Sam Msuseni Ntuli (59), a former immigration officer was found guilty and sentenced by the Piet Retief Regional Court on Wednesday, 12 August 2020 for Fraud.
Sam Msuseni Ntuli (59) Former immigration officer
Between the period of 30 July 2015 to 04 June 2016 Ntuli was an employee of the Department of Home Affairs at Mahamba Port of entry in Mpumalanga.
Ntuli was employed as an Immigration Officer responsible for detecting signs and traces in travel documents to establish migration violation and other illegal activities.
Despite the responsibilities vested upon Ntuli, he fraudulently stamped a passport of Mr Elvis Muzi Mpanza, a Swati Citizen without him being physically present at the Port of entry which allowed Mr Mpanza to stay in the Republic of South Africa.
An investigation within the Department of Home Affairs by the Counter Corruption team was initiated following allegations about the illegal activities piloted by Ntuli.
During the internal investigation Ntuli was caught red handed with the stamped passport while the owner was not present.
A disciplinary hearing within the Department of Home Affairs was conducted and led to the dismissal of Ntuli from the service.
The criminal case was opened and the matter was referred to the Hawks Serious Corruption Investigation Mpumalanga and the accused was summoned to appear before court on 18 February 2020 pending the sentence which was handed down on the 12 August 2020.
Ntuli was sentenced to four months imprisonment or R 6000.00 fine.
FAST FOOD DELIVERY MAN ARRESTED FOR BANK CARD SKIMMING FRAUD
MPUMALANGA – A 35-year-old Congolese national, Patrick Kananga Mukandila has made a brief appearance in the Emalahleni Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday facing charges of fraud and possession of an illegal point of sale device (POS).
Mukandila was employed at a well-known fast food outlet in Emalahleni to deliver food to customer homes using a motorcycle. During November 2019, the bank manager allegedly received a lot of complaints from the clients about extra charges debited from their bank accounts after paying for their orders on the speed point provided by the delivery man.
The Hawks’ Serious Commercial Crime Investigation resulted in the arrest of Mukandila. Visit them HERE
The Hawks’ Serious Commercial Crime Investigation resulted in the arrest of Mukandila on 28 November 2019, following an Intelligence-driven operation where he was stopped while on his way to deliver food to the clients in the area. A POS card skimming device was found in his possession. The team proceeded to his house where a stolen bank card, external hard drivers, laptop, three computer towers, memory sticks, two cell phones, slips and cash valued to R120 000.00. All items were seized for further investigation.
Mukandila has since appeared in court on numerous occasions including his most recent appearance where he was remanded in custody. The matter is postponed to 28 August 2020.
Nog ‘n “So is die lewe” rubriek vanuit die pen van Ds Marius Britz. Titel is Skiet Afrika
Dit is asembenewend, skrikwekkend. Vir dae aaneen, voor die skryf van hierdie rubriek, het my selfoontoepassing gereeld gepiep met nuusflitse: “Man killed in gun shooting.” “Verkeersbeampte doodgeskiet deur motoris.” “Man skiet drie inbrekers in huisrooftog in Durban dood.” ”Een persoon doodgeskiet in rooftog in Somerset Mall.” “Plaasaanvallers skiet boer in opstal dood.” “Vrou in rooftog doodgeskiet.” “Kind in St. Helenabaai geskiet terwyl hy sit en TV kyk in sy oom se plakkershut.”
“Driejarige kind op ma se skoot geskiet. Sterf op pad hospitaal toe.” “Polisie skiet vermeende kapers dood.” “ Bejaarde ouerpaar en dogter in Noord-Kaap ontvoer en wreed vermoor.” Gewone plaasmense wat net wou lèèf, hulle Sondagmiddagmaal nog onaangeraak op die stoof toe hulle aangeval is. Tradisionele kos: oondgebraaide vleis, aartappels, groenbone, pampoen en rys, waarskynlik.
Baie van hierdie gebeure haal nie eens die koerant of nuus op radio en TV nie. Andere doen wel. Soos die hoofopskrifte: “Joost se broer skiet twee aanvallers in kerk dood.” Die hele land is geskok oor die feit dat die een aanvaller, nadat hy sy pistool teen die pastoor se kop gedruk het, op slag deur Pieter van der Westhuizen, ‘n gewese polisieman, doodgeskiet is. So ook ‘n tweede aanvaller binne in die kerk. ‘n Derde een is vermoedelik gewond, maar het weggekom. Die gemeente is verstar, en kliphard aan die bid in daardie paar minute wat die hele slagting afgespeel het.
Dit klink amper soos die draaiboek van ‘n goedkoop Wilde Westerse rolprent. Bendegevegte op die Kaapse vlakte waar eenvoudig net geskiet word. Koeëls wat heen en weer trek, en mense wat mekaar met vuurwapens, aan beide kante van die reg, bestook.Gelisensieerde vuurwapens, hanteer deur wetsgehoorsame mense wat hulleself en hulle geliefdes moet verdedig , maar meestal ongelisensieerde, gesteelde vuurwapens in die hande van meedoënlose, gewetenlose misdadigers wat nie huiwer om te skiet om dood te maak nie.
