JOHANNESBURG – Paramedics are treating several patients on a Gauteng highway after a fatal truck accident on the N12 near Alberton on Tuesday morning.
A tanker ploughed into several cars on the Voortrekker Road offramp during rush hour traffic resulting in the death of two people with 18 others injured.
For more http://www.ewn.co.za
By Obakeng Maje
Taung- A case against eight suspects who were arrested during a ‘witchcraft’ fiasco resumed on Monday in Taung Magistrate’s Court.
Eight people appeared before magistrate after they were arrested two months ago.
The suspects were arrested after Vinolia Sesing was beaten and injured during a scuffle against Mokassa 2 villagers.
Sesing was accused of killing and turning Boikie Nthutang,24, into a zombie and that forced the Mokgareng villagers to sent her packing.
She went to seek refugee at Mokassa 2 village, but that angered the locals too.
They allegedly attacked her and her family. They also threatened to burn her alive.
Sesing’s husband ploughed onto six residents with his car in an attempt to escape from enraged residents. Six people were injured and taken to local hospital for medical attention.
Police said the eight suspects are facing attempted murder, assault and malicious damage to property.
They were released on R300 bail each and the case will resume on 02 December 2014.
Police investigations continue.-TDN
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Johannesburg – The institutional autonomy of the Vaal University of Technology (VUT) is compromised after it retracted an agreement it had with the EFF, the party said on Monday.
“The Economic Freedom Fighters condemns VUT’s withdrawal of its decision to give EFF a venue for its national people’s assembly taking place in December this year,” spokesperson Mbuyiseni Quintin Ndlozi said in a statement.
“VUT has retracted its agreement to give this venue to the EFF even after taking a deposit of R250 000 and taking the EFF leadership on a site visit for proper landscape planning.”
VUT spokesperson Mike Khuboni said the EFF’s allegations were inaccurate, as the university would not have accepted the money without the venue being confirmed.
“I remember the EFF representative who came to me to request the venue. The gentleman, he wanted the venue during the time when the university is closed,” Khuboni said.
“What we mentioned to him that normally the university, when it closes, there are no people who provide services such as cleaning, toiletries, security,… everything as required.”
With there being no university officials on campus at that time, the VUT could not let out the venue.
“We don’t hire venues out to the community when the university is closed because there is no staff available to adequately manage the venue. That was the main reason,” he said.
“We asked him to bring forward the conference, to say early December, just before the university closes, then the venue would be available. They [the EFF] declined that request.”
He said the VUT offered venues to whoever needed them because the community had the right to use them, and if the university could not provide a venue, it suggested alternatives.
Ndlozi said the VUT was under direct administration by the higher education department, and as such, was taking political instruction to deny the EFF access to its campus.
“This is despite the fact that the management has already, rightly, given the EFF a venue to hold its people’s assembly, thus compromising its institutional autonomy and academic independence,” he said.
“[The] VUT, by closing its ranks simply to satisfy the bully tactics of the ANC, has ceded its rights to institutional autonomy and rendered itself a mere ANC branch.”
The EFF had already spent millions of rands on merchandise and other conference material believing it had reached an agreement with the VUT.
“EFF will, therefore, take the university to court and make sure that the venue is given back for the people’s assembly,” Ndlozi said.
Should the venue not be given back to the EFF, the party would also go through the courts to ensure the money spent on merchandise and conference materials was fully replaced by the VUT, as it bore its name.
SAPA
Pretoria – Prosecutor Gerrie Nel tried to discredit two of the witnesses called by Oscar Pistorius’s defence in sentencing procedures in the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria on Monday.
For more http://www.news24.com
What kind of sentence will Oscar Pistorius get for killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp?
Judge Thokozile Masipa has wide latitude in deciding the sentence after several days of legal arguments and testimony that begin today.
Last month she convicted the double-amputee runner of culpable homicide, or negligent killing.
Sentences for such a crime can range from a suspended sentence and a fine to as many as 15 years in prison.
Pistorius was charged with premeditated murder in a televised trial that transfixed many people around the world, but Masipa found him not guilty of that charge.
She drew criticism from some South Africans who thought Pistorius could at least have been convicted of a lesser murder charge on the grounds that he knew a person could die when he fired four bullets through a toilet door in his home early on Valentine’s Day last year.
Steenkamp, a 29-year-old model, died in the hail of bullets, and prosecutors said Pistorius had opened fire in anger after the couple argued.
