the past few days, attack on police officers, torching of a community hall in Christiana earlier today, Exco supported the appointment of an independent firm to conduct a forensic investigation into allegations of nepotism and corruption.

“While we have noted that service delivery issues were not raised in the memorandum that was submitted by the protestors, we are committed to get to the bottom of the allegations raised in the interest of good governance” said Premier Modise in appealing for calm.

“Destruction of properties is a draw back for which there will be consequences for those orchestrating and participating in these acts that undermine the rule of law,” Modise warned.
Exco has also expressed its concern about blockading of roads, burning of tyres and looting of shops in Bodibe village and Itsoseng Township outside Lichtenburg in Ditsobotla Local Municipality.

No memorandum was submitted in the case of Bodibe and Itsoseng which are within Ditsobotla Local Municipality that is under provincial administration.

The team led by Premier Modise is scheduled to meet with protestors in Boitumelong at 15:00 on Thursday afternoon and those in Itsoseng at 14:00 on Friday afternoon.-TDN
Follow us on Twitter@Taung_DailyNews or @IceT_

Police success on stock theft operations


By Obakeng Maje
The South African Police Service National Management Forum decided that a Stock Theft Pilot Projects be implemented in all nine provinces to re-confirm the success achieved.

The Provincial Management decided that the Pilot Project must be executed in 5 Clusters in the Province.

“The following clusters/ areas were identified as areas where the Stock Theft Pilot Projects would be implemented. Wolmaransstad, Taung, Zeerust, Brits and Mahikeng” captain Pelonomi Makau said.                                  
Police said actions to be executed during the operations will include, visit to kraals, abattoirs, auctions, chisa nyamas, butcheries, pension pay outs, tuck shops, roadblocks, VCP’s, cattle posts, villages, farms, speculators and community grounds.

“Community meetings to educate community about Stock Theft Act, Meat Safety Act, and Animal Identification Act will be conducted.  Other Departments will also be involved in integrating the approach” she said.

Suspect raiding on Stock Theft related cases as well as the investigation of newly reported Stock Theft cases will also be part of the project.

In Wolmaransstad Cluster, the operation was launched on 6 January 2014 and the following successes were reported:

Nine abattoirs and 9 butcheries and 9 auctions were visited, 132 persons were searched and 4 roadblocks were conducted.

Nine suspects were arrested for stock theft (all stock), 2 for possession of suspected stolen goods, 62 cattle were seized but were since handed back to their owners, and 43 were arrested for the Animal Identification Act and 3 for Meat Safety Act.

“In Pudimoe cluster, the following successes were conducted, 6 businesses, 105 cattle posts and 3 farms, 2 auctions were visited and 56 persons were searched” Makau said.

Seven suspects were arrested for theft of all stock, 76 arrested for Animal identification act, 3 goats and 3 horsed were also seized.

In Zeerust cluster, the following successes were achieved: 15 butcheries, 233 cattle posts were visited. 441 persons and 11 suspects were searched. Arrests were also made at the cluster and 65 cattle were seized.

Brits cluster accomplished the following successes: 50 cattle posts, 3 pounds were visited. 521 persons and 22 suspects were searched.

“Statistics shows that there is a decrease in the stock theft cases. Wolmaransstad has 31,69% decrease, 55% decrease at Pudimoe cluster , 44,10% and an increase at Zeerust and 12, 5% in Brits” police said.

In Mahikeng, police arrested 142 suspects for Animal Identification Act and 1 was also arrested for contravening the Meat Safety Act.-TDN
Follow us on Twitter@Taung_DailyNews or @IceT_

 

 

 

I ddn’t know it was child abuse


Johannesburg – Government on Wednesday welcomed the closure of the Rosettenville crèche in Johannesburg where a toddler was bound, gagged, and left in a bathroom unattended.
“Government welcomes the closure of Petite Bumper Daycare Centre in Rosettenville by the department of social development and law enforcement agencies in Gauteng,” spokesperson Phumla Williams said in a statement.

“Abuse and violence against children will not be tolerated in our country.”

The centre came under the spotlight on Tuesday when the Daily Sun published screen grabs of the toddler tied up and gagged in a bathroom at the crèche, allegedly by the owner, so that she could watch television.

The paper reported that it was in possession of a video of the child trying to free herself.

In the video, the child tries to free herself by moving around on the floor until she gets stuck between the toilet and the wall.

