• Armed robbery in Windermere on 28.10.11 at 04h46. 3 suspects forced open burglar bars and window to gain entry.  They put a gun to client’s head and a knife to his throat.  They took cellphones and a laptop.
• Housebreaking & theft/theft of motor vehicle in Homestead on 27.10.11 at 06h09. Burglar bars forced open at the back of the house to gain entry.  Suspects took keys and took client’s Isuzu double cab.  2 cameras also taken.
• Housebreaking and theft in Kei on 27.10.11 at 07h00. Back door and security gate forced open. TV, computer, food and car keys stolen.

• Theft out of motor vehicle in Bayley St on 29.10.11 at 19h34. Driver’s door lock damaged.  GPS, radio and wallet stolen out of a Golf Chico

• Theft out of motor vehicle in Wordsworth on 25.10.11 at 18h10. Passenger window broken.  DVD player stolen.
• Other theft in Lions Ear Cres on 26.10.11 at 08h52. A homeless person stole a blanket.
• Other theft in van Vuuren on 27.10.11 at 03h00. Pair of takkies stolen from the washing line.

in Alberton North where an undisclosed amount of money was stolen. The
manager was doing his daily cash up when three suspects entered Spar
demanding that he should open the safe. The manager tried to convince the
suspects that there is no cash when they pinned him down and cut off his
ear. A trusted source told the RECORD that his ear was hanging by a thin
piece of skin. Five minutes after the panic button was pressed ADT security
arrived at the scene. Apparently the security guard was hit on the head with

a blunt object and one of the suspects tried to take his gun. The firearm
went off during the struggle, wounding the suspect in the stomach. Police
state the gun fell to the floor where a second suspect picked it up and ran
from the scene. The wounded suspect was arrested by police on the scene when

he tried to convince them that he was only an innocent bystander. The ADT
reaction officer positively identified the suspect as one of the robbers.
The suspect was taken to hospital and is in a critical condition. Squeeze In

Spar’s manager was also rushed to hospital but no further information on his

condition was available at the time of going to print. The stolen firearm
was recovered on a street corner not far from the crime scene and a second
suspect was arrested while a third still remains at large.  www.looklocal  -

Alberton

Man jumps to his death
18 October 2011
Lucky Thusi A handcuffed man jumped to his death from the first floor of
Southgate Mall on Saturday October 15. According to an eyewitness, the man
apparently stole a cucumber from one of the store and he was caught by the
security personnel. He was then handcuffed. While they were escorting him to

the storeroom, he freed himself from the security guard and jumped from the
first floor. "The question is how did he manage to do that while he was
handcuffed and held by security," asked the eyewitness who wants to remain
anonymous. He died on the scene. One bystander said, "The man stole a
trolley full of groceries and he was apprehended. I also blame the security
guards who were suppose to guard him." Carol Steele, Acting General Manager
Southgate Mall confirmed the incident. "On Saturday, October 15 at about
13:30, the Centre Management security office at Southgate Mall were alerted
of a suspect that had been caught stealing at the Woolworths store.
"Subsequently, following protocol, security escorted the suspect out of the
store for questioning. The suspect broke away from security, and in his
attempt to escape, jumped off the first floor, sustaining severe head trauma

on impact. The SAPS and the paramedics arrived at the scene, however due to
the suspect's severe head injuries, he was declared dead. "The Southgate
Mall Security Officers worked swiftly to handle the situation. We are
extremely saddened by this tragic incident. Southgate Mall Management and
its Security Personnel will offer their full support to the pending SAPS
investigation." Also Mondeor Police Station’s Warrant Officer Bert Otto said

their office was alerted of the incident.  www.looklocal  -  Johannesburg
South

Cash-in-transit vehicle crashes into Clover truck
19 October 2011
 Gerhardt Theron A cash-in-transit (CIT) vehicle collided with a Clover
truck at the P91 and Kwartel Road intersection just before 10am this
morning. The three people in the Clover truck and the two in the CIT vehicle

sustained minor injuries. Although final investigations were still being
compiled, Insp Mveli Nhlapo, metro police spokesman, said it seemed as
though the two vehicles were travelling in the same direction and that the
CIT vehicle turned into the Clover truck, which caused it to crash into a
street light.  www.looklocal  -  Kempton Park

4 men behind bars for robbery
Graeme Raubenheimer
20/10/2011
A policeman and three alleged accomplices are behind bars for a house
robbery in Bellville. They were arrested in October shortly after fleeing
the victim’s home in Park Villas. It is understood the suspects dressed in
full police uniform. It is alleged the four men forced their way into the
home at gunpoint. They apparently tied up the resident before kicking and
slapping him, stealing two plasma televisions, a wallet and the victim’s
shoes. The resident managed to untie himself and with the security guards
help, called the police. Spokesperson Frederick van Wyk said they caught the

suspect including the warrant officer in Elsies River later that evening.
“Their next court appearance will be 31 October for a formal bail
application,” he said.  www.ewn.co.za

Three nabbed over uncut diamonds
October 19 2011 at 02:10pm
Three men have been arrested for possession of 14 uncut diamonds in Athlone,

Cape Town police said on Wednesday. Police pulled a car over near
Klipfontein Road on Tuesday and searched it, Captain Frederick van Wyk said.

“They found the diamonds, three cellphones and a large amount of Zimbabwean
dollars inside.” The estimated value of the diamonds was not immediately
known. The men were expected to face a charge of possession of diamonds when

they appeared in the Wynberg Magistrate's Court on Thursday.  www.iol.co.za

Two arrested for drugs, rape in Orange Farm
October 19 2011 at 04:21pm
By Keabetsoe Matshediso
A 26-year-old man was arrested on Tuesday after the police found him in
possession of ammunition and drugs in Orange Farm, Extension 2. Police
recieved a tip off about a person being in possession of live ammunition and

drugs. “The police followed up the tip off to the given address where they
found the suspect with the live ammunition and drugs.”, said Johannes
Motsiri, Orange Farm police spokesman. The suspect was arrested and will
appear in the Vereeniging Magistrate Court. In another incident, a
44-year-old man was arrested on Wednesday for allegedly raping a
six-year-old girl last week in Orange Farm, Extension 1. It appears that the

girl’s mother knew the suspectas a trusted neighbour who, on certain
occasions, had looked after her daughter. Motsiri said: “The mother was
notified by one of the six-year-olds friends that her daughter was being
raped by the suspect. She arrived at the scene and found that it was true.”
The matter was only reported to the police on Tuesday and a case of rape was

then opened. “He was arrested and will appear at the Vereeniging Magistrate
Court.”, said Motsiri.  www.iol.co.za

Security company shocked by rape allegations
19 October 2011
Tammy Sutherns Tactical Reaction Services (TRS), which employed a security
guard accused of raping two young girls, has vowed to find out what
happened. One of their security guards was arrested after being identified
by the 10- and 12-year-old sisters who were allegedly raped while walking to

Noordwyk Spar on 7 October. Head of TRS Renato Ramos said they had done
everything they could to assist the police with the investigation. "We’ve
given the police all the information we have," he said. Ramos added that
they were very strict about who they employed and there had been no red
flags indicating the suspect was dangerous. He had papers certifying him as
a security guard, a clean criminal record as well as clean polygraph tests
which the guards undergo every three months. Guarding and intelligence
officer Hein Koekemoer, who was called to the scene when the guard was
arrested, said, "We don’t know what happened that day, but we fully support
the police and we will keep supporting him. If he is found guilty, we do not

in anyway condone this type of behaviour," he said. He added that he didn’t
know what else they could have done to prevent something like this. Ramos
said, "In all my years in the security industry, I’ve never seen anything
like this." Colonel Steven Moodley station commander for the Midrand police
said the case had been transferred to the Family Violence, Child Protection
and Sexual Offences Unit.  www.looklocal  -  Midrand

Teen nabbed for rape
October 19 2011 at 12:48pm
A teenager has been arrested for allegedly raping a Grade R pupil in Zola,
Soweto, police said on Wednesday. Warrant Officer Kay Makhubela said the
14-year-old boy was arrested around midnight. The five-year-old girl did not

return from school on Tuesday afternoon, and the mother went looking for
her. “The girl told her mother she was stopped from going home by the
teenager. He undressed her and raped her.” Makhubela said this happened in
an empty classroom. The boy ran away. He would appear at the Protea
Magistrate's Court on Thursday.  www.iol.co.za

Cops arrested for rape
2011-10-19 18:00
Johannesburg - Three men, including two policemen, have been arrested for
rape in Nelspoort, police said on Wednesday. The three men, aged between 23
and 33, were arrested on Tuesday, Captain Malcolm Pojie said. They allegedly

raped and abused four girls, aged between 14 and 18, between January last
year and April this year. "It is alleged that the accused performed sexual
acts with the victims over a period of time without their consent." The two
policemen were based at the Nelspoort police station. Pojie said more
arrests would be made as police believed other people were involved. A
disciplinary investigation had begun. "We cannot and will not tolerate, nor
allow our members to be involved in crime," said provincial commissioner
Lieutenant General Arno Lamoer. The three men would appear in the Beaufort
West Magistrate's Court on Thursday on charges of rape, statutory rape and
sexual exploitation.   www.news24.com

Man tries to abduct pupil in Roodepoort
2011-10-20 07:41
Johannesburg - A man was arrested on Wednesday for attempting to abduct an
18-year-old girl outside the same school in Florida where Louise de Waal was

snatched last week. The pupil was sitting on a pavement near the school at
06:00 when the man threatened her with a screwdriver and tried to force her
into the boot of his car, said Captain Pinky Tsinyane. "A security guard
from the school saw the incident and alerted police," said Tsinyane. When
noticing the security guard had spotted him, the man fled the scene, leaving

the girl behind. Police later caught the 21-year-old whilst he was driving.
Copycat - "We cannot say at this stage whether the man is linked to the De
Waal case, but police are investigating," said Tsinyane. "We do not know if
he is a copycat. He is being profiled and police will investigate whether he

was involved in some of the previous cases in the area." He will appear in
the Roodepoort Magistrate's Court soon on a charge of attempted kidnapping.
De Waal was abducted last Tuesday and was later found dead on a farm in
Magaliesburg. The provincial education department earlier said that the
screwdriver incident happened near Hoërskool Die Burger, in Roodepoort,
where De Waal was a pupil. De Waal's alleged murderer, Johannes Jacobus
Steyn, turned himself over to the police last week. Steyn has confessed to
being the so-called “Sunday rapist”, but not to being her murderer.
www.news24.com

Cape Town pupil held over gun
October 19 2011 at 04:24pm
A high school pupil has been arrested for possession of a firearm and
ammunition in Elsies River, in Cape Town, police said on Wednesday. Police
were giving career information at a school on Tuesday when pupils tipped
them off that their schoolmate had a gun, Captain Frederick van Wyk said.
They searched the 18-year-old Grade 11 pupil and found a .38 revolver with
three rounds of ammunition. The pupil was expected to face a charge of
illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition in the Goodwood Magistrate's
Court on Friday.  www.iol.co.za

Police officer killed in hijacking attempt
18 October 2011
Bernice Maune A 26-year-old police constable from Kempton Park Police
Station was fatally wounded in a failed hijacking in Ivory Park on Friday.
Const Joas Thole was driving through Ivory Park with two friends in an Audi
at 9.30pm when the hijacking occurred. The hijackers, who drove a Toyota
Venture, told Thole to hand over the keys to the car and upon his refusal,
the four men opened fire. Capt Jethro Mtshali, Kempton SAPS spokesman, said
Thole was off duty and did not return fire. He said a bullet fatally hit
Thole on his lower body. "His friends rushed him to Carstenhof Clinic where
he was declared dead on arrival. His friends were not injured and survived
the ordeal," said Mtshali. Mtshali further added that Thole was a single,
student constable who was appointed last year. "A memorial service for him
will be held tomorrow (October 19) at Christian Life Centre in Kempton Park
at 10am. His funeral service will be held in his hometown of Limpopo on
Saturday," said Mtshali.  www.looklocal  -  Kempton Park

