Daily news update: New Zulu king, ANC MP says sorry & No VIP protection for ministers

Here’s your morning news update: An easy-to-read selection of our top stories. Stay up to date with The Citizen – More News, Your Way.

Daily news update – Monday, 15 August 2022

Prince Simakade: Zulu royal family faction pronounces King Zwelithini’s eldest is King

A small group of members from the Zulu royal family have pronounced that the eldest son of late King Goodwill Zwelithini, Prince Simakade, is officially the new King. 

The pronouncement came after Prince Simakade performed the ceremony of entering the kraal at the Enyokeni palace, a week before his brother King Misuzulu was expected to do so. 

According to SABC News, entering the kraal is one of the key rituals following the death of an AmaZulu monarch and precedes the recognition of a successor.

Speaking ahead of the ceremony, the faction said that they are the only ones who can identify a Zulu king and stated that King Misuzulu was not their choice.

ANC reprimands MP Khalid Sayed for blasphemous comments

The African National Congress (ANC) has condemned the blasphemous remarks by MP Muhammad Khalid Sayed about the companions of Prophet Muhammad.

The party says the remarks by Sayed, a member of the ANC’s Wynberg Branch and Member of the Provincial Legislature angered a large section of the Muslim community in the mother city and across the country.

“The ANC has reprimanded Cde Khalid Sayed and further notes and welcomes his apology to the Muslim community which we insisted that it is made public and that such views are not only withdrawn but never repeated again.”

“The ANC embraces, respects and upholds all religious denominations represented in our country. South Africa’s progressive constitution embraces a secular state in which all religions co-exist and exercise their faith in a free and democratic society,” the party said.

Ministers could be left without protection as VIP units threaten to strike – report

Security officials working in VIP protection units for ministers, deputy ministers and premiers are threatening to stay away from work over unpaid travel allowances and overtime.

Government leaders could be left without protection at certain times as more than 1000 VIP protection personnel – who are members of the SA Policing Union (Sapu) and the Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (Popcru) – face off against the SAPS at the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA), and the Safety and Security Sectoral Bargaining Council, according to a City Press report.

The two unions, representing millions of police officers, are at loggerheads over the payment of overtime and travel allowances for more than 1 100 VIP protection personnel in all nine provinces.

One member of Police Minister Bheki Cele’s protection unit in the Western Cape had since last year, taken the employer to task over owed overtime, according to the publication.

Ghost delegates haunt ANC’s North West conference

The ninth North West African National Conference (ANC) at the Rustenburg Civic Centre has not only been marred by delays and legal tussle but also allegations of bogus delegates and theft.

The party laid criminal charges against a group of members that stormed the Olympia Park Stadium registration point and stole conference accreditation tags, which were later allegedly cloned.

The ANC Youth League (ANCYL) accused the National Executive Committee (NEC) team deployed to the conference of being “subjective” and seeking to fraudulently influence the outcome of the conference.

Delegate Wessels Morweng said their members on the ground had received information that the orienting of tags was continuing but those printing the tags took off when they were approached.

Get your blankets out: Freezing temperatures to hit Gauteng

It’s time to get those blankets out as a cold front makes it way to Gauteng.

Gauteng Weather warned residents to brace for freezing temperatures across parts of the province from Sunday evening.

According to a tweet the mercury is expected to drop significantly overnight.

“Alert: freezing over parts of Southern Gauteng overnight due to cold front.”

Rushdie attack suspect pleads not guilty to attempted murder

The man accused of stabbing Salman Rushdie at a literary event pleaded not guilty to attempted murder charges Saturday, as the severely injured author appeared to show signs of improvement in hospital.

Hadi Matar, 24, was arraigned in court in New York state, with prosecutors outlining how Rushdie had been stabbed approximately 10 times in what they described as a planned, premeditated assault.

After the on-stage attack on Friday, Rushdie had been helicoptered to hospital and underwent emergency surgery.

His agent Andrew Wylie had said the writer was on a ventilator and in danger of losing an eye, but in an update on Saturday he told the New York Times that Rushdie had started to talk again, suggesting his condition had improved.