Latest news with #ZululandObserver
The Citizen
12 hours ago
- Politics
- The Citizen
Public trust in SAPS falls to lowest levels in 27 years, survey shows
Public trust in SAPS falls to lowest levels in 27 years, survey shows The allegations levelled against senior national police executives by KZN provincial commissioner Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi have caused the SAPS' public trust to dip. Zululand Observer reports that research released last Friday by the Human Sciences Research Council's South African Social Attitudes Survey (SASAS) shows trust levels have remained relatively low – and not once in 27 years have more than half the adult public trusted the police. This suggests the issue of police legitimacy is by no means new. From 1998 to 2010, the average level of trust in the police was relatively static, ranging between 39% and 42%. This was followed by a sharp decline between 2011 and 2013, after the Marikana massacre in August 2012. Confidence had almost returned to the 2011 level by the 2015 survey. The 2016–2020 period was characterised by modest fluctuations between 31% and 35%. The hard lockdown during the Covid-19 pandemic, which included instances of police brutality in enforcing lockdown regulations, appears to have further dented confidence, based on the 2020 survey results. In 2021, public trust in the police dipped to an all-time low of 27%, reportedly linked to the July 2021 social unrest in KZN when many criticised SAPS' poor performance. This was followed by a further 5% drop to 22% in 2022, with 2023 and 2024–25 confidence levels almost unchanged, possibly reflecting rising rates for certain crimes. The 2022, 2023 and 2024–25 figures are the lowest recorded in 27 years. The full report and figures can be accessed here. Breaking news at your fingertips… Follow Caxton Network News on Facebook and join our WhatsApp channel. Nuus wat saakmaak. Volg Caxton Netwerk-nuus op Facebook en sluit aan by ons WhatsApp-kanaal. Read original story on At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
The Citizen
4 days ago
- The Citizen
Police bust KZN dagga farm disguised as vegetable plot, 14 arrested
Fourteen people, 10 of who are foreign nationals, were arrested in the early hours of this morning during a police raid on a five-hectare dagga plantation in Babanango, north-west of Melmoth in KZN. According to Zululand Observer, the intelligence-driven multidisciplinary operation involved SAPS Zululand District, Vryheid and Ulundi K9 units, Vryheid Search and Rescue, Home Affairs immigration officers, Zone 3 Task Team members, and Ulundi Municipality Crime Prevention officers. 'The operation… was executed after intelligence uncovered approximately five hectares of dagga plantation masquerading as a vegetable farm,' says KZN SAPS spokesperson Captain Ntathu Ndlovu. 'During the operation, 14 suspects were arrested, 10 of them foreign nationals.' Pieces of South African National Defence Force uniform, machetes, and processed cannabis were also found in the suspects' possession. The suspects, aged between 19 and 40, will appear in the Babanango Magistrate's Court soon. Breaking news at your fingertips… Follow Caxton Network News on Facebook and join our WhatsApp channel. Nuus wat saakmaak. Volg Caxton Netwerk-nuus op Facebook en sluit aan by ons WhatsApp-kanaal. Read original story on At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
The Citizen
6 days ago
- The Citizen
Missing Sodwana Bay skipper: Family receives reports of suspect spotted in Bloemfontein
The fugitive wanted in connection with the disappearance of Sodwana Bay skipper John 'Matambu' Dercksen was reportedly apprehended for shoplifting in Bloemfontein – and let go after a court hearing. The Zululand Observer reports that according to information, Tomas Frederik 'Ferdie' Visser was allegedly arrested for shoplifting in the Heidedal area of Bloemfontein on March 17 – one year and one day after Dercksen disappeared without trace. Dercksen was last seen in the company of Visser when the latter chartered Dercksen's boat in Sodwana Bay. He has since disappeared without a trace and his boat was later found, destroyed by a fire, in Mozambique. ALSO READ: R100k reward to catch fugitive linked to missing Sodwana skipper Visser's hearing in Bloemfontein was reportedly held on March 18, the charge was withdrawn and he was released. 'It was R151 for two packets of smoked Viennas and a tin of beans, so they didn't run his ID number, thinking it was just a petty theft,' said Cherie Eilertsen, Dercksen's sister. 'I'm encouraged that we now know where he is… And he's got to surface every two to three days to steal something to eat. 'I'm not focusing on the fact that they released him because there's a lot of good that's come from this; he's living rough, nobody's helping him, he's having to steal. 