No image available
/ 2 September 2006
The South African Human Rights Commission has expressed concern over the human rights status of the Free State after a three-day visit to the province that ended on Friday. ”What we found is quite worrying in many aspects,” said Tseliso Thipanyane, CEO of the commission.
No image available
/ 1 September 2006
Criminal charges have been withdrawn against the homeless Bloemfontein man who claims to have witnessed the murder of mining magnate Brett Kebble, Free State police said on Friday. Senior Superintendent Sam Sesing said charges of theft and housebreaking had been withdrawn on Thursday.
No image available
/ 1 September 2006
There is either no discrimination in the Free State or people do not know their rights, Karthy Govender, commissioner of the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC), said on Friday. He was reacting to the low volume of cases being heard in two equality courts visited during a three-day tour by the commission to the Free State.
The African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) expressed dismay on Thursday at allegations by a vagrant about the death of mining magnate Brett Kebble. ”The allegations that the killers are known to the ANCYL and its leadership are at best ridiculous, at worst malicious, and are nothing else but flagrant fabrication,” ANCYL said in a statement.
A man was injured at an explosion at an electricity substation in Westdene in Bloemfontein on Tuesday, the electricity distributor Centlec said. ”We are still investigating the cause of the explosion,” said Zolile Lobe, chief executive of Centlec. The injured man was a Centlec employee.
Eskom restored the electricity supply to much of the eastern Free State on Monday after cutting it off earlier in the day for emergency repairs, a spokesperson said. ”The earth wire on one of Eskom’s 88KV high-voltage power lines that was hit by lightning and broken could not be joined and was being removed,” said Chriska van der Merwe.
The Cheetahs moved to the top of the Currie Cup log once again with a convincing 78-8 victory over second-from-bottom Falcons in a one-sided game in Bloemfontein on Saturday. The hosts led 29-8 at the break, having already garnered their bonus point.
The Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) in Bloemfontein on Thursday dismissed the South African Broadcasting Corporation’s (SABC) application for an order granting it leave to broadcast live the hearings of Durban businessman Schabir Shaik. To permit live television coverage could inhibit participants in Shaik’s case, SCA President Judge CT Howie said in his judgment.
Police divers recovered the body of an eight-year-old child from a farm dam near Odendaalsrus on Tuesday. Captain Rosa Benade said police divers from Welkom were called earlier in the day to help with a search for the eight-year-old child on the farm Weltevrede in the Odendaalsrus district.
The Supreme Court of Appeal on Monday reserved judgement in an application by the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) to broadcast the upcoming appeal hearing of Durban businessman Schabir Shaik on television and radio. The public broadcaster seeks to record and broadcast the five-day appeal hearing with live visuals and sound for television and radio.
The appeal hearing for Durban business man Schabir Shaik in the Supreme Court in Bloemfontein has been postponed by more than a month, the court said on Thursday. The hearing was expected to take place from August 21 to 25, but has been postponed to September 25 to 29.
The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) has applied for permission to broadcast the upcoming appeal of Durban businessman Schabir Shaik live on television. According to papers filed at the Supreme Court of Appeal on Tuesday, the public broadcaster wants to broadcast both television footage and live radio.
A joint South African-Lesotho police operation resulted in 264 people being arrested, Free State police said on Wednesday. ”The aim of the bilateral operation was to combat the flow of illicit firearms, ammunition, drugs and vehicles between the borders,” Superintendent Sam Sesing said.
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 state had not filed all its papers at the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) in Bloemfontein on Tuesday in connection with Durban businessman Schabir Shaik’s asset-forfeiture appeal. According to records already filed at the court the state has until August 11 to file its head of argument on the matter.
Television news groups have received the go-ahead from the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein to capture court footage during the upcoming appeal hearing of Durban businessman Schabir Shaik, a court official said on Tuesday. ”The president of the Supreme Court of Appeal decided that media coverage will be allowed in court during the matter,” he said.
Charges of assault, resisting arrest and impeding a police officer in performing his duties were withdrawn against the Free State chairperson of the African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) on Monday, the party said. Hendrik Minnie, a Mangaung Local Municipality councillor, was arrested on Friday night at Heidedal in Bloemfontein and spent the weekend in police custody.
