By Aphiwe Ngowapi Six Zimbabwean nationals, found guilty of rhino poaching, appeared at the Makhanda High Court on Wednesday, 14 June 2023, for their long-awaited sentencing. The six felons were first arrested in July 2018. Almost five years after their arrest, Francis Chitiyo, Trymore Chauke, Misheck Chauke, Simba Masinge, Nhamo Muyambo, and Abraham Moyane have been sentenced to between 16 to 20 years for conspiracy to kill rhinos so that they could steal their horns and for possession of an unlawful firearm and ammunition. The Eastern Cape conservation community and members of the public filled the Makhanda High Court courtroom…
Author: Aphiwe Ngowapi
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By Aphiwe Ngowapi On 14 June 2023, pastor and traditional healer Odwa Kondile, accused of raping a young woman, was granted R2000 bail with conditions at the Makhanda High Court. The defendants’ attorney, Malili Mgangatho, appealed to the Makhanda High Court to reverse the Magistrate Court’s earlier “refusal to admit the appellant to bail.” The earlier ruling was taken on 29 May 2023 at the Magistrates Court, when Kondile’s trial date was postponed to 29 June 2023 due to a delay in the long-awaited DNA results by the prosecution team. Makhanda pastor and traditional healer Odwa Kondile is on trial…
By Aphiwe Ngowapi Travelling from Musina to Cape Town in a car can be a long haul, but not for Vusi Sindane, a former corporate executive, software engineer and entrepreneur who has been cycling through the Country since 13 April 2023 for a good cause. Sindane is currently cycling 3000km from Musina (Beit Bridge) to Cape Town (Green Point Stadium) to raise funds for ten thousand pairs of school shoes for the less fortunate. He has completed 2318.45 km of his journey. He has left Makhanda and is headed for Gqeberha with 586 pairs of school shoes collected. Sindane in…
By Aphiwe Ngowapi Freedom Day proved to be a day of freeing the mind and soul indeed with the Makhanda Wild Hikers Crew, and some locals, as they took on the pristine Diepkloof Private Nature Reserve for a hike. The reserve is home to a number of animals such as zebra, blesbok, impala and giraffes. A few dairy cows and Nguni cattle were also spotted on the reserve. Ladies of Makhanda Wild Hikers excited at the start of the hike. From left: Gcobisa Zomelele, Lelethu Mtyingizana, Siyanda Mlisa, and Zekhaya Gxotelwa. Photo: Aphiwe Ngowapi. “Makhanda Wild Hikers Crew was established…
By Aphiwe Ngowapi On 29 April, the Department of Correctional Services had its quarterly Special Monitoring Action in Makhanda. The aim of the excursion was to visit and deal with offenders who had violated their parole terms and conditions once released from prison. During the Special monitoring action, the South African Police Service (SAPS), Grahamstown Anti-Crime Neighbourhood Watch group, and various management teams from Makhanda, Middledrift, King Williams Town, and Fort Beaufort, went into Joza location to search for offenders. Makhanda Head of Community Corrections, Mvuseleli Hashe, said, “Today’s operation was to trace absconders, people who disappeared a long time…
By Aphiwe Ngowapi On 28 April, a 35-year-old traditional healer and pastor of the St John’s Apostolic Church in New Town Location, accused of raping a young woman, was denied bail at the Makhanda Magistrates Court. This comes after four signed petitions were presented to the Court by various organisations and community members requesting the Court not grant the accused bail. This is Odwa Kondile’s third bail application. During the court proceedings, the defendant’s lawyer, Viwe Mqeke, read his client’s sworn affidavit stating his reasons for requesting bail. Some of these reasons include his needing to be home with his…
By Aphiwe Ngowapi A 35-year-old traditional healer and pastor of the St John’s Apostolic Church in New Town location, accused of raping a young woman, has made a few brief appearances in court on 24 and 25 April. On 24 April, the bail hearing was postponed to the next day because there was no water or electricity. The next day, the hearing was further postponed to Friday, 28 April. The accused’s family and church members, mostly women, went to support him in court. On 25 April, school learners, their teachers, community members, and traditional healers gathered outside the Magistrates Court…
By Aphiwe Ngowapi Born and bred in the creative city of Grahamstown (now Makhanda), it was destiny that I would fall in love with art when I got exposed to it at school. Later on, I realised that art is love. In the words of Marc Chagall, “Art must be an expression of love, or it is nothing”. I love being active and am full of energy. I believe that the besides the mind, the body is a powerful tool. That is why I have also always been a curious individual, and from a young age, I wanted to try…
By Aphiwe Ngowapi Almost nine years ago on 25 July 2014, Grocott’s Mail reported that the driver of a bread truck lost control of his vehicle and rammed into the house of Extension Two resident and pensioner, Zola Sintwa in the early hours of the morning. Sintwa was woken abruptly by the crash, which damaged his home’s wall and roof. Luckily, nobody was sleeping in the damaged room at the time. Almost nine years later, Sintwa still seeks reparations for damages to his property and is looking for a local assessor or certified builder who can assist him pro bono…
by Aphiwe Ngowapi George Jacques Primary School in Alicedale has finally re-opened for learners to finish off what’s left of the first term, after having been closed for a month by school governing body (SGB) members and parents. The SGB and parents had demanded a Grade Two teacher, and an end to the department’s plans to merge their Afrikaans-medium school with the Hendrik Kanise Combined School, an English-medium school. The education department put the merger on hold, but has still not agreed to provide the school with a Grade Two teacher. However, the school re-opened on 13 March after the…