By Obakeng Maje
Pampierstad- Northern Cape police are investigating a case of rape after a nine year-old girl was raped while on her way to school on Monday.

Pampierstad Police Station spokesperson Thuso Setumiso said a 9 year-old girl was allegedly raped by two unknown men.

“It is alleged a girl who her name cannot be revealed because she is a minor, was raped on Monday morning while on her way to school. According to the information, a girl was lured into an abandoned shack by an unknown man and offered a cool drink and polony” Setumiso said.

A nine year-old girl and her friend were allegedly raped by Bangladesh nationals who are currently behind bars back in July 2014.

Police said a girl was walking to school with her friend when the gruesome incident took place. The matter created some unrest in the area as residents of Pampierstad marched to local police station and demanded that those perpetrators be hunted down and put behind bars.

Setumiso said they have not arrested anyone yet and urged the community members to help the police with any information that could lead to any arrest.

Police opened a case of rape and investigations continue.-TDN
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By Obakeng Maje
Taung- A case of two accused will be finalised on Thurday at Taung Magistrate Court. North West police arrested Michael Mosimane and Lindokhuhle Ndaba back in 2008 for livestock theft. The case against the two suspects has been delayed due to some unforeseen circumstances.

Mbatha and Mosimane were arrested in connection of livestock-theft in Baga-Maidi area. Police said the two suspects were allegedly arrested after they were linked to livestock-theft in Manthestad, Mothanthanyane, Tlapeng and Morokweng villages.

They briefly appeared before Taung Magistrate Court on Wednesday and the case was postponed to Thursday.

According to two suspects’ lawyers, they cannot be linked to any crime because there is no enough evidence against them.

Baga-Maidi residents experienced loss of livestock due to theft and that caused an unrest within the area.

The two suspects are out on bail and the sanction over the matter will be handed on Thursday.
-TDN
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Klerksdorp- Three clinics in Klerksdorp, North West were damaged when a 5.5 magnitude earthquake hit South Africa on Tuesday, the provincial health department said.

“Two of the clinics are completely shut down after severe structural damage,” spokesperson Tebogo Lekgethwane said in a statement.

The closed clinics were Stilfontein Clinic and Parkstreet Clinic in Klerksdorp.

The third clinic was under the administration of a mine in Stilfontein.

Lekgethwane said renovations had started on the mining clinic and it was expected to be functional by Wednesday.

“As a temporary measure the department has arranged to ferry patients to nearby health facilities through the use of shuttle buses,” he said.

Health MEC Magome Masike would visit the clinics on Wednesday to assess the extent of the damage caused by the earthquake.

The quake, one of South Africa’s largest magnitude earthquakes in the past decade, was felt as far way as Mozambique and Botswana.

The Council for Geoscience said its epicentre was in the Orkney region, where one person was killed.

ER24 spokesperson Luyanda Majija said the body of a 31-year-old man was found in an old mining village in Orkney following the quake.

At least 400 houses in the area were reportedly destroyed, Premier Supra Mahumapelo told reporters.

– SAPA

Johannesburg – Soweto police are investigating the rape of a 14-year-old mentally disabled girl following a complaint which implicates a relative, a spokesperson said on Wednesday.

Police spokesperson Kay Makhubela said the girl was allegedly raped on Tuesday in Zola 1.

“The suspect ran away and is not yet arrested,” he said.

– SAPA

Johannesburg – The SABC broadcasts a variety of news that helps deepen democracy, Communications Minister Faith Muthambi said in an opinion piece in The New Age on Wednesday.
“On the news front, the Broadcasting Act commits the SABC to a plurality of views and a variety of news, information, and analysis from a South African point of view,” she said.

“The corporation’s content must allow citizens to exercise their rights and reflect the rich diversity of a united society.”

She said the broadcaster played a crucial development role in the country.

“The public broadcaster empowers citizens to interact better with the institutions of society and deepen the democratisation of the country.

“It ensures that citizens can make responsible and informed choices.”

Drastic change

Muthambi said in the past 20 years, the SABC had to undergo drastic change from an “apartheid mouthpiece” to “the voice of the people”.

