Indholdsfortegnelse for 2022-03-18 i Mercury

Thami Magubane thami.magubane@inl.co.za KWAZULU-Natal Premier Sihle Zikalala has been accused of interfering in the appointment process of the new city manager for the eThekwini Municipality. DA leader Nicole Graham alleged in a statement yesterday that there was an attempt to pre-select the person who was going to be the next city manager. The Premier’s Office, however, pushed back on the allegations, saying this was an attempt by the opposition to gain relevance by attacking the premier. “The DA in eThekwini has written to mayor Mxolisi Kaunda to demand that he call an urgent Executive Committee meeting. It is alleged that the ANC’s deployment committee met yesterday (Wednesday) and that three names and a favoured candidate were decided for the eThekwini city manager position.” The position of municipal manager is hotly…

A READER has responded from her own pain and experience regarding what can be going on in a relationship that others don’t get to see. I have intentionally published the email without edits because the tone and its pace give insight to the writer’s pain and quiet desperation. This is clearly not a “new” issue the writer has to face. My hope is that she will take the action required of her to find greater peace for herself: “I am responding to your column that was about things in a relationship others don’t see. “I wish those who disrespect their spouses and yet protest that they love them would explain why they do that when, after all, they would not tolerate being disrespected themselves. “This is my theory: one cannot…

MICHAEL TINARWO | Warrington The world has been left devastated by the recent decision from President Vladimir Putin to invade Ukraine. This inhumane act has left dozens of civilians slaughtered in the streets and thousands of brave soldiers killed trying to defend their country. It is encouraging to see world leaders stand against this act of terror and implement sanctions against Russia. This is a clear message to the world that these human rights abuses and acts of terror will not be tolerated or excused. Power should be exercised with fairness and grace, it should not be abused to further a president’s agenda to the detriment of innocent civilians. It would be encouraging if the world could also hold Emmerson Mnangagwa’s Zanu-PF party accountable for their countless human…

GLEN CHRISTIE | Durban The announcement by Cogta Minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma that the National State of Disaster has been extended for another month is to say the least quite ludicrous, and the mind boggles at this statement, especially when taking into account the reasons and the enforcement of the rules under level 1. The reason she gives is that this extension will give the government and organs of state time to augment legislation to ensure the continued management of the Covid-19 pandemic after the state of disaster. Well, one does not need to be a rocket scientist to understand this to be a bunch of buzz words. It is quite unbelievable that this extension would have anything to do with the government doing what they have to…

Sihle Mavuso sihle.mavuso@inl.co.za Former Cosatu strongman Zwelinzima Vavi has spoken out after news broke on Wednesday that he is facing immediate suspension as the general secretary of the South African Federation of Trade Unions, the labour federation he helped to establish in 2017. He has dared those seeking to oust him, saying they did not have the power to do so and the alleged grounds they were seeking to suspend him on were spurious. This was after the new and second- largest labour federation after Cosatu on Tuesday served him with a letter to explain why he should not be suspended. At the time of publication, Vavi was still to plead his case and state why he should not be placed on precautionary suspension while an investigation to get to…

Chulumanco Mahamba chulumanco.mahamba@inl.co.za THE government is calling for public comment on proposed health regulations for managing the pandemic after it extended the state of disaster by another month. On Wednesday, the Department of Health published the proposed health regulations to deal with Covid-19 and other notifiable medical conditions outside the National State of Disaster for public comments to allow the public to have meaningful input in the decision-making process. “This is part of the government’s transition plans from the current National State of Disaster, which has been in place more than two years since it was first declared in response to the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020, in order to have a specific legal instrument to manage the current and future pandemics,” department spokesperson Foster Mohale said. Mohale said the…

Chevon Booysen chevon.booysen@inl.co.za CONVICTED double murderer and law-enforcement officer Morne Horn was sentenced to 10 years behind bars for the murder of SAPS constable Thandimfundo Sigcu and a further seven years for the murder of suspected drug dealer Bongani Jack. However, Horn intends appealing against his conviction and sentence. He immediately applied for the extension of his R5 000 bail in the Western Cape High Court yesterday. He will return to court for the bail application and leave to appeal on April 12. Horn, who had handed himself over to the Hawks after the incident last year, had shot Sigcu, who was performing undercover duties while arresting Jack on January 7. He was convicted in November last year. Reacting to Horn’s sentence, the City said they noted the judgment and…

