LIFE FOR A LOAF: DUO GET FIFTEEN YEARS FOR STEALING R100 - Scrolla.Africa

Thursday 15 April
                                              2021, 0145

Real News. Scrolla.Africa

LIFE FOR A LOAF: DUO GET FIFTEEN
YEARS FOR STEALING R100
Doreen Mokgolo

It was a robbery committed for R100, but Godfrey Nhlapo and
Tumi Tsotetsi are going to spend a long time in jail - one year in
fact for every seven rand they stole.

The men, aged 19 and 20, have been found guilty and
sentenced to 15 years imprisonment by the Nigel Regional
Court for aggravated robbery.

Nhlapo and Tsotetsi robbed a 14-year-old boy of R100 while he
was on his way to buy bread in July in Bluegumview, Duduza.

They choked the victim from behind while one of them pulled
out a knife on the boy’s three younger friends and ordered
them to leave.

The victim’s parents reported the case to the local police and
the duo were arrested.

Handing down his judgement, Magistrate Juan Du Preez Voogt
said the sentence will send a strong message to the society
against any form of brutality and protect the community from
further harm.

“The court has a duty to ensure that a lesson is learned by the
two in line with the pillars of justice,” he said.

Duduza police spokesperson Sergeant Harry Manaka said
robberies with weapons used is a major concern in the area.

“These crimes are often committed by young people who rob
others of their cellphones, money and other valuables even in
broad daylight.

“We can’t afford to have a situation where children can’t play
in the streets because they fear being robbed,” he said.

“We are hoping the sentencing will send a serious message to
those who commit such crimes to know that the punishment
will be severe.”

Manaka encouraged residents to report any form of criminal
activity to the police.

Hero boyfriend dies fighting thugs who
robbed his sweetheart
Everson Luhanga

                  When his girlfriend arrived home from work
                  crying hysterically and told her boyfriend she had
                  been robbed at gunpoint, he wanted revenge.

Justice Nobela took a knife from the kitchen and went to hunt
down the armed men who had just robbed his girlfriend.

But Justice’s desire for justice cost him his life.

The same thugs shot him dead.

Bongiwe Gwamanda explained that she was robbed at gunpoint
by two armed men after she got out of a taxi in
Braamfischerville, Soweto.

Bongiwe said she tried to tell him not to go because the men
were armed and dangerous.

“But he rushed out of the house and I followed him,” she said.

She said when they arrived at the scene, they found Bongiwe’s
empty bag dumped on the street. The men were still there and
waved guns at the couple.

“Justice went to ask for help and about 30 members of the
community joined us to look for the thugs who have been
terrorising the community,” she said.

“Justice led the pack with his knife in his hand walking in front
of the crowd.”

But then they heard gunshots.

“We all ran for cover in the long-grown grass,” she said.

“But when we regrouped, we realised Justice was not there.”

She said they found him lying dead with his knife in his hand.

“Justice was shot by the same thugs who robbed me,” said
Bongiwe.

She said it hurts knowing that Justice was fighting for her.

“He loved me. I know that he died for me,” she said.

Bongiwe said when she comes home from work and passes the
spot, memories of the day come and she has sleepless nights.

Ward committee and Public Safety Officer Joel Mabaso said
three more people were reported to have been robbed on the
same night Bongiwe was robbed that led to Justice’s murder.

"DO YOUR DAMNDEST" – ZUMA
Former President Jacob Zuma snubbed the
Constitutional Court on Wednesday, ignoring a
deadline to advise how he should be punished for
being in contempt of court.

In the latest round of the fight over Zuma’s subpoena to testify
to the Zondo commission, Zuma sent a 21 page letter criticising

the court, questioning whether it should be involved in his
battle with the Zondo commission.

Zuma had until the end of Wednesday to file papers on what
his sentence should be for being held in contempt of court for
refusing to testify about corruption during his presidency.

The Court asked for an affidavit no longer than 15 pages.

Instead it got a 21 page letter, which said:

“I am resigned to being a prisoner of the Constitutional Court
because it is clear to me that the Constitutional Court considers
the Zondo Commission to be central to our national life and the
search for the national truth on the state of governance during
my presidency.”

He ended the letter saying: “I am ready for the finding the
Constitutional Court is already contemplating, but will not
clothe it with the legitimacy of my participation at this late
stage and for a purpose that is so obvious. I shall await the
decision of your esteemed court and am preparing myself for
its obvious although unjustified severity.”

Picture source: @TheRealJZ

Justice for murdered Pan-African icon
Thomas Sankara after 34 years?

The EFF has welcomed the Burkina Faso government’s decision
to prosecute former strongman Blaise Compaoré for murdering
Thomas Sankara.

Compaoré, the former Burikinabe president, came to power in
1987 after a coup in which President Sankara, Compaoré’s
former friend, was killed.

Sankara’s family have been pursuing the case for 34 years -
throughout the 27 years that Compaoré ruled the West African
country with an iron first, and since Compaoré was pushed into
exile after mass protests in 2015.

