Seven suspects arrested in connection with gang-related crimes committed in February 20121 in Jouberton Township near Klerksdorp. North West police spokesperson, Col Adele Myburgh said a crime intelligence-driven operation by a multi-disciplinary team comprising of Detectives, Tactical Response Team (TRT) and the Anti-Gang Unit resulted in the arrest of the suspects aged between 28 and 53 this week.
“They were arrested in connection with eight gang related crimes committed in Jouberton Location outside Klerksdorp. The suspects allegedly torched and damaged property belonging to apparent rival gang members. Furthermore, several cases of attempted murder were opened during the same period for investigation.
“These arrests brought the number of suspects arrested thus far to seventeen. Meanwhile, all seven suspects have appeared at the Klerksdorp Magistrate’s Court on Friday and they were remanded in custody until their next court appearance on 16 April 2021,” Myburgh said.
North West Police Commissioner, Lieutenant General Sello Kwena congratulated the team for working around the clock to ensure that alleged perpetrators are put behind bars. Kwena once more warned that acts of lawlessness and undermining the authority of the State will not be tolerated.
The Greater Taung Local Municipality Speaker, Ebusang Tladi has come under fire amongst some disgruntled ANC members after the removal of three ANC members from the EXCO.
Judy Mothibi, Grace Moipolai and Crespo Menyatso were removed from the EXCO through a ‘motion of no confidence’ tabled by the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) at the municipality last week.
However, a concerned ANC member, Pico Seepamere came out gun blazing and penned a letter regarding what transpired. Seepamere alleged that the motion of no confidence by the EFF was misguided under the pretext of ANC defiant deployees at the municipality.
“It is only the tried and tested ANC cadres deployed in government who understand that thought through party-position communicated at the ANC caucus prior to the council meeting that must suffice.
“The level of anarchy and defiance by the ANC deployees at the municipality is a call for concern to all of us, particularly on transformational mergers because it’s their key responsibility,” Seepamere said.
He further said in July 2020, an extreme defiance played itself out during the statutory council meeting in Pudumoe and the same ordeal was recapitulated on 30 March 2021 during a Visual Statutory Council Meeting when a group of ANC councillors ‘unconstitutional’ toppled three Member of the Mayoral Committee (MMC) without a party position.
“Political instability is a recipe for disaster and the contamination of the conducive environment planted under the stewardship of the late Oom Gov Kaone Lobelo and the then disciplined and committed collective councillors of ANC.
“When you topple your own comrades, it is an insinuation of political instability, therefore, the agenda of contesting the state resource to transform society falls off, opportunistic tendencies looms high and the trusted revolutionary movement (ANC) suffers dearly,” said Seepamere.
He said they are aware of the event prior to the last council meeting dated 30 March 2021 where the role of money played to remove Menyatso, Moipolai and Mothibi. Seepamere said in fact, the mayor of the municipality, Kgosi Nnyoko Motlhabane was also targeted, but the plan was a decimal failure due to lack of candidates.
“Therefore, the opportunistic Pulling Down Syndrome undermining the role of the law, MFMA structure’s Act and all related ACT’s continues under the EFF and the balaclava ANC defiant group led by the lumpen Speaker and the Chief Whip of the majority party.
“Despite the engagement by some councillors to caution him of flouting and bypassing legislative progress, he insisted the opposite by unprocedurally removing the three MMC members,” he said.
Seepamere added that the six EFF councillors cannot topple the ANC mayor and it is highly impossible. He alleges that clearly, these EFF councillors are ‘a lapdog of the so-called Speaker and cohorts’ to achieve a misguided goal and also to worsen the political instability in the municipality.
“It is the responsibility of the opposition party, particularly the EFF to bring instability for their relevancy in garnering support for the upcoming local government elections and it is only revolutionaries who can use their political consciousness level properly to detect political misfortune and opportunistic tendencies.
“You touch Motlhabane, you touch ANC branches in Taung Sub-Region o tla di gama o sa di tlhapela wena Tladi le EFF (Loosely translated as: You will be in for it Tladi and the EFF). We want to call on the ANC IRC to suspend/withdraw the useless Chief Whip because she is failing to convene a caucus prior to the council meeting, as a result, they attend council without a party position,” said Seepamere.
Meanwhile, the ANC IRC coordinator in the Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati region, Walter Mabogola shared the same sentiments. Mabogola was allegedly heard during the ANC virtual caucus meeting mincing his words.
“The ANC must intervene and we are saying that we must have a report because the speaker will never give it to us because of his attitude. The Chief Whip will never give us a report, even though we gave her the instructions.
“So, we decided to get a report from the alternative office, which is the Office of the Mayor before next week Wednesday. We want this report to be processed through the officials of ANC Interim Regional Committee (IRC) and the Interim Regional Working Committee (IRWC),” he said.
Mabogola added that they have observed that, these issues are not new and it is just a matter of getting a report on what has transpired last week at the council sitting. He further said they have requested the mayor to provide them with the report so that they can take this matter up with the ANC.
“Lastly we are saying appropriate disciplinary actions must be taken through the invocation of Rule 25 of the ANC constitution. So, we will do that comrades and this is the end of the report that we needed to present before you.
