JOHANNESBURG – It’s understood Gauteng Police Commissioner Mzwandile Petros has already begun clearing his office after his contract expired in mid-August and was not renewed. It’s not immediately clear when Petros will officially leave office or who will replace him, but it’s believed National Police Commissioner General Riah Phiyega is seeking a replacement. Petros made an official announcement in an impromptu speech on Saturday night at a glittering police awards ceremony. Although his speech was vague, it has ended weeks of speculation about his future within the force. “After 10 years being the captain of the ship. This captain has embarked the ship,” he said. Petros was initially deployed from the Western Cape to Gauteng, but officially announced on Saturday night that he was leaving the police force. It is not yet clear what his next appointment will be and police have declined to comment on the matter. It is believed he will make an official announcement sometime this week. Meanwhile, Phiyega thanked Petros for helping to reduce Gauteng’s notoriously high crime rate (Edited by Tamsin Wort)

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By Obakeng Maje

Taung-A 23 year-old man is expected to appear before Taung Magistrate Court today after he allegedly killed his granny.

The atrocity took place at Dryharts village, near Taung where a man allegedly was engaged in an argument with his granny regarding her pensison money and that led to bludgeoned.

“A 23 year-old man was arrested on Thursday after the neighbour saw a 79 year-old granny lying in pool of blood” colonel Sabata Mokgwabone said.

Police were summoned to the scene and allegedly found a man sitting outside on the stoep.

Police asked him to open the door, but he decided to ask help from his knees.

Mokgwabone said the police chased and arrested him.

“He will appear on Monday for alleged murder at Taung Magistrate Court” he said.

A granny was confirmed dead on the scene by paramedics and suffered a open wounds on her forehead and other one below her ear.

Police investigations continue.-TDN

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The Barolong Boo Mariba Traditional Council have undertaken to use profitably the six farms they received as part of the land that was stolen from them through the 1913 Land Act. The farms valued at R60 million were handed over to the community by North West Premier Thandi Modise at a celebration in Dalyspan Farm near Mabule in Ratlou Local Municipality over the weekend.

There was exhilaration when the elated Premier Modise belted out a popular freedom song about the land, 

Mabayeke Umhlaba Wethu, loosely translated, “the land must return to its rightful owners.”  

Modise who sang the tear-jerking song in high spirit to the finish said the government will make sure that all the land is returned and urged the traditional council to use the land fruitfully and preserve it for future generations.

“Never and never again must this country experience some of the things that many of us are still reeling from. Hold on to the land we return to you today. Don’t allow people to steal it. We must preserve our land for our children. It was stolen and it is being returned. Don’t let it slip through our fingers again,” said Premier Modise on Saturday.  

Speaking on behalf of the traditional council, Kgosi Kopano Lekoko said he was thankful to the government for having had the wisdom to resort to negotiation to obtain the land.

“We are thankful to the ANC led government that the land was being returned without bloodshed. There are many farms in the land that we have claimed. So far only six farms have been returned. We owe it to the government to demonstrate to them that we will use it profitably to feed our people, the country and the international market. The work on the farm begins as soon as this celebration ends,” said the jubilant Kgosi Lekoko.

Community member, Olebogeng More, 62 said it has been a long wait and the hand-over shows that patience is virtue. “We are going to safeguard the land of our forefathers. No one will do what they like here. Our cattle will no longer starve. We are back on course after many years of oppression and land dispossession. Our dignity will be restored,” he said.

“We will now be able to sleep. To ours the land is an important asset. But it is also more than just a commodity. It’s also about our identity and it’s therefore consecrated because if you are evicted from your land you are dehumanised,” said 63 year old granny Tshenolo Tlhogi.  

Kobus Odendaal, 77, who bought the Dalyspan farm seven years ago from another farmer said he and his wife Susan are very happy for the community although they will always miss the good life they had at the farm. “It was a very good farm, very productive.”

Premier Modise, who also toured the farms to inspect facilities available, said her administration is hard at work looking at various models to make life easy for farming communities and people in rural areas in general.

She said in addition to availing training opportunities through the Kgora Training Centre which seeks to equip subsistence and aspirant farmers with farming skills, she plans to lead a delegation to Thailand where they will investigate, among others, solar opportunities to make it easy for people in far-flung areas to have cheaper electricity.

Premier Modise who was accompanied by Mayor of Ratlou Local Municipality Councillor Victor Mance thanked the Minister of Rural Development and Land Reform, Gugile Nkwinti for his tireless effort in driving the land restitution programme.