Egpaar se lyke langs huis gekry
2011-10-19 23:23
Marisa Phillips
WELKOM. – Die twee erg ontbinde lyke van ’n egpaar van die stad is
gisteroggend onder rommel agter hul huis in Lakeview gekry. Die moontlikheid

dat plofstof in die moord op mnr. Jan (50) en mev. Maryna Prinsloo (45)
gebruik is, word ondersoek, want albei slagoffers se koppe is vermink. Mnr.
Kirk Bateman van Virginia, mev. Prinsloo se broerskind, het gister op die
twee lyke afgekom. Hy was by die huis op soek na sy pa, Sydney, wat glo ook
daar gebly het. “Die hek was gesluit en alles het baie stil gelyk. Ek het
besluit om oor te klim en deur die vensters te gaan kyk. Binne het ek bloed
gesien en agter die huis het ek op die twee lyke afgekom. Dit was met
komberse en stukke van ’n kar toegemaak.” Hy het die polisie vanaf sy
skoonma se huis gaan bel. Die Prinsloos huur die afgelope jaar die huis in
Gullstraat, Lakeview. Volgens ’n kollega van mnr. Prinsloo het hy by
Beatrix-myn se nr 5-skag gewerk, maar hy was dae laas by die werk. Hy het
vir mense by die werk gesê hy gaan ’n dokter in Bloemfontein besoek. Kol.
Koos van der Merwe, waarnemende stasiekommissaris van Welkom, sê die
vermoede bestaan dat die twee lyke reeds meer as twee weke agter die huis
lê. Hy sê die bewyse dui daarop dat daar ’n bakleiery in die huis was en dat

die egpaar vermoedelik binne die huis vermoor is omdat daar baie bloed in
die huis gekry is. Sleepmerke dui daarop dat die lyke na die agterkant van
die huis gesleep is. “Hulle koppe is erg vermink. Ons kon nog nie vasstel of

dit met plofstof of ’n vuurwapen gedoen is nie.” Van der Merwe sê die
polisie het in die stadium nie verdagtes nie, maar hulle het baie leidrade
wat hulle opvolg. Hy sê daar is nie bewyse dat ’n derde persoon in die huis
gebly het nie. Dit is ook nog nie duidelik of iets uit die huis vermis word
nie, want Van der Merwe sê die huis is baie deurmekaar. Van der Merwe doen
’n
beroep op mense om veral in die feestyd die veiligheid by hul huise op te
skerp en nie vreemdelinge in hul erwe toe te laat nie. Mnr. Wave Prinsloo,
mnr. Jan Prinsloo se broer, sê hy is erg geskok oor die moorde. Hy sê die
egpaar het die huis in Lakeview sowat ’n jaar lank gehuur. “Ek weet nog nie
hoe hulle vermoor is nie. Die polisie sal my laat weet. “My bakkie wat hulle

geleen het om Bloemfontein toe te ry, word vermis.” Die familie vermoed ’n
familielid is vir die moord verantwoordelik. Die polisie is op soek na mnr.
Sydney Bateman wat hulle moontlik met die ondersoek kan help. Enigiemand met

inligting kan die speurder aan diens by 082-301-3075 bel. - Volksblad

Physiotherapist pleads guilty to fraud
October 19 2011 at 03:29pm
Rustenburg physiotherapist Jurry Sehunoe pleaded guilty to 28 counts of
money laundering and 15 cases of fraud in the Pretoria Commercial Crimes
Court on Wednesday. Sehunoe, 33, together with former labour department
employees Maxwell Ramaphosa and Samuel Mfeleng, was accused of defrauding
the Compensation Fund of more than R3 million. His trial will now be handled

separately, leaving Ramaphosa and Mfeleng to plead their innocence in a
different court. Magistrate Nika Setshogoe granted the separation of trial.
In a written affidavit read out by his lawyer, Sehunoe told the court he had

run a physiotherapy business in Rustenburg since 2004. “Most of the
financial claims for accident victims I made on behalf of my clients to the
department of labour's compensation fund were not paid,” Sehunoe said. “I
then approached Mfeleng who later introduced me to Ramaphosa in January
2009. The two agreed to assist me get payment for my clients' claims.” By
then, Mfeleng and Ramaphosa were employed by the department as senior
administration clerks in Gauteng. He said large sums of money were deposited

into his account before the two approached him to say the money was theirs
and he could share with them. He was shown records indicating that the money

had not been paid out for claims he had made. “They took advantage of my
vulnerability and enticed me with cash. I did not want to be part of the
scheme, but later took part of the money and used it for personal
consumption.” Regular payments were made into Sehunoe's three FNB accounts
between February and December 2009. He would transfer some of the money into

the accounts of the other two. Mfeleng's share would be deposited into his
Gladiator Driving School account. Sehunoe said he spent R539 352 of the
money and was willing to pay it back. According to court papers, several
fictitious claims were made to the Compensation Fund “at inflated prices
beyond the applicable rates”. Sehunoe was arrested in May 2010 for fraud
relating to more than R2m and money laundering. Sehuoe's bail was extended
to January 17 2012 when sentencing procedures will start with the submission

of a pre-sentencing report. Ramaphosa and Mfeleng will appear in a different

court on November 1. All three are out on R3 000 bail each.  www.iol.co.za

Pretoria murder-accused freed
2011-10-19 22:46
Johannesburg - A self-confessed killer's refusal to testify has contributed
to two co-accused walking out of the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria
scot-free. Judge Jody Kollapen on Wednesday granted a discharge to murder
and robbery accused Mahlodi Kgwete and Zanele Manciya because of a lack of
evidence against them. The two friends were accused of helping Manciya's
sister Mabel to murder her rival domestic worker Johanna Majozi. Mabel
Manciya was sentenced to 18 years' imprisonment last year after admitting
that she had stabbed Majozi to death with a steak knife. She claimed she
lost her temper when Majozi called her a witch and told her she would never
get her job back. She claimed she ransacked the house to make it look like a

robbery because she was frightened. Both women had, on occasion, worked for
Pieter Mentz at his house in Wespark. The only evidence presented by the
State was that of a neighbour, who heard Majozi screaming and saw two women
clamping her mouth shut and dragging her into the house. She later saw three

women walk out of the house with bags, but could identify only Mabel
Manciya. Police testified that some of the Mentz's goods were found in
Kgwete's room when she was arrested. Kgwete and Zanele Manciya admitted to
being at the scene, but claimed they only helped Mabel carry goods and had
nothing to do with the murder or robbery. Majozi died after being stabbed 11

times in the chest, neck and back. According to an autopsy report, she was
also strangled. Photos of the murder scene showed that her ankles and knees
were tied and that she was blindfolded before she was stabbed. The State
closed its case after Mabel Manciya refused to testify against her sister
and Kgwete. Kollapen said it was clear that more than one person was
involved in the murder, but there was no evidence about their identity.
While there was "considerable suspicion" about the involvement of Kgwete and

Zanele Manciya, there was no forensic or other evidence to implicate them in

the murder or robbery.  www.news24.com

Plans to deal with cash heists
20 Oct 2011
Mfundekelwa Mkhulisi
With the festive season around the corner, criminals want to take a dip into

the estimated R80-billion in circulation. But the police and security
companies will be ready to deal with any attempt by the criminals to lay
their grubby hands on the South African public's hard-earned money, Secured
Banking Vehicle Services (SBV) chief executive Grant Dunnington has warned.
He says South Africa had seen a decrease in cash-in-transit heists (CIT)
because of comprehensive measures put in place, such as beefing up personnel

and using armoured vehicles. Between 2007 and 2009 there were 340 robberies
and last year the number dropped to 204, he said. Dunnington said SBV hired
additional staff to prevent heists during the festive season. He said
research had also revealed that most attacks happen on Mondays between 9am
and noon. He warned retailers that they still needed to be vigilant to
protect their business and customers. "Though there has been a reported
decrease in CIT heists over the last couple of years, retailers are still
not immune to attacks and should take the time to beef up their security and

be alert to suspicious activities on their premises," he said. Internal
involvement from staff in heists is believed to be both retailers and SBV's
biggest threat. Dunnington urged retailers to pay extra attention in and
around their shops for their safety and that of their customers. SBV head of

CIT Mike Shipton lauded police for arresting some of the most wanted
criminals last year. Kingpins Donald Duma Sigasa, Jethros "Malombo" Mthembu,

Josia "MaSeven" Nkosi, Happy Mosia and Moeketsi "Keke" Masike were among the

10 most wanted criminals apprehended in a 10-day blitz by the Hawks. They
were linked to CITs dating back to 2001. "Police Minister (Nathi Mthethwa)
and police commissioner (General Bheki Cele) have done a great job in
fighting crime," he said.  Sowetan

PE court system close to collapse
19 October 2011
Estelle Ellis
CHAOTIC court rolls have pushed Port Elizabeth’s most serious high court
criminal prosecutions to the brink of collapse, with lawyers complaining
that a severely broken system has caused unprecedented delays. “I have
appeared in this court frequently and I have never seen such long delays,”
attorney Peter Daubermann said in court yesterday, arguing that it would be
better for his clients’ cases to be struck from the roll than for the
continuous infringement of their right to a speedy trial. Meanwhile, deputy
director of public prosecutions in Port Elizabeth Hannelie Bakker said
yesterday she was also no longer able to deliver justice to the victims of
crime and communities at risk due to delays of up to three years in
finalising matters, caused by problems with court rolls. “Witnesses forget.
People disappear. Traumatised families lose hope,” she said. Forty-three
accused implicated in some of the city’s worst crimes – including house
robberies, hijackings, cash-in-transit robberies, child rapes and gang
murders – appeared yesterday for 15 separate cases to be postponed as trial
rolls are too clogged up with partly heard matters to allow for new cases to

start. In the Port Elizabeth High Court, only two judges are assigned to
hear criminal matters every week. In one of the cases, where the accused had

already been held in custody pending trial for three years, the court was
asked yesterday to strike the matter from the roll. Judge Phakamisa Tshiki
refused, but did make an unprecedented order that the men be given an
expedited trial date. The high court is also due to hear several bail
applications in the next few weeks occasioned by the long delays in
finalising criminal matters. Lawyers said yesterday the main cause of the
delays was the practice that complex criminal trials were set down for no
longer than a week at a time, leading to several postponements that could
delay the finalisation of cases by up to a year. The court rolls are
compiled by the office of Eastern Cape Judge President Themba Sangoni. He
declined to comment on the issue. Bakker said her office had no control over

the court rolls and the long delays in finalising high court trials had a
severely detrimental effect on witnesses and traumatised victims of crime,
especially those in witness protection. “We cannot fight the gangs and
organised crime like this.” She was summoned to the city’s New Law Court
last month to explain the lengthy delays in setting dates for high court
trials. In that case the trial of Jeremy King, charged with the murder of a
child while trying to assassinate a witness in a gang-related trial, was at
risk of being struck from the roll due to long delays. The chaos is set to
escalate at the start of the next court term, on January 24, when more than
60 prisoners will appear in court in an unprecedented 25 cases – all of them

provisionally postponed for court dates. Meanwhile Sangoni’s office has,
without explanation, reduced the trial time for one of Port Elizabeth’s
biggest racketeering cases, due to start on November 14, to one week. The
move is likely to cause more massive delays in the trial for prominent
criminal defence team Advocate Terry Price and attorney Alwyn Griebenouw in
a case that has already been postponed four times in the high court.
Daubermann opposed the prosecution’s application for a postponement
yesterday, saying that no real reason could be advanced as to why there was
no space on the court rolls for the trial. By their next court appearance,
his clients would have been in prison awaiting trial for three years, “If
this long delay is caused by the system, something must be done about the
system,” Daubermann said. “The right to a speedy trial cannot be negated
because of a problem with the system. My clients stand to be severally
prejudiced.” Another attorney, Robin O’Brien, said even if a trial date was
set for their clients next year, the practice of setting down criminal
matters for a week at a time caused massive delays in the finalisation of
cases. Their sentiments were supported by several of their colleagues
embroiled in drawn-out criminal matters that take up to a year to finish. At

the moment, the Port Elizabeth High Court is dealing with 25 criminal trials

that have not been finalised. Half of the court time for the first term of
next year has already been allocated to partly heard trials and the
remaining weeks are filling up fast. Meanwhile, a further 40 cases are
awaiting trial – a number that is steadily increasing as Port Elizabeth’s
gang warfare claims more and more victims, among other crimes.  The Herald

