Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang will go to the Johannesburg High Court on Friday to protect her reputation, the Star reported. Court papers show the minister and Medi-Clinic are asking for the return and prohibition of the use of various medical records and documents relating to the minister’s stay in a Cape Town hospital in 2005.
Wouter Basson has been named as a co-conspirator in the indictment in the case against former law and order minister Adriaan Vlok, the South African Broadcasting Corporation reported on Thursday. Vlok is facing attempted murder charges for the poisoning of former South African Council of Churches general secretary Frank Chikane.
The Sunday Times had not filed anything by Thursday evening in reply to court papers seeking the return of Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang’s medical records. On Thursday afternoon, the health minister and the Medi-Clinic company filed a notice of motion for an urgent application in the Johannesburg High Court.
Civil society groups from opposite sides of the political fence are to highlight their views on the Vlok trial at the Pretoria High Court on Friday. The Khulumani Support Group will be outside the court as part of its proceedings to hand over a charter of redress.
As if it weren’t bad enough that fans of the South African version of Survivor already had to give up one evening a week for their reality fix, they now have even more to look forward to on the web. Exclusive ”webisodes” created for the internet are being produced for the second season of Survivor.
Safety and Security Minister Charles Nqakula has provided Parliament with inaccurate crime statistics when replying to questions, the Democratic Alliance (DA) said on Thursday. The DA’s Dianne Kohler-Barnard said Nqakula gave two contradicting answers to the same question.
Jacques Kallis suffered his second disappointment in less than a week on Thursday when he was left out of South Africa’s squad to tour Zimbabwe. All-rounder Kallis was on Saturday omitted from the squad for the Twenty20 World Championship, which will be staged in South Africa in September.
An Independent Democrats (ID) councillor in the City of Cape Town has sworn loyalty to the party after an anonymously sent fax suggested she was planning to defect in the coming floor-crossing window. ID caucus leader Simon Grindrod released copies of the fax at a media briefing on Thursday, saying he believed it was a tactic to influence other councillors.
Springbok centre Jean De Villiers will not be travelling with the team to Ireland and Scotland for pre-Rugby World Cup games due to an injury to his side. The injury sustained during the Namibia game in Cape Town means he will stay at home to recover under the supervision of the Springbok medical team.
A 15-year-old schoolboy and a security guard were crushed to death as hordes of shoppers tried to buy sugar in Zimbabwe’s second city of Bulawayo, reports said on Thursday. Several people were also injured on Wednesday at the Entumbane Shopping Complex, the Zimbabwe state-controlled Chronicle newspaper reported.
The injured Nasief Morris and Elrio van Heerden apart, Bafana Bafana coach Carlos Alberto Parreira included all his tried-and-tested players in a 22-man squad to play 22nd-ranked Scotland in a friendly international at the Pittodrie Stadium in Aberdeen on Wednesday night.
Vlakplaas, the notorious farm used covertly by the apartheid state for murder and torture, will be turned into a national centre for healing, the Science and Technology Department said on Thursday. ”What is happening is that Vlakplaas … will be turned into a national centre for healing,” department spokesperson Nelvis Qekema said.
The Public Protector will launch an investigation into service-delivery protests, he announced on Thursday. Advocate Lawrence Mushwana said the investigation will focus on specific municipalities and will try to establish if public-service protesters have legitimate complaints.
The National Assembly’s communications committee has shortlisted 37 candidates it plans to interview for a position on the 12-member South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) board. The interviews are expected to be held next week, following which a final shortlist will be compiled.
The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) opted on Thursday to increase its key repo rate by 50 basis points to 10%, its monetary policy committee said. The repo is the rate at which the SARB lends to commercial banks, whose prime lending rate will rise — also by 0,5 percentage points — to 13,5%.
Eskom, the government and the electricity regulator are identifying weaknesses in power-supply systems in the nine 2010 Soccer World Cup host cities. Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Joe Phaahla, director general of the 2010 unit, pointed out that the event would be held in winter when demand would be at its peak.
The Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) cannot replace its dismissed former president Motsoko Pheko until the outcome of the party’s internal appeal process, the Cape High Court ruled on Thursday. Delivering judgement, Judge Dennis Davis said there was no evidence that Pheko had waived his right to appeal.
