JOHANNESBURG – Questions white people posed to Black people had both races in stitches in another viral Facebook post on the “Joburger” page.
What’s up with all the Tupperware? Do all black people use Vaseline? And, why do so many black people have boxes of tissues in the back window of a car?
These are some of the questions white people asked, getting many witty and ironic answers back, making fun of stereotypes.
Many readers remarked that the humour can help bridge the racial divide.
eNCA
JOHANNESBURG – A South African human rights lawyer released from detention in Tanzania has sent a message to those who supported her.
Sibongile Ndashe was arrested with 12 other human rights activists last week, for allegedly promoting homosexuality in the country.
Homosexuality is illegal in Tanzania.
“Thank you so much for all those messages of support, the emails, profile pictures. Most of the time we’re really looked down upon. It’s just sending one email and signing a petition and doing all sort of things. I believe that in this instance it made a world difference sending all those letters to the attorney general in the various Tanzania embassies,” said Sibongile Ndashe, Initiative for Strategic Litigation in Africa.
eNCA
Johannesburg – A South African Defence Force Member shot and killed a female officer before turning his firearm on himself while stationed in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The Defence Ministry’s spokesperson, Brigadier General Mafi Mgobozi, confirmed the incident on Saturday.
“We can confirm that [on Friday] at about 20:45 South African time one of our soldiers shot and killed another soldier, who is believed to have been his girlfriend,” he said.
Mgobozi said the soldier had then turned his weapon on himself and tried to commit suicide.
Mgobozi said the woman had died on arrival at hospital, while the man had survived but was currently in a critical condition.
He said the motive for the shooting was not known but an investigation was being conducted.
“We are still trying to get more information on the incident,” he said.
JOHANNESBURG – Why do all white people seem to get hyped up for the song “Sweet Caroline”? Where do white people find the extra “a” and get “Mapumalanga”? And, do all white people have avocados in their homes?
These are just some of the tongue-in-cheek questions black people have posed to white people, in response to a post on the Facebook page “Joburger”.
The post reads: “Okay black people… ask white people one question you always wanted to know.”
The post has received over 12,000 hilarious comments, with both black and white people laughing at the ingenuity.
These are some of our favourites:
eNCA
Durban – Saturday’s Currie Cup final between the Sharks and Western Province at Kings Park is no ordinary game.
That is the view of WP captain Chris van Zyl, who says that significant time was spent this week preparing the players, particularly the young ones, for the mental test that comes with playing in a Cup final.
Both sides are fielding a number of youngsters who will be playing in their first major final, and Van Zyl reckons that preparing them for Saturday has been important.
“It’s definitely nice to draw on the experience of guys who have been there before,” he said.
“I don’t think it’s paramount, but it helps for them to give guidance to some of the younger players and offer some insight.
“It’s definitely not a normal game. We’ve done a couple of things this week to ensure that the guys are very aware that it isn’t a normal game and they must be ready for something special.”
But while the pressure will be turned up come 16:00, Van Zyl has also urged his players to make the most of the occasion.
“It’s important to enjoy it. It is a final and it is away, but it’s an experience that a lot of people would give their right arm for and we said that at the beginning of the week,” he said.
“You must make sure that you enjoy the experience, first and foremost, because it doesn’t come around often.”
Province will be buoyed by the fact that, two weekends ago, they beat the Sharks in Durban in the final round of group fixtures.
Saturday’s final will be a different matter entirely, but the belief is clearly there from a WP perspective.
“We are not going there to take part in a final. We truly believe we can do this and we’re hungry and want to go bring back the cup,” Van Zyl said.
Teams:
Sharks
15 Garth April, 14 Kobus van Wyk, 13 Lukhanyo Am, 12 Marius Louw, 11 Odwa Ndungane, 10 Curwin Bosch, 9 Louis Schreuder, 8 Daniel du Preez, 7 Jean-Luc du Preez, 6 Keegan Daniel, 5 Ruan Botha (captain), 4 Tyler Paul, 3 Ross Geldenhuys, 2 Franco Marais, 1 Thomas du Toit
Substitutes: 16 Akker van der Merwe, 17 Juan Schoeman, 18 John-Hubert Meyer, 19 Jean Droste, 20 Jacques Vermeulen, 21 Michael Claassens, 22 Tristan Blewett, 23 Rhyno Smith
Western Province
15 Damian Willemse, 14 Seabelo Senatla, 13 Ruhan Nel, 12 Huw Jones, 11 Dillyn Leyds, 10 Robert du Preez, 9 Dewaldt Duvenage, 8 Nizaam Carr, 7 Cobus Wiese, 6 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 5 JD Schickerling, 4 Chris van Zyl (captain), 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 JC Janse van Rensburg.
