Orlando Pirates were denied a second star as they lost 2-0 to Al Ahly in the decisive leg of the CAF Champions League Final in Cairo on Sunday night.

The defending champions, who won the event for a record-extending eighth time, prevailed via second-half strikes from Egyptian legend Mohamed Aboutreika and Ahmed Abdel-Zaher at the Arab Contractors Stadium.

Ahly, 3-1 victors on aggregate, ended the game with ten men as Sherif Abdel-Fadil was shown a straight red card for body-checking Daine Klate in an aerial challenge in the 83rd minute.

The teams traded blows in midfield in the opening exchanges, with Pirates winger Klate sending a tame free-kick straight at goalkeeper Sherif Ekramy following a foul on Sifiso Myeni.

At the other end, Ahly’s Mohamed Naguib flashed a header wide of the target in the 15th minute. 

Bucs, continental champions in 1995, nearly broke the deadlock in the 20th minute, but Ekramy was quick off his line to foil Tlou Segolela.

Pirates keeper Senzo Meyiwa was called into action two minutes later, as he parried away Abdel-Zaher’s long-range effort.

Sea Robbers fullback Thabo Matlaba, who netted a last-gasp equaliser in the first leg, threatened just past the half-hour mark, but his powerful drive was well gathered by Ekramy.

Segolela wasted a great chance to score in the 35th minute, as he headed wide at the back post off a telling right-wing cross from Klate.

The hosts nearly struck a minute before the interval, but Meyiwa came to his side’s rescue with a brave save to deny Abdel-Zaher.

Ahly drew first blood nine minutes after the break, as an unmarked Aboutreika calmly stabbed the ball home from close range.

Bucs came agonisingly close to equalising but Lennox Bacela failed to hit an open net, albeit from a tight angle, after rounding the keeper.

However, the contest was effectively killed off when Abdel-Zaher placed the ball past Meyiwa inside the box in the 78th minute, with the visitors unable to find a way back.

It was an especially remarkable triumph for Al Ahly given the lengthy suspension of their domestic football due to ongoing political unrest in the north African country.

Al Ahly: Sherif Ekramy, Sherif Abdel-Fadil, Wael Gomaa, Mohamed Naguib, Sayed Moawad, Ahmed Fathi, Hosssam Ashour, Abdallah El-Said, Walid Soliman (Kenawi 73′), Mohamed Aboutreika, Ahmed Abdel-Zaher (Rabia 84′).

Orlando Pirates: Senzo Meyiwa, Lucky Lekgwathi, Thabo Matlaba, Rooi Mahamutsa, Ayanda Gcaba, Lehohonolo Masalesa, Oupa Manyisa, Sifiso Myeni, Tlou Segolela (Mbesuma 75′), Daine Klate (Makola 86′), Lennox Bacela.

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Johannesburg – The controversies that President Jacob Zuma’s public remarks sometimes trigger have been attributed to cultural misunderstandings between the president and those who interpret his messages.

Mark Sanders, who lectures in comparative literature at New York University, has suggested that Zuma’s use of the isiZulu idiom in his public statements is sometimes misconstrued, City Press reported on Sunday.

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By Obakeng Maje

Kagisho-Northern Cape police have arrested seven suspects for a case of murder that took place on Saturday at about 18h45 in Itshokeng Street, Club 2000 in Kagisho. 

Lieutenant Donald Mdhluli said police were called to a murder scene where a 29 year-old man was allegedly stabbed to death.

“Police immediately launched a manhunt and within two hours they arrested seven male suspects. The suspects are aged between 17 and 24” Mdhluli said. 

The suspects are facing charges of murder and they are expected to appear before the Galeshewe Magistrate Court on Tuesday.

“Major General Kolie Matthys has again thanked the members for the job well-done. He further thanked community members for their assistance with information that led to the arrest of the 7 suspects” concludes Mdhluli. 

The investigation continues.-TDN

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By Obakeng Maje

The Police in various parts of the North West were out in numbers in the past week, between 03 and 10 November 2013. They arrested a total of 757 suspects for Contact crimes, Contact related, Property related crimes as well as trio crimes.

