SA village breaks weather record with temperatures soaring to 54°C

Vioolsdrif, a village in the Northern Cape, has broken a new record for the highest temperature in the country — reaching over 50 degrees Celsius.

SA Weather Service forecaster Mbavhi Maliage said Vioolsdrif first broke the record in 1995 with a maximum temperature of 46.2°C.

“On Thursday, it reached a new record of 50.1°C and then it broke its own record again on Friday by reaching 53.2°C, which was rounded off to 54°C,” Maliage said.
She said the area has been experiencing hot temperatures for a while.

“There was an upper high weather system situated over the area that resulted in an increase of temperatures, which is the reason we had a heatwave condition in parts of SA,” Maliage said.
She said Vioolsdrif would remain hot but the temperatures would decrease by about 15°C in the next two days.

Planet Earth and Storm Report SA reported that the temperature recorded at the Viooldrif weather station is now the highest yet recorded anywhere in Africa in the modern era.

A previous record temperature of 55°C was recorded in Tunisia in 1931, but that figure was unreliable due to instruments not being calibrated to international standards then, according to their

Facebook posts.

South Africans are advised that some relief from the current high temperatures across various parts of the country is forecast from midweek. On Sunday, Maliage warned that Gauteng was still experiencing heatwave conditions with temperatures reaching highs of over 30°C and that people should exercise caution.

 “In a heatwave condition, people should reduce outdoor activities; avoid excessive intake of alcohol and have regular liquid intake, particularly water. The elderly and children are the most vulnerable.”

She said temperatures would decrease from Wednesday and predicted rain would fall in the eastern and central parts of the country. These include Gauteng, North West, Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal and Limpopo provinces.

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Tshwane MMC Sheila Senkubuge resigns amid 'sex tape' scandal

The DA has confirmed the resignation of Tshwane roads and transport MMC Sheila Senkubuge.
This comes a few days after a leaked audio recording in which she is allegedly heard having “sex” with now suspended mayor Stevens Mokgalapa.

In a statement on Saturday, DA Gauteng leader John Moodey confirmed the resignation.
“The DA has informed the chief whip of council to communicate her resignation to the city manager so that a vacancy can be declared by the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC)," said Moodey.

He said the party was also aware that a case had been laid with the police regarding her citizenship status amid rumours that she was not a naturalised citizen.

“We further note that a private citizen has laid charges with the police with regards to the allegations of her being registered to vote while not being a naturalised citizen.

“The IEC must explain its processes in this regard and the law must follow its course,” said Moodey.

The party announced that it had appointed Abel Tau as acting mayor while investigations into Mokgalapa are under way. Opposition parties are baying for blood, with the EFF pushing for a motion of no confidence in the embattled mayor.

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Headmaster's child porn conviction scrapped over invalid search warrant

A former principal of a Methodist Church school has been cleared of possessing child pornography, more than six years after his arrest.

Neil Malherbe, who was fired by the private Penryn Preparatory School in Mpumalanga after his arrest, had his conviction set aside by the Supreme Court of Appeal on Friday.

 

Judge Yvonne Mbatha said the search warrant used by police when they seized his computers was invalid. “Therefore, the evidence obtained [through it] rendered the trial unfair and should have been excluded.”

In 2017, Nelspruit regional court magistrate Vanessa Joubert convicted Malherbe on three of the seven charges he faced and gave him suspended sentences of three months’ imprisonment on each of them.

Joubert also declared him unsuitable to work with children and ordered that his name be added to the National Child Protection Register of sex offenders.

Malherbe, 54, lost a high court appeal against his conviction and sentence, but Mbatha said the magistrate who issued the search warrant failed to ensure that the police officer who requested it take an oath.

“A search warrant issued on the basis of an unattested statement is invalid,” she said.
Malherbe’s arrest on August 15 2013 made global headlines when it was reported to be part of Project Spade, an international investigation into child pornography.

Reporting his sentencing, The Lowvelder said Joubert explained her decision not to jail him by saying: “He has 26 years’ experience in teaching and is currently living off his life savings.
“I do not see him as a high risk and he has also experienced a public shaming in the media and a fall from grace.”

Announcing Malherbe’s firing a week after his arrest, the Penryn Preparatory board described him as a man “characterised by exceptional professionalism”, who enjoyed the respect of his teaching colleagues, parents and pupils.

Malherbe previously taught at Selborne and Graeme colleges in East London and Makhanda, as well as in Cape Town, and at one time coached water polo at national level.

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Tourist offered a lion's head at Victoria Falls, police lure syndicate into trap

 

Zimbabwean authorities have intercepted a poaching syndicate which was trying to sell a lion’s head to a tourist in Victoria Falls.

Game ranger Kissmore Munsaka, 32, nurses Munashe Murimisa, 32, and Buuya Sikuka, 48, as well as Mascot Muvari, 35, a policeman, soldier Anymore Sikuka, 37, and Victoria Falls resident Verster Chimidzi, 43, were arrested on Monday by Criminal Investigation Department police officers.

The CID received advance information about the crew’s search for a buyer in the resort town.
Using a tourist, a trap was set and the sellers agreed to meet their potential buyer outside a supermarket.

When police rounded them up, the suspects were found in possession of a lion’s head and skin without a hunting permit.

Investigations revealed the lion they killed had been illegally hunted on November 3 in a safari area which is strictly a game-viewing zone.

