WATCH: Police minister urges cops to crush crooks' balls

Pretoria - Police Minister Fikile Mbalula on Friday charged the specialised Tactical Response Team (TRT) to "crush the criminals' balls" as he re-launched the elite militarised unit in Pretoria.

"TRT members who are going to be deployed in Gauteng, I don't want to see you only in taverns. I want to see you everywhere, where criminals think they are in charge. I want to see you in the highways, wherever criminals congest and come together, we must unsettle them. We must squeeze them," Mbalula said as he addressed police officers at the South African Police Service's training academy, west of Pretoria.

WATCH: Mbalula tells #SAPS TRT offivers to crush criminals' balls . @AfriNewsAgency pic.twitter.com/Ai74Vj2J2U

 — Jonisayi W. Maromo (@Jonisayi) September 29, 2017

"If they have balls, we must crush them. We must crush their balls. [For] the other opposite sex, I wouldn't say what we must do because women in our country are not criminals. They are honourable women, they are being aired to become criminals. Our women and girlfriends are not criminals. They are corrupted by us, men."

Mbalula was flanked by acting national police commissioner, Lieutenant-General Gary Kruser and head of the National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure (NatJOINTS) Lieutenant General Elias Mawela at the event.

South African Police Minister Fikile April Mbalula at the relaunch of the police's specialised Tactical Response Team in Pretoria. PHOTO: Jonisayi Maromo/ANA

The outspoken police minister was re-launching the recently bolstered TRT and police tracking teams. 

A statement issued by the SAPS said their Operational Response Services Division has ensured members of TRT and tracking teams undergo refresher courses and are certified competent to continue serving in demanding medium to high risk operations. The teams have been reinforced with the necessary skills and resources to provide a professional and effective service to create a safe and secure environment for all in South Africa. 

Life sentence for man who killed ex-girlfriend at work

Dressed in shorts, Dawie Connoway, the man who gunned down his ex-girlfriend at her work in Moreleta Park two years ago, bowed his head and showed little emotion as he was sentenced to life in jail on Thursday.

He cut a lone figure in the dock in the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, as he was faced with a framed picture of Nicolene Schreuder, who he was convicted of killing.

Dawie Connoway shot his ex-girldriend at her workplace. Picture: Zelda Venter

The picture was placed in the corner of the bench by her mother, Roselind Schreuder. Next to it were two pink roses.

As ANC Women’s League members hugged Schreuder after Connoway made his way to the holding cells to start serving his sentence, the mother cried bitterly.

Pointing to the picture, she said: "I did this for my daughter. I want him to remember her.”

Schreuder said she did not hate Connoway for killing her daughter, but actually felt a little sorry for him. “I am very happy that he will remain behind bars for at least the next 25 years. It will never bring my child back, but it is good for others in my position to see that we have a justice system that works and is there for us.”

Nicolele’s mother Rosalind Schreuder, with members of the ANC Women’s League after Connoway was sentenced. Picture: Zelda Venter

The motive for the brutal daytime killing remained unclear, as Connoway claimed they were happy.

The couple had ended their relationship by the time he had pulled the trigger on April 29, 2015, in the parking lot of the business called Manage All, where she worked as a personal assistant to the chief executive.

But Connoway, 41, said they were still friends and she had spent the previous weekend with him on his farm outside Pretoria. She had phoned him the morning of the shooting to visit her at work, he said.

The court found Connoway had gone to the office in Rubenstein Drive that day with the intention to shoot her. He fired several times at her in the parking lot, before speeding off on his motorbike.

Jannette Groenewald, a receptionist at Manage All, testified that Connoway arrived at the business and asked to see Nicolene. This was the first time she had met him. He often came to visit his girlfriend, but never entered the premises. They always met outside the gate.

Groenewald said that while waiting for Nicolene, they had a pleasant chat about his motorbike.

“They greeted by kissing, and Nicolene and Connoway then walked outside and I went on with my work. About five minutes later I heard shots and glass shatter. I heard someone shouting, open the f****** gate. I saw Dawie pointing a firearm at Peter (the security guard) and I saw Nicolene lying on the ground.”

