Table of contents for 2021-12-23 in Cape Times

Siphelele Dludla siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za SANLAM’S share price rose by 1.03 percent to R57.96 a share yesterday after it announced talks with German insurer Allianz SE about a deal that could potentially see the local assurance and financial services group exiting its African businesses. Sanlam said it was exploring “various strategic alternatives” with Allianz, Europe’s leading insurer, in relation to their respective African business units. Allianz is a leading global corporate insurance carrier providing risk consultancy, property-casualty insurance solutions and alternative risk transfer for a wide spectrum of commercial, corporate and speciality risks across 10 dedicated lines of business. It has a small operation in Africa, including in countries such as Nigeria and Senegal. Although Sanlam did not go into details, the deal will exclude Sanlam’s home operations in South Africa.…

ALEX TEDDER THERE are clear risks to global equities next year, especially since valuations are relatively extended, particularly in the US, and pricing power will be key from an investment perspective. Supply chain disruption should di- minish in most industries in 2022 The significant disruption to supply chains in 2021, largely linked to Covid-19-related capacity shutdowns and transportation bottlenecks, is likely to diminish as we move into 2022. Supply chain backlogs historically adjust rapidly after periods of stress, as the market responds to higher demand and re-builds inventory. We see no reason to assume this won’t be the case in 2022, and indeed freight shipping rates have started to fall. Global shipping indices signal easing supply pressures However, energy prices are likely to remain elevated. The economic recovery…

Sacha van Niekerk sacha.vanniekerk@inl.co.za These Christmas biscuit recipes are perfect for leaving out for Santa Claus, with a glass of milk. Soft-baked frosted sugar biscuits By @healthwithvictoria These soft-baked frosted sugar biscuits are gluten-free and dairy-free. Topped with whipped vanilla icing and festive sprinkles, perfect for leaving out for Santa. INGREDIENTS Biscuits ½ cup vegan butter, softened ½ cup granulated sugar or sweetener 1 egg 1/3 cup coconut yoghurt 1 tsp vanilla extract ¼ tsp almond extract 1¾ cup flour (recipe uses gluten-free) 1½ tbs tapioca starch (you can also use cornstarch) ½ tsp baking powder ½ tsp baking soda ¼ tsp cream of tartar Pinch of salt Frosting ½ cup vegan butter 1 tsp vanilla extract 1½ cup powdered sugar METHOD Directions: Preheat oven to 190ºC. In a…

Nicola Daniels nicola.daniels@inl.co.za THE biggest current risk faced by provincial health authorities during the fourth wave is increasing numbers of clinical staff in isolation, with nursing staff infections far exceeding other occupations. This came to light during the latest Covid-19 briefing for the province yesterday. As at December 20, the number of clinical staff in isolation was 1 116, health officials said. Head of health Dr Keith Cloete said: “This is the biggest current risk for the department, but it is being managed by escalation/de-escalation of services, onboarding of agency staff and a review of quarantine practices. “There is significant constraint to deliver health services, especially at primary health care facilities and vaccination sites. “Nursing staff infections far exceed other occupations – they are the most vulnerable workforce. We ask…

Okuhle Hlati okhule.hlati@inl.co.za A DISTRAUGHT Crossroads family is seeking answers as to what really happened on December 16, after their 2-year-old child, Enkosi Nkolisa, disappeared and his body, which was knocked by a car, was found the next day along the R300 highway. The toddler was last seen on Thursday at about 5pm wearing a yellow top and blue denim pants. He is alleged to have been taken by an unknown man who allegedly claimed to be the boy's father. According to the boy’s 30-year-old mother, Nomakholwa Nkolisa, she had left her child playing with her neighbours’ children while she went to buy something to eat. Enkosi is the last born of five children. “The child was with my neighbours since I had to go and buy something to eat.…

