Eastern Cape

Killer tornados claim 14 lives Freak storms create havoc
President Nelson Mandela narrowly escaped injury when the roof of a pharmacy he was visiting collapsed By Simphiwe Xako UMTATA -- Storms rumbling through the Eastern Cape yesterday unleashed tornados, hailstorms, rain squalls and lightning whi...

Unused bus transformed into pre-school
Report and picture By Wilberforce Mdoda EAST LONDON -- Inspired by a television show, ziXhotyeni villagers near here have opened a pre-school in an old bus donated to them by the Mayibuye Bus Company. The school previously had temporay quarters...

WEATHER CHAOS
Tornado kills child, damages outdoor centre By Matt Ramsden EAST LONDON -- A 10-year-old East London girl was killed and three playmates seriously injured as a tornado ripped through Hogsback yesterday. Damage estimated at hundreds of thousand...

Church centenary disputes keep Mandela, Stofile away
By Phakamisa Ngani UMTATA -- The Presbyterian Church of Africa (PCA) has been rocked by internal disputes which have prompted President Nelson Mandela and Eastern Cape Premier Makhenkesi Stofile to re-think plans to address the church's centenary...

Civil servant stranded after car is impounded at roadblock
By Phakamisa Ngani UMTATA -- One of several civil servants who were caught at the Kei Bridge recently in a blitz to eliminate the misuse of government vehicles has complained that procedures used by transport inspectors at the roadblock were irre...

Clearer skies are on the way
PORT ELIZABETH -- Relief is in sight for the Eastern Cape and East London as the cut-off low weather system believed to be responsible for the sudden and hard-hitting weather conditions is moving off towards the south-east and off the continent. ...

Daily Bread children to stay for Christmas
By Adrienne Carlisle GRAHAMSTOWN -- The future of East London's Deersfield and Gatesway children's homes, situated on farms owned by the Daily Bread Charitable Trust, remains uncertain, but the new trustees have given the assurance that no child...

EC road death toll up to 47
EAST LONDON -- The Eastern Cape December death toll stood at 47 yesterday afternoon, according to the latest statistics from the national Arrive Alive Information Centre. The province still had the second most fatalities after KwaZulu-Natal where...

Deluge turns streets to rivers, homes to swamps
By Graeson Haw EAST LONDON -- Floods came to East London fast and furious yesterday during a flash deluge which saw homes turned into swamps, roads turned into rivers and traffic logjammed and floundering as emergency services worked at hyper-dri...

Don't drive drunk: call traffic dept
EAST LONDON -- If your one drink for the road turns into seven more beers and you exceed the alcohol limit, don't drive -- call the East London traffic department instead and an officer will take you home safely. The service will be available for...

Bisho withdraws controversial bills to dissolve parastatals
By Eric Naki Political Correspondent BISHO -- The Eastern Cape government has been forced to withdraw the controversial legislation seeking to give power to the provincial legislature to dissolve or liquidate agricultural parastatals retrospectiv...

G'town donkey maiming persists
By Adrienne Carlisle GRAHAMSTOWN -- The serial maiming and killing of donkeys continued here yesterday when the SPCA found a donkey which had been blinded after its eyes were bashed in with a blunt object. The brutality against the animals has s...

Max awaits report on Idutywa escapes
QUEENSTOWN -- Deputy provincial police commissioner Lennit Max is awaiting a report on an investigation into five policemen charged with aiding and abetting the escape of nine prisoners in Idutywa at the weekend. Comm Max, speaking from Port Eliz...

Staff praised for exam success
By Mesuli Zifo KING WILLIAM'S TOWN -- This year's matric examinations in the Eastern Cape have been flawless because of dedication by staff, the head of the Education Department's examination section, Mr Malcom Andrew, said yesterday. He was s...

Traffic officers face charges
By Phakamisa Ngani UMTATA -- Two local municipal traffic officers are to appear in the district court here today on fraud and theft-related charges linked to three official receipt books which disappeared from city police offices three weeks ago....

