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This followed the failure by his medical staff to successfully evacuate him after all arrangements were made to do so on Sunday when he could barely stand the streneous duties of his office and was reported to have collapsed.
Party Secretary General Wynter Kabimba cancelled all scheduled appointments to attend to the emergency while other ministers with similar commitments also stayed away.
Sports minister Chishimba Kambwili was due to officiate at the burial of the late Nkana coach Masauso Mwale but delegated to his deputy Christopher Mulenga because he had to attend the emergency meeting.
President Sata's confidant Willie Nsanda also cancelled scheduled meetings with party officials as he need to attend to the emergency. There are suggestions within the inner Patriotic Front circles that a Vice-President who could act in the absence of President Sata be appointed.
Officials are trying to pursue President Sata, who State House indicate is critically ill the more reason even when he was due to be evacuated the plan failed because of his state, to drop Vice-President Guy Scott.
PF officials fear the party will be in limbo if President Sata opts not to continue in office on medical grounds or if the worst were to happen that Vice-President Scott is constitutionally barred to contest as President.
The officials are trying to convince President Sata to make sure that there will be no vacuum. Although Kabimba has already anointed himself as successor of the ruling party and has the heavy backing of Fred M'membe, Mutembo Nchito and Rajan Mahtani, most people inside the party believe he can't win an election.
PF officials say there was no way they would miss any meeting called by State House because they don't want Kabimba to rubber stamp himself as the successor.
Kambwili is among the most vocal including Jean Kapata in opposing Kabimba to take over the party presidency. Kabimba's only advocate inside Cabinet and the Central Committee is Guy Scott.
A panel of mental health experts is now to decide if the double-amputee runner can be held criminally responsible for killing his girlfriend.
Judge Thokozile Masipa took just a few minutes to read out her ruling that the Olympian must present himself at 9 a.m. on Monday and every weekday after that at the Weskoppies Psychiatric Hospital in Pretoria.
Pistorius will be treated as an outpatient, Masipa ruled, and will be allowed to leave the facility in the South African capital each day at 4 p.m. or when "formally excused" by hospital authorities. The period of evaluation will be for no more than 30 days, the judge said, and will depend on how long the panel of four experts needs to observe Pistorius and compile a report for the court. The panel will consist of three psychiatrists and a clinical psychologist, Masipa said.
Pistorius, 27, claims he shot Reeva Steenkamp, 29, by mistake through a toilet stall door in the pre-dawn hours of Feb. 14, 2013, thinking she was an intruder. The prosecution says he murdered her during an argument. A psychiatrist called by Pistorius' defense lawyers recently testified she believes the runner had an anxiety disorder from childhood which may have contributed to him killing Steenkamp. That prompted the chief prosecutor to ask the court that he be sent for independent psychiatric tests.
Kelly Phelps, a senior lecturer in the public law department at the University of Cape Town and a legal expert observing the trial, said the psychiatric evaluation could affect both the verdict and, if Pistorius is convicted, the sentencing. She saw three possible outcomes:
— An "extreme" conclusion in which the panel decides Pistorius was unable to distinguish between right and wrong, or act in accordance with that understanding, because of an anxiety disorder when he killed Steenkamp. Such an outcome, according to Phelps, would result in a verdict of "not guilty by reason of mental illness."
— The panel basically agrees with the defense witness, Dr. Merryll Vorster, who said Pistorius was able to distinguish between right and wrong but had the anxiety disorder, possibly bolstering Pistorius' argument that he was acting in "putative self-defense" because he feared his life was in danger from a perceived intruder.
— The panel contradicts Vorster and says Pistorius does not have an anxiety disorder, possibly casting doubt on the defense's argument that Pistorius had a long-held fear of crime and felt anxious and vulnerable when he shot Steenkamp.
Judge Masipa said Tuesday that the panel should determine whether any mental illness may have affected Pistorius' capacity to be "criminally responsible" for killing Steenkamp. She said the panel would evaluate "whether he was capable of appreciating the wrongfulness of his act or of acting in accordance with an appreciation of the wrongfulness of his act."