The arrested suspects include 14 for Murder, 178 for Assault GBH and Assault Common, 29 for rape, 12 Robbery Aggravating, 31 for driving under the influence of liquor  and 28 undocumented persons.

“Police also managed to confiscate and recover 3 cell phones, 5 firearms and 1 vehicle during operations .Most of the suspects have already appeared before courts while others are expected to appear before various courts on Monday” sergeant Kealeboga Molale said.-TDN

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Pretoria – Julius Malema’s half-built Sandton mansion is set to go under the hammer for the second time later this month in a bid to pay off his R16m tax bill.

According to the Sunday Independent, November will be a tough month for Malema, the former ANC Youth League leader, who is also set to appear in court in Polokwane on charges of fraud, money laundering and racketeering.

In May, businessman Norman Tloubatla outbid several fellow bidders at the auction and successfully put in a R5.9m bid for the property, which Malema purchased for R3.6m three years earlier. The property has an estimated value of R7.1m.

Johannesburg – Day two of the voter registration process was running smoothly, the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) said on Sunday.

“The process is going well. Being a Sunday, we are trying to motivate and make sure people go to stations,” said spokesperson Kate Bapela.

The turnout at voting stations across the country on Saturday and Sunday was good, but the commission wanted more people to register for the 2014 general election.

“The turn-out so far has been very successful, but we can do with more. We want the figures to go up,” said Bapela.

She said there was a good mixture of young and old people registering.

Registration centres were open from 08:00 and would close at 17:00.

The IEC said a total of 22 263 stations were open.

On Saturday, chief electoral officer Mosotho Moepya said sporadic protests had affected the registration process in some areas including Bekkersdal in Gauteng, Sterkspruit in the Eastern Cape, Malamulele in Limpopo, and the Joe Morolong municipality in the Northern Cape.

Bapela said the commission was “studying” the environment where voter registration was taking place.

“We are allowing the process to simmer… and we will comment later.”

SABC radio earlier reported that the IEC was confident that voter registration would proceed peacefully in the Eastern Cape on Sunday after dozens of stations in the province were non-operational on day one.

This was due to protests and problems in Sterkspruit, Port St Johns and Cookhouse.

Provincial electoral officer Thami Mraji reportedly told the broadcaster almost all stations were open by Saturday afternoon. He said the IEC was working with the police to ensure staff were not intimidated.

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Pretoria – The Hawks have launched a probe into allegations that an ANC centenary book was funded by a R2.2m grant fraudulently obtained from the national lottery.

According to the Sunday Independent, the Basadi Empowerment Trust (BET) allegedly submitted fraudulent documents to the lottery. They were awarded the grant on behalf of the Lefatshe La Rona NGO for the production of the book after having worked through them to get the money. According to their director Themba Ximba, the national lotteries board referred the BET to them. He said they would not have qualified for a grant at the time had they not worked through his organisation.

The book, titled ANC@100: The Official Portrait was supposed to be launched at the centenary celebrations in Mangaung last year. This did not however materialise as the book has yet to be published.

Also embroiled in the saga is former ANC Rivonia branch chairperson Mutumwa Mawere who allegedly also assisted with the application. Mawere is himself the subject of a Hawks investigation after he allegedly used the ANC’s letterhead and the signature of a colleague to defraud the national lottery of more than R5m. 

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North West Premier Thandi Modise is to encourage members of the African Methodist Episcopal Church who are attending the West Annual conference at the Mmabatho Convention Centre to register for elections. Premier Modise is scheduled to address 3000 delegates at 11:00 before proceeding to check her name on the voters roll at Wouter Vos Rugby Stadium voting station in Mahikeng later this afternoon.“People must make sure that they register in order to participate in the democratic process. The majority of our nation was not allowed to vote during apartheid and must therefore ensure that they fully exercise that right as it is part and parcel of the democratic process,” said Premier Modise.

The Premier said that It is important that people check if their names appear in the voter’s roll to avoid last minute disappointment on voting day.

Premier Modise was impressed with the turn-out at voting stations she visited in Ramotshere Moiloa Local Municipality on Saturday afternoon.

