NPA TO CHARGE MANDLA MANDELA

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) will charge Nelson Mandela’s grandson, Mandla Mandela, with assault and brandishing a gun at another man. Spokesman Luxolo Tyali told Reuters the NPA “has decided to prosecute him and summons have been issued”. Mandla Mandela was earlier reported to have drawn a gun on a 44-year-old teacher whose vehicle had collided with one driven by a guest of his. The Sunday Times said the teacher later had to undergo emergency surgery to remove a blood clot from his brain. But a spokesman for the former president’s grandson said the accusation was “pure fabrication”. Tyali spelled out the charges facing Mandla Mandela but declined to give details of the incident.

POLICE MAKE ANOTHER MAJOR DRUG BUST, WORTH R41M

Police in KwaZulu-Natal have uncovered a drug laboratory in Gillitts, finding drugs with a street value of more than R41-million. They arrested 19 foreign national men aged between 18 and 37, who will be charged with drug possession and dealing in drugs. “The entire operation, we estimate, has a street value of over R41-million, which consists of R21.4 million worth of heroin straws, R4.1-million of Mandrax tablets, R15-million of heroin powder and equipment,” SAPS spokesperson Lieutenant General Solomon Makgale said. He said an operation of such magnitude had to be associated with a syndicate. The same team bust a major drug distribution centre in Kempton Park last week, finding drugs to the value of R75-million.

POLICE ARREST SUSPECT IN MOEPI MURDER

Police have arrested a suspect in the murder of forensic auditor Lawrence Moepi, The Star reported. Moepi was shot dead in the parking lot of his Gauteng workplace, SizweNtsalubaGobodo, more than a month ago. Nothing was taken during the murder, fuelling speculation that his killing was a hit. Moepi was involved in several sensitive and high-profile investigations. Gauteng police spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Lungelo Dlamini said there was no direct relationship between Moepi and the 40-year-old male suspect, who was arrested in Soweto on Saturday. Police were following several leads in a bid to arrest a second suspect, he added.

BIDVEST MAKE MOVE ON ADCOCK INGRAM

The $1.2-billion bid by Chile’s CFR Pharmaceuticals for South African pharmaceutical company Adcock Ingram has been challenged on two fronts, as a group led by Bidvest sought nearly a third of Adcock’s shares and launched a court action against the bid. Bidvest had failed in an attempt to buy control of the drug firm in March and its new share offer would give it a holding large enough to torpedo the rare Chile-South Africa tie-up – and possibly launch a fresh attempt at getting control of the underperforming company. Responding to CFR Pharmaceuticals’ bid, which was formally launched last month, Bidvest teamed up with black investment group Community Investment Holdings (CIH) to offer R70 per share to buy as much as 34.5% of Adcock, valuing the stake at nearly R4-billion. Bidvest already owns 4% of Adcock.

KREJCIR BAIL APPLICATION MOVED TO HIGH COURT,

The Palm Ridge Magistrate’s Court has moved Radovan Krejcir’s bail application to the High Court, Sapa reports. The bail application by the Czech fugitive, his associate Desai Lupondo and two Hawks policemen, Samuel Modise Maropeng and George Jeff Nthoroane, will be heard later this week. Prosecutor Louis Mashiane, reading from an affidavit by the investigating officer, said the man allegedly kidnapped by Lupondo, Maropeng and Mashiane was the brother of one of Krejcir’s drug dealers working at OR Tambo airport, a man known as ‘Doctor’. Doctor was supposed to ship 25kg of crystal meth to Australia, worth R24-million, but it did not arrive and he disappeared. Doctor’s brother was kidnapped and allegedly tortured in an attempt to find his whereabouts.

PUBLIC PROTECTOR ANNOUNCES A NEW MEASURE TO STEM REPORT LEAKS

The public protector has announced measures designed to stop her reports from being leaked to the media. Thuli Madonsela’s move comes after a provisional report into “security upgrades” at President Jacob Zuma’s private home was published in the Mail&Guardian. Now “affected and implicated parties will no longer get full provisional reports,” her office said in a statement. Instead, they will be furnished with information or parts of the report that relate to them. Madonsela said leaking reports put the integrity of investigations in jeopardy while also prejudicing the people whose names are mentioned in the reports. She said the leaks did not come from her office. “We work with sensitive information for months without any leakages. It cannot be a coincidence that the so-called leaks only occur after the reports leave our offices into the hands of parties,” she said.

REPORT: ABZ GROUP WANT ZUMA RECALLED, MOTLANTHE TO TAKE OVER

The group within the ANC who wanted President Jacob Zuma replaced at the party’s Mangaung elective conference last December is trying to find support for a special national general council to discuss his leadership, The New Age reported. But the ANC has denied the report, with spokesman Jackson Mthembu saying he was “not aware” of such a call and that the party was concentrating on plans for next year’s elections. A source within the Anything But Zuma (ABZ) group, which is reported to have supporters within the cabinet, told the newspaper they want Zuma removed, deputy president Kgalema Motlanthe to take over as interim president, and ANC deputy president Cyril Ramaphosa to become president next year.

DA: FREE STATE PREMIER CREATED STATE-RUN MEDIA CONGLOMERATE

Free State premier Ace Magashule has used taxpayers’ money to create a “state run media conglomerate,” says the DA leader in the province, Patricia Kopane. She said editors at Letlaka Media had “compromised their ethics of transparent and balanced journalism to the whims of the owner of Letlaka Media, Tumi Ntsele, and his close political ally, Ace Magashule”. Kopane said an investigation by National Treasury into contracts held by Letlaka Media with the premier’s office found they had deviated from the process prescribed by law. The Treasury report said Magashule had attempted to centralise control over the provincial government’s advertising and printing needs within his office by making him the implementing agent of all provincial departments. His office spent R140-million on upgrading the provincial government’s websites. Letlaka Media’s Ntsele was awarded that tender. Treasury has recommended disciplinary action against implicated individuals. DM

Photo: Mandla Mandela. (REUTERS/Rogan Ward)