Ritshidze Nenweli and Reynold Chow South Africa is a semi-arid region characterised by high evaporation and low precipitation rates. Parts of the country frequently experience less than average rainfall. When these periods of low rainfall are prolonged, droughts ensue. During periods of drought, surface water reservoirs like the Theewaterskloof and Wemmershoek Dams, are typically the first to noticeably dry up. Many of us still remember the recent drought in the Western Cape. In early 2017, the collective reservoir levels of the Western Cape Water Supply System (WCWSS) hovered around 20% of its full capacity. Later that year, the City of Cape Town designated the term “Day Zero” whereby WCWSS collective dam levels were expected to drop below 13.5% by April 2018, and water supply to most private taps would be…

A 7.4-magnitude earthquake that hit central Japan killed at least four people and injured more than 100, Japanese officials said yesterday morning, bringing back memories of a disastrous tsunami that left thousands dead just over a decade ago. The main quake struck at 11.36pm on Wednesday night and led to power outages for 2 million people, officials said, with about 30 000 residents still lacking electricity. Roofs of houses collapsed, and store shelves were emptied on to floors. A man in his sixties died after falling from his roof. Another in his seventies suffered a heart attack. The powerful earthquake hit parts of Miyagi and Fukushima, areas where a massive 9.0-magnitude quake triggered a 7-meter tsunami in 2011 that ultimately killed more than 18 000 people, injured at least 6…

TOKYO: Princess Aiko, the only child of Japanese Emperor Naruhito, said yesterday that taking part in rituals as an adult member of the imperial family remained “rather tense” for her, and marriage is still far in the future. Japan’s imperial family became the centre of global attention last year when Aiko’s 30-year-old cousin Mako defied widespread opposition to marry her college sweetheart after being diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder due to the stresses of her tumultuous engagement. Mako’s marriage to Kei Komuro, a commoner who works in a law office in New York, meant giving up her title and leaving the royal family according to imperial family rules – a situation that Aiko, who just turned 20 and became a full-fledged adult royal in December, will face if there is…

HELSINKI: Finland’s government is to direct E300 million to Finnish farmers facing an “acute liquidity crisis” caused by high inflation and rising energy prices due to the war in Ukraine, finance minister Annika Saarikko said yesterday. “Farmers are out of cash when they need to buy fertilisers, seeds and livestock feed every day,” Saarikko said. She expected the EU to decide by next week if the bloc’s rules could be loosened to allow higher subsidies under existing support schemes. “The state’s part in the short term is to handle the acute liquidity crisis which stems from rising energy prices so we can come out of this without losing profitable farms,” Saarikko said.…

WYNONA LOUW wynona.louw@inl.co.za SHARKS coach Sean Everitt has made three changes to their line-up for tomorrow’s United Rugby Championship clash with Zebre Parma in Durban. Everitt has again gone with a strong side which includes Springboks Siya Kolisi, Bongi Mbonambi, Thomas du Toit, Sikhumbuzo Notshe, Makazole Mapimpi and Aphelele Fassi, who set the Kings Park pitch alight last Friday. It will be Kolisi’s second official game in charge in the place of fellow Bok Lukhanyo Am, who is in Japan on a short-term deal approved by the Sharks. Up front, Ntuthuko Mchunu will join the pack due to an injury to experienced prop Ox Nche, while there are two changes to the backline. The Sharks' 37-20 home victory over the Scarlets took them to sixth position on the log, and…

SUPERSPORT United have a good opportunity to return to winning ways when tthey ravel to Mbombela Stadium to play against a relegation threatened TS Galaxy tomorrow. Kaitano Tembo’s team head into the match on the back of a frustrating 3-2 defeat to Orlando Pirates on Wednesday, a game which they will feel they should have won. After taking a 2-0 lead, they ended up falling to pieces from the end of the second half onwards with Pirates eventually getting the winner in stoppage time through Goodman Mosele. SuperSport’s recent form has not been good as they have lost three out of their last four Premiership games. The loss of Teboho Mokoena to Mamelodi Sundowns during in January appears to have affected the quality of their play. At this…

Loyiso Sidimba loyiso.sidimba@inl.co.za THE government yesterday defended its plan to donate R50 million in urgent humanitarian assistance to Cuba and indicated that no final decision had been made. North Gauteng High Court Judge Brenda Neukircher heard arguments in AfriForum’s urgent application to interdict the government’s donation of R50m to Cuba. Hephzibah Rajah, representing International Relations and Co-operation Minister Dr Naledi Pandor, told the court that the decision on the disbursement of the funds had not yet been made and promised that it would be subjected to parliamentary oversight. Rajah said the matter would be tabled before Parliament within a reasonable time. She was critical of AfriForum’s application, saying the lobby group had not made a prima facie case for the relief it sought. ”There is no irreparable harm. The correct…

