28 January 2025- More than 800 suspects were arrested during the High Density Operation Shanela. The weekly multi-disciplinary operation which commenced on 20 until 26 January 2025, focused on the enhancement of crime reduction and combatting within the North West.
The North West police spokesperson, Colonel Adele Myburgh said the police actions executed during the operations include vehicle check points (VCPs), stops and searches. Myburgh said this includes foot and vehicle patrols, compliance inspections at second hand dealers, scrapyards, recyclers, private security, firearm dealers, formal and informal businesses, farms and mines.
“The prevention of drugs and other commodities smuggling were also prioritized. During the VCPs and roadblocks conducted across the province, a total of 1052 vehicles and 3174 persons were stopped and searched.
“As a result of these operations, among others, 104 suspects were arrested for assault with the intent to do grievous bodily harm (GBH), 17 for murder and attempted murder, 11 for rape, 85 for contravention of the Immigration Act, 32 for driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs, 36 for possession of drugs and 14 for illegal dealing in liquor,” she said.
Myburgh further said in the concerted efforts to eradicate the proliferation of firearms, seven firearms that included five handguns and two rifles were confiscated and five persons were arrested for illegal possession of firearms and ammunition. She added that a variety of drugs, nine cellular phones and tobacco products were also seized by police.
Meanwhile, the acting North West Police Commissioner, Major General Patrick Asaneng, expressed his gratitude to all law enforcement agencies for their endeavours in ensuring that crime is prevented throughout the province.
28 January 2025- More than 186 suspects arrested during Operation Shanela, that is a weekly multi-disciplinary high density operation which commenced on 20 until 26 January 2025.
The suspects were arrested for various crimes such as murder, attempted murder, rape robbery, assault, burglary, malicious damage to property, dealing and possession of drugs, driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, as well as undocumented illegal immigrants and wanted persons.
The Northern Cape police spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel, Sergio Kock said Operation Shanela focuses on the reduction of contact and violent crimes in crime hotspot areas. Kock said in total, 9900 actions and police activities were executed, which included vehicle check points (VCPs), stop and searches, foot and vehicle patrols, compliance inspections, drugs and other commodities smuggling.
“Numerous vehicle check points (VCPs) and roadblocks, were conducted across the province
during which 1929 vehicles and 4623 persons were stopped and searched. Various compliance inspections at second hand dealers, scrapyards, recyclers, private security companies, firearm dealers, formal and informal businesses, farms and mines were executed.
“Random schools were also visited with Safer Schools representatives of both the Education Department and South African Police Service (SAPS) as part of the disruptive actions,” he said.
Kock further said the police confiscated large volumes of alcoholic beverages, drugs, non-ferrous metal items and cash that is believed to be the proceeds of crime.
Meanwhile, the Northern Cape Police Commissioner, Lieutenant General Koliswa Otola, indicated that the success of Operation Shanela in the province is as a result of stakeholder collaboration. Otola said the robust involvement of the community and all other relevant role players in crime fighting endeavours is pivotal in dismantling criminal activities, thus ensuring that no one is left behind.
“We invite the public to rate the police efforts in fighting contact crimes by participating in the RATE OUR SERVICE online survey to assist the police in improving services,” she said.
28 January 2025 – The Portfolio Committee on Transport said it has noted with concern media reports on Tuesday that 47 Putco buses were torched the previous evening and into the night. The Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee, Donald Selamolela said this was a senseless act, as it destroyed services that people need to link up with economic opportunities.
“Vandalism has cost the transport sector dearly and it is condemned with the seriousness it deserves. In this time and age, when we are talking about broadening all forms of transportation including aviation, it is shocking that there are people who still think they could burn buses.
“It is a sad day in South Africa. Our rail transportation is challenged throughout the country, but the government is working hard to have trains back on rails, yet we are experiencing this kind of uncouthness,” said Selamolela.
He further said the media reported on Tuesday that 47 Putco buses had been torched at various depots in Mpumalanga. Selamolela added that, however, this number has since been revised upwards to 50.
“This was an act of economic sabotage and we call on Putco Bus Company to investigate to determine who is behind this heinous crime against all South Africans. The committee will always advocate for the peaceful resolution of challenges and disputes.
“We continue to be committed to affordable, safe and efficient public transport. Law enforcement must leave no stone unturned in arresting and bringing to justice whoever is behind this mess,” he said.
Selamolela said this is an economic crime and the worst form of sabotage that should never be tolerated, whatever the cause was.
28 January 2025- The Republic of South Africa president, Cyril Ramaphosa said the South African delegation that went to the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, was upbeat, confident that the country is overcoming the challenges that it is facing. Ramaphosa said democracy is thriving.
He further said their energy challenges are now a story of opportunity. Ramaphosa added that every year in January, thousands of leaders from government, business and other sectors gather in this town in the Alps to discuss the state of the global economy.
“This year, South Africa was invited to present its priorities for its G20 Presidency. In a plenary address and in a separate discussion with business leaders, we outlined our theme for the G20 this year – Solidary, Equality, Sustainable Development – and the focus areas through which we will give meaning to this theme.