OWN Correspondent THE recent identification of rabies- infected dogs in Cape Town, the first since 1994 in the Western Cape, has placed into sharp focus the need for vaccinations in canines. The province’s Agriculture Veterinary Services said it aimed to vaccinate 70 000 pets this year in outreaches in communities, following rabies cases that were first identified in Khayelitsha in September. Professor of Companion Animal Clinical Studies at the University of Pretoria, Andrew Leisewitz, said the available vaccines were highly effective and as many dogs as possible had to be vaccinated. “The disease can be very effectively controlled in dogs through vaccination. The available vaccines are highly effective and as many dogs as possible (especially in areas where the disease is prevalent or emerging) must be vaccinated. It is estimated…

ZELDA VENTER zelda.venter@inl.co.za A MAN who got tired of his wife and wanted to evict her from his home got more than he had bargained for after the court ruled that as he was married to her, he could only kick her out of the house if he offered her alternative accommodation – the same as that to which she is now accustomed. The High Court sitting in Johannesburg turned down the man’s eviction application and found that he was married to the woman by customary law as per the provisions of the Recognition of Customary Marriage Act. The parties are not identified, as it’s a marriage dispute. The court had harsh words for the man, who claimed the woman had moved in with him as they were still “developing”…

Chevon Booysen Chevon.booysen@inl.co.za THE police ministry has remained mum on questions over the legitimacy of a controversial document in which Police Minister Bheki Cele is alleged to have said that axed top cop Jeremy Vearey was “not a suitable candidate for rehabilitation” and that his Facebook posts showed a “culture of impunity on his part”. Ministry spokesperson, Lirandzu Themba said: “There will be no comment”. Vearey said he would not comment on the matter while his dismissal case was before the Labour Court. In the document, sent to the Cape Times by a source, an internal question for the national assembly is posed by EFF MP Henry Shembeni relating to the dismissal of Vearey. Shembeni had asked “what reasons have been given for the dismissal of Vearey” and “what impact…

After listening to all sides on why former president Jacob Zuma and the Department of Correctional Services should be allowed to go to the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) to try to set aside his earlier ruling that nullified Zuma’s medical parole, Judge Keoagile Matojane of the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria shattered part of the popular and growing myth that judges have become a law unto themselves. Very attentive during the hearing, and giving all sides enough time to argue their points, Judge Matojane later said that it would be a good move to grant the leave to appeal application as another court may look at Zuma’s age and other points raised and rule differently. According to Judge Matojane, the appeal had a realistic chance of succeeding as…

Sri Lanka’s inflation hit a record 11.1% in November, official figures showed yesterday, as authorities warned a worsening economic crisis could prompt further food rationing. The island’s tourism-dependent economy was hammered by the pandemic and the government imposed a broad import ban to shore up foreign exchange reserves, triggering shortages of essential goods. Supermarkets have for months been rationing milk powder, sugar, lentils and other essentials as commercial banks ran out of dollars to pay for imports. Yesterday official data showed prices soaring at their fastest rate since 2015. | AFP…

Badhoevedorp: Dutch prosecutors have called for life in prison for four suspects on trial in absentia who are accused of downing Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 with a surface-to-air missile, killing 298 people. The ill-fated flight heading for Kuala Lumpur took off from Amsterdam’s Schipol airport in July 2014, and prosecutors this week launched closing arguments in the closely watched trial. A verdict is not expected until late next year, at the earliest. The four suspects on trial are Russian nationals Igor Girkin, Sergei Dubinsky and Oleg Pulatov, and Ukrainian citizen Leonid Kharchenko, who are accused of launching the BUK missile that hit the plane over war-torn eastern Ukraine. “We are asking that the suspects Girkin, Dubinsky, Pulatov and Kharchenko, each for their responsibility of crashing a plane leading to the…

