Category Archives: NEWS

Cleaner accused of raping boss’s son

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A Cape Town domestic worker has been arrested for allegedly raping her boss’s teenage son.

The accused was fired from her job and found herself behind bars when her employer allegedly found out that she had sexually assaulted the woman’s 15-year-old son.

The woman was arrested on April 14 and faces a charge of statutory rape.

Two days later she appeared in the Wynberg Magistrates’ Court where prosecutor Shaina Naidoo told the court that the 24-year-old woman had been employed by a Bergvliet family as their domestic worker.

 

She told Magistrate Marietjie van Eeden that while working for the family, the accused had allegedly forced the teenage boy to have sexual intercourse with her.

Naidoo asked the court to postpone the matter for a week while police investigators checked if she had any pending cases or previous convictions.

When the accused appeared in court again on April 23, she was told that the State was not opposing her release on bail.

But Naidoo asked the court to set strict conditions as part of her bail.

In her sworn affidavit handed to the court, the accused said she knew the boy and his family for a year and knew where they lived.

 

She said that she lived with her grandmother in Macassar and that she had a one-year-old dependant.

She also said that she intended pleading not guilty.

The accused’s bail was set at R300 and she was warned not to make any contact with the boy or his family.

She was instructed to stay out of the Bergvliet area and to report to the Macassar Police Station every Monday and Wednesday between 6pm and 10pm.

The accused was back in court on Wednesday where she heard that cops had wrapped up their investigation into the alleged incident and were ready to proceed with the trial.

Naidoo asked the court to postpone the case so that arrangements can be made for the matter to be transferred to the Wynberg Regional Court.

The accused was not home when the Daily Voice visited her on Wednesday.

Her grandmother, who was sitting in the doorway, said the accused wasn’t home and sent a young girl to call the woman’s sister.

“She lives in the bungalow at the back with her sister,” says the ouma.

“I don’t know where she is but maybe her sister will know.”

When the sister came to the door, she insisted that she didn’t know where the accused was.

“Ek is haar sister. Vir wat soek julle vir haar (I’m here sister. Why are you looking for her)?” she asked.

“Who sent you to come look for her?”

 

The young woman folded her arms across her chest and insisted she didn’t know where her sister was.

“She hasn’t come home yet and I don’t know where she is or what time she’ll be home.”

*This article was published in the Daily Voice

Naked face-eater’s girlfriend blames voodoo

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iol news pic Rudi Eugene zombie man may 31

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The girlfriend of the man who chewed off most of another man’s face believes her boyfriend was either drugged or a voodoo curse was put on him, according to a report.

The bloody spectacle unfolded mid-afternoon on Saturday, when police were alerted by the public as the attack was being carried out near Miami’s MacArthur Causeway.

Police ordered a naked Rudy Eugene, 31, to stop the assault, then fatally shot him when he continued to gnaw at the face of his victim, who was also naked.

Television footage and news photos have shown the two men sprawled on the sidewalk side by side, with the victim barely conscious and covered in blood with up to 75 percent of his face ripped off.

The victim, identified as 65-year-old homeless man Ronald Poppo, is fighting for his life in hospital.

Eugene’s on-off girlfriend of five years, who wanted to remain anonymous, told the Miami Herald that either Eugene had either been drugged unknowingly or it was something supernatural – that someone put a voodoo curse on him.

 

Eugene was originally from Haiti, where voodoo is chiefly practised. His girlfriend, who is not Haitian, said she believed someone put a curse on him.

“I don’t know how else to explain this,” she said.

According to the report, she said the depictions of Eugene as a face-chewing monster do not make sense to her.

“Something happened out of the ordinary that day. I don’t want him to be labelled the Miami Zombie,” she told the Miami Herald.

She remembered Eugene as a man of faith who had recently been trying to stop smoking marijuana.

She insisted that he had never used any recreational drugs besides marijuana and was even trying to quit. Eugene would refuse to take over-the-counter medication for headaches and was sweet and well-mannered, she told the Miami Herald.

Eugene’s mother, Ruth Charles, also talked to the media to defend her son.

