Avatar photo

By Citizen Reporter

Journalist


Daily news update: Dr Nandipha helped Thabo Bester, SA’s Russia stance, and ANC-EFF alliance

Here’s your morning news update: An easy-to-read selection of our top stories.


Here’s your morning news update: An easy-to-read selection of our top stories. Stay up to date with The Citizen – More News, Your Way.

Daily news update: 10 April

How Nandipha Magudumana ‘stole bodies’ to help Thabo Bester escape – report

Dr Nandipha Magudumana / Ronald Lamola
‘Facebook rapist’ Thabo Bester is seen on a television screen in the Western Cape High Court on 2 May 2012. Picture: Gallo Images / The Times / Shelley Christians

Thabo Bester’s girlfriend, Nandipha Magudumana, allegedly stole three bodies from mortuaries in the Free State in a bid to help him escape from prison.

A Sunday Times report claims the bodies were obtained by Magudumana over a few weeks. This was done before Bester escaped from the Mangaung Correctional Centre in May 2022.

Magudumana claimed one of the bodies after saying it was her father.

Read more here

SA’s stance on Russia could see country lose R400 billion in trade – report

Naledi Pandor / Vladimir Putin
Minister of International Relations Naledi Pandor during a press briefing in Pretoria on 16 March 2020. Picture: Jacques Nelles

President Cyril Ramaphosa’s government will attempt to iron things out with the United States (US) over the country’s stance on the Russia-Ukraine war in order to avoid potentially losing R400 billion in trade.

Sunday Times has reported that a South African delegation is set to visit Washington D.C, the capital of the US, amid pressure on the country to execute an arrest warrant targeting Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Last month, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued the warrant of arrest for Putin, who has been accused of kidnapping children from Ukraine.

Read more here

ANC will lose Gauteng in 2024, but it’s a risk to get into bed with EFF

Julius Malema 2024 elections
EFF supporters at Philippi Stadium in Cape Town on 30 Mar 2019. Picture: Gallo Images/ Daily Sun/ Lulekwa Mbadamane

If the ANC lost Gauteng in the 2024 national elections, the governing party would risk tarnishing its reputation if it entered into an alliance with EFF, an analyst says.

Professor Susan Booysen said Gauteng was such a pivotal province in many ways being the country’s economic hub and that losing the province is never good for any party.

Booysen said the ANC’s loss of the big metros in the 2016 local government elections was a strong precursor for the party’s losses in subsequently elections.

Read more here

Hunters block Creecy’s wildlife management reforms

Barbara Creecy wildlife management legislation hunting
Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Barbara Creecy. Photo: Gallo Images / Sowetan / Thulani Mbele

Wide-ranging legislation attempting to bring recommendations to life of the high-level panel on the management, breeding, hunting, trade and handling of elephant, lion, leopard and rhinoceros were withdrawn this week by the Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Barbara Creecy.

The minister withdrew the legislation after seeking legal advice “on the coming into effect of the revised threatened or protected species (TOPS) regulations and species list after the Wildlife Ranching South Africa (WRSA) and the Professional Hunters Association of South Africa (Phasa) launched an urgent interdict application in the Gauteng High Court”.

Read more here

Here’s when to expect increased traffic on the N3 route on Monday

cars piled up in a traffic jam
Picture: Michel Bega/The Citizen

Traffic levels are expected to increase along the N3 on Monday, as Gauteng residents head back home after the Easter long weekend.

According to N3 Toll Concession (N3TC), the heaviest traffic volumes are expected between 12pm and 6pm that evening.

More than 1 500 vehicles are expected to pass through the tolls per hour on the route.

Read more here

Two CIT robbers killed as police foil attempted heist

Nasrec heist: Two more suspects arrested
Photo for illustration: iStock

Gauteng police foiled another cash-in-transit (CIT) heist on Saturday, shooting and killing two suspected robbers.

National police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said a multidisciplinary team was following up on intelligence driven information when they intercepted a group of armed suspects along John Voster Road in Centurion.

“During the interception, two robbers were fatally wounded during a shootout with police. Three AK47 automatic rifles were recovered.”

Read more here

New BMW i7 a tour de force capable of doing the impossible

Road test of new BMW i7
Sealed kidney grille, whose vents open to aid cooling, has become a topic of much joking since its first showing on the 4 Series. Image: Andre-Neil Burger.

The BMW 7 Series has been an institution and unsurprisingly, the template for the brand’s future technologies since for just shy of five decades now.

Unfortunately for Munich’s flagship, every generation since 1977 has had to come up against the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, with the end result being equally well known; close but not close enough.

Read more here

Riveiro praises Pirates supporters after win against Chippa

Riveiro praises Pirates fans after wion against Chippa.
Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro. Picture: Richard Huggard/Gallo Images

Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro hailed the support from the club’s fans following their 2-0 victory over Chippa United in the DStv Premiership at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Saturday.

Riveiro’s Bucs were on top of the Chilli Boys from the start of the game, pleasing their supporters with their play as they created a number of chances to score.

Read more here