POOR CHIEFS SHOCKED BY RICH BOYS - Real News. Scrolla.Africa

Monday 8th February
                                         2021, 0145

Real News. Scrolla.Africa

POOR CHIEFS SHOCKED BY RICH BOYS
Menzi Magubane

              Wasteful Kaizer Chiefs were booted out of the
              Nedbank Cup in the first round on Sunday.
              Energetic Richards Bay managed a famous
victory over Chiefs beating them 2-1 at FNB Stadium.

Richards Bay, who play in the GladAfrica Championship, are a
second tier club who have never won a major trophy in their
four years of existence.

Amakhosi have played teams from the lower division 26 times
and it was their sixth defeat, their last loss being two years ago
when they lost the final to TS Galaxy who were playing in the
First Division at the time.

Chiefs had numerous chances to score and win the game but it
was the KwaZulu-Natal outfit who took the lead in their first
real attack.

Thabani Dube found the back of the net in the 29th minute
after sloppy Chiefs defense.

Amakhosi had to go one man short for them to get back their
rhythm.

Siphosakhe Ntiya-Ntiya got his marching orders after getting
two yellow cards that automatically earned him a red card.
Nine minutes after being sent off, Leonard Castro scored an
equaliser coming off the bench.

Substitute striker Siyabonga Vilane was the one to pile the
misery on Amakhosi by scoring a winner for the visitors in the
referee's added time. Natal Rich Boys' coach Simo Dladla said
Chiefs played right into their hands.

Disappointed Chiefs coach Gavin Hunt couldn't hold back his
disappointment and said: "We were wasteful. We got to better,
work a little bit harder. We need to turn the corner somehow."

"I've never lost to a first division side in 27 years. I warned them
about this team," said Hunt.

Richards Bay coach Simo Dladla said: "It was a tough one for us.
But we forced them to think hard and our plan worked. Chiefs
is a big team and most of my boys idolize their players. But I
had to make them understand how big this game was for us
and we needed to win it," said Dladla.

This defeat for Chiefs means they might have to go another
season without a trophy and it could make it seven seasons in a
row without silverware should they fail to lift the DStv
Premiership.

Other results
Orlando Pirates 1-0 UThongathi; Chippa United 1=0 Free State
Stars; Jomo Cosmos 1-2 Back Leopards; Swallows 1-0 Cape
United; Cape Town City 4-0 Bloemfontein Celtic; JDR Stars 2-1
Pretoria University FC; TS Galaxy 8-10 TS Sporting; Maritzburg
United 2-1 Sekhukhune United; Pretoria Callies 1-0 Royal AM

Picture source: @Kaizerchiefs

Now for the good news: vaccines might
not stop the virus, but they will prevent
death
Arthur Greene

Covid-19 vaccinations serve a purpose more crucial than
preventing disease. They prevent hospitalisation and death.

As concern mounts that Covid-19 vaccines are less effective
against new variants of the virus, particularly the South African
variant, promising data shows that they are still effective at
preventing serious illness.

British drugmaker AstraZeneca announced on Saturday that its
vaccine appeared to offer only limited protection against mild
disease caused by the South African variant of Covid-19.

However, none of the more than 2,000 trial participants had
been hospitalised or died.

This means that the vaccine may not prevent people from
contracting the virus and developing mild symptoms such as a
sore throat or a cough.

However, it is still highly likely to prevent sufferers from
needing hospital treatment.

On Sunday the government suspended use of the AstraZeneca
vaccine.

This news comes after the Moderna, Johnson & Johnson (J&J)
and Novavax vaccines have all reported reduced efficacy rates
in South Africa, though each is likely to reduce the severe illness
caused by the virus.

In January J&J announced that vaccine efficacy reached 72% in
the U.S., compared with just 57% in South Africa.

However, these results also show that the single dose of the J&J
vaccine was 85% successful in protecting against severe
disease.

Crucially, not a single person who received the vaccine was
hospitalised or died.

Additionally, the Washington Post reports that in two separate
studies, “out of more than 30,000 people who received either
the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, only one person became ill
enough to be hospitalised.”

This data suggests that although the vaccines are unlikely to
completely wipe the virus off the face of the earth, they will
significantly reduce the numbers of people it kills.

In this case, hospitals would cease to be overrun, grandparents
could see their grandchildren and schools could gather once
again, all without a high risk of death due to Covid-19.

Picture source: @WebMD

Ace Magashule says ANC will appear
before Zondo
Lungani Zungu

ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule is a very
conflicted man.

In less than a week he has voiced his support for Jacob Zuma’s
lawless defiance of the Constitutional Court.

And yet yesterday he told Scrolla.Africa that the ANC which he
runs, would never defy the Zondo Commission.

