Censorbugbear reports...

Modjadji’s Gorge still lives up to its previous name -  Duiwelskloof… the devil’s gorge…

1 July 2009 - Michael Sakuneka of The Sowetan newspaper in South Africa writes that evil spirits which are 'haunting the main road at GaSekgopo village in Limpopo will be exorcised in a cleansing ceremony next week."

More than 20 heavy-duty trucks and light delivery vehicles have been involved in accidents on the route in the past two years, often after their brakes failed, causing many deaths and injuries.

The steep gorge used to be known as "Duiwelskloof" – the devil's gorge. And it's still living up to its name, says municipal spokeswoman Vyida Rakubu, noting that 'companies lost millions of rands in cargo through these  accidents'.

• The locals blame 'evil spirits' for the accidents.
• However road-accident experts conclude  after each of these horrendous accidents, that many South African trucks are so poorly maintained that their brakes fail on the gorge’s steep descent and they plunge down the embankment.

After 1994, Duiwelskloof was renamed Modjadjis gorge  after the famous rain queen Modjadji - the mysterical ruler of the Balobedu tribe.

At the moment, they don't have a ruling queen after the former Queen Makobo Mdjadji VI, left, died at the age of 27 years in 2005 without designating any adult heirs.

Under the Modjadji rain queen tradition, the queen only communicated through her subjects through male councillors, 'indunas'.

She never married but instead had 'wives', women who produced heirs for her and come from many villages in the Ga-Modjadji region. When she felt her death nearing,  the rain queen was expected to take poison after designating her eldest daughter as her heir. This tradition has now ended with the untimely death of the last queen at the age of 27, but the royal palace  - the carved entrance is shown on the right -- remains a popular tourism attraction. 

Cleansing ceremony

This week, Letaba municipal officials and villagers from 11 communities are holding a 'cleansing ceremony at a haunted site in the village, located between Polokwane and Modjadjis gorge,’ reports The Sowetan newspaper.

The ceremony involves a prayer meeting attended by top officials, traditional healers, chiefs, pastors, and officials from the department of transport as well as all the villagers from 11 settlements.

Picture: The ceremonial symbols atop the Rain Queen’s palace enclosure.

This is undertaken to try and stop the many horrendous accidents involving heavy-duty vehicles on this haunted road.The haunted site at the village is situated between Polokwane and Modjadjiskloof.

The cleansing ceremony is aimed at clearing the road of evil spirits that are believed to contribute to the accidents that have claimed many lives in the past five years, reports The Sowetan. This busy stretch of road links Mopani district with other parts of the province.  Duiwelskloof traffic department: telephone (015) 309-9246

Municipal spokeswoman Vyida Rakubu said 'companies lost millions of rands in cargo through these accidents.'
She said 'the accidents had been going on for some years and it was time that something was done to make sure the carnage stopped."

“The area is quiet at the moment, but the prayer meeting is vital to save lives,” said Kgamedi Seshoka, spokesman for the Modjadjiskloof police. 

• http://www.sowetan.co.za/News/Article.aspx?id=1026497
• Duiwelskloof accidents: Accident Fund: http://www.saflii.org/za/cases/ZASCA/2004/121.html
• http://www.news24.com/Content/SouthAfrica/News/1059/9062ebedea5b469190c307a95376c33b//Town_named_after_Rain_Queen

…and cellphone-owners who have their phones robbed could face criminal charges for ‘failing to report it in a timely fashion’ …

July 1 2009. From today, every South African will have to register their cellphone’s SIM-card under their names, addresses and other personal particulars – and they will have to do so in person, showing their identity cards and proof of residence and place of employment. Foreign visitors also have to register their cellphones - if they intend to use them inside South Africa.

This law obviously only applies to non-criminal cellphone owners: it’s very doubtful if the country’s  well-organised criminal fraternity – will bother to adhere to this new law.

 The criminals didn’t register their guns – so why bother with cellphones?

A very similar personal-registration law is also in effect for South Africa’s gun-owners, yet the country’s criminal fraternity isn’t exactly known for its keenness to register their guns either – South African crime gangs own and use a vast array of lethal assault weapons ranging from AK47s to Uzis and South African military assault carbines…

The new Regulation of Interception of Communications and provision of Communication-Related Information Act (RICA) law also has another sting: if owners’ cellphones get robbed, which happens thousands of times a day in South Africa, the crime-victims will also have to personally go and report this fact ‘in a timely fashion’  to the ministry of Justice’s designated so-called “RICA-LAW’  agencies -- or be charged with a criminal offence. 

Thus law-abiding citizens can be turned into instant criminals with the stroke of a pen… Read the entire law:

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regulation_of_Interception_of_Communications_and_Provision_of_Communication-Related_Information_Act
• There are about 54-million cellphone owners in South Africa. The logistics of registering all these cellphones is an immense task, cellphone service providers warn, especially in outlying areas without electricity…

If customers don’t register all their personal identitity particulars with their cellphone provider within the next 18 months, their SIM-cards will be switched off electronically. This is part of the new communications-control law, referred to as RICA, which goes into effect from today.  South Africans will have the next 18 months to register all of the country’s millions of SIM-cards. And if they fail to do so, their SIM-cards will be deactivated electronically, warned Justice minister Jeff Radebe. 

He claims these draconian measures are necessary to fight crime – pointing out that other countries also have such laws.

Cellphone-operators such as Vodacom, MTN, Cell-C, Nashua Mobile, Autopage, Virgin Mobile South Africa and others from today also are not allowed to activate any new SIM-cards until they have their clients’ full personal particulars.

• And the cost for this extensive personal-identification network has to be borne by the cellphone companies themselves. MTN spokesmen, with some 17-million registered cellphones, say registration ‘will be a challenge, especially in areas without electricity’. Cell-C, with 7-million phone users, urged customers to call their client-registration number, 0173. The largest operator, Vodacom, with some 27-million telephone users, says customers can register at any Vodacom-service point or call its number 0111 to find out where the nearest RICA-agent may be located. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regulation_of_Interception_of_Communications_and_Provision_of_Communication-Related_Information_Act

Jerusalema - the accurate portrayal of the South African organised crime gangs:  http://www.jerusalemamovie.com