Latest news with #XolileNqatha
Daily Maverick
17 hours ago
- Daily Maverick
Eastern Cape cop back at work after pleading guilty to armed robbery, 12 more still on duty despite criminal records
A Nelson Mandela Bay police officer who pleaded guilty – in a disciplinary hearing – to charges of armed robbery, possession of stolen property and the possession of an unlicensed firearm has returned to work after a two-month suspension. The DA's Yusuf Cassim however said there were serious irregularities with the officer's disciplinary hearing. A police officer who was working in the child protection unit at the Mount Road Police station in Nelson Mandela Bay has been reinstated, although redeployed to a different police station, after pleading guilty on charges of armed robbery during a disciplinary hearing. This was confirmed by Eastern Cape MEC for Community Safety, Xolile Nqatha, in a written reply to the provincial legislature. Nqatha said the docket for the armed robbery case was opened in Stormsriver and that the criminal matter is still ongoing. He also confirmed that 12 police officers with criminal convictions are currently serving in the South African Police Service (SAPS) in the province, and 217 cases involving police officers are under investigation. Most of the convictions were for police officers helping prisoners escape. The cases included: A police officer at Mount Road SAPS was convicted of assault with the intent to do serious bodily harm. He has received a suspended sentence; An officer in Kareedouw was found guilty of fraud and fined R12,000 in court, of which R6,000 was suspended; An officer working at the Graaff Reinet SAPS was convicted of reckless and negligent driving and paid an admission-of-guilt fine; Officers in Paterson, Tsolo and Kirkwood have all been convicted of helping prisoners escape and received prison sentences of between 6 months and a year; and An officer in Mthatha paid an admission of guilt fine of R1,500 for fraud. The Democratic Alliance's Yusuf Cassim criticised the fact that 12 police officers with criminal convictions, and hundreds more facing criminal charges, are still active members of the Eastern Cape SAPS. 'Not only have these officers broken the law they swore to uphold, they also violated the trust of the residents they serve, some going so far as putting criminal elements back on the street in a province where you are more likely to be raped or murdered than anywhere else in the country,' he said. He said the officer from Mount Road SAPS accused of armed robbery had returned to duty this month, but was redeployed to Kinkelbos SAPS. 'The officer pleaded guilty in an internal disciplinary hearing to aggravated robbery, possession of stolen property and unlawful possession of a firearm, receiving a two-month suspension without pay. The criminal case against him remains ongoing.' He said the officer's disciplinary hearing was chaired by a captain despite the SAPS Discipline Regulations of 2016 requiring that an officer with the rank of brigadier or higher must chair the case. 'This breach raises serious questions about other disciplinary cases that have allowed convicted criminals to remain in positions where they are supposed to enforce the very laws they have been found guilty of breaking,' he said. 'Were their disciplinary hearings also chaired by junior officers? Were proper procedures followed before allowing these criminals to remain in the service? Who authorised these outcomes?' he asked. 'I will be writing to the National Commissioner to request a comprehensive review of all SAPS members with criminal convictions or pending criminal charges in the Eastern Cape, including an examination of the disciplinary processes followed in each case and whether these processes complied with national regulations,' he said.
News24
a day ago
- News24
Eastern Cape transport dept crew robbed while repairing flood-damaged road
A provincial transport department crew was robbed while repairing a flood-damaged road in Cala, Eastern Cape. Gunmen stole the crew's bakkie. The robbery comes days after humanitarian aid workers were intimidated while assisting people affected by flooding in the province. A group of armed men robbed provincial transport department construction workers who were sent to repair a flood-damaged road in Cala in the Chris Hani district in the Eastern Cape. 'The incident occurred in Cala late [on Wednesday] as the workers were out to attend to a rural bridge damaged by the recent floods in a village in Cala,' Transport MEC Xolile Nqatha said. 'A bakkie driven by a group of balaclava-clad men armed with rifles approached them while working at a nearby quarry,' Nqatha added. He added that the men tied up the workers, demanded keys to their bakkie, and removed several tyres from their tipper truck. 'They loaded them onto the stolen bakkie, and both bakkies sped off, leaving the [crew] stranded but unharmed,' Nqatha added. The incident comes only days after Gift of the Givers Foundation aid workers were intimidated while providing essential aid to flood victims in Mthatha on Saturday. According to the OR Tambo District Municipality, the workers were threatened by people who demanded that they stop supporting hundreds of displaced residents affected by recent flooding in the province. Police are now escorting Gift of the Givers teams when delivering essential aid to affected people. The Mthatha area was the hardest-hit part of the province with 68 of the total death toll of 92. Two bodies were found on Wednesday night, including that of a teenage girl, Premier Oscar Mabuyane said in a statement. It was discovered along the Mthatha River. Mabuyane added: 'The provincial government continues to work tirelessly to provide urgent humanitarian assistance to 4 308 individuals who have been left homeless across the province, and processes are under way to ensure the provision of temporary residential units. Significant progress has also been made in the restoration of critical infrastructure,' he said. The premier said an intensive response and recovery effort was under way.
