A man accused of holding several staff members of the Pretoria News hostage was on Thursday declared fit to stand trial. A report by the Weskoppies Psychiatric Hospital was handed up at the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court, stating 33-year-old Lionel George from Danville would understand the court proceedings and was able to contribute meaningfully to his defence.
Whether suspended National Director of Public Prosecutions Vusi Pikoli had taken "national security interests" into consideration in decisions he made will be one of the main issues in a hearing to determine his fitness to hold office. President Thabo Mbeki on Wednesday approved the terms of reference for the inquiry.
The judge in the Boeremag treason trial on Tuesday urged one of the accused and his legal representative to come to some sort of arrangement after the advocate withdrew from the trial, causing yet a further delay. Advocate Barry van der Merwe, who represented alleged former Boeremag military commander Tom Vorster, withdrew without giving any reasons.
There is a probability that the hoax emails allegedly fabricated by former spy boss Billy Masetlha and his two co-accused were created by an amateur, the Pretoria Commercial Crimes Court heard on Tuesday. Masetlha and his co-accused are facing charges of fraud amounting to R152 000.
President Thabo Mbeki was caught off guard on Tuesday when asked questions at a media photo opportunity at the Union Buildings in Pretoria about the possible arrest of police National Commissioner Jackie Selebi. Responding to questions from journalists by asking more questions, Mbeki queried whether it was a president’s job to issue warrants of arrest.
The trial of Cezanne Visser, also known as ”Advocate Barbie”, has once again been delayed because no judge was available to preside in the case. The defence and the state were only informed this week that no judge had been assigned to the case. Judge Khami Makhafola provisionally postponed Visser’s trial to October 12 to allow the state to arrange for the appointment of a judge.
There were a number of instances where a breakdown in the working relationship with Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development Brigitte Mabandla was discussed with suspended National Director of Public Prosecutions Vusi Pikoli. This is according to government spokesperson Themba Maseko, who was speaking at a press conference in Pretoria on Monday.
A computer expert testified in court on Monday that he was hindered when analysing whether former spy boss Billy Masetlha and his two co-accused had fabricated controversial hoax emails about an alleged African National Congress conspiracy, as he was given hard copies and not the electronic versions.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) has urged the speaker of the National Assembly to urgently reconvene Parliament so that President Thabo Mbeki can explain his reasons for suspending the National Director of Public Prosecutions, Vusi Pikoli. In a letter to the speaker, DA parliamentary leader Sandra Botha said the National Assembly has an obligation to deal with ”the crisis”.
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/ 29 September 2007
A first half free kick from Teko Modise was enough to ensure victory for a makeshift South African side in the Saturday’s Cosafa Castle Cup semifinal against Botswana at Atteridgeville, near Pretoria. Modise netted in the 32nd minute to set up a final meeting with Zambia next month, at a venue to be decided.
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/ 29 September 2007
South Africa put up a disappointing performance in the third and final Spar Challenge Test against Uganda at Pretoria University’s Mamelodi campus on Friday night, going down 30-34. South Africa win the series two-one, after winning the first two Tests.
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/ 28 September 2007
Losing National Lottery bidder Igwija Gaming on Friday indicated that it might launch renewed court action questioning the awarding of the licence to incumbent operator Gidani. In a lengthy media statement, Igwija said it would request an urgent meeting with Trade and Industry Minister Mandisi Mpahlwa.
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/ 28 September 2007
The Governor of the South African Reserve Bank, Tito Mboweni, said on Friday that while credit problems in the United States have given the global imbalance issue some impetus, South Africa also has its own imbalance with the current-account deficit at about 6% of GDP.
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/ 26 September 2007
South African Under-19 stars Francois Hougaard and Stephan Dippenaar have signed a three-year contract with the Blue Bulls. Hougaard is a strong scrumhalf who attended Paul Roos Gymnasium and, according to his agent, ”a very aggressive number nine with an excellent pass and outstanding defensive capabilities”.
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/ 26 September 2007
South Africa gained almost 200 000 jobs between March 2006 and 2007, Statistics South Africa reported on Wednesday. Its Labour Force Survey said the number of people employed rose from 12 451 000 to 12 648 000.
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/ 26 September 2007
At least 40 people who were given land or who were compensated under government’s land restitution programme might have made fraudulent land claims. The rightful claimants were forcibly removed from the area by apartheid authorities in the 1950s and 1960s and relocated to the KwaThema township.
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/ 26 September 2007
Only four land claims in Gauteng and 81 in North West remain to be resolved before the March 2008 deadline for settling all restitution claims in the country, regional land claims commissioner for Gauteng and North West, Tumi Seboka, said on Wednesday.
