HIGHWAY ROBBERS IN COURT
THREE of the four men arrested for alleged involvement in a highway heist last week in which two security guards were shot dead and R17-million stolen appeared ion the Pretoria Regional Court on Wednesday. The fourth man arrested was released for lack of evidence against him. Oupa Edwin Sihani, 39, Themba Mahlangu, 38, and Dennis Nkobezi, 35, who were arrested in Meredale, south of Johannesburg on Tuesday, are facing charges of murder, attempted murder and armed robbery. The three told the court they will not assist the police investigation unless in the presence of their legal representatives, and claimed to have been abused and tortured while in detention. The case was postponed to September 4.
ROBBERS LINKED TO MK
POLICE say the 15-man gang behind last week’s R17-million heist are members of a renegade former Umkhonto we Sizwe unit which has been terrorising villages in the North West. Two members are former town councillors who were expelled from the ANC. They use their military training to back up their sophisticated ambushes.
TOUGHER BAIL OKAYED
The cabinet has approved the justice ministry proposals for tougher bail conditions that prevent bail agreements with repeat offenders or suspects accused of crimes such as murder, rape or violent armed robbery. The bill goes to Parliament next month.
EIKENHOF ROW WITH POLICE
SAFETY and Security Minister Sydney Mufamadi has summoned “Suiker” Brits, head of the police serious crimes unit, to explain why documents relating to the case have not been found. Mufamadi wants an urgent investigation into claims made in Friday’s Mail & Guardian that R250 000 was paid to witnesses for making false evidence in court. Brits has conceded that payments were made for information given to police.
MORE REMAINS EXHUMED
The remains of another African National Congress activist secretly murdered by apartheid security police were exhumed near Richmond in KwaZulu-Natal on Wednesday. The truth commission led police and pathologists to the site based on information received by former police seeking amnesty for killing Blessing Ninela in 1989.
LOST CITY
ARCHAEOLOGISTS working in the desert of south-western Morocco have uncovered the remains of an ancient city spread over a 15km area. The discovery raises questions about accepted theories that early Saharan peoples were all nomadic.
GAYS AT BOOK FAIR
GAY activists, who were hounded out of last year’s Zimbabwe International Book Fair, have returned to this year’s fair which starts on Thursday. This time round, the gay activists are taking a lower profile, sharing a stall with a human rights group. Fair organiser Trish Mbanga said her organisation is committed to free expression and will support the gay activists.
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