Africa

Woman bags 25 years imprisonment for hiring hitmen to kill her husband

Published

11 months ago

June 7, 2024

Kedibone Lonia Nyathi

Woman bags 25 years imprisonment for hiring hitmen to kill her husband

The High Court of South Africa; Limpopo Division in Polokwane, has sentenced a 47-year-old woman, Kedibone Lonia Nyathi, to 25 years imprisonment, after she pleaded guilty to killing her husband, Sandy Nyathi.

Nyathi was previously charged with three young men whom she had contracted to kill her husband.

National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) Regional Spokesperson, Limpopo Division, Mashudu Malabi Dzhangi, who disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday, June 5, 2024, said Nyathi, was charged with murder.

“The charge relates to an incident of 03 December 2022, in Enable village in the district of Mopani. The accused was previously charged alongside three young men who she had contracted to kill her husband,” the statement read.

The erstwhile co-accused persons: Remember Surprise Malepe (19), Ethen Raganya(18) and Poopo Ventry Mabela(18) entered into a plea and sentence agreement with the state and they were expected to testify against the accused.

The accused were sentenced as follows: Malepe to an effective 10 years, and Raganya and Mabela were sentenced to an effective 8 years each.

After their conviction and sentence, the trio became state witnesses and the case against Nyathi was separated.

In an about turn, the accused (Nyathi) who had earlier indicated that she intended to plead not guilty changed her tune and negotiated a plea and sentence agreement with the state.

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Her plea and sentence agreement revealed that she contracted the former co-accused to kill her husband for a fee of R15 000, she further asked her accomplices to stage a hi-jacking by barricading the road where she will pass together with the deceased.

The accused was driving her vehicle pretending that she was accompanying her husband to work, on the other hand informing her accomplices to prepare themselves for killing. Before she reached the workplace, she then stopped the car and asked the deceased to remove objects which were thrown into the road.

The deceased alighted from the vehicle, and that’s when the deceased was stabbed to death by the former accused persons and one of the former co-accused pretended to attack her(Nyathi).

In mitigation, the defence submitted that there are substantial and compelling circumstances present in this matter because the accused was a first offender, she had shown true remorse by pleading guilty, she has a minor child, and she is suffering from two chronic illnesses.

In aggravation of the sentence, the senior state Advocate Nkhetheni Munyai submitted that this offence was committed out of greed since the investigations revealed that she ( Nyathi ) had several insurance policy payments that she was entitled to in the event of the deceased death.

Advocate Munyai further said that the suitable sentence, in this case, should be 25 years imprisonment.

The acting judge Ngobeni found that the plea and sentence agreement was in the interests of justice and accordingly sentenced the accused to 25 years of direct imprisonment. The accused was also declared unfit to possess a firearm.

The NPA welcomed the sentence and the Director of Public Prosecutions, advocate Ivy Thenga commended both the State advocate Munyai and the investigation Officer, Detective Sergeant Sello Rony Maepa of Maake police station for building an insurmountable case against the accused which left her with no option but to plead guilty.

Woman bags 25 years imprisonment for hiring hitmen to kill her husband

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Africa

Over 120 inmates escape prison in Chad shoot-out

Published

6 days ago

April 21, 2025

Trends Admin

Over 120 inmates escape prison in Chad shoot-out

No fewer than 120 inmates escaped a Chad prison during a shoot-out that left three people dead and wounded a state governor visiting the facility, officials told AFP.

The breakout occurred late Friday when an uprising happened in the high-security penitentiary five kilometres (three miles) from the town of Mongo, in the centre of Chad.

“There are around 100 who escaped, three dead and three wounded,” Hassan Souleymane Adam, secretary general of the Guera province in which Mongo is located, said.

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A local Mongo official, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity, disclosed that prisoners broke into a manager’s office to steal guns.

“A shootout with guards ensued at the same time the governor arrived. He was wounded,” he said.

The Mongo official confirmed there were three killed and a total number of 132 prisoners escaped.

He disclosed that the prisoners revolted after complaining about a lack of food.

