By OBAKENG MAJE

Residents across the Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati region said, the lack of access to clean and drinkable water affects their well-being. Yesterday, traffic was affected after residents in Utlwang Location, near Christiana embarked on a protest demanding the provision of water.

They barricaded the road that links their area with Christiana CBD with burning tyres and debris. According to one of the residents, Sonwabo Mseswa, is been a while since they have not access to clean and drinkable water.

“We are here as a community because of the water crisis that we are having. It is very sad that we are having a big river that passes through our town, but we are still suffering. The reality of the matter is the municipality cannot answer that.

“They always tell us that the provision of water is the prerogative of the district municipality. However, we have not received any word from the district municipality,” Mseswa said.

He further said, the municipality promised to bring relevant stakeholders such as the district mayor, Motseothata Maje, and North West MEC for Cooperative Governance, Human Settlement and Traditional Affairs (COGHSTA), but that has not happened. 

He added that, everyone knows that water is life and they cannot live like this. Mseswa said their health is at risk because of the lack of water.

Another resident, Olebogeng Morake shared the same sentiments. Morake said, water challenges continue to affect their livelihoods at large including school children.

“Our children have to bathe and cook before they could go to school. However, that is not the case because of the lack of provision of water. Even our households are also affected because mostly, we use in-house toilets.

“Just imagine our situation because we cannot even use the ablution facilities in our own houses. We are now forced to recycle water after bathing or washing clothes. Remember, the contaminated water can transmit diseases, so our health is also at risk,” he said.

Some of the residents from Maphoitsile and neighbouring areas embarked on a march recently to the Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati District Municipality mayor, Motseothata Maje’s office carrying dirty water that allegedly came out of their taps. 

According to them, it’s been over five years since they started to experience water challenges in their area. They said, the water that comes out of their taps is dirty and not good for human consumption.

The Member of Mayoral Committee (MMC) who is responsible for infrastructure, councillor, Pico Seapamere said: “This is a national crisis, but we have a responsibility as the municipality to ensure that, there is a provision of water in the district.

“We had a consultative engagement with the Lekwa-Temane Local Municipality mayor and municipal manager to come up with strategic measures to redress the situation. So, the main challenge at Lekwa-Temane is load-shedding.”

Seepamere said, the water pumping system was affected by load-shedding and that caused the delays. He said, they will be installing a new generator as a backup.

“We think that in two days, water scarcity will be reduced in the entire Lekwa-Temane. We have also engaged in a meeting with service providers to ensure that, there is a plan to provide water to other areas, where we do not have a reticulation system.

“We have delivered four JoJo tanks at Magogong village, near Taung and the emergency department will continue to ensure that, those JoJo tanks are filled with water,” said Seepamere.

He said, unfortunately, four JoJo tanks that had over 10 000 litres were allegedly burned by community members on Wednesday in Bona-Bona village, near Ganyesa.

“There is no longer about water, but there is a criminal activity element. When you go to Lekgabeng village in Taung, the contractor was supposed to be on-site by Monday. However, I heard that was not the case.

“So, the contractor promised to attend to the issue of Lokgabeng as soon as yesterday. He was allegedly held hostage by some business persons, who were demanding to be given tenders in Gulodina,” he said.

Seepamere said, some of the challenges are not water-related issues. He said when you go to Modimong village, near Taung, there is a contractor on site who is building a water supply system there.

“So, the project is nearing completion. Soon we will be handing over that water plant. We are also attending to water challenges in Lower and Upper Majakgoro.

“Now, the challenge here is, there is a pretentious service between us and Phokwane Local Municipality as no one is willing to come to the party. However, we cannot bring a blame game here as we thrive in ensuring that our people get the provision of water,” said Seepamere.

Meanwhile, the Magalies Water spokesperson, David Magae said the water plant supplying the Maphoitsile and neighbouring areas has design limitations, which are normally featured in the normal water treatment process. 

Magae said, there is no settling tank, which must be part of the treatment process before water is dispensed externally for consumption.

“As a result, the arrangements are such that, we utilise direct filtration to mitigate this design limitation. Regrettably, under circumstances whereby the raw water turbidity is above 100NTU.

“Turbidity is the cloudiness or haziness of a fluid caused by large numbers of individual particles that are generally invisible to the naked eye, similar to smoke in the air. 

