By Phumlani Saul

Port Elizabeth police are investigating a case of murder after a man’s body was discovered in Motherwell at 1pm on Sunday.

It is believed he was burnt to death.

Police spokesperson Captain Gerda Swart said his details could not be released until he had been formally identified.

Swart said rumours that he had been involved in the rape of two youngsters from the area, and that he had been the victim of vigilantism, could not be confirmed at this stage.

A relative came across his body in Ngolosa Street in NU9, Motherwell.

“No arrests were made and investigations are ongoing,” Swart said.

By Mzwandile Funani

Unable to breathe, 84-year-old Barry Gatenby was turned away from three private Port Elizabeth hospitals as an ambulance crew desperately tried to find space for the Covid-19 patient.

At the same time, his worried family waited anxiously on Sunday morning as the crew updated them on the struggle for space.

Finally, Gatenby was booked in at the VW field hospital.

For the family who recently lost their mother after a fall, the wait felt eternal.

Gatenby is just one of more than 6,000 people in Nelson Mandela Bay battling Covid-19.

Hospitals, both private and public, are being stretched to the limit as cases increase daily.

The figures as of Sunday stood at 6,285, according to Eastern Cape health department spokesperson Sizwe Kupelo.

The rise in cases in the Bay has been attributed to people not following protocols, like social distancing and washing their hands, to avoid Covid-19, as well as irresponsible partying.

The state hospitals are also turning patients away, with a doctor describing  the situation as harrowing.

The doctor, who is part of Livingstone’s Covid-19 team, said the hospital had run out of beds, with just two oxygen points available on Monday.

The two points opened up on Monday after patients in need of oxygen were turned away at the weekend.

“This is not just a mini-spike, we are in a second surge.

“And, at this point, it does not matter if you have medical aid or not, bed pressures are tremendous both in private and public hospitals.

The hospital has got to a point of having to turn people away, and it’s mostly people who need oxygen that we’ve had to divert to other hospitals because we can’t process them when there are no oxygen points.

Whenever we manage to move people, the oxygen points that open up are taken again very quickly,” the doctor said.

The lack of beds is exacerbated by a shortage of staff.

“It’s very difficult and extremely stressful.

“Our junior staff have to deal with a lot of deaths and we don’t have adequate support staff to phone and counsel families, we don’t have fresh legs to take over [from exhausted staff].”

The doctor, who did not want to be named  as public sector doctors are not permitted to speak to the media, said the surge in Covid-19 cases was affecting all services.

For the Gatenby family, still going through the pain of losing their mother, concerns over a lack of bed for their father had been distressing, his son, Mike, said.

 An ambulance was deployed at 5am to fetch Gatenby at his Lorraine residence and he was initially taken to Greenacres Hospital.

While in the ambulance, his oxygen level dropped below 50%.

By Nomathamsaqa Kula

Volkswagen Group SA (VWSA) is celebrating a momentous milestone with more than four-million cars having been manufactured at its Uitenhage plant.

In a statement on Monday, VW said the first of four-million cars was manufactured in November 1948 when the premises still belonged to South African Motor Assemblers and Distributors (SAMAD).

“The first Volkswagen vehicle to be manufactured in Uitenhage was a Volkswagen Beetle that rolled off the production line in August 1951.

“Since then, VWSA has manufactured a broad range of vehicles locally, including Audi vehicles, the iconic Volkswagen Beetle, and various models of the Transporter series (Kombi), Golf, Jetta and Polo.”

The Uitenhage plant now manufactures the Polo for local and export markets, as well as the Polo Vivo for the local market.

Since the start of 2020, the plant has produced 75,521 Polos for export, as well as 12,804 Polos and 17,038 Polo Vivos for the local market.

Acting production director at VWSA Bernd Schaberg said the production milestone was a proud moment  and proof of the dedication of the giant car manufacturer.With this level of commitment, I am sure we can achieve many more milestones to come,” Schaberg said

By Mkhuseli Sizani

Waterville informal settlement residents stormed ward 31 councillor Luyolo Nombola’s office on Friday, demanding electricity. Photo: Mkhuseli Sizani

Missionvale township in Port Elizabeth remained tense on Friday afternoon after about 80 Waterville informal settlement residents blocked Old Uitenhage Road with burning tyres, demanding electricity.

The protest follows the recent removal of most of the illegal connections from poles meant for neighbouring RDP homeowners from Boesak’s Ground.

