South African mother who allowed gangsters to rape and torture her 2-year-old daughter is sentenced to only 5 years imprisonment

The woman who found the abused child in drug den pictured carrying her

There was shock and disbelief in court when a South African mother who was found guilty of allowing gangsters to rape and torture her two-year-old daughter, nicknamed Baby Nadia, was sentenced to only five years in prison.


The 27-year-old mother, who cannot be named to protect her child’s identity, alongside her friend, Ursula Paste, 32, were sentenced at the Parow Regional Court, Cape Town on Tuesday, July 20.



Baby Nadia’s mother was sentenced to five years for child abuse and another five years for child neglect, however the sentences will run concurrently.



The Magistrate sentenced Paste to five years in prison, adding she could be released in just 10 months for good behaviour.

After being on trial for over two years, both were found guilty after the child was rescued from a drug den in 2019. They were charged with rape, attempted murder, child abuse and assault but were only found guilty of child abuse while the mother faced an additional charge of child neglect. This was due to no evidence linking them directly to the injuries on the child.



The discovery by Debbie van Rensburg, 56, and her son Cisco, 27, sparked an uproar when it was revealed that the little girl had been raped, her genitals burnt, her tiny body bitten and her hair cut.



None of the men who abused the child had been arrested as the two women have refused to name them.



Meanwhile, on Monday, Nadia’s mother stunned the court when she begged to pay a fine instead of doing jail time.

She cried in the dock as she told the magistrate that she didn’t want to go to prison but was prepared to pay a fine of up to R10 000 for her crime. She told the court that while in prison, she stopped using tik and was done with drugs.



“There are drugs there (in prison) but I told myself that it is not for me. My family will pay R5 000 or R10 000 if I am given a fine. I feel hurt that someone wants to adopt my daughter while I am here.” she said.



This Is coming after Debbie asked social workers if she could adopt and raise Baby Nadia, who is currently being kept in a children’s home.

On her part, Ursula Paste asked the court to “maak klaar” (finish) with the case, and said she could pay a R5000 fine.



The mother of five sobbed in the dock, saying her children were suffering. I want to pay a fine of R5 000 if I cannot serve a sentence outside of prison,” said Paste.



“I want the court to maak klaar with me because I am tired of this case and being strong for my family that worries about me. I have been in prison for two years and five months and I am tired. My eldest son has started drinking and smoking dagga while I am here. I agreed that I was neglectful but I didn’t see the child getting abused, and only gave that child a place to sleep.” she added.



The defence lawyer said both accused had shown remorse for their actions and asked the court to consider fining them R5 000 or sentencing them to a maximum of five years in jail.

However, the state prosecutor called for a minimum of 10 years behind bars, saying the toddler had suffered.



Reacting to the sentence, an emotional Debbie burst into tears and stormed out of the courtroom saying the justice system had failed Baby Nadia.



“I just started crying and walked out. How can the Magistrate fail a child like this?” she asked.



“I am still traumatised by what I saw and that child will never be the same again. How can he say Ursula must get parole after 10 months? That is mos nothing. Ek is baie hartseer, I can’t believe it.”



Debbie said after two years of attending court, she had hoped for a harsher sentence.

“I have been going to court for more than two years on my own with nobody supporting me and so many times I had to borrow money just for taxi fare to get there but I went because I was fighting for justice for this little child. Now the Magistrate says they got five years because they are mothers and first-time offenders but who lets that happen to a child? They are monsters, not mothers,” she said.

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Comedienne helen Paul opens up on divorce, scandals and losing her pregnancy.

Helen Paul, who is now a lecturer in the United States of America has said that divorce and other scandals were part of what a particular celebrity management personnel asked her to entangle herself into, to be able to get followers on Instagram.

The happily married mother of three said this in a recent Instagram live session.

Read her words below

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“I once told someone that I really loved his work and that I would like to work with him. I had seen him manage two female artistes successfully.

