Janusz Walus and Clive Derby-Lewis, convicted killers of South African Communist Party (SACP) leader Chris Hani, on Wednesday invited leaders of the SACP to visit them in jail and ask any questions about the murder. Their legal representative faxed a letter to SACP secretary general Blade Nzimande inviting a delegation to meet them and their lawyers.
Three women who confessed to the killing of a baby and burying the body in a yard abandoned their bail applications in court on Wednesday. They appeared in the Mamelodi Magistrate’s Court in Pretoria, which postponed the case to August 28. The women are 34-year-old Cecilia Mokgabane Seale, Rosinah Show, an aunt, and Thandi Martha Matubane, the midwife.
The spat between the Democratic Alliance (DA) and the Department of Home Affairs over the handling of Zimbabweans fleeing to South Africa continued on Wednesday. Home Affairs Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula ”has no idea” of the volumes of Zimbabwean refugees who will flow into South Africa over the next few months, the DA’s Mark Lowe said.
Perpetrators of apartheid crimes should be given the chance to tell their stories to enable closure for their victims and for themselves, Director General in the Presidency Frank Chikane said on Tuesday at a press conference at the Union Buildings. He criticised those who say the book on apartheid-era crimes should be closed.
Human remains believed to be those of the ”Pebco Three”, who were murdered by apartheid-era police, were found on a farm near Cradock, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said on Monday. Spokesperson Panyaza Lesufi said NPA investigators followed up several leads and discovered the remains during a dig on the Cradock farm known as Post Chalmers.
Apartheid-era minister of law and order Adriaan Vlok and former police chief Johann van der Merwe will be charged with attempted murder next month. National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Panyaza Lesufi said on Monday that the matter will be heard on August 17.
Refugee camps should be set up near the border to house and feed Zimbabweans fleeing their country, the Democratic Alliance (DA) said on Monday. ”If government takes its humanitarian duties seriously, [the Department of] Home Affairs will immediately begin to investigate setting up refugee camps,” the DA’s Mark Lowe said.
The case of Annanias Mathe, the Mozambican national charged with escaping from Pretoria’s C-Max prison, was postponed yet again in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court on Monday. The case was postponed to October 5 in order to centralise all the charges against Mathe.
Ben du Toit, a millionaire farmer jailed for 32 years for murdering his wife, wants to be released on parole and the chance to prove his innocence. This emerged in the Pretoria High Court this week when Du Toit sought an order to set aside a decision by the parole board at the Pretoria Central Prison, refusing to release him.
The mystery of the disappearance of millions of rands invested in manufacturing plants to produce biodiesel has deepened, despite a case in the Pretoria High Court this week. Three applicants on Friday sought a winding-up order against De Beers Fuel, the company that promised to produce biodiesel from algae.
Proposals have been put on the table to improve nurses’ salaries by between 20% and 23%, Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang announced on Friday. ”Part of the proposal we have presented to the discussions with the health unions is that entry level salaries of nurses be increased by between 20% and 23% with effect from July 1 2007,” she said.
Housing Minister Lindiwe Sisulu handed over 10 houses at an ”innovation hub” in Soshanguve, Pretoria on Thursday. The project will afford people who have new innovations the opportunity to have their materials tested and, if approved, the materials are used to build dwellings.
A former Scorpions advocate was bitten, assaulted, tied up with duct tape and two attempts were made to rape her, the Pretoria Regional Court heard on Wednesday. The grandson of an employee at the Namibian high commission is accused in the case.
Three women arrested for allegedly drowning a baby in a bucket confessed to a magistrate in a case heard in chambers in Mamelodi, Pretoria, on Wednesday, police said. Inspector Paul Ramaloko said the women made ”an admission of guilt” to the magistrate.
Three women arrested for allegedly drowning and burying a child in a yard are to appear before a magistrate in closed chambers in Mamelodi, Pretoria, on Wednesday. Inspector Paul Ramaloka said a 34-year-old woman, her aunt and a neighbour would appear in chambers where they are expected to confess to the killing.
At least 20 people were injured when a truck collided with a train in Pretoria West on Wednesday, paramedics said. ER24 spokesperson Riana Beech said the 20-tonne truck had been travelling along Roger Dyson Road in Pretoria West when its brakes are believed to have failed, causing the driver to lose control.
