Elridge du Plessis set a mother of four—44-year-old Mishkaah Fakier—alight after dousing her with petrol six years ago. The incident happened in Hout Bay. The 37-year-old was sentenced to 22 years behind bars in the Wynberg Regional Court.
Fakier was beaten during the ordeal; she survived the attack, and in the hospital, she named her attacker before she passed away. Siya Monakali of Ilitha Labantu said they welcomed the sentence imposed on Du Plessis because it could set a precedent for other GBV cases.
He says that violence against women has reached alarming rates in South Africa, and they strongly appeal to our justice system to consistently impose the harshest sentences on those who commit crimes against women.
The provincial leader of the Azanian People’s Organization (AZAPO), Mzimkhulu Nojozi, was murdered. He resided in Gugulethu, and it is alleged that he refused to pay protection fees. According to AZAPO president Nelvis Qekema, a few days before his death, Nojozi told his comrades that he was visited by young men who demanded money.
Qekema says that many people have died in the Western Cape townships because they refused to be robbed of their meagre earnings by the thugs who terrorise the black communities. Gugulethu CPF spokesperson Linda Khabeni says the community is furious and is calling for the government to deploy more boots on the ground to combat extortion.
AZAPO Western Cape Secretary Thole Somdaka says Nojozi was instrumental in the Gun Free Society campaign. AZAPO is on record as saying that guns are the primary stimulus behind the high crime rates, murders, car hijacking, rape, and robberies.
In Cape Town, the Street Store is the world’s first rent-free, premises-free pop-up clothing store for the homeless. This idea is now part of a global movement. There are now more than 1,000 stores in locations worldwide.
Countries that adopted this movement are Mexico, New Zealand, Ghana, India, Peru, Pakistan, Canada, and the USA. The next two events will be on June 11 at The Haven Night Shelter in Green Point, Cape Town, and on June 22 at The Salvation Army in Braamfontein, Johannesburg.
The Street Store is powered by Ubuntu. Every Street Store relies on the generosity of people. A decade of street stores is a testament to humanity’s kindness, says Mike Abel.
According to the Malawian President, their vice president, along with nine others, died in a plane crash. Saulos Chilima and Shanil Dzimbiri, the first lady, were declared missing on Monday.
Their plane was making a 45-minute flight from their capital, Lilongwe, to the city of Mzuzu, around 230 miles to the north. There are no survivors, says Lazarus Chakwera. Seven passengers and three military crew members also lost their lives.
The president says that the aircraft was a small, propeller-driven plane.