Fraudsters cash in on Lotto
20 Oct 2011
Caiphus Kgosana
FRAUDSTERS are using sophisticated tactics to dupe the National Lotteries
Board into paying funds to bogus charities, while some genuine recipients
are using lotto grants to buy luxury cars. And the boards of some legitimate

charities were becoming too reliant on lottery for funds and neglecting
fund-raising. This was revealed by the board yesterday when it addressed
Parliament on its annual report. Chief executive officer Vevek Ram said the
board, which distributed R3-billion to charities and other entities in the
2010-11 financial year, had picked up numerous fraudulent applications for
funding. "You will find a person that has got 10 IDs, with 10 different
names and 16 places where he lives and maybe he will make 16 different
applications for different projects. That happens a lot," he said. Ram also
said there are beneficiaries who apply under the pretext of needing the
money for charitable projects but when the funds are paid out, redirect them

towards personal luxuries. "We find that you give somebody money to plant
food and then they would buy a Land Rover." The board was also dealing with
instances of conflict of interest, where some grant recipients were using
lotto funds to fund projects that are managed by their own companies.
Sowetan

No solid proof against Mdluli – Hawks
October 19 2011 at 10:44am
The Hawks have not been able to get concrete evidence linking suspended
crime intelligence boss Richard Mdluli and his co-accused to the
disappearance of two Vosloorus men, a spokesman said on Wednesday. “It's not

so clean-cut… We have made inquiries with the two families,” Colonel
McIntosh Polela said. “We don't rule out that there is a link, but until we
have concrete evidence we can't say anything.” Polela said the interest in
Mdluli and Colonel Nkosana Ximba was sparked because Ximba was the last
person seen with the two men. The Times newspaper reported on Wednesday that

the Hawks were looking into the disappearance of people believed to be crime

intelligence informants from Vosloorus on the East Rand more than 13 years
ago. Lunga Khumalo, then 21, and Thulani Shoba, then 24, were last seen by
relatives when Ximba allegedly picked them up from their Vosloorus homes in
a police car. Their families had reportedly pleaded for help finding their
sons for years, to no avail. A number of murder and kidnapping cases linked
to Mdluli were also being investigated, according to the report. Mdluli and
three others are expected to go on trial in the High Court in Johannesburg
in April on charges of intimidation, kidnapping, assault with intent to do
grievous bodily harm, murder, attempted murder, and conspiracy to commit
murder. They are accused of involvement in a decade-old love triangle
murder. Mdluli faces an additional charge of defeating or obstructing the
course of justice.  www.iol.co.za

5 cops vs 1 500 serial rapists
October 19 2011 at 11:22am
By Caryn Dolley
There are roughly 1 500 serial rapists in the country, who have been active
during the past three years – and these are just the ones the police are
aware of. But, despite the overwhelming number of cases, there are only five

specialised police officers countrywide dedicated to investigating these
types of criminals, says Gérard Labuschagne, head of the police’s
investigative psychology section. Situated in Pretoria and falling under the

police’s forensic sciences division, the section probes
psychologically-motivated crimes including muti murders, other unusual
murders, serial killings and serial rapes. At any given time the section,
which is stretched to capacity, is investigating a number of criminals
around the country. “When we detect some cases, we forward them on because
there are too many for us to get involved in,” Labuschagne said in an
exclusive telephone interview permitted by the national police. “We’re
always busy. There’s never a moment we’re not busy with a serial case in the

country.” In recent cases the section has dealt with, Thabo Bester, who
became known as the “Facebook rapist”, was arrested two weeks ago and
pleaded guilty to raping two models in Durban in August. He was sentenced to

50 years imprisonment and faces more charges in Cape Town and Gauteng. On
Monday, Johannes Jacobus Steyn admitted to being the “Sunday rapist” who
preyed on young girls in Gauteng and North West. He also faces additional
charges including 13 counts of rape, one of murder and 10 of kidnapping.
Labuschagne said there were currently about 1 500 serial rapists on the
police’s database. Some of these were still on the loose, some were in
police custody awaiting trial and others may have been convicted. “But it’s
impossible to know exactly how many (serial rapists) there actually are. We
always assume there are more,” Labuschagne said. All the 1 500 serial
rapists on the database had committed a rape within the past three years.
Labuschagne said rapists were usually tracked using DNA samples and were
classified as serial after committing two rapes. “DNA is the easiest way to
track them. When a case is opened we check at neighbouring police stations
to see if there are similar cases. We look in other areas only if there’s a
reason to look in that specific area,” he said. Labuschagne said the police
had a serial DNA unit in their forensics laboratory which had the list of
serial rapists. DNA samples of suspected rapists were tested and this was
how more incidents could be linked to the rapists already on the list, or
more names were added to it. When the DNA unit had a “double hit” – when the

DNA sample of a rapist matched another sample – he was classified as a
serial rapist and investigations into his actions were intensified.
Labuschagne said there tended to be more serial rapists in KwaZulu-Natal and

Gauteng. He did not know why. He said the Western Cape had also had its
share of serial rapists. But he said up until about a year ago it had been
difficult to track serial rapists operating in the Western Cape as officers
in the police’s Western Cape Forensic Science Laboratory had only tested
certain victims’ samples. Usually, when a rape survivor was sexually
assaulted and the matter was reported to the police, a sexual assault kit
was compiled. Samples, including bodily fluids forming part of the kit, were

then tested and those results could then be matched to a blood sample taken
from the rape suspect, linking a suspect to a rape survivor. Labuschagne
said previously, sexual assault kits from survivors in cases where a suspect

had not been identified, had not been processed in the province’s forensics
laboratory. “The thinking was, if you don’t have a suspect why process that
sample,” Labuschagne said. He said this had changed in the past year when a
new police officer had been put in charge of the laboratory, and now all
samples were processed. This made it easier to link suspects to cases, and
police could therefore see if they could be regarded as serial rapists.
Labuschagne said aside from serial rapists, the investigative psychology
section probed serial killers. “If there’s a murder series (a serial
killer), no matter how busy we are we always get involved,” he said. In
Labuschagne’s 10 years in the investigative psychology section he said he
had probed more than 70 serial murder cases and 200 serial rape cases.
Members of his section went out and helped detectives investigate a specific

crime. They generally did not take over the investigation, but assisted and
guided where they could. Labuschagne said he hoped satellite stations,
branching from the investigative psychology section, would be established in

the provinces during the next two years as this would ease the section’s
workload. He said he was involved in training other police officers and once

a year gave short presentations to detectives to sensitise them to the
crimes they were likely to investigate. - Cape Times

Meet SA’s best hijack hunter
October 19 2011 at 09:39am
By Lee Rondganger
Two bullet holes in his police car– one in the driver’s side door and the
other in the boot – bear testimony to how dangerous Warrant Officer Ganas
“Tiger” Ramsamy’s job can get. The Durban SAPS policeman has been named
South Africa’s top cop by a tracking company for recovering 168 hijacked and

stolen vehicles in KwaZulu-Natal this year, up from the 148 he recovered
last year. Over the past year alone, he has arrested more than 40 car
thieves and recovered 10 firearms. The bullet hole in the driver’s door came

when he had traced a hijacked Lexus to Umlazi’s F-Section and was shot at by

the hijackers while the bullet hole in the boot was a parting shot from a
hijacker who shot at him after he had recovered a stolen Toyota RunX in
Amanzimtoti. “It’s all part of the job,” the 47-year-old father of two said.

“See that hole,” he says pointing to the driver’s side door. “Had that one
got me I would have been paralysed.” As a police officer attached to the
Montclair Crime Prevention Unit, Ramsamy is responsible for chasing
hijackers and car thieves for the entire south Durban basin. He has lost
track of the number of stolen cars he has given back to grateful owners, but

recently Ramsamy’s dedication to the fight against crime was recognised when

he was named South Africa’s top cop for the most vehicles recovered at the
Tracker awards held in Pretoria on Friday. From June last year to June this
year, Ramsamy recovered 168 hijacked or stolen vehicles fitted with a
tracking device – the most for any officer countrywide. In 2010, he was
named KZN’s top vehicle finder after recovering 148 vehicles, narrowly
missing out on the national prize. Ramsamy has recovered scores of cars not
fitted with tracking devices. He joined the police in 1983 after falling in
love with the uniform as a teenager. Just months after walking out of the
Wentworth Police College, he earned the nickname Tiger. “Some people don’t
even know my real name,” he laughs. “I earned the name because when I start
chasing a suspect I don’t stop until I catch him. Everybody knows me by it,
even the criminals,” he said. Ramsamy says that it is his passion for the
community and the adrenalin rush of chasing bad guys that motivates him.
“You also have to have a wide network of informers,” he said. “This happens
when you get the community to trust you and believe in you. I often get
calls from people saying, ‘Tiger, there is this suspicious car just parking
in the neighbourhood, come check it out’. “The community and gaining
people’s
trust is very important if you want to be a good policeman because nobody
knows the neighbourhood like them,” he said. Tracker and the SA police have
an agreement where Tracker’s recovery technology has been fitted to more
than 50 police aircraft and more than 1 300 SAPS vehicles. When a car is
stolen or hijacked in the south Durban area, an SMS is sent to Ramsamy’s
cellphone. He gets into his police car, fitted with a device that can pick
up the stolen vehicle’s signal and drives to the nearest hilltop to
pin-point the vehicle’s location. “The quickest I have been able to find a
vehicle was five minutes. The longest was two-and-half hours,” Ramsamy said.

Most thieves however know that vehicles are fitted with tracking devices and

usually leave the car in a deserted area to “cool off”. After finding a car
abandoned, Ramsamy and his team may, if the situation allows for it, set a
trap for the thief. But sting operations like this can be dangerous. In July

this year, Ramsamy was part of the team that brought down the leader of a
notorious “blue light gang”, Thabo Sithole, who was responsible for a spate
of truck and luxury vehicle hijackings. Ramsamy and his colleagues had set a

trap for Sithole after he had hijacked a VW Polo in Montclair and left the
car to “cool off” at a Durban city centre parkade. “We saw him come back for

the car and when he got into it, we surrounded him. As he got out of the car

he pointed his gun straight at my head and was about to pull the trigger
when a colleague of mine shot him dead. “When the gun was pointed at me I
thought ‘this is it’, and just went cold. Had my colleague not responded
when he did, he would have shot me,” Ramsamy said. Ramsamy said that his
wife, Rhona, and their six-year-old twin boys understand that he has a
dangerous job but support him. “I would never be able to do it without them.