However, his response was, “Helen, if I am going to work with you, you may not like my pattern. We may have to create one or two scandals for you so that the crowd can ‘follow’ you’. I then asked him what type of scandals he meant. He told me to check up on people that had about 10 million followers (on social media). He also stated that the scandal could be a divorce or any other controversial issue. He said that when I did that, I would get (more) followers. Healso stated that after some time, I should begin doing charitable acts that would cover up any unpleasant thing I had done. He felt that the most important thing was to have many followers. There is a lot of manipulation out there and some times, one cold be tempted to consider doing those things. Sometimes, I am tempted to post (on social media) some of the materials possessions I have acquired. But, I am blessed to have people that call me to order. So, I am not able to show off, and that could be painful too.”

The actress also revealed that she once lost a two-month pregnancy while on a motorcycle. She said, “I am comfortable working with guys, I have a problem working with ladies. I had more than five commercial motorcycle riders on standby. In case there was traffic, they would pick me up from any location. One day, I was going for a show and I was two months pregnant. I was with a friend named Frank and it was on that bike I lost my pregnancy. I told Frank that something was wrong with my stomach and that I was stained with blood. He checked my clothes and said I was stained with the blood of my menstrual cycle. I told him then that I had lost my pregnancy. At my instruction, I was taken to a hospital in Ikeja, Lagos State. The hospital cleaned me up but sadly, I could not attend the show I was rushing to.”

“I wished Sunday Igboho was Nigeria’s problem so that a night raid could solve it says (SAN) Jiiti Ogunye.

Yoruba Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Jiti Ogunye, said a shocking thing concerning Sunday Igboho.

It was said that he stated this in a Facebook post on Friday, a day after operatives of the department of State Services (DSS) launched an attack on Igboho’s Ibadan, Oyo State residence.

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Read his statement below

“I wished Sunday Igboho was Nigeria’s problem so that a night raid could solve it.

In the Thursday attack, two persons were confirmed killed while cars and other properties were damaged.

The attack occurred barely 72 hours to a Yoruba Nation rally Igboho planned for Lagos.

However, his media aide, Olayomi Koiki, said that the rally would hold.

In apparent reaction to the attack, Ogunye wrote, “I wished he was Nigeria’s problem, so that a night raid could solve it.

But Nigeria’s problem is failure to offer majority of her peoples socio-economic and political progress, function truly as a secure, federal, human rights-observing democratic state, and treat all her peoples and nations equally; justly.”

A Boeing 737 cargo plane makes emergency landing in the water near Honolulu after pilots reported engine trouble

The pilots early Friday morning told air traffic controllers one of their engines had failed moments before the flight went down, the FAA said in a statement.

“The pilots had reported engine trouble and were attempting to return to Honolulu when they were forced to land the aircraft in the water,” the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement, adding both crew members were rescued. “The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board will investigate.”

The plane, a Boeing 737, had taken off from Honolulu’s Daniel K. Inouye International Airport at 1:33 a.m., according to Flightradar 24. The flight-tracking website shows that shortly after it took off, the plane — referred to by the FAA’s statement as Transair flight 810 — began turning right and then signaled it was diverting to a nearby airport, Kalaeloa Airport. 

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One survivor who was seen on the tail of the aircraft was carried out of the water by the rescue helicopter and airlifted to a Honolulu hospital, while the other was rescued by officials from the Airport Rescue Fire Fighters based at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport.

The pilots reported they could not maintain airspeed and altitude following the failure of one of two engines on the Boeing 737-200, according to the recordings, and that they suspected the second engine would also fail.

“We’ve lost number one engine and we’re coming straight to the airport,” a crew member said, requesting that air traffic controllers begin dispatching the airport fire department. “We’re going to lose the other engine, too. It’s running very hot.”

The plane went down approximately two nautical miles south of Kalaeloa, Petty Officer 3rd Class Matthew West of the US Coast Guard District 14 Hawaii Pacific said.

Both crew members were brought to Queens Medical Center, West said, though he did not have information about their conditions.

“The weather on scene at the time of the rescue was winds of 17 mph and seas up to 5 feet,” the spokesman said in a subsequent news release.

