By Phumlani Saul

AN EVIL snake killed our son! These were the words of Ndlovu’s devastated parents after his passing over the weekend.

NDLOVU, WHOSE REAL NAME WAS SINOTHANDO HLULANI, DIED IN HOSPITAL ON SATURDAY AFTER A LONG ILLNESS, SHOCKING MANY PEOPLE.

The artist and entertainer was affectionally known as uNdlovu wayigeqeza or UNdlovu waseBhayi.He became popular with his hit song Pokolina and his debut album, Kubo. His clips are played daily on Skhumba’s Throwback Thursday on SABC1. Mum Nandipha (36) said the 12-year-old, affectionately known as uNdlovu wayigeqeza, was killed by an evil brown, shiny snake.

“He fell sick about four months ago,” she said. “He started to suffer from a kind of epilepsy and his condition became worse at the beginning of this month. “He couldn’t walk or talk. When we were changing his bed on Friday we found the snake in his blankets.”

Ndlovu’s father Siyathemba Nombombo (36) said he chased the snake into the yard and saw it had a shell. He said: “This proved the snake had been in our house for some time. I did manage to kill it.” Siyathemba said it was about a metre long.

The mum said as the snake was being killed the kid puked a thick, brown and shiny substance and struggled to breathe.

“We rushed him to Dora Nginza Hospital and he was in ICU,” she said “I went back on Saturday and doctors said he was doing well. “They said it looked like pneumonia or a lung infection. But we were called at about 6pm and told our son had died.” Nandipha said izangoma and prophets had told them the child’s illness was caused by snakes.

“They said two evil snakes had caused his illness, which was why he couldn’t walk or speak. This was done by jealous people,” she said.

The parents had no idea how they were going to bury Ndlovu – they survived on his disability grant and money Siyathemba made from erecting shacks.

“We appeal for help from anyone who can help us give our son a decent funeral,” said Nandipha. The adorable young musician and his parents lived in humble Bayland squatter camp in Port Elizabeth but instantly made his way into Mzansi people’s hearts.

By Phumlani Saul

MAN KILLED: Uitenhage police are appealing for assistance in locating the driver of a blue sedan-type vehicle involved in an alleged hit-and-run accident on Sunday on Old Cape Road
Image: SUPPLIEDnull

Uitenhage police are appealing to the public for assistance regarding an alleged hit-and-run incident on Sunday.

Police spokesperson Capt Gerda Swart said the accident on Old Cape Road, just before Kruisrivier, claimed the life of Maxwell Peyi, 38.

It is alleged that a vehicle, an Opel Monza, had run out of fuel, and while Peyi and another passenger where pushing it along the road, a man driving a blue sedan-type vehicle crashed into it from behind.

Swart said the Monza’s driver had heard screaming as the crash occurred.

Peyi died on the scene, while the other passenger who had been pushing the Monza escaped injury, Swart said.

It is alleged that the blue sedan’s driver, a male in his early thirties, got out of his vehicle and informed the Monza’s driver that he was quickly going to fetch his cellphone and would return.

“The unknown driver sped off and never returned to the accident scene,” Swart said.

Police are urging the driver of the blue sedan to contact the investigating officer immediately.

Anyone with information that can assist with the investigation or who may know the driver of the sedan is requested to contact detective WO Deon Roos on 079-896-8148 or SAPS Uitenhage on 041-996-3438

By Phumlani Saul

Police in Port Elizabeth are investigating a case of attempted murder after a man was shot in the head outside a shopping centre on Monday morning.

Police Spokesperson Colonel Priscilla Naidu says the victim and his friend were walking into the Bridge Shopping Centre when someone in a vehicle called out his name.

She says the victim approached a white Ford vehicle and a shot was fired at him.

Colonel Naidu says the man was hit in the head.

She says he is still alive and was taken to hospital for treatment.

The Bridge confirmed the incident.

BY NOMONDE CUSHE

Dozens of residents from KwaDwesi Extension, Port Elizabeth, blocked roads with rocks and burning tyres on Tuesday and Wednesday. They are demanding that 50 RDP houses be immediately rebuilt. The houses were so poorly built that they were demolished in January in order to be rebuilt. But more than half-a-year later the residents are still living in shacks.

