Limpopo traditional healer rescued after days of being trapped in tree

A Limpopo traditional healer who went missing in the wilderness was found trapped in a tree.
Image: Gallo Images

A man who went into the wilderness on a quest to “speak to his ancestors”’ found himself trapped in a tree for five days, Limpopo police said.
He was finally freed by a search and rescue team on Friday on the Sambandou mountains at the Mphaphuli Nature Reserve outside Thohoyandou, said Brig Motlafela Mojapelo.
“Traditional healer Mpfunzeni Solomon Ramashia, aged 53, was reported missing at the Thohoyandou police station on Monday, December 2. This after he and his friend Moris Sambo, aged 47, had on Sunday gone to the nature reserve to look for traditional herbs. The two became separated after the victim allegedly told his friend that he wanted to speak to his ancestors alone,” said Mojapelo.
Sambo returned home but became concerned when Ramashia did not.
On Wednesday, the police's search and rescue unit, the K9 unit, public order police, air wing unit, paramedics and Sambo conducted a search of the area where the missing man was last seen.
“On Thursday, Ramashia's faint screams were then heard down the mountain,” said Mojapelo.
It seemed he had fallen from the mountain into a tree.
A police helicopter was brought in but the rescue operations were disrupted by bad weather in the area.
On Friday, rescue workers finally reached him. Mojapelo said. Ramashia was extremely exhausted when he was found.
“[He] ... apparently fell and was trapped in tree branches. He was then taken to hospital where he is recuperating,” Mojapelo added.

Upington dad drowns himself and his two daughters

Father and two daughters drown after plunging into a canal in Upington.
Image: File

A man from Upington is alleged to have drowned himself and his daughters in a canal during the week, said Northern Cape police.
The children were four and eight years old.
Brig Mohale Ramatseba said the children’s bodies had been recovered on Thursday while the man’s body was discovered on Friday.
“Preliminary investigations indicate that the man had an argument with his partner before throwing himself and the children into the canal,” said Ramatseba.
Police investigations continue.

Rural school's pupils go through the year without exams

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The future of Nongwane Primary School's pupils in Eastern Cape is unclear after they missed out on writing final examinations, just as they did not write the June midyear examinations.

Parents of pupils in grades 5, 6 and 7  expressed their concerns alleging that in June pupils were given reports which showed that they had done well even though they did not write their exams. The school is situated at Nonaliti location in Debe Nek, near Middeldrift.
Phelisa Msuzane, 38, a mother to a grade 7 pupil, said the last time their children were properly taught was in May.

Eastern Cape education spokesperson Mali Mtima said they are aware of the problem at Nongwane Primary.

“The school had shortage of teachers and we provided them with a retired teacher and an education development officcer. However the principal  has not been at school for 61 days but as the department we have made arrangement for pupils to write and we are helping them with revision to cover for the lost curriculum,” Mtima said.

"It is very sad to see the future of these kids going down the drain. The principal does not even bother to come to school.  We last saw him when the children were supposed to start writing their exams but he did not say much even then,"Msuzane said.

"We are jut left in the dark and we don’t know what is going on.”
Noxolo Nombewu, 34, who attended the same school, said in her day the school was doing well.
“Things changed with the arrival of the [current] principal at the beginning of this year. They last wrote class tests in May and after that nothing happened. I was shocked when my child came with his June report even though they did not write. The report showed that he did extremely well in all his subjects,” Nombewu said.

Mzikayise Mhlozana, 57, said it pained them as parents to see their children sitting at home doing nothing.

“I can show you my child’s books; they are just clean. These children are hungry for education but a teacher decided to take that away from them. Our children will not progress to the next level. Their right to education has been taken away from them by an ignorant teacher,” Mhlozana said.

Mhlozana said the parents decided that the children should stay at home for their safety.
“They were not writing and we did not want them to end up fighting and hurting each other because they did not have a teacher to guide them. We are also worried that they will have to go to the nearest village because we only have one primary school in our village,” he said.
Mtima said the department is also investigating allegations that the pupils did not write their June exams.

