Latest news with #Atteridgeville
News24
08-07-2025
- News24
R7m transformer theft: Implicated Tshwane officials released on bail
Three City of Tshwane officials accused of stealing a R7 million transformer from the Claudius Substation have been granted bail. The officials – Kleinbooy Mahlangu, Thomas Baloi, and Daniel Kubayi – were arrested after allegedly fleeing the scene of the crime in November 2024 and are charged with theft of essential infrastructure. Another suspect, believed to be the buyer of the transformer, surrendered to the police and will face a bail hearing on 11 July. The Atteridgeville Magistrate's Court has granted bail to three City of Tshwane officials accused of stealing a transformer valued at R7 million. Kleinbooy Mahlangu, 45, was granted bail of R35 000, while Thomas Baloi, 41, and Daniel Kubayi, 50, were each granted bail of R30 000. The three men face charges of theft of essential infrastructure in connection with a transformer stolen from the Claudius Substation in Laudium last year. In November, the Tshwane Metro Police Department and the South African Police Service responded to a tip-off regarding a theft in progress at the substation. Upon their arrival, officers discovered cranes, trucks and a City of Tshwane-branded vehicle on site. According to National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana, no proof of work authorisation could be provided to the police, leading to the arrest of 11 people. However, 10 of them were later released from custody due to a lack of evidence. Following the police investigation, it was determined that Mahlangu, Baloi and Kubayi allegedly fled the scene before the authorities arrived. Warrants of arrest were issued, and the three were apprehended at their respective workplaces on 1 July 2025. Another City of Tshwane official, Madimetja Jacob Malebane, 38, who was arrested at the scene, was also granted bail. In court, Mahanjana said the State did not oppose the accused's release on bail, submitting an affidavit from investigating officer Sergeant Thabo Lukhele. The affidavit indicated that the accused had cooperated with the police, were permanently employed by the City of Tshwane and did not pose a flight risk. 'The affidavit also noted that the investigation is nearly complete, with most witness statements already collected,' said Mahanjana. She also revealed that another suspect, Katlego Molepo, 32, believed to be the buyer of the transformer, appeared in the same court facing identical charges. Molepo handed himself over to the authorities at Atteridgeville police station on Sunday. He will return to court on Friday for a bail application.
Yahoo
23-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘The ABC Killer': Showmax Drops Trailer For Doc Series On 'South Africa's Ted Bundy'
EXCLUSIVE: Here's a chilling trailer for the latest true-crime doc series out of South Africa. Showmax's The ABC Killer will look into the grim story of serial killer Moses Sithole, who was convicted of 38 murders, 40 rapes and six robberies, all committed in the space of just over a year, in broad daylight. 'I thought the devil has come down to Earth,' says former detective Paul Nkomo. More from Deadline Who "Survived 'Til '25"? Taking The Temperature Of The International Television Industry As Sector Wrestles With Strike Hangover & Financial Strife NBC Sitcom 'Superstore' Opening African Outlet Through Showmax Remake Showmax Cooking Up 'Koek' Season 2 Following Sky/NBCU-Backed Relaunch The three-parter will go back 30 years – just months after Nelson Mandela had become South Africa's first democratically elected president – to when rookie journalist Tamsen de Beer, working a night shift at The Star newspaper, received a life-changing call from a man who claimed to be South Africa's most prolific serial killer. Through repeat conversations, the two developed a disturbing rapport. 'It was like a journey I was on with him,' says de Beer in the trailer. 'We were bonded in a strange, ugly way. I was hoping he was okay all the time, which is absolutely crazy.' Sithole would target young Black women across Atteridgeville, Boksburg and Cleveland in Gauteng – the 'ABC' in his nickname. The doc comes from director Jasyn Howes, who is leading his second Showmax series in a row about a 1990s South African serial killer. The first, Boetie Boer, about murderer Stewart Wilken, was nominated at last year's South African Film and Television Awards for Best Documentary Series and Best Editor (Jaco Laubscher, who also cut The ABC Killer). Like Boetie Boer, the show uses extensive reenactments, mostly filmed in the real-world locations such as The Star's offices, Germiston Train Station, Pretoria High Court and the factory where Sithole was finally caught. Gifter Ngobenisen plays Sithole, with Louise van der Merwe as de Beer and Monte-Carlo Golden Nymph and SAFTA Best Actor nominee Graham Hopkins as Judge George Curlewis. Howes and SAFTA-winning writer Andy Petersen had access to transcripts of telephone calls between de Beer and Sithole, and her diary entry from the night of the first