Crime and Courts

Widows living in fear

In the small industrial town of Uitenhage, outside the city of Port Elizabeth there is a growing trend among street dwellers as they think that women who have lost their husbands have money. About two different incidents have taken place whereby widows have had their homes broken into and held hostage by the thieves and been asked “where is all your money?” These incidents happened in the location of Kwanobuhle. These women feel that they are targets because the community knows that they no longer have husbands and feel like they are easy targets for people who do not want to earn honest money. “Because Kwanobuhle is so small, people know each other and therefore we know each other’s business” revealed recent widow, Ntombekhaya Mahlati.

For some reason criminals assume that these women keep the money they receive from their husbands life policy pay-outs stored in their houses somewhere. This is why these women install high fenced walls for their protection. Women without men in the house being targeted as they are more vulnerable than women with men.

No fatalities have been reported by the police, the women have only suffered property loss. Some of these women have requested more police patrols around their areas as a means of ensuring their safety. There are some concerns in terms of police response in terms of getting to the location of a distress call as some residents feel that the police come to the scene much later after they receive the call. As of now the statics favour the police as no one has sustained injuries because of this.

Nomazima Nkosi

No injury woes for boks after fiji

In contrast to their opening match of the Rugby World Cup, the Springboks picked up no injuries in their 49-3 victory over Fiji, team doctor Craig Robberts confirmed on Sunday.
"It is not often that I can sit after a physical game like that and report no injuries from the game," said Roberts.
"We are quite happy, from the sideline it was quite a physical game and, apart from the normal bumps and bruises, we got away clean which is nice from an injury perspective."
There were, however, concerns that lock Bakkies Botha had been replaced because of the Achilles (foot) injury he had been suffering from prior to the match.
Roberts denied that the second-rower was forced to leave the field.
"The plan with Bakkies was always for him to play 40 minutes, we were always going to make the sub and bring Willem (Alberts) on after halftime," he said.
As for wing Bryan Habana (knee), lock Victor Matfield (hamstring), flyhalf Butch James (hip flexor), centre Jean de Villiers (rib) and Johann Muller (hamstring), Roberts said that an assessment would be made at Tuesday's training session.
He did give an update on Victor Matfield's recovery.
"Victor has done really well, He did a lot of intensive rehabilitation last week and that is what he really needed to do.
"We are very happy with his progress, obviously it is a very long tournament and we want to make sure that he is at his best for that."
Early indications are that all players that are carrying injuries will not be risked for Thursday's match against Namibia.
South Africa are expected to give players who have not yet taken part in the tournament a chance in their so-called dirt track match at the North Harbour stadium in Auckland.

Student Politics

DASO on a serious note

NMMU elections will take place on all campuses on the 21^st September 2011 and already, a student organization known as DASO (Democratic Alliance Student Organisation) has started campaigning. Their campaign took place on Tuesday sixth September at the Kraal on South Campus whilst many students watched them do a flash mob.

At first everybody was confused as to what was happening, but soon this progressed into a jolly dance where most of the students joined in to have fun. Yusuf Cassim, leader of DASO said that the organization is not satisfied with service delivery. “We want change and we want better services for all students. Viva DASO viva!” said Cassim.

According to Cassim, the reason for this campaign is that the elections are around the corner and they want to make students aware of their organization. “it is our second year running for elections and in last year’s elections we got four seats, therefore we hope to get more seats through this campaign,” he said. A DASO member, Mkhokheli Bandla who is also a journalism student said that the organization has started a ‘Hungry Minds’ feeding scheme. “We go to Missionvale campus every Tuesdays and Thursdays and hand out sandwiches and juice to students who can’t afford meals. The reason for this is that Missionvale campus is located in remote area where most of the students who attend there are previously disadvantaged,” he said.

Previously, the organization was known as Democratic Alliance Youth (DA Youth), but now the name has changed to DASO, this is according to Marissa Thring who is running for Faculty of Arts within DASO. “As part of our campaign, we go around each campus canvassing and informing students about DASO, but what has come to my attention is that most of the students, especially in Second Avenue campus are unaware of SRC (Student Representative Council) as a whole. It then becomes difficult to explain what DASO is about and those are the challenges we are facing so far,” she said. She continued to say that the main point is to make sure that the students’ needs are met and the organization doesn’t marginalize anyone because they are all equal.

“We want to help students in every way we can and make sure that the money goes to student societies and their basic needs,” Thring said. A trusted source revealed that the NMMU SRC runs on a budget of R2.6 million where R100 is deducted from students’ accounts each year and yet they fail to deliver basic services to the students. According to Thring, the SRC of the University of Cape Town runs a budget of R280 000 and yet they were voted the best SRC in the country. “Why can’t NMMU do the same? We have a much higher budget to meet students’ needs,” she said.

DASO seems to be on a serious note according to their 2011 manifesto which states the following:

·         An SRC fund that assists students in paying their student debt, allowing them to register and qualify for financial aid;

·         The covering of private accommodation by NSFAS;

·         An increase in the NSFAS book and meal allowances;

·         A 24 hour library service during exam periods;

·         An increase in computer capacity to meet student demand and

·         Social events that cater to all students.

This is to name a few, according to DASO leader. He said that they will fight for all students and his message to other student organisations is that they must keep student politics aside and focus on what needs to be done.

Nomfundo Nondzube

Crime and Courts

Motherwell police under investigation

Ten Motherwell police officers are under investigation following a case that was opened by civilian, taxi driver, Nkosiliseko Poswa. Poswa accused the policemen of physically abusing him after they had stopped him at a T-junction in second largest location of South Africa. The taxi driver alleges he was alone in his taxi then was asked about the ‘drugs’ he has in it. Poswa said he denied having drugs in the vehicle, and later on the taxi was searched but to the dismay of the officers found the taxi free of narcotics. Poswa said he was later taken to a deserted area “they tied my feet. They handcuffed my hands at the back. I was crying. While I was taking my shirt off, they started beating me. They kicked me and beat me with a pipe. My feet were kicked from under me.”

 Nkosiliseko Poswa is suing the Minister of Safety and Security for R334 500 in damages sustained after the incident that occuered in April 2007. Advocate Mncedisi Simoyi, a representative of the minister insisted that the police officers would deny the allegations of assaulting Poswa. He said that they will only admit that the handcuffs might have been a bit too tight. Warrant Officer Collins Boyce was called to the stand by Simoyi and denied knowing anything about the assault.

Poswa said he is a changed man after the incident. He said that is a day he will never forget as he feared for his life to the point of soiling himself. No judgement has been made and the case is still pending.

Nomazima Nkosi