Theleak-SA

THE fighting over little Latoya’s death at Pastor Paseka “Mboro” Motsoeneng’s church led to a number of cases being opened with the police.

And last week, the drama continued when the child’s mum, Nontombi Gwam, attempted suicide due to stress over the cost of burying her daughter.

However, the mum was discharged from hospital last week and the three-year-old was finally laid to rest in Ngqamakwe, Eastern Cape, on Saturday.

She had been in a mortuary for three weeks.

Latoya died on Christmas Eve after her mum took her to the Incredible Happenings Church in Katlehong, Ekurhuleni. Nontombi said Latoya died in an ambulance after a paramedic failed to give her immediate medical care.

Although the family appealed to the public for financial help to pay for food and transport at the funeral, no one came forward. However, Mboro agreed to cover all the costs.

He told the SunTeam: “Instead of waiting, I’ll cover the whole cost.

“It’s not that I have enough money but I don’t want the mum to do something stupid.

“She must know that she is loved and people are giving her support.”

A Local star DJ Tira has released a statement addressing questions about former Afrotainment group Big Nuz. 

“I really feel like I have to say this. I’ve ignored these questions for too long. Where is Big Nuz? When is Big Nuz album coming out?” Tira wrote, adding: “Firstly Mampintsha, Danger and I, we are fine. There is no bad blood. Big Nuz has a New Managament. So its NOT DJ TIRA’s call to say when should Big Nuz album be recorded, etc (sic).” 

In the statement Tira went on to say that he does not know what Danger and Mampintsha’s plans for 2018 are, but added the guys are always welcome to work with Afrotainment in future.

ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa has promised to resuscitate the country’s ailing economy while implementing the ruling party's policies on free education and radical economic transformation.

In his maiden January 8 statement at East London's Absa stadium on Saturday, Ramaphosa attempted to reassure investors by painting a picture perfect South Africa under his rule.

He said the party required a programme of fundamental and radical change.

"We are going to restore our focus on building an economy in which all South Africans can flourish. An economy which benefits the people of our country as a whole rather than just to benefit a few privileged individuals and families in our country."

He added that the party wanted an open and diverse economy that will provide opportunities for all, especially young people and women.

This economy he said, would welcome investment.

"We must not have an economy that discourages and chases away investors from investing in South Africa."

He invited all investors from all over the world to come to South Africa to invest so that the country's economy could grow "so that we can create jobs, so that we can end poverty, so that we can reduce inequality," he added.

South Africa's status has suffered one downgrade after another by ratings agencies.

The country has also been under great strain with expected growth for the year at less than 2% due to recent political uncertainty in the ANC.

President Jacob Zuma's cabinet reshuffles have also fuelled the fire putting investor confidence in the country at an all-time low since the party took over in 1994.

Ramaphosa who now takes over from Zuma as party president will have to clean up the economy.

He was the preferred candidate of business with markets responding positively to him during his campaign and victory in December at the ANC elective conference against former African Union commission chair Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma.

However, Ramaphosa's business acumen will be challenged during his term as president of the ruling party.

He is tasked with implementing Zuma's fee-free education proclamation, radical economic transformation as well as land redistribution without compensation.

Attempting to ease investor confidence, Ramaphosa said land will be redistributed while meeting the constitutional requirement of redress.

He added that the party would ensure that fee-free higher education for those families earning less than R350 000 would be implemented in a gradual process.

"As we accumulate more and more money, as we mobilise resources. We are going to realise this historic objective."

A man is in hot water after marrying the daughter of his wife – without divorcing his wife first.

According to Pennlive, Christopher Hauptmann (44) from Shamokin in Pennsylvania, America did not try to defend himself against a bunch of charges when he appeared in court last week.

Among the charges was that of bigamy, which is the offence in America of marrying someone while already being married to another person.

Hauptmann married Shannon Deitrich in 2015 in Florida. But then a year later, he wedded Kaylee Durovick, Deitrich’s daughter. He was still married to Deitrich at the time.

Durovick and Hauptmann are still together.

Other charges Hauptmann faces are the illegal possession of a firearm. He apparently lied when he applied to buy guns that he didn’t have any previous convictions. Actually, Hauptmann did have a conviction for drugs, which means he can’t own a gun.

Judge Paige Rosini sentenced Hauptmann to a year minus a day to two years minus a day in prison followed by 10 years' probation. He was given credit for the 332 days he has been in jail, unable to post bail.

