Table of contents for 2024-01-19 in DFA News

A MAKESHIFT hair salon was set up in Lethabo Park as part of the Roodepan community’s back-to-school initiative. The successful event, which was hosted on January 13 and 14, saw schoolchildren receive a hair wash, with boys having their hair cut or shaved and girls having their hair braided or plaited ahead of the first day of the 2024 school year. As part of the initiative, community members also donated school shoes, uniforms and books for less fortunate learners. A spokesperson for the community, David Kock, explained that parents came up with the idea for the event during a brainstorming session when they were thinking of ways that they could help their children ahead of their return to school. “The initiative was for the entire community of Roodepan. Most of…

KIMBERLEY Magistrate Mongala believes that Zimbabwean national Beulla Mandpdukudza Maruza, 41, “has a case to answer to” after she was found travelling with 14 undocumented children from Harare to Cape Town. Maruza, who is facing human trafficking charges, was denied bail in the Kimberley Magistrate’s Court this week. She was arrested along with her co-accused, Tafadzwa Otis Nakakurwa, 46, on December 5 last year when the bus they were travelling on made a pit stop at the Engen garage in Oliver Road in Kimberley. They were en route from Midrand to Cape Town when a vigilant passenger noticed that the children, who are between the ages of six and 14 years old, appeared to be subdued, hungry and dirty and were not carrying any luggage or a change of clothes.…

NINETEEN-year-old Lebohang Mathikga, an aspiring professional football player and BCom marketing student from Barkly West, is rallying to raise funds for his tuition fees to study and play football in the USA. Mathikga has been offered a scholarship opportunity to join Putnam Science Academy, a college preparatory high school in Connecticut, on an academic and soccer bursary that will cover 62% of his costs. He is now on a mission to raise an amount of $9,417.2 (around R179,000) for this year's tuition and is looking for assistance in making his dream a reality. Mathikga is currently studying at Centurion Academy. He attended Staats Primary School in Kimberley and went on to attend Klerksdorp Technical High School from 2018 to 2022. He has played football in Manchester, Bolton and Fleetwood in…

SCHOOL safety was high on the agenda when the men and women in blue visited and addressed learners and parents on the first day of the new school year in the Northern Cape. Provincial police spokesperson Colonel Cherelle Ehlers said the visits to the schools formed part of the police’s “Back-to-School” campaign. Police district commissioners, senior officers and station commanders led the campaign in the five districts of the Province. “The police hosted the awareness campaign at several primary and secondary schools in rural and urban areas across the Province. Parents and learners were addressed on issues concerning school safety, discipline and school attendance, as well as the consequences of being involved in criminal activities,” said Ehlers. She added that parents were also advised to be actively involved in the…

GET READY archery enthusiasts because the Northern Cape 3D archery scene is gearing up for an adrenaline-packed start to the 2024 season. Archers from across the region are eagerly preparing to take part in the Northern Cape League, a thrilling trilogy of events that will culminate in the highly-anticipated Northern Cape 3Di Championships on August 31. The archery action will start with a resounding bang when leg one of the Northern Cape League, hosted by the esteemed Diamond Archery Club, kicks off at the Gumtree Lodge in Kimberley on February 17 and 18. Local archers are polishing their bows and arrows as they prepare to engage in a fierce, yet friendly, competition that promises excitement and camaraderie. What's more, the event has drawn participants from as far afield as Nelspruit…

PARENTS formed long queues outside the Northern Cape Department of Education’s Frances Baard district offices on the first day of the school year on Wednesday. Most of the parents were trying to secure a place at a school for their children after the online admission system for late applications closed on Tuesday. Several of the parents said that they had been waiting in the queue since 6am on Tuesday and had to return on Wednesday as they had been unsuccessful the day before. One parent blamed “technical issues” with the online system for her child not being placed yet. “I applied online last year and filled in my school choice for Floors High School, where my child is supposed to start Grade 8. The application was marked incomplete and my…

ST PATRICK’S CBC achieved a 100 percent pass rate in the Independent Examinations Board (IEB) matric exams for the 13th consecutive year. The executive head of the school, Craig Neave, stated that the overall results continued to improve each year due to the improved focus on the school’s academic programme, from junior school right through to Grade 12. He also congratulated Dux pupil Daniel Goncalves, who obtained an aggregate of 92%, with a full house of distinctions in his nine subjects. He said Goncalves was placed in the top one percent of IEB candidates in two subjects - Afrikaans and Physical Sciences. “He was also recognised for being placed in the top five percent of IEB Candidates nationally in six or more subjects (excluding Life Orientation).” Neave added that Ryan…