Die vraag is: wat doen hierdie dinge aan die psige van ‘n nasie? Noodwendig moet dit ‘n rimpeleffek hê op die bestaan van Suid Afrika se inwoners. Sommige mense raak meer en meer apaties, leef half asof in ‘n ontkenningsfase. “Dit sal nie met my gebeur nie. Dis met ander mense op ander plekke wat dit gebeur.” Andere weer, raak meer en meer aggressief en militant.
Skiet om dood te skiet, word die mantra. “Bewapen jouself”, skryf vele op platforms soos Facebook en WhatsApp. As daar berugte geplaas word oor misdadigers wat hul rieme styfgeloop het in skietgevegte, is daar ‘n tasbare vreugde, wat bykans grens aan ’n koudbloedige sadisme, uit die reaksie. “Goed so!”, is die reaksie.
Dit sal nie met my gebeur nie. Dis met ander mense op ander plekke wat dit gebeur
Daar is ook ‘n ander kant van die muntstuk. Dis maklik om ‘n kantlyn-waarnemer te wees en kommentaar te lewer as dit jou nie direk raak nie. Dit raak effens anders as jy dit persoonlik beleef, in die midde van so ‘n situasie is. Dit veroorsaak post-traumatiese stres wat vir baie jare latent kan bly, of onmiddelik ‘n effek op jou emosionele en psigiese toestand kan hê. Alle ondeurdagte kommentators moet weet dat dit geweldige gevolge het vir die slagoffers van roekelose skieters.
Oud soldate en polisiemanne wat baie met geweldsdood te doen gehad het, is skynbaar beter in beheer van hulle ervarings. Dis egter nie heeltemal waar nie. My vriend, jy wat dink dat die donker bedrieg, kom dat ek jou wys hoe die lig kan lieg, sing Coenie de Villiers in die lied Donkerlieg.
So ‘n klompie jaar gelede het ek my dogter gaan haal toe sy nog in Bethal op skool was. Toe ons by die skoolterrein uitry, hoor ek skote klap. Soos toeval dit wou hê, ry ek by die polisiestasie verby op daardie presiese oomblik. Die een persoon in die motor links van ons was reeds gewond, die bejaarde boer, baie bekend in die Bethal omgewing, en sy vrou in hulle bakkie regs van ons albei gewond. Die skieter het na ons gedraai, en skote op ons in my motor afgevuur, en toe, ‘n paar meter van ons af, homself deur die kop geskiet terwyl ons met afgryse toekyk.
Ek het my grootste fout ooit gemaak: ek het my dogter net daar in die middel van die straat gelos in die motor, en met die gewonde man en sy vrou Bethalhospitaal toe gejaag in sy bakkie. Hulle, sowel as ek, was sopnat van die bloed toe ons by ongevalle gestop het. Die man in die motor links van ons is oorlede in ongevalle, en so ook die bejaarde boer so paar dae daarna. Sy vrou het oorleef.
Ek, as oud-beroepsoldaat, het dit baie in my loopbaan beleef. Toe ons by die huis stop ure later, en my vrou my bebloede klere sien, het ek dit skouerophalend afgemaak: “Ag, dis sommer ‘n insident gewees langs die pad. Ek het nie seergekry nie.” My dogter het baie seergekry. Emosioneel. Ek weet dat dit ‘n massiewe impak gehad het op haar hele lewe.
Alhoewel die skool gereël het vir berading, is dit nie so eenvoudige oplossing soos om twee aspirienetablette te drink, en Voila!, my hoofpyn is weg nie. Tydens die man se begrafnis het ek in die stampvol kerk gesit en ‘n diep hartseer het my oorval. Ek het gehuil soos ‘n baba, sommer oor alles wat ek gedink het ek het vergeet uit die verlede.
Ek het ook vir daardie skietinsident betaal, later. Op ‘n ingrypende manier. Nie net oor daardie een insident nie, maar oor baie lyke en bloed en skote en selfmoorde oor baie jare. Ek was toe nie so bulletjie as wat ek gedog het ek was nie.
As een persoon deur misdadigers en kapers doodgeskiet word, word almal rondom hom of haar ook diep gewond. Al is dit nie fisies sigbaar nie. ‘n Hele gemeenskap raak gekwes deur ‘n plaasaanval of skietinsident tydens winkelsentrumrooftogte of motorkapings. Baie van daardie wonde is emosioneel fataal, dit vermink emosioneel lewenslank.
Laat ons bid vir hierdie “wye en droewe land, waar die aasvoëls lank reeds die gedoemde waarheid dra”, soos NP van Wyk Louw geskryf het.
SAPROMO statement on state of services in Govan Mbeki Municipality
The Bulletin spoke to Sakhisizwe Progressive Movement (Sapromo) Councillor Sibusiso Hlolweni after the last Govan Mbeki Municipality council meeting.
Sibusiso lashed out at the ANC leadership during the meeting stating that the leadership of Govan Mbeki Municipality are failing in their services to the residents of GMM.
“SAPROMO would like to warn the leadership of Govan Mbeki Municipality against the misuse of power and ignorance that derail services in the municipal council. The misuse of power and failure to use leadership authority to bring changes in this Municipality is one of the causes of the continuous decline of Quality of services in Govan Mbeki Municipality.” Said Sibusiso.
