We’ve got the latest news stories and headlines in South Africa on Saturday 12 February.
What a relief! An alleged kidnapping mastermind has been remanded in custody.
The man who is believed to be behind the abduction of ten foreign nationals in Polokwane in January 2022 is behind bars.
In the Northern Cape, a knife-wielding rapist is wanted by police after a woman was raped near the Greenfields settlement in Augrabies.
In other news, the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) said it received a written response from President Cyril Ramaphosa about his alleged involvement in the misuse of public funds on Friday, 11 February.
Dirks’ complaint to SCOPA was based on a voice recording – of someone who sounded like Ramaphosa – telling an ANC NEC Committee that he is aware of the misuse of public funds by the party.
TODAY’S LATEST NEWS IN SOUTH AFRICA, Saturday 12 February
Alleged mastermind behind the kidnapping of 10 foreign nationals remanded in custody
An alleged kidnapping mastermind has been remanded in custody.
This as the Polokwane Magistrate’s Court on Thursday remanded the man who is believed to be behind the abduction of ten foreign nationals in Polokwane in January 2022.
Police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Netshiunda said Dilpazeer Azam, a 39-year-old Pakistani national was arrested in Centurion on Sunday, 6 February.
She said he was nabbed during an intelligence-led operation.
Click here to read more about this case.
Knife-wielding rapist on the loose in Augrabies, Northern Cape
A knife-wielding rapist is wanted by police after a woman was raped near the Greenfields settlement in Augrabies.
According to police spokesperson Captain CJ Prins, a man that fit the description of the identikit allegedly raped a woman last month.
“On Sunday, 23 January 2022 at approximately15:00, a young woman was walking alone alongside the R359 road near the Greenfields settlement in Augrabies. The unknown man approached the woman, threatened her with a knife, and robbed her of her cellphone.”
Prins said the man took the woman at knifepoint to a derelict building close to Cape Agri in Augrabies, where he raped her.
Click here to read more.
Ramaphosa responds to SCOPA questions about alleged ANC abuse of public funds
The Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) said it received a written response from President Cyril Ramaphosa about his alleged involvement in the misuse of public funds on Friday, 11 February.
The matter is related to the complaint lodged by now-suspended ANC MP Mervyn Dirks, who claimed that Ramaphosa was aware that public money was allegedly used to fund the governing party’s election campaigns.
Dirks’ complaint to SCOPA was based on a voice recording – of someone who sounded like Ramaphosa – telling an ANC NEC Committee that he is aware of the misuse of public funds by the party.
As previously reported, SCOPA gave Ramaphosa seven to 10 days to respond to the questions.
Click here to read more.
Former station commander dies by suicide – she was expected to plead guilty to theft
The former station commander of Mandeni police station in KwaZulu-Natal was expected to appear before the Richards Bay Commercial Crimes Court on Friday, 11 November on charges related to the theft of more than R100 000 from the police evidence lock-up.
The Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) announced that the accused died by suicide, on Friday.
IPID spokesperson Grace Langa said former station commander Lieutenant-Colonel Mary-Jane Ziningi Zulu was due to appear before the Richards Bay court on two counts of theft of exhibit money worth R108 000.
Click here to read more.
R430 million ‘decontamination’: Gauteng Education contracts NULLIFIED
The Special Tribunal has set aside the Gauteng Education Department’s contracts to decontaminate schools amid the fight against COVID-19.
The Gauteng Education Department was found to have misspent hundreds of millions to deep clean and sanitisise schools.
How we got here: It was learnt that the department paid as much as R430 million to 280 companies in 2020 – to deep clean and sanitise schools, district offices and teacher centres – ahead of schools reopening in June that year. MEC Panyaza Lesufi said he only found out about the suspected misspending when he was contacted by a journalist. He then asked the department’s HOD to compile a report.
Click here to read more
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