Pretoria’s top stories of the year

The year 2021 has seen a string of life-changing events for the country and some communities in Pretoria.

Some events have shaken the central and eastern parts of the city, sending communities into shock and families into deep mourning.

From tragic events of loss to the discovery of the new Omicron variant of the coronavirus that saw the country being sidelined by others.

Here are some of the highlights of the year.

The township of Mamelodi was the scene of many dead bodies, some of them including children as young as five.

In February, two families had a sad start to the year when their children, two best friends, drowned in a quarry at a construction site in the east of Mamelodi.

Lawrence Tony Tshwenu (5) and Siyabonga Mabila (7) were last seen together on the Saturday morning when hours later, members of the community spotted the children’s bodies floating in the water.

It is unclear how the boys got into water, but this incident prompted an investigation by the Gauteng MEC for Public Transport and Roads Infrastructure, Jacob Mamabolo, who appointed a senior counsel to probe the circumstances that led to the tragic incident.

In another tragic incident in Mamelodi, members of the community were devastated when the lifeless body of Sibongile (Smomoza) Mataboge (23) was found in a pool of blood at her partner’s house in June.

Police on a drugs raid found her 30-year-old boyfriend at Mahube extension in Mamelodi East. On searching his room, not only were drugs and money found, but the body of Mataboge as well.

In another incident in October, the body of a six-year-old boy was discovered in a neighbour’s backyard room in a pool of blood along with a knife under a bed.

Olwethu Austin Zwane from Mamelodi East, section 17, went missing on 22 October.

“We started searching for Olwethu from 15:00 with the help of community members and the friends he was playing with before he went missing,” Nomsa Zwane, his mother told Rekord.

She said they searched “everywhere” and as darkness fell, she noticed a police vehicle parked at a neighbour’s (suspect’s house).

“I went to the house to see what the police were doing there. Before I could get closer, I heard two ladies saying that there was a body of a child found,” she said.

The man accused of killing the boy was arrested on the day.

Tragedy also befell the East of Pretoria, as three families lost their loved ones in one tragic night of fun, and two others remained hopeful for the full recovery of their relatives.

In April, well-known Pretoria property developer, Theo Kleynhans (60), and two of his colleagues were found dead at a house in Menlo Park where it was believed they had ingested a cocktail of drugs and alcohol.

Kleynhans, whose house they were in, his colleagues Mario Pretorius (23), and Chariska Kloppers (30), were found dead by an employee working at the house.

One other woman was found alive, but in critical condition.

It is believed the group had gone out for drinks on Friday when they later took the party back to Kleynhans’ entertainment house.

Large quantities of narcotics (which included crystal meth) and alcohol were found at the house.

Suspicion that the three may have died due to a drug overdose was confirmed by autopsy results that were given to Pretorius’ family on August 10.

The woman who was found critical has since recovered.

And news that had the internet abuzz was about a Pretoria East man who remains in a coma after being shot in the head by police during an altercation in November.

Len Cloete, who is believed to be an owner of a gym in Rietvleirand, east of Pretoria, was injured during an altercation with police at a Muldersdrift Misty Hills lodge.

In a video doing the rounds on social media, Cloete can be seen drawing a gun and cocking it during what seemed like a heated argument with police officers.

A female police officer can be heard saying: “…now you are playing dangerous”, as she and other officers draw their guns.

Moments later, Cloete grabs the female police officer’s gun, after which another officer shoots him in the head causing him to fall on the ground.

Independent Police Investigative Directorate has since launched an investigation into whether the police officer acted lawfully. Cloete remains in a coma.

In the central part of Pretoria, the shooting and killing of a Tshwane University of Technology student at a nightclub angered the student community.

The third-year student from the faculty of management sciences was shot in the early hours of October 23, at Propaganda club where he worked as a part-time dancer and choreographer.

Students took to the streets demanding a full investigation and compensation to the family of the victim and for the club to be shut permanently.

No arrests were made.

A street away from where the shooting took place, Tshwane metro police launched a satellite police station to tackle the rising cases of pick-pocketing, muggings, business robberies and shootings.

This was a week after the TUT student lost his life in a hail of bullets.

“As we officially open a new TMPD satellite station in the inner city, the safety and well-being of our communities will be one of the key priorities of this administration because we strongly believe that residents ought to feel safe in the city they call home,” said Tshwane mayor Randall Williams.

“The issue of crime and safety in South Africa is a serious matter. Year after year, our country’s crime statistics tell a horrifying story, from the brutal murders to robberies and hijackings.”

And in lighter news, amidst the discovery of a new coronavirus variant in the country, a University of Pretoria (UP) professor is set to chair an international scientific advisory team appointed by the World Health Organisation, to probe the origins of novel pathogens, including Sars-CoV-2 which causes Covid-19.

The international expert group was selected from 800 applications from over 100 countries, whereby only 27 experts were chosen.

UP Professor Marietjie Venter will be in charge of the prestigious scientific advisory group for the origins of novel pathogens.

The UP head of the zoonotic arbo and respiratory virus programme at the centre for viral zoonoses is a medical virologist with extensive experience in emerging and zoonotic vector-borne and respiratory viruses.

She is also the only South African in the group.

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