Local News

MISS WHEELCHAIR SOUTH AFRICA 2021

The 25- year- old Tamelyn Geneview Bock from Springbok in the Northern Cape has been crowned Miss Wheelchair South Africa 2021. A gala event was held at Artscape in the Mother City last night. Her first princess is 20-year-old Nokuthula Yonke from the Western Cape, and 24-yearold Maureen Galaletsang Mokgele from Taung in the NorthWest, her second princess. The newly crowned Miss Wheelchair SA will represent the country in Mexico in October next year during the Miss Wheelchair World pageant.

MISS SA: “COURAGE OVER COMFORT”

Miss South Africa, Lalela Mswane, represented the country at the 70th Miss Universe pageant in Israel, despite the government’s opposition to her participation. Mswane, 24, won secondrunner-up against contestants from 80 other countries. She captured the attention of the audience and judges with her final speech, in which she urged young women to choose courage over comfort. Mswane had this to say regarding her decision: “It is with so much gratitude that I prepare to represent my beautiful South Africa at the 70th Miss Universe competition. Being Miss South Africa is not only an honour but also a huge responsibility and I am determined to serve our country proudly in the best way that I can. Beyond being granted a national platform during my reign to have a wider reach when tackling the economic and social issues which I have committed myself to, the title also comes with the opportunity to represent our country on an international platform along with women from all walks of life, all coming together to affect positive change in the causes they are passionate about and advocate for. I stand today as an empowered woman because of so many before me who fought for our voices to be heard. I feel my duty is to do the same for the women of the past, the women of today and the women to come.” Recounting her experience Mswane said: “The whole experience has been beyond my wildest expectations. I am deeply thankful to all the amazing people who have supported and uplifted me.”

WARNING: SENDING THESE WHATSAPP MESSAGES IN SOUTH AFRICA COULD NOW LAND YOU IN JAIL

President Cyril Ramaphosa has signed the Cybercrimes Bill into law, with parts of the bill now set to take effect from 1 December 2021. The proclamation comes after Ramaphosa signed the Cybercrimes Act into law at the start of June. The Cybercrimes Act defines three types of harmful messages that have been criminalised in South Africa. They are messages which: • Incite damage to property or violence. • Threaten people with damage to property or violence. • Unlawfully contain an intimate image In addition to criminalising certain harmful messages, the Act also includes definitions for cyber fraud, forgery, extortion, and theft of incorporeal property. A person convicted of an offence under the Cybercrimes Act is liable to a fine or imprisonment for a period of up to fifteen years or to both a fine and such imprisonment as may be ordered in terms of the offence. “I hope that this Act will contribute to the reduction of Cyber Bullying in Schools” (Victricia Vivi Beukman: FB).