Central News Issue 007 | Top Story : “ANC keeps Ramaphosa and kicks Magashule“

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02 JUNE 2023 | WEEKLY
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NEWS
Thabo Bester:
No bail for four
accused
The Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court has
denied bail to four of the five people
accused of helping convicted rapist and
murderer, Thabo Bester, escape from
prison last year.
SPORTS
Banyana Banyana
coach launches
new book
On Tuesday night (30 May 2023), a book
about Banyana Banyana coach Desiree Ellis’s
rise from Salt River, Cape Town, to the world
stagewas released in Sandton, Johannesburg.
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ANC KEEPS
RAMAPHOSA
AND KICKS
MAGASHULE
By Thys Khiba
Former African National Congress
(ANC) secretary-general Ace
Magashule has a week to provide
the ANC with reasons he should not be
expelled. Magashule has been found
guilty of misconduct for failing to
apologise to the party after attempting
to unilaterally suspend party president
Cyril Ramaphosa in 2021.
Magashule tried to go down with
Ramaphosa by announcing that he
suspended him.
“I have also, in accordance with the
powers vested in me as the secretarygeneral
of the ANC, and furthermore
in full compliance with the relevant
conference resolutions, summarily
suspended the president of the ANC,
Comrade Cyril Ramaphosa.”
The party’s national disciplinary
committee suspended Magashule from
the ANC in the same year following
corruption charges related to the Free
State asbestos removal case.
Magashule was then requested to step
aside in line with the party’s step-aside
rule for those facing corruption and
other serious charges. The current SG
of the ANC, Fikile Mbalula confirmed
on Wednesday that Magashule has been
given seven days to submit presentations
as to why he should not be expelled
from the ANC.
• Continued on page 2
Former African National Congress
secretart-general, Ace Magashule
on the verge of expulsion.
Go beyond the headlines
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02 News | 02 JUNE 2023
ANC keeps Ramaphosa and kicks Magashule
• Continued from page 1
“The finding – the charge number is
found guilty on counts one and two as
charged. The charge number is afforded
seven calendar days from the date of
being informed on becoming aware of
this finding, to make written submissions
to the NDC [National Disciplinary
Committee].”
Magashule was directed by the NDC
to apologise to Ramaphosa. After
writing a letter attempting to suspend
his party president, Magashule refused to
apologise. He is the first secretary-general
of the party to be expelled for misconduct.
It remains unclear whether Magashule,
who has been a loyal member and longest
serving provincial chairpersons of the
ANC, will submit his reasons as to why he
should not be expelled from the governing
party. Reports alleged that Magashule
might start his own political party ahead
of the 2024 national elections.
Responding to these allegations of
forming a new party in the near future,
Magashule did not give a clear answer.
“I don’t know if I will form another
party…for now, I am still a member of
the ANC. The people of South Africa
have approached me … It’s not only
people from KZN but all over South
Africa. I spent a lot of time in Gauteng,
the Free State and KZN, the North West
and the Northern Cape, doing community
service,” Magashule said.
‘The image of the ANC’
Political analyst Rebone Tau suggested
that Magashule’s expulsion could
potentially affect the party negatively.
Tau said the expulsion came as a shock
and was not expected as Magashule is
“at the lowest politically.”
“I don’t think he can actually do any
harm to the organisation at the moment.
But this expulsion can actually do more
harm to the organisation.”
Tau said the ANC has failed to learn
from expelling some its leaders like
former ANCYL leader Julius Malema.
She has suggested that expulsion should
be the last resort for the party.
MEC Mance meets with 32
Artisan Graduates
On May 26, 2023, Dibolelo Mance, the
MEC for Public Works and Infrastructure,
met with 32 department artisans.
The MEC and artisans met for the purpose
of brainstorming ways for the Department
to accelerate, among other things, the
maintenance of decaying government
buildings.
“Some of our buildings have deteriorated
due to a lack of maintenance. We should
be able to rebuild or refurbish them, so
that we can stop leasing and return to our
own government buildings,” MEC Mance
said to the artisans.