When I get home sometimes my boys often ask me if I caught the bad guys or
if I was the first to get to a stolen vehicle.” As part of his prize Ramsamy

will attend International Association of Auto Theft Investigators seminar in

Kansas City, USA next year and received R10 000 to donate to a children’s
home of his choice. Ramsamy will be handing over the cheque to the Isiya
Children’s Home on the Bluff on Wednesday. - Daily News

Marches will bring back dignity, says Juju
2011-10-19 16:18
Marching to the Union Buildings in Pretoria will ensure that residents of
Thembelihle in Lenasia, south of Joburg, would finally find dignity, ANC
Youth League leader Julius Malema said today. “We need to tell the
government that we want to be treated with respect. We need to bring back
the dignity of black people, especially Africans,” he said. More than 600
residents gathered to hear Malema speak ahead of planned marches for
economic freedom in Joburg and Pretoria. “If we want to be beautiful we need

to make sure there is food on our table. We will fight until we have that
food,” Malema said. “Community leaders are telling us to never sell out our
own people. We are going to march and if there is no answer we will not
stop, we will not leave you [government] alone.” He said the residents
should march to Pretoria along the M1 highway. Malema ended his address by
leading the crowd in an alternate rendition of dubula ibunu [kill the boer]
called “kiss the boer” before pointing his finger at the crowd and mimicking

the sounds of gunfire. Many residents were in agreement with Malema. “This
[the march] is a good thing. We spent too many years in shacks. If there is
no salt, we will fight until we get salt,” an unnamed resident said. Other
residents said Malema was “talking nonsense”. “We are human beings. Kill the

boer is not for us. We just want electricity and service delivery. This
Julius is talking nonsense,” Eric Mdluli said. The Economic Freedom Youth
Mass Action is to be held on October 27 and October 28 at Beyers Naude
square in central Joburg, the Chamber of Mines in Hollard street in Joburg,
the Johannesburg Stock Exchange in Sandton and at the Union Buildings in
Pretoria, where a night vigil is planned.  City Press

Cosatu plans mass picket over Walmart merger
October 19 2011 at 12:19pm
CLAYTON BARNES
Political Writer
WALMART won’t change its ways and should not be allowed into South Africa
under any circumstances, according to Cosatu. The trade union federation
said yesterday that it would strengthen its anti-Walmart campaign with a
“mass picket” outside the Western Cape High Court, where the Competition
Appeals Tribunal is set to meet, tomorrow and Friday. The R16.5 billion
Walmart-Massmart merger was approved by the Competition Tribunal in May,
subject to certain conditions. Mike Louw, Cosatu’s provincial co-ordinator,
said the government should “do everything in its power” to keep Walmart out.

He said the government should stop negotiations and simply tell Walmart that

“Africa was not interested in having them here”. “Having Walmart here won’t
only affect jobs, but will also destroy the economy,” said Louw. “They won’t

change their ways. Their only way of doing business is to destroy
everything. “Once they are here, Africa will be ravaged by Walmart.” It has
been suggested that the US firm used its size to destroy competition.
Earlier this month, the departments of agriculture, forestry and fisheries;
economic development; and trade and industry filed heads of argument in the
Competition Appeal Court. They want the deal sent back to the tribunal for
proper consideration and more effective conditions to be imposed. Cosatu
supported this move.  Cape Argus

Census extended for two weeks
October 19 2011 at 12:19pm
STAFF REPORTERS
ANOTHER two weeks has been added to the Census 2011 process to enable the
enumeration of people left out during the initial 21-day period and to
accommodate families who did not form part of the original plan. The census
began October 10 when about 160 000 field workers started to visit
households across the country, collecting information required for
policy-making processes and to enable the improvement of service delivery.
“This two-week period will help us reach the homes we missed, either because

they were not there when our field workers visited, or because there was no
access,” said the national executive manager responsible for Census 2011
data collection, Yandiswa Mpetsheni. “In some cases there are more
apartments or more rooms in the backyard, with more tenants than
anticipated, which then means more families than the ones scheduled for our
field workers.” Mpetsheni said the process was going well so far. “A lot of
people are excited by being part of the process and give us feedback to that

effect; others are unhappy for one reason or another.” She said they had
warned female field workers to be vigilant and wary of attempts to rape
them. “We are working together with security companies and the police and we

have also set up a hotline for traumatised field workers, where they can be
counselled or called in for face-to-face debriefing sessions,” she said. In
the Western Cape, census staff have been encouraged to work in groups, and
will be accompanied into high-risk areas by police after a spate of violent
attacks on enumerators. Marius Cronje, Stats SA provincial manager and
census co-ordinator, said this week that four incidents had been reported in

Cape Town between Friday and Sunday night. In the latest incident in
Bonteheuwel late on Sunday, an enumerator was robbed of his wallet. Cronje
said census staff were given tips on what to do in potentially dangerous
situations. Cronje said Stats SA was working closely with the police to
ensure that enumerators and the public were safe. The enumerators visit each

house armed with questionnaires, each 75 questions long, which ask for basic

information on the socio-economic status of the home. All South Africans are

obliged to participate in the process. Failure to co-operate will render
people liable to a six-month jail term or a R10 000 fine, or both.  Cape
Argus

Power cuts on Thursday
18 October 2011 ELECTRICITY supply will be interrupted on Thursday 20
October from 9am to 2pm as eThekwini electricity will be doing construction
work on the high voltage network. This construction will introduce a new
electrical switching station in Parlock and ensure reliability and improved
quality of supply to the northern network. Areas that will be affected
include Newlands East, Newlands West, Sea Cow Lake, Parlock, Bakerville,
KwaMashu, Umzinyathi, Ntuzuma, Inanda, Lindelani, Springfield Park
(partially affected) and Avoca. If there are inclement weather conditions,
the outage will be rescheduled for Tuesday 25 October from 12.30pm to
5.30pm. During this outage, customers must treat all installations as live.
For enquiries relating to the outage contact the Contact C

police station in December 2010. The policeman allegedly pushed Mofokeng,
and his head hit a pillar. Mofokeng died the next morning. The officer
failed to report the assault to his superiors. After an investigation, the
ICD established that Mofokeng's death was not an accident, Dlamini said. The

policeman appeared in court on January 18 and was charged with culpable
homicide. He was released on bail, and was warned to appear for his trial on

October 19. He was re-arrested this week after the ICD learned of
allegations that he was conspiring to have the State witness in the Mofokeng

investigation killed. He was expected to appear in Bethlehem Magistrate's
Court later on Thursday, Dlamini said.  www.iol.co.za

Twee mans dood in motors gevind
2011-10-13 20:58
Johannesburg – Twee mans is dood in hul motors gevind in Winkelspruit aan
die suidelike kus van KwaZulu-Natal, het die polisie gesê. Een is
doodgeskiet en die ander een is blykbaar verwurg, het Kol. Jay Naicker gesê.

Die eerste lyk, van ‘n 36-jarige man, is Woensdag op die N2-snelweg gevind.
“Sy broeksakke was uitgekeer, wat daarop dui dat hy beroof is,” het Naicker
gesê. Die man is in die kop geskiet. Die tweede lyk is op die Old South
Road, naby die N2, gevind. “Die oorledene is Donderdag op die agtersitplek
van sy motor gevind met wurgmerke aan sy nek. Ons weet nie of enigiets by
hom gesteel is nie,” het Naicker gesê. “Daar is niks wat die twee moorde
verbind nie. Hulle het net naby aan mekaar gebeur.”  Beeld

Car syndicate hits Alberton
13 October 2011
Zelda Viljoen
A car theft syndicate emerged in Alberton. On the afternoon of October 8, a
Mazda double cab bakkie was stolen from Reading Country Club. On the
afternoon of October 8, a Mazda double cab bakkie was stolen from Reading
Country Club. The men posed as normal day visitors to enter the club and
then went into the men's change room where they stole the key for the Mazda,

as well as keys to a VW Passat. The stolen vehicle was later recovered in
Rosettenville after the suspects failed to remove the tracking device.
According to the owner of the VW Passat, he contacted his wife to bring him
a set of spare keys, he left the country club but soon realized he was being

followed by a white Volvo T5 and phoned the Alberton SAPS. Details of the
Volvo, was sent to CPS Security and the car was spotted on October 10 on
Ring Road East. A high speed chase took place and the car was pulled over in

Raceview with the help of the Alberton SAPS. Stolen goods were found in the
car along with the keys to the VW Passat and a Ford Fiesta. The suspect was
arrested at the scene. After further investigation two more suspects were
arrested the same day. Two of the suspects are aged 29 and another 26.
Investigations revealed that the suspects were wanted in connection with six

cases of theft at the McLaren Circus last week and approximately forty cases

of theft and car theft in surrounding areas. A reliable source told the
RECORD that one of the suspects declared they only did it for a rush. Some
of the items recovered in the vehicle include cellphones, a Tomato watch,
laptops and car audio equipment. If anyone has any information, or claim, on

this case, please contact the Alberton SAPS on 011 907 9148 immediately.
www.looklocal.co.za  -  Alberton

Groep jaag weg met vrou se baba
2011-10-13 08:07
Charné Kemp
Kimberley. – ’n 18 maande oue seuntjie is naby die Shell Ultra City op die
N12-hoofweg ontvoer nadat hy en sy ma geryloop en opgelaai is. Konst. Sergio

Kock, polisiewoordvoerder, sê die eenheid teen gesinsgeweld en seksuele
misdade en vir kinderbeskerming het ’n grootskeepse soektog begin. “Die
voorval het omstreeks 19:35 Dinsdag gebeur. “Sy 28-jarige ma, Amanda Linda
Msimanga, oorspronklik van Soweto, sê sy was op pad van Vryburg na
Kimberley. Sy moes haar man in Kimberley ontmoet. “Hulle sou van hier saam
na Bloemfontein vertrek.” Volgens haar is sy en haar kind deur drie mense in

’n wit Toyota Corolla opgelaai. Hulle het Afrikaans met mekaar gepraat. ’n
Man en vrou het voor gesit en ’n derde man agter by haar en die kind. “Toe
hulle naby die vulstasie was, het die bestuurder afgetrek. Hy het haar
beveel om uit die motor te klim. Voordat sy haar kind kon uithaal, het hulle

weggejaag.” Die seuntjie, Buhle, was geklee in ’n rooi en groen sweetpak.
Die bestuurder het ’n donker gelaat en het ’n swart broek en wit en blou
hemp aangehad. Hy dra ’n groen pet. Die vrouepassasier het ligbruin
gelaatstrekke en het ’n goue en bruin tradisionele rok aangehad. Die ander
man het ’n kakiebroek en bruin hemp aangehad. Die blitspatrollie en honde-
en opsporingseenheid het die omgewing deur die nag en Woensdag gefynkam.
Enigiemand met inligting kan ao. Elizma Roos by 082 566 4512 bel.  Volksblad

Kidnapped, raped teen found
October 13 2011 at 11:18am
A 16-year-old girl who was kidnapped, allegedly by her father, and raped has

been found on a farm outside Grahamstown, Eastern Cape police said on
Thursday. “She is severely traumatised,” Captain Mali Govender said. “Police

received a report of a missing girl on Sunday and it was later discovered
that she was kidnapped by her biological father.” She had reported a case of

rape and assault against her father before the incident, Govender said. The
teenager was found around noon on Tuesday at a farm where she was being held

hostage. By the time the police arrived, her father had left.  www.iol.co.za

Man moved to Gauteng after rape ‘admissions’
October 13 2011 at 05:18pm
A suspected serial rapist who admitted to kidnapping and murdering Florida
high school pupil Louise de Waal is being brought back to Gauteng, police
said on Thursday. “He handed himself in at the Margate police station (in
KwaZulu-Natal), this morning,” acting Gauteng police commissioner
Major-General Nobesuthu Masiya told reporters in Joburg. Police spokesman
Lieutenant-Colonel Tshisikhawe Ndou said KwaZulu-Natal police questioned the

man and “certain admissions have been made (by him)”. He said police were
not sure whether the admissions would culminate in a formal confession.
“There are a number of things that still have to be done. He was on the run,

but is currently in transit back to Gauteng,” he said. “When arrives, we
will see where things go from there.” Masiya said Warrant Officer Peet du
Toit, who headed up the investigation into the kidnapping of the 17-year-old