Society needs to change, says minister raped on church premises

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A case of rape has been opened for investigation, Eastern Cape police have confirmed.
Image: phartisan/123RF

A Methodist minister is undergoing counselling after she was raped in a church residence in Qunu, Eastern Cape, this month.
The church said in a statement: "According to the report we received, on the night of Saturday 16 November, an unidentified man broke into her manse and raped her.

“We are disappointed and dismayed that this ghastly and violent act took place in a place that is meant to be a safe haven for ministers and their families."
Eastern Cape police spokesperson Capt Dineo Koena said the minister was asleep when she felt a person on top her. The man allegedly raped the 45-year-old woman before fleeing the scene.
A rape case has been opened. No arrest has been made.
The minister has been placed on leave and is receiving counselling.

On Tuesday she spoke to the Sowetan's sister publication Daily Dispatch. She said she woke up to find a man in her bedroom, after he had broken in through a window.
“I begged him not to rape me, but he just said I must let him do what he wanted. I even offered him my car,” she said.

“It’s traumatising and my prayer is for this to never happen to anyone. Police, government, churches and other stakeholders must fight this scourge and women must support one another.

"Our societies need to change. Men must stop seeing women as sex objects. They need to be taught that women are not toys and we are all equal before God,” she said.
The church said it was looking into ways to increase security at its premises.

“We pray that the perpetrator will be apprehended soon to facilitate the minister’s healing and that of the community of Qunu,” it added.

Pitso Mosimane mocks Chiefs again

In his usual satirical demeanor, Mamelodi Sundowns coach Pitso Mosimane has fired a warning to fellow league challengers, presumably current log-leaders Kaizer Chiefs, that the Brazilians will finish stronger.

Since Chiefs found their current good form, it has become somewhat of a norm for Mosimane to take digs at Amakhosi, who sit cosily at the summit of the log with 28 points, 10 ahead of his second-placed Downs after 11 outings.

In the wake of their 2-1 Telkom Knockout semifinal win over Golden Arrows at Sugar Ray Xulu Stadium on Saturday, the Brazilians coach implied Chiefs could still be elbowed out of the log summit.

“Yes you can start very well and look very good, look promising, to say ‘this year…this is the year’ okay? We talk in May [when the campaign concluded], let’s talk in May, let’s not talk now or in February, March…let’s talk in May,’’ said the Mosimane.

Prior to dispatching Arrows, Downs had gone three games without a win with two draws (with their 4-3 penalty shootout win over Chippa United in the TKO quarterfinal earlier this month counted as a draw) and a defeat in all competitions.

“You can never become a bad team over night; I mean really! How many times should we prove that we’re at this level? Just that we were not winning in the last three games and it makes a lot of noise…you know what I am trying to say,’’ said Mosimane.

“So, at this point in time who’s got the league title? It’s us, no one else, we have the league title it’s in Chloorkop, no one has a trophy and we are defending it remember? So all these other noises it’s okay, it’s a good noise.’’

He emphasised: “Where’s the trophy, it’s in Chloorkop the other way is in SuperSport [the MTN8 they won last month], they are all in Tshwane, those are the two last trophies they are in Tshwane…there’s noise there’s this okay, it’s how you end [that’s important].’’

Sundowns through to the TKO final

A repeat of the 2015 Telkom Knockout final between Mamelodi Sundowns and Kaizer Chiefs is  very much on the cards after a 10-man Brazilians disposed  of Lamontville Golden Arrows 2-1 in Saturday’s semifinal Sugar Ray Xulu Stadium in Durban.

This year’s final will be played at Durban’s Moses Mabhida Stadium, the same venue where
Sundowns beat Chiefs 3-1 in the 2015 final.

Amakhosi must, however, beat Maritzburg United at Mbombela Stadium in Mpumalanga in the second semifinal on Sunday to join the Brazilians in what seemed likely to be another sold-out affair.

