Daily news update: Zondo raises hell for ANC, Bushiri’s staff go hungry, Malema could get off scot-free

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Zondo is raising hell for the ANC

By charging politicians and other high-profile figures linked to the governing party, a political analyst believes Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo is trying to deal with a bad culture of impunity undermining of the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture by some in the governing party.

It was in 2016 when former social development minister Bathabile Dlamini warned “all of us in the NEC have our smaller nyana skeletons, and we don’t want to take out all the skeletons because hell will break loose”, and with the commission nearing its end, Zondo is showing he’s not afraid of raising a little hell himself.

Bushiri’s hotel staff left hungry after not being paid

Inside the marquee tent at self proclaimed Prophet Shepherd Bushiri’s Sparkling Waters Hotel and Spa near in the North West, 25 November 2020. Picture: Jacques Nelles

Pastor Shepherd Bushiri’s walls of Jericho are starting to tumble and staff at his hotel in Rustenburg have not been paid for three months, according to sources.

A source, who requested anonymity, said: “We are not surviving, some of the workers catch mopane worms to add to their food at night.”

Bushiri, owner of the Sparkling Waters Hotel and Spa, and his wife Mary skipped the country this month after their release on bail. They and three others stand accused of theft, fraud and money laundering involving over R100 million.

Malema may yet get off the hook

EFF leader Julius Malema says he will be leading from the front at Senekal.

The Constitutional Court yesterday scrapped the piece of apartheid-era legislation under which Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema has been charged for inciting land grabs, potentially paving the way for him to avoid prosecution.

But he isn’t off the hook yet.

The court found the Riotous Assemblies Act limited the right to freedom of expression by criminalising the incitement of “any offence” and declared part of it unconstitutional and invalid.

Senzo Meyiwa: ‘Real culprits are being protected,’ says an accused’s uncle

The five suspects on charges of the murder of Senzo Meyiwa appear at the Boksburg magistrates court on 27 October 2020. Picture: Neil McCartney

While AfriForum’s private prosecution unit believes that reasons given to it around how five men arrested for their involvement in the murder of former Bafana Bafana goalkeeper Senzo Meyiwa make sense, their families are not convinced.

Speaking outside court, Scelo Ntuli said while they were not going to say much on the case, they believed something was odd about it and “truth being hidden”.

The uncle said: “I won’t say much because we don’t walk around with [Sifiso] but we believe the truth is being hidden. We think there are some people being protected and we are not comfortable that those people who were present when the crime was committed, were not being implicated and questioned.”

Union Bemawu turns to Labour Court to halt retrenchments at SABC

General views of the SABC (South African Broadcasting Corporation) building in Auckland Park, Johannesburg, 18 November 2020. Picture: Michel Bega

Labour union, the Broadcasting, Electronic Media, & Allied Workers Union (Bemawu} believes it has not exhausted all avenues to stop the SABC from laying off 400 of its employees as part of its restructuring process.

The Labour Court in Braamfontein on Friday heard an urgent application by the union seeking an order that will prevent the SABC from going ahead with its plans to reduce its workforce.

Bemawu’s Hannes du Buisson said that they took the SABC to court after the broadcaster had allegedly applied unfair tactics.

Cops under fire over truck attacks

Two trucks that were set on fire early Wednesday morning on the N12 between Kingsway and Pansy offramps in Ekurhuleni, 25 November 2020. Pictures Neil McCartney

The Road Freight Association (RFA) is asking tough questions of both the Presidency and the South African Police Service (Saps) about the wave of truck attacks and whether the police have sufficient crime prevention intelligence capabilities.

The RDA’s chief executive, Gavin Kelly, said they knew beforehand the attacks would take place between Monday and Wednesday – and the violence indeed flared up.

“We have been saying to the president, if this is really what’s going on, how come the Saps are not acting?” said Kelly.

Warren Kennedy out to polish his champion’s crown in Summer Cup

Warren Kennedy. Picture: Supplied

Warren Kennedy didn’t get nearly as many accolades as he deserved when he won the South African jockey championship in July 2020. The coronavirus pandemic and lockdown meant the racing world was a bit distracted, the end of a disrupted season clashed with the Durban July, and the glittery Equus Awards bash was canned.

The 40-year-old’s achievement in climbing to the pinnacle of his profession so late in his career, after years as the archetypal “journeyman” rider, was worthy of a lot more applause and celebration.

Kennedy gets a chance to grab some of the missing glory when he travels up from Durban to partner Paul Peter-trained Summer Pudding in Saturday’s WSB Gauteng Summer Cup at Turffontein on Saturday.

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