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World champs dance home in golden glory
World champs dance home in golden glory

eNCA

time20 hours ago

  • Entertainment
  • eNCA

World champs dance home in golden glory

JOHANNESBURG - Well, talk about bringing home the gold! The Mario Gomes Hip Hop Dance Academy absolutely crushed it at the Dance World Cup. READ | Amapiano has the world dancing They landed back home Monday morning, fresh off their first place win in the overall street dance. They snagged over 22 gold medals, practically outshining the Spanish sun itself! They truly made the global stage their own. eNCA reporter Theodor Mashele filed this report.

'Crime she didn't commit': Jayden-Lee Meek's grandmother defends 'killer mom'
'Crime she didn't commit': Jayden-Lee Meek's grandmother defends 'killer mom'

The South African

time2 days ago

  • The South African

'Crime she didn't commit': Jayden-Lee Meek's grandmother defends 'killer mom'

The maternal grandmother of Jayden-Lee Meek has defended her daughter Tiffany, whom she claims is not guilty of murder. Debbie Dunn has accused police and activists of trying to 'discredit' her daughter by keeping them away from the courtroom. Tiffany appeared in the Roodepoort Magistrate's Court on Monday, 14 July, on charges of murder, defeating the ends of justice, and crimen injuria. Exactly two months earlier, Jayden-Lee was found dead outside his apartment complex after reportedly going missing hours earlier. He suffered a blunt force head injury and was reportedly severely beaten. Speaking in a TikTok video accompanied by her son, Debbie Dunn claimed that her daughter, Tiffany, was not guilty of the murder of Jayden-Lee Meek. In the clip, the grandmother claims she was 'deeply disappointed' in the police investigation as well as the prosecution of her daughter 'over a crime she did not commit'. Dunn claimed that Tiffany's family, friends, and attorney were present at court, but they were unable to access the courtroom where she appeared. Jayden-Lee Meek's mother Tiffany has been accused of his murder. She made her first appearance in court this week. Images via Facebook/ eNCA She said: 'It is so clear that the police, prosecutors, and activists are working together to ensure that Tiffany was not represented in court on her first appearance and that her loved ones were not inside to give her love and support'. Dunn added: 'We hope that she will be given a fair bail hearing and trial. We have lost faith and hope in the criminal system.' Tiffany has faced backlash for spending the night at her mom's house, and not her own, on the night Jayden-Lee Meek went missing. @forever11_jayden we were there, yet the hearing was hush hush and they made sure we were not present.. all this just to further discredit her. ♬ original sound – Debbie Dunn Meanwhile, a private investigator offered insight into what he believed happened to Jayden-Lee Meek. Speaking anonymously to eNCA, the investigator stated that the body was warm and fresh, indicating that he had been killed shortly before his discovery. The body was covered with bruises and abrasions. Forensic investigation in the apartment Jayden-Lee shared with his mother, Tiffany, revealed that blood stains had been scrubbed clean with detergent. Blood was discovered on Jayden-Lee's school clothes, underwear, and his schoolbooks. The investigator claims that there was an attempt to conceal evidence. According to a charge sheet, Jayden-Lee Meek's mother discouraged police from searching inside her apartment. Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1 . Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp , Facebook , X, and Bluesky for the latest news.

eNCA journalists reflect on chaos, looting & reporting from the frontlines
eNCA journalists reflect on chaos, looting & reporting from the frontlines

eNCA

time2 days ago

  • Politics
  • eNCA

eNCA journalists reflect on chaos, looting & reporting from the frontlines

The July Unrest occurred in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng, from 9 to 18 July 2021. The protests were sparked by the arrest and incarceration of former President Jacob Zuma. The protests quickly escalated resulting in looting, rioting, rise in racial tensions, damage to property, violence and the deaths of more than 350 people. It is estimated that the July unrest also caused more than R50 billion in damage to the South African economy. eNCA Senior Reporter Dasen Thathiah and eNCA Camera Operator Nkanyiso Mdlalose were there, reporting from the frontlines. In the video below, they both reflect on the life-changing experience four years on. A Reporter's Reflection of The July 2021 Unrest – Four Years On By Dasen Thathiah The term "unrest" is such a misnomer. Sure, for anyone who wasn't there, it works. A public disturbance? Riots? Maybe a failed insurrection? For those of us who lived through it - on the frontlines - it was a catastrophic nightmare. The first eight days overflowed with anxiety, fear, sadness, anger, trepidation. The recipe for a lifetime of unspoken trauma. The province that raised us was set alight. Its infrastructure abused, the fragile economy gang-raped. People who lived alongside me mutated into savages. Others became statistics, no longer referred to by name, but only as a collective. "More than 350 died," we say. Yet the ones who orchestrated it are most likely still alive and well. But we don't just grieve for the departed. We mourn the jobs lost, the livelihoods shattered, the businesses buried. About ten percent of the murders took place in a north Durban township. The nature of the violence birthed the term "Phoenix Massacre." Its impact pushed race relations decades back. A minority of barbarians in a usually warm, close-knit community turned on their long-time neighbours in the most brutal way. Both "sides" paid with their loved ones, casualties of a racial war. This wasn't just a story to us. It was our lived experience. We saw the bodies strewn across the roadway. We know the helplessness of not being able to save the ones taking their last breaths. We felt the racism directed at us. And propagandists capitalised on the confusion that reigned. People who look like me wanted someone to blame for the backlash stemming from the actions of a small group of racist murderers. So, one propagandist offered me to them as a virtual sacrifice on Facebook. It worked. I was labelled a traitor, threatened, ostracised, blamed and even became the subject of a campaign led by some to get me fired. Just for telling the truth; for standing up when it was easier to sit down. A few days later, another propagandist on Twitter (X) doctored a video clip to create a new narrative. "Journalist by day, vigilante killing black people at night," they said. So, while the city burned around me, I had my own fires to extinguish. Fake news threatened to reduce my career to ashes. I was fortunate to navigate this space with a colleague who I regard as a dear friend; a brother. Together, Nkanyiso and I - a pair that had seen the ugliest side of people during the unrest - helped each other stay true to our beliefs. Armed with an eNCA camera and a microphone, we showed you not just the bad, but the inspirational. We listened as the voices of good South Africans grew loud enough to eventually overpower the evil ones. We introduced you to the community heroes, who outnumbered the racist vigilantes. We held the government to account for its failures. Simply put, we followed the truth even when the path was deserted. Four years later, we reflect on an unbelievable time that should never be forgotten. It should serve as a reminder of exactly what we are not as South Africans.

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