MEC Mance elaborated the role the
department and its artisans are playing
towards the maintenance of buildings
under “our” assert register.
“The return-on-investment on the constant
upgrades and continuous maintenance
will definitely yield positives on the
register
investment. You are doing very crucial
work colleagues, there is no Public Works
without you,” MEC said.
The MEC likewise stressed the
significance of having reasonable
qualified artisans to be comparable to
public norms of artisans exchanges. 16
of the department’s artisans received
training as artisans in Brazil, and the
remaining ones will be sent to Schweizer-
Reneke and Ekurhuleni for trade testing
in order to obtain their trade certificates.
NOTICE
The body of a unidentified African
female was found close to Protem,
Zamdela on 10/05 at 00:20 by
#SAPS Zamdela.
She is about 30 years old. Anyone
who is looking for a friend or family
member should call Sgt. Makhonanyana
at 0823013022.

02 JUNE 2023 |
Botselo Mills
accountant
charged for
fraud
A matter against former Botselo Mills
(Pty) Ltd accountant Jan Jacobus Van
Niekerk has been transferred to the
Specialised Commercial Crimes Court
by the Delareyville Magistrates’ Court.
The case against Van Niekerk has been
adjourned to 19 July 2023.
The North West spokesperson for the
NPA, Henry Mamothame indicated that
Van Niekerk, in the company of his legal
representative, handed himself over
to the SAPS’ Provincial Commercial
Crimes Unit, on 30 May 2023. He was
subsequently charged with fraud and
money laundering amounting to over
R10 million.
The 38-year-old man has been granted
R12 000 bail and is expected to report
to his nearest police station once a week
between 06h00 and 18h00.
He is facing 337 charges of fraud and
20 of money laundering.
The North West spokesperson for
SAPS, Brigadier Sabata Mokgwabone
indicated that investigations reveal that
Van Niekerk was employed by Botselo
Mills (Pty) Ltd as an accountant,
authorised to transact on the company’s
accounts.
“It is alleged that between January
2017 and July 2022, Van Niekerk
submitted forms fraudulently requiring
approval for payment to be made into
the accounts of service providers, for a
service that was not rendered.
“It was further discovered that in
the forms, he provided the names of
the service providers that are in the
company database, but fraudulently
replaced their banking account numbers
into his six personal banking accounts
that he holds with two major banks.”
It was further discovered that he
allegedly had working relationships
with some of the companies he
submitted for payment.
Mamothame confirmed that
investigations into the matter are
completed, and the state is ready to
proceed with pre-trial conferencing in
the next court sitting.
By Thys Khiba
The Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court
has denied bail to four of the five people
accused of helping convicted rapist and
murderer, Thabo Bester, escape from
prison last year.
Magistrate Mohlolo Khabisi on Monday
delivered his judgement in the bail hearing
for former G4S employees, Nastassja
Jansen, Senohe Matsoara, Motenyani
Masukela, Tieho Makhotsa, and CCTV
technician Teboho Lipholo.
Only Jansen was granted R10 000 bail
by Khabisi. Her charges are classified as
Schedule 1. She is expected to report to
a local police station every Friday. She
is not allowed to contact state witnesses
or investigating offices. The other four
accused face Schedule 5 charges of
corruption and aiding an escape, among
other charges.
Khabisi indicated that Motsoara,
Masukela, Makhotsa and Lipholo did
not submit sufficient evidence to satisfy
the court that they will not interfere with
state witnesses. He continued to say that
the State’s case against Jansen is “porous”
and that the State did not prove beyond
reasonable doubt that the interest of justice
would not be served if bail was granted.
News 03
Thabo Bester: No bail for four accused
The case involving AmaZulu
monarch King Misuzulu
kaZwelithini’s claims to the throne
against Prince Simakade and Prince
Mbonisi has been moved to October,
according to the Pretoria High Court.
Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi, the King’s
Traditional Prime Minister, had not yet
deposed his affidavits, indicating that he
would only do so after meeting with his
During the bail hearings, the State’s
witness, investigating officer Tieho
Flyman, the accused were all involved
with helping Bester escape.