In what it’s calling a global first, Israel’s Health Ministry on Tuesday announced that it will offer a fourth coronavirus vaccine shot to citizens 60 and older and other at-risk groups as concerns about the Omicron variant proliferate. Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said he ordered the government to immediately prepare for distributing fourth doses. “As we did with the booster in the Delta surge, we intend to be active and groundbreaking, and do everything to win,” he tweeted. “The world will follow us.” The Health Ministry’s advisory committee recommended a fourth dose to people 60 and older, those with compromised immune systems, and health-care workers. It required all eligible recipients to have gone four months since their third dose. The Health Ministry has reported 341 confirmed, and hundreds more suspected,…

Alan Scott, an ophthalmologist who pioneered the early medical applications of Botox – a drug he used to treat conditions such as crossed eyes, but that became best known as a wrinkle- relaxing elixir of youth – died on December 16 at a hospital in Greenbrae, California. He was 89. Cause was complications from sepsis, said his daughter, Alison Ferguson. Botox was officially approved by the Food and Drug Administration for cosmetic purposes in 2002 and – to Scott’s enduring amazement – was used by an estimated 11 million people to temporarily smooth frown lines, crow’s feet and other facial furrows that are often the sign of ageing. “Life’s a mystery,” he once told the San Francisco Chronicle, reflecting on the history of a drug derived from botulinum toxin…

Dineo Faku dineo.faku@inl.co.za ANGLO American plc yesterday re- ported a drop in rough diamond sales from De Beers ahead of the Christmas break for southern African polishing factories. De Beers is the world’s biggest diamond producer by volume and is 85 percent owned by globally diversified mining house, Anglo. De Beers expects sales value of rough diamonds for the tenth sales cycle of 2021 sold between December 6 to December 21, 2021, to dip to $332 million (about R5.25 billion) down from $438m in the ninth sales cycle of 2021 and $452m recorded in the tenth sales cycle a year ago. De Beers CEO Bruce Cleaver said: “Rough diamond demand and midstream sentiment continued to be positive in the final sales cycle of 2021, although as anticipated we…

Edward West edward.west@inl.co.za MAS, THROUGH its subsidiaries, is selling its hotel property and adjacent public square in Edinburgh, Scotland, which is likely to result in proceeds of about €27 million (R482m), the company said yesterday. The purchaser is Pandox Thistle, a special purpose vehicle held by Pandox AB, a leading owner of hotel properties in Northern Europe, with a focus on sizeable hotels in leisure and corporate destinations. MAS, which is some 6.47 percent held by Attacq and 7.9 percent by the Government Employees Pension Fund, has a strategy of disposing of Western European property and redeploying capital to investments in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), which it believes is now more attractive. The transaction is a result of this strategy. In a pre-close statement prior to…

Chevon Booysen chevon.booysen@inl.co.za THE province is bracing for locust swarms as an outbreak moves from the Karoo National Park in Beaufort West, as well as the Eastern and Northern Cape. The national Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) recently put out an alert for farmers to be on the lookout and to report locust swarms, especially on unoccupied farms. The department said the outbreak had been experienced countrywide since September 2021, after heavy rains. Trained locust control contractors have been appointed in all affected areas. However, the sustainable resource management director at the Western Cape Department of Agriculture, Ashia Petersen, said that district locust officers appointed by the national department were being denied access at SANParks areas, which posed a challenge. “The district locust officers and control…

Okuhle Hlati okhule.hlati@inl.co.za REVEREND June Dolley-Major yesterday publicly named a senior HeartFM manager who was accused by a former employee of sexual harassment, questioning why the alleged perpetrator was still allowed to work at the station. A rape survivor, Dolley-Major yesterday led a demonstration at HeartFM’s office in Green Point in support of the woman, with others also coming out wearing T-shirts under the anti-GBV campaign #SayHisName. The radio station has been rocked by criticism after it came to light that a former employee had lodged four formal grievances against the alleged perpetrator relating to “sexual harassment, discrimination on the basis of gender and sexual orientation, as well as the negligent or intentional endangerment of myself and other staff members amid the Covid pandemic”. The woman signed a non-disclosure document…