The rand weakened in midday trade yesterday to its worst in nearly three weeks after the ANC said an early exit for President Jacob Zuma had not been discussed at a party meeting.

Initially hit by softening demand for emerging market assets as global bond yields picked up, the rand’s losses accelerated to a session-low R12.55 shortly after the ANC Secretary-General Ace Magashule told reporters Zuma’s removal was not on the agenda of a meeting of the party’s top decision-making body.

At 1pm the rand was 1.4% weaker at R12.5075 to the dollar, slightly better than the slide to its weakest level since December26.

By 5pm, the rand had recovered somewhat, bidding at R12.4529 to the greenback, but 2.73c softer than at the same time on Tuesday.

The rand has swung between R12.2275 and the upper R12.50s for the first two weeks of the year, pushed and pulled by mostly rumour-fuelled bets of a Zuma resignation before his term ends next year.

“The rand, and markets generally, at the moment have been very headline driven. And the ANC meeting only ends tomorrow so there will be more headlines and that means rand volatility should continue,” said trader at RMB, Jim Bryson.

“It’s really difficult to call, it needs to close above (R)12.52 to get out of these ranges, but a test of around (R)12.20 cannot be totally discounted,” Bryson said.

The rand has rallied since mid-December, supported by investors’ hopes that the newly elected leader ANC head Cyril Ramaphosa would push through business-friendly policies.

The rally has since stalled, with signs of higher rates in the US shifting some of the focus back to fundamentals, although analysts said a decision on Zuma remained the main swing factor.

“He (Ramaphosa) is likely to do everything in his power to reduce Zuma’s influence and to facilitate a rapid end to his time in power. That is rand positive,” said analyst at Frankfurt-based Commerzbank, Elisabeth Andreae.

Meanwhile, in equities, the benchmark JSE Top40 index slipped 0.03% to 53167.96 points while the broader all share index declined 0.22% to close at 59979.63 points.

Cape Town – The DA’s Cape Metro executive has decided to recommend to its higher bosses that Patricia De Lille be removed as the mayor of the City of Cape Town.

Grant Twigg, DA metro leader, said: “Patricia De Lille has lost the confidence of the Metro Executive, the relevant political authority. We are of the view that the City of Cape Town requires stability, unity and functionality – which we believe she cannot deliver.”

“I communicated our recommendations to party leadership and trust they will act swiftly in the best interests of the organization. All public representatives are accountable to its party and voters, and as party leadership we need to ensure that all deployees are acting in the best interests of voters as well as the organization, and not themselves. The metro executive has not taken these decisions lightly but after careful consideration and deliberation,” Twigg said.

He also said the DA caucus will not support De Lille’s proposed drought levy.

Speculation has been rife that De Lille will be axed following two investigations and several allegations of corruptions which De Lille has all denied.

De Lille told the Cape Argus that she will be taking legal action against the DA should they decide on removing her.

@JasonFelix

jason.felix@inl.co.za

A suspect is expected in court in Limpopo in the first week of 2018 following his arrest for allegedly killing a white lion.

 Captain Moatshe Ngoepe Limpopo Police Spokesman  told TimesLIVE four poachers allegedly killed the lion in January 2017.

The second suspect was arrested last week‚ Ngoepe said.

One man was arrested a year ago‚ with police searching the others.

"We happened to identify the suspects days later [after the incident]. One was arrested. All along we were looking for the other three."

The first suspect is in custody and his trial is not yet completed.

Asked how the suspects were identified‚ Ngoepe just said "through our sources".

The man will appear in the magistrate's court in Senwabarwana‚ also known as Bochum‚ this week.

Durban - Two people have been killed in an early morning crash in Pinetown near Durban on New Year's Day.

Private emergency services provider Rescue Care spokesperson Garrith Jamieson said the accident occurred on the Dumisanya Makhanya freeway just outside Claremont in Pinetown.

"Just after 4am, Rescue Care paramedics were called to the scene to find that a vehicle had somehow lost control and come to rest on its roof in a ditch on the roadside. 

"Paramedics assessed the scene and found that there had been seven occupants in the vehicle at the time of the collision,"he said. "Unfortunately a male and a female, believed to be in their 30s, had suffered major injuries and there was nothing more anyone could do for them and they were declared deceased at the scene. 

"A further five people had sustained various injuries and were stabilised on the scene before being transported to various Durban Hospitals for the further care that they required."

Police were on the scene to investigate the cause of the accident.

African News Agency/ANA