Pitso Mosimane’s Sundowns took a 2-0 lead to the break after Arrows’ defenders failed to close down Sundowns skipper Hlompho Kekana and talisman Gaston Sirino, who scored in the 11th and 35th minutes respectively after being given ample of space inside the area.
Kekana headed in Lyle Lakay’s free-kick before Sirino fired in his fifth goal in this competition after benefitting from a miscued strike by Kekana.

Pint-sized Uruguayan Sirino, however, did not finish the match after referee Victor Gomes showed him red for a reckless challenge on Arrows captain Matome Mathiane seven minutes from time.

Arrows were simply outplayed in the first 45 minutes, showing no signs of being capable  of repeating what they  did to Sundowns in a 3-2 league win two weeks ago. That was  before Nduduzo Sibiya gave Steve Komphela’s men  some hope in the 80th minute, tapping in Knox Mutizwa’s cross at the far post.

For  Mosimane, meeting Chiefs in the final will be a mouth-watering prospect. Sundowns’ coach is eager to erase the memory of the 2-0 league defeat they suffered at home against Amakhosi in October.
Pressing Sundowns to win this cup is the fact that while they have won four league titles under Mosimane in the last six seasons, the Brazilians have only won two domestic cup competitions   during the same period.

Safa say NO to Caf's attempt to parachute in SA as emergency hosts of event

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Acting Safa CEO Gay Mokoena says South Africa will not accept the pleas of CAF as they instead focus resources and funds on their bid to stage the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Image: Manus van Dyk / Gallo Images

The South African Football Association (Safa) will not come to the aid of the Confederation of African Football (CAF)‚ who are desperately seeking a new host for the 2020 Africa Women’s Cup of Nations.

The CAF executive meet on Thursday to discuss a range of issues‚ and one of the items on the agenda‚ as seen by SowetanLIVE‚ is to probe the “willingness” of South Africa to parachute in as emergency hosts of the women’s championship.

This after the original staging of the tournament was due to be in Congo‚ before that country withdrew from hosting in July.
But acting Safa CEO Gay Mokoena says the country will not accept the pleas of CAF as they instead focus resources and funds on their bid to stage the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
“We are not going to express an interest on this. We are instead trying to focus our efforts on the 2023 FIFA World Cup‚” Mokoena told SowetanLIVE.

“I will write to CAF to advise them that we will not express any interest to host this tournament.”
South Africa are one of seven bids to stage the global showpiece‚ which was a massive success in France this year as interest in women’s football is at an all-time high.

Argentina‚ Australia (possibly jointly with New Zealand)‚ Brazil‚ Colombia‚ Japan and South Korea (possibly with North Korea) are the other bids on the table‚ with the deadline to complete the registration December 13 this year.

Safa do not want to side-track the South African government from the 2023 process by now going to them for financial guarantees for the continental finals in 2020.
The host for the next World Cup is due to be announced by FIFA in May next year.
Standing in South Africa’s favour is the fact that the Women’s World Cup has never been staged on

African soil and FIFA have made a massive push to uplift the game on the continent.
All infrastructure is also already in place with the stadia and facilities from the 2010 men’s World Cup there to be used.

One Safa insider did tell SowetanLIVE though that if South Africa do not get the right to host the 2023 World Cup‚ they could move to host the 2022 Africa Women’s Cup of Nations.
That is because the tournament will serve as the qualifier for the 2023 World Cup and playing it on home soil could give Banyana Banyana a significant edge.

9 Ways Men can Appear more Attractive to Women

1. Look for the universal signals of flirtation. 

Rutgers University anthropologist and best-selling author Helen E. Fisher says that from the depth of the Amazons to the cafés of Paris, women signal interest with a remarkably similar sequence of expressions.

As she shared at Psychology Today, it goes like this:

First the woman smiles at her admirer and lifts her eyebrows in a swift, jerky motion as she opens her eyes wide to gaze at him. Then she drops her eyelids, tilts her head down and to the side, and looks away. Frequently she also covers her face with her hands, giggling nervously as she retreats behind her palms. 

This sequential flirting gesture is so distinctive that [German ethologist Irenaus] Eibl-Eibesfeldt was convinced it is innate, a human female courtship ploy that evolved eons ago to signal sexual interest.