Nicola Daniels nicola.daniels@inl.co.za THE Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) has dismissed in large part, with costs, an appeal brought by the City of Cape Town against the interim decision of the Western Cape High Court prohibiting the City from conducting evictions without judicial supervision. The matter before the SCA stems from the public eviction of a naked Bulelani Qolani from his Khayelitsha home in July 2020. Following this, the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC), Qolani and the Housing Assembly, a social justice movement, launched an urgent application in the high court to prevent the City from evicting persons and demolishing structures, whether occupied or unoccupied, during the national state of disaster, without a court order. The application was for interim relief (Part A), pending a decision on Part B,…

Ingredients Method 4 un-iced Fresh Line mini fruit cakes 50ml Maraschino cherry or Amaretto liqueur or brandy (or more if you like!) 500ml rum and raisin or vanilla ice cream 4 large eggs, separated 135ml castor sugar 1ml cream of tartar 25g flaked almonds Sparklers and matches for serving Brush the liqueur or brandy generously over each cake. Cover the cakes with ice cream, shaping the ice cream to match the shape of the cakes. Refreeze immediately on an ovenproof serving platter. Preheat the oven to 240ºC. In a clean glass bowl, whisk the egg whites with the cream of tartar until very stiff. Gradually whisk in the sugar until a very stiff glossy meringue is achieved. Remove the tray of fruitcakes from the freezer (the ice cream must have…

Staff writer SOUTH Africa’s MeerKAT telescope has been used to discover a mysterious chain of hydrogen gas clouds the size of a galaxy. An international team of astronomers led by Professor Gyula Józsa, Professor Michelle Cluver and Professor Thomas Jarrett from the Department of Astronomy at UCT made the largest yet discovery of an accumulation of so much elemental hydrogen without associated stellar components. Appearing at the edge of a relatively massive group of galaxies, there is the possibility the cloud chain is gas stripped from group-member galaxies, but it may also be primordial and gravitationally drawn into the group through a cosmic filament pathway. Whatever the case, MeerKAT is proving to be a groundbreaking telescope, and many such discoveries should soon follow this “dark” cloud discovery in the exciting…

Odwa Mkentane odwa.mkentane@inl.co.za GUGULETHU police have asked the public to assist in identifying suspects involved in a shooting incident in KTC on Monday, in which two men were shot dead while walking along Ernie Batt Crescent. Police spokesperson Joseph Swartbooi said the victims were declared dead on the scene by medical personnel. “According to reports, the deceased, both aged 35, were walking in the street when unknown armed suspects fired numerous gunshots,” Swartbooi said. Gugulethu Development Forum chairperson Vincent Domingo said: “The hunt for the suspects by the police gives hope to the community, and we hope that many who commit such crimes will be held accountable. The area needs more deployment of police to avoid and reduce crime, especially during the festive season.” Domingo said he could not keep…

Messy practices of US democracy versus China’s whole process of people’s democracy On December 9 and 10, US President Joe Biden hosted a virtual Summit for Democracy with over 100 countries, activists, trade unionists, business leaders and other members of civil society in attendance. Although Biden termed this a summit to strengthen and renew democracy and democratic institutions, several countries like Zimbabwe, which the US imposed sanctions on, and China, which has the second largest economy in the world, were not invited. This comes at a time when American democracy is evidently dysfunctional and in a disastrous state. The government for the people by the people doesn’t seem to be at work in the US. Yes the citizens still choose their leaders and decide on policies but racism is at…

Life expectancy at birth fell to 77 years in 2020, a continued slide in a reliable gauge of Americans’ health as the coronavirus pandemic surged through the country, killing more than 350 000 people, the government reported yesterday. The average expected life span declined 1.8 years over 2019. That was up from July, when the Biden administration reported provisional results for 2020 that showed a 1.5-year drop. Death rates rose for every age group except children ages 1 to 14, with Covid-19 now the third-leading cause of death in the US, behind heart disease and cancer, said the report from the National Center for Health Statistics. | The Washington Post…

