Author: The Free Stater

A suspect who was arrested at the weekend after he was accused of raping a female student from the Central University of Technology (CUT) has been released without being formally charged in court. National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) regional spokesperson Phaladi Shuping told The Free Stater that the 29-year-old man who was set to make a first appearance in the Bloemfontein Magistrates Court on Tuesday was released after the state felt the evidence against him could not sustain a case before court. “The accused was released and not charged,” said Shuping in a brief response. “The matter was not enrolled after…

Authorities at Bongani Regional Hospital in Welkom have been forced to seek assistance for critical patients from other health facilities after an Eskom cable that supplies it with electricity was stolen on Monday night. The Free State Department of Health said in a statement the hospital has been running on generators and that patients who needed to be operated on were being sent to nearby hospitals. “The hospital has been operating with generators from Monday evening . . . up to now,” said provincial health department spokesperson Mondli Mvambi in the statement. “The theatre team from Bongani Regional Hospital has…

A 33-year-old male patient died last week after falling off the seventh floor at Pelonomi Tertiary Hospital in Bloemfontein. A statement issued by Free State health department spokesperson Mondli Mvambi said the patient had sustained burns and had been transferred from Dr JS Moroka District Hospital in Thaba Nchu on July 17. According to the statement, the patient’s condition was assessed at Dr JS Moroka Hospital and it was deemed necessary that he be transferred to Pelonomi Tertiary Hospital. “The patient had sustained major burns to his face, neck, right shoulder and left hand,” read part of the statement. “He…

A 29-year-old man will appear in the Bloemfontein Magistrates Court on Tuesday after he allegedly raped a 21-year-old Central University of Technology (CUT) female student on Saturday morning. South African Police Service spokesperson for Mangaung Metro Lieutenant Colonel Thabo Covane told The Free Stater the incident happened after the victim and her friends visited a local tavern in Bloemside Phase 10. “When the tavern closed they moved to one of the friends’ home where they partied further during the early hours of Saturday, 23 July 2022,” said Covane. “The complainant alleges that she requested a blanket and fell asleep on…

Welkom police have arrested five people for allegedly kidnapping a person and demanding payment for the victim’s release. The five, who are aged between 23 and 29 years old, face charges of kidnapping, assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, conspiracy to commit crime, possession of unlicensed ammunition and violation of the Immigration Act. The Lejweleputswa district has in recent months been plagued by several kidnapping cases where suspects demand ransom for the victims to be released. Police spokesperson for the area, Captain Stephen Thakeng, said in a statement a multi-disciplinary team – which included members of the Welkom…

President Cyril Ramaphosa has appointed Supreme Court of Appeal Judge President Justice Mandisa Muriel Lindelwa Maya as the deputy chief justice of of South Africa. A statement issued by the presidency on Monday said Maya will assume her new role from September 1, 2022. “Justice Maya will contribute to the ongoing transformation process of the judiciary,” said Ramaphosa in the statement. “Her ascendency to the apex court will serve as a beacon of hope for scores of young women and make them believe that South Africa is a country of possibilities regardless of gender, social or economic circumstances,” he added.…

I am probably writing this article at a time when many people across the country are going through a very difficult time financially. The Reserve Bank has just hiked the interest rate by 75 basis points – the sharpest increase since September 2002. This means the repo rate or the rate at which the central bank lends money to banks is now 5.5 percent. The prime lending rate used by banks when lending to the public now starts at about nine percent. The year-on-year inflation figure for June jumped to to 7.4 percent, pushed by a sharp increase in food…

The former acting head for the Gauteng department of human settlements, Margaret-Ann Diedricks, who is facing several charges in the Free State asbestos corruption case has been granted R100 000 bail by the Bloemfontein Magistrates Court. The state did not oppose bail when Diedricks, 56, made her first court appearance following her arrest on Wednesday at her home in Alberton, Gauteng, by the Hawks’ Serious Corruption Investigation team based in Bloemfontein. She is facing charges of fraud, corruption and contravention of the Public Finance Management Act. Diedricks becomes the 17th accused in the matter which is set to continue on…

Maluti-a-Phofung Local Municipality can hardly raise a third of its salary bill from the monthly revenue collections because a growing number of residents can no longer afford to pay for services due to unemployment. This was revealed by Premier Sisi Ntombela when she met with the local business community following increasing concerns over the worsening level of service delivery in the area. The situation is so bad that some operators have indicated they might have to relocate to other towns or provinces due to the erratic availability of water and electricity as well as the deteriorating state of the roads,…

Free State police say they have noted with concern the spread of unfounded messages on different social media platforms by unknown people making false claims about crimes that never happened. Provincial Police Commissioner Lieutenant General Baile Motswenyane said the false reports do not only cause alarm in communities but force the police to use their limited resources trying to confirm the cases instead of focusing on crime prevention. “These incidents are placing a serious strain on our resources, which would eventually negatively affect our response where a genuine case is reported,” said Motswenyane in a statement. According to the statement,…