By Obakeng Maje

The police in Vioolsdrift are investigating a case of three counts of attempted murder after a 35 year old husband and father was arrested on Sunday at 13:31 at his residence in Tambo Street, Vioolsdrift. 

“It is alleged that the man fed his two children aged 4 and 9 years old and his wife poison earlier in the day” colonel Priscilla Naidu said.

Colonel Naidu further alleged that the father took blue poison that is used by farmers to kill worms and mixed it with tea. The potion was given to his wife and the two children to drink.

“The unsuspecting victims drank the poisoned tea. The community found the victims writhing in pain and alerted police who found them to be in a serious condition” said Naidu. 

They were immediately taken to hospital for medical treatment. The mother and 9 year old boy are in a critical but stable condition in the Springbok Hospital and were discharged. 

A 4 year-old daughter was transported via an emergency medical helicopter from Springbok hospital to Kimberley Hospital in a critical condition.

“The suspect was arrested and will appear in the Springbok Magistrate court today. The reason for poisoning his family is not yet known” said police. Police have seized the poison containers and other exhibits which will be sent for analysis. 

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By Obakeng Maje

Pofadder-The Cell C ‘Take a Girl Child to Work Day’ is in it’s eleventh year and the campaign creates the platform to address the needs and aspirations of girls by opening up a bouquet of career opportunities, inspiring girl children to reach heights of success they never would have dreamed of.

The campaign is targeted at Grade 10 to 12 South African girl children to give them the opportunity to visit the workplace to experience first hand and various career opportunities.

“The Northern Cape Provincial campaign will be celebrated in Pofadder on the 14 June 2013 at the Dennis Nel stadium” colonel Priscilla Naidu said. 

“During this event there will be an address on behalf of the Provincial Commissioner by Maj Gen MJ Mamotheti”. 

Naidu said there will also be interaction between the SAPS and school children from the Pofadder area. 

The programme includes performances by the SAPS Band, cultural dances by the Pofadder cluster Nama Dance Group,the K9 unit as well as other activities. 

The event kicks off at 09:00 until 13:00.

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Edendale – Two people died and one was injured when their car veered out of control and rolled down an embankment near Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal, on Tuesday morning, paramedics said.

One person was declared dead on the scene, on Edendale Road, near Henley dam, the second died in hospital, and a third passenger was being treated in hospital, ER24 spokesman Derrick Banks said.

“Paramedics found the car on its roof with all three occupants of the car in different areas near to the accident scene.” – Sapa

Johannesburg – Solidarity intends campaigning against SA Airways after not a single white man was selected for its cadet programme, the trade union said on Tuesday.

“In August last year, the SAA lifted the ban on applications from white males for its cadet programme after Solidarity launched a major public protest campaign against the SAA,” deputy general secretary Dirk Hermann said.

“It is clear that the lifting of the ban was merely a smoke-screen for continued racial discrimination by the airline.”

The union said SAA announced on Monday that 40 candidates had been admitted to its cadet programme. They would undergo 14 months of theoretical and practical training to enable them to obtain their Airline Transport Pilot Licences.

This would be followed by about three years of internship. The group consisted of 10 black men, four black women, nine coloured men, one coloured woman, seven Indian men, two Indian women and seven white women, it said.

“SAA’s exclusion of white male candidates constitutes subsidised racism… .The taxpayer is forced to pay for the government’s obsession to apply national racial demographics at all levels, everywhere in South Africa,” said Hermann.

Solidarity called on white men who applied for the cadet programme, but were unsuccessful, to contact it so it could investigate taking legal action on their behalf, said Hermann.

SAA said in a statement that the final 40 candidates fell under the category of previously disadvantaged individuals as defined in the Employment Equity Act.

“It is important to note this in the context of the current reality and measures that need to be taken,” spokesman Tlali Tlali said.

“The cadet programme is the airline’s effort to transform not only its own but also the country’s flight deck community, which is nowhere close to reflecting the country’s demographics,” he said.

He said SAA’s transformation strategy was informed by the broad-based black economic empowerment aviation sector charter.

“In the case of this particular programme, when assessing all applications, SAA is obliged to give preference to previously disadvantaged groups,” said Tlali. – Sapa

National Police Commissioner Riah Phiyega is back on the stand in the Marikana Commission of Inquiry, in Centurion, south of Pretoria.

The Commissioner is being cross-examined by the Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (Popcru) lawyer, Louise Gumbi.

Phiyega has been on the stand for weeks and was also cross-examined by Advocate Dali Mpofu, who accused her several times for evading questions.

Gumbi, is representing the police, including those who were hacked to death by the mineworkers on August 13 last year during the unrest in Marikana. He wanted to find out from Phiyega what the police are doing to curb police killings.

Last week, Mpofu concluded his cross-examination of Phiyega. She has been on the stand for weeks. North West deputy Police Commissioner William Mpembe is also expected to take the stand on Tuesday.
For more http://www.sabc.co.za

The Premier Soccer League (PSL) has welcomed the conviction of the two men accused of invading the pitch and assaulting referee, Lwandile Mfiki at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in a fixture between Golden Arrows and Kaizer Chiefs on April 6.

In move that is a major victory against hooliganism at football matches, the Durban Magistrate Court found Velaphi Mkhwanazi guilty of invading the pitch and assaulting Mfiki.

Mkhwanazi was sentenced to a R2 500 fine or 60 days in – prison for common assault and R1 000 fine or 30 days for breaching the Safety at Sports and Recreational Events Act. The second accused, Zenzele Zikhali was also found guilty of pitch invasion. He was sentenced to a R1 000 fine or 30 days and R2 000 or 60 days in -prison for contravening the Safety at Sports and Recreational Events Act.