CAIRO: The first round of Libya’s much-anticipated presidential election will not proceed today as previously planned, a parliamentary election committee announced yesterday, solidifying expectations the vote would be deemed untenable amid ongoing political disputes. The delay, widely anticipated amid debate over the validity of the process and certain candidates’ eligibility, comes as tensions appear to be ramping up in the country, which is emerging from a civil war. Observers and civilians have been divided over whether the election, with bids by some of Libya’s most controversial and divisive figures, would stoke or diffuse fears over renewed conflict. | The Washington Post…

The EU and Britain have agreed post-Brexit quotas for shared fish stocks, overcoming disagreement that simmered against a separate UK-France feud over fishing boat licences. “We have an agreement with Britain on fishing opportunities for 2022,” EU fishing commissioner Virginijus Sinkevicius tweeted yesterday. The deal, struck on Tuesday, “covers all shared and jointly managed fisheries in EU-British waters and is based on (the) best available scientific advice,” he said. Just last week, Sinkevicius had said that no agreement had been reached with Britain “despite our best efforts” and therefore the EU was forced to provisionally apply catch limits based on 2021 hauls in shared waters. It was Britain’s first post-Brexit fishing deal with the EU since most of the bloc’s rules ceased to apply to it in January this year.…

This close to Christmas, scores of Zimbabwean travellers would normally be packed at bus stations, rushing to get home from South Africa to see their loved ones. However, bus drivers are seeing far fewer people than expected. They had been hoping for a bumper festive season this year to help their businesses recover after Covid-19 shut the borders for much of 2020. However, the emergence of the Omicron variant prompted Zimbabwe in November to announce a mandatory 10-day quarantine for arrivals from South Africa in government- approved facilities, at own expense – a cost many of Zimbabwe’s migrant workers in South Africa cannot afford. For Albert Mawere, a local bus driver, the last two years have been difficult. Having last seen his family and children in 2018, due to financial…

SMISO MSOMI smiso.msomi@inl.co.za GIVEN Msimango deflected a Judas Moseamedi cross into his own net in the 87th minute as Stellenbosch FC stole a 1-0 victory over TS Galaxy at the Mbombela Stadium yesterday. After a resilient performance from both defences on the day, Stellenbosch carved a way into the Galaxy box late on, Moseamedi looking to find a teammate played his cross onto the feet of Msimango who horridly toe-poked it into his own net. Stellenbosch were looking to build on their 1-0 victory against Baroka. The home team seemed to be happy to let Stellies have possession early on as they dropped deep into their own half, wary of the pace of Ashley du Preez. In a tight opening quarter of an hour, the game’s opener was likely to…

bANELE GININDZA banele.ginindza@inl.co.za SA prices are set to spike this year following developments in the year including spiralling fuel costs, the looting and mayhem in July, Eskom blackouts, emergence of the omicron virus as well as substantially higher insurance costs. In a notice yesterday, food producer Eskort said South Africa was facing its highest petrol price surge in history with a litre costing more than R20, which was directly impacting the price of food. The Basic Fuel Price reflects the costs of purchasing petroleum products from international markets, and the costs related to shipping these products to South Africa. “This cost is largely influenced by the international price of crude oil, a weak rand-dollar exchange rate and high local taxes. But while the spread of globalisation means economic tremors in…

