Pretoria – Justice Minister Michael Masutha will announce on Thursday whether former apartheid-era police colonel Eugene de Kock will be granted parole.

The minister was expected to make the announcement in Pretoria.

De Kock, a former police death squad commander, approached the North Gauteng High Court for a decision in May.

Judge Thokozile Masipa gave Masutha 30 days to make a decision. The 30 days did not include weekends and holidays.

The national council for correctional services made a recommendation about De Kock’s parole in November last year. The recommendation was sent to then minister S’bu Ndebele. When he failed to act, De Kock approached the high court to force him to do so.

De Kock was in charge of a police “death squad” at Vlakplaas, outside Pretoria, and was arrested in mid-1994. He was convicted and sentenced in the High Court in Pretoria in 1996.

He was sentenced to two terms of life imprisonment for two murders and to a further 212 years’ imprisonment on charges including conspiracy to commit murder, culpable homicide, kidnapping, assault, and fraud.

Many of his former colleagues who committed murder under his command testified in return for indemnity from prosecution.

De Kock, nicknamed “Prime Evil”, has spent two decades in prison.

SAPA

By Obakeng Maje
Rustenburg- Following the signing of the memorandum of understanding  in October 2013, whereupon, Lonmin donated 50 hectors of land to government for housing development purposes; to this end, the North West Provincial Government and the mining giant will officially launch the Marikana Extension 2 housing project on Thursday.

Departmental spokesperson Ben Bole said 292 houses and 252 Community Residential Units (CRUs) will be constructed as part of the first phase of more than 2000 mixed housing typologies.    

“The Project which came out of the Special Presidential Package initiative is aimed at eradicating informal settlements and bringing development around the mining area of Marikana” Ben Bole said.

The project will further ensure housing ownership and further restore the dignity of local residents as they are staying under difficult conditions around the Mining Informal Settlements.

The proceedings will be led by MEC Collen Maine who is responsible for housing development in the province and Lonmin CEO Mr. Ben Magara.

The event will take place as follows:

Time: 13H00
Date: 10 July 2014
Venue: Marikana Ext 2 (Marikana West)
-TDN
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Maseru- The South African Men’s Under-17 National Team (Amajimbos) arrived in freezing Lesotho where temperatures dropped to as low as -0 degrees Celsius on Monday.

Amajimbos face Lesotho in two matches this week on Thursday and Sunday- as part of preparations for Tanzania in a 2015 African Youth Championship qualifier. The match against the East African country will take place in Dar es Salaam on 18 July 2014.

The boys had their first training session on Tuesday after travelling from Botswana.

“It is cold but I think it is important for the players to undergo these conditions so they become mentally strong and get used to all weather conditions. We need to take them out of their comfort zone and start conditioning them into men at this early age so they can withstand the rigours of international competition,” said head coach Molefi Ntseki.

“We played on two different surfaces in Botswana – on normal grass and on a synthetic turf – this is also part of the building process for this team so they can be ready for any condition. I must say they acquitted themselves very well. I think we will do the same here and have made a request for two different surfaces because you never know which field you are going to play on when outside the country. But for Tanzania we have been informed that we are playing on an artificial grass, which means we are ready for it.”

The South Africans return home on Monday, 14 July before jetting out to Tanzania the following day (Tuesday, 15 July).-TDN
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