“We made the point that it is in the interests of all countries, large and small, wealthy and poor, to reduce global inequality. That is why one of our priorities is ensuring debt sustainability for low-income countries,” he said.
Ramaphosa said by freeing up funds for debt relief in these countries, they will be in a better position to invest in infrastructure, industrial development, education, health care and other forms of development. He said another focus area, which both reduces poverty and promotes sustainability, is the mobilisation of finance for a just energy transition.
“Through this, developing economy countries will be able to pursue a low-carbon development path while protecting the interests of affected workers, businesses and communities.
“Related to this is another focus area: the mobilisation of special financing and insurance to enable vulnerable countries to rebuild after being struck by natural disasters,” said Ramaphosa.
He said the fourth focus area is to harness critical minerals, which are abundant in Africa and other countries of the Global South, to promote inclusive growth and development. Ramaphosa said they are proposing a G20 framework on ‘green’ industrialisation so that countries endowed with these resources must be the ones that benefit most.
“We stressed that our themes and priorities are underpinned by the principle of cooperation. Throughout history, human progress has been possible only through collaboration among peoples and countries.
“We therefore renewed our call for the resolution of global challenges through multilateral actions. We called for inclusive solutions that recognise that the world is more interconnected than ever before,” he said.
Ramaphosa said cooperation is vital, if they are to overcome the existential threat of climate change. He said carbon emissions into the atmosphere, global warming and the extreme weather events that it causes do not recognise national boundaries or political systems.
27 January 2025- The South African Weather Service (SAWS) Information and Communication Technology (ICT) systems allegedly went down on the evening of Sunday, 26 January 2025, following a security breach by criminal elements. According to SAWS, aspects of critical services including aviation and marine have been interrupted.
SAWS spokesperson, Oupa Segalwe said in addition, the SAWS’ email system and website, which is the hub of critical weather information, have been affected. Segalwe said, however, alternative ways of disseminating important information such as the weather forecasts have been put in place.
“The SAWS’ ICT service providers have been on site since the attack not only to investigate the breach, but also to explore both interim and long-term ways of restoring the collapsed systems and eventually services.
“In the interim, the public is advised to rely on the SAWS’ social media platforms for weather information. The SAWS is in the process of reporting the criminal act to relevant authorities,” he said.
Segalwe further said the attack was the second in the space of two days after the initial attempt on the evening of Saturday, 25 January 2025 failed.
Picture: The North West MEC for Community Safety and Transport Management, Wessels Morweng
By OBAKENG MAJE
27 January 2025- The North West MEC for Community Safety and Transport Management, Wessels Morweng said 100 people lost their lives after the province experienced 87 crashes during the 2024 festive season. Morweng, who released the 2024/2025 Festive Season Road Safety campaign report in Mahikeng today said, their campaign was based on four pillars such as responsible driving, pedestrian safety, enforcement and education and collaboration.
He further said they included the focus on pedestrians as previous year’s statistics had indicated a growing number of pedestrians, who become victims of crashes and often at late hours of the day. Morweng added that compared to the year before, for the 2023/2024 travels, they recorded 98 fatalities from 86 crashes.
“For this year, the 2024/2025 festive period, we have a slight increase of 100 fatalities from 98 crashes. Despite this slight increase, the province remains second best performing in terms of least recorded fatalities.
“It is also worth mentioning that, we did not record any major crash, meaning where four or more lives are lost in a single accident. The critical route remained the N4 from our boundary with Gauteng in Brits to Dinokana at the border with Botswana,” he said.
Morweng said they have lost eight lives on this road followed closely by N12, where five lives were lost in crashes that occurred between Potchefstroom and Bloemhof. He said the other critical road is R24 that links Rustenburg and Krugersdorp in Gauteng, which recorded four fatalities followed by N14 which also recorded four fatalities.
“In terms of the Districts, Bojanala has recorded a total of 40 fatalities from 35 crashes. Ngaka Modiri Molema has recorded 27 fatalities from 22 crashes. Dr Kenneth Kaunda District has recorded 23 fatalities from 20 crashes. Lastly, Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati has recorded 10 fatalities from ten crashes,” said Morweng.
He said of 100 fatalities, 38 were passengers, 29 were drivers, another 29 were pedestrians, 3 fell off the moving vehicles and one was a cyclist. Morweng said time also played a role in the number of crashes hence they always advise road users to avoid travelling at night.
“Of the 100 fatalities, 61 of those happened between 6pm to 6am the following morning. In between, meaning during the day from 6am to 6pm, we lost 39 lives.
“Our approach this time was different. Instead of having traditional law enforcement operations which are commonly known as roadblocks, we had patrols where our officers were monitoring moving violations. This we believe reduced accidents and instead increasing general compliance with the road traffic regulations,” he said.
Morweng said this as drivers tend to obey the law in the presence of traffic officers and increase speed once they have passed enforcement operations. He said they had also been operating for 24 hours, especially on N4.
“The following challenges were encountered during the deployment and contributed to cancellation of some of our plans to ensure visibility on the roads. Rain and flooding of some of the arterial roads, especially N14, outside Delareyville.
