Pretoria

National Intelligence Agency director general Billy Masetlha is to pursue legal action in a bid to have his suspension overturned, his lawyer Imraan Haffegee said on Thursday. He would not divulge the exact nature of the intended action. ”I have sent a letter to my opponents [attorneys for Intelligence Minister Ronnie Kasrils and President Thabo Mbeki] proposing a way forward,” Haffegee said.

The South African government stood ready to assist Namibia, if asked, in probing the recent discovery of mass graves in that country. ”The government has noted with concern reports about mass graves in Namibia, allegedly perpetrated by the apartheid forces,” Foreign Affairs spokesperson Ronnie Mamoepa said on Thursday.

William Nkuna received a life sentence at the Mmabatho Circuit Court in Ga-Rankuwa on Thursday for the murder of missing police Constable Francis Rasuge. ”I have come to the conclusion that the only fit and proper sentence to be imposed is that of life imprisonment,” Judge Ronald Hendricks said.

The municipal government elections are to be held on March 1 next year, Minister of Provincial and Local Government Sydney Mufamadi announced in Pretoria on Thursday. The day falls on a Wednesday, but it will be up to Cabinet to decide whether to declare it a public holiday, he said. The voter-registration process is almost complete.

Murder convict William Nkuna is to be sentenced on Thursday for the murder of missing police constable Frances Rasuge. Nkuna was found guilty by Judge Ronald Hendricks in the Mmabatho Circuit Court in Ga-Rankuwa last month, more than a year after the constable went missing and investigations began.

The campuses of the University of South Africa (Unisa) will undergo a R600-million revamp in the next five years, principal Barney Pityana announced on Wednesday. ”The student profile of Unisa is changing and we have seen an increase in the number of younger people choosing to study full-time by long distance,” he said.

The Tshwane metro council met Olievenhoutbosch residents on Wednesday morning following the torching overnight of a councillor’s house and car by locals frustrated with government housing provision. About 500 residents of the informal settlement, outside Centurion, marched on Morudi’s house on Tuesday night.

National Intelligence Agency director general Billy Masetlha was considering his options on Wednesday after receiving confirmation of his suspension from President Thabo Mbeki. In a minute signed by Mbeki on Tuesday, he confirmed that Masetlha’s suspension on October 20 by Intelligence Minister Ronnie Kasrils had been at his instruction.

Suspended National Intelligence Agency director general Billy Masetlha intends asking the Pretoria High Court next week for an order to reinstate him. Masetlha would bring an urgent application seeking the setting aside of what he considers an unlawful suspension, his attorney Imraan Haffegee said on Tuesday.

The African National Congress noted ”with pain” the Pretoria High Court’s dismissal on Friday of an appeal by politician Tony Yengeni against a fraud conviction and four-year sentence. The party will continue giving Yengeni moral and political support, it added. The African Christian Democratic Party said Yengeni should be thankful his sentence was not increased.

A four-year jail term imposed on fraudster politician Tony Yengeni ”errs significantly on the side of leniency”, the Pretoria High Court found on Friday in dismissing his appeal against conviction and sentence. An effective five-year sentence would have been more appropriate, judges Eberhard Bertelsmann and Ferdi Preller said.

Investigations into the discovery of a mass grave 400m from a former South African military base in Namibia would be a government to government issue, the SA National Defence Force said on Friday. Construction workers earlier this week discovered a mass grave containing human bones and ammunition.

Judgement in Tony Yengeni’s appeal against his fraud conviction and four-year sentence will be handed down in the Pretoria High Court on Friday. Hearing the appeal last month, two judges grilled the state for supporting the former African National Congress chief whip in his bid for a more lenient penalty.

Tshwane municipality and the Department of Public Works signed a memorandum of understanding on Thursday on a joint initiative to redevelop the city centre. The Re Kgabisa Tshwane project will cost the municipality R2-billion, while the national government will contribute R9-billion over 25 years.

The government’s proposed Sport Transformation Act was a political move that would do little for developing sport, the opposition Democratic Alliance said on Tuesday. ”This proposed Act is purely a political move and will not help people on the ground. Government needs to take sport to the people instead of worrying about who plays for the Springboks,” said DA spokesperson Donald Lee.

A prison official is in a critical condition after being shot in a failed escape bid from Zonderwater prison on Sunday. Five prisoners took five officials hostage at the prison’s hospital wing on Sunday. The men were serving a variety of lengthy sentences for murder, armed robbery and possession of arms and ammunition.

The management of the University of Pretoria has ordered the reconstitution of the recently elected student representative council (SRC) for not having enough black members. ”The representation does not comply with the requirements of the SRC constitution,” the university said on Monday.

Four people were killed and 11 injured in Pretoria early on Saturday when an oncoming train hit them in the chaos of a chase to apprehend suspects, police said on Saturday. ”The incident happened before six this morning,” Inspector Anton Breedt said at 10am from the scene at Wonderboom station north of the Pretoria CBD.

Nothing will stop Jacob Zuma becoming the next president of the ruling African National Congress, and possibly the country, if he is acquitted of corruption, political analysts said on Thursday. Independent analyst Aubrey Matshiqi said: ”If Zuma is acquitted, not even a bullet will stop him.”

The ministry of justice is studying the United Nations report on the corruption-riddled Iraqi oil-for-food programme and will advise the government on the best course of action, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs — but the Democratic Alliance says the government has adopted a ”head-in-the-sand approach” to the report.

The Tshwane metro council has abandoned plans to make the race of a tenderer count for half the points awarded in considering tenders for the sale of municipal properties, the Freedom Front Plus said on Monday. A policy document approved in June had recommended the adjustment of the system by which points are awarded.