#Durban Robber tries to burn house in revenge attack

A robber who had gained entry into a house in Redcliffe, north of Durban, allegedly threatened a woman and also tried to burn down the house on Thursday morning, private security company, Reaction Unit South Africa (Rusa) said.

Prem Balram, Rusa spokesperson, said it is alleged that when the robber gained entrance onto the premises, the 22-year-old woman ran into the bedroom to call for assistance but the robber broke the door and forced his way into the room. The woman told officers that she did not know how the robber gained entrance into the home but he produced a 9mm pistol and assaulted her with it before threatening to kill her.

“The suspect then attempted to set the bed alight and informed the female that he intends burning down the house in a revenge attack. He further informed the victim that his reason behind his actions was that her father was a complainant in a housebreaking case on May 22, 2017 and his brother was arrested and in jail for the crime,” Balram said.

“He then stole several electronic items from the home and placed it in a bag. The suspect fled when he noticed a neighbor approaching the home. He dropped the bag which was later recovered outside the home,” he continued.

He said Verulam police and the Umhlali Dog Unit responded quickly and alongside Rusa officers, searched the bush in the area but no arrest was made.

He also said the robber has dreadlocks and was wearing a black jacket and carrying a 9mm pistol.

#Oriental Plaza Fatal M1 Shooting Linked to money Exchange Scheme

 EyeNews247 reveals that a fatal shooting on the M1 north highway is linked to a Hawala money exchange scheme operating out of the Oriental Plaza.

A man was shot eight times near the Glenhove offramp on Wednesday just after 5pm.

A second person is believed to be in ICU in a hospital.

Eyewitnesses say that three men walked through rush-hour traffic, specifically looking for the white Audi A4, shot out the tyres and then opened fire on the occupants several times.

“Three men came out of nowhere… walked straight to the A4, smashed the car’s window and shot inside a couple of times before walking towards the opposite side of the freeway.”

The victim, whose name is known to Eyenew247, was of Indian or Pakistani descent.

Sources say that he was a runner for the Hawala money exchange scheme operating at the Oriental Plaza, and that the shooting may have been to silence him.

It’s also believed the hit may have been linked to a recent spate of kidnappings associated with Hawala networks.

#Sipho Shezi sue social department for R1.1 million

 Former Social Development Minister Bathabile Dlamini’s former advisor has approached the High Court to sue the department for R1.1 million.

Sipho Shezi was fired in 2017 at the height of the Social Security Agency debacle involving Cash Paymaster Services.

The agency has twice approached the Constitutional Court because of its failure to manage the payment of social grants.

Dlamini fired Shezi in April 2017 but did not provide any reasons for doing so.

Shezi was among officials who were opposed to Cash Paymaster Services being used to dispense social grants.

The former advisor has now turned to the High Court in Pretoria to sue the department for R1.1 million.

Shezi argues that he was fired for advising Dlamini to adhere to the Constitutional Court judgment, instead, he says the minister chose a route which undermined the court order.

Robbers make off with cash and man's pants

The adage that money will burn a hole in your pocket probably rings true for a Verulam man whose pants were stolen in a mugging in Canelands‚ north of Durban‚ on Wednesday.

It is understood that R600 in cash had been stashed in the pockets of the pants‚ which had been stripped off by two men brandishing knobkerries.

Reaction Unit South Africa spokesman Prem Balram said that their emergency call centre had received word of the incident when a husband and wife had driven into a horse-riding school and begged those there to raise the alarm.

“Officers found a 45-year-old man with injuries to his right arm. The man was found without his pants. His 34-year-old wife was seated next to him in the front passenger seat‚” he said.

Balram said that the woman reported that she and her husband had come from collecting donations at a mosque and were travelling towards their home in Stanger when they’d taken a shortcut in Canelands and their car had stalled.

“They were then approached by two men who attacked them with knobkerries. They removed R500 in cash from the woman and assaulted her husband.

“The woman alleged that the men then removed her husband pants which contained R600 in cash and fled.”Balram said that while medics attended to the injured man‚ his staff purchased a pair of pants to restore his dignity.

Drunk driving and mother nature got real for insurance ombud

Driving under the influence is a major factor in the insurance industry‚ as is dishonesty. This emerged on Wednesday from the latest report from the Ombudsman for Short-Term Insurance.