“Everybody says that he was a zombie, but I know he’s not a zombie; he’s my son,” she told CBS.

She also suspected he had been drugged.

“I don’t know what they injected in him to turn him into the person who did what he did,” she told CBS.

Eugene’s girlfriend said when she first saw TV reports of the attack, she had no idea Eugene was behind it.

“I thought to myself, ‘Oh my God, that’s crazy’,” she told the Miami Herald.

But she said she had been trying to call Eugene, who had left her house on the morning of the attack, but could not get in contact with him.

She told the paper that Eugene had called her earlier on Saturday to say his car had broken down, and when she had not heard back from him later in the day, she started feeling uneasy.

But it was not until Monday, when she was contacted by a member of Eugene’s family, that she found out that he was behind the grisly attack.

“I’ll never be the same,” she told the paper.

Police initially said the attack could have been provoke by an overdose of a powerful new form of LSD mixed along with “cocaine psychosis.”

Reports however on Tuesday suggested Eugene was likely under the influence of the synthetic stimulant “bath salts” made with the active agent mephedrone, which produces an often aggressive, chaotic experience for users, coupled with intense hallucinations. IOL, Sapa-AP, AFP

Nazir Alli to stay put – Motlanthe

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Sanral CEO Nazir Alli, who resigned last month, is to “stay put”, Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe said on Thursday.

“There is no search for a new CEO,” Motlanthe said in Cape Town.

Speaking in Cape Town at a media briefing on the controversial e-tolling system that the government is seeking to impose on Gauteng highways, he confirmed the resignation had been withdrawn.

Asked if this meant Alli had withdrawn his resignation, he said the SA National Roads Agency Ltd’s board had received the resignation, but Alli had proffered it in the belief that he was not contributing towards solving Sanral’s problems.

“We received a letter of resignation… (but) indeed the problem did not revolve around him… So there was an understanding he stays put.”

The board had still to formally deal with the matter.

Earlier, Transport Minister Sibusiso Ndebele told journalists what Alli had been trying to do with his resignation was say: “If I’m the problem, I want to remove myself.”

However, the government felt Alli was not the problem.

“So that (his resignation) is not on… So we need to continue, particularly in this (coming) period, because we need all the experience that we have… we want all hands on deck,” Ndebele said. – Sapa


Pregnant in Grade 3

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AMUKELANI CHAUKE

The numbe

A report compiled by the Department of Basic Education, released earlier this month, details a litany of negative circumstances under which children are expected to complete their schooling.

The report, “The Annual Surveys for Ordinary Schools for 2009-2010”, says that:

  • In Grade 3 alone, about 109 pupils fell pregnant in 2009 – as against “only” 17 in the same grade in 2008. In Grade 4, the number increased to 107 from 69 in 2008, and in Grade 5 297 girls fell pregnant in 2009;
  • The highest concentration of pregnant pupils was in high schools, from Grade 7 to Grade 9;
  • In 2009, a total of 45276 girls became pregnant;
  • Only 25% of ordinary schools had an e-mail address in 2010, and about 54% of schools had land-line telephones. Only 3% of schools in Limpopo had e-mail, compared with 98% in Western Cape, “a glaring inequality”; and
  • About 26% of schools had multi-grade classes in 2010, most of them in Eastern Cape.

Other societal factors mentioned in the report are that as many as a million children grow up without a father, and many others depend on the extensive social grant network for financial support.

The report, compiled from surveys taken in March every year at public and private schools, deals only with pupils. The department is expected to release the results of its research on teachers at a later stage.

An education specialist warned yesterday that if the problems cited in the report did not receive urgent attention South Africa would pay a high price.

Professor Kobus Maree, a lecturer in educational psychology at the University of Pretoria, said the Grade 3 pregnancy rate was “appalling” and “deeply upsetting”. A large number of these children became pregnant because of rape or abuse, he said.

“This is really unacceptable. For all those children who fall pregnant in Grade 3, how many rapists are brought to book? If you look at these figures, that means there are many rapists in the country walking around free.”

Maree said teachers to whom he had recently spoken felt that the teaching of life orientation had been dumped on them without adequate training. He recommended that the government make community service compulsory for child psychologists and they be used for teacher training at schools.

