AFP reports that Mandela was in a ‘vegetative state’ have cause confusion among those keening following news about the ailing former President of South Africa.
Reports by the Agence France-Presse (AFP) that Nelson Mandela was in a “permanent vegetative state” caused a lot of confusion around the world yesterday.These reports were based on court documents, dated June 26, that stated the ailing former president was in a “permanent vegetative state” last week and that doctors had advised the family to switch off machines that were keeping him alive.
Some journalists were however not convinced by the news and raised questions as to whether this was in fact his current health status. Debora Patta said AFP reports were creating confusion and asked Mandela’s doctors to address the public.
In response, AFP reporter Andrew Beatty clarified that the AFP was making reference to Nelson Mandela’s health status last week and that this is not his current status.
According to a report by the Mail&Guardian, the Mandela family denied that they had made those claims in court.
Johannes Myburgh, a reporter for the AFP, tweeted pictures of the certificate of urgency as proof that the family had indeed made those claims on June 26.
The presidency however sticks to it’s statement that Mandela is “critical but stable”. Journalists are now calling on the doctors themselves to address the media.
This was after Mandla Mandela held a press conference yesterday revealing intimate family issues. He was responding after a High Court judgement against him in the matter of the removal of the remains of family members from the family grave site in Qunu.
Nelson Mandela remains in hospital for the 28th day now fighting a recurring lung infection. According to the Presidency he remains critical but stable.
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Shandu Mulaudzi reports on the media frenzy in Pretoria ahead of murder-accused Oscar Pistorius’ court appearance.
Members of the international and local press braved the morning cold and waited in their hundreds for Oscar Pistorius to arrive for his court appearance this morning.
The media was informed by officials at the Pretoria Magistrates Court that although 90 journalists had been accredited, only 60 people could be seated in court room C. Journalists left standing outside the courtroom were able to follow the proceedings on a big screen.
Pistorius’ siblings Aimee and Carl were the first members of his family to arrive. While other members of the Pistorius arrived later in two Landrovers, neither, to the disappointment of the media, carried Pistorius.
#OscarPistorius family arrive in two land rovers. Media surge towards them. No blade runner inside.… instagram.com/p/aIFvyQriU5/
Cameramen and photographers could be heard discussing how to get the “perfect shot” of Pistorius. @NICKolausBAUER managed to get a blurry shot of Pistorius entering the courtroom.
BREAKING PHOTO: #OscarPistorius enters court in South Africa for his preliminary hearing – @NICKolausBAUER pic.twitter.com/xLuopsVPVq
The hearing, presided by acting Chief Magistrate Daniel Thulare, was concluded in less than 16 minutes. The State asked for a postponement to conduct further investigations.
Thulare expressed his concerns regarding the postponement saying the media reporting was leading to a somewhat “scandalous” approach. His comments were made in response to the leaking of sensitive crime scene photographs to Sky News this week.
NEW: Bloody photos, from Oscar Pistorius crime scene, broadcast by Sky News: (WARNING:GRAPHIC) bit.ly/179VUuL pic.twitter.com/Mj3lucegVB
Members of the international media included correspondents from CBS, ABC, BBC, CNN, The Associated Press and European Broadcasting Union (EBU).
Wits Vuvuzela tried to speak to some of these correspondents to find out how long they had waited for the hearing. Many seemed reluctant and agitated.
Victoria Phenethi, a crew member from BBC, said they arrived yesterday to find parking and set up their equipment.
“We then went to our hotel here in Pretoria and arrived back this morning at 6am so we could do our first live crossing at 7,” Pheneti said.
As BBC journalist Andrew Harding recorded a broadcast he compared Pistorius’ emotional state in February to his presence in court today: “He looked like a man determined and unwilling to betray a single emotion.”
Tsepo wa Mamatu, senior drama lecturer suspended recently after sexual harassment allegations against him, has broken his silence and insists that he is “not interested in coming back to Wits”.
In an exclusive interview with Wits Vuvuzela, he said: “Coming back to Wits would seem like the easy way out.”