AN ELDERLY couple who were apparently instructed to demolish their home in Doek Doek earlier this week as it was an “eyesore”, were later promised a new house by the time President Cyril Ramaphosa set foot in the city on January 18. The couple’s home is situated across from the site where marquee tents were erected for yesterday’s sod-turning ceremony for the R1 billion housing project that will see the construction of 4 168 houses in Roodepan. The family of nine, who make use of candles and cook their food on a wood fire, are however still waiting for the building materials to be delivered for their “new” home. The plot has no ablution facilities. Fanie Visser, 67, and his wife Nellie Frans, 61, stated that they had been living…

GET READY, Kimberley! The Africa Genesis Archery Northern Cape (AGA-NC) is aiming high and gearing up to host the biggest archery event in South Africa, the AGA-SA National Tournament, set to take place from September 22nd to 26th. With over a thousand archers of all ages and backgrounds expected to descend upon the Diamond City, this tournament promises to be a thrilling spectacle. Dawid de Greeff, the co-ordinator of AGA-NC, highlighted the significance of this event, calling it a once-in-five-years opportunity for Northern Cape archers to showcase their skills on home turf. This massive competition provides local archers with a chance to compete on a grand scale, and De Greeff believes it will help grow the sport within the community. But it's not just about the competition. The influx of…

TWO TALENTED bowls players from the Northern Cape, Charles Peter Mathewson and Driaan van Niekerk, have clinched their spots in the upcoming Bowls South Africa Under-30 Masters tournament. The prestigious event, slated to take place at Wingate Park Bowls Club in Pretoria from February 9 to 11, will feature 12 promising players from around the country. The tournament is divided into three categories - Open, Under-30, and Veterans - and promises an exciting showcase of bowling prowess. Mathewson, a seasoned Protea bowler, brings a wealth of experience to the U/30 Masters. Having participated in the SA Open Masters in recent years, Mathewson is no stranger to high-stakes competition and has set his sights on claiming the elusive SA U/30 Masters title this time around. The Protea Squad, also known as…

A 17-YEAR-old boy, who has become accustomed to a life of crime since a young age, is intent on turning his life around and completing his schooling. He indicated that he dropped out of school when his school uniform was taken away from him in Grade 9. “I have been forced to steal and sell stolen goods since 2020. I don’t want to be a thief anymore and I am tired of being assaulted by community crime fighters and the police . . . if I happen to be caught. I steal cellphones, cash and clothes and resell them. I share the money with my aunt who picks the houses in the neighbourhood that I am expected to target.” He stated that he was chased away from home when he…

THE CREATOR of the hit show Seinfeld has an issue with people wishing him a happy new year too long after the fireworks have gone off and the Champagne corks have popped. In one of the episodes of another of his hilarious shows, the Curb Your Enthusiasm star and creator, Larry David, set a statute of limitations on the seasonal salutation. “Three days,” David declares, and then adds, “By the way, everything doesn’t have to be happy. Why does everything have to be happy?” However, over in the Far East, society is gearing up for the Chinese New Year. This year, 2024, will be the year of the dragon. So I suppose it’s still OK to reflect and bask in the hope that the new year will bring. With that…

WITH the aim of strengthening the fight against gender-based violence in the Northern Cape, the provincial commissioner of the SAPS, Lieutenant-General Koliswa Otola, and the deputy provincial commissioner for Crime Detection, Major-General Mmantsheke Lekhele, handed over new vehicles to the SAPS Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences (FCS) units in the Province. Provincial police spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Sergio Kock said the new vehicles would help the FCS units strengthen their response to complaints of gender-based violence. “The vehicles were procured from a special budget earmarked to address gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF) offences throughout the Province. The FCS units that received vehicles are Hopetown, Kuruman, Prieska, Kathu, Jan Kempdorp, De Aar, Kakamas and Carnavon. “Lieutenant-General Otola reiterated that GBVF remains one of the priority crimes for the SAPS and detectives…

Kimberley Golf Club results for December 13 to January 13, and what’s on next week’s programme. The winners-only results for December 13 to January 13 are: The Wednesday, December 13 Darsha BBS was won by Zayhied Suliman and Ronnie Engelbrecht with 44 points, while Johan Herselman clinched the December 14 KWV with 28pts and Eddie Malouly was the winner of the December 15 Golf Shop 18-hole IPS with 36pts. The Saturday, December 16 Cost-sponsored IPS was won by Oban Cronje with 41pts. Jan van Vuuren scored a hole-in-one on the 11th. Remarkably, his first hole-in-one some years back was also scored on December 16. Eddie Barkhuizen clinched the December 21 KWV with 30pts and the Flamingo Niner held on Friday, December 22 was won by Ghalied Norman with 18pts. The…