Police have admitted they have no evidence linking two suspects to a mob that assaulted a woman and set her house alight because she was wearing a pair of pants, a packed Umlazi Magistrate’s Court heard on Wednesday. The two men appeared in the court after a second woman, Nomzumo Ngcobo, filed charges of intimidation.
Jacques Kallis has resigned as South Africa’s vice-captain following his omission from the country’s Twenty20 world championship squad. He also said on Monday he was considering his playing future in the wake of his non-selection. Selection convenor Joubert Strydom said Kallis was being rested for the tournament, which will be played in South Africa in September.
Failure to elect an African National Congress (ANC) leadership that respects the party’s branches and the tripartite alliance would lead to a right-wing victory within the ruling party, Congress of South African Trade Unions secretary general Zwelinzima Vavi said on Saturday.
Attempts to ”smear the names” of leaders of the South African Communist Party (SACP) and the Congress of South African Trade Unions was a part of ”the struggle”, SACP general secretary Blade Nzimande said on Friday. Nzimande was addressing the South African Clothing and Textile Workers Union 10th congress in Durban.
The inclusion of the South African Communist Party and the Congress of South African Trade Unions prevented the African National Congress-led government from ”tilting to the right”, ANC deputy president Jacob Zuma said on Thursday. Speaking in Durban, he said that if workers and communists are not there, ”we are likely to tilt to the right”.
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A bag of papers belonging to African National Congress deputy president Jacob Zuma which was found outside a Durban flat has been sent for forensic testing. Police spokesperson Phindile Radebe said the bag was found outside a Durban beachfront flat that had been broken into early on Monday morning.
New-generation antiretroviral (ARV) drugs could cost 500% more than those now being dispensed by the Health Department, Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang said on Tuesday. Speaking at the opening of the Women in Partnership against Aids, Tshabalala-Msimang said: ”The reduction of prices of medicines is a critical concern.”
Niggling injuries of the kind that needed time to heal kept six Springbok rugby players sidelined on Tuesday evening as the World Cup squad continued its strenuous build-up to the World Cup in France. Sitting it out while their teammates sweated were Bryan Habana, Wikus van Heerden, Ashwin Willemse, Francois Steyn, Danie Rossouw and the latest addition to the side, Bismarck du Plessis.
The young Sharks earned their spurs in no uncertain manner at the Absa Stadium in Durban on Saturday evening. They attacked with gusto in a rousing first half and defended like demons in the second to secure a valuable bonus point in an emphatic, 29-10 Absa Currie Cup rugby victory over the Blue Bulls.
Fraud convict Schabir Shaik has sold shares he held in French arms manufacturer Thint for R41-million. Shaik, who is serving a 15-year sentence for fraud and corruption relating to his relationship with African National Congress Deputy President Jacob Zuma, will not be able to access the money.
A 25-year-old woman was arrested after she threw her new-born baby into a toilet pit near the southern KwaZulu-Natal town of Harding, police said on Wednesday. Police spokesperson Captain Zandra Hechter said the woman was arrested on Tuesday night after police received a report from neighbours.
The South African Communist Party (SACP) has turned down an invitation for a question-and-answer session with the murderers of their secretary general Chris Hani, saying on Wednesday the two should rather hand their information to law enforcement authorities. Last week Janusz Walus and Clive Derby-Lewis sent the invitation to the SACP via their lawyers from prison.
A 35-year old policeman who was severely burnt in a fire at a Durban police residence died in the early hours of Tuesday morning, police said. The policeman, Sergeant Craig Roach, suffered burns to 65% of his body in a blaze in his 13th floor flat in the South African Police Service’s Natalia building on Monday morning.
Seven people died in a bus accident on KwaZulu-Natal’s (KZN) South Coast on Wednesday afternoon, authorities said. Speaking earlier from the accident scene, Victor Chetty, director of protection services for the Hibiscus Coast, said six people had died at the accident in Southbroom and eight were critically injured.
Four members of a gang believed to have blown up at least five ATMs have been arrested in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), police said on Wednesday. Police spokesperson Superintendent Vincent Mdunge said two were arrested last Friday, a third on Monday and the fourth on Tuesday.
Seven people were killed in a collision between a bus and a fire engine in Port Shepstone in KwaZulu-Natal on Monday. The crash claimed the lives of three firemen and four bus passengers, six of whom died on the scene. Police spokesperson Zandra Hechter said the seventh accident victim died in the Port Shepstone Provincial Hospital.
