In today’s news, notorious diamond dealer Louis Liebenberg appeared in court for fraud, a woman set herself on fire and destroyed a ward at Clairwood Hospital in Durban, and it has emerged that Thabo Bester was arrested and released two months after his escape from prison.
Also, we look at how former Joburg mayor Kabelo Gwamanda allegedly defrauded working class people in Soweto, and disgraced Springbok flyhalf Elton Jantjies has told the public his mother never kicked him out of her home.
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The controversial diamond dealer Louis Liebenberg and alleged mastermind behind the diamond fraud scheme Forever Diamonds and Gold, appeared in the Magistrate’s Court in Bronkhorstspruit along with eight other people, including his wife Dezzi, on Thursday.
Louis and Dezzi were arrested by the Hawks on Tuesday at the Tonino restaurant at the Benoni Country Club.
The Clairwood Hospital in Durban is reeling from an early morning blaze where a female patient tragically died after allegedly setting herself on fire, leading to the destruction of an entire ward.
A 41-year-old female patient was in an isolation ward of the hospital’s internal medicine unit when she ignited the fire.
It has emerged that Thabo Bester evaded capture even while he was on the run, being detained by the police for speeding and then released two months after he escaped from prison.
Bester, also known as the Facebook rapist, escaped from Mangaung Correctional Centre, a privately run maximum-security prison, in May 2022.
A Soweto man who was scammed, allegedly by the former mayor of Johannesburg Kabelo Gwamanda, says he was promised great wealth and financial freedom.
Gwamanda, a member of the mayoral committee (MMC) for Community Development in the City of Johannesburg, is currently on special leave. This is after he was arrested for fraud related to his investment in Ithemba Lama Afrika, a funeral insurance company.
The corruption case against former sport, arts, and culture minister Zizi Kodwa and his co-accused has been delayed yet again as they await a decision on whether their charges will be withdrawn.
Kodwa and former EOH Group senior executive Jehan MacKay briefly appeared in the Johannesburg Specialised Commercial Crimes Court in Palm Ridge on Thursday.
Incidents of alleged food poisoning among school pupils continue to plague the country, as about 24 Mpumalanga primary school pupils were rushed to the hospital after consuming spaza shop snacks.
The Mpumalanga department of education confirmed that the pupils from Enzani Primary School in Matsulu were rushed to Rob Ferreira Hospital in Mbombela.
Fallen Bok hero Elton Jantjies tackled rumours that he is currently homeless in an Instagram video.
The former Springbok flyhalf once again trended for all the wrong reasons when claims that he was allegedly thrown out of the house of both his mother and a close friend surfaced in the media.
Reigning Miss South Africa Mia le Roux was given the national flag by Brand South Africa on Thursday ahead of her trip to Mexico to compete at Miss Universe.
Miss SA said she felt confident and would carry it proudly.
Proteas captain Aiden Markram called fast bowler Kagiso Rabada “a superstar” after his team’s convincing first Test win against Bangladesh in Dhaka on Thursday.
Rabada took 6/46 in Bangladesh’s second innings to go with his first innings haul of 3/26 to set up the win for the tourists.
Jose Riveiro is counting on the camaraderie within his Orlando Pirates squad to maintain the perfect start to the Betway Premiership season.
The Buccaneers, who kept their 100 percent win record in the league by securing a 2-0 win over SuperSport United on Tuesday night, will face AmaZulu at Orlando Stadium on Friday (kick-off is at 7.30pm).
READ HERE: Hawks bag Louis Liebenberg | Brics summit | Mbeki snubbed at Mboweni’s funeral
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