Sapromo President, Sibusiso Hlolweni
“ESKOM and rand water debts should not be used as an excuse to the failure of the Municipality to deliver adequate services to the communities. Both administrative and political leadership has ignored all warnings and advice given by SAPROMO to improve the quality of services delivered by the Municipality. The behaviour of the leaders of Govan Mbeki Municipality is very puzzling and raise questions as to whether they care about the lives of the residents within jurisdictions of this Municipality because they fail to implement all suggestions with potential to improve services in the area.”
Recently SAPROMO proposed that all the Municipality embarks on the campaign to install electricity meters to every customer, take back all electricity meters that were repossessed from customers and to unblock all those who are blocked from buying electricity.
SAPROMO suggested that customers be given a period of about 8 months to pay a certain percentage of their old debts to keep them connected to the power grid. This will have a positive impact on electricity loses, since most customers will be paying for electricity, which will help the Municipality in servicing both the current and old ESKOM debt. It will also improve revenue collection since residents will be trying to service the old debt in time before the cut-off date to pay a certain percentage of their old debts.
SAPROMO further suggested that a public-private partnership with Sasol be proposed by the Municipality to establish a separate entity in line with municipal finance management act to independently generate and supply electricity in Govan Mbeki Municipality.
This suggestion will see the Municipality supplying consistent electricity service within its jurisdiction even during ESKOM load shedding without any interruption. Govan Mbeki Municipality might be the first municipal area that will never be affected by load shedding which might cause investors to consider relocating their firms and offices to the area. Therefore, more jobs might be created which may improve a lot of people’s lives.
Another important suggestion that was presented by SAPROMO is a Quality Assurance and Compliance Committee of the council that could help in determining the Quality of municipal services within the Municipality. It would also assure the council that quality transformers are procured as well as other electronic components from credible suppliers, at reasonable prices.
However, due to the fact that these ideas are not coming from the ruling party and for the fact that there’s nothing the leadership of this Municipality will personally gain from the ideas, they will never be implemented.
SAPROMO also proposed competitions and incentives for those who constantly pay for their services. For instance, we proposed that if the ratepayer pays his or her current account for 6 months consecutively, the Municipality reduce old debt by at least 10%. SAPROMO further proposed that there must also be competitions where the residents would win prices like electric appliances and cash prices for consistently paying their accounts.
Sakhisizwe Progressive Movement ( SAPROMO) was established as a community concern group in 2013, by Sibusiso Hlolweni to address issues of service delivery and youth unemployment in Mpumalanga. The group was formed in Mbombela Municipality and later spread to all the 3 regions of Mpumalanga.
After Sibisiso’s 300km walk to Nelspruit, fighting against the abuse of elderly persons by both the government and individual members of the community in February 2015, members of the community of Govan Mbeki Municipality started to request that the Movement be registered as a political party.
the first meeting was held in eMzinoni where the assessment was conducted to see if the group can fit to become a political party. Lindiwe Nkosi from eMzinoni was then nominated as a coordinator of eMzinoni Bethal area. It was then followed by a meeting that declared the group as a political party, on 20 March 2016 when signatures were taken and submitted to the IEC.
The meeting was held at ext 18 (gate 2, Wellas). On that meeting, Sibusiso Hlolweni was elected as the first president of the party, deputized by Masobode Kubheka (in absentia). Dorah Magudulela was elected as a chairperson and Noncedo Vumani as the Secretary of the party.
It was then officially registered as a political party on 18 May 2016, a few months before the elections. Another important meeting was held again in Bethal where Noncedo was replaced by King Mhlangu as the Secretary-general of the Movement, just after it was officially registered with the IEC. Johannes van Ballen was also co-opted into the structure as the COORDINATOR of Bethal eMzinoni region.
The Movement entered elections with no experience and within a short space of time since it was established as a party and was able to win a seat in Govan Mbeki Municipality with more support coming from eMbalenhle, Leslie and eMzinoni.
To date the leadership of this party comprises of:
Sibusiso Hlolweni as the president
Sandile Mfunda as the chairperson
Mike Skhosana as the Secretary general
Gregory Baloyi (Brian Baloyi’s brother) as the deputy secretary
Gugu Masilela as the treasure
Noncedo Vumani as the head of elections and Vuyisani Sovendle as the organizer. This leadership were elected in a conference that was held on 18 May 2019 at eMbalenhle Sasol club.
The following on SAPROMO’s Vision and their mission was supplied to the Bulletin by Cllr Hlolweni.
OUR VISION
To establish an educated, noble, just, working and economically progressive society where members of the community partake in decision making and governance of the country and community they are living in.
OUR MISSION
To place the best equipped public representatives in every community, to best address the challenges that the people on the grass-root level face on daily bases, and to spread information to every person in the language he/she understands in order to have a transparent and effective government.
Sakhisizwe Progressive Movement means a bargaining collective and our leaders are mediators between different community organizations, role players and members of the community. We give individuals and collectives a platform for engagement as well as exercising their abilities and rights, in order to benefit the country and the communities they are coming from.
