News 16:00

BULLETIN 1 March 4 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# A Magistrate’s nephew is sentenced to 20-years for her murder 
# Suspended Judge Tshifhiwa Maumela is to appear before the Judicial Tribunal 
# And Rugby: The Bulls get Stormers supporter Dricus du Plessis to help fill up Loftus 

# The Western Cape High Court has sentenced Magistrate Romay van Rooyen’s nephew to an effective 20-year imprisonment for her murder. Cassidy Hartzenberg confessed to strangling his aunt in her home in Muizenberg, Cape Town, in September 2022 after she refused him money, and stealing her vehicle. The National Prosecuting Authority’s Eric Ntabazalila says the court acknowledged the prevalence of gender-based violence and also sentenced him to six years for theft, with the sentences to run concurrently.

# Suspended Gauteng High Court Judge Tshifhiwa Maumela is set to appear before a Judicial Conduct Tribunal this month. The probe, led by retired Constitutional Court Justice Chris Jafta, stems from a complaint by Gauteng Judge President Dunstan Mlambo. Allegations include excessive delays in delivering judgments. Judges Matter’s Research and Advocacy officer, Mbekezeli Benjamin says if Maumela is found guilty, potential consequences include impeachment and removal from office:

# The Automobile Association says the latest unaudited data from the Central Energy Fund reveals the price of 95-octane petrol could see a rise of one-rand-20-cents per litre, while the price of 93-octane petrol may increase by one-rand-15-cents per litre. Diesel is expected to go up by around one-rand-18-cents per litre and illuminating paraffin by 63-cents per litre. The official adjustment takes effect on Wednesday. AA spokesperson Layton Beard says the general fuel levy and road accident fund levy will remain unchanged, offering some relief:

# Thousands of Russians defied their government by streaming to the funeral of opposition leader Alexei Navalny in Moscow. The Kremlin earlier warned that unsanctioned gatherings for Navalny would break the law, but that didn’t scare his supporters from gathering outside the church. People were prevented from going inside hours after the service was to start, with mourners saying it seemed as if government was trying to implement its own scenario of a quiet funeral. Sky News reports snipers positioned themselves on rooftops overlooking the church.

# Rugby: The Bulls have roped in a heavyweight to help them fill up Loftus Versfeld in tomorrow’s United Rugby Championship match against the Stormers – but he’s reportedly a Stormers supporter! Mixed martial arts world champion Dricus du Plessis will be at the stadium tomorrow, while Bulls’ CEO Willem Strauss says their supporters are coming from far and wide. The hosts lost to their arch-rivals in all seven their previous URC matches and are desperate to turn that around. By this afternoon all tickets were sold out.           

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 19-rand-15-cents and the euro at 20-rand-72-cents. One British pound costs 24-rand-21-cents and Bitcoin trades at 62-thousand-157-dollars-88-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-and-53-dollars-83-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 83-dollars-9-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….