Cape Town – The petrol price would probably increase by 8 cents per litre on Friday, Mike Schüssler of economists.co.za told Fin24.
He said although the price could be lowered by 16 cents per litre due to oil prices being down and the rand a little stronger at the moment, taxes of 20 cents – the fuel tax and RAF levy combined – plus about a 4 cents increase in transport costs as announced, will come into effect.
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Pretoria – The 26-year-old man convicted of murdering pregnant teenager Zanele Khumalo was sentenced to 20 years in prison by the North Gauteng High Court on Friday.
“The sentence I impose is the following: on count one, murder, you are sentenced to 20 years imprisonment,” Judge Johan Kruger said.
Thato Kutumela, dressed in white, stood as Kruger told him that he was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment for rape and six months for theft.
“Sentences imposed regarding count two and three will run concurrently with count one,” he said.
Kutumela was also declared unfit to possess a firearm.
As Kruger read the sentence there were people saying “yes” and “amen”.
As Kutumela made his way down to the cells the people in court started clapping hands. A member of the ANC Women’s League said a prayer in court afterwards.
Stole Khumalo’s underwear to hide evidence
Khumalo’s family members, including her parents, sat in the front row of the public gallery wearing black T-shirts with her face printed on them.
Kutumela was found guilty in November last year of murdering and raping the mother of his unborn child.
She was found dead at her parents’ home in Garsfontein, Pretoria east, in April 2011.
He was also found guilty of stealing the teenager’s nightclothes and underwear to hide the fact that he had raped her.
He did not testify, but claimed in his plea explanation they had consensual sex that morning and that she was alive and well when he left.
This was after he initially claimed, at the magistrate’s court, that he had been at work all day.
Khumalo’s naked body was discovered under a blanket on her bed when her parents arrived home from work.
They rushed her to hospital, but she had by then already been dead for about six hours.
SAPA
By Obakeng Maje
Taung-A 47 year- old accused, Phetlha Bernard Montsheng appeared in the Taung Magistrate’s Court on charges of raping an 86 year-old victim at Maphoitsile village in Taung on Saturday at about 01:30 in the morning, says captain Pelonomi Makau.
The accused is still in custody and will appear again on 3 April 2014 for bail application.
“It alleged that the victim’s daughter heard her mother screaming in her bedroom and she went to investigate. As she entered the bedroom the suspect pushed her, broke the window and fled the scene” Makau said.
The daughter screamed for help and the community members apprehended the suspect and allegedly assaulted him.
The suspect sustained injuries and was admitted at the Taung hospital under police guard where he was released on 25 March 2014.-TDN
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Mamelodi Sundowns are keeping the pressure on Kaizer Chiefs both for the League title as well as for Q3 following Tuesday’s win over Platinum Stars.
The Brazilians now sit on top of the Q3 table and have one match left to play (at home against Bloemfontein Celtic) but Chiefs have two matches left (both at home against Golden Arrows and Black Aces).
Bidvest Wits still have an outside chance of snatching the Q3 prize money if they manage to win all three of their remaining matches against Arrows (A), Platinum Stars (H) and Orlando Pirates (H).
IMPORTANT TO NOTE: This weekend’s League fixtures are Q4 fixtures, with only one fixture counting towards Q3 – Arrows vs Wits tomorrow.
Remaining Q3 fixtures:
29/3 Golden Arrows vs Bidvest Wits 20:15
1/4 Platinum Stars vs Moroka Swallows 18:30
2/4 Kaizer Chiefs vs Golden Arrows 19:30
2/4 SuperSport Utd vs Maritzburg Utd 19:30
8/4 Univ. of Pretoria vs Moroka Swallows 19:30
8/4 Free State Stars vs SuperSport Utd 19:30
9/4 Kaizer Chiefs vs Black Aces 19:30
9/4 Sundowns vs Bloem Celtic 19:30
9/4 Ajax Cape Town vs Golden Arrows 19:30
9/4 Bidvest Wits vs Platinum Stars 19:30
9/4 Polokwane City vs Maritzburg Utd 19:30
30/4 Bidvest Wits vs Orlando Pirates 19:30
For more http://www.kickoff.com
North West Premier Thandi Modise has welcomed the four year imprisonment sentence given to a 39-year-old former Mahikeng High School female educator who was found guilty of statutory rape.
Premier Modise said that the sentence given to Geraldine Leonie Sheldon-Lakey by the Molopo Regional Court should sent an unequivocal message to adults who are betraying the trust of acting in loco-parentis by manipulating and taking advantage of vulnerable minors.
