NPA ready for ConCourt battle should Magudumana choose to escalate bid for freedom
ALSO READ: Magudumana remains an accused in Thabo Bester prison escape case after SCA judgment The disgraced doctor was brought back to South African soil in April 2023 after she was captured while on the run with convicted killer Thabo Bester.He escaped from the Mangaung Prison where he was serving a life sentence.Her lawyers said she had not decided whether to take her bid to the highest court in the land.But the NPA's Mthunzi Mhaga said they were ready.
"We are ready to release our legal prowess, our prosecutorial arsenal to make sure they lose at the apex court as well."
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TimesLIVE
4 hours ago
- TimesLIVE
Eldorado Park father accused of raping, killing daughter in court
The mother of a four-year-old girl who was allegedly raped and murdered by her father could not hold back her tears as she appeared in the Protea magistrate's court on Tuesday. The mother, who was visibly emotional, appeared on a charge of defeating the ends of justice. The couple appeared in court separately in connection with their daughter's rape and murder. 'The father was charged with murder, rape, compelled rape, child abuse and assault, while the mother of the deceased was charged on a separate docket, with failure to immediately report a sexual offence against a minor child,' National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Phindi Mjonondwane said. The father was arrested on Wednesday after a report to the Eldorado Park police following a video in which the child can be heard screaming as she is assaulted went viral. 'Following further investigations, the mother was also arrested. It is alleged that the mother of the deceased knew about the sexual assault but failed to report to the authorities, as per duty in terms of the Sexual Offences and Related Matters Amendment Act,' Mjonondwane said. A neighbour is said to have heard the child screaming from the couple's home and, on arrival, found the father allegedly beating the child and captured the incident on a phone. 'The video was circulated, leading to police being summoned to the scene.' During his arrest, his daughter was found injured and bleeding. She was taken to the hospital but later died from her injuries. They were both remanded in custody until August 18 for them to apply for bail. 'The recent spike in parents facing allegations of killing and abusing their children is of grave concern to the NPA, and we remain resolute in our efforts to promote children's rights and safety. Our children are dependent on us to be their voice, and we will stop at nothing to ensure that justice prevails,' Mjonondwane said.
IOL News
4 hours ago
- IOL News
Unfazed: South Africa's stance on US visa policies impacting Zimbabwe
US President Donald Trump continues to disrupt global diplomacy after a recent visa ban imposed on Zimbabwe. Image: Picture: Evan Vucci/AP The South African government seems unaffected by the recent US visa ban imposed by the embassy in Harare, Zimbabwe, despite President Donald Trump's ongoing disruptions to global diplomacy through tariff increases and immigration policies. The US has suspended all routine immigrant and non-immigrant visa services to Zimbabwe due to concerns over misuse and overstays, although other visa types remain unaffected. Although South Africa was exempt from new Trump visa restrictions on SADC countries, a new policy has been implemented for Malawi and Zambia. Citizens of these nations are now required to pay a bond of $5 000 (R88 656) to $15 000 (R265 967) to travel to the US. Additionally, the citizens are required to use one of three airports—Boston's Logan International, New York's JFK International, or Dulles International near Washington D.C.—for both arrival and departure. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ When asked whether South African citizens should be worried, Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco) spokesperson Chrispin Phiri gave a brief response: "We do not provide commentary on other countries' visa regimes, and this is our general position, it's not specific to the US." A senior government official, however, downplayed the likelihood of South Africans being affected by the US visa restrictions. "Remember Trump is only in our case because of the International Court of Justice case against Israel and our involvement in BRICS. Nothing more and nothing less," the official said. "South Africans visiting the US are mostly professionals who either go for business or a holiday. We seldom have citizens wanting to immigrate to the should have nothing to worry about,' he said. The US embassy explained that the reasons for the restrictions was because the administration was working to prevent visa overstay and misuse as part of national security. "The Trump administration is protecting our nation and citizens by upholding the highest standards of national security and public safety through our visa process," the embassy said. "We are always working to prevent visa overstay and misuse." In June, the US imposed travel bans on citizens from 12 countries, with seven of them located in Africa. Additionally, heightened restrictions were applied to seven other nations, three of which are African. The US has issued a demand to 36 countries, predominantly in Africa, to enhance their traveler vetting procedures. Failure to comply could result in a ban on their citizens visiting the US. International Relations analyst Rejoice Ngwenya said it was unfortunate that the US had an obsession with immigration issues. "All democratic countries must encourage international country movements. However it is incumbent upon citizens that they don't abuse regulations. But one thing to acknowledge in terms of implementation of immigration laws globally is not to interfere and dissuade inter country movements of students because knowledge sharing and education is a universal right,' Ngwenya said.