The criminal trial is expected to start on
20 June.
The five accused are expected to appear
together with Dr Nandipha Magudumana
and Thabo Bester, who are still in custody
and did not apply for bail.
Granted bail application:
Magudumana’s father, Zolile Sekeleni
is currently out on bail. He is accused of
hiring the vehicle used to drive the body
into the prison.
Positions:
Lipholo, a CCTV technician, is accused
Amakhosi. As a result, the matter was put
on hold.
Prince Simakade, who is the main child
of the late King Zwelithini kaBhekuzulu,
needs President Cyril Ramaphosa’s
acknowledgment of Misuzulu as King to
be pronounced invalid and unlawful.
The case is expected to take place between
October 16 and 18.
of cutting power to the CCTV cameras on
the night of the fire and placing the bag
with the decoy body in a wheelie bin and
wheeling it into the prison. He faces 10
charges, including fraud and arson.
Masukela is accused of letting the vehicle
carrying the decoy body into the prison
complex, faces five charges. Makhotsa
and Jansen were both in the central control
room on the night of the fire and are
accused of opening the doors for Bester.
Matsoara, who was a supervisor on duty
in the area of the prison where Bester was
being held. He is accused of bringing a
decoy body into the prison cell, starting
the fire, and helping Bester leave the
prison. He faces 13 charges.
The AmaZulu throne case put off until October

04 News | 02 JUNE 2023
MEC in court for R51m tender fraud
The former MEC for Transport,
Roads and Public Works in the
Northern Cape, John Fikile
Block has appeared before Upington
Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, 30 May
on a fraud allegation.
The 55-year-old is part of the alleged R51
million tender fraud.
The accused as the political head and the
former HOD Patience Mercia Mokhali,
appointed Babereki Consulting Engineers
CC whose director is Tshegolekae
Motaung, even though the company did
not meet the requirements. The actual
amount involved is approximately R51
million.
The accused is remanded in custody as he
is currently serving his 15 years of direct
imprisonment at Upington Correctional
Services, on other charges which include
amongst others corruption.
Block, who is accused number 4 in this
matter, will be joining his co-accused
Nokhwezi Mokhali, and Motaung, in
Kimberley Magistrate court on Tuesday,
11 July 2023.
This comes after, Central News reported
the former Head of the Department of
Transport, Roads and Public Works in
Northern Cape, Nokhwezi Mokhali, the
Babereki Consulting Engineers (PTY)
LTD and the company director Motaung
have appeared in the Specialised
Commercial Crimes Court in Kimberly
on charges of corruption and fraud.
The duo were arrested on Tuesday by the
Hawks Serious Corruption Investigation
team.
The charges against the 60-year-old,
together with the involved company
and 59-year-old consist of fraud, money
laundering, corruption, as well as
Contravention of Section 18(2) of the
Engineering Profession Act, Act 46 of
2000.
According to the Northern Cape
spokesperson for the NPA, Mojalefa
Senokoatsane, the charges originate from
a contract, where Babereki Consulting
Engineers PTY LTD, through their
director Motaung, were fraudulently
awarded a contract, to work at the new
Kimberly Mental Health Hospital project
between the years 2003 and 2009.
In the said controversial project, the
Northern Cape Department of the Health
and Department of Roads and Public
Works collaborated as implementing
agents to construct a state-of-the-art
mental health facility in Kimberly.
“The total value of the contract amounted
to more than R51 million of the public
purse,” said Senokoatsane.
“The matter has been postponed to 11 July
2023, and the accused have been released
on bail of R50 000, for Tshegolekae
Motaung as accused number four, and
R10 000 for Patience Mercia Nokhwezi
Mokhali as accused number one.”
According to the SAPS spokesperson
Nomthandazo Mnisi, the project was
initially budgeted at a staggering sum of
R290 million.
“It was revealed that a liquidated contractor
received a R420 million payment, well
beyond the project’s original budget,”
said Mnisi.
It has been revealed that several buildings
constructed as part of the facility now
face the prospect of demolition, as it was
discovered that the appointed company
lacked the necessary expertise to complete
the job.
