Parliamentarians cannot remain silent about Zimbabwe, a case of ”democracy gone wrong”, National Assembly Speaker Baleka Mbete said in Cape Town on Sunday at the opening of the 118th Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) meeting. In his speech, President Thabo Mbeki congratulated the IPU for its stance on gender equality in government.
The Stormers ran out comfortable 34-22 winners over the Cheetahs in a Super 14 fixture at Newlands on Saturday. A great kick-off by Stormers flyhalf Peter Grant set up the platform for the team’s opening try in the second minute. Grant’s kick went into touch 5m from the Cheetahs’ try line.
Western Province (WP) retained their unbeaten record by the skin of their teeth when they were held to a 23-23 draw by Griquas in a Vodacom Cup match at Newlands on Saturday. Griquas unsettled WP with their speedy playing patterns at the outset and it came as no surprise when they scored a try in the seventh minute.
Jomo Cosmos denied Santos maximum points as they held them to a 1-1 draw at the Athlone Stadium on Friday night. Cosmos looked bright early on, in particular down their right wing, where Bongi Macala and Siza Dlamini had a couple of chances. Then another move down the right saw Bamuza Sono release Macala with a long ball.
Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi on Friday accused President Thabo Mbeki’s government of deliberately seeking to emasculate the African National Congress. A new style of political leadership is required, he told the National Union of Metalworkers in the Eastern Cape.
Murdered theatre personality Taliep Petersen considered divorcing his wife, Najwa, but was worried about what people would think of him, his younger brother, Igsaan, told the Cape High Court on Friday. Igsaan was the third witness in the trial of Najwa and three alleged hit men, who have pleaded not guilty to Taliep’s execution-style shooting.
The use of the word ”boesman” (bushman) by newspaper Die Burger is not derogatory hate speech, the Equality Court ruled in Cape Town on Friday. Kobus Faasen, an academic who says he is a descendant of the Khoisan people, had claimed the newspaper’s use of the word in several articles was ”contaminated with racism”.
Taliep Petersen’s death looked ”suspect” from the start, his younger brother, Igsaan, told the Cape High Court on Friday. Igsaan was the third witness to be called in the trial of Taliep’s wife, Najwa, and three alleged hit men, who are accused of murdering him on the night of December 16 2006.
The final eight teams that will vie for the R1-million prize for winning the 2008 Vodacom Cup will be confirmed after this weekend’s final round of league matches. Though Griquas and Western Province are certain of their places in the quarterfinals, at least eight teams remain in contention for the six remaining play-off spots.
A detective told the Cape High Court on Thursday that he became suspicious of murder accused Najwa Petersen after hearing her sobbing account on the night of her husband’s Taliep’s death. The officer was the second witness called in the trial of Petersen and the three men she allegedly hired to carry out the execution-style shooting.
Deputy Safety and Security Minister Susan Shabangu must be fired for her comments that police should shoot and kill criminals, the Democratic Alliance (DA) said on Thursday. ”Minister of Safety and Security Charles Nqakula has no choice but to fire her with immediate effect,” DA spokesperson Dianne Kohler-Barnard said.
The British and Irish Lions are to play 10 matches on their tour of South Africa next year, including three Tests against the world champions, the Springboks, organisers said on Thursday. The Tests against the Boks will take place on June 20 in Durban, June 27 in Pretoria and July 4 in Johannesburg.
Efforts to push legislation through Parliament to disband the Scorpions are falling behind schedule, the deputy president’s office said on Thursday. ”It’s mainly because of consultation … which has taken much longer than was thought,” said Thabang Chiloane, spokesperson for Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka.
Murder accused Najwa Petersen on Thursday returned to her Cape Town home for the first time since her arrest early last year. But her every move was watched by a ring of heavily armed police. She was taken to the Athlone house under police guard for an on-the-spot inspection by Cape High Court Judge Siraj Desai and his two assessors.
After a decade of optimism and growth, many South African cities now face new challenges compared with competing international locations, Cape Town mayor Helen Zille said on Wednesday. These include perceptions of instability and uncertainty, growing urban poverty, increased crime, conflict and corruption, she told the United Nations.