Crèche owner Labeeba Truter told the paper she was aware of the incident but had not reported it to police. She claimed she was not responsible for the abuse and she did not know it was child abuse.

Child abuse

On Wednesday police said a case of child abuse was opened but Truter had not yet been linked to the case.

She was, however, being held for questioning as she was the owner of the crèche.

Williams condemned the abuse in the strongest possible way and said South Africa’s Constitution made clear provision for the protection of children’s rights.

“A child has a right to be protected from maltreatment, neglect, abuse or degradation.”

She called on parents to engage with staff and owners of facilities where they left their children and determine if they were legally registered.

Williams added that parents should insist on seeing a copy of the social development department registration certificate.

“It is the responsibility of parents to ensure that their children are in a place that is safe and secure, and to be aware and vigilant of the establishment’s supervisions, routine, and discipline procedures,” she said.

SAPA

Parly mum on Nkandla report committe


Cape Town – Whether Parliament will set up an ad hoc committee to consider Public Protector Thuli Madonsela’s report on Nkandla could not be officially confirmed on Wednesday.
“Parliament will make an announcement in this regard when there are developments further to our last communication,” Parliament spokesperson Luzuko Jacobs said in an e-mail sent to Sapa.

He was responding to a question on whether reports that National Assembly Speaker Max Sisulu had decided to set up such a committee were correct, and if so, when.

The “last communication” referred to is understood to be Sisulu’s 2 April announcement that Zuma’s response to Madonsela’s report would be published in the parliamentary Announcements, Tablings, and Committee Reports document.

On Tuesday, Beeld newspaper quoted DA Chief Whip Watty Watson and Freedom Front Plus Chief Whip Corné Mulder, who both confirmed that Sisulu would appoint an ad hoc committee.

“The Speaker phoned me and told me he planned to set up an ad hoc committee and that he wanted to consult,” said Mulder.

“The Speaker said the ad hoc committee would have to work morning, noon and night up to the elections on 7 May to get the work done in time.
“He [Sisulu] said he wanted to complete it before 6 May. That means the committee should present a report before then and then the National Assembly should be called upon to consider the report.”

According to parliamentary rules the Speaker needed to consult with political parties before setting up such a committee.

In her report, titled “Secure in Comfort”, Madonsela found that President Jacob Zuma and his family improperly benefited from the R246m security upgrades to his private Nkandla homestead in KwaZulu-Natal.

These included a swimming pool, a cattle kraal, and an amphitheatre.

Madonsela also found that Zuma breached the Executive Members’ Ethics Act.

She recommended that a percentage of the money be repaid.

Zuma, in his response to the report, said last week he would await a Special Investigating Unit report on the matter before giving full and proper consideration to the matter.

Sisulu’s office reportedly told Beeld that a statement would be released once a decision on the committee had been taken.

– SAPA

Do not argue with me- Nel warns Oscar


Pretoria – Prosecutor Gerrie Nel cautioned murder accused Oscar Pistorius not to argue with him and answer his questions in the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria on Wednesday.
“Mr Pistorius, please answer the question. Don’t argue with me. If you argue or think about other evidence you will get into trouble,” Nel told Pistorius during cross-examination.

He was questioning the Paralympian about a statement submitted at his bail application that he went onto his balcony to bring a fan into his room.

This was in the early hours of 14 February last year, shortly before he shot his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp through a locked toilet door, apparently thinking she was an intruder.

He found her slumped over the toilet after he broke the door down. She was shot in the hip, arm, and head.

“I never went onto the balcony,” Pistorius told the court.

He said he placed a stainless steel fan, which was on a tripod, with one leg on the balcony tiles, the other two legs on his bedroom carpet. He said he placed a second fan on the carpet in front of the first.

“I went onto the balcony to bring a fan in,” Nel read from the statement.

Pistorius conceded that this was the case.

‘My story hasn’t changed’

Earlier Pistorius said he never changed his account of how he shot dead Steenkamp.

“My version never changed,” said Pistorius.

“The State’s case has changed many times,” he added.

He said he had read the statements of over 100 witnesses on the time he “took Reeva’s life” on Valentine’s Day last year and there were some things he did not remember.

Switching the light on in the bathroom, calling security, carrying Steenkamp downstairs after he shot her dead in the toilet at his home were among them.

There had been no “reconstruction” of her death taking into account evidence he had seen or heard since then.

“I tendered my story to my counsel… my story hasn’t changed since then.”

He said he wanted to address the court during his bail application last year but he was told he would not cope.

