Five charges of tax fraud against retired mining mogul Roger Kebble were withdrawn in the Johannesburg Regional Court, the South African Broadcasting Corporation reported on Monday. Kebble was charged with tax evasion amounting to R7,2-million in March last year. The case was postponed at least eight times at the state’s request.
New land acquisitions have enlarged two of the Northern Cape’s national parks to more than 100Â 000ha. The parks’ bigger footprints will allow them to cope better with climate change, Environmental Affairs and Tourism Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk said on Monday.
![]()
The state conceded on Monday that a search-and-seizure warrant served on Julie Mahomed, a former attorney for Jacob Zuma, was invalid. It submitted in the Supreme Court of Appeal that even if ”an unlawful search and seizure” took place, other relevant aspects must be taken into account to preserve the seized material.
Table Mountain will be patrolled by police and guards from South African National Parks after a spate of muggings at the popular tourist spot, the Western Cape’s community safety department said on Monday. On Thursday a meeting will be held to discuss further security measures after at least 18 muggings were reported between January and August 2007.
Jobs are being lost in South Africa because of bad attitudes to customers, training company BizTech said on Monday. ”Whether it’s slow delivery of infrastructure to people in poor areas, overcharging tourists or rude call-centre agents, South Africa’s poor customer service is developing a reputation that is stymying business.”
South Africa’s rand firmed to a two-week high on Monday and bonds also strengthened as investors slowly returned to high-risk assets. At 06h45 GMT, the rand stood at 7,16 versus the dollar after firming to 7,1498 earlier — its strongest level since August 13, according to Reuters data.
Actor Erik Holm, best known for his role in the soapie 7de Laan, was still in the intensive-care unit at a Pretoria hospital days after he broke his neck when he dived into a man-made lake in Secunda, it was reported on Monday. Holm (25) dived into the murky water at Secunda’s waterfront last Friday to retrieve a ball that he and a group of small children were playing with.
Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang’s court record and hospital file relating to her years in exile in Botswana have disappeared — either lost or missing, the Star reported on Monday. However, the fact that Tshabalala-Msimang’s court file relating to her 1976 theft conviction cannot be found has caused a stir.
Grimm’s fairytales were more light-hearted — and probably more entertaining too — than the grim, goalless draw between Premier Soccer League champions Mamelodi Sundowns and Moroka Swallows at a wind-swept Germiston Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
An urgent meeting to discuss alleged irregularities around Parliament’s security will soon be convened by its speaker and the National Council of Provinces chairperson, South African Broadcasting Corporation radio news reported on Sunday. On Friday, media reports broke on an alleged corruption scandal involving Parliament’s multimillion-rand security system.
![]()
The legal battle between former deputy president Jacob Zuma and South Africa’s National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) will continue this week in the Bloemfontein Supreme Court of Appeal. Security will be tight at the court where the state will on consecutive days argue in three search-and-seizure appeal hearings related to investigations against Zuma.
The African National Congress government is ruthlessly extracting every cent it can from former deputy minister of health Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge while the health minister is spending exorbitant amounts of public money unnecessarily on helicopters to travel around the Eastern Cape, the Democratic Alliance said on Sunday.
In a dramatic finale at the Spar Women’s Hockey Interprovincial Tournament, Western Province (WP) retained their title when they defeated Southern Gauteng on sudden-death penalty strokes at the Hartleyvale Astro in Cape Town on Saturday. The finalists were locked at 2-2 in regulation time.
The simmering and sometimes acrimonious dispute between Premier Soccer League champions Mamelodi Sundowns and Jose Torrealba took a positive and dramatic turn on Saturday when Fifa declared the Venezuelan international striker a Sundowns player.
Defending as though their lives depended on it during the final 40 minutes, a 10-man Jomo Cosmos secured a valuable 1-1 Premier Soccer League draw against Kaizer Chiefs at King’s Park Rugby Stadium on Saturday through a combination of true grit and their opponents’ aimless attempts to use their numerical advantage.
Sameehg Doutie, the 18-year-old winger sensation, was the hero of Ajax Cape Town’s 1-0 victory over Black Leopards in the Castle Premiership game at Cape Town’s Athlone Stadium on Saturday evening. There was drama late in the second half when the referee red-carded an Ajax substitute striker and a Leopards defender.
