An investigation into the rape of a Wits medical student at the Chris Hani-Baragwanath Hospital in Johannesburg continued on Thursday, Gauteng police said. Superintendent Thembi Nkwashu said police were still waiting for the girl to make a statement.
Medical experts who declared child murderer Theunis Olivier fit to stand trial should reappear in court to answer allegations that they did not follow proper procedures, the Cape High Court ruled on Thursday. ”Serious allegations have been made against these professional people and they should be given an opportunity to answer,” the judge said.
The influx of Zimbabwean refugees into South Africa is a ”serious problem” and should be dealt with, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Aziz Pahad said on Thursday. ”Clearly we must do more to see what we can do to deal with this large influx of refugees,” he told reporters in Pretoria.
The latest HIV-infection figures of 29% among pregnant women suggest a first-time decline may be starting for the pandemic, Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang said on Thursday. ”The overall picture suggests that HIV-prevalence in South Africa may be at a point where we should begin to witness a downward trend,” Tshabalala-Msimang said.
More than 700 complaints about behaviour, competency and attitude were lodged against public servants via the National Anti-Corruption Hotline (NACH) in 2005/06. The Public Service Commission said on Thursday that 389 complaints were lodged against staff at national departments and 353 at provincial departments.
A 27-year-old man who admits he cannot control his sexual urges will spend 12 years behind bars for raping his 10-year-old cousin. The man from Orange Farm, south of Johannesburg, told the Vereeniging Circuit Court he committed the crime because of too much pornography.
The African National Congress’s (ANC) version of affirmative action was based on ”racial categorising”, the Democratic Alliance (DA) said in Parliament on Thursday. DA safety and security spokesperson Dianne Kohler-Barnard criticised the ruling party’s ”refusal to define how exactly it would determine someone’s race”.
New car sales rose to 32Â 199 units last month from 30Â 825 in June, the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa said on Thursday. It said in a statement this represented an improvement of 4,5%. Year-on-year sales were, however, down by 13,8%. In July last year, 37Â 366 new cars were sold.
It would be dangerous for the government to stay out of the South African economy, taking into account the country’s history, Trade and Industry Minister Mandisi Mpahlwa said on Thursday. Speaking at the launch of the National Industrial Policy Framework, Mpahlwa said the plan would help the government address some of the legacies in the economy.
BP said on Thursday petrol pumps had started running dry at some of its outlets on the fourth day of a multi-industry strike, as South Africa’s largest oil refinery faced a possible shutdown. BP spokesperson Zipporah Mothoa said delivery of stocks to petrol outlets had been ”gravely impacted” because workers in the distribution chain were on strike.
The trial of Andrew Jordaan, the man accused of murdering seven-year-old Sheldean Human, will commence in the Pretoria High Court in March next year. Jordaan appeared briefly in court on Thursday, but was not asked to plead to charges of murder, abduction, rape and the illegal possession of dagga.
A woman who was crying as a rapist removed her bikini pants was told by the man to ”shut up” or he would ”blow” her head off, the Scottburgh High Court heard on Thursday. The woman was the third of three rape victims to give testimony before the court in a trial in which three men are accused of rape.
Task teams have been established to investigate bomb attacks on ATMs in every province where they have taken place, police said on Thursday. National police spokesperson Superintendent Ronnie Naidoo said each province had its own task team to investigate the ATM bombings. The task teams were coordinated at national level, he said.
The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) on Wednesday denied assertions that it had blacklisted commentators on the Middle East. This was after the South African Jewish Board of Deputies met the broadcaster to discuss their concerns of a perceived anti-Semitic bias on the part of SABC.
South Africa’s rand steadied against the dollar on Thursday but traders said volatility is likely to persist due to uncertainties in global financial markets. At 6.30am GMT, the rand stood at 7,11 to the dollar at 6.30am GMT, not far off its New York close of 7,10 on Wednesday.
The Department of Minerals and Energy Affairs would not intervene in the strike by fuel production workers, but would monitor developments and supply levels, a spokesperson said on Wednesday. ”Although we have a concern, this is basically an employer issue and we do not really have a mandate [to intervene], said Sputnik Ratau.
No price was too high to allow Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe to step down, Mail & Guardian publisher Trevor Ncube said in Johannesburg on Wednesday. ”If that means giving Robert Mugabe immunity from prosecution, let that be done,” he told a public debate on leadership in Zimbabwe.