Police dispersed the protesters at the intersection of the R75 Uitenhage Road and Mission Road on Tuesday using rubber bullets. But the residents then closed Lixolilelizwe Road. They demanded motorists pay R10 in order to pass. The protests continued on Wednesday, until the ward councillor addressed them.

The Eastern Cape Department of Human Settlements Bethelsdorp Rectification of Houses project started in 2018, to rebuild or fix RDP houses that were poorly constructed in 1998. The Housing Development Agency (HDA) is the implementing agent.

Fundiswa Mfanta, one of the homeowners involved, explained the situation: “In January our ward councillor told us to demolish our poorly built RDPs for the rectification programme. Our houses had huge cracks in the walls, and no cement foundations. They were just halls with a flushing toilet but no ceiling on them.

“She [ward councillor] said within two weeks the construction company would start. But every month she kept on referring us to the next month.”

“The place where my house should be rebuilt has turned into a grazing field for goats. My electric meter box is lying on the ground. I covered it with planks and plastic sheets. For the toilet, I have to ask neighbours. At night … we use empty paint buckets. We would keep that bucket in this one room shack until the following day. We had to connect our own pipes to our water metres in order to get water,” she said.

Community leader Anele Sopazi said: “For months people are crammed in small shacks with their big families. They are put under pressure by their neighbours who demand rent for their furniture and use of their toilet services. They were supposed to receive R1,500 while waiting for their houses to be finished.

“But police came, shot and arrested people for fighting for their rights. All that we want to know is when these houses will be built?”

Khulile Maclean said: ”I live in a one-room shack with my family of six. On cold days I don’t take a bath because my children have to sit outside and give me privacy.

Ward 36 Councillor Nomonde Mhlobiso (ANC) said: “Residents blame me for no good reasons. I am just the ward councillor. I have no right to order people to demolish their houses. Only the appointed contractors have a right to do so.

“We are on phase two of this rectification project. Per phase we rebuild 100 houses and two contractors were appointed to do that job. This area is divided into five units and per unit we rebuild 20 houses. But Covid-19 halted the project.”

“I was only informed on Monday by the Housing Development Agency (HDA) that the other company responsible for houses in phase 1 and 2 was found guilty of using its operating name illegally. Therefore it could not continue with the project and a new company should be appointed.

“I have sent the ward committees and project steering committee members to go and address the 50 affected beneficiaries. Covid-19 does not allow me to hold public meetings. I would be fined R5,000 if I do that,” she said.

“In 2018 when we started with phase one, the beneficiaries chose to be given R1,500 a month instead of a temporary shelter. They were given this money until their homes were finished … Hence they built their own small shacks on their sites. They also made their own arrangements with their neighbours and relatives to accommodate themselves with a hope of sharing the money.

“If they had accepted the temporary shelters, they would be provided with water and toilets,” Mhlobiso said.

Masiza Mazizi, spokesperson for Human Settlements MEC Nonkqubela Pieters, said two companies, Veren Builder and BM Matshisa, had been contracted to build 50 houses each. A court case, which had nothing to do with the department, involving Veren Builder, had delayed the process..

“HDA is busy with replacement and is expecting the appointment letter to be ready before 20 August 2020. The current challenge is that, apparently, the owner of Veren Builder kept convening community meetings without other role players and without the involvement of the department, promising to start construction as early as 1 August, hence community protests.”

Veren Builder’s spokesperson Karl Williams said: “We are not at liberty to discuss the court case. But the contract has been awarded to another company.”

Police spokesperson Andre Beetge said: “One woman was arrested on Tuesday for public violence. She was part of a group that was burning tyres the road.”

By Phumlani Saul

Residents of KwaNobuhle in Uitenhage say water has become such a scarce commodity it is near impossible for them to fight the coronavirus pandemic — as they frequently cannot even wash their hands.

Residents in townships like Khayelitsha and Philane say they often go with only two hours of running water — and that is usually at night.

Khayelitsha residents Esta Ngwenya said the lack of water was putting lives on the line.

