30 September 2024– A man (50), who is believed to be an alleged serial rapist and murderer, remanded in custody until 9 October 2024. The accused was arrested by the Provincial Anti-Gang Unit, Mahikeng Detectives, Mahikeng Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit (FCS) and North West Phycology Investigation Unit, during multi-disciplinary investigation on 27 September 2024.
The accused was arrested at his residential place in Makhubung village, near Mahikeng, in the early hours of the morning on Friday.
The North West police spokesperson, Colonel Adéle Myburgh said the suspect was arrested after he was linked to the rape and murder case of Neo Kgabanakgosi (42). Myburgh said according to the initial reports, Kgabanakgosi’s naked and lifeless body, was discovered by a passerby in the bushes at Danville Township, in Mahikeng, on 7 September 2024.
“The passerby immediately alerted the police. Kgabanakgosi was declared dead on the scene by Emergency and Medical Rescue Services (EMRS). The investigations revealed that, there is a witness who saw the suspect picking-up the victim with a car during the late hours of Friday night, 6 September, a day prior to when she was found killed.
“Furthermore, four more victims, who allegedly survived sexual and physical assaults by the same suspect, came forward and reported it to the police. Any person with information that can assist the police with the investigations, is requested to contact the Investigating Officer, Sergeant Boitumelo Motsamai of Mahikeng Detectives on cell: 079 881 9905,” she said.
Myburgh further said the possibility of linking the suspect to multiple cases of the same nature, where females were found raped, murdered and their bodies dumped in the bushes around Mahikeng, cannot be ruled out.
She added that the accused briefly appeared before Molopo Magistrate’s Court on 30 September 2024, for the alleged murder and rape Kgabanakgosi.
Meanwhile, the North West Police Commissioner, Lieutenant General Sello Kwena, congratulated the police for their diligence and working around the clock to arrest the suspect. Kwena said the police will continue to work hard to ensure that criminals face the full might of the law.
30 September 2024- Four suspects who were arrested in connection with the murder of a farmer, Hendrik Venter (81), briefly appeared in the Kuruman Magistrate’s Court on 30 September 2024. Two of the suspects aged 18 and 20 respectively, were released.
The Northern Cape police spokesperson, Colonel Cherelle Ehlers said Orabile Vincent Motsewakgosi (24) and Kabelo Tata (26), will remain in custody until their formal bail application on 4 October 2024.
Picture: A suspect arrested for allegedly stealing vehicles/Supplied
By BAKANG MOKOTO
30 September 2024- North West MEC for Community Safety and Transport Management, Wessels Morweng have applauded traffic officers around Mahikeng for being vigilant. This follows the arrest of a suspect at a tavern in Mahikeng, who is regarded as a kingpin to the syndicate that are stealing cars mostly from Botswana at shopping malls around Mafikeng and one who was also arrested in Mafikeng with suspected stolen car from Zeerust.
Morweng said according to Eagles Unit Manager responsible for N18, R503 and R49, the first suspect is part of the syndicate that target Botswana vehicles parked at shopping malls and allegedly uses tow trucks to take them away.
“The second suspect was driving a grey Toyota Corolla without number plates and when traffic officers stopped him, he was not able to give clear answers. It was established that the car was stolen in Zeerust.
“Searching the vehicle, the officers came across boxes of counterfeit cigarette. The two were taken to Mafikeng Police station and charges of counterfeit goods and theft of motor vehicles were opened,” he said.
Morweng has reiterated his call to make the province safer from criminals.
“People must do their shopping without fearing that when they come back they might not find their cars at shopping malls.
“It cannot be business as usual and we are determined to eradicate this type of crimes as they also affect our cross border relations but also economic spin offs,” he said.
30 September 2024- A policeman (47) briefly appeared in the Rustenburg Magistrate’s Court on 30 September 2024, for attempted murder. A policeman, who is a Sergeant attached to Marikana Police Station, was arrested in the early hours of the morning on Friday, 27 September 2024, in Marikana.
The North West police spokesperson, Colonel Adele Myburgh said the suspect was apprehended after he allegedly shot a victim (22) in the head after he flirted with his girlfriend at a tavern at the RDP Section. Myburgh said the victim was rushed to a local hospital, where he is admitted in a critical condition.
“A 9mm pistol was seized on the scene and the matter was referred to the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID), for further investigation,” she said.
Meanwhile, the North West Police Commissioner, Lieutenant General Sello Kwena, welcomed the arrest and thanked the police for their continued efforts and quick response that led to the arrest. Kwena also reiterated that employees involved in criminal conduct will not be condoned in the service.
