By Obakeng Maje
Hartbeespoort- A 17 year-old accused appeared before Brits Magistrate’s Court on Monday on charges of Murder and Attempted Murder. He is still in custody and will appear again on Friday for bail application.
This came after the accused allegedly stabbed his 45 year-old father with a knife on Friday 19 July 2013.
“It is alleged that both the victim and the accused had an argument after the victim questioned him for coming home late. The accused that was allegedly under the influence of drugs, stabbed the victim on his back and chest and the victim died on the scene” captain Pelonomi Makau said.
Police said the accused sister (8), tried to intervene and was also stabbed on her throat and waist. She was taken to the hospital where she is recuperating. Police investigation continues.
Follow us on Twitter@Taung_DailyNews or @IceT_
Traditional Leadership Disputes and Claims finalised
North West Premier Thandi Modise is to make a public pronouncement on the outcome of eight investigations finalised by the Provincial Committee on Traditional Leadership Disputes and Claims at a media briefing to be held as from 2pm at the Cookes Lake in Mahikeng tomorrow, Tuesday 23 July 2013.
Premier Modise said that the approach of briefing Royal families and parties that had lodged disputes and claims in a closed session prior the media briefing is in keeping with protocol and respect for the institution of traditional leadership which is the custodian of tradition and culture.
The briefing session relating to Senior traditional leadership of Bahurutshe Ba-Moiloa Boo Ramotshere in Dinokana, Bakwena Ba Modimosana Ba Morare Ba Matlhako in Tampostad village and Bafokeng ba Dijana will take place in Maboloka village.
“The session will also pronounce on the headmanship of Bataung ba Hlalele in Maboloka village, dispute is on the de-merging of Welverdiend community from the Amahlubi Traditional council, determination of whether the Barokologadi of Obakeng traditional community qualifies to secede and/or demerge from the Batlokwa Traditional Council and be incorporated back to the Barokologadi Traditional Council located at Pitsedisulejang village for both administrative and cultural purposes” Thandi Modise said.
Response to request for demerging of Balete Ba-Ga Motlhajoe from Barokologadi Traditional Council and payment of all member of the Community Authority of Kammelboom will also be announced.
“The Commission for Traditional Leadership Disputes and Claims was established in terms of the Traditional Leadership and Governance Framework Act 41 of 2003 to restore the dignity and integrity of traditional communities and the entire institution of traditional leadership across the country” Modise concludes .
Follow us on Twitter@Taung_DailyNews or @IceT_
The department of Sport to visits all 2010 Legacy Projects in North West
The National Portfolio Committee on Sport and Recreation will be conducting an oversight visit in the Province from 24th- 26th, July 2013. Among places to be visited are the 2010 Legacy projects at different areas around the province- Tlaakgameng, Mogwase, as well as the North West Sport Academy in Tlokwe.
“The visit will ensure that our vision as the Department goes on to create, promote and develop sport, arts and culture for community betterment and enrichment. Again, maximizing access, development and excellence at all levels of participation is encouraged” Departmental spokesperson Shirley Montsho said.
“This is the continuation of the oversight that started in 2012 to ensure that all the strategic objectives relating to sport and recreation are implemented as well as all stakeholders play their role in ensuring effective implementation of our mandate and objectives” Montsho said.
The purpose of the visit is to evaluate the status of 2010 Legacy projects and the state of the sporting facilities around the North West Province. During the 2010 Soccer World Cup the North West Province benefited the 2010 Legacy projects in three districts. Major infrastructure investment programme were also established.
“2010 Soccer World Cup left a legacy in our rural areas whereby our young people in the province are able to play the game they love on a decent football surface that was produced by the opportunity South Africa had ” said MEC for Sport, Arts and Culture Mme Tebogo Modise.
“These visits will ensure that each site is a hub of sport and community development centre for the youth who are now challenged by usage of drugs. These venues are also the right place where raw talent is identified as well as providing our communities opportunities to express themselves through sport.”, said MEC Modise.
