Daily news update: SA govt on Ukraine-Russia, North West accident and Riky Rick

Here is your daily news update. Click on the links below for the full story or visit our home page for the latest news.

‘Ramaphosa was very clear’: Gungubele on SA’s stance on Russia-Ukraine conflict

Minister in the Presidency Mondli Gungubele has dismissed claims that the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco) contradicted President Cyril Ramaphosa over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

According to a Sunday Times report, Ramaphosa was said to be “unhappy” about Dirco’s statement this week in which the department called for Russia to withdraw its soldiers from Ukraine.

An unnamed source told the publication that Dirco’s statement contradicted South Africa’s position on the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

‘Too many of us have no jobs’: Operation Dudula take protest to Soweto

Dozens of people under the banner of Operation Dudula and the #PutSouthAfricansFirst movement took to the streets of Diepkloof Zone 5, Soweto, on Sunday gathering at several crime hotspots, suspected drug dens, illegal occupations and scrapyards seeking to “restore law and order”.

The angry residents marched down the streets of Diepkloof chanting struggle songs and singing anti-foreigner songs, as they amplified calls for undocumented foreign nationals to leave the country. They were monitored by a strong police contingent to ensure that they did not break the law.

19 family members killed in head-on collision between taxi and truck

Nineteen family members were killed in a head-on collision between a taxi and a truck on the R34 between Bloemhof and Schweizer-Reneke in the North West on Saturday night. 

The Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) said it will investigate the accident.

“The RTMC is sending investigators to the scene to establish the exact cause of the crash. All we know at this stage is that it happened around 9.30pm near Schweizer-Reneke in the North West and involved a truck and Quantum minibus,” said RTMC spokesperson, Simon Zwane.

Is a taxi fare increase on the cards?

The record increases in petrol prices over the past few months has given the South African National Taxi Association (Santaco) something to consider on taxi fares.

Santaco has indicated that it will review its decision not to hike taxi fares.

“The petrol price increases for the past [four] months at the very least, has put the industry in a corner. Pressure is too much, we will review our decision to suspend increases,” the taxi association said in a tweet on Sunday morning.

No plans to evacuate South Africans stuck in Ukraine, Russia

Minister of Defence and Military Veterans Thandi Modise says government has not received a request to repatriate South Africans in Ukraine amid the Russian invasion.

Speaking during the Justice, Crime Prevention and Security (JCPS) cluster media briefing on Sunday, Modise said there were no plans to send the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) soldiers to Ukraine to assist in evacuating South Africans.

Riky Rick’s last words: ‘I wish I was stronger, please forgive me’

In what was presumably meant to be private communication, recently deceased rapper Riky Rick left messages to each of his family members apologising and begging them not to blame themselves for the pain he was in. 

The existence of the letter and its contents became public knowledge after a source close to the late rapper shared the contents of these notes with publication Sunday World who published the letter as their lead on Sunday.

In it, Riky is said to have addressed his wife Bianca and two children Jordan and Maik.

Mngqithi clears air on ‘fight’ incident that led to Mokwena’s red card

Mamelodi Sundowns scored a dramatic late goal to earn a rare away win at Al Ahly in Caf Champions League match on Saturday night.

The game – termed African Derby because of the anticipation it had built up – lived up to expectation.

Dramatic scenes were aplenty and in one of them Sundowns’ co-coach Rulani Mokwena was sent off after a verbal sparring with the referee. Manqoba Mngqithi has since explained what happened that led to this unexpected scene.