Índex per 2023-04-21 a Star

Outrage after mutilated bodies of pair found Muti killings are suspected to be behind the murder and mutilation of the bodies of two young boys, aged five and six, who were found yesterday morning in two separate places in Soweto after they went missing on Wednesday night. This has led to fear spreading among the residents of White City in Soweto as they do not know who is behind the killings that have also sparked outrage among Rockville, White City and Mofolo South communities. It is reported that the two boys, identified as Nqobile Zulu, 5, and Tshiamo Rabanye, 6, were playing with a friend when they were allegedly approached by unknown men travelling in an unidentified car just after 8pm on Wednesday. Nqobile’s body was found in White…

Bidders Choice Auctioneers will be hosting the online auction of locomotive manufacturing equipment and implements on behalf of TMH Africa (PTY) Ltd, which is in business rescue. The auction will open on Wednesday at 8am and bids will close on May 4 from 11am. The assets going under the hammer include a Bendet Systems carousel spray booth, a Funkey locomotive, overhead cranes, a Proarc Plasma Cutter, Riello furnace, Toyota Hilux 3.0 D4D DC, welding rotators and much more. Viewing is on May 3 from 10am to 2pm. Visit www.bidderschoice.co.za, click on the biddersonline tab to register as a bidder, submit and offer. Viewing is by appointment only. Contact Albert at 076 795 3249 for more information. |…

Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoa- ledi wants the G4S security company penalised, including the R1.4 million spent on returning convicted murderer and rapist Thabo Bester and his lover Dr Nandipha Magudumana to South Africa. The pair were arrested in Arusha, Tanzania, over a week ago after fleeing the country amid reports that Bester had escaped from the Mangaung Correctional Centre almost a year ago. Speaking in an interview with one of the broadcasters, Motsoaledi said this amount was not the only cost that the government had incurred due to the daring escape. “I think they (G4S) should be penalised on many fronts, not only the R1.4m. They should be penalised because of their carelessness, and they are being paid. “I believe the Correctional (Services) Department must say they are…

He is a convicted prisoner and she a doctor. As extreme opposites as they were, they were inextricably entwined in each other’s arms. According to Parliament’s elect committee delving into Bester’s audacious prison escape, Nandipha was a frequent visitor at Mangaung Correctional Centre. She apparently spent several nights with her convict lover. Even more startling, we hear Bester on several occasions slipped out of the maximum security prison under the guise of his many aliases and spent romantic nights with his lover at luxury hotels. What sort of medical professional was she to team up with a convicted rapist and murderer? Didn’t she have any fear when she went to bed with him that she could end up as another one of his victims? Was she ensnared by the wily…

Scholars have written much literature on social and organisation change. However, research on hormonal change is, curiously, backwards. What would you do if you visited a friend, were greeted with a fierce altercation between a 46-year-old mother and her teenage daughter and the father called you in to adjudicate? On examination of the facts, you realised that the mother was struggling with hot flashes, insomnia, mood swings and efforts to control her weight. On the other hand, her daughter was battling with premenstrual syndrome (PMS) and trying to figure out who she was and where in the world she fitted. You realised that both of them were amid major hormonal upheavals, and each thought their own predicament was worse than the other’s. Much of the conflict between mothers and their…

AFTER a successful inaugural event last year, the Basadi in Music Awards makes a return in August, promising nothing short of a memorable experience. Founded by entertainment maven Hloni Modise-Matau, the Basadi in Music Awards exclusively celebrates South African women in music. Talking to The Star, Modise shared the essence of the awards. “These awards are aimed at celebrating female excellence in the music industry. I have been in the industry since I was 19 and working in the industry since that age I got to work in all different parts of the music industry. I saw a trend that the music space is still very much male-dominated. Progress is being made, but we still need to do a lot more work,” Modise said. “It all started as an idea…

Black Candle Women Diane Marie Brown Loot (R249) Headline publishing A WARM and wry family drama with a witchy twist about four generations of black women living under one roof and the family curse that stems back to a voodoo sorceress in 1950s New Orleans. For generations, the Montrose women have lived alone with their secrets, their delicate peace depending on the unspoken bond that underpins their family life – voodoo and hoodoo magic, and a decades-old curse that will kill anyone they fall for. When 17-year-old Nickie Montrose brings home a boy for the first time, this careful balance is thrown into disarray. For the other women have been keeping the curse from Nickie, and revealing it means that they must reckon with their own choices and mistakes. As…