The Airports Company South Africa (Acsa) posted an ”outstanding” set of results on Thursday, which were underpinned by strong economic growth. Passenger growth in 2007 at Acsa’s airports was 10,8% and was expected to average 8% in 2010, Transport Minister Jeff Radebe told the results presentation in Johannesburg.
A South African man shot three weeks ago was told to ”walk the pain off” and is still trying to persuade hospitals to remove the bullet lodged in his side, it was reported on Thursday. Three Johannesburg hospitals refused to remove the bullet for security guard Phillip Mashiane (38), who was shot during a burglary.
A total of 95 Cape Town metro police officers have been suspended in the wake of Wednesday’s protest, council spokesperson Pieter Cronje said on Thursday. The officers face disciplinary and criminal charges after they drove in a cavalcade to the civic centre, causing morning rush-hour traffic jams on the N2.
The City of Cape Town was on Wednesday evening ”in the process” of suspending 87 metro police officers who took part in a morning protest, spokesperson Pieter Cronje said. The officers blocked the N2 and delayed traffic as they ”drove very slowly” to the civic centre to hand over a petition, he said.
The Gauteng provincial government on Wednesday launched watchdog committees in a bid to ensure accountability from municipalities. The municipal public accounts committees, the equivalent of Parliament’s standing committee on public accounts, will examine the financial statements of municipalities and their entities.
Three men linked to the murder and rape of a four-year-old girl in Mhluzi near Middelburg appeared in the Middelburg Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday, Mpumalanga police said on Wednesday. The case of the three suspects aged 27, 20 and 17 was postponed to August 21 for a bail application.
Three men arrested for allegedly stoning an albino man to death will appear in the Mapulana Magistrate’s Court near Bushbuckridge on Friday, Mpumalanga police said. A police spokesperson said a group of about 50 people attacked the man at his home on Friday night.
Outspoken workers in the public health sector are being gagged by the government, the Freedom of Expression Institute (FXI) said on Wednesday. A spokesperson said suspensions within the sector and the dismissal of the deputy health minister suggest that free speech needs ”intensive care”.
Kaizer Chiefs shrugged off their pre-season form to beat Benoni United 2-0 convincingly in their first 2007/08 Premier Soccer League clash in Germiston on Wednesday. In other matches, champions Mamelodi Sundowns were beaten 2-1 by Amazulu, Black Leopards beat Supersport United and Santos drew with Free State Stars.
Springbok fullback Percy Montgomery claimed yet another points-scoring record as the Boks romped to a comprehensive 105-13 win over Namibia in a Rugby World Cup friendly at Newlands on Wednesday evening. Montgomery finished with a new individual haul of 35 points, slotting 12 conversions, two penalties and one try.
Wolfsburg of Germany. Hearts of Scotland. And now, on a frost-bitten Wednesday night at Ellis Park, Moroka Swallows added to their list of recently taken notable scalps by beating Orlando Pirates 1-0. A 72nd-minute goal by the enterprising Cecil Oerson made all the difference.
They brought the icy, tempestuous wind with them from Cape Town — but it only succeeded in blowing Ajax away as they tumbled to a 1-0 defeat against Bloemfontein Celtic at the Seisa Ramabodu Stadium when the new Premier Soccer League season got under way on Wednesday afternoon.
A renowned conservationist recounted on Wednesday how he and his friends narrowly escaped an attack by an enraged bull elephant. Lawrence Anthony and his two friends were on a night drive at Thula Thula Game Reserve near Empangeni in KwaZulu-Natal on Saturday night when the animal attacked them.
A gang of thieves held up an entire hotel in northern KwaZulu-Natal, robbing the hotel, staff and guests of cash, cellphones and cars, police said on Wednesday. Superintendent Jay Naicker said the gang of nine entered the Ghost Mountain Inn in the town of Mkuze shortly before midnight on Monday night.
It is up to the courts, not Arts and Culture Minister Pallo Jordan, to decide on the legitimacy of the Tshwane name change, the ministry said on Wednesday. ”The minister is not a dictator … a despot,” said Jordan’s spokesperson Sandile Memela. ”The people have to be consulted,” he added.