Hiring security firms to guard certain police stations was proof that the police had failed to combat crime, Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) KwaZulu-Natal leader Lionel Mtshali said on Monday. Mtshali said: ”Presumably, the idea is to free fully-trained police officers to perform their core function of preventing and combating crime”.
The Sharks, with too much pace and abundant skill, earned a comfortable bonus point win over a plucky Griqualand West side in their Absa Currie Cup rugby match as they posted a 43-20 victory at the Absa Stadium in Durban on Saturday. The Sharks, who led 24-6 at half-time, scored six tries against two by Griqualand West.
Butch James, one of the Sharks’ favourite sons, has accepted an offer to see out his career at Bath in England. Not for want of trying, the Sharks’ generous offer had to be weighed against the reality of his future playing career. Two seasons ago, many would have laughed at the suggestion he would play again.
The Durban High Court has ruled that the eThekwini municipality can go ahead with controversial plans to rename several of the city’s streets and landmarks. South African Broadcasting Corporation news reported on Friday that the court rejected an application by the Democratic Alliance to force the municipality to put a hold on street name changes.
After a four-hour battle, Durban firefighters on Monday night brought under control a blaze that had ripped through a 32-storey building in the city centre. Three helicopters — from the police, national Ports Authority and the army — airlifted at least 70 people from the roof of the Seaboard Hotel, which caught fire at about 7pm.
The Springbok rugby team to tour Australasia for the away leg in this year’s Tri-Nations series suffered a blow on Monday when utility forward AJ Venter announced his retirement from international rugby. His retirement also means he will also miss out on a possible World Cup place with the Springboks.
Amazulu beat Pretoria University 3-1 in the second-leg Mvela Platinum play-off final at a packed Princess Magogo Stadium on Sunday and celebrated their return to the Premiership with their fanatical supporters. Veteran Amazulu striker Dennis Lota scored in the 34th minute and John ”Shoes” Moshoeu doubled Usuthu’s lead in the 53rd minute.
In spite of gaining a valuable bonus point it is almost certaint that the Springbok Tri-Nations campaign is all but over as they face a long haul to Australia to face the Wallabies in Sydney on July 7. Physically, it was the All Black powerhouses off the bench, fullback Leon MacDonald and Luke McAllister, that turned the tables on the Springboks.
Captain Richie McCaw and wing Joe Rokocoko scored late tries to snatch a 26-21 win for New Zealand over South Africa in their Tri-Nations match in Durban on Saturday. South Africa ruled the opening quarter by kicking much of their possession downfield and using their superior lineout to continue the attack..
New Springbok captain Victor Matfield lashed out on Friday at suggestions that tighthead BJ Botha scrums illegally. Australia and New Zealand, South Africa’s opponents in the Tri-Nations tournament, have accused Botha of scrumming at an inward angle, which is against the laws of the game.
South Africa’s credentials of being serious challengers for the World Cup title in France later this year will be tested by the number one-ranked team, New Zealand, in the second match of this year’s Tri-Nations competition in Durban on Saturday. Jake White’s Springboks are coming off a thrilling, last-gasp win over Australia last weekend.
Former captain Bob Skinstad and hard-working loose forward Danie Rossouw have been drafted into the Springbok team for Saturday’s Tri-Nations Test with New Zealand in Durban. Skinstad and Rossouw will take over from the injured Pierre Spies and Juan Smith at number eight and blindside flanker respectively.
The battle between the Democratic Alliance (DA) and the eThekwini municipality over controversial plans to rename several Durban streets and landmarks was adjourned on Thursday in the Durban High Court. The DA is asking the court to prevent the municipality from proceeding with the second phase of the renaming process to have the first phase reversed.
Bulls captain Victor Matfield, playing in his 58th Test, has been named to lead the Springboks in their Tri-Nations Test against the All Blacks at the Absa Stadium in Durban on Saturday. Significantly, the man widely tipped to take over from the injured John Smit, Bobby Skinstad, has not been included in Jake White’s 22-man squad.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) on Monday lodged papers in the Durban High Court opposing the eThekwini municipality’s controversial plan to rename Durban’s streets and some of its landmark buildings. The DA is asking the court to prevent the municipality from proceeding with phase two of the renaming process and to have the first phase reversed.
Police arrested about 500 protesting street traders outside the Durban Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday following clashes in which a water cannon, pepper spray and stun grenades were used. Police spokesperson Superintendent Muzi Mngomezulu could not immediately say exactly how many people were arrested, but estimated the number was about 500.