De Waal, got hold of the man through his brother, and persuaded him to hand
himself over. The man was allegedly linked to nine cases of rape and one of
murder, she said. The crimes were attributed to a man nicknamed the “Sunday
rapist”. “He has not yet confessed to the other rapes and the murder,”
Masiya said. Du Toit said the man's modus operandi matched the Sunday
rapist's. “The man usually goes out to prowl on Sunday between 10 (am) and 1

(pm) in certain suburbs in Gauteng and the North West, and looks for girls
between the ages of 10 and 17,” he said. “He then drives 20 or 30km away and

rapes the girls. He often takes mementos from them like head-bands or
panties.” Masiya said the man, in his 30s, had a previous conviction for
sexual assault. “He was arrested in 2007, convicted and sentenced to three
years in prison. The sentence was suspended for three years. He spent time
doing community service.” Masiya confirmed that a burnt body was found at a
farm in Magaliesburg on Wednesday afternoon, but said police were awaiting
forensic results before it could be identified. De Waal was kidnapped at
gunpoint while walking to school in White Ridge, Florida, west of Joburg, on

Wednesday morning.  www.iol.co.za

Confessions of a car hijacker
13 Oct 2011
Vuyi Jabavu
"My family knew but never discouraged me"  I'VE always wondered how I could
best protect myself against being hijacked. So much so that the fear of
being hijacked has forced me to carefully choose the car I want to own. In a

quest to satisfy my (sometimes unhealthy) sense of curiosity, I secured an
interview with a reformed car hijacker, whose reformation came by way of a
car accident that left him paralysed from the waist down. Being
wheelchair-bound had given Jack (not his real name) time to reflect on the
impact his past life has had on other people. It wasn't difficult to get an
interview with Jack. His contact arranged the interview in a surprisingly
short time. All too soon the day rolled by and, to my astonishment the only
thing I could think of was what to wear. For once I opted not to wear heels,

just in case I had to run! The meeting point was in a part of town with a
reputation of being a crime-infested spot. As luck would have it, I parked
in the wrong place. Three menacing- looking men stared at me in disbelief,
while simultaneously reaching for their pockets. Then Jack's mediator, Adam,

appeared and hurriedly motioned me to park closer to him. And I felt it was
best to comply. I had earlier formed a profile of the former car hijacker in

my mind but on meeting Jack I discovered he was not of diminutive frame and
soft-spoken as I thought he'd turn out to be. He had two cellphones, and
fidgeted with them constantly. It dawned on me that both of us were nervous,

though for completely different reasons. We opted to conduct our interview
while driving so as not to attract attention by being together in one place.

As we ventured out I wondered if Jack was armed. Too late for that, I mused,

but what if I ended up as a car hijacking statistic while trying to pick the

mind of a car hijacker? I was in an unfamiliar neighbourhood, sitting less
than an arm's length from a car hijacker - reformed or not. They say old
habits die hard. I asked Jack why he used to hijack cars. He said that the
allure of quick and easy cash had been too much to resist. He had started a
life of crime when he was only 17 years old as a means to support his
family. In the area he grew up in the only role models were people who
committed crime. Finding work in a white neighbourhood was an option but
Jack felt that working for a "pittance" wasn't for him. Jack had been
involved in and exposed to this lifestyle for more than 20 years at the time

and had been too immersed in it to have willingly dispensed with it. Jack
said many more cars were hijacked for spare parts than for resale and that
it all started with a driver who is unlicensed, uninsured or simply not
willing to report an accident to their insurer for fear of paying a high
excess. It also involved mechanics and panelbeaters, who were not willing to

incur the costs involved inf buying parts. According to Jack the scenario
is: A "boss" (person whom the panelbeater contacts for spare parts) places
an "order" for a particular vehicle through the country's nationwide car
hijacker network. The stolen car, called a "parcel", is "sourced" by the
network and once the "order" is fulfilled, the boss sends out a cancellation

order, thereby ensuring that he does not end up with more than one parcel.
Different parcels sell for different prices and it was interesting to learn
that most cars that can be stolen when stationary fetched a lower price than

cars that "need" to be hijacked. Once the parcel is in hand, it is stripped,

effectively reducing it to hundreds of spare parts. One parcel can be used
as parts for many similar cars, especially those that are not traceable.
Many factors play a role in the pricing of parcels, including availability,
scarcity of the particular model and the risk involved. Jack was quick to
point out that different hijackers used different modus operandi and that
client needs differed. But the general rule was first-come-first-paid. Not
all vehicle thefts can be categorised as hijackings, Jack said. He seemed
disgusted by the fact that his specialised craft was belittled by petty
thieves. He mentioned that some car thieves simply shadowed people in
shopping malls and other leisure areas with the intention of stealing their
jewellery, cash and bank cards. These criminals follow the shoppers out of
the car park and relieve them of their belongings, so "hijacked" cars are
sometimes found abandoned not too far from the place they were stolen. When
asked if car hijackers targeted women, Jack's response was an emphatic no,
but he added he was not speaking on behalf of all hijackers. He said his
team had not targeted women, especially those with children since mothers
were too unpredictable for their liking. Though he didn't articulate it I
sensed what he was really saying was that mothers' maternal instincts often
endangered a "job" and resulted in injuries or death. Apart from mothers
with children in cars, everyone else was fair game. If you happened to be
driving a car that had been ordered you were a target. I asked why car
hijackers often kidnapped the drivers, and Jack's answer was rather a
surprising one. If the hijackers let you go before they have located the
tracking system, Jack said, the driver will have an opportunity to activate
the tracker, meaning the hijackers' efforts will count for nothing.
According to Jack it took about 10 minutes to locate the tracking system in
a car. Those first 10 minutes after a vehicle has been hijacked are critical

and could be the difference between life and death. I got the distinct
feeling that he meant it was at this point that most hijack victims were at
risk of ending up dead. I asked Jack how car hijackers went about finding a
"parcel" and he painstakingly schooled me in the art of "scouting". A group
of youths would venture into a neighbourhood in search of their target. The
actual market value of the vehicle would determine in which suburb they
conducted their search, though in some cases his team would cross provincial

borders to fulfil an order. The scouts would steal a small inconspicuous
vehicle, change the number plates, and drive around until they identified
their target. They would establish the driver's routine by following them
for a few days. Jack suggested that drivers should be vigilant at all times
and constantly change the routes they use to and from work. He said
motorists should use their rear-view and side mirrors often when driving.
"Make a few turns here and there," he suggested. "If the car behind you
makes the same turns you need to be aware that someone could be following
you". Jack said drivers who were easily distracted made for easy targets,
especially those who talk on cell phones while driving. "Rather drive to the

nearest police station and if the car behind you drives past then you know
you have to readjust your travel pattern." Jack told me proudly he had a
wife and children. They were aware of what he did for a living and had never

discouraged him from doing it. At a minimum of R300,000 a job he could
afford to send his children to private schools and did not lack for
anything. As a parting question I asked him why the community had never
handed him over to the police, to which he replied that a sense of loyalty
in communities was sometimes higher than the sense of civic duty, especially

if the community was not at risk from criminal activities. It came as little

comfort that Jack explained that members of the police force and other
authorities were part of the hijacking networks since they provided
legitimate paperwork where needed. As I watched Jack wheel himself along the

dusty path, my mind set about to finding and interviewing someone who might
have been a victim of a car hijacking.  Sowetan

Serial killer gets 14 life terms
October 13 2011 at 07:09pm
Serial killer, rapist and robber Sello Alfred Phalane was given 14 life
sentences by the Middelburg High Court on Thursday, Limpopo police said. The

52-year-old was found guilty on five counts of murder, five counts of rape
and four counts of robbery, Lieutenant-Colonel Mohale Ramatseba said. “The
sentences will run concurrently.” Acting Limpopo commissioner Major-General
Benny Ntlemeza, welcomed the ruling. “The sentence will serve as a deterrent

to would-be killers, rapists and robbers.” Phalane raped, robbed and killed
five women between 2008 and 2009 in the Dennilton area. His first victim,
Eva Lekalakala, 41, was killed in June 2008. Her remains were found at
Spitpunt, in Dennilton. She was identified through DNA tests. Josephine
Manamela, 38, was killed in August 2008 and her decomposed body found at Ga
Maria village. In February 2009, the naked body of an unknown woman, aged
around 30, was found in the bushes at Driefontein in Dennilton. His fourth
victim, Margaret Seretlo, 41, was found at Driefontein July 2009, as was his

fifth victim Elizabeth Kobe, 36. Phalane was arrested while selling CDs at a

minibus taxi rank in Zebediela in September 2009.  www.iol.co.za

Cop accused of stealing docket
October 13 2011 at 12:39pm
A police officer has appeared in the Chatsworth Magistrate's Court in Durban

for allegedly stealing a docket, KwaZulu-Natal police said on Thursday. The
Bayview police captain was arrested on Wednesday when it came to light that
she tried to help her colleagues avoid getting arrested by allegedly
quashing a docket, said Lieutenant-Colonel Vincent Mdunge. The charge
related to a police operation in July. Two police officers conducted a raid
after receiving information about drugs being kept in a house in Bayview,
Mdunge said. The officers were accused of taking a R2 500 bribe from a man
allegedly dealing in dagga, and of stealing his cellphone. A case was
reported to the captain at the Bayview police station. She ordered the
officers to return the money and allegedly stole the case docket. She had
been charged with defeating the ends of justice and was released on R500
bail. “The two police officers pleaded guilty when they were arrested in
July. “They are going back to the Chatsworth Magistrate's Court on October
18 for sentencing,” Mdunge said. The captain would appear again in court on
October 20.  www.iol.co.za

Minister condemns spate of child murders
2011-10-13 22:39
Johannesburg - A recent spate of child murder cases in South Africa was met
with outrage by the minister of women, children and people with disabilities

on Thursday. “The barbaric actions of child abusers and murderers have no
place in our democratic society," said Lulu Xingwana in a statement. She
said the net was closing on perpetrators of child abuse, with her department

working closely with law enforcement agencies. Xingwana was satisfied with
the police's reintroduction of the family violence, child protection and
sexual offences units. “Child murderers will have no place to hide as more
and more of them will continue to face the full might of the law,” she said.

