Mon séjour en Afrique du Sud (Cape Town)

An SA National Defence Force soldier has been found dead outside his living quarters in Kpandruma in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Defence Department said yesterday. Rifleman Jameson Masia (30), of Middelburg in Mpumalanga, was part of the SA Task Force deployed in the volatile eastern DRC in support of the UN peacekeeping operation. There were no signs of injury and the cause of his death was unknown. – Sapa

The Nelson Mandela Foundation has threatened legal action against those illegally exploiting the former president’s name and image. “We reiterate Mr Mandela’s own words – his image and name are not for sale,” foundation CEO Achmat Dangor said yesterday. “We have recently noted a disturbing trend where Mr Mandela’s name and image are being used, without authorisation, to sell products and services.” Purveyors of those unauthorised goods and services were “law-breakers, profiting from the image of a valuable national asset, albeit a human one”. – Sapa

Five armed men, posing as Telkom employees, have robbed a Rosebank, Johannesburg, house of R2 000 and a vehicle. Gauteng police said yesterday the gang, carrying shovels, brandished firearms at the owner of the house before tying him up with electrical cables. No shots were fired. – Sapa

Two men were in a critical condition after being shot in a scrapyard near the Malvern police station in eastern Johannesburg yesterday. ER24 spokesperson Werner Vermaak said that according to one of the men, someone came into the scrapyard and opened fire on them. The wounded men were in “such a state” they did not know if there was more than one shooter or if the person was a man or woman. – Sapa

A 29-year-old man was shot dead when he tried to tackle an armed robber at his Kagiso home on the West Rand. He had parked his bakkie in his yard on Tuesday night when he was attacked by four armed men. The man handed over the bakkie keys and one of the robbers went into the house. He was taking a TV set when the owner’s brother woke up. A struggle ensued between the two, with the brother being overpowered. The attacker then called to his accomplice to shoot the man. The gang fled in the bakkie, taking the owner of the house with them. He was later found unharmed in Snake Park.