In March this year, The Sunday Timesreported that, over a period of six years, more than 10 of wa Mamatu’s students claimed he had sexually harassed them.
He was accused of violating students during rehearsals, auditions and off campus and even raping one of his students. Following these allegations, the university placed him on “special leave”.
Speaking publicly for the first time since the allegations surfaced, wa Mamatu said the last three months had been painful and that coming back to the university was no longer an option.
“I felt quite wounded and I almost became depressed but you can’t victimise yourself,” said wa Mamatu. For a good four weeks I was in a bad, bad, bad space,” he said. Wa Mamatu said the support he received from family, friends, colleagues and students helped him survive
Flood of support
“What made me strong was the thousands and thousands of messages I received in my Facebook account, sms’es and the calls I received from very, very influential people,” he said. Wa Mamatu said one of his friends had compared this struggle with the strife experienced by Jesus. “They said, ‘Tshepo: Jesus was 33 years old when he went through the same thing – when he was humiliated publicly, when he was betrayed’.
“But they cannot crucify you without building you up.”
No chance from The Sunday Times
Wa Mamatu expressed his dissatisfaction with the manner in which the Sunday Times had handled the story. According to wa Mamatu the reporter of story, Pearlie Joubert, contacted wa Mamatu on the day on which she was to submit his story which did not allow him time to respond fully to the allegations.
.“[pullquote]”Students would come needing a place to sleep. They would sleep in that office”[/pullquote] He explained that the telephonic interview had lasted less than two minutes and that he had tried to ask for an opportunity to meet with the reporter to give the context and his side of what happened.
“She said ‘no no, my deadline is 5 o’clock and I have to submit the story.’ Imagine?” said wa Mamatu.
Raising his voice, Wa Mamatu said that two weeks later the same reporter had “the nerve” to contact him to find out how he was doing after the publication of the story. “She called me she said: ‘So how are you feeling after that story was published?’ [laughs] And I gave her such a tongue lash. I don’t think anyone has ever spoken to that woman and she has never called me.”
Wa Mamatu also expressed concern in the fact that one of his accusers had initially told The Sunday Times that he had raped her but had since changed her charge against him to one of oral sex.
“Now she says it was oral sex. Now how do you go from rape to oral sex? Those are two distinctly different things,” wa Mamatu complained.
Admission: this was not the first time
Wa Mamatu confirmed that there was a case of sexual misconduct brought against him in 2007. The matter was taken to the Counselling and Careers Development Unit (CCDU) as the woman in question had accused him of “touching her pants in a very sexual way”. [pullquote] Worked tirelessly to ensure the wellbeing of students [/pullquote]At that meeting both parties were given the opportunity to give their side of the story and the matter was settled. “It was a breakdown of communication and not some malicious intent to do her any harm or to cause her any discomfort whatsoever.
Wa Mamatu said although he had been given opportunities by other media publications to speak up, he had declined them, as he did not want to be seen as “this guy who is using his voice to overpower these women”.
An upbeat wa Mamatu said he held no grudges. He said he did not judge the way the university had handled the situation. “The university had to act, [especially] in a country where woman abuse is so rife … The university is in the middle and I’m not criticising the university, what they did was quite bold and daring.”
Since his suspension, wa Mamatu said he had an initial hearing with the university earlier this month but proceedings had been postponed to June pending further investigations. He said the Wits School of Arts (WSOA) had handled the situation as best as they could, considering the circumstances. He said that despite the allegations and his suspension from Wits he was still able to practice his craft.
Career still thriving
“At the moment I’m rehearsing a play at the state theatre, I have an opera at the Cape Town opera that’s opening in June. I’ve got a musical that’s coming up and I’ve just shot a documentary in the last three months with BBC and Aljazeera”.
Wa Mamatu said although his anger and resentment had subsided he was still very hurt by the allegations as they were untrue. He said he had worked tirelessly to ensure the wellbeing of students, which was his main priority both inside and outside the learning environment.
