Read more
Daily news update: Man allegedly kills mother, sister and stashes heads, Simon’s Town fire rages on, and 2 000 platinum workers end strike
Here’s your morning news update: An easy-to-read selection of our top stories.
Photo: iStock/The Citizen/Cheryl Kahla
In today’s news, a KZN man was arrested for allegedly killing his mother and sister and putting their heads in a pit latrine, the Simon’s Town fire is still being fought, and 2 000 platinum workers returned to the surface at a South African mine after ending a three-day strike
We also look at major restructuring at UKZN next year, SA’s electricity minister saying we are not experiencing load shedding because of ‘aggressive’ maintenance, and three people are shot dead with an assault rifle while walking on the street in Delft.
News today: 22 December
Man arrested for killing mother, sister and stashing their heads in pit latrine
The police in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) have pounced on a 51-year-old man after he was suspected of killing his mother and sister, who were found decapitated this week.
The man allegedly shot his 87-year-old mother and 39-year-old sister at their home in Esigodini, mid-Illovo, on Wednesday afternoon.
Blaze rages on in Simon’s Town as wind makes it difficult to fight the fire
On Thursday afternoon, three helicopters were still trying to bring the fire in Simon’s Town under control.
The fire is raging around Simon’s Town for a third day.
City of Cape Town Fire and Rescue spokesperson Jermaine Carelse told The Citizen that around 2.30pm on Thursday the helicopters were busy water bombing the fire areas.
Impala Platinum mineworkers end underground strike
More than 2 000 platinum workers returned to the surface at a South African mine on Wednesday after ending a three day underground protest over conditions, the owners said.
All 2,205 workers who started the protest in two shafts about 500 metres below ground over bonuses and conditions were “now safely on the surface”, Impala Platinum Holdings said in a statement.
Major restructuring looms at UKZN
The 2024 academic year is set to kick-off with sweeping changes at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) as a restructuring process is currently underway that will likely see only six of the 19 schools across the four colleges remaining.
Although the university says it doesn’t foresee job losses, insiders believe it’s a matter of time before retrenchments and offers of early retirement kick-in.
‘System is healthy’ – Ramokgopa says SA not experiencing load shedding due to ‘aggressive’ maintenance
Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa says South Africa has not had load shedding due to the maintenance on Eskom’s generating units.
Additionally, the country’s electricity grid is 3000 megawatts (MW) stronger than it was in winter.
Two men and woman shot with assault rifle while walking down street in Delft
Police are investigating a case of murder after three people were shot dead while walking down a street in Delft, Western Cape, in the early hours of Thursday morning.
Police spokesperson Colonel Andrè Traut said that the victims were a 27-year-old woman and two men aged 28 and 30. He added that the suspects are thought to have used an assault rifle and a pistol to commit the murders.
‘Zuma is still our chairperson’ − says Sanco
The SA National Civic Organisation (Sanco) in KwaZulu-Natal says Jacob Zuma did not breach the organisation’s constitution when he announced he would not vote or campaign for the ANC next year.
Zuma said he would vote for the newly formed uMkhonto Wesizwe (MK) party.
Heartbreak in Zimbabwe park: Desperate hunt for water sees more than 100 elephants dead
Storm clouds are finally gathering over Zimbabwe‘s biggest animal reserve, but it has come too late for more than 110 elephants that have died in a searing, extended drought.
There is little that Simba Marozva and other rangers at the Hwange National Park can do except cut the tusks off the rotting corpses before poachers find them.
WATCH: French team pay tribute to Bafana striker Lebo Mothiba after sustaining terrible injury
After breaking his kneecap during a match over the weekend, Bafana Bafana striker Lebo Mothiba’s French team Racing Club de Strasbourg Alsace has paid homage to him.
In a show of support to the striker who is expected to be out for months, his Strasbourg teammates wore t-shirts written ‘Courage Lebo’ ahead of their league encounter with Lille, which they won.
Hunt contemplates retirement after ill-tempered match against Benghazi
Time wasting, poor officiating and unsporting behavior are unfortunately all part and parcel of Caf’s Inter-club competitions, the Champions League and Confederation Cup.
All those three aspects marred SuperSport United’s 2-1 win over Al-Hilal Benghazi in a Confederation Cup match that was played at Peter Mokaba Stadium on Wednesday.
Loose forwards auditioning for Bok squad in North-South derby
Saturday’s North-South derby between the Stormers and the Bulls in the United Rugby Championship at Cape Town Stadium presents a chance for Springbok hopefuls to put in a good audition.
The role they are auditioning for is to be part of the cast that will form the core of the Springboks’ system during the four-year cycle leading up to the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia.