Substitutes: 16 Ramone Samuels, 17 Ali Vermaak, 18 Frans van Wyk, 19 Jan de Klerk, 20 Kobus van Dyk, 21 Jano Vermaak, 22 Werner Kok, 23 Dan Kriel
ICYMI:
EXCLUSIVE: Families of coffin assault duo had to sell their possessions to survive
The 5-year-old daughter of the one of the men who forced Victor Mlotshwa into a coffin was so angry with her father, she told people he was dead.
The wives of Theo Jackson and Willem Oosthuizen broke their silence on the eve of their husbands’ sentencing on Friday.
After their husbands were arrested and convicted of assault, kidnapping, intimidation and attempted murder, Chane Oosthuizen and Rianie Jackson have been struggling to get by.
The Oosthuizens have been living off donations and selling fruit and vegetables to get by, while the Jacksons sold off all their possessions to feed their children.
The High Court sitting in the Middelburg Magistrate’s Court will sentence the men on Friday. Both women have pleaded with the court for mercy.
Speaking to News24 this week, Rianie, 28, said her husband should be punished fairly.
She and her husband have three daughters, aged 9, 6 and 5.
They have been together for 10 years. She said the case was a shock to her family.
“I have never thought that this type of thing would happen to us as a family. The hardest was watching my kids go through the trauma. All of them had a different reaction.”
BOKSBURG – More than 30 people were arrested for public violence on Friday, following protests by metered taxi drivers on highways near the OR Tambo International Airport.
Drivers started blocking Voortrekker Road next to the airport in the early hours of the morning, by parking and abandoning their vehicles on the road.
Metered taxi drivers also blocked the R21 at Pamona Road.
The Ekurhuleni Metro Police Department (EMPD) called in tow trucks to remove the vehicles.
“We called in nyalas and tried to negotiate but they didn’t listen,” said EMPD spokesperson Kobeli Mokhoseng.
READ: Uber, metered taxi violence: special task force set up
However, the metered taxi drivers then began driving in convoy on the R21 in both directions, affecting traffic between Atlas Road and Voortrekker Road and blocking the highway.
The drivers did there same on the R24 freeway both ways between Barbara Road and Jones Road.
Traffic in the area was heavily affected but has since started flowing again.
It is unclear what the protest is about but there are suggestions it could be related to metered taxi drivers’ ongoing dispute with Uber. In March 2017, metered taxis held a similar protest against Uber on the R24 near the airport.
While no violence has been reported, the fire department was called when a vehicle was set alight in Isando on Electron Road, which runs parallel to the R24. The department suspects it was an Uber vehicle.
“Twenty-five vehicles were impounded by EMPD. The arrests are related to the motor vehicle that was set alight,” said Ekurhuleni Metro Police spokesperson, Kobeli Mokhoseng.
OR Tambo airport issued a statement saying it cannot assess the impact of the delays at this point.
“However, what is known is that road travellers on both the R21 and R24 this morning may experience major delays and therefore need to prepare for such,” said airport spokesperson, Leigh Gunkel-Keuler.
74 Arrests (prelim info) from R24 Freeway “Blockage/Protests” this morning. Well done to all GTP SAPS EMPD officials who did the necessary pic.twitter.com/jLTuNn70Mf
— GTP_Traffstats (@GTP_Traffstats) October 27, 2017
@TrafficSA This is what we are stuck in on the R24 after Barbara. Madness!!! pic.twitter.com/vW7du02W4B
— Velene Peters (@VelenePeters) October 27, 2017
@ewnreporter violence and intimidation for trucks and passing cars after R24 divert. Had to drive on oncoming traffic to avoid
— Itumeleng Mehale (@tumimehale) October 27, 2017
#AATrafficJHB Bedfordview CRASH near the R24 Highway merge – QUEUING TRAFFIC towards Gilloolys Interchange R24 MERGE – Westbound
— MyAATraffic (@MyAATraffic) October 26, 2017
eNCA
JOHANNESBURG – Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema is expected to appear in the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court on Friday, on charges of contravening the Riotous Assemblies Act after calling for land invasions.
In 2014, at the EFF elective conference in Bloemfontein, Malema told members that they should occupy the land. When appearing in court in Bloemfontein on those charges last year, he again told supporters who had gathered outside the court to take any “beautiful piece of land” they saw because it was taken from blacks “by genocide”.
Malema’s legal team is disputing the constitutionality of the Riotous Assembly Act. The EFF has accused the State of using “apartheid era laws” to try to silence its critics.
In a separate case, Malema appeared in the Newcastle Magistrate’s Court in July, on common law charges of incitement to commit a crime.
The charge sheet indicates that he is accused of trespassing in contravention of “Section 1(1) Read as Section 2(1) of Trespass Act 6 of 1959 as amended by Criminal Law Amendment Act 59 of 1983”.
In June last year, Malema told supporters in Newcastle to occupy land because it belonged to blacks — whites could not claim ownership of land.
READ: Malema files papers challenging constitutionality of Trespass Act
He appeared in the Newcastle Magistrate’s Court under the Riotous Assemblies Act and after the postponement, Malema stepped outside the court and told his supporters to “occupy the land because they have failed to give you the land”.