The trouble began on Tuesday night when one of the main electrical poles in the area became overloaded and exploded as a result of the webbing izinyoka lines. This left nearly 200 households in the dark. While power was restored on Wednesday, residents from the RDP houses decided to remove the illegal connections.

At 4am on Friday, a group from the informal settlement responded by closing the road with burning tyres and rocks. Public Order Police were called to intervene as protesters approached the ward councillor’s office, accusing him of ignoring their pleas for services.

The area was established four years ago and has 628 households.

Thembisa Brukwe from the informal settlement said they have been at loggerheads with the homeowners who have been foiling each of their attempts to reconnect the izinyoka lines. “The RDP homeowners refused [to allow reconnections] and threatened to burn down our shacks. I couldn’t sleep last night in fear of being torched in the house with my mother who is 82,” she said.

Mfundo Sifile, 39, said: “We are unemployed and most of us survive on social grants. The homeowners want us to rent our illegal connections for R250 a month. They even pelted us with stones as we tried to reconnect.

“We need electricity like all other informal settlements in this municipality. Paraffin is too expensive. It’s R15 per litre and kids are hungry at home. We couldn’t cook for them since Tuesday. Now we are getting these threats,” he said.

Anelisiwe Dyubele who lives in front of the damaged electrical pole said: “We cannot be bullied by these shack dwellers. My mother, who is 72, has been traumatised ever since the pole exploded. They never asked for permission to connect. … Their connections are a danger to us and our children. We won’t allow them to connect here again.”

Another homeowner Vuyokazi Stoti denied that they had threatened the informal settlement residents. Stoki said they merely removed the cables and told them not to connect directly to the area’s transformer.

Ward 31 councillor Luyolo Nombola (ANC) said over 200 houses were affected by the explosion on Tuesday. He said officials from the Infrastructure, Engineering and Energy department will meet community leaders on Monday.

By Phumlani Saul

The SABC has removed Umhlobo Wenene Breakfast show host Phiwe “Pastor The DJ” Nozewu after he expressed “joy” on Twitter regarding a confrontation between an EFF supporter who was assaulted in Brackenfell, Cape Town, and local residents. 

The public broadcaster announced its decision on Twitter on Thursday after calls by the EFF to have Nozewu removed. 

“The SABC can confirm that Mr Phiwe Nozewu is unscheduled on Umhlobo Wenene FM by the station’s management following his public utterances on Twitter in relation to a violent incident which took place in Cape Town. The SABC views this matter in a serious light and has therefore unscheduled Mr Nozewu until further notice for bringing the organisation into disrepute,” it wrote in two separate tweets. 

On Wednesday the EFF issued a statement on Twitter calling for the SABC to remove Nozewu for his “self-hating comments which endorsed public violence and the assault of a black woman outside Brackenfell High School.” 

In a pathetic display on anti-blackness, Nozewu posted his apparent joy on Twitter at the assault of EFF activists, who were attacked by intolerant white racists who believe there are sectors in South Africa where black people are not allowed to gather,” a portion of the EFF’s statement read. 

Despite Nozewu issuing a public apology on Twitter on Wednesday, the SABC conceded to the calls by the EFF. 

By Phumlani Saul

Principal and deputy die within days of each other after testing positive for Covid-19

Uitenhage school has lost its principal and deputy principal after both died shortly after testing positive for Covid-19 as Nelson Mandela Bay continues to see a sharp increase in the number of coronavirus cases.

The city has seen a sudden surge in infections, rising  from 194 active cases on September 27 to 2,513 by Sunday.

KwaNobuhle-based Noninzi Luzipho Primary School principal Danile David Mavikela died on Saturday at the Netcare Cuyler Hospital after being admitted 19 days earlier as he was struggling to breathe.

He was eventually placed on a ventilator

His wife, Patience, said she was devastated by Mavikela’s death.

“He was a wonderful person who loved teaching.

“I am sure the entire school will miss him,” she said.

Mavikela’s deputy, Ester Namfu, died on Wednesday while being transported by ambulance to Netcare Cuyler Hospital.

She would have turned 60 on Wednesday.

Ester’s brother, Themba Moyakaza, said he and his sister had always been close.

“I miss her so much. We were very close,” he said.

New Covid-19 figures show the metro has eight hotspots, with Motherwell at the top of the list with 416 active cases.

