4 Die In South
African Plane Crash
Four
persons died in a crash involving a light aircraft in the
Harrismith area of South Africa.
The news of the crash came as the Transport Department put the
death toll from road accidents since the beginning of December
at nine hundred.
Two men and two women died when a white beach bonanza aircraft
struck the east side of the Platberg Mountain.
It is reported that a technical problem led the pilot to divert
from his route.
There have been a series of fatal crashes in the country in
recent times, involving light planes. Barely a week ago, the
transport department grounded a fleet of Airlink, a domestic
airliner after repeated incidents of crashes involving its
planes.
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Meanwhile, the South African government has extolled late
anti-apartheid activist and poet, Dennis Brutus, who passed away
after an unsuccessful battle with prostate cancer.
In a condolence message, International Affairs and Cooperation
Minister, Maite Nkoana-Mashabane said Professor Brutus’s
contribution to the struggle against apartheid and his passion
for social justice and human rights left an indelible mark in
South Africa and the entire world.
Outstanding Contributions
’’ We celebrate his life and work as a South African poet and
political activist. Let us remember that Professor Dennis
Brutus’s poetic licence was first and foremost inspired by the
quest for the restoration of human dignity and achievement of a
better life for all…As a result of small steps he took, notably
his successful campaign against all-white South African sports,
our country is today a thousand miles ahead and on the eve of
hosting 2010 FIFA World Cup,” the Minister said.
Eighty-five-year-old Brutus was jailed on Robben Island with
Nelson Mandela in the mid-1960s. He helped persuade Olympic
officials to ban South Africa from competition from 1964 until
apartheid ended nearly 30 years later.
His books, ‘Sirens, Knuckles, Boots’ and ‘Letters to
Martha and Other Poems from a South African Prison,’ were
published while he was in jail.
Sickness and age did little to prevent Brutus from his crusade
for human rights and social justice.
He became passionate about climate change in recent years and in
a December 10 open letter about this month's United Nations
Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, he warned
against brokering a deal that allows the corporations and the
oil giants to continue to abuse the earth at the expense of the
starving poor.
He was honoured with the Peace Award of the War Resisters League
in New York City in September. He is survived by a wife and
eight children.
Qasim/Yinka