Monsters: A Fan’s Dilemma By Claire Dederer Knopf. When I teach Roman Polanski to undergraduates in film classes now, the female students often demand to be excused from the assignment. Polanski, they inform me, is a rapist. I can’t force them to watch films directed by such a horrible man. Next time this happens, I can point them to Claire Dederer’s vital, exhilarating book Monsters: A Fan’s Dilemma. Dederer considers how we can best view the work of “geniuses” such as Pablo Picasso or Ernest Hemingway, artists whose biographies show them to be “muscular, unfettered, womanizing, virile, cruel, sexual … those meaty men who brawled their way through the last century”. She also considers less-exalted contemporary celebrities such as Louis C.K. and Bill Cosby, as well as artists like Richard…

No matter how many times the DA raises the issue of rampant crime in our province, there appears to be no political will from this ANC-run government to bring about change. The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Community Safety and Liaison’s sole responsibility is to effectively invest its resources, conduct proper oversight over SAPS and reduce crime. The question is: Has it delivered on this objective? Over the past 10 years, the department has spent approximately R2 billion on this objective, yet it has performed dismally in every respect. This year it will waste another R250 million on meaningless meetings, reports and imbizos that will achieve nothing – again. Looking at the department’s performance indicators, it appears its main function is to produce reports – 322 of them. With a budget of…

TULSA: Teams of rescue workers and emergency crews yesterday combed through flattened homes in central Oklahoma after a tornado touched down in the area, killing at least two people. The two fatalities were reported in McClain County, where crews responded overnight to several people injured and trapped in their homes after a twister touched down on Wednesday night, county officials said on Facebook. Video footage and photographs from Cole, a rural town of 600 about 48km south of Oklahoma City, showed levelled homes and debris fields. The tornado was part of a swarm of 18 twisters that left nearly 20 000 people without power. | Reuters…

KAMPALA: Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni will send a bill containing some of the world’s toughest anti-LGBTQ legislation back to parliament for amendments, the ruling party said yesterday. Human rights activists say the bill is among the harshest pieces of legislation penalising sexual minorities anywhere in the world. It would impose the death penalty for having gay sex when HIV-positive, and 20-year sentences for “promoting” homosexuality. Museveni faces trying to keep MPs happy over legislation that has popular support while not antagonising foreign donors. | Reuters…

PROTEAS star Quinton de Kock says he is “chilled” about not having played a match in the Indian Premier League this season and is instead focusing on improving his fitness. De Kock has not been a regular starter at the IPL since his debut season a decade ago, with the dynamic opening batter/wicket-keeper playing integral roles for previous teams Royal Challengers Bangalore and five-time IPL Champions Mumbai Indians before moving to Lucknow Super Giants last season. He had an immediate impact at LSG, forming a potent opening combination with captain KL Rahul that drove the team all the way to the play-offs last year. De Kock’s contribution was immense with the left-hander scoring 508 runs at an average of 36.28 and a strike rate of 148.97, including a career-best 140…

The case against Gabonewe Ridam Madikela, 39, who faces six charges of fraud amounting to over R522 000, was transferred to the Specialised Commercial Crimes Court in Mogwase by the Mogwase Magistrates Court, and the issue is slated to appear for pre-trial on June 13. Her R10 000 bail has been increased, and she has handed over her passport to the investigating officer. According to Henry Mamothame, regional spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), Madikela got the money as remuneration for six months while reportedly holding another government position without her employer’s knowledge. “Madikela was arrested by the Hawks Serious Commercial Crime Investigation on March 27 following a thorough investigation into her alleged offence.” The arrest emanates from her fraudulent orchestration of theft, involving her salary while she was…

In South Africa, rocketing food prices remain a crushing reality for millions of people who either have no money or are fighting to subsist on the minimal necessities. Statistics SA has reported that food prices have increased by an average of 14% over the past year, which is the largest annual increase since March 2009. According to Brett Herron, GOOD Party secretary-general and Member of Parliament, despite being confronted with these dismal figures, the state appears unconcerned about failing to meet their constitutional commitment to provide residents with the bare necessities of survival. “Not only did President Cyril Ramaphosa miss an opportunity to prioritise poverty alleviation by implementing a basic income grant during his State of the Nation Address this year, there was also no announcement of even the slightest…

A NOW medically retired police officer, who was shot in the abdomen by criminals while he and his colleague were on their way to serve a summons, won his legal bid on appeal to be declared 100% disabled to continue working after he was diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). A compensation tribunal earlier awarded him compensation for a permanent disability of 39%, which meant that his monthly pension, in terms of the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act, was far less. Trevor Ramanand turned to the high court sitting in Pietermaritzburg to appeal against this award. He and his medical experts were of the opinion that he was totally disabled to work as a police officer. The warrant officer was employed by the SAPS for 25 years before,…