In welcoming the sentence, Premier Modise commented the parent of the learner for her vigilance that led to the discovery of voice recordings and pictures on her child’s cellphone that proved that the educator had an improper sexual and unprofessional relationship with the learner who was 15 year-old at the time.
“The support that the school and the parent gave the child has given him confidence to overcome the psychological pressure of dealing with the case and focus on his future,” Premier Modise said.
The married mother of two was dismissed from employment by the Mafikeng High School Governing Body in December 2012 for conducting herself in a shameful and unbecoming manner and in violation of the South African Council of Educators Code of Professional Ethics.
Premier Modise appealed to parents to take interest in what is stored on their children’s cellphones and with whom they are chatting on social network platforms such as facebook, Mixit etc.
According to National Prosecuting Authority Regional Spokesperson, Frank Lesenyego, Sheldon-Lakey had pleaded not guilty to the charges and after her sentencing, she successfully applied for leave of appeal.
“Her bail of R1000 has been extended pending the outcome of her appeal,” Lesenyego said.-TDN
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Blydeville-North West Premier Thandi Modise has welcomed the 20 year sentence given to Blydeville rapist Thabiso Mogale and called on communities to intensify united action against the scourge of rape and gender based violence.
“Women in Blydeville will be safer with the heartless Mogale removed from society. We applaud police for investigations that resulted in a successful prosecution. The sentence should encourage women to report rape incidents,” Premier Modise said.
According to police, 22 year-old Mogale was sentenced on Tuesday in the North West High Court after admitting and pleading guilty to charges.
“Crimes were committed at Blydeville outside Lichtenburg in 2010 and 2011 respectively and they are 6 counts of rape, 1 attempted murder and 1assault Grevious bodily harm (GBH)” Captain Pelonomi Makau said.-TDN
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By Obakeng Maje
Vryburg-Three suspects who were allegedly arrested for stealing goats and sheep in Choseng village, near Pudumoe appeared before Vryburg Magistrate Court on Thursday.
Sylvester Lecholo(32), Boitumelo Mofane(24) and Kabelo Leburu(40) were arrested by Vryburg police after they spotted a suspicious hearse travelling on N18.
Police allegedly spotted a car and stopped and searched it.
“The police found goats carcasses in a hearse and the suspects could not explained where they get the goats. Police arrested them and they burged and took the police to Vryburg-Taung road near Choseng village where they stole the goats” colonel Sabata Mokgwabone said.
Police allegedly found the skin and head of one of goats.
The suspects appeared before court and were granted a bail of R500 each.
They will be back in court on the 16 May 2014.-TDN
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Johannesburg – Legal experts agreed that murder accused Oscar Pistorius was “very likely” to take the stand on Friday in the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria to shed light on the night he fatally shot Reeva Steenkamp.
“It is very, very, very likely that he will testify based on the nature of the defence that he is relying on,” University of Cape Town law lecturer Kelly Phelps said on the eve of the resumption of the trial.
It was common practice in South Africa for the defence to call the accused first, she said.
Pistorius needed to testify to prove that he mistakenly believed Steenkamp was an intruder.
“The only way to suggest some evidence is for the accused to take the stand. How else would his subjective state of mind be tested,” said Phelps.
Wits School of Law Professor Stephen Tuson said Pistorius risked conviction if he did not testify.
“If he does testify, he should testify first to prevent an accusation that he tailored his evidence,” said Tuson.
“The defence do not want the prosecution to say the evidence of the accused was tailored to match the evidence of the witnesses.”
Criminal law expert William Booth said it was important to remember the defence had no burden of proof.
“We know that Oscar shot four times into a toilet – he thought it was an intruder. That was what he said during bail,” said Booth.
“Looking at all the evidence the State presented, he is going to have to give evidence and be subjected to cross examination.”
Premeditated murder
The State closed its case on Tuesday after it called 21 of the 107 witnesses on its witness list.
The witnesses included Pistorius’s neighbours, a security guard at his estate, the pathologist, ballistic expert, cellphone expert, Pistorius’s ex-girlfriend and former friends.
Pistorius is on trial for the murder of Steenkamp, who was shot through the locked toilet door of his Pretoria home on 14 February last year.
He said he had mistaken her for an intruder.
However, the State said the murder was premeditated.
He has pleaded not guilty and in his plea statement denied they had argued shortly before the shooting.
He also faces two charges related to contraventions of the Firearms Control Act.
On Tuesday his legal team said he would testify in his own defence.
“I don’t think we have a choice. The question is when,” a member of Pistorius’s legal team, Brian Webber, at the time.
After prosecutor Gerrie Nel indicated on Tuesday that the State closed its case Advocate Barry Roux for Pistorius asked for the adjournment to see which witnessed the defence could possibly call.
