KZN police have confirmed that the car that was set on fire in Pietermaritzburg on Friday was stolen
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A woman was hijacked, cars were burnt, firearms illegally discharged and tyres spun in Pietermaritzburg on Friday allegedly as a tribute to a dead robber.

The man, whose identity is not known, was to be buried on Saturday.

Police had their hands full containing the “lawlessness” that prevailed over two days.

KwaZulu-Natal provincial police commissioner Lt-Gen Khombinkosi Jula warned: “Firm action will be taken to those who are found to be in possession of unlicensed firearms at the funeral and also those that use their legal firearms to fire gun salutes.”

Police spokesperson Capt Nqobile Gwala said there was a heavy police presence at Grange, Pietermaritzburg, to contain the situation, prevent criminal activities and arrest all those who commit criminal acts.

“This also includes searching suspicious people, vehicles and all those who will be found breaking the law will be dealt with harshly.

“Police will also be checking for stolen cars that are used for the spinning of tyres at the funeral.”Jula said three men aged between 40 and 45 were arrested on Friday for illegal possession of a firearm, discharging of a firearm as well as spinning a vehicle on the road surface.

“Another two suspects were arrested for an attempted carjacking at Pelham today. One of the suspects was found in possession of an unlicensed firearm. More arrests are expected,” he said.

Gwala said a woman was hijacked on Friday afternoon by two armed men.

“At gunpoint they forced her out of the vehicle and threw her handbag on the ground before fleeing the scene. The vehicle was later found burnt in Grange area.

“In another incident yesterday at 8pm, the complainant parked his vehicle at Pietermaritz Street. When he returned at 9.40pm, he discovered that his vehicle was missing. He immediately contacted the police and it was established that his vehicle was burnt at Slangspruit.”

Charges of carjacking and vehicle theft are being investigated.

A two-year-old Graaff-Reinet boy has died after his mother allegedly reversed her car into him, Eastern Cape police said on Saturday.

Police spokesperson Captain Bradley Rawlinson confirmed they were investigating a case of culpable homicide following the boy’s death around 17:30 on Thursday.

“It is alleged that a two-year-old child was killed when the child’s mother reversed her vehicle, not knowing the child was behind the car, causing serious injury to the child,” said Rawlinson.

The child was taken to Midlands Hospital but was certified dead on arrival.

Investigations are under way, and no arrests have been made as yet, he said.

All hair relaxers sold locally would be classed as dangerous if they were subject to workplace legislation.

The Occupational Health and Safety Act says any alkaline substance with a pH value of 11.5 or above is hazardous and corrosive.

A new analysis of 121 hair relaxers sold in SA found a minimum pH value of 11.75 and a maximum of 13.17.

The average was 12.34.

Scientists from the hair and skin research laboratory at the University of Cape Town, who reported their findings in the December edition of the SA Medical Journal, say the Foodstuffs, Cosmetics and Disinfectants Act should be amended so that it regulates relaxers.

“The cosmetics regulatory framework has no pH restrictions for relaxers. There is a need for this framework to be revised,” said Nonhlanhla Khumalo, head of dermatology at UCT’s medical school.

The hair and skin research laboratory at the University of Cape Town tested 121 hair relaxers that they bought from Cape Town shops.The strong alkalis used in hair relaxers – usually sodium hydroxide – are present in greater concentration than in household cleaning products, they found. “Bleach has a pH of about 11, oven cleaners about 12 and drain cleaners 12-13. The pH of products used by women with afro-textured hair and on children is, therefore, equivalent to that of drain cleaners,” researchers said.

Khumalo has campaigned for safer cosmetic products aimed at black women for more than a decade, and said in the new paper that 78% of black schoolgirls and 49.2% of black women used relaxers.

They were strongly associated with hair loss (alopecia), as well as scalp irritation, burns, scarring and allergic reactions, she said. Khumalo and colleagues Ntombi Sishi and Jennifer van Wyk found that 68 of the 76 sodium hydroxide relaxers on the market – including four targeted at children – were not packaged with a neutralising shampoo.