“If it means going to prison for telling you to take the land, so be it. I am not scared of prison because of the land question, but I am scared of prison if I go to prison for corruption. I don’t want to go to prison for corruption, but I want to go to prison for the land,” he said at the time.
African News Agency
Pieter-Louis Myburgh and Angelique Serrao
The Gupta family and some of their associates have established an extensive network of front companies in and around Dubai that has been used to conceal and allegedly launder hundreds of millions of rands in dubious payments linked to government contracts in South Africa.
A News24 investigation has confirmed that at least six Gupta-linked companies registered in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are shell companies that either list fraudulent addresses or whose business premises are rarely, if ever, manned by actual employees.
At least R760m in payments linked to contracts from South African state-owned companies and government departments were channelled through some of these companies, documents contained in the #GuptaLeaks have shown.
News24 travelled to Dubai to try and establish whether any of these companies at the centre of alleged money laundering linked to state capture actually exist.
– Dubai: The Guptas’ city of shells
Our investigation has confirmed what some South Africans with knowledge of the Guptas’ business dealings have long feared, namely that the Guptas and some of their associates are deliberately flushing alleged ill-gotten gains through their shell companies in the UAE because of the country’s strict financial secrecy laws and favourable tax provisions.
The Transnet millions
One of the companies News24 visited is JJ Trading, which, according to earlier #GuptaLeaks reports, received at least R760m in alleged kickbacks from large Chinese companies contracted to Transnet, South Africa’s state-owned rail and logistics operator.
Unlike most of the other Gupta-linked shells, JJ Trading actually has a website. It describes the company as a trader in “agro products” and scrap metal.
The website also lists an address for JJ Trading in the Hamriyah Free Zone in Sharjah, about 50km north of Dubai. Hamriyah is one of more than thirty free zones, or free-trade zones (FTZs), located in the UAE. These zones allow businesspeople from abroad to establish companies with 100% foreign ownership and also offer attractive tax perks.
However, when News24 visited the Hamriyah Free Zone’s main entrance, the guards on duty told us that no company by the name of JJ Trading has premises there.
The queries we sent to the email address and the cellphone number provided on the company’s website went unanswered.
Milking the Free State
We also tried to locate the offices of Global Corporation, Accurate Investments and Fidelity Enterprises.
These three Gupta shells were used to launder tens of millions of rands in proceeds from the Free State provincial government’s failed Vrede dairy project in order to ultimately help pay for the Guptas’ lavish wedding party at Sun City in 2013, according to an investigation by amaBhungane.
Payments from Accurate Investments to Brookfield Consultants, a US-based company linked to relatives of the Guptas, have also attracted the attention of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Financial Times recently reported.
According to documents in the #GuptaLeaks, Global Corporation and Accurate Investments supposedly share the same address in a building next to a lagoon in the Emirate of Sharjah, Dubai’s neighbouring emirate.
But the address led us to a residential tower, and the guard at the reception informed us that there are no companies operating out of the building.
Fidelity Enterprises, which processed more than R30m of taxpayers’ money milked from the Free State diary project, also turned out to be nothing but a front. Business owners in Al Quoz, an industrial area south of Dubai’s city centre where the company is supposed to be located, told us that Fidelity’s address is incorrect and that they’ve never heard of such a company in the area.
Nobody home…
When we did manage to find an actual office for one of the Gupta shells, Griffin Line General Trading, the door was locked and there was nobody inside.
The company is situated in an office tower in Dubai’s main business district and, if its website is to be believed, trades in rice, spices and other foodstuffs.
But judging by documents in the #GuptaLeaks, Griffin Line has mainly been used to settle some of the Guptas’ accounts with travel agents and hotels.
An office worker from another company on the same floor told us that they sometimes see a woman at Griffin Line. We sent the company queries through a portal on its website, but it went unanswered. The Guptas also did not respond to queries emailed to them.
News24 ultimately spent a week chasing from one Gupta-linked company to the next without encountering a single employee.
For a network of companies that has received nearly a billion rand in revenues linked to public expenditure in South Africa, the Guptas’ UAE-based businesses are eerily deserted.
*News24’s trip to the UAE was made possible by a grant from the Taco Kuiper Fund for Investigative Journalism, administered by Wits Journalism.
Do you have information for our investigative journalists? Send an email to tips@24.com
JOHANNESBURG – A 34-year-old man was arrested in Putfontein, Benoni on Wednesday, for allegedly raping his stepdaughter, Ekurhuleni police said.
“[On Wednesday] Benoni police arrested a 34-year-old suspect for rape. It is alleged that the suspect has been raping [his] 11-year-old stepdaughter since 2013,” spokesperson Constable Justice Ramaube said.
“The victim’s ordeal had been narrated to police by one her teachers. A case of rape was immediately opened at Putfontein [South African Police Service] SAPS which led to the arrest of the suspect.”
Ramaube said the man was in custody and would appear in court soon.
African News Agency