call. During filming, Howes tracked down many of those close to the story, including including de Beer and her night editor at The Star, Alameen Brendan Templeton, who admits in the trailer that he was worried his journalist 'could end up as one of [Sithole's] victims.' Contributions come from the likes of South African profiler Micki Pistorius, former detectives Ettiene 'Vinyl' Viljoen, Frans van Niekerk, Paul Nkomo and Derrick Nosworthy, who says, 'This was the biggest case of our history at the time. I don't think we had ever had a case where there were so many people murdered by potentially one offender.' Deputy national prosecutor George Baloyi revisits his case against Sithole, and attorneys Anthony Richards and Eben Jordaan discuss their defence of him, while survivor Buyiswa Swakhamisu relives the day of her attack and her own brave pursuit of justice. Sithole is now serving 2,410 years in prison. 'He was our Ted Bundy,' said Howes, who was a young boy in Johannesburg at the time of the crimes. The ABC Killer will be available in full on Showmax from Tuesday, July 22. [youtube Best of Deadline Sean 'Diddy' Combs Sex-Trafficking Trial Updates: Cassie Ventura's Testimony, $10M Hotel Settlement, Drugs, Violence, & The Feds A Full Timeline Of Blake Lively & Justin Baldoni's 'It Ends With Us' Feud In Court, Online & In The Media 'Poker Face' Season 2 Guest Stars: From Katie Holmes To Simon Hellberg
The Citizen
30-05-2025
- Business
- The Citizen
Residents demand scrapping of bills, reject amnesty plan
Frustrated residents from across Tshwane took to the streets demanding the immediate scrapping of historic arrears in estimated bills and to reject the metro's current conditional amnesty programme. The Lotus Gardens, Atteridgeville, and Saulsville Civic Association (LASCA) led the march on May 29. They described the historic debt as 'bogus'. The residents handed over their memorandum of demands at Tshwane House in the Pretoria CBD. LASCA president Tshepo Mahlangu said the estimated bills are 'unconstitutional', and residents should not be obligated to pay for services that cannot be verified. 'The auditor general's report indicated that these bills are estimated, so they are inaccurate,' Mahlangu said. 'Residents cannot be compelled to pay for a debt that is based on estimations, even in terms of the law, we are not obliged to pay for estimations.' He stated that the metro is struggling with service delivery, which is causing distress across all regions, but customers are facing unjustifiably high and inaccurate bills. 'The metro is so quick to want to collect debts, but when it comes to delivering services, they hold back. 'Residents are faced with poor service delivery but are charged every month for services that are never rendered.' He said that for residents to start paying bills, the estimated debts should be eliminated, and then services delivered so that there is proof of what they are required to pay for. 'The metro should solve the billing problem by employing more meter readers, delivering services appropriately, and then collecting revenue.' The Department of Finance recently announced that the municipality's Debt Relief and Incentive Scheme will conclude on May 31, however, residents demanded that the programme be stopped. 'This scheme is used to trick municipal customers into committing to payment arrangements on arrears,' said Mahlangu. He maintained that the metro should put a stop to the conditional bill amnesty scheme. Residents expressed their frustration regarding the municipality's billing crisis. Joyce Manoko, a 69-year-old resident of Atteridgeville, expressed her confusion about why her water bill was so high. 'It doesn't make sense to me how I have a debt of over R100 000 on my bill when I pay the little I have every month for utilities. I don't even own a car wash.' She said the municipality called her to make an arrangement to pay the debt, but she has no idea how she is going to pay. 'If I agree to that arrangement, how will I pay for it when I don't work and depend on the pensioners' grant only?' Godfrey Shabalala (65) from Soshanguve said he is hurt by how they are being treated by the metro. He stated that they are forced to live in darkness and that their taps run dry due to debts they do not understand. 'We are suffering while people in power are living comfortably and earning profits using our names.' MMC for Finance and Deputy Mayor Eugene Modise received and signed the memorandum of demands, committing to address the issues raised by residents. 'We will call the LASCA delegation and have a meeting with them within the stated 14 days to discuss what should be done, how, and when,' he said. ALSO READ: Primary school needs urgent refurbishment, upgrades Do you have more information about the story? Please send us an email to bennittb@ or phone us on 083 625 4114. For free breaking and community news, visit Rekord's websites: Rekord East For more news and interesting articles, like Rekord on Facebook, follow us on Twitter or Instagram or TikTok. At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