Connoway’s mother, Elize Fourie, helped him to escape arrest by hiding him in a walk-in safe at her farmhouse. She was later arrested for defeating the ends of justice and later handed a suspended sentence.

Connoway and Nicolene lived together on the farm for about two years prior to the incident. They broke up a few days before the shooting, after which Nicolene moved in with her mother.

The picture of Nicolene Schreuder, placed in the court by her mother during the sentencing of her former boyfriend, Dawie Connoway, for her murder. Picture: Zelda Venter

Her mother said Nicolene phoned her on April 16 that year and told her she could no longer handle Connoway’s abuse. She claimed he had dragged her around by her hair in a fit of rage and smashed her television sets and laptop to the ground. Nicolene then moved in with her mother.

The mother said Connoway arrived at her home a few days later wanting to see her daughter, but she was not home. “He wanted to come in to talk. He was emotional and told me he was sorry about what had happened. He said he would never hurt her again.”

Connoway told the court he went to Nicolene’s work that day after she had phoned him. When she joined him in the parking lot, she grabbed his firearm, which he always carried with him, he said.

The shots went off as she struggled to get hold of the firearm, he said. He loved her very much and would never hurt her, he added.

Judge Vivian Tlhapi frowned upon the fact that Connoway sped off while leaving his dying former girlfriend bleeding in the parking lot. “If you love someone, you will not leave them in that state,” she said, adding that he had shown no remorse for his actions.

PICS:#HelicopterCrash - Witnesses describe 'gruesome' scene

Nosisa Majeke rushed to the scene of the helicopter crash in Lwandle, Strand, on Thursday to see if anyone survived, but all she could see were body parts scattered everywhere.

The pilot, the lone occupant of the helicopter, died in the crash at he Nomzamo High School grounds.

Majeke, 35, who lives near the school, said: “I was outside washing clothes and the helicopter had been circling for a while.

"All of a sudden it sounded close by. When I looked up I saw it rotating and coming down fast towards the school. The helicopter crashed into power cables, kept on rotating and crash-landed on an open field at the backyard of the school.”

According to ER24 spokesperson Russel Meiring, “paramedics assessed the lone occupant and found that one man had sustained numerous injuries and showed no signs of life. Unfortunately, nothing more could be done and the man was declared dead by metro services.”

A teacher at the high school said: “At about 12, we had a meeting discussing the matric ball, which we will have tonight (yesterday).

"As we were talking the electricity went off and (I) heard a big bang that sounded like a bus on full speed crashing into a wall. We were all frightened and ran outside. We saw smoke coming from the backyard of the school and on our arrival a small part of the school grass was on fire and we saw the gruesome accident. There was nothing we could do, as we saw there was no sign of life.

"There was really nothing left from the helicopter and it crashed 10m from the school buildings and luckily the pupils were all at home, they did not see this.”

The teachers said they were told the pilot had hired the helicopter.

Spokesperson for the SA Civil Aviation Authority Kabelo Ledwaba said they are investigating the possible cause or causes of the crash involving a Robinson R44 helicopter.

“It has been reported that this was a local flight and that the helicopter took off from Cape Town International Airport at around 7am and (was) heading for Gansbaai. 

"The completion of an investigation is marked by the release of a final accident report, which would also contain the possible cause or causes of the accident, as well as safety recommendations, if any, that are aimed at improving levels of safety and avoiding recurrence of the causal factor(s).” - Additional reporting by the Cape Times

Cop must keep his job, but I want his pay - shot boy

The 14-year-old Cape Town boy who was shot in the mouth by a police officer during a protest in Cape Town says he does not want the man to lose his job.

Ona Dubula wants the public order police officer to keep working so he can pay damages to the youngster.

"They must not arrest him. I must get his pay cheque...he will have to make a plan about his own family," Ona said on Thursday during a visit to doctors at Groote Schuur Hospital.

Video filmed during protest on September 12 in Hangberg, Hout Bay, showed Ona being shot at close range while trying to hide behind an overturned table, then staggering to the side of the road and pulling a rubber bullet from his bleeding mouth.

He underwent surgery on his damaged tongue at Groote Schuur and is expected to speak with a lisp for the rest of his life.

Sitting next to his mother Pinky, the shy but lively teenager said on the morning of the protest he saw smoke from his Imizamo Yethu home and went to investigate.

