By Nomalungelo Booi

A three year old girl was mauled to death by a pitbull while playing in a Zwide street on Sunday afternoon.

Police spokesperson Col Priscilla Naidu said it is alleged that Simamkele Kovu, 3, was playing in Msengana Street near her house at about 4.20pm when the dog attacked her.

The pitbull had escaped from a nearby residence after breaking through a broken gate.

“The dog was stabbed multiple times by a resident who tried to save the child. She sustained several bite wounds on her neck and face and succumbed to her injuries at the scene,” Naidu said.null

It is alleged that the dog belonged to a teenager from the same street who was out of town at the time of the attack, she said.

An inquest docket is under investigation.

“Police are urging residents to make sure that their property is secured and that their pet canines remain within their secured boundaries,” Naidu said.

By Greg Nicolson correspondence DK-NEWS

President Cyril Ramaphosa is receiving treatment for a ‘mild’ case of Covid-19 while South African cases reached a record high on Sunday, bolstered by a retrospective adjustment.

President Cyril Ramaphosa is in self-isolation and is receiving treatment after testing positive for Covid-19, according to a statement issued by Minister in the Presidency Mondli Gungubele on Sunday night.

According to Gungubele, Ramaphosa started feeling unwell on Sunday after leaving the memorial service of the last apartheid president FW de Klerk in Cape Town.

He said Ramaphosa had displayed “mild” symptoms and was being monitored by South African National Defence Force doctors.

“The president, who is fully vaccinated, is in self-isolation in Cape Town and has delegated all responsibilities to Deputy President David Mabuza for the next week,” said Gungubele, adding that Ramaphosa was “in good spirits”.

Ramaphosa returned from a week-long visit to West Africa on 8 December. During his trip, he railed against the travel bans imposed against southern African nations after South African scientists announced their discovery of the Omicron variant of the virus.

“On his recent visit to four West African states, President Ramaphosa and the South African delegation were tested for Covid-19 in all countries,” said Gungubele. 

“The president and the delegation returned to South Africa from the Republic of Senegal on Wednesday, 8 December 2021, after obtaining negative test results. The president also tested negative on his return to Johannesburg on 8 December.”

Ramaphosa’s positive test result follows a sharp increase in Covid-19 cases in South Africa, suspected to be due to the Omicron variant, although data modelling had long predicted the country would enter its fourth wave of infections in December.

In his last national address on the pandemic at the end of November, Ramaphosa suggested the country may need to impose vaccine mandates to curb the spread of the virus. According to the latest data, 15.13 million adults are fully vaccinated, accounting for 38.04% of the adult population.

“President Ramaphosa says his own infection serves as a caution to all people in the country to be vaccinated and remain vigilant against exposure,” said Gungubele.

The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) reported a record high of 37,875 new cases on Sunday, but that figure included retrospective cases that had previously not been captured.

“Today we report 37,875 new cases, which includes 19,840 retrospective cases and 18,035 new cases. In the past 24 hours a total of 18,035 positive Covid-19 cases have been reported. The positivity testing rate today is 28.9%,” said the NICD in a statement on Sunday evening.

“The NICD is committed to transparent reporting and will continue to update Covid-19 surveillance databases retrospectively as the impacted public laboratories remedy the existing IT difficulties. This will result in retrospective data being processed onto the line list, increasing the cumulative number of tests,” it added.

Gungubele said, “Vaccination remains the best protection against severe illness and hospitalisation. People who have had contact with the president today are advised to watch for symptoms or to have themselves tested.

By Nomalungelo Booi

KwaZakele police have arrested a 30-year-old male after he handed himself over to police on Friday, November 26 for the murder of his 30-year-old girlfriend.

According to police spokesperson Captain Gerda Swart, it is alleged that the couple had an argument on Thursday, November 25 at about 23:30 at their residence in Jam Ally, Greenfield, KwaZakele.The boyfriend allegedly assaulted the woman with a pipe. He then covered her with a blanket and left her lying on the floor.

The next morning, he went to work and upon his return discovered that she was not moving. He then went to the Kwazakele police station where he handed himself over to the police and the suspect was subsequently arrested for the murder,” Swart explained.