Maree said pupils in the higher grades often got pregnant to qualify for social grants.

The number of child grants is a reflection of the reliance of people on the social safety net provided by the government.

The 2813976 children receiving grants in 2009 increased to 3110688 a year later.

In 2010, 37% of all pupils in Eastern Cape and 32% of pupils in Mpumalanga received the monthly grant of R260.

Maree said that, though the government had to shoulder much of the blame, parents were also responsible because they did not give their children sufficient support.

The report shows that in 2010 more than 40% of government schools relied on a principal’s cellphone for communication.

Schools in two of the poorest provinces, Eastern Cape and Limpopo, were the most reliant on private cellphones, at 69% and 71% respectively.

Maree said that though the government had allocated a large chunk of its budget to education, incompetent and complacent public officials were not delivering educational infrastructure and other resources.

He cited the Pretoria High Court order that the Basic Education Department deliver textbooks to pupils in Limpopo by June 15.

The government should hire qualified employees to clean up the system – irrespective of politics or race, Maree said.

r of primary school girls getting pregnant has soared in the past few years.

 

Pienaar: Ethiopia are not amateurs

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BY Tiyani waka Mabasa

Bafana Bafana captain Steven Pienaar has cautioned that Ethiopia are not amateurs and must, therefore, not be taken lightly.


‘Schillo’ will lead South Africa out on Sunday when they take on the Ethiopians in Bafana’s first match of the 2014 World Cup qualifiers, and he says the team will leave nothing to chance.

“We know what lies ahead of us and this is important not just for the players, but for the whole country. It is really important that we qualify,” Pienaar says.

Bafana are placed 67th in world rankings while Ethiopia are 138th, but Pienaar insists that no team is a walkover these days.

“We will go into the game as favourites, but we just have to treat it as a normal game. We will be playing against 11 players, not amateurs. We have to give everything from the first to the last minute,” he says.

“We know Ethiopia is not gonna be an easy game; there are no easy games in football anymore so we know what is expected from us. We know it’s not gonna be easy at all.”

Meanwhile, Pienaar has welcomed the return of Siyabonga ‘Bhele’ Nomvete into the national team fold, saying there is plenty of fight left in the 34-year-old.

“Bhele has been around for so many years and he knows what is expected at the highest level. He’s been the top player in the League and it is good to have him back in the team… Sometimes you can expect the unexpected from him. He looks like he is 20 years old,” Pienaar adds.

 

2010 FIFA World Cup Legacy Trust Opens 1 JUNE 2012

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BY Obakeng Maje

The 2010 FIFA WORLD CUP LEGACY TRUST today announced that the first applications for the funding of Trust opens on 1 June 2012 and will remain open for 2 months, closing on the 31 July 2012.  The Trust will be disbursing a total of R40 million of the R450.0 million received from FIFA as a legacy of the 2010 FIFA World Cup,

The 2010 FIFA World Cup Legacy Trust is an entity established by FIFA and the South African Football Association (SAFA) at the end of the 2010 FIFA World Cup to promote and extend the development and the reach of the game of football within South Africa. It has to address critical gaps in Football development in all provinces of the Republic. In addition it has to support education and healthcare initiatives of NGO’s who use football as a vehicle a for community development as well as for humanitarian assistance for those in historically disadvantaged and impoverished communities.

The Fund focuses primarily on interventions that fall within the ambit of SAFA’s National Development Framework.  The Trust will have a deliberate bias towards strategic national programmes that aim to enhance football development in South Africa

The 2010 FIFA World Cup Legacy Trust will consider funding applications for the following
    (a)    Football development programmes including Courses for referees, coaches, administrators and players, Facility improvement and development, Equipment, Academies. This includes two categories of funding – one category for projects exceeding R10 000 that will require amongst other, business plans, financial statement and regular reporting and the second category for funding less than R10 000 for equipment where the only requirements would be the application form, a constitution and a letter of support from the Local Football Association (LFA) or Region. Strategic national, provincial and regional football development programmes which aims to improve the quality of football along the development continuum will enjoy priority. 
    (b)    Education including Bursaries for football players, coaches, referees and administrators (professionals included) as well as funding for NGOs that use football as a vehicle for community development through  Life skills, leadership and other relevant programmes.  Relevant football research projects will also be considered under this category.
    (c)    Health including Healthy lifestyle through football programmes, Research and development on football related health matters as well Training of specialist medical personnel for football teams
    (d)    Humanitarian causes including funding for football communities struck by disaster or tragedy

