Author: The Free Stater

EFF leader Julius Malema has vowed that the party’s protest rally planned for Senekal in the Free State, where white farmers violently stormed the court, damaged property and burnt a police vehicle last week, will go ahead on Friday. Racial tensions remain high in Senekal after a young white farm manager, Brendin Horner, 21, was murdered last week. Police Minister Bheki Cele and State Security Minister Ayanda Dlodlo visited the area on Tuesday. Speaking outside the Randburg Magistrate’s Court where he and EFF MP Mbuyiseni Ndlozi are facing charges of assault against a policeman, Malema accused the police of being…

Staff Reporter The Free State High Court has ordered Eskom to release about R200 million belonging to Maluti-a-Phofung Local Municipality which had been locked in a bank account in a bid to settle mounting debt. In a judgement delivered Friday, the high court ruled that the attachment of the municipality’s bank account be immediately uplifted. The municipality is said to owe the national power utility R5.4 billion for bulk electricity supply. Eskom attached the municipality’s bank account on July 21 to help recover a portion of the R5.4 billion. These steps, according to Eskom, were taken in execution of a…

When you buy a sectional title unit, you automatically become part of the body corporate which maintains, manages and controls the common property on behalf of owners. As an owner you will be paying a levy which is set by the trustees and is used to cover the shared costs of running the building or complex. Levies are compulsory and you cannot opt out of paying your levy. You will be part of the community so you need to abide by the rules of the building or complex. These rules are the management rules which deal with how the owners…

Staff Reporter A 52-year-old farmer from Marquard has been arrested in connection with the violent clashes between the police and a group of farmers at the Senekal Magistrates Court on Tuesday. The farmers had thronged the court to see the two men accused of murdering a farm manager, Brendon Horner, last week make their first appearances in court. Horner, 21, managed DeRots Farm in Paul Roux. However, the situation turned ugly when some of the farmers forced their way into court after it adjourned, demanding that the accused, Sekwetje Isaiah Mahlamba, 32, and Sebolai Piet Matlaletsa, 44, be handed over…

Staff Reporter The ANC Youth League (ANCYL) in the Free State province has come out guns blazing, dismissing the ongoing clampdown on senior party officials as a ploy by one faction of the party to fight internal battles. The youth league said this following reports that a warrant of arrest had been issued against ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule for his alleged failure to exercise oversight relating to the Vrede dairy farm investigation. In a statement issued late Tuesday night, the ANCYL said the arrests of top party officials have been carefully orchestrated to ensure everything happens in front of the…

Staff Reporter A warrant of arrest has been issued for former Free State premier Ace Magashule. The Independent Media claims Magashule – who is now the ANC secretary-general – will be arrested and charged for his role in the controversial Vrede dairy farm project. He will reportedly be charged for his “failure to exercise oversight” as relating to the Vrede dairy farm investigation. According to the Independent Media, Magashule has also confirmed knowledge of his intended arrest. “I’m aware. I’m aware,” the former premier was quoted as saying on Tuesday evening. “It’s going to be a Hollywood style type of…

Staff Reporter At least 460 shops across the Free State province have been raided by the Department of Economic, Small Business Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs (DESTEA) over the past few weeks as authorities seek to ensure the businesses are operating within the law. The exercise, led by MEC Makalo Mohale, has been to at least 69 towns and several operators were forced to close as they failed to comply with various regulations while others were arrested for being in the country illegally. Over the past two days, the blitz — supported by officials from Home Affairs, the South African…

Staff Reporter A 39-year-old South African Revenue Service (SARS) official is expected to appear in the Bloemfontein Magistrates Court for allegedly enticing and trying to extort cash from a company director on Monday. The official literally walked into a well-executed trap at the company premises of the complainant set up by the police priority crime investigating unit, the Hawks, and the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). He had demanded R20 000 to help the complainant fix his tax issues clandestinely. Hawks spokesperson Warrant Officer Lynda Steyn said in a statement the case goes back to February 2019 when the company…

Staff Reporter Despite the controversy that surrounded the Free State asbestos audit and removal project for several years, the main contractor approached the courts at the beginning of the year to force the provincial human settlements department to pay up an “outstanding” amount of R25 million. Blackhead Consulting, owned by embattled Gauteng businessman Edwin Sodi, scored the lucrative deal in a joint venture with Diamond Hill in 2014 under potentially illicit and corrupt circumstances and the actual work was never completed. National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) financial investigator Nkosipendule Mradla said this in an elaborate affidavit prepared following the arrest of…

Staff Reporter The Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU) has started executing an asset freezing order worth R300 million against the seven people facing numerous charges in the Free State asbestos corruption case. The properties to be seized include houses, luxury cars, bank and family trust accounts, household goods and shareholding. The AFU, which is part of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), moved swiftly to start evaluating the assets so they could effect the restraint order after the seven were granted bail by the Bloemfontein Magistrates Court on Friday. The amount, according to the AFU, emanates from the R225 million paid by…