“When we are asked to go there, we will do so.
"We have got no problem with going to the commission.”

He declined to comment when asked whether he would lead
the ANC delegation to the commission in his role as party
secretary.

“That’s not important, what is important is that we are going to
present ourselves at the commission.”

The highest court in the land ordered Zuma to testify at the
State Capture Commission but Zuma said he'd rather go to jail
than honour such an order.

And Magashule told reporters that he supported Zuma's
decision.

“I don’t see anything wrong he [Zuma] has done.”

While Deputy Judge President Raymond Zondo's commission
has focused on individuals till now, he has now summoned the
ruling party, which has been placed at the centre of a web of
corruption by several witnesses.

On Thursday Zondo said the ANC was cooperating with his
commission and had filed some affidavits.

He said he wanted the ANC to explain how billions were stolen
under its watch as the ruling party during Zuma’s term as
president from 2009 to 2018.

Zuma, summoned to appear between Monday and Friday this
week, has been accused by witnesses of enabling his friends,
the controversial Gupta family, to run his presidency from
behind the scenes.

Picture source: @SAfmnews

Mhlanga warns Zuma his defiance will
backfire
Lungani Zungu

            Leading cleric Father Brian Mhlanga has warned
            former President Jacob Zuma that his defiance of
            the Constitutional Court and the Zondo
commission will "backfire" against him and the ANC.

Mhlanga was one of the clerics who pushed for the setting up
of the state capture commission.

“The former president must do the right thing and go to the
state capture commission to answer to allegations of state
capture,” said Mhlanga.

Zuma openly defied the Constitution, saying that he will not go
to the commission as ordered by the Constitutional Court, the
highest court on the land. Zuma is scheduled to appear at the
commission between Monday and Friday and he is yet to say
whether he had changed his mind or would stick to his guns to
defy the Constitution.

Mhlanga condemned Zuma's war of words with Deputy Chief
Justice Raymond Zondo.
“There is impunity, and it is going to backfire. There are
implications for all parties involved, the ANC itself, the
commission and to some extent the judiciary.”

Back in 2016, Mhlanga, together with other men of the cloth,
laid a complaint with the then public protector Thuli Madonsela
amid widespread allegations that the Gupta family was a
corrupting force.

In her report titled “State of Capture”, Madonsela
recommended that a commission be set up to investigate
further.

Meanwhile, Zuma and EFF leader Julius Malema met for tea on
Friday (see GIF above), but the two have yet to go public on
what was discussed.

Amid widespread speculation of a new alliance between the
Zuma faction of the ANC and Malema's EFF, Malema on Sunday
signalled he was also cosying up to the mainstream ANC
faction.

He had a call with Finance Minister Tito Mboweni who
tweeted: "@Julius_S_Malema called. Good conversation. No
issues anymore. Spears down now. Let's grow South Africa
together. He can confirm."

American missionary who abused
Kenyan orphans jailed for 15 years
Arthur Greene

Gregory Dow, an American Christian missionary, has been
sentenced to more than 15 years in prison for abusing
underage girls at a Kenyan orphanage he ran.

He was charged by the FBI in July 2019 after fleeing to the
United States when his abuses came to light.

However, it was the work of a dual U.S.-Kenyan citizen,
Margaret Ruto, that led to Dow’s arrest.

By chance, Ruto had travelled to Boito, the village next to the
Dow Family Children’s Home, to care for her sick mother-in-
law.

When she arrived, the village was in uproar. Two local girls,
aged 12 and 14, escaped Dow’s orphanage and alleged that he
had abused them.

However, he had fled to America and Kenyan police say they
missed catching him at the airport by just a few hours.

Ruto, a working nurse, “turned detective” and spent the
following year compiling a case against Dow which the FBI
would eventually use to charge him with his abhorrent sex
crimes.

The Washington Post reports that Dow was charged by
American authorities because of a special clause in the U.S.
penal code which allows for prosecution of child abuse cases
committed by Americans overseas.

Dow, 61, originally from Pennsylvania, was already a registered
abuser when he travelled to Kenya with his wife, Mary Rose, to
set up the Dow Family Children's Home near Boito in 2008.

In 1996 he pleaded guilty to assault with intent to commit
sexual abuse.

The orphanage ran for a decade before Dow fled the country in
2017. During this time, at least 83 children aged between nine
months and 18 years old lived in his and Mary Rose’s home.

The FBI confirmed that Dow had sexually abused at least four
teenage girls between 2013 and 2017.

Mary Rose was also arrested on child abuse charges.

She was “complicit” in Dow’s horrific crimes, claims the U.S.
attorney’s office.

“She even transported the victims to a medical clinic to have
birth control devices implanted into their arms, which allowed
Dow to perpetrate his crimes without fear of impregnating his
victims.”