'We now need to bring him in.' Visser has been wanted in connection with Dercksen's disappearance in March last year. He was apprehended in Mozambique two months after Dercksen went missing, presumed murdered, but 'botched' extradition proceedings saw charges against him withdrawn. Although he was sent back to prison to see out the remainder of a previous sentence for which he had been out on parole (and broken parole conditions), Visser managed to escape from the correctional facility in Mbombela at which he was being held while doing community service. He has been on the run since. A warrant of his arrest was also issued earlier this year in connection with a sexual assault case in Mbombela. An anonymous angler earlier this year posted a R100 000 reward for information leading to Visser's arrest. Read original story on At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
The Citizen
07-07-2025
- Health
- The Citizen
Watch: Proud python putters on in KZN
A Southern African rock python that caused itself severe injuries while hunting five months ago was recently spotted in good health in its natural surroundings of Tembe Elephant Park, but it was once more chancing fate. Zululand Observer reports that a recent livestream from the game reserve's waterhole feed showed the 4m snake sunning itself in the company of several elephants drinking. However, the elephants carefully avoided stepping on the 23kg serpent. At this very waterhole in February, the snake attempted to consume an impala, but was impaled by the antelope's horns in the process. After a five-hour struggle, the snake regurgitated its large prey, splitting its lower jaw and being wounded on the tail from the impala's fight for survival. Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife intervened, calling on snake expert Donald Schultz from Snake Pharm in Hluhluwe. With funding from WeWild Africa, the protected species received the care it needed and was released back to its home in early March. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Zululand Observer (@zululand_observer) Watch: Biting off more than it could chew, a southern African rock python was severely injured when attempting to ingest an antelope recently. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Tembe Elephant Park (@tembeelephant) Breaking news at your fingertips… Follow Caxton Network News on Facebook and join our WhatsApp channel. Nuus wat saakmaak. Volg Caxton Netwerk-nuus op Facebook en sluit aan by ons WhatsApp-kanaal. Read original story on At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
The Citizen
26-06-2025
- The Citizen
4 life terms for KZN rapist father
The eShowe Regional Court in KZN this week sentenced a 41-year-old man to four terms of life imprisonment for the rape of his four young children in the Hluhluwe area. Zululand Observer reports that the offences took place between 2015 and 2019 when the children were aged between two and eight years old. The accused lived with the children and their mother, and raped them when their mother was not at home. National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) KZN regional spokesperson Natasha Ramkisson-Kara says the children testified that they would be playing outside, and the accused would call them into the house and rape them. 'He threatened them so they would not report him. The matter was eventually reported by the children's mother after she observed injuries to their genitals. The accused was arrested at their home in Hluhluwe,' she says. Ramkisson-Kara says the accused pleaded not guilty and denied the allegations against him. In the state's case, the prosecutor, Kacey Pillay, led the testimonies of the children, where three of them mentioned that they were raped on various occasions. Since the children's mother died before the start of the trial, Pillay made an application to the court in terms of Section 3(1)(c) of the Hearsay Evidence Act to have the mother's statements admitted into the record. 'An eyewitness' testimony corroborated the mother's statement. The J88 medical records, confirming the sexual abuse of all the children, were also handed in to the court. 'In aggravation of sentence, the state handed in victim impact statements compiled by the children and facilitated by court preparation officer Amanda Pretty Nxumalo. One child said she used to be happy and play a lot, but now she is sad. She said she is untrusting of male persons. 'Another child said the accused's actions have negatively affected him, and he is angry all the time. One of the children said he hates the accused for what he did to them,' she said. The accused was sentenced to life imprisonment for each count of rape. In addition, the court ordered that his name be entered into the National Register for Sex Offenders, and he was declared unfit to possess a firearm. Breaking news at your fingertips… Follow Caxton Network News on Facebook and join our WhatsApp channel. Nuus wat saakmaak. Volg Caxton Netwerk-nuus op Facebook en sluit aan by ons WhatsApp-kanaal. Read original story on At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