On Wednesday morning, schoolgirl Louise de Waal was kidnapped at gun-point
as she walked to school in Roodepoort, Gauteng. A badly burnt body - widely
believed to be De Waal's - was found on a farm in Magaliesburg later in the
day. Last Friday, a three-year-old boy's butchered body was found stuffed
into a suitcase in his next-door neighbour's house at Gugulethu in the
Western Cape. Just over a month ago, two sisters, 8 and 12, were stabbed in
Khayelitsha, also in the Western Cape. The younger girl died from her
injuries. Police said they could not rule out the possibility that the girls

had been raped. Xingwana appealed to the public to work with the police to
ensure child abusers were rooted out of society.  www.news24.com

Cele slammed over gun control ‘nightmare’
October 13 2011 at 12:05pm
Political Bureau
NATIONAL police commissioner General Bheki Cele and his top cops were
slammed by Parliament’s police oversight committee yesterday over the state
of the service, with the chair of the committee describing its firearms
control as a “nightmare”. In the past five years, 11 935 SAPS firearms have
been lost or stolen. As the police top brass were being grilled, Police
Minister Nathi Mthethwa said in a written parliamentary reply that one-third

(91 191) of SAPS firearms still needed to be marked to clearly identify them

as police weapons, making it nearly impossible to keep track of and recover
stolen or lost firearms. Committee chairwoman Sindi Chikunga said the
problem was rooted in the fact that “there are no consequences for doing
wrong”. “If you go to a police station just ask for the firearm register, it

will be signed by Sindi, Dianne or whoever.” Neither the firearms register
nor the safe was being managed properly, she said, with junior officers
having access to the weapons. “Firearms are not being controlled at police
station level, national police commissioner, what I’m saying is firearms
control, it’s a real nightmare, simply put. There’s a serious lack of the
very basic principles of management.” Cele, Hawks boss Anwa Dramat and a
contingent of top cops appeared before the committee to discuss their annual

report. MPs also heard that 3 461 of South Africa’s 24 000 detectives were
employed despite not having gone for investigative training.  Cape Argus

Cops nab illegal credit providers
October 13 2011 at 09:11pm
Police arrested six people in a clampdown on illegal credit providers in the

Eastern Cape, the National Credit Regulator said on Thursday. “They were
found in possession of pension cards, ID books, 297 bank cards and pin
numbers,” said Jan Augustyn, NCR manager for investigations and enforcement.

He said the operation was targeting credit providers who compelled consumers

to hand over their cards as surety. Augustyn said similar operations would
be conducted in other parts of the country, “mainly in rural communities
where we believe people are more vulnerable and easily exploited”. The SA
Social Security Agency (SASSA) advised consumers not to leave their pension
cards with micro-lenders as they would battle to get their social grants
without the cards. The two-day operation was conducted by the NCR, SASSA and

the National Prosecuting Authority.  Pretoria News

Muslims lose a fortune in Hajj scam
October 13 2011 at 11:13am
By Vincent Cruywagen
Up to 1 000 Cape Muslims have lost around R33 million in a Hajj visa scam.
The full extent of the scandal is unmasked in a Daily Voice investigation
into the Mecca rip-off. A senior local imam is under investigation for his
role in the scandal and a Flats tour operator – Faizal Moos from
Al-Sabireen – has been implicated. The scandal has devastated hundreds of
Muslim families. The Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam, and each year

millions of Muslims around the world undertake the once-in-a-lifetime
pilgrimage to Mecca, many spending their life’s savings to fulfil their duty

to Allah. In the scam, each individual paid an exorbitant R3 000 to tour
operators for ill-sourced visas. But before they could qualify for the
visas, they had to fork out between R25 000 and R40 000 on Hajj packages.
This means each of the 1 000 or so pilgrims caught in the scandal lost an
average of R33 000 to cover the cost of the failed trip to Mecca. Now the
victims have vowed to bring the unscrupulous Hajj operators to justice. They

have formed The Friends of the Hajj (FotH) to pursue a class action against
those responsible. More than 100 angry victims gathered at a heated meeting
on Tuesday night in Silvertown to discuss their options. The group is led by

Imraahn Mukaddam – the shopkeeper who took on the bread giants in a
price-fixing scandal. He told the Daily Voice the scam operators must be
held liable. “Those responsible for throwing the Hajj industry into turmoil,

misrepresenting Muslims and robbing them of their holy journey must be held
accountable,” he says. And he urged all of those who have lost money in the
scandal not to be afraid to tackle the Hajj operators in court. “Please
people, this is a very sensitive case. Don’t turn your back on us when you
are called to testify,” Mukaddam says. “This whole scandal is unacceptable
and despicable. “If irregularities are uncovered, those responsible must be
charged criminally. We will also ask the Competition Commission to
investigate any price-fixing in the Hajj industry.” Notably absent from
Tuesday night’s meeting were the implicated Imam, Moos, the Muslim Judicial
Council and the SA Hajj and Umrah Council (Sahuc). Moos admitted this week
to the Daily Voice that he had dealings with a source in Saudi Arabia who
had arranged Hajj visas. But the deal flopped and the visas Moos applied for

were blocked. Pilgrims who paid their packages are now demanding Moos refund

their money. “I’ll pay back every cent to Hujjaj,” Moos vowed. Sahuc, who
administer and keep a watchful eye over the whole visa process with the
Saudi embassy in Pretoria, say they are investigating. “The cases are sub
judice and we cannot give comment at this stage,” Sahuc secretary general
Shaheen Essop tells the Daily Voice. Every year the Saudi embassy allocates
3 000 Hajj visas free of charge to South African Muslims. But this year,
more applications kept flowing in – even after this number of visas had been

allocated. Irregularities soon became clear and the embassy placed a
moratorium on the issuing of visas. Initial investigations revealed two Cape

Town operators bypassed Sahuc and the embassy to obtain Hajj visas. One
operator allegedly got hold of foreign Hajj visas and sold them at R3 000
each to unsuspecting pilgrims. The Daily Voice has learned a second Cape
Town operator had direct dealings with a source in Saudi Arabia. Now Sahuc,
along with the Saudi Embassy and authorities, are trying to get their hands
on the Saudi Ministry source. The Sahuc also came under fire at Tuesday’s
meeting. The Daily Voice has learned Sahuc do not have permission from the
SA government to negotiate on behalf of South African Muslims with the Saudi

Hajj Ministry. “FotH will ask the South African government to suspend the
recognition of Sahuc and that a transparent body for the entire Southern
Africa be established,” Riyaad Bosch from Hajj Watch told pilgrims at the
meeting. “The Public Protector informed us that the protocol document that
Sahuc is waving about [stating] they have the right to negotiate on behalf
of Muslims with Saudi Arabia, is not a legitimate document.” At this stage
there is no police investigation into the matter. * If you’ve been a victim,

still hard at work on Wednesday at the Wierdabrug police station, going
through the stash which had grown from the previous night, after an
additional 13 assault rifles were discovered to take the tally of guns to
43. Police spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Tshisikhawe Ndou said further
searches on Monday night had unearthed different types of grenades,
including the stun grenades used during military training and exercises. “We

also found six R1 rifle magazines and a single R5 rifle magazine. There was
also a lot of spent cartridges which seem like they were going to be
recycled,” he said. On Monday, police found an assortment of firearms, which

included 303 rifles, 9mm pistols, revolvers, pellet guns, army uniforms,
police uniforms, air force uniforms, police blue lights and hunting rifles
as well as ammunition of various calibre. Machines used to reload cartridges

with gunpowder were also found, so was gunpowder. Ndou said at the moment it

did not appear as though the homeowner, who was in the UK, was an arms
collector because they could not find any licences to prove ownership of the

arms and military equipment that was recovered. “In order for one to be a
gun collector or gun smith, he needs to have a licence. When we checked on
the system we could not find any proof of ownership or of a licence,” said
Ndou. He added that police did not know what the man was doing in the UK,
but they were hopeful he would co-operate with their investigations. Ndou
said it is still too early to say if the man was a suspect as investigations

were continuing. “Once we have determined where the stuff comes from and the

person has proven where he got them, that is when we can know if charges
will be laid or not,” said Ndou. According to police, should the owner be
found to be in the wrong, he could be charged under the new Firearms Act for

possession of unlicensed firearms, live ammunition and police equipment.
Meanwhile, the Gauteng Hawks on Wednesday recovered three assault rifles
from two vehicles which were found abandoned at a parking lot in the
Piccadilly shopping centre, Yeoville. Police received information about two
vehicles, an Isuzu bakkie and a VW Jetta, which were parked at the parking
lot of the shopping complex, and went to investigate. Ndou said: “the
vehicles were searched and inside, an AK-47, LM6 and R5 rifles were found,
as well as police reflector jackets, bulletproof vests, woollen gloves,
balaclavas, police blue light and 168 live rounds of both 9mm and assault
rifles.” Police believe the weapons might have belonged to a group of ATM
bombers. Ndou said arrests are expected soon. “Police would like to thank
the public for providing police with information which led to the recovery
of the firearms and vehicles,” said Ndou. - Pretoria News

Ventersburg supermarket robbed
October 12 2011 at 11:46am
A Ventersburg supermarket security guard stole R11,000 in cash to buy
himself a car, Free State police said on Wednesday. “The CCTV was monitored
and he appeared taking the money on the monitor,” Warrant Officer Malebo
Khosana said in a statement. Khosana said the money was noted missing from a

metal cash box placed next to the tills, after Casper Collen Billy
Pretorius, 21, went on lunch without permission and disappeared. Pretorius
bought a blue Leyland Mini, which was later found abandoned on the side of
the road between Welkom and Theunissen. The incident took place between 2pm
and 2.40pm on Sunday October 2. A warrant of arrest was issued after an
investigation.  www.iol.co.za

Two held after hijacking on Signal Hill
October 12 2011 at 12:58pm
By STAFF REPORTER
A couple robbed at gunpoint and who had the car they were sitting in
hijacked at the foot of the Signal Hill viewpoint, managed to raise the
alarm in time for the police to track down two suspects on the N1. Police
spokesman Raldeen Atson said the drama began just after midnight on Tuesday,

in the Lion’s Head parking area in Tafelberg Road, which leads to the
viewpoint. A 35-year-old man and his girlfriend were in the Audi A5 when
three men posing as security guards pulled up next to them in a white Nissan

light delivery vehicle (LDV), Atson said. “Two of the men armed with
firearms jumped out of the LDV and took an undisclosed amount of cash from
the complainant. “Both the complainant and his girlfriend were forced out of

their vehicle and the suspects fled in the direction of Kloof Nek Road in
both vehicles.” Atson said the couple managed to alert police, and the
Audi’s
car tracker system was immediately activated. “Police later spotted the
vehicle on the N1 freeway and forced the vehicle to stop. “They arrested two

suspects, aged 29 and 31, from Eerste River for car hijacking. No firearms
were recovered.” The third suspect was still at large. Atson said that in
their follow-up investigation, police found the white Nissan LDV, which was
used to commit the crime. The vehicle had been stolen in the Cape Town area,

but police could not say when. Both suspects were due to appear in Cape Town

Magistrate’s Court tomorrow. - Cape Argus

Two held for Pretoria kidnapping
October 11 2011 at 09:48pm
Two men were arrested in Lyttelton, Pretoria, in connection with the
kidnapping of three women, police said on Tuesday. They were arrested at a
duplex in Zwartkop late on Monday night when police were tipped off about a
kidnapping in progress, said Captain Brian Plaatjies in a statement. As the
police arrived on the scene, three women jumped from the balcony and ran
towards the gate. Plaatjies said as the gate was opened, three men ran out
of the house in different directions. Back-up was called. Two Nigerian
nationals were arrested while the third man escaped. Police confiscated
R10,000 worth of drugs, 13 cellphones, electronic equipment, jewellery and
about R8300 in cash found in the duplex. Plaatjies said further details
could not be divulged as the investigation was continuing. The men would
appear in Centurion Magistrate's Court soon on charges of possession of
stolen property, possession of drugs, and kidnapping.  www.iol.co.za

