KZN News: Rapist sentenced to life in prison

Sihle Mavuso presents the latest news from KwaZulu-Natal.

Mtuba – A 42-year-old man who began a rape spree in Mtubatuba, in the north of the province, in July 2012 has been sentenced to life imprisonment. Bhekithemba Fanozi Nxumalo was sentenced to 12 life sentences and an additional 75 years in prison by the High Court in Mtubatuba. Nxumalo’s rape spree began in the Mdungandlovu area, where he broke into a house and raped an elderly woman and her two granddaughters. From there, he dragged local women who were travelling alone to sugar cane fields and raped them there.

Pietermaritzburg – The provincial government says eThekwini was the biggest victim of the tornado that hit several areas last Monday. After visiting the affected areas in Tongaat, Zululand and Umzinyathi, the provincial government puts the damage at R1.3 billion, and Tongaat in eThekwini alone suffered damage of R480 million. In total, 7 000 homes and 20 schools were damaged, and 12 people lost their lives.

Durban – A study by scientists from the University of KwaZulu-Natal, which will be published in a future issue of the Women’s health The journal has found a clear link between heat stress experienced by women in the month before conception and eventual miscarriage in sub-Saharan Africa. The scientists believe that climate change, which leads to higher temperatures, is likely to worsen existing problems for mothers in the region, leading to more miscarriages. The study examined the link between maternal heat stress and miscarriages (pregnancy ending before 20 weeks’ gestation) in a rural community in KZN’s uMkhanyakude district between 2012 and 2016.

Pietermaritzburg – According to the Comrades Marathon Association, 17,313 of the 18,884 athletes who started the marathon in Durban on Sunday morning reached the finish in Pietermaritzburg before the time limit expired. This means the finish rate was 91.68%, one of the highest in ultramarathon history. The organisation added that 555 of the runners who made it to the finish received medical attention at the finish medical facility at the Scottsville Racecourse in Pietermaritzburg.

Pongo – KZN is expected to have a new water catchment authority (WCA) by Friday. The Pongola-Umzimkhulu WCA is one of the four to be unveiled by Water and Sanitation Minister Senzo Mchunu at the Water Institute of South Africa conference in Durban. Water catchment authorities are established under the provisions of the National Water Act and the National Water Policy for South Africa. The aim is to strengthen decentralised decision-making in the management of water resources in an integrated manner at the local level. The WCAs are responsible for the protection, use, development, conservation, management and control of all water resources within a given water management area.

Pictured above: Mtubatuba town centre.

Source: Flickr