A police colonel was shot and killed in his driveway in Witbank on Tuesday evening. 

The National Commissioner of the SAPS, General Khehla John Sitole, has directed that the killers of Lieutenant Colonel Fana Simon Maseko be tracked and brought to book as soon as possible.

According to national police spokesperson Brigadier Vish Naidoo, Maseko was driving his Mercedes-Benz into his driveway in Mtsuki Street in Ackerville in Witbank, Mpumalanga, on Tuesday when at least two armed men opened fire on him, killing him instantly. 

“The suspects fled without taking anything and the motive for the killing is unknown at this stage,” Naidoo said.

“Sitole has instructed that a 72-hour activation plan be mobilised. This is a plan which entails the mobilisation of critical disciplines and resources of the SAPS, including Crime Intelligence, forensic experts and seasoned investigators both from the SAPS and the Directorate for Priority Crimes Investigation (Hawks) to ensure that no intelligence and evidence which could help track down the killers is lost.

“This activation plan will also be supported by a specialised tactical team including members of the task force, the National Intervention Unit and/or the Tactical Response Team when the need arises,” Naidoo said. 

“I have tasked the provincial team to spare no resources in tracking down those responsible”, said Sitole.

“An attack on a police officer is an attack on the nation, and as a nation, we need to rally together to bring these continuous attacks on our men and women in blue to a grinding halt”, added Sitole 

Naidoo made an earnest appeal to anyone with any information on the killing of Maseko to come forward.

“Information may be communicated via our Crime Stop number 086 00 10111. Callers may remain anonymous and all information will be treated with strictest confidence,” Naidoo said. 

KEEP UPDATED on the latest news by subscribing to our FREE newsletter.

– FOLLOW News24 on Twitter

French Interior Ministry official says Firefighters might not be able to save Notre Dame Cathedral.

There is a fire at the French capital’s iconic Notre Dame Cathedral where part of the spire collapsed.

The mammoth fire that destroyed the spire of Notre Dame Cathedral has spread to one of the church’s landmark rectangular towers.

“It’s not certain we’ll be able to halt the spread toward the northern bell tower. If that collapses, you can imagine the extent of the damage,” General Jean-Claude Gallet said, adding that 400 firefighters were battling the blaze.

The Vatican said: “The Holy See has seen with shock and sadness the news of the terrible fire that has devastated the Cathedral of Notre Dame, symbol of Christianity in France and in the world.”

France’s civil security agency says “all means” except for water-dropping aircraft were deployed to tackle the blaze.

The defense agency said those were unsuitable for fires like the one at Notre Dame because dumping water on the building could cause the whole structure to collapse.

Paris police say fighters are inside the cathedral working to put the flames out while others work from the exterior. Red smoke is pouring out of the cathedral.

French President Emmanuel Macron is treating the fire gutting Notre Dame Cathedral as a national emergency.

The Vatican is praying for firefighters “and those who are doing everything possible to confront this dramatic situation” on Monday.

It also expressed “our closeness to French Catholics and the population of Paris, and we assure our prayers for firefighters

The peak of the church is undergoing a 6 million-euro ($6.8m) renovation project.

Flames and black smoke were seen shooting on Monday from the base of the medieval church’s spire.

A church spokesperson says the entire wooden interior of the 12th century landmark is burning and likely to be destroyed.

Notre Dame spokesperson Andre Finot told French media: “Everything is burning, nothing will remain from the frame.”

A massive fire engulfed the roof of the cathedral in the heart of the French capital on Monday afternoon as Parisians watched in horror.

“This is really sad – the saddest thing I’ve ever stood and watched in my life,” said British tourist Sam Ogden, a 50-year-old onlooker, who had come to visit the cathedral with her family.

Gasps and cries of “Oh my god” erupted around an hour after the fire first broke out when the top portion of the church’s spire came crashing down.

“It looked tiny to begin with, then within an hour it all came down,” Ogden added.

France 2 television reported that police were treating the incident as an accident.