“the measurement of turbidity is a key test of both water clarity and water quality, which is the case now. The water plant cannot handle that kind of turbidity,” he said. 

According to Magae, the municipality through the responsible officials responsible for water services has been made aware of the above-mentioned challenge. 

He said, the current control measures include frequent backwashing of sand filters, optimization of the disinfection process and blending of water from the plant with treated water from the Pudimoe plant.

“This happens when there is a sufficient water supply at Khibitswane reservoir. The plant is going to be taken out of operation once the new Taung Plant has been commissioned and all villages that used to get water from Bogosing plant would receive water from the new Taung Plant,” he said.

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By REGINALD KANYANE

An urgent bail application in a murder case against four accused was postponed until 23 January 2023 by Taung Magistrate’s Court. Last year, a local businessman and alleged drug lord, Bakang Katong (31), Thabang Lenyai (23), Phenyo Katong (34), and Katlego Mosimege (31), who allegedly brutally killed Thabiso Mothibedi (35) made an urgent bail application and their request was granted.

They were arrested in April 2022 for allegedly killing Mothibedi, who was one of their loyal customers after accusing him of stealing R20 000 cash and cigarettes worth R600 from Katong’s house at Manthe village, near Taung.

The North West police spokesperson, Capt Sam Tselanyane said the preliminary investigation revealed that on 29 April 2022, the deceased was at Lenganeng village in Taung, when the accused fetched and transported him back to Manthe village.

“Upon arrival, the deceased was allegedly chained to a generator and assaulted. After the assault, the victim was reportedly transported to a local clinic by the accused, however, he was declared dead upon arrival.

“The accused were arrested and charged with Thabiso’s murder,” Tselanyane said.

On 1 May 2022, the community members were up in armed and allegedly torched three houses and a bakkie belonging to Katong’s family. The murder case against the accused was initially postponed to 15 February 2022, but they made an urgent bail application on 22 November 2022, which was granted.

The court heard that the investigating officer allegedly received death threats. He also received a petition from a section of the community members that urges the court to release the accused.

However, the investigating officer told the court that, according to his analysis, those who signed the petition calling for the release of the accused, allegedly did that under false pretense as they want to kill them. 

He said, it will be in the interest of the accused if they are kept incarcerated.   

Meanwhile, some other community members packed the court to the rafters and submitted a petition calling for no bail against the accused.

One of the community leaders, Rapampiri Motshitshi said, they do not want to see the accused within their community because of the criminal activities they executed.

“Our youth are faced with a bleak future because they are destroyed by nyaope. The only thing that we want is to see a clean community that is free from drugs. These young boys come to our houses and steal just to feed their cravings,” he said.

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By OBAKENG MAJE

The family of Moretlwe in Myra village, near Taung seeks help for their son, who is suffering from Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), previously referred to as Asperger’s disorder.

Boingotlo Moretlwe said her cousin, Onkgomoditse Kitso Moretlwe (9), is attending at Myra Primary School, however, there are no changes as he continues to repeat Grade 1. She further said Kitso is repeating Grade 1 for the third time this year.  

“My brother cannot copy at a normal public school. We tried a couple of times to enroll him at Sebitloane Special School without any luck. What is painful is that, we did everything that was required by the school, such as filling out application forms.

“However, to this date, the boy is still doing Grade 1 for the third time. Kitso is not even comfortable interacting with other normal learners. We need the necessary help because we do not know what needs to be done for him to be accepted at Sebitloane Special School,” she said.

Boingotlo said, this has affected them negatively as a family. She said, what they needed was communication from both school and the North West Department of Education.

“We want to know where we failed while doing the application so that we can fix it. So, any assistance will be highly appreciated so that the boy can be enrolled at the school,” said Boingotlo.

Meanwhile, the North West Department of Education spokesperson, Elias Malindi said: “There are admission procedures at special schools as learners ought to undergo an assessment by specialists at the Joe Morolong Memorial Hospital in Vryburg, which is a specialised field for relevant diagnosis.

“Remember. The classes are limited based on the type of challenges learners have. The autism class must have fewer learners for the class teacher to copy.

“There are parents who want to impose admission without following the relevant processes. The waiting list is long due to the number of classrooms we have and scarcity of the specialised therapists,” Malindi said.

He further said, Sebitloane Special School is catering to the whole district hence the waiting lists of assessed learners.

