Close-up of unrecognizable cute baby shaking feet while lying in bed, innocence concept
By KEDIBONE MOLAETSI
A lifeless body of a boy (2) was found in a shallow grave in Extension 3, Blydeville near Lichtenburg on Tuesday. The North West police spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Amanda Funani said the decomposed body of Neo Refemetswe Tlhame was identified by his mother.
“According to the information received, police were called by Neo’s mother after they spotted a suspicious grave near the river. The grave was dug out and the decomposed body of young Neo was identified with the clothes that he was wearing on the day of his disappearance.
“Neo, who was with his grandparents, went missing on 24 May 2022. His disappearance was established by his mother when she went to fetch him after work. Subsequently, a case of a missing person was opened after a fruitless search by the community members and Neo’s family,” Funani said.
She further said the police also joined the search, but Neo was never found. Funani added that the cause of his death is still unknown and no one has been arrested yet.
Meanwhile, the North West Police Commissioner, Lieutenant General Sello Kwena condemned the incident and urged the Lichtenburg Detectives to do everything in their powers to arrest the alleged perpetrators of this crime.
A candle may have sparked the fire, which killed an elderly man in Lokgabeng village, near Mokgareng in Taung. The charred body of Mabula Samuel Gabonewe (79) was found by his granddaughter, Kealeboga Sekgetho (45) lying unresponsive in his house on Monday morning.
“We found our grandfather lying unresponsive in his house. However, we could not determine whether the fire was caused by a candle or not. As a family, we are downtrodden by the atrocity.
“We are still waiting for the post-mortem to determine the cause of his death. He was intensively burnt and we will talk about funeral preparations after we have received autopsy results,” Sekgetho said.
Meanwhile, the North West police spokesperson in Dr Ruth Segomotsi cluster, Sgt Tryphosa van Rooyen said: “The Taung police are investigating an inquest after it was reported on Monday that an elderly male was found lying unresponsive in his house.
“On arrival at the scene, the police found the elderly man, who was identified as Mabula Samuel Gabonewe by his granddaughter. Initial investigation of the scene indicated that the bedroom of the house had burned.”
Van Rooyen said the cause of death, as well as the cause of the fire, has not been established yet, but an investigation continues.
Picture: The alleged drug lord and murder accused, Bakang Katong, his brother, Phenyo, and Katlego Mosimege/Supplied
By OBAKENG MAJE
A murder case against four men from Manthe village in Taung was postponed until 4 July 2022 by Taung Magistrate’s Court for further investigations. The alleged drug lord Bakang “Mahomed” Katong (31), Thabang Lenyai (23), Phenyo “The Great” Katong (34) and Katlego “Makita” Mosimege (31) were arrested two months ago in connection with the brutal murder of the late Thabiso Mothibedi (35).
It is alleged that Mothibedi stole R20 000 cash and cigarettes worth R600 from Katong’s house two days before his ‘untimely’ death.
The North West police spokesperson, Capt Sam Tselanyane said: “The preliminary investigation revealed that on 29 April 2022, the deceased was at Lenganeng village near Taung, when the suspects fetched and transported him to Manthe village. Upon arrival, the deceased was allegedly chained to a generator and assaulted.
“After the assault, the victim was reportedly transported to Manthe clinic by a group of men and requested nurses to check if he was still alive. However, Mothibedi was certified dead upon arrival.”
One of the community leaders, Ali Sakiele said they are sick and tired of drug lords who sell drugs to young people. Sakiele further said they have attended the court proceedings because they have taken a decision as a community of Manthe that they do not want to see anyone selling drugs anymore in their area.
“We urge the magistrate to deny the alleged perpetrators bail. We came to court to show support and to address our grievances in a coordinated manner. Drugs destroy many lives and livelihoods including dividing families, so as the community, we say #EnoughIsEnough,” he said.
