10 July 2015
R1-20/FREE
Grandmother (53) detained for murder Lizzy Bapela A 53-year old grandmother from Bela-Bela is expected to appear before the Bela-Bela Magistrate’s Court on a charge of murder shortly. The incident occurred on Saturday, 27 June. Bela-Bela police spokesperson, Constable Maria Maleto, said that the woman went to a tavern with her boyfriend, Aaron Chume (56). According to the information received by the police, the man began flirting with another woman, infuriating his girlfriend. According to Constable Maleto, the couple then had an argument, which ended in the woman allegedly assaulting Chume with a wooden object and accusing him of trying to cheat on her. According to the police, the woman that Chume had been flirting with joined in on the assault, and hit Chume with a stick. Chume sustained severe head injuries and was rushed to the hospital. From the BelaBela Hospital he was transferred to the Polokwane Provincial Hospital, where he died from his injuries.
The suspect was arrested on Thursday, 2 July for murder. She was originally to appear in court on Monday, 6 July, but her appearance was postponed to Monday, 14 July, for formal bail application. Detectives’ Commander, LieutenantColonel Abel Phetla, said that the victim’s family had been surprised not to see him for several days, and had begun to search for him. When their search reached the hospital, they were told about the incident and notified that Chume had been moved to Polokwane. The family checked up on his condition in Polokwane, and immediately reported the matter to the police. Constable Maleto said that the frequency of domestic violence cases has escalated alarmingly in Bela-Bela recently. She urged the community to report any cases of abuse to the police. “We have the Victim Empowerment Programme at the station, a unit SAPS social workers and counsellors are placed on site 24 hours a week, who will assist in such matters. People need not to die because of relationship or stress related issues,” she said.
Constable Maria Maleto with the suspect. Photo: Lizzy Bapela
Local medic dies in crash
2
Local taxi service calls a halt, passengers left stranded Lizzy Bapela A disagreement between rival taxi associations devolved into a traffic shutdown between Bela-Bela and Ngobi this week. The Warmbaths Taxi Association (WATA) ceased operations at all their taxi ranks in town and the township on Tuesday, 7 July, following a “misunderstanding” between them and the Ngobi Taxi Association. WATA spokesperson, Israel Molusi, said that the action was a sequel to a similar incident by their counterparts, who evicted all their taxis at Ngobi on Monday, 6 July. He added that the Ngobi Association gathered all the WATA taxis together, including the ones transporting passengers between the area and Bela-Bela, and gave them orders to stop operations. In return, WATA shut down the Bela-Bela taxi ranks on Tuesday, 7 July. “We tried talking to them this morning about the matter. They refused to hear us out even after we called the police in to intervene. After seeing that our attempts to stop a seemingly erupting war and maintaining the peace failed, we decided it was time rreciprocate and stopped operations, blocking any incoming or outgoing taxi from Ngobi’s side,” said Molusi. “Drivers from both associations nearly fought each other over the issue but the police in attendance were on alert for any suspicious acts. After hours of trying to come to a solution, the Ngobi executive finally agreed to meet with us and discuss matters further.” “We came to an agreement that a proper meeting should take place at the Cyverskuil Community Hall on Wednesday, 8 July, although the Ngobi executive refused to have police from local areas present, demanding to meet
with those on provincial level,” said Molusi. He added that no vehicle from Bela-Bela took passengers to Ngobi on Tuesday, 7 July and WATA transported passengers using taxis operating locally so that they could not be stranded. He further said that Hammanskraal also transported their passengers to the area as they were also forbidden to operate in that area. He added that no serious fighting took place and no injuries were reported, and police were on alert at all times. The BEAT interviewed vendors operating outside the rank, as well as stranded passengers who were confused about the situation. Several did not know what was going on and were worried about getting home later. Some of the vendors indicated that they were affected as most of them had to pack up their merchandise because there was no business. One vendor said that even though the problem was between the taxis and not the rest of the staff, they all have to show support to their colleagues as they are from the same association. Passengers standing outside the taxi rank said that the matter was disturbing, saying that WATA should not have stopped the local operations as that did not have anything to do with the problems. They added that it was frustrating for them to have to be affected by the problem as the problems are between the associations and should not affect passengers. Molusi told The BEAT in the afternoon of the incident that everything had gone back to normal and operations resumed. He also said that the law enforcement in charge reasoned with them and maintained peace. These include members of the SAPS from Modimolle’s Public Order Policing and police stations such as Bela-Bela, Bedwang near Lebotlwane, Cyverskuil, Brits and traffic officers from Moretele station.
WATA stopped operations at all their taxi ranks within their operating area. Photo: Lizzy Bapela