“Furthermore, investigations show
that proper procurement procedures
were disregarded when appointing the
consultant for the project,” said Mnisi.
Mnisi said the lack of oversight and due to
diligence in this regard has left the facility
incomplete and unusable, inflicting
significant financial losses on the alreadystrained
Department of Health.
Meanwhile, in October 2021, it was
reported that it is two years since Premier
Dr Zamani Saul opened the multimillionrand
hospital, calling it a ‘monument of
corruption.’
By then, Saul said the hospital, which has
a capacity of 287 beds, already had 160
patients and will be operationalised in
phases.
It was also argued by healthcare worker
union Nehawu, community healthcare
workers, and some mental health
practitioners that mental health users
in the public sector are disadvantaged
because the hospital is still not running at
capacity.
In 2020, the hospital CEO Albert Links
indicated that the hospital is.not fully
functional due to lack of funding, staff,
and medical supplies.
The hospital was built to relieve the
pressure on West-End hospital, which is a
state psychiatric facility.
Premier Dukwana
congratulates
Justice Molemela
on her
appointment
as SCA President
Free State Premier, Mxolisi Dukwana
has congratulated Justice Mahube
Betty Molemela, on her appointment
as President of the Supreme Court of
Appeal (SCA).
On Friday, 26 May 2023, President
Cyril Ramaphosa announced the
appointment of the Free State born
Justice Molemela as President of the
Supreme Court of Appeal.
During the course of her illustrious
career, Justice Molemela made history
by becoming the first woman to hold
the position of Judge President of the
High Court’s Free State Division.
Premier Dukwana said the appointment
of Madam Justice Molemela
demonstrated commitment on the
part of governmemt, to transform
society. Especially in the judiciary, in
recognising the role of women on the
Bench.
“Premier Dukwana thus, on behalf of
the people of the Free State, wishes
to express his profound gratitude and
respect, at the elevation of Justice
Molemela, to the apex role of President
of the SCA and believes strongly that,
her role only serves to further strengthen
the administration of justice in our
country.” said Sello Dithebe (Premier’s
Spokesperson).

02 JUNE 2023 |
Dr. Joe Phaahla, the minister
of health, is pleased that the
cholera outbreak in Tshwane has
decreased significantly, as the source of
the water-borne disease is still unknown.
“The numbers are going down drastically
and we’re very hopeful that in the next
few days [the numbers will go down even
further] and happy that there haven’t
been new deaths this week and severe
illness at this stage,” the Minister said on
Wednesday.
The Minister was providing an update
on the department’s efforts to stop the
spread of cholera and save lives during
the outbreak.
“While it might be important to locate
the source, it’s not always going to be in
diseases like these. While it’s desirable,
we must also be realistic that it’s not
always the case that you’re going to drill
down and find the initial cause in any
community because of various factors.”
The key message at this stage, according
to Phaahla, is that the outbreak of cholera
is limited to a small area in Free State,
Ngwathe Municipality, with no reported
new cases since 23 May 2023.
Meanwhile, in Tshwane, the infections
are dropping, where 99 cases have been
confirmed, with seven reported in the
last 24 hours. Of the new infections,
three patients are being treated at Jubilee
Hospital, while the rest are spread across
Military, Eugene Marais Life, Netcare
Montana and Odi hospitals.
In addition, the death toll remains at 24,
of which one was recorded in Free State.
The current outbreak of cholera disease,
the Minister said, can be traced from the
first two cases reported by Gauteng in
February this year.
“This is the case of two sisters from
Diepsloot in Johannesburg who had
travelled together by bus to Malawi
in January and returned on 30 January
2023.”
The husband of one of the women also
subsequently tested positive for cholera
after developing symptoms, while eight
more cases were confirmed, claiming a
life of a child in Ekurhuleni.
Epicentre
The Minister said Tshwane is currently the
epicentre of the cholera outbreak since the
first case was detected in Hammanskraal
in a 56-year-old male originally from
Giyani, Limpopo, who resides in Musina.
The patient, who is a police officer, was
enrolled for a three-week course at the
South African Police Service College in
Hammanskraal.