“LORD Lebedev of Hampton and Siberia …” What kind of joker could make up such a title and claim also that its holder has a seat in Britain’s House of Lords? Satire is satire, but surely there are limits? Er, there in fact is such a personage. Eveny Lebedev, the son of former KGB agent Alexander Lebedev, received a peerage in 2020. The London Sunday Times has reported that the House of Lords Appointments Commission initially advised against Lebedev receiving the peerage. Downing Street has not commented. Then in the House of Commons this week, Angela Rayner, the deputy leader of the Labour Party, went at it full tilt. Accusing the prime minister of “cavorting with Russian oligarchs in luxury villas while neglecting the security of the British people”, she…

NARENDH GANESH | Durban North Our judiciary forms a very critical pillar of our constitutional democracy. The appointment of the new Chief Justice, Raymond Zondo, will be viewed in ambivalence depending on one's vantage point or, more importantly, on one’s political affiliation. Sadly and ironically, it is the politicians who ultimately decide on such matters. Notwithstanding, Justice Zondo is a distinguished jurist and his prominence in the Zondo Commission of Inquiry into State Capture catapulted him as a leading contender for the top post. From his humble beginnings in Ixopo, living in abject poverty, to his meteoric rise as our chief jurist, Justice Zondo has my stamp of approval. Like any public appointment of an official, there will always be those who might disagree – that is fine.…

DAVID CARTWRIGHT | Hillcrest The latest turn of events insofar as Covid-19 is concerned, namely that the existing restrictions must stay in force until at least 15 April, is disturbing. A specialist in the person of Dr Salim Abdool Karim is surprised this decision should hold sway. Just one thought comes to mind: given the fact that civil disobedience is running amok in virtually all spheres of life in this lovely country, just what would be the consequences if the South African public, en masse, simply refused to wear masks from now, and attended whatever mass gatherings took their fancy? The bottom line seems clear: there is an agenda that the ANC simply will not divulge. And, it is equally clear that one way or another, that agenda…

Nomonde Zondi nomonde.zondi@inl.co.za THE family of an eThekwini Municipality employee who was gunned down in his office last month, said they were scared that if the suspect who is in custody received bail, the real perpetrators of the crime would kill him just to weaken the murder case of their loved one. Amos Nkosinathi Ngcobo, who was the superintendent at the Water and Sanitation Unit, was shot in his office in Springfield last month. He died at the scene. The family attended the case in the Durban Magistrate’s Court yesterday. They said they wanted to see justice being served. Speaking to The Mercury yesterday, Ngcobo’s younger brother Sphiwe Mthembu said the court should not consider giving the suspect bail because he was not the mastermind. Ngcobo said they knew that…

Sibusiso Mboto sibusiso.mboto@inl.co.za LEADING figures in Pietermaritzburg have called for calm following an incident in which a man was killed in the KwaZulu-Natal capital, sparking infighting between a businessman and a customer. Police spokesperson Captain Kholeka Mhlongo said Pietermaritzburg police are investigating cases of murder, attempted murder and assault following an incident that caused chaos on the city’s main street. “It is alleged that yesterday (Wednesday) at 15:15, a fight broke out between two people on Church Street in Pietermaritzburg. The members of the community also joined the fight. As a result, three people were stabbed and wounded. The third male, who was also stabbed, ran into a nearby bank where he collapsed and died,” said Mhlongo. She added that unconfirmed reports said the fight broke out after a firearm…