The extreme weather conditions experienced in 2017 also resulted in a flood of complaints to the ombud. South Africans got pummelled with uncharacteristic tornadoes in the Vaal area‚ flash floods in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal‚ fires fuelled by storm winds which dramatically ripped through and destroyed much of Knysna‚ and an extreme drought in the Western Cape.

Of the 9‚962 complaints finalised by the office of the ombud under Deanne Wood during 2017‚ the highest category of claim-type was motor vehicle claims at 49% followed by home owners claims at 20%‚ the ombud’s Annual Report on Operations for 2017 stated. Commercial claims contributed 7.9% to the total and household content claims‚ 6.2%.

The complaints were resolved in an average turn-around time of 131 days with an amount of R87‚101‚354 recovered for consumers.

A majority of motor vehicle claims comprised claims rejected on the grounds that the insured was driving under the influence of alcohol.“Some insurance companies have introduced measures such as the ‘take me home’ service to manage the risk associated with drunken driving. However‚ it is clear from this year’s statistics that DUI remains a very real problem for the South African insurance industry‚” said the ombud.

The second highest cause for complaints was rejections based on a policyholder’s alleged misrepresentation of underwriting details at sales stage. Examples include misrepresentations about regular driver details‚ previous insurance and claims history‚ credit history‚ security devices and whether the vehicle would be used for personal or business use.

“The Ombudsman has always highlighted the importance of truthful and accurate information being provided to the insurer during underwriting‚” the report said.

“A significant number of complaints related to rejections based on the policyholder’s obligation to exercise due care and to prevent loss. When the ombudsman assesses disputes of this nature it requires that there be a causal connection between the insured’s conduct and the accident.”

A high number of complaints related to disputes over the settlement calculation when the vehicle has been stolen or written off‚ “as the calculation may result in a shortfall where the vehicle is financed”.

As many as 13% of all complaints submitted to the ombud during 2017 concerned claims relating to acts of nature. “Indeed‚ 2017 was not a year that can be described as climatically dreary or boring‚” the ombud noted.

A majority (61%) of complaints under homeowners insurance related to storm damage and other acts of nature‚ with 11% related to bursting of water apparatus.

Ayanda Mazwi‚ senior assistant ombudsman‚ remarked: “The primary cause for complaint was the dissatisfaction with the rejection of claims on the grounds of damage arising from gradual deterioration‚ maintenance‚ wear and tear‚ which is not the responsibility of the insurer to remedy.

“In general‚ the Ombudsman will assess these matters by asking whether the loss or damage would have occurred if the property had been properly maintained. If it clearly would have occurred even if the property had been adequately maintained‚ the Ombudsman will usually uphold the claim.

“The secondary cause for a complaint under homeowner’s claims related to quantum disputes - the most prevalent being the settlement calculation in circumstances where the policyholder was underinsured. There were also a significant number of complaints relating to rejections on the basis that no insured event occurred. The Ombudsman will consider the policy and the facts and circumstances of the loss in determining whether an insured event occurred.”

Theft and burglary claims amounted to 73% of the claims under household content insurance.

Under commercial insurance‚ 28% of complaints related to building claims and 25% to motor vehicle claims.

Significant in the statistics was the ombud’s low overturn rate - meaning the percentage of matters where some portion of the insurer’s decision was overturned. It decreased substantially in 2017 when compared with that of previous years.

“An initial assessment of this decrease might seem to suggest that in 2017 insurers were more correct in their claims assessments than in previous years. Or‚ more worryingly‚ that OSTI was less willing to challenge insurer’s decisions and more susceptible to industry bias‚” said the Ombudsman‚ Deanne Wood.

However‚ neither of these assessments are accurate‚ she said‚ attributing the reduction in the Ombudsman for Short-Term Insurance overturn rate to “the material shift in some insurers’ approach to this measure and to what it represents for their organisations”.

The entity’s chairman‚ Haroon Laher‚ said the best outcome is a resolution that suits both parties. “If the Ombudsman for Short-Term Insurance is able to assist consumers and insurers in identifying and focusing on the real underlying issues‚ and it can get these issues resolved quickly and informally‚ and without recourse to the application of stringent legal principles‚ everyone wins.”

According to Wood‚ in March 2017 OSTI launched a new manual for insurers‚ detailing its complaints handling procedures. This was operating only as a guide during 2017 but is due to be fully effective as from June 1‚ 2018.

“The introduction of this manual was met with co-operation from insurers - even in relation to potentially punitive additions to the process which will‚ as from the effective date‚ see insurers penalised for failing to provide sufficient information to the Ombudsman for Short-Term Insurance overturn rate to “the material shift in some insurers’ approach to this measure and at the inception of a complaint.