The world-famous disabled athlete faces 25 years to life in prison if found guilty on the premeditated murder charge. He is free on bail.
Masipa's ruling came on day 33 of proceedings in the trial, which started March 3 and was initially predicted to last three weeks.
Csho Chilala
When you realize that many kids do not have parents who love them well enough to beat them, you appreciate parents who do.
I can't even front, my parents beat Christ into my body that year. The fear of my dad's beating stick was the beginning of wisdom.
My mom didn't flog much. Her speciality was her wicked mouth. When she tongue-lashes you, the tears just flow freely fam.
We detested our dad's beating stick just as much as we detested our mom's evil tongue. Sometimes we preferred the whip though.
My mom lashes you with her vitriolic tongue and you start wondering if you weren't really adopted.
Words have a lasting effect on a kid's psyche. Some things my mom said then, I can't forget. That's probably why we're not so close today.
I remember the last time my dad tried to flog me. I was almost 17, hormones raging. He'd found some pornographic pictures in my wardrobe...
The moment I was told he was looking for me, I knew something was wrong. I checked the wardrobe and my heart sank. The end.
Pornographic material in a CHRISTIAN home. Taboo. TABOO! I was going to die, it was clear. What lie could I tell? None.
The journey from my room to his room remains the longest and hardest ever. My legs were made of steel.
When I got there, he was sitting on the bed. Eyes bloodshot, porn pictures on the right, bible and beating stick on the left.
Pop, in his calmest voice told me I was a big disgrace. A whole assistant choir director, Sunday school teacher, etc, with porn materials.
I was standing by the door, ready to bolt if he comes close. I guess he realised my plan so he asked me to come inside and lock the door.
I was young but I wasn't stupid. Locking the door meant certain death. So I refused. He yelled, but I didn't budge. That riled him the more.
He stood up with the beating stick and lunged at me. The whip landed on that curve between my neck and my shoulder. I saw 13 stars.
I was seeing the 14th star when the whip went up again. I don't know where the courage came from but I grabbed my dad's hand and said NO.
Well, since I was going to die anyway, I decided to try my luck. So in the deepest voice my 17year old lungs could muster, I said NO!
I don't know which shocked him more. Holding his hand or telling him no. But he paused. And that was all the motivation I needed.
I calmly continued. "I'm not a child anymore dad. This will be the last time you'll flog me. The bible says we should honour or parents...
...so that we may live long. But it also says parents shouldn't provoke their children to anger. Don't make me angry dad. Don't."
I will never forget the look on his face. He aged by like 10 years. My all powerful retired-soldier dad suddenly became frail. Old.
All this while I was still holding his hand. I dropped it, thought about picking up my porn pictures, but respected myself and walked out.
I never saw those pictures again. I never saw the beating stick either. And till today, nothing has ever been said about that incidence.
Csho Chilala
"The accused [will] be an outpatient at Weskoppies Psychiatric Hospital," Judge Thokozile Masipa said.
"[The evaluation will] inquire whether the accused... was at the time of the commission of the offence criminally responsible."
It would also determine if Pistorius could appreciate the "wrongfulness of his actions and act according to that appreciation".
Pistorius would go to Weskoppies Psychiatric Hospital at 9am on May 26 and every weekday thereafter. He would stay until 4pm, or until he had been excused, said Masipa.
Three psychiatrists and one clinical psychologist would evaluate Pistorius to determine whether his general anxiety disorder and his disability had an effect on him when he shot dead his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine's Day last year.
One psychiatrist was appointed by the defence, one by the court, and another by the hospital.
Pistorius's evaluation would not exceed 30 days, she said.
The psychiatric report would be handed to the registrar of the court, the National Prosecuting Authority, and the defence once it had been completed.
Masipa postponed the matter to June 30. She said records of the trial proceedings would be made available to the specialists.
Before court started on Tuesday, Pistorius sat chatting to a member of his defence team. After the order was handed down, he spoke to his lawyers before leaving court with his older brother Carl and his security detail.
Last Monday, forensic psychiatrist Merryll Vorster, testifying for the defence, told the court Pistorius had general anxiety disorder. Based on this, the State applied to have him referred.
