Wednesday 24 March 2021, 0145
Real News. Scrolla.Africa
People's power: Cops and residents in tug of war over stolen transformer Zukile Majova
In a daring display of electricity theft, residents of Highway Gardens in East London in the Buffalo City Metro created a massive illegal power supply unit fed from a stolen Eskom transformer.
And when cops arrived to disconnect the 11 KW transformer, a scuffle broke out as residents refused to give up their power without a fight.
The high-voltage, extremely dangerous transformer was connected right in the middle of the squatter camp, without any consideration for the lives of shack dwellers. The transformer was then fenced off with old scraps of corrugated metal to hide it from the police and Eskom officials.
Hundreds of residents and a dozen businesses have been left in the dark after the Metro cut power supply to the area.
On Sunday two metro police officers accompanied by Revenue Protection officials found themselves outnumbered by a dozen residents blocking them from destroying the illegal connections.
The video of the scuffle – now trending on social networks – shows cops and residents fighting over illegal cables.
Buffalo City Metro spokesperson Samkelo Ngwenya said: “The first video shows people removing cables from a municipal vehicle. The second video shows BCM law enforcement officers trying to retrieve the cable and tussling with community members.”
Unlike many fights involving angry residents and police, officials refused to succumb to the mob or to use firearms.
“The officers remained within the law by using minimum force in the form of pepper spray and only resorted to drawing a firearm when the situation escalated.
“This event demonstrates the severity of the problem that the municipality is faced with in the escalating war against theft, vandalism and illegal connections,” said Ngwenya.
The municipality has conducted raids in different townships and informal settlements in the area resulting in the destruction of some 950 illegal connection points.
Parents close school to protest corruption Judas Sekwela
Parents of pupils at Kgola Ka Leleme Secondary School have locked the school gates, leaving pupils and teachers stranded outside in protest against corruption.
They protested at the school on Tuesday at Ga-Sekgopo village outside Modjadjiskloof in Limpopo, calling for the principal’s head and the removal of the School Governing Body (SGB), accusing them of being corrupt.
They said the SGB members have been there for more than 20 years without being changed and that they were not serving the school but their own personal interests.
They added that some of them are SGB members of another school.
A villager Sipho Moagi, 36, said there are allegations that the school borrowed another school's money, and that the repayments were diverted "into personal bank accounts of some SGB members and not the school’s bank account".
"We want to see the school’s financial books so they could be audited,” he said.
Moagi said they decided to close the school as they did not get what they wanted after submitting a memorandum to school management last Friday.
The school had a 25% matric pass rate for the 2020 academic year and this poor performance also angered parents.
“We believe the SGB and principal are not doing anything to make things change,” said Moagi. They said their school will remain closed until their demands are met.
Pupil Tumelo Marutha, 16, said the protest was delaying them. “We hope their issues will be resolved as soon as possible so we can return to school. We cannot afford to miss more school since this academic year was delayed,” he said.
Limpopo Education spokeswoman Tidimalo Chuene said the circuit manager visited the school to engage with parents in order for pupils to return to school.
She said they are concerned about the events and will be monitoring the situation throughout the week.
“It should be noted that as much as we appreciate parents’ rights to raise concerns in the running of the school, this should not be done to the detriment of pupils,” Chuene said.
Former drug mule says its never too late to turn your life around Doreen Mokgolo
Recovering drug addict, former petty criminal and drug mule Lehlogonolo Letswalo says it's never too late to turn your life around.
Lehlogonolo is the founder of Aga Sechaba NGO in Ga- Rankuwa, a centre aimed at reintegrating recovering addicts and former convicts into society.
Lehlogonolo says that he was a troubled child who terrorised the community, teachers and learners.
“I was always a rebellious child. I started experimenting with cigarettes. I went on to dagga and before I knew it I was addicted to heavy drugs,” he said.
He was arrested for the first time when he was 13 for assaulting a neighbour.
“I enjoyed prison life because I felt like I belonged there. Older prisoners taught me how to smuggle drugs in and out of prison,” he said.
With his newfound “skills” he became a fully-fledged drug trafficker.
His drug supplier introduced him to the main drug lord in Gauteng. His role was to supply drugs to all the A-list night clubs in Johannesburg and Pretoria and to recruit drug mules for overseas trips and across the country.
“I travelled to London nine times without being caught and the big bosses decided to appoint me as a receiver in London,” he said.
“But in 2006 I was caught with 20 kilograms of drugs. I was sentenced to five years in prison.”
In 2007, due to the economic recession in the UK, he and other foreign prisoners were released early after his sentence was reduced by eight months.
“While I was in prison I decided to turn my life around,” he said.
