Author: svadmin

POTCHEFSTROOM – A 45-year-old mother and her son, aged 18, are expected to appear in the Bafokeng Magistrates’ Court in Tlhabane on Monday, 8 November 2021, for possession of suspected stolen livestock.

The duo were arrested at Lefaragatlhe village near Tlhabane following an incident in which a shepherd was killed and livestock robbed at a cattle post in Serutube village outside Rustenburg on Thursday, 4 November 2021,

According to information available at this stage, reports suggest that three herdsmen were herding cattle at about 17:00 when three unknown males emerged from the bushes. The trio caught one of the herdsmen and tied his hands with a rope, then robbed him of his money and a cellphone. The suspects went to another herdsman (25), tied his hands and also robbed him of his cellphone and cash.

Furthermore, the suspects allegedly demanded the cattle and in the process, shot and killed the 25-year-old herdsman while his colleagues were assaulted with the butt of a firearm. The suspects then drove out a herd of cattle from the cattle post.

A manhunt launched by Phokeng Detectives and Stock Theft Unit immediately after the incident, led to the recovery of 21 cattle in Lefaragatlhe village. Consequently, 11 cattle were positively identified and linked with the incident. Further investigations revealed that two other cows with calves were stolen a week ago at the same place. In addition, police seized other cattle that were found at the place for further investigation.

The Provincial Police Commissioner, Lieutenant General Sello Kwena extolled members for their collaboration and quick response that resulted in the arrest.

Source: South African Police Service

PARKTOWN – The SAPS Gauteng Provincial Commissioner, Lieutenant General Elias Mawela has welcomed the hefty sentence handed down on 46-year-old former police officer, Nomia Rosemary Ndlovu.

On Friday, 5 November 2021, during the Johannesburg High Court, sitting in Palm Ridge Magistrates’ Court – Judge Ramarumo Monama sentenced Ndlovu to life imprisonment for each of the six murders she has been convicted on and an additional 125 years for 16 more charges that included eight counts of conspiracy to commit murder; four counts of fraud, three counts of defeating the ends of Justice and the attempted murder of her mother. The six murders are those of her five relatives and former partner. She has also defrauded insurance companies of approximately R1.4 million.

Sergeant Keshi Benneth Mabunda of SAPS Olifantsfontein was assigned to investigate the matter and immediately commenced in following up on all the available leads. Mabunda meticulously pieced all the evidence together which led him to build a water-tight case against Ndlovu in court.

The Sergeant faced many challenges while investigating the case, from receiving death threats to fighting a terminal illness but nothing deterred him in solving the case.

“I am grateful that this matter has been brought to a close. Investigating a colleague had its own challenges and I am glad that the support received from other colleagues and management got me through, Ndlovu is exactly where she belongs, behind bars,” said Sgt Mabunda.

Lieutenant General Elias Mawela has commended Sergeant Mabunda for his relentless commitment and passion to solve serious and violent cases. “The sentencing of the former police officer, Rosemary Ndlovu is indicative that the SAPS is committed in rooting out officials who break the law. Sergeant Mabunda persevered in finalising the investigation without fear and favour which assisted the State to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt. This is commendable and hopefully, will assist to restore the communities’ faith in the South African Police Service”, said Lieutenant General Mawela.

Source: South African Police Service

THOHOYANDOU – The South African Police Service in Thohoyandou have launched a search operation to locate a 32-year-old missing man, Mamali Ndivhudzannyi “Pfarelo” from Tshilungoma (one) Village.

The missing man was last seen on Saturday 30 October 2021 in the afternoon. He left home after he had a quarrel with his girlfriend and has not returned.

He was last seen wearing a blue Relay T-shirt and a white trouser.

He is tall, slender and dark in complexion.

Police have conducted search operations at friends, relatives and nearby villages with no success.

Anyone with information that can help to locate him should contact the investigating officer Constable Shudufhadzo Sivhaga on 072 424 6288 / 015 960 1000, the Crime Stop number 0860010111 or the nearest Police Station or MySAPSApp.

Police search operations and investigations are still continuing.

Source: South African Police Service

PARIS — The coup in Sudan puts into doubt the process that would have seen France cancel some $5 billion debt it was owed by the African country, France’s foreign ministry said on Friday, the latest power to pressure military leaders who seized power.

France, Sudan’s second-largest creditor, has been a main actor in backing the interim authorities after former President Omar al-Bashir was ousted in 2019, but the civilian transition was derailed in October when the military took control.

Speaking to reporters in a daily briefing on Friday, Foreign ministry spokeswoman Anne-Claire Legendre said Paris had been an “unwavering” partner for Sudan and that the general debt cancellation program as part of the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative was agreed at a conference in Paris in May.

“A Paris Club agreement was reached on July 15, each creditor now having to sign a bilateral agreement with Sudan,” Legendre told reporters, responding to a question on whether Paris was reviewing its debt cancellation promise.