Dineo Faku dineo.faku@inl.co.za THE SPAR GROUP has set the basic salary of new chief executive Brett Botten at R7.5 million compared with the R8.6m received by predecessor Graham O’Connor, who retired in March this year, according to the group’s integrated 2021 annual report published yesterday. O’Connor moved on to become the board’s non-executive chairperson, following the retirement of Mike Hankinson, who has chaired Spar South Africa since 2004. The group said in determining Botten’s salary package, the remuneration committee considered O’Connor’s salary, the market trends and Botten’s experience. Before taking the reins as chief executive in March 2021, Botten was managing director of the Spar South Rand division from 2010. He joined the company in 1994. Botten, who is a member of the Spar Guild of Southern Africa,…

from page 1 “The increased transmissibility of the Omicron variant from person to person has been shown, resulting in increased incidence (the baseline reproductive rate increased to 2.5 in December, doubling time of 3.18-3.61 days) and an increase in the positive sample rate to 35.5% with no indication of a more severe clinical course,” said the National Department of Health (NDOH). “Studies of the efficiency of immunological protection both after vaccination and after a previous disease, or their combination, show that compared to the initial variant, the degree of neutralisation of the Omicron variant is reduced from three to 41 times, depending on immunological status. “It was noted that young age groups played a significant role at the initial stage of the spread of infection. “It was also shown…

from page 1 this man is as we heard he came to the area to drink.” Candice van der Rheede of the Western Cape Missing Persons unit said the disappearance of the child happened the same day that Linathi Titshala vanished in 2018. The 9-year-old intended on walking to her grandmother’s home which was three doors away, but she never arrived. “Information was shared to us also on Friday that there was a child who was knocked by a vehicle on the R300 off-ramp in the direction to Cape Town. “We thought the child was identified the same day because there was nothing about a missing child shared with us or on social media that day. We were shocked to hear on Tuesday that it was actually a child that…

Mayibongwe Maqhina mayibongwe.maqhina@inl.co.za MINISTER of Police General Bheki Cele says increased demand for the issuing of police clearance certificates has put strain on the SAPS’s turnaround time. “The increase has been influenced by different legislative imperatives and expectations, from employers to potential employees. “Noticeably, there is high demand, which is influenced by increased applications for expungement of criminal records, employment seekers, sex offenders register clearances and international travel,” Cele said. He was responding in writing to parliamentary questions posed by DA MP Andrew Whitfield. Whitfield asked the targeted and current turnaround time for issuing of police clearance from application to issuing of certificates in the 2019/2020 and 2020/2021 financial years. He also enquired about the total number of certificates issued and not issued within the targeted turnaround time, as well…

Sibusiso Mboto sibusiso.mboto@inl.co.za MEMBERS of retirement funds should be able to access a portion of their pension to enable them to absorb some of the financial pressures that are brought about by unforeseen circumstances, including job losses. This is the view shared by economists and labour following the release of a paper by the National Treasury titled “Encouraging South African households to save more for retirement” for public comment. The paper provides proposals aimed at enabling limited access to retirement fund savings pre-retirement, enhancing longer-term retirement outcomes by improving preservation and inclusively improving retirement outcomes via the mechanism of auto-enrolment. Many have expressed support for the system, citing the number of people who experienced financial hardships because of Covid-19 due to many companies closing shop over lack of economic activity…

Nicola Daniels nicola.daniels@inl.co.za THE Western Cape has recorded the second highest increase in fatalities on the country’s roads so far this festive season. During the preliminary release of the festive season road statistics yesterday, Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula said the day marked the midpoint of the festive season, which officially ends on January 11, 2022. “We have seen a 142% spike in crashes with multiple fatalities, resulting in 17 such crashes so far this year, compared to 7 over the same period last year. The number of fatalities from major crashes also increased from 34 last year to 111 this year,” said Mbalula. “Statistics show that people who died on the roads this year were passengers ( 35%), followed by pedestrians at 34%, drivers at 26%, motorcyclists at 1% and…

