Pretoria – Final arguments in Oscar Pistorius’s murder trial will be heard on 7 August, the North Gauteng High Court ruled on Tuesday after the defence closed its case.

“No heads of argument can be published in print or electronic media until the commencement of the arguments in court,” Judge Thokozile Masipa said.

Prosecutor Gerrie Nel made the application to prevent publication after the defence closed its case.

Masipa said the broadcast or publication of such documents, before they had been heard in court, was theft.

“I am concerned about what you are saying… it has happened before, it is theft actually. It is a disservice for the justice system,” Masipa said.

Closing arguments

Nel said the State would file its closing arguments on 30 July. The defence, led by Barry Roux, would file its papers on 4 August.

The court would hear the arguments on 7 August.

Earlier, Roux said that most witnesses refused to testify for the defence because they didn’t want their voices heard all over the world”. The defence thus closed its case.

The paralympian is on trial for shooting dead his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on 14 February last year.

He claims he shot her 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 contends he killed her during an argument.

Pistorius underwent a month-long psychiatric evaluation at Weskoppies Psychiatric Hospital, after which the court heard he did not suffer from general anxiety disorder.

SAPA

Johannesburg – National Council of Provinces (NCOP) chairperson Thandi Modise was attached to her pigs, and a report stating she suffered more than them was untrue, her spokesperson said on Tuesday.

“She was not only misunderstood, she was misquoted,” Modise’s spokesperson Neo Moepi said.

“What she was saying was that despite losing money and investment in the farm, what was of even more great importance was the loss of livestock because she was so attached to the animals.”

‘I suffered more than the pigs’

Moepi was reacting to Tuesday’s front page headline in the Sowetan newspaper: “I suffered more than the pigs”.

The newspaper quoted Modise saying in a statement issued to media on Monday: “The suffering that the animals endured does not compare to the financial loss that I suffered.”

The Sunday Independent reported that Modise bought the multi-million-rand farm Modderfontein, near Potchefstroom around three years ago.

The remaining 85 pigs on the farm had begun cannibalising 58 dead pigs, and were reportedly drinking their own urine. Sheep, geese, goats and ducks had also died on the farm. Police and officials from the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) made the discovery on Saturday.

Beeld reported on Tuesday that nearly 120 of the animals had been put down since Saturday.

“It was one of the worst scenes I witnessed in my 20 years at the SPCA,” Andries Venter, manager and senior inspector of the organisation’s farm animal unit, told Beeld.

Farm manager absent

According to the Sunday Independent it appeared the animals had been without water and food for around two weeks. There were no farmworkers on the property, no electricity, and the water pumps were broken.

Modise said over the past three years, she had visited the farm every two weeks. She had appointed vets, an environmentalist, an interim farm manager and lawyers to deal with problems on the farm. She learnt of the neglect late on Saturday.

Modise said the manager of the farm had asked for a leave of absence two weeks ago to attend an urgent family matter. She said she believed his replacement had matters under control and was shocked to learn he had disappeared.

SAPA

Pretoria – Most witnesses refused to testify for the defence in paralympian Oscar Pistorius’s murder trial, his lawyer Barry Roux told the North Gauteng High Court on Tuesday.

“We were unable to call a number of witnesses because they refused, and didn’t want their voices heard all over the world,” Roux said.

There was nothing the defence could do to change their minds, he said.

Roux did not tell the court who those witnesses were.

The defence closed its case.

The State would file its heads of argument on 30 July, and the defence on 4 August. Argument would then be heard in court on 7 and 8 August.

Judge Thokozile Masipa ordered that the contents of the heads of argument not be published by print or broadcast media until they were heard in court.

Pistorius is charged with murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on 14 February last year. He claims he shot her by accident through the locked door of the toilet in his Pretoria home, thinking she was an intruder about to emerge and attack him.

The State contends he killed her during an argument.

SAPA

By Obakeng Maje
Roodepan- SAPS Sector Policing in partnership with the Department of Sports, Arts and Culture, the Roodepan Community Policing Forum, the Roodepan Safety Volunteers, Love Life and the Lerato Park Community initiated a sport against crime awareness day.

On Saturday, seven soccer teams, comprising of teams for girls and boys, from Roodepan and Platfontein braved the cold weather by participating in a day of education, sport, music and fun.

The event formed part of the Roodepan SAPS’ School Holiday Programme which included team building, educational and fitness activities.

Police also spoke to the teenagers and the community about safety during the holidays.