3. Who can apply?

The Trust will fund or subsidize projects of the following institutions/organizations:
•    SAFA
•    SAFA Regions
•    SAFA Local Football Associations
•    SAFA Associate Members
•    Amateur Clubs playing in amateur leagues
•    Schools and Universities
•    Supporters Clubs that are registered with SAFA
•    NGO’S that primarily use football as a vehicle for community development
•    NGOs hosting the 20 Centres for 2010
•    Other suitable structures that have a connection with football

REQUIREMENTS
All applicants for football development projects (total amount exceeding R10 000) must:
    (a)    Be Public Benefit Organisations (PBOs)
    (b)    Affiliated Members of SAFA or SAFA Regions or SAFA Local Football Associations and in good standing
    (c)    Include this application form, a Project Business Plan with an itemized budget and timelines
    (d)    Include the last Audited Annual Financial Statements the last annual report and its constitution
    (e)    Prove that the projects fall within the SAFA National  Development Framework

All applicants for football equipment (total amount not exceeding R10 000) must:

    (a)    Amateur Clubs (Voluntary Associations) or education institutions 
    (b)    Affiliated Members of SAFA or SAFA Regions or SAFA Local Football Associations and in good standing
    (c)    Provide an application form accompanied by the club’s constitution and a letter of recommendation from the SAFA LFA or Region

All applicants for education, healthcare and humanitarian projects through football must:

    (a)    Be Public Benefit Organisations (PBOs) These “qualifying‟ beneficiaries should be any one or more of the following: other SARS-approved public benefit organisations; or institutions contemplated in section 10(1)(cA)(i) of the Income Tax Act which conduct one or more public benefit activities; or associations of persons carrying on one or more public benefit activities; or department of state or administration in the national or provincial or local sphere of government contemplated in section 10(1)(a) or (b) of the Income Tax Act
    (b)    Be Non government organisations (NGO’s) who primarily use football for community/youth development  
    (c)    Include a Project Business Plan with an itemized budget and timelines
    (d)    Include the last Audited Annual Financial Statements and its constitution

How to submit your application?
Applications can be submitted through
Post:  Private Bag 2010, Mondeor, Johannesburg, 2091
Hand delivery: SAFA House, 76 Nasrec Road, Nasrec Ext 3, Johannesburg
Email address – fifalegacytrustapplications@2010oc.com
Enquiries:  Ms Sekganya Lebenya, SAFA House, Tel: 011 567 2008, Email: Sekganya.lebenya@2010oc.com, Fax: 011 494 3161

SA U20 looking to conquer the world’s best!!!

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BY Obakeng Maje

Having booked their place in the semi-finals of the 8-Nation International Tournament, the South African National Under-20 National Team (Amajita) is looking forward to the challenges that lie ahead.

Amajita secured their position in the last four of the Cape Town-based tournament with a hard-fought one nil (1-0) win over Nigeria at the Cape Town Stadium on Tuesday night (29 May 2012).

The result saw them finish second in Group A on six points, behind Argentina who accumulated their seventh point with a goalless (0-0) draw against Ghana.

The host nation did superbly well to bounce back from their opening game 3-1 loss to Argentina by beating Ghana 2-0 and then triumphing over the Flying Eagles, both formidable opponents.

While not as prolific in front of goal as they could have been, Amajita have excelled in all other aspects of play.

Their attractive football has captured the imagination. Since conceding three in the opening game, the defence has been watertight. The midfield has shone with their pace, skill and invention, and both strikers – Thabani Mthembu (two goals) and Jerry Mxabo have found the net.

Now coach Solly Luvhengo is looking to guide his side into the next phase, where Brazil could well be the opponents, if not Japan.

