Monday 8th February 2021, 0145

Real News. Scrolla.Africa

POOR CHIEFS SHOCKED BY RICH BOYS Menzi Magubane

Wasteful Kaizer Chiefs were booted out of the Nedbank Cup in the first round on Sunday. Energetic Richards Bay managed a famous victory over Chiefs beating them 2-1 at FNB Stadium.

Richards Bay, who play in the GladAfrica Championship, are a second tier club who have never won a major trophy in their four years of existence.

Amakhosi have played teams from the lower division 26 times and it was their sixth defeat, their last loss being two years ago when they lost the final to TS Galaxy who were playing in the First Division at the time.

Chiefs had numerous chances to score and win the game but it was the KwaZulu-Natal outfit who took the lead in their first real attack.

Thabani Dube found the back of the net in the 29th minute after sloppy Chiefs defense.

Amakhosi had to go one man short for them to get back their rhythm.

Siphosakhe Ntiya-Ntiya got his marching orders after getting two yellow cards that automatically earned him a red card. Nine minutes after being sent off, Leonard Castro scored an equaliser coming off the bench.

Substitute striker Siyabonga Vilane was the one to pile the misery on Amakhosi by scoring a winner for the visitors in the referee's added time. Natal Rich Boys' coach Simo Dladla said Chiefs played right into their hands.

Disappointed Chiefs coach Gavin Hunt couldn't hold back his disappointment and said: "We were wasteful. We got to better, work a little bit harder. We need to turn the corner somehow."

"I've never lost to a first division side in 27 years. I warned them about this team," said Hunt.

Richards Bay coach Simo Dladla said: "It was a tough one for us. But we forced them to think hard and our plan worked. Chiefs is a big team and most of my boys idolize their players. But I had to make them understand how big this game was for us and we needed to win it," said Dladla.

This defeat for Chiefs means they might have to go another season without a trophy and it could make it seven seasons in a row without silverware should they fail to lift the DStv Premiership.

Other results Orlando Pirates 1-0 UThongathi; Chippa United 1=0 Free State Stars; Jomo Cosmos 1-2 Back ; Swallows 1-0 Cape United; Cape Town City 4-0 Bloemfontein Celtic; JDR Stars 2-1 University FC; TS Galaxy 8-10 TS Sporting; Maritzburg United 2-1 Sekhukhune United; Pretoria Callies 1-0 Royal AM

Picture source: @Kaizerchiefs

Now for the good news: vaccines might not stop the virus, but they will prevent death Arthur Greene

Covid-19 vaccinations serve a purpose more crucial than preventing disease. They prevent hospitalisation and death.

As concern mounts that Covid-19 vaccines are less effective against new variants of the virus, particularly the South African variant, promising data shows that they are still effective at preventing serious illness.

British drugmaker AstraZeneca announced on Saturday that its vaccine appeared to offer only limited protection against mild disease caused by the South African variant of Covid-19.

However, none of the more than 2,000 trial participants had been hospitalised or died.

This means that the vaccine may not prevent people from contracting the virus and developing mild symptoms such as a sore throat or a cough.

However, it is still highly likely to prevent sufferers from needing hospital treatment.

On Sunday the government suspended use of the AstraZeneca vaccine.

This news comes after the Moderna, Johnson & Johnson (J&J) and Novavax vaccines have all reported reduced efficacy rates in , though each is likely to reduce the severe illness caused by the virus.

In January J&J announced that vaccine efficacy reached 72% in the U.S., compared with just 57% in South Africa.

However, these results also show that the single dose of the J&J vaccine was 85% successful in protecting against severe disease.

Crucially, not a single person who received the vaccine was hospitalised or died.

Additionally, the Washington Post reports that in two separate studies, “out of more than 30,000 people who received either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, only one person became ill enough to be hospitalised.”

This data suggests that although the vaccines are unlikely to completely wipe the virus off the face of the earth, they will significantly reduce the numbers of people it kills.

In this case, hospitals would cease to be overrun, grandparents could see their grandchildren and schools could gather once again, all without a high risk of death due to Covid-19.

Picture source: @WebMD

Ace Magashule says ANC will appear before Zondo Lungani Zungu

ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule is a very conflicted man.

In less than a week he has voiced his support for Jacob Zuma’s lawless defiance of the Constitutional Court.

And yet yesterday he told Scrolla.Africa that the ANC which he runs, would never defy the Zondo Commission.

“When we are asked to go there, we will do so. "We have got no problem with going to the commission.”