The deceased’ sister, Boingotlo Mothibedi (37) said: “It is difficult to see my brother’s life being cut short by alleged drug lords. Even though Thabiso was not perfect, he was a peaceful person, who loved to engage positively with people.
“So, what happened to him is inhumane. We call on the justice system to deal harshly with the perpetrators. It is not only Thabiso’s life that has been lost because of drugs but so many lives of young people are being destroyed on a daily basis”
She alleged that the perpetrators used her brother and killed him afterward.
Meanwhile, three houses and a bakkie belonging to Katong’s family were torched by irate community members on 1 May 2022. Another community member, Mothusi Motimeng said: “I blame Baga-Maidi Tribal Authority including incompetent police for all these shenanigans happening in our area.
“Everybody can see what is happening and as community members, we have been complaining about these drug lords, who sell nyaope to our youths. Now, these nyaope addicts broke into our houses, stole properties, and sold them, so that they can get money to feed their cravings.”
Motimeng further accused the alleged drug lords of using the deceased for their own benefits and killed him afterwards. He said as a community, they say #EnoughIsEnough because many communities are suffering from the effects of drug addiction and its wide-ranging impact.
Picture: The Lekwateemane Local Municipality and clinic in Christiana gutted by fire/Supplied
By BAKANG MOKOTO
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) in North West said the fire that gutted the Lekwa-Teemane Local Municipality building and clinic in Christiana might have been caused by political interference.
EFF provincial spokesperson, Linda Mabengwane said in a statement that even though there is no finalized report currently, the party hopes that the cause of the fire is an innocent human mistake.
“However, we cannot rule out the possibility of political foul play due to the internal factional battles of the ANC. The Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati region is a well-known ANC war zone in the North West.
“Over the past few years, the Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati District Municipality and its local municipalities have all been engulfed in the remnants of the ANC’s political war fares. In December 2021, we saw Christiana Hospital equally being burned in the midst of the heated factional battles of the ANC and to this day no one has been held accountable,” Mabengwane said.
He further said as the EFF, their stance has always been that communities must never be caught in the crossfire of the ANC fighting itself. Mabengwane added that the people of North West must never allow themselves or their resources to be used to fight the internal party fights within the ANC.
“The EFF hereby calls on all stakeholders to be on the ground and ensure that a proper report is compiled to ensure that the person responsible for torching healthcare services in Lekwa Teemane is held accountable.
“It cannot be that health facilities continue to burn yearly and no one is held accountable,” he said.
The North West Health MEC Madoda Sambatha said: “We have sent a team of executive managers led by the acting DDG for Health Services, Pule Monale to assess the state of the Christiana Town Clinic, which was destroyed by fire Monday evening.
“The town clinic which has been the only remaining health facility in the area was attached to the municipal hall which also caught fire. The sad incident occurs at a time when we are in the process of finalising procurement of Parkhomes, which are to serve as a temporary structure until the hospital is rebuilt.”
Sambatha said his team has made some sound recommendations to restore health services to the community of Christiana. He said the management team has reported that the extent of the damage caused by the fire is such that the facility will not be operational any time soon.
“As a result, a number of measures for intervention have been proposed and will be immediately implemented. The first immediate intervention is to avail a mobile clinic, which will be stationed next to where the burnt clinic was. The mobile clinic will be stationed there until the health services are restored.
“Following the assessment, the management team has also recognised that there is a piece of land next to the municipality, which can be used to erect a temporary structure in a form of a Parkhome. The strategic positioning of this piece of land will enable the structure to access water and electricity, which will allow clinic services to be rendered without interruption,” said Sambatha.
He said the team has proposed the utilisation of an old Parkhome which consists of three consulting rooms and the structure will provide an additional room to the burnt clinic. Sambatha said the municipality was immediately engaged on these proposals as the need to restore clinic services is a matter of emergency in the area.
Meanwhile, the Lekwa-Teemane Local Municipality mayor, Sebang Motlhabi said that service delivery will not be affected and they have appointed a team to do a damage assessment caused by the fire.
The Guardian 