30 September 2024- More than 39 suspects were arrested during Operation Vala Umgodi for contravention of Immigration laws in Kimberly on 28 September 2024. The suspects were arrested by a team comprising of South African Police Service (SAPS), South African National Defence Force (SANDF) and Immigration officials.
The law enforcement agencies took part in the execution of an intelligence-driven operation about different hide outs of alleged undocumented individuals in the Kimberley area.
The Northern Cape police spokesperson, Sergeant Merapelo Pilane said in the early morning hours of Saturday, 28 September 2024, the law enforcement officers tactically operationalised the the information at their disposal, which led to the arrest of 31men and 8 women aged between 21 and 49, at different addresses in Galeshewe Township and Kimberley CBD.
Pilane said the suspects are expected to appear before the Kimberley Magistrates Court soon.
“Operation Vala Umgodi is committed to strengthen the fight against all criminal and unlawful activities taking place in the Northern Cape,” she said.
30 September 2024- The Hawks Priority Crime Specialised Investigation team with the assistance of National Prosecuting Authority’s Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU), has secured a preservation order of R1.6 million against Mahdi Akil (50). The order was granted by the Northern Cape High Court sitting in Kimberley on 25 September 2024.
The Hawks spokesperson in Northern Cape, Warrant Officer Nomthandazo Mnisi said during January 2024, members of Public Order Policing (POP), conducted a search and seizure at 35 4 str, Klensie. Mnisi said duirng the search, a black plastic bag with suspected uncut diamonds and a red plastic bag containing money amounting to R1.6 million were recovered.
“The matter was then referred to Priority Crime Specialised Investigation for further investigation. A detailed asset investigation on the matter was referred to Asset Forfeiture Unit. The unit obtained a preservation order for the amount of R1.6 million,” she said.
30 September 2024- We have just returned from representing South Africa at the annual United Nations General Assembly in New York. The General Assembly was preceded by the Summit of the Future convened by the UN Secretary-General to forge a new international consensus on the most pressing issues facing our world today.
There was a reflection on the current geopolitical situation that gives rise to the challenges that many countries are facing, including national security, peace, economic development and the high cost of living.
The Summit aimed to mobilise greater support for the achievement by 2030 of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Many countries, particularly those with developing economies, are falling behind in meeting their targets, mainly due to a lack of funds.
The situation was made worse when scarce resources had to be re-directed to fight the COVID pandemic. This has meant that targets on poverty eradication, quality healthcare and actions against climate change are far from being met.
The UN estimates that the world needs about $4 trillion to achieve these goals. Just as importantly, the leaders of the world need the political will to dedicate the necessary resources to where they are most needed. The Summit culminated in the adoption of a Pact for the Future, which reaffirms that extreme poverty is the greatest global challenge.
It seeks to hold member states to their existing commitments to support sustainable development. In South Africa’s address to the UN General Assembly last week, I reiterated South Africa’s position that sustainable development can only be achieved when it is being driven by inclusive, responsive and agile multilateral institutions.
This means that bodies like the United Nations and financial institutions like the International Monetary Fund need to fundamentally reformed. We saw, for example, how the COVID-19 pandemic exposed the serious shortcomings of the international financial architecture.
Low income countries struggled to get financial and other forms of assistance from multilateral
institutions to support their pandemic response. Onerous lending requirements and overly bureaucratic systems meant that many poorer countries were unable to get help when they needed it most. Similarly, developing economy countries also struggle to get the funds they need, at sufficient scale, to respond to climate change and its impact.
This is largely because the northern hemisphere countries that are largely responsible for the damage to the climate have not met the commitments they made at the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris in 2015.
For many countries in Africa and the Global South, the cost of servicing their debt is diverting much-needed funds for development.
As South Africa, we endorsed the call made in the Pact for the Future for global financial institutions that are better, bigger and bolder, and are able to address the scale of the challenges facing the world. The Pact for the Future presents the world with an opportunity not only to bridge the development divide, but also to reinvigorate the multilateral system.
It is an opportunity to move forward on the long overdue reform of the global governance architecture, including the UN Security Council. At a time when the threats to international peace and security are many and complex, we can no longer place the world’s security in the hands of a few major powers when all countries are affected.
The current approach to world peace is unjust, unfair and unsustainable. The UN Security Council must therefore be more representative of the current membership of the United Nations.
The Pact for the Future commits member states to strengthen multilateral action towards a New Agenda for Peace. South Africa’s message was that there should be a reinforced focus on mediation and the political settlement of disputes.
We must pursue the attainment of just and sustainable peace based on international law.
