News 13:00

BULLETIN 21 April 1 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The national police commissioner Fannie Masemola’s case is postponed to join Matlala’s trial
# The DA is calling for a parliamentary inquiry into minister Tolashe
# And road running: Kenyan stars dominate the Boston Marathon with title defenses

# The Pretoria Magistrate’s Court has postponed the case against national police commissioner Fannie Masemola to 13 May. The state plans to join his matter with that of businessman Vusimuzi ‘Cat’ Matlala and his co-accused linked to a 360-million-rand tender case. Prosecutors say investigations are advanced but require charge sheet amendments. Masemola claims his innocence as he faces four charges under the Public Finance Management Act:

More news from the courts:

# Alleged underworld gang boss, Nafiz Modack, claims he is facing an unfair trial in the Western Cape High Court, and has requested new legal representation. This is after a series of setbacks in his defence. Modack, along with 14 co-accused, face more than 100 charges, including the 2020 murder of Anti-Gang Unit Detective, Charl Kinnear. The court heard that key defence witnesses failed to support Modack’s claims, while portions of evidence were ruled inadmissible by the judge.

# The DA has requested that Parliament’s portfolio committee on Social Development establish an inquiry into the allegations involving minister of Social Development Sisisi Tolashe. She falsely told Parliament she accepted two luxury vehicles from Chinese officials as donations to the ANC Women’s League, but in reality, the cars appear to have been given to her two children for their personal use without ever being declared. The DA says Tolashe must also account for, amongst other things, the unlawful appointment and disciplining of Director‑General, Peter Netshipale.

# The City of Johannesburg’s Emergency Management Services have urged residents to exercise caution as severe weather conditions are expected in parts of Gauteng today. The South African Weather Service has issued a yellow level 4 warning for severe thunderstorms and possible heavy downpours that could lead to flooding and damage to infrastructure. Emergency Services spokesperson, Nana Radebe-Kgiba, says strong winds can also be expected:

# Road running: Kenya’s John Korir and Sharon Lokedi successfully defended their titles at the Boston Marathon in the US. Korir won the men’s race in a course record of two-hours-one-minute-52-seconds, while Lokedi claimed victory in the women’s race in two-hours-18-minutes-51-seconds. Both surged ahead at Heartbreak Hill, securing dominant victories. It marks the first time since 1996 that both champions retained titles, with Kenya sweeping the women’s podium in a historic performance.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-36-cents and the euro at 19-rand-25-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-9-cents and Bitcoin trades at 76-thousand-447-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-784-dollars-57-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 91-dollars-31-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….