When police arrived and started dispersing the crowd with rubber bullets and stun grenades, he took cover with two women behind a table.

He saw a policeman approach, pointing his shotgun at him. "I really never thought he would shoot me while that close to me. he never spoke to me, he just pointed a gun at me and shot," said Ona.

Bystanders helped him and he was taken to hospital. He said he was grateful for people's prayers and all the donations his family had received.

The teenager failed to get a place in school this year after he and another boy were expelled for fighting over a plate of food. The two boys are now friends.

Ona hopes to return to school next year and study towards his dream career.

"I want to be a pilot.[because] they get paid well," he said.

The Independent Police Investigative Directorate is still probing Ona's shooting.

Man shot dead in the head-Crossfire

Sizwe Mbokazi (27) was caught in the crossfire during a gun battle between cops and robbers . . .

He was shot in the head outside his mother’s house!

One bullet missed its intended target and hit Sizwe, snuffing out his life as he lay in his mother’s arms.

Lindiwe (54) from Alexandra, east of Joburg, said she held her son in her arms as he lay bleeding excessively.

She told Daily Sun she was sitting inside her house in Alex when she suddenly heard police sirens wailing outside.

“In the midst of it I heard a gunshot, followed by people screaming and crying, mentioning Sizwe’s name.”

She found her son outside, bleeding.

“While I was holding my son and crying, police came and threatened to shoot me too, ordering me to leave him. Soon my son died,” she said, sobbing.

“I asked to see the man who shot him and one of the officers was pointed out to me.”

Captain Kay Makhubele said an inquest docket was opened and cases of hijacking and possession of an unlicensed firearm were 
being investigated.

He said police would investigate the circumstances that led to the shooting of the 
deceased. One suspect was arrested and would appear in court soon.

D-day for embattled PIC boss

Johannesburg - Embattled Public Investment Corporation (PIC) boss Dan Matjila will have to put on a rearguard fight today as the board of the state pensions company meets in a crucial special meeting.

The Star understands that Matjila will have to fight off allegations of corruption in what is believed to be a smash-and-grab operation to make way for a Gupta acolyte to take over the organisation.

The PIC is understood to be the last state-owned entity (SOE) in the sights of the family, with the entity’s roughly R1.9trillion in investments - on behalf of the Government Employees’ Pension Fund - an alleged target of the Guptas.

According to internal PIC documents, seen by The Star, the allegations Matjila is expected answer to relate to a supposed flouting of policy and procedures in funding a project, linked to an alleged lover of his, worth R21million.

In an interview with The Star, the woman in question denied ever being romantically involved with Matjila or receiving money from the PIC.

Speaking to The Star on Thursday, PIC chairperson and Finance Deputy Minister Sfiso Buthelezi reiterated the stance taken by the National Treasury team - led by Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba in the presence of Matjila - that the pensions fund was not about to be looted for nefarious purposes.

On the process followed in compiling the internal audit into Matjila, Buthelezi was emphatic: “The process followed (during the audit) is a process defined by the board. I am part of that collective and, as a result, I stand by that process.”

The Star also understands that there is a strong push to dismiss Matjila through this audit, where sources have revealed that it was commissioned despite the majority of the 14 board members accepting submissions made by the chief executive at a meeting earlier this month.

Buthelezi is said to have insisted on the audit, together with deputy chairperson Xolani Mkhwanazi.

But the deputy minister repudiated these contentions, saying he had no separate interests to that of the board.

“I reiterate, Sfiso Buthelezi will always be guided by the majority of that very professional board. My relationship with the chief executive, as far as I know, is a good one,” Buthelezi said.

The PIC’s “Gupta capture” was also rubbished by the family’s lawyer, Gert van der Merwe, who called these allegations “nonsense”.

“But, of course, gossip makes everything possible for people who want to believe it,” said Van der Merwe.

His comments came as efforts increased to curtail the Guptas’ operations, with a nationwide march on Wednesday by members of Cosatu to defend the PIC, among others.

On Thursday, Bianca Goodson, the former chief executive of the Gupta-linked consulting firm Trillian, released a trove of documents, which alleged corruption involving the Guptas.