When South Africa assumes the Presidency of the G20 later this year, we will prioritise the needs and aspirations of our continent and the Global South. As a signatory to the Pact for the Future, we want people-driven, sustainable development to become a reality. All the nations of the world have a right to development, and better resourced countries have a responsibility to support countries with developing economies to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
As a society, we need to work together to ensure that development, poverty eradication and job creation remain at the centre of our national agenda. Alongside the other nations of the world, we need to speed up the pace of progress so that we can realise the aspirations of the Pact for the Future and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.
This is vital if we are to succeed in building a better life for all our people.
Setshwantsho: Mongwebi o itsegeng le mongwa The Meat Brother’s Pub wa maloba, Tshwaro Mangwegape
Ka OBAKENG MAJE
30 Lwetse 2024- Kgetsi ya maiteko a polao le polao kgatlhanong le mogwebi o itsegeng, gape ele mong wa maloba wa lefelo le le rekisang bojalwa la The Meat Brother’s Pub, Tshwaro Mangwegape, e buseditswe morago go fitlha ka di 10 Diphalane 2024. Seno se tla morago ga gore lekgotlha le itsise fa jaanong dipholo tsa tlhobolo (ballistic test) di gorogile.
Lekgotlha le tlhalositse fa le tlile go ntsha letlha la gore kgetsi e fetisetswa leng kwa kgotlha-tshekelo ya sedika. Mangwegape o latofadiwa ka go thuntsa le go bolaya naledi ya kgwele ya dinao ya setlhopha sa NWU Soccer Institute, Undivile “Vila” Mdi (28) le go gobatsa tsala ya gagwe, Aobakwe Ernest Kokwe (33).
Go begwa fa Mdi le Kokwe, ba ne ba etela lefelo la The Meat Brother’s Pub mono Taung ka di 16 Sedimonthole 2023, go ya go ijesa monate. Fela go begwa fa lefelo leo le ne le tletse phetelelo.
Go ya ka dibego, Mdi le Kokwe ba baneng ba le mo gare ga lefelo leo, ba ile ba tswela kwa ntle, mme batlhankedi ba tshireletso, ba ile ba ba lemotsha fa ba se kitla ba kgona go boela mo teng, gonne go tletse.
Go begwa fa go ile ga tsoga tlhatlharuane magareng ga Mangwegape le banna ba, gonne ba ne ba batla go tsena ka kgang. Go begwa fa Mangwegape a ile a ntsha sethunya le go thuntsa Mdi, ga mmogo le Kokwe.
Go begwa fa Mdi a ile a tlhokafalela kwa bookelo, mme Kokwe ene o ile a amogelwa le go kgaolwa leoto. Mangwegape, yo o neetsweng beile ya R5000 ke kgotlha-tshekelo kgolo ya North West, o tla boela kwa kgotlha-tshekelo ka di 10 Diphalane 2024.
Picture: The performance of Moya: The Spiritual Journey at Mmabana Taung
By OBAKENG MAJE
30 September 2024- The Moya: Spiritual Journey that was presented at Mmabana Taung on 7 September 2024, left the audience calling for more. The musical play drew performers and audiences alike to a deeper connection to their spiritual roots.
The Director of Moya: Spiritual Journey, Nnete Manyesa said the play seeks to help one reconnect to the self – to introspect and rediscover inner peace. Manyesa said in most cases, Africans distance themselves from their spiritual calling and believe that it is aligned with bad spirit.
“The spiritual journey involves healing and affirming the ego so that positive states are experienced. In our play, there is a young woman called Naledi, who has a calling.
“However, it was so difficult to adhere to it because her mom was a firm believer. So, in the process, nothing goes right in her life. The spirit dictated everything in Naledi’s life until she adhered to the spiritual calling,” he said.
Manyesa further said with self-esteem, belief in self-worth and Africanism, most Africans will become less constrained. He added that acceptance of who you are is an essential aspect of a true spiritual journey.
“The purpose of Moya: The Spiritual Journey is to reflect on what we are going through on a daily basis. Moya: The Spiritual Journey play was inspired by the behaviour of our black people when they have a calling. Mostly, they will think the calling is bad spirit and reject it in the process.
“This play is here to educate them to augment Africanism. If you have a calling, you can pray and do whatever, however, follow the calling because culture prevails before religion,” said Manyesa.
He said he was happy with the unwavering support they received from the people of Taung. Manyesa said they call on other stakeholders, including the government to come on board.
“We would like to take this play to other areas across the North West. Our fundamental goal was to perform it at the South African State Theatre in Pretoria.
“We might also go international because this message needs to get across. Arts is still underdeveloped in the North West, hence we call on various stakeholders, including the North West Department of Arts, Culture, Sports and Recreation to give us necessary support,” he said.