“Going forward‚ we continue our support for the insurer and the insured by providing an alternative dispute resolution forum and endeavour to play an important role in the sustainability of the insurance industry.”

Windblown jumping castle crashed into tree before crushing girl, 7

London - A father screamed ‘my daughter’s in there’ when a bouncy castle was swept 50ft (15 metres) in the air by a gust of wind.

Summer Grant, seven, died after the inflatable cartwheeled down a hill and smashed into a tree, a court heard on Tuesday.

She was visiting the Easter fair in Harlow, Essex, with her sister Lily, then five.

The owners of the bouncy castle – William Thurston, 29, and his wife Shelby, 26 – are accused of manslaughter by gross negligence in failing to ensure the bouncy castle was properly anchored.

Tracy Ayling, prosecuting, told Chelmsford Crown Court they had also failed to monitor weather conditions to ensure it was safe to use.

Giving evidence, Summer’s father Lee said his mother screamed ‘No’ when the inflatable started to take off.

‘Within seconds, it had blown away and I remember shouting “my daughter is on that bouncy castle”,’ he said. ‘I just saw some sort of cable flying in the air and it just blew away.

‘I remember it blowing over some sort of caravan and kept on going over the field. I started running after the bouncy castle down the field.

‘It was 30 to 50ft in the air and just rolling down the field, just rolling and rolling. I think it hit a tree. At the end of the field, it came to a halt when it hit the fence. I couldn’t find her.

‘I couldn’t find the entrance to the bouncy castle as it had deflated by the time it reached the end.’

The court heard that someone else managed to get into the ‘circus superdome’ to bring Summer out.

William Thurston was among the first at the scene and said the child appeared ‘very badly injured and struggling to breathe’.

Health and safety guidelines state inflatables should not be used when wind speeds are over 19mph. But there was a yellow weather warning in place on March 26, 2016, the day of the fair at Harlow Town Park.

Winds brought by Storm Katie were 35-40mph according to a meteorologist’s report.

Shelby Thurston claimed a strong gust hit ‘like a tornado freak wind’ as she was preparing to close the fun fair because of the conditions. In a police interview she claimed she was addicted to the Met Office’s weather warning app because her business relied on it. But a meteorologist confirmed that wind speeds and gusts had increased as the day had gone on, adding: ‘If the app was working, with signal, the warning would have been displayed.’

Prosecutors also claim that Thurston’s Fun Fair had operated before in adverse weather.

A document recovered from the defendants read: ‘Rain, sleet, snow, horrible – £300.’

The castle, which cost £3 a child for ten minutes, did not conform to safety standards because it had ‘an insufficient number of ground anchorage points’. An inspection of the dome after the tragedy found problems with the exit signage and the location of the pump.

‘Its annual examination had failed to identify its shortfall in the anchorage points and had failed to show the faults in the electrical wiring,’ said Miss Ayling.

Describing the incident, the QC told the court: ‘The weather was cold and windy. Summer was playing in a bouncy castle which was one of the fair’s attractions.

‘It blew away from its mooring, bounced 300 metres down a hill and, having hit a tree, it came to rest. Summer was rescued from within the bouncy castle. She was badly injured, she was taken to hospital where she died from her injuries.’

Summer’s mother, Cara Blackie, who lives in Norwich, sat in the public gallery yesterday.

Kevin Smith, who was at the fair with his daughter Lola, told the court: ‘She wanted to go on a slide but it was wet. I saw them starting to deflate it and I said “No”.

‘It really started to get windy. There were railings in front of one of the rides that just blew over.

‘We started to go to another dome one, we didn’t get to it. There was a gust of wind, the dome just started to move and it just went down a hill.’

As well as the manslaughter charge, Shelby Thurston denies a count under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 for failing to anchor the inflatable and monitor the weather conditions.

Her husband is charged with failure to discharge his duties under the same act.

The couple, from Wilburton in Cambridgeshire, own three bouncy castles and a water ride. The trial continues.

Momberg, 49 refused leave to appeal sentence and conviction

Convicted racist Vicki Momberg's application for leave to appeal her sentence and conviction was refused by the court on Wednesday-Johannesburg .

Former real estate agent Momberg was sentenced to three years imprisonment with one year suspended by the Randburg Magistrate's Court last month.