The suspect will appear before the New Brighton Magistrates Court on Monday,November 29, 2021 on a charge of murder.
Acting Nelson Mandela Bay District Commissioner, Brigadier Tandiswa Kupiso has strongly condemned the murder.

“The rights of women and children needs to be protected by all in our community, especially during the 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children campaign,” said Kupiso.

By Phumlani Saul

“TRADITION OF AN EXPLOSIVE RAZZLE-DAZZLE”

VARY early in December 2021, Ebubeleni Festival comes alive at Prince Alfred Park, Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Gqeberha.

The premium lifestyle event boasts a decade of quality offerings to festinos that know how to have the best celebration in the land. It promises to be a well-packaged 4-day cultural treat.

Kicking off the 10-year anniversary of the Ebubeleni Festival is the ‘Divas Experience’ on 2nd December. Performing will be Makhadzi, Amanda Black, Boohle, & QTwins.
General tickets are R255 with an extra R100 to bring a cooler box and VIP is R800

The follow-up show is the ‘Urban Party’ on 3rd December – featuring Gigi Lamayne, Emtee, Sir Trill, Musa Keys, Mshayi & Mr Thela and Sleeze .
General tickets are R255 with an extra R100 to bring a cooler box and VIP is R800
Both the above shows kick off at 4 pm till 10pm.

Starting at noon on 4th December is the ‘All White Picnic’. Set to delight are MiCasa, Ringo, Ntando, Zahara, Mellow & Sleazy. General tickets are R300 with an extra R100 for a cooler box and R1000 for VIP.

*The ‘Jazz in the Park’ on 5th December also kicks off at noon and features the sizzling hot Selaelo Selota, Mandisi Dyantyis, Ami Faku, Dumza Maswana, Butho Vuthela and the legend Sizwe Zako.
The going rate for a general ticket is R300, an additional R100 for the cooler box and R1000 for VIP.

All four events will be complimented by Gqeberha’s exciting and talented artists.

Each show will have a limited audience of 2000 festinos as per the Covid-19 regulations in December.

Marc Mahambehlala, Ebubeleni Festival’s Executive Producer said:
“The festival will live up to its tradition of an explosive razzle-dazzle. The carefully selected solid lineup is set to see the audience up on their feet or just simply and endlessly singing along.”

All tickets will be on sale through Webtickets online and at all Pick ‘n Pay or Boxer stores. No tickets will be sold at the venue or the gates.

Ebubeleni Music Festival is brought to you by Mahambehlala Communications in partnership with the National Department of Sport, Arts and Culture, Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality, Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium and Eastern Cape Parks and Tourism Agency.

By Nomalungelo Booi

Gqeberha police have arrested a 19-year-old suspect on charges of possession of drugs, possession of motor vehicle break-in equipment, and possession of suspected stolen property.

Spokesperson, Colonel Pricilla Naidu says while the members were patrolling in Cawood Street, North End on Saturday evening, they noticed a VW Golf driving in the business area.

The vehicle was stopped and on investigating, the passenger was found in possession of a black backpack with various implements, tools, and a car radio.

The teenager was also found in possession of tik.

He was arrested will appear in court on Monday.

By Lawrence Armoed

Who will be the mayor of Nelson Mandela Bay?

The final vote count for the Nelson Mandela Bay metro is in and it’s a narrow win for the DA following the local government elections on Monday.

The IEC says the DA received 39.9% of the vote, while the ANC is a close second with 39.4 per cent.

This means both parties are essentially neck-and-neck, having secured 48 council seats each.

The EFF is third, with 6.4% of the vote in Nelson Mandela Bay with eight seats.

With none of the parties getting the much-needed majority, a coalition will have to be formed leaving the Metro guessing as to who the next Mayor would be. 

In Buffalo City, vote counting is 93% complete with the ANC in the lead there with 59.4% and the DA 19.6%.

The national vote count is 96% complete.

President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to visit the IEC’s Results Operations Centre in Tshwane later on Thursday.

The final results will be broadcast live at 6 pm.

The Independent Electoral Commission admitted on Wednesday that 42 days were not nearly enough to organise and prepare for elections.

By Nomalungelo Booi

DA Federal Council chairperson Helen Zille has opened a case of assault against a police officer, after she was seen being dragged out of the Fernwood Primary School voting station in Bethelsdorp. 

