A South African Law Reform Commission report has proposed that legislation should be adopted to deal with victims of crime. Official opposition Democratic Alliance safety and security spokesperson Dianne Kohler Barnard said on Wednesday that it appeared that Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development Brigitte Mabandla was sitting on the report.
Charges of attempting to obstruct the course of justice have been dropped against Zimbabwe’s justice minister because no magistrate is prepared to hear the case out of fear, it was reported on Wednesday. Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa was facing charges of attempting to influence witnesses in a political-violence case that involved the country’s Security Minister, Didymus Mutasa.
Free State farmers are to take the government to court over safety concerns along the Lesotho border, their union said on Wednesday. ”The research has been done and the economic impact has been quantified,” said Free State agriculture president Louw Steytler.
The decision on whether the name of Johannesburg International airport will change to OR Tambo International airport will be announced later this month, the Ministry of Arts and Culture said on Wednesday. ”Minister [of Arts and Culture Pallo] Jordan will make an official statement on the status of the … name change … in mid-August,” it said in a statement.
Speaking during Kumba Resources’ first-half results presentation on Wednesday, chief executive Dr Con Fauconnier said most mines were still running despite the current strike action and that the company was still managing to meet the demands of customers.
United Nations powers on Wednesday warned rivals in the war-ravaged Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) not to sow unease among voters as they await results of the first multiparty election in 46 years. Politicians and the media should avoid "misrepresentation" of early counting, said the International Committee supporting the Transition in the DRC.
Resources group Kumba on Wednesday reported a 61% leap in headline earnings per share to 508 cents for the six months ended in June. This was achieved on the back of 32% growth in revenue to R6,9-billion from a restated R5,247-billion for the previous comparable half-year.
Although still in positive territory, the JSE was well off its highs in noon trade on Wednesday as the chill wind of Thursday’s expected rate hike swept through the market. Gold stocks continued to shine, however, as the metal reached the $650 level for the first time in over two weeks.
Somalia’s government was trying to regroup on Wednesday after nearly 30 lawmakers resigned in less than a week, saying the virtually powerless administration has failed to reconcile with Islamic militants who have taken over the capital. ”The prime minister has failed to talk to the Islamic union,” said Hasaan Abshir Farah, an ex-minister.
Ugandan rebel leader Joseph Kony told journalists he was committed to negotiating peace after 19 years of war, and denied he had committed war crimes. Kony, whose Lord’s Resistance Army is fighting a rebellion in northern Uganda, rarely appears in public.