Daily news update: Ramaphosa vs Zuma, Boksburg explosion update and Eskom debacles

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Daily news update: 28 December

Ramaphosa seeks urgent court application in private prosecuting matter by Zuma

In a bid not to appear in court in January next year, President Cyril Ramaphosa intends to make an urgent application to the High Court in Johannesburg in a matter involving him and his predecessor Jacob Zuma.

This comes after Zuma instituted a private prosecution against Ramaphosa on the eve of the African National Congress (ANC) national elective conference.

ALSO READ: Ramaphosa gives Zuma until Monday to withdraw private prosecution

Zuma accused Ramaphosa of being an “accessory after the fact” in a criminal offence alleged against Advocate William Downer who is accused of improperly sharing information in terms of the NPA Act.

WATCH: ‘Good news’ regarding Boksburg tanker explosion damage to OR Tambo Memorial hospital

After news that the death toll in the explosion which rocked Boksburg on Christmas eve has risen to 18 overnight, there is at least a small glimmer of light, in that the OR Tambo Memorial Hospital has not suffered any serious structural damage.

Gauteng MEC for Human Settlements and Infrastructure Development Lebogawng Maile visited the hospital on Tuesday morning, and informed the media that engineers had confirmed that there “has not been any fundamental impact” on the hospital structure following the explosion.

More military forces deployed to guard Eskom power stations as ‘danger looms’

Brigadier-General Andries Mokoena Mahapa, spokesman for the South African National Defence Force confirmed on Tuesday that more soldiers were being deployed to guard “far more” than the initial four Eskom power stations, in an attempt to stop a “great impending danger”.

Speaking to Netwerk24 on Tuesday he said soldiers are now ready at more than the initial four coal-fired power stations (Tutuka, Camden, Majuba and Grootvlei) where President Cyril Ramaphosa deployed them nine days ago.

ALSO SEE: SANDF doesn’t have capacity to protect Eskom power plants

Twitter users pray for ‘2023 without Nota’ after his account gets suspended

Nota Baloyi’s Twitter account has been suspended and a large number of Twitter users are celebrating the move as a win. 

It is unclear exactly which tweet got the former artist manager’s account suspended but the suspension comes shortly after he launched yet another verbal attack on his estranged wife, Berita. 

Nota once again called the singer homeless and stated that she would rather be homeless than “come home” and spend Christmas with him. 

His suspension also comes after he targeted yet another female influencer, this time making fun of Paballo Kgware’s appearance.

Mbappe, Neymar back for PSG as Ligue 1 reboots

Normal service is set to resume in France on Wednesday with Kylian Mbappe and Neymar both set to feature for leaders Paris Saint-German as they restart their Ligue 1 season, 45 days after it was popped on ice for the World Cup, with a home game against struggling Strasbourg.

Lionel Messi, however, will not be on show in round 16 as he is still at home, celebrating Argentina’s success in the World Cup final in Qatar.

The club, though, has been buoyed by reports last week that the 35-year-old Messi is set to sign a one-year extension to his contract which expires in the summer.