October 15, 2014
For Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Sane Dhlamini
Making Headlines:

Public protector Advocate Thuli Madonsela says South Africa is not corrupt.

Nigeria and Senegal could be declared Ebola-free within days after completing a 42-day period with no new cases, said the World Health Organisation (or WHO). 

South African track star Oscar Pistorius would be “broken as a person” if he were jailed for killing his girlfriend,

Public protector Advocate Thuli Madonsela says South Africa is not a corrupt country thanks to a multi-pronged approach to promoting good governance, a sound constitutional and legal framework and an arsenal of anti-corruption safeguards.

Madonsela was speaking at the Crime Stoppers International conference, in Cape Town, on Tuesday. She said she had been asked too many times if South Africa is a corrupt country and she always responds by saying we are not a corrupt country.

She did say, however, that it was time to take a hard-line approach towards the diverse issues the country faces, adding that the Constitution and rule of law had to be respected and accountability enforced.  She added that corruption always needed to be reported and it was crucial that whistle blowers were always protected.   

The World Health Organisation (or WHO) said in a statement on Tuesday that Nigeria and Senegal could be declared Ebola-free after completing a 42-day period without any new cases. The WHO said if there were no new cases detected they would declare an end to the outbreak of the Ebola virus disease in Senegal on October 17.

Senegal had confirmed one patient with Ebola who didn’t infect anyone else. In Nigeria 8 people died due to a traveller from Liberia who had Ebola before it could be contained.

Meanwhile in the three worst affected African countries, Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone, the explosion of new cases continues, even in places that looked under control.

The WHO says waiting for 42 days from the time when the last person suspected of having contracted the virus tests negative is sufficient confidence to declare the outbreak over.   

South African track star Oscar Pistorius would be “broken as a person” if he were jailed for killing his girlfriend, owing to his disability and psychological problems, said defence witness probation officer Annette Vergeer on Tuesday.

The 27-year-old Paralympic and Olympic star was convicted of culpable homicide last month for killing 29-year-old law graduate and model Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine's Day in 2013.

Vergeer who was paid by the defence to produce her report said South African prisons were not conducive to the disabled and Pistorius would be vulnerable to violence and highly stressful situations.

She said it would not assist Pistorius to be in jail, adding that the death and the period since have been a far bigger punishment than incarceration.

State prosecutor Gerrie Nel will call at least two witnesses as the state pushes for a lengthy prison term. Sentencing is expected to conclude by the end of the week.

Also making headlines:

Advisers appointed for Gautrain extension feasibility study.

Central African Republic says violence is being plotted to provoke a coup.

And, six months after more than 200 Nigerian schoolgirls were kidnapped by extremists, Nigerians protest near the president’s house.

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That’s a roundup of news making headlines today.