“I’m happy that we have advanced to the semi-finals as that means we are guaranteed two more games together (the semi-final plus potentially the final, or a third place play-off). This tournament is about getting as much experience as possible for the young players. Facing Brazil or Japan will be a big, big test of character.

“We have beaten two countries from Africa. I said from the beginning that each match will be tougher than the next. The challenge now is to go beyond that and beat teams from other continents,” he said.

The semi-finals will take place at the Athlone Stadium on Friday (1 June) evening, at 18H00 and 20H30, with Brazil, Japan, Argentina and South Africa set to entertain the Mother City with some exhilarating performances, if matches to date are anything to gauge by.

The final will take place at the Cape Town Stadium on Sunday (16H30), with the play-off for third place kicking off at 14H00.

The tournament has thus far warmed up what has been an icy cold Cape Town. On the field, there has been an array of exciting young talents that have caught the eye. 

Amajita attacking playmaker Snethemba Ngidi, Argentine holding midfielder Alan Ruiz, Ghana left back Baba Abdul, Brazil centre back Wellington dos Santos and Japan attacker Shuto Minami have stood out in particular.

In the stands, there has been plenty of colour and entertainment as well, mainly with an African flavour.

The local brass band has provided the soundtrack, with good accompaniment from, in particular, a vocal group of Cameroon supporters, with Ghana, Kenya and Nigeria also having their own countrymen in attendance. There has even been a small but proud group of Japanese supporters.

Further up the stands in the VIP boxes, have been a host of local dignitaries and well-know football personalities.

Ajax Cape Town coach Maarten Stekelenburg, Boebie Solomons from Santos, Supersport United’s Gavin Hunt and Ernst Middendorp from Maritzburg United have all been spotted at the event.
Sir Alex Ferguson’s brother, Martin Ferguson, who works as a scout for Manchester United, is also reported to have been in attendance, so too have representatives from Real Madrid as well as clubs from Italy and Brazil.

Brazil hammer Japan to secure top spot

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BY Obakeng Maje

Brazil beat Japan 4-1 at the Athlone Stadium on Wednesday (30 May) evening to finish top of Group B in the 8-Nation International Tournament.

Brazil will now meet South Africa in one semi-final, while Japan faces Argentina in the other.

The match got off to a fairly pedestrian start with both teams happy to push and probe for gaps.
Play was neat and compact, but lacked in terms of flair and goal-mouth action. 

The teams found themselves evenly matched with early chances for Japan when Ryota Tanabe fired just over from outside the box and then at the other end Jean Deretti helped the ball goalwards with his head, but it was an easy save for Masatoshi Kushibiki.

For a team as well organised as Japan, the goal they conceded after 33 minutes was an uncharacteristic mistake as keeper Kushibiki tried to play the ball to a defender instead gifting the ball to Victor Andrade, who drilled in a low shot in at the near post.

Six minutes later it was a more typical Brazilian goal that lead to their second, a slick passing move seeing the ball worked to Henrique Ribeiro on the right wing, he in turn unselfishly squaring to Bruno Mendes for a simple tap in.

There were also chances for Japan, but Shiota Sakaki and Tanabe sent decent efforts just wide.

It took the South American side just six second half minutes to increase their lead, substitute Adelmison Bispo Jr scoring with a powerful low drive across the keeper.

On the hour mark Brazil extended their lead to four when Misael Bueno broke down the right, before setting up Bruno Mendes to turn and shoot into the far post.

Japan were close to pulling one back in the 63rd minute, but a brave header from Tanabe went wide, and resulted in him being taken off injured.

Bispo Jr should have added a fifth after a defensive mistake, but curled the ball wide of goal.
With 15 minutes to go there was a rare chance for Japan as Takuma Arano fired into the side-netting.

There was however to be a late consolation for the Asian side when Shuto Minami was taken down in the box by Luiz Conde in injury time, Minami himself scoring comfortably from the spot.

Cameroon too strong for Kenya

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BY Obakeng Maje

Cameroon secured their first win of the 8-Nation International Tournament with a 2-0 victory over Kenya at the Athlone Stadium on Wednesday (30 May) night.

