2 appear for Eastern Cape rape

 

Johannesburg - Two men accused of raping a woman in Dutywa appeared in the town's magistrate's court on Monday, Eastern Cape police said.

The matter was postponed to 5 September for a formal bail application, police spokesperson Jackson Manatha said. The pair would remain in police custody.

The men, aged 18 and 27, were arrested on Saturday night. A group of five men approached the woman and her boyfriend as they were walking in Dutywa town around 23:00 on Saturday.

They allegedly demanded money and cellphones from the couple.

"When they could not get anything, the boyfriend was severely beaten by the suspects and he ran, leaving his girlfriend behind," Manatha said.

He spotted a patrolling police car and alerted officers to the attack.

"The second suspect was found still raping the woman whilst the first suspect who raped the woman was still at the scene," Manatha said.

Mpuma nurse testifies in vigilante case

Mbombela - An Mpumalanga nurse testified in the Nelspruit Regional Court on Monday against an ex-municipal manager implicated in a vigilante murder.

Delfina Ndlovu, a nurse at Barberton General Hospital, was testifying in the murder trial of former Mbombela local municipality manager Bruno Vilane, 47.

Vilane is accused along with his son Nhlanhla Vilane, 23, Andile Lawrence Masuku, 20, Zwelithini Welcome Tsela, 22, and Makusile Mahlangu, 29.

Teen tried to kill uncles in their sleep, court hears

Johannesburg - A boy who allegedly tried to kill two of his uncles with an axe appeared in the Mkobola Magistrate's Court in Kwaggafontein on Monday, Mpumalanga police said.

The case was postponed to 25 September to find a bed for the 17-year-old at the Weskoppies Psychiatric Hospital in Pretoria, where he would undergo mental observation, police spokesperson Selvy Mohlala said.

The teenager, who faces two charges of attempted murder, would be kept at a place of safety. In the early hours of Sunday, 17 August the teenager went into the room where his uncles were sleeping and allegedly attacked them with an axe.

5 in court after KZN beheading

Johannesburg - Five people appeared in the Chatsworth Magistrate's Court on Monday for the murder of a woman in the town last week, KwaZulu-Natal police said.

Nusumuzi Jabulani Gumede, 30, Sibonakaliso Zaba Mbuli, 32, and three teenagers aged 16 to 17 appeared. The matter was postponed to 1 September for a formal bail application, police said.

KZN protesters arrested for blocking N3

Durban - Ten people have been arrested in protests in Mooi River calling for the removal of a KwaZulu-Natal mayor. The protesters blocked part of the N3 passing Mooi River on Monday , police said.

Police spokesperson Thulani Zwane said the 10 were expected to appear in court on Tuesday. The protesters had been calling for the removal of Mooi Mpofana local municipality Mayor Ntombi Mpangase.

The protests started on Friday, but died down over the weekend. They erupted again on Monday.

"The situation is still tense and police are monitoring the situation," said Zwane.

KwaZulu-Natal co-operative governance and traditional affairs spokesperson Lennox Mabaso said in a statement the department had sent "a high level rapid response team to the municipality to end the protest action which is blocking traffic on the N3 highway near Mooi River".

KwaZulu-Natal Road Traffic Inspectorate spokesperson Zinhle Mngomezulu said officially the road was not closed, but that protesters had closed it. She said a joint command centre had been set up, but that comment needed to be obtained from the police.