According to the company website, Transair uses their Boeing 737 fleet to provide air cargo and charter services throughout Hawaii. The company has been in business since 1982.

“We are working with the Coast Guard, the FAA and NTSB to secure the scene and investigate the cause,” Riahi said. “Our most immediate concern is the care and recovery of our colleagues.”

FAA records show the plane was manufactured in 1975. It’s last airworthiness certificate was issued in 2015 and was set to expire in 2024.

A Boeing spokesperson said the company was “aware of the reports out of Honolulu, Hawaii and are closely monitoring the situation.”

“We are in contact with the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board and are working to gather more information.”

The NTSB initially said they will be sending a team of seven investigators to look into the incident, but the agency later said it would send ten.

it responded to a report of a downed plane south of the island of Oahu at around 1:40 a.m. and that both people on board were rescued, with help from the Honolulu Fire Department.

Transair, a Hawaiian cargo carrier, which specializes in flying freight between the islands, didn’t immediately return a request for comment. The airline has been operating since 1982, according to its website.

We are proud of our unblemished record in providing the longest running All Cargo operation in the State of Hawaii,” says a message on Transair’s website.

The plane was a 737-200, part of the first generation of 737s developed in the 1960s.

US spinster Sha’Carri Richardson Suspended for one month after positive test for marijuana.

US track and field star Sha’Carri Richardson has been suspended for one month from the Olympic team after testing positive for THC, a chemical found in marijuana, the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) announced on Friday

“The rules are clear, but this is heartbreaking on many levels; hopefully, her acceptance of responsibility and apology will be an important example to us all that we can successfully overcome our regrettable decisions, despite the costly consequences of this one to her,” said USADA CEO Travis T. Tygart in a press release.

Richardson had booked her spot at the Tokyo Olympics with a runaway victory in the women’s 100m at the US Olympic track and field trials in Eugene, Oregon last month. Due to the positive test, her Olympic trials results were automatically disqualified and she will not be allowed to participate in her signature 100m race at the Tokyo Olympics later this month.

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Travis T. Tygart Statement reads:

“Richardson’s competitive results obtained on June 19, 2021, including her Olympic qualifying results at the Team Trials, have been disqualified, and she forfeits any medals, points, and prizes. Beyond the one-month sanction, athlete eligibility for the Tokyo Games is determined by the USOPC and/or USA Track & Field eligibility rules.”

“Sha’Carri Richardson’s situation is incredibly unfortunate and devastating for everyone involved,” USA Track and Field said in a statement. “Athlete health and well-being continue to be one of USATF’s most critical priorities and we will work with Sha’Carri to ensure she has ample resources to overcome any mental health challenges now and in the future.” 

It’s unclear whether Richardson will miss the Games altogether. She may still be eligible to compete in another event besides the 100m, such as the 4x100m relay.

Richardson appeared on NBC’s TODAY show on Friday morning and said: “I just want to take responsibility for my actions, I know what I did, I know what I’m supposed to do, I’m allowed not to do and I still made that decision. I’m not making an excuse or looking for any empathy in my case.”

Richardson cited finding out from a reporter that her biological mother had passed away as part of the reason she consumed marijuana, saying: “I was just thinking it would be a normal interview and then on the interview to hear that information come from a complete stranger, it was definitely triggering, it was nerve shocking because it’s like who are you to tell me that?

“From there just blinded by emotions, blinded by bad news, blinded by just hiding hurt, honestly for the fact that I can’t hide myself, so at least in some type of way, I was trying to hide my pain.”

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the USADA label cannabis as a banned substance as it “poses a health risk to athletes, has the potential to enhance performance and violates the spirit of sport.”

“Everything I do comes from me naturally. No steroid(s). No anything. This incident was about marijuana. After my sanctions are up, I’ll be back and able to compete and every single time I step on the track I’ll be ready to compete for whatever anti-doping agency to come and get what it is that they need,” Richardson concluded.

