Daily news update: Six corpses discovered, Senzo Meyiwa trial and Joburg Mayor ousting

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Daily news update: 15 September

LIVE UPDATES: Six bodies discovered in suspected zama zama attack

The bodies of at least six suspected zama zamas (illegal miners) were confirmed to have been found at the Maraisburg highway offramp on Wednesday morning.

Saps, forensic pathologists, Gauteng traffic police and the Johannesburg Metro Police Department (JMPD) are currently at the scene.

Bosmont community patroller Faried Domingo told The Citizen he suspected the attack was the result of ongoing zama zama infighting.

The bodies were found scattered across both sides of the highway.

JMPD spokesperson Xolani Fihla said the victims appeared to have been shot and stabbed to death.

National Assembly appoints panel to look into ATM’s Section 89 motion against Ramaphosa

Speaker of the National Assembly Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula has appointed an independent panel to conduct a preliminary assessment of the African Transformation Movement’s (ATM) Section 89 motion against President Cyril Ramaphosa.

Section 89 of the Constitution provides for the National Assembly to remove a president of the Republic from office on the grounds of either, serious violation of the Constitution or the law, serious misconduct or an inability to perform the functions of office, while Rule 129A-Q governs the process of the removal of the president. 

Fight and hair flying when Senzo’s wife met Kelly Khumalo in hospital – witness

A close friend of Senzo Meyiwa has described the chaos that ensued shortly after the soccer star’s wife arrived in hospital on the night he was gunned down.

Tumelo Madlala on Wednesday resumed his testimony in the Pretoria High Court in the murder trial against the five men accused of killing the former Bafana Bafana and Orlando Pirates goalkeeper.

ALSO READ: Senzo Meyiwa struggled with suspect before death – Witness

Meyiwa was gunned down during an alleged botched robbery on 26 October 2014, at the house belonging to Kelly Khumalo’s mother, in Vosloorus, Ekurhuleni.

Khumalo was Meyiwa’s girlfriend at the time of his murder and they shared a child together.

Madlala was among the seven witnesses who were inside the house on that night and he was visiting from KwaZulu-Natal.

Lamola says DA mustn’t ‘cry foul’ as parties seek to oust Joburg mayor Mpho Phalatse

Justice and Correctional Services Minister Ronald Lamola says the Democratic Alliance (DA) must not “cry foul” as opposition parties fight to remove City of Joburg mayor Mpho Phalatse from office.

The DA’s hold on power in the City of Joburg has been shaken by opposition parties in the past few weeks following the removal of council speaker Vasco da Gama.

The Pan Africanist Congress of Azania (PAC) had tabled no-confidence motion against Da Gama, which saw him ousted by 136 votes.

ALSO READ: ‘We don’t want a DA or ANC-led coalition govt,’ says acting Joburg council speaker

The motion was backed by the ANC, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and other smaller parties in council.

EFF wants new spy watchdog to probe Phala Phala as Parliament backs Imtiaz Fazel

Parliament has approved the appointment of Public Works deputy director-general, Imtiaz Fazel, as the Inspector-General of Intelligence (IGI).

Following deliberations in the National Assembly on Tuesday, MPs resolved to recommend Fazel’s appointment to President Cyril Ramaphosa.

Between 2002 and 2012, Fazel was acting chief operations officer in the IGI office.

In a statement, Parliament spokesperson Moloto Mothapo said the Joint Standing Committee on Intelligence (JSCI) had received a total of 25 applications for the position, which became vacant in March this year.

“The JSCI shortlisted 12 candidates for interviews on relevant areas regarding the role and functions of the IGI, based on the Constitution, the Act, and relevant legislation and other matters, such as the High-Level Review Panel report.

Dr Malinga addresses rumours of receiving 500k from Black Coffee

Following his appearance on Podcast and Chill with MacG, musician Dr Malinga and his finances have been top of mind for social media users. 

In the two-hour episode, Dr Malinga addressed a range of topics but the most talked-about remains the part of his interview where he broke down after speaking about when his troubles with the tax man made headlines. 

Last month, gossip blogger Musa Khawula tweeted: “The Sheriff visited Dr Malinga’s house and repossessed his furniture. It is said his furniture and appliances are going on auction next week”.

He told the podcast host that the story was true but contextualised his finances claiming that the concept of being broke was relative. 

WIN tickets to Sundowns versus AmaZulu game!

DSTV in partnership with The Citizen are giving 10 Lucky readers a chance to win six tickets each to the Mamelodi Sundowns vs AmaZulu FC game taking place at Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Sunday 18 September 2022 at 3pm.

T&Cs apply. TICKETS TO BE COLLECTED AT THE CITIZEN’S H/O IN INDUSTRIA WEST.

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