Johannesburg – Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa and Arts and Culture Minister Nathi Mthethwa will attend the commemoration of the battle of Delville Wood in France, the presidency said on Friday.

“This year’s commemoration service is of particular significance taking place against the background of the planned re-interment of the remains of Private Myengwa Beleza, one of the first South Africans and a member of the African Native Labour Corps to perish during World War 1 in France,” Ramaphosa’s spokesperson Ronnie Mamoepa said in a statement.

The two would be accompanied by Ramaphosa’s wife Tshepo Motsepe and Deputy International Relations Minister Nomaindia Mfeketo.

Mamoepa said Beleza’s remains would be exhumed from the civilian cemetery of Seine-Maritime near Le Havre and reburied at Delville Wood Memorial as part of honouring all South Africans who were involved in the battle.

“Due to segregation at the time, black South Africans who had perished during the war were buried separately in different civilian cemeteries across France, while their white counterparts were buried at the Delville Wood Memorial,” he said.

The reburial of Beleza will go a long way towards the restoration of the dignity of black South Africans who participated in the war.

After the visit in France, Ramaphosa would proceed to Sri Lanka for an official visit from 7 to 8 July, said Mamoepa.
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Cape Town – Almost 1 000 immigrants have filed an urgent application in the Western Cape High Court to force the home affairs department to do its job and process their permit applications.

Meanwhile, another set of applicants, who were granted permits, are seeking payment of repatriation deposits, which cost about as much as a flight back to their home countries, reported The Times.

Applicants say they have become increasingly frustrated with the service rendered by the department, particularly with regards to the new immigration laws.

In terms of the law, a foreigner may not apply for new visa documents from South Africa but needs to do so from his or her home country.

‘Undesirable persons’

And foreigners who did not leave South Africa before the new regulations came into force risk being declared undesirable persons, for between one and five years, and being banned from the country.

With the department failing to process permit applications, immigrants are unable to access medical or banking services and could be arrested or deported.

In an e-mail to News24, a South African man, Jean du Toit, told how his Ukrainian wife, Irina Tokar, had applied for a permanent residence permit more than 60 days before the expiry of her temporary visa.

All the couple have received from the department is a letter acknowledging receipt of the application.

Du Toit said his wife had gone home with the couple’s 9-month-old baby to attend to an urgent family matter “but not before she was declared an undesirable person and banned from South Africa for 5 years”.

“She launched an appeal with Home Affairs but to date [received] no acknowledgement of [receipt] of the appeal,” said Du Toit.

‘Unconstitutional legislation’

On Tuesday the department said it was studying a ruling given by the Western Cape High Court in favour of two people separated from their spouses because of immigration laws.

According to the SABC, Brent Johnson and Cherene Delorie took the department to court to challenge what they called “unconstitutional legislation” governing visa applications.

Their foreign partners were branded undesirable and barred entry into South Africa.

Home Affairs said this was after they failed to follow due process when renewing their visas earlier in 2014. News24

Johannesburg – A police constable allegedly shot and killed his girlfriend on Thursday at their house in Delft, Cape Town, the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) said.

“It is alleged the couple was returning from Bellville court over a domestic violence case against the police officer,” IPID acting spokesperson Grace Langa said in a statement.

The officer allegedly used his service pistol to shoot the 37-year-old-mother of two.

“It is alleged that 15 gunshots were fired.”

The 36-year-old officer handed himself over to the Delft police where he was arrested.

The couple’s two children were in the house at the time.

“It is further alleged that there is a history of domestic violence between the couple,” Langa said.

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Johannesburg – President Jacob Zuma has signed a proclamation to give effect to changes to government departments since the 7 May general elections, the presidency said in a statement on Thursday.

“President Jacob Zuma has signed a proclamation to establish or abolish national departments, as well as to designate such departments and their heads, following the announcement of new portfolios of ministers that the president made on 25 May 2014,” spokesperson Mac Maharaj said.

Although the departments had already been restructured when Zuma announced the new portfolios, this proclamation was needed to sign them into law.

The proclamation officially established the new department of small business development, and replaced the department of performance monitoring and evaluation with the department of planning, monitoring, and evaluation.