He declined to comment when asked whether he would lead the ANC delegation to the commission in his role as party secretary.

“That’s not important, what is important is that we are going to present ourselves at the commission.”

The highest court in the land ordered Zuma to testify at the State Capture Commission but Zuma said he'd rather go to jail than honour such an order.

And Magashule told reporters that he supported Zuma's decision.

“I don’t see anything wrong he [Zuma] has done.”

While Deputy Judge President Raymond Zondo's commission has focused on individuals till now, he has now summoned the ruling party, which has been placed at the centre of a web of corruption by several witnesses.

On Thursday Zondo said the ANC was cooperating with his commission and had filed some affidavits.

He said he wanted the ANC to explain how billions were stolen under its watch as the ruling party during Zuma’s term as president from 2009 to 2018.

Zuma, summoned to appear between Monday and Friday this week, has been accused by witnesses of enabling his friends, the controversial Gupta family, to run his presidency from behind the scenes.

Picture source: @SAfmnews

Mhlanga warns Zuma his defiance will backfire Lungani Zungu

Leading cleric Father Brian Mhlanga has warned former President Jacob Zuma that his defiance of the Constitutional Court and the Zondo commission will "backfire" against him and the ANC.

Mhlanga was one of the clerics who pushed for the setting up of the state capture commission.

“The former president must do the right thing and go to the state capture commission to answer to allegations of state capture,” said Mhlanga.

Zuma openly defied the Constitution, saying that he will not go to the commission as ordered by the Constitutional Court, the highest court on the land. Zuma is scheduled to appear at the commission between Monday and Friday and he is yet to say whether he had changed his mind or would stick to his guns to defy the Constitution.

Mhlanga condemned Zuma's war of words with Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo. “There is impunity, and it is going to backfire. There are implications for all parties involved, the ANC itself, the commission and to some extent the judiciary.”

Back in 2016, Mhlanga, together with other men of the cloth, laid a complaint with the then public protector Thuli Madonsela amid widespread allegations that the Gupta family was a corrupting force.

In her report titled “State of Capture”, Madonsela recommended that a commission be set up to investigate further.

Meanwhile, Zuma and EFF leader Julius Malema met for tea on Friday (see GIF above), but the two have yet to go public on what was discussed.

Amid widespread speculation of a new alliance between the Zuma faction of the ANC and Malema's EFF, Malema on Sunday signalled he was also cosying up to the mainstream ANC faction.

He had a call with Finance Minister Tito Mboweni who tweeted: "@Julius_S_Malema called. Good conversation. No issues anymore. Spears down now. Let's grow South Africa together. He can confirm."

American missionary who abused Kenyan orphans jailed for 15 years Arthur Greene

Gregory Dow, an American Christian missionary, has been sentenced to more than 15 years in prison for abusing underage girls at a Kenyan orphanage he ran.

He was charged by the FBI in July 2019 after fleeing to the United States when his abuses came to light.

However, it was the work of a dual U.S.-Kenyan citizen, Margaret Ruto, that led to Dow’s arrest.

By chance, Ruto had travelled to Boito, the village next to the Dow Family Children’s Home, to care for her sick mother-in- law.

When she arrived, the village was in uproar. Two local girls, aged 12 and 14, escaped Dow’s orphanage and alleged that he had abused them.

However, he had fled to America and Kenyan police say they missed catching him at the airport by just a few hours.

Ruto, a working nurse, “turned detective” and spent the following year compiling a case against Dow which the FBI would eventually use to charge him with his abhorrent sex crimes.

The Washington Post reports that Dow was charged by American authorities because of a special clause in the U.S. penal code which allows for prosecution of child abuse cases committed by Americans overseas.

Dow, 61, originally from Pennsylvania, was already a registered abuser when he travelled to Kenya with his wife, Mary Rose, to set up the Dow Family Children's Home near Boito in 2008.

In 1996 he pleaded guilty to assault with intent to commit sexual abuse.

The orphanage ran for a decade before Dow fled the country in 2017. During this time, at least 83 children aged between nine months and 18 years old lived in his and Mary Rose’s home.

The FBI confirmed that Dow had sexually abused at least four teenage girls between 2013 and 2017.

Mary Rose was also arrested on child abuse charges.

She was “complicit” in Dow’s horrific crimes, claims the U.S. attorney’s office.

“She even transported the victims to a medical clinic to have birth control devices implanted into their arms, which allowed Dow to perpetrate his crimes without fear of impregnating his victims.”