“The tournament kicked off with the first match between the under-9 boy teams from Lerato Park. This was followed by the under-19 round-robin knock out tournament which saw the Roodepan Young Achievers walking away with the trophy” lieutenant Sergio Kock said.

All the participants received certificates of participation as well as warm soup and rolls which was sponsored by Roodepan and Galeshewe businessmen.

The theme for the day was “A child in sport is a child out of court”.
-TDN
Follow us on Twitter@Taung_DailyNews or @IceT_

Mahikeng- North West MEC for Local Government and Human Settlements, Collen Maine is to announce interventions adopted by Provincial Executive Council (Exco) aimed at improving service delivery in Ngaka Modiri Molema District at a media briefing to be held in Mahikeng today.

The media briefing session scheduled to be held as from 11: 00 in the MEC’s Boardroom situated on the 2nd Floor West Wing at  Ga-Rona Building, Mmabatho.
-TDN
Follow us on Twitter@Taung_DailyNews or @IceT_

Johannesburg – Slain SACP leader Chris Hani’s daughter, Vanessa, has terminated her Cope membership, the Sowetan reported on Tuesday.

She left the ruling African National Congress last June to join Mamphela Ramphele’s new party, Agang SA, saying the ANC had betrayed her father’s legacy.

But at the beginning of this year, Vanessa Hani left Agang SA, citing “a toxic nature of politics” in the party, according to reports at the time.

Then she joined former ANC stalwart Mosiuoa Lekota’s breakaway party, the Congress of the People.

Now she has written a letter to Cope saying she wanted to terminate her membership to focus on her “growing recruitment business” and her studies.

SA Communist Party leader Chris Hani was assassinated in Boksburg, on the East Rand, in April 1993.
SAPA

Pretoria – Reeva Steenkamp’s mother, June, has told a British magazine that she has forgiven Oscar Pistorius, who is on trial for the murder of her daughter.

On Monday Hello! magazine published an interview with June Steenkamp.

“I don’t hate Oscar,” she told the magazine.

“I’ve forgiven him. I have to – that’s my religion. But I am determined to face him and re-claim my daughter. It’s important for him to know that I’m there, that Reeva’s mother who gave birth to her and loved her, is there for her.”

Justice

She added that she feels Reeva’s presence with her all the time, and believes she will only rest in peace when the trial is over.

“I trust that God will prevail and justice will be done. All we want is the truth,” she said.

Pistorius has been charged with murdering Steenkamp early on the morning of 14 February 2013.

The sprinter claims he mistakenly shot the 29-year-old model and law graduate through a locked door, believing she was an intruder in his upmarket Pretoria home.

If found guilty of premeditated murder, he faces up to 25 years in jail and an abrupt end to his glittering sports career.

Video footage

In the North Gauteng High Court on Monday, prosecutors sought to show Pistorius’s sports doctor overstated his immobility without prostheses.

State prosecutor Gerrie Nel took Wayne Derman to task about his claim the athlete was mentally vulnerable and had limited mobility on his stumps.

Pistorius’s defence team say both factors led the Olympian to shoot Steenkamp out of fear that she was an intruder.

Nel’s tough questioning comes after a haunting video of the 27-year-old star sprinter was aired by The Seven Network, an Australian television network.

In the video, Pistorius, wearing a blue tank top and tight black shorts, is walking on his bare stumps with his arm outstretched and hand clenched as if aiming a pistol.

In another clip, Pistorius walks backwards on his stumps, appearing to cast doubt on the defence claim the runner has limited mobility without wearing his prosthesis.

“Can I just ask you then was it ever demonstrated to you that Mr Pistorius was able to walk backwards on his stumps?” said Nel.

“It was never demonstrated to me,” said Derman.

Nel worked to show that Pistorius wilfully moved towards the bathroom to shoot Steenkamp four times with a pistol.

“There was at least an option for the accused to flee, even walk out of the room, am I right?” said Nel, suggesting that Pistorius was criminally negligent by choosing to shoot instead of leaving his bedroom.

Leak

The leaked video was made by the Evidence Room, a US company that specialises in forensic animation, and lawyers for the athlete said it was commissioned by his defence team and obtained illegally by the TV station.

But the Australian television network defended its decision to run the footage on Monday, insisting it was not obtained unlawfully.

“We would not have run the footage if we thought we had obtained it illegally,” said Mark Llewellyn, executive producer of the Sunday Night programme.

“The story was run in Australia only and not made available to any other territory.”

Pistorius’s team warned against any other media rebroadcasting the clip.

“Any reproduction of this illegally obtained material will be deemed illegal,” said spokesperson Anneliese Burgess.

AFP