Author: The Free Stater

Staff Reporter A 37-year-old Zimbabwean man has appeared in the Smithfield Magistrates Court after being found in possession of suspected stolen property. Aaron Mukutirwa made his first appearance on Thursday before the matter was postponed to July 15 for further investigation. He was found with about 159kg of communication cables worth about R200 000. Provincial police spokesperson Colonel Thandi Mbambo said in a statement the suspect was arrested after an off-duty police officer raised alarm when he heard some noise outside his house at about 1am on Thursday. “A white Colt bakkie was seen loaded with cable and suspects were…

Staff Reporter The Free State High Court has reserved judgment in a bail application brought by former Transnet board member and Gupta family ‘associate’ Iqbal Sharma. The matter has been set down for July 14, when the judgment will be delivered. Sharma took his bail bid to the High Court today after the Bloemfontein Regional Court dismissed his application last month saying he was a flight risk. The state told court that Sharma had failed to disclose that he had transferred R264 459 241 to Issar Global based in the United Arab Emirates between 22 August 2016 and 8 December…

Annual general meetings (AGMs) can actually be held within four months of the year end and that’s what must be done at all times. They are supposed to be held within four months of the year end – that is by the end of June for a February year-end. It can be done. However, so many body corporates are several months in arrears when it comes to holding their AGMs. One reason why it’s important to hold these meetings on time is that budgets need to be set to start at the beginning of the financial year. If implemented late,…

Staff Reporter About 500 police officers from the Free State have received the Johnson & Johnson single dose vaccine as the province steps up efforts to vaccinate essential service workers and the general public against COVID-19. Acting MEC for Police, Roads and Transport Mamiki Qabathe and Provincial Police Commissioner Lieutenant General Baile Motswenyane officially launched the programme on Thursday with a call for police officers to take the jab and save lives. “I am encouraging each and every Free Stater to get vaccinated,” said Qabathe, who is the MEC for social development. “The first phase started with the frontline workers…

Staff Reporter Gupta ‘associate’ Iqbal Sharma who has been languishing in remand prison for about a month is taking his fight to be released on bail to the Free State High Court on Friday morning. The Investigating Directorate said in a statement the matter will be heard virtually. Sharma was denied bail last month by the Bloemfontein Regional Court. He is one of the 17 accused persons or companies who face charges of defrauding the Free State agriculture department of R25 million in 2011. Four of his co-accused who are currently in South Africa were granted bail last month. They…

After days of drama and suspense before handing himself in, former South Africa president Jacob Zuma began a 15-month sentence for contempt on Thursday, after spending his first night in jail. The former prisoner of the apartheid regime had kept the country on tenterhooks by trying all legal avenues to evade jail, but he became an inmate once again shortly after midnight. It is the first time a former president has been jailed in post-apartheid South Africa. He handed himself in at a recently renovated jail in the small mining town of Estcourt in his KwaZulu-Natal home province. The sentence…

An already struggling and chaotic Haiti stumbled into an uncertain future on Thursday, reeling from the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse followed by a reported gunbattle in which authorities said police killed four suspects in the murder, detained two others and freed three officers being held hostage. Officials pledged to find all those responsible for the predawn raid on Moïse’s house early Wednesday that left the president shot to death and his wife, Martine Moïse, critically wounded. She was flown to Miami for treatment. “The pursuit of the mercenaries continues,” Léon Charles, director of Haiti’s National Police, said on Wednesday…

Staff Reporter The Rouxville Magistrates Court has sentenced two farm workers to 12 years imprisonment each after they were convicted of stock theft. Magistrate Johannes Moeng sentenced Ephraim Thekisho and Lehlohohonolo Lichaena for stealing 256 sheep from their employer and two neighbouring farms between May and November 2014. National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) regional spokesperson Phaladi Shuping said in a statement the two were employed at a farm in Smithfield while the owner of the farm was staying at another farm. He said their employer would only come to the farm after a few days to see if everything was okay.…

Staff Reporter The Bloemfontein Regional Court has postponed the criminal case relating to the R25 million Nulane Investments case. The matter will be transferred to the Bloemfontein High Court on September 6 for trial. A statement issued by Investigating Directorate (ID) spokesperson Sindisiwe Seboka said the matter was postponed in the absence of the five accused due to COVID-19 Level 4 restrictions. She said this followed an agreement between the ID and the defence to proceed with the matter without calling in the accused in a bid to curb the spread of the coronavirus. The accused are Nulane owner Iqbal…

Staff Reporter A Welkom man who was arrested at the weekend with drugs tucked in between slices of bread to avoid detection was expected to appear in court today. Police say members of the Welkom Flying Squad received information about a man at Mannys who was in possession of drugs. “The members acted swiftly and identified the suspect,” said provincial police spokesperson Colonel Thandi Mbambo in a brief statement. “They approached him and requested to search him,” she added. The man, 44, was found with 105 Mandrax tablets and 19.5 grams of crystal meth with a street value of R14…