Straits Times
11-06-2025
- Climate
- Straits Times
Eight bodies recovered after South African school bus swept away by floods
FILE PHOTO: Residents walk across a flooded road following severe weather with heavy rain from a cold front in Masiphumelele, Cape Town, South Africa on May 20, 2025. REUTERS/Nic Bothma FILE PHOTO: A man stumbles as he tries to cross a flooded road following severe weather with heavy rain from a cold front in Masiphumelele, Cape Town, South Africa on May 20, 2025. REUTERS/Nic Bothma FILE PHOTO: Residents walk across a flooded road following severe weather with heavy rain from a cold front in Masiphumelele, Cape Town, South Africa on May 20, 2025. REUTERS/Nic Bothma FILE PHOTO: A vehicle drives along a flooded road following severe weather with heavy rain from a cold front in Masiphumelele, Cape Town, South Africa on May 20, 2025. REUTERS/Nic Bothma FILE PHOTO: Residents walk across a flooded road following severe weather with heavy rain from a cold front in Masiphumelele, Cape Town, South Africa on May 20, 2025. REUTERS/Nic Bothma Eight bodies recovered after South African school bus swept away by floods JOHANNESBURG - At least eight bodies have been recovered after a school bus was swept away by floods near Mthatha in South Africa's Eastern Cape province, officials said on Wednesday. South Africa has been lashed by heavy rain and snow since the weekend, in a severe winter cold front which disrupted transport and power networks. "It is indeed a sad thing and the search is still going on," Eastern Cape community safety official Xolile Nqatha told television station Newzroom Afrika. Three children were rescued from the bus, President Cyril Ramaphosa's office said. "President Ramaphosa offers his deep condolences to the bereaved families, affected communities and Eastern Cape residents at large," a statement said. Flooding has become more common and severe in South Africa as the impacts of climate change are felt. A storm on the East Coast in April 2022 killed about 400 people and left thousands homeless. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
News24
08-05-2025
- News24
Eastern Cape launches audit of independent schools after alleged rape of girl, 7
Eastern Cape Education MEC Fundile Gade has ordered an audit of all independent schools in the province. This after the alleged rape of a seven-year-old girl at an independent school in Matatiele. The department described the incident as a 'wake-up call' for provincial education authorities. Eastern Cape Education MEC Fundile Gade says an audit of all independent schools in the province has begun, following the alleged rape of a seven-year-old girl at an independent school in Matatiele. The incident, believed to have taken place in October, surfaced on social media in late March, prompting Gade to write to Bergview College to revoke the school's registration certificate - an action he quickly rescinded - after the school approached the Eastern Cape High Court in Makhanda to challenge the decision. In a media briefing at the department's Mandla Makupula Leadership Institute offices in East London on Thursday, he said the alleged rape was an 'eye-opener' for the provincial government. 'That is why we established an inter-ministerial committee led by Safety MEC (Xolile Nqatha) in the province and (Police) Minister Senzo Mchunu at national level,' Gade added. The Eastern Cape has 309 independent schools of which the provincial education department subsidises 117. The department's deputy director general for institutional operations and management, Thembani Mtyida, said the incident in Matatiele was a 'wake-up' call. 'We need to strengthen the monitoring systems of all operations at independent schools. The department has established multidisciplinary teams to visit each independent school for compliance.' Mtyida added: Our approach is to target those schools that receive [subsidies] from the department, which are 117 in total. We have completed the process of auditing them. In the next week, we will start with the next phase where the rest of the 192 [independent schools] will also be visited. He said issues like pupils' safety, infrastructure, police compliance, curriculum implementation and staff vetting form part of the auditing process. Gade added he still believed the decision to write to Bergview College to revoke its registration was needed at the time. 'We don't have regrets. We are still firm that we were correct. We wanted the school to take actions regarding the incident,' he said.
