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/ 27 November 2007
Two cousins took their battle for chieftaincy of the Valoyi tribe to the Constitutional Court on Tuesday, in a case that challenges customary law in their tribe that says only men may be chiefs. Tinyiko Shilubana and Sidwell Nwamitwa each insist that they are the rightful head of the Valoyi tribe.
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/ 26 November 2007
Former Springbok hooker James Dalton and his wife, Andrea, who are involved in a bitter divorce battle, reached an interim settlement on Monday. The couple made headlines when Andrea Dalton (49) launched an urgent court application for a protection order against James (35), who she claimed physically and mentally abused her.
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/ 16 November 2007
A Pretoria High Court judge has reserved judgement in the Mail & Guardian‘s legal challenge of a controversial 2005 report by Public Protector Lawrence Mushwana about his investigation into the Oilgate scandal. The M&G wants to have the report overturned and rewritten.
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/ 15 November 2007
Pretoria High Court Judge Nkola Motata, on paid leave while on trial on a drunk-drinking charge, will have received more than R1-million when his case resumes next year. Moneyweb reported on Thursday that Motata is getting a full judge’s salary while on special leave.
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/ 13 November 2007
Pretoria High Court Judge Nkola Motata was given another chance on Tuesday to try and block a lower court from hearing recordings of his alleged drunken diatribe after a car accident. This was after Nkola’s drunken-driving trial was postponed in the Johannesburg Magistrate’s court until July 2 2008.
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/ 7 November 2007
Audio recordings of Pretoria High Court Judge Nkola Motata’s alleged drunken ranting following a car accident earlier this year will be heard in court in a bid to determine if they are reliable enough to be submitted as evidence, the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court ruled on Wednesday.
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/ 7 November 2007
The trial within a trial to decide on the admissibility of certain evidence in the drunk-driving case of Pretoria High Court judge Nkola Motata begins on Wednesday. Last month magistrate Desmond Nair ruled that the authenticity of the recordings needed to be determined before they could be used by the prosecution.
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/ 6 November 2007
An application for the mayor of the Lekwa municipality to repair a Great Trek memorial that had allegedly been damaged by the municipality was postponed in the Pretoria High Court on Tuesday. The hearing, due to start on Tuesday, was set down to begin on May 22 and 23 next year.
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/ 5 November 2007
Olievenhoutbosch serial killer Richard Jabulani Nyauza smiled and said he ”felt nothing” after being given 16 life terms in the Pretoria High Court on Monday for a series of gruesome murders. ”I feel nothing. They’re doing too little. It changes nothing,” the HIV-positive Nyauza told reporters before being led down to the court cells.
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/ 30 October 2007
He loved women, which is why he paid such a lot of them for sex, alleged Olievenhoutbosch serial killer Richard Jabulani Nyauza told the Pretoria High Court on Tuesday. Nyauza said he had sex with a multitude of women but did not know anything about the serial killings in which 16 women died in 2002 and 2006.
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/ 29 October 2007
The scourge of armed gangs who attacked and robbed innocent citizens in their own homes caused profound social demoralisation and impeded the transformation of society, a Pretoria High Court judge said on Monday. Judge John Murphy effectively sent a 55-year-old man to jail for 27 years for his role in torturing and robbing an elderly Laudium man and his son.
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/ 29 October 2007
The trial of a man accused of manufacturing and exporting components that may be used in the manufacture of nuclear weapons was postponed in the Pretoria High Court on Monday, South African Broadcasting Corporation news reported. Daniel Geiges’s trial was postponed to November 27.
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/ 25 October 2007
A trial within a trial will be held to decide on the admissibility of certain evidence in the drunken-driving case of Pretoria High Court Judge Nkola Motata. ”I’m of the view that the objection by the defence for the state to tender evidence in the manner it requests is to be sustained,” Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court magistrate Desmond Nair ruled on Thursday.
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/ 17 October 2007
A ruling by a full bench of the Pretoria High Court on Wednesday put another nail in the coffin of Afrikaans-only education in state schools. The court dismissed with costs a review application by Hoërskool Ermelo to set aside a decision forcing it to admit English-speaking pupils and become a parallel-medium school.
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/ 15 October 2007
The new National Lottery operator, Gidani, has recorded eight million ticket transactions despite all the hiccups that saw the game suspended for more than seven months. "This was clearly a sterling performance," Gidani’s public affairs corporate executive Thembi Tulwana said Monday.
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/ 11 October 2007
Former ambassador to Indonesia Norman Mashabane (51) has died in a car accident outside Polokwane, police confirmed on Thursday. Inspector Lesiba Ramoshaba said a 20-year-old man, believed to be Mashabane’s son, also perished in the accident.