Spirit of Ubuntu?
Wa Mamatu explained that he is from a background where he was taught to share and as a result his office was a “student office”.
[pullquote align=”right”]I had given up my life for that place but in the end they dealt with me.[/pullquote]“Students would come needing a place to sleep. They would sleep in that office.Students would come and tell me that it’s January and ekhaya ngishoda nge [I am short of] R4000 to register or what what-what and I would hustle and make a plan for those students.” Wa Mamatu said his biggest fault was being too trusting and too generous.
“I had given up my life for that place but in the end they dealt with me.”
THE TWITTER sphere has been running amok with explicit sexual content from South Africa, inviting questions about the legality of sexy social media.
Recent Sex scandals on social media
Recently, South African twitter was abuzz after a man leaked nude photos of a woman, allegedly his ex-girlfriend, because he was in “a fit of rage” after they broke up.
The woman’s pictures were then retweeted and shared across twitter to the point where #nudes was trending in South Africa.
Closer to home was the “Wits Sex tape”, which was uploaded onto a blog and shared by many on campus and around the country. The tape trended for 72 hours and people were still asking for links to it even though the blog had already been deleted.
At Rhodes, a “Gossip Girl” account tweeted a picture of a man and a woman naked in a university dorm room and in a sexual position. Tweeters such as Michelle Solomon (@mishsomolon) called for the account to be reported for sharing explicit content.
The Rhodes University alumni account (@RhodesAlumni) tweeted that what the account was doing was illegal and that the account should be closed. The account was shut down soon afterwards.
However, while the twitter sphere enjoys posting and sharing illicit sex tapes and nude photos, the repercussions for doing so, for both the original posters and those who retweet, can be severe.
Legal implications of distributing sexual content [pullquote align=”right”]”The crimen injuria route would mean that the person who has distributed private content unlawfully could serve jail time.”[/pullquote]
According to media law expert Dario Milo, if the person depicted has not given consent for a sex tape or nude photo to be distributed then they have legal recourse.
Milo said those who had made sex tapes or nude photos but had them published without their consent have three legal routes they may follow.
A person can sue for invasion of privacy and have a court interdict to have the content removed.
A person can sue for damages if publication causes them to lose their job or if it results in their reputation being damaged.
The third legal route is to make a complaint of “crimen injuria”, unlawfully and intentionally impairing the dignity or privacy of another person,” to the police.
The crimen injuria route would mean that the person who has distributed private content unlawfully could serve jail time.
Even retweets can get you arrested
Milo said those who shared or retweeted the content were also not on safe legal ground and could be held liable along with the person who originally posted the content without consent.
He said it was important that people realised that even if both parties had consented to making a sex tape or taking nude photos, that does not mean they consented to its distribution.
“Consent for one purpose does not mean consent for another purpose,” said Milo.
The moral of the story is, think twice before posting that naked picture or sex tape of that ex-lover you are angry with.
Students have complained that the provincial government has failed to pay them any of the allowances due to them since the beginning of the year. This has resulted in them having no meals or books.
Female Student complaint
[pullquote align=”right”]“They promised us pocket money for food and transport money for our TE [teaching practical] but we have not received that,” she said.[/pullquote]
A female third year student, who asked to remain anonymous out of “fear for her future”, said she understood that Limpopo was under administration by the National Treasury, but said they were suffering as a result of this.
“They promised us pocket money for food and transport money for our TE [teaching practical] but we have not received that,” she said.
Teaching practicals are part of the student’s course where they are sent to schools in the Johannesburg area for practical teaching experience.
[pullquote]“Mr Maswangani was very rude and showed lack of respect to the students and had said that ‘money is not a need’ when we asked when are they going to pay for our TE allowance, meals, study material.”[/pullquote]The department’s representative was “rude”
Ignatius Molele, 4th year Education, said a representative from the department, who he identified as “Mr Maswangani”, came to speak to students in April and made promises they said have not been met.
Molele said this “demonstrates the unreliability and the inconsistency in the management system.”