PSL Acting CEO, Cambridge Mokanyane says the convictions should send a message to those who misbehave at stadiums. “The message from these convictions is clear; we do not play lip service when individuals disrupt a football game with acts of hooliganism. This is a positive step towards the right direction. As the PSL, we welcome the news,” Mokanyane said.

PSL General Manager of Safety and Security Phillip Masimong applauded the police for their work. “I would like to thank SAPS for their work in this matter. We are determined to root out all elements of hooliganism at our stadiums. We don’t just talk, we also act to ensure that people are safe at our stadiums.”
For more http://www.sabc.co.za

Former President Nelson Mandela’s daughter, Makaziwe, is believed to have arrived at the Pretoria Heart hospital, where Madiba is being treated for a recurring lung condition.

Her vehicle has been seen entering the hospital premises.

It’s believed Madiba’s wife, Graca Machel, has been at his side since his admission on Saturday morning.

On Monday, the Presidency said Mandela’s condition was “unchanged” from Saturday and that he was receiving intensive care.

“President Jacob Zuma reiterates his call for South Africa to pray for Madiba and the family during this time,” spokesperson Mac Maharaj said.

All vehicles entering the hospital premises were being checked and searched.

Barricades were erected at the spot where journalists had been camping on Monday, forcing the press to move across the street. Police tape was used to cordon off the area.

This was the third time this year the Nobel Peace Prize laureate had been in hospital. At the end of March and in April this year he spent nine days in hospital receiving treatment for his lung problems.

Earlier in March, he was admitted to a Pretoria hospital for a scheduled check-up and discharged the following day.

Additional reporting SAPA and SABC

Thirteen people have been arrested in the Northern Cape for contravening the National Credit Act, the National Credit Regulator (NCR) said on Tuesday.

The arrests were part of an investigation by the regulator and police into money lenders’ abuse of consumers.

Eleven criminal cases were opened on Wednesday after a three-day operation. Two of the 13 people arrested were released.

The suspects were found in possession of 5453 pension cards, 130 ID books, and 1720 bank cards, the NCR said in a statement.

“The focus of this kind of operation is primarily on credit providers who are unlawfully garnishing, retaining pension cards, bank cards, identity documents and personal identification numbers of their clients as surety,” NCR CEO Nomsa Motshegare said.

“This is a contravention of the National Credit Act and it is a criminal offence.”

The investigations took place in Upington, Keimos, Kakamas and Groblershoop.

Motshegare said exploiting vulnerable and unsuspecting consumers would not be tolerated and other operations would take place around the country.
For more http://www.sabc.co.za

Banyana Banyana midfielder Amanda Dlamini says she wants to leave a legacy by inspiring the youth mostly from rural areas through the national team platform.

“I want to use this opportunity to inspire the youth to realise their dreams. That is how I want to be remembered,” said the former Banyana Banyana captain.

The roving midfielder is involved in the development of girls through her budding community building institute, The Amanda Dlamini Girl’s Foundation.

The foundation focuses on empowering young women in the rural areas by providing them with life skills and information to help them in their youth stages as well as coaching clinics.

“I set up the Amanda Dlamini Girls’ Foundation with the aim of helping girls in the rural areas with basic necessities. The aim was to also provide them with enough information to shape their careers and reach their dreams in life.

“We conducted coaching clinics at one of the disadvantaged schools in the rural areas of my hometown in KwaZulu Natal and that experience was quite fulfilling. I want to inspire some of these youngsters to follow their dreams through sports and provide information about sports bursaries and the likes. I enjoy interacting with the young girls during some of our coaching clinics,” said the dreadlocked midfielder.

Amanda has been involved in several community building projects such as the Sports Heroes Walk against Aids together with fellow teammates Noko Matlou and former Banyana Banyana captain Desiree Ellis.

Dlamini was back to her old best last Sunday when she helped Banyana Banyana wallop Mozambique 5-0 in a one-sided friendly match played at Kanyamazane Stadium on Sunday.

Still modest in everything she does, Dlamini said the trick to Sunday’s run-away victory was purely because the team played according to instructions.

“We just stuck to the plan and it worked out well because we have been playing together for quite some time now.”

She said the coach’s instruction was to help the new players feel at home.

“That we did very well and the fact that their introduction was capped with a massive victory should have worked as a morale booster for them,” said Dlamini.

Dlamini, who led the Sasol-sponsored women’s national squad during their first-ever Olympic campaign last year, relinquished her Banyana Banyana captaincy in order to focus on her studies and concentrate on improving her game without the pressures that comes with being the team leader.

“I felt my performance on the field on Sunday was ok but there is still room for improvement. The coach asked me to express myself without any pressure and I am happy things worked out more than I expected.”

She said while giving up the captaincy was not an easy decision, the move has rekindled her old form.

“As captain, you have to be at the top of your game all the time and lead from the front. That pressure is now gone and am again enjoying my freedom and football,” said Dlamini, who is currently completing her third year of studies in Transport Management at the University of Johannesburg.

Egyptian match officials have been put in charge of the all-important Brazil 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifier between Ethiopia and South Africa scheduled for National Stadium in Addis Ababa on 16 June 2013.

Kickoff is at 16h00 local time in Ethiopia 

(15h00 SA time).The match officials are:

Referee: FAROUK MAHMOUD Mohamed (Egypt)

Ass Ref 1: DEGAISH Ayman (Egypt)

Ass Ref 2: ABO EL SADAT BEDYER Tahssen (Egypt)

4 th Official: BAHOU Mahmoud (Egypt)

Match Commissioner: ASSOGBAVI Espoir Komlan (Togo)