In a telephone chat with AFP, Chad’s Justice Minister Youssouf Tom stated that he was about to fly to the region and would be able to give “precise information once I am at Mongo in the coming hours.”

Over 120 inmates escape prison in Chad shoot-out

Africa

DR Congo boat fire kills 143 passengers

Published

1 week ago

April 19, 2025

Trends Admin

DR Congo boat fire kills 143 passengers

No fewer than 143 people died, and dozens more went missing after a boat carrying fuel caught fire and capsized in the Democratic Republic of Congo, officials said Friday.

Hundreds of passengers were jammed onto a wooden boat on the Congo River in northwest DRC on Tuesday when the wildfire broke out, according to Josephine-Pacifique Lokumu, head of a delegation of national MPs from the region.

The calamity struck near Mbandaka, the capital of Equateur Province, at the junction of the Ruki and the massive Congo River, the world’s deepest.

“A first group of 131 bodies was found on Wednesday, with a further 12 fished out on Thursday and Friday. Several of them are charred,” Lokumu told AFP.

According to Joseph Lokondo, a local civil society activist who helped bury the remains, the “provisional death toll is 145: some burnt, others drowned”.

According to Lokumu, the blaze was triggered by a fuel explosion sparked by an onboard cooking fire.

“A woman lit the embers for cooking. The fuel, which was not far away, exploded, killing many children and women,” she said.

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Videos circulating on social media showed flames leaping from a big boat stranded far from shore, smoke rising from the wreckage, and passengers on smaller vessels watching on.

The precise number of passengers on board the tragic vessel was unknown, but Lokumu estimated it to be in the “hundreds”.

Some people were rescued and admitted to the hospital, Lokondo added.

However, he said that “several families were still without news of their loved ones” on Friday.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), a huge Central African nation spanning 2.3 million square kilometres (900,000 square miles), suffers from a shortage of passable roads, and planes serve just a few cities and villages.

As a result, people frequently travel on lakes, the Congo River (Africa’s second longest river after the Nile), and its winding tributaries, where shipwrecks are common and mortality tolls are high.

The persistent lack of passenger lists frequently hinders search activities.

In October 2023, at least 47 people perished when a boat travelling the Congo sank in Equateur.

According to local authorities, a boat sank on Lake Kivu in eastern DR Congo in October of last year, killing more than 20 persons.

Another shipwreck on Lake Kivu killed approximately 100 lives in 2019.

DR Congo boat fire kills 143 passengers

Africa

Niger Republic adopts Hausa as national language

Published

2 weeks ago

April 9, 2025

Trends Admin

Niger’s military ruler Gen Abdourahamane Tchiani

Niger Republic adopts Hausa as national language

In a significant cultural shift, Niger’s military-led government has officially designated Hausa as the country’s national language, marking a break from the nation’s colonial legacy where French held prominence.

The announcement was made in a new national charter released on March 31, as published in a special edition of the government’s official journal.

According to the document, “The national language is Hausa,” and “the working languages are English and French.”

Hausa is already widely spoken across Niger, especially in the regions of Zinder, Maradi, and Tahoua. With an estimated population of 26 million, the majority of Nigeriens speak Hausa, while only about 13 percent—roughly three million people—are fluent in French.

Alongside Hausa, the charter also officially recognizes nine other indigenous languages, including Zarma-Songhay, Fula, Kanuri, Gourmanche, and Arabic, as “the spoken languages of Niger.”

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This language policy change follows a national consultative meeting held in February, during which the junta gained increased support. The assembly also approved a five-year extension for junta leader General Abdourahamane Tiani to remain in power.

Since the coup that ousted civilian president Mohamed Bazoum in July 2023, the military government has taken steps to sever ties with France. These include expelling French troops, cutting diplomatic relations, and renaming roads and public buildings previously named in French.

Niger’s move mirrors similar actions taken by fellow former French colonies Mali and Burkina Faso—both under military rule—as they too distance themselves from France and its institutions.

All three countries have also withdrawn from the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie, a body that promotes the French language and cultural ties among member nations.