Johannesburg – Seven illegal miners have died and 12 have been wounded in a clash in a mine shaft in Brakpan North, on the East Rand, Ekurhuleni emergency management services said on Tuesday.

“The mine rescue services retrieved seven bodies yesterday [Monday]. This morning they will go and search [for more] on another level,” said senior district manager Roggers Mamaila.

Rescue workers had initially thought there were only four bodies underground, but had found six bodies on level two of shaft seven, and one in shaft 11.

“Today they will go to shaft seven, level three just to check that we leave no bodies down there, because some families are claiming their family members are still missing,” Mamaila said.

On Monday, a 12th illegal miner was rescued from the mine.

“He just has a broken leg. For someone who went through such an ordeal he looks fine,” Mamaila said. He was taken to the Far East Rand Hospital.

The other 11 rescued had injuries, including gunshot wounds, and some needed amputations.

Emergency services were alerted to the violence at the mine on Sunday.

Mamaila said shots were fired during an underground clash between two groups of illegal miners on Thursday.

Mamaila said the rescue mission involved the police and the mineral resources department.

SAPA

Johannesburg – Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa and police commissioner Riah Phiyega should resign, the SA Policing Union (Sapu) said on Monday.

“[We] call on [them] to… do the honourable thing – resign from their positions,” the union’s leader Mpho Kwinika said in a statement.

“We have been calling for a judicial commission of inquiry into the SA Police Service (SAPS) simply because there is no leadership and management in the police.”

Sapu was reacting to the outcome of an audit released by the police ministry on Sunday, which found that 1 448 police employees had committed crimes.

In a statement, Mthethwa said the audit – into how many current police employees had criminal records – had been going on for two years.

Mthethwa said the next step was for Phiyega to decide what action to take.

Sapu said the “so-called report” was not credible.

“The lack of credibility in the audit report comes from the fact that even its findings are inaccurate… We have been calling for its terms of reference to be made public,” said Kwinika.

“Sapu would like to challenge the minister and the national commissioner to be frank and honest about the criteria used to determine this figure, the process, and its accuracy.”

The union questioned whether the figure included those employees who were given fines in court, and those found not guilty.

Sapu said it did not condone ill-discipline or illegal acts, but wanted clarity on the report.

“We want to reassure the public that as much as we acknowledge that there are few rotten elements within the SAPS… thousands of men and women in blue are people of great integrity,” Kwinika said.

SAPA

Cape Town – An off-duty policeman was shot dead in Mitchells Plain in Cape Town, Western Cape police said on Tuesday.

This is the third police killing in the city since Sunday.

Lieutenant Colonel Tembinkosi Kinana said two unidentified men knocked on the sergeant’s door at his Montclaire home around 21:00 on Monday.

They fired several shots at him as he approached the door and then entered the house, demanding his firearm in a safe.

They ran away and the officer died at the scene.

The 34-year-old officer had been stationed at Philippi East.

‘An attack on society’

A case of armed robbery and murder was being investigated and no arrests had been made.

“The SA Police Service Management would like to convey heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family of the deceased police officer and to his colleagues,” Kinana said.

“An attack to the police, is an attack to the society. Our efforts to serve and protect our communities will not be deterred by the cold blooded and heartless criminals. 

“We will not be side-tracked by the criminal elements operating within our communities, and the police will not sleep until culprits are brought to book.”

Two policemen were shot dead in separate incidents in Cape Town on Sunday.

A 36-year-old constable was killed while on duty in Spine Road, Mitchells Plain, around 8pm on Sunday.

An hour later, a 40-year-old sergeant was shot in his Khayelitsha home while getting ready to go to work.

He died on his way to hospital.

No arrests had been made for either attack.

Highest incidence of cop killing in Western Cape

Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa visited Mitchells Plain on Monday following the attacks.

In a phone interview, he said the province had the highest number of attacks on police.

He said the Western Cape community safety department’s criticism of the police service reinforced the idea that officers did not deserve respect.

“What we are saying is that criticising the police is not a problem if they think there are weaknesses. But if they say nothing positive, they open them [the police] up to criminal attack,” he said.

“The major point we’re making here is the issues of safety and security, like in any other province, is about working together and partnerships through a multi-disciplinary approach,” he said.

Community safety MEC Dan Plato condemned the police minister’s comments, accusing him of “playing politics” while people were being killed.

“It is utterly disgusting and totally inappropriate that the national minister would use the death of police officers for electioneering purposes,” Plato said.

Mthethwa urged to retract comments

The Democratic Alliance (DA) accused Mthethwa on Monday of trying to score political points, calling his comments distasteful, insensitive and an insult to the grieving families.

“The only people to blame for the deaths of our police officers are criminals who have no respect for the police,” DA MP Dianne Kohler-Barnard said.

She called on Mthethwa to retract his comments.