DA communications director Richard Newton said ANC observers at a voting station in Gqeberha had accused her of canvassing for votes minutes before she was taken out of the facility by police.

“It is alleged that on 1 November 2021 at about 12:30, DA party agent Helen Zille was at the Fernwood Primary School voting station in Bethelsdorp. According to Ms Zille, due to the long queue, she walked down the line asking people to wait,” Newton said.

Zille further said that, when she got to the front of the queue, the ANC observers accused her of canvassing.

“She then alleged that a Warrant Officer Botha instructed her to leave the premises and threatened to arrest her and put her in the back of a police vehicle.

“She was ‘frog-marched’ out of the premises and the police officer twisted her arm and continued pushing her.

“The cellphone that her colleague was using to film the incident was allegedly taken by Botha,” Newton said.

Zille went to the police station in Bethelsdorp and opened a case of assault.

IPID spokesperson Grace Langa said an investigator was trying to get hold of Zille after she opened a case of assault against a police officer. 

She said Zille had been unreachable by phone. Langa said a thorough investigation into the incident would follow. 

A cellphone video recording showed  Zille being dragged out of the voting station in Bethelsdorp by a police officer. 

Taking to her Facebook page on Monday night, Zille said her tasks for the day had been to greet voters and “walk the queues”.

“It involves encouraging people to stay in the queue, no matter how long it takes and how frustrated they get, so that they can cast their vote rather than go home,” she posted.

She said she was very careful to ensure she did not canvas anywhere within the IEC’s boundary line.

 tried to rip myself free’

At the primary school, she had found a very long queue and worked out the hold-up was due to the apparently slow manual input of ID numbers into a tablet.

“I then tried to establish how long the voting would take by timing this interaction on my phone’s stop-watch. I positioned myself two meters from where this device was being used to manually capture ID numbers. I did not interfere with a single voter, nor with any officer performing his or her duties. I merely timed the process,” she said.

“The shortest time it took to capture an ID number was 30 seconds. The longest was 90 seconds. Multiplying the average by the number of people in the queue, I calculated that it would take about 4-5 hours for the people at the back of the queue to get to the front. Ms Latola [the presiding officer] then told me to leave the voting station. I said I had the required authorisation to be there, and then suggested that she use her authority to divide the queue on the basis of alphabetical surnames, as had happened in a nearby Voting Station.”

Zille left the voting station and returned later on to find the queue longer and no double queue system implemented.

“Once again, I walked up the queue from the back, thanking people for coming, and asking them to stay in the queue, even though many of them had been waiting for hours. When I made my way to the front of the queue, two of the ANC party agents told me to stop canvassing in the queue. I told them I was not canvassing, I was urging people to stay in the queue despite their intense frustration at the inordinate delay.”

She said she approached Latola again, who allegedly accused her of canvassing.

“A burly policeman, Warrant Officer A Botha, approached and before I could say a word, he instructed me to leave. I presented my authorisation, and said I had a right to be there. With that he instructed me to leave, grabbed me and frog-marched me out of the building. I told him to let me go or I would charge him with assault,” she said.

“I tried to rip myself free of his grasp, but he was very powerful and frog-marched me all the way to the gate. My colleague filmed the last segment of his violence, at which point he lunged over and grabbed her cellphone. She tried to get it back, but he turned and went into the building.”

Zille said she had opened a case at Bethelsdorp police station and then returned to the voting station, where she was given a dispute form to fill out.The delays today at the Fernwood Park Primary Voting Station were clearly deliberate, and scores of voters left without voting in this DA stronghold.  The same, apparently, applies in many other places,” she said.

By Nomalungelo Booi

Safety and Security, and the future of the youth were on the mind of 36-year-old Kariega resident, Rene’ Hendricks.

She spent about an hour in the queue at the Seagulls Primary School in Rosedale on Monday morning, where she cast her ballot.

Two men were arrested and are due to appear in court on Tuesday.

The voting station is a stone’s throw away from the area where three people were shot and killed and three others wounded in suspected gang on Saturday night.

Hendricks told Daily Kasi News that she was hoping that the party she voted for would win and make the changes that she would like to see.

“It is very important, especially if we want to see change and especially if we raise children,” she said.