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/ 25 September 2007
The South African National Roads Agency Limited will implement a pilot onramp metering project on four interchanges on Gauteng’s N1 Ben Schoeman highway from Wednesday. ”With ramp metering, the traffic flow on to the freeway is controlled to prevent stop-go conditions on the freeway,” a spokesperson said.
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/ 25 September 2007
Parliamentary opposition parties were unmoved on Tuesday by the Presidency’s explanation of the suspension of National Director of Public Prosecutions Vusi Pikoli. Freedom Front Plus MP Willie Spies said: ”We have left [a meeting with the Presidency] with more questions than there were answers.”
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/ 22 September 2007
South Africans will be able to start buying lottery tickets in the next two weeks, newly appointed National Lottery operator Gidani said on Friday. To make the transition easier for lottery players, the games will initially remain the same, namely the Lotto, Lotto Plus, Wina Manja scratch-card games and the Sportstake games.
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/ 21 September 2007
The Sharks secured themselves a home semifinal berth in the Currie Cup when they came back from behind to beat the Blue Bulls 26-18 at Loftus Versfeld on Friday evening. The Sharks almost let it slip in the first half when they found themselves trailing 18-9 and with only 14 men on the park.
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/ 21 September 2007
The trial of Swiss design engineer Daniel Geiges, who was allegedly part of an international nuclear smuggling ring, was postponed on Friday because he is too ill to stand trial. The court was told that Geiges (69) had been diagnosed with cancer of the rectum and was undergoing ”severe treatment”.
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/ 21 September 2007
Sport stars, poets and scientists shared the spotlight at a National Orders awards ceremony in Pretoria on Friday. President Thabo Mbeki bestowed South Africa’s highest awards on 20 recipients. Among those receiving awards were Morne du Plessis, Sam Ramsamy, Roland Schoeman, Elisabeth Eybers and Wally Serote.
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/ 20 September 2007
South Africa’s central bank will continue to focus on its mandate to bring inflation to within its 3% to 6% target range, and would act decisively against broader price pressures, Governor Tito Mboweni said on Thursday. Forecasts suggested the CPIX inflation measure may return to within the target range in the second half of 2008.
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/ 19 September 2007
Safety and Security Minister Charles Nqakula was on Wednesday granted leave by the Pretoria High Court to appeal against a ruling that he rebuild the shacks of a group of squatters or face arrest. The minister was also once again ordered to rebuild some of the demolished shacks before noon on Friday.
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/ 19 September 2007
Floor-crossing politicians managed to shift the majority party in control in 12 of the country’s 128 municipalities during the two-week crossing period, the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) said on Wednesday. The African National Congress gained the most councillors, the IEC figures showed.
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/ 19 September 2007
A day after Archbishop Desmond Tutu called on Britain to toughen its stance on Zimbabwe and press its neighbours, including South Africa, to intervene, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Aziz Pahad said ”quiet diplomacy” was showing results. Speaking on Wednesday, Pahad hailed the constitutional changes agreed to by all the parties in Zimbabwe as a positive development.
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/ 19 September 2007
Strong measures are still needed to fight organised crime, especially in countries with new democracies, Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU) head Willie Hofmeyr said in Pretoria on Wednesday. ”States with new democracies are often weak and lack skills and legal weapons to combat organised crime,” he said.
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/ 19 September 2007
Too much ambition might leave a politician without a seat on a council — this was the lesson that some councillors learned the hard way during the recent floor-crossing period. Figures released by the Independent Electoral Commission on Wednesday showed that 30 councillors would have no seats on individual municipal councils.
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/ 18 September 2007
South African President Thabo Mbeki and his Mozambican counterpart Armando Guebuza reached agreement Tuesday on moves aimed at increasing access and levels of trade across their common border. In a briefing to reporters after the meeting in Pretoria, senior ministers said the main crossing between the neighbours would soon undergo a major revamp.
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/ 18 September 2007
Escalating violent crime could reduce an already weak skills base in the country, an economic consultancy company said on Tuesday. ”Every effort should be made to contain negative influences like crime, especially since the South African economy is currently experiencing its most exciting growth phase since the 1960s,” the chief economist at Econometrix said.
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/ 17 September 2007
France is to invest about €400-million in the next four years to help South Africa with service delivery, job creation and environmental and sustainable development, French ambassador Denis Pietton said on Monday. ”In terms of service delivery, we will help with providing development assistance,” the ambassador said in Pretoria.