THE VISION INTERPRETATION
I) To establish an educated society…
Education is a tool for the success of the nation; therefore it is something that should be taken seriously and be prioritized. It should be enjoyable to learners and be cherished by the communities, therefore it is vitally important to give the society a free, quality and compulsory education to every member of the society so that every single person in the country should be able to read and write. For the reason that the majority of the citizens are unemployed and have no income, it becomes a struggle to get a tertiary qualification, that is why we emphasize that education should be also free even in universities and colleges.
To express our seriousness about the issue of education, we are willing to build community centre’s that are going to train people in different skills and empower them with life skills to be able to get employed or to employ themselves and others using skills that we give them.
II) … Noble society means moral principle environment where the spirit of unity and ubuntu is governing. No one deserves to sleep on an empty stomach, no one deserves to be mistreated by either the government or private sector. This means the moral regeneration is one of the vitally important elements that we so determine to promote. Every individual comes from a family, every family comes from a community and every community is a member of the country. Therefore, we want to build an environment where individuals are noble to create a noble society.
III) An economically progressive society, we mean that every member of the community contribute his or her skills and finances to the economy. The state and the public sector should invest in our township and rural areas to make sure that every community participate in the growth of our economy. If the economy grows, no one should tell but everyone should feel it in his/her pocket. We intend to provide the society with skills and help them step by step in creating their own businesses. We want to help people mostly from rural areas with tractors and other agricultural equipment to help the country in stabilizing food security.
We believe that food should be affordable and be accessible in every part of the country, therefore the government should address it by improving agricultural policies and to make sure that food production increases so that the prices may decrease.
This includes protecting farmers from being butchered by criminals with no mercy
We believe that the issue of people being in credit bureaus is one of the contributing factors to the collapsing of our economy, therefore there should be a period of credit amnesty where people will be cleared on credit bureaus in order to start on a clean slate because people are not informed about credit policies and they don’t even have a knowledge of how to handle their finances.
For instance, if a person buys something on credit and loses a job, the interests should not increase while a person is still looking for another job. This is a serious matter that should be prioritized by the state and the organization itself.
IV) We believe that nothing should be decided for the community without them. They should be the ones that decide the service delivery in their localities and they must also participate in the development that occurs in their areas. For example, if the roads are being built on their areas they should be grouped in cooperatives and be involved in building their roads, schools and whatever development is taking place.
We believe in equal distribution of wealth, opportunity to work at a fair wage; a constitution that allows an effective voice of the community in deciding the conditions in which they are living in; to create a conducive environment for consumers real freedom of choice and protection against monopoly from both private and public.
MEMBERSHIP BENEFIT AND PARTICIPATION
Members of SAPROMO are vigilant, progressive and hardworking individuals coming from different backgrounds and walks of life. We intend to attract young and old from sports teams, arts (music, visual and dance), intellectuals, activists and all creative individuals in our society to form part of our team that will pursue success and justice through our available resources.
We also intend to attract people from our communities who share the same vision and fate with us throughout the country and the African continent. People who have been abused by the current government, people who believe that communities should be safe, with better roads, decent houses, fair, transparent and corruption-free government. People who believe that the environment they are living in should support them and their talents, who believe that food should be affordable and easily accessible.
In this Post our Ralph Jacobs author Lize Van Niekerk has a look at 30 of the most “Jaw-Dropping” celebrity engagement rings.
From emerald, to square to round-cut, these celebrity engagement rings will surely be a priority pin on your “engagement ring Pinterest dream board.” Any lady will swoon over these stunning celebrity engagement rings and definitely proves that a diamond is forever.
Before we start drooling over these sparkling engagement rings, we have to go a few years back.
Let’s backtrack to Europe in the 1700’s. In Rome brides were simply ecstatic receiving their gold ring to wear in public and an iron ring to wear at home.
In the 1700s, simple poesy rings were popular in Europe, while in New England, Puritan men—shunning frivolous rings—were thought to have given thimbles to their betrothed.
Fast-forward to 1947 and De Beers’s famous slogan, “A diamond is forever.” And just like that engagement history was made.
Today, celebrities have everything from 33-carat diamond to our favorite Kardashian, Kim Kardashian West’s 15-carat diamond from Kanye and Olivia Wilde’s brilliant emerald from Jason Sudeikis—ring inspiration galore from some of the dazzling gems sported by stars.
Below you will find 30 of the most jaw-dropping celebrity engagement rings:
Table of Contents
Gisele Bundchen
This former Victoria Secret angel’s engagement ring is worth a whopping $145,000 and has a large diamond set in platinum and offset by two tapered baguettes.
Hollywood’s favorite southern belle rocks a unique 4-carat Ashoka-cut diamond engagement ring, worth an estimate of $ 450,000. This diamond was named in honor of one of the most powerful rulers the world has ever known. Inspired by the original Ashoka Diamond, William Goldberg created a cut so unique, it was granted its very own patent.
The infamous Joe DiMaggio proposed to the iconic blonde in 1954, with a platinum eternity band sporting 35 baguette-cut diamonds. Even though the marriage only lasted a year, any engagement ring worn by the blonde bombshell would have been jaw-dropping.
The Goop founder received one of the most talked about engagement rings in Hollywood from ex-husband Chris Martin. Her asscher-cut diamond engagement ring is sure to turn heads with an estimate worth of $ 100,000.