The female student explained that the representative had shown no sympathy for the student’s plight.“The old guy that came to speak to us kept saying we were not performing. When we asked him if we were being punished for that he said no but we must do better,” she added.
Molele said: “Mr Maswangani was very rude and showed lack of respect to the students and had said that ‘money is not a need’ when we asked when are they going to pay for our TE allowance, meals, study material.”
The Limpopo’s response Wits Vuvuzela contacted Limpopo department of education spokesperson Pat Kgomo for comment. He promised to look into the matter but did not respond by press time.
The female student said not receiving the bursary money could result in the Limpopo students failing their courses.
The university has a rule that states students cannot miss a maximum of two of their teaching practicals. This would result in their exclusion.
We are failing
Molele said the Limpopo bursary students were failing because they did not have the study materials needed for their studies.
The student explained that last year Wits University had helped by loaning them money, but had declined to do so this year as it was too “high risk” to loan money to the Limpopo department of education.
Wits response
Thandi Kente, finance manager at Wits Education campus said Wits had refused to loan the Limpopo students money as they were unsure whether they would have the money returned to them.
Kente said it was important that the students understand the context that the Limpopo department of education is operating under. “This is not merely a matter between my department and theirs.
“The government has hired a private company to look into issues of misadministration that happened there last year for them to report to. They [the Limpopo government] are not in control,” Kente said. According to Kente, students had this information communicated to them last year.
“These are third year and fourth year students we are dealing with. Not first years. I do not know how to explain this any further. I mean it’s even been on TV. They know the situation,” Kente said.
We are not “spoiled or rich”
The students who spoke to Wits Vuvuzela said even though the department was under administration they were not from “spoiled or rich” families that could help with money.
“I don’t have both my parents. I chose education because the bursary said they would take care of us. Now I ask myself if I should rather have gone to look for a job or stayed at home,” the female student said.
Kente explained that the money goes through a long process due to budget allocations from the National Treasury and that it was likely that the money would come in at the end of this week.
The student said the last time they heard from the department was in April and they were “being kept in the dark” about what measures to take to help themselves.
Wits Vuvuzela has managed to salvage some footage from the protest by some Wits students of a concert by an Israeli-born pianist during Israel Apartheid week. We apologise for the poor quality of the footage which was shot with a cellphone.
UPDATE: 15 MARCH
SAUJS nationals liason officer, Harry Hoshovsky, has responded to protest action which took place during Israel Apartheid Week.
“Following the events of this week, SAUJS wishes to express its disgust and disappointment at the intolerance and blind malice displayed by Israel Apartheid Week and BDS Movement activists. SAUJS strongly supports the upholding of freedom of expression as a Constitutional right. Yet, despite our attempts to ensure that this core constitutional value is upheld, this week has highlighted that there are those on our campus who actively seek to silence, bully and eradicate any debate or well-reasoned arguments that contradict their extreme rhetoric.
This attitude was on full display as renowned human rights activist and former Sudanese slave, Simon Deng, was disrupted by supporters of the IAW campaign at his mere mention of the word ‘Israel’,despite this topic being a minor part of a speech focused on his tragic life story. We have also received several reports of Jewish students being harassed, discriminated against and victimized by those who claim that their events ‘promote dialogue and tolerance’. What they have wrought on campus is nothing short of disunity and conflict.
SAUJS wishes to point out that the SRC has the responsibility and mandate, to represent the interests of all students on campus and to encourage diversity, understanding and tolerance. They have been entrusted with this task and are expected to fulfil it. We therefore encourage our fellow students to reflect on the events that transpired this week and to consider over just who exactly should be held accountable by both them and the University, for the deliberate propagation of intolerance and division.”
addition, Wits University has issued a public apology for the disruption of the concert. Read the full statement here.
[hr]
ORIGINAL: 13 MARCH
Israeli-born pianist Yossi Reshef was escorted off stage by Wits Campus Control last night as students protested his presence on campus during Israel Apartheid Week.