The department of water and sanitation would replace water affairs, while the department of women would replace the department of women, children, and people with disabilities.

The communications department would replace the government communications and information service (GCIS).

The proclamation also provided for the establishment of the department of telecommunications and postal services.

The department of justice and correctional services was unaffected by the proclamation.

“The two portfolios remain separate and self-standing, with their own heads of department and their own budgets. The only thing that has happened is that a single individual has been appointed as minister of both portfolios,” Maharaj explained.

“President Zuma will, as a next step, transfer the administration of legislation, powers and functions to the relevant ministers in terms of Section 97 of the Constitution of South Africa, 1996,” Maharaj said.

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Johannesburg – An East Rand woman charged with child abuse, attempted murder, assault, and defeating the ends of justice will learn on Friday whether she will be granted bail.

The 36-year-old mother of five was scheduled to appear before the Springs Magistrate’s Court.

In her bail application, her lawyer Isabella van Eck said her client could not read or write and was subjected to filthy living conditions.

Van Eck said her client was beaten by her husband.

The woman, who cannot be named to protect the identity of her children, had initially claimed her husband raped her.

Van Eck said the woman now denied this and said she was intimidated by police.

She was arrested last week, a month after her husband was held for child abuse, assault and attempted murder.
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Johannesburg – Czech fugitive Radovan Krejcir and eight others are expected to appear in the Alexandra Magistrate’s Court on Friday for alleged conspiracy to kill police colonel Nkosana “Killer” Ximba and forensic investigator Paul O’Sullivan.

During their last appearance, the matter was postponed to allow the State to amend its indictment against all eight and to transfer the matter to the High Court in Johannesburg.

Krejcir, Siboniso Miya, Owen Serero, Zodumo Biyela, ex-crime intelligence Sergeant Nandi Nkosi, Welcome Nkanyiso Mafunda, Siphiwe Memela, and Mike Grigorov appeared, while Jacob Nare was not present and was expected to become a State witness once the trial began.

Prosecutor Lawrence Gcaba said the addition of a new suspect had delayed the completion of the indictment and he asked for three weeks to finalise it.

Bulgarian national Grigorov, who is believed to be Krejcir’s accountant and right-hand man, was the last person to be arrested in the matter.

He was arrested in June when he reported to the Benoni police station as part of his bail conditions on a separate fraud case. He had been out on bail of R30 000.

Police said another man, the owner of a security company, had been arrested in connection with the case.

Magistrate Renier Boshoff granted the postponement despite opposition from the lawyers of the accused.
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Johannesburg – The murder trial of Paralympic athlete Oscar Pistorius adjourned in the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria on Thursday.

Judge Thokozile Masipa granted the request by prosecutor Gerrie Nel to allow him time to consult a State psychiatrist.

Nel had not concluded his cross-examination of sports and exercise medicine professor at the University of Cape Town, Wayne Derman.

Nel accused Derman of bias and adapting his facts to fit what happened on the night of 14 February 2013, when Pistorius shot and killed his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in his home.

Derman was asked about what Pistorius did after hearing the initial sound which startled him and alerted him to potential fear in his bedroom.

Pistorius has claimed he was woken in the early hours of 14 February by the sound of his bathroom window sliding open.

“Walking down the passage, even in fight mode, with gun in hand his intention was to shoot. You agree?” Nel asked.

“That is correct,” Derman said.

“The clear intention was to shoot if he came across someone,” Nel said.

“I suppose if he came across someone he would shoot,” Derman said.

Derman was asked what effect the second noise, of the toilet door closing, had on the athlete.

“He had a second startle. I cannot recall what that led him to do. I think he turned towards the door, but I cannot recall. I would have to read the record… He was looking between the window and the door,” Derman said.

Nel again accused him of wanting to fit certain facts into the recorded version of what happened that night.

“Isn’t it, sir, that you are trying to fit the facts you can remember into the startles? You want to fit the facts into your version,” Nel said.

Derman said a third noise, which stimulated the third startle response, culminated in the shooting.

Nel put it to Derman that Pistorius wanted to kill the person who made that sound inside the toilet.

“He fired at the sound, I’m sure it was to nullify the threat,” he told the court.