The officer arrived on 7 May and
complained of diarrhoea and vomiting
and was taken by ambulance to Muelmed
Hospital in Pretoria on 15 May.
More students started complaining of
gastrointestinal symptoms with 33 seen
at various health facilities resulting in
eight admissions and all are in a stable
condition.
“The patient [police officer] is still in ICU
in a stable condition receiving treatment.”
In the past seven days, 163 patients
presented at Jubilee Hospital with
diarrhoea and vomiting giving an average
of 23 patients per day.
“The number of deaths was 17 in seven
days,” he said.
However, between 24 and 30 May, the
number reduced to 30 patients with an
average of four patients per day and two
deaths.
Free State
Meanwhile, on 12 May, the Minister
received a message from the MEC of
Health that eight patients had died from
diarrhoea, two at home and three each at
Parys and Boitumelo hospitals.
“Unfortunately, due to the fact that some
of the patients presented at clinics where
conditions were not adequate to take
specimens for laboratory, this was not
done.”
Later, the test revealed that one of the
deaths was linked to cholera, while eight
more people have since contracted the
disease in the province. This brings the
total number of infections in the province
to nine.
Interventions
He said interventions in health services
include the creation of special cholera and
gastroenteritis wards, the deployment of
gastroenteritis specialists at Jubilee, the
fast-tracking of laboratory results and the
setting up of a field hospital clinic.
The department has also deployed
additional health staff, embarked on an
News 05
Cholera cases in Hammanskraal decrease, the cause is still unknown
By Thys Khiba
Ntokozo Shabalala, 41, Mokgeseng
Johannes Lesibe, 48, Broody Fezile
Thoboza, 42, Isaac Moreki Mosenohi
36, Sabata Mofokeng, 50 have appeared
before the Fouriesburg Magistrates’ Court
on Thursday, 01 June in connection with
Dihlabeng Local Municipality, Fouriesburg
pump station tender.
Shabalala, Lesibe, Thoboza, Mosenohi,
and Mofokeng were granted R5000 bail
each.
The municipality was prejudiced and
suffered a total loss of more than R9
million. The accused faced charges of
fraud, forgery and uttering.
The Free State spokesperson Captain
Christopher Singo indicated that it is
alleged that during 2020, a municipal
infrastructure grant was allocated to
Dihlabeng Local Municipality for
upgrading of Fouriesburg pump station.
“It was further reported that Shabalala
the former director of Infrastructure
and Development appointed the service
providers, Pump Group SA, Turbo Tech,
Toboza and Nakeni engineers without
following the tender processes,” said
Singo.
It is alleged that the service providers
submitted invoices for the services that
were not rendered.
The case against the accused has been
educational drive in the community,
and reinforced messages of prevention
through basic hand hygiene, and water
and food safety.
“Our colleagues in the Water Department,
both in the City of Tshwane and the
Department of Water and Sanitation, are
continuing to examine the water sources
to determine any contamination.”
Five appear in court
for Dihlabeng fraud
remanded to 19 June 2023 for appearance
in Bethlehem Commercial Crimes Court.
Meanwhile, the Economic Freedom
Fighters (EFF) leaderr Julius Malema has
recently addressed residents of Dihlabeng
about service delivery and the 2024
national general elections.
During the party Siyabonga Rally in Ward
17 in Dihlabeng, Malema announced that
the EFF is going to double the efforts of
taking over the troubled municipality and
the province of Free State.
“Next year, we are going to double the
efforts. Next year, re letsa thupa more than
what we have done now. Re batla hore the
whole of Free State must belong to the
EFF,” said Malema.
The EFF said the victory in Ward 17 byelections,
is a major highlight of the party’s
10 years of unbroken struggle ahead of the
10th anniversary celebration.
“The victory further sets the tone for
the EFF’s inevitable quantitative and
qualitative electoral growth ahead of the
2024 National General Elections.”
The ambitious Malema claimed that under
the governance and leadership of the EFF,
South African residents won’t be affected
by the ongoing Eskom power cuts.