Prosecutor Gerrie Nel said it was necessary in case his disorder had affected his behaviour when he shot Steenkamp.
Pistorius is charged with the murder of Steenkamp. He shot her dead through the locked door of his toilet in his Pretoria home. He has denied guilt, saying he thought she was an intruder about to open the door and attack him. The State contends he shot her during an argument.
He is also charged with three contraventions of the Firearms Control Act -- one of illegal possession of ammunition and two of discharging a firearm in public. He has pleaded not guilty to these charges as
And Dambisa says there is nothing wrong with her exposing her 'baby bump' topless.
She was yesterday reacting to comments on social media condemning her for posing topless in an online magazine.
Dambisa, who is eight months pregnant, is appearing on the front page of Exclusive Zambian Magazine (above), wearing a chitenge (wrapper), topless and only covering her breasts.
Most people on social media have received this with mixed feelings, wondering whether she was married or not Mwa Bana TK commented on Joyce Mbilika Lemba who posted the picture on her Facebook wall that there was need for Dambisa to brace herself for serious criticism. Lemba also commented on her own posting, wondering what Dambisa's in-laws would think of her after seeing the picture on the front page of an online magazine. When contacted for a comment, Dambisa said she was not bothered by the many phone calls that she had received concerning the picture.
"Is there anything wrong with that picture…what do you think? If you were to come to me as The Post Newspaper and told me that since you are a public person, we want to cover you…promoting motherhood, healthy eating…stuff like that, I am not going to refuse because you people promote us; you make us what we are,"
Dambisa said. "Being pregnant is not a crime at all. Supporting someone who is proud of what they have become is not something wrong at all. It's not like I am exposing my boobs, or exposing my private part."
Dambisa said she only agreed to feature in a magazine that was promoting motherhood and healthy eating because she was a proud mother-to-be.
"If I was somewhere else, still Zambian and took this picture and someone publicised it, we would not have had this problem. It is only a shallow-minded Zambian person who would condemn me for that picture,"
Dambisa said. "Let us look at it from a positive side and not a negative side. If people are not proud of who they are and what they become, then there is something wrong. Why should we be hiding ourselves when we become pregnant?"
Dambisa said she wouldn't feel embarrassed to swim at a public swimming pool because she was pregnant.
"…what if someone took a picture of me swimming and posted it on Facebook? Would it be a problem? I don't think it would be a problem. It is so irritating ….In fact, I am not even irritated and I am not bothered," she said.
Dambisa said she had received many phone calls from people asking why she agreed to have such a picture taken.
Asked whether her husband had seen the picture, Dambisa said, "My husband was with me when I went for the photo shoot."
NEARLY at the end of his murder trial, doubt is being cast on Paralympian Oscar Pistorius's state of mental health. A forensic psychiatrist, Dr. Meryl Vorster, has diagnosed Pistorius with Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD).
After, under pressure from prosecutor Gerrie Nel who wants to establish the truth about Pistorius's sanity and whether his lawyers are using GAD as a "fall-back defence", Judge Thokozile Masipa ruled that he should be admitted to a psychiatric hospital for independent assessment. Because the testing will take 30 days, and it will need to be scheduled, this could mean a lengthy break in the court case.
Pistorius's trial has already been going on for two months. Why is his state of mind being questioned now on the brink of a verdict? What is GAD? And does Pistorius in fact display symptoms of GAD?
Vorster's evidence was requested by Pistorius's defence, presumably to mitigate a verdict of guilty. GAD is not classed as a mental illness in SA, but Vorster claims it would have made Pistorius paranoid about security and it would have affected his ability to judge the "wrongfulness" of shooting without seeing his target. "People with generalised anxiety probably shouldn't have firearms," she added.
GAD is a relatively new diagnostic category that first appeared on the scene in 2000. As its title implies, it is a catch-all category that classifies people suffering from a range of anxieties. It is no surprise that it is the most common cause of disability in the workplace in the USA because it covers every conceivable symptom of anxiety.