“I started motivating young addicts and ex-convicts who had given up on life.
Lehlogonolo went on to register an NGO and today he devotes his time to helping addicts and ex-convicts.
And the winner is.... Arthur Greene
Earlier this month, we asked our readers how many languages they could speak and the story behind how they came to speak them.
Out of all the entries we received, there was one story which stood out above all the rest...
Ingrate Lamola from Alexandra blew us away, not only with her deeply impressive ability to speak so many languages, but with her inquisitiveness and kindness in her approach to other cultures.
Ingrate, 36, speaks a total of 11 languages.
When she first wrote to us, she told us that she was born in Mokopanin, Limpopo, but she spent most of her childhood in Alex, and this is where she learnt most of these languages.
She speaks SePedi, SeSotho, English, Afrikaans, Ndebele, IsiZulu, IsiXhosa, SeTswana, Xitsonga, Tshivenda and Portuguese, which she learnt from her travels in Mozambique.
She said that she only realised that she had a penchant for languages when it occurred to her that she could read and write in all of them as well!
We caught up with Ingrate last week to learn more about her story.
In a video call, she told us about her early life and how it informed her gift for learning languages.
“I have been living in Alex since forever! So I grew up in Alex where we get to mix with so many people and we get to experience so much opportunities,” she said.
She continued, “The only languages I learnt at school were Afrikaans, English and SePedi. Most of the other languages I just learnt on the streets in Alex.”
Even though Ingrate is a fully fledged linguist now, she joked that she almost flunked languages at school!
She laughed, “I actually got a D in my metric in Afrikaans and an E in my English… It was good for me but not for my English teacher!”
This week, our panel of judges visited Lamola in Alex, where she greeted them in 11 different ways.
After receiving her the prize of a brand new Nokia 2.2 smartphone., she said: “I’m actually excited to have won the phone (I think I need it the most!). It’s a very lovely phone, thanks to Scrolla.Africa!”
"Yes, I am greedy - but you are not getting your money back" Lwazi Nongauza
Arthur Mafokate will not return National Arts Council Covid 19 relief money which was given to his business instead of the struggling artists it was meant for.
The self-proclaimed King of Kwaito Music says he is not budging and won't give back the money. He says he's seen Chicco Twala’s open letter to him, which said:
"It is practically not ethical to be asking the government for Covid relief assistance at the expense of our struggling colleagues...this fund is supposed to be a stimulus, not a get rich quick scheme.”
Chicco told Scrolla.Africa that he publicly criticized Mafokate because his business, 999 Records, got a grant from taxpayers’ money.
For now, Mafokate is not budging and told Scrolla.Africa: ‘’I am an artist and business person. That NAC relief fund was meant for all artists whose businesses or sources of income were badly influenced by Coronavirus-enforced lockdown. My business was one of those who were affected. That is why I applied and accepted the funding. So, I don’t understand why people like Chicco think that I committed crime.’’
Mafokate denied that his NAC funding could have been influenced by his well known business relations with the ANC.
’’I am not going to stop or apologize to Chicco or whoever is angry with me."
Picture source: @ArthurMafokate
Real polygamous housewives of Lagos
A Nigerian billionaire politician is set to start a reality show in which he will "hunt" for three wives to marry.
Anthony Tosan Prest’s show will be called “Billionaire’s Wives Search”.
He describes it as the first “search for wives” reality show in Nigeria.
Those eligible for the show must be between 18 and 70 and must be “looking for love, happiness and marriage”.
Other requirements are that applicants must believe in polygamy and be Pan-African – which means South African ladies can apply.
According to Prest’s Instagram handle, the first season of the show will see him “hunt for three wives to marry traditionally”.
He revealed that the winner of the show’s debut season will get “a loving husband and father to your children and brand-new cars,” among other perks.
Other perks include “residency overseas as well as world travel and holidays four times in a year.”
Who wouldn’t go for this?
Prest was a former governorship candidate in Delta State, but may have to change his name to Pest if his promises don’t pan out.
Nigerians are known for their imaginative reality TV shows.
In 2017 they hosted a TV show “Oyinbo Wives of Lagos” featuring black women who married white dudes talking about their trials and tribulations. Oyinbo is Nigerian slang for an mlungu.
Picture source: @TheCable
Don’t underestimate Uganda, netballers told Timmy T Maranda
South Africa’s netball women have a 10-2 winning record against Uganda, but that is no reason to be overconfident.
Spar Protea captain Bongiwe Msomi has warned her teammates not to underestimate Uganda when they play them on Thursday.
The Spar Proteas will start the Tri-Nations series by playing Uganda’s “She-Cranes” at the Cape Town International Convention Centre. No spectators are allowed and the matches will be played in the 'bio-bubble' due to covid-19 restrictions.
