News 14:00

BULLETIN 14 April 2 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The bail application of a pastor accused of raping his young relative is postponed
# Judge Ledwaba defends granting murder-accused Molefe bail
# And tennis: Alcaraz is motivated to reclaim the world number one ranking from Sinner

# The bail application of a 58-year-old pastor accused of raping his 12-year-old relative has been postponed in the Roodepoort Magistrate’s Court in Gauteng. The matter was delayed to allow the defence to obtain further personal details. The accused allegedly assaulted the girl at his Dobsonville home over the Easter Weekend. Residents, political leaders, and learners gathered outside the court calling for justice. The case will resume next Wednesday amid heightened security.

Build One South Africa’s leader, Mmusi Maimane, has condemned the alleged rape. He told eNCA this heinous act is yet another warning of the human cost of government’s continued inaction in making the Sex Offenders Register fully public and accessible. He calls for the maximum sentence to be imposed if the accused is found guilty:

# Gauteng deputy judge president Aubrey Ledwaba has defended granting bail to Katiso ‘KT’ Molefe, accused of killing Vereeniging engineer Armand Swart in a suspected case of mistaken identity. Ledwaba is accused of receiving a 2.5-million-rand bribe to award the 100-thousand-rand bail. He is interviewed by the Judicial Service Commission for the position of judge president. Ledwaba says the bail decision followed legal processes after the Vereeniging Magistrate’s Court’s refusal:

# The DA is calling on communities to oppose the Department of Water and Sanitation’s dam regulations, saying they threaten the economic lifelines for communities living beside dams. The regulations introduce stricter controls over access to state dams and other waterworks. The DA’s Igor Scheurkogel says if the regulations come into effect, every single business next to dams, regardless of whether or not on the shoreline, will have to sign a private public partnership:

# Tennis: Seven-time Grand Slam champion, Carlos Alcaraz, says he is motivated to reclaim the number one ranking. The Spaniard was dethroned by Italian rival Jannik Sinner after losing to him in the Monte-Carlo Masters final. The Spaniard will have the chance to climb back to the top of the world ranking by ​capturing the trophy on familiar territory at the Barcelona Open, where he is a two-time champion. Sinner has opted to skip the tournament. Alcaraz begins his campaign against Finland’s Otto Virtanen today.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-35-cents and the euro at 19-rand-29-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-15-cents and Bitcoin trades at 74-thousand-557-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-782-dollars-54-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 95-dollars-43-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….