Forensic experts exhumed a baby on Tuesday who was drowned and buried in a yard — allegedly by her mother — last year, Pretoria police said. ”I can confirm that forensic experts found the remains of the child in the yard,” Inspector Paul Ramaloko said. He said the child was buried in July last year just after being born.
The Southern African Development Community should step in to save the deteriorating economy of Zimbabwe, South Africa’s minister of foreign affairs said on Tuesday. ”We are concerned about the situation in Zimbabwe and its economic situation, which has been deteriorating,” Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma said in Pretoria.
Italy will, if requested, be ready to help South Africa with safety and security issues during the 2010 World Cup, its Deputy Prime Minister, Massimo D’Alema, said on Tuesday. D’Alema was hosted by Foreign Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma in Pretoria where bilateral political and economic discussions between the two took place.
South Africa’s transport system is becoming increasingly inadequate in responding to export-led growth, Transport Minister Jeff Radebe said on Monday. Speaking at the South African Transport Conference in Pretoria, Radebe said road networks were congested and ”bursting at the seams”. A resource not fully used was sea transport.
South Africans have taken the bait for the FishMS line that can tell you whether the fish you are about to eat is in plentiful supply or illegal, a spokesperson for the Southern African Sustainable Seafood Initiative said on Monday. The instant access to accurate information and an informed choice has ”struck a chord with South Africa’s seafood lovers”, Timony Siebert said.
A former law student who murdered his ”friend” by bludgeoning him with a dumbbell and cutting off his genitals received an 18-year jail sentence on Friday. Pretoria High Court Judge Tholi Vilakazi sentenced Lebogang Frank Mahlakoana (24) for murdering 54-year-old William Henry Thomas.
The majority of unions have signed government’s multi-term salary agreement and this is binding on all parties who have not yet signed the agreement, Public Service and Administration Minister Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi said on Thursday. She said the possibility of charges being brought forward against workers who intimidated other workers still existed.
South Africa and other African nations will insist that Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe be allowed to attend a long-delayed summit between the European Union (EU) and Africa later this year. Mugabe and more than 100 other Zimbabwean officials are banned from travelling to EU nations under sanctions imposed in 2002.
Progress in getting the National Lottery restarted has passed a ”major milestone”, Trade and Industry Minister Mandisi Mpahlwa said on Wednesday. Only ”shoe-shine work” remained to be done, although there was no date yet for when the lottery would resume, he told reporters in Pretoria.
A man who allegedly held Pretoria News staff hostage earlier this year was denied bail in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday. Lionel George (32) was denied bail after the court heard that he had been acquitted on a murder charge, 702 reported.
The Pretoria Commercial Crimes Court on Monday dismissed an application by former National Intelligence Agency boss Billy Masetlha for a warrant of arrest for Intelligence Minister Ronnie Kasrils for failing to appear in court, the South African Broadcasting Corporation reported.
Education Minister Naledi Pandor and leaders of teachers’ unions will meet on Tuesday to discuss an education recovery plan designed to help pupils catch up on the 10 days of schooling missed during the recent public-sector strike. Also expected to be discussed is a review of the results of the interrupted June examinations.
A total of 46 327 people are awaiting trial in prisons across the country, the South African Prisoners’ Organisation for Human Rights (Sapohr) said on Friday. Golden Miles Bhudu of Sapohr said the organisation was creating awareness of people languishing in prisons without knowing when their cases would be heard.
With the small-business tax-amnesty deadline looming, the South African Revenue Service (Sars) will extend its office hours from Thursday, a Sars spokesperson said. From Thursday, Sars branch offices will extend their operational hours until 6pm, Adrian Lackay said. Sars offices will also be open on Saturday.
Most public-service unions on Thursday agreed to sign the government’s final wage offer, ending the longest public-service strike in South African history. Although teachers’ unions, whose members were at the forefront of the strike, did not accept the deal, majority approval means it will be implemented across the whole public service.
The government’s final wage offer was accepted by the majority of public-service unions on Thursday, bringing an end to the longest public-service strike in South African history. The unions caucused on Wednesday night at the Public Service Coordinating Bargaining Council in Centurion, south of Pretoria.