Pretoria News Weekend Saturday, February 6, 2021

ZUMA MEETS MALEMA Tea for two ‘nice and sweet, very hot’ SAMKELO MTSHALI samkelo.thulasizwe@inl.co.za EFF/Twitter THE much publicised tea meeting yesterday between former president Jacob Zuma and EFF leader Julius Malema at the former head of state’s Kwadwakudunuse Nkandla homestead descended into a clandestine gathering with the media left none the wiser of its contents. Malema arrived in a field several metres outside of Zuma’s sprawling R246 million KwaNxamalala, Nkandla, abode in a chopper after 12.30pm before being whisked away to the controversial former head of state’s home in a luxury German SUV, where he remained enclosed in the “tea party” for close to five hours. Malema was then whisked away in the same luxury car to the awaiting chopper with his entourage which included Advocate Dali Mpofu…

BLACK LIVES MATTER PROTEST Strijdom shooting survivor charged with assault in LA BRADLEY Steyn, a former ANC spy who was badly injured by police officers during a Black Lives Matter protest in Los Angeles, has been charged with assault in the same incident. Steyn was rushed to hospital on May 30 last year for emergency surgery on a ruptured testicle after he was hit by a projectile fired by a Los Angeles police officer. The 49-year-old South African is suing the city for the incident. However yesterday it emerged he is being charged with assaulting an officer and resisting or obstructing an officer. His lawyers have called the move retaliatory. The incident has had a lot of media play over the last couple of months, partly because Steyn had shared…

VACCINE Mkhize reveals roll-out plan SIYABONGA MKHWANAZI siyabonga.mkhwanazi@inl.co.za HEALTH Minister Zweli Mkhize says they want to ramp up the vaccination of the people with provinces indicating they were ready to roll out their plans. Mkhize told members of the health portfolio committee yesterday the sooner they start with the vaccination programme the better as countries are clamouring for vaccines across the globe. This has led to some of the countries in Europe urging that vaccines not be exported until they have supplied all countries in the queue in that continent. Mkhize said they were still committed to vaccinate 40 million by the end of the year. He said after the first consignment of one million doses arrived from the Serum Institute of India this week, another batch of 500 000…

Drugs disguised as potatoes TWO men have been remanded in custody by the Komatipoort Magistrate’s Court following their arrest for smuggling drugs valued at R3.4 million from Mozambique, the SAPS said “Raymond Mashele, aged 25 and 44-year-old Tai Isaac Mlambo were arrested [on Thursday] at the Lebombo Port of Entry in Komatipoort by members of the SAPS border policing and custom officials who were conducting routine stop-and-searches at the gate,” said Mpumalanga police spokesperson Brigadier Leonard Hlathi. “The members stopped a Toyota Dyna truck with the said occupants and on searching it, they found drugs stashed inside bags of potatoes. The suspects are said to have been coming from Mozambique and it is believed that they were heading to Gauteng with the contraband before they were intercepted by the astute…

ENVIRONMENT Efforts to clean up island of waste in the Hennops River SAKHILE NDLAZI sakhile.ndlazi@inl.co.za JACQUES NAUDE African News Agency (ANA) “We are repeatedly told to tackle the problem at the source, but the problem in my opinion is the lack of dustbins around the city” AN ISLAND of waste products known as the “poly island” in the Hennops River in Centurion is full of waste due to the increased rain of the past week. Waste range from plastic to bottles to paper and other items, but fortunately the Hennops Revival Organisation, along with other volunteers, have managed to remove about 330 bags from the island, of which 150 bags were just bottles and the remaining 180 bags of polystyrene. Cigarette butts, paper, food wrappers, confections, tissue paper and napkins…

CRIME Jailed couple abused offspring JONISAYI MAROMO THE PRETORIA North Regional Court has sentenced a couple from Doornpoort to two life terms and 22 years’ imprisonment each for various sexual offences, abuse of their own two children and drug possession. Lumka Mahanjana,spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) in the Gauteng north region, on Friday said the couple – a 39-year-old man and a 33-year-old woman – were found guilty of rape, compelled rape, sexual assault, sexual grooming, flashing, child neglect and possession of drugs. “These sexual abuse offences were committed on their own children, a 5-year-old girl and an 8-year-old boy, in 2014. The parents performed gory sexual acts on the children, made the children commit sexual acts to them as parents, to each other as children and forced…