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By Obakeng Maje

Springbok-The Northern Cape police arrested two Namibian men subsequent to the house robbery at Klipwerf farm at Vioolsdrift. The incident happened in the early hours of Friday morning at about 01:00, whereby four men stormed into a farm house, threatened the farmer and his wife at a knife point. 

They tied them with rope and ransacked the house. 

“The suspects robbed the farmer of his three firearms, ammunitions, I-pads and undisclosed amount of cash and fled the crime scene after the incident” lieutenant Olebogeng Tawana said.

The farmer and his wife managed to loosen off the ropes and alerted the police about the incident.

The police responded promptly to the incident and launched an investigation and search. 

“All the necessary role players were beckoned to assist in the investigation, including police air wing unit, K9, crime intelligent and detectives and visible police” he said. 

The suspects were arrested respectively at Steinkopf and Portnolloth later during the day on the same Friday.

“During the arrest the police managed to recover back some of the monies, ammunitions and I-pads that were stolen during the house robbery” said Tawana.

The police sought after other two accomplices who are still at large. 

However Tawana said it will not be too long before this suspects being arrested soon.

“The police are following possible leads of their whereabouts.

We appeal to the public not to try to apprehend them on their own because these suspects are dangerous and are heavily armed” he said. 

Any person with the information that can lead to the arrest of these suspects may contact 10 111 / 08600 101 11 or Investigating Officers Captain De Jongh and Warrant Officer Brandel at 082 4484 596, 

The suspects in police custody and are expected to make a brief appearance before the Springbok Magistrate’s Court on Monday.-TDN

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There were six goals in the second half as Platinum Stars beat Bidvest Wits in their MTN8 semi-final first leg.

Wits scored first and last, but between those two goals Dikwena carved their opponents open at will.

The visitors took the lead just after the break through Ryan Chapman, but from then on in it was all Dikwena as they netted through Siphelele Mthembu (two), Mogakolodi Ngele and Henrico Botes.

Getaneh Kebede gave Wits some hope for the second leg on September 24 with a late goal.

Faty Papy had two great headed chances in the first half, but could not convert with either, while Ngele struck the crossbar and Mthembu wasted the rebound.

The deadlock was finally broken on 48 minutes as Chapman took advantage of the Stars defence backing away from him and blasted the ball home with a low shot.

Stars equalised on 56 minutes when Mthembu split the centre-backs with his run and fired the ball past a helpless Moeneeb Josephs.

Wits seemed shell-shocked and they fell behind seven minutes later as Ngele beat the offside trap and scored.

The third goal came on 72 minutes through an error from Tinashe Nengomasha.

The veteran Zimbabwean midfielder was attempting to clear in his own penalty-box, but stood on the ball and fell to the ground, allowing Mthembu a clear run on goal to score.

And it was 4-1 three minutes later as the ponderous Wits defence were split open again. Ngele played a delightful ball to vuyo Mere on the right and he slipped in Botes behind the defence. The Namibian international’s low finish past Josephs was clinical.

Wits gave themselves some hope with a goal eight minutes from time. Matthew Booth had been deployed up-field to use his height and his low centre ball was back-heeled into the net by Ethiopian star Kebede.    

The second leg will be on September 24 at Bidvest Stadium, with a 7.30pm kick-off.

Source: http://www.kickoff.com

By Obakeng Maje

North West-Police in the North West arrested a total of 900 suspects for various crimes during operation in the past seven days between Sunday 18 and Sunday, 25 August 2013.

The suspects include 9 for murder, 195 for Assault GBH & Common, 10 for attempted murder, 44 for Burglary residential & business, 41 for shoplifting, 54 for drug related crimes, 19 for rape, 70 for Possession of suspected stolen goods and for many other crimes. 

Also 52 undocumented persons were also arrested. 

The police also managed to confiscate as well as to recover goods such as 7 cellphones, 12 knives, 2 stolen vehicles, 55 ammunitions, 14 firearms & 2 magazines, counterfeit cigarettes and drugs such as mandrax, dagga, rocks and tik.

Most of these suspects appeared before various courts while those that were arrested during the weekend will be appearing tomorrow, Monday, 26 August 2013.  

“We really appreciate support of the community in the fight against crime by coming forward with information that led to arrest of some of the suspects”, said North West Provincial Commissioner, Lt Gen Zukiswa  Mbombo.-TDN

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Johannesburg – The Central African Republic’s ousted dictator Francois Bozize says President Jacob Zuma’s broken promises made during a secret back-room deal led to his downfall.