“The SABC has in many respects helped to move us closer towards a national identity built on mutual respect, tolerance, and acceptance,” she said.

Last month, the Economic Freedom Fighters accused the SABC of withdrawing its promise to provide live coverage of the party’s one-year anniversary in Soweto.

The party accused the SABC of pulling out at the 11th hour.

SABC spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago said at the time he was not aware of the matter.

The EFF said it seemed the broadcaster was only committed to events held by the ruling African National Congress.

“Its major programs only cater for the ruling party,” EFF spokesperson Mbuyiseni Ndlozi said at the time.

“The SABC is supposed to be a public broadcaster, and serve the interests of the entire citizenry equitably.”

DA accused broadcaster of bias

In the run-up to the May election, the Democratic Alliance accused the broadcaster of bias for refusing it live coverage but devoting a two-hour live broadcast to the ANC’s final election rally in Johannesburg.

The DA also took the SABC to the Independent Communications Authority of SA (Icasa) over an advertisement that was not aired.

Icasa upheld the SABC’s banning of the DA’s Ayisafani advert, which contained a photo of a police officer firing rubber bullets.

The SABC banned the advertisement because it said it incited violence.

Court bid against Motsoeneng appointment

Icasa ruled that the offending part of the advert be removed.

In recent months, Muthambi and the SABC board have also come under heavy criticism over the permanent appointment of Hlaudi Motsoeneng as chief operations officer.

In February, Public Protector Thuli Madonsela released a report on Motsoeneng, while he was acting COO.

She found that his salary increased from R1.5m to R2.4m in one year, that he had purged senior staff, and misrepresented his qualifications – that he had passed matric – to the SABC. At the time, Madonsela recommended that a new COO be appointed to the SABC within 90 days.

In early July, Muthambi announced Motsoeneng’s appointment, saying the decision was taken following a recommendation by the SABC board. She said he was cleared of all wrongdoing by a legal firm before being appointed permanently.

The DA launched a high court bid to have the appointment set aside.

Muthambi has filed court papers opposing it.

– SAPA

Orkney – North West Premier Supra Mahumapelo on Wednesday visited the Vuyani-Mawethu Secondary School in the township of Khuma, near Orkney in the North West, to assess the damage caused to classrooms by an earthquake.

The province was the most affected by Tuesday’s 5.5 earthquake which was felt in many parts of the country and neighbouring states such as Botswana.

He walked around the school and then addressed pupils who had gathered for assembly.

He was met by loud cheers and ululations.

“We came here to thank you, parents, teachers and God for protecting you when the earthquake hit. We are very happy all of you are alive,” he said to applause.

One person died in an old mining village in Orkney following the quake.

Mahumapelo called on the pupils to continue with their school work.

“Continue to work with the principal because you’re the future of this country. Listen to your parents, continue learning and make sure you make the North West proud,” he said.

Mahumapelo said government would make sure the damaged classrooms were repaired so that schooling could return to normal.

– SAPA

Potchefstroom – Charges of intimidation, assault, and kidnapping have been laid against two people at the North West farm of National Council of Provinces chairperson Thandi Modise, the NSPCA said on Wednesday.

“Charges of intimidation, assault, and kidnapping have been laid against the spokesperson of Thandi Modise and an individual who currently runs the farm, whose identity is not known to the NSPCA,” said National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (NSPCA) executive director Marcelle Meredith.

She said the charges arose from an alleged altercation at the farm on 29 July when NSPCA inspectors went to the premises to check on the condition of cattle.

The inspectors were in possession of a warrant and were escorted by police, Meredith said.

“A man with dreadlocks we found at the farm did not have a problem with us being there. Modise’s spokesperson Neo Moepi emerged and was the one who gave instructions to the man to take possession of the inspectors’ vehicle keys,” Meredith said.

She accused Moepi of kidnapping after he allegedly locked them inside the property and would not let them out.

Police spokesperson Lefa Barda confirmed a docket was opened on 28 July, but said it only contained a charge of intimidation.

“There is nothing in here about assault and kidnapping. There is a faded photo of a dreadlocked man with no name. There is no second person mentioned in the charge sheet,” Barda said.