“The report has the inputs of other members of the IRC who were part of the previous meeting including the inputs of the Municipal Manager and the mayor. The mayor must work collectively of the caucus to ensure that report reflects all the views of all comrades on the ground,” he said.
Mabogola further said they acknowledge that there are problems. However, he said this to be achieved, they need to get the report from the caucus.
“Unfortunately, this time the report will come from the mayor working collectively with the caucus with the support from the Office of the Municipal Manager. So, this is the end of my presentation comrades.
“The ANC caucus is highly divided and dysfunctional. The division is conspicuous comrades in that caucus and can be seen by everybody. We have seen it manifest itself at the level of the council meetings, where councillors of the ANC after the mandate and the constitution of the party is issued to them as a collective,” said Mabogola.
He said some will decide not to take instructions, while others decide to take them. Mabogola said there is a root cause of the polarity that is observed in that caucus.
“Some are listening to the ANC, while others defies the party’s orders. It is very clear, this is not about factions but who is prepared to take the instructions of the party or not. I am not going to say you are factional, but I’ll say you are obedient and some are disobedient to the party that deployed them.
“The Speaker and the Chief Whip are masterminds behind the defiant campaign that is there in the caucus of Taung against the ANC. There is also a trend of tendering coordinated apologists for not attending ANC caucuses by the councillors who are defiant and who are aligned to the speaker and the Chief Whip,” said Mabogola.
He said it appears as if, after receiving an invitation to attend the caucus, then they convene another meeting where they agree not to attend the caucus meeting. Mabogola said there is that pattern that they have observed over a period of time.
“So, comrades another reflection is that it appears as the mayor and the Chief Whip has decided to allow the Speaker of that municipality the space to do as he pleases in the office of the mayor and of the Chief Whip.
“Sometimes when you listen to him, he speaks like a speaker, but sometimes he speaks like the Chief Whip. He calls himself an all-rounder and the mayor must deal with governance issues including in particular, issues of service delivery,” said Mabogola.
However, he said they do not see that happening, but they see only ‘one man’ show in that institution hence the Speaker feels that he is bigger than anyone else.
However, Tladi refuted allegations levelled against him. He said he did not attend the IRC caucus meeting because he feels that they cannot attend a meeting with people who ploy against them.
“If they say I am a loner, they mean all those who are elected in the mayoral and Chief Whip positions are redundant. I know that the IRC has been planning to remove me from the Speaker position for months.
“This was triggered by the removal of three EXCO members who belong to their faction. Now, the EFF has submitted a motion of no confidence against the mayor, and we will attend to that on Tuesday,” he said.
North West University (NWU) has expelled three students for illegal actions in separate incidents. The University spokesperson, Louis Jacobs said in the first incident, a final year BEd student has been expelled from the university following a disciplinary hearing.
“The Disciplinary Committee (DC) ruled that the student was guilty of assault of staff members and the destruction of university property. The student still has the right to appeal the outcome of the disciplinary process.
“In the early hours of 6 March 2021, a small group of students of the NWU’s Mahikeng Campus gathered at the main entrance of the campus to protest in support of calls for a national shutdown of universities. These students barricaded the entrance of the campus and caused complete mayhem that prevented staff and other students to access or exit the campus,” Jacobs said.
He further said during the protest action that lasted for almost the entire day, the protesters assaulted staff and vandalised university property. Jacobs further said the assault resulted in the hospitalisation of two members of the university’s Protection Services.
“The evidence provided shows the student assaulting these staff members with rocks, breaking the gates and windows, burning chairs, and destroying security cameras. The NWU empathises with academically deserving students who are unable to register due to financial constraints, and support constructive initiatives aimed at finding long-term sustainable solutions for higher education funding in our country.
“We have demonstrated our commitment for support by using our very constrained resources to cover registration costs for some of the deserving students. The assault of staff and students and vandalism are not ways and means of ensuring that academically deserving students get access to higher education, but are mere short-sighted and selfish ways that can only perpetuate their suffering,” he said.
In the second incident, two members of the Vanderbijlpark Campus Student Campus Council were also expelled, after their disciplinary hearing was concluded. Both members were found guilty for their actions during February 2021.
Jacobs said the students were found guilty of involvement in the university’s business activities with third parties, involving owners of private accommodation.
“Their request for appeal has been denied and we welcome the Disciplinary Committees’ ruling regarding these students. It is regrettable that young persons’ lives have taken this turn. However, all of us including students must know that there are consequences for our actions and take accountability,” remarked Prof Dan Kgwadi, principal and vice-chancellor of the NWU.
“The NWU has in the past few years experienced violence and vandalism that continue to cost the university financially and in other ways. I have repeatedly told our students and their parents and guardians that we have a zero-tolerance for violence and misconduct of any kind,” said Jacobs.
He said the students can have robust debate about issues without assaulting each other or damaging property or bringing the university’s name into disrepute. Jacobs said after all, they are at a university where difference of opinion and contestation of ideas are encouraged and promoted.
“I wish all our students can embrace constructive ways of resolving problems and avoid this kind of results. Regarding the business operations of the university, both staff and students must refrain from interfering or influencing the outcome of the university process in order for us to ensure transparency and fair business practices,” he added.
The Guardian 