Category: education

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Centurion residents taught how to avoid driveway hijackings by RICHARD BRUSSOW of the National Hijack Prevention Academy

Centurion residents were on Saturday taught about how to avoid becoming victims of hijackings in driveways.

This was during a workshop at Laerskool Louis Leipoldt in Lyttelton, where former police officer Richard Brussow spoke to them about prevention of crimes such as hijacking and robbery.

Brussow, who established the National Hijack Prevention Academy in 2001, said 68% of hijackings happened in driveways and could be avoided.

He has more than 15 years of experience in motor vehicle crime investigation, organized crime, motor vehicle theft, metro police crime prevention, and vehicle tracking.

Brussow educated his audience about tricks used by hijackers, their motivation, factors that lead to attacks and categories of hijacked vehicles.

Robbers liked using service stations as a base to prey on unsuspecting victims, he said. Once they had identified their victims they drove behind them until they arrived home.

Brussow advised motorists to always look at the car behind them to prevent the crime.

Those in attendance were also warned against inviting potential car buyers to their homes after they had advertised them online.

Rather, Brussow said, ask to meet them at a service station where there were CCTV cameras. He said sellers ought to carefully examine the buyers’ driving licenses to check if they were not fake.

They also needed to guard against receiving counterfeit cash from unscrupulous buyers.

Motorists must also be aware of a technique where criminals bumped into cars during rush hour with the intention to get them out of their vehicles, where they would be robbed. However, he said the technique was well known.

Robbers had slightly changed it by sending female drivers to bump into cars, hoping that drivers wouldn’t be scared to stop for inspecting the extent of the damage. “Just get a number plate and drive off,” warned Brussow.

-Pretoria News

This news release does not necessarily reflect the opinion of SA-news.

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Two more suspects arrested in connection with Mamelodi pre-school robbery

Gauteng police have arrested two more suspects in connection with the robbery of international students at a pre-school in Mamelodi East, Pretoria, earlier this month.

According to police spokesperson Brigadier Mathapelo Peters, one of the suspects was arrested in Limpopo on Friday while the other was caught in Mpumalanga on Saturday.

Eighteen students and two professors from the US, who were on an outreach visit at the Viva Foundation School in Mamelodi East, were attacked and robbed by five armed suspects two weeks ago.

Service Maimela, 30, was arrested a few days later at the Pienaarspoort informal settlement in Mamelodi East. He appeared in the Mamelodi Magistrate’s Court last Monday on charges of robbery, attempted murder and assault.

The matter was postponed to Monday, May 27 for further investigations, said Peters.

Peters said the police were still processing the dockets of the two additional suspects, adding that they were most likely to appear in court along with Maimela.

“Both suspects are due in court on Monday 27 May 2019, pending confirmation of the court,” she said.

The US tourists were robbed of their laptops, cellphones, cameras, passports, plane tickets, bags and US dollars.

“The intelligence-driven operation will continue as police are optimistic that it is only a matter of time until the remaining suspects are arrested,” Peters said.

*news24

This news release does not necessarily reflect the opinion of SA-news.

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Race divisions issue continues at Unisa

Race divisions issue continues at Unisa

THE two black women at Unisa who complained that the white professor was racist were actually the perpetrators of harassment, bullying, abuse of power and intimidation of junior staff members, said a group of academics at the institution.

The group of professionals of different races – including black – claimed the women had charges laid against them by junior staff members, but the university had been reluctant to deal with them because the alleged perpetrators were black.

Last week, the women told the media that the white professor, who the Pretoria News opted not to name, was racist and aggressive.

They alleged he made their lives miserable on campus.

One of the woman claimed she was harassed and suspended by the professor, but later won a case at the CCMA and was reinstated.

However, the academics now allege the woman did not win the case on substance, but rather due to a technical issue.

“It must be noted that the professor accused of racism had not played any part in initiating any disciplinary against the complainant. He inherited the case from the previous executive director when the directorate was moved

“The woman had already been suspended and thus the professor had nothing to do with this case whatsoever. Any insinuation that he did is a lie,” the academics said.

The group said it did not understand why the Black Forum and the EFF student command demanded the professor’s removal from the university on allegations of racism during protests at the main campus last Tuesday. They stated that they were confused because the two organisations had in fact engaged with people who claimed to have been badly treated by the two women.

Unisa has meanwhile invited the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) to intervene and help resolve racial conflicts at the institution. University spokesperson Martin Ramotshela said all these complaints formed part of submissions by stakeholders at the hearings.

“It is the university‘s view that the commission must be given space to listen to and interrogate all submissions.

“It must then make a determination after listening to all sides.

“We cannot pre-empt the outcome of this process,” he said.

The next session of the hearings has been scheduled for May 7, 8 and 9, and staff members have until April 18 to make submissions.