Hendricks said the society that we are living in was very violent and “we don’t see the change that we want.  One of the main issues is for the change that I want to see in the community and it’s affecting the young people.”

She said not enough was being done for the youth of Kariega.

Meanwhile, the focus in the Eastern Cape was squarely on Nelson Mandela Bay where the Democratic Alliance and the African National Congress were pushing for majority wins.

The Metro is being hotly contested by 26 parties and 16 independent candidates, which an analyst says could once more lead to Nelson Mandela Bay being governed by a coalition.

DA mayoral candidate and current mayor, Nqaba Bhanga, said however that it would be possible to gain a 50% plus 1 majority if all their members went out to vote.

ANC provincial leader, Oscar Mabuyane, was also confident that the governing party would regain control of Nelson Mandela Bay, after losing out in 2016.

He said he believed the governing party was on the right track this time around and is on a path of renewal.

The Independent Electoral Commission said that voting in the 2021 Municipal Elections got off to a smooth start “at almost all voting stations”. 

“The vast majority of the country’s 23 148 voting stations reported being open on time at 7 am and that voting was flowing smoothly,” the IEC said in a statement.

“The Electoral Commission said it was particularly encouraged that many voting stations reported strong turnouts from early in the day with many voters already waiting to vote before the 7 am opening.”

It said, “delays in voting were reported in less than one percent of voting stations due to a variety of circumstances including tents being blown over by high winds overnight and the late arrival of election staff and voting materials in a few voting stations.”

By Phumlani Saul

Kwanobuhle police are on the hunt for more suspects allegedly involved in a shooting incident which left three people dead on Saturday, October 30 in Kwanobuhle.

According to police reports, it is alleged that at about 14:50, police were alerted to the shooting at a tavern  in Jongilanga  Street in Kwanobuhle.

It is alleged that about six suspects entered the tavern and opened fire at the patrons. Three males aged between 25 to 35 were fatally wounded. The suspects then drove off in a Quantum  taxi,” police spokesperson Colonel Naidu said.

She added that as the police were driving in Jafta Street, they noticed a group of about six males walking with firearms.

Officers gave chase and with the assistance of metro police officials, they successfully apprehended two suspects. Three 9mm firearms and ammunition were also seized. The two suspects were detained on charges of possession of prohibited firearms, illegal possession of ammunition and attempted murder.”

Names of the deceased persons will be released after a formal identification is done on Tuesday, November 2, 2021, Naidu added.

The Provincial Organized Crime Investigation in Gqeberha are investigating three counts of murder and two cases of attempted murder.

“The firearms will be sent for ballistic testing and the search for the outstanding suspects continues. The motive for the senseless murders is yet to be established,” Naidu said.

Anyone who can assist the police in their investigation can contact  Provincial  OCI, D/W/O John Lourens on 0713524706 or Crime Stop 08600 10111 or the nearest police station.

By Phumlani Saul

Kenneth and Mariam Barnes could not understand why their grandson had spent days staring at a particular spot in their backyard. 

On Monday, the reason became clear. 

“He [allegedly] told me that he had buried his girlfriend in our backyard,”  grandfather Barnes said. 

The gruesome murder of 15-year-old Sinthia Williams — several months pregnant at the time of her death,  according to her family — has stunned Kariega residents.   

That her 19-year-old boyfriend has allegedly confessed to not only killing her, but disposing of her body in a shallow grave only metres from his grandparents’ back door, is beyond anyone’s imagination. 

The man will appear in the Kariega magistrate’s court on Friday.

The suspect handed himself over to police last night [Wednesday] and pointed out that he buried her in the garden at his home in Bauhinia Crescent,” police spokesperson Captain Andre Beetge said. 

“Police then found her body in a shallow grave at that premises and the suspect was subsequently arrested for her murder.” 

For 10 days,  Sinthia’s remains lay concealed beneath the dirt at the house in Bauhinia Crescent in the suburb of Thomas Gamble until the man, who cannot be named until he has appeared in court, allegedly confessed to his grandparents.

His grandparents’ horror is compounded by the fact that he even took part in searches for the teen mother-to-be after she was reported missing, and that he had allegedly told Sinthia’s parents he was worried that he could not find her.