In an exclusive interview with the Sunday Times in Paris last week, the deposed strongman said that he sent his son, Jean Francis Bozize, then the CAR’s defence minister, to Pretoria in December to cut a deal with Zuma to send enough South African troops and weapons to halt the Seleka rebel advance on the capital, Bangui – but far fewer than promised arrived.

He also said he held frantic talks for three hours with Zuma just three days before Bangui fell, to remind him to honour their back-room deal. He said he held Chad’s President Idriss Deby, his former friend who backed the coup that put Bozize in power in 2003, personally responsible for the deaths of 15 South African soldiers when his troops let rebel columns advance on Bangui without putting up a fight.

Bozize said he is lobbying for support to return to power, hinting that he might use force if necessary.

The original defence agreement between South Africa and the CAR, negotiated by former president Thabo Mabeki, provided for 28 troops to be sent to Bangui in 2007 as military trainers and to beef up Bozize’s presidential guard. This deal was secretly renewed for another five years in December, when Bozize sent his son to meet Zuma. Another 200 troops arrived in Bangui in January.

But he said the number of troops sent fell far short of the number promised by Zuma. 

News24

Johannesburg – University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) would introduce new scholarship programmes for poor pupils, vice-chancellor Prof Adam Habib said on Saturday.

“We will introduce the vice-chancellor’s equality scholarship targeted at the top students in quintile one and two schools, those that are the most marginalised and depressed in the country,” Habib said during his inauguration as Wits vice-chancellor.

Top performing students who originated from the schools would be given a similar fully funded scholarship. “This is to ensure that talented students from economically marginalised communities are also given access to Wits.”

Habib said his task as vice-chancellor and principal would be challenging.

“Building and managing any university is challenging in the 21st century, but undertaking this responsibility in South Africa is an even more onerous one.”

This is because managerial challenges tend to be more acute, he said.

“Structural poverty and inequality seep across institutional boundaries and forces the university’s executive to confront challenges such as starving students and residential overcrowding.”

Habib’s inauguration was presided over by Wits chancellor Deputy Chief Justice Dikgang Moseneke and chair of council Dr Randall Carolissen.

Science and technology minister Derek Hanekom said he believed that Habib would confront social and economic issues through new and direct ways. Habib is an analyst and a political commentator.

He served as a deputy vice-chancellor of research, innovation and advancement at the University of Johannesburg before moving to Wits.

SAPA

By Obakeng Maje

Atamelang-Police in Delareyville are investigating allegations of child stealing after an 18 year old mother failed to account for a newborn baby.   

“It is alleged that an 18 year old girl from Atamelang was brought to Delareyville Hospital by her mother on the Wednesday, 21 August 2013 for allegedly suffering from stomach pains” colonel Sabata Mokgwabone said.  

The girl allegedly gave birth to a baby boy on arrival at the hospital, after her mother left her after admission.   

She was discharged from the hospital together with her baby boy on Thursday,and left without anyone accompanied her as her relative was still on the way to fetch her.  

“According to the information received,upon arrival at the hospital the relative was told that the girl was discharged in the morning” Mokgwabone said.

She allegedly called the girl who informed her that she was in town. 

Upon meeting the girl, the relative found that the girl was not with her newborn baby. 

“It is further alleged that the girl informed her relative that when she was on her way home, satanists took the baby from her. 

Police were informed and conducted a search around the area with dogs looking for the missing baby, but the search did not yield any results. Investigation regarding the matter continues and nobody has been arrested.-TDN

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Obakeng Maje

Groot Marico-Two accused, Johannes Sanke (40) and Samuel Motladiile (38) are expected to appear before Zeerust Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, 17 September 2013 for Theft of building materials. 

A case of theft was registered after the accused were found in possession of building materials that included 76 bags of cement, 12 door frames, 2 steel doors, 6 poles and 20 damp course plastic rolls, 1 roll of roof wire, all to the value of R20 945.00.

The incident happened last week Saturday at Reboile Location, Groot Marico. 

“It is alleged that the vehicle belonging to Ramotshere Moilwa Local Municipality was seen loading building materials and the construction company foreman was informed about the incident” colonel Sabata Mokgwabone said. “He reported the matter to the police and investigation was conducted, and it led to recovery of stolen goods”. 

According to information received, the accused are employees at Ramotshere Moilwa Local Municipality and they allegedly used Municipal vehicle to transport the stolen goods that are used for building of RDP houses in Groot Marico. 

“They were granted R1000.00 bail each upon appearance before the court on Wednesday, 21 August 2013” Mokgwabone concludes.-TDN

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