Author: Boitumelo Tshehle
Residents of Skirliek outside Klerksdorp in the North West, tired of waiting to be allocated homes as promised, have moved into RDP houses that were abandoned by the contractor three years ago. The defiant residents, many of whom live in shacks, said the government had promised that they would occupy the two-bedroomed houses but now, the unfinished structures are unoccupied and already falling apart. The contractor left 124 foundations incomplete and 140 houses unfinished. There is an accumulation of long grass in the yards of some of the houses, and the locals fear that criminals could use the spaces to…
Hannie Stevenson and her partner Simphiwe Mbambalala have together changed the lives of more than 50 children through their NGO called Living with Hope by Hannie. The Good Samaritans converted their home in Jouberton outside Klerksdorp in the North West, into a sanctuary for disadvantaged children who lineup every morning and after school for a meal. The 35-year-old Stevenson and the 33-year-old Mbambalala believe acts of kindness and generosity have the power to elevate a person’s mood in many positive ways. Stevenson was diagnosed with HIV in 2011 and she said because of her disease, which left her bedridden and…
A 34-year-old visual artist, Lebogang Moabi from Jouberton outside Klerksdorp is the leading figure behind the ‘Painting Matlosana Gold’ campaign – an ongoing initiative where young artists are beautifying the township by painting colourful murals all over the street walls. Moabi said he utilises his talent to spread the message of hope through art as a medium as some of his art works, scattered around the Jouberton townships where 70% of the residents are unemployed. The township has recently been in the news for its violence, gang fights, conflicts around tenders and other social ills and Moabi said he started…
A Pretoria-based law firm is set to sue an employer and the owner of three pit bulls on behalf of a 48-year-old North West domestic worker who has allegedly been viciously mauled by the dogs on three different occasions. The attorneys – Mphahlele and Masipa, took up the civil matter on behalf of Dipuo Kokolosi after her plight was on YOU FM and then published in Newsnote in January where in we reported that the third and last attacked left her disfigured after the dogs mauled her and ripped off her nose and an ear from her face. According to…
The rape case against Afro Pop singer Avuyile Mkompolo, known as ‘Coolkid’ has been withdrawn by the Stilfontein Magistrates Court in the North West on Thursday. This was after the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) stated that there was not enough evidence to prosecute him. Mkompolo was arrested in December last year after he was alleged to have raped a 13- year-old girl. In his last court appearance Mkompolo who was charged with rape, pleaded not guilty to the charge. He was out on a R2 000 bail. According to NPA spokesperson Henry Mamothame, the decision to abandon the case was made…
The EFF’s Deputy Secretary General, Hlengiwe Mkhalipi, has urged all residents of the North West to follow party leader Julius Malema’s call for a ‘shutdown’ on March 20 to protest the ongoing energy crisis. Mkhalipi told a first plenum meeting of the EFF in the North West at the Matlosana recreational centre on Sunday afternoon that load shedding has affected many South Africans, with businesses suffering the most. The EFFs CIC Julius Malema said last week his party was planning a shutdown to show dissatisfaction with the current load shedding status. The EFF has also called for President Cyril Ramaphosa’s…
The Stilfontein Magistrates Court in the North West has postponed the case of 21 suspected illegal miners arrested last October for operating at an abandoned mine in Stilfontein. Their court appearance follows a crime blitz in October 2022 where law enforcement seized fifteen AK47s, six hunting rifles, two shotguns, and one R5, boxes full of ammunition, explosives and an undisclosed amount of money. The well-executed operation by the North West Hawks’ Serious Organised Crime Investigation Unit assisted by members of the Hawks’ Tactical Management Section, Special Task Force, National Intervention Unit, District Illegal Mining Task Team, Tactical Response Team, Bidvest…
A 48-year-old woman from Bloemhof, North West, has been disfigured and traumatised after being mauled by her employer’s three Pitbulls for a third time a year ago. Dipuo Kokolosi said when she got employment as a domestic worker in Potchefstroom three years ago, she believed her prayers had been answered because as a single mother who had to care for her daughter and her two grandchildren, the chance to earn money would improve her life. Her dreams were shattered when three Pitbulls attacked her inside her employer’s house and began feeding on her flesh. “I believed that was the end…
Parents of learners at the North West School for the Deaf in Leeudoringstad, near Wolmaranstad, are outraged that all 28 matriculants at the school have failed. The City of Life Christian School in Brits is another school where all learners failed the exam. Parents and the SGB blamed the zero-percent pass rate on the lack of sign language. The Chairperson of the SGB Matshidiso Tlhole, said the children were the ones teaching their teachers sign language because there were no teachers who knew how to do that. “Our children were compelled to teach their teachers sign language since the teachers…
The arrest of an ANC MP, Sibusiso Kula, has stunned residents of Kanana, outside Orkney, in the North West. Kula, 34, was arrested on Monday in connection with the death of his 31-year-old wife Jeniffer Kula who was murdered in their Kanana home last November. National police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe confirmed the arrest and said Kula was charged with murder. “The incident happened on November 27 2022 at the home of the suspect in Kanana township,” she said. Kula’s arrest for the murder of his wife has sent shockwaves in Kanana as the township is preparing to bury another…