GUGULETHU police are investigating the alleged rape of a 13-year-old girl by a 37-year-old suspect on Wednesday afternoon. It is believed that the incident happened at around 4pm. According to a resident, the suspect allegedly got into the house where the girl was sleeping through the window, took out a knife, and threatened to kill her if she shouted. The suspect was caught by residents in the area but he managed to escape while he was being beaten. Two weeks ago an elderly lady was raped and killed by a man who lives in the same area as her in Gugulethu. Police spokesperson Wesley Twigg said the matter was under investigation. No arrests have been made. Gugulethu Development Forum chairperson Vincent Domingo said the government needed to support women,…

| Mercury Correspondent THE Desmond and Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation will on March 25 open a new and thought-provoking permanent exhibition titled Truth To Power: Desmond Tutu and the Churches in the Struggle Against Apartheid. Curated in partnership with the Apartheid Museum, the state-of-the-art exhibition celebrates the life and legacy of Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Mpilo Tutu. It is housed at the historic Old Granary building, home of the foundation and the Tutu IP Trust. “The exhibition forms part of the foundation’s Knowledge Legacy Programme and supports its mission of ensuring that the uncompromising bravery and values of its founders are celebrated, communicated and curated for posterity. “Despite the Nobel Peace Prize Laureate’s profound impact on South Africa and the world, there has been no single permanent exhibit solely dedicated…

Zelda Venter zelda.venter@inl.co.za THE Children’s Institute has received permission to join the application by the Centre for Child Law in which it is challenging the “lenient” punishment by the SA Council for Educators (Sace) to two teachers who hit pupils. The Children’s Institute is joining the proceedings, which will be heard on April 25 in the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, as a friend of the court. The application concerns the “shockingly lenient” sanctions which Sace applied to teachers who were found guilty of assaulting schoolchildren. The two unrelated cases related to the assault of a 7-year-old and a 10-year-old. In the first case in Gauteng, a boy in Grade 2 was hit on the back of his head with a PVC pipe by his teacher in 2015. He suffered head…

Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s request to supply Kiev with air defence systems against the backdrop of peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, was in line with his thoughtless policy, Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said yesterday. During his virtual address to the US Congress, Zelenskiy asked Washington to supply Ukraine with air defence systems, including the S-300 ones, as an alternative to the declaration of no-fly zone over Ukraine. “This is in line with Zelenskiy’s absolutely thoughtless and soulless policy towards his own people and, in principle, Ukraine,” Zakharova said. Such statements were extremely dangerous, and such supplies would become a destabilising factor that would definitely not bring peace to Ukraine, and could have much more dangerous consequences in the long run, the diplomat added. Zakharova also accused Ukraine’s embassies and…

Ugandan author and activist Norman Tumuhimbise and a woman journalist have been charged with cyber-stalking the country’s president, their lawyer said yesterday. Tumuhimbise, who heads local pressure group The Alternative Movement and an online media platform Alternative Digitalk TV, was due to launch a book critical of President Yoweri Museveni on March 30. The 36-year-old was among nine journalists arrested for offensive communication a week ago. Seven were released without being charged, his lawyer Eron Kiiza said. “Tumuhimbise and his colleague, Farida Bikobere, who works with him at Digitalk TV, were charged with cyber-stalking the president,” Kiiza said. Following a hearing on Wednesday, “the two denied the charges and were remanded to Luzira prison until March 21”, he said, referring to a maximum-security facility in Kampala. “Both were tortured like…

Sanaa: Yemen’s Huthi rebels were not prepared to hold talks with the government in Saudi Arabia or other “enemy countries”, an official said yesterday, after a proposal to meet in Riyadh. The Iran-backed rebels said they were open to finding a peaceful solution to the seven-year war, but baulked at travelling to Saudi Arabia, which leads a military coalition fighting on the side of the government. The Saudi-led coalition intervened in Yemen in 2015, the year after the Huthis seized Sanaa . The ensuing war has cost hundreds of thousands of lives in what the UN has called the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.…

THe fishing offshore has been very good up north with most days seeing the anglers come home happy. The north coast, as mentioned, has been on fire. The gamefish have been peeling drag and testing the angler’s knots. Live bait has continued to be scarce but there have been some mackerel around in pockets. Try to make the most of these pockets and stock up on some decent mackerel. The tuna have made up the bulk of the catches but the couta have made up the numbers. The couta have been on the small side but they made up for their smaller side with a good helping of aggression and hunger. The tuna have been big and strong. Live bait has been the best choice for them. The snoek have…

Mihlali Baleka mihlali.baleka@inl.co.za MOTHOBI Mvala is delighted that his simple style of play is the springboard that has ensured that he seamlessly adapts at Mamelodi Sundowns, an outfit that has star players, although he’s still eager to use more of his shot power going forward. Playing for one of the traditional big three clubs in the land is every footballer’s dream. And after spending a handful of seasons with Highlands Park, Mvala made the switch from Tembisa to Chloorkop, where he became a Brazilian. But it was going to take something special from him to break into the midfield that had experienced campaigners, including captain Hlompho Kekana. Mvala stuck to his style of play as he kept things simple, playing 22 games in his first season. “For me coming to…