Meredith said the case was opened in Alberton, east of Johannesburg, and was transferred to Buffelshoek police station in Potchefstroom where the charges of cruelty to animals were laid against Modise on 25 July.

“Those are the three charges we laid. It is really up to the police to decide on the charges.”

Threatening claims denied

Last week, Moepi denied threatening the two NSPCA inspectors with violence, claiming he had saved them from harm at the hands of farmworkers.

Earlier that day, the NSPCA alleged that Moepi and a farm manager threatened to kick the inspectors’ car and set it alight, and grabbed a cellphone and erased recordings.

Last month, police and NSPCA inspectors found starving and dead animals on the farm Modderfontein, near Potchefstroom.

About 85 live pigs had begun cannibalising 58 dead pigs, and were reportedly drinking their own urine.

Sheep, geese, goats, and ducks were also among the more than 100 dead animals. Many had to be put down.

It appeared the animals had been without water and food for a week, possibly two.

There were no farmworkers on the property, no electricity, and the water pumps were broken.

– SAPA

Johannesburg – Limpopo police shot dead a suspected serial rapist in Mankweng, Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi said on Wednesday.

Frans Kwetepe Thosago, 25, wanted for a string of rape cases and attempted murder in the area, was shot dead on Tuesday.

“A special task team was set to crack those cases and on Tuesday these dedicated police officers were informed about Thosago’s whereabouts,” Mulaudzi said.

“Following the information, the police found the suspect at an abandoned house at Ga-Makanye village in Mankweng. Seeing that he was surrounded by the police, Thosago fired shots at the law enforcers and a shoot-out ensued, leaving the suspect fatally wounded.”

He said Thosago was linked to over 10 cases of rape.

Mulaudzi said the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) had been informed of the shooting and they would investigate the matter further.

– SAPA

Orkney – More aftershocks were expected following the 5.5 magnitude earthquake that hit the country, the Council for Geoscience (CGS) said on Wednesday.

“Aftershocks, ranging in magnitudes one to 2.5 have occurred and are expected to continue in the coming days,” said Michelle Grobbelaar, manager of the council’s seismology unit.

“We will continue to monitor the seismicity in this area and the entire South Africa.”

The earthquake struck after midday on Tuesday in the Stilfontein, Klerksdorp, and Orkney region and was widely felt.

An aftershock hit the township of Khuma, near Orkney, on Tuesday evening hours after the council warned of it.

Grobbelaar said this region had a high concentration of deep gold mines.

In 2005, a 5.3 magnitude earthquake had struck the same region claiming the lives of two miners underground, and resulting in structural damages on the surface.

On Tuesday, one person was killed and at least 34 people were injured, resulting in building evacuations in parts of the country.

People in Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Free State, and the Eastern and Northern Cape reported feeling the tremor, as did people in neighbouring Mozambique and Botswana.

– SAPA

By Obakeng Maje
Postmasburg- A sting operation carried out by Postmasburg police yields success after three Nigerian nationals were arrested with drugs, Northern Cape police said.

Lieutenant Sergio Kock said Postmasburg police, assisted by the Kuruman K9 unit followed up on information and raided some houses suspected in drug dealing.
“On Monday at about 09:50am a house in the Postmasburg Central Business District (CBD) was searched. Two suspects a male,39, and a female,27, were arrested after the police found tik on the premises. The confiscated drugs weighed approximately 480g” Kock lamented.

Another breakthrough came about on Tuesday at approximately 08:45 when police arrested a 40 year-old man with tik. Police raided his house in Boichoko township, near Postmasburg and found 20g of tik stashed in his vehicle together with R59 000 cash which was hidden behind the front number plate of the vehicle.
“Police also confiscated the white Opel Corsa, as it was allegedly used in the commission of a crime. The total street value for the confiscated drugs amounts to approximately R165 000” Kock said.

The three suspects are expected to appear in the Postmasburg Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday on a charges of dealing in drugs.

The Postmasburg Cluster Commander, Colonel Dries Witbooi commended the police for their swift response by following up on the information and also thanked the Postmasburg community for their assistance in providing information to police.

“Drugs is a killer substance that cannot be allowed in our communities, therefore we have to stand together to eradicate this from society” Witbooi concludes. -TDN
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