Monthly Archives: September 2014

NW Road Safety Ambassador perish in accident


Emotions were very high, tears streaming down uncontrollably on men and women who attended the funeral of the stylish, dedicated and outspoken Naledi Leabile who was laid to rest at Mahikeng Cemetery.

The long loyal serving Community Safety and Transport Management employee died on an accident last week Saturday in Mogwase near Sun City from a meeting.

The 57-year-old, “Star” as affectionately known served on the Road Safety Directorate where she mostly took a lead on road safety campaigns, educating people in the entire province about road safety, she was our road safety ambassador

A communicator by profession, Leabile joined the department in 1997 and served in several departments in the province.

In his speech, the emotional departmental MEC Gaoage Molapisi said it is with great sadness for the Bokone Bophirima Provincial Government to lose an asset like Naledi after having recently interacted with her..

He said the late “Star” cannot be duplicated because she was not a outspoken person with a rare character and irreplaceable. You can only replace or duplicate a fake retorted MEC. She will forever be in our thoughts and hearts.

Her sudden death left us with deep wounds in our hearts. MEC Molapisi made a humble call to the people of Bokone Bophirima and the road users to honour the spirit of Mme Leabile by showing their commitment and becoming the champions of Road Safety.

“Road Safety begins with an individual and we should appreciates her life and the knowledge she imparted and become responsible road users. We must practice self-policing to ensure that all of us as road users take the responsibility of creating safer roads.

In her honour, we will during our transport month and beyond intensify our road safety education campaigns within communities and mainly targeting road users and educate them on issues relating to driver behavior, drunken driving, safety belt, over speeding, cyclist, driving with fatigue stray animals and pedestrian safety,” concluded Molapisi.

Star leaves behind her three children and 10 grandchildren.
-TDN
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IPC: Oscar Pistorius ‘free to compete’


JOHANNESBURG – The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has announced that Oscar Pistorius will be free to compete once he has served any punishment meted out for his crime. 

The High Court in Pretoria has convicted the blade runner of culpable homicide, for shooting dead his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. 

The case has been postponed for a month, when the athlete will return to court for sentencing.
For more http://www.ewn.co.za

Top DJ busted for speeding


Johannesburg – A well known Metro FM DJ has been arrested in Tshwane for speeding, metro police said on Friday.

“We have arrested one of the well known celebrities who was found speeding,” spokesperson Isaac Mahamba said.

“He was driving 176km/h in a 120km/h zone.”

The DJ was arrested while driving a black Range Rover on the N1 North. He was being held at the Brooklyn police station where he was applying for bail.

“He is expected to appear in court soon,” said Mahamba.

SAPA

Family told – keep Oscar out of trouble


Johannesburg – Oscar Pistorius’s family has been warned to keep the culpable homicide-convict on the straight and narrow in the next month while he awaits sentencing.

In its opposition to the extension of Pistorius’s R1m bail, the State referred to an altercation in a Sandton nightclub in July.

However, in granting the extension, Judge Thokozile Masipa warned the defence to tell whoever would be staying with Pistorius that “there should be no further complications”.

Pistorius’s counsel Barry Roux turned around to look at his uncle Arnold Pistorius and the men nodded.

The 27-year-old athlete was found guilty of culpable homicide by the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria on Friday.

In July, while the murder trial was still under way, Pistorius had an altercation with Jared Mortimer at the VIP Room club in the Michelangelo Towers in Sandton, Johannesburg.

Intoxicated

At the time, the Pistorius family released a media statement saying Mortimer “aggressively interrogated him” on matters relating to his murder trial.

Mortimer told a newspaper that Pistorius insulted President Jacob Zuma’s family and his own friends, resulting in the altercation.

He claimed Pistorius was intoxicated and started to poke him in the chest while they were talking.

He pushed Pistorius away from him and the paralympian fell over a chair. Bouncers reportedly intervened and asked Pistorius to leave.

The family denied Mortimer’s claims.

They said the athlete’s move to venture into a public space while the trial was under way was unwise, but they had witnessed his “escalating sense of loneliness and alienation.

“This, we believe, is underlying some of his self-harming behaviour,” said his uncle Leo Pistorius, adding that the family was finding ways of dealing with his isolation.

Masipa found Pistorius not guilty of the murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on 14 February last year, but found him guilty on a lesser charge of culpable homicide.

While Masipa was reading out her verdict Pistorius stood emotionless with his hands folded in front of him.

Intruder

Oscar’s father Henke Pistorius wept and friends of Reeva burst into tears. Reeva’s parents, Barry and June Steenkamp, were stony-faced.

Masipa said evidence before the court showed that Pistorius had acted negligently when he fired into the toilet door, knowing there was someone behind the door.

“It cannot be said that the accused did not entertain a genuine belief that there was an intruder in the toilet who posed a threat to him….

