Issue 5 - 2019
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7 - 14 February 2019
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Inner City Gazette
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Double murder traumatises community
‘I came out from my room and heard two male voices screaming at different times from around 5am. They sounded like they were in a lot of pain’ Troyeville – Residents have described how they were woken up to screams in a backyard shack where two men aged 30 and 40, were allegedly kidnapped by two men, tortured for hours and eventually killed last Tuesday morning. Police have launched a manhunt for the suspects, and a 30-year-old woman was arrested. She was allegedly present during the torture and cleaned the shack before police officers arrived at the scene. The pair was tortured after their captors, who were reportedly known to them, accused them of stealing a gun and laptops.
A neighbour, Sanele Ngwenya said he heard the men begging for mercy. “I came out from my room and heard two male voices screaming at different times from around 5am. They sounded like they were in a lot of pain. They were saying they did not know where the gun was, nor did they know where the laptops were,” he said. Another neighbour, Gideon Buthelezi said he saw the 30-year-old woman cleaning the shack after the screaming ended. “She was clearing the shack and cleaning; she walked out with a blanket soaked in blood; she was also in the shack during
Captain Moscow Shihambe inspects the murder scene in Troyeville
the screams and obviously knows what happened, that is why she was cleaning the shack,” Buthelezi said. The small shack is situated at the backyard of a seemingly deserted Troyeville property. Neighbours said the shack was recently erected. Long after the cries stopped, police discovered two dead men buried in a shallow grave inside the corrugated iron sheet structure. A neighbour, who asked not to
be named, said he was one of the first people at the scene. He said he saw the two suspects running from the scene with a crowbar. “When the police dug up those guys they found them with their legs and hands bound. There was no way they could have survived that beating,” he said. Police spokesperson Captain Moscow Shihambe said the 30-year-old female suspect went to the Jeppe
police station to report that two men were killed and buried in a shack. Shihambe said the woman was arrested after she gave police inconsistent versions of events. “She gave police different versions before admitting that she was also inside the shack when the murders happened. She was arrested while the bodies of the two men were taken to a government mortuary,” Captain Shihambe said.
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For further information contact Boston on 011 551 2000 Email: info@boston.co.za Visit www.boston.co.za, or Facebook
Higher benefits from Higher Education
Dr Linda Meyer
Companies benefit directly, with this showing in the bottom line so to speak, when they train their staff. However training should be appropriate for the needs of the company, the industry and colleagues, in addition to the obvious benefit of growing someone’s CV. The time of year is approaching when all companies must submit their WSP (Workplace Skills Plan) discussing the planned and completed skills development of their employees. “We at Boston believe this is an opportune moment to register staff on a Higher Certificate with Boston,” says Dr Linda Meyer, Dean: Institutional Advancement at Boston. Meyer continues that most Higher Certificates can be completed in one year. “This means that while you will record the training as planned on this year’s WSP, by this time next year it will be recorded as completed as you will be able to submit the costs of the training as part of your skills development. This is a DHET requirement, and Boston is readily available to facilitate this for you.” Jerome Van De Merwe deals with many corporate clients. “We go the extra mile for all our stu-
dents,” he says, “ so our corporate students are well accommodated in that they can study online; at home; at the office; or at the campus in the evenings and Saturdays when we are open”. The branch manager says that working student are very motivated and disciplined to complete assignments on time, as especially with the Higher Certificates, a qualification is well within their reach in one year. Meyer says that the value of the Higher Certificates is that they are full qualifications, providing basic entry level skills to over 13 different disciplines, carrying accreditation and adding to the company’s skills pool while growing the individual. “In addition, stats have shown a vast increase in productivity due to both skills as well as motivation when a corporate takes the time and interest to sponsor a staff member. Boston themselves have to come to the party this year with their “Invest in SA” programme, where they have subsidised all Higher Certificates by up to 30%, enabling even more people to study in the Higher Education arena in 2019. Company benefits identified in research include increased employee loyalty and reduced staff turnover, increased productivity, and the availability of employees with the higher-level skills required to take on new projects and move into leadership positions. Studies offer plenty of evidence that encouraging employees to
pursue further education has a positive impact on a company’s bottom line. The better-educated employee is qualified to take on new projects. The company will be able to take on additional work and bring in more revenue. In general, an educational benefit is a tuition assistance program that helps employees and even their families with higher education costs. In some companies it will be included as a benefit in an employee compensation package and will offer reimbursement of tuition costs at enrolment or after the course is completed. Meyer says that Universities have long served as incubators for the business world. It’s where people go to learn the skills that they put into practice in their careers. “The stronger the partnership is between schools and companies, the more our workforce will thrive,” she says. Meyer adds that mentorships increase success in the studies and in productivity. “Assign a mentor to all staff that you wish to develop whether through studies or experience”. Mentorships provide students with real-life experiences like dealing with a difficult boss or a layoff and better prepare them for a career. “When you sponsor studies, don’t just pay and walk away. Keep an eye on your investment and you will reap better rewards,” she concludes. Contact Boston on 011 551 2000, or visit www.boston.co.za
7 - 14 February 2019
Cops ready for Please Call Me protest “Please Call Me” inventor Nkosana Makate and Vodacom have been embroiled in lengthy settlement negotiations‚ which stalled last month Please Call Me inventor Nkosana Makate
Johannesburg - Police will have a public order policing presence on Saturday at the Soweto derby at FNB Stadium that can deal with any potential Please Call Me protest if one were to occur. “Please Call Me” inventor Nkosana Makate and Vodacom have been embroiled in lengthy settlement negotiations‚ which stalled last month. Gauteng Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi called on South Africans to boycott sporting events associated with Vodacom. The cellphone provider sponsors both Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates‚ who will square off in Saturday’s Soweto derby. Captain Lorraine van Emmerick‚ communications officer for Booysens police said the SAPS have contingency options available should the Please Call Me Movement decide to take their protest to FNB Stadium. She said the SAPS have been engaging the leaders of Please Call Me to find out if they have any such intention‚ but said she was not aware of a response yet. “Our crime intelligence has fol-
lowed up the information and gathered information. Crime Intelligence have spoken to them. They have got that information and they will relay it over to us,” Van Emmerick said. She said if Please Call Me do protest at FNB: “That’s where our public order policing comes into it. They deal with protests. They will be present. They will be able to deal with any situation that does arise.” Bertie Grobbelaar‚ managing director of Stadium Management South Africa‚ which manages FNB Stadium‚ said an area outside the stadium has been set aside for anyone wanting to stage any peaceful protest. “At the last ESSPC event safety and security planning committee meeting it was confirmed that there will be a ‘speaker’s corner’ at the drifting area. It will be a specific area allocated if you wish to raise your voice or object‚ where you’ll be left at peace to raise your opinion. And that’s been conveyed to the people. And there will be extra police officers deployed there,” Grobbelaar said.
