News 13:00

BULLETIN 12 December 1 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The High Court rejects the NPA’s bid to appeal the Omotoso acquittal
# The Road Accident Fund appoints Radikwena Phora as acting CEO amid ongoing turmoil
# And Olympics: The IOC wants Russian and Belarusian youth athletes to compete in international events again

# The High Court in Gqeberha has dismissed the National Prosecuting Authority’s bid to appeal the acquittal of Nigerian televangelist Timothy Omotoso and his co-accused, Lusanda Sulani and Zukiswa Sitho. The NPA sought clarification on six legal questions, including how the trial court handled evidence and factual findings. Judge Irma Schoeman ruled in April the state failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt. The trio were acquitted of various charges including rape, human trafficking and racketeering. Omotoso has left South Africa since.

# The Road Accident Fund has named chief internal audit official Radikwena Phora as acting CEO, its fourth leader in seven months. Moneyweb reports this follows the resignation of Victor Songelwa, the exit of Collins Letsoalo, and the suspension of acting CEO Phathutshedzo Lukhwareni. Parliament’s standing committee on Public Accounts plans to seek speaker Thoko Didiza’s approval to lay criminal charges against Letsoalo for failing to appear when summoned. Both Letsoalo and Lukhwareni face allegations of mismanagement and maladministration. The RAF says Phora’s appointment aims to stabilise the embattled fund.

# The Cape Independence Party is demanding urgent intervention to stop the spiralling violence on the N2, the R300, Jakes Gerwel Drive, and surrounding routes leading to the Cape Town International Airport. In the latest incident, 64-year-old Nelspruit woman Karin van Aardt was fatally stabbed during a smash-and-grab incident while travelling to Vredenburg last week. The party’s Lara Sonnenberg says urgent emergency security interventions are needed:

# The Public Servants Association welcomes the Department of Home Affairs’ decision to extend office hours over the festive season. The oganisation’s Claude Naickers says the move will ease pressure during peak demand by helping citizens obtain essential documents. He explains improved access will reduce queues and backlogs, while staff will support the plan by working additional hours under fair and safe conditions:

# Olympics: The International Olympic Committee’s executive board has recommended that youth athletes from Russia and Belarus should no longer be restricted in their access to international youth competitions. This is in both individual and team sports. Both countries were banned by the IOC following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The IOC says athletes, and in particular youth athletes, should not be held accountable for the actions of their governments. The recommendation could probably be implemented before next year’s Youth Olympic Games in Dakar.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-83-cents and the euro at 19-rand-75-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-52-cents and Bitcoin trades at 92-thousand-343-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-314-dollars-40-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 61-dollars-50-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….