By Phumlani Saul

Moments after allegedly murdering his elderly mother, a man died after being knocked over by a car in KwaNobuhle in the early hours of Monday..

Siya Tshem, 26, allegedly assaulted his 72-year-old mother, Nozipho, with a hammer and left her for dead about two hours before he himself was found dead in the street where he had been hit by a car

Police spokesperson Colonel Priscilla Naidu said the mother and son had travelled from Cape Town for the funeral of Nozipho’s daughter earlier in February.

They were staying at the daughter’s Mondile Street home while in town, and early on Monday an argument between the two allegedly turned violent.

According to police information, it is alleged that at about 2am Nozipho Tshem was sleeping in the living room of her deceased daughter’s house when her son entered the room.

“It is further alleged there was a commotion between the two of them.

“Nozipho was allegedly assaulted with a hammer and suffered multiple wounds to her head.She succumbed to her injuries on the scene while her son fled the house.”

A family member reported the incident.

The motive for the attack was still unknown and a case of murder was under investigation, Naidu said.

While police were at the murder scene, the driver of a Volkswagen Polo arrived at the police station at about 4.30am to report that he had hit a pedestrian with his car in Matanzima Street.

On arrival at the scene, officers found a man lying in the road.

“He was later identified as Siya Tshem, the suspect in the murder of Nozipho Tshem,” Naidu said.

A case of culpable homicide is under investigation with regard to Siya’s death.

By Phumlani Saul

The School Governing Body (SGB) made the decision following a meeting with parents to address the issue at 07h30 on Wednesday morning.

This left the school’s more than 1400 learners and their teachers locked outside the gates of the building in Dower Avenue.

The SGB is believed to be disgruntled due to the shortage of four Heads of Department’s (HOD’s) and five post-level one vacancies.

Acting Principal, William Human, said mostly grade eight and nine learners were affected.

“Certain grade eight and nine classes have been affected with no teaching in some subjects since the beginning of the academic year,” he said.

Human said they need HOD’s for Social Sciences, Commercial Sciences, English, and isiXhosa.

There are also post-level one vacancies for isiXhosa, Afrikaans, Technology, Natural and Social Sciences.

“All these subjects, except Xhosa, then need to be taught in both English and Afrikaans,” he said.

Human said this is a long-running issue that the department has been aware of since last year.

According to the SGB they previously emailed the department to highlight their concerns and to set up a meeting with the Education District Officer (EDO) on Monday.

This meeting, however, was not honoured due to the EDO’s prior commitments. 

The SGB and other concerned parents marched to the town’s district education office after closing the school and obtaining permission from the police to do so.

By Nomalungelo Booi

Kariega teenager who was allegedly accosted and raped on Sunday has identified a man with several injuries, allegedly due to mob justice, as one of the perpetrators.   

As detectives placed the 25-year-old suspect under arrest while he lay in a hospital bed, photographs of a mob justice incident surfaced on social mediaHowever, police said they were still unable to link the two incidents on Tuesday.

In videos widely distributed on Facebook and other social media platforms, a large crowd gathered in what is said to be Rosedale on Monday.As a man lies on the ground, an angry mob surrounds him as they punch and kick him.

On social media, speculation was rife that the man under attack was the alleged rapist.

Another photograph shows three badly beaten men lying on the ground, seemingly unconscious.One of the men is completely naked and the others are naked from the waist down.

Two of the men had their feet bound with rope.

Police spokesperson Captain Andre Beetge said a 17-year-old girl opened a case of rape at the Kamesh police station on Sunday.
The girl alleges that she was on her way home when she was accosted by four men in Rosedale.

Beetge said that according to the complainant, only one of the four men had raped her.

On Tuesday, a Kariega Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit investigating officer discovered a suspect in  Provincial Hospital.

“According to the suspect, he was assaulted by community members in Rosedale, but he did not open a case of assault.
The suspect has been implicated by the 17-year-old victim as the man who raped her,” Beetge said.

The man will appear in the  magistrate’s court in Kariega as soon as he is released from hospital.  

He was still in hospital under police guard on Tuesday night. 

“The police do not have any documentation that assault cases had been opened by anyone pertaining to the alleged mob justice incident,” Beetge said

By Lawrence Armoed

KwaDwesi police have asked the public’s assistance in tracing the next of kin of a man whose body was found in an open field in Govan Mbeki on Monday.

Police spokesperson Captain Sandra Janse van Rensburg said local residents discovered the body in Shope Street and notified the police at about 12.48pm.

“Upon further investigation, the members noticed the deceased had sustained multiple injuries on his body,” Janse van Rensburg said.

A case of murder is under investigation

The deceased is estimated to be between the ages of 20 and 25, and was wearing blue jeans with a grey short-sleeve T-shirt and a striped jersey under his T-shirt.”

Anyone with any information about his death, or who can assist in tracing his family or someone that may be able to identify him, can contact SAPS KwaDwesi on 082-442-0964 or their nearest police station. Information can also be shared via the MySAPSAPP.

All information received will be treated as confidential and callers may remain anonymous.

By Nomalungelo Booi

No stranger to the mic, Umhlobo Wenene presenter Putco Mafani is our guest on Behind The Herald Headlines with Daron Mann this week.

The popular broadcast personality was suspended — or “unscheduled” — after a video of him dancing on a table, apparently inside SABC studios, surfaced

Mafani talks about doing the #UmlandoChallenge, a new craze popular on Tik Tok, where participants shake their hips from side to side and up and down.

A self-confessed “jolly good fellow”, Mafani believes that happiness is a way of life and brings results — and that was what inspired his tabletop dance

But, he admits, he could have handled his excitement in the studio a bit better.

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.