The Presidency has rejected the notion of a multiparty team to advise the government on post-Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) matters. Spokesperson Mukoni Ratshitanga said on Wednesday guidelines followed by the National Prosecuting Authority on the post-TRC legal process were approved by the Cabinet and adopted by the National Assembly.
A woman told the Scottburgh High Court on Wednesday she ”didn’t feel like” she was part of her own body as a man raped her on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast. The woman, who may not be identified, said: ”I didn’t feel like I was a part of my body. I wasn’t there. When something like that happens, you switch off.” The student was the second victim to testify at the trial.
Rural fires that blazed for weeks in South Africa killed at least 26 people, marking the worst loss of life from such infernos since the 1980s, a government spokesperson said on Wednesday. Ten deaths have been confirmed in Mpumalanga and 16 in KwaZulu-Natal, where veld and forest fires broke out on July 2.
Vigilante farmer patrols do not control the Zimbabwe-South African border, Limpopo police said on Wednesday. The statement came after a Sky News report into vigilantism against border-crossing aired earlier this week. The report apparently showed South African farmers capturing Zimbabweans trying to cross the border.
The United Nations food agency on Wednesday appealed for -million in expanded food aid for Zimbabwe and pledged to assist about 3,3-million starving citizens of that country. Zimbabwe is in the throes of a chronic economic crisis with the world’s highest rate of inflation and four in every five people jobless.
Four prison officials have been dismissed for serious misconduct and another resigned after they were seen taking bribes, prison authorities said on Wednesday. The Correctional Services Department said video footage gathered for the South African Broadcasting Corporation’s Special Assignment showed them accepting bribes.
South African companies are beginning to follow their international counterparts in blocking workers’ access to popular social-networking site Facebook. They cite concerns over productivity, but some experts defend the site, saying it holds huge potential as a business tool.
Reckoning with former leaders who were involved in apartheid crimes should be dealt with politically and not by the National Prosecuting Authority, former transport minister Mac Maharaj said on Wednesday. Speaking at a Cape Town Press Club luncheon, he said such matters could not be ”shunted off to a bureaucracy to handle”.
Two weeks ago, the Mail & Guardian newspaper was interdicted by the head of the South African Broadcasting Corporation’s (SABC) legal services, Mafika Sihlali, from publishing a story on an explosive draft internal SABC audit report. On Wednesday, the interdict order was dismissed, and we can finally publish the full original report.
Jacob Zuma is still musing over his response to a report accusing him of wanting to overthrow the South African government, his lawyer said on Wednesday. ”[Zuma’s legal team] was still giving the matter consideration and consultation because of the gravity of the report’s contents,” said Zuma’s lawyer, Michael Hulley.
Child murderer Theunis Olivier attempted suicide at the age of five following repeated sexual abuse suffered as a child growing up in Harare, Zimbabwe, the Cape High Court heard on Wednesday. Giving evidence in mitigation of his sentence, Olivier said he was sexually abused by his alcoholic father and others until he decided to commit suicide.
A South African strike over wages entered a third day on Wednesday after shutting down one petrol refinery, partially hobbling another and affecting pharmaceutical and packaging companies. State-owned PetroSA shut its 36 000-barrel-per-day Mossel Bay gas-to-liquid plant on Tuesday, saying it had stock to supply Mossel Bay for the next three weeks.
South Africa’s Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) rose for the first time in four months to 57,7 in July on a seasonally adjusted basis, pointing to buoyant business conditions. The index, which tracks trends in the manufacturing sector, rose from 56 in June as local and international demand lifted sales.
South African cyclist Ryan Cox (28) died in the Kempton Park Hospital at about 5am on Wednesday. Cox, who rides for Team Barloworld, although he was not part of the team for the Tour de France, underwent a vascular lesion operation in Europe three weeks ago. He returned to South Africa to recuperate, but his condition deteriorated on Monday.
Niggling injuries of the kind that needed time to heal kept six Springbok rugby players sidelined on Tuesday evening as the World Cup squad continued its strenuous build-up to the World Cup in France. Sitting it out while their teammates sweated were Bryan Habana, Wikus van Heerden, Ashwin Willemse, Francois Steyn, Danie Rossouw and the latest addition to the side, Bismarck du Plessis.