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Inner-city Gazette
New Gauteng police chief Lt - Gen Elias Mawela
New police chief for Gauteng Staff Reporter news@inner-city-gazette.co.za
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he Gauteng Department of Police has appointed Lieutenant-General Elias Mawela as the province’s new
commissioner of police. Lt-Gen Mawela, 51, was the chairperson of the national joint operational and intelligence structure (NatJOINTS). He worked his way up through the
ranks, first serving at various police stations in Gauteng as a detective commander and station commander. Lieutenant-General Mawela replaces De Lange, who left the police after 35 years in October last year.
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She added that they would shut down the institution should it not meet their demands, and indicated that students participating in the strike were being intimidated by the private security guards.
Students protest on campus at Wits University
Students go on hunger strike Braamfontein – Following a protest on Monday, where Wits University students disrupted classes and demonstrated on campus, calling on the institution to listen to their demands relating to accommodation, registration fees and financial exclusion; student representative council (SRC) members embarked on a hunger strike at Solomon Mahlangu House. In a statement posted on Twitter, the body said over 500 students would have no accommodation while 1 000 would be financially excluded and 3 000 would starve each month. “It can’t be that we turn a blind eye to how institutions of higher learning re-
spond to mass mobilisation of students and exercise of their right to protest. It can’t be that we keep silent when students are not registered and homeless. Something must happen,” their statement read. Among other things, the SRC demanded that all students who have been granted space by the institution should be allowed to register, that returning students be assisted with accommodation and that an upfront fee be scrapped for students with household income of less than R600 000. SRC president Sisanda Mbolekwa said they were against the university’s position not to allow students who
owed R100 000 or less to register for the 2019 academic year. She added that they would shut down the institution should it not meet their demands, and indicated that students participating in the strike were being intimidated by the private security guards. In an email sent to students, the university said as per the council approved concessions for 2019, only students who owed R10 000 or less would be allowed to roll over their debts to the 2019 academic year. In the same message it also stated that there was no closing date for the university’s Hardship Fund, saying it remained committed to fundraising.
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Cops hunt for killer taximan
Johannesburg - Police are still looking for a taxi driver who shot dead a Chinese student last August. Police spokesperson Captain Xoli Mbele requested the assistance of community members and released a photograph of the man, Mzwandile Richard Zungu. His last known address was in Diepsloot Ext 7. The victim, Pu Shirong, was one of eight Chinese students, on their way to Krugersdorp. On August 20 they boarded a Quantum taxi at Wanderers taxi rank after the one they had organised failed to arrive. While still in the CBD their regular taxi driver phoned to say he was in town, but the driver of the taxi they were in refused to take them back, despite offers to pay him. “He got out of the taxi; with two other passengers. One of those pointed a firearm at them while his accomplice searched them. They took their cell phones, money and bags,� Mbele said. Mbele said Shirong was shot dead and his body dumped in the street; and the others were dropped off at corner Main Reef and Anderson streets. Police are appealing to anyone who knows the whereabouts of the suspect in the photo to contact Johannesburg Central Detectives Constable Matshepo Twala on 083-8811905 or office number 011-497-7251. ANA
Mzwandile Zungu Pic: SAPS
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Bucs, Chiefs legend reveals muti use by both clubs By Chad Klate
F
ormer Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs midfielder Donald ‘Ace’ Khuse has revealed some of the ‘traditional’ practices undertaken by both clubs before a Soweto Derby. There has been much speculation around the use of ‘muti’ among South African clubs, particularly by Chiefs and Pirates, with footage often surfacing as ‘proof’. It has also been alluded to by many past and present players, but nothing has confirmed the lengths these clubs would go to in their belief that external forces help them win matches. Amakhosi development coach, who played for both clubs during his career, as well as Sundowns, during the early-to-mid ‘80s and ‘90s, Khuse has recalled some of the practices he
Orlando Pirates supporters during a previous Soweto derby
underwent before a Soweto derby. “I can’t say it now, but they would take us somewhere to go and do funny things at night,” revealed. The same happened at Chiefs. I’m not sure what is happening now at Chiefs, but it’s all in the mind, if you believe these things will work. Our
Muti man would travel maybe from training and just pass a river. And he’d say, ‘Stop! Stop! Stop!’ and our driver would stop. He’d go out and say he’s meeting someone from Swaziland, right there; he was just lying! He’d then come and cut us and do all these funny things, and say, ‘You
saw I was talking to this guy there,’ and we thought this guy was doing the right thing. “When we got there, we would be mentally ready for the game, and we thought it was really what was happening, but he was just lying. There was nothing like that,” Khuse said.