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Ka REGINALD KANYANE

Theetso ya beile e e potlakileng mo kgetsing ya polao kgatlhanong le motshameki wa maloba o diphatsa wa setlhopa sa kgwele ya dinao sa Mighty Boys FC, yo ga jaana eleng rakgwebo, Bakang “Mahomed” Katong (31), e solofetswe go ka reediwa ke kgotlha-tshekelo ya Taung mo letsatsing la gompieno.

Kgetsi e, ene ya busediwa morago ka letsatsi la 10 Ferikgong 2023 morago ga gore mmueledi wa balatofadiwa go kaiwe fa a sa ikutlwe sentle.

Bakang yo go begwang a rekisa seritibatsi sa nyaope, o ikuela gore a gololwe ka beile ga mmogo le balatofadiwa nae, Thabang Lenyai (23), Katlego Mosimege (31) le Phenyo Katong (34). 

Balatofadiwa ba ne ba neela lekgotlha mabaka a gore, gobaneng ba tshwanetse go neelwa beile. Fela, lekgotlha le ne la lemotsha Bakang fa a na le kgetsi enngwe ya petelelo e a e sekang, mme o neetswe beile mo go yone.

Fela, o iphitlhetse gape a thulane le molao mo kgetsing e e masisi e a lebaganeng le yone ya polao.

Balotofadiwa bale bane, ba ne ba tshwarwa ka kgwedi ya Moranang 2022 le go latofadiwa ka polao e setlhogo ya ga Thabiso Mothibedi (35). Tiragalo e, e diragetse kwa motseng wa Manthe gaufi le Taung.

Go begwa fa Mothibedi yo go kaiwang fa a ne a goga seritibatsi sa nyaope, a ne a tsena kwa ntlung ya ga Katong, mme a utswa matsebetsebe a madi a balelwang go R20 000 ga mmogo le motsoko wa boleng jwa R600. Go begwa fa morago ga tiragalo eno, Mothibedi one a le botsa phokoje le go leba kwa motseng wa Longaneng.

Go ya ka sebueledi sa sepodisi mo Bokone Bophirima, Capt Sam Tselanyane, o bega fa segongwana seno sa banna ba ba neng ba tshakgetse, ba ne ba tswa letsholo le go batlana le Mothibedi. Go kaiwa fa ba ne ba mo fitlhela ale ko ga mothakga kwa motseng wa Longaneng.

“Dipatlisiso tsa sepodisi di supa fa segongwana seno sa banna, sene sa thopa Mothibedi ka dikgoka, mme ba leba le ene kwa motseng wa Manthe. Go begwa fa bane ba fitlha ba mo gokelela mo genereiteng, mme ba mo digela dingalo go utlwala.

“Dipaltisiso tsa sepodisi di supa fa banna ba, ba ne ba mo itlhaganedisa kwa kliniking ya selegae morago ga go lemoga fa a neela mowa. Go begwa fa Mothibedi a ne a netefadiwa fa tlhokofetse kwa kliniking. Balatofadiwa ba ne ba tshwarwa le go latofadiwa ka polao,” Tselanyane wa bega.

Tiragalo e, e ne ya tshakgatsa baagi ba motse wa Manthe. Ene ya re ka di 1 Motsheganong 2022, baagi ba ne ba tswa letsholo le go fisa dintlo dile tharo tsa balatofadiwa ga mmogo le go ja sejanaga sa bone sa mabaibai ka molelo.

Banna ba, ba ne ba tswelela go ka shadikanya matlho fa pele ga kgotlha-tshekelo makgetlho a le mmalwa. Fela kgetsi ya bone ene ya busediwa morago go fitlha di 15 Tlhakole 2023. Go kaiwa fa banna bano, ba ba kwa ntlo-lefitshwana, ba ne ba dira kopo e potlakileng ya beile.

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By REGINALD KANYANE

A search for a boy (5), who went missing at Reatlegile near Bloemhof continues. According to the police, Kamogelo Gaobuse was last seen by his mother on 12 January 2023 after dropping him off at school.

The North West police spokesperson, Capt Aafje Botma said: “It is alleged that the boy was dropped off at school by his mother. However, when the mother fetched him later, he was nowhere to be found.

“During his disappearance, Gaobuse was wearing a blue school uniform of Matlhajaneng Primary School and black school shoes. Anyone with information regarding his whereabouts can contact the Investigating Officer, Sergeant Mzwawudelwe Liswe of the Bloemhof Detectives on 063 416 0961.”

