News of yesteryear
These were some of the local stories making headlines in years gone by.
This week we look back at the Herald of November 6, 2009:
• Rain spells powercuts for residents of Withok
The onset of summer has signalled the arrival of Gauteng’s rainy season.
It has also signalled the start of an electricity nightmare for the residents of Withok.
According to Tessa Theron, a resident of Nestadt Road, every time there is a cloudburst, the area is without power.
“When it rains, we have to prepare to be without electricity,” she said.
“Enough is enough.”
Theron is not only angered by the general inconvenience caused by the blackouts, but is now furious after a recent power outage caused her a major loss of income.
Also read: Body found near railway line
Withok is a farming community and many of the residents rear and sell livestock.
During a recent severe rain storm, Theron lost an estimated 250 chicks because the power went out.
Electricity is especially needed for the baby birds’ care.
“The chicks were only a week old; they can die very easily if proper care is not taken,” Theron said.
“They need light.”
By the time power was restored, it was too late.
• Five hijackers meet their match
Members of the Johannesburg Organised Crime Unit pounced on five alleged hijackers in Brakpan on Monday.
At about 10.30am, a truck was hijacked on the N3 highway, opposite London Road, in Alexandra.
Members of the unit acted on information that the contents of the truck – nappies and groceries with an estimated value of R250 000 – were to be sold to a shop owner in Brakpan.
“The suspects arrived at the shop about noon with the truck, as well as a blue Fiat Uno,” said Capt Joep Joubert, spokesperson for the Brakpan Police Station commander.
“The owner was allegedly not interested in buying the goods and the suspects left.”
As the men fled, members of the unit stopped them in Olympia Road.
The five men, aged between 23 and 27 years, were arrested.
Police seized a .38 special revolver, as well as the hijacked truck and the Uno.
In other crime news, two trucks were hijacked in Brakpan over the weekend.
The driver of a white Toyota truck was hijacked along Springs Road on Friday at about 10.30am.
Also read: Motorists warned to be wary of bogus ‘officers’ along Heidelberg Road, R23
He was forced to stop his vehicle after a white Opel Kadett suddenly came to a halt in front of him.
A blue Opel Kadett stopped behind the truck, and four men, two of whom were armed, approached the driver.
They pulled him from the truck and forced him into the boot of the blue Opel.
The hijackers later dropped him off near the N17 highway.
On Saturday, the driver and passenger of a Mercedes-Benz truck were hijacked along Heidelberg Road.
The men were near Tsakane when two men, travelling in a white bakkie, motioned to them that the truck’s load was falling off.
The driver pulled over and as he was inspecting the truck, two cars stopped alongside the road.
An occupant from each car approached the driver and passenger respectively, threatening them with fireams.
The driver and passenger were forced into one of the hijackers’ vehicles and taken to a nearby veld.
• Rapist faces life imprisonment
A 20-year-old man was sentenced to life imprisonment when he appeared in the Brakpan Magistrate’s Court last week.
Thabo Matlala, a resident of KwaThema, was arrested for attempted murder, rape and common robbery, following an incident in November last year.
Matlala stabbed the female complainant – his sister-in-law – in the back, before raping her.
He also stole several items from the household.
Also read: A socially safe app for woman
In another case, Albert Maphanga (43), from Langaville in Tsakane, was sentenced to 15 years in prison for rape.
In October 2008, Maphanga lured a 10-year-old girl into his home, where he showed her pornographic images and then raped her.
Have a story?
Contact the newsroom by emailing: Thelma Koorts (editor) brakpanherald@caxton.co.za
or Stacy Slatter (news editor) stacys@caxton.co.za
or Miné Fourie (journalist) minev@caxton.co.za
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