As far as celebrity engagement rings go this is definitely something different than the rest. Hurley rocks an enormous blue sapphire surrounded by diamonds. The proposal only lasted two years, but that engagement ring made it worth the while.
This radiant beauty’s engagement ring is alright, alright, alright by us. Matthew McConaughey certainly knows how to treat his lady. This celebrity engagement ring is a rose-cut diamond with smaller diamonds on either side.
This celebrity engagement ring brings it on! Worth an estimate of $1 million, this engagement ring is an 8.5-carat cushion cut diamond. A very simple, yet classy floating diamond on a thin band.
The British model’s engagement ring from former husband Jaimie Hince is breath-taking! Surely, a jaw-dropping celebrity engagement ring. It is a custom creation inspired by sketches of the ring F. Scott Fitzgerald gave to his wife Zelda.
Victoria Secret Angel with an engagement ring that features in every girls engagement ring dreams. Her engagement ring is a 10-carat canary yellow center diamond set in a gold band of pave diamonds. It is unfortunate that an engagement ring of that standards couldn’t Seal the deal for those two.
One of the worlds most known women had one of the worlds biggest diamond engagement rings. Justin Theroux spoiled his ex-wife with a 8-carat radiant-cut diamond. Everyone rooted for Aniston’s second marriage, but supposedly, diamonds – not marriages – are forever.
The New York Minute actress received a Cartier engagement ring from her ex-husband and it is estimated worth is $81,000. This enormous European-cut 4-carat diamond engagement ring surrounded by 16 sapphires is almost the only thing visible on the frail celebrity’s body.
Hollywood’s most eligible bachelor settled down with a lawyer in this fairy tale story, and proposed with an ethically mined emerald-cut 7-carat diamond engagement ring. George Clooney knew how to get his wife on the list of most jaw-dropping celebrity engagement rings.
Brad Pitt and jeweler Robert Procop, took a year to design this celebrity engagement ring. Jolie’s oblong-shaped rock is inset into a thick ribbed band. Rumors has it Jolie never really liked this big ring and called it tacky. Taste differs, but this celebrity engagement ring is far from tacky, and most women would give a kidney for this jaw-dropping engagement ring.
Sadly, this celebrity engagement ring was only showed off for about 8 months, but it was a good and shiny 8 months. Carey received this ring from ex-fiance James Packer and it is a 35-carat emerald-cut diamond set in platinum.
The queen B’s engagement ring is worth a whopping $5 million, and is a source of jealousy for all single ladies. Her 18-carat center diamond is set on a split shank.
One of the few oval shaped celebrity engagement rings. Dear reader, Blake looks ravishing with her 12-carat oval-cut diamond with a micro-pave band xoxo.
Naturally, celebrity royalty has to feature on our list of jaw-dropping celebrity engagement rings. Prince William spoiled his lady with an 18-carat oval sapphire surrounded by 14 diamonds, which lady Diana wore when she was engaged to Prince Charles.
Nobody is surprised that this celebrity engagement ring is completely different than the rest. Mother monster opted for a heart-shaped diamond engagement ring from jeweler Lorraine Schwartz.
This bountiful, blonde model’s engagement ring is worth an estimate of $350,000, and has a classic large center stone flanked by micro-pave-set diamonds.
This celebrity engagement ring is worth $2 million and is a 15-carat D, flawless cushion-cut diamond from Lorraine Schwartz. The Skims founder sadly lost this beauty during a robbery in Paris in 2016.
The celebrity famous for her abs has another asset making her quite well-known. The model designed her own engagement ring, and it is definitely a jaw-dropper. This celebrity engagement ring has two diamonds on a gold band shaped as a pear and a square.
The Simple Life heiress received a 20-carat tear-drop diamond engagement ring which was designed by jeweler Michael Greene. The engagement was called off a mere 10 months later, but that beauty of a celebrity engagement ring will forever be in our memories.
The Black Widow star is one of the most awe-inspiring engagement rings. Colin Jost proposed to his leading lady with a pear-shaped diamond gem designed by James de Givenchy. The ring is a light brown color composed of 11-carats on a unique black enameled band. The diamond gem looks like it is resting on the actress’ finger rather than on the band.
Oh baby, baby, baby that ring is absolutely stunning! The Calvin Klein model’s ring is a 6 – 10 carat oval diamond by Solow & Co. Justin Bieber supposedly looked into the diamond and said he saw Hailey’s face, now if that’s not enough of a reason to purchase that engagement ring what is?
This celebrity engagement ring will definitely not make you say “thank you, next.” Grande received a 3-carat pear-shaped diamond from ex-fiance Pete Davidson.
The former child star received a 4-carat radiant-cut diamond from her ex-husband Will Kopelman. The square-shaped diamond is centered on a band with multiple smaller diamonds.
Another celebrity engagement ring that is ethically sourced. Portman’s conflict-free diamond ring set in recycled platinum received from husband Benjamin Millepied was designed by jeweler Jamie Wolf.
A Rod not only knows how to hit a home-run, but also how to choose an astonishing engagement ring. J-Lo’s ring is far from her Jenny from the block days, and is a startling 16-carat emerald diamond.