Manyesa said they are grateful that they received funding from the National Department of Arts and Culture.
Meanwhile, the leading actor, Refilwe Cwaile, who is a professional performer and also started here at Mmabana Taung said, she then went to the South African State Theatre in Pretoria and she has been working as a professional since 2010.
“So, this is what I do for a living and fortunately, I have also travelled the world. I specialise in theatre and I am also a drama facilitator and scholar.
“I major in arts education and I decided to come back home in quest of nurturing the raw talents. Even though these past three weeks was hectic, we managed to inculcate our skills and experience to them,” said Cwaile.
She said they are now better than before and she hopes they will nurture with time.
Setshwantsho: Mokhuduthamaga wa Botaki, Setso, Metshameko ga mmogo le Tlhabololo, Collen Maine ga mmogo le Kgosi Khanana Nnyoko Motlhabane
Ka OBAKENG MAJE
30 Lwetse 2024- Mokhuduthamaga wa Botaki, Setso, Metshameko ga mmogo le Tlhabololo, Collen Maine o neelane ka kago ya Multi-Purpose Centre go baagi kwa motseng wa Manthe, gaufi le Taung, mo letsatsing la Labone. Maine are kago e, e sale e agiwa dingwaga di le 12 tse di fetileng, mme e jetse puso madi a kanang ka R27 million.
Are jaaka lefapha, ba itumeletse go fediwa ga kago e, mme go mo diatleng tsa baagi gore ba e tlhokomele. Maine are jaanong kago e, ba e neetse masepala o mogolwane wa Taung, mme ba tlile go dula ba tla go lekola seemo sa yone nako le nako.
“Re batlang basha ba rona ba tswe ko mebileng. Ba tshwanetse gore ba dirise kago e go ka ikatisa. Fela jaaka Kgosi a buile, re tlile go aga lefelo la go sapa (swimming pool), gore bana ba ithute go sapa.
“Re rekile ditshipi tsa go ikatisa tse di tshwanang le tsa bo Virgin Active, mme ga jaana re di beile kwa Mmabana Taung. Go na le kago e e tshwanetsweng gore re e agiwe fa thoko ga kago e, mme ke yone e e tlileng go tsenya ditshipi tseo mo teng. Seo se tlile go netefatsha fa kago e, e fetoga lefelo la go ikatisa la ma nnete,” Maine wa tlhalosa.
Are jaanong, ditshipi tseo di tla nama di dutse kwa Mmabana Taung, mme mo ngwageng o tlang wa ditshelete, kago eo e tlile go agiwa gore ditshipi tseo di tlisiwe fa. Maine are seo se tlile go thusa basha ba mo metse-selegae go ka ikatisa.
“Ke boleletswe gore bontsi jwa basha ba ba tswang mo magaeng, ba leba kwa ditoropong go tsenela metshameko e farologaneng, gonne ba ngokelwa ke ditheo tse di farologaneng tsa go ikatisa.
“Re ikopela thata go baagi ba rona gore kago e, ke ya bone. Mme fa ba na le matshwenyego, ba se e fise. Kago e e tshwanetse gore e ba tswele mosola, mme ba bue le mafapha a maleba go ntsha matshwenyego a bone,” Maine wa tlhalosa.
Are puso e mo tseleng ya go aga Afrika Borwa o botokwa, fela go tlile go tsamaya go nna le dikgwetlho. Maine are mme dikgwetlho tseo, di tshwanetswe go rarabololwa ntle le go fisa.
“Bana ba Isiraele fa ba ne ba tswa kwa Egepeto go leba kwa Kanana, ba tsamaile ba nna le dikgwetlho mo tseleng. Fela, ba ile ba nna le tshepo ya gore batla fitlhelela kwa ba yang kwa teng.
“Jaanaong, le rona re kopa baagi gore fa ba na le matshwenyego, ba se fise dikago gonne madi a puso e nang le one a mannye, mme re tshwantse gore re a kgaoganye gore re kgone go aga dikago tsa mofuta o kwa mafelong a mangwe,” Maine wa tlhalosa.
Maine are metshameko le botaki, ke maikarabelo a bone mo porofenseng ya Bokone Bophirima, mme ba dirisana le Lefapha la Thuto le dimasepala.
Kgabagare, Kgosi Khanana Nnyoko Motlhabane wa Batlhaping Baga Maidi, one a gana go tsenela di potsolotso (interviews) le Taung DailyNews, mme one a bolelela babega-dikgang ba rona gore ba tswe mo go ene.
The Guardian 