“Protests by communities also impacted negatively on our plans as often we had to divert officers to deal with them rather than focusing on national roads. In conclusion, I want to express my profound gratitude to all law enforcement officers for their hard work in reducing numbers of crashes,” said Morweng.
He said when they enjoyed the festive season holidays, the law enforcement personnel were out there enduring all forms of weather patterns by being visible on the roads.
27 Ferikgong 2025- Morutabana wa kwa sekolong sa kwa motse-setoropong wa Pudimoe, o tlhokafetse morago ga go wa. Go begwa fa morutabana o tswang kwa porofenseng ya Kwazulu-Natal, a ne a dula le mokapelo wa gagwe wa lepodisi kwa phaphosing ya phiro kwa Extension 7, gaufi le Taung.
Go ya ka sebueledi sa sepodisi mo sedikeng sa Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati, Warrant Officer Tryphosa van Rooyen, morutabana o, o tlile ana le ntho ya go thuntsiwa mo leotong go tswa kwa gagabo kwa Kwazulu-Natal morago ga matsatsi a boikhutso. Van Rooyen are, go begwa fa tiragalo eo, e sa begwa kwa sepodiseng.
“Go begwa fa ntho eo, ene e sa neye morutabana o bothata le eseng. Fela ka di 25 Ferikgong 2025, go begwa fa ntho eo, ene ya tshimolola go dutla madi. Go begwa fa monna o, a ne a tswela kwa ntle, mme one a wa.
“Ba thuso ya potlako ba ile ba bidiwa, fela ba ne ba netefatsa fa moswi a setse balelelwa le badimo. Kgetsi ya morago ga loso ene ya bulwa, mme ga gona dipelaelo dipe mo losong la monna o,” van Rooyen wa tlhalosa.
27 Ferikgong 2025- Monna wa motswakwa o nang le lebenkele kwa motseng wa Mocweding, gaufi le Taung, o tlhasetswe le go kgothusiwa madi a seatleng ke banna bangwe ba le bararo ba ba sa itsiweng. Go begwa fa motswakwa o, a ne kgorogelwa ke banna ba baneng ba tshwere dithunya ka Lamatlhatso bosigo, mme ba mo kgothosa.
Go ya ka sebueledi sa sepodisi mo sedikeng sa Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati, Warrant Officer Tryphosa van Rooyen, banna ba, ba ne ba kgothosa monna o madi, dilwana ga mmogo le mogala wa gagwe wa letheka.
“Banna ba, ba ile ba digela mong o wa lebenkele dingalo, le go mo tlogela a phokga-phokga madi. O ile a iponela dikgobalo mo tlhogong, ga mmogo le mo mmileng.
“Monna o, o ile a tabogisetswa kwa kliniking ya selegae go ya go bona kalafi. Go fitlha ga jaana, ga go ope o tshwerweng, mme kgetsi ya go tshwara kgwebo poo e butswe,” van Rooyene wa tlhalosa.
27 Ferikgong 2025- Mosimanyana wa dingwaga di le 16, go begwa fa a ikgwageditse mo letsatsing la Lamatlhatso ka phirimana kwa motseng wa Mokassa 1, gaufi le Taung. Go begwa fa mosimanyana o, a ne a lotlegela ba lelapa la gagwe gore o leba kwa lebenkeleng, fela ga boela gae.
Sebueledi sa sepodisi mo sedikeng sa Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati, Warrant Officer Tryphosa van Rooyen, are setopo sa mosimanyana o, se bonwe letsatsi le le latelang la Tshipi se ikgwageditse.
“Re ka netefatsa fa sepodisi sa Taung se butse kgetsi ya morago ga loso. Jaaka sepodisi, ga re belaele fa go ka tswa go nnile le letsogo la tshwene mo losong la mosimanyana o,” van Rooyen wa tlhalosa.
27 Ferikgong 2025- Monna wa dingwaga di le 25 o solofetswe go tlhagelela kwa kgotlha-tshekelo ya Taung mo letsatsing la gompieno mabapi le polao. Se se tla morago ga gore monna wa dingwaga di le 25 a tlhabiwe le go bolawa kwa lefelo la go rekisa nnotagi le le mo tselakgolo ya N18, kwa motsesetoropong wa Pudimoe.
Go ya ka sebueledi sa sepodisi mo Bokone Bophirima, Col Adele Myburgh, go ile ga runya ntwa magareng ga banna ba le babedi kwa lefelong le le rekisang nnotagi ka masa a letsatsi la Tshipi. Myburgh are, mogolwe monna oneng a lwa le moswi, o ile a tlhaba moswi ka thipa mo molaleng, mme a tlhokafa ka gangwe.
“Go ne ga bidiwa bathuso ya potlako, fela ba ne ba netefatsa fa moswi a setse a iketse badimong. Monna wa dingwaga di le 25, one a lelelwa ke ditshipi mme o solofetswe go rotola matlho kwa kgotlha-tshekelo ya Taung mo letsatsing la gompieno,” Myburgh wa tlhalosa.
The Guardian 