Rescue workers called off their search for a schoolboy feared drowned in the sea off Richards Bay late on Sunday afternoon, hours after finding the bodies of seven of his classmates. The eight children were among a group of about 250 children from Ndlela Secondary School in Mpumalanga who attended a sports day at Mondini High School in Ntambanana.
Inkatha Freedom Party leader and traditional prime minister of the Zulu nation Mangosuthu Buthelezi on Saturday called for the recognition of the Zulu kingdom.
Addressing an imbizo (meeting) of the Zulu nation outside Durban, Buthelezi said: ”We are not speaking about the position of the king alone. Our kingdom is broader than his majesty alone.”
People attending Saturday’s imbizo (meeting) called by Inkatha Freedom Party leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi will be allowed to enter the Princess Magogo Stadium with sticks, shields and knobkieries, KwaZulu-Natal police said on Friday. Buthelezi has come under fire for calling the imbizo.
The Inkatha Freedom Party was ”delighted” on Friday when the Pietermaritzburg High Court overturned a conviction and 10-year sentence for rape handed down to its national organiser Albert Mncwango. ”The political enemies of Mr Mncwango had contrived to bring these accusations against him,” said IFP spokesperson Musa Zondi.
Legal experts must decide if Saturday’s imbizo (meeting) of the Zulu nation in Durban is traditional or political before police decide whether traditional weapons will be allowed at the gathering. On Thursday, a spokesperson said Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini has distanced himself from the imbizo.
Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini on Thursday said the drafting of a constitution for KwaZulu-Natal is intended to ”culminate in the restoration of the monarch to its [sic] rightful position and status”. He was speaking to members of a constitutional ad hoc committee in Durban.
A cat was killed by being cooked alive in a microwave oven belonging to students at a men’s residence at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, reports said on Thursday. The cat reportedly died an ”extremely painful” death. Provincial education minister Ina Cronje has condemned the act as ”barbaric” and ”shocking”.
People who suffer rape as children often face secondary victimisation when those whom they confide in react non-supportively, a researcher said on Tuesday at the sixth annual conference of the South African Professional Society on the Abuse of Children, held at the University of Pretoria.
The African National Congress in KwaZulu-Natal on Wednesday called on the Zulu nation not to attend an imbizo (meeting) at KwaMashu, south of Durban, on Saturday. The imbizo was called by Inkatha Freedom Party president Mangosuthu Buthelezi in his capacity as traditional prime minister.
The low-income national banking account Mzansi exceeded one million accounts by May 15, Colin Donian, the Banking Council director responsible for the Mzansi initiative, said on Wednesday. Launched less than seven months ago, the Mzansi account provides account-holders with entry-level banking services.
While international terrorism appears to pose no immediate threat to South Africa, vigilance remains the watchword, Minister of Intelligence Ronnie Kasrils said on Tuesday. ”Since no country can claim immunity from this scourge, we remain vigilant,” Kasrils said when introducing debate on his Budget vote in the National Assembly.
The Inkatha Freedom Party has cracked the whip following a public debate about its leadership, with its national chairperson swearing allegiance to 76-year-old party president Mangosuthu Buthelezi. There is tension in the party, with persistent talk that Buthelezi is being challenged for his position by the party’s traditionalist guard.
The African National Congress in KwaZulu-Natal held its provincial conference over the weekend where it elected its new leaders. Premier Sibusiso Ndebele was re-elected ”unanimously and unopposed” as provincial chairperson of the party, and Zweli Mkhize was re-elected as deputy chairperson.
A lower growth in house prices in the first quarter of 2005 is an indication of a residential property market that is cooling off, according to Absa. Nevertheless, it says real growth in house prices is expected to be positive for 2005 for the sixth consecutive year, with a nominal house price growth of between 15% and 20% forecast for the year.
The Inkatha Freedom Party says it is ”shocked” by the government’s call on universities to reduce student numbers, and refuse readmission to those who fail their first year. Earlier this week, the government identified the high drop-out rate among first-year students as a big financial drain on universities and other higher-learning institutions.
The time has come to get out the winter woolies because very cold conditions and snow is expected over the Northern and Western Cape this coming weekend. The South African Weather Service said that very cold and windy conditions are expected over the high ground of the Northern and Western Cape on Friday, with rain over the Western Cape and the western escarpment of the Northern Cape.
