Eastern Cape

SABS to act over light bags of maize
By Eddie Botha, Business Editor EAST LONDON -- An inspector of the SA Bureau of Standards (SABS) trade metrology department has referred evidence of underweight bags of maize meal which he obtained from a Leeudoringstad farmer to the public prose...

Heath ill as SIU, govt row brews
By Matthew Hattingh and Peter Dickson EAST LONDON -- Judge Willem Heath, head of the corruption-busting Special Investigating Unit (SIU), was in a stable but serious condition in a Port Elizabeth Hospital last night after he collapsed in the cit...

6 hurt in blast from leaking fumes
PORT ELIZABETH -- A massive explosion caused by leaking petrol fumes, and believed to be triggered by a worker lighting up a cigarette ripped through a motorbike dealership here yesterday injuring six people, one seriously. The blast shattered wi...

Angry exchanges as community rejects mining at Wavecrest
By Zingisile Mapazi EAST LONDON -- Tempers flared at a meeting on the Transkei Wild Coast last week with Iscor officials and environmentalists blaming one another for the rejection by the community of a planned titanium mining industry in the are...

DD joins EL reps at UK expo
EAST LONDON -- The Daily Dispatch and the city council here will be in a delegation taking part in the World Travel Market (WTM) media trip to the United Kingdom from tomorrow until November 22. At a council meeting yesterday, councillors granted...

EC fights for debt cancellation
By Adrienne Carlisle GRAHAMSTOWN -- The international fight for the cancellation of apartheid debt is coming to the Eastern Cape this week when South African organiser Brian Ashley addresses a public meeting in the city hall here on Thursday. Kn...

Anglers out to land R2000
By Matt Ramsden EAST LONDON -- Anglers should head down to the Queen's Park Zoo on Saturday for the annual R2000 fishing competition. Organised by the zoo and aquarium, the carp catching competition is in its fifth year and is encouraging 100 fi...

Man held after heist with toy gun
QUEENSTOWN -- A man was arrested at the Sikiti squatter camp in Butterworth at the weekend after a woman living in the camp was robbed last week, police said yesterday. Police spokesman Captain Mzoli Kopolo said yesterday Ms Novulile Lokishini wa...

Brothers' double honours
By Boniswa November EAST LONDON -- A family have given new meaning to Cambridge being known as a "family school" with the election of two brothers as headboys of the junior and high schools for next year. The election of Daniel Blom, 17, a Grade...

Horseman helps police hunt suspects
By Sonja Raasch QUEENSTOWN -- A man on horseback helped police arrest two suspects after the hijacking of a vehicle near Lady Frere at the weekend. Mr Zingisa Mhlonto was held up at gunpoint in Maqashu administrative area by two men, who demande...

Work to start on new hospital
UMTATA -- Public Works and Transport MEC Thobile Mhlahlo yesterday handed over a construction site for the building of a R350 million academic hospital at the general hospital here. Mr Mhlahlo said the building of the hospital -- to accommodate ...

'97 matric invigilators still not paid
QUEENSTOWN -- A group of 1997 matric invigilators claim they have not been paid for October and November last year. Spokesman for the group Sipo Ntabeni, said about 10 had not been paid but others who had marked papers were paid early this year....

Transkei violence leaves four dead
UMTATA -- Three people were stabbed to death and another was shot and killed in incidents of violence in Transkei at the weekend. Superintendent Nondumiso Jafta said police arrested a 30-year-old suspect following the murder of a 70-year-old whos...

Two R20000 rewards for info on killings
By Matt Ramsden, Crime Reporter EAST LONDON -- Two rewards of R20000 are being offered by Mdantsane detectives for information leading to the arrests of the killers of two men in July and August. Murder and robbery unit commander Captain Ntsikel...

Leon's T'kei corruption allegation rejected
GRAHAMSTOWN -- The United Democratic Movement (UDM) has rejected an accusation by DP leader Tony Leon that corruption had been rife in the former Transkei under their leader, Bantu Holomisa In a statement last week, UDM Eastern Cape provincial sp...

NP electoral list ends 'mafia era' in ranks
By Eric Naki Political Correspondent BISHO -- The ousting of National Party Eastern Cape MPLs, Sakkie Louw and Billy Nel from the NP list for the provincial legislature for next year's election signals the end of an era of a "mafia" in the party...

Manuel to meet Stofile, Godongwana
By Peter Dickson EAST LONDON -- Finance Minister Trevor Manuel will hold discussions with Eastern Cape Premier Makhenkesi Stofile and Finance and Economic Affairs MEC Enoch Godongwana in Bisho on Friday, his office confirmed yesterday. Mr Manuel...

Matter of fact
YESTERDAY'S report on page 5 about a man posing as a son of the Biko family erroneously reported that Mrs Ntsikie Biko, widow of slain Black Consciousness Movement leader Steve Biko, had two sons instead of three. East...

New ANC councillor welcomed
EAST LONDON -- The East London City Council yesterday welcomed a new councillor. Town clerk Dave Ongley said Mr Vuyisile Jack Zwelibanzi had been designated to fill the vacancy left by the death of Mrs Pam Williams. Mr Ongley explained that a b...

Businessmen linked to murder
By Phumlani Mdolomba KEISKAMMAHOEK -- The magistrate's court was packed here yesterday for the bail hearing of three businessmen who allegedly bribed six men to murder a local garage owner for R10 000. The three applying for bail are Mr Zonwabe...

PAC call to help clans with no land
QUEENSTOWN -- The Pan Africanist Congress in the Ntabethemba district has appealed to all political organisations to help three Ntabethemba clans, the Myemane, Batlokoa and Amahlubi, to get land they have staked a claim to. PAC spokesman Mandongo...

