Eastern Cape

Top Bisho official held after murder
EAST LONDON --High profile Bisho spokesman Thembelane Stamper was arrested yesterday with two other men in connection with the murder of a 25-year-old Zwelitsha man last month. Police said Stamper, 32, who is Agriculture and Land Affairs MEC Max ...

Gala event as Bucks, Chiefs clash in Umtata
By Phakamisa Ngani UMTATA -- The host management have laid on elaborate security plans and a feast of side-entertainment arrangements for the glamour Premier Soccer League (PSL) game between Bush Bucks and Kaiser Chiefs at the Independence Stadiu...

Wild Coast Sun expected to cut gaming facilities
EAST LONDON -- The Wild Coast Sun, the only contender for the Eastern Cape's northern area casino licence, is expected to halve its gaming facilities due to a drop in revenue from KwaZulu-Natal operations. Mr Mike Gregory, the hotel's operations ...

Bail condition eased for ex-EP cricketer rape accused
By Adrienne Carlisle GRAHAMSTOWN -- Former Eastern Province cricket star and alleged child rapist Lorrie Wilmot will be allowed to return to his Trentam Park Farm near here after he succeeded yesterday in having the bail condition lifted which st...

NGO book on improved delivery
EAST LONDON -- Local NGO Afesis-Corplan launched a book, Winds of Small Change: Civil Society Interaction with the African State, at the city hall this week. One of the speakers at the launch, Dr Josef Pampalk, of the Austrian North-South Institu...

Jobless man trains as diesel mechanic
By Wilberforce Mdoda. EAST LONDON -- An unemployed man who had a mediocre education, no skills and thought he had no hope of finding a job, has recently become a fully qualified diesel mechanic. Velile Sam, who is married with two children, did ...

Dimbaza award contestant
KING WILLIAM'S TOWN -- Dimbaza Society for the Aged nursing service co-ordinator Nomzi Gxuluwe flies to Gauteng on Monday for the 1998 Community Builder of the Year ceremony. Gxuluwe was ecstatic when her name appeared on the list of nominees. S...

Dimbaza men remanded for farmer's death
STUTTERHEIM -- Two Dimbaza men accused of the brutal slaying and robbery of 73-year-old Mr Petrus Paulus Kruger in October were yesterday remanded until later this month. Khayalethu Qhushu, 26, and Lulamile Phillip, 36, will appear again on Febr...

Parties to fight farm eviction
QUEENSTOWN -- Cases of farm evictions by the Special Tribunal Court were postponed here yesterday until next month as the defendants intend to defend the eviction order. The venue for the trial has not been decided. The defendants are occupants ...

Docket access force needed
By Wimpie Heath Court Reporter EAST LONDON -- The formal bail application of 29-year-old computer consultant Troy Welgemoed, accused of killing a Beacon Bay supermarket cashier in September last year, was yesterday postponed to next week on the r...

Gambler doubles up to win R3 million
By Adrienne Carlisle GRAHAMSTOWN -- An ecstatic young Port Alfred resident became an instant triple millionaire yesterday when he hit a poker machine jackpot at the Fish River Sun ­ by doubling up 20 times. Larry James Maree, 29, who runs a...

Urgent review of 128000 disability grants
By Adrienne Carlisle GRAHAMSTOWN -- Private medical practitioners and state doctors have been mobilised to support and expedite the review of 128000 disability grant recipients in the province, the Welfare Department said yesterday. As the Febru...

PAC claims corruption in Libode housing
By Phakamisa Ngani UMTATA -- A local Pan Africanist Congress leader yesterday called on Housing Minister Sankie Mthembu-Mahanyela to stop what he described as "massive acts of corruption" at an on-going housing project at Libode. Gilbert Sineke ...

Cast-offs may bring luck
EAST LONDON -- The Community Chest here and nationally along with two corporate sponsors are launching an appeal for "worn but not worn-out clothes" to help the needy. From Monday the Chest is asking people to take old clothes to a collection poi...

Transport hampers rape inquiry
GRAHAMSTOWN -- Two days after a four-year-old child was raped, Umtata Child Protection Services have yet to investigate because there is no transport to get to the crime scene. Inspector Myangilizwe Booi, of Nqeleni police station, said the girl...

Church angered by Red Cross closing
By Phakamisa Ngani UMTATA -- Church leaders in the region yesterday reacted angrily to the decision by the South African Red Cross Society to close down its branch here. The national Red Cross office shut down this week after declaring the bran...

'Police foil Cape robbery experts'
By Matt Ramsden Crime Reporter EAST LONDON -- Two alleged Cape Town armed robbers who decided to try their luck in the Eastern Cape found yesterday they had bitten off more than they could chew. The men were seized by members of the elite East ...

SANDF 'did great job at registrations'
By Lucas Mati EAST LONDON -- Local electoral officers (LEOs) have praised the South African National Defence Force members' conduct during the past two voter registrations sessions. Army personnel were controllable, reliable and displayed discip...

Push to suspend Mzamane
GRAHAMSTOWN -- Despite the appointment of an independent assessor to probe mismanagement at Fort Hare University, groupings opposed to vice-chancellor Mbulelo Mzamane are still demanding his suspension. National Tertiary Education Staff Union (N...

Mt Ayliff tornado declared disaster
PRETORIA -- The tornado that hit the Eastern Cape districts of Mount Ayliff and Ntabankulu last month was declared a disaster yesterday. A presidential proclamation to this effect in the Government Gazette opens the way for residents in the area ...

Welfare hosts party for two grand old ladies
By Bongani Siqoko EAST LONDON -- Two Mdantsane senior citizens, Mrs Elsie Ndubane and Mrs Tshintshiwe Witbooi celebrated their 116th and 109th birthdays in style yesterday with the Department of Welfare hosting a bumper birthday party in Mdantsan...

Kei Good Samaritan praised by his widow
By Matt Ramsden Crime Reporter EAST LONDON -- The mystery surrounding the identity of a Good Samaritan motorist who died after going to the aid of Kei Cuttings crash victims, was solved yesterday. He was Butterworth building contractor Louis Ge...