Cops rubbish serial killer theory
October 12 2011 at 11:05am
By SHAIN GERMANER
The police say they have three suspects in two of the six gay men murders,
discounting the possibility of a serial killer operating across Joburg.
However, they were unable to explain why they believed four of the most
recent killings were unrelated, even though they had a similar modus
operandi. In each case, the victims were found bound and murdered in their
homes, with each investigating officer confirming there were no signs of
forced entry. This meant it was likely the would-be murderers were invited
into the homes. In five of the cases, the men were strangled, with one man
being bludgeoned to death after being tied up. National police spokesman
Lieutenant-Colonel Lungelo Dlamini said a suspect was set to be tried for
the murder of Manolis Veloudos last year. Nigerian Paulnius Dike is to be
charged for the murder this week. However, the victim’s niece, Evita
Veloudos, alleged that DNA evidence found at the scene did not match Dike,
and that it was possible the killer, or an accomplice, could still be at
large. Dlamini also said two suspects were to be extradited from Zimbabwe
for the December murder of Jim Cathels, but the men had yet to be arrested.
“Police are confident that they know the location of these two men,” he
said. Investigating officers in the six cases believe that robbery was an
unlikely motive for the crimes, because little was stolen. All the men were
over 30, were internet savvy, and several were confirmed to have used online

dating profiles for potential interactions. Three of the four most recent
victims were confirmed as using the internet to find potential hook-ups.
Despite the similar modus operandi for each of the cases and similarities
between the victims, police will not comment on why investigators have yet
to compare notes. The most recent victim, Barney van Heerden, 39, was found
bound and strangled in his Orange Grove home on September 19. Among the
others were Oscar O’Hara, 33, found bound and strangled four months ago, and

Siphiwe Selby Nhlapo, found bound and strangled last month. * Anyone with
any information on these cases or similar incidents can contact
shain.germaner@inl.co.za - The Star

Cops’ heads may roll over Jaca saga
October 12 2011 at 11:04am
By Graeme Hosken
The heads of senior Tshwane metro police officers are expected to roll as
the saga around embattled deputy police chief Ndumiso Jaca continues. The
fate of three Tshwane metro police department (TMPD) directors will be
discussed at a high-level meeting on Wednesday. Pretoria News sources said
the early morning meeting would centre on numerous criminal and internal
cases which were being investigated against several high-ranking TMPD
officers, including Jaca. Jaca, who has been placed on special leave, is
being investigated for having fitted a BMW Z4 and a Harley-Davidson
motorbike with the same vehicle registration plates, “Balty GP”, which until

recently had not been registered and were allegedly false. The directors,
whose fate will be discussed on Wednesday, include Jenny Malan, David Mbatha

and Moloko Racheku. The three are said to have had prior knowledge of the
allegedly false registration plates, but apparently did nothing to report
Jaca to his seniors. The trio are expected to face various charges,
including negligence and failure to act on alleged criminal activities.
Malan is involved in the administration and co-ordination of the TMPD’s law
enforcement section and falls directly under Jaca. Malan’s husband,
Commander JJ Malan, was recently appointed to the post of a TMPD regional
commander. His appointment has caused a controversy after Racheku – who Jaca

immediately appointed to act in his position after he was placed on special
leave – signed the appointment deployment notices. It is believed that the
municipality will at Wednesday’s meeting question the deployment of Malan’s
husband and that of his fellow commanders, KES Matlapeng, PM Poshoko,
Ephrahim Ratau and JV Lebombo. Mbatha and Racheku are in charge of several
TMPD policing regions under which the five appointees fall. Racheku said
last night he was not prepared to comment on hearsay. Neither Malan nor
Mbatha responded to voicemails left on their cellphones. Asked if Malan,
Mbatha and Racheku were to be charged either criminally or internally,
Tshwane mayoral spokesman Pieter de Necker said he would neither deny nor
confirm the allegations. “I can confirm there will be a meeting where
internal matters will be discussed. I have sent an e-mail to the TMPD’s
senior executive director, Mahlomola Manganye, and I am awaiting a response.

“The meeting is, however, an internal one and that is all I’m prepared to
say about it,” he said. Manganye said he was not in a position to comment on

the matter. “I have not yet been briefed. “We will be having a meeting where

several matters will be discussed,” he said. – Pretoria News

Pupils hospitalised after refinery blaze
October 11 2011 at 09:40am
By Tony Carnie
More than 100 primary school children were taken to hospital on Monday –
some struggling for breath, others with itchy skin and eyes – after being
splattered by airborne droplets of crude oil and a cloud of smoke and soot
from another fire at the Engen fuel refinery in South Durban. Wentworth
Hospital manager Suriya Kader said 101 children from Settlers Primary School

in Merebank and 10 adults had been brought in with signs or symptoms of
dizziness, itchiness, headaches and sore eyes. About 20 of the children were

treated with allergy medication, headache pills or calamine lotion, while
two were nebulised because of breathing problems. None were admitted,
however, and most did not require medical treatment. Meanwhile, the refinery

remained closed late yesterday after flames erupted from a crude oil
distillation unit, which caught fire just before 11am. Refinery manager
Kamal Bahrin Ahmad said it had taken 20 minutes for Engen firemen to bring
the fire under control. No staff had been injured. There have been several
fires at the refinery in the past few years, including a petrol tank which
burned for 58 hours after being struck by lightning in November 2007. The
latest fire has also sparked new calls from local community groups for a
government commission of inquiry into safety issues and maintenance at the
refinery. Anna-Lydia Pillay, an 11-year-old pupil at the school in Lakhimpur

Road, said that many pupils were outside during break when they saw a cloud
of dark smoke. Along with several other pupils seen by The Mercury at
Wentworth Hospital, Anna-Lydia’s white school clothes were stained with
blotches of an oily substance carried downwind to the school, less than a
kilometre from the refinery fence. “Some of the kids were getting oxygen
from paramedics and others were feeling sick. Our noses were burning and our

eyes were watering. I’m still feeling a bit shaken up and my skin was also
very itchy from the black drops which came in the air,” Anna- Lydia said.
Her mother, Charmain Andreoli, said it was “high time” that something was
done to improve safety and reduce environmental pollution from the refinery.

Desmond D’sa, of the South Durban Community Environmental Alliance, said the

latest fire was an indictment against both Engen and government health and
safety officials.” Ahmad said it was too early to say what had caused the
fire. “We regret any inconvenience or discomfort caused ,” refinery
spokesman Herb Payne said. - The Mercury

Two Gauteng officials suspended
2011-10-11 16:37
Johannesburg - Two Gauteng government officials have been suspended over
alleged irregularities, Gauteng Arts and Culture MEC Lebogang Maile said on
Tuesday. The offences related to the department's moving to an alternative
building, Maile told reporters in Johannesburg. "Good governance is
important for service delivery and we need to make proper use of the
resources to achieve maximum impact." The suspended officials were corporate

services chief director Dennis Molaba and deputy director of facilities
Wonga Msikinya. Their suspension came into effect three weeks ago, and a
full investigation was underway. Maile said the officials allegedly
fraudulently appointed a service provider in June to move the department to
a building on Diagonal Street. "We are still in a process of determining the

amount of money spent in that act, but the department had set aside R8m for
the whole relocation." Maile said the department became aware of the alleged

corrupt practice only last month. It had terminated the provider's services.

The infrastructure development department (public works) would conduct its
own forensic investigation into the matter.  www.news24.com

Ex-mayor denies getting fraudulent cash
October 11 2011 at 08:17pm
Former Mangaung mayor and fraud accused Pappie Mokoena denied ever receiving

money from his personal assistant for illegal activities, the Bloemfontein
High Court heard on Tuesday. “Not true, absolutely not true,” said Mokoena
during cross-examination in his fraud and racketeering trial. He was
replying to statements by State prosecutor Johan de Nysschen on payments
from the bank account of his personal assistant at the municipality,
Laetitia Hoffman, into his account. Earlier, De Nysschen asked Mokoena why
she would make large cash deposits into his bank account. Mokoena was
testifying in his own defence in a multi-million rand Mangaung fraud and
racketeering trial. The former mayor and 18 others face 259 charges,
including theft and money laundering involving an estimated R130 million.
Not all the accused face all the charges. Mokoena testified that from time
to time Hoffman paid money into his account for allowances and travel
expenses. He submitted that in many instances the municipality’s cheques
were cleared with the bank to allow them to have cash for expenses, instead
of waiting for the seven-day clearance period. The former mayor denied this
was “fraud money” or “stolen money”. Earlier, De Nysschen showed the court
allegedly fraudulent invoices found on Hoffman’s work computer for catering
services worth thousands of rand. Mokoena, his wife Granny, former municipal

manager Mojalefa Matlole, former municipal speaker Zongezile Zumane, and
former business manager Mzwandile Silwana face charges of fraud and
racketeering. Other accused include Jakes Thithi, the political adviser to
the former mayor, Silwana's wife Brigitte, Evodia Kok (Zumane's personal
assistant) and Hoffman (Mokoena's personal assistant), Buyelwa Khethelo, a
businesswoman from Rocklands, Soweto, and two Heidedal businessmen, Keabecoe

and Kegomodicoe Lekone. The trial followed an investigation by the
now-disbanded Scorpions. Mokoena was also questioned about his knowledge of
Koena Foods, a catering business of Granny’s mother. He said Koena Foods had

been doing business with the municipality long before he became mayor, and
that his wife resigned as partner soon after his election. Mokoena denied he

was forced to declare his and his family’s business interests when he became

mayor. “No, sir it’s not correct. We had to do it, not because the issue was

mentioned (a problem),” he said. The case continues.  www.iol.co.za

Cape Town cop acquitted
October 11 2011 at 09:25pm
A senior police official was found not guilty of corruption and attempting
to defeat the ends of justice by the Bellville Specialised Commercial Crime
Court on Tuesday. Warrant officer Keith Swartz, of the Lansdowne police in
Cape Town, was accused of falsely informing businessman Udo Heydt that he
had to pay a R500 admission of guilt fine. Swartz allegedly knew that the
authorities had declined to prosecute the crimen injuria case. He claimed in

court that the R500, paid to him at Heydt's business premises, was a gift
and was not intended as a fine. Magistrate Amrith Chabilall, warned him: “As

a senior and respected police official, you are sailing pretty close to the
wind.” He said if the R500 was in fact a fine, it had to be paid at the
correct place and in the correct manner, and not to a police official on a
business premises. “If the money was intended as a gift, you as a senior
police official ought to know that you are not entitled to be rewarded for
your work, other than through your salary,” Chabilall said. He said there
was too much doubt for the court to make any findings of fact, and he was
obliged to give Swartz the benefit of the doubt. According to the charge
sheet in the corruption case, Heydt was mistakenly summonsed to appear in
court two years ago, despite the fact that the prosecuting authorities had
declined to pursue the crimen injuria case. When he went to court, his case
was not on the roll. The State alleged that when Heydt approached Swartz at
the Athlone Magistrate's Court about the confusion, Swartz falsely informed
Heydt that he had to pay the R500 fine. Heydt did not have the cash on him,
and arranged for Swartz to fetch it at his butchery in Ottery, near Cape
Town, which Swartz did. Chabilall said he viewed Swartz's version with
suspicion, but the court was nevertheless obliged to accept it as being
reasonably possibly true. He said the State had an obligation to prove the
charges against Swartz beyond reasonable doubt, but had failed to do so.
www.iol.co.za

One suspect acquitted of cop killing
October 12 2011 at 01:01pm
By JADE WITTEN
One of three men charged with the murder of Athlone police reservist
Constable Ernistene Veroni, and the attempted murder of her boyfriend, has
walked away from the Wynberg Regional Court a free man. On Tuesday,
magistrate Bruce Langa acquitted Ashley Oliver of all charges during
judgment in the case against him and alleged Americans gang boss Bradley
“Kleinkop” Parkins. The two, along with Oscar Williams, were initially
charged with the murder of Veroni and the attempted murder of her boyfriend,

