Indholdsfortegnelse for 2024-02-19 i Cape Argus

EERSTE River residents came out in their numbers yesterday to support a motorcade in remembrance of 11-year-old Monneashia Prins, who was raped and killed. The girl went missing on February 9 and her lifeless body was found in bushes near her Ithemba Farms informal settlement home the next day. Her family thought she had gone to visit her grandmother in Forest Village. It was only confirmed three days later that it was her body discovered on that Saturday. Yesterday, bike and motor clubs got together and showed support for the Spurwing learner’s family. Dynamic Polo Crew’s president Francois “Ballie” Corneleus was one of the organisers. “When we started we were a social club and then we decided to do charity and Monneashia’s family are one of our many beneficiaries. When…

A THREE-year-old girl was rescued by police in Limpopo after spending days with her decomposing parents. Police in Nebo, in Limpopo’s Sekhukhune district, are investigating murder and an inquest after a 38-year-old man and a 34-year-old woman were found dead at home in Ga-Marishane Dihlaganeng. The bodies of the husband and wife were found on Wednesday and Thursday respectively, according to Limpopo police spokesperson, Malesela Ledwaba. “Police received information from neighbours about a house with an unpleasant smell. “Upon arrival at the said house, the doors were locked, and they knocked with no answer. “They (police) forced entry and found a man hanging on the roof with a rope, in an advanced state of decomposition.” Ledwaba said inside the house, there was a three-year-old girl, the daughter of the deceased…

PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa has welcomed the injunction of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that Israel should comply with the order it issued last month, and warned that the situation could become more dire in Rafah if Israel did not stop its ongoing attacks. The ICJ said the situation was already perilous and Israel had to implement provisional measures. South Africa made an urgent request to the ICJ on February 12, calling for the court to use its powers to stop Israel from expanding its military operations in Rafah. Ramaphosa had said he was concerned that another incursion into Rafah would cause more harm and destruction against Palestinians. Ramaphosa’s spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya, said on Saturday the government welcomed the injunction of the ICJ, that its provisional measures had…

AHEAD of the State of the Province Address (Sopa) this evening, opposition parties have called on Western Cape Premier Alan Winde to account for the promises he made when he was first elected. GOOD Party secretary-general Brett Herron said Winde should be held accountable for his failure to address spatial integration, especially his commitment to settle the Tafelberg school court case, and make the site available for affordable housing. “Instead of settling the case, the premier fought the constitutional duty to address past injustices tooth and nail, and at great cost, when he appealed against the court judgment,” said Herron. In 2019 the premier also announced what he called the “biggest safety plan” in the country, he said. “He took nearly R2 billion that should’ve been invested in infrastructure and…

Banyana Banyana’s coach Desiree Ellis says they want to make up for lost time and qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics after missing out on the last edition in Tokyo. Banyana have grown in leaps and bounds under Ellis. They haven’t only been the best team in Africa but have made their mark around the globe as well. Bafana qualified for the World Cup for the first time in 2019, and they took lessons from that event to win the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations for the first time in 2022. They built on that momentum to finish in the round of 16 for the first time in their second appearance at the global showpiece, in Australasia last year. But be that as it may, Ellis still has the blemish…

The saying goes that sometimes you’ve got to cut your suit according to your cloth. And when you have Springbok stars such as Kurt-Lee Arendse and Canan Moodie in your ranks, you might expect a rugby team to adopt an all-out attacking policy in trying to run the opposition off their feet. But the Bulls opted for a more cautious path initially in the past weekend’s United Rugby Championship clash against the Lions, and while they probably overdid it initially, they found their groove to pull off a 25-10 bonus-point win at Ellis Park. Arendse and Moodie were playing their first game in nearly two months after observing their Bok resting protocols, and they hardly got the ball against the Lions. But that doesn’t mean it will be the case…

Royal AM 0 Kaizer Chiefs 0 Kaizer Chiefs and Royal AM played out to an entertaining goalless draw at the Harry Gwala Stadium yesterday. In a match that saw both teams fail to convert their goalscoring chances, the two sides shared the spoils and took home a point each. Royal AM remained in 14th spot but level on points with Moroka Swallows and Chippa United while Chiefs retained sixth place after 90 minutes of play. An Amakhosi side looking to keep their year-end form going made the trip down south to try get one over Royal AM in their own backyard for the first time. The permutations surrounding the survival of the hosts offered up a bit of relief ahead of this encounterwith Richards Bay dropping points the day before.…