These documents included her resignation letter, dated March 2016, where she wrote of the “exceptionally high risk” attendant with being associated with the Guptas and their associates as the reasons for leaving Trillian.

On Wednesday, Cosatu president S’dumo Dlamini said they had written to Gigaba asking for a meeting to clarify the allegations that workers’ pension funds, particularly the Government Pension Investment Fund, would be used to bail out ailing state-owned enterprises.

Gigaba’s spokesperson, Mayihlome Tshwete, yesterday said the Treasury had made it clear that the PIC would not be funding state-owned companies.

“I don’t know if they will meet, but we are saying the story has been clarified that there is no need for such a meeting,” said Tshwete.

He said he felt it would be pointless for the two parties to meet about something that did not exist.

“Why have a meeting about the PIC investing in state-owned companies when no such investment plan exists? I’m not saying they won't meet, but this is a non-issue,” said Tshwete. “You will have to ask them (Cosatu) to clarify why they want to meet (the minister).”

Dlamini said yesterday that the labour federation had established a relationship with the finance minister and that Gigaba had addressed Cosatu’s central executive committee, where they had agreed that there would be “constant engagement on key issues”.

He said Gigaba had shown a “positive acceptance of the federation” since he had addressed Cosatu’s central executive committee, and the trade union wanted to strengthen the relationship.

Dlamini said they would take Gigaba’s word that the PIC was not going to be used to bail out underperforming state-owned enterprises, but they still wanted to have a discussion with him.

The PIC board meeting today and the march against state capture came as the Gupta empire continued to crumble.

Yesterday, Business Leadership South Africa (BLSA) announced it had dumped Eskom and Transnet, two of several SOEs allegedly captured by the Guptas.

BLSA chief executive Bonang Mohale announced yesterday that Eskom and Transnet had been suspended over allegations of state capture.

Mohale was briefing business in Cape Town on a plan to grow the economy and create jobs when he said the two companies would be suspended.

The suspension of Eskom and Transnet comes after the BLSA suspended the membership of KPMG last week over its role in converting R30million in wedding expenses for the Guptas into business expenses.

KPMG also withdrew the report it wrote on the SA Revenue Service's rogue report, which led to former finance minister Pravin Gordhan being pursued by the Hawks.

Addressing business in Cape Town, Mohale said they needed to fight state capture. He said they wanted to clean their house first and that was why they were suspending Eskom and Transnet.

In a statement later, Mohale said the two state-owned entities had been facing allegations of state capture.

He said both companies had failed to get their houses in order, and this led BLSA to suspend them.

But Transnet denied the suspension, saying it did not renew its membership.

Transnet spokesperson Molatwana Likhete said the statement by Mohale was misleading.

Eskom spokesperson Khulu Phasiwe said they would continue to follow through on the investigations being carried out against them and then engage BLSA after the investigations had been completed.

Uproar over UCT concession to miss test for Rocking the Daisies

A UCT lecturer has come under fire for saying students could miss a class test scheduled for the same time as Rocking the Daisies music festival in Darling, if they could supply evidence of having booked for the festival well in advance.

A screenshot of a notification sent out by Dr Tom Angier of the philosophy department reads: “Owing to the unusual term structure this year, there is a clash between the second test on October 6 and Rocking the Daisies.

“If you can supply evidence of having booked the festival well in advance, you will be excused attendance at the test, and your other course work will count more towards your final result.

“You must bring such evidence to Philosophy reception and fill out the usual forms.”

Wendy Burgers, a UCT health sciences associate professor and member of the Staff for Social Justice in Education, said: “This seems like a highly questionable action. 

"Changing the duly performed requirements for some students in a course because it clashes with a rock festival they are attending?

“I would question whether the lecturer is consistent in his actions when other cultural events that cater to a different demographic of students clash with class tests.”

Student activist Simon Rakei said he was deeply saddened when he first saw the screenshot.

“The first thing I thought of were the many stories of black students who were refused exemptions from tests or assignments happening after they’d experienced a dire tragedy or been through a traumatic event.

“The cultural norms and traditions of the university are very much geared towards white sensibilities - in the sense that Rocking the Daisies, which is a historically exclusionary and white festival, is something that the university can make room in accommodating for,” Rakei said.

