Author: The Free Stater

Staff Reporter Two more accused persons are set to be added to the criminal case involving nearly R25 million paid to Nulane Investment (Pty) Ltd by the Free State Department of Agriculture about 10 years ago. Nulane is owned by alleged Gupta family associate Iqbal Sharma. When the matter resumed in the Bloemfontein Regional Court on Monday, the state immediately requested a postponement saying it needed time to add more accused persons to the matter. Investigating Directorate (ID) spokesperson Sindisiwe Seboka told journalists after the case was adjourned to later this month that the state had stumbled upon compelling evidence…

Staff Reporter The Free State High Court has shot down a desperate attempt by a local municipality to stop the attachment of its bank account to recover a staggering R26 million owed to an employee retirement scheme. Kopanong Local Municipality – which administers the towns of Edenburg, Bethulie, Jagersfontein, Reddersburg, Springfontein and Trompsburg – has been failing to remit staff contributions to the Municipal Workers Retirement Fund, resulting in marathon legal battles over the massive arrears dating back to 2016. In the latest court episode, the municipality lodged an application seeking an interdict to set aside two orders to attach…

Staff Reporter Police at Parkweg Police Station are looking for the family of a woman who was found murdered on Friday night at an open space near the Stadium Swimming Pool at the corner of Park Road and First Avenue in Willows, Bloemfontein. Provincial police spokesperson Brigadier Sam Makhele said the woman is believed to be aged between 20 and 30 years. He said police were called to the scene at about 9:20pm and, upon arrival, they found a lifeless body of the woman with two stab wounds. The body was lying on its back. “The deceased was wearing black…

Staff Reporter A 38-year-old woman appeared before the Ficksburg Magistrates Court on Friday facing charges of fraud and uttering after falsifying her matric results when applying for a job in the South African Police Service. Mathabo Margaret Van Heerden made her first appearance after being arrested earlier in the day by the Hawks’ Serious Corruption Investigation unit based in Bloemfontein. The Hawks provincial spokesperson Captain Christopher Singo said in a statement the arrest stems from an incident which took place on September 25, 2020 when Van Heerden submitted a fraudulent matric certificate for a constable position. “The matter was then…

Staff Reporter Friday’s ruling by the Constitutional Court that local government elections should be held by early November could mean the ANC won’t be able to field candidates in at least five municipalities in the Free State. The party failed to submit all its candidates’ names ahead of the August 23 deadline set by the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC). Nationally, the party might field candidates in over 30 municipalities. The ConCourt ruled against an application by the IEC to have the local government elections held next year citing COVID-19 limitations. Instead, the court ordered the elections to be held between…

Staff Reporter The Free State High Court has ordered three former leaders of the Dutch Reformed Church in Africa (DRCA) to stop establishing a splinter group using particulars of the organisation or claiming to represent it in any way. In a recent judgement, Deputy Judge President Nobulawo Mbhele ruled that TG Dibane, TJ Moloi and EM Kosa – who are the first, second and third respondents in the matter – should stop all activities relating to a newly formed regional synod which they called the Dutch Reformed Church in Africa Eastern Free State and Lesotho Synod. The trio was further…

Staff Reporter The Free State High Court has granted the Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU) an order against three vehicles, cash and pieces of gold as the properties are alleged to be proceeds of unlawful activities. The order was granted on Thursday by the Acting Deputy Judge President Celeste Reinders against a Jeep Cherokee, BMW, Nissan Almera, R1.3 million in cash and 21 pieces of gold valued at R3.2 million. The matter, according to the National Prosecuting Authority, dates back to November 7, 2018 when Charmaine Botha was abducted from her workplace and held hostage in a shack in Thabong, Welkom.…

It is not always so easy to know what the body corporate is responsible for or not. For example, some experts feel that while the line goes through the middle of the garage door, the mechanism that is clearly inside the garage is part of the door and the cost of repair of this part of the door should be shared by the body corporate. My feeling is that because it clearly lies within the unit and as only the unit owner (tenant) has full use of it, they should be responsible for the repairs of this part of the…

Staff Reporter More than 40 babies in South Africa’s rural areas die every year as a result of an undiagnosed heart lesion or defect yet most of the deaths could be avoided, a paediatric heart specialist said. According to the principal specialist in the Department of Paediatrics and Child Health in the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of the Free State (UFS), Professor Stephen Brown, up to 85 percent of these heart conditions could be cured if properly diagnosed. “Everyone assumes that they have respiratory problems when they actually have critical congenital heart disease – up to 85…

Staff Reporter The high-speed 5G mobile network is now available in the Free State after Vodacom switched on the fifth-generation technology for broadband cellular networks in Mangaung today. In a statement, Vodacom said the 5G network is currently available on five live 5G sites in the province and supports both mobile and fixed wireless access services. “Vodacom customers with 5G-enabled devices, and within a 5G coverage area, are now able to access the new 5G network in the Free State province,” read part of the statement. In May 2020, Vodacom switched on South Africa’s first live 5G mobile network in…