Meanwhile the presence of marijuana on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s banned substance list has long been controversial. Canadian snowboarder Ross Rebagliati was originally stripped of his 1998 Olympic gold medal after testing positive for THC but that decision was overturned since it wasn’t on the banned substance list at the time. USADA singles out three reasons why cannabinoids are banned: athletes could endanger themselves and others because of slower reaction times and poor executive function and decision making, marijuana can be “performance enhancing for some athletes and sports disciplines,” and the use of “illicit drugs that are harmful to health” is “not consistent with the athlete as a role model for young people around the world”.

As for the moral high-horse bit: can anyone reasonably argue, in this day and age, that an athlete using marijuana deserves a boot from the Olympics because such behavior is “not consistent with the athlete as a role model for young people around the world?” In a world where momentum for legalization is growing (it’s legal in Oregon, where Richardson competed at Trials)? In a situation where someone may have turned to a legal substance to cope with grief? Come on.

None of these reasons seem to apply in Richardson’s case. She endangered no one at the track: quite the opposite, she distanced herself from the competition. The performance-enhancing benefits of marijuana are, if not specious, at least very much up for debate. A 2018 literature review published in the Clinical Journal of Sports Medicine, for example, said that “although cannabis use is more prevalent in some athletes engaged in high-risk sports, there is no direct evidence of performance-enhancing effects in athletes.” Even USADA’s statement on Richardson’s suspension acknowledges “her use of cannabis occurred out of competition and was unrelated to sport performance.”

Human parts traffickers arrested in Ondo State by the Police Command.

Ondo State Commissioner of Police, Bolaji Salami has arrested five persons following the arrest of Odetola who was last Saturday nabbed with a sack containing human parts while riding a commercial motorcycle to Ifetedo.

The police sources said the patrol team stopped the motorcyclist, who was conveying one of the suspects, Opeyemi Odetola, with a big sack containing human parts from Ondo to Ifetedo town in Osun State.

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The human parts found in the sack were a male chest, sex organs, head and other parts that were not identified.

According to the police, the suspects were indentified as Opeyemi Odetola, Lanre Akintola, Clement Adesanoye, Alowonle Kehinde and Jubril Jimoh

The five Suspects were said to be members of a syndicate specializing in exhuming bodies from a church cemetery in Ondo town, Ondo West local government.

Odetola confessed that the parts were given to him by one Lanre Akintola at Ife Garage who asked him to deliver it to his brother. Investigations are still going on.

Avumile Mbuyiseli Nodongwe has been sentenced to 25 years imprisonment for the murder of his ex-girlfriend.

A man indentified as Avumile Mbuyiseli who allegedly shot his ex-girlfriend dead in front of her colleagues at the school where she was working, during women’s month has been sentenced to 25 years imprisonment by Mthatha regional court.

It was reported that the deceased, Noloyiso Gqeba, was at a school where she worked as a cleaner, when Mbuyiseli Nodongwe, who was in a relationship with her, arrived and shot her with a firearm. Noloyiso, aged 35, died at the scene,” said police spokesperson Brig Tembinkosi Kinana. 

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“The incident left co-workers shattered as they witnessed tragic scenes of the cold-blooded murder of the woman and escaping of the suspect from the scene of crime.

Police had searched for him in the mountains and Gqogqorha forests where he was believed to have been hiding. He eventually handed himself in at the Mthatha central police station.

Police commissioner Lt-Gen Liziwe Ntshinga welcomed the sentence, saying it would serve as a lesson and deterrent to would-be perpetrators of gender-based violence and femicide.

People praised the detectives who worked on the case, saying they ensured that justice was meted out speedily.

SOUTH AFRICA RECORDS 383 MORE COVID-19 DEATHS & 19,506 NEW CASES.

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The National Institute for Communicable Diseases on Wednesday said Gauteng accounted for more than half of those new cases.

JOHANNESBURG – There’s been a staggering rise in South Africa’s daily COVID-19 casualties, with 383 more deaths recorded, taking toll to 60,647.

The country has also racked up over 19,506 infections over the past 24-hour reporting cycle.