He said the institution would always privilege white sensitivities and feelings over the daily lived violence experienced by black people.

UCT spokesperson Elijah Moholola said all departments in the Faculty of Humanities granted extensions or concessions, for example, for not being able to attend classes, to students who supplied documentary evidence to the course convener.

“If students believe that this is not being applied equitably within a course, they may escalate this to the head of department and the faculty for review,” Moholola said.

The institution has also been slammed after a student took to social media saying that Muslim students at UCT struggled because exams were scheduled on Eid across faculties and the university often said that “we are a secular institution and do not structure exams around religious holidays”.

“Over and above this, students have other genuine problems which result in them having to miss exams for various reasons. 

"The university always makes this process extremely difficult. But many faculties have cancelled assignments, tutorials and assessments to accommodate Rocking the Daisies. 

"Thank you UCT, you continue to favour what white society and the upper class in your university regard as important,” read the post.

Approached for comment, Moholola said: “If the students needed concessions and had documentary evidence submitted to the course convener, this would have been considered and either accepted or not accepted. 

"If they feel their matter was not handled equitably, they can escalate it to the faculty for a review.”

Hunt on for father of boy, aged 7 who took gun to school

 Police are looking for the father of a Brakpan Grade 2 child who shocked teachers and pupils by bringing a loaded gun to school to shoot a “bully” he claimed to have been tormenting him.

Brakpan police spokesperson Captain Pearl van Staad said the seven-year-old boy had taken his father’s loaded gun to school and showed it to the teacher.

“He told the teacher that he was going to shoot a schoolmate who bullies him,” she said.

When the police arrived at the boy’s home after confiscating the gun, the father - the owner of the weapon - had fled, said Van Staad.

“We now have a search warrant and need to find the father,” she said.

Van Staad said he had not placed his gun in a safe bolted to the wall, as per safety regulations.

“His safe was not bolted to the wall and it was open,” she said.

Van Staad said if a gun owner was found to have contravened the Firearms Control Act, they could be charged with failure to lock their safe, failure to have the keys to the safe and failure to have their firearm in their possession when not in a locked safe.

The Gauteng Education Department confirmed the incident.

Spokesperson Steve Mabona said that when the pupil was taken to the police station, he had been released after counselling.

“The school governing body has already met with the parents to reinforce their understanding of the school’s code of conduct and the seriousness of their child’s conduct.

“The meeting resolved that the pupil be taken for further psychological intervention,” said Mabona.

This meeting took place before the police were called in to investigate the incident.

Mabona urged parents to encourage their children to follow school rules.

DA Gauteng community safety spokesperson Michele Clark said schools had been turned into “crime scenes” and accused Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi and his Community Safety counterpart, Sizakele Nkosi-Malobane, of not doing enough to secure them.

Earlier this week, a deputy principal in Duduza was shot and killed in his office when three men walked in claiming they were there to fix an electrical fault.

In 2012, Grade 11 pupil Tsundzukani Mthombeni from Phineas Xulu Secondary School in Vosloorus, on the East Rand, took his police officer mother’s gun to school and shot and killed a bully in class.

He had been bullied by Grade 10 pupil Nkululeko Ndlovu and two other boys.

Mthombeni was sentenced to seven years in prison, suspended for five years, on a count of culpable homicide. On the firearm charge, he was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment, also suspended for five years.

Clark said: “The Department of Community Safety’s patrollers placed at various schools are not trained to deal with the severity of bullying, fighting, drugs and various other crimes that take place daily on the school grounds.”

She said school infrastructure was poor and there was no proper fencing, making it easy for criminals to gain access to the schools.

“Some schools don’t have panic buttons, alarms and electric fences.

“Many schools in the province do not have security guards due to a lack of financial resources,” said Clarke.

'Passport girls' neglect their studies for paid sex

Third-year University of Venda psychology student Maria didn't want a part-time job, so she became a "passport girl".

But now she is paying the price for being arm candy for affluent men to flaunt at social events as her academic performance drops dangerously near failing.

"Passport girl" is a reference to young women who act as glamorous plus-ones at social events or on holidays. They earn money for rent, groceries and even high-end weaves as they take the blesser and blessee relationship into the public space.

