Daily news update. Photo: iStock/The Citizen/Cheryl Kahla
In today’s daily news update: Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi said South Africa needs army deployment to deal with zama zamas, and police minister Bheki Cele said officers are preparing for sleepless nights during the Brics Summit.
Meanwhile, President Cyril Ramaphosa has been cleared of wrongdoing in the Phala Phala matter, and Russia’s first lunar mission in decades ended in disaster…
In today’s weather, navigational nightmares and fiery fields will be the order of the day – full forecast here. As for load shedding, Eskom suspended the schedule… for now.
Stay up to date with The Citizen – More News, Your Way. Here’s your easy-to-read selection of our top stories.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has been cleared of wrongdoing in the 2020 Phala Phala farm scandal by the South African Reserve Bank (SARB).
The SARB’s investigation was launched last year following allegations made by former State Security Agency (SSA) director-general, Arthur Fraser and complaints laid by various parties.
READ: Ramaphosa exonerated by Reserve Bank over Phala Phala farm saga
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) says the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) has “unwittingly” confirmed its suspicions that there was never a transaction or intention to have a legal transaction at President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala farm in Limpopo.
This after the SARB on Monday released a report clearing Ramaphosa of wrongdoing in the 2020 Phala Phala farm scandal.
The report will not be made available to the public due to “legislative requirements and constraints”, it said on Monday.
READ: SARB ‘unwittingly confirmed our suspicions that there was never a transaction’, says EFF
Lesufi has once again called for the deployment of the SA National Defence Force (SANDF) and other law enforcement agencies to address the escalating crisis of illegal mining.
Lesufi on Monday said the province has been gripped by a wave of violence and lawlessness brought on by unauthorised miners.
He stressed the need for a robust response from authorities: “Gauteng is under siege from people who are not citizens of this country, people [who] cannot be accounted for, people who are highly armed”.
READ: ‘We are under siege’: Lesufi says SA needs army to solve zama zama problem
“Missing evidence” was thrown into the spotlight in the Senzo Meyiwa murder trial as the defence cross-examined the state’s witness.
Warrant officer Thabo Mosia returned to the stand at the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria for the fourth day running on Monday.
Mosia previously testified about how he collected and processed all the evidence from the Vosloorus family home of Meyiwa’s then-girlfriend, singer Kelly Khumalo, where the former Bafana Bafana captain was shot on 26 October 2014.
READ: ‘Registers can’t just grow feet and run away’: ‘Missing evidence’ dominates Senzo Meyiwa trial
“Those that are foot soldiers, from here on, they’ll be having literally sleepless nights because they won’t have time to sleep.”
This is what Police Minister Bheki Cele told officers as they prepare to provide law and order during the Brics summit.
Cele was briefing the media on Monday about law enforcement officials to be deployed in Sandton during the Brics summit.
WATCH: Cele warns police of ‘sleepless nights’ during Brics summit
Russia’s first lunar mission in decades has failed, after its Luna 25 spacecraft crashed into the moon’s surface.
The country’s space agency Roscosmos said it lost contact with the spacecraft on Saturday after it ran into an “abnormal situation” while preparing for its pre-landing orbit.
Roscosmos added the spacecraft spun into uncontrolled orbit.
READ: Russia’s first lunar mission in decades crashes into moon
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