Msomi said they are grateful to get game time with countries like Uganda and Namibia.
“We are hosting the World Cup in 2023 but we also have Common Wealth Games coming up next year and this is the right time to prepare,” she said.
"The connections, combinations and depth don't just come overnight. This will give all the girls an opportunity to compete."
She said they are going for the win.
“That will give the girls the confidence but we have to perform as a team first and eventually the results will come. We can't underestimate them, and obviously they are African countries and there is a lot of work you have to do if you want to win against them."
The Spar Proteas played the She-Cranes 12 times in the past, managed to win 10 times and lost twice with the average score of 50-30. South Africa's biggest victory was in the World cup in Liverpool, where they defeated Uganda 67-40.
Last year they edged out Uganda 50-47 at the same venue in 2019.The match starts at 18h00.
Picture source: @NetballSA
Benni applauds never say die attitude Menzi Magubane
AmaZulu coach Benni McCarthy has congratulated his players for their never say die attitude that has seen them pile up the pressure on the leading pack in the DStv Premiership.
Usuthu's 2-0 victory over Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila saw them cement their top eight spot.
"Players have worked hard at training and it's nice to see them getting positive results. I congratulate them for that. These points take us to within touching distance of the leading pack," said MacCarthy.
Like all the teams in the DStv Premiership, Usuthu will take a rest this weekend. The break will see national teams battle to try and qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon.
McCarthy wasn’t happy with the break.
"The break will disrupt us. We wanted to keep playing and get the points,” he said.
Usuthu's recent form sees them in fifth place on the log, well on course for a top eight finish.
The defeat has not helped Tshakhuma at all. They are second from bottom just two points ahead of Black Leopards who are rooted at the bottom.
AmaZulu's win over Tshakhuma eased the pressure on their distant neighbours Maritzburg United.
The Team of Choice were third from bottom and Tshakhuma was breathing down their necks before the AmaZulu match. United also helped themselves by beating TS Galaxy at the weekend.
United will go to the FIFA break with a smile knowing they could avoid relegation.
Picture source: @soccerladuma Bafana will do it for the missing guys, says WIlliams Menzi Magubane
Ronwen Williams is expected to start between the sticks when Bafana Bafana take on Ghana in the Africa Cup of Nations qualifier on Thursday at FNB Stadium in Soweto at 6pm.
Williams’ recent form for his club SuperSport United gives him the chance to start the match. The keeper said they are determined to qualify for the Afcon in Cameroon next year.
He also said they want to win this match for the players who are absent due to the Covid-19 travel restrictions.
"We are disappointed. We have lost some of our soldiers due to the travel challenges. But the players who are coming need to step up and fill in the gap,” he said.
He said their preparations started a long time ago when the technical team sent them information about the opposition.
“We already know our game plan. We know how Ghana and Sudan play," said Williams.
The absent players are Keagan Dolly, Dean Furman, Luther Singh, Lyle Foster, Thibang Phete, Siyanda Xulu, Thulani Serero and Bongani Zungu. They were replaced by Vincent Pule, Mothobi Mvala, Lebohang Maboe, Thabiso Kutumela and Thabo Nodada.
"We are confident of winning both games. We are disappointed that the guys are not here but we will do it for them," said Williams.
All the Bafana players reported for the camp on Sunday afternoon and after the Ghana game they will jet out to face Sudan on Sunday.
Bafana need all the points available in this match to keep their chances of qualifying in this Group C encounter alive. They are in second place and Ghana are on top of the group. Both teams have nine points.
Picture source: @citypress
Ikorodu Bois are back with a new vid, and it’s wheely worth a watch Arthur Greene
The Ikorodu Bois are back, and have set their sights on flashy, skillful BMX tricks of other youngsters.
The group from Lagos, Nigeria have found social media stardom for remaking scenes from famous music videos and Hollywood movies.
In their latest video, they mimic an impressive clip in which several young guys exchange their bikes whilst cycling.
In the video, which is not the Ikorodu Bois, the guys cycle along, and they’re not going slowly, when three of them dismount at the same time, leaving their bikes heading down the road. Then they race to catch up to another’s bike and hop on, not stopping once.
The clip ends as the boy in front wheelies slickly into the distance.
In the Ikorodu rendition however, the boys from Lagos are not riding stylish BMXs, but rickety old wheelbarrows pushed by other boys.
One of the barrows is even fitted with rear-view mirrors and a fetching black frame.
As always, the Bois find humour in their own poverty whilst subtly making fun of the flashy nature of viral clips.
It’s a classic Ikorodu clip, and well worth a watch.
Video source: @IkoroduB