Author: Luvuyo Mjekula

Kingswood College student Lucy Nagel (17) is in Spain from 12 to 23 September to play water polo for Team Elevate in the Next Generation Cup. The tournament is regarded as the pinnacle of U19 European water polo and includes invited teams from Spain, Hungary, France, United Kingdom, Serbia, United States of America, The Netherlands, Portugal and Malta. Nagel spent her holiday training the team and developing water polo skills with Philipe Perrone, a 2x World Champion and 5x Olympian. Photo: Supplied

By Chris Totobela To mark Heritage Month, a legendary goalkeeper delves deep into the controversial yet inspiring history of football in Makhanda – as far back as the 1970s. Described by many as the best goalkeeper Makhanda has ever produced, Mbulelo “Whiza” Yose was certainly instrumental in the formation of the well-known Fraser Chiefs Football Club. Yose started playing football at the age of 13 in 1975. He joined the U18, which was used as “a disguise for political activities”. “The apartheid regime did not want to see three or more people walking or sitting together at that time. Meetings…

By Luvuyo Mjekula The Department of Employment and Labour has confirmed that it closed the Makhanda police station in Beaufort Street for a day due to several contraventions including compliance failures, employees working under hazardous conditions and lack of adequate water supply. Following complaints by the Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (Popcru), an inspection was conducted on Wednesday, 10 September at 11am and several contraventions were identified. These included the absence of a valid certificate of compliance for electrical installations, inadequate ventilation in the radio room, poor housekeeping in work areas, lack of adequate supply of drinking water and…

By Luvuyo Mjekula The provincial Public Works Department (DPW) has responded to calls to account for badly vandalised and derelict buildings that have become havens for criminals in parts of Makhanda. DA ward 8 councillor Cary Clark recently said the properties have deteriorated, been badly vandalised, had fire damage and have just been left by DPW to degrade and attract bad elements into areas where there are schools with young children and residential neighbourhoods. She said this not only showed a town in decay, but the neglect of aesthetics and heritage. During an oversight recently, the DA’s Frontier Constituency leader…

By Luvuyo Mjekula A 19-year-old Rhodes University student viciously bitten by a boerboel while walking in a Makhanda street is seeking justice for himself, his three friends and residents of Cyrus Street. The dog bit off the upper part of Philani Mncwabe’s foot in the attack on Thursday last week. Speaking to Grocott’s Mail on Friday, the first-year student from KwaZulu-Natal said he was in agonising pain. “I was stitched and the wound is very bad. It is painful to walk, and I am in pain as I am lying in bed right now. I will struggle to walk to…

By Chesley Daniels Grahamstown Brumbies pulled one of the biggest upsets this past weekend when they narrowly defeated NMU Madibaz in their second round Score Epru Grand Challenge Top 12 encounter played at the Miki Yili Stadium in Makhanda. St Marks Alicedale also recorded an impressive 32-26 away bonus-point win over Windvogel United in Gqeberha on Saturday. Brumbies vs NMU Madibaz The Brumbies are back to winning ways in the Grand Challenge Top 12 after an intense narrow win against the powerhouse students in front of a large crowd at the Miki Yili Stadium. Their win consolidated their Grand Challenge…

By Chris Totobela  One of Makhanda’s sporting icons, Chesley Daniels, is doing his best to contribute towards the development of sport in the area. As part of a weekly Heritage Month feature, Grocott’s Mail sat down with Daniels, who has now made a name for himself as a formidable and respected cricket and rugby reporter. Daniels started playing sport at a tender age of five. “I was young when I started playing different sports like rugby, cricket, athletics and tennis.” He was already showing signs of a leader when he was chosen as captain of Grahamstown Primary and Eastern Province…

By Chris Totobela Local football club Sophia Stars is the latest team to benefit from a business in Makhanda. Grocott’s Mail reported last week that XI Attackers received a much-needed kit boost from Shoba Funerals, a Joza-based business. This week, Extension 7 football club, Sophia Stars, got playing kit balls from Makana Service Station operating under Astron. Sophia Stars are well known for their excellent development structures that have produced top quality players. The latest product is Olwethu “Mshishi” Msongelwa, a talented youth who came through the local structures and all the way to Sekhukhune United, a professional side in…

By Luvuyo Mjekula An Extension 10 woman lay unconscious in a pool of blood when she was discovered by an armed response officer in Vergenoeg in December last year. “I didn’t think she would live. She was cold and shaking and [appeared to be] in so much pain,” said Hi-Tec Security officer Thozamile Ntamo in the Makhanda High Court today. Ntamo testified in the trial of 21-year-old Simamkele Zuzani charged with two counts of rape and one of attempted murder. Zuzani, also a resident of Extension 10 in Joza, allegedly raped the young woman on her way home from a…

By Asemahle Vumsindo and Luvuyo Mjekula A 22-year-old Rhodes University student allegedly raped by two men last year, relived the incident in the Makhanda High Court this week. Two men have been charged with raping the student in Makhanda on 16 March last year. The state says they acted in the furtherance of a common purpose or conspiracy. The two – 19-year-old Zephanic Lushaan Martins from Kirkwood and 21-year-old Antonio Angelo Rudman from Gqeberha – allegedly drove her to a remote area near Settlers Monument where they took turns raping her. This after she became separated from her friends and…