In the morning of the 3rd September 2018, deceased Nokuphila Nkumane, 23-years-old with her baby of 2-years-old was visiting her niece in ext 13 in Emzinoni, Bethal when she was brutally murdered.
An unknown suspect entered the niece’s house and stabbed the deceased several times with a knife in the presence of the child. The suspect slit the deceased’s throat and ended her life.
Nomkhosi Nkumane, owner of the house, had suspicions that there might be something wrong at the house as she was calling the deceased on her cell phone several times without the phone being answered.
She rushed to the house and upon arrival she noticed blood all over her house, from the kitchen entrance to the dining room where the deceased was found and murdered.
The 2-year-old child was on top of her mother crying and was covered in her mother’s blood.
Police were summoned to attend the crime scene including the Cluster Commander of the time, Brigadier Cele.
The investigation became very crucial and complicated which resulted that Brigadier Cele requested Captain Mlotshwa to assist in the investigation.
Between 2018 – 2020 the matter was still under investigation (Cas :13/ 09/2018) and on 05/08/2020 the investigation revealed that the deceased’s boyfriend, the biological father of the deceased’s child is the suspect who murdered the deceased.
The suspect, Never Mashele (28) was arrested and during the interview, the suspect admitted to all that happened all those years ago. This resulted in him to make a confession and pointing out the scene of the crime.
The accused’s first appearance before Bethal Magistrate’s Court is today.
A workshop was held for girls in eMbalenhle on Sunday.
About 15 girls attended the workshop that had the theme of “Girls in power!”
The girls and presenters at the workshop
The day was designed to educate, empower and inspire girls by raising awareness, developing communication skills and cultivating self-respect
Girls between the ages of 12-18 were invited.
“Our goal is to encourage them to look inward for inspiration and set positive goals and consider the steps to achieve the goals.” Said Khanyi Mthimunye, the inspiration behind the workshop.
Khanyi is the co-owner of Employ Her, an employment company that seeks to help women find employment.
“We would like to encourage our girls to think about what inspires them.” Continued Khanyi, “This workshop is also designed to empower our girls to find their own direction by determining individual beliefs. Values and direction.”
The activities for the day included:
Self-awareness and appreciation of strengths.
Enhance self-awareness, strengths and skills of each individual.
Explore passions and talents.
Empowering female role models:
Encourage our girls to think about who inspires them. Also discuss which character strengths they admire in people and for what reason.
“Most importantly this day is dedicated to these young girls because most if not all come from disadvantaged households and some of these households are headed by these young girls, this then means that their childhood has somewhat been stolen from them.
We want to remind them of what it is to be a child. Empower them to Educate them also allowing them to have fun.” Concluded Khanyi.
Dawid sê; U is my Herder, U is alles vir my en U is genoeg!
Vir die laaste twee weke het ons dit beklemtoon dat Dawid psalm 23 eintlik skryf vanuit ‘n donker wegkruip plek in sy lewe. Hy vlug vir sy lewe en hy is in groot nood waar hy vrees dat hy dalk sy lewe kan verloor.
Dawid is baie kwesbaar wanneer hy Psalm 23 skryf.
In die volgende vers praat hy van donker dieptes en doodskaduwee… miskien is dit juis die ding wat ons mee kan vereenselwig. Laat my dink aan Rowan by die huis as hy in ‘n donker vertrek moet ingaan, hy draai net daar om, maar as ek saam is stap hy by enige plek in.
Die Here is my Herder ek kom niks kort nie. Hy lei na groen weivelde na waters waar rus is. Hy verkwik my siel en lei my in die spore van geregtigheid.
En dan by vanoggend – Al gaan ek deur donker dieptes, ek sal geen onheil vrees nie. Al gaan ek deur verlies, honger, siekte, veroudering of selfs dood, het ek geen vrees nie want U, Emanneul is hier saam met my. U stok en U staf vertroos my. Dit gee my vryheid! Twee groot struikelblokke genoem in die laaste twee weke…
1. Ons lewe met ‘n tekort. Ons altyd opsoek na nog.
2. Ons lewe met ‘n verwronge beeld van wie ons is. En dan vanoggend…
3. Ons lewe word meestal beheer deur ons vrese.
Ons wêreld word beheer deur vrees. Vrees is orals rondom ons.
Satan floreer met vrees! Hy loop rond soos brullende leeu (ons weet sy tande is getrek op die kruis van Golgotha) maar hy brul pappie. Hy maak bang. En ons… reageer meestal op hierdie vrese en maak selfs groot besluite as gevolg van hierdie vrese.
Dink bietjie terug hoeveel groot besluite jy al gemaak het op vrees of op iets wat moontlik kon gebeur? Wonder as ons nie moet “pause” by donker en doodskaduwee nie en net toelaat dat God ons die donker in vat – en deur die donker vat, al kan ons niks sien nie.
Dawid is kwesbaar hier, en ek dink nie dis ‘n slegte plek om op te wees nie. Hy sê; Al gaan ek deur ‘n dal van doodskaduwee, donker dieptes ek sal niks vrees nie! Amplified sê; Al skyn die son nie! ‘n Lewe sonder tekort is ‘n lewe waar daar nie vrees is nie.