But the role means that the students are expected to ditch classes, neglect study time and miss tests so that they can attend social events and parties as escorts for the men who pay for their company.

Payment for these services is no longer confined to what happens in the bedroom, a study conducted at the University of Venda in Limpopo revealed.

The study, presented at the Pan-African Psychology Congress in Durban this week, analysed the reasons why many women entered into financial relationships with wealthy men in exchange for sex.

Valeria Baloyi became interested in this field of study after researching blessers and blessees on social media.

MEET BASIC NEEDS

"Young females flooded social media with pictures of overseas trips, shopping and flashy cars," she said.

"'A girl has to do what a girl has to do.' This is the motivation that these women use to justify transactional sex, and most of these girls engage in these sexual transactions to meet their basic economic needs," Baloyi said.

"It is inherently exploitative. These men with means see the needs of these women and then use that to take advantage of them," said Baloyi.

"You even find people of all races parked outside the residence looking for young girls, asking them if they want to go to restaurants.The notion of "passport girls" emerged during her research.

"An issue is the decline of the academic performance of these women. Say the blesser has an event somewhere and as a blessee they need to appear with them. They miss classes and they miss tests because of these appearances," Baloyi said.

Kuhlekonke Watu Ntuli, president of the student representative council at the University of KwaZulu-Natal Howard College, said hunger and financial constraints were driving students to cash-flush men.

"Most students from UKZN find themselves in blesser circles largely because of the lack of financial assistance. They are away from home, away from emotional and financial support and social security in general.

"There are young ladies recruiting friends to join this lifestyle. I heard from a lady [that] she gets R2,000 for bringing a friend.

"Beautiful and vulnerable girls become the ultimate blessee, who gets as much as R20,000. This is a big industry. The more the supply the greater the demand. The only solution is introducing a meal station. Lots of girls become victims because of hunger," she said.

She said men were often seen hanging around the campus in flashy cars.

"Sex happens, but at a later stage. If you are on the R2,000 scale the sex comes very quickly, but those on the R20,000 the guy must first buy you clothes and everything and then you have sex. It's a business," she said.

Mantashe lambasted over tweets backing Ramaphosa

Durban - The ANC’s KwaZulu-Natal provincial chairperson, Sihle Zikalala, has slammed the party’s secretary-general Gwede Mantashe for saying it was in the best interests of the party for President Jacob Zuma to hand over the reins to his deputy, Cyril Ramaphosa.

Mantashe revealed his views on the succession debate in the ANC in a series of tweets on Sunday.

Zikalala told hundreds of party supporters from the Musa Dladla region at a cadres forum in Empangeni on Monday that the position Mantashe held required a leader who did not hold a one-sided view.

“The SG says if the ANC does not elect the deputy president there will be a crisis. We cannot have an SG of this mass democratic movement with a one-sided view. The leadership must be open to listen to all members, even to those with different views,” Zikalala said.

Responding to the attack, Mantashe said Zikalala was ­accusing him wrongfuly.

“At a government function in Kimberley, the president expressed his views on who should succeed him. I am also expressing my view on an ­ongoing debate, I have every right to do so,” he said.

Mantashe maintained that if a sitting deputy was overlooked, there should be an ­explanation.

Reiterating his support for ANC national executive committee member and presidential hopeful, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, Zikalala said the incoming president of the ANC should be someone who has been through the “eye of the needle”.

“You can’t just throw in a name. You have to look at the challenges the country and the party are facing. You elect someone who is up to this task. We must elect leaders who will fight factionalism, corruption and nepotism."

“Our fight after the advent of democracy has changed, we should now elect leaders who can improve the social conditions of our people, which ­include poverty and unemployment,” said Zikalala.

He said Dlamini-Zuma was the type of leader who would bring unity to the party and implement radical economic transformation.

Zikalala took a veiled swipe at Ramaphosa, saying the ANC needed to elect a leader who would stand for the unity of the party.

“That is someone who will not leave when they don’t like something and come back when they want to. People who saw themselves as deputies back in 1994 and lost and then left the ANC are not people who can stand for unity,” he added.

He said the ANC needed a leader who would “not be afraid of the mines” because they had an interest in the mining industry.