The match was all about pride, and the avoidance of finishing bottom of Group B, with neither side able to challenge for a place in the semi-finals after both losing their two opening matches.

Cameroon had the first chance of the game when Pierre Balliang fired in a powerful drive from the left hand side of the box, Kenyan keeper Joel Bataro only just able to get enough of a hand to be able to divert the ball away from goal.

In the 18th minute the west Africans were again close to scoring when Bataro rushed off his line to try and intercept a pass, only to find himself caught out of position, resulting in Emanauel Ewangue coming close with a lob from a tight angle.

The Kenyans were however not being outplayed, showing passion and commitment as they searched out their first point of the tournament.

In the 23rd minute Andrew Muranga showed neat skill and a turn of speed to beat Cameroon keeper Kerrido Haschou to the ball, but in trying to set up team-mate Meshak Karani the chance came to nothing.

A few minutes later and Karani was close when his powerful drive on the turn missed by a yard.
As the half progressed the Kenyans grew in confidence and started to spend more and more time in their opponents’ half.

It took Cameroon just three minutes into the second period to find the back of the net, Charles Etoundi scoring with a half volley on the second attempt after Bataro had blocked his first effort.

The west Africans were looking far more of a threat after the restart and their advantage was doubled in the 55th minute when Carlain Mbah scored from the penalty spot.

The spot kick had been awarded after Etoundi had rounded Bataro, inducing the shot-stopper into bringing him down.

Karani always appeared Kenya’s best bet for a goal, but was unable to get on the score-sheet on the hour mark, hitting the side-netting from 14-yards out.

Ten minutes from time a low cross from the right was met by Jean Bassilekin, but he shot straight at the Kenyan keeper.

There was a late chance for Danson Kago for the Kenyans, whose well-struck effort required Haschou needing a second attempt to keep the ball out as he tipped it over – with that ending their chance of taking something from this game, in which they had put in spirited performance.

 

N4 ROBBERS ARRESTED

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BY Obakeng Maje

Brits police detective unit did a splendid  job by arresting three suspects who are believed to be behind the scourge of foul accidents along N4 since January this year.

One of the  suspects was arrested at Lions Park in Muldersdrift Gauteng Province and two others were  arrested in Majakaneng outside Brits. 

During the arrest the police  seized  goods that are suspected  to have been robbed from the accidents victims.  The arrest happened on Tuesday 29 My 2012.

“All three suspects who are Zimbabwean Nationals aged between 20 and 23 were linked to numerous cases of Rapes and Robberies which are reported to have  been committed along N4 highway between Brits and Majakaneng” Brigadier Thulani Ngubane said. 

In one of the recent incidents, a Botswana Director of Ministries Transport and Communications and his wife were on their way to Botswana when their car capsized  just few kilometres outside Bokfontein.

Surprisingly the three suspects emerged from the nearby bush and pretended to be offering assistance.

The suspects allegedly assaulted the 40 year-old Botswana national  while his wife was gang raped before the two were robbed of their belongings including undisclosed amount of cash.

“The  police investigations revealed that, the suspects` modus operandi is that they placed barricades such as stones and hard objects on the road and when unaware motorists  drive over the objects,  lose control of their vehicles upon which the vehicle overturn and the suspects will seize the opportunity and attack their prays and vanished into thin air” Ngubane outlined.

Since from the beginning of this year, community members particularly motorists have been trapped with stones barricading the road where vehicles collided and rolled, and victims tortured with rapes and robbed of their money. 

The properties that were found in possession of the suspects ranges from Laptops, Clothing, and Cell phones, wrist watches, Computers and Foreign Currencies. All properties recovered are suspected to have been robbed from the victims who were subjected to assault and rape during their ordeal.

Suspects who are  charged with Possession of Suspected Stolen Properties, Robberies, and Rape, are expected to appear before Brits Magistrate`s Court on Friday 01 June 2011.

Police had appealed  to members of general public, more especially motorists who might have been attached  and robbed while travelling along the N4 Highway in similar manner by suspects befitting the herein given description to visit  the Brits Police Station to identify their properties.