South Africa needs to adapt its trade and tariff policies following the suspension of the latest Doha round of negotiations, the South African Agricultural Processors Association (Saapa) said on Wednesday. ”The suspension of the negotiations is a huge disappointment,” said Jannie de Villiers, Saapa executive director.
The conservative Afrikaner enclave of Orania in the Northern Cape is to launch two support groups abroad, a spokesperson said on Thursday. Eleanor Lombard said an Orania member in The Netherlands, Koos Kooy, recently registered an association called the Buitelandse Vriende van Orania (Friends of Orania Abroad).
Free State police have launched a manhunt for a gang who robbed a chartered aircraft at the Bloemfontein airport of an undisclosed amount of money early on Thursday. Police spokesperson Captain Elsa Gerber said a group of between eight and ten men stopped their Ford bakkie in front of the Baron Beachcraft twin prop plane at around 7.45am, preventing the pilot from taking off.
The Free State Cheetahs coaching staff, led by Rassie Erasmus, believes their first real test of the Currie Cup season will come when the defending champions face the Lions on Saturday. The Cheetahs are coming off two massive wins, over Griquas and the Falcons, while the Lions are coming off successive losses.
An attempt to set a new land-speed record at Verneukpan in the Northern Cape ended tragically after an accident during a test run on Tuesday, a local newspaper reported. Pretoria racing driver Johan Jacobs (40) died in the accident when his jet-propulsion vehicle turned sideways at a speed of about 500kph and started rolling, the Volksblad reports.
The chasm between Super 14 experience and Vodacom Cup rugby was further exposed when defending champions the Cheetahs hammered Griquas 55-14 in a one-sided opening Currie Cup encounter played in Bloemfontein on Saturday. The Cheetahs surprisingly won the Currie Cup last year.
A preliminary investigation has started into the blast at Gold Field’s Beatrix mine, which claimed one life during destruction of outdated explosives, the Department of Minerals and Energy said on Thursday. ”Officials from the regional office of the department would conduct an in loco investigation into the occurrence,” said Minister of Minerals and Energy Buyelwa Sonjica.
Twelve people were killed and four left in a critical condition when a tour bus overturned near Kroonstad on Monday, Free State police said. Captain Rosa Benade said 35 people were treated for serious injuries on the accident scene and moved to the Boithumelo and Kroon hospitals.
Black farmers on Monday called for unity among all farmers to address challenges facing the sector. ”Without this unity we shall continue to fight about land from a political stance instead of solving the problem from a social and economic sustainability perspective,” the president of the National African Farmers’ Union of South Africa said.
Former African National Congress chief whip Tony Yengeni has filed papers with the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein in a final bit to challenge his four-year prison sentence passed in 2003 in relation to fraud. Yengeni is asking for leave to appeal directly to the Supreme Court of Appeal against his fraud sentence.
About 200 white Afrikaners met ceremonially at the historic Women’s Monument in Bloemfontein on Saturday in a bid to ensure that the monument remains an Afrikaner symbol. The event, organised by the Afrikaner Kultuurbond, started with the hoisting of the old Orange Free State and Transvaal Boer Republic’s flags.
Springbok coach Jake White landed a small surprise when he named centre Jean de Villiers to lead the team in their unofficial match against the World XV in Johannesburg on Saturday. De Villiers, by his own admission, has limited captaining experience but feels he is equipped for the job.
The Springboks have enlisted the services of a host of doctors and specialists in the build-up to their international season and as they prepare in Bloemfontein, medical reports have been flowing furiously. But perhaps the most important advice will come from another sort of professor in the form of scrum doctor Balie Swart.
The disciplinary inquiry into allegations of corporate mismanagement against former SA Rugby boss Brian van Rooyen ended without him on Wednesday. South African Rugby Union (Saru) CEO Johan Prinsloo, who testified at the hearing in Bloemfontein, said Van Rooyen’s absence was a matter of regret.
The Springboks will likely be without a host of top players when they clash with a World XV in their season-opener next Saturday, with captain John Smit the biggest casualty. Smit has been laid low by a recurring groin injury and his place will likely be taken by the Bulls’ Gary Botha, who had to return to Pretoria for personal reasons.