Sibusiso Mboto sibusiso.mboto@inl.co.za THE Zulu royal family faction that is opposed to King Misuzulu kaZwelithini ascending to the throne says that the matter is far from over. Prince Mbonisi Zulu’s lawyer told The Mercury that some members of the royal family did not accept President Cyril Ramaphosa’s decision to endorse King Misuzulu as the rightful heir to the Zulu throne. Advocate Peter Zwane said that while he did not want to pre-empt the next move by the “royal rebels”, there was unhappiness over the decision. “My client is not happy at all about the decision, and I am now getting ready to take instructions from him regarding the next step,” he said. Zwane dismissed earlier media reports that said the prince had accepted the president’s announcement. “What was meant there…

Kailene Pillay kailene.pillay@inl.co.za Former DA youth leader Mbali Ntuli announced her resignation from the party and as a member of the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Legislature (MPL) yesterday, joining a growing list of prominent black leaders who have left the DA in recent years. Ntuli said she wanted to work with community leaders to “harness their potential to realise change”, hence her decision to bow out of formal politics for now. In a statement issued by Ntuli yesterday, she said she was taking a break from formal politics to get back on the ground and to help “real change-makers make our country better”. “I am excited about going onto the ground to work with communities as they uplift themselves in keeping with the South African spirit… “I am not lost to politics,…

ALLAN WOLMAN | Tel Aviv, Israel South Africa, prohibited by law from supplying weapons to countries violating human rights under the National Conventional Arms Control Act and the National Conventional Arms Control Committee (NCACC), has for some years been supplying Saudi Arabia and the UAE with deadly weapons that have been used in the Yemen war as reported in the media. Regarded by the UN, prior to the recent Ukrainian conflict, as the greatest humanitarian crisis of the time, more than 100 000 people have been killed, including children, and millions displaced. Yet South Africa, complicit in this slaughter, ignores the convention she has signed and sworn to uphold. Clearly, arms sales violating its own principles but dominated by economic gains are no surprise, given the wide and…

TONY BALL | Gillitts It should not be necessary to have to impart simple advice to our overpaid president and his Cabinet, but their track record is quite abominable despite all their flowery talk, and in Fikile Mbulula’s case, as Tony Leon says, maybe spend more time doing your job than going on Twitter. I have a recommendation to contribute towards relieving our shocking unemployment. All around South Africa the state of our roads – the road markings, the overgrown verges, the destroyed barriers and of course the potholes – make driving, particularly at night, extremely dangerous and as the AA (Automobile Association) have commented, is one of the causes of our high accident rate. Surely it is obvious that each municipality should install teams across the country…

Karen Singh karen.singh@inl.co.za THE manager of The Mercury Hibberdene Children’s Holiday Home on the South Coast was grateful for the rain after being without water for almost a week. Nishi Naidoo, the manager of the seaside holiday home for underprivileged children, said after six days without water, the water supply was finally restored on Wednesday morning. Naidoo said the home had been badly affected by the water outage as she was unable to book camps. To generate income, the home hosts members of the public. “We had 70 adults here. Paid for. No water. Our Jojo tanks are empty. We had to buy drinking water and collect from nearby farmers,” she said. Naidoo said this was an ongoing issue due to vandalism, load shedding or breakdowns. She said they…

Siyabonga Mkhwanazi siyabonga.mkhwanazi@inl.co.za President Cyril Ramaphosa says the government is standing by to mediate in the Ukraine conflict after it was approached by several parties. He told Parliament, during question time yesterday, that it was in the interest of both Russia and Ukraine to find an amicable solution. Ramaphosa also briefed MPs about the process the government would take to appoint the next national police commissioner. He said he would appoint a panel that would select candidates for the top police job. Khehla Sitole is leaving the police at the end of March after he was axed as commissioner a few weeks ago by Ramaphosa. But opposition parties were up in arms because he fired Sitole but retained Police Minister Bheki Cele. The DA and EFF said Ramaphosa should have…

POLICE officers from Mpumalanga have been deployed to Cape Town following at least 13 execution-style murders in townships and on the Cape Flats recently. Police Minister Bheki Cele hosted a community Imbizo in Monwabisi Park yesterday, where residents were able to engage with him in an effort to find a way forward. Eight people were killed in Manenberg last week, while five people were gunned down in the Endlovini informal settlement on Monday. Cele said the SAPS had the names of suspects. “We need to work for the people and put aside the politics from national, provincial, and local governments to improve the lives of the people. “People should support the Community Police Forums (CPF) and Neighbourhood Watch. “If you don’t do so you are undermining the law. We can’t…