Dlamini-Zuma was also critical of Mantashe, saying there was no clause in the ANC constitution that said when electing a president, the decision must be explained.

She warned that divisions emerged when “we invent things that do not exist and are guided by people and not the (ANC) constitution, as that leads to factionalism”.

“The constitution says all leadership positions are open. That is why after the end of the five-year term, the existing leadership can be contested,” she added.

Sisulu wants action against Gupta-linked ANC members

Johannesburg - Pressure is mounting on the ANC to act against its government ministers and members who have allegedly damaged the reputation of the party through their links to the Guptas.

On Sunday, ANC presidential hopeful and Minister of Human Settlements, Lindiwe Sisulu, wrote a letter to fellow ANC member Derek Hanekom and to the acting ANC disciplinary committee chairman asking them to consider disciplinary charges against ministers who were exposed in the leaked Gupta e-mails.

Sisulu did not divulge to Independent Media the contents of her letters but she confirmed writing them: “I have written letters to Derek Hanekom and the acting chair of the disciplinary committee.”

She made her intentions known when she addressed a banquet in memory of ANC struggle stalwart Ahmed Kathrada, hosted in Joburg on Sunday by the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation. Hanekom is the chairperson of the foundation.

In her address, Sisulu accused ANC members with Gupta links of being responsible for the low turnout of voters to the polls in the August 3 national municipal elections last year, leading to the ANC’s loss of three metropolitan municipalities of Joburg, Tshwane and Nelson Mandela Bay Metro.

This comes after political parties and civil society organisations had laid criminal charges against those allegedly implicated in state capture. So far, police have yet to act against those implicated. Sisulu’s calls also come as the country awaits the outcome of a full bench of the High Court in Pretoria on an application to force Zuma to appoint a judicial commission of inquiry into state capture.

On July 4, the DA’s David Maynier laid criminal charges against Mineral Resources Minister Mosebenzi Zwane, Atul Gupta, Ajay Gupta, Rajesh Gupta, Ronica Raghavan and Kamal Vasram at a Cape Town police station.

The charges included racketeering, money laundering, assisting another to benefit from the proceeds of unlawful activities, and acquiring, possessing or using the proceeds of unlawful activities in terms of the Prevention of Organised Crime Act; and submitting false or untrue tax returns.

The charges follow reports that public funds were allegedly laundered through a complex web of front companies, and used to pay for Vega Gupta and Aakash Jahajgarhia’s wedding at Sun City in 2013. Public funds were reportedly laundered from a Free State dairy farm project via Dubai to pay for the extravagant wedding while Zwane was Free State MEC for agriculture.

At the time, Maynier said the fact that public funds, meant to assist the poor, were allegedly used for the Guptas' wedding was "grotesque".

4 dead, 15 injured in Mpumalanga taxi crash

Johannesburg - Four people died and 15 others were injured in a horror collision between a car and a minibus taxi along the R544 about five km before Verena in Mpumalanga.

ER24 Spokesperson Werner Vermaak said paramedics and local emergency services arrived on the crash scene shortly after 3 pm on Monday. 

"Two people were found dead inside the light motor vehicle. Another two people were found dead inside the taxi. Fifteen occupants in the taxi sustained moderate injuries," Vermaak said in a terse communique on Tuesday. He said most of the taxi passengers were trapped inside the wreck and had to be freed by local rescue services.

Picture supplied by ER24

"Once freed, paramedics were able to assess and treat the injured. They were later transported to nearby hospitals in the area for further treatment." 

Local authorities attended the scene and are investigating the cause of the fatal crash.

PICS:How did searchers miss 7-year-old Bohale's body?

Pretoria - Many questions surround the tragic drowning of a 7-year-old boy at a city resort and the finding of his body only the following day.

Several factors are thought to have influenced the initial unsuccessful search of Bohlale Mokoena, 7. He went missing at Zambibush Resort in the city on Saturday afternoon.

His body was found floating in one of the swimming pools only the following morning.

Management said in a statement on Facebook the factors included water temperature and conditions, the limited number of divers and bad visibility.

Zambibush is situated north of the CBD and is a popular resort for family outings, with swimming pools, water slides, playgrounds, a petting zoo and plenty of other attractions.