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2. Look for someone 'in your league.'

Men — and women — are attracted to people who are as attractive as they are.

"If you go for someone roughly equally to you in attractiveness, it avoids two things," Nottingham Trent University psychologist Dr. Mark Sergeant tells The Telegraph.

"If they are much better-looking than you, you are worried about them going off and having affairs," he says. "If they are much less attractive, you are worried that you could do better."

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3. Present yourself as high status. 

In 1969, University of North Carolina sociologist Glen Elder found that looks and wealth tend to find one another — namely, good-looking women tended to settle down with less attractive but wealthier men. 

Since then, it's become a well-confirmed finding in the social sciences.

Most recently, a 2010 study found that men pictured with a Silver Bentley Continental GT were way more attractive than those pictures with a Red Ford Fiesta ST, and a 2014 study found that men pictured in luxury apartment were more attractive than those in a control group. 

Why the attraction to resources? Evolutionary psychologists say it's because women want a mate who can provide for them.

4. Look older.

As a 2010 study of 3,770 people showed, women often prefer older men. As they become more financially independent, they like older guys even more. 

"We think this suggests greater financial independence gives women more confidence in partner choices, and attracts them to powerful, attractive older men," lead author and University of Dundee psychologist Fhionna Moore said in a statement. 

Evolutionary psychologists say that younger women and older men often pair up because while fertility only lasts from puberty to menopause in women, it starts at puberty and can extend long into midlife for many men — and they have a greater opportunity to accumulate status and resources.

5. Grow a light beard.

While some claim that the beard trend is over, the research says it's not. 

According to a 2013 Australian study, the most attractive beard length is "heavy stubble," which comes after about 10 days of growth.

"Facial hair correlates not only with maturity and masculinity, but also with dominance and aggression," write authors Barnaby J. Dixson and Robert C. Brooks.

"An intermediate level of beardedness is most attractive," they added.

It only takes a bit of maintenance to keep that 10-day beard all the time. 

6. Build muscle (but not too much).

A 2007 University of California at Los Angeles study found that women are more likely to have short-term relationships with guys who have big muscles. 

The evolutionary signal at work here? 

Sexual characteristics like muscularity are "cues of genes that increase offspring viability or reproductive success," say authors David A. Frederick and Martie G. Haselton. 

But Frederick and Haselton took away another telling finding: Less-muscular men were thought to be a better fit for long-term relationships. 

7. Be kind.

One of the most robust findings in psychology is the halo effect, a bias where you unconsciously take one aspect of somebody as a proxy for their overall character. It's why we think beautiful people are good at their jobs, even when they aren't.

But as Scott Barry Kaufman at Greater Good notes, the halo effect works in other ways too. 

A 2014 Chinese study found that people who had positive personality traits — like kindness and honesty — were rated as more attractive than those with negative personality traits, like being evil or mean. 

"Even though beauty is an assessment of fitness value, there is no reason why assessment of fitness needs to be purely physical," Kaufman writes, meaning that being kind makes you look like you'd be a stable, worthwhile mate.

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8. Talk about your emotions.

Contrary to the 1950s ideal of the aloof breadwinner, women are into men who can talk about their feelings. 

"When men are vulnerable women find them more desirable both emotionally and sexually," says psychologist and life coach Lisa Kaplin.

"Being vulnerable will not hurt men's masculinity: just the opposite," she continues. "Emotionally well-rounded men are more desirable to more women and are ultimately likely to be emotionally stable and better long-term partners than men who are closed up and unwilling to share intimate parts of their lives."

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9. Wear red.

A 2010 cross-cultural study — with participants from China, England, Germany, and the US — found that women are most attracted to men wearing red. 

It's been a symbol of status since at least the Roman times, when the most powerful men were called coccinati, the ones who wear red. Red works for women, too.

20 Things you should be doing for your wife every day

Make your wife’s day, every day, with these simple acts that will remind her of your love for her.

