LOADSHEDDING: WHEN THE POWER GOES OUT, THE MAGISTRATE COURT IN MDANTSANE CLOSES
When the power goes out at the Mdantsane Magistrate’s Court in the Eastern Cape, life comes to a halt. Depending on the time of day, they must either wait two and a half hours or cancel court for the day. This is troubling, according to various stakeholder groups.
Advocate Sakhi Poswa, chairperson of the National Association of Democratic Lawyers (NADEL), stated that it puts everyone involved on hold, puts breaks in the wheels of justice, and puts a strain on members of the public who are clients. He continues to add that there should be backup generators in case of a power outage.
According to Luxolo Tyali, the National Prosecuting Authority’s Eastern Cape regional spokesman, it is saddening that not all courts have emergency power, and that loadshedding is currently affecting their productivity in the courts, as they cannot do any recorded cases during this time. Other matters, on the other hand, do not require recording.
Tyali believes it is also incorrect for the courts to cancel court cases for the day due to power outages.
According to Steve Mahlangu, a spokesman for the Department of Justice, they have a strategy for ensuring that all courts have generators so that justice is not disrupted.
BAIL WAS DENIED FOR AN ALLEGED EASTERN CAPE COP KILLER.
A suspected cop killer was denied bail in the Eastern Cape’s Ngcobo Magistrate’s Court.
Sergeant Vakele Mark Mjoli, 43, was gunned down in Ngcobo last Saturday while responding to an armed robbery, and Lusindiso Gqokoma, 37, appeared in court on Friday. Mjoli was part of a four-person crime prevention response team called to the scene of an armed robbery at a local retail store.
Gqokoma was apprehended on Wednesday in a joint operation by the Hawks’ Serious Organised Crime Investigation team in Mthatha, the Public Order Police unit, and Crime Intelligence. A shootout broke out at the store, resulting in Mjoli’s death and the injury of another officer.
Two suspected robbers were killed on the spot. One of the deceased suspects’ firearm was recovered, and one accused person was arrested but subsequently released. The case was postponed until October 16, when Gqokoma was scheduled to make another bail application, according to the Hawks.
A RHODES FEMALE STUDENT (19) DROWNED AT PORT ALFRED’S WEST BEACH.
A 19-year-old woman from KwaZulu-Natal, believed to be a student at Rhodes University in Makhanda, drowned on Saturday, September 10, 2022, at West Beach in Port Alfred.
According to Gerrit Cloete, Deputy Station commander at NSRI Port Alfred, the NSRI crew was activated at 15:53 following reports of a drowning in progress.
Cloete went on to say that a woman was being swept out to sea by strong rip currents. We believe she had been swimming and wading in waist-deep water with friends at the time.
Cloete closed by saying when their NSRI rescue craft arrived at the scene, it was able to reach the woman in the surf line in rough sea conditions. After rescuing the woman onto the rescue craft, CPR (Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation) efforts began, and the woman was transported to the NSRI Port Alfred rescue station, where ambulance crews continued with extensive CPR efforts.
After all efforts to revive the student had been exhausted, she was declared dead. Cloete said that her body had been turned over to police and government health forensic pathology services. The police have opened an official inquiry docket.
A KZN CRASH INJURED 23 PEOPLE, INCLUDING SCHOOL CHILDREN.
An accident in Durban on Friday morning, 09 September 2022, injured 23 people, many of whom were schoolchildren.
According to KwaZulu-Natal spokesperson Robert McKenzie, the crash occurred on the M19 highway near Reservoir Hills, when a minibus left the road and came to rest in the middle island, next to the road.
He went on to say that the patients were treated at the scene for injuries ranging from minor to critical, and then taken to the hospital.
The cause of the accident is still unknown, and an investigation has begun.
AFTER THE HIGH COURT RULES ON THE SUSPENSION DECISION, CYRIL RAMAPHOSA WILL OPPOSE THE PUBLIC PROTECTOR’S URGENT APPLICATION.
President Cyril Ramaphosa will oppose the Public Protector’s urgent application to have the Western Cape High Court order invalidating her suspension enforced.
This comes after a full bench ruled on Friday that his suspension of her, a day after she sent him questions about the Phala-Phala break-in was null and void, and improper.
Ramaphosa is the thirdp respondent in the matter, along with the Speaker of the National Assembly, the Chairperson of Section 194 Committee, and all political parties represented in the National Assembly.
KING CHARLES ASSUMES DUTY AFTER QUEEN ELIZABETH’S PASSING
As he is proclaimed monarch, King Charles vows to follow Queen Elizabeth’s example.
King Charles promised to follow in the footsteps of his late mother as he was formally proclaimed as Britain’s new monarch at a historic ceremony in St James’s Palace on Saturday.
The death of Queen Elizabeth, 96, on Thursday after 70 years on the throne set in motion long-established and meticulously orchestrated plans for days of national mourning and a state funeral in just over a week.
Charles, 73, succeeded his mother immediately, but an Accession Council met on Saturday to declare him king, with his son and heir William, wife Camilla, and Britain’s new prime minister, Liz Truss, among those signing the proclamation.
King Charles said that he is deeply aware of this great inheritance and of the duties and heavy responsibilities of Sovereignty which have now been passed to him.
The death of Elizabeth, Britain’s longest-reigning monarch, has elicited tributes from all over the world. Landmarks have been used to commemorate her life, with buildings in Europe, America, and Africa lit up in the United Kingdom’s red, white, and blue.
People began gathering outside royal palaces in the early hours of Saturday morning in the United Kingdom, with thousands flocking to Buckingham Palace to pay their respects to the queen and Charles, who was proclaimed king at nearby St James’s Palace.
Article by Siyakholwa Vuso || Edited by Cwayita Zweni