Over the past few weeks, informal chats with colleagues at the year-end retreats I attended have been dominated by anecdotal comments about municipal staff members who abused the regulations regarding the participation of municipal staff members in elections under the Municipal Systems Act that allow them to retain their jobs while contesting elections. According to my back-of-the- envelope analysis, about 248 municipal staff members contested in the last local government elections and spent considerable time on election campaigns in the period from August to October. Such is the time dedicated to these roles that it could be argued that being municipal staff members was their second job, or in some instances, the third or fourth. To its credit, Parliament made efforts back in 2011 to give effect to the constitutional…

Dutch urban centres remained largely deserted yesterday as the country was undergoing the third day of a lockdown aimed at stemming an expected Covid-19 surge caused by the fast-spreading Omicron variant. Prime Minister Mark Rutte announced the shutdown on Saturday, ordering the closure of all but essential stores, as well as restaurants, hairdressers, gyms, museums and other public places from Sunday until at least January 14. The new curbs, which also include a ban on gatherings outside of more than two people, were unexpected. | Reuters…

Antananarivo: The death toll from a shipwreck off Madagascar’s north-eastern coast has risen to at least 64 after 25 more bodies were discovered, maritime authorities said yesterday. A wooden vessel, believed to be a cargo ship carrying passengers illegally, sank in the Indian Ocean on Monday with 130 people on board. Five children were among the dead. Fifty passengers have since been rescued and around 15 remain missing. The search for survivors continues. “Twenty-five bodies were found this morning near Sainte-Marie islands,” said police sources. | AFP…

In one of the most well-preserved dinosaur embryos ever found, a baby dinosaur curled its back and tucked its head in a position that is similar to birds before they hatch, a discovery that scientists say could shed new light on how dinosaurs developed in their early stages. A peer-reviewed article, published on Tuesday by iScience, said the dinosaur had its head placed between its legs and under its body, with its back bent along the eggshell. The research team said this position, previously not found in any non-avian dinosaurs, is comparable to pre-tucking in a bird embryo like that of a chicken. Tucking their heads under their wings in the days before hatching can stabilise and give them a better chance of surviving the birthing process, the paper said,…

Brazzaville: A leading Congolese opposition figure has been allowed to leave the country for medical treatment in London, despite receiving a travel ban following a stint in prison. Paulin Makaya, 52, campaigned against a 2015 referendum that allowed Congo’s long-serving President Denis Sassou Nguesso to change the constitution and run again for office in 2016. Makaya, who has dual British and Congolese nationality, was accused of fomenting “public disorder” and sentenced to three years in prison. He was released in 2018 but has repeatedly been banned by the border police from leaving the country, most recently on December 12. The reason for the ban has not been given. | AFP…

Stuart Hess stuart.hess@inl.co.za THERE is no debating Wiaan Mulder’s position in the starting VI for the first Test against India, which starts on Sunday. Mulder will be playing his seventh Test. The start of his international red ball career could be described as solid. The highlights have come mainly with the ball, and going into the India series Mulder and everyone else watching will be expecting more of an impact with the bat. It’s what he was initially classed as when Geoffrey Toyana, picked him as a matriculant to make his first class debut for the Lions five years ago. He made little impression with the bat, but claimed seven wickets in that particular match. The start to his Test career has been similar. Mulder’s best moments with the ball…

HERMAN GIBBS herman.gibbs@gmail.com BOTTOM-placed Baroka FC scored a shock 1-0 win over high-riding Royal AM in their Premiership clash at Peter Mokaba Stadium yesterday. After their thrilling win over Kaizer Chiefs in the last outing, Royal AM were expected to have the better of Baroka, but their coach Kgoloko Thobejane had other ideas. He steered the team to their first win in seven matches since he returned for a second spell. Striker Sekela Sithole scored Baroka’s matchwinner seven minutes from the end. Following the defeat, Royal AM drifted away from the top-four contenders. Baroka’s three-point haul ensures they moved off the bottom of the league standings into 15th place. Elsewhere, hosts Chippa United and Sekhukhune United played out to a 0-0 draw at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium yesterday. Chippa had…