The oversight visit will commence at Tlakgameng in Dr. Ruth Segomotsi Mompati on the 24th July 2013, followed by UNW High Performance Centre in Potchefstroom Dr. Kenneth Kaunda on the 25th July.
The tour will end at Bojanala District at Mogwase on the 26th July 2013.
(Edited by Obakeng Maje)
Follow us on Twitter@Taung_DailyNews or @IceT_
King Dalindyebo will lose DA membership if convicted – Zille
AbaThembu King Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo will lose his DA card if he loses an appeal against his criminal convictions, party leader Helen Zille has said.
She said this was made clear to him in a discussion he had with Democratic Alliance Eastern Cape leader Athol Trollip.
For more http://www.citypress.co.za
M&G welcomes new editor
Johannesburg – Angela Quintal has been appointed editor of the Mail & Guardian newspaper, it reported online on Monday.
Chris Roper was appointed editor-in-chief.
Quintal would leave her position as editor of the Witness to take up the post. Roper would move from being M&G Online editor.
In a report on its website, M&G chair Peter Vundla said: “Roper will drive our digital-first strategy which has already seen strong growth in our mobile, online and tablet audiences.
“We are particularly thrilled that Angela has joined us. On the back of more than 20 years’ experience, she brings with her editing experience from the Mercury and the Witness, as well as from other senior writing and editing positions she has held during her career.”
Outgoing editor-in-chief Nic Dawes is taking up a position at the Hindustan Times in New Delhi.
In other restructuring, Verashni Pillay, M&G Online deputy editor, was promoted to associate editor. Alistair Fairweather, head of digital platforms, was promoted to chief technology officer.
– SAPA
Attacked NUM man still alive – union
Johannesburg – The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) made an about turn on Monday and said a man who was attacked in the Nkaneng informal settlement in Rustenburg on his way to a rally, was actually alive.
Spokesperson Lesiba Seshoka said earlier on Monday that the man had died, but claimed to have been given the wrong information.
“I was told by local union leaders in Rustenburg that he died on Sunday. Mxashi Sethethi actually called me in the middle of the night to inform me about his death.”
The man, who was wearing a NUM T-shirt, was beaten up and stabbed in the neck while on his way to attend a NUM recruitment rally at the Wonderkop stadium in Nkaneng on Sunday.
When contacted for comment, Sethethi said he had not spoken to the media about what happened and, therefore, was not responsible for the report.
“I do not know where the report that he is dead comes from. The man is alive and well.”
The NUM is trying to recruit new members after losing its majority union status to the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) at Lonmin’s Marikana mine.
The union has referred a dispute about the interpretation and implementation of its recognition agreement with the platinum mining company to the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration.
Forty-four people were killed in Marikana last August during strike-related violence at Lonmin.
Police shot 34 of them on 16 August. Ten people, including two policemen and two security guards, were killed in the preceding week.
– SAPA
Lawyer: Lenasia charges a conspiracy
Johannesburg – A conspiracy is behind charges against an official accused of selling state-owned land to Lenasia residents, the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court heard on Monday.
Moleke Matsepe said in his closing argument that the State had failed to prove its case against his client, Sifiso Handsome Litau, beyond a reasonable doubt.
In November, the Gauteng housing department demolished about 50 houses illegally built on government land in Lenasia.
The buyers were given forged deeds of sale with the department’s logo. Seven people, including Litau, were allegedly implicated in the illegal land sales.
Matsepe said the houses belonging to the State’s witnesses were not demolished. Only one wall on the property of one witness was apparently taken down.
Matsepe asked: “Why, if all the houses have to be demolished, why were the complainants’ houses not demolished? That’s where the conspiracy comes in.”
Credible evidence
Prosecutor Anthony Greyvenstein argued that Litau should be found guilty. He said three State witnesses had independently produced credible evidence corroborating each others’ testimony.
Their evidence indicated that Litau presented himself as an agent of the housing department. One of the witnesses testified that she met Litau outside the department’s offices.
Greyvenstein argued that one of the witnesses had denied a defence claim that she was in a relationship with Litau two years before the case.
“It would not take two years [for the witness to make up the allegation] if there was a grudge,” Greyvenstein said.
