Gauteng

Confusion reigned at the Randburg Magistrate’s Court on Monday when a Pretoria High Court judge arrested for drunken driving failed to appear at the court. After waiting outside the court for about half an hour, journalists learnt that Judge Nkola Motata, who was arrested on Friday, had already been released on bail. He will appear at the Hillbrow Magistrate’s Court on February 27.

The Gauteng department of education has threatened to close down 200 badly performing schools, the South African Broadcasting Corporation reported. Spokesperson for the department Panyaza Lesufi said the department has given principals until the end of January to present plans to turn their schools around.

President Thabo Mbeki should appoint a judicial commission to investigate the 1999 arms deal, the Democratic Alliance (DA) said on Sunday in the wake of new revelations on the affair. The media reported on the weekend that Britain’s Serious Fraud Office is investigating alleged ”substantial payments” from BAE Systems to a senior South African Defence Ministry official.

The Independent Complaints Directorate (ICD) is investigating charges of defeating the ends of justice after claims of a cover-up in the Robert McBride car-crash investigation, South African Broadcasting Corporation news reported on Sunday. Witnesses said McBride appeared to be drunk, and that they were intimidated and assaulted.

Gauteng police Commissioner Perumal Naidoo has said that 2007 should be dedicated to a no-nonsense approach to fighting crime. Naidoo was speaking at a handing-over ceremony of 250 police vehicles on Thursday in Aeroton, Diepkloof, outside Johannesburg.

Rescue workers are searching for two men who were washed down a crevice along a Port St Johns beach on Tuesday, the National Sea Rescue Institute said on Wednesday. Meanwhile, two men drowned in separate incidents while swimming in Parys and Heidelberg, and a man drowned when a boat capsized at the Vaal Dam.

Two relatives are among the six suspects arrested in connection with the murder of Avhatakali Netshisaulu, son of City Press editor Mathatha Tsedu, reported the newspaper at the weekend. City Press said a suspect arrested on Friday was a relative and was allegedly the ”mastermind, financier and recruiter of Netshisaulu’s killers”.

Police are still investigating the circumstances surrounding Ekurhuleni metro police chief Robert McBride’s car accident in Centurion last week. A case of reckless or negligent driving was opened against McBride after he lost control of his car last Thursday. Controversy surrounding the crash has included allegations that McBride was under the influence of alcohol.

The matric class of 2006 lived up to former state president Nelson Mandela’s expectations, said Gauteng Premier Mbhazima Shilowa on Thursday. ”The 78,35% pass rate shows very clearly that we have succeeded in creating a culture of learning and teaching that Nelson Mandela talked about when these matriculants started school in 1994.”

Nine people have been arrested for allegedly using explosives to blow up ATMs, police said on Wednesday. Two were later released. Gauteng police spokesperson Director Govindsamy Mariemuthoo said four suspects were arrested on Christmas day and appeared in court on Wednesday.

The decision by the Gauteng department of agriculture, conservation and environment to approve the ”unsightly” overhead section of the Gautrain through Centurion is shocking, the Democratic Alliance said on Thursday. Sizwe Matshikiza, spokesperson for the department, said the approval of the project had followed normal processes.

Charges of reckless or negligent driving are being investigated against an Ekurhuleni metro police official, but police have refused to say whether the official is police chief Robert McBride. Witnesses have reportedly claimed McBride was ”blind-drunk” when he rolled his car on the R511 near Centurion on Thursday night.

The Botswana pilot who was killed when his light aircraft crashed into a block of flats in Yeoville was training to be a commercial pilot, said a flight instructor on Tuesday. Anastasios Vouros, who runs a flight school at the Rand Airport and owned the wrecked Piper Cherokee 140, said the pilot was qualified to fly the plane.

After months of threats since a series of fuel spills happened at OR Tambo International Airport, the Environmental and Conservation Association has finally pressed charges against the Airports Company South Africa (Acsa), the association said on Thursday.

No one has been arrested for the murder of Avhatakali Netshisaulu, son of City Press editor Mathatha Tsedu, Gauteng police said on Wednesday. Director Govindsamy Mariemuthoo said the results of a post-mortem conducted cannot be revealed as they form part of the investigation, he said.

The lawyer representing Kebble murder accused Glenn Agliotti ”knows nothing” about plans to charge Agliotti with involvement in a multimillion-rand drugs syndicate. The lawyer, Lawrence Hodes, said he did not attend a brief court appearance on Tuesday by Stephanos Paparas (45) at which it was indicated that another accused was to be added to the charge sheet.

Conservationists panicked when more than a million litres of jet fuel spilled out from OR Tambo International Airport and flowed into the Blaauwpan Dam, east of Johannesburg, in early November. It has been a month since the leak occurred and the area is still being rehabilitated — but how was it possible for so much fuel to end up in the dam?

Former National Intelligence Agency director general Billy Masetlha was charged with fraud on Monday after handing himself over to police in Pretoria. He was later granted bail of R10 000 in an appearance in the Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crime Court, said national police spokesperson Dennis Adriao.

Great possibilities exist for combating crime if the police and the security sector ware allowed to work together, said Democratic Alliance (DA) spokesperson for community safety in Gauteng, John Moodey, on Monday. He said this following the hijacking of his 20-year-old daughter and her boyfriend on Sunday morning.