KALETSOE’S husband had parked the car in the driveway of the company where he worked!
Then his angry boss allegedly lifted it with a forklift and parked it on the roof of the office building.
When Kaletsoe Madiehe (35) from Section K, Botshabelo, outside Bloemfontein got a call from a security guard to say her car was on the roof, she rushed to her husband’s place.
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Durban – Inkatha Freedom Party leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi is concerned at the number of incidents of intimidation and fraud that appeared to be surfacing ahead of the election.
Buthelezi, addressing a rally of about 300 of the party faithful in Durban’s Umlazi area on Monday, said the party would do everything in its power to ensure a free and fair election.
But he expressed grave concerns over the appointment of members of the SA Democratic Teachers Union as electoral officers.
He urged the IEC not to appoint Sadtu members.
“Sadtu is openly aligned to the ruling party and campaigns on their behalf. They are not independent observers. They have a clear incentive to influence the outcome of election to benefit the ruling party.”
He said an Electoral Court decision handed down on 30 April had quite clearly shown that Sadtu members could not be trusted as election officials.
The court handed a ward in Nongoma back to the IFP. This followed a complaint from the IFP that some of the special votes cast in a by-election in that ward had not been counted because the presiding officer had failed to stamp them. The NFP was at the time declared a winner.
“The person that was in charge was a member of Sadtu, who failed to ensure the ballot papers were stamped.”
Buthelezi said he had been told that some 16 percent of election monitors were members of Sadtu.
The latest reports that ballot papers had apparently been stolen in Cape Town was cause for further concern.
“I am very seriously concerned… as long as there is scope for these shenanigans,” said Buthelezi.
Pietermaritzburg – The daughter of murdered KwaZulu-Natal sugarcane farmer Peter Hackland told the KwaZulu-Natal High Court in Pietermaritzburg on Monday she was repeatedly slapped by one of the men accused of murdering her father.
Louise Hartwig said she had been partially blinded by pepper spray and while being slapped, heard a gunshot, Hackland shout, a second shot, then her 62-year-old father wail in agony, a Sapa correspondent reported.
She was giving evidence before acting Judge Thoba Poyoo-Dlwati, who had earlier heard Nkosinathi Mngadi, 29, and Sifiso Ngubane, 24, plead not guilty to all charges.
Besides Hackland’s murder, the two men were also facing charges of aggravated robbery, and the aggravated assaults of Hartwig and Margaret Fennell, Hackland’s secretary.
Hackland, a sugarcane, timber and citrus farmer from Ixopo in southern KwaZulu-Natal, was murdered in May last year.
Hartwig told the court that Mngadi and Ngubane were demanding money when Fennell began singing a hymn, which led Ngubane to slap her extremely hard.
Hartwig said she told Ngubane to leave Fennell alone as she only worked there. Hartwig earlier identified Mngadi and Ngubane as the men who attacked them.
She said she was studying in the house when she heard her father shout from outside.
Upon going outside, Hartwig saw Mngadi, in possession of a firearm, holding Hackland’s right arm and Ngubane his left as they struggled.
Ngubane let go of Hackland’s arm, grabbed Hartwig and forced her into the house.
Hartwig, who twice broke down during her testimony, said she was afraid she was being taken away from her father.
Robbery
It was then Fennell came out of her office. Ngubane grabbed her around the neck and a struggle ensued.
Hartwig told Fennell that the two men were armed and she should not provoke Ngubane any further.
Hackland and Mngadi were still shouting as the two men demanded money.
The women said they did not have money, leading to them again being hit.
Hartwig’s grandmother then appeared but soon disappeared after being pepper sprayed.
Hartwig said she gave Ngubane credit cards but he threw them down. Mngadi then handed her some keys and told her to open a safe, but she told them they were the wrong keys.
Mngadi pointed a gun at Hartwig and threatened to shoot her if she did not open the safe, but she showed them they did not work.
The two men took a cellphone, made a call in English then ran out of the house.
The trial, set down for two weeks, continues on Tuesday.
SAPA
Johannesburg- The Independent Electoral Commission of SA (IEC) says that election officials were removed from their voting station in Nigel, in the East Rand, after voting materials were found stored at the house of a party agent.
The IEC says that staff in ward 77 contravened elections protocol by using the house of a party agent to store voting materials overnight between special voting days.
They said that the voting materials were removed from the premises and taken to a nearby police station for storage.
Earlier, IEC chair Pansy Tlakula said some ballot papers had been accidentally dropped from a van in Cape Town on Sunday.
“They were found. Please let us not be alarmist. We recovered all those ballot papers.”
“The ballot papers have serial numbers so we are able to trace each ballot paper to its voting station. We report this matter to the party liaison committee, for transparency.”
She said the lost and found ballot papers would not be used in the elections.
A message was then transmitted to IEC officials “to take special care when they deliver ballot papers”.
“You would know that in our country, people will hire vehicles which are not up to standard for this purpose [transporting ballots].
“We have given a firm instruction that vehicles that transport ballots must be properly secured and must have features that enable that this kind of thing doesn’t happen again,” said Tlakula.
South Africa’s fifth national and provincial elections will be held on 7 May.
Tlakula said everything was in place at the country’s 22 263 voting stations, which would welcome the anticipated 25.39 million registered voters.
-Sapa
By Obakeng Maje
Koster- The Congress of South African Trade Unions has learned that families who were illegally evicted by a farmer in the area of Koster by the racist farmer called Snyman more than five years ago, are struggling with no food, no IDs, children without birth certificates and with poor accommodation.
The farmer dumped the two families from the farm next to the Tshedimosetso primary school many years ago and he never came back to check them. The school has had to try and accommodate the families in the school premises up to today.