The runner testified that he mistook Steenkamp for an intruder who was about to come out of the toilet and attack him.
Lawyers vary widely in predictions about what kind of sentence Pistorius will get.
Some say he is unlikely to go to jail because defense lawyers will successfully argue that the athlete is a first-time offender with a disability that would subject him to particular hardship in prison, while others anticipate that Pistorius will be sentenced to some prison time because of the severity of his crime.
“I think that the probabilities are that the judge will send him to prison for a certain period, but not a very long one,” said George Bizos, a human rights lawyer. He did not specify the length of a possible jail term.
There are “clear aggravating and mitigating factors” that could influence the judge’s decision-making but that it was difficult to accurately predict the penalty because the “sentencing law is so individually applied”, said Kelly Phelps, a senior lecturer in the public law department at the University of Cape Town.
There are, however, past culpable homicide sentences that provide some context for the Pistorius case.
Singer Molemo “Jub Jub” Maarohanye’s murder conviction was overturned and replaced with a culpable homicide conviction last week, dropping his prison sentence from 25 to eight years.
He was arrested after a 2010 drag race in which he and his co-accused Themba Tshabalala ploughed cars into a group of schoolchildren, killing four and seriously injuring two.
In a separate case, taxi driver Jacob Humphreys’ murder conviction was also reduced to culpable homicide last year, cutting his prison time to eight years instead of 20 years.
His car had hit a train, and 10 children died in the accident.
– Sapa-AP
Bloemhof- North West MEC for Local Government and Traditional Affairs, Collen Maine, will on Monday, 13 October 2014, provide feedback on the issues that the community of Boitumelong township in Lekwa Teemane local municipality, raised earlier in the year about the municipality.
The community of Boitumelong had early in the year, staged violent protests in demand for a full blown investigation into allegations of fraud, nepotism, corruption and maladministration against the municipality.
These violent protests saw houses belonging to the then Mayor, Rebecca Makodi her relatives, councillors and police officials torched, the N12 road between Kimberley and Johannesburg barricaded with burning tyres and stones thrown at passing cars and trucks.
Details of the meeting are as follows:
Date: 13 October 2014
Time : 14h00
Venue : Boitumelong sports stadium
-TDN
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-Bafana Bafana head coach Ephraim Shakes Mashaba believes his side is slowly getting where it should be.
Mashaba said this after his side defeated Congo 2-nil in a CAF Orange Africa Cup of Nations Qualifier played on Saturday, 11 October in Pointe Noire to take leadership of Group A.
Second half goals from strikers Bongani Ndulula and Tokelo Rantie three minutes apart (in the 52nd and 55th minutes) were enough to see the South Africans return home with maximum points.
This was the ninth meeting between the two nations, and Bafana Bafana have won five of the clashes, losing just once.
The Bafana Bafana mentor has now beaten the Congolese two times – first time in October of 1992 in Johannesburg (Ellis Park Stadium), in the first encounter between the two nations.
“I am happy to have beaten Congo for the second time. The first time I was a stand-in coach. We defeated them one nil, today it was two and I hope the next time it will be three. But it shows there is some improvement from the coaches, we are gettign somewhere,” said Mashaba.
“It also shows we are on track with our vision. Sudan and Congo are no pushovers, and we lacked a bit of luck to defeat Nigeria. But things are working well. If you look at the personnel we brought in, they looked good. Youngster Rivaldo (Coetzee) was outstanding, Letsholonyane gave us what we wanted. Going forward we will bring in one or two more players because we are building a new side and I hope it will brign more results. Should we qualify for Morocco then we will test the strength of the squad at the tournament, and once we are done there we look forward to preparing for 2018 World Cup.”
Bafana Bafana have now played three matches in the qualifiers without conceding, but what pleases Mashaba more is how the results were achieved.
“It’s a combination of things because when you play good football without scoring it doesn’t help, but you can also play bad and get three points. But here we have combined the two because the boys are playing good football, it’s been quite a while since I last saw our team playing such good football. They are beaming with confidence as individuals, but the combination of the players means we are gradually achieving our goals,” added the Bafana Bafana mentor.
South Africa still has a date with the same Congo on Wednesday, 15 October at the Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane – a match that could clinch qualification for Morocco 2015.
“This result has led us to the good and the bad – players when they have taken a lead, they showboating and it’s a tough thing to get it out of them. They are booming with confidence and it nearly cost us. If it was not for Senzo they would have scored a goal or two,” said Mashaba.