They are set to appear in court on Wednesday, each on three charges under the Parks and Wildlife Act, including a section that stipulates “no person shall sell any animal or any part of animal which has been hunted in or has died in or has been removed from a safari area”.

A second charge is that of removing an animal or part of it from a safari area. The final charge is that of hunting in a safari area.

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Mondeor man arrested after false claim of follow-home robbery

A 45-year-old man from Mondeor, south of Johannesburg, has been arrested for perjury.
Brig Mathapelo Peters said he was nabbed on Saturday.

He had told police that he was followed from a Standard Bank branch on Thursday after he had withdrawn cash.

He claimed that while opening the gate at his home, three male suspects who had been in a white Toyota Fortuner following him, held him up with a firearm and took him into the house, where they robbed him.

“An investigation revealed that he opened a false case,” said Peters.
The suspect will appear in the Johannesburg magistrate's court on Monday.

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Getting more people on antiretrovirals vital in fight against HIV/Aids: Parliament

Getting an additional two million people on antiretroviral treatment is critical in the fight against HIV/Aids, said parliament’s portfolio committee on health on Sunday, World Aids Day.

“As we commemorate World Aids day, I would like to acknowledge the sterling work by the community health workers across the country. Their contribution should stimulate other South Africans to join and be part of this drive against HIV,” committee chairperson Dr Sibongiseni Dhlomo said.

He said it remained important to highlight the rollout of interventions and that “achieving the target of an additional two million people on treatment by 2020, increasing of HIV education, counselling and testing, medical male circumcision and many other strategies remain critical in the broader scheme of strategies against HIV”.

He said World Aids Day served as a reminder of the “critical” role communities played in the fight against the pandemic.

 “The fight against HIV, TB and STIs can only be won when communities realise the important role they can play, and commit themselves fully to that role. The supportive role by communities to people living with HIV/Aids is also a key pillar in this overall war against HIV,” Dhlomo said.   He emphasised that communities should play a leading and meaningful role in dispelling all forms of stigma against people living with HIV/Aids and other diseases.

The commemoration of this year’s World Aids Day, he said,  followed the launch of the new HIV treatment regime — Tenofovir, Lamivudine and Dolutegravir (TLD) — by health minister Dr Zweli Mkhize.

“Important strides like this, represent the depth of the commitment of the SA government in the fight against HIV.

“But the government cannot do it alone. South Africans are encouraged to join in this global endeavour in support of the government because collaboration is essential if we are to achieve the common objective,” Dhlomo added.  

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Cape Town City among a number of international clubs duped by a fake footballer

Cape Town City look to have been among a number of international clubs duped by a fake footballer‚ who was arrested in Denmark this week for robbery.

Bernio Verhagen‚ supposedly a promising 25-year-old right wing from the Netherlands who had trained at several top clubs‚ was signed by the Premier Soccer League club in August but quickly turned out to be useless and the club let him quietly leave to avoid embarrassment.

But it turns out City are among several club that signed the conman‚ including Dinamo Auto Tiraspol in Moldova‚ Audax Italiano in Chile and the Danish club Viborg‚ where he was unmasked this week.

City owner John Comitis‚ according to club spokesman Julian Bailey‚ signed the supposed right winger from the Netherlands on the advice of a “well trusted international agent” just before the start of the new season in August.

“But it turned out to be a fake phone call with someone imitating the agent. Unfortunately we had done the paperwork but luckily no money had been paid over‚” he explained.

Verhagen trained for just two days with the first team squad before it was obvious he was not up to standard and sent to play with the reserves.

Verhagen’s arrival was trumpeted by the club on social media‚ although those posts have since been removed.

He quietly slipped away after just six weeks‚ going off to Chile.
Verhagen was unmasked this week when the Danish club Viborg cancelled his contract after just a week.

He has since been arrested for an alleged hold up outside the train station in the Danish town after a charge of fraud had been laid against him by the club.

Comitis' signing of players without consulting his coach Benni McCarthy was one of the major causes of the fallout between owner and coach over the last month before the mentor's departure and will be a source of much embarrassment now that the true story behind Verhagen has come to light.

It exposes a common practice in South Africa where owners and chairman sign players without consulting their technical teams.

Verhagen was allegedly represented by the London based Stellar Group‚ who are a formidable force in the business of buying and selling players

It was all exposed earlier this week at Viborg‚ according to Danish media‚ after the club and player agreed to termination of his contract a week after his arrival.

A three-hour meeting ended with the club’s sports manager Jesper Fredberg driving Verhagen away from the club to hand him over to the police station in Viborg‚ where the club filed a fraud report.

The story with Danes is much the same as that of Comitis‚ signing the player after being approached by agents claiming to be from the Stellar Group.

“VFF has received forged documents‚ emails and calls from people who claimed to be real agents in the Stellar Group‚” Viborg said in a statement.

“It was never intended for Bernio Verhagen to be part of the first team‚ but that the agreement was concluded solely to strengthen the relationship with the agent company.”

Verhagen’s signing was allegedly supported by letters of recommendations‚ including one from Ajax Amsterdam’s technical director Mark Overmans.

“Viborg feels it has fallen victim to a scam that is likely to involve more people in several countries.”

Verhagen was presumably free to go after the complaint against him was lodged with the police on

Sunday because he was arrested then after an alleged robbery on Tuesday.

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