Sankara, a Marxist, Pan-African leader, has been an icon for the
EFF, which said: “In essence Compaoré killed Sankara in order
to subject the country [to] the will of colonial and imperialist
powers”.

After taking power, Compaoré became a close ally of France,
and of Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi, and was a powerful force in
West African politics.

While in power, Compaoré denied calls for Sankara’s remains to
be exhumed, but the country’s transitional government
reopened the investigation after Compaoré fled to exile in
Abidjan.

Picture source: @zenzele

Penniless Maritzburg students forced to
sleep on street
Lungani Zungu

              It’s been five days since thirty five students from
              Mgungundlovu TVET College in Pietermaritzburg
              started sleeping on the street outside campus
with no food to eat.

They’re among the students who did not get their allowances
for three months from the National Students Financial Aid
Scheme (NSFAS).

This led to them being kicked out of their residences by their
landlords.

Adding to their woes was the fact that no one from
management intervened to help them.

The students were able to register but did not get their
allowances, including private accommodation allowance.

Lungani Dlamini from Mpangeni pleaded with the officials from
higher education to help them.

“We have been sleeping on the floor for a week. All we want is
education, nothing else. We want to study and change our
families’ situations.”

He said he would not go back home, which is more than 230
kilometres away from the campus.

Going back home would be a dream deferred for the electrical
engineering student.

“When I left home, I promised my family that I would come
back as a graduate. I haven’t achieved that as yet. I will fight for

that to happen. That is the only time I will go back home,” said
Dlamini.

He thanked the Good Samaritans, who have been giving them
food and money.

The students have held a series of protests, but nothing has
happened.

Many of them come from impoverished families in rural areas
as far as Nongoma, northern KZN.

With winter around the corner, the students said they would
not be able to brave the chilly Pietermaritzburg winter nights.

Nadipha Dingidlela from Matatiele has not told her parents
about sleeping outside, fearing this will affect their ailing
health.

“Our own institution is treating us like trash. No one wants to
listen to us. Instead, they are telling us to go back home. I am
not going to do that. I will fight for my education.”

The office administration student said they feared for their
lives, especially at night.

Ishmael Mnisi, the spokesperson of the Higher Education and
Training did not respond to questions sent to him.

Among the questions asked was when the department would
intervene.

Picture source: News24

Mystery of mother and two kids missing
for a week
Elmon Tshikhudo

A week has passed since Suzan Makhovha and
her two children Vhuthuhawe and Takalani went
missing.

The three from Muledane Block J in Thohoyandou, Limpopo
went missing on 6 April 2021 and have not been seen since.

According to the police, Suzan’s husband Michael Netshianda
said he left his family at home when going to work last week
Tuesday.

When he returned home they were nowhere to be found.

Surprisingly enough the doors of the house were closed but not
locked.

The husband opened a missing person file after enquiries with
relatives failed to bear fruit.

This has since sent the family into a state of panic and despair.
The father of the missing woman Peter Makhovha said he
received the bad news while attending a funeral of a relative at
Thengwe in Mutale on Sunday.

"We started doing enquiries with relatives and we searched
everywhere with no success. We can't even figure out what
could have happened but what we know is that the couple
sometimes had challenges as husband and wife but were able
to sort them out. What happened is still a mystery to us," he
said.

Makhovha further pointed out that the disappearance of the
three has devastated the family to such an extent that they are
having sleepless nights.

"Her mother Maria is not coping and I am afraid this would
affect her health. She hasn’t been eating well saying she won't
unless she knows where her daughter and grandkids are,” he
said.

“We have put all in the hands of God and our prayer is that the
community would assist us after reading this, and we find them
still alive," Makhovha said.

Limpopo police confirmed a missing persons file was opened
and requested the community to help with information and
those with information may contact Detective Constable
Shudufhadzo Sivhaga on 072 424 6288 or the crime stop
number 0860010111or the nearest Police Station or
MySAPSApp.

When it comes to race, there’s always a
South African angle

America’s racially charged trial of the Minneapolis police officer
charged with murdering a black man, George Floyd, by kneeling
on his neck for nine and a half minutes, got its South African
moment on Wednesday.

A Zimbabwean born, University of Cape Town trained doctor
David Fowler testified in defence of the white police officer,
Derek Chauvin, that Floyd had died as a result of a cardiac
arrest, or heart attack, as well as inhaling a car exhaust and
being high on fentanyl.

Fowler’s testimony cut against those of other prosecution
witnesses, who said everyone dies of cardiac arrest because
their heart stops. The knee on the neck, they argue, is why
Floyd's heart stopped.

Many posters on social media went to town on Fowler’s South
African connection. One wrote: “I don’t know Dr David Fowler,
but I’m not sure the optics are great having a white witness for

the defence who grew up and graduated in Cape Town during
the height of apartheid South Africa.” Other comments were
even less charitable.

Fowler’s testimony is important because deciding the ultimate
cause of death is one of the major questions before jurors in
the trial.

Under withering cross-examination from the prosecutor Jerry
Blackwell, Fowler’s assertions were, in the words of former US
attorney Glen Kirschner, ”torn down brick by brick.”