1. Tell her you love her

You must tell her you love her more than once per day, including when you leave and when you come home. Because texting is so popular, you can even text her; although telling her face-to-face is the most important and intimate.

2. Show her you love her

Of all the things you need to do every single day, this is perhaps the most vital. You can tell her all you want, but showing her is the sauna of everyday living. Showing, not telling, is the writer’s mantra, and should be a husband’s. Thousands of ways exist on how to show your wife you love her. Be creative – Every. Single. Day.

3. Pick up after yourself

Nothing is less sexy than heaps of clothes, shoes, socks, candy wrappers, etc. lying everywhere. Surely you can spend the few minutes to put away your shoes, place your socks in the dirty clothes or even hang up your pants. It’s just plain laziness to flop stuff on the floor or pile a zillion T-shirts on the chair next to your bed.

4. Clean around your sink

Yuck! One of the most unsanitary places in America today, aside from your computer keyboard, is your sink. Clean it every day and reach over and clean your spouse’s. She will be pleasantly surprised and grateful.

5. Iron your own clothes

Try doing the ironing yourself. You would be surprised how relaxing – even therapeutic – it really is.

6. Write her a note

This could be the simplest one you do. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy; just a note to let her know she is beautiful, or to have a good day. Put it in her pocket or out somewhere she can see it. Try a sticky note on the mirror in the bathroom.

7. Make the bed

Or at least help make the bed. It’s always easier when two make the bed, and it takes just a few moments of your time. There is a certain something refreshing about a made bed.

8. Don’t complain

Surely, you can refrain from complaining once per day – make it twice tomorrow. Complaining is a sign of pessimism.

9. Read to her

You may not be a reader, but reading something to her every day is sweet and intimate. It could be one of the comics from the daily paper, a Bible verse or two, or an incredible passage from the novel you are reading.

10. Brush your teeth

Freshness is a key to happiness.

11. Don’t ask about what needs to be done

Having to ask shows you are non-observant. She probably has hinted and maybe even come right out and said, “Dear, would you do this?” Be observant; look around; listen to her.

12. Put the dishes in the dishwasher

There is no reason to leave them in the sink or on the table. If it’s full, empty it.

13. Pull in the garage straight

Garage space is sacred space; so, make sure you pull in straight and on your own side. Encroaching on her spot is not cool. If her car is outside, go ahead and put hers away, too. It’s one of those showing-you-love-her things.

14. Take care of the garbage

It’s always your turn to take out the garbage – no questions asked.

15. Lock the doors and turn out the lights

At night, walk around the house, lock the doors and turn out the lights. Your spouse will feel safe and protected by you completing this task.

16. Hug her

Hugs in the morning. Hugs when you come home. Hugs when you go to bed. And make sure they aren’t just a mere squeeze. Give her bear hugs.

17. Compliment her

Remind her how much you love that smile you fell in love with. There are lots of things you love about her, so remind her of them often.

18. Help with the dishes without being asked

Along with putting dishes into the dishwasher, help with dishes during cooking and after meals.

19. Make one of the meals

This may mean you have to learn how to cook something. But your efforts will be much appreciated when you have a delicious meal prepared for her.

20. Have an incredible conversation each day

In today’s society, with so much technology, long work days, etc., we seldom have time for conversation. Your marriage will be strengthened if you take the time to actually talk to your wife every day.

Memorize this list, add to it and always remember two important words: “Yes, Dear.”

9 powerful Sentences that Can Change Your Life

1. “Go where you’re celebrated, not where you’re tolerated.”

2.“The person that you will spend the most time with in your life is yourself, so you better try to make yourself as interesting as possible.”

3. “If you accept your limitations you go beyond them.”

4.“Everyone you meet is afraid of something, loves something, and has lost something”

5.“Comfort is the enemy of achievement.”

6.“The most dangerous risk of all – The risk of spending your life not doing what you want on the bet you can buy yourself the freedom to do it later”

7.“You learn more from failure than from success; don’t let it stop you. Failure builds character.”

8.“Climb mountains not so the world can see you, but so you can see the world.”

9.“People aren’t against you; they are for themselves.”