The National Institute for Communicable Diseases on Wednesday said Gauteng accounted for more than half of those new cases.

Under level four of the lockdown, government has announced no one is allowed in or out of the province for leisure in a bid to contain the third wave, which is engulfing the province.

In the latest update on the vaccine rollout, the Department of Health said it had administered over three million jabs and was calling on people over 50 to start registering for their shots from 1 pm on Thursday.

The institute said the latest cases represented a positivity rate of 27.6% while taking the national caseload to 1 973 972.

SOUTH AFRICA MOVES TO ADJUSTED COVID-19 ALERT LEVEL 4 FOR 14 DAYS – WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE.

President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Monday the country is officially in the third wave of the coronavirus, saying it it has become more serious than previous peaks.

JOHANNESBURG – President Cyril Ramaphosa briefed the country on the results of a National Coronavirus Command Council meeting this week, saying that nation would be moved to adjusted alert level 4.

“After 14 days, we will examine where we are. We will assess the impact of the restrictions to determine if they need to be maintained or adjusted,” he said.

The restrictions are as follows:

( 1) All gatherings – political, social, or cultural – are prohibited;

( 2) Funerals and cremations will continue, but can’t exceed 50 people in numbers;

( 3) After-funeral gatherings prohibited;

( 4) Public spaces like parks will remain open, but no gatherings are permitted at such places;

( 5) A curfew will be in place from 9pm to 4am. All establishments must be closed by 9pm;

( 6) All alcohol sales have been prohibited;

( 7) Restaurants can only sell food for takeout or deliveries;

( 8) Schools and other education institutions closing for winter will be brought forward. Schools will begin to close on Wednesday, and all schools must be closed by Friday; and

( 9) Contact classes in tertiary institutions will be closed this week and access to the buildings will be closed. Residences, however, will remain open.

An exhaustive list will be made available once it is has been gazetted by government.

The president explained the ban on alcohol sales was to assist the healthcare sector with an alleviated workload. Last year and during New Year, Eyewitness News spoke to a number of healthcare workers who explained that trauma cases decreased significantly once alcohol was banned during the first COVID-19 wave. It allowed for health facilities to focus their resources on coronavirus cases.

“Because of the burden of infections in Gauteng, travel for leisure purposes will be prohibited,” he said.

The president highlighted the seriousness of the current resurgence of COVID-19 infection numbers, saying that the delta variant was concerning.

As of Sunday night, South Africa recorded over 15,000 new coronavirus infections. pushing the overall number of infections in the country to over 1,913,000. According to the health department, the country currently has 158,000 active cases.

South Africa also recorded 157 new deaths in the same 24-hour cycle, bringing the national death toll close to the 60,000 mark – at 59, 778.There has been a spike in COVID-19 infections countrywide in recent weeks.

“The situation has gone worse,” Ramaphosa said on Sunday night.

He said the delta variant of the disease, which “spread like wildfire in India,” has been found in provinces such as the Eastern Cape, Free State and KwaZulu-Natal. He also said this was becoming the dominant variant in the country, and that it is thought to be twice as contagious as earlier variants of the virus.

“Because it is more contagious, it can infect far more people,” he said.

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“There is emerging scientific evidence that people infected by the beta variant do not have full protection against the delta variant,” he said, adding that people could still fall ill.

He said the current peak in infections has already surpassed the first peak in July last year, and will soon pass the second peak in January, Ramaphosa added

We are in the grip of a devastating wave, that by all indications seems like it will be worse than those that preceded it,” he said. The first wave lasted 15 weeks, the second, nine weeks.

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“Complacency comes at a high price,” he said, addressing the public’s frustration with current COVID-19 regulations.

He said private and public health facilities are struggling with the COVID-19 patient numbers. “What we are seeing is that the existing containment measures in place are not enough to cope with the speed and scale of the infections we are seeing in this third wave.”

He said the government looked at international examples to help reduce person-to-person contact and help to flatten the curve, “as we did with the first wave and as we did with the second wave”.

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