Daily news update: Zandile Gumede, Lauren Dickason, Koeberg drama, and more

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

Daily news update 25 July 2023 South African news The Citizen

Photo: iStock/The Citizen/Cheryl Kahla

In today’s daily news update: The corruption trial of former eThekwini mayor Zandile Gumede and her 21 co-accused was delayed.

Meanwhile, the trial of Lauren Dickason took a chilling turn on Monday as digital forensic evidence revealed disturbing internet search history months before the alleged killings.

Daily news update: 25 July 2023

SA is bracing for patches of fog and afternoon showers (find the forecast below), so why not give our daily recipe a try? Spicy Jamaican Oxtail Curry with easy home-made flatbread!

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

Zandile Gumede’s corruption trial

The corruption trial of former eThekwini mayor Zandile Gumede and her 21 co-accused was delayed on Monday, after the home of a state witness was shot at over the weekend.

Picture File: Former eThekwini mayor Zandile Gumede (in red) along with her accused in a pack courtroom at the Durban High Court. — *_{Former eThekwini mayor Zandile Gumede (in red) along with her accused in a packed courtroom at the Durban High Court. Photo: Thabiso Goba/The Witness}*

Senior state prosecutor Ashika Lucken informed the Durban High Court that the witness’s home was targeted on Saturday evening. A bullet was recovered from the scene, but no one was wounded.

“The prosecution team had received information at approximately 18:30pm on Saturday, informing us that there has been a shooting at the witness’s home premises and that there was a bullet that was recovered,” said Lucken.

READ: Zandile Gumede’s corruption trial delayed after shooting at state witness’s home

Senzo Meyiwa trial

The state’s first witness in the high-profile Senzo Meyiwa murder trial, Zandile Khumalo-Gumede, on Friday refused during cross-examination at the Gauteng High Court, in Pretoria, to demonstrate how one of the intruders wore a hoodie.

zandile khumalo hairstyle senzo meyiwa kelly — _{Zandile Khumalo-Gumede, Senzo Meyiwa and Kelly Khumalo. Zandile has come under fire for refusing to cooperate in court last Friday as she did not want to mess up her hairstyle. Photos: Facebook, iStock and Gallo Images.}

The R&B singer and songwriter denied the request of state prosecutor Advocate Charles Mnisi because it will ruin her “beautiful hairstyle” which she had “worked very hard” on in the morning.

This follows Zandile’s initial response in which cheekily told Mnisi: “You can also wear it, I will show you”.

READ: Senzo Meyiwa trial: Zandile Khumalo’s ‘hairstyle vs hoodie’ moment [WATCH]

Lauren Dickason Googled how to kill

The trial of Lauren Dickason, a South African national accused of the murder of her three young children in New Zealand, took a chilling turn on Monday as digital forensic evidence revealed disturbing internet search history months before the alleged killings.

*_{Laura Dickason with her husband, Graham Dickason, and children. Picture: Facebook}*

Testifying before the Christchurch High Court, digital forensic analyst Joshua Locke presented evidence that in July and August 2021, Dickason’s phone contained searches that were subsequently deleted, New Zealand publication Stuff reported.

These searches included inquiries into lethal dosages of drugs for children, such as “lethal dosage alprazolam in children” on 31 July, “Ambien lethal dose” on 14 August, and “most effective overdose in children” on 20 August.

READ: Lauren Dickason searched ‘drugs to overdose kids’ on Google before ‘killing’ her children

Koeberg drama

After two reports and a site visit Minister of Electricity Kgosientsho Ramokgopa is still not satisfied with the answers he is getting from Eskom about the ever-slipping deadline for the completion of the life extension project of Unit 1 at Koeberg Nuclear Power Station.

*_{A general view of the Koeberg Nuclear Power Station near Melkbos on 16 February 2021, in Cape Town, South Africa. Picture: iStock/ Shaun Roy}*

Ramokgopa’s concern, which he repeatedly emphasised during his weekly update on the execution of the electricity crisis plan, is that a further outage slip – which he expects – will result in an overlap with the planned outage for a similar 20-year life extension project at Unit 2.

This would deprive the energy-starved national grid of a total of 1 840MW, which equates to almost two stages of load shedding.

READ: Koeberg: Electricity minister ‘worried and extremely upset’

Your weather guide for 25 July

South Africans are set for another day of contrasting weather across the country on Tuesday, 25 July 2023.

weather update tuesday 25 july 2023 — *_{From morning fog to warm afternoons and showers in some regions, our weather tomorrow has it all. Photo: iStock}*

It appears to be a calm day with no fire danger warnings or advisories issued by the South African Weather Service (Saws).

There are no urgent weather warnings for Tuesday at the time of publishing. We will update this article if Saws issues an alert.

Find the regional forecast here: Afternoon showers, patches of fog: Your weather guide for 25 July

Today’s opinion piece:

In today’s Daily News Update, Devina Haripersad reflects on the change in priorities from work to caring for a sick parent.

She describes the challenges of dealing with a strict head matron at the hospital while trying to balance work responsibilities.

The matron’s tough exterior hides her genuine concern for the well-being of both the patient and the caregiver.

She learns the importance of self-care and the kindness of others during difficult times.

READ: Ratched benevolence: The curse of a nurse that actually turned out to be pretty darn kind

Daily news update: Zandile Gumede, Lauren Dickason, Koeberg drama, and more

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