“This guy coming here is trying to undermine Israel Apartheid week,” SRC vice-president (internal) Tokelo Nhlapo told Wits Vuvuzela.
Members of the Wits Student Representative Council (SRC), Muslim Students Association (MSA), Palestinian Solidarity Committee (PSC) as well as Progressive Youth Alliance (PYA), called for the protest as they did not want the concert to happen during international Israel Apartheid week.
Campus control had initially prevented the group of about 50 protesters from entering the Atrium Hall in the South West Engineering building where the concert was being held.
Students chanted and banged on the doors. The protesters sang songs such as “Dubula ibhunu” a song that was previously under review due to what the AfriForum referred to as “hurtful lyrics”.
Once Campus Control opened the doors students stormed into the hall. They disrupted the performance by jumping on stage as well as blowing their vuvuzelas
Student activist Mbuyiseni Ndlozi addressed the crowd after they stormed the hall. “Our visitors must understand that we are Wits students in good standing. They must understand that in this university Zionism will not enjoy (sic) anymore. They will not bring anything related, sponsored, corroborating with Israel and will expect it will be romantically accepted.”
Wits Vuvuzela journalists tried to speak to people who had attended the concert however they were unwilling to comment.
Campus Control representatives also refused to comment and directed all enquiries to Wits Communication.
Wits athletes competing in Durban found themselves in a contest of a different kind: dodging the advances of prostitutes.
Female sprinter, Fikile Masikane, was among a group of 12 athletes who stayed at the Banana Backpackers Youth Hostel, which she believes also housed prostitutes working at the “brothel” next door.
Interactions with prostitutes
“I feel like we were staying with some of the prostitutes in the backpackers because there was a Japanese lady there who even asked me if I was ready to work [as a prostitute].”
Masikane said some of the male athletes were asked if they wanted “to buy” and were ogled by the alleged prostitutes as they stretched their muscles ahead of the championship.
SIES: Sprinter, Fikile Masikane was forced to stay next to a “brothel”. Photo: Mfuneko Toyana
“As some of the guys were stretching some of the prostitutes watched them, and one said to the other: ‘Lona u-fit, uyamufuna?’ [that one is fit, do you want him?],” she recounts.
“One of the guys appeared to be freaked out but the other guy calmed him down and told him to ignore it,” she said.
Masikane said one of the male athletes texted Marcus Toerien, the athletics manager, complaining: “When they said ‘banana’ I don’t think they were talking about the fruit.” She said Toerien just laughed in response.
The manager’s reaction
Masikane said Toerien dropped off the students at the hostel and saw the conditions but did not react.
“He was there for like three minutes and said the lady would show us our rooms.
Marcus’ wife asked him if they shouldn’t maybe get us supper before they left. He said something like ‘they’ll sort themselves out’,” Masikane said.
“Even his wife looked shocked by the state of the place, but Marcus didn’t care,” Okharedia said.
Masikane’s discomfort
Masikane had to share a room with some of the male athletes as she did not feel safe or comfortable staying in the single room that was booked for her.
The hostel was also grimy with a strong odour from the toilets: “We used hand sanitizer for everything,” she said. The Witsies also had to lay their own towels on the beds to avoid having their bodies touch the filthy sheets.
“I slept like this, ngigqokile [dressed],” she said pointing at her clothes.
The showers also had a “horrible smell” forcing the Witsies to use the showers at the stadium.
“I was terrified”
Masikane was also worried about her safety. Her bed was near the door and she got a fright when some of her teammates came home late at night.
“When they came back I was so scared. I didn’t realise it was them. As soon as they tried to open the door my heart leaped. I was so scared. It only clicked in seconds later that it was probably the other athletes but that just goes to show how terrified I was.”
“I felt safer with the guys but I knew that if anyone were to come in and ask for me there was nothing they could do to help me,” she said.
When Masikane returned from Durban she called her mother and told her about the conditions of the hostel.
“My mom cried when I told her where I stayed. She hung up on me and I could tell she wasn’t okay. She called back and said ‘why didn’t you tell me’,” Masikane said.