An almost complete breakdown in the chain of command notwithstanding, South African rugby continues on its results-driven way. People who would ordinarily find a way to criticise God for allowing the sky to be generally light blue are now dyed in the wool Bulls fans, imploring the Sharks this weekend and the Stormers next weekend to sacrifice themselves for the greater good.
South Africa will pay dearly for global industrialisation and other activities that generate greenhouse gases, a new study revealed on Thursday. A report by the South African National Biodiversity Institute, released in Cape Town, warns that rising temperatures will change the face of the country by 2050.
Mamelodi Sundowns moved to the second spot on the log when they beat struggling Wits University 3-2 in a lively Castle Premier League encounter on Monday. Also, Black Leopards beat Manning Rangers, Lamontville Golden Arrows shared the spoils with Silver Stars and Moroka Swallows defeated Bloemfontein Celtic.
Bonisiwe Maphumulo sits on a straight-backed chair in the sun outside her thatched, one-room home in rural Msinga, KwaZulu-Natal. What she says next is, most probably, a lie. ”I don’t know what sickness I’ve got,” the 51-year-old widow observes in Zulu, cradling her young granddaughter on her lap.
Current Springbok and Gwent Dragons fullback Percy Montgomery has signed a two-year contract to play for the Sharks. Montgomery will officially join the Sharks on June 1. However, provided he is selected to play for the Springboks, he will only start with the team after the Tri-Nations in August.
A 51-year-old alleged drug trafficker appeared in the Durban Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday after the biggest find of the so-called date rape drug Rivotril in the history of KwaZulu-Natal, police said. Yunus Satar Essa was remanded in custody until his next appearance on Friday, police said in a statement.
Horses are dying in their hundreds from an outbreak of African horse sickness and the problem is worsening, the Cape Times website reported on Tuesday. It said 586 horses in KwaZulu-Natal’s Midlands area and two horses in the Western Cape had died of the disease in the past two months.
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The prosecution began its closing arguments in Schabir Shaik’s fraud and corruption trial on Monday, describing the case which began in the Durban High Court in October as an epic. ”Unfortunately it has proven to be anything but heroic,” said prosecutor Billy Downer.
A five-year-old boy at Zululand’s eMachakwini Primary School was allegedly forced to drink urine by his teacher, the KwaZulu-Natal education department said on Monday. The boy allegedly urinated in a bucket, and his teacher told him he could either have his penis chopped off or drink the urine.
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Deputy President Jacob Zuma contravened his constitutional duty by providing assistance to his friend and financial adviser Schabir Shaik, the Durban High Court heard on Monday. Zuma ”at the very least exposed himself to a situation involving the risk of a conflict between his official responsibilities and private interests”.
If you don’t clamp down on the farms feeding the "canning" industry you will lose the battle, warn critics of the government’s attempts to stamp out unethical hunting. In submissions on proposed new regulations to stop canned hunting, both pro- and anti-hunting organisations are unanimous that the 50-plus facilities breeding thousands of predators across the country are the chief culprits.
The South African Super 14 rugby franchises are to be reconsidered at a meeting to be held on May 7, rugby boss Brian van Rooyen revealed on Saturday. He was addressing journalists after an emergency meeting with members of the South African Rugby Union’s president’s council.
Minister of Health Manto Tshabalala-Msimang again stressed the importance of nutrition in regard to HIV/Aids at a Pietermaritzburg gathering on Friday of organisations dealing with the pandemic. The minister said there is scientific proof that lemon, olive oil and garlic can work wonders for people with Aids symptoms.
KwaZulu-Natal finance minister Zweli Mkhize escaped unhurt when the aircraft in which he was travelling made an emergency landing at Durban International airport on Thursday night, Premier Sibusiso Ndebele said. Mkhize was travelling with his wife, May Mashego, and bodyguard Mfihlo Gwala, Ndebele said on Friday.
After an outbreak of African horse sickness in KwaZulu-Natal, horses may not be moved into or out of the province, the provincial agriculture department announced on Thursday. ”The outbreak is concentrated in the Midlands right up to northern KwaZulu-Natal,” said the department’s spokesperson Vusi Zuma.
After the criticism of President Thabo Mbeki’s Aids policy by former president Nelson Mandela, there was a major uproar within the African National Congress(ANC), a party which expects unquestioning loyalty to its leader. In a extract from his biography about Mbeki, William Gumede examines how the president consolidated his power base and maintains an iron grip of the ANC.