Picture source: @UzalendoNews_KE

Teenage stowaway survives 10-hour flight in plane’s undercarriage Arthur Greene

A teenage stowaway from Kenya has defied the odds by surviving a 10-hour flight from Kenya to the Netherlands in perilous conditions.

He is believed to have boarded the plane in Nairobi, and spent 10 hours in its landing gear bay in sub-zero temperatures and low oxygen levels.

The 16-year-old, who has not been named, was taken to hospital with severe hypothermia soon after the plane touched down in Maastricht airport on Thursday.

A spokesperson for Maastricht Aachen Airport said: “He had tremendous luck to get through this.”

With commercial flights reaching altitudes of about 38,000ft, chances of survival for stowaways are very slim.

The spokesperson told the NetherlandsNewsLive website that temperatures within the landing gear bay of the plane would have fallen to -30C and below.

Dutch police say they are currently trying to trace the boy’s exact route and will be investigating potential human trafficking links in connection with the incident.

This is not the first time a stowaway has survived a seemingly impossible plane journey.

Themba Cabeka, from South Africa, clung to the undercarriage of a jumbo jet for the duration of an 11 hour, 6,000 mile flight between Johannesburg and London in 2015.

Picture source: @SABreakingNews

Gogo defrauded of her Sassa grant Mkhuseli Sizani

Disabled 76-year-old Gogo Nontuthuzelo Handile of KwaZakhele township in was left penniless and frustrated after being defrauded of R5,000 in her Sassa account.

The money includes the foster grants for her three grandchildren aged 11, 13 and 14.

She told Scrolla.Africa: "On Wednesday I went to Kenako Mall Post Office to withdraw my [Sassa] money. But to my surprise the teller told me the money was already withdrawn at the FNB ATM".

"I told her that was impossible because I only withdraw my money at the Post office by using my fingerprint. I have never used my Sassa card because I forgot my pin number."

Gogo Handile, pictured above, said this situation has left her and her grandkids with no food.

"The last porridge we had was in the morning on Thursday. This money was helping me to put bread on the table for my family of nine.

"I am stressed and I don't know where I will get the money to buy food and electricity. My funeral policies also have not been paid. The tellers advised me to lay a charge of fraud at the police station."

But she heard a different story from the police. Eastern Cape Sassa spokesperson Luzuko Qina said Gogo Handile needed to report the matter to the Post Office. "The client has been defrauded during the pin reset process."

ALLISON BLUNDERLAND Menzi Magubane

The Citizens beat reigning champions Liverpool 4- 1 at Anfield on Sunday to go five points clear on top of the table.

Two huge blunders from Liverpool’s Brazilian goalkeeper Alisson gifted Manchester City the win.

The German Ilkay Gundogan missed a penalty early in the first half that would have given form City the lead. But in the second half he made up for his mistake and eventually put City ahead for just four minutes after the break.

The midfielder scored his second for the Citizens just ten minutes after Mo Salah equalised for Liverpool from a penalty spot in the 63rd minute. Captain of the day Raheem Sterling made it 3-1 for the visitors in 75th minute.

In the 83rd Phil Foden ensured that coach Pep Guadiola got his first ever win at Anfield since joining City in 2016. The defeat left Reds with slim chances of defending their league title that they won last season after 30 years.

This was also Liverpool's first consecutive league defeat at home in over 50 years. They first lost 1-0 to Brighton seven days ago and now they were humiliated by the 2019 EPL champions.

City are now looking good to reclaim their title glory after this win. They still have a game in hand from their City rivals Manchester United who are second.

Liverpool, who are in fourth place, are now 10 points behind City. Next Citizens game they are at home on Saturday to seventh place Tottenham Hotspur.

Liverpool on the other hand they are away to third place Leicester City on Saturday.

Other EPL results Wolves 0-0 Leicester City; Aston Villa 1-0 Arsenal; Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 West Brom; Fulham 0-0 West Ham; Manchester United 3-3 Everton; Burnley 1-1 Brighton; Newcastle United 3-2 Southampton.

Picture source: @fantasPremierLeague

Scotland shock England and it's not a Van der Merwe joke Timmy T Maranda

Scotland stunned defending Champions England 11-6 in the 2021 Guinness Six Nations tournament for the first time since 1983, as they recorded one of the biggest upsets in the history of international rugby to claim the Calcutta Cup on Saturday at Twickenham.