“It is clear that the military coup of October 25 calls into question this process.”

Sudan owes nearly $60 billion, 40% of which — or $23.5 billion — is held by the Paris Club.

Under the July agreement, the Paris Club decided to cancel $14.1 billion of that debt and reschedule the rest.

At that conference President Emmanuel Macron had vowed to cancel about $5 billion France is owed by Khartoum, provided a loan to clear Sudan’s arrears to the International Monetary Fund and organized a side event promoting investment into the country.

In a sign the junta is tightening its control, the military dissolved the boards of all state companies and national agricultural projects, state TV said on Friday.

Source: Voice of America

The U.N. Security Council has called for an end to escalating fighting in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region as rebel Tigrayan forces announce the formation of an alliance to end the government of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.

In only the second statement on Ethiopia since the fighting began a year ago, the 15-member council Friday urged all parties in Ethiopia “to put an end to hostilities and to negotiate a lasting cease-fire.”

The council also “called for refraining from inflammatory hate speech and incitement to violence and divisiveness.”

“Today the Security Council breaks six months of silence and speaks again with one united voice on the deeply concerning situation in Ethiopia,” Ireland’s U.N. Ambassador Geraldine Byrne Nason said in a statement. She said it was the first time that the council called for an end to hostilities in Ethiopia.

Council members said the language in the statement was amended to remove a call for an “immediate” end to hostilities “without preconditions” because of objections from Russia, according to The Associated Press.

The U.N. call comes as Tigray forces announced Friday that they have formed an alliance with other armed and opposition groups around the country, including forces in the Oromo region, to end the government of Prime Minister Abiy. The Tigrayan forces said they were willing to bring down the prime minister through negotiation or force.

Source: Voice of America

YAOUNDE, CAMEROON — Supporters of Africa’s second-longest serving leader, Cameroon’s 88-year-old President Paul Biya, are celebrating his 39 years in office November 6. Biya, who has been Cameroon’s president since 1982, is rarely seen in public these days. Meanwhile Biya’s opponents are saying renewed calls for the octogenarian to run for president in 2025 cannot be taken seriously.

Supporters of Cameroon’s ruling party, the Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement, CPDM, sang that Biya can still rule the central African state for another seven-year term, starting in 2025.

Biya was declared the winner of the country’s 2018 election garnering over 80% of the votes.

The song was sung in towns and villages across Cameroon during celebrations of Biya’s 39 years in office.

One event was held in Monatele, capital of Lekie, a department near Cameroon’s capital, Yaoundé. Henri Eyebe Ayissi, Cameroon’s state property, survey and land tenure minister, and Biya’s close ally led the CPDM party delegation to Lekie and delivered what he called a special message for Biya supporters.

Ayissi said the CPDM is appealing for a national consensus for Biya to seek a new term in 2025. He said the Lekie Division is making an appeal to Biya to accept the call to run for president in 2025 and continue the good works he is doing for Cameroon.

Ayissi said Biya has maintained unity despite Boko Haram terrorism on Cameroon’s northern border with Nigeria and the separatist crisis that has killed at least 3,000 people in the English-speaking western regions.

Ayissi said several million Cameroonian children have access to education because Biya has built schools and universities in many towns and villages of the central African state.

The call for Biya to run for president again when his current seven-year term ends in 2025 was echoed in several towns and villages, sparking criticism from Biya’s opponents.

Christopher Ndong, secretary general of the Cameroon Renaissance Movement — a party that claims its candidate, Maurice Kamto, won the 2018 election and that Biya stole his victory — Ndong says an invitation for Biya to be a candidate in 2025 means the CPDM wants the octogenarian to die in office.

“It is a slap in the face of Cameroonians and democracy in this country. Given his age, what will he do with power? Right now, he is not active. Honestly, this is a provocation of the first order. Look at the chaos all over the place. The country is in debts. In fact, it shows you that there is nobody at the head. That 2025 call should not be taken seriously because we know the state and health of the head of state cannot permit him to rule this country in 2025,” Ndong said.

Ngole Ngole Elvis, head of the CPDM party academy and Biya’s close aide, says calls for Biya to run are democratic. He says instead of complaining that Biya has been in power for long, the opposition should prepare to democratically vote for who they think should be their president in 2025.

“Wait for the next election and make sure that you prepare for it in such a way that with your freedom, you should have put in place the right campaign strategies, the right campaign messages, the right manifestos, the right candidates,” Elvis said.

Biya served as prime minister for seven years before becoming president. In 2008, he removed term limits from the constitution, allowing him to serve indefinitely.

He is now the second-longest serving leader in sub-Saharan Africa after his neighbor, Thedoro Obiang Nguema of Equatorial Guinea, who has been in power since 1979.

Source: Voice of America