Masikane said her mother wants an explanation about the housing and an apology from Wits.
Masikane said she didn’t feel like she could approach Toerien about her discomfort as he had fought about the disorganisation of the Wits delegation with Okharedia at the stadium.
Wits Sports responds
Acting head of the sports administration department, Marius Henn, said the accommodation was recommended to them by USSA and they had “no reason to doubt that it would be suitable”.
“Unfortunately time and circumstances did not allow us to source alternative accommodation. Wits Sport will take this up with the LOC [local organising committee] and USSA National to try and avoid a reoccurrence,” Henn said.
Henn said he welcomed athletes to bring “constructive feedback” to him so they could discuss the matter.
We don’t want breathalysers: Pikitub workers dance during their illegal “strike”. The workers do not like some of the changes proposed by management, including the use of breathalysers. Photo: Emelia Motsai.
Pikitup employees held an illegal “strike” outside their head office in Braamfontein this morning.
The workers, who are members of South African Municipal Workers Union (SAMWU) were picketing, singing and dancing causing “chaos” on the street while members of the Johannesburg Metro Police Department (JMPD) and Pikitup security tried to maintain order.
Head of Communication and Stakeholder Management as well as spokesperson of Pikitup Desiree Ntshingila told Wits Vuvuzela that the employees were “striking illegally” as they [Pikitup management] had obtained a Court interdict to stop the “strike” from moving forward.
“We received a notice last week where employees expressed their grievances,” Ntshingila said.
“Contrary to what the employer and the media are reporting, this is not a strike. The union is currently in discussion with workers and the employer to break the deadlock,” Sema said.
“Workers are not happy with Pikitup’s biometric clock-in system and the lack of consultation in its implementation; want their employer to provide travel arrangements, and are not happy that the management took away the half day off they were given once a month – as a result of overtime work.”
Ntshingila said: “It is operationally ineffective and not cost effective to pick up everyone from home. Also it is not safe for employees to drive drunk. Not for themselves or for the community.”
MD’s disappointment
The Managing Director, Amanda Nair was not at the scene but a statement was released later on the company website expressing her response and disappointment in staff embarking on an illegal strike.
“It is unfortunate that our employees have resorted to an unprotected strike in relation to their grievances. It is a completely unacceptable course of action as it goes against the Labour Relations Act. As Pikitup management, we will not tolerate such disregard for the law and will take swift legal action in dealing with all involved,” said Nair.
Legitimacy of complaints
“We don’t feel it’s necessary for them to strike as their issues don’t make sense. We’re trying to implement systems that are more efficient,” Ntshingila said.
In SAMWU’s statement Sema disagreed with Ntshingila by stating: “The workers demands are both reasonable and legitimate. Workers should have been consulted on all of the above issues. These are concerns which are affecting their day to day activities.”
End of “strike”
Ntshingila said at approximately 11am all strikers were dispersed and sent home by SAMWU representatives. “We are hoping that they will return to work tomorrow morning,” said Ntshingila.
Nair said the most workers should be back at work tomorrow however “Pikitup management is refusing to allow some workers back to their respective workplaces”.
Wits athletes who attended a national championships in Durban last week were accommodated at the Banana Backpackers – youth hostel situated in the same building as an escort and massage parlour.
THE CHERRY ON TOP: The athletes neighbours at the building they were placed in. Photo: Axel Kayoka
Sprinter Axel Kayoka said the toilets were dirty, the showers had a stench that would not go away and the cupboards were filled with property that did not belong to them. He said the only female who had gone on the trip with them was too afraid to stay in the single room booked for her so she resorted to staying in the dorm with the rest of the guys.
“We really did not expect a five star or four star accommodation but we did expect something decent, a place that was at least liveable,” said Sprinter David Okharedia.
“We had to put our towels on the beds so our bodies wouldn’t touch the sheets. They were so dirty,” said Kayoka.
Kayoka and Okharedia said that their manager Marcus Toerien was attending a wedding in Durban and did not travel or stay with them.