“[He must] stop abusing his position to make irresponsible statements. Instead, he should be proactive and launch an investigation into the causes and extent of police killings,” Kohler-Barnard said.

The DA intended asking Parliament to summon Mthethwa to explain what he would do to better protect police officers in the Western Cape and the rest of the country.

SAPA

Johannesburg – SABC radio station Motsweding FM was fined R10 000 for naming a child who had been raped, the Broadcasting Complaints Commission of South Africa (BCCSA) said on Monday.

A complaint was lodged after the child’s name and surname was mentioned several times in May in a message which was part of the radio station’s goodwill ambassador campaign.

According to the complaint listeners were given a “step by step of the rape and in the background the painful cry of a girl”.

The BCCSA referred the matter to a tribunal for a hearing.

Motsweding FM said it had been given permission by the child’s family to use her name, profile, and pictures as the face of its campaign.

“The station further got permission from the campaign drivers, (SA Police Service), and the (family), to tell (the child’s) story throughout the campaign because the family does not want any other child and family to go through what they and (the child) went through.”

It said the promotion for the campaign, using the girl’s name, was a call for action that was aimed at challenging the community to do something about the scourge of rape.

The station submitted that there was no transgression of the broadcasting code.

However, the BCCSA tribunal found that there was no provision in the code that a parent, or anyone else, may grant permission for the identity of a raped child to be disclosed.

“Although the mistake was a bona fide mistake and the broadcasts were apparently in the public interest, the disclosure of the identity of the victim amounted to a serious contravention of the code,” the BCCSA said.

Sapa

Johannesburg – The Democratic Alliance’s Gauteng premier candidate nomination process is still ongoing, the party said on Monday.

“The party’s premier candidate nomination process was opened last week and will close on 1 August 2013,” provincial chairman Mike Moriarty said in a statement.

“Nominees will face an electoral college on the 9th August 2013, after which an announcement will be made as regards the party’s selected candidate.”

The party had received one nomination thus far. Earlier, DA Gauteng leader Jack Bloom announced his candidacy at Constitution Hill, Johannesburg.

“As premier of Gauteng, I will ensure real delivery, and a government that is accountable, effective, and free from corruption,” Bloom said in a statement.

He intended abolishing blue light brigades, scrapping e-tolls, and ensuring that public money would not be spent on “extravagant cars and corporate credit cards”. – Sapa

Johannesburg – The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) scored a significant political victory at the weekend, when one of the worker leaders at the forefront of the labour strike in Marikana, outside Rustenburg, joined the organisation.

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Retired Judge of the Constitutional Court of South Africa, Honourable Justice Yvonne Mokgoro has called on the people of the North West to work together to find  practical solutions to the challenges facing the province.

Judge Mokgoro appealed to delegates

 on the first day of the two-day Provincial Social Cohesion and Moral Regeneration Summit in Mahikeng on Monday that there was a need to go back to the culture of Letsema or voluntarism.  She said instilling the culture of voluntarism would ensure that people were able to serve selflessly, dealing with problems for the greater benefit of society without expecting to be paid.  

Mokgoro said the summit was appropriate because there are always factors that require people to come together and talk about them with a view to resolve, rather than fighting against each other.

“There can be no social cohesion without addressing those issues that create difficulties in our lives. It is therefore appropriate for people to stand up and voice their concerns because it may be these difficulties that preclude us from coming together as a society,” said Justice Mokgoro.

“If we can make sure that we have inter-generational solutions to these problems, we would know that we have achieved something. We must create a nation. There is no way in which we can create a cohesive nation if we don’t deal with our challenges. We are here to express ourselves with a view to resolves our issues,” added Mokgoro.

She said social cohesion is not an event but a process.

Bongani Khumalo’s agent, Glyn Binkin, has confirmed that the defender is on the verge of joining Doncaster Rovers on loan.

English Championship side, Rovers, have been impressed with South African defender during his trial and the Siya crew previously reported that they were likely to pursue a loan move.

The crew reported last week that the 26-year-old Tottenham Hotspur man would feature for Rovers in a preseason friendly with Bradford City this past weekend as he attempted to earn himself a move to the club.
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Word reaching the Siya crew is that English Championship side, AFC Bournemouth, have made an official bid of R4 million for Malmo FF’s South African striker, Tokelo Rantie.

The 22-year-old forward has had a tremendous start to the season in Sweden, having already bagged seven goals for Malmo as they attempt to close the gap at the top of the Swedish Allsvenskan.

It seems that his form has been noticed by The Cherries following their promotion from England’s League One, and their head coach, Eddie Howe, has reportedly pin-pointed the Bafana Bafana international as a player who can help them avoid relegation in their coming campaign.

However, sources close to the player and Malmo have indicated that the deal in its present format is unlikely to happen, with Malmo wanting a significantly improved offer in order to let go of their star forward.

Rantie recently signed a long-term deal with the Swedish outfit after a successful loan spell last season.
For more http://www.soccerladuma.com