Romeo Petersen, in April 2008. But only Parkins, 31, and Oliver, 24,
appeared in court on Tuesday as Williams has since died. In delivering the
first part of his judgment, Langa found there was no evidence against
Oliver, so acquitted him of the charges of murder, attempted murder and the
illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition. Langa said Petersen, who was

with Veroni around 10pm when the shooting occurred, was the only witness.
Petersen had managed to escape and run into Veroni’s grandmother’s house in
Kudu Street, Athlone, but Veroni was shot in the head and died. Evaluating
Petersen’s evidence, Langa said there were many contradictions between his
oral testimony in court and the statements he made to police about the
incident. “This raised very serious question marks about the credibility of
Mr Petersen,” Langa said. The identity of the people who fired the shots was

the main point of contention, he added. Petersen had initially identified
the three as the men he saw that night. But later, under cross-examination,
he conceded that it had been dark and that he had not seen the faces of the
shooters. The court also heard evidence that there was a power failure in
Athlone that night. Langa said further that the ballistics report linked
spent cartridges found at the scene to a gun recovered at Parkins’s house in

Milnerton. “This evidence tends only to incriminate Parkins,” he said. The
court adjourned for lunch on Tuesday, after which the matter was postponed
as the prosecutor was expected at the Athlone Magistrate’s Court. Langa is
set to give judgment on Parkins’s alleged involvement next Thursday. After
the court proceedings, Oliver said he was happy that he could now move on
with his life. “I was under house arrest for over three years. I am very
happy. This case caused me a lot of stress,” he said.  Cape Argus

Man guilty for possession of unlicensed firearm
October 11 2011 at 08:15pm
By Keabetsoe Matshediso
A 39-year-old man was found guilty last Monday in the Johannesburg
Magistrate Court ofbeing in possession of an unlicensed firearm. Yengandram
Chetty was charged with attempted murder in December 2010 after a work
related Christmas party ‘went wrong’. It is alleged that a fight broke out
between Chetty and his colleagues at the function who were then thrown out
and refused entry. Chetty had been under the influence of alcohol at the
time, overcome with rage and aggression he opened fire on security guards
who fired back at him. No one was injured. CCTV cameras show footage of the
incident as it took place. Chetty was declared negligent for having fired an

unlicensed firearm and being in possession of one. The state saw fit to
restrict him from ever owning such a weapon in the future. After Chetty was
cross-examined by a state prosecutor, his charges for attempted murder were
dropped due to his honoured background. Magistrate Lukas van der Schyff
said: “You have a clear record of a useful member to the society, a
respected businessman and a family man with two children. Your charge of
attempted murder will be dropped, as you firing the weapon might have been
fused with other things such as alcohol, which is still not justifiable.”
“Being in possession of an unlicensed firearm is however a serious offence
and should be made clear to you and the public. That charge you will
serve.”,
van der Schyff added. Chetty was charged with one count of being in
possession of an unlicensed firearm and was given a fine of R5000 or six
months’ imprisonment. He got a further judgement of 12 months in prison
which was suspended for five years. “If in the five years you break the law
in any way, your suspended sentence will in every way be enforced.”, said
van der Schyff.  www.iol.co.za

Speaker slams toll debate criticism
October 11 2011 at 10:24am
By BALDWIN NDABA
Gauteng Legislature Speaker Lindiwe Maseko has slammed speculation that she
has unilaterally set aside the debate on toll roads. Maseko was reacting to
the DA’s allegations that she had cancelled the debate, which was due on
Tuesday, without consulting them and other opposition parties. Earlier, DA
caucus leader Jack Bloom said: “I strongly suspect that the sitting was
canned because there are major divisions in the ANC on the tolls issue. It
is highly unusual for a sitting to be cancelled in this way, especially a
Tuesday sitting, when there are questions for oral reply as well.” But
Maseko disagreed. “The premier (Nomvula Mokonyane) is out of the country on
government business and the acting premier, Nandi Mayathula-Khoza, will be
attending the President’s Co-ordinating Council – so she is also not
available to respond to the premier’s questions, therefore the order on
questions to the premier is postponed to the next sitting on October 18.”
Mokonyane is in China with an ANC delegation which includes Gauteng ANC
secretary David Makhura and ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe. Maseko
also said Sipho Makama, chairman of the standing committee on public
accounts, had applied for leave of absence for all the committee members.
This was to allow the committee members to complete five reports. A new date

for the presentation of the reports would be set later. Maseko has also
dismissed claims that the provincial government was trying to shelve the
toll roads issue, saying the matter was receiving serious attention from the

government. The Department of Economic Development is expected to report
back on October 28 over opposition to the tolls. - The Star

Company loses bid to bar census
October 11 2011 at 10:23am
By ZELDA VENTER AND SAPA
While Census 2011 has kicked off with enumerators already counting the
population, a Joburg company, which had a multimillion rand contract to
advertise the event on behalf of government, on Monday turned to the
Pretoria High Court in a failed attempt to put a stop to the national count.

This was not the only hiccup to the start of the national census. Posters
showing the pictures of the census field workers who will be working in the
area have still not been put up in some areas. Also, a last group of
counters is still waiting to be deployed, Statistics SA said on Monday.
“We’ve
been experiencing some delays… this happens when you’re trying to get 120
000 people to start something at the same time,” Statistician-General Pali
Lehohla said. “If there is an area with no posters up, then no work has
started there.” In line with the “Know your Enumerator” campaign, Stats SA
earlier promised to put up 2.8 million posters with the faces of the
census-takers. This was to familiarise the residents with the person who
would be coming to their homes to conduct the census. Lehohla could not give

figures of how many posters were up by on Monday “especially in Gauteng”. A
group of 16 000 field workers had to be added to the 120 000 after the
agency realised there were more people to be counted than initially thought.

“Of those 16 000, 8 000 were for Gauteng. We need more field workers in the
province as there was more ground to cover.” Some census-takers could not
start working on Monday as they were still getting their IDs, and still had
to get their pictures taken for the posters, Lehohla said. As the census got

under way, the Joburg company Lightviews Ltd asked Judge Elias Makgoba to
interdict the Department of Government Communication and Information Systems

(GCIS) and Statistics SA from continuing with the count as the government
did not keep its promises regarding its national advertising campaign, it
said. This order, the court was told, should be of “immediate effect”. But
Judge Makgoba, in turning down the application, found it would not be in the

national interest to stop the census at this late stage, just to favour one
company. It would be unfair to do so, he said. He also ordered the company
to pay the government’s legal costs. The company also asked the court to
restrain the government from continuing with the census, pending the
reinstatement it as a service provider in the census campaign. This was also

turned down. Jacob Mocuminyane, director of Lightviews, said in papers
before court that the company and the government had a written agreement. In

terms of the deal Lightviews was to provide GCIS with media and advertising
services for the census. Lightviews would have received R26.2 million for
the contract, which would have included adverts on bills boards. The firm
was paid paid R6.1m, the court was told. Lightviews used the money to put
infrastructure in place by concluding contracts with suppliers for the
advertising space. Mocuminyane said the company incurred additional expenses

and other debts relating to the census campaign, despite not receiving the
remaining amount of the project. Part of the agreement was that GCIS would
have provided Light-views with “creative input” so the firm could provide
the agreed media and advertising services, he said. This input was not
forthcoming, despite various requests, Mocu-minyane said. This was very
frustrating, as the census was fast approaching, and without the creative
input, Lightviews could not do anything. The court was told the government
went ahead with the campaign, without using the services of Lightviews,
while the company had already arranged for advertising and media space. The
firm said advertising was a cut-throat business and that its reputation was
affected, because it could not honour its obligations towards its suppliers,

to whom it was now owing money. “(GCIS and Statistics SA) are conducting
Census 2011 in an unlawful and corrupt manner without the applicant as a
service provider,” Mocuminyane said. A lawyer’s letter sent to the
government said the only way this issue could be resolved was if the firm
was paid the outstanding R20m, provided for in the contract. The government
denied that it breached the contract and argued that the applicant, in any
event, could not expect the census to be put on hold because of its
financial and contractual dispute with the government. Judge Makgoba was
told that if there was a dispute, Lightviews should have turned to court
long ago and not now. - Pretoria News

Cosatu to join ANCYL marches
2011-10-11 21:38
Johannesburg - Cosatu will join ANC Youth League marches for economic
freedom of the working class and poor, spokesperson Patrick Craven said on
Tuesday. "The Congress of SA Trade Unions [Cosatu] supports the social
issues this march is about," he said. "There would obviously be debate about

how these things should be implemented, but we support the principle." He
said it was not immediately known how many people would participate. On
Tuesday, the African National Congress Youth League welcomed Cosatu's
support. "Cosatu proves to the people of South Africa once again that the
federation is a reliable ally in the struggles of the working class and the
poor," spokesperson Floyd Shivambu said. "[It] will never compromise
principle because of petty politics." Shivambu called on other organisations

to follow suit. The Economic Freedom Youth Mass Action would be held on
October 27 and 28 at Beyers Naude Square in central Johannesburg, the
Chamber of Mines in Hollard street, the Johannesburg Stock Exchange in
Sandton and at the Union Buildings in Pretoria, where a night vigil was
planned. The ANCYL is marching for the nationalisation of mines, the
expropriation of land without compensation, the banning of labour brokers,
free education, decent housing, electricity for all formal and informal
settlements and clean drinking water and sanitation.

Vrese oor sensus besweer
2011-10-11 22:49
Pauli van Wyk
JOHANNESBURG. – Sedert eergister deurkruis 120000 sensuswerkers die land om
alle mense in Suid-Afrika te tel. Die sensus word op 31 Oktober voltrek en
hoewel baie mense vriendelik is, word menige sensuswerker kil ontvang, sê
verskeie van dié werkers. Die hoë misdaadsyfer maak mense waarskynlik
versigtig. Volgens me. Tracy Daniels, bestuurder van die sensus
2011-navraesentrum, het mense egter niks om oor bekommerd te wees as hulle
net fyn oplet nie. “Ons veldwerkers het almal heldergeel baadjies, swart
pette en geel sakke aan waarop die sensus-embleem gedruk is. Daarby het elke

veldwerker ’n identifikasiekaart met ’n foto en ID-nommer op. Dié kaart is
so ontwerp dat die foto nie vervang kan word sonder om die kaart heeltemal
te verniel nie.” Mense het ook hul kommer uitgespreek oor die persoonlike
aard van vrae op die sensus-vorm. Volgens Daniels sal ’n persoon se
telefoonnommer net gevra word indien ’n sensusvorm by dié persoon agterbly
en later weer gehaal moet word. “Hoewel ons die telefoonnommers vra, is dit
net om kontrole te hou – dit word nêrens in ’n stelsel ingevoer nie.” Die
woon- en werkadres op elke vorm word gebruik om die bevolking in elke
munisipale gebied te tel en die salaris-opname word gebruik om die vlakke
van armoede en welvaart te peil. “Dié vraag word in samewerking met die
huishoudelike goedere, soos of jy ’n yskas en mikrogolf het, gebruik.” Geen
veldwerker hoef in ’n mens se huis ingenooi te word as jy ongemaklik voel
daaroor nie, het Daniels gesê. “Die sensusvorms kan by huise afgelewer en
later weer opgetel word of buite by die tuinhekkie of deur die heining
ingevul word. Dit is egter verpligtend om ?l die vrae op die vorm in te
 vul.” Sommige lesers wou ook weet waarom die sensusvorms met potlode
ingevul word. Volgens Daniels is 2HB-potlode perfek vir die
skanderingsproses wat gebruik word. “Mense moet onthou dat sowat 50miljoen
mense bereik word met dié sensus. Daar is geen sin daarin om inligting op
die vorms n? die tyd te verander nie. En selfs al sou iemand dit doen, sal
dit met miljoene ander gedoen moet word om ’n invloed op die sensus te hê.
Daar was al klagtes dat van die sensusopnemers nie goed kan spel nie en ook
self nie die vrae verstaan nie. Al die sensuswerkers was voorheen werkloos,
het Daniels gesê. Jy mag ook kies om jou eie vorm in te vul, wat die proses
vinniger