Latest news with #Magagula
The Citizen
16-07-2025
- The Citizen
Belfast court hands down life sentence for rape
Kenneth Magagula (35) was convicted and sentenced by the Belfast Regional Court for the rape of a 43-year-old woman. According to a press release issued by the NPA Regional Spokesperson Monica Nyuswa, the incident took place in the victim's home in Mthonjeni, Marchadodorp on October 28, 2008. Magagula entered the victim's home and found her alone, he then demanded her cellphone. When she resisted he struck her with a stick. The victim then attempted to flee, but Magagula caught her, dragged her back into the house. He then raped her and fled with her cellphone. She then reported the case with SAPS. Police traced the stolen phone to a friend of Magagula. DNA evidence conclusively linked him to the rape, which led to his arrest in 2023, nearly 15 years after the incident occurred. According to evidence presented by the state, an eye witness saw Magagula enter the victim's home on the day in question. A victim impact statement was presented in court by State Prosecutor Mashinini, detailing the profound psychological trauma and fear inflicted on the victim. * Magagula was sentenced to life imprisonment on the charge of rape. * He was further handed a three years sentence for the charge of theft. * The sentences will run concurrently. * Magagula will serve a term of life imprisonment. The court imposed firearm restrictions and ordered his name to be added on the National Register for Sex Offenders. ' This life sentence affirms our relentless pursuit of GBV perpetrators, ensuring accountability and restoring dignity for victims, not matter how long it takes‚' said Sonja Ntuli, Mpumalanga Director of Public Prosecutions. At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
The Citizen
26-06-2025
- Politics
- The Citizen
‘Communities suffer while municipalities are not held accountable'
Community members and political parties on Wednesday tried to urge the Ngwathe Local Municipality to not appeal to the court judgment for intervention, but to rather prioritise the well-being of the community when they gathered at the municipal building where Council was to make a decision on whether the municipality will appeal the court decision. However, according to court documents an application to the High Court for leave to appeal was filed this week. This follows Judge J.P. Daffue's ruling in favour of AfriForum on Friday, finding the Ngwathe Municipality not fulfilling its constitutional, legislative and regulatory obligations towards residents of Parys, Vredefort, Koppies, Heilbron and Edenville. Daffue ordered as part of a structural interdict that the municipal council must be dissolved and the Free State provincial government must intervene in the municipality's affairs. Speaking on the court ruling earlier this week, Dumisane Magagula, secretary of the South African Municipal Workers Union (SAMWU), slammed Ngwathe's executive mayor, councillor Victoria de Beer-Mthombeni's defence that her administration inherited a mess, saying that although a legacy issue, it is the successor's entitlement. Magagula was clear that the former leadership cannot be blamed, while given the power and authority to bring change. He explained the aim of a Section 139 ruling as mainly to stabilise a municipality. He mentioned Ngwathe's failure to provide water and sanitation, and said the municipality had been mugged with maladministration and financial chaos, ending up in an over-estimated budget tabled at the State of the Municipality Address. Magagula said it is unfortunate that AfriForum ended up getting the ruling, while the provincial government should have acted earlier. 'Communities suffer while municipalities are not held accountable,' he added. He specifically referred to the budget tabled by Ngwathe, criticising councillors agreeing on a matter, even though it does not make sense and does not benefit the community. At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