IN terms of appointing someone who could hit the ground running, Cricket South Africa made the perfect choice in giving Pholetsi Moseki the role of chief executive. It’s a position in South African sports administration that has proved problematic over the past few years, with a commission of inquiry removing one occupant – Gerald Majola – and another, Thabang Moroe, being sacked for serious breaches of the Companies Act following a forensic audit. Moseki inherits the role, having acted in it since December 2020, after two others: Dr Jacques Faul and Kugandrie Govender, who were also temporary occupiers of the most important administrative position in South African cricket. Faul left because of internal politics, while Govender was removed following a disciplinary process in July last year. Moseki was first employed…

KYIV: Russia warned the US yeterday that Moscow had the might to put the world’s pre-eminent superpower in its place and accused the West of stoking a wild Russophobic plot to tear Russia apart. Dmitry Medvedev, who served as president from 2008 to 2012 and is now deputy secretary of Russia’s Security Council, said the US had stoked “disgusting” Russophobia in an attempt to force Russia to its knees. “It will not work – Russia has the might to put all of our brash enemies in their place,” Medvedev said. Since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, the US and its European and Asian allies have slapped sanctions on Russian leaders, companies and businessmen, cutting off Russia from much of the world economy. President Vladimir Putin said that what he…

LOS ANGELES: Ellen DeGeneres will be ending The Ellen DeGeneres Show in May. The 64-year-old comic’s talk shows ends on May 26 after 19 seasons with a star-studded send-off. A representative said: “The line-up of special guests will pay tribute to the trailblazing host and share their favourite memories from DeGeneres’ 19 iconic seasons.” In May last year Ellen announced she would be ending her long running chat show as she needed “something new to challenge her”. The show’s slot will be filled by the The Kelly Clarkson Show.…

FOR most of the pandemic, South Korea has been hailed as a success story in managing the coronavirus, but now the country’s Omicron-fuelled surge has driven its infection rate to one of the highest in the world. Yesterday, South Korea recorded its deadliest day during the pandemic with 429 deaths in a 24-hour period. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency reported 621 328 cases (1% of the population of 50 million), another daily record and a sharp 55% increase from 400 730 the day before. The surge follows South Korea’s roll-back of anti-virus measures after the less fatal but highly contagious Omicron variant became the dominant variant in the country. Health authorities gradually eased some anti-virus measures to focus limited medical and administrative resources on priority groups, including the…

MEXICO CITY: The Supreme Court of Honduras has approved the extradition of former President Juan Orlando Hernandez to the US on drug trafficking charges, local media reported. The defence has three days to appeal to the Supreme Court, according to La Prensa Honduras. Hernandez was arrested on February 15 and placed under the supervision of the special police unit, where he is serving a term in pre-trial detention. For security reasons he was brought to court by helicopter. On February 7, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that Hernandez had been included in a list of corrupt actors.…

IF one thing is certain, AmaZulu will not be adopting an underdog mentality as they prepare to host continental giants Raja Casablanca at Moses Mabhida Stadium tonight. A win in the game will put Usuthu’s Caf Champions League campaign back on track. They dropped down to third place in Group B following their 2-0 defeat against ES Setif in Algeria last week. To advance to the knockout stages, AmaZulu will need to finish in the top two. AmaZulu’s coach Benni McCarthy certainly believes that it’s possible for his team to get a victory from the game, especially after bottom-of-the-group Horoya upset Raja 2-1 last Saturday. “It is a morale booster for us to see that Horoya beat Raja. There are flaws in Raja’s squad and they can be…

KAIZER Chiefs remain one of the most revered clubs in continental football. So much so that it’s relatively easy for them to attract attention - not only on the pitch but off it as well. This feat should propel them to win week-in and week-out. It must be every club’s dream, not only on the continent but around the globe, to join forces with the African Club of the Century Al Ahly. And Chiefs achieved that feat agreeing to host the Red Devils at their base, the Taung Village, last week. The Pharaohs were in need of a fully-equipped facility for their training ahead of their CAF Champions League group stage tie against Mamelodi Sundowns. And on the recommendation of coach Pitso Mosimane, they requested the Village. But…