In our Both Sides of the story feature today we will look at the situation in the community of Bloemhof in the North West. Residents of Boitumelong say they are concerned over the safety of their children and the elderly following the arrest of members of the anti-gang committee. They were arrested for allegedly assaulting several suspected gang members in the area.

Guests: Daan Lottering - Member of the newly formed committee in
Bloemhof

Brigadier Sabata Mokgwabone - Spokesperson for the police in the
North West

Guest: Phindiwe Gwebu

The Intellectual Property Crime Conference kick started today in Cape Town. While addressing the conference attendees, the Minister highlighted the negative impacts of purchasing counterfeit goods and the illegal downloading of online content – saying it has the potential of destroying legitimate businesses. Just how rife is the issue of counterfeiting and is the South African legal system robust to address this problem?

Guest: Abdulla Kamaar- Senior Associate at De Beer Attorneys

With matric exams due to start tomorrow – our expert from SADAG joins us to share some tips on how to survive the exam season. During this time of the year, SADAG usually receives calls from learners across the board – learners as young as in Primary school, High School as well as University Students who feel the pressure during the exam season.

Guest: Zamo Mbhele, Clinical Psychologist and SADAG Board Member

The department of community safety and liaison in KwaZulu-Natal will beef up security at schools, this after exam disruption threats. The department issued a statement yesterday, saying that MEC Bheki Ntuli has instructed it and police management to reinforce schools' examination security plans to safeguard against disruptions.

Guest: Bheki Ntuli, MEC for Transport, Community Safety and Liaison in KwaZulu-Natal

Some analysts are predicting that the ruling Botswana Democratic Party could see its first defeat at the polls since independence in 1966. They attribute this to the Khama-Masisi conflict. It is public knowledge that the rift between the former allies went so deep that Khama broke with the BDP in May and, along with his brother, now supports the newly-formed Botswana Patriotic Front (BPF).

Guest on the line (Botswana): Spencer Mogapi, Deputy Editor of Botswana's Sunday Standard newspaper

Earlier on today, the Constitutional Court ruled that sections of the Intimidation Act are unconstitutional, finding that it limits the right to freedom of expression. General Alfred Moyo who is an activist of the Macodefo civic structure in the Makause informal settlement was accused of making statements that caused the station commander of Primrose police station and her colleagues to fear for their lives. The charge, in terms of the act, was that Moyo made statements to the effect that he would make sure the commander and her assistant were removed and that they would not last long at Primrose, and threatened to repeat what happened at Marikana in 2012.

Guest: Nkosinathi Sithole, Attorney @ Socio-Economic Rights Institute of South Africa

Recently, we have been hearing and reading about a number of rape cases of children in various parts of the country. Just today the community of Reiger Park in Boksburg were protesting over the rape of a 2 year old girl by a 34 year old man. In light of these cases we ask, is enough being done to protect children in South Africa? What could be the leading cause of such a crime on minors?

Guest: Dr Shaheda Omar – Director of Clinical Services at the Teddy Bear Clinic

We spoke to the NPA in Limpopo regarding the case of a 6 year old girl, Boitumelo Matsekoleng who was raped a couple of weeks ago. The little girl succumbed to her injuries and was buried this past weekend…

Guest: Mashudu Malabi-Dzhangi- Regional Spokesperson: DPP Limpopo

The death toll in the crash in which six learners were killed when a truck they were travelling in overturned outside Zeerust in the North West, has risen to seven. The learners were coming from a soccer match in Driefontein village, when the driver of the truck lost control of the vehicle.

Guest: Elias Malindi - Spokesperson for the North West Education Department