“Le ska wara the people of South Africa,
Loadshedding will be something of the
past, under the EFF government. Only the
EFF can save Eskom,” said Malema.

06 Classifieds | 02 JUNE 2023
cnclassifieds

02 JUNE 2023 |
Opinion 07
opinion
by Mashupye Herbert Maserumule
Professor of Public Affairs, Tshwane University of Technology
South Africa has changed its electoral law, but
a much more serious overhaul is needed
South African president Cyril Ramaphosa
recently signed into law a change to the
country’s electoral act to allow individuals
to contest national and provincial elections
independently of political parties.
The change follows a June 2020
constitutional court judgment that the
Electoral Act was unconstitutional
because it didn’t allow independent
candidates.
But in my view the change corrects one
wrong by creating another, especially
concerning the principle of proportionality.
For instance, it does not matter how many
votes independent candidates get. Once
they have reached the electoral threshold
to secure a seat in the legislature, any
extra votes would not count. For political
parties, extra votes count towards securing
another seat. (A trend that has emerged
over the years has been that a party needs
at least 40,000 to 45,000 votes to secure a
seat in the national assembly.)
Thus various civil society formations have
headed to court to challenge the inherent
injustice in the changed law. The existing
electoral system is, by design since 1994,
inherently biased towards a party system.
Based on my work on electoral democracy
in South Africa, and on the Electoral
Commission of South Africa (chapter 4),
I think the legislated changes and much
of the discussion about independent
candidates miss the point. What’s needed
is to completely overhaul the electoral
system, lest it continues to churn out
minute parties, resulting in intractable
coalition politics. This is already in
evidence through governance impasses in
the country’s metropolises.
The constitutional court’s decision shows
that electoral democracy is possible
without parties.
The challenge is to design an electoral
system that makes this possible. The court
cannot prescribe this. It is a function that
belongs to parliament.
Barking up the wrong tree
In much of the debate about electoral
reform, the way local government
representatives are elected is touted as a
solution. But it is no better. Despite having
an element of a constituency approach,
which many supporters of electoral
reforms want for provincial and national
polls, is also driven by a party system.
That it is not also up for reform creates
lopsidedness. This must be corrected, or
South Africa could make the same mistake
it made during the negotiations to end
apartheid in the early 1990s. The transition
from the apartheid-era local government
system was handled separately from the
national and provincial spheres. This is
why the country has different systems of
government at the local, provincial and
national levels. And often this spawns
incoherence in the country’s system of
governance.
The fundamental problem is the country’s
proportional representation system. It is
the reason coalition politics have become
messy.
Local government has been unstable since
after the August 2016 local government
elections saw the governing ANC lose
major cities, heralding the era of coal
tion governments across the country.
The unstable coalitions have had dire
consequences for governance and service
delivery. The fear is that this will be
repeated after the 2024 national elections.
Because of the loss of electoral support
over the years for the governing African
National Congress, the poll is expected
to result in the first national coalition
government since democracy in 1994.
This could also happen in the provinces.
The proportional representation system
In a proportional representation system,
the allocation of seats in the legislatures for
all three spheres of government is based
on the electoral performance of parties. A
winning party needs more than 50% of the
votes to constitute a government.
Local government uses a ward system
along with proportional representation.
The total number of seats is halved, to be
filled based on the electoral performance
of the parties and candidates who get the
most votes in their community.
Compared to proportional representation,
a ward system is a constituency electoral
approach, based on the first-past-the-post
principle. A candidate with the highest
votes in a ward gets a seat in the municipal
council as the community’s duly elected
representative.
Many hail the mixed local government
system as balancing party-list proportional
representation with a constituency
approach. They say it has lessons for
the national and provincial spheres of
government. But this is only partially
accurate.
A ward system also allows candidates
to contest elections as representatives of
parties. This oddity does not end here. A
vote for a ward candidate who represents
a party adds to proportional voting of their
party in allocating seats in the council. A
ward system reinforces the party system.
Its constituency disposition is a farce.