“It could not be said that he foresaw that either the deceased or anyone else for that matter might be killed when he fired the shots at that door,” she found.

Pistorius’s family said they were “deeply grateful” to Masipa for not finding the blade runner guilty of murder.

However, there were no victors in the outcome of the trial, Arnold Pistorius told reporters in the courtroom.

“In a tragic event like this, there’s no victors. We, as a family, remain deeply affected by the devastating tragedy,” he said, with his wife Lois at his side.

“It won’t bring Reeva back, but our hearts still go out to her family and friends.”

Arnold said the verdict had lifted a “big burden” from the family’s shoulders.

Contravening

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said it was disappointed by the ruling.

“At this point the matter is not concluded. We are still waiting for the sentence. It’s only after the sentence that the NPA can weigh its options and see whether they can take the matter forward,” NPA spokesperson Nathi Mncube told reporters outside the court.

“We feel at this point we should respect the process that is still underway.”

The paralympian also faced three charges of contravening the Firearms Control Act – one of illegal possession of ammunition and two of discharging a firearm in public.

He was acquitted on charges of illegal possession of ammunition and one of the charges on the illegal discharge of a firearm in a public place.

But he was found guilty on the illegal discharge of a firearm in the Tasha’s restaurant in Melrose Arch in January last year.

SAPA

We are ready for Egypt – Ntseki


Johannesburg- Amajimbos coach Molefi Ntseki says the boys are revved up for a showdown with their Egyptian counterparts when the two meet in Rustenburg on Saturday evening (kick off 18h00) in the first leg of the CAF African Junior Championships.

“We have done our homework, worked on our strength and weakness and come Saturday, we should give a good account of ourselves against Egypt.

“It is a crucial game in the sense that we are playing the first leg at home but I am confident we should come good,” said Amajimbos coach Ntseki.

“It has been an amazing few weeks for South African football and we should complete this remarkable turnaround. All our national teams have had a wonderful spell starting with Banyana Banyana, Bafana Bafana, U20 – it is this magic charm we need to maintain. It is good for the country going forward,” added Ntseki.

The winner between Amajimbos and Egypt will qualify for the CAF African Junior championships scheduled for Niger next year.

“Banyana are off to African Women Championships in Namibia, U20 are off the Senegal next year and Bafana Bafana are determined to reach Morocco; so we cannot afford to let the nation down,” said Ntseki.

Amajimbos squad:

Mondli Mpoto, Sanele Tshabalala, Simon Nqoi, Notha Ngcobo, Keanu Cupido, Katlego Mohamme, Athenkosi Mukumela, Nelson Maluleke, Reeve Frosler, Sibongakonke Mbatha, Felix Noge, Wiseman Meyiwa, Vuyo Mantjie, Luvuyo Mkhatshana, Khanyiso Mayo, Edwin Sekhwama, Themba Ndzimande.-TDN
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Vicious cycle makes medical schemes expensive


Cape Town – As the blame game of who is responsible for the high cost of private health care in South Africa continues, a Fin24 user, who works in the industry, adds his insights to the debate.
For more http://www.news24.com

Rand weakens to fresh 7-month low


Johannesburg – The rand fell to seven-month lows against the dollar on Friday, largely reflecting a stronger greenback as recent data backs the case for monetary tightening in the United States.



At 17:50 SA time the rand traded at 10.9985 versus the dollar, down 0.21 percent from Thursday’s close.

If fell to 11.0300 earlier in day, the weakest it has been since February 21 according to Thomson Reuters data.

Reuters.

Government bonds followed suit, with the yield on the 2026 benchmark adding 4.5 basis points to 8.26 percent.

The rand was one of the biggest casualties in a basket of 20 emerging market currencies, outperforming only the Turkish lira, the Russian rouble and Brazil’s real

“The latest bout of EM currency weakness largely reflects the depreciation of the euro against the dollar, rather than home-grown economic vulnerabilities,” William Jackson, an emerging markets analyst at Capital Economics, said.

But rand sentiment has taken a knock from weak domestic economic indicators released this week, including a gaping current account deficit, while factory output was at its weakest in five years. – Reuters

DA condemns Zuma’s letter to Madonsela


Cape Town – The DA on Friday condemned President Jacob Zuma’s letter to the Public Protector in which he disagrees with Thuli Madonsela’s view that her reports and recommendations can only be reviewed by a court of law.

“The letter attempts to redefine the scope of the Office of the Public Protector, in direct violation of the Constitution,” Democratic Alliance parliamentary leader Mmusi Maimane said in a statement.

“The Constitution is clear that only a court of law can review the outcomes of Chapter Nine institutions, which according to Section 181(2) of the Constitution ‘are independent, and subject to the Constitution and the law’.”

Maimane accused Zuma of misreading the Constitution.