Hail wreaks havoc on N6, farms
By Sonja Raasch QUEENSTOWN -- Hail as large as golf balls rained down on unsuspecting motorists and livestock, wreaking havoc on the N6 and farms alongside a few kilometres from here on Monday afternoon. Motorist Wally May, who had been travelli...

Rain mars opening day of Beachfront Festival
EAST LONDON -- After a promising start yesterday morning, rain washed out the first day of the Beachfront Festival here. The five-day-long festival, on the Esplanade and around the Quanza Pools, looked initially to have all the hallmarks of a suc...

Car guard co-operative bosses feud over staff
By Matthew Hattingh EAST LONDON -- Car guards working for the Imonti co-operative here are feuding again. Imonti Car Guards' manager and former township activist George Rulf is at loggerheads with his friend and fellow Imonti organiser, Trevor C...

Black forum meets board
QUEENSTOWN -- The local branch of the Black Officers' Forum yesterday formally introduced itself to the community policing forum board. Chairperson Captain Ndiphenkosi Madikane said about 70 people attended the meeting. The forum, launched in Se...

3 houses gutted in Dordrecht unrest
QUEENSTOWN -- Three houses were gutted in ongoing unrest in Dordrecht on Monday. The burning of the houses is believed to be related to conflict between the town's Concerned Citizens Group and the town council. Ten homes have been gutted since ...

Bus passenger shot dead in Idutywa
QUEENSTOWN -- A 32-year-old man was shot dead after stepping off a bus at the Total garage in Idutywa at 2 am yesterday. The man has not yet been identified by police. Captain Thembisile Patekile said two passengers alighted from the bus, from C...

Prosecutors still awaiting pay increases
By Wimpie Heath, Court Reporter EAST LONDON -- The wheels of justice are grinding to a halt as prosecutors wait for their salary increases promised this month. The director-general of justice estimated this week the department had lost more than...

Disciplinary inquiry for Batty
GRAHAMSTOWN -- Former Daily Bread Mission Trust trustee Edward Batty, who was last month found by the Grahamstown High Court to have "fleeced'' the trust and enriched himself, has been suspended from his executive position with the organisation. ...

Warning to killer of M'sane detective
By Matt Ramsden Crime Reporter EAST LONDON -- Area commissioner Sandile Hloba yesterday sent out a strong message to the gunman who shot an Mdantsane detective in Duncan Village on Monday. Detective Sergeant Malibongwe Luningo, 26, died of his w...

Eastern Cape IEC to stage multi-party conference
By Lucas Mati EAST LONDON -- The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) in the Eastern Cape is to host a provincial multi-party conference on democracy ahead of the 1999 elections. In a proposal to the party liaison committee (PLC), IEC provinci...

Brothers jailed for murder of farmer
GRAHAMSTOWN -- Two men who battered a young Steynsburg farm manager to death with a tractor shaft were yesterday sentenced by the high court here to effective prison terms of 19 and 24 years. The victim's elderly mother, Mrs Leonie van Rensburg, ...

Transport Dept clamps down on offenders
By Zama Mpondwana EAST LONDON -- At least 11 government vehicles have been impounded and 25 private vehicles suspended from public roads at roadblocks around the province since the provincial "special operation team for traffic safety law enforce...

Rescuers beat up alleged child rapist
GRAHAMSTOWN -- An alleged rapist was beaten up by rescuers who heard the cries of a 12-year-old girl who had been pulled into a storm drain, police said yesterday. Captain Tamie Nqai said the incident happened in Rademeyer Street at 8.30pm on Mon...

Campaign to register more voters
Lucas Mati EAST LONDON -- Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) provincial electoral officer Bongani Finca says the commission will embark on an intensive publicity campaign for the second phase of voter registration in January. Mr Finca, who w...

Security upped to avert looting
By Stan Mzimba UMTATA -- Policemen and private security guards from various companies have been deployed throughout the city to guard against looting after millions of rands' damage was caused to shops and homes in yesterday's tornado. The Umtat...