The principal symptoms listed for GAD are:
.Sense of dread
.Restlessness
.Feeling constantly "on edge"
.Difficulty concentrating
.Irritability
.Muscle tension
.Sleep disturbance.
The GAD sufferer has chronic and exaggerated worry and tension that leads to lack of self-esteem, social withdrawal, and work difficulties. The GAD sufferer also typically anticipates disaster.
Is this Pistorius? And, more importantly, was this Pistorius at the time of Reeva Steenkamp's murder? Or in the past?
It goes without saying that, guilty or not guilty, being accused of the murder of one's girlfriend would make even the most innocent and level-headed defendant anxious. Perhaps especially so in the case of Pistorius whose overriding ambition to overcome his disability and his family losses has driven him relentlessly to win a seat among the gods. He has a great deal to lose.
Vorster described Pistorius' reactions in court – the recurrent retching and tears – as "genuine". The implication is that Pistorius would not react like this if is he was guilty. But why not? There is just as much reason for him to be anxious if he is guilty – if not more.
It is understandable that, whatever his feelings for his deceased girlfriend, Pistorius would find it hard to stomach this catastrophic blow to his career and reputation. He may well be retching from the realisation of his own self-destructiveness.
While Pistorius would be crazy not to be showing signs of anxiety during his trial, does this mean that he suffered from anxiety on the night that Steenkamp was murdered and prior to that?
Vorster points to a history of trauma and loss as Pistorius grew up, starting with the amputation of his legs when he was 11 months old, to the divorce of his parents when he was aged six, to the death of his mother from a drug reaction following surgery when he was 15. She describes his manic training sessions as a defence against overwhelming anxiety.
It is true that such traumatic losses have repercussions in later life if they are not acknowledged at the time.
But Pistorius does not easily fit into the description of a GAD sufferer. His determination to win and to be better than his fellow sportsmen who are abled is significant.
At the age of 13 months he was fitted with prostheses and at 17 months he was walking. His mother allowed him no slack as a child, expecting him to perform equally with able-bodied children. Pistorius tells a story of his mother getting her two sons off to school, telling her older son to put his shoes on and ordering Oscar to get his legs on – "And that's the last I want to hear of it."
Early on in his sporting career, his boxing trainer, Jannie Brooks, admits that it was six months before he realised Pistorius didn't have legs.
There may have been little comfort available for Pistorius as he was growing up, but he seems to have been given huge confidence in his abilities and his aspirations along with being unusually gifted in sports.
In an extended interview with Pistorius, the New York Times journalist Michael Sokolove was struck by his "uncommon temperament – a fierce, even frenzied need to take on the world at maximum speed with minimum caution. It is an athlete's disposition, that of a person who believes himself to be royalty of a certain kind – a prince of the physical world."
This is not the picture of an anxiety ridden man but more of a narcissistic demi-god who will take on the world to achieve his ends – and who might feel he is above the law.
Gods and demi-gods don't like to be crossed or to lose. A former girlfriend describes Pistorius, after being stopped for speeding by the police, taking the gun by his side and shooting a lamp-post.
In his fiery correspondence with Steenkamp, Pistorius comes across as possessive and controlling. Steenkamp complained that Pistorius "picked" on her and told him, "I'm scared of you sometimes and how you snap at me and how you will react to me."
Despite Pistorius' physical triumphs, the ever-present frustration of having to manage his disability would also explain his sudden unleashed anger. Whatever judgment may be made about his sanity, is this Pistorius' real Achilles heel?
The move puts his trial on ice indefinitely.
It was triggered by the testimony of a psychiatrist who testified that the sprinter has suffered from generalized anxiety disorder since he was an infant, stemming partly from the amputation of both of his lower legs because of a genetic defect.
Pistorius is accused of murdering his girlfriend, the model Reeva Steenkamp, in his home last year.
Pistorius, 27, does not claim he was insane or mentally incapacitated when he shot her, but when the defense put the psychiatrist on the stand, it raised the question of the athlete's mental health, the judge said Wednesday.
"A doubt has been created" that Pistorius may have a psychiatric issue that would affect the court's verdict, so she must order the testing, Judge Thokozile Masipa said Wednesday.