Pistorius faces a murder charge. He claims he shot Steenkamp by accident through the locked door of his toilet in his Pretoria home, thinking she was an intruder about to emerge and attack him.

The State argues he killed her during an argument.

SAPA

Johannesburg – The murder trial of Paralympic athlete Oscar Pistorius adjourned in the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria on Thursday.

Judge Thokozile Masipa granted the request by prosecutor Gerrie Nel to allow him time to consult a State psychiatrist.

Nel had not concluded his cross-examination of sports and exercise medicine professor at the University of Cape Town, Wayne Derman.

Nel accused Derman of bias and adapting his facts to fit what happened on the night of 14 February 2013, when Pistorius shot and killed his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in his home.

Derman was asked about what Pistorius did after hearing the initial sound which startled him and alerted him to potential fear in his bedroom.

Pistorius has claimed he was woken in the early hours of 14 February by the sound of his bathroom window sliding open.

“Walking down the passage, even in fight mode, with gun in hand his intention was to shoot. You agree?” Nel asked.

“That is correct,” Derman said.

“The clear intention was to shoot if he came across someone,” Nel said.

“I suppose if he came across someone he would shoot,” Derman said.

Derman was asked what effect the second noise, of the toilet door closing, had on the athlete.

“He had a second startle. I cannot recall what that led him to do. I think he turned towards the door, but I cannot recall. I would have to read the record… He was looking between the window and the door,” Derman said.

Nel again accused him of wanting to fit certain facts into the recorded version of what happened that night.

“Isn’t it, sir, that you are trying to fit the facts you can remember into the startles? You want to fit the facts into your version,” Nel said.

Derman said a third noise, which stimulated the third startle response, culminated in the shooting.

Nel put it to Derman that Pistorius wanted to kill the person who made that sound inside the toilet.

“He fired at the sound, I’m sure it was to nullify the threat,” he told the court.

Pistorius faces a murder charge. He claims he shot Steenkamp by accident through the locked door of his toilet in his Pretoria home, thinking she was an intruder about to emerge and attack him.

The State argues he killed her during an argument.

SAPA

Johannesburg – Government has not budgeted enough money to deal with the expected number of new land claims, the Alliance for Rural Democracy (ARD) said on Thursday.

The organisation was concerned that if land claims continued to be settled at the current rate, it would take 121 years to settle them.

“The budget for land restitution over the next year… R2.6bn, is lower now than it has been since 2009/10 in nominal terms, and since 2004/5 [adjusted for inflation],” it said in a statement.

According to the ARD, government had a backlog of at least 30 000 claims from the 1994 to 1998 lodgement period.

“This is in the context of government estimating that 379 000 new claims will be lodged over the next five years. There are still no assurances that enough money has been budgeted for this mushrooming of claims expected to occur from July [2014].”

The ARD called on government to prioritise unresolved claims before taking on new ones.

President Jacob Zuma signed the Restitution of Land Rights Amendment Bill into law on Monday.

The legislation re-opened the restitution claims process that closed at the end of 1998 and gave claimants five years, to 30 June 2019, to lodge land claims.

Only about 80 000 land restitution claims were lodged by the 1998 deadline.

It was estimated there were up to five times as many valid cases that could have been brought by victims of apartheid-era forced removals.

The legislation also regulates the appointment and service conditions of Land Claims Court judges.

SAPA

Johannesburg – Twenty-three initiates have died since the start of the winter initiation season because of botched circumcisions and 104 others have been admitted to hospitals for related injuries, Deputy Traditional Affairs Minister Obed Bapela said on Thursday.

“It is saddening to report the increased number of initiates who have lost their lives to 23,” he said in a statement.

“This is despite all the efforts we have made.”

Nineteen of the deceased were from the Eastern Cape, three from Mpumalanga, and one from the Western Cape.

Bapela said the 104 others were admitted for dehydration, septic circumcision, gangrene, and other related injuries.

He sent his condolences to the affected families and said government condemned illegal circumcision schools.

“The rite of passage is not a licence for abuse of the initiates but a process that is ushering these young men to adulthood and a cultural practice that needs to be respected,” said Bapela.

“The ministry of co-operative governance and traditional affairs continues to call on all members of the community to report any illegal initiation schools to the police.”

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