2021 stories that shocked and rocked the west

Here are the top stories of 2021 that shocked the west:

Couple perish in house fire after alleged quarrel over cash for booze:
Atteridgeville police are investigating the deaths of a man and a woman who were found burnt to death in a shack in Jeffsville in May.
The woman’s children managed to escape the fire and were now in the care of a local pastor, Wiseman Nazo.
According to Nazo, the boyfriend allegedly demanded money to buy alcohol.
“When the mother told him she did not have the money, he locked the burglar door, took paraffin and poured it all over the shack before setting it on fire.
“The children managed to escape,” said Nazo.

Woman accused of burning her children to death, appears in court:

Kamogelo (5) and Relebogile (8) Motsaneng were found burnt to death in an abandoned building in Atteridgeville ext. 7 on February 5 earlier this year.
Their mother Koketso Motsaneng (25) was arrested at the Stadium Plaza shopping centre in Atteridgeville, in connection with the crime after the authorities were alerted to the bodies. She appeared in the Atteridgeville magistrate’s court in June.
The case has been postponed to July 26 pending post-mortem results and further investigations.
The state prosecutor said the docket was with the office of the National Director of Public Protection (NDPP) for consideration whether the matter would be tried in a Regional Court or High Court. Due to the delay in the post-mortem results, the children are yet to be buried.

Teenage rage ends in murder:
The family of Koketso Sakoneka (17), who was allegedly stabbed to death by another 17-year-old boy during a fight in September, said the only justice the family wants is for the accused to spend time in prison.
Constable Sibongile Vuma said it was alleged that the teenagers were fighting but it was still not clear what the fight was about. Vuma said the suspect ran after realising the victim was bleeding, not being aware that the victim was already dead.
“Police were on the scene. Community members did not comment about what happened and who stabbed the victim. We were called by community members who told us they knew what happened. They told us they knew who did this. The minor was taken into police custody.”

TMPD removes over 100 land invaders in Fort West:

The Tshwane Metro Police Department’s (TMPD) land invasion unit removed over a hundred illegal land invaders in Fort West (Lotus Gardens) in October.
TMPD spokesperson Senior Superintendent Isaac Mahamba said the land grabbers were previously given notice that the illegal structures on the land would be demolished.
“They failed to comply with the notice, which resulted in a court order being issued to demolish the structures,” Mahamba said.
“About 100 illegal structures were demolished during the operation.”
Mahamba said these operations will be conducted throughout Tshwane to address the issue of illegal land occupation.
“Residents are encouraged to avoid occupying land illegally and to report those who do so.”
However, the residents said they paid between R20 000 and R30 000 to a “committee they believed was responsible for selling the land in the area” so that they could be allocated stands. Some residents claimed they had been staying in the area for months and they were never told by the committeeg about their being there was illegal.

Family devastated after five members perish in Kirkney house fire:

Family members of the five people who perished in a fire in Mount Anderson Street in Kirkney, Pretoria West in November, have been left devastated by what happened.
Tshwane emergency service spokesperson, Charles Mabaso, said four siblings aged 6, 18, 22 and 24 and a domestic worker (46) lost their lives in the fire.
A mother (45) and her toddler (3) managed to escape the fire with minor injuries.
A neighbour who assisted the family, Simon Motaung, said when he arrived, the house was engulfed in flames.
“I heard people screaming inside. I went to the main bedroom and I broke the window with a spade. I tried to break the burglar bars on the windows but I couldn’t.
“My wife brought an axe and only then I managed to break through. The lady who stays here brought the baby through the window and I managed to take the baby out. I went back to assist the lady and she managed to get out as well.”
Motaung said when he went back for the third time, he could not manage to go in because the flames were too fierce, suffocating him.

Booysens couple convicted for selling their baby for R500:
The Pretoria High Court convicted Wayne (36) and Justine Loubser (32) from Booysens for selling their baby for R500.
The couple was convicted and found guilty on November for child neglect, common assault and failure to register a child.
Justine was further found guilty of human trafficking.
NPA spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana said the couple had the baby in April 2020 and did not register the child at the Department of Home Affairs to sell the baby and for the baby not to be traced back to them.
“A doctor who examined the baby testified in court that on November 6, 2020, she completed a J88-medical form which stated that the baby had bruises that were five days old on the head, chest and right arm and had a rash on the buttocks.
“Also, the couple had missed appointments and went weeks later for the child’s vaccination at the clinic so that the nurses could not see the bruises.”
Mahanjana said on two separate occasions, the parents individually tried to sell the baby to an informal trader named Saunders. The father approached Saunders first and offered to give her the baby for R2 000 and asked to go with her to the Department of Home Affairs to register the baby as hers.
Mahanjana said an informer who witnessed this happen called and reported the matter to the police.
She said the police together with Saunders set a trap for the couple.
“The baby was taken to a healthcare facility for observation and is currently in safe care.”

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