He told the court the “receipts” issued to the buyers had not named Litau, but that he would have been named had there been a conspiracy.
The receipts for the money paid, allegedly to Litau, were also all similar, indicating they came from the same person.
Greyvenstein rejected the conspiracy claims and argued that Litau should be found guilty.
In his closing statement, Matsepe said experts should have been called to verify whether the writing on documents relating to the illegal land sales matched Litau’s.
Property transfer documents
As such, the State had not used all the resources at its disposal and thus the evidence before the court was largely speculation, he said.
Matsepe asked why the State had not called a witness from the Registrar of Deeds to prove the property transfer documents were not valid.
Magistrate Theunis Carstens asked him whether he had ever come across a valid legal document where all the text was in English, except for one paragraph, which was Afrikaans.
Matsepe persisted that an expert witness should have been called. Carstens said this was not necessary because “we all have what is called common sense”.
Matsepe responded: “I will use my common sense, if you don’t want to use yours.”
He insisted that the State had failed in its investigation and had failed to prove Litau’s guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
Carstens postponed the matter to 3 September for judgment.
– SAPA
Miner Amplats warns wage demands could mean more cuts
Anglo American Platinum , the world’s top producer of the precious metal, has suspended dividend payments and warned on Monday it could not afford “unrealistic” wage rises, as it continues to battle loss-making mines and climbing costs.
Amplats, as the unit of miner Anglo American is known, almost doubled its headline profit – but that was largely due to a weakening in the South African rand. The group continued to burn cash in the first six months of 2013.
Amplats’ Rustenburg mine northwest of Johannesburg, which has seen violent wage protests, bled 1 billion rand ($102 million) in the six-months to end-June and the company’s chief executive, Chris Griffith, said Amplats could not meet union wage hopes.
“The rand bailed us out, if that had not been the case we would have been in a lot more trouble,” Griffith said on a conference call. “There is not a chance that we can give in to unrealistic wage demands.”
He added the demands could spark further job cuts.
Amplats, battling to return to sustainable profits, plans to lay off up to 6,000 workers and close three shafts to scale back production. But it is also battling with unions asking it to more than double the basic wage for miners.
The company, which is 80 percent held by Anglo American said on Monday that diluted headline earnings totalled 512 cents per share compared with 272 cents a year earlier. The rand currency fell about 17 percent during the period, a boon for Amplats and other South African exporters.
“While the headline earnings look like there is an improvement, it is a low-quality number,” said Justin Froneman, platinum analyst at SBG Securities in Johannesburg.
“What worries us is the estimated 2.6 billion rand ($264.01 million) restructuring costs that are likely to come through in the second half.”
While refined platinum production was flat year-on-year at 1.2 million ounces, the company has negative net-cash flow and its net debt is inching higher.
But Amplats is not alone. In the face of unrelenting cost escalation, platinum producers have been forced to shift priorities and sector-wide asset reviews have seen older shafts shut and growth projects shelved.
“At current spot prices, about 60 to 65 percent of the industry is underwater,” said Froneman.
Shares of Amplats were up 0.6 percent at 300.70 rand, in line with a slightly firmer Top-40, South Africa’s benchmark equity index.
-Reuters
Boyfriend shot, lover raped at Lover’s Den
By Obakeng Maje
Kimberley- Couple canoodling at the well-known ‘Lover’s Den’ on the road to Brakley West just after Lerato Park near Kimberley are falling prey to criminals who lie in wait for them.
A Galeshewe man was allegedly shot several times and his partner was allegedly raped twice by an unknown man who surprised them whilst they were romancing.
“It is alleged that at about 02:00am on Sunday morning, the 29 year-old man left a local tavern in Galeshewe with a woman he met at the tavern. They then drove to the ‘Lover’s Den’. While they were busy outside the car, an unknown armed person accosted them. Four shots were fired at the man. He sustained gunshot wounds to his chin, neck, shoulder stomach, eye” colonel Priscilla Naidu said.
Naidu said the suspect then allegedly raped the woman and then forced her into the car and drove off in the direction of Bloemfontein. While on the way, the woman was again allegedly raped.
