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Alleged Dududu drug dealer nabbed for attempted murder

In the early hours of Sunday morning, police members from Dududu South African Police Service (SAPS) received information that men at a tavern were threatening patrons with firearms.

Police responded to the complaint and upon arrival at the tavern, noticed men seated outside the tavern fitting the description.

The police members approached and immediately recognised one man as a known drug dealer.

One of the suspects produced two firearms and shot towards the approaching police members. The members retaliated and the suspect was subsequently shot in his left thigh and buttocks.

His firearms, a Magnum revolver with three empty cartridges and a Norinco pistol with five live rounds of ammunition, with the serial number erased, fell on the ground. No members were injured during the shootout and the other man fled towards the bushes.

Upon searching the suspect, a further five live 9mm rounds were found in his pocket. The suspect was immediately arrested and taken to the hospital for medical attention under police guard.

The recovered firearms will be subjected to ballistic testing.

The suspect, aged 26, will appear at Vulamehlo Magistrate’s Court as soon as he is discharged from hospital on charges of attempted murder, possession of unlicensed firearms and ammunition charges.

Source: South African Government News Agency

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Tourism Equity Fund: Minister calls for patience

Tourism Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane has called for patience from those seeking answers regarding their Tourism Equity Fund (TEF) applications.

“We further call on those who are working with these entrepreneurs to be patient and understand that the matter is in the hands of the courts,” Kubayi-Ngubane said.

This comes after a court challenge brought by AfriForum and Solidarity resulted in the Fund being halted.

The two organisations launched an urgent application to the court after the Minister of Tourism announced that the department’s fund for the recovery of the tourism sector is only accessible to people who qualify for Black Economic Empowerment (BEE).

Addressing the media in Pretoria, Kubayi-Ngubane extended gratitude to those who have expressed words of solidarity with the department as it fights for what is a just and fair cause.

“As our legal team prepares to present and represent us in yet another court battle on transformation of the tourism sector, we do so with our unwavering resolve that the fund is a necessary intervention, within the constitutional values and imperatives for the creation of an equal society and addressing the imbalances of our country’s past.

“It is our view that these perpetual obstructions to the transformation of the sector come at a high price for those who suffered as a result of serious marginalisation and oppression which dominated our unfortunate and sad history,” Kubayi-Ngubane said.

On 26 January 2021, the department launched the Tourism Equity Fund (TEF) as part of the implementation of the commitments made during State of the Nation Address 2020 and the Department of Tourism’s efforts to transform the sector.

The TEF was developed taking from the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition model of black-industrialists to fast-track transformation in response to 2015 and 2018 State of Transformation reports.

Kubayi-Ngubane said sector players had during consultation on the state of transformation urged the department to take efforts and implement programmes that will transform the sector after concerns of the snail pace transformation.

Last month, the High Court in Pretoria interdicted the processing of applications for the TEF. The court felt it necessary to temporarily halt the processing of TEF until such time that the main application in the matter can be heard.

Kubayi-Ngubane said her department’s mission is to get the matter through the court processes.

She is hopeful that given the nature of the urgency of the matter, Solidarity and AfriForum will agree to an expedited mechanism so as not to disadvantage the thousands of people who have applied since the launch.

“We must express our appreciation on the eagerness shown by many applicants who have responded to the call to apply. Prior to the interdict, Sefa reported that the value of the rands of total applications that qualify for final adjudication stood at about R5.6 billion.

“We must re-emphasise that our efforts to transform the sector remains steadfast. We have instructed our legal representatives to proceed with our defence to stop attempts by AfriForum and Solidarity to oppose and render the criteria unconstitutional,” the Minister said.

Kubayi-Ngubane said the delays in implementing the TEF will negatively affect black businesses which have already negotiated deals and applied for the funding through Sefa.

Source: South African Government News Agency

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Eskom implements stage 2 load shedding, warns of further power cuts

Eskom will implement stage 2 load shedding from 4pm on Monday to 5am Tuesday morning, as a cold front hits the country.

The power utility has warned of possible power cuts throughout the week.

“This load shedding has been caused by the higher demand as a result of the cold front setting in much earlier than expected, as well as high breakdowns of generation units,” the statement read on Monday.

Meanwhile, Eskom said the generation supply constraints would persist throughout the high winter demand period, which increases the likelihood of load shedding.

According to utility, breakdowns currently total 14 560MW of capacity, while another 2 300MW is unavailable due to planned maintenance.

“Some generation units are expected to return to service starting this evening, which would help ease the strain. This, however, is not sufficient to eliminate the high probability of load shedding for the rest of the week.”

Eskom has once again appealed to the public to reduce the usage of electricity in order to assist the country get through these capacity constraints.

“Eskom will communicate promptly should there be any significant changes to the system.”

Source: South African Government News Agency

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Police divers recover body from water canal

A 30-year-old man has been taken into police custody for an alleged murder which occurred on a farm in Theunissen on Sunday.

The body of a male victim, identified as Ditsebe Lesotho, was retrieved from a water canal by police divers after police were called to the crime scene.

The body was found wrapped with a blanket and tied with wires to the trolley that was allegedly used to drag him from the house, the scene where he was killed.

Police also discovered that the male sustained an open wound on the head and a knife was stuck on his hip.

It is believed a hammer was used as a murder weapon, which was found and confiscated by police at the scene where the body was dragged with a trolley.

The suspect, whose acts were witnessed by a community member, was apprehended and handed over to the police.

A case of murder was opened for further investigation, the 30-year-old suspect was arrested and will be charged for murder.

He will appear at the Theunissen Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday.

Source: South African Government News Agency

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Fourteen nabbed for possession of illegal firearms

Police arrested 14 suspects and recovered two unlicensed firearms and ammunition on Friday night in Khayelitsha, in Cape Town.

Members attached to Tactical Combat Task Team (TRT/POP) were doing patrols in Y block when they spotted a group of men in front of a tavern in Khosa Street Y 745, Site B and approached them.

The group immediately ran onto the tavern premises but were stopped by the South African Police Service (SAPS) members.

Upon searching the individuals and the surroundings, police discovered two unlicensed firearms and ammunition, which were confiscated.

The suspects, aged between 23 and 39, were arrested and detained at Khayelitsha SAPS on charges of possession of unlicensed firearms and ammunition.

They are due to appear in the Khayelitsha Magistrate’s Court today.

Source: South African Government News Agency

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Couple granted bail after appearing in court on holiday scam charges

DURBAN – Megasen Roland Chetty (38) and Sarasvathi Belinda Pillay (47) appeared before the Durban Magistrates’ Court on 28 May 2021 for charges of fraud. They were each granted a bail of R5 000-00. The matter was remanded to 7 July 2021 in the Durban Magistrates’ Court.

Their court appearance follows a string of fraud cases that were committed since February 2018 until October 2019. The suspects were positively linked to 14 counts of fraud that they had committed at different areas like Chatsworth, Phoenix, Malvern, Town Hill, Tongaat and other areas. Their modus operandi was to promise people to secure discounted holidays abroad and locally. The total amount of cash that was defrauded is R900 000-00. The dockets opened were transferred to the Provincial Commercial Crime Investigation for further investigation. On the morning of 28 May 2021, the suspects were arrested and they have appeared in court.

We are also appealing to other people who are victims of the similar scam to contact the investigating officer Constable Durugiah on 082 334 8454.

Source: South African Police Service