Picture source: @UzalendoNews_KE

Teenage stowaway survives 10-hour
flight in plane’s undercarriage
Arthur Greene

A teenage stowaway from Kenya has defied the
odds by surviving a 10-hour flight from Kenya to
the Netherlands in perilous conditions.

He is believed to have boarded the plane in Nairobi, and spent
10 hours in its landing gear bay in sub-zero temperatures and
low oxygen levels.

The 16-year-old, who has not been named, was taken to
hospital with severe hypothermia soon after the plane touched
down in Maastricht airport on Thursday.

A spokesperson for Maastricht Aachen Airport said: “He had
tremendous luck to get through this.”

With commercial flights reaching altitudes of about 38,000ft,
chances of survival for stowaways are very slim.

The spokesperson told the NetherlandsNewsLive website that
temperatures within the landing gear bay of the plane would
have fallen to -30C and below.

Dutch police say they are currently trying to trace the boy’s
exact route and will be investigating potential human trafficking
links in connection with the incident.

This is not the first time a stowaway has survived a seemingly
impossible plane journey.

Themba Cabeka, from South Africa, clung to the undercarriage
of a jumbo jet for the duration of an 11 hour, 6,000 mile flight
between Johannesburg and London in 2015.

Picture source: @SABreakingNews

Gogo defrauded of her Sassa grant
Mkhuseli Sizani

              Disabled 76-year-old Gogo Nontuthuzelo Handile
              of KwaZakhele township in Port Elizabeth was
              left penniless and frustrated after being
defrauded of R5,000 in her Sassa account.

The money includes the foster grants for her three
grandchildren aged 11, 13 and 14.

She told Scrolla.Africa: "On Wednesday I went to Kenako Mall
Post Office to withdraw my [Sassa] money. But to my surprise
the teller told me the money was already withdrawn at the FNB
ATM".

"I told her that was impossible because I only withdraw my
money at the Post office by using my fingerprint. I have never
used my Sassa card because I forgot my pin number."

Gogo Handile, pictured above, said this situation has left her
and her grandkids with no food.

"The last porridge we had was in the morning on Thursday. This
money was helping me to put bread on the table for my family
of nine.

"I am stressed and I don't know where I will get the money to
buy food and electricity. My funeral policies also have not been
paid. The tellers advised me to lay a charge of fraud at the
police station."

But she heard a different story from the police. Eastern Cape
Sassa spokesperson Luzuko Qina said Gogo Handile needed to
report the matter to the Post Office. "The client has been
defrauded during the pin reset process."

ALLISON BLUNDERLAND
Menzi Magubane

The Citizens beat reigning champions Liverpool 4-
1 at Anfield on Sunday to go five points clear on
top of the table.

Two huge blunders from Liverpool’s Brazilian goalkeeper
Alisson gifted Manchester City the win.

The German Ilkay Gundogan missed a penalty early in the first
half that would have given form City the lead. But in the second
half he made up for his mistake and eventually put City ahead
for just four minutes after the break.

The midfielder scored his second for the Citizens just ten
minutes after Mo Salah equalised for Liverpool from a penalty
spot in the 63rd minute. Captain of the day Raheem Sterling
made it 3-1 for the visitors in 75th minute.

In the 83rd Phil Foden ensured that coach Pep Guadiola got his
first ever win at Anfield since joining City in 2016. The defeat
left Reds with slim chances of defending their league title that
they won last season after 30 years.

This was also Liverpool's first consecutive league defeat at
home in over 50 years. They first lost 1-0 to Brighton seven
days ago and now they were humiliated by the 2019 EPL
champions.

City are now looking good to reclaim their title glory after this
win. They still have a game in hand from their City rivals
Manchester United who are second.

Liverpool, who are in fourth place, are now 10 points behind
City. Next Citizens game they are at home on Saturday to
seventh place Tottenham Hotspur.

Liverpool on the other hand they are away to third place
Leicester City on Saturday.

Other EPL results
Wolves 0-0 Leicester City; Aston Villa 1-0 Arsenal; Tottenham
Hotspur 2-0 West Brom; Fulham 0-0 West Ham; Manchester
United 3-3 Everton; Burnley 1-1 Brighton; Newcastle United 3-2
Southampton.

Picture source: @fantasPremierLeague

Scotland shock England and it's not a
Van der Merwe joke
Timmy T Maranda

               Scotland stunned defending Champions England
               11-6 in the 2021 Guinness Six Nations
               tournament for the first time since 1983, as they
recorded one of the biggest upsets in the history of
international rugby to claim the Calcutta Cup on Saturday at
Twickenham.