A man believed to have been the last person to see a boy before he was badly mutilated two weeks ago was found dead in Phela village in North West province on Friday, police said. The man’s body was found about 500m from the cattle post where he worked and where he last saw the boy.
A man was rescued on Saturday after he fell down a gorge on Table Mountain, shortly after an American tourist was rescued in the same spot, ER24 said on Saturday. ”In an action replay of today’s ‘slip and fall’, a second person fell in almost exactly the same spot,” said ER24 spokesperson Mark Stokoe.
Griquas recovered from a lethargic first half where they were trailing 22-24 against the Griffons to win their compulsory Currie Cup friendly rugby match in Welkom on Saturday 64-34. Spearheaded by Tobie Botes who first shined at flyhalf and then at scrumhalf, the Kimberley side simply overran their opponents.
Four tries by wing Giscard Pieters helped the Free State Cheetahs to a 52-19 win over the hapless Pumas in a compulsory friendly rugby match played at Nelspruit on Saturday. After leading only 19-7 at half-time, the Cheetahs opened the flood gates in the second with Pieters the obvious hero of the day.
Free State Stars’ Dio Sibisi scored a brace to help his team beat Lamontville Golden Arrows 2-0 in front of a sizeable crowd in their first Premier Soccer League game played at home at the Gobel Park Stadium on Saturday afternoon. Stars led 1-0 at the break. Striker Sibisi received a back pass in the 35th minute and struck a lightning shot.
Orlando Pirates coach Bibey Mutombo was whisked away in a police vehicle when his team lost 1-0 to Bidvest Wits FC in a Castle Premiership game at the Bidvest Stadium on Saturday afternoon. Marawaan Bantam scored in the 61st minute to seal victory for Wits and condemn Pirates to their second loss of the season.
Gauteng police raided a counterfeit DVD syndicate and found approximately R10-million-worth of DVDs and equipment in a flat in Winchester Hills, south of Johannesburg, on Saturday. Three South African women and a man from Pakistan were arrested in the flat after an anonymous tip-off was sent to a media company’s crime line.
The only clue from South African Football Association communications director Morio Sanyane as to why coach Carlos Albert Parreira did not return to South Africa on Friday with the locally based Bafana Bafana players after the 1-0 defeat against Scotland was that he was ”remaining in England for a couple of days to keep tabs on some of the South African players”.
SuperSport United recorded a 1-0 victory against a hapless Benoni Premier United in a Castle Premier Soccer League clash at the Germiston Stadium on Friday night. Katlego Mphela netted from the penalty spot in the 65th minute after Fikru Tefera was brought down by Nkosinathi Ngema outside the 18-yard area, but the referee adjudged the foul to have taken place inside the box.
Mafika Sihlali, head of legal services for the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), was suspended on Friday, the national broadcaster said. Sihlali was suspended with full pay, pending a disciplinary inquiry after allegations of corruption and abuse of power were levelled against him.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, António Guterres, said Zimbabweans fleeing from the economic crisis into South Africa were not entitled to refugee status, and border camps should not be set up to accommodate them, the South African Broadcasting Corporation reported on Friday.
The Gauteng branch of the South African National Civic Organisation’s (Sanco) request for an investigation into the Sunday Times editor was ”legitimate”, the national leadership said on Friday. This conflicted with an earlier statement by a Sanco national executive committee member who rejected the provincial body’s call for a probe.
The Johannesburg High Court on Friday reserved judgement in the dispute between Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang and the Sunday Times over her confidential hospital records. Judge Mahomed Jajbhay said he would make his decision in seven days. ”I will reflect most of the weekend on the matter,” he told both parties.
Zimbabweans fleeing into South Africa are not entitled to refugee status and border camps should not be set up to accommodate them, a senior Department of Home Affairs official said on Friday. South Africa has received the largest number of people escaping food and fuel shortages in Zimbabwe.
The National Treasury has agreed to make a R1,5-billion loan guarantee and a cash injection of R700-million for the Land Bank to make the state agricultural financier more effective, an official said on Friday. The National Treasury has been working on the turnaround strategy of the Land Bank.
Gauteng education minister Angie Motshekga said on Friday she had no knowledge of any investigation of her by the Auditor General. She was reacting to reports that she was being investigated by the Auditor General for possible tender irregularities. ”I do not know of any investigation by the AG against me,” she said.