“It is extremely worrying that the president has chosen to misrepresent the Constitution and the work of the Public Protector,” Maimane said.

“In so doing, he has created the incorrect impression that compliance with remedial action taken by the Public Protector is optional.”

Deferred decision

In his letter to Madonsela, Zuma said the Public Protector had arrived at her findings without the “adversarial hearing” inherent in a court process and that this was a “significant factor to caution me against a blanket acceptance without applying my own mind”.

Therefore, his role was not simply to rubber stamp her findings.

The president has faced sustained criticism for not complying with Madonsela’s order that he reimburse the state for improvements, such as a swimming pool and chicken run, to his homestead in Nkandla as part of a project originally meant to upgrade security.

The president last month deferred a decision on whether he was liable to repay any funds to Police Minister Nathi Nhleko.

Zuma said in his letter that he stood by this decision.

The Special Investigating Unit tabled its report on the upgrades in Parliament on Friday.

Like Madonsela, it found that Zuma was enriched by state-funded improvements to his Nkandla home.

But unlike the Public Protector, who found Zuma was liable to pay a portion of the cost, the SIU concluded that the best way of recovering R155m misspent at Nkandla was to claim it from his architect Minenhle Makhanya.

Public concern

In its report, the SIU placed the blame for the project ballooning into “unacceptable extravagance” on Makhanya.

It said its eight-month investigation showed that, through Makhanya’s doing, the state suffered massive losses and many people were enriched, including Zuma and his family in the sense that the value of their home was enhanced.

“Makhanya inter alia increased the scope and extent of the works by designing and authorising items that were not required for security purposes,” the SIU said in the report.

As a result of this, the cost of the project “soared from an initial estimate of some R27m to some R216m”.

By any standard this was a large sum of money and the public concern was “understandable”.

The unit said it faced a choice of claiming the damages and losses suffered by the department of public works from an array of people who were enriched, or to seek to recover the full amount from Makhanya himself.

“We chose the latter option,” it said.

The SIU filed a civil claim for R155.3m against Makhanya in the KwaZulu-Natal High Court on 11 August.

He has hired high profile lawyers to contest the matter.

SAPA

3 decapitation accused yet to plead


Durban – The case against three minors involved in the murder of a woman who was decapitated was postponed by the Durban Regional Court on Friday.

The court was scheduled to hear their pleas on Thursday, when an 18-year-old pleaded guilty to killing and decapitating a prostitute.

The case was then set down for Friday, but Magistrate Anand Maharaj further postponed the matter to Monday so their pleas could be typed.

Falakhe Khumalo pleaded guilty on Thursday and was sentenced to life imprisonment for his role in the death of Desiree Murugan, whose headless body was found by municipal workers at Shallcross Stadium in Durban on 18 August.

Traditional healer Sivonkaliso Mbili and his assistant Vusumuzi Gumede, 30, who were linked to the murder, have not pleaded and are expected to apply for bail on 22 September.

The court heard on Thursday that Khumalo was promised R2m for the head of a white, Indian or coloured woman.

Chopped off

In an explanation of plea he detailed how he plotted for more than a year to get the head to pay Mbili, who had cured him of a sexually transmitted disease.

He said he and his three co-accused lured Murugan, 39, to the stadium, where he paid her R100 for sex and oral sex.

“Whilst having sex, accused number one came behind me with an Okapi knife and she saw him. I then placed my hand over her mouth so that she cannot make a noise, held her tight so that she does not move.”

Khumalo said the accused, who is a minor and may not be named, stabbed her several times.

The body was dragged to another part of the sports field, where the head was chopped off.

Khumalo and his co-accused took the head to Mbili, the fourth accused in the trial.

Mbili allegedly ordered Gumede to bury the tins in which Murugan’s body parts had been placed.

SAPA

Two Nigerians nabbed for drugs in N West


By Obakeng Maje
Police have once again confirmed their seriousness in the fight against illegal drug trafficking in Rustenburg and surrounding areas, says North West police.

Two Nigerian nationals, aged 32 and 41 were apprehended for possession of drugs on Thursday evening.

The arrest came after police deployed for the Operation Platinum Belt were alerted about the drug activities that were allegedly taking place near a filling station at Waterfall East in Rustenburg. 

“They immediately proceeded to the identified area where they found two suspicious-looking males who were searched. They were found in possession of 28 small packets of crack cocaine, ecstasy pills and dagga with an estimated street value of R5000.00” colonel Sabata Mokgwabone said.  

The suspects were arrested and are due to appear in Rustenburg Magistrates’ Court soon facing charges varying from Possession to dealing in drugs. 

“Since the start of Operation Platinum Belt on 16 June 2014, Police have arrested a number of suspected drug dealers and have also confiscated an assortment of drugs including nyaope, crack cocaine, mandrax, ecstasy and dagga” Mokgwabone said.
-TDN
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