"The accused may not have raised the issue that he was not criminally responsible at the time of the incident in so many words, but evidence raised on his behalf cannot be ignored," she said of testimony by Dr. Merryll Vorster.
She acknowledged that her order would mean a long delay in the trial, but said that was not the most important consideration.
"This is not about anyone's convenience, but about whether justice has been served," she said.
"The aim of the referral is not to punish the accused twice," Masipa said, saying that Pistorius should be examined as an outpatient rather than committed to an institution if possible.
Expert report
Court will reconvene on Tuesday for her to issue her order formally, she said.
At that point, Pistorius will learn when and where he will be tested.
The prosecutor had argued in favor of psychological evaluation, while the defense argued against it.
The testing will be done by a panel of experts who will then submit a mental health report to the court, CNN legal analyst Kelly Phelps said.
At one extreme, they could find that Pistorius was mentally incapacitated at the time he killed Steenkamp, which would end the trial immediately in a verdict of not guilty by reason of mental illness, she said.
But it would also mean Pistorius needs to be committed to a mental health institution against his will until he is found not to be a danger, she said.
Another option is that they could find he had "diminished responsibility" at the time he killed Steenkamp. In that case, the trial would continue and his mental health would be taken into consideration during sentencing if he is found guilty, said Phelps, a criminologist and law lecturer at the University of Cape Town.
The third possibility is that the experts could disagree with the defense psychiatrist and say that Pistorius' mental health is not an issue at all. If that happens, Vorster's testimony will be disregarded, Phelps said.
The experts might not all agree with each other, and lawyers on either side could disagree with the experts' report, leading to any number of possible outcomes.
If there is any dispute, the final decision about what to do with the experts' report lies with Judge Masipa.
Mistake or murder?
Pistorius admits shooting Steenkamp but says he thought there was an intruder in his house. He has pleaded not guilty.
The athlete's defense team is trying to show that Pistorius made a genuine mistake and responded reasonably on the night he shot Steenkamp, 29, a model and law school graduate.
If the trial continues after the psychiatric evaluation, Judge Masipa must decide whether Pistorius genuinely made a mistake or whether he murdered Steenkamp intentionally.
If she does not believe the athlete thought there was an intruder, she will find him guilty of murder and sentence him to at least 15 years in prison, and possibly life.
South Africa does not have the death penalty.
If Masipa accepts that Pistorius did not know Steenkamp was the person he was shooting at, she could find him guilty of culpable homicide, a lesser charge than murder, or acquit him, according to CNN legal analyst Kelly Phelps.
A verdict of culpable homicide would leave the sentence at Masipa's discretion.
The prosecution rejects the sprinter's defense that he mistakenly thought he was defending himself and his girlfriend from an intruder.
Steenkamp before killing her.
The defense team is seeking to cast doubt on the state's case and needs to show only that there is a reasonable doubt that Pistorius meant to kill Steenkamp.
There is no dispute that Pistorius fired four bullets through a door at Steenkamp in his home early on the morning of Valentine's Day 2013. Three hit her, causing devastating wounds. The final shot struck her head and probably killed her almost instantly, a pathologist testified in March.
The trial has seen Pistorius break down repeatedly, crying, wailing and sometimes throwing up as the court sees and hears evidence about Steenkamp's death.
Vorster said the athlete's physical distress was real.
The Singer left in a car with her sister after fight; leaving the rapper to leave alone.
The 27-year-old was caught on surveillance camera lashing out wildly at her brother-in-law, 44, with both her arms and her legs, while her sister stood beside them helplessly.
The famous family were in an elevator descending from a soiree that followed the annual fashion fest at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The seemingly unprovoked attack plays out in footage obtained by TMZ.
Solange can clearly be seen kicking and swinging violently at Jay Z, the father of her two-year-old niece, Blue Ivy, after the trio step into the elevator.
According to TMZ sources, Solange was screaming at her family member when the fight erupted.
In the footage, a man who looks to be a bodyguard tries to hold Solange back but she manages to reach the rapper several times.
During the frenzied altercation, Jay Z grabs her stiletto clad foot to block a kick but never attempts to retaliate.