DESCRIBED as “the impossible dream turned possible” the Palestine National Football team’s trip to Cape Town concluded at the Athlone Stadium last night. This, as the Lions of Canaan beat their hosts 1-0 in the Freedom Cup match in solidarity with the people of Palestine, dubbed “Football 4 Humanity”. Palestine, who lost their first game against a Western Cape XI 1-0 last week, came up against a South Africa XI invitational team yesterday coached by two legends of the game, Jomo Sono and Boebie Solomons. The Freedom Cup match was initiated by Sports Stepping Stones (SSS) in partnership with the SA Football Association Cape Town (Safa CT). President Cyril Ramaphosa and several dignitaries were in attendance at last week’s match. The crowd yesterday was much smaller, but Cape Town still…

Spaza shops belonging to foreign nationals remained closed in parts of Tsakane, Ekurhuleni, yesterday, following the death of 6-year-old Refiloe Usman, who died after allegedly consuming poisonous cakes bought from a shop last week. Refiloe’s burial was held on Saturday after a sombre funeral service at the Theisa Burgers Pre-primary School. The funeral was attended by members of Operation Dudula, a movement that previously embarked on operations to shut down foreign-owned spaza shops in Soweto, with leader Isaac Lesole again vowing to kick illegal immigrants out of the community. Lesole said Refiloe’s life was cut short by an uncaring government that “allowed illegal foreigners to operate spaza shops without operating permits”. “As the community of Tsakane, we say we should have done better to protect you. As a promise to…

NEWLY established political party Rise Mzansi declared that it had received more than R16.7 million in funding since it was formed last year, with the granddaughter of mining magnate Harry Oppenheimer, Rebecca Oppenheimer, pumping in most of the funds. Rebecca Oppenheimer previously funded the DA and ActionSA. Of the R16.7m that was donated to Rise Mzansi, she gave the party R15m. Rise Mzansi said Main Street gave it R1m and the rest was donation in kind by InJozi Design and Kairo Communications, which contributed R160 000 and R559 000 respectively. Rise Mzansi leader Songezo Zibi said last year that they would declare their donors in public before the elections. On Saturday, the party disclosed its funding as part of the Electoral Commission of South Africa’s (IEC) Political Party Funding Act.…

MORE than 100 artworks by widely acclaimed and revered South African artist Dr Esther Mahlangu are now collectively exhibited for the first time at the Iziko National Gallery, including the iconic BMW 525i Art Car, which returned to South Africa after an absence of over 30 years. “Then I Knew I Was Good at Painting”: Esther Mahlangu, A Retrospective, was launched on Saturday and is open for viewing until August 11. Mahlangu said: “Painting has always been a part of me. I cannot separate it from myself, and neither would I want to. I look forward to sharing my practice and long and colourful story with you at my retrospective exhibition.” Guided by her mother and grandmother, Mahlangu’s artistic journey began at the age of 10 when she was taught…

Mauricio Pochettino said Chelsea can go into next weekend’s League Cup final with greater belief after ending Manchester City’s 11-game winning run with a 1-1 draw at the Etihad on Saturday. Raheem Sterling put the visitors in front against his old team as Chelsea upset the odds to provide another twist in a tight Premier League title race. Rodri’s late equaliser extended City’s unbeaten run at home to 34 games, stretching back to November 2022. But Pep Guardiola’s men fell four points behind leaders Liverpool and two adrift of Arsenal at the top of the table. A point was only enough to edge Chelsea back up to 10th. But the Argentine is sensing the chance to lift his first trophy in English football at Wembley next weekend against an injury-hit…

CAPE Town Spurs were, shockingly, the biggest winners on the first match day back in the DStv Premiership after their huge victory over AmaZulu. The Urban Warriors declared unexpected signs of a possible fightback from automatic relegation as they humbled Usuthu at the Athlone Stadium on Saturday. Heading into the encounter, Spurs had only managed four points in their first 16 matches back in the top flight, which saw many predicting that they would promptly return to the first division next season. Having also sacked Shaun Bartlett and roped in veteran Ernst Middendorp, the club made a couple of moves in the transfer market ahead of the second round of the season. It appears that Middendorp might have awakened the fighting spirit in the Urban Warriors, with Usuthu being the…

