WoW ! South African victims’ relations vow to sue TB Joshua, LASG begin DNA identification test

Thanduxolo Doro and Mpho Molebatsi, two South Africans who both lost their sisters at the Synagogue building collapse on September 12th have vowed to drag pastor T.B.Joshua to court for what they describe as negligence on the part of the church for not allowing rescue workers help save the victims
after the collapse as well as withholding information after the unfortunate incident.

The South Africans who were guests on a BBC programme this week said they are calling on other family members to come forward so that they can unanimously press charges against T.B. Joshua

“I understand that some families are afraid to take on someone who purports to be God’s messenger and I don’t blame them but I will do this. It is not that the building collapsed, rather what was done
after the collapse. We didn’t get any news from the church. When I contacted them they wouldn’t tell me anything. We saw reports that emergency workers were denied access initially, access that
could have saved lives. The actions of the church after the incident are very telling,”

Doro, whose sister Vathiswa Madikiza died said Doro has since published an open letter in a South African daily calling on more families to come forward so they can all sue T.B. Joshua, “I need to do this for her. Even if I stand alone, I
am determined to see that something is done” he said

In a related development, the Lagos state government today announced the commencement of the DNA identification test of the 115 dead bodies
brought out from the collapsed building.
While announcing this, Commissioner for Health, Dr Jide Idris called on families who lost loved ones to come forward with DNA samples so that the bodies
can be properly identified and released to them for proper burial.

He said loved ones of the dead victims
are to visit the Department of Forensic Medicine at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital(LASUTH) from today to submit samples that could aid the forensic identification and DNA analysis of recovered bodies. He said only children, parents and siblings of the deceased are eligible to submit samples.

The Lagos state government today September 26th also constituted a coroner inquest that will investigate the real reason the building collapsed.
The Lagos state Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr Ade Ipaye in a statement said Magistrate O.A.Komolafe who headed the Dana Air crash case will be heading the coroner inquest.

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WoW ! South African minister says death toll at Synagogue building collapse now 115

South African minister, Jeff Radebe today Sept. 22nd, said that the death toll from the Synagogue building collapse has risen to 115. Radebe said this at an
airforce base, North of Johannesburg in South Africa where 25 South Africans who were injured in the collapsed building were brought home in a military
C-130 aircraft (pictured above) for treatment.

He however maintained that 84 South Africans died in the tragedy.

“We understand from our assessment team that the total number of people who have perished is now 115, but those are not all South Africans. South Africans are about 84 that have died” Jeff
Radebe told reporters.

The Nigerian Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, put the death toll from the collapse at 86. The South African minister also said that 26 injured South Africans were meant to return back home today but one of them decided to stay back at the Synagogue church.

A 19-member medical team including specialist doctors, nurses and medical
military paramedics took care of the injured on board the military C-130 aircraft. Among those transported today included two orphaned toddlers whose parents died in the tragedy.

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WoW ! South African football coach arrested in Nigeria for drug trafficking

38 year old South African football coach, Steven Darlugar (pictured), was arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos for drug trafficking.

The married father of one was arrested during screening before boarding an Arik Air flight to South Africa. He is said to have neatly packaged the drugs which tested positive for methamphetamine in a compartment before it was discovered by officials.

When interrogated, Steven said he was promised $6,000 if he successfully trafficked the drug and that he ventured into the crime to support his family as
the money he was making as a coach wasn’t enough

“I am married with a child and have lived in South Africa for about a decade. I coach a team in South Africa. I have worked very hard to attain financial
freedom, but have nothing in return. This is my first time of smuggling drugs. I was under financial pressure to cope with peers. A friend introduced me to drug trafficking as a way of making quick money. They promised to pay me $6,000 to take the bag containing the drugs to South Africa.”

NDLEA commander at the MMIA, Mr. Hamza Umar, said

“Steven was apprehended on his way to South Africa. He was found in possession of 1.54kg of substances that tested positive for methamphetamine. The drug was concealed in a false compartment of the suspect’s luggage.”

Source: Punch

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WoW ! Pistorius trial focuses on ‘screams’ during shooting

The murder trial of South African Paralympian Oscar Pistorius turned its focus on Tuesday to whether neighbours could have heard his model girlfriend screaming on the night he shot her dead.

Prosecutors are trying to prove that Reeva Steenkamp screamed and that this showed the star athlete known as the “Blade Runner” knowingly gunned her down in a fit of anger after a row in the early hours of Valentine’s Day last year. The defence claims Pistorius shot the 29-year-old model and law graduate four times through a locked toilet door after mistaking her for an intruder and that any screams came from him.

State prosecutor Gerrie Nel attempted to show that tests conducted by engineer and acoustics expert Ivan Lin backed up the premeditated murder charge, arguing that neighbours who lived 177 metres (580 feet) from Pistorius could have been able to differentiate between a male and a female screaming. Lin said on Monday that at 177 metres away

“it is very
unlikely a listener can hear a scream let alone interpret the sound source reliably”.

But Nel insisted that Lin, a carefully spoken man in black-framed glasses, failed to do his sound estimates properly, saying he did not take into account factors that would have made it possible for the neighbours to clearly hear Steenkamp.

“We have four people identifying the sound of a woman’s voice, we have no exceptions,” Nel said.

“I do believe they heard a sound but I cannot say whether they were correct or incorrect. It’s not for me to interpret that,” said Lin.

Nel asked Lin if he thought the state’s witnesses were lying. “Not at all,” he replied. The defence then called Pistorius’s longtime manager Pete Van Zyl, who described Pistorius having a “heightened sense of awareness” and being fearful of crime but rarely aggressive.

“I can recall only two specific instances where Pistorius lost his temper, I would not call it aggressive,” said Van Zyl, a tan man with a grey buzz cut wearing a grey suit with a purple tie. Van Zyl also said Pistorius, who was at the height of his career following the 2012 London Olympic Games, wanted to involve Steenkamp in his life more than any other girlfriend.

“I would describe it as a loving and caring relationship,” said Van Zyl. The testimony appeared to strain Pistorius, who started wiping his face with his hands.

– ‘I’m not going away’ – Sitting in the dock during a break, his younger sister Aimee hugged her brother in a long embrace, burrowing her face into his shoulder.

Before calling for an early adjournment for time to prepare his cross examination, prosecutor Nel gave Van Zyl a taste of his searing style. Immediately taking Pistorius’s manager into uncomfortable territory, Nel asked about Samantha Taylor, a state witness who said the runner fired a gun recklessly out of a moving car.

“Mr Van Zyl I’m not going to go away,” said Nel, as Van Zyl became visibly irritated with the questions, staring at Nel with his mouth ajar. Van Zyl’s appearance as a character witness for the defence opens the door for the state to ask pointed questions about the sprinter’s many controversial flare-ups reported in local and international media. The Pistorius trial started in March and has attracted global media attention.

He has pleaded not guilty to Steenkamp’s murder, a charge which risks 25 years in prison, and other charges related to ammunition possession. The trial resumed on Monday after a six-week break during Pistorius was sent for psychiatric evaluations. A panel of mental health experts found that the 27- year-old double-amputee did not suffer from a mental disorder when he shot Steenkamp and could be held “criminally responsible” for his actions.

Judicial sources say once all the evidence has been presented -— estimated to last through the week —- the defence and prosecution will require a few more weeks to compile their written submissions before presenting them to court. They will return to court to answer final questions on their arguments. South Africa does not have jury trials, so a verdict will be delivered by the judge after a few weeks’ deliberation.

Source : AFP