The Dead Are Gods Eirinie Carson Melville House EIRINIE Carson’s striking debut, The Dead Are Gods, is a fervid outpouring of friendship, grief and love, a testament to the ways rare friendships can make and unmake us as fully as any fiery romance or formative familial relationship. The Dead Are Gods is a tender, portrait of Larissa, nicknamed “Larry,” sometimes “shmoo” or “poo poo”. Carson writes that she adored Larissa, her best friend, for, the very traits that often put a strain on Larissa's relationships with others. She was magnetic, not only for her looks and intelligence but also for her bold, demanding nature. “Larissa did nothing for anyone. She put her needs and desires before almost everything else, and in doing so, lived in an honest way,” Carson writes.…

SOUTH Africans were facing a bleak festive season without electricity last year when Eskom provided the perfect “Christmas miracle”. It would be suspending load shedding on the morning of December 25. Eskom said this was “only possible due to the lower demand for electricity”. Whatever the reason, South Africans were only too relieved to have electricity in their kitchens to prepare the spread for the special family day. Stage 3 would then resume on December 27. There was a second miracle in store for South Africans, as the power utility announced it would halt load shedding on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, with stage 2 to resume on January 2, 2023. We would have to wait nearly three months for our next reprieve from the power outages –…

Berlin: A German court said yesterday it did not have jurisdiction to try the prime suspect in the disappearance of British toddler Madeleine McCann for unrelated sexual offences. Prosecutors in Brunswick had charged Christian B in October with three counts of rape and two sexual offences against children, unrelated to Maddie, between 2000 and 2017 in Portugal. He is serving a prison sentence on another conviction. Christian B is seen as the main suspect in the disappearance of the then three-year-old McCann from an apartment complex in Praia da Luz in Portugal in May 2007. | AFP…

Ganges: French police fired teargas yesterday in a village in southern France where President Emmanuel Macron visited a school, a day after he was booed and heckled over his unpopular pension reform. Hundreds of people shouting, “Macron, resign!”, and blowing whistles tried to advance towards the school. Other protests continued yesterday, with union members entering the headquarters of the pan-European stock exchange, Euronext, in the main Paris business district. Some rail workers also went on strike again, forcing the cancellation of one in five regional trains and some commuter services. | AFP…

THE team that recently looked unstoppable on the domestic front have seemingly forgotten how to win. The aura of invincibility that Mamelodi Sundowns wore with pride just last month has gone, the Brazilians and victory suddenly resembling the parallel lines of a railway – destined never to meet. And now, instead of the earlier confident talk of a second continental title, those associated with the multiple South African champions are speaking in hushed tones about the chances of their club reaching the semi-finals of the Champions League. With good reason too, for why would they be confident of such success when their team has just been knocked out of the Nedbank Cup they’d been hoping to defend? That wouldn’t be so bad had that defeat been but just a bump…

THE Special Investigating Unit (SIU) has so far recovered about R1 million following the start of its investigation into 102 law firms – including the Sheriffs – which received duplicate payments from the Road Accident Fund (RAF) estimated at about R340m. The SIU presented its preliminary findings to Parliament’s Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) this week. The SIU has approached several legal practitioners with the evidence, and these have opted to co-operate with the SIU investigation in defrayal of their indebtedness by the signing of acknowledgements of debt, said Kaizer Kganyago, spokesperson for the SIU. According to him, to date, the SIU has signed acknowledgements of debt to the value of R68m. Kganyago said the signing of these acknowledgements does not absolve the legal practitioners from any civil litigation…

Wage negotiations between the National Union of Metal Workers of SA (Numsa) and cash-strapped Eskom have kicked off on a bad note. Numsa said it had met Eskom management in the Central Bargaining Forum (CBF) for the first day of wage talks on Wednesday, but wasn’t happy with the power utility’s representatives’ behaviour at the talks. “Eskom management behaved appallingly by failing to present written submissions to the CBF. We were supposed to start negotiations at 9am, but we ended up starting at 12.45pm because Eskom needed time to write its submissions so it could be shared with all parties. It took them nearly three hours to respond,” the union said in a statement. Numsa’s core demands are a two-year wage agreement, a 15% wage hike, correcting the income differentials,…

Former ANC president Jacob Zuma (addressing the ANC elective conference) stated in December 2017 there would be free education in South Africa. Now in 2023, the government, through the SIU, is seeking to persecute and prosecute about 40 000 students it claims defrauded NSFAS. I stated from the onset the idea of free education was not practical, and I have been proven right. But the question still is, why did the government see it necessary to campaign for free education in 2019, through a situation enshrined as government policy, only to abandon it just before another election? The government is using the SIU to persecute students it failed to provide employment opportunities for and instead wants to insult them further. These fat politicians with big stomachs actually are the in…

