Daily news update: Senzo Meyiwa case, Phala Phala panel deadline extended and Eskom debacles

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Daily news update: 17 November

Witness admits accused No. 5 was not present on the night Senzo Meyiwa was murdered  

Senzo Meyiwa’s long-time friend has conceded that one of the five men standing trial for the soccer star’s murder was not present on the night Meyiwa was fatally shot.

Tumelo Madlala on Wednesday returned to the witness stand in the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria for the resumption of his cross-examination by Advocate Zandile Mshololo.

Advocate Mshololo is the defence lawyer for accused number five, Sifisokuhle Ntuli.

ALSO READ: Defence pokes holes in Tumelo Madlala’s testimony

Advocate Mshololo asked Madlala whether Ntuli was among the alleged intruders who were present inside Kelly Khumalo’s family house in Vosloorus, east of Johannesburg, on the night Meyiwa was killed.

Phala Phala panel deadline extended ‘due to amount of work’

The panel formed to investigate the Phala Phala incident was granted an extension for the submission of the report until the end of the month.

The panel was formed to determine whether President Cyril Ramaphosa has a case to answer regarding the robbery at his Phala Phala farm.

Parliament speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula extended the deadline by 13 days – from 17 November to 30 November.

Parliament’s spokesperson Moloto Mothapo confirmed the update, saying Ngcobo asked for the extension “due to the amount of work still to be done”.

Does Eskom really share South Africans’ pain of load shedding?

With the country suffering with chronic load shedding, questions have been raised about why Eskom continues to supply other countries with electricity when it cannot meet its own demand.

Eskom on Tuesday warned South Africans to brace themselves for longer periods of load shedding during the power utility’s operating performance and the state of load shedding briefing.

South Africans have so far endured an excruciating 160 days of load shedding this year with no end in sight as Eskom continues to experience what it called “capacity challenges”.

Lira travels for the first time since her stroke

Musician Lira has taken her first trip since suffering a stroke earlier this year. 

For her first trip, she chose to make her way to the Eastern Cape where she enjoyed a calming boat ride down the canal in St Francis Bay. 

“First time I have been on a plane in 7 months, and I chose to go to St Francis in Eastern Cape. Here I’m on the canal cruise- it’s truly beautiful. They have exquisite restaurants – the food there is quite awesome,” wrote the singer in a caption under her video.

Fellow famous faces and fans alike took to the comments to share their relief at seeing her and seeing that she was doing well.