Heavy fine for speedster and other brief reports

* The two assassins of kwaMbonambi mayor Phineas Dumakwakhe Mthethwa, who implicated two of his sons in the murder, have been sentenced to life imprisonment in the Pietermaritzburg High Court. Thabani Malinga (21) and Samuel Sokhela (30) killed Mthethwa in April at his farm at Ntambanana, lower Umfolozi. – The Witness * The Department of Correctional Services has reached an out-of-court settlement with a 30-year-old Chatsworth man, who became infected with the AIDS virus while being held in Westville Prison. The man said in court papers that he contracted HIV after he was assaulted and s odomised while in prison on a theft charge. – Sunday Times * The Pietermaritzburg High Court has ruled in favour of Karin Daleen Benade who sued Louwsburg Spar for damages after tripping on a mat and injuring herself. Judge Jan Hugo said the supermarket had been the sole cause of the accident and was liable for any damages Benada could prove. The matter has been adjourned indefinitely. – Sunday Tribune * Hluphile Elda Zuma, from Tugela Ferry in northern KwaZulu-Natal, has filed a R1.1m claim in the Pietermaritzburg High Court after she had her left arm amputated following a taxi accident that she claims was caused by a pothole. Zuma is suing Premier S’bu Ndebele and his MEC for Transport, Bheki Cele. – Sunday Tribune * The United Transport and Allied Trade Union confirmed yesterday that the planned four-day strike by Metrorail staff was legal. Metrorail said it expected only 2% of services to be available today. – Finance24 * The Iraqi Government says it will bring only 12 charges of crimes against humanity against Saddam Hussein although there were more than 500 possible cases against the ousted dictator. – The Citizen * The Patents Amendment Bill, which aims to empower the holders of traditional knowledge and allow them to benefit economically from this knowledge when patented, has been tabled in Parliament. – Business Day