The worse situation is that the first family of 12 people with young kids are staying in one room, and the other is staying in one room with 21 people, in the same conditions as the others.
“We call on the Departments of Home Affairs, Social Development and Health, and the police to join us during our visit to the farm on Tuesday at 12H00” Cosatu Solly Phetoe said.
Phetoe said this how poor farm workers with their families are being treated by white farmers and brutally killed in the long run.
“We are told that most of families are sick due to hunger and many other things” he said.
The two families are Jobonto and Vertein.
Cosatu invite the media to be there at their visit to the farm on Tuesday, and plead with media to expose such criminality created by white farmers.-TDN
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It girl Bonang Matheba is considering taking “action” against Itumeleng Khune after he groped her at a popular Sandton nightclub last weekend.
Matheba remains furious at how the Kaizer Chiefs and Bafana Bafana goalie rubbed her inner thigh and kissed her on the lips at Sway at about 2am last Saturday morning.
For more http://www.citypress.co.za
By obakeng Maje
Koster- The Congress of South African Trade Unions has learned that families who were illegally evicted by a farmer in the area of Koster by the racist farmer called Snyman more than five years ago, are struggling with no food, no IDs, children without birth certificates and with poor accommodation.
The farmer dumped the two families from the farm next to the Tshedimosetso primary school many years ago and he never came back to check them. The school has had to try and accommodate the families in the school premises up to today.
The worse situation is that the first family of 12 people with young kids are staying in one room, and the other is staying in one room with 21 people, in the same conditions as the others.
“We call on the Departments of Home Affairs, Social Development and Health, and the police to join us during our visit to the farm on Tuesaday, 6th at 12h00” said Cosatu Solly Phetoe.
Phetoe said this how poor farm workers with their families are being treated by white farmers and brutally killed in the long run.
“We are told that most of families are sick due to hunger and many other things” he said.
The two families are Jobonto and Vertein.
“We are inviting the media to be there at our visit to the farm on Tuesday, and to please expose such criminality created by white farmers” he concludes.-TDN
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By Obakeng Maje
Rustenburg- The Congress of South African Trade Union celebrated its Workers’ Day successfully, jointly with its alliance partners – SACP, ANC and SANCO – and with support of the communities around the North West, in particular in the Bojanala region in the platinum belt.
“We want to thank all our affiliates, our alliance, our churches, our government and our communities for making sure that our Workers’ Day was successful in the current situation in the platinum belt” Cosatu’s provincial secretary Solly Phetoe said.
Workers received messages of support from premier, the Department of Labour, SACP National Deputy Chair, the ANC Provincial Chair (on behalf of the ANC NEC), SANCO national organizer and our CEC of COSATU.
All the messages were calling on workers to unite and safeguard the working class, including servicing workers at the workplace and to fight for one industry- one union, one federation – one country.
They all reflected on the current state on the platinum belt and the ongoing exploitation of workers by some farmers and Sun City in particular for refusing to allow workers to attend the May Day, some of whom may not to be allowed to vote on voting day.
“We want to thank the Minister of Police and his team in the North West for their intervention to make sure that our Workers’ Day was safe and protected from all corners of the North West” Phetoe said.
He said they are happy that the police monitored activity from the morning of 1st May 2014 until late, after making sure all went back home safe.
Cosatu also apologised to all our members for the late arrival of some of buses from far as Vryburg, Taung, Mafikeng and many more areas.
They called on all members and their families to go out – all of them – on the 7th May 2014 and vote for the people’s movement, the ANC.-TDN
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By Obakeng Maje
Taung- North West police are investigating a case of theft after a man was allegedly electrocuted after trying to steal a transformer.
The gruesome took place on Sunday night and the suspect was found by school teachers on Monday morning.
The suspect was found unconscious at Moshosho primary school in Manthestad, near Taung.
It is alleged the suspect (who is known to TDN) was found electrocuted after he tried to steal electricity cable.
Isinyoka suspect is under police guard at Taung Disctrict Hospital and will appear before court soon.
*NB: We cannot name the suspect before his court appearance.-TDN
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North West Premier Thandi Modise has welcomed the arrest of a man and a woman in connection with the assault of a non-striking mineworker in Mfidikwe near Rustenburg.
“The arrest of the pair should sent an unequivocal message to those behind the atrocious and barbaric acts of violence, bullying and intimidation of non-striking workers associated with the AMCU strike that they will all end behind bars,” Premier Modise said.
In appealing to striking workers to respect the rights of non-striking workers, public and private properties, Modise said that denial of bail and stiff sentences for perpetrators of violence will be a deterrent.According to police, a 38-year-old man and a woman, also 38, were arrested at their homes in Mfidikwe on Friday, on charges of assault with intention to cause serious bodily harm.Spokesperson Brigadier Thulani Ngubane said the non-striking mine employee was allegedly attacked by people who were wearing Association of Mine Workers and Construction Union (Amcu) T-shirt at Mfidikwe on Tuesday afternoon.
“According to the information, the complainant, who is employed at Aquarius, was about to enter his residential place after work when a vehicle stopped next to his house and its occupants alighted and attacked him.”The suspects allegedly accused the victim of going to work while they are on strike. They reportedly attacked and stabbed him with a knife in the thigh.”
He said the 36-year-old man was admitted to hospital.
“Five other suspects are still at large. The suspects are due to appear in the Rustenburg Magistrate’s Court facing charges of assault with intention to cause serious bodily harm,” Ngubane said.Amcu members at Anglo American Platinum, Lonmin and Impala went on strike on January 23 demanding a R12 500 basic salary per month.-TDN
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The Guardian 