Okharedia said Toerien walked into the place and did not flinch when he saw it. He said he simply walked in and showed them where they would sleep.
“Even his wife looked shocked by the state of the place, but Marcus didn’t care,” Okharedia said.
Kayoka said every time they left the backpackers their coach would warn them to keep their phones in their pockets.
The manager’s response
When Wits Vuvuzela asked Toerien why he had attended a wedding instead of devoting the whole weekend to the championships he said that the wedding had been planned months prior and “just happened to” clash with the championships.
Toerien said that there was nothing he could have done when they arrived at the accommodation on Thursday evening.
“The accommodation was on a list provided to me by the hosts [USSA]. I went with the guidelines given to us and the budget we had,” Toerien said.
He added that having looked at the accommodation online he felt there was no need to question that it was suitable.
When Wits Vuvuzela told Toerien that athletes had said they would have felt better if he stayed with them and felt the area had been dangerous he responded: “What difference would it have made if I was there? Did anything happen to threaten them?”
Toerien said if the coach was aware that the area was dangerous then he should have advised them, of that beforehand.
Okharedia said some of the athletes had issues with their registration for certain events. “If Marcus was there he could have sorted it out but he had left.”
Toerien denied that he was not there and said he had made every effort to sort out the registration issues but was unsuccessful in doing so.
“I didn’t have the information for the events that they said they wanted to take part in. Their names were never on those lists. That was the information they gave to me and the information I then communicated with USSA,” said Toerien.
The previous manager was better
Okharedia said this was not the first time Toerien had “failed” them. He said there were several accounts where he needed to follow up with Toerien about events when it was Toerien’s responsibility to inform him.
“I do not understand why they fired the previous manager. She always went the extra mile for us,” Okharedia said,
Onkabetse Matlhaga, the former manager explained that she was not fired but that her employment contract had come to an end and not been renewed.
She said she could not comment on Toerien’s management style but felt he could have done all he could to ensure that the place the athletes were going to stay in would be safe.
“Even if they arrived there and realised the place was not suitable, he could have communicated with Marius to figure out an alternative solution,” Matlhaga said.
“Instructions from the top not to respond to Wits Vuvuzela”
Wits Vuvuzela contacted Marius Henn, acting head of the sports administration department. He responded by saying he had been given instructions “from the top” not to respond to Wits Vuvuzela as we “publish what we want anyway.”
He then asked the reporter to send him questions via e-mail, to which he had not responded by the time of publication.
A “WITS sex tape” made by two students has been a hot topic of debate this week, blowing up on twitter and radio.
The six-part, 30 minute sex tape begins with the male student positioning the camera. The woman, whose name is known to Wits Vuvuzela, then begins performing oral sex.
The woman from the sex tape refused to speak with Wits Vuvuzela, but it was confirmed by a close friend that the woman is still a Wits student and the couple have been dating for years.
A source close to the girl told Wits Vuvuzela on Sunday: “Well she and her boyfriend made the sex tape long ago and she didn’t know it was online.
She had been trying to get hold of her boyfriend [on Sunday] but he was not answering his phone.”
The source said she thought her friend was in denial about the tape going viral judging from her reaction when told about it.
“Oh well, at least I look hot,” she told her friends.
The sex tape was trending on twitter for more than 72 hours early in the week. Some students had mixed feelings about the sex tape, while most were just trying to get in on the most talked about topic on twitter. The tape was uploaded in six parts last November, on the Blacknudes mobile porn blog under the title “Wits girl love”. The blog has since been deleted.
Many tweets rolled in speculating whether or not the couple was aware that they were being filmed, but it is clear from the tape that they knew they were on camera.
The man positions the camera before the woman looks directly into the camera, saying: “So yeah, hey like we’re about to fuck.”
On Wednesday morning a man claiming to be in the tape was interviewed on the Yfm breakfast show hosted by Moeti Tsiki and Khutso Theledi.