There is a big problem with medical negligence claims in our country. Because it is unregulated, it is seen as an opportunity to suddenly become rich by some lawyers and their clients. This is probably because health-care delivery was so good in the past as the standard of training of all health professionals and the strict supervision and monitoring of doctors and nurses, where no patient would die without a detailed record of the progress of their illness documented and all steps taken to avert any deterioration in their progress to a point where the good fight is lost only because of reasons beyond the medical staff. When a medical negligence claim of a cerebral palsy child is made 13 years after birth, claiming R27 million, while another claim of…

The OFFICIAL opening of South African Fashion Week was something to talk about as industry moguls, young designers and celebrities showed up at the glamorous affair. Hosted by CRUZ Vintage Black Vodka, the country’s most prestigious fashion gathering gives creatives a platform to showcase their artistry. Red-carpet host Chris Jaftha welcomed guests as they arrived, while award-winning local designer Paledi Segapo presented a New York- inspired fashion installation to be remembered. Kicking off the week’s celebrations, guests were treated to an exclusive evening of glitz and glam in Sandton, where they were treated to Cruz cocktails and high fashion, all inspired by New York City and set against the backdrop of the Sandton skyline. SA Fashion Week, showcasing designer Artclub and Friends, kitted out the promoters with beautifully branded ankle…

Worthy Opponents Danielle Steele Loot (R240) Macmillan THIS is a powerful novel about a woman running her family’s luxury department store and the wealthy investor who threatens to take it over. Spencer Brooke always knew she was destined to be CEO of her grandfather’s business – the most respected and luxurious department store in New York City. Brooke’s store has been at the centre of every happy memory she has, but it hasn’t been an easy journey. Seven years after her father’s death, her life is very different from the days when she walked through the store with her grandfather as a young girl. She may be the owner of Brooke’s, but she’s also now a divorced single mother of twin boys. And with the ever-evolving landscape of the fashion…

By Han Kang. Translated by Deborah Smith and Emily Yae Won. Hogarth In HIGH school, I was particularly fond of a serious and attentive Latin teacher who never seemed disturbed by my reluctance to speak during class. Once, on the first day back to school after a break, this teacher showed up with gleaming eyes and a huge smile on her face, more exuberant than I’d ever seen her. Almost transformed. The reason for her present bliss, she explained, was that she had spent her break on a programme for language scholars where everyone was required to speak Latin at all hours. She described the experience wistfully, as if she’d visited a place that had previously existed only in her dreams. Her voyage was less to a physical destination than…

WITH the steady tread of our collective national march towards the very dark and cold reality of our load-shed winter, we are witnessing a number of former leaders in South Africa emerging with scathing comments about the dearth of political leadership in the country today. The criticisms that have received the most media attention recently are those from former leaders from within the ruling party, the ANC. Are we witnessing the perhaps inevitable fall of the broad church of the Congress movement in all its glory, all its innocence and tragic hubris? Make no mistake, there are grounds aplenty for criticism of the national leadership. The failure of the stewardship of the national electricity grid has been predicted since before the 2008 global financial crisis. The degree of culpability for…

Thousands of Sudanese have crossed into Chad to flee fighting in the western region of Darfur and thousands more streamed out of the capital Khartoum, where renewed heavy gunfire erupted yesterday as the latest of several ceasefires broke down. Forces commanded by two previously allied leaders of Sudan’s ruling council began a violent power struggle last weekend that has so far killed more than 330 people, tipping a nation reliant on food aid into what the UN calls a humanitarian catastrophe. The fiercest battles between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have been around Khartoum, one of Africa’s largest urban areas, and in Darfur, still scarred by a brutal conflict that ended three years ago. Around 10 000 to 20 000 people fleeing the fighting have taken…

KATHMANDU: Rescuers hauled an Indian mountaineer up 200m from the depths of a crevasse three days after he plunged into it on Mount Annapurna in west Nepal, hiking officials said yesterday, in a rare example of a successful high-altitude rescue operation. The climber, Anurag Maloo, 34, was being flown to a hospital in Kathmandu in critical condition, officials said. Five sherpa and two foreign climbers used ropes to rescue his after he fell on Monday as he was returning to base camp after failing to reach the summit of Annapurna, the world’s 10th-highest peak at 8 091m. | Reuters…

KEEPING the team motivated after their recent loss to Leinster will arguably be the most difficult task that faces the Lions coaching team this week and on match-day. The narrow defeat to the Irish giants last weekend ended the Lions’ future participation in the URC post-season. They will face a Zebre side rooted to the bottom of the standings tomorrow at Loftus Versfeld in a match that has limited stakes to the greater whole of the tournament. Nevertheless, Lions assistant coach Ricardo Loubscher insisted yesterday that the team still have goals to achieve, and in that they will find reason to perform. “The big thing for us is to see where we can improve,” Loubscher said. “I think from an attack review, we scored five tries against Leinster and we…