Johannesburg – The body of a husband and father of three has been identified days after he threw himself in front of a bus after hacking his wife to death with an axe, according to a report.
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Pretoria – The murder trial of paralympic athlete Oscar Pistorius continues in the North Gauteng High Court on Thursday.

Pistorius shot and killed his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, through the locked toilet door of his Pretoria home on Valentine’s Day last year.

He claimed to have mistaken her for an intruder.

Reflex

On Wednesday, a sports exercise professor at the University of Cape Town told the court that Pistorius’s decision to face potential danger instead of fleeing the scene was a reflex action.

“A reflex is something you don’t have control over,” Wayne Derman said.

Delivering his testimony, Derman, who worked with Pistorius for six years, said the athlete was hyper-vigilant.

He described hyper-vigilance as “restless looking around and a constant scanning of potential threats”.

He said Pistorius was an anxious individual who had hand tremors and a sleep disorder, for which he took medication.

Derman said that during the opening and closing ceremonies of sporting events such as the Olympics, Pistorius would have exaggerated, startled responses to the fireworks.

Pistorius would cover his head and ears and cower until the noise ended.

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Johannesburg – Two people were killed and two others seriously injured when a vehicle overturned on the R61 in Port Edward, paramedics said on Thursday.

The two were killed on Wednesday night near the Wild Coast Sun Resort and Casino, said Netcare 911 spokesperson Chris Botha.

“Paramedics arrived at the scene and found that two of the occupants had tragically died.”

The injured were treated on the scene and taken to hospital.

“Exact detail of the cause of the accident and preceding events will remain a subject for police investigation,” said Botha.
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Durban – World-famous photographer David Goldblatt, 83, hasn’t let an attack that had him hospitalised put him off his stride, and he is back wielding a camera again.
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Kimberley – A woman and her 3-year-old daughter were killed in a collision on the R357 near Prieska in the Northern Cape, paramedics said on Thursday.

The woman’s other two children, 11 and 9 years old, were injured in the accident, ER24 spokesperson Luyanda Majija said.

“The victims’ family pilot flew responding ER24 paramedics by helicopter to the scene.

“When they arrived, provincial rescue personnel had extricated the two deceased and the two surviving children from the vehicle,” said Majija.

The injured children were taken to a Bloemfontein hospital.

The driver of the second vehicle was not injured.

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Johannesburg – A man accused of stabbing his pregnant girlfriend and her mother to death and setting his friend’s house on fire appeared in the Ritavi Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday, Limpopo police said.

Oscar Ngobeni, 24, would be back in court on 28 August, with the matter postponed for further investigation, police spokesperson Ronel Otto said.

Ngobeni would remain in police custody.

Ngobeni, charged with three counts of murder and one of arson, allegedly went to his 20-year-old girlfriend’s house in Mkwazini village, Letsitele on the evening of 19 June.

Otto said on 23 June the couple apparently started arguing before he allegedly stabbed her to death.

Tinyiko Matlaahule was seven months pregnant, Otto said.

He then allegedly stabbed her 58-year-old mother Rachel Hlangwani.

“Both women died on the scene but the 20-year-old woman was taken to hospital in an attempt to save the baby, but it was too late.”

The 24-year-old then went to his friend’s house, in the same village, and allegedly set the house alight, Otto said.

Ngobeni and the friend are believed to have argued about money.

“Nobody was killed or injured during this incident but the two-roomed house was totally destroyed in the fire.”

He was arrested on the same night and was allegedly linked to several housebreaking cases in Letsitele, Otto said.

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Johannesburg – Czech fugitive Radovan Krejcir has not suffered any new health setbacks, police said on Wednesday.

Lieutenant General Solomon Makgale denied reports that Krejcir had been admitted to a prison medical facility because he had suffered a heart attack.

“Krejcir has always been in the prison’s medical facility,” Makgale said.

“A court order was issued during his bail application which said he must be detained at a medical facility. When he is there, he receives medical check-ups,” Makgale said.

Kidney problems

The South Gauteng High Court issued the order in November after Krejcir’s doctor testified he could suffer renal failure if he did not get treatment.

Earlier, Krejcir’s lawyer Piet du Plessis said Krejcir fell ill on Monday but it was unclear what ailment he suffered from.

The Star newspaper reported that Krejcir was suspected to have had a heart attack.