During his anonymous interview with Yfm, the man claimed it had been filmed by his dad. However, many tweets flew in saying that the man being interviewed was a liar and that he was only trying to gain fame and publicity.
STUDENTS who have not been able to listen to campus radio station VoWFM from the comfort of their own homes may be able to do so very soon.
Currently, The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) is conducting trials at VoW to look into changing the current licence they have registered and to investigate solutions to a clash in frequency with Rippel FM in Pretoria.
“The licence we have currently is a low-power licence with a one-watt transmitter.
“What this means is that we can reach areas with a 3,75km radius from the station without interference [from buildings, mountains etc.] we would be able to reach 5-20km but this is impossible in Joburg,” said VoW station manager Michael Smurthwaite.
Smurthwaite said the problem with Rippel is that both stations share the same 90.5 FM frequency. He said the Rippel licence had a much larger transmission reach which resulted in some areas hearing Rippel when they should be receiving VoW.
“As part of our broadcaster mandate there are certain areas that we are supposed to reach, such as Junction in Parktown and Hillbrow as some of our students live there. We would also like to have students listen to us as they commute from their homes in Johannesburg,” Smurthwaite said.
ICASA conducted their first trial on Friday and VoW was heard from as far as Randburg.
“We have been dealing with ICASA for the past two years now with regards to this matter.
“During that time Tuks FM’s footprint was increased to reach Joburg which makes no sense because their university isn’t even here. Yet our matter remained unresolved. We put pressure on them to look into a solution,” said Smurthwaite.
Smurthwaite said if the clash with Rippel is not resolved then VoW may have to migrate to a different frequency.
He said they are already aware, however, that there are no frequencies available.
“I just want an increase in power so people can actually hear us,” Smurthwaite said.
A MEMBER of the Wits athletics club has complained about politics at the sports administration department and possible marginalisation of some sports.
Sprinter Axel Kayoka, 3rd year engineering, student complained that the athletics team was attending the University Sports SA National Track & Field Championship in Durban but support and communication from the Wits sports administration department had been poor.
The competition runs today and tomorrow.
Kayoka said the club committee had failed to organise something as “basic” as kits for the team to wear at the championship.
“Wits is not very good at sports but the least they could do is ensure that we look professional when we get to championships at a professional and national level. It’s about people [other teams] having respect for us when we are there,” Kayoka said.
Vice chair of the athletics committee, Charmy Twala, said the issue of sport kits had been communicated to athletes and Kayoka may have missed that communication.
“It was difficult. We had to communicate with sponsors about the kits and they said we would have to get them delivered from Durban. We decided it would make better sense to get the kits when we arrive in Durban seeing as they are already there,” Twala said.
Koyaka said that if a sport kit was difficult to organise, then the committee should still communicate better with athletes.
“If the structural things are sorted out I am sure that then we would be able to attract other students who were brilliant at sports at their high schools and are now here at Wits,” he said.
Kayoka said he felt the coaches selected by Wits were also not up to par. He said the coach his team had was “not serious” and the techniques he used were not of a standard that would make them competitive against universities such as the University of Johannesburg and Stellenbosch University.
“The coach has other athletes [who are not Wits students] at practice and focuses most of his energy on them. As a result I have opted to get training elsewhere in order to improve my performance,” Kayoka said.
Twala defended the athletics coach: “In my opinion the coach we have is good. He coaches athletes who are even part of the Olympics and he has good experience.”
Kayoka said amidst all these issues he was excited to compete at a national level as it means meeting people who are very well recognised in the athletics world.
“Seeing some of the names of the people who will be competing at the champs is really motivating and I will be very proud to be on the same field as them,” Kayoka said.
In episode six of We Should Be Writing season 7, the team unpacked the evolution of music as a form of expression and protest, through four decades in the South African context. The episode explores the journey of South African music and its consumers from the 80s, 90s, early 2000s and contemporary listeners. From the […]
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Doctors recommended switching off Mandela’s life support machines, according to certificate of urgency pic.twitter.com/XFZTytySeF