There were “some aspects” he spoke about to his counsel that were not included in his bail statement.

Court was adjourned for lunch.

Pistorius is charged with murder and with contraventions of the Firearms Control Act. He allegedly fired a shot from a Glock pistol under a table at a Johannesburg restaurant in January 2013.

On 30 Septembe 2012 he allegedly shot through the open sunroof of a car with his 9mm pistol while driving with friends in Modderfontein.

SAPA

Watermelon remark distasteful- Oscar


Pretoria – Paralympian Oscar Pistorius admitted in his murder trial on Wednesday that a comment he made about an exploding watermelon he shot at was distasteful.
“That day I shot at a watermelon and the comment I made was distasteful. It was made with reference to a watermelon and not to Reeva,” he told the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria under cross-examination by prosecutor Gerrie Nel.

“Am I correct in saying that your shooting at a watermelon was to see what the effect would be if you shoot somebody in the brain?” Nel asked him.

Pistorius replied he had shot at many materials, including wood.

The video, in which Pistorius refers to a gun as “a zombie stopper”, was screened in the court.

It shows Pistorius and several other people at a shooting range.

The murder accused fires at a watermelon with a handgun. As he hits it and it explodes, there are whoops of triumph.

“It’s not as soft as brains but fuck it’s a zombie stopper,” a person who sounds much like Pistorius is heard saying. The video found its way online.

Pistorius shot his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, apparently thinking she was an intruder, through the locked door of his toilet on 14 February last year.

He found her slumped over the toilet after he broke the door down. She was shot in the hip, arm, and head.

The athlete is charged with murder and with contravening the Firearms Control Act.

He allegedly fired a shot from a Glock pistol under a table at a Johannesburg restaurant in January 2013.

On 30 September 2012 he allegedly shot through the open sunroof of a car with his 9mm pistol while driving with friends in Modderfontein.

Pistorius has denied guilt on all the charges.

SAPA

Warning: Pic of Reeva’s bloodied head shown in court


Pretoria – Prosecutor Gerrie Nel brought murder-accused Oscar Pistorius to anger and tears in the North Gauteng High Court on Wednesday when he tried to force him to look at a photograph of Reeva Steenkamp’s bloodied head.
Nel asked Pistorius to compare it to an exploding watermelon that he had been filmed shooting at.

“You know that the same happened to Reeva’s head. It exploded,” said Nel after showing Pistorius a clip from a Sky News video of Pistorius at a shooting range.

Pistorius was asked to look at a picture of Reeva Steenkamp whom he had admitted shooting dead in a toilet in his house.

With a screen right next to him, he would not.

Steenkamp’s mother June was held tight by a friend in the front of the court as a picture of her daughter with blood and tissue on her blonde hair was shown.

Pistorius said: I will not look at a picture of where I am tormented by what I saw.”

Nel said: “It is the same thing as a watermelon.”

‘Uncalled for’

As the court gasped, Pistorius’s lawyer Barry Roux SC jumped up and said: “That is uncalled for.”

Pistorius started crying and Judge Thokozile Masipa allowed an adjournment for Pistorius to compose himself.

Even hardened reporters in the gallery were seen wiping away tears and muttering under their breath.

During the adjournment, another prosecutor Andrea Johnson went over to June Steenkamp.

She told Steenkamp and her family and friends, within earshot of the gallery, that what had happened in court happened in murder trials every day

‘Zombie stopper’ video

Earlier, the video in which Pistorius refers to a gun as “a zombie stopper” was allowed to be screened in court.

Roux said he would not persist with his objection if the State did not see it as part of its evidence.

Nel agreed and the video was shown.

The video, of Pistorius and several other people at a shooting range, shows the murder accused firing at a watermelon with a handgun. As he hits it and it explodes, there are whoops of triumph.

“It’s not as soft as brains but fuck it’s a zombie stopper,” a person who sounds much like Pistorius is heard saying. The video found its way online.

Mistake

Earlier, Nel began his cross-examination by confronting Pistorius with the fact that he killed Steenkamp.

“You made a mistake?” Nel snapped at him.

“You killed a person. You shot and killed Reeva Steenkamp. Why don’t you take responsibility for that?”

Nel began with the statement: “Mr Pistorius you were and still are one of the most recognised faces in the world. You are a model for disabled and able-bodied sportsmen all over the world.”

Pistorius replied softly that this was the case before he made “a mistake”.

“Let us get to the truth,” Nel continued.