Parkside meets against gangsters
EAST LONDON -- A meeting is planned tonight for people who want to see an end to gangsterism and violence in the Parkside area. Spokesman Simon Adams, of the community policing forum, said the meeting would start at 6.30pm in the Parkside Hall. ...

IEC, parties in ID issue talks
By Lucas Mati EAST LONDON -- Political parties in the province have called for an urgent meeting with the Home Affairs Department to discuss the issuing of identity documents. Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) provincial electoral officer B...

New fishing permits 'expensive, scarce'
By Matthew Hattingh EAST LONDON -- The new permit system, which as of yesterday put a price on all forms of recreational fishing, has opened a can of worms. Organised anglers, while in favour of controls, criticised the new permits as being too...

Attorney changes accused's plea
By Wimpie Heath, Court Reporter EAST LONDON -- In the high court here yesterday the alleged killer of a Cape Town saleswoman pleaded guilty to murder only for his attorney to jump up and change his plea. Mr Jakobus Albertus Venter, 39, is charge...

Police seek motive for attacks
QUEENSTOWN -- Police are investigating the motive behind two attacks on a Cofimvaba businessman last week and at the weekend. In the first incident, the home of Mr Buntu Jada was destroyed in a fire last Thursday. Damages estimated at R60000 resu...

Internal police probe declared null and void
By Matt Ramsden, Crime Reporter EAST LONDON -- An investigation into the behaviour of the head of the police internal security unit (ISU) here has been declared "null and void" after the committee scrutinising him was found to have exceeded its m...

Driver killed in 'high-speed dice'
Report and picture by Denver Donian KING WILLIAM'S TOWN -- One person was killed and three injured, one seriously, in an alleged high-speed race between two vehicles on the N2 to East London here at the weekend. The collision occurred ...

Proposal to save EL R290000 rejected
Municipal Reporter EAST LONDON -- A motion to merge four separate East London standing committees into two and save the city R290928 a year was booted out of the council chamber yesterday. The motion was brought by councillor Willem Kruger in a ...

3 documents essential for vehicle processing
Municipal Reporter EAST LONDON -- People registering vehicles or converting to the new number plates must produce three essential documents at the municipal licensing section, city council spokesman Sidwell Maqoko said yesterday. The documents a...

Former EC resident shot in hijack
By Glyn Williams EAST LONDON -- A member of a well-known Eastern Cape family, Mrs Bernadette Peters, (nee Sahd) 67, is still in hospital after being shot in a hijacking attempt in Johannesburg. Her brother, Mr Greg Sahd, who lives in East London...

Neighbour scares off robbers
By Matt Ramsden Crime Reporter EAST LONDON -- A shout in the dark of Fleet Street from a concerned resident stopped intruders smashing into and grabbing from a second-hand shop early yesterday. The Good Samaritan, who was unavailable for commen...

SABC clarifies system switches
By Sonja Raasch QUEENSTOWN -- The South African Broadcasting Corporation and the company responsible for the distribution of the SABC's television and radio services, Sentech, have rectified a misconception over the planned switch-over from analo...

Sanco plan B'worth demo
EAST LONDON -- A full meeting of the Butterworth town council will be held this morning to discuss the town's financial situation, mayor Anthony Bam said. The Butterworth branch of the South African National Civic Organisation plans to march thro...

Heath unit sets out Sarafina II charges
By Peter Dickson EAST LONDON -- The Heath SIU yesterday disclosed for the first time the charges formulated against Health Minister Nkosazana Zuma, and the roleplayers in the R14-million Sarafina II scandal who were served notices of civil procee...

Skydivers lose second plane in hangar fire
By Adrienne Carlisle GRAHAMSTOWN -- Eastern Province Skydivers this weekend lost a second plane to suspected arson at the airstrip here. Nothing but a burnt-out shell remained of the Cessna 210, valued at about R400000, when owner Deon Kraidy fo...

Spoornet ready for Christmas spate of thefts
By Matt Ramsden Crime Reporter EAST LONDON -- Spoornet has embarked on a "no mercy anti-crime campaign" which has already seen the arrest of three people who allegedly stole signal cable worth R300000. Spokesman Joseph Strutt said the three me...

T'kei taxi war claims 2 lives
UMTATA --Taxi violence claimed another two deaths in Transkei at the weekend, police said yesterday. Superintendent Nondumiso Jafta said a 33-year-old operator from one of the warring associations was killed by another, aged 36. Colleagues of the...

High-tech to aid IEC in voter registration
By Lucas Mati EAST LONDON -- A lack of funds has forced the Independent Electoral Commission to suspend the recruitment of registration staff, IEC provincial electoral officer Bongani Finca said yesterday. The halt was linked to the budget discu...

T'kei ESC loses appeal application
BLOEMFONTEIN -- The Transkei Electricity Supply Commission has been refused leave, with costs, by the Supreme Court of Appeal here to appeal against the awarding of damages to a man who was badly burned when he walked into a damaged powerline. Ml...

Special Report Tracker satellite proves worth to EL sleuths
by Matt Ramsden Crime Reporter EAST LONDON -- The tracker satellite tracking device which is helping police catch car thieves and recover stolen vehicles has been much reported on recently. Yesterday photographer Patrick Kukard and I were treat...

New bill aims 'to alter traditional customs'
By Mesuli Zifo KING WILLIAM'S TOWN -- The House of Traditional Leaders (HTL) has criticised the Recognition of Customary Marriages Bill as nothing but a wave of Western customs bent on altering African customs. The bill, which is aimed at alle...