This is followed by Uitenhage (319), Kwazakhele (137), KwaNobuhle (133), Walmer (132), Bethelsdorp (128), Zwide (104) and Despatch (102) cases.

Eastern Cape premier  Oscar Mabuyane last night assigned his special advisor, Dr Thobile Mbengashe, to help deal with the resurgent in infections in Nelson Mandela Bay and the Sarah Baartman district.

Mbengashe’s role is to support the joint operations centres  in both areas in carrying out a strategy to curb infections.

“Through this strategy, the provincial government is targeting hotspot areas showing increasing numbers of Covid-19 infections in the province in order to lower the rate of transmission as we deal with what looks like a second wave of virus pandemic in the province,” a statement from the premier’s office said.

“Dr Mbengashe will be in  Nelson Mandela Bay and Sarah Baartman this week to work with the two structures to suppress resurgence of Covid-19 infections.”

BIG LOSS: Noninzi Luzipho Primary School principal Danile David Mavikela and deputy Ester Namfu, who died of Covid-19 complications
Image: SUPPLIEDnull

He said Mavikela, 54, and Namfu, 59, had both been on sick leave.

“Contingency plans are in place at the school to ensure everyone will be assisted.”

The school’s head of departments, Lungelo Kilne, has taken the reins in an acting capacity.

Ester’s daughter, Sinovuyo, said her mother had started to show flu-like symptoms about five weeks ago.

“We gave her medication such as lemon and disprin.

“However, she continued to go to work as the flu was not that bad,” she said.

Sinovuyo said in the fourth week her mother’s condition worsened.

“She started to breathe heavily and battled to walk even five steps,” Sinovuyo said.

Ester was tested for Covid-19 on October 21, with her results coming back positive two days later.

“My mother was a talkative person. She loved children and people.

“You could hear her from anywhere. That’s how she could project her voice.

“She was also strict when it was needed.”

Patience Mavikela said she had received a call from the hospital on Saturday just after 9pm.

She was told to rush to the hospital as it was unlikely her husband would live for much longer.

“I went very quickly to the hospital and was given personal protective equipment to wear so I could say my final goodbye.”

She said her husband did not respond when she spoke to him at his bedside.

Asked what her finals words were to him, she said: “I can’t even remember any more.

“But I know in my heart it was the correct words at the time.”

Patience described her husband as someone with a passion for teaching.

“He was also an active and dedicated member of the Methodist Church of Southern Africa.

“He was once a recording secretary in the Methodist Grahamstown [Makhanda] district for six years.”

She said her husband was admitted on October 13 as he was struggling to breathe.

“They did a Covid-19 test once he was admitted and it came back positive that same night.”

She said her husband had shown symptoms of shortness of breath for two days before going to the hospital.

“That school has lost two people in the top management structure.

“It is awful news for everyone.”

She did not know where he could have contracted the virus.

Patience said the funeral arrangements still had to be concluded.

He had three children, Thembinkosi, 33, Lunga, 30, and Abongile, 24.

“He was a very loving parent,” she said

By Tumelo Khotha

After numerous attempts of attaining the presence of the executive mayor of Maluti A Phofung local municipality in the Free State, residents of Pholani, near Intabazwe in Harrismith are finally happy.

It is contended that the residents have attempted numerous times to ask for the executive mayor without success.
They wanted to demonstrate Masetjhaba Mosia-Lakaje, the executive mayor, the inadequate conditions they are living in. Rather, all their attempts didn’t give rise to any sense in the office of the mayor. 

According to the resident’s coordinator Neo Motaung, at least three emails have been sent to the mayor to come and witness the conditions without being answered back. Motaung says as the residents, they panned out writing for the provincial MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Thembeni Ngxangisa to intervene. He says if the MEC couldn’t respond, they would decide to go and close the main road in a form of embarking on strike.

Eventually, the residents managed to meet with the executive mayor after a long run of attempts. Motaung says they are happy as residents because of the meeting with her alongside her Member of Mayoral Committees.

“We’re much glad that after striving to meet her, our meeting went very well. We have also come up with outcomes for the problems we had.
Among other grievances the residents have is poor service delivery which includes water supply, worthless roads, nepotism, and conspiracy taking place in the municipality.

Mosia-Lakaje, nonetheless, gave rise to the uncomfortable residents in the meeting they held. She says the meeting went well and all problems have been sorted. Mosia-Lakaje has indicated that the water problem will be attended by the municipal water entity as quickly as today.

