East London – Thirteen initiates have died in the Eastern Cape since the beginning of the winter initiation season, the provincial health department said on Tuesday.

Spokesperson Sizwe Kupelo said hospitals were overcrowded with severely ill initiates seeking medical assistance.

“The worst affected area is Mthatha in the OR Tambo region where health centres are clogged. Boys are brought in with their penises practically falling off,” Kupelo said.

The already constrained health system in the province was suffering a setback because of the initiation season.

“The day to day work by health workers is severely affected, the department is spending R1 000 on each initiate brought in for treatment,” said Kupelo.

The department had set aside R20m to intervene and help the initiates.

Private healthcare services and an additional 37 SUV vehicles have been hired to get health workers to initiates in the mountains.

Parents blamed

The parents of the initiates were to blame for some of the problems experienced, he said.

Parents allowed criminals masquerading as circumcision experts to circumcise their children. The parents also denied health workers access so they could examine the boys, Kupelo said.

“In one instance, a young boy died a day after his father refused him access to a health worker. That parent must be held accountable.”

Kupelo said the department urged police and the National Prosecuting Authority to bring criminal charges against the perpetrators.

The Mthatha area had seen criminals “milking” the custom to their advantage while putting the lives of young boys at risk.

“We want law enforcement to charge them with murder wherever a life is lost. These criminals use the same instrument on all boys, increasing the risk of contracting HIV/Aids and other diseases. The initiates are very young and their lives are in danger on a daily basis,” he said.

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Polokwane – Three more Limpopo mayors have been recalled from office, the African National Congress in the province announced on Tuesday.

This was after four mayors, reportedly linked to Economic Freedom Fighters leader Julius Malema, were relieved of their duties last week.

“In accordance with the decision of the PEC [provincial executive committee] to restructure the PMT [political management team] of certain municipalities, the restructuring of the PMTs of Bela-Bela, Mutale, and Musina local municipalities resulted in the need to change mayors of these municipalities,” the ANC said.

The mayors fired were Musina mayor Carol Phiri, Bela-Bela mayor Freddy Hlungwane, and Mutale mayor Josephine Mukwevho.

The ANC had already appointed new mayors in their places. These were Lucas Nhlapo at Bela-Bela, Sarah Rammbuda at Mutale, and Mohloti Ramoyada at Musina.

The party also announced the names of the mayors who would replace the four mayors fired last week.

SA Communist Party interim provincial secretary Gilbert Kganyago would take over as mayor of the Capricorn district municipality.

Nkakareng Rakgoale takes over as mayor of Mopani district municipality, Thembi Nkadimeng as mayor of the Polokwane local municipality, Julia Mathebe as mayor of Elias Motsoaledi local municipality, and Ralepane Mammekwa as mayor of the Greater Tubatse local municipality.

The party made the announcement following its special PEC meeting held on Monday.

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Kimberley – A mother and her 6-year-old son burnt to death when their shack in Ritchie went up in flames early on Monday morning. An 11-year-old boy managed to escape the blaze and called for help, but he was not able to save his mother and brother.
For more http://www.iol.co.za

Cape Town – Three police officers were gunned down and their firearms stolen in two separate incidents on Monday in what Western Cape police commissioner Arno Lamoer called a “disaster”.
For more http://www.iol.co.za

JOHANNESBURG – A last ditch attempt by the labour ministry to avert a mass strike by the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) has failed and thousands of members in the metal industry are expected to stop work today.
For more http://www.ewn.co.za

Johannesburg – The department of home affairs on Monday said it noted the ruling given by the Western Cape High Court in favour of two people separated from their spouses because of immigration laws.

In a statement, home affairs said it was still studying the judgment and would provide comment in due course.

According to the SABC, Brent Johnson and Cherene Delorie took the department to court to challenge what they called “unconstitutional legislation” governing visa applications.

Their foreign partners were branded undesirable and barred entry into South Africa.

Home affairs said this was after they failed to follow due process when renewing their visas earlier in 2014.

The national broadcaster reported that Judge James Yekiso ruled that the status of undesirability over Johnson’s wife and son who are in Denmark, and Delorie’s husband who is in Zimbabwe, be suspended and they be allowed to return to South Africa.

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Johannesburg – The State on Tuesday will begin its cross-examination of an acoustics expert who testified in the trial of murder-accused paralympian Oscar Pistorius.

Prosecutor Gerrie Nel on Monday told the North Gauteng High Court he wanted to review Ivan Lin’s report before questioning him.

Lin on Monday gave a meticulous technical report on ambient noise on the morning Pistorius shot dead his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in his home on Valentine’s Day last year.

One of Pistorius’s neighbours, Michelle Burger, whose house is 177m from Pistorius’s, told the court in March she heard “blood-curdling screams” followed by four gunshots the morning Steenkamp was shot dead.

“At 177 metres away, if the scream was from a toilet, it is very unlikely that a listener can hear the scream, let alone interpret the sound source reliably,” Lin told the court.

“If the scream was from the bathroom the listeners may have heard the scream and may possibly be able to interpret the sound, under certain conditions,” he said.

Pistorius faces a murder charge. He claims he shot Steenkamp by accident through the locked door of his toilet in his Pretoria home, apparently thinking she was an intruder about to emerge and attack him.

The State argues he killed her during an argument.
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Johannesburg – Former president Thabo Mbeki expressed shock and sadness on Monday over the death of Stellenbosch University rector and vice-chancellor Prof Russel Botman.

“Prof Botman was an eminent fighter against apartheid, a grounded and authentic theologian, a humble and thorough-going intellectual who sought everyday to improve the lives of all South Africans, black and white,” Mbeki said in a statement.

“Like the humble servant that he was, Russel did what he had to do, principled and loyal to principle, neither seeking reward nor praise.”

Mbeki sent his condolences to Botman’s family and the Stellenbosch University community.

He said Botman’s death would not only be a loss to his family, but also to the country.

“It is a loss to the nation and to humanity as a whole.”

Botman died in his sleep at his home in Stellenbosch on Friday night.

He joined Stellenbosch University in 2000 as a professor in the practical theology and missiology department and was appointed vice-rector in 2002.

The Stellenbosch municipality said on Monday that flags in the town would be flown at half-mast following Botman’s death.

“The reality and impact of Botman’s sudden passing has left the town grappling with the great loss it has experienced over the weekend,” spokesperson Vernon Bowers said in a statement.
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