Lifestyle
Posts List
Health
Court dismisses Shebeshxt’s bail appeal despite newborn child argument
Lekompo musician Lehlogonolo Chauke, popularly known as Shebeshxt, will remain behind bars after the Polokwane High Court dismissed his appeal against the refusal of bail, finding that his separation from his newborn child does not amount to the exceptional circumstances required for his release.
Handing down judgment on Wednesday, the court acknowledged that being separated from family, including a newborn baby, is a painful consequence of detention. However, it ruled that this hardship is shared by many awaiting-trial inmates and cannot, on its own, justify bail. The judge further found that Shebeshxt is not the child’s primary caregiver, noting that the baby’s mother fulfils that role.
The court also found that the defence had failed to provide expert evidence, such as testimony from a social worker or psychologist, to show that the musician’s incarceration was having a harmful impact on the infant. Without such evidence, the judge said the emotional strain of being separated from his child could not be regarded as an exceptional circumstance warranting his release.
Shebeshxt launched a bid to be released on R100,000 bail, arguing that he is the sole provider for his family and that his continued detention was causing severe financial hardship. His legal team also told the court that he had a young family to support, needed specialised medical treatment for a leg injury sustained in a car crash, and posed no flight risk. Prosecutors opposed the application, maintaining that the seriousness of the charges and the interests of justice outweighed the grounds advanced for his release.
Questions were also raised about Shebeshxt’s financial disclosures. While he argued that his family depended entirely on him, the court heard that his partner is employed in a managerial role within his business. The judge also questioned the lack of information about income the artist continues to generate through his music career while in custody and noted uncertainty over claims that fans had been refunded for cancelled performances.
The musician’s legal team further argued that an untreated leg injury and delays in his criminal case should be considered new facts supporting bail. The court rejected both arguments, finding that his medical condition had already formed part of previous bail proceedings and that there was no evidence correctional authorities had denied him treatment. It also ruled that claims of unreasonable delays in the trial process were speculative and unsupported by the facts before the court.
Shebeshxt, whose real name is Lehlogonolo Chauke, is facing several serious charges, including attempted murder, culpable homicide, assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and malicious damage to property. The charges stem from separate incidents that have kept the controversial artist in custody since late last year.
Concluding the matter, the High Court found that the magistrate had not erred in refusing bail and ruled that Shebeshxt had failed to prove the exceptional circumstances required under the Criminal Procedure Act. His appeal was accordingly dismissed, meaning he will remain in custody while awaiting trial.
Economy
Vegetables disappear from South African plates when winter hits
As temperatures drop, breakfasts become toast instead of tomatoes, lunches lean towards bread and soup, and hearty dinners replace lighter meals. It’s an entirely human response to winter, but one that can leave vegetables falling further down the shopping list.
Every winter, South Africans naturally gravitate towards warm, comforting meals, but in the process, vegetables are often the first thing to disappear from the plate. Tenderstem® broccoli believes the solution isn’t convincing people to abandon comfort food but making it easier to build vegetables into the meals they’re already cooking. Convenience is the real fix: making the healthy choice the easy one. It is the thinking behind an approach that encourages South Africans to include quick-cooking vegetables such as Tenderstem® broccoli, which needs only a few minutes to prepare and can be added straight into meals already on the stove, rather than requiring a separate dish of their own.
Cold weather tends to draw us towards warm, filling foods, with bread, pasta and other carbohydrate-heavy favourites often becoming the easiest choice. The problem is not the comfort food. It is what gets pushed aside to make room for it.
The nutritional data reflects this pattern. According to South Africa’s National Nutrition Week, adults in this country already consume an average of around 230g of fruit and vegetables daily, which is just 58% of the internationally recommended 400g intake. That is the baseline in any season. In winter, when lighter meals feel less appealing and hot, filling food becomes the natural choice, vegetables can become even easier to overlook.
Diets low in fruit and vegetables are associated with a greater risk of non-communicable diseases, including type 2 diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular disease. Winter also coincides with South Africa’s flu season, making a varied diet especially relevant. Vitamin C and folate both contribute to normal immune function and can be found in a range of fresh vegetables.
The answer does not require complicated dietary changes or extra time in the kitchen. It starts with building greens into the meals people are already eating.
Start the week differently
One practical way to improve winter nutrition is to remove the daily decision. A vegetable egg bake or frittata, prepared on a Sunday evening and portioned into the fridge, provides a filling breakfast containing protein, vegetables and fibre for several days. On a cold weekday morning, having something ready to reheat makes the nutritious choice the convenient one.
Brassica greens work particularly well in this format because they hold their texture when baked and release less water than softer vegetables such as courgette or spinach. Tenderstem® broccoli can be added whole, requires no trimming and is edible from floret to stem. Fold a generous handful into whisked eggs, add cheese if desired and bake at 180°C for 20 to 25 minutes. Once portioned, it can be reheated in minutes.
It also answers a familiar winter problem. Breakfast often defaults to buttered toast, cereal or a rusk when the weather is cold and time is short. Preparing a vegetable-based protein option in advance changes that routine without adding pressure to the morning.
Add to what you already cook
Quick-cooking green vegetables can be added to soups, curries and lentil dishes in the final few minutes of cooking, making them an easy part of familiar winter meals.
The key is to choose a vegetable that holds its texture, works with robust flavours and requires little preparation. Tenderstem® broccoli cooks in three to five minutes and can be used from floret to stem. Add it to a butter chicken or lamb curry shortly before serving, stir it through soup or place it in a roasting tray with the roast for the final ten minutes of cooking. Even a grilled cheese sandwich can make room for a few green stems.
Each option fits into a meal that is already being prepared, without requiring a separate dish or additional washing up. An 80g serving counts as one of your five-a-day and is high in vitamin C and folate, which contribute to normal immune function. It also provides fibre, potassium and vitamin B6. “People do not stop caring about nutrition in winter. They choose food that feels warm, filling and manageable. The easiest way to keep vegetables on the menu is to build them into those familiar meals rather than treating them as a separate side dish,” explains Elise Ruddle, Chef and Nutritionist, South African brand representative for Tenderstem®.
Winter eating does not need to become a contest between comfort and nutrition. The more realistic answer is to make vegetables part of the comfort food itself. When greens belong in the curry, soup, breakfast bake or toasted sandwich, eating them no longer depends on anyone feeling virtuous.