The Independent Electoral Commission nationwide Voter registration campaign that had targeted two-million new eligible voters closes at 5:00 pm this afternoon.

Johannesburg – Nelson Mandela’s granddaughter Zoleka is set to launch an explosive personal memoir on Monday that tells of her trials with drugs and sex addiction.

Speaking to the Sunday Times, Zoleka said her book, entitled When Hope Whispers, is a brutally honest account of the demons she fought for years. She tells of how just days before her daughter, 13-year-old Zenani died in a car crash, she herself was recovering from a suicide attempt after setting her bedroom on fire.

Zoleka, who has been to hell and back, is also a cancer survivor. She was diagnosed with breast cancer last year and initially rejected treatment. She has since had a mastectomy and undergone chemotherapy. She has one surviving child after losing a baby in 2011. The baby was born three months prematurely and died soon after birth from organ failure. 

For more http://www.news24.com

Johannesburg – The ruling party was pleased with the voter registration progress currently underway, it said on Saturday.

“Almost 100 percent of polling stations across the country have been operating since opening time this morning and many South Africans have commended the speed and ease with which they have been able to register to vote in the 2014 general elections,” ANC spokesperson Jackson Mthembu said in a statement.

Mthembu said the African National Congress was confident that eligible voters who had not registered would do so following the success of the first day.

“Voting is an inalienable right, hard won through the centuries-old struggles of our people.

“It is because of their sacrifices that the ANC’s reiterates the call for South Africans in general and young people in particular to get up, step up and be part of shaping their future,” he said.

President Jacob Zuma and his daughter Msholozi visited a voting station at the Ntolwane Primary School in Nkandla, KwaZulu-Natal, the SABC reported.

Sporadic incidents

Zuma was checking if he was still registered in the area while Msholozi was there to re-register from Cape Town to Nkandla.

The IEC said voter registration had proceeded peacefully throughout the country.

However, sporadic incidents of community protests affected the registration process in “very limited areas”, chief electoral officer Mosotho Moepya told reporters in Pretoria.

“The [affected] areas include Bekkersdal in Gauteng, Sterkspruit in the Eastern Cape, Malamulele in Limpopo, the Joe Morolong municipality in the Northern Cape and Lansdowne Road in the Western Cape,” said Moepya.

“In all these areas, election officials are working closely with security forces, community leaders, political parties and other stakeholders to ensure citizens’ rights to register to vote are not impacted and voting stations are operational as soon as possible.”

Moepya said 99.7% of 22 263 voting stations had been operating normally across South Africa as at 15:00 on Saturday. He said all voter registration centres which had been closed would be re-opened as soon as possible.

The IEC’s Gauteng official Masego Sheburi said seven voting stations had been closed in Bekkersdal.

Misleading

“Seven stations have temporarily closed…[They] were forced to close because of activities in the vicinity of the stations. [We are]… making efforts to re-open them today still.”

It was alleged that during a walk-about in the area, Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa advised IEC officials to close their stations immediately due to high tension in the area.

Mthethwa denied advising that the stations be closed, saying the report was misleading and unprofessional.

Police spokesperson Captain Jabulani Kundethe said at the time that there were only three “distractions” in the morning as stations prepared to open.

“Police took control of it,” he said.

Apologise

According to reports, an angry mob had torched a municipal building and barricaded roads.

The mob was also reportedly intimidating community members wanting to register for the 2014 general election.

Violent protests erupted in Bekkersdal, outside Westonaria several weeks ago, with people demanding better service delivery and the removal of their mayor. The protests were suspended last Sunday to allow government time to investigate residents’ grievances.

Residents reportedly said they would not allow the IEC into the area unless Gauteng Premier Nomvula Mokonyane apologised for comments she made during a recent visit to the area last month.

It was alleged Mokonyane told Bekkersdal protesters who did not want her to address them that the ANC did not need their “dirty votes”.

Mokonyane said in a statement on Friday: “Given the situation currently and in the best interest of peace and stability, I really would want to apologise to those who may believe, or who were made to believe that I made such attacks to the residents of Bekkersdal.”

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