Celani Sikhakhane brings you KwaZulu-Natal’s latest news.
Nkandla: The Independent Electoral Commission executives visited former President Jacob Zuma’s homestead to meet him after he proposed that the upcoming Local Government Elections should be postponed until the uMkhonto weSizwe Party’s grievances from the 2024 general elections are addressed. The meeting took place on Monday at kwaDakwadunuse, which is Zuma’s home in the north of KwaZulu-Natal, behind closed doors. While the IEC has described the visit as part of a broader provincial stakeholder engagement strategy, the specific focus on the MK Party underscores the party’s role as the official opposition in the province and its potential to disrupt the traditional balance of power in the upcoming November polls. Last month, the IEC senior officials met King Misuzulu kaZwelithini to report to him about the preparation and challenges they are facing in KZN.
Vryheid: The National Prosecuting Authority welcomes the sentence of 35 years in prison handed down by the Vryheid Regional Court to Thabani Innocent Zulu, 46. Zulu pleaded guilty to three counts of rape, common robbery and robbery with aggravating circumstances. Between November 2010 and April 2012, Zulu targeted three women in the Vryheid area. He approached them in or near the Ngome forest area, took them into the forest and raped them. On two of the occasions, he also robbed the complainants, using a firearm during one of the robberies. During the robberies, Zulu took the victims’ cellphones, a handbag and money before fleeing the scenes. All three complainants reported the matters to the police and underwent medical examinations, during which swabs were collected for DNA analysis. Zulu remained at large until July 2021, when he was convicted of four unrelated robberies in the Bulwer area and sentenced to 15 years in prison.
Bhambayi: Police in KwaZulu-Natal are investigating four counts of murder following a shooting incident at Bhambayi in Inanda just before midnight on Friday. Information available at this stage suggests that a group of community patrollers were patrolling along Nohohwana Skeke Street when they came across three men whom they suspected of committing robberies in the area. An argument reportedly followed and there was an exchange of gunfire between the community patrollers and the alleged suspects. Two people, a community patroller and an alleged suspect, died at the scene. Two more community patrollers died from their gunshot wounds in hospital. The Provincial Commissioner of KwaZulu-Natal Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi has reiterated that organised community crime-fighting groups must work with police and avoid direct confrontation with suspected criminals.
Pictured above: IEC visits Zuma at home over election postponement demand.
Image source: Supplied
