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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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”.
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.
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.
Toys R Us and Reggie’s have instructed all their stores to remove certain toys from their shelves following an urgent announcement by the agents of international toy manufacturer Mattel. Affected toys reportedly contain either lead paint or tiny magnets that young children might swallow.
The suspension of hospital superintendent Nokuzola Ntshona has created an atmosphere of fear and intimidation among conscientious public officials, the Public Service Accountability Monitor (PSAM) said on Wednesday. ”The PSAM is gravely concerned by the precedent set by the suspension,” it said.
An unemployment lobby group on Wednesday said it is not involved in blowing up automated teller machines, but only encourages those without jobs to do so. ”It is ordinary members of the unemployed who are encouraged by Icemusa to continue with the blastings,” said the leader of the group.
Police have admitted they have no evidence linking two suspects to a mob that assaulted a woman and set her house alight because she was wearing a pair of pants, a packed Umlazi Magistrate’s Court heard on Wednesday. The two men appeared in the court after a second woman, Nomzumo Ngcobo, filed charges of intimidation.
A new Bill proposing an integrated system of coastal management will not lead to expropriation of beachfront properties, MPs were assured on Wednesday. But officials who are sponsoring the Bill through Parliament say that it will make it easier for local authorities to remove holiday chalets illegally built on the beach.
A leading property group has been given the South African mandate to seek out super-rich individuals to buy residences on a yet-to-be-built luxury ocean liner. Prices for the Four Seasons Ocean Residences start at R28-million for 74 square metres. A top-of-the-range, 650-square-metre penthouse suite will set you back R282-million.
Jazz diva Thandi Klaasen has been forced to withdraw from her planned performance at the Joy of Jazz festival in Johannesburg later in August because of ill health, the events organiser said on Wednesday. The singer had a fall recently. She is still in severe pain and will not be able to manage rehearsals.
Psychology student Grant Harris, charged with shooting dead his parents in July, was on Wednesday referred to the Valkenberg Psychiatric Hospital near Cape Town. ”He needs an urgent psychiatric assessment and treatment immediately,” district surgeon Dr S Trope advised the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court.
A notice of motion indicating an urgent application for an interdict will be brought against the pending change of Pretoria’s name on road signs to Tshwane. The notice of motion was filed by the Freedom Front Plus and one of its councillors on the City of Tshwane municipality as well as Afriforum.
The Democratic Alliance has asked Eastern Cape Premier Nosimo Balindlela to place the health department under the administration of the provincial treasury. ”This will allow the province to take proper control of its finances and institute a complete review of all current appointments,” DA spokesperson Mike Waters said.
Production at coal mines countrywide will resume at midnight on Wednesday following a three-day strike by mine workers, trade union Solidarity said. ”We suspended the strike. Our workers are going back to work tonight [Wednesday] at 12am,” said spokesperson Reint Dykema.
Cape Town mayor Helen Zille will take disciplinary action against the city’s metro police who blocked the N2 in Cape Town on Wednesday, her office said. Zille spokesperson Robert Macdonald said the mayor had said ”urgent disciplinary measures” would be instituted and that criminal charges had also been laid with the South African Police Service.
A 26-year-old student police officer died after he was shot and set on fire in Buhle Park, near Germiston, police said on Wednesday. Inspector Juanita Kilian said Constable Kabelo Motsumi from the Katlehong police station was brutally murdered near his parents’ home on Tuesday night.
The 2010 Soccer World Cup will test South Africa’s ”fiscal muscle”, but the country will not run out of money, the chief executive of the local organising committee said on Wednesday. ”We will never run out of money … the project remains within budget,” Danny Jordaan told a 2010 National Communications Partnership Conference in Johannesburg.
The Cape Town Medi-Clinic has laid a charge of theft at the Cape Town police station in connection with missing medical records belonging to Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang. Western Cape police spokesperson Captain Randall Stoffels said on Wednesday the investigation was ongoing and police were busy compiling statements.
South Africa’s Solidarity trade union said on Wednesday its striking members in the coal sector had received a new wage offer from employers and it was canvassing workers to see if they would accept it. ”Yesterday evening [Tuesday] we received an offer from the chamber,” Solidarity spokesperson Reint Dykema said.