Beyonce seems sanguine throughout, and appears to be trying to calm her sister down.. . at one point she removes the long train of her dress from the fray.
The bodyguard can also be seen pushing the emergency stop button in the elevator at the 12th floor, perhaps to stop the fight spilling out in front of photographers.
Jay Z's shocked appearance and hand to face as Solange marches angrily ahead after leaving the elevator were captured, however.
Beyonce tried to muster a showbiz smile as the threesome left but then departed with her sister in a car while her husband left separately.
It's not yet known what provoked the fight.
Solange and the music mogul have been close for over a decade, with Jay Z – real name Shawn Carter – taking a big brother style role to the fledgling star after he started dating her sister.
Beyonce and Jay Z were famously friends first but started a relationship way back in 2001, they then married in 2008.
Mrs Carter is extremely close to her younger sibling, and made a surprise appearance at Coachella this year to support Solange's set at the California music festival.
Solange regulaly accompanies the couple to events like the Met Gala and the Grammy Awards.
The Limousine was very close to the Staples Center, Los Angeles; venue for the 56th GRAMMY Awards. I had been nominated in seven different categories including the Honorium Glorium- Album of the Year. My very own album…whoa!!!
I liked the sound of it. It's not everyday that a young man from Zambia gets a nod from the GRAMMY. Now it was not just a nod but 7 nods. Oh boy…
Outside was Chaos. The guards were having a very difficult time controlling the Mammoth crowd that had come to witness history in the making. They wanted to see this young Zambian who was defying all odds, who was breaking all man-made and seemingly natural laws. They wanted me!
Wow! That's a new one. She tapped me, offering a glass of Champagne.
She was one of the most beautiful women I'd ever seen, but I hardly remembered her name.
After all she was just my liege for the event. i collected the drink and nodded my thanks.
Martha Ashley Nakazwe 'Ruddie' , Perfect. I smiled at her again.
Money, Fame, Respect, Love, Beautiful Women, Classic Wine.
What more can one ask for? Who said life isn't a bed of roses…?
The Limo stopped and the door opened. The delightful screams that greeted my ears when i got out was music, beautiful music; perhaps only bested by the ones that got me here in the first place.
I was almost deafened by the yells, and blinded by the flashing cameras. I posed for a couple photographs, signed a couple autographs, answered a couple questions-paparazzi style- then walked the red carpet to my reserved front-row seat.
First time in America, first time at the GRAMMYs, Front Row seat.
Could life be any better?
The show progressed as planned- spectacular performances coming at the speed of sound. i lost the first award I was nominated for, but after the sixth one, I had two Statuettes in my kitty. When I was called upon to perform my hit song Dreams, the ovation was out of this world.
I got on the stage, did a verse and then pulled a stunt that got the crowd reeling again.
I invited Jay-Z, Ruddie and Alicia Keys to the stage to do the remix of Dreams. It was awesome.
Me. Jay-Z. Alicia Keys. Ruddie One song. One stage.
Who said Life isn't a bed of Roses…?
Then the big one. Album of the year. "And the winner is….." You guessed right; Me, myself and I.
The biggest award in world music was about to be mine. i who was from an almost insignificant town 'Monze' Southern Zambia ; I who walked the streets of Zambia, hustling odd jobs just to meet ends; I…the number one artiste in world music.
Amidst hugs, cheers, back rubs and pats, i floated dazedly towards the stage. Then somebody touched me…. more like tapped me continuously…. till I woke up.
I woke up!
It was the damned conductor of the damned bus. We had arrived Monze from Lusaka and he wanted his damned money. If looks could kill, that conductor would have been six feet under. i paid him and got off the bus, clutching onto my Demo CD.
Who said life isn't a bed of roses…? Of course it is….and roses have thorns right…?
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People have been writing already on [coaching], on a wide range of what a coach can mean to our lives. One public speaking coach, Jezra Kaye from Speak Up for Success, writes to us about her approach and says, for her as a coach, “Public speaking isn’t really about presentations. It’s about your right to be heard, and your mission in life, what you’re here to say.” So we can take this in many directions.