“We are not going to change much for the return leg. We will approach them with the same strategy and ensure we don’t concede early on. Also we need to guard against complacency. Playing at home is also not a luxury anymore as the players become more under pressure from the fans and end up making mistakes, no freedom of expression. But I believe it’s a plus to us having played three tough games without conceding. It is another way to show that the team is working together.”
Bafana Bafana have now scored a total of six times and conceded four goals in nine matches against Congo.
South Africa leads the group with seven points, followed by Congo with 6 poinsts.
Elsewhere Sudan stunned Nigeria by one goal to nil to leave the struggling Super Eagles bottom of the group with just one point after three matches. Sudan is third with three points.Here’s how they lined up:
Congo: Massa, I Nganga, Moubhio, F Nganga, Bissiki, Ndinga, Oniangué, Gandzé, Litsingi, Bifouma, Doré
Subs: Mafoumbi, Moutou, Koubemba, Kaya, Douniama, Sagesse, Babele, Baudry
South Africa: Senzo Meyiwa (c), Thabo Matlaba, Erick Mathoho, Rivaldo Coetzee, Thulani Hlatshwayo, Dean Furman, Andile Jali, Mandla Masango (Letsholonyane 78′), Thulani Serero, Tokelo Rantie (Erasmus 73′), Bongani Ndulula (Vilakazi 63′)
Subs: Darren Keet, Sibusiso Khumalo, Sibusiso Vilakazi, Tefu Mashamaite, Reneilwe Letsholonyane, Oupa Manyisa, Kermit Erasmus
Not in match day squad: Dumisani Msibi, Siyabonga Nhlapho, Kwanda Mngonyama, Fagrie Lakay, Keagan Dolly, Themba Zwane, David Zulu
-TDN
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By Obakeng Maje
Jan Kempdorp- A 63 year-old man is still distressed after he escaped unharmed.
A man was allegedly asleep in his house when he heard foot-steps outside on Sunday at around 03:00am. He went out to observe what’s really happening, but he went back into the house after he discovered nothing sinister.
The man allegedly heard another noise and he went to investigate again. He was confronted by two suspects and threatened to shoot him if he does not co-operates.
The suspects demanded the car keys of his white Mazda sting.
“The two male suspects got away with a 63-year-old man’s white Mazda Sting. The matter was then reported to the police and a “look-out” was pursued. At around 13h00 on Sunday, two members from Kimberley Flying Squad, Constable Shouneez Jenkins and Constable Nicholas Ndaku were busy with their normal patrol duties in Kagisho, near Kimberley when they noticed a suspicious White Mazda Sting without number plates” . These members then stopped to investigate, only to find out that according to its licence disk, the car was hi-jacked earlier in Jan Kempdorp” lieutenant Donald Mdhluli said.
The two suspects were searched and the car key was found in possession of one of the suspects. The two suspects, both aged 25, were arrested and charged with possession of stolen motor vehicle.
The two are possibly linked with the hi-jacking case reported earlier.
The Deputy Provincial Commissioner in the Northern Cape, Major-General Risimati Shivuri, has applauded the members for their “good-work”.
“As we approaching the festive season, there will be no stone left unturned. Police and other security agencies will search every vehicle that they come across. Vehicles will be tested whether they were bought lawfully, whether the drivers thereof are authorized to do so, as well as whether vehicles do not possess stolen property, drugs, firearm or any illegal items.
“This will be a vigorous exercise and we are appealing to the public to bear with us during this season” Shivuri said.
The two suspects are expected to appear in the Galeshewe Magistrate’s Court on Monday.
-TDN
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Dr Juli Switala thought about contracting Ebola every single day. She had to. Her quest to help heal ill children in Sierra Leone had suddenly turned into a no-touch mission.
For more http://www.iol.co.za
By Obakeng Maje
Taung- Two people injured after the driver the car they traveling in lost control, says North West police.
The accident took place few metres from Taung Agricultural College on Thursday at around 21:00.
“Two people were injured and taken to Taung and Kimberley hospitals respectively with fatal injuries. The cause of the accident is yet unknown and other occupants in the car left unharmed and were later released after medical attention” captain Pelonomi Makau said.
According to reports, one of the injured persons is Greater Taung municipal employee and was transferred to Kimberley hospital with alleged broken legs.
The driver lost control of the vehicle and that resulted in passengers being strewn around and the vehicle landed in a canal nearby.
Police investigations continue.-TDN
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