Botma said anonymous tip-offs can also be communicated via the My SAPS App or you can phone Crime Stop at 08600 10111.

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By KEDIBONE MOLAETSI

A suspect (20) from Lokaleng village, near Taung, has been arrested for theft by police. This comes after a burglary was reported to the police on 13 January 2023.

According to the North West police spokesperson in Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati cluster, Warrant Officer Tryphosa van Rooyen, the incident took place in Reivilo.

“The owner of the house discovered that his home had been burgled when he arrived home from work and he opened a housebreaking case.

The items that were stolen during the burglary included a laptop, two cameras, a cellular phone, and groceries.

“The stolen items are all estimated at R19 885. The initial investigation led the detectives to Lokaleng Village in Taung, where the laptop was recovered.

“A suspect was arrested and briefly appeared at the Taung Magistrate’s Court on Monday. He is facing a charge of housebreaking and theft. The acting District Police Commissioner, Brigadier Tshenolo Tlotleng commended the members for their swift response, which led to the arrest of the suspect,” said van Rooyen.

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By OBAKENG MAJE

A man (42) has been arrested for being in possession of drugs at Vryburg. The North West police spokesperson in Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati cluster, warrant officer, Tryphosa van Rooyen said, the K9 police who were on patrol at Vryburg Central Business District, received information about drugs being sold at the Vryburg Taxi Rank.

“With a search warrant in their possession, the police followed up on the information and searched business premises inside the taxi rank. During the search, the police found substances identified as Methaqualone (Mandrax) tablets, Methamphetamine (Crystal meth), Cocaine and Methcathinone (CAT) with an estimated street value of R57 000.

“A case of possession or usage of a dependence-producing substance under the Drug Trafficking Act 140/1992 was opened and the suspect was arrested,” van Rooyen said.

She further said the suspect appeared in the Vryburg Magistrate’s Court on Monday.

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By OBAKENG MAJE

The North West police have launched the departmental investigations against the police officers, who were summoned to the accident scene involving the embattled Greater Taung Local Municipality (GTLM) mayor, Tumisang Gaoraelwe. 

This comes after a leaked audio that depicts Gaoraelwe’s voice, confirming that, the police officers found him drunk and assisted him to clean-up the accident scene.

On 3 October 2022, the drunk Gaoraelwe, who was on leave at the time, crashed the municipality’s luxury BMW X3 valued at R700 000, just 15km outside Schweizer Reneke. 

The drunk Gaoraelwe was allegedly recorded by unknown individuals during a meeting recently. 

“You do not have phones with you and you are not recording? In the issue of the accident, this is what happened. I was travelling with my ex-wife and two children. Benz, my children are 3 and 2 respectively.

“So, our divorce settlement is that I’ll see my children every month. So, it is normal, when she is around, I see my children. If she is not around, when I go to my current partner, I leave her and go to see my children in Pretoria and that’s the tradition,” said Gaoraelwe.

He further said in the audio, at that time when his ex-wife, Sindisiwe Nkonyana was around, her mother had an emergency. According to Gaoraelwe, Nkonyana had to rush back to Pretoria. 

He added that, he had to take responsibility by driving Nkonyana back with the children and meet halfway at Wolmaransstad.

“So, after the accident happened, the first person I called was Katlego Gabanakgosi as the person I trusted. The police who arrived at the accident scene, found me in the car.

“I was drunk, but the police had no reason to believe that I was drunk. I was able to speak properly and it was the same as now. So, he cleared (cleaned-up) the scene. Have you seen somebody clearing the scene? He cleared everything and he said, my man….” Gaoraelwe said.

However, when Gaoraelwe asked about the leaked audio depicting his voice, he said he does not recall having any conversation like that and uttered those words. 

Gaoraelwe who seemed to be suffering from dissociative amnesia also said, South Africa has more than 52 million people and sometimes people’s voices sound the same.

The North West police spokesperson, Col Adele Myburgh said: “This new evidence (voice recording) received, will be investigated and a departmental investigation is underway concerning the alleged police conduct.

“A case of reckless and negligent driving was under investigation after the accident was reported in October 2022. During the accident, no person was injured and the case has been closed.”

Myburgh said, the police management is committed to deliver a professional service to the community and anyone dissatisfied can phone service complaints on 082 856 0995 or contact your local Station Commander.

