Author: The Free Stater

Staff Reporter An attempt by the jailed former driver of ANC secretary general Ace Magashule, Ricardo Mettler, to appeal against his conviction and sentence has failed after the Free State High Court dismissed the application. Mettler, who was Magashule’s driver when he was the premier of the Free State, is serving a 15-year sentence after he was convicted of stealing a Pierneef painting worth R8 million. Judge Soma Naidoo, in a ruling delivered on her behalf by Judge Joseph Mhlambi on Thursday, concurred with the prosecution which stated that Mettler’s conviction and sentence were fair given the gravity of the…

Staff Reporter The secretary of the disbanded Provincial Executive Committee (PEC) of the ANC in the Free State, Paseka Nompondo, last week told the lawyers who had filed a notice of appeal in the Constitutional Court against the nullification of the 2018 elective conference to drop the case. The intended appeal follows last month’s ruling by the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) that the party’s provincial conference held from May 18-19, 2018 was unlawful and unconstitutional. But in a surprising turn of events, Nompondo wrote to Moroka Attorneys instructing them not to proceed with the appeal as they sought to…

Staff Reporter A court order has frozen any sales of properties, including a block of flats in Bloemfontein, owned by a woman accused of swindling the provincial government out of more than R249 million. On Wednesday, the Free State High Court granted the Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU) a restraining order against Lenah Mohapi, her business Superior Quality Trading and Seipati Sylvia Dhlamini, the former chief finance officer of the Free State Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. Mohapi, 55, and Dhlamini, 49, were arrested in July last year following a joint investigation by the Hawks and overseen by prosecutors from…

Staff Reporter President Cyril Ramaphosa has called on South Africans to demonstrate their disdain for corruption by voting out those who have failed to serve them in the forthcoming local government elections set for later this year. “If those who claim to serve you are not doing so, vote them out,” said Ramaphosa when he addressed the national Freedom Day celebrations held in Botshabelo, just outside Bloemfontein today. The local government elections are set to take place on October 27. “Exercising our right to vote is by far the most powerful form of protest,” he told the gathering after officially…

Staff Reporter The Free State department of health says it plans to resume vaccinating healthcare workers from tomorrow after the exercise was interrupted about two weeks ago following fears of blood clotting related to the use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine for COVID-19. Provincial health spokesperson Mondli Mvambi told The Free Stater in a written response that the vaccinations are expected to resume at Parys District Hospital on Wednesday as well as Bongani Regional Hospital in Welkom on Thursday. “We are looking at covering the 10 000 outstanding numbers of our healthcare workers,” said Mvambi. “We are mindful of…

Staff Reporter President Cyril Ramaphosa is this morning expected to lead the national Freedom Day celebrations to be held in Botshabelo, just outside Bloemfontein. This year’s event will be under the theme: “The year of Charlotte Maxeke: the meaning of freedom under COVID-19”. A statement from the Presidency says the event will kick off with the official opening and tour of the Charlotte Maxeke Treatment Centre where the rest of the celebrations will also take place. This year’s commemoration marks 27 years of freedom and democracy since South Africa’s first non-racial democratic elections in 1994. The elections marked the advent…

In any town there are less and more attractive suburbs and areas to live in. In Bloemfontein, I think you would agree that Woodlands is a more upmarket area than say Ehrlich Park. Prices of land and properties in these areas will reflect the level of demand. People are all different and buy for different reasons. Some buy for prestige, some for convenience, some for the necessity of a place to stay. But does it pay to buy in these expensive areas? Well, it all depends on what you are looking for. When building a home the cost of building…

Staff Reporter The disbanded Provincial Executive Committee (PEC) of the ANC in the Free State has approached the Constitutional Court seeking to have the nullification of a conference that brought it into office in 2018 set aside. The move follows last month’s ruling by the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) that the party’s provincial conference held from May 18-19, 2018 was unlawful and unconstitutional. It said the conference was in violation of a Free State High Court order delivered on November 29, 2017. The SCA declared all decisions/resolutions and/or the outcome of the conference unlawful and unconstitutional. It however ruled…

On April 12, 2021, Lufuno Mavhunga, a 15-year-old female learner at Mbilwi Secondary School in Limpopo was aggressively assaulted by another learner. The video showing the humiliating violent attack was circulated on various social media platforms. Sadly, Lufuno subsequently died as a result of suicide. During the bullying incident, bystanders (her school mates) watched, cheered, laughed and recorded videos of the incident. The alleged perpetrator – a 14-year-old female learner at the same school – has since been arrested by the police and charged with assault. The school said it will institute disciplinary action against the bystanders who failed to…

Staff Reporter A Matjhabeng Local Municipality councillor has been denied bail after he allegedly attempted to kill his wife last weekend. Sephiri Jan Diphoko, 43, who is ward councillor for Meloding, appeared in the Virginia Magistrates Court on Tuesday facing a charge of attempted murder. The case was postponed to May 7 to allow for more investigations. According to the police, his wife, Selwane Diphoko, 46, reported that she was stabbed and severely assaulted by the suspect on Sunday at about 16:25 at their home in Eureka Park, Meloding. “The complainant alleges that her husband arrived home intoxicated on the…