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Daily news update: Zandile Gumede, Lauren Dickason, Koeberg drama, and more
Here’s your morning news update: An easy-to-read selection of our top stories.
Photo: iStock/The Citizen/Cheryl Kahla
In today’s daily news update: The corruption trial of former eThekwini mayor Zandile Gumede and her 21 co-accused was delayed.
Meanwhile, the trial of Lauren Dickason took a chilling turn on Monday as digital forensic evidence revealed disturbing internet search history months before the alleged killings.
Daily news update: 25 July 2023
SA is bracing for patches of fog and afternoon showers (find the forecast below), so why not give our daily recipe a try? Spicy Jamaican Oxtail Curry with easy home-made flatbread!
Stay up to date with The Citizen – More News, Your Way. Here’s your easy-to-read selection of our top stories.
Zandile Gumede’s corruption trial
The corruption trial of former eThekwini mayor Zandile Gumede and her 21 co-accused was delayed on Monday, after the home of a state witness was shot at over the weekend.
Senior state prosecutor Ashika Lucken informed the Durban High Court that the witness’s home was targeted on Saturday evening. A bullet was recovered from the scene, but no one was wounded.
“The prosecution team had received information at approximately 18:30pm on Saturday, informing us that there has been a shooting at the witness’s home premises and that there was a bullet that was recovered,” said Lucken.
READ: Zandile Gumede’s corruption trial delayed after shooting at state witness’s home
Senzo Meyiwa trial
The state’s first witness in the high-profile Senzo Meyiwa murder trial, Zandile Khumalo-Gumede, on Friday refused during cross-examination at the Gauteng High Court, in Pretoria, to demonstrate how one of the intruders wore a hoodie.
The R&B singer and songwriter denied the request of state prosecutor Advocate Charles Mnisi because it will ruin her “beautiful hairstyle” which she had “worked very hard” on in the morning.
This follows Zandile’s initial response in which cheekily told Mnisi: “You can also wear it, I will show you”.
READ: Senzo Meyiwa trial: Zandile Khumalo’s ‘hairstyle vs hoodie’ moment [WATCH]
Lauren Dickason Googled how to kill
The trial of Lauren Dickason, a South African national accused of the murder of her three young children in New Zealand, took a chilling turn on Monday as digital forensic evidence revealed disturbing internet search history months before the alleged killings.
Testifying before the Christchurch High Court, digital forensic analyst Joshua Locke presented evidence that in July and August 2021, Dickason’s phone contained searches that were subsequently deleted, New Zealand publication Stuff reported.
These searches included inquiries into lethal dosages of drugs for children, such as “lethal dosage alprazolam in children” on 31 July, “Ambien lethal dose” on 14 August, and “most effective overdose in children” on 20 August.
READ: Lauren Dickason searched ‘drugs to overdose kids’ on Google before ‘killing’ her children
Koeberg drama
After two reports and a site visit Minister of Electricity Kgosientsho Ramokgopa is still not satisfied with the answers he is getting from Eskom about the ever-slipping deadline for the completion of the life extension project of Unit 1 at Koeberg Nuclear Power Station.
Ramokgopa’s concern, which he repeatedly emphasised during his weekly update on the execution of the electricity crisis plan, is that a further outage slip – which he expects – will result in an overlap with the planned outage for a similar 20-year life extension project at Unit 2.
This would deprive the energy-starved national grid of a total of 1 840MW, which equates to almost two stages of load shedding.
READ: Koeberg: Electricity minister ‘worried and extremely upset’
Your weather guide for 25 July
South Africans are set for another day of contrasting weather across the country on Tuesday, 25 July 2023.
It appears to be a calm day with no fire danger warnings or advisories issued by the South African Weather Service (Saws).
There are no urgent weather warnings for Tuesday at the time of publishing. We will update this article if Saws issues an alert.
Find the regional forecast here: Afternoon showers, patches of fog: Your weather guide for 25 July
Today’s opinion piece:
In today’s Daily News Update, Devina Haripersad reflects on the change in priorities from work to caring for a sick parent.
She describes the challenges of dealing with a strict head matron at the hospital while trying to balance work responsibilities.
The matron’s tough exterior hides her genuine concern for the well-being of both the patient and the caregiver.
She learns the importance of self-care and the kindness of others during difficult times.
READ: Ratched benevolence: The curse of a nurse that actually turned out to be pretty darn kind
In other news today:
- Gordhan hits back after Mbalula’s Transnet jibe
- Bye bye, blue bird: Twitter renamed X, ditches signature logo
- Ramaphosa urges Women’s League to help ANC win 2024 election
- Sars employee fired after calling in sick then spotted on TV protesting
- Two-year-old boy missing in North West after wandering to find grandmother
Yesterday’s Daily News recap
READ: Bathabile suffers a blow, ANCWL deployment, Moja LOVE probe
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