Ons vertroue in wie God is, is groter as enige iets wat ons kort kom of vrees. Dis nie toevallig dat Jesus telkemale vir sy vriende sê; Moenie vrees nie, hoekom is julle bang? Paulus maak Jesus sy Herder – en Paulus is vervolg tot die uiterste toe…
Hy sê; Want ek reken dat die lyding van die teenwoordige tyd nie opweeg teen die heerlikheid wat aan ons geopenbaar sal word nie. Romeine 8:18
Wat sal ons dan van hierdie dinge sê? As God vír ons is, wie kan teen ons wees? Romeine 8:31
Hy wat selfs sy eie Seun nie gespaar het nie, maar Hom vir ons almal oorgegee het, hoe sal Hy nie saam met Hom ons ook alles genadiglik skenk nie? Romeine 8:32
Wie sal ons skei van die liefde van Christus — verdrukking of benoudheid of vervolging of honger of naaktheid of gevaar of swaard?Romeine 8:35
Maar in al hierdie dinge is ons meer as oorwinnaars deur Hom wat ons liefgehad het. Romeine 8:37
Want ek is versekerd dat geen dood of lewe of engele of owerhede of magte of teenwoordige of toekomende dinge of hoogte of diepte of enige ander skepsel ons sal kan skei van die liefde van God wat daar in Christus Jesus, onse Here, is nie. Romeine 8:38,39
Dawid ken die gevare om hom maar te goed dis hoekom hy gehol het. Maar hy sê ek sal geen onheil vrees nie want… U is by my. Emmanuel U is hier!
Paulus skryf verder – Wees oor niks besorg nie, maar laat julle begeertes in alles deur gebed en smeking met danksegging bekend word by God. En die vrede van God, wat alle verstand te bowe gaan, sal julle harte en julle sinne bewaar in Christus Jesus. Filippense 4:6,7
Wie is groter as die Here die almagtige in hierdie lewe? Hy is aan my kant sê Dawid. Gaan daar dinge wees wat my bang maak? Verseker! Gaan ek toelaat dat dit my lewe beheer? Verseker nie!
Wat is dit wat jy vrees? Daardie gevoel van ‘n donker gat… wat is dit? Is dit groter as die Here die almagtige? Hierdie selfde Here sê vir jou, Ek is jou herder, of, Ek wil jou herder wees. Volg my… luister na my stem… moenie vrees nie, Ek is by jou.
Hier is ‘n groot vraag vir jou vanoggend – Wie is jou herder? Wie volg jy? Want dit kan enige iets wees, geld, ‘n verhouding, werk, mag, wie loop jy agter aan… want dis jou herder. John Ortberg – Everybody needs a shepherd, it stings our pride but it’s true.
Your shepherd is to whomever or whatever you are trusting your life. Your shepherd is who or whatever you’re counting on to take care of you, to watch out for you, to make your life worthwhile, to guide you.
Jesus maak die uitnodiging – Volg My – Ek is die goeie Herder. Want Hy weet ons loop agter baie verskillende herders aan.
Hy sê: En toe Hy die skare sien, het Hy innig jammer gevoel vir hulle, omdat hulle moeg en uitgeput was, soos skape wat geen herder het nie. Matteus 9:36
Miskien is jy moeg en uitgeput, die lewe maak jou klaar! Die donker dieptes raak donkerder, die son skyn nie meer waar jy loop nie. Jy loop die hele tyd agter herders aan wat jou net jaag na nog.
Jesus sê; Kom na My toe, almal wat vermoeid en belas is, en Ek sal julle rus gee. Neem my juk op julle en leer van My, want Ek is sagmoedig en nederig van hart, en julle sal rus vind vir julle siele; want my juk is sag en my las is lig. Matteus 11:28-30
Net ek kan jou laat neerlê in groen weivelde na waters waar rus is, net ek kan jou veilig deur die dal van doodskaduwee vat. Kom! Laat my toe om jou herder te wees.
Besprekingsvrae
Wat is dit wat jy vrees?Is dit groter as die Here?
Wie volg jy met jou lewe? Is dit die Here?
Die Here is die enigste een wat weet wat jy nodig het en jou die nodigste rus en vrede gee, en beskerm teen selfs die dood… Wie vertrou jy om jou deur die donker te vat?
The past weeks have been trying times for residents of Lekwa (Standerton).
Years of mismanagement and neglect have now culminated in protest action from residents of Standerton.
Standerton is one of the worst mismanaged municipalities in Mpumalanga if not the whole of South Africa.
The Mpumalanga premier, Ms Refilwe Mtsweni-Tsipane, invoked Article 139 (1) b of the Constitution of South Africa at the Lekwa Municipality placing the municipality under administration. Article 139 (1) b permits the provincial executive to intervene in the affairs of a municipality, amongst others, to assume the executive functions of a particular municipality. It is unclear if it is still in place
One resident told The Bulletin that there had been a power cut on Monday that lasted until Tuesday late afternoon. Only intervention from the residents ensured that the power was switched on again. The ratepayer’s association obtained a court order against the municipality forcing them to restore the electricity supply.
