I HELD MY MOTHER in MY ARMS AS SHE TOOK HER LAST BREATH” Everson Luhanga
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Thursday 25th February 2021, 0145 Real News. Scrolla.Africa “I HELD MY MOTHER IN MY ARMS AS SHE TOOK HER LAST BREATH” Everson Luhanga When Sfiso Chakwane heard the deafening gunshots in their crowded shack, he covered himself with his blanket, praying that the bullets would not strike him or any of his family members. But later, after the robbers had gone, Sfiso checked on his parents. What he found was as bad as he could ever have imagined. He said his father had been shot and was lying dead in the bed. “My mom showed signs of life. She was soaked in blood. I took her out of the bed and held her in my arms. I was hoping the paramedics would find her still breathing and would save her,” he said. “But as I waited for the officials to arrive, my mother took her last breath as I held her in my arms.” Seventeen-year-old Sfiso told Scrolla.Africa from the one- roomed shack in Alexandra, Joburg where his parents had died in the early hours of Tuesday morning, that he was sleeping on the ground when the robbers arrived earlier that night. His mother, Yvonne Ndlovu, a domestic worker, and her husband Zeph Ntebane, a painter, were sleeping on the bed along with Sfiso’s siblings aged 14 and 10. The robbers broke the burglar bars and rushed into the shack. They shot Yvonne and fired three shots at her husband. Then before leaving, the man who had pulled the trigger lifted the blanket and spoke to Sfiso. “After we’ve left, call the ambulance to save your parents,” he said, then vanished with a plasma television set, three cell phones and a laptop. The teenager said he was shaking. “I didn’t know what to do. I had no cell phone as they took everything,” he said. “I went to the neighbours to get them to call the cops and the paramedics.” That’s when Sfiso went back to find that his father had died, his siblings were unhurt and his mother was alive but dying. He said he can still hear the loud gunshots ringing in his ears and the smell of gunpowder. “Everything happened in that tiny space,” he said. Sfiso’s aunt Precious Ndlovu said she doesn’t understand why the robbers had to kill both her sister and her sister’s husband. “If they wanted the television, they should just have taken it and spared their lives. The children are orphans because of a TV. I’m shattered,” she said. Alexandra police spokesman Sergeant Simphiwe Mbatha said police are investigating cases of double murder and robbery. eThekwini flushes EIGHTY-SIX MILLION down the drain Lungani Zungu The ANC-run eThekwini Municipality has lost R86 million due to wasteful and irregular expenditure since the Covid-19 lockdown last March. This was revealed in a comprehensive internal city report tabled during the executive meeting on Tuesday. Sbu Zikode, leader of Abahlali baseMjondolo group who represent shack dwellers called for the axing of Mayor Mxolisi Kaunda. “As a political head, he must take responsibility for this,” said Zikode. “This amount of money would have made a difference to the lives of the people who do not have proper houses and don’t have running water.” Abahlali baseMjondolo has led many protests over proper housing in big cities. Last week, Umlazi residents blocked the Griffiths Mxenge Highway with burning tyres and logs over proper housing. Zikode said they would be protesting outside the city hall until those responsible were arrested. No mention of names or items were made in the report as the investigations were still underway. Mayor Kaunda called for the strengthening of internal control measures. He said that consequence management would be implemented and said criminal charges would be opened against those responsible. He urged the investigators to fast-track the investigation into Covid-19 expenditure and report back before the end of March. Nala Mhlongo, the chairperson of the city audit committee, said procurement and basic internal controls were not followed during the procurement. He blamed municipal officials for pushback, saying the internal audit team experienced delays in getting information. The list of ANC politicians who had been fingered in Covid-19 corruption includes Bandile Masuku and former President Cyril Ramaphosa’s spokesperson Khusela Diko. Masuku was subsequently axed as MEC for Health in Gauteng, while Diko was suspended. This was after the Special Investigative Unit (SIU) found that Masuku had failed to stop the contract that was awarded to Royal Bhaca Project, a company owned by Thandisizwe Diko, Khusela's husband, who died earlier this week. Picture source: @EThekwiniM Better wear undies if