“The VW Polo Vivo began to stall near Petrusburg, but the suspect managed to drive to a garage in Petrusburg. He gave two hitchhikers (a man and a woman) a lift. It is further alleged that the suspect took money from the hitchhikers to fill up petrol” said Naidu.
As they were driving towards Bloemfontein, the vehicle once again stalled. The passengers got out of the vehicle, leaving the suspect behind. They hitched another ride into Bloemfontein. The woman alerted the two hitchhikers about what had happened and contact was immediately made with SAPS Galeshewe about the injured man at the veld.
“The matter was reported at about 06:00 on Sunday morning at SAPS Bloemfontein. When police arrived at the spot where the vehicle allegedly stalled, the suspect was nowhere to be seen. The vehicle was recovered and two cell phones belonging to the injured man (Blackberry and Samsung) are missing” said Police.
The injured man was taken to Kimberley hospital where he is in a serious, but stable condition. It is reported that he has lost sight to his left eye.
The Family Violence Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit (FCS) in Galeshewe are investigating a case of Hijacking, Attempted murder and Rape. “Police would like to warn romantic couples to stay clear of this open veld as this is the third incident this year where couples were attacked and robbed” Naidu said.
In the first two incidents, suspects were arrested and the cases are still pending.
The veld is away from the main road and the area is unlit. Criminals are aware of this spot and lie in wait for unsuspecting victims.
D/W/O Godfrey Khatwane of SAPS Galeshewe FCS is appealing to the community to assist in the investigation. The suspect is not yet arrested and anyone who can provide information to the police is asked to contact him on 053 8076161 or on 0832630750. All information furnished to the police will be treated in the strictest confidence.
Follow us on Twitter@Taung_DailyNews or @IceT_
Chiefs and Pirates do not do friendlies
Kaizer Chiefs coach Stuart Baxter is preparing to take a back seat this week ahead of Saturday’s highly-anticipated Carling Black Label Cup against arch-rivals Orlando Pirates at FNB Stadium.
Chiefs are fresh off defending their pre-season Gauteng Cup title at the weekend, having thrashed Bloemfontein Celtic 4-1 in the final in Pretoria.
However, this week’s sold-out cup match has required little influence from Baxter – nor his opposite number Roger de Sa – since the concept requires the fans to pick the starting line-ups and make the call for the first substitution of the match.
“It’s the Soweto Derby, and I guess Pirates and Chiefs don’t do friendly matches now, do they?” Baxter said.
“It’s great for supporters since they have a massive influence in it and I take a back seat.”
The millions of Amakhosi fans who would have cast their votes – with the starting line-ups set to be announced on Thursday – will be glad to know that they are ‘inheriting’ a team in good form.
The Premiership and Nedbank Cup winners from last season demolished Celtic on Sunday, with Willard Katsande, Siphiwe Tshabalala, Knowledge Musona and Kaizer Motaung Junior all finding the back of the net.
Phunya Sele Sele found a second-half consolation goal courtesy of a Thabo Nthethe header, which was the lacklustre Free State outfit’s only meaningful moment of the fixture.
Baxter gave a return start to Musona and Morgan Gould, back from injury, in defence, and while he was pleased with the performance, he saw room for improvement ahead of the Soweto derby clash.
They will play a Pirates outfit which should look sharper than the side that settled for a goalless stalemate against Congolese side AC Leopards in their Caf Champions League last-eight encounter in Orlando on Saturday.
“I’m pleased with the quality of play and happy with the players’ attitude. Hopefully we’ll continue playing decent football,” Baxter said.
“We still have a lot of work to do, and I feel that we can also improve in defence.”
Meanwhile, Celtic coach Clinton Larsen admitted his charges were still a work in progress ahead of the 2013/14 campaign, starting next month.
Larsen said he was trying out some combinations in his squad and was looking to bolster the side, particularly up front after losing Lennox Bacela to Orlando Pirates in the off-season.
“The objective is to keep improving,” Larsen said.
“We are trying to improve as a team from last season and I’m also on the lookout for one striker.”
– Sapa
The Guardian 