National Lottery operator Gidani had sold more than 1,5-million lottery tickets by Monday morning, said its CEO, Bongani Khumalo. ”We have worked hard to meet the start deadline and we are seeing a good start ahead of the first draw to due to take place on Saturday October 13,” he said.
COUNTERPOINT: One can only conclude that the decision on Zuma was politically palatable to the president, whereas the decision on Selebi was not. The suspension of National Director of Public Prosecutions Vusi Pikoli represents a profound crisis of governance, writes Sam Sole.
Boeremag accused Mike du Toit on Thursday told the Pretoria High Court he did not trust the state or police because he believed they were controlled by former terrorists. Du Toit, a Herstigte Nasionale Party supporter, said not only did he and many others distrust the police, he also believed the African National Congress government was behind farm attacks and murders.
A former boyfriend of murdered teenager Samantha Uys on Thursday told the Pretoria High Court that one of her alleged killers had confessed his role in the gruesome murder to him. Joshua Bebington testified in the trial of his two friends, Kabelo ”KB” Mokwena and Ricky ”Slash” Godfrey.
Former National Lottery operator Uthingo has no intention of contesting the awarding of the lottery licence to Gidani, company chairperson Barney Pityana said on Thursday. ”We do not agree, but we do not intend to subject the licensing process to further scrutiny by the courts,” Pityana told reporters at Midrand.
Pretoria High Court Judge Nkola Motata’s drunken-driving trial has been postponed for the court to rule on the defence’s application for a trial within a trial on admissibility of evidence. Magistrate Desmond Nair will give his decision when the trial resumes at the end of October.
Pretoria High Court Judge Nkola Motata will be ”severely prejudiced” should magistrate Desmond Nair fail to allow a trial within a trial to decide on the admissibility of evidence. Motata’s defence team continued its offensive on Tuesday afternoon in a bid to prevent five video recordings from being heard.
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/ 28 September 2007
Losing National Lottery bidder Igwija Gaming on Friday indicated that it might launch renewed court action questioning the awarding of the licence to incumbent operator Gidani. In a lengthy media statement, Igwija said it would request an urgent meeting with Trade and Industry Minister Mandisi Mpahlwa.
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/ 28 September 2007
Opposition parties on Friday called for a commission of inquiry to investigate police National Commissioner Jackie Selebi and for President Thabo Mbeki to state categorically whether a warrant was issued for Selebi’s arrest. Democratic Alliance leader Helen Zille said the seriousness of the situation should not be underestimated.
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/ 28 September 2007
The drunken-driving trial of Pretoria High Court Judge Nkola Motata has been postponed to Tuesday to give his defence team time to consider its next move. Bantubonke Tokota told magistrate Desmond Nair on Friday that he and his colleagues wanted further consultation with experts on audio recordings that the state intended to present as evidence.
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/ 28 September 2007
After an absence of six months, the National Lottery would make its comeback with a jackpot prize of R15-million, newly appointed Lotto operator Gidani announced on Friday. Tickets for the first draw which would take place on October 13, would go on sale at 7Â 000 retailers across the country from October 5.
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/ 27 September 2007
A warrant of arrest has been issued for police National Commissioner Jackie Selebi, the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) reported on Thursday. The state broadcaster said it had reliably learnt that the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) obtained the warrant. NPA spokesperson Tlali Tlali would not comment on the report late on Thursday afternoon.
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/ 27 September 2007
The state would try to admit cellphone audio and video recordings in the drunk-driving trial of Pretoria High Court judge Nkola Motata being heard in the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court on Thursday. The recordings were made by Richard James Baird, into whose wall Motata allegedly crashed in Hurlingham, Johannesburg, on January 6.
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/ 26 September 2007
A man staggering and groping like a blind man and swearing like a sailor. That was the picture painted of Pretoria High Court Judge Nkola Motata by the state’s first witness at the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday. The judge is charged with driving under the influence of liquor or drugs, among other charges.
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/ 26 September 2007
A witness in the drunk-driving trial of Pretoria High Court Judge Nkola Motata asked not be named or photographed before giving testimony in the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday. Earlier, Motata pleaded not guilty to a charge of driving under the influence of liquor or drugs, among other charges.
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/ 25 September 2007
Pretoria High Court Judge Nkola Motata will stand trial on Wednesday for alleged drunk driving. Motata’s case will be heard in the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court. At his last appearance, the court heard that Motata was at least four times over the alcohol limit when he was arrested.