“We understand there is global pandemic of coronavirus [but] unfortunately we are not able to wash our hands frequently due to inadequate water. I can’t say this is good for our health,” Ngwenya said.null

She said they were getting water from another informal settlement with communal taps, but even those were dry by Saturday.

She said she had not seen the water tankers which the municipality had promised would deliver water.

“We heard about the tanks and the water trucks but we have not seen those in our areas.null

“We are still having to go fetch water in buckets for cooking and drinking and we are recycling our bath water so we can use that for flushing, but that is so unhygienic and worrying because we should be washing our hands and keeping clean.”

“We are struggling with water and even to wash ourselves is a problem.

“They said there are water tanks but the collection points are not convenient for everyone because some of us have to walk quite a distance to get there.

At the weekend, the municipality sent out a statement urging residents to reduce water consumption.

“In the last four weeks some areas, especially on the western side of Nelson Mandela Bay have suffered water shortages,” the statement said.

“These shortages have been due to high water consumption and low dam levels supplying the western side of the city.

“This has led to areas like KwaNobuhle going without water.

The reality is that there are only 260 megalitres per day available, while our current consumption is at about 290 megalitres per day,” the statement read.

The municipality said water tankers would be stationed at the following areas:

• The top entrance to KwaNobuhle, Bantom Road;
• The corner of Matanzima and Mabandla streets;
• The corner of Jacob Matamela and 10th Avenue; and
• Ponnanatini Road opposite the fire department.

Municipal spokesperson Mthubanzi Mniki said the tankers were a temporary measure and the municipality did not, for now, expect a challenge in distributing water.

¹Mniki did not say how long the water issues would continue.

By Phumlani.Saul

A 55-year-old man was arrested on Sunday for the murder of his estranged wife while she was attending a funeral in Matanzima Cemetery in Kwanobuhle.

The victim, in her fifties, was at the cemetery when she was approached by the suspect who allegedly fired a shot, injuring her.

Eyewitness Xolisile Ntswahlana (40) who was in the same funeral with the deceased told

Daily Kasi news: ” The man was chatting with his shortly I heard gunshot”said Xolisile

Uitenhage police spokesperson, Captain Gerda Swart, says she rushed to a local hospital for medical treatment but later succumbed to her injuries.

The suspect was arrested on the scene and the firearm seized.

The firearm will be sent to ballistics for analysis.

The suspect will appear in the Kwanobuhle Magistrates’ court on Tuesday.

BY NOMAZIMA NKOSI 

Health minister Zweli Mkhize has instructed the Eastern Cape department of health to provide daily updates on Covid-19 deaths.

This follows a backlog in Nelson Mandela Bay, where there was a delay in the number of reported deaths.

On Tuesday, it emerged that almost 100 people have died from Covid-19 in the city since the start of July — an average of almost five a day.

On July 2, the death toll from the coronavirus stood at 240 and it remained unchanged until Tuesday, when it emerged there had been a further 96 deaths in the metro since then due to Covid-19.

While on his two-day visit to the metro, Mkhize told a roomful of hospital managers from Dora Nginza, Livingstone hospital and Uitenhage Provincial hospital that there should be no more delays.

“MEC, your reporting of deaths must be as they come and on a daily basis,” he told health MEC Sindiswa Gomba. 

“We want to know what the figures are every day.

We know there are challenges with death reporting because there are those whose comorbidities were worsened by the virus, which resulted in their deaths.

“Others died around the period of Covid-19 and all these must be investigated, but we are saying there’s a process of tracking deaths; we still want daily reports.

We won’t allow you to delay by a day and then another day because it creates a distortion,” Mkhize said.

By NOMONDE CUSHE

 courier truck ferrying test samples for the National Health Laboratory Services was hijacked in Port Elizabeth Eastern Cape premier Oscar Mabuyane has confirmed.

Mabuyane used his weekly media briefing on Tuesday to condemn criminal activity he said happened on Monday afternoon. 

“Yesterday we received reports that a courier vehicle transporting Covid-19 specimens for the NHLS [National Health Laboratory Service] was hijacked in Port Elizabeth and criminals who did this took a white container with the specimens. We condemn this act of criminality, which puts the lives of people at risk,” Mabuyane said.