Gregor Townsend's side, brilliantly led by , joined the heroes of 1930, 1971 and 1983, to win at Twickenham, a feat beyond so many great players.

The Scotts drew first blood after forcing England into an error that resulted in a penalty within striking distance. Finn Russel slotted the first points of the contest. Scotland took advantage of the numerical advantage after Billy Vunipola was yellow carded for a high tackle on Russell.

South African born winger Duhan Van der Merwe scored Scotland’s first and only try of the match to extend the lead but Finn Russel missed the conversion. England’s closed the gap with the conversion, Scotland went to the break leading 8-6.

In the second half, despite being the man down, the Scottish side were rewarded with a penalty for to extend the lead to 11-6. The Scotts absorbed the pressure from the defending Champions to hold on to the lead and claim the historic win.

Duhan van der Merwe reacted to scoring the only try of the contest on Scotland team twitter by saying "It's my job but when I got the ball from George, I said to myself I need to finish this and I managed to get over the white wash."

"We wanted to inspire the nation and hopefully we did that tonight," said Duhan van der Merwe.

"I know it's tough for you fans for not being able to celebrate this game with us but hopefully in the future we can and can't wait for that day," van der Merwe added.

Meanwhile, France began their campaign with a 50-10 bonus- point victory over Italy at Stadio Olimpico.

Scotland will host Wales in the next match of the 2021 Guinness Six Nations on Saturday at BT , kick-off 18:45 GMT.

Picture source: @Scotlandteam

LOVED AND LOST: AUBREY MBALU (1958-2020)

A love stronger than years Mkhuseli Sizani

Aubrey Mbalu became involved in student politics when protests erupted in 1976 before going into exile to become a soldier for MK. He was sent by ANC underground units to Winnie Mandela’s House in Brandfort and to Lesotho under Chris Hani.

After he returned from exile he started his own business, Mbalu’s Tavern, in Mdange Village in Peelton outside King Williams Town, and one day started employing a young woman named Kholiswa.

She said after they met he started asking her to make deposits at his bank and in return he helped her to sell airtime to his customers.

Before long, romance blossomed and he proposed marriage.

“It took me two years to say yes to him. We only had sex after marriage,” she said.

Both had kids from other relationships. She had a daughter and his son was eight years older than her.

Love was stronger than the 28 year age gap between Kholiswa, 34, and Aubrey, also known as Meneer Mbalu. She called him Daddy.

“My mother never had a problem with him but the villagers and his family were saying bad things behind our backs. But Daddy protected me.”

She said one of their elderly neighbours recently shook her hand.

“She confessed she thought I wouldn’t last one year in that marriage because she thought I was in love with the money,” Kholiswa said.

She said her husband had hypertension and it got worse when his brother was found hanged and mutilated in his house in East London last year.

“Two days after we buried him my husband became very sick. He could not walk and was feeling tired. He died in Bisho Hospital on 19 November, apparently from Covid-19 complications. They had been married for 10 years.

Kholiswa, and their sons, aged four and seven, miss the man she calls Daddy.

Proteas go for broke Lucky Mdluli

With Pakistan 200 runs ahead at the start of the fourth day, there was still a glimmer of hope for SA to win the match and draw the series.

Granted, it was a long shot but not impossible. The wicket had proved lively on each of the first three days and wickets had tumbled and if the last four wickets could fall for less than 50, there was still a chance.

But between Mohammad Razwan, playing the innings of his life and scoring his first century (115) and Nauman Ali (45) they seemed to rip any chance of victory away from the Proteas, one boundary at a time.

From the South African point of view, it was good to see George Linde getting a sparkling, well-deserved fiver (5 wickets in 26 overs conceding 64 runs). By the time Pakistan were all out, the Proteas were looking at a massive target of 370 and without any other option, the SA batters took the match to the bowlers.

Is it a measure of the dreaded Big Match Temperament when top level participants (in any sport) do badly when it matters and do well when the pressure is off?

With nothing to lose, the South Africans are playing freely and scoring runs, the way South African fans were hoping they would play since the day they arrived in Pakistan.

Dean Elgar played some good shots, including four fours to score 17 runs in 24 balls before edging a wide ball to the wicketkeeper.

But Markram (59 not out) and Van der Dussen (48 not out) ended the fourth day scoring runs and possibly bringing the Proteas back into the match for one final burst of glory.

And is the age of miracles over? With South Africa still needing 243 runs to win with one day to go, it probably is, but wouldn’t it be ever so grand if they can pull it off?

Picture source: @OfficialCSA