According to AFP news agency, the fire was noticed at about 6:50pm local time (14:50 GMT).

The French capital’s police department said no deaths have been reported from Monday’s fire. The police department didn’t say anything about injuries.

French media quoted the Paris fire brigade saying the fire is “potentially linked” to the renovation work.

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo says firefighters are trying to contain the “terrible fire”.

Hidalgo urged residents of the French capital to stay away from the security perimeter around the Gothic-style church. The mayor says city officials are in touch with Roman Catholic diocese in Paris.

Macron’s pre-recorded speech was set to be aired on later Monday on French TV.

Macron was expected to lay out his plan to address the citizen complaints that gave rise to the yellow vest protests that have rocked France since November.

He is now at scene of the fire, and  will be heading into meetings with Paris police.

Notre Dame is distinguished for its size, antiquity and architectural interest.

The cathedral, which dates back to the 12th century and is famous for featuring in Victor Hugo’s classic novel the Hunchback of Notre Dame, attracts millions of tourists every year.

Located on the Ile de la Cite in the center of Paris, the Gothic cathedral is among the most famous from the Middle Ages and was built on the ruins of two earlier churches.

Former president Jacob Zuma has once again come out in strong defence against critics who said his tenure as head of state were marked by policy uncertainty.

Zuma said he was correcting the “record and distortions of the ANC and its government of the last nine years” which was under him.

Just like he did after President Cyril Ramaphosa was reported to have spoken of the “nine wasted years” at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland in February, Zuma posted a statement on Twitter on Sunday.

Zuma took a swipe at those saying there was policy uncertainty during his term of office and those behind “the so-called Zuma nine years” all of which he summed up as “erroneous and dishonest narrative”.

He said some of those people were part of the very nine years they were talking about.

“Statements that there has been policy uncertainty the last two administrations are dishonest and untrue, particularly if they are made a narrative by senior people of our movement, who have been part of these important and thorough policy formulation processes,” he said.

“Given this comprehensive process, no one therefore can say in the last nine years there was policy uncertainty, particularly those who were in the leadership of our movement (ANC) and government during this period.”

In his state of the nation address this year, Ramaphosa touched on the issue of policy uncertainty and the not-so-good state the government was in before he took over.

“Emerging from a period of uncertainty and a loss of confidence and trust, we resolved to break with all that divides us, to embrace all that unites us. Last year, a number of stakeholders raised their concerns about policy uncertainty and inconsistency. We have addressed these concerns,” he said.

Ramaphosa took over from Zuma who resigned as president just over a year ago amid allegations of corruptions and state capture. The incumbent was widely expected to fix the wrongs and restore the public and the investors’ confidence in the country.

Zuma continues, however, to emphasise that his tenure was nothing close to being called wasted years. He argues in his recent statement that there was policy certainty and details lengthy processes of formulating policies.

The former president gives insight into parliamentary and governance processes in his statement saying policies were part of a democratic process and not decided upon by head of state alone. He said the process starts at party level where the ANC “formulates and makes direct recommendations on policy to the national elective conference”.

“The policy development process is transparent and comprehensive. Towards the five-yearly policy conference the policy discussion documents are sent to the branches for a thorough discussion, and are also made available to the broader public for comments. The documents are extensively discussed by all the members of our movement,” he said.

“Indeed the first iteration of the programme begins with the development of the Elections Manifesto that is itself a participative process involving the whole membership. The manifesto is the electoral mandate that ANC deployees to government are required to translate into government programmes in line with the Constitution and other laws of the country.”

Zuma also explained that the buck did not stop with the president when it comes to issues of policies.

“It is important to emphasise therefore, that government policy is not the exclusive preserve of the head of the executive. It is often contested at every step of the way by public representatives in Parliament and also by various interest groups,” he said.

“The head of the executive does not dictate policy but articulates and champions the policies of the governing party. Government policy is a key factor for investment decisions.

“Investors and other economic actors keenly follow the policy-making process as decisions can have favourable or unfavourable on investments returns.”