you are against masks Everson Luhanga If you are about to be thrown out of a shop for not wearing a mask, look down for solutions. A maskless woman received applause from fellow shoppers in a queue where she was about to pay for her groceries but was told to put on a mask. After a heated argument with the cashiers, security was called. In full view of other shoppers, the woman, who was wearing a dress, pulled down her underwear and pulled it over her face. Behind her was another woman who was wearing her mask - also apparently an anti-masker - who applauded the panty stripper for what she did. The second woman expressed the view that there would be less bacteria on the knickers than on the mask. We can only hope for the maskless women’s sake that this is right and that the underwear was clean. This woman would not be the first one to pull such a trick. There have been videos on social media of people being refused to get into taxis without a mask, but choosing their socks instead. Some use their shirts to get away with it. President Cyril Ramaphosa has emphasised the importance of wearing cloth masks for every citizen in order to beat the Covid-19 pandemic. We can only hope that the fact that the video has gone viral does not set off a trend. No-one wants guys in grocery stores undressing and wrapping jockey skants around their faces. Gang that terrorised Uber drivers in New Brighton nabbed by cops Joseph Chirume For the first time in two years, Boy Ncube will be able to pick up and drop off passengers in New Brighton, Port Elizabeth, after he was hijacked and nearly killed in 2019. Ncube is one of the Uber drivers who have been hijacked and robbed by a gang of three criminals who terrorised e-hailing drivers and foreign-owned businesses. Ncube welcomed the news that the well-known gang of criminals was arrested on Wednesday after they killed another driver last week. "I believe police have caught the right people because most of the hijackings and robberies happened in New Brighton. I am glad that I can drive without fearing for my safety,” he said. The gang's latest victim was Garrison Snayers who was found shot dead in his Suzuki in New Brighton on 17 February. Police say Snayers operated as an e-hailing taxi service for the owner of the vehicle. Police spokesperson, Colonel Priscilla Naidu said a New Brighton Task Team under Station Commander, Colonel Vuyisiwe Tembani tracked down those responsible for the senseless killing of the taxi driver on Wednesday. She said Tembani set up the task team on Sunday, after the memorial drive-by which took place at the site of Snayers’ death. Three suspects, aged between 25 and 28 were arrested. Naidu said two of the suspects are wanted by police in Motherwell and New Brighton for crimes ranging from murder, illegal possession of a firearm and two cases of robbery. She said the suspects are expected to appear in the New Brighton Magistrate’s Court soon on a charge of murder. Acting Mount Road Cluster Commander, Brigadier Thandiswa Kupiso said the community are the eyes and ears of the police. “The importance of a strong partnership between the police and the community cannot be overemphasised," said Kupiso. Ncube refused to have a photo taken of him or his car. Picture source: @HeraldPE Kenyan doctors warn that anal sex increases risk of stillbirth A Kenyan hospital has reported that it receives 120 cases of stillbirth or birthing complications due to anal sex every month, The Star in Kenya reports. Midwives at a Lamu hospital told the publication that many of the women who suffer from this issue say that they engage in anal sex for fear that their husbands will leave if they don’t. The serious birthing complications arise because anal sex loosens the sensitive membrane which separates the rectum and the vagina. This means that during childbirth, instead of the baby’s head descending through the mother’s vagina, her slackened rectum will cause it to sink into the sacral region anterior to the rectum. One midwife explained that, therefore, “it takes longer than necessary for the birthing process to complete.” “Mostly, there are two consequences: either the baby will be too exhausted at the time or asphyxiate (lack oxygen and blood flow to the brain), which eventually could lead to brain damage and to our second scenario, which is stillbirth.” The midwives, who requested anonymity for fear of being targeted or fired, report that this complication occurs in as many as 23 per cent of all the hospital’s births in a month. One stated that most pregnant women are forthright about their practicing of anal sex, which enables them to prepare efficiently for the birthing process.