He said anyone who sees a white cooler box must report to the police.

This is not the first time that there has been a mishap with the test kits.

Last month hundreds of Covid-19 Test kits — all marked as urgent — were found dumped on the side of a national road in the Eastern Cape.

At the time of writing, police had not been able to confirm the incident.

By Phumlani.Saul

A body of a man believed to be in his thirties has been found floating in the Swartkops River in Despatch.

Police spokesperson, Captain Gerda Swart says the body was found last week Friday and police now need the help of community members to track down his next of kin.

She says he was found wearing a black tracksuit top with a colourful top with stripes and blue jeans.

He is about 1.75m in height and weighs about 85kg. 

Any person with information can contact the Despatch police.

By Nomonde Cushe

An organiser for the Nkandla Residents Committee, was shot and wounded on Sunday morning in the ongoing battle over electricity between residents of Nkandla, Port Elizabeth, a neighbourhood of RDP houses, and Endlovini, a neighbouring informal settlement.

The shooting followed the burning of four Endlovini shacks on Friday.

The man who was shot is known to Dk news but for his safety police have asked that we not name him.

On Friday we reported the clashes between residents of the two communities. Endlovini residents have been connecting electricity illegally from houses in Nkandla because they say the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality has failed to provide them with services.

The latest violence comes despite the intervention of Mayco Member for Infrastructure, Electricity and Engineering Andile Lungisa as well as police.

The clashes began last week when Nkandla residents tried to remove illegal electricity connections from municipal electricity poles. They claimed that they had no electricity for two days and these illegal connections were damaging their appliances and affecting the supply of their electricity.

After they removed some of the cables they saw an improvement in electric supply which prompted them to go back on Thursday and remove all the remaining illegal connections of Endlovini residents.

But chaos broke out when Endlovini residents tried to stop them. They threw stones at each other. Some shacks belonging to Nkandla community leaders and relatives were demolished.

Endlovini residents then restored their illegal connections. The four shacks were burnt on Friday after this.

An Nkandla community leader who asked not to be named for safety said that the organiser was shot at many times. “They tried to force the door open but he prevented them by blocking the door. But they shot him from behind the door. He then managed to escape through the other door into one of the nearby houses. On his door there are about ten bullet holes.”

“We rushed him to hospital with a bakkie. He is in critical but stable condition. Doctors are busy removing the bullets in his body,” the leader said.

Athenkosi Bokolo of Endlovini who is ill says he was woken up by a mob who threw stones at his home on Friday afternoon. “I am sick and I was lying on my bed when a huge mob arrived and threw stones at my home. They were very angry, accusing my sister of being a sell-out. His shack was destroyed.

“After Thursday’s fight the residents restored their illegal connections. But my sister refused to make illegal connections again. She advised other residents to ask for permission from the RDP house owners to connect directly from their homes not from the poles. She was then accused of supporting Nkandla while living in Endlovini.”

“I am left with this gown that I am wearing. All my other clothes and my important documents were burnt,” he said.

Njabulo Boma, a community leader of Endlovini said: “A meeting was called between us and police to make peace between our communities. But we saw Nkandla residents torching our shacks. Three of our shacks including the shack of our chairperson Phindile Mashalaba were set alight.”

“The mob was coming to mine but luckily police arrived. What is even worse, I heard that there is a hit list for all the community leaders. And I am third on that list.”

“Police said we should not retaliate and burn the RDP houses because it won’t be easy to rebuild them,” she said.

Police spokesperson Captain Andre Beetge said: “Four shacks were burnt down on Friday. Due to a fight between these communities over illegal electricity connections. Then we called a meeting between the two groups to make peace with each other.”

“On Sunday at about 12am a man was shot and wounded at his home by unknown gunmen. At the moment we cannot say whether or not this incident is related to the electricity fight. That would be determined by our investigations.

“But for now the situation is tense in the area. Though there are no actions taking place,” he said.

Ward councillor Simphiwe Tyukana (ANC) said: “I called Andile Lungisa to intervene. He addressed the residents on Saturday. He then promised to send officials from his department on Monday to assess what can be done as an interim solution for electricity for people of Endlovini.”