Theatre personality Taliep Petersen and his wife, Najwa, who has pleaded not guilty to murdering him, were a loving couple, the Cape High Court was told on Wednesday. However, at the time of his death they were sleeping in separate bedrooms, and he was talking about ”getting another place”.
South Africa should use its powerful position on the United Nations Security Council to put the Zimbabwean election saga on the international body’s agenda, Democratic Alliance leader Helen Zille said on Wednesday. Zille, who is currently in New York, said in a statement she would meet South Africa’s ambassador to the United Nations.
Najwa Petersen on Wednesday formally pleaded not guilty to the murder of her entertainer husband, Taliep. Taliep was shot in the couple’s Athlone, Cape Town, home in December 2006; his wife is standing trial in the Cape High Court along with three men the state claims she hired to carry out the killing.
South Africa’s conservation areas are facing ”real and urgent” threats, and first world countries must do more to help, Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism Marthinus van Schalkwyk said on Wednesday. As a result of climate change, the Kruger National Park could experience more intense rainfall interspersed with longer dry spells, he said.
A new World Bank and International Monetary Fund report warns that most countries in Africa will not meet most of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) due by 2015. While there has been strong growth in many countries in sub-Saharan Africa, the region is still likely to fall short of the first goal of halving extreme poverty by 2015.
Several major companies in India looking to expand their global footprint have shown ”serious interest” in investing at Coega, the Coega Development Corporation (CDC) said on Tuesday. The CDC said it had recently met 22 companies in Thailand and India to discuss investment.
The City of Cape Town has launched a high court challenge to the legality of the Erasmus commission, city speaker Dirk Smit announced on Tuesday. The commission was set up by Western Cape Premier Ebrahim Rasool last year to probe the city’s own investigation of renegade councillor Badih Chaaban.
West-coast shellfish, including mussels, oysters and perlemoen, should not be collected and eaten because they are toxic, the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism warned on Tuesday. Tests on perlemoen collected at Melkbosstrand had revealed low levels of a toxin that causes paralytic shellfish poisoning.
Opposition parties on Monday criticised President Thabo Mbeki’s assessment of Zimbabwe’s elections. Mbeki’s remarks, made in Britain on Sunday, indicated he was either woefully out of touch with reality in Zimbabwe or he was attempting to ”deliberately mislead the world’s media”, the Democratic Alliance’s Dianne Kohler-Barnard said.
The trial of Najwa Petersen, accused of murdering her entertainer husband, Taliep, has been delayed yet again — this time by a clash over how much information she needs about the charges she faces. The case got under way in the Cape High Court on Monday, but Judge Siraj Desai sat for less than two hours before postponing it to Wednesday.
The murder trial of Najwa Petersen started in Cape Town on Monday with her advocate demanding that the state provide more details of the allegations against her. Klaus von Lieres und Wilkau brought the application before Petersen and her three co-accused were asked to plead in the Cape High Court.
The National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac) on Friday called for Eskom’s proposed electricity tariff increase to be put on hold for further consultation. The process should be delayed to allow for urgent consultation on possible alternatives and the socio-economic impact of the increase, Nedlac said.
The South African government needs to ratify an international treaty on preventing torture, South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) chief executive Tseliso Thipanyane said on Friday. Thipanyane said he is concerned about the government’s ”terrible attitude” towards the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture.
Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Helen Zille on Friday accused the African National Congress (ANC) of shutting down the space for free and informed debate. Writing in her weekly newsletter, Zille said recent events suggested the image of openness that ANC president Jacob Zuma was cultivating was just a smokescreen for closing down the public space.
The Presidency and Justice Ministry on Friday claimed to have no knowledge of Scorpions boss Leonard McCarthy’s attempts to resign. They also claimed to know nothing about President Thabo Mbeki’s reported refusal to accept the resignation letter. ”There’s no such thing,” said Presidential spokesperson Mukoni Ratshitanga.
Torture and inhumane treatment in prisons was ”a casualty of Africa’s war on crime” international human rights expert Mumba Malila told a conference in Cape Town on Thursday. Malila is special rapporteur on prisons for the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
The city of Cape Town says it is to strengthen oversight of its metro police, following reports of indiscipline and alleged brutality. A task team, chaired by city manager Achmat Ebrahim, would be set up to perform this oversight, the city said in a statement on Thursday.