Daily news update: Phalatse vs ANC, Lesufi elected Gauteng premier and Babita Deokaran case

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Daily news update: 7 October

Mpho Phalatse given 48 hours to apologise for calling the ANC corrupt

The African National Congress (ANC) in Gauteng has called on former City of Joburg mayor Dr Mpho Phalatse to retract her statement calling the ruling party “corrupt”.

Addressing the public on Wednesday on a plan of action to “save” Johannesburg following the ANC’s “unlawful” takeover, Phalatse said accusations of DA arrogance by other parties were a distraction from “the return of power of a corrupt ANC syndicate which now once again has its hands on the country’s biggest municipal budget”.

Phalatse was removed from office via a motion of no confidence last week and replaced by ANC’s Johannesburg regional chair, Dada Morero.

But the ANC is not impressed by Phalatse’s comment and called on her to publicly apologise.

Panyaza Lesufi elected Gauteng premier

ANC Gauteng provincial chairperson Panyaza Lesufi has been elected the next premier of the province.

Lesufi was elected on Thursday, during a special sitting of the Gauteng provincial legislature.

He contested the position against the Democratic Alliance’s (DA) premier candidate and provincial leader, Solly Msimanga.

Lesufi beat Msimanga by 38 votes while the DA leader received 22 votes. Twelve members of the EFF walked out the sitting before voting could take place.

Babita Deokaran murder case postponed to November

The case against six men accused of killing whistleblower Babita Deokaran will be back in the dock next month.

Phakamani Hadebe, Zitha Hadebe, Nhlangano Ndlovu, Sanele Mbhele, Simphiwe Mazibuko and Phakanyiswa Dladla made another appearance in the Johannesburg High Court on Thursday morning

Their case had been postponed in August, due to unpaid legal fees.

At the time, the defence also indicated that it was waiting for a forensic report before the trial could get underway

ALSO READ: ‘We’ve heard nothing from the cops’: Babita Deokaran’s family still waiting for justice

Zondo allowed to fix mistakes on State Capture report, court rules

Chief Justice Raymond Zondo has been given the greenlight to make slight amendments to the State Capture report.

Zondo, who chaired the State Capture Commission, approached the Pretoria High Court in August seeking approval to fix mistakes in the report, which included numerous grammatical and language errors and wrong figures.

The court has since granted the Chief Justice permission to make the changes, according to TimesLIVE.

In a judgment delivered by Deputy Judge President Aubrey Ledwaba on Wednesday, the court ruled that corrected versions of two volumes of the report may be delivered to President Cyril Ramaphosa.

ALSO READ: State capture report finally done, 4 years and R1 billion later – what happens now?

WATCH: Untu embarks on strike action after Transnet wage negotiations deadlock

Members of the United National Transport Union (Untu), on Thursday, are expected to down tools at Transnet after wage negotiations with the parastatal deadlocked.

On Monday, Untu and the South African Transport and Allied Workers Union (Satawu) rejected Transnet’s revised wage offer of 1.5% from this month, overtime pay and a 13th cheque, among other benefits.

The unions are demanding salary increases between 12% and 13.5%, but Transnet believes that its revised offer is reasonable and fair, and deserves serious consideration given the company’s current operational and financial performance.

PICS: Inside Faf de Klerk’s wedding ceremony and honeymoon

Springbok scrum-half Faf de Klerk married his long-time girlfriend Miné van Niekerk at La Paris Estate in Franschhoek on Saturday, 1 October, surrounded by their closest friends and family.

Faf, who plays as a scrum-half for English Premiership club Sale Sharks, has been living in Manchester since 2017. The couple has previously spoken out about the difficulties of making a long-distance relationship work.

In an interview with Huisgenoot last year, the couple said things got tough amid the pandemic. “We are so good when we are together, but the long distance makes it difficult,” Miné told the publication at the time.

Faf told the publication they realised they had no idea when they would see each other again after his two-month Postmasburg stay with Miné just after the World Cup. After his return to Manchester, they kept in contact, but the conversation later ran dry.

Banyana arrive in London ahead of Australia friendly

Banyana Banyana landed in London, England on Wednesday, where they will take on Australia in a friendly match that is part of the teams preparations for the 2023 Fifa Women’s World Cup to be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand. 

ALSO READ: Tembo says Sekhukhune deserved the victory over Pirates

The friendly against Australia comes after Banyana played Women’s Copa America champions Brazil in two friendly games in South Africa, with the Caf Women’s Africa Cup of Nations champions losing the first game 3-0 at the FNB Stadium and the second 6-0 at the Moses Mabhida Stadium. 

Banyana coach Desiree Ellis believes playing the likes of Brazil and Australia is good for the South Africans, especially if they want to be ready for the global tournament. But, going to the World Cup, she hopes her charges will be clinical in front of goal.