Tuson said Pistorius’s defence team had various options including applying for an acquittal in terms of Section 174 of the Criminal Procedure Act.
“If the defence feels that the prosecution has not succeeded in bringing sufficient evidence in conviction of the accused they can bring an application,” he said.
SAPA
Pretoria – The defence in Oscar Pistorius’s trial will open its case on Friday and may first put the double-amputee Olympian accused of murder on the witness stand.
Pistorius claims he fatally shot Reeva Steenkamp by mistake thinking she was an intruder in his home. But because he has admitted to killing her, legal experts say Pistorius needs to explain why in court.
Some key parts of the defence’s case:
Pistorius’s testimony
Pistorius testifying will be crucial to his defence against the murder charge because it allows the judge to determine his credibility. They will have to convince Judge Thokozile Masipa and her two assessors that he did not intend to kill his girlfriend, and is not guilty of murder.
However, Pistorius testifying opens him up to cross-examination by prosecutor Gerrie Nel, who will likely ask the Paralympian uncomfortable questions about why he shot four times from close range through a locked toilet door, hitting Steenkamp in the hip, right arm and head, killing her. Prosecutors say Pistorius argued with Steenkamp before he shot her with his 9mm pistol.
Asked if Pistorius would take the stand, defence lawyer Brian Webber said: “I don’t think we have a choice, it’s a question of when.”
Screaming
One of the foundations of the prosecution’s case is that Steenkamp screamed before and during the gunshots.
The prosecution’s first witness was a neighbour who testified to hearing a woman screaming on the night Steenkamp died.
Several neighbours say they heard a woman’s screams that night, and a pathologist and police ballistics expert say it’s possible and likely.
Pistorius’s defence needs to cast doubt on the screaming because it suggests the couple were fighting and that Pistorius knew where Steenkamp was when he shot her, contrasting his version of events.
The defence says that Pistorius was the only person to scream, sometimes in a high-pitched voice, and will use noise tests to show neighbours are mistaken about a woman’s voice.
They will also fight the prosecution’s claim that Steenkamp screamed during the shots through ballistic evidence.
Pistorius fired four times with two quick “double-tap” bursts, chief defence lawyer Barry Roux says, and Steenkamp didn’t have time to yell out.
Marks on the door
Defence experts say police forensic investigators missed two marks on the toilet door through which Pistorius fired the fatal shots.
Defence says one is a mark from one of Pistorius’s prosthetic legs and the other is from a cricket bat. Although those marks may not deal directly with the killing, defence lawyers will use them to attempt to show that Pistorius’s story is true that he tried to kick down the locked door with his prosthetics and then battered it with the bat to try to help Steenkamp.
Through it, the defence will argue that Pistorius’s entire story is consistent and truthful.
Character questions
At the start of the trial, the defence objected to part of the prosecution’s evidence against Pistorius on the grounds that it was character assassination.
The evidence in question largely related to the two firearm charges Pistorius also faces for shooting guns in public.
If the defence can show Pistorius was not at fault for the two incidents – and he has pleaded not guilty to both – then maybe it can start breaking down some of the prosecution’s damaging suggestions that Pistorius was angry and trigger happy.
The unexplained
The defence may discuss so far unexplained pieces of evidence introduced by the prosecution. Prosecutors have shown through crime scene photographs that there was damage to Pistorius’s bedroom door, to bathroom tiles and to a metal panel in the bathroom where Steenkamp was shot, inferring that there was a fight and that is why he killed her.
Also, the pathologist who performed the autopsy on Steenkamp’s body says she ate no more than two hours before she died, so not before 01:00.
Pistorius’s story is that they were both in the bedroom and ready for bed at 22:00 and does not match the pathologist’s finding.
Pistorius may have to explain those things in his testimony and his defence may have to offer alternative explanations.
AP
Johannesburg – Police were seeking a prosecutor for the Nkandla case, the DA said on Thursday.
“As a sign of confidence in our case, the police are seeking the appointment of a prosecutor to the matter, who may even expand the charges against [President] Jacob Zuma beyond those laid by the DA,” spokesperson Mmusi Maimane said in a statement.
Maimane said he and DA parliamentary candidate, Glynnis Breytenbach, met police officers assigned to the Nkandla case on Thursday.
Last week, Maimane opened a corruption case against Zuma at Nkandla police station near the president’s private homestead in KwaZulu-Natal.
The laying of charges followed the release of Public Protector Thuli Madonsela’s final report on the upgrades to Zuma’s homestead.
In her report, Madonsela found Zuma “unduly benefited from the enormous capital investment” in the Nkandla upgrades, totalling R246m.
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The Guardian 