Why proportional representation
South Africa’s proportional representation
came from noble intentions during the
multiparty negotiation in the 1990s to
end apartheid. It evolved as part of the
political concessions to facilitate the
transition “from racial authoritarianism
to multiparty democracy” (p.440-450).
This included enabling even the smallest
parties a presence in parliament.
It has long outlived its contextual
relevance. Its negative extremes abound
in local government. The proliferation
of smaller parties muddies the operating
system of the multiparty democracy.
This has thrown governance into turmoil,
as shown in the metropolises with their
internecine coalition politics. It is coming
apart at the seams, to the detriment of
service delivery.
South Africa’s democracy is at a tipping
point, and state capacity has been
weakening.
What needs to be done?
Government has the responsibility to
design a better electoral system. The
objective should be to return power from
political elites to the people. The existing
system has spawned contestation among
parties about sharing the spoils of state
power rather than using this for the public
good.
Different electoral systems exist across
the globe. There is no perfect system for
South Africa to choose. Each electoral
system is a function of its political
context, and when this changes, it also
ought to change.
The distribution of seats for independent
candidates must be thrashed out to ensure
equity relative to political parties. When
their electoral performance gives them
more than a seat, they should be allowed
to co-opt like-minded people to occupy
them.
The possibility for ward councillors
to contest elections as representatives
of parties should be disallowed. They
should only stand as direct community
representatives. An overarching
requirement for all who want to contest
elections should be allegiance to the public
interest, not party or personal interests.

08 Sports | 02 JUNE 2023
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Banyana Banyana coach launches new book
On Tuesday night (30 May 2023),
a book about Banyana Banyana
coach Desiree Ellis’s rise from
Salt River, Cape Town, to the
world stage was released in Sandton,
Johannesburg.
The book “Magic,” written by sports
journalist Luke Alfred, follows Ellis’
journey from playing football with boys
because there were no women’s teams in
her neighborhood to playing in the senior
women’s national team of South Africa.
In recognition of her outstanding
contribution to sports, President Cyril
Ramaphosa bestowed the Order of
Ikhamanga in gold on Ellis in April 2023.
After defeating hosts Morocco 2-1 in
the final of the Women’s Africa Cup of
Nations (WAFCON), Banyana Banyana
became African champions and qualified
for a second consecutive FIFA Women’s
World Cup in Australia and New Zealand
in July.
After leading the senior women’s national
Goal machine Kahraba looking to
lead Ahly’s charge for history
With five goals so far this season in the
TotalEnergies CAF Champions League,
Mahmoud Abdel Moneim, known fondly as
‘Kahraba’, is undoubtedly one of Al Ahly’s
important figures.
The striker has been in sizzling form this
season, and as they approach the biggest
match of the season, the two-legged final
against Morocco’s Wyadad Athletic Club, he
looks forward to play a vital role as The Red
Devils seek a record extending 11th African
crown.
Ahly will host Wydad in the first leg in Cairo
this Sunday, before travelling to Casablanca,
where they lost last season’s single-leg
final.
The Egyptian international is considered
one of the most important players in coach
Marcel Kohler’s set up and his partnership
with Hussein Elshahat and Percy Tau has
formed an incredible front three in Ahly’s
campaign this term. Between them, they have
scored nine goals with both Tau and Elshahat
scoring four.
Four of Kahraba’s goals came in the group
stage, including a hattrick in their 4-0 win
away to Cotonsport of Cameroon. He also
scored once in the 3-0 first leg semi-final
victory over Esperance. He now looks
forward to finding the back of the net again
when they take on Wydad.
Scoring two goals in the final will see
him finish as the outright top scorer of the
team of South Africa to its first WAFCON
championship, Ellis was also named
CAF’s Women Coach of the Year for the
third year in a row.
competition. He is currently one behind Peter
Shalulile of Mamelodi Sundowns who has
scored six.
Other than chasing the individual piece of
silverware, the striker is also looking forward
to win a third Champions League title with
Ahly, having been part of the team that won
in the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons.
The 29-year-old will be a player to watch for
Ahly, his eye for goal, speed and technical
ability being a combination that makes him a
huge asset for Kohler and his side.