SEE the top stories that made headlines in Zululand in 2013
January
Flash floods: The heavy rains hit Empangeni hard with 160mm falling over Friday night, followed by a further 106mm being
measured on Sunday morning. World champion jet-skier Dustin Motzouris, launched his jet-ski in Tanner Road much to the delight of onlookers.
Toxic stink: Toxic waste continues to gush from the Empangeni landfill site into the natural environment. In the form of black, soapy, pungent smelling liquid, it flows from the dump site into the nearby stream, stormwater drain and dam which courses down into the river system. This problem persisted throughout the year.
February
Poachers shoot three rhino: SAP Organised Crime Unit respond to a shooting of three rhino, two of which died, in Hhluhluwe
A firm foundation: Tons of concrete that formed the foundation and walls of Richards Bay’s rising oncology centre contain one special element – the Bible of a brave woman who succumbed to cancer 11 years ago. Marlene Shacks passed away as a result of lung cancer and during the next three years her two brothers and one sister would also lose their lives to the same disease.
Acid burn death: A contractor died following sulphuric acid burns sustained at the Foskor plant in Richards Bay. Walter Motor Mbambo was working in the CTank farm when one of the strong acid intermediate tanks (C3) ruptured.
Front page photograph was of Zululand cricket ace Kyle Abbott at King Shaka Airport leaving to join the Protea cricket squad.
March
Closure threat for Pongola Hospital: Pongola Hospital would be forced to close its doors if they did not receive funding by the end of the month. The KZN Health Department withdrew its R3.8-million annual subsidy due to ‘budget cuts’. However, the hospital remains open, but its future appears bleak.
Lives torn apart: Young father, Ruan Smit (29) was killed in an accident at the Alton robot intersection on the John Ross Parkway. Smit,a Bell Equipment employee left behind his wife, Christine and two young children, one a baby only weeks old.
April
Carolyn’s last dance: In a tragedy that shocked the Zululand community, dance instructor Carolyn Frara (57) was stabbed to death in her Empangeni home, allegedly by her husband. The case is currently in court and investigations are ongoing.
Guilty as charged: Overwhelming evidence from witnesses in the Zenzele Nxumalo murder trial made sure his killers were found guilty. Buhlebuyeza Majola (35) and Sibusiso Majola (25) were jailed after they gunned down the Bell Equipment Human Resources manager in his driveway in Arboretum in August 2011. International rugby referee Marius Jonker was also on the ‘hit list’.
May
Shooting drama: Zululand farmer Peter-John Hassard was shot by a gang on his Hluhluwe farm. His wife found him lying in his car outside their doctor’s gates. He had been shot through the liver. He would spend four months in hospital recovering from the attack.
Smelter horror: A worker died of his injures and a second suffered severe burns after what was described as an explosion of molten metal at Tronox KZN Sands. Nhlonipho Radebe (34) died in hospital of injuries and Hugo Swanepoel was in intensive care. The accident occurred during a ‘routine transfer of molten iron to a transfer car’.
June
Nightmare at Monzi: Thieves bound and gagged a five year-old boy and locked him in a bathroom with his small dog while they forced his mother upstairs, demanding money and valuables. A gang of four balaclava-clad men surprised them in their double-storey Monzi home and when they demanded money, the little boy offered the R12 in his piggy bank.
Search for big cat: Ezemvelo Wildlife officials were on high alert after the sighting of a lioness prowling in Heatonville.News of a big cat sighting on Clive Curry’s farm had trackers out on the trail searching for the lioness. To this day, she has never been seen again.
July
Child death heartbreak: Five-year-old Danielle Lucas died when she was electrocuted after touching a live electrical cubicle at a residential complex in Arboretum. She was playing with friends behind a unit at the Ocean Rest flats when she grabbed onto the protection cage of the cubicle and was shocked to death. Just one day prior, another child had been shocked at the same scene and no steps were taken to repair the fault.
Shreducation! School texts books discovered being destroyed at the UTI Distributors’ Empangeni warehouse. uThungulu District Education Director David Chonco said the workbooks were destined for schools throughout the district, therefore affecting many schools which had been left without valuable books for a long time.
August
Poacher shoot-out: A suspected poacher was shot in a predawn shoot-out in the Hluhluwe–iMfolozi Game Reserve. Game rangers in the reserve responded when they heard a gunshot at about 4am. The alleged poacher was wounded and hospitalised.
The front page photo was of community members boycotting the circus coming to Richards Bay.
Wreck threat: The fully-laden coal carrier MV Smart runs aground just outside the harbour in appalling weather conditions. Authorities prepare to deal with the possibility that more than 1 000 tons of fuel oil and 200 tons of diesel could spill onto the beach.
September
Reliving the terror: The chilling words of the driver moments before the fatal bus crash at Nkwaleni which left 10 dead and 60 injured.
* An eSikhaleni policeman shoots and kills his colleague and a female resident in the Port Durnford
Death trap: Four young children, locked up and trapped in their house, died in a fire which razed their home to the ground. It is suspected that a candle or paraffin lamp being used for lighting, ignited gas bottles, resulting in an explosion.
October
Spiked muffins shocker: Three 16-year-old pupils from Old Mill High School were rushed to hospital after eating ‘drug infused’ muffins at school. The girls had reportedly been given the ‘space muffin’ treats by another grade 10 boy during the morning recess.
* The front page photograph is of divers bringing to shore the body of a man who drowned at the Goedertrouw Dam.
Pupil killed: The drivers involved in the fatal accident in which a nine-year-old, Alwande Langa died were released without bail. Both Siphelele Ndwande (23), the driver of the vehicle from which the Grade 3 pupil was flung, and the driver of the taxi which collided with a fully laden Hyundai, Ntulumbuso Biyela (32), were charged with culpable homicide.
November
Family catastrophe: Three generations of the same family died in a head-on crash on the N2 near Mtunzini while on their way to Jozini to celebrate their daughter’s birthday. 10-year-old birthday girl Rachel Cullinan, her mother Melanie (34), grandmother Heather (63) and close friend of Rachel, Cheyenne Dickson, died in the smash.
Cancer unit: The official opening of Zululand’s first oncology unit celebrated the triumph of state-of-the-art technology connecting with compassionate humanity. The Richards Bay Medical Institute’s advanced radiation therapy equipment is the best of its kind in the world, able to treat cancer patients far faster, more accurately and with better results than ever before.
Children slain in witchcraft murder: The ‘sangoma’ uncle of two murdered eSikhaleni children was arrested after their bodies were found in a shallow grave. Lindokuhle’s (9) throat was slit and his three-year-old cousin Nosiphiwa was reportedly strangled to death.
December
Living the legacy – Nelson Mandela dies: The country mourns the death of former president, Nelson Mandela
New era for Grantleigh: Grantleigh Schools is sold to the major national Curro Holdings education group in a move which should see the Zululand private school’s reputation as a centre of excellence even further enhanced.