It turns out that Fowler, the former chief medical examiner of
Maryland, is facing civil rights charges himself for allegedly
helping to cover up the police’s role in the death in custody of a
19-year-old black man, Anton Black, in 2018.

The jury in the Chauvin case will begin deliberating early next
week in one of the most closely watched trials in decades.
Floyd’s death was the spark for the Black Lives Matter protests
last summer, the largest mass organised protests in the history
of the United States.

Meanwhile, Kim Potter, a police officer who earlier this week
fatally shot Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old black man, at a traffic

stop, was charged with manslaughter on Wednesday. The
killing has led to several nights of angry protests in the town of
Brooklyn, Minnesota.

Picture source: @LouRaguse

Facebook Bitche slaps French town
Arthur Greene

Ville de Bitche, an historic town in northern France, has fallen
victim to a Facebook algorithm, which deleted its page for using
offensive language on 19 March.

On Tuesday, after reports of the social media site’s suspension
spread, the town’s page was quickly restored, and Facebook
swiftly issued an apology.

Bitche - the “e” is silent - in the Moselle has a population of
5,000 and is the famous location of the Siege of Bitche, which
took place between 1870 and 1871.

But this is a history which remained unknown to the social
media giant, who for over three weeks kept the official Bitche
Facebook page deactivated.

Bitche’s mayor, Benoît Kieffer said in a post, “The name of our
town seems to suffer from a bad interpretation … the most
astonishing thing is that Facebook took so long to correct this.”

Kieffer went on to state that Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of
Facebook, contacted him personally to apologise for his
company’s error, which was, according to them, due to
incorrect analysis by its systems.

However, Bitche's communications official, Valérie Degouy,
repeatedly tried to inform the company of its mistake - without
luck - and had to eventually make an account named after its
postal code, called “Mairie 57230.”

Degouy told Radio Mélodie on Monday, "I tried to reach out to
Facebook in every possible way, through different forms, but
there's nothing [I could] do," she said, adding that she had
"already had issues when I first created the page."

After Facebook restored the town’s page, Kieffer said: “I and
my fellow citizens would like to humbly invite Monsieur Mark

Zuckerberg and Monsieur the president general of Facebook
France to our lovely fortified town, which has distinguished
itself in history several times.

“Together, we can honour together the memory of compatriots
and our American friends who under the flag of the 100
Infantry Division came from South Carolina to liberate our
town: liberators who called themselves, with pride, the ‘sons of
Bitche’.”

Picture source: euronews

South African superkid SuperMash to
be youngest ever speaker at global
forum
Dylan Bettencourt

At the tender age of eight, Prince Mashawana is
about to make history and become the youngest
ever speaker to do a Tedx Talk.

Mashawana, better known by his superhero name SuperMash,
has inspired thousands of people by giving them the motivation

to see themselves as superheroes. SuperMash is South Africa’s
first black fictional superhero. The basis of SuperMash is that he
is a superhero that can share his powers with others. Powers
that will allow children to fight any fear or challenge they may
have as well as increasing their self-awareness that enables
their emotional growth.

SuperMash is a character that was created by Rainbow Nation
Comics. They collaborated with the young Mashawana to bring
this character to life and create a more real character that
could generate popularity. SuperMash attempts to tackle very
serious issues that many South African children may face.
Issues such as substance abuse, child abuse, bullying as well as
discrimination that leads to violence.

Mashawana will join the likes of Bill Gates and Simon Sinek who
have also been speakers at Tedx Talks, an outstanding
achievement given he is only eight years old. SuperMash will be
speaking at the TedxSandton later this month.

Picture source: @SuperMash4

Banyana’s winning ways
Menzi Magubane

                 Banyana Banyana rounded off their friendlies
                 with a comfortable 2-0 victory over neighbours
                 Botswana on Tuesday.

Thembi Kgatlana and Gabriela Salgado were on target to give
Banyana their second win in three days following their win
against Zambia on Saturday.

“These friendlies are preparing us for the vision the coach and
her technical team have drawn up for us," captain Ayanda
Dlamini told IOL.

Banyana will miss the Olympic Games in July and used the
friendlies as part of their preparations for the Cosafa Women's
Championship and 2022 CAF Africa Women’s Cup of Nations
qualifiers.

Details of this year's Cosafa have not been released but
Banyana will be looking forward to defending the title they won
in November in Gqeberha.

The start of Africa Women’s Cup of Nations qualifiers is also still
to be announced. The tournament will be played in Morocco.

The continental showpiece has extended from eight to 12
teams with the top four finishers guaranteed a spot at the 2023
FIFA Women’s World Cup to be co-hosted by Australia and New
Zealand.

Banyana coach Desiree Ellis now turns her focus to the 2021
Sasol League. This year's campaign kicked off this past weekend
after a break of more than a year due to the coronavirus. It will
give Ellis an opportunity to follow the progress of her players
and possibly scout for new talent for Banyana.

Picture source: @BanyanaBanyana