The late Bohlale Mokoena. Picture: Facebook

Members of management were unavailable to talk to the Pretoria News about the matter on Monday. But on Sunday, they took to Facebook and wrote: “Our condolences go out to the family of Bohlale Mokoena."

“Yesterday (Saturday) at 4pm he went missing at our premises, and according to his mother, she realised this within minutes. Zambibush management members were alerted about the missing child.”

Staff members started looking for him everywhere possible, combing the whole resort and every possible area, the statement read.

“Divers searched in all the pools and fish ponds with no luck."

“This morning (Sunday) at 7am, management found Bohlale’s body in one of the clear pools. The SAPS are investigating the case, with Zambibush’s full co-operation.”

SAPS spokesperson Captain Mavela Masondo told the Pretoria News: “It is alleged that a boy named Bohlale Mokoena went missing at 4pm on Saturday at Zambibush Resort in Sinoville and his body was found in one of the pools the following day.”

He said police had opened an inquest docket for investigation.

The resort, which is normally closed on Mondays, was open for families and friends to enjoy the pools and slides on Monday.

As the city’s hot weather conditions persisted into the long weekend, holidaymakers flocked to Zambibush, including the Mokoena family from Tembisa.

More than 20 staff members were involved in the frantic search for the boy once he had been found to be missing.

“We even looked in all the fields and streets up until darkness set in. The local community policing forum (CPF) members arrived around 7pm and took over the search. An ambulance service and Tshwane Emergency Services officers also arrived to help with the search,” management said.

The family went to report the mysterious disappearance of the boy to the Sinoville police station, which drew the attention of the CPF.

Sinoville CPF chairperson Vernon Smith said after he heard of the missing child, he called their members and chairpersons from other areas to mobilise people to help in the search. “We only learnt about it when the mother was at the police station; she was in a traumatic space,” he said.

“When we started the search it was already dark. The water was muddy and not clear because people had been swimming all day long, so members could not see clearly. And because it was not clear, they used poles to search inside the water, but could not feel anything; they probably missed the body.”

He said the search was called off sometime between 10pm and 11pm. They were told by the resort personnel that they could resume the search at 7:30am on Sunday.

When they arrived in the morning, they were told the little boy’s body had been found in one of the pools.

The particular pool had been searched the previous night.

“Our hearts go out to the family and as a community we would work hard to ensure that such incidents do not happen again,” he said.

Grim weekend death toll on KZN roads

Durban - More than 20 people, including a 10-month-old baby, were killed in 14 road crashes since the start of the long weekend. 

According to KZN EMS spokesperson Robert McKenzie, the baby, a 3-year-old and five members of the same family died when their Toyota Venture plunged into the waters of Imvutshane Dam in Maphumulo between KwaDukuza and Greytown. 

IPSS Medical Rescue, police search-and-rescue and the K9 Unit arrived on the scene to find six of the occupants dead in the vehicle, which was submerged about 5m underwater. 

The seventh person had been flung out of the vehicle when it hit the dam wall before rolling into the water. 

The Department of Transport said the preliminary police report indicated that the driver had lost control of the vehicle as a result of brake failure. 

A family member said the family was in the dark about the cause of the accident. He added that they were was “worried” about the condition of the bridge that was constructed in 2014.

“The road that leads to the bridge is dangerous and the bridge does not have the railings or high walls that would have prevented the car from plunging into the dam,” he said. 

On Sunday the funeral was held for Phoenix brothers Threshen, 23, and Nikiel Karamchand, 17, who died in a car crash on the Phoenix Highway on Saturday night. 

It is believed the driver of the Toyota Corolla lost control, crashing into the concrete barrier in the centre of the road just before 9pm.

According to KZN VIP paramedics, the boys were declared dead on the scene.
 
Less than an hour earlier, Rescue Care attended to the scene of a pile-up involving a truck, an SUV and a car in which two people were killed and three injured. 

Rescue Care spokesperson Garrith Jamieson said the crash happened on the N3 Durban-bound near Richmond Road off-ramp in Pinetown. 

Other fatal crashes were reported on the N2 between Zinkwazi and Mandeni, on Blair Atholl Road in Westville, in Gingindlovu, Groutville and Estcourt.