Daily news update: Malema, Ndlozi acquitted, City Power excludes some hospitals from load shedding and Phala Phala panel

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.

Court acquits Malema, Ndlozi of assault charge

Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema and party MP Mbuyiseni Ndlozi have been acquitted of their assault charges by the Randburg Magistrate’s Court.

The court delivered its ruling on Thursday, with Magistrate Leiland Poonsamy finding the accused not guilty of assault.

Reading out his judgment, Poonsamy stated that Malema and Ndlozi “successfully raised the defence of justification”.

“Their version was concise and they did not crack during cross-examination. They did not hesitate to give answers [and] their oral evidence in plea-explanation is precise. They stood by their version and did not deviate in any manner. They successfully proved that they were acting in justification,” he said.

City Power excludes some hospitals from load shedding

City Power has announced that it has started excluding certain hospitals and clinics from load shedding because of the pressures and challenges the health facilities go through during the deliberate power cuts.

Spokesperson Isaac Mangena said City Power was approached by the Department of Health to consider ways to exempt its facilities from load shedding because of the critical nature of the service they render to the residents.

“While we are committed as City Power to ensure there is minimal to no disruptions to the essential services such as clinics and hospitals, it is difficult to exclude all of them from load shedding. From the list we received there are over 130 health facilities including clinics and hospitals within the City of Joburg.”

Advocate joins Phala Phala panel after Richard Calland withdrawal

Parliament has found a replacement for University of Cape Town (UCT) associate professor, Richard Calland to serve on Phala Phala panel.

Addressing the matter during a Programming Committee meeting on Thursday, National Assembly Speaker, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula confirmed that the three-person panel has now fully been appointed.

Advocate Mahlape Sello, who recently served on the State Capture Commission, has been named as Calland’s replacement following the UCT professor’s withdrawal from the panel this week.

The Speaker had sought a legal opinion on Calland’s appointment following objections from the Democratic Alliance (DA) and Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF).

Phala Phala: ‘Selling animals is not money laundering’, Ramaphosa tells Parliament

President Cyril Ramaphosa has denied allegations of money laundering in relation to the Phala Phala farm robbery.

Ramaphosa was answering MPs’ oral questions in the National Assembly on Thursday.

During the proceedings, parliamentarians experienced some disruptions. However, this did not deter Ramaphosa as he maintained his innocence.

He alleged that the stash of money in foreign currency found at his Phala Phala farm in Limpopo was from gaming proceeds and insisted that the police were investigating the February 2020 burglary.

“They are dealing with it… I deny that there was any form of money laundering. I have said publicly that it was proceeds of sale of game.”

ALSO READ: ‘ANC failed to learn from Nkandla’, says DA as MPs debate Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala saga

Zuma loses bid in ConCourt for Maya to reconsider removal of Downer

The Constitutional Court (ConCourt) has dismissed former president Jacob Zuma’s bid to force former head of the Supreme Court of Appeal Mandisa Maya to reconsider his bid to remove prosecutor Billy Downer from his corruption trial.

News24 reports that the ConCourt unanimously dismissed Zuma’s argument that Maya grossly misdirected herself by refusing to reconsider his bid.

Zuma had asked the court to grant him leave to appeal Judge Piet Koen’s dismissal, in the KwaZulu-Natal High Court in Pietermaritzburg, of his special plea to the Supreme Court of Appeal.

‘Darling, let me give you an education’ – Sophie Ndaba clears the air on sale of her house

Former Generations actress Sophie Ndaba has hit back at a journalist who claimed that her posh house in Johannesburg had been “auctioned” after she failed to honour her contract with Mercantile Bank.

Sunday World, on 23 September, reported the thespian lost the house she bought for over R2.2-million in October 2021, after she struggled to keep up with her monthly instalments.

According to court documents allegedly seen by the tabloid, Ndaba and her company, Sophla Trading, (who were cited as the first and second respondents) obtained a R2.2 million home loan from the bank to purchase the house on 15 September 2016.

The house in question was featured on Top Billing in June 2016.

Steve Komphela’s advice to Safa

Mamelodi Sundowns senior coach Steve Komphela has offered some advice to the South African Football Association (Safa), suggesting that the association should find a balance between the commercial and technical sides.

Safa has had Danny Jordaan as the president for close to a decade and there have been numerous calls for him to step down and allow a new generation of leaders to take over the baton.

Komphela, a former senior and junior national team coach, says if ever given the opportunity to lead Safa, he would have to evaluate if it aligns with his vision, it could be something he considers.

ALSO READ: How lucrative deals kept benchwarmers at Sundowns