Krejcir is accused, along with seven others, of conspiring to kill police officer Colonel Nkosana “Killer” Ximba and forensic investigator Paul O’Sullivan in a case before the Alexandra Magistrate’s Court.

Krejcir, Siboniso Miya, Owen Serero, Zodumo Biyela, ex-crime intelligence Sergeant Nandi Nkosi, Welcome Nkanyiso Mafunda, Siphiwe Memela, and Mike Grigorov appeared in the court on Friday.

In another case Krejcir, along with Desai Luphondo, Warrant Officers Samuel “Saddam” Maropeng and George Nthoroane, and Jan Lefu Mofokeng, and Siboniso Miya face charges of kidnapping, attempted murder, and dealing in drugs.

They allegedly kidnapped Bheki Lukhele from his Katlehong home in June last year in a bid for him to reveal the whereabouts of his brother, Doctor.

Doctor, who worked for a cargo company at OR Tambo International Airport, allegedly disappeared with drugs worth millions of rands which he had been tasked to help smuggle to Australia, allegedly for Krejcir.

This matter is expected to resume in the South Gauteng High Court, sitting in Palm Ridge, on 21 July.

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Johannesburg – Eastern Cape Education MEC Mandla Makupula has placed the head of department Mthunywa Ngonzo on precautionary suspension, the department said on Wednesday.

“The head of department is suspended pending investigation of allegations of mismanagement of the school furniture tender,” spokesperson Loyiso Pulumani said.

Investigations into the matter had to be finalised within 60 days.

“These are normal administrative processes of the department; as such we appeal to the public to allow space for all due processes to be finalised,” Pulumani said.

Deputy director general for institutional operations management Ray Tywakadi had been appointed to act in the position.

“This was not an easy decision to reach, nor was it taken lightly,” Pulumani said.

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Johannesburg – The SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) said on Wednesday there is a strong need for its planned public hearings to address safety and security on farms.

Spokesperson Isaac Mangena said the SAHRC decided to hold the hearings following findings from a 2008 inquiry into conditions prevalent on farms and its communities.

AfriForum had requested a hearing into farm attacks, which it believed were not receiving enough attention.

“All complaints we have received point to the fact that safety and security and human rights protection, including conditions of employment in farming communities, still remain a significant challenge,” Mangena said.

The commission also identified a strong basis for a probe into progress made by government and the private sector on the implementation of recommendations made in 2008.

AfriForum CEO Ernst Roets said government did not publish statistics on these crimes.

“Years back, government recognised that farmers were targeted in exceptionally brutal attacks, but now, a total denial of the true extent of the crisis prevails.”

AfriForum had asked the commission to look into the matter and would make all its relevant resources available to the commission.

Mangena said a date for the hearings would soon be announced.

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Johannesburg – Economic Freedom Fighters representatives in the Gauteng provincial legislature were barred from entering the chamber on Wednesday for being dressed inappropriately, the legislature said.

Secretary to the legislature Peter Skosana said the EFF had been made aware its dress code of red overalls and domestic worker outfits needed to comply with the rules.

“As you are aware, we had an incident yesterday [Tuesday] in which members of the EFF had to be forcibly removed from the House as they had not dressed appropriately,” he said.

Letter

“It was also indicated in a letter they were sent that members would still have to comply with the rules of the House.”

He said unless the EFF legislature members were dressed appropriately, they would not be allowed to enter the chamber.

That was the only reason they were barred from entering the chamber.

EFF Gauteng spokesperson Omphile Maotwe said: “A huge number of police were in the legislature, and we were refused entry into the House.

“We have since referred the matter to our national office, and they have deployed our commissar for justice adv [Dali] Mpofu to assist.”

Maotwe said Mpofu was in a meeting with police and legislature officials to understand what the problem was.

“We were told we are dressing inappropriately. We haven’t been given any further details at the moment,” she said.

Party insignia

Speaker Ntombi Mekgwe ordered the EFF members out of the chamber on Tuesday because their overalls had the word “Asijiki” (we will not go back) written on them, which was considered party insignia and thus not allowed in the legislature.

The Star reported that during the scuffle to remove them after they refused to leave, EFF MPL Benjamin Disolwane had his arm broken, and Parks Khaiyane was taken to Milpark Hospital in a “critical” condition.

A third EFF MPL, Mgcina Tshwaku, reportedly had an asthma attack during the commotion.

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