Copy of the interdict obtained
Water are also in short supply as residents are struggling with their water supply. There had been a pump failure and when a new pump arrived the Municipality could not install the pump. Private contractors had to do the installation.
Residents staged a protest on Wednesday and handed a memorandum to the Lekwa municipality demanding that the municipality get their house in order.
Scenes from Wednesday’s protest
The memorandum contained the following demands:
Service delivery:
We pay for services, but we receive none. Electricity, clean drinkable water, refuse removal and maintenance of the road to name a few. We demand service delivery become a priority. Not only do we pay for said services but some of them are basic human rights.
The Mayor and Municipal manager must go:
We demand that they be removed from their posts. We demand they be replaced with capable and more importantly, willing candidates. The mere fact that the mayor can’t be bothered to live in the S…Hole he created speaks volumes
Disciplinary action be taken:
We demand that immediate disciplinary action be taken against the electricians for their illegal strike as essential workers. They belong to unions that should be fighting their battles whilst they continue to work. They cannot ever be allowed to keep an entore town hostage because of their disputes with you (Lekwa Municipality) as their employer.
End Finacial mismanagemnt:
We demand financial clarity and insight. We demand that a reputable private accounting firm audit the municipality on a monthly basis to prevent the current mismanagement of funds. We further demand that when said oudits bring to light irregularities that this be investigated and that parties guilty of theft or irregular spending, must be criminally charged.
Pay Eskom
We demand that you pay Eskom so that we can be done with Lekwa shedding. This Lekwa shedding is costing local businesses and farms more that they can afford, It is resulting in job losses and eventually the closing of many businesses.
We urge you to take these demands very seriously. We will no longer sit by and watch our beautiful town be destroyed by incompetent unwilling corrupt officials. The change starts today.
The demands mention that the Mayor does not even reside in Lekwa but in Heidelberg. The Bulletin was told that during election time the current mayor used a fictitious address to register in Lekwa. This came to light when residents started dumping their refuse at his address only to be told that the residents there has no knowledge of him nor are they acquainted with him.
The mayor and the municipal manager were successfully removed through a motion of no confidence a short while ago only to be immediately redeployed by the ANC showing their disregard for the democracy. Both were removed through a motion by the Democratic Alliance that was supported by all opposition parties and even some ANC councillors.
During the past week municipal worker also took to the streets on a far more violent manner to protest the municipalities unwillingness and ultimate refusal to implement wage the outcomes of the collective wage negotiations. In simple terms, they refused to allow increase for the workers.
Scenes from Municipal workers protest
On Wednesday, the municipal workers tried to intimidate the residents of Standerton by singing, chanting, slurs and the burning of tires. The residents were unfazed and continue with their protest and handed the memorandum to a municipal representative.
On Friday the municipal workers continued their protest and the Police had to use crowd control ammunition (rubber bullets etc) to disperse the crowd.
When the Bulletin arrived in Standerton late Friday, the CBD resembled a war sone with smoke billowing from burned out tires and rubble that was littered on the streets.
None of the municipal workers wanted to speak to us on record but we were able to establish the reasons for their strike. Some were still waiting for the ANC leadership to report back as they were locked in discussions inside the municipal buildings.
Barbara Shepard, a business owner of Standerton, said to the Bulletin: “I think that our municipality dug a hole so deep that it is impossible for them to get out off. All the current service delivery problems are indicative of one thing, financial mismanagement!”
“During the last financial year R47m disappeared. No one knows where to,” she continued, “our only hope would be to have a private, accredited and trustworthy accounting firm that would manage the municipalities finances.”
The Bulletin also spoke to Angel Khanyile, DA member of parliament. She explained how the DA tried to use other avenues to try and resolve the problem but to no avail.
We also spoke to Muso Kubheka, DA Cllr at Gert Sibande district. He spoke about other problems plaguing the Lekwa municipalities and shed some light on the plight of the workers.
DA calls for urgent interventions in the on-going violent municipal workers protest in Lekwa Municipality
The Democratic Alliance (DA) calls on the MEC of Cogta, Mr Mandla Msibi to urgently intervene in the on-going violent protests in Lekwa Municipality.
Violent protests conducted by municipal workers that have been going on for the past two weeks have left the people of Lekwa without water and electricity.
The protests started two weeks back when the municipality failed to address the workers who are affiliated with South African Municipal Workers Union (SAMWU) to find solutions with regards to the 6.25% salary increment.
The dispute saw the refuse not being collected for at least 6 weeks now and electricity disconnected in Standerton.
It is also a great disappointment that while we are requested to not gather in groups over 50 people, members of SAMWU in the municipality saw it fit to actively take on a protest that broke lockdown restrictions.
Yesterday, SAMWU further on took its protest action to Morgenzon, ward 14 were they forcefully chased workers at the water treatment plant, fire fighters and the municipal satellite offices in Morgenzon.
This is an unfortunate situation since the country is still in the middle of winter and is faced with a global pandemic. Residents need to keep up with hygiene practices by washing hands and they need electricity to cook and provide warmth especially with the cold front in the country.
As the DA, we condemn any violence or acts of intimidation in protests and we discourage any forms of breaking the law. We will write to MEC Msibi requesting him to take urgent action in the matter, residents of Lekwa cannot continue to live in such a state.