Gregor Townsend's side, brilliantly led by Stuart Hogg, joined
the heroes of 1930, 1971 and 1983, to win at Twickenham, a
feat beyond so many great players.

The Scotts drew first blood after forcing England into an error
that resulted in a penalty within striking distance. Finn Russel
slotted the first points of the contest. Scotland took advantage
of the numerical advantage after Billy Vunipola was yellow
carded for a high tackle on Russell.

South African born winger Duhan Van der Merwe scored
Scotland’s first and only try of the match to extend the lead but
Finn Russel missed the conversion. England’s Owen Farrell

closed the gap with the conversion, Scotland went to the break
leading 8-6.

In the second half, despite being the man down, the Scottish
side were rewarded with a penalty for Finn Russell to extend
the lead to 11-6. The Scotts absorbed the pressure from the
defending Champions to hold on to the lead and claim the
historic win.

Duhan van der Merwe reacted to scoring the only try of the
contest on Scotland team twitter by saying "It's my job but
when I got the ball from George, I said to myself I need to finish
this and I managed to get over the white wash."

"We wanted to inspire the nation and hopefully we did that
tonight," said Duhan van der Merwe.

"I know it's tough for you fans for not being able to celebrate
this game with us but hopefully in the future we can and can't
wait for that day," van der Merwe added.

Meanwhile, France began their campaign with a 50-10 bonus-
point victory over Italy at Stadio Olimpico.

Scotland will host Wales in the next match of the 2021
Guinness Six Nations on Saturday at BT Murrayfield Stadium,
kick-off 18:45 GMT.

Picture source: @Scotlandteam

LOVED AND LOST: AUBREY MBALU
(1958-2020)

A love stronger than years
Mkhuseli Sizani

Aubrey Mbalu became involved in student politics when
protests erupted in 1976 before going into exile to become a
soldier for MK. He was sent by ANC underground units to
Winnie Mandela’s House in Brandfort and to Lesotho under
Chris Hani.

After he returned from exile he started his own business,
Mbalu’s Tavern, in Mdange Village in Peelton outside King

Williams Town, and one day started employing a young woman
named Kholiswa.

She said after they met he started asking her to make deposits
at his bank and in return he helped her to sell airtime to his
customers.

Before long, romance blossomed and he proposed marriage.

“It took me two years to say yes to him. We only had sex after
marriage,” she said.

Both had kids from other relationships. She had a daughter and
his son was eight years older than her.

Love was stronger than the 28 year age gap between Kholiswa,
34, and Aubrey, also known as Meneer Mbalu. She called him
Daddy.

“My mother never had a problem with him but the villagers and
his family were saying bad things behind our backs. But Daddy
protected me.”

She said one of their elderly neighbours recently shook her
hand.

“She confessed she thought I wouldn’t last one year in that
marriage because she thought I was in love with the money,”
Kholiswa said.

She said her husband had hypertension and it got worse when
his brother was found hanged and mutilated in his house in
East London last year.

“Two days after we buried him my husband became very sick.
He could not walk and was feeling tired. He died in Bisho
Hospital on 19 November, apparently from Covid-19
complications. They had been married for 10 years.

Kholiswa, and their sons, aged four and seven, miss the man
she calls Daddy.

Proteas go for broke
Lucky Mdluli

               With Pakistan 200 runs ahead at the start of the
               fourth day, there was still a glimmer of hope for
               SA to win the match and draw the series.

Granted, it was a long shot but not impossible. The wicket had
proved lively on each of the first three days and wickets had
tumbled and if the last four wickets could fall for less than 50,
there was still a chance.

But between Mohammad Razwan, playing the innings of his life
and scoring his first century (115) and Nauman Ali (45) they
seemed to rip any chance of victory away from the Proteas, one
boundary at a time.

From the South African point of view, it was good to see
George Linde getting a sparkling, well-deserved fiver (5 wickets
in 26 overs conceding 64 runs). By the time Pakistan were all
out, the Proteas were looking at a massive target of 370 and
without any other option, the SA batters took the match to the
bowlers.

Is it a measure of the dreaded Big Match Temperament when
top level participants (in any sport) do badly when it matters
and do well when the pressure is off?

With nothing to lose, the South Africans are playing freely and
scoring runs, the way South African fans were hoping they
would play since the day they arrived in Pakistan.

Dean Elgar played some good shots, including four fours to
score 17 runs in 24 balls before edging a wide ball to the
wicketkeeper.

But Markram (59 not out) and Van der Dussen (48 not out)
ended the fourth day scoring runs and possibly bringing the
Proteas back into the match for one final burst of glory.

And is the age of miracles over? With South Africa still needing
243 runs to win with one day to go, it probably is, but wouldn’t
it be ever so grand if they can pull it off?

Picture source: @OfficialCSA