Although she had mentioned that this is a short term solution, at least this will be a minus problem in their everyday challenge of the residents. “We’ll come back to them soon just to ensure that all problems they have been raised are being well attended, ” says Mosia-Lakaje.

In terms of corruption in the municipality that residents have also spoken of among other grievances they have, the executive mayor said since she’s not good in the investigations, the police will assure that they do their work properly to find where there’s corruption.
She further pointed out that an issue of the sites will be thoroughly looked into by the municipality in a very short period.

Lerato Mphuthi (41), one of the residents was pleased that the municipality attended to their problems before they agreed on embarking on the streets for burning the tires. She says their problems need to be solved just like the ones of residents leaving in Qwaqwa and Kestel.

“We’re also residents of Maluti A Phofung just like the residents leaving in the said places, thus, we need to be dealt with equally, ” she says.

By Mkhuseli Sizani

Residents of ward 29 in Port Elizabeth have accused Police Minister Bheki Cele of reneging on a promise they say he made in 2018 to send in the army to reduce escalating crime in the area. They also demanded a new police station be built in Booysens Park.

This follows an incident last Thursday when a group of about 200 people from Booysens Park and neighbouring Pollar Park petrol bombed and stoned four houses. Two of the homes were completely gutted while one was partially burnt and the other had its windows smashed in.

The chaos followed the shooting of a man from Pollar Park last Monday at Qunu taxi rank. A woman, who allegedly witnessed the shooting, was confronted by gang members to identify the shooter. When she was unable to do so, the group attacked her home.

The woman’s 50-year-old mother recalled returning home on Thursday to find her four-roomed house in flames. Both their names have been withheld because of safety concerns. “I was called at about 5:35pm by my neighbours. My neighbour said it was an armed mob from Pollar Park. She asked me to ask the Gelvandale Police Station police to escort me with fire fighters because the two fire engines and two police vans from Bethelsdorp were chased away by the gang,” she said.

The woman said everything inside her house was set alight. “According to my neighbours the gang also fired several shots at my son as he got off his work transport,” she said. The woman said she was escorted to her house by police and emergency services.

The mother, who worked as a domestic worker, said the gang had traumatised her family and destroyed their entire life’s savings and a R23,000 stokvel collection. “I am as good as dead. My daughter has a drug problem and this gang wanted her to tell them who shot their member at the taxi rank. She told them that she does not know the suspects but the gangs chose to destroy my house. I am left with the only clothes that I am wearing. All my important documents including my ID, were burnt in the fire,” she said.

“I blame Bheki Cele. In 2018 at Booysens Park Community Hall, we told him that Bethelsdorp Police are useless and corrupt. We were being charged a protection fee for having beautiful houses.

“Cele promised to build us a police station which is currently under construction. He also promised to deploy soldiers. But that never happened and we are still living in fear,” she said.

After destroying the Booysens Park home, the gang went to Marikana, apparently in search of a man named Menalik “Mena” Malieba.

Resident Shandre Oliphant said she saw three groups coming into the community carrying firearms and petrol bombs. They torched the first house and then shot at the electricity transformer, leaving the street in darkness.

“For seven years we have been living here and crime was too much because those gangs terrorise us and the police are scared of them. They were robbing immigrant spaza shop owners and our homes but ever since Mena and his group started to fight against these gangs, crime dropped drastically,” she said.

Malieba told DK News that since the age of 15 he had witnessed his community falling prey to gangs. “I called a meeting on Friday with the residents and asked for a way forward because we cannot continue living like this. The police do nothing about these gangs. Immigrant spaza shop owners, loan sharks and residents with beautiful houses are asked protection fees by these gangs. We are not gangsters but we are fighting against the gangs,” Mena said.

Police spokesperson Colonel Priscilla Naidu urged residents to stop making allegations against the Bethelsdorp Police. Naidu said that only one case of arson had been opened last week and denied that police did not intervene against gangs.

“Police are urging residents to report the culprits so that arrests can be made. In many instances, the residents do not open cases.” He said criminals were living in the community and should be reported by community members. “The community police forum and the police are working closely with community leaders in that area,” she said.

In response to Cele’s promise to build a police station, his spokesperson Lirandzu Themba said: “This project is still going through normal and due processes. There have been several multi-disciplinary stabilization interventions in the affected northern areas. The deployment of the army is not up to the Minister, he cannot make that call on his own as it is the prerogative of the President.”