Momberg, 49 was found guilty of four counts of crimen injuria in November last year after she was seen shouting racial slurs at a black police officer who was trying to assist her after she was involved in an alleged smash-and-grab incident.

She was caught on video in 2016 using the k-word 48 times.

Last week State prosecutor Yusuf Baba read evidence that was provided during the trial to the court which he said were not grounds for the defence to apply for leave to appeal the sentence and conviction.

In June 2017, the Equality Court awarded damages of R100 000 to Constable Clement Mkhondo after he was verbally assaulted by Momberg.

African News Agency/ANA

Mafikizolo must stop using Tebogo's name

The family of the late Mafikizolo member, Tebogo Madingoane, wants the popular band to stop using his name.

It has accused the group of neglecting it while going around pretending that the band is contact with the family.

Family spokesman and Madingoane's uncle Pepe Dire said the group has neglected the late singer's aging mother but continue to make empty promises through the media.

"Every time they go to media, whether it's television or newspapers, they talk about them helping his family and they say they are working hard to help Tebogo's mother but they never do," Dire said.

"They are talking as if they are doing things in good faith. Last time they promised his mother to come and visit and have something for her but they never came."

"They must not go around using his name. To the public it looks like they are doing something for the family but they are not," Dire said.

Dire said he has been trying to get hold of group members Nhlanhla Nciza and Theo Kgosinkwe through their manager Modise Kgomo since December.

"He [Kgomo] promised to speak to Theo and Nhlanhla and tell them that there is an outcry from the Madingoane family and I said it was okay. December passed and he has said that they will meet with us and till today we have not seen them," he said.

Dire said the family was angered by the group which has been using his nephew's name for publicity.

Notorious hostel claims yet another life

Durban police are investigating the murder of a 29-year-old man at the notorious Glebelands Hostel in Umlazi in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Community activist Vanessa Burger said that Lwando Gladine‚ a resident of Block 53‚ had visited Chief’s Tavern at nearby Reunion with a friend.

“After leaving the tavern‚ instead of returning home‚ he went to Block 55‚ where he was stabbed to death at around 3am‚” she said.

“This is the fifth murder at the hostel since the beginning of the year‚ bringing the total of those who have lost their lives in Glebelands-related murders – both at the hostel and elsewhere – to 107 since 2014.”

Video footage from murder accused Sandile Mantsoe's apartment building in Sandton

A Video footage from murder accused Sandile Mantsoe's apartment building in Sandton, Joburg, as well as blood stains under his carpet, could be crucial in proving that he murdered Karabo Mokoena.

This emerged at the High Court in Joburg on Monday when the prosecution's first witness, Stephanie Leong, told the court of when she was shown CCTV footage from the building's control room where Mokoena was last seen alive.

Leong's footage testimony comes in the wake of gruesome pictures she showed the court of a battered and bruised Mokoena, which was allegedly caused by Mantsoe.

Leong said that she along with Diepkloof, Soweto, police, Mokoena's mother, sister and aunt, as well as a mutual friend, arrived at Mantsoe's building to look for Mokoena in May last year.

This was roughly 12 days after Mokoena had gone missing in late April.

Leong said the building manager took her and the police into the control room, where she was to be shown footage. 

"On the footage, I saw Karabo and the accused going into the lift.

"I never saw Karabo on the footage again, but I saw the accused coming in and out of the building," Leong said, adding that the footage was from the early hours of April 28 last year.

Leong said she then saw Mantsoe coming in with refuse bags with contents in them and existing with them.

"He came back with a big Pikitup dustbin. He then went with the dustbin to his car. There were two other people at his car, but it was unclear what was happening," Leong testified.

She added that the dustbin was put into the car, which drove off and returned again.

After viewing the footage, Leong added, she called Mantsoe to come to his building.

The accused arrived, where Mokoena's mother allegedly asked him whether he had killed her daughter.

"No Mamzo, I did not kill Karabo," was Manstoe's alleged response, according to Leong.

The police, Mokoena's family and friends then went up to his apartment, where Leong noticed something different about his apartment carpet.

"It was wet. He said he had cleaned the carpet because he was moving, but could not say where to," Leong said.

Blood stains were found under another carpet in his kitchen, Leong added.

She had earlier testified that she and Mokoena had been friends since December 2013.

Mantsoe is facing three charges; namely assault with the intention to do grievous body harm, murder and defeating the ends of justice.

He pleaded not guilty to all three charges, saying Mokoena had committed suicide.

The trial continues