Daily Maverick
5 hours ago
- Daily Maverick
After the Bell: Manipulating the rand — really?
There are times in life when you are so desperate to find someone else to blame for your situation that you just lash out. And you grab any chance to blame someone else. I sometimes wonder if that feeling, that horrible desperation, the feeling that our currency is so weak, is behind the very strange story about claims that a group of 28 banks, both South African and foreign, manipulated the rand. The backstory is long and complicated, but essentially, the Competition Commission says it has evidence that traders working for the banks were part of a single conspiracy. There is talk of 'rand-pairs' and secret chats on Bloomberg terminals – even phone conversations and secret agreements. Considering that the phrase 'rand-pair' is second only to watching golf in making my eyes feel somewhat weighted, it's easy to understand how this thing has such political power. It's because, like the chap on par-who-gives-a-monkey's, almost all of us have no cooking clue what is going on. And the moment I hear phrases like 'manipulation' or 'hedge' or 'rand-currency-pair', I immediately get the feeling you get when someone is trying to sell you car insurance. You just know you're being screwed. But in fact, as former Daily Maverick journalist Ray Mahlaka once clearly explained, the currency market is just too big for it to have any impact on you. Around $50-billion (about R882-billion) is traded every day. And while some of the banks involved are big, none are big enough to have played that particular game. Now obviously, some people did play games with the currency. Absa was the first to announce that it had discovered two of its traders were doing this. It told the regulators and suspended them. Standard Chartered and CitiBank have also admitted that some of their people were guilty. They've paid a fine and moved on with their lives. But some of the other banks are fighting on. As Business Live reported this morning, the Constitutional Court is finally expected to put all of this to bed one way or another in a four-day hearing next week. One hopes the coffee machine at Constitution Hill can do double-time. Four days of a hearing about currency pairs is more than we mere mortals could possibly stand. Two things have really struck me about this case. The first is that I remember speaking to the Competition Commission about it in 2017. The recording is sadly lost now, but I remember so clearly how adamant they were that first, all the named banks were involved, and second, how they would wrap up this case in a couple of months. It's 2025 now, and it's still going. The other is the language used by the banks in their defence. Take Sim Tshabalala, the CEO of Standard Bank. I think it was the first time I'd seen a CEO of one of our big banks writing an op-ed in our media, back in 2023. It was on this topic. Remember how dangerous it is for a CEO, who was not on the Bloomberg terminal or the Reuters chat or the phone conversation, to say anything dogmatic about what happened. But this is what he said in News 24 two years ago: 'We're not playing for time or looking for a deal. When we say that we are innocent of currency manipulation, we mean it. We will not settle. Where we found that our people have engaged in wrongful conduct, we will act swiftly and will work with the relevant authorities. Where we find no evidence of wrongdoing, we will protect and defend our people – our most valuable assets.' This is a person putting their entire reputation on the line. He must believe it. Firmly, utterly, unshakeably. I have a horrible feeling in my belly that the Competition Commission might feel a little silly after all of this – that the Constitutional Court, after selecting a good nine-iron, might include a few choice words about the commission's conduct in its final ruling. But that won't be the end of it. I think the damage is done. Parties such as the EFF and MK, and perhaps even the SACP, who have every incentive to attack the system, banks and institutions, will just go on attacking them. I wouldn't be surprised if we hear that phrase 'monopoly capital' again. They might even turn, again, on our judges. It's quite strange in one way. Julius Malema has mouthed off time and time again about 'currency manipulation'. It almost makes you wonder what he might know about making a profit off the manipulation of a bank. In the meantime, bankers who are innocent will probably feel pretty frustrated, too. And not just with their putting. I think they'll feel they've been dragged into something that they have nothing to do with. I'll tell you this for free, though. Like any golf tournament I've ever watched, I can't wait for the whole saga to end. DM