Bafana Bafana are not resting on their laurels after their third-place finish on the continent, but they are always looking to improve, says coach Hugo Broos. Bafana achieved an impressive bronze medal finish at the recently concluded Africa Cup of Nations, surpassing all expectations. That feat was largely propelled by the players who punched above their weight – as 20 players from the final 23-man squad are based here at home. Despite that achievement acknowledged as a team effort, the defensive unit deserved special praise. Bafana kept five clean sheets in seven matches as goalkeeper Ronwen Williams also scooped the Golden Glove award for his exploits between the sticks. Williams’ deputies Veli Mothwa and Ricardo Goss have been left with huge boots to fill when he’s not around. But their…

VARIOUS political parties have weighed in on the third-quarter crime statistics released by Police Minister Bheki Cele at the weekend, saying that the SAPS and the government were losing the fight against crime as communities remained at the mercy of criminals. The statistics showed there were nearly 8 000 murders from October to December 2023, yet only 1 500 people were found guilty. Of 268 gang-related murders, 250 were reported in the Western Cape. Rise Mzansi labelled the 19% conviction rate “mediocre and worrisome”, calling on President Cyril Ramaphosa for Cele to be removed. “That is a frightening conviction rate. ActionSA said: “The police minister should not lie to the South African people that the police are turning the tide against crime when in reality our communities are under…

In A BID to rescue “Tintswalo”, DA leader John Steenhuisen committed to creating 2 million new jobs and ending load shedding should the party win the 2024 elections. Steenhuisen addressed a blue-packed DA manifesto launch on the Union Building’s lawns in Pretoria on Saturday. He said the party’s key priorities during the 2024 to 2029 term would be to create 2 million new jobs; end load shedding and water shedding; halve the rate of violent crime, including murder, attempted murder and gender-based violence; end corruption by abolishing cadre deployment in favour of merit-based appointments; lift 6 million people out of poverty; triple the number of Grade 4 learners who could read for meaning; and ensure quality healthcare for all, irrespective of economic status. “The only way to…

SOUTH Africans will head to the polls on May 24, according to the country’s deputy president, Paul Mashatile. In what looked like “a slip of the tongue” but a deliberate move, he said ANC members should be prepared when they go out and canvass for the party. “We must go out, united with one common purpose, to ensure that come May 24, when we go to the elections...” the deputy president said in a clip doing the rounds on social media. As per the long-standing rule, the country’s president should announce the election date. Various political parties have been calling on President Cyril Ramaphosa to release the voting date. IFP spokesperson Mkhuleko Hlengwa is the latest to urge him to do so. On Saturday, DA leader John Steenhuisen also called…

The call by the provincial government for public engagements on the redevelopment of 353 Main Road, Sea Point, known as the former Tafelberg school property, has been met with objections, with social justice organisation Ndifuna Ukwazi saying it should be earmarked for social housing. This comes after the Western Cape Department of Infrastructure said it had appointed a service provider to start with site enablement investigations and assessments. The department said that it was committed to liaising with stakeholders and interested and affected parties within the two-year process. Ndifuna Ukwazi said: “This Tafelberg site is at the centre of the fight for well-located affordable housing for the poor and working class by Reclaim the City against the Western Cape government and City of Cape Town, which began in 2016. “While…

After many days of anticipation, the long-awaited Cairo talks on a Gaza ceasefire never materialised, and no deal was reached. The Hamas leadership refused to be bullied and pulled its delegation out of Cairo, having come to the conclusion that Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu was only playing for time. Meanwhile, the intensification of Israel’s assault on Rafah, and the promise of an imminent ground invasion in this southernmost part of Gaza, point to a deep frustration on the part of Israeli leaders. Such indiscriminate and merciless punishment of the Palestinian civilian population has become a pattern in this war. Yet, the Hamas delegation remained for some time in Cairo, apparently keen not to be seen as the party responsible for destroying the prospects of a ceasefire deal mediated by Qatar…

Rugby in the Cape is as healthy as ever after a young Stormers side trumped a Springbok-laden Sharks in Durban at the weekend, even though some things in their performance still didn’t click. The inaugural United Rugby Championship (URC) winners kept up their dominance of South African opponents after coming away with a 25-21 win in the Shark Tank. It was again their ability to scramble on defence, especially in the second half, that saved them again after typical Stormers running rugby resulted in a couple of tries to break the home side in the first half. When the Sharks’ bench came on in the second half, the Cape side had to be defensively sound to keep them out, just as it was the case in the DHL Stadium…