Author: The Free Stater

Staff Reporter Three people have been arrested for allegedly dealing in drugs after they were found in possession of a variety of narcotic drugs worth over a million rand. The incident happened on Saturday during a multidisciplinary exercise conducted while Police Minister General Bheki Cele was visiting the province to monitor safer festive season operations. Provincial police spokesperson Colonel Thandi Mbambo said in a statement the suspects’ vehicle, a black Audi A3, was stopped at the corner of Hanger and St George streets by members of the police’s Welkom K9 Unit deployed in Bloemfontein. “They pulled off the vehicle and…

Staff Reporter Police Minister General Bheki Cele has told the police not to ask women who report cases of gender-based violence go home and negotiate with perpetrators as it could put their lives in danger. He said this when he visited Bloemfontein on Saturday as part of his countrywide campaign to check on the preparedness of different provinces to deal with crime over the festive period. “Once a woman reports being abused . . . you don’t tell that woman to go home and negotiate,” said a stern Cele. The minister said when the woman goes back home, it might…

Staff Reporter The Free State High Court has dismissed Sekwetje Mahlamba’s leave to appeal the decision of the Senekal Magistrates Court not to grant him bail. Mahlamba together with his co-accused, Sekola Matlaletsa, were charged for the murder of young farm manager Brendin Horner about two months ago. Horner, 21, was found brutally killed at the beginning of October at De Rots Farm in Paul Roux, eastern Free State. His body was tied to a pole and he is believed to have died from strangulation. He had injuries to the face and stab wounds to the neck. When the two…

I would like to revisit the issue of buying your own property because the list of things to be considered cannot be easily exhausted. There is a lot to consider before you choose what you really want. You should never rush to put pen to paper if your mind is not made up or you are happy with what’s on offer. One key question you must be able to answer before committing is: why are you buying? By this I mean are you looking for a home to live in or are you looking to invest in property to obtain…

Staff Reporter At least 30 learners from the Free State were allowed to write the National Senior Certificate (NSC) examinations in a secure environment after testing positive for COVID-19. National Assessment and Public Examinations chief director Rufus Poliah told a televised media briefing from Pretoria that about 715 learners across the country tested positive for the deadly coronavirus which causes COVID-19 but were allowed to write after being quarantined. “All these learners were accommodated. They wrote their examinations in isolation,” said Poliah during the briefing which was also addressed by Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga. “This I think is a…

Staff Reporter Plans by suspected drug dealers to do brisk business over the festive period could have been scuttled by the police after three people were arrested in the northern Free State this Tuesday. Police say members of the Public Order Policing (POP) Unit from Welkom who are currently deployed in Bultfontein to deal with cases of gangsterism which is said to be on the rise in the small farming town received information that some people were selling dangerous drugs. The POP team then proceeded to a certain house in IYO Park, Phahameng location, following the tip-off. Upon arrival, they…

Staff Reporter Police in are investigating a case of rape and common robbery after a woman fell victim to a motorist who gave her a lift last week in the northern Free State. According to the police, the 26-year-old woman was at a hiking spot in Odendaalsrus alongside an unknown person who was also looking for transport. Provincial police spokesperson Brigadier Sam Makhele said in a statemen the woman was given a lift by the driver of a green-bluish BMW with two other occupants. But along the way, the situation suddenly turned ugly after one of the passengers jumped out…

Staff Reporter The ANC integrity committee has recommended that party secretary-general Ace Magashule must immediately step aside pending the outcome of his fraud case. Magashule appeared before the integrity committee at the weekend after he was formally charged in an asbestos corruption case in the Free State last month. Business Day reports that the ANC integrity committee has recommended that he should step down pending the outcome of the court case. Magashule is facing 21 charges of, among others, corruption, fraud, alternatively theft and money laundering. The committee, made up of party elders, reportedly said in its final report that…

Staff Reporter At least 41 teachers have succumbed to COVID-19 in the Free State, the provincial education department has said. Head of department Advocate Tsoarelo Malakoane told a special gathering organised by the provincial education department on Monday to honour those who lost their lives to the disease that in addition to the teachers, the province also lost four learners and two non-teaching staff to the acute respiratory disease. “The statistical reality of the true effects of COVID-19 . . . is that the education department was the worst affected by the disease,” said Malakoane during the event which was…

Staff Reporter Mangaung Metro Municipality says most of its public facilities which include community halls and recreational centres will not be open during the festive period as the city puts measures to contain the spread of the resurgent coronavirus. Municipal spokesperson Qondile Khedama said in a statement while the city has not been listed as one of the hotspots for the disease in the country, it was taking measures to ensure the situation in the Free State capital remains under control. “Mangaung Metro will not be allowing the use of its facilities, particularly for social or religious gatherings, unlike previous…