By Phumlani Saul

Port Elizabeth police have commended the heroic actions of a six-year-old girl who stood up to a house robber and refused to let him steal a TV.

Police spokesperson Colonel Priscilla Naidu said the little girl, the daughter of a domestic worker who works for the homeowner, was watching TV at a house in Greame Road, Greenbushes at about 1:25pm on Friday when the incident occurred.

It is alleged the girl’s mother had gone to her quarters to have lunch and while eating an unknown man armed with a panga entered her room.

The 27-year-old man then allegedly threatened her and took her cellphone and R1,000 before taking the woman to the main house and demanded to be shown the safe.

When they entered the living room, he threatened the child and instructed her mother to unplug the TV set.

“The child unperturbed by the suspect’s threats refused to let the TV set go and stood guard in front of it,” Naidu said.

According to Naidu the girl responded saying she was going to call the “ouma” who was asleep in another room.

The child then ran from the living room towards the bedroom to alert the 75-year-old woman homeowner, Naidu said.

The woman on hearing the commotion went to the living room, where the suspect, upon seeing the woman, ran away through the back door and took a laptop.

The panic alarm was immediately activated

Naidu said a description of the suspect was given and investigations were conducted in the immediate vicinity by the owner’s family and the Detective Trio Task Team members.

“At about 5pm while the investigating officer was patrolling the nearby squatter camp with the complainant, the suspect, was spotted standing on the side of the road,” Naidu said.

He was positively identified and the laptop and cellphone were recovered along with a further two laptops.

He was arrested and detained on charges of house robbery and possession of suspected stolen property and is expected to appear in the Port Elizabeth magistrate’s court on Monday.

Nelson Mandela Bay District Commissioner, Major General Thembisile Patekile commended the little girl for her brave stance against the suspect.

“This little girl was not aware of the danger she was in and all she was concerned was that no-one was going to take away her TV set.

“We are glad that no harm was done to her and the other occupants in the house. We urge the residents to ensure that they take proactive safety steps when at home.

“Never leave doors opened irrespective whether you are inside or outside the house. Always make sure that the security gate is locked at all times. Never assume that you are in a safe area. Opportunistic criminals are always on the lurk,” Patekile said.

By Zamandulo Malonde

A bizarre accident in which a man and his ex-wife — travelling in separate cars — crashed into each other before careening through the walls of two neighbouring houses left the homeowners stunned.

While the man crashed through a wall and into a swimming pool, the woman’s car levelled the neighbour’s boundary wall in Van der Stel Avenue, Kabega Park.

Luzuko Sloti said he had been at work when his mother called on Monday morning to tell him about the accident.

A white Polo had crashed into their boundary wall, knocking it down and skidding into the garden while, at the same time, a black Geely had crashed through Sloti’s neighbour’s wall, landing nose-first in the swimming pool.

Both cars were branded, with one belonging to Oceans Chemicals and the other to  Pillay’s Indian Cuisine.

The Polo had allegedly rammed into the back of the black car, causing it to crash into the wall, witnesses said.My mother was shocked by [the sound of] a crash into the boundary wall and went outside,” Sloti said.

The car crashed into the wall and into some bricks that we had packed inside the yard.”

According to Sloti, the man told him that the driver in the Polo was his ex-wife.

He said the woman’s colleagues had arrived at the scene after pictures and the video were widely circulated on social media.

“They said she had left work in a rush, saying that she needed to attend to something at home, but when they recognised the car she was driving in the pictures circulating on Facebook, they were worried,” Sloti said.

The man’s car crashed into Luvuyo Mongo’s pool.

“I was inside the house when I heard bricks [from the boundary wall] hit the [house] and I rushed out to find a car crashing into my pool with a man inside it,” Mongo said.

“The man managed to get out of the car, but we could tell he was still in shock.

“He didn’t say much except to confirm that his wife had hit his car from behind and he had lost control and crashed into my yard while she crashed into my neighbour’s yard,” Mongo said.

Jodash Pillay, who owns the Geely, said a relative had been driving it at the time of the accident.

He did not want to give the couple’s names.

He said the woman had been taken to Mercantile Hospital, while the man was a bit sore.

Police spokesperson Colonel Priscilla Naidu said the man had reported the accident for insurance purposes.