Meanwhile, it’s been almost three months since the car accident happened. However, the crashed SUV continues to gather dust at the municipality’ storage.

However, the municipal spokesperson, Ricky Oliphant downplayed the issue and said, the vehicle is kept in the storage because an assessor has yet to conduct an investigation on it.

“The claim has been reported to the insurance and Gaoraelwe was offered a courtesy car as evidence of submission. All documents were submitted timeously and an assessor is yet to submit his report to the insurance,” said Oliphant.

He said, the insurance has appointed an assessor and his report will inform the municipality of the exact cost of repairs.

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By OBAKENG MAJE

ANC Member of Parliament (MP), Kenny Morolong is set to appear before the ANC Disciplinary Committee (DC) at Protea Hotel in Mahikeng on 14 January 2023.

Morolong’s charges allegedly emanates from his utterances at the North West High Court in Mahikeng, where some disgruntled ANC members in the province, filed court papers against ANC PEC. They wanted the court to declare the ANC Provincial Elective Conference that took place in August 2022, invalid.

However, on 6 December 2022, the court dismissed their case. Morolong lashed out at the ANC PEC and called it fraudulent.

“We came here today to confirm what we already know, that this PEC is fraudulent and fictitious. We would not accept any wrongdoings within the ANC. We grew up in the ANC and we are more senior than many people who are in that PEC.

“So, we are not going to be afraid to confront injustice and we do not need any court of law to do that. The provincial elective conference was fictitious by all measures and we are not going to be intimidated by anybody,” he said.

Morolong further said, they do not care whether the PEC charges them or not because there is nothing that the PEC can do that they have not already done to the ANC. He added that the ANC PEC members have harmed and divided the ANC because they are assisted by ‘criminals.’

“Some of them are members of the ANC National Executive Committee (NEC). However, we are not afraid of them and we will even tell them at the ANC national elective conference that they have divided this province even further.

“We will not even be surprised if some of them were bought to do that, because we know those characters. They are very dodgy and corrupt, however, comrades, some of us are undeterred,” said Morolong.

He also called for unity and lauded those who took ‘gigantic’ steps to go to court. Morolong said the unity of the ANC is synchronised and there were some attempts to bribe applicants.

“There is an audio clip that is circulating on social media platforms, where some of them tried to buy the applicants. If they think the elections were credible, why would they attempt to buy and intimidate the applicants? I can almost guarantee you that victory is certain on 6 December 2022,” said Morolong.

Now, the ANC provincial spokesperson, Tumelo Maruping said: “The matter is before the Disciplinary Committee, so I would not like to dwell much on the merits of the case.

“But what we can confirm is that, indeed, Morolong has been charged and will appear before the Disciplinary Committee.”

However, Morolong who seems UNfazed said, he has strong views with regard to the charges. However, he said, he will voice his views during the disciplinary hearing.

“Indeed, I will be appearing before the ANC Disciplinary Committee, but out of respect for the ANC, not ANC PEC. I have very strong views with regard to the charges, but I’ll express them on Saturday,” he said.

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By REGINALD KANYANE

The North West police said a total number of 2523 people were arrested for various offenses during the festive season. The North West police spokesperson, Col Adele Myburgh said, this includes 309 suspects who were arrested for drug-related crime.

“We have arrested 618 for contact crime (including murder, attempted murder, assault, rape and other sexual offences), nine suspects for truck hijacking, 13 suspects were arrested for robbery with aggravating circumstances, while 64 suspects were arrested for house burglaries.

“We have also arrested 111 suspects for malicious damage to property, 30 for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, 32 for illegal possession of firearms and ammunition, 1041 for liquor related cases (drinking in public, drunk in a public place, illegal dealing and distribution of liquor),” she said.

Myburgh further said, 74 suspects were nabbed for contravention of the domestic violence act, while 143 undocumented persons were taken in for processing by Immigration Officials. She added that, during the operations, 26 stolen or hijacked vehicles were also recovered.

“Twenty-two dangerous weapons were amongst the items seized. With more boots on the ground to heighten visibility, police in the province in conjunction with other security forces have been working hard to ensure that members of the community are safe,” said Myburgh.

Meanwhile, the North West Police Commissioner, Lieutenant General Sello Kwena lauded the law enforcement for the successes and pointed out that the operations will continue to ensure the well-being and safety of all citizens through enhancement of police visibility.

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