Charges

Pistorius shot Steenkamp, apparently thinking she was an intruder, through the locked door of his toilet on 14 February last year.

He found her slumped over the toilet after he broke the toilet door down. She was shot in the hip, arm, and head.

The athlete is charged with the murder of Steenkamp and with contraventions of the Firearms Control Act. He allegedly fired a shot from a Glock pistol under a table at a Johannesburg restaurant in January 2013.

On 30 September 2012 he allegedly shot through the open sunroof of a car with his 9mm pistol while driving with friends in Modderfontein.

Pistorius has pleaded not guilty on all the charges.

SAPA

Oscar: ‘I did not intend to kill Reeva or anybody else’


Pretoria – Paralympian Oscar Pistorius reiterated in the North Gauteng High Court on Wednesday that he did not murder his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
“I did not intend to kill Reeva, My Lady or anybody else for that matter,” said Pistorius after being asked by his lawyer Barry Roux SC.

He has been charged with her murder after shooting her dead through his toilet door on Valentine’s Day last year.

He has pleaded not guilty, saying he mistook her for an intruder.

Running across room

Pistorius agreed with earlier testimony that he was seen rushing across his bathroom the night he killed Steenkamp but differed over some details, the court heard.

He agreed with neighbours Anette and Johan Stipp’s testimony that he ran from right to left in his bathroom and that three thudding sounds were heard.

“What they must have seen was me running from right to left to kick the door,” he said.

“I fired the shots without my prosthetic legs on. I put my prosthetic legs on and tried to get access to Reeva to get her out,” he said.

They would have seen his torso if he had his “legs” on, he said.

The noise they heard was the cricket bat hitting the door when he tried to free her.

There has been a difference in forensic opinion over whether he had his prosthesis on or not when he shot through the toilet cubicle and then broke the door down.

Demonstration

Earlier, Pistorius was asked to demonstrate how he kicked and hit the door of his toilet through which he shot and killed Steenkamp.

Roux first asked him to show how high he could kick at the door with his prosthetic legs on. Pistorius got out of the stand and took up position in front of the door, which is part of a mock-up of the cubicle in his house.

“Please don’t kick the door,” Roux cautioned him.

“Show how high you can lift your prosthesis in a kicking motion.”

Pistorius swung his right leg up to the level of the door handle.

According to his bail application statement he kicked at the door and smashed it open with his cricket bat.

Pistorius got back into the stand, but did not sit down.

“Now would you demonstrate how you would have handled the cricket bat?” Roux asked.

The athlete hesitated, sat down and spoke into the microphone. He referred to testimony and a demonstration by Colonel Johannes Vermeulen, who testified that Pistorius would have had to have swung the bat in an “unnatural way” had he been on his prosthetic legs.

“In breaking down the door you don’t swing the bat in a natural way. I used my entire body. It’s very hard to demonstrate how I did it in a passive way,” Pistorius said.

He then got out of the stand and picked up the bat which was propped against the door. He swung it twice over his right shoulder. It connected with a mark, indicated by a sticker, several centimetres above the door handle.

“How hard did you hit the door?” Roux asked him when he got back into the stand.

“I hit the door with all my might.”

Roux asked him if he was standing in the same position while doing so.

Pistorius said he doubted this, since he was wearing his socks on his prosthetic legs and standing on a tiled floor.

SAPA

MEC MALOYI TO HAND OVER 100 HOUSES IN PIET PLESSIS


Piet Plessis- MEC for Human Settlements Public Safety and Liaison Nono Maloyi will on Thursday hand over about 100 houses to the Piet Plessis families in the Kagisano Molopo local municipality.

The benefiting families are mostly those that have been staying in informal settlements while others settled in the area after they were evicted from the local farms. The department has prioritized families headed by the elderly, child and people living with disability.

“The Piet Plessis community has from time to time experienced racial challenges where farm workers were allegedly assaulted while and murdered by farmers” departmental spokesperson Ben Bole.

The handover is part of celebrating twenty years (20yrs) of freedom, and also in line with the Outcome 8 of the National Development Plan vision 2030 which is intended to improve the quality of people’s lives and bring back dignity to the marginalised communities across the province.The hand over programme is also part of the department’s service delivery initiative and reduction of housing backlog in the province.

The handover will take place as follows:

Date: 10 April 2014

Time: 10H00

Venue: Piet Plessis Sport Ground
-TDN
Follow us on Twitter@Taung_DailyNews or @IceT_