News snippets from around the world.

Eastern Cape police hunting for murder suspects after fatal farm attack

The police in Eastern Cape are investigating a case of murder after a farmer was fatally shot and his son wounded during an invasion of their farmhouse by three armed men at Kinkelbos in the Eastern Cape. Police Spokesperson, Majola Nkohli says the 55-year-old man sustained a gunshot wound to his upper body and died on the scene. Nkholi says that the injured son and his mother – with unknown injuries – were rushed to the nearest hospital. Police are investigating a case of murder with additional charges of attempted murder and house robbery for further investigation.

www.sabcnews.com

Estina Dairy Farm case postponed to October

The court case involving Gupta associate Iqbal Sharma, his brother-in-law, Dinesh Patel, and three senior Free State government officials has been postponed to October. They face fraud and money laundering charges and are accused of defrauding the Free State Agriculture Department of almost R25m in 2011.

www.enca.com

Gauteng leads with parolees released without DNA samples being taken

Gauteng has emerged as the province with the highest number of convicted prisoners who were released on parole without their DNA samples being taken. This was revealed by Justice and Correctional Services Minister Ronald Lamola when he was responding in writing to parliamentary questions from DA MP Andrew Whitfield. Whitfield had enquired about the total number of convicted schedule eight offenders who were not added to the national forensic DNA database of convicted offenders but were released on parole each year since January 2016. Murder, rape, sexual offences and kidnapping are some of the charges falling under the schedule eight offences. In his response, Lamola said in terms of the amended Criminal Law, the responsibility to draw DNA samples and maintain records for the national forensic database was that of the SAPS (South African Police Service).

www.iol.co.za

Jacob Zuma medical parole being challenged

Political parties and civil rights groups are challenging the early release of Jacob Zuma on medical parole. Last Sunday, the Department of Correctional Services announced that the former president would be released on medical parole due to undisclosed medical conditions. He served only 58 days of his 15-month sentence for being in contempt of the Constitutional Court. Parties and groups are now planning legal action and other processes to either get the parole reversed or fully disclose the purported medical problems that allowed it to happen.

https://businesstech.co.za

SA expresses concern over Guinea coup

The South African government has noted with great concern the ongoing political and security situation in the Republic of Guinea following an apparent coup d’etat last weekend. In a statement issued by the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO), the South African Government called for the ‘immediate release’ of Prof Alpha Condé, the President of Guinea ‘unharmed and the African Union to actively intervene to ensure a speedy return to stability’. Government further called on the soldiers/military to exercise total restraint and refrain from political interference. “In addition, South Africa urges all political actors and civil society to engage in meaningful dialogue in order to resolve the current political challenges facing the country,” said DIRCO on Monday.

www.sanews.gov.za

’The death sentence you face when testifying against killer gangsters’ in SA

Cape Flats activist Roegshanda Pascoe has pulled no punches in calling Bonteheuwel councillor Angus McKenzie and police ‘mad and irresponsible’ for urging those who witnessed an alleged gang leader being killed to come forward. “It’s easy for him to talk because he will not suffer any repercussions. Nor could he, police or the State guarantee the safety of any

witness, and he should be open about that. It is basically a death sentence. One of the biggest crimes being committed by the State is against State witnesses,’’ she told IOL last Monday. Still living in witness protection more than three years after testifying against killer gangsters, thanks only to the assistance of the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime, Pascoe’s grandchildren dare not even take public transport.

www.iol.co.za

Hawks arrest man who paid a R50,000 bribe to cop investigating relative’s case

A 42-year-old man who was arrested during an undercover operation for allegedly paying a R50,000 bribe to a police officer investigating his family member, has been charged for corruption. Hawks spokesperson Simphiwe Mhlongo, said the man was arrested during an undercover operation last Friday. Mhlongo said it is alleged that the suspect’s brother-inlaw had been charged for tampering with essential infrastructure and theft of crude oil. Mhlongo said that an undercover operation was carried out by Hawks members from the Newcastle Serious Organised Crime Investigation team.

www.iol.co.za

Not so fast

SA energy regulator Nersa has put to rest the bold claims that South Africa’s 2,500mW nuclear build is back in action and forging ahead. While the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy said last week that Nersa had concurred with its plans to proceed with the nuclear build, minutes released from the meeting by Nersa show that the regulator’s concurrence is conditional and that several suspensive conditions have not yet been met. In effect, Nersa is on board with the very start of the process, not a call for proposals for a new nuclear build.

www.dailymaverick.co.za

Concourt rules against local election postponement

The Constitutional Court on Friday ruled against the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC)’s application to postpone the local election until February 2022. Elections must be held between 27 October and 1 November this year.

www.702.co.za

Cabinet reassures whistleblowers’ safety after Deokaran’s murder

Cabinet has welcomed the two new arrests in Babita Deokaran’s murder case, saying that whistleblowers like her were important guardians of clean governance. Last Thursday, Cabinet reaffirmed the government’s commitment to protect whistleblowers in the wake of the murder of Babita Deokaran, acting chief director of financial accounting in the Gauteng Department of Health. So far, nine people have been taken in since the murder investigation began. Deokaran was fatally shot after dropping her child at school. She was a key witness in the Special Investigating Unit’s probe into corruption related to the procurement of personal protective equipment and other illegal activities.

https://ewn.co.za

Where South Africa fits into the richest countries in the world – StatsSA

Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) recently published updated estimates of gross domestic product (GDP) in South Africa, following a comprehensive rebasing of the data. During the process, Stats SA included new sources of information, improved the compilation methodology, reviewed and refined the classification of economic activities, and updated the reference year. The new base year for the national accounts is 2015 — in other words, real GDP is now measured at constant 2015 prices instead of 2010 prices, as was previously the case. As a result, the revised estimate of GDP in 2020 is now R5,521 billion, an increase of 11% compared with the previous estimate of R4,973 billion — an addition of R548 billion in estimated output. The annual growth rate for 2020 was revised from 7.0% to -6.4%. The changes to South Africa’s placement in the global GDP ranking are not significant. The rebased GDP figure in USD (using like-forlike conversion) is $335.2 billion, making South Africa the 36th largest economy in the world, up from 37th ($301 billion).

businesstech.co.za

Gender Commission alarmed over increase in contact crimes

The Commission for Gender Equality (CGE) has expressed concern over the dramatic increase in contact crimes, which it said tended to amount to crimes committed against women and girls, such as genderbased violence (GBVF) and femicide. Members of LGBTQI community were also disproportionately affected by contact crimes. Spokesperson for the CGE, Javu Baloyi, said that analysis of contact crime figures in the first quarter of the past five years indicated that contact crimes had been on an upward trajectory. “For instance, in 2017/18, a total of 140,821 incidents of contact crimes were recorded, while in 2018/19, a total of 141,115 were recorded. An increase was noted in 2019/20 where 144,267 incidents were recorded. In 2021/22 the figures have increased yet again, to 145,120. This means that the drop which was recorded in 2020/21 was a clear anomaly, when the overall figure dropped to 90,376 – the lowest figure recorded in the five-year period. This was an unusual year, due mainly to the Covid-19 hard lockdown nationwide restrictions,” Baloyi said. The latest quarterly (April-June) crime statistics, released by the SAPS on August 29, revealed that categories of contact crimes such as murder, attempted murder, sexual offences and all categories of assault increased by a staggering 60.6% compared to the corresponding period of the previous financial year.

www.iol.co.za

Security company not linked to theft at Charlotte Maxeke Hospital, says Minister Phaahla

Health Minister Joe Phaahla is adamant that the security company contracted to guard Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital could not be linked to the theft charges after a fire broke out at the health facility in April. Minister Phaahla said this when he was responding to written parliamentary questions by IFP’s Duduzile Hlengwa. Hlengwa asked the minister whether, in light of a case opened for theft of items valued at an estimated R200,000 at the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital, to explain how some fire doors were left unguarded when an amount of more than R3 million was being spent on the security detail each month at the hospital. She also asked whether the relevant security company was being held liable for the theft. Hlengwa further asked whether there was camera surveillance that could aid with the investigation, given that R450,000 was spent on electronic surveillance each month at the hospital.

www.iol.co.za

Possible illegal mining connection to ‘tightly wrapped’ body found in Benoni

Gauteng police have opened an inquest docket after a body suspected to be linked to illegal mining was found tightly wrapped in bags in Benoni, Gauteng. Police spokesperson Capt Mavela Masondo said that the body was found last Sunday. “Police confirm that the body was found wrapped in a bag and dumped in Benoni,” he said. In June, twenty bodies – suspected to be those of illegal miners – were discovered just outside Klerksdorp in the North West, wrapped in white plastic bags and – according to the police – with severe burns. The first bodies were found outside an old, unused mine shaft ventilation in Lawrence Park, Orkney, while fourteen more decomposed bodies were found along Ariston Road near the railway line in Orkney.

www.timeslive.co.za

SA President Cyril Ramaphosa: 12 million people have applied for social relief of distress grant

President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa says that the recent unrest in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng dealt a severe blow to the government’s economic recovery plan. He said this was reflected in the large number of people, 12 million, who had applied for the unemployment grant of R350, reflecting the levels of unemployment and poverty in communities. Ramaphosa said undoubtedly what happened in KZN and Gauteng had been a setback to the government’s plan to revive the ailing economy. He also said the Department of Social Development was now processing the applications for social relief distress. The government had stopped the R350 grant last October but extended it early this year.

www.iol.co.za

Sa’s Garden Route: Police arrest 268 in weekend crime combating operations

Covid-19 laws to illegal firearm possession. The law officials’ action plan came with a full force of strategic deployment of integrated forces after it was noted that the Garden Route area is faced with growing crime. The operation included high visibility patrols in crimestricken areas, roadblocks, stop-andsearch operations with a special focus on drug and liquor outlets, illegal firearms, the tracing of wanted suspects, and the confiscation of dangerous weapons,” said Road Safety in a statement on their website and as shared by Arrive Alive on Twitter.

www.thesouthafrican.com

Criminal syndicates target Transnet fuel, millions of litres of fuel stolen in the current financial year

More than 3 million litres of fuel have been stolen in the current financial year by brazen criminal syndicates targeting Transnet’s fuel pipeline. As a litre of petrol costs an average of R16, close to R50 million has been stolen in less than six months of this financial year. The government parastatal said that it was battling rampant attacks on its fuel pipeline by thieves looking to steal fuel, which is threatening the country’s economy and leading to loss of lives. The problem is so serious that five people have been killed while 150 others were arrested in connection with attacks on its pipeline. In a statement, Transnet said that increased surveillance was showing positive signs in curbing the theft. In light of the attacks, the company has urged consumers not to purchase fuel from unregistered traders.

www.iol.co.za