News 17:00

BULLETIN 30 October 5 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Former IDAC head Andrea Johnson and Feroz Khan are granted bail of ten-thousand-rand each
# Fraud-accused Peet Viljoen is reportedly in plea deal talks with the State
# And rugby: The Bok hooker Malcolm Marx confirms his return to South Africa

# Former Investigating Directorate Against Corruption head Andrea Johnson and former Crime Intelligence deputy head Feroz Khan have been granted bail of ten-thousand-rand each. The two are facing charges of defeating the ends of justice and contravening the National Prosecuting Authority Act, linked to an alleged attempt to interfere with a 2018 assault case. Khan is accused of assaulting a brigadier, while Johnson allegedly interfered in the case. Both accused are expected to return to the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court on 2 February.

# Western Cape MEC of Health and Wellness, Mireille Wenger, has called on the national minister of Transport, Barbara Creecy, to urgently assist in identifying and removing potential bottlenecks at South African ports. This is to prioritise the processing and movement of imported medicines, particularly at Durban harbour, where concerns have been raised about delays. Wenger says every unnecessary delay in getting medicines into the country is another delay in getting them to the patients who need them:

# Disbarred attorney and reality-TV personality Peet Viljoen is reportedly in negotiations with the State over a possible plea deal. Viljoen is facing close to 400 charges, including fraud, theft, corruption and forgery, relating to the alleged fraudulent sale of 46 Johannesburg municipal properties worth about 27-million-rand in 2010. The State alleges that forged documents were used to transfer the properties without the City of Johannesburg’s knowledge or consent. Viljoen was arrested in June after being deported from the United States and remains in custody after being denied bail.

# Ethiopia has received 12 Su-35 fighter jets from Russia, as fighting intensified in the northern Tigray region neighbouring Eritrea. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who is attending the Russia-Africa summit in Moscow, described the acquisition as a “milestone” that would boost Ethiopia’s defence capacity. Ahmed said the delivery follows a long-standing agreement between the two nations. Abiy, who described Russian President Vladimir Putin, as a close friend of Ethiopia, said Ethiopia had now become the first country in sub‑Saharan Africa to own this kind of advanced combat technology.

# Rugby: Springbok hooker Malcolm Marx has confirmed his return to South Africa when his contract with Kubota Spears expires at the end of the season. He is linked to a move to the Bulls. The world player of the year joined the Japanese club in 2021 after playing for the Lions since turning professional in 2014. He scored 205 points in 68 appearances for Kubota. Thirty-two-year-old Marx says he made the difficult decision to return due to family circumstances, describing his time in Japan as an invaluable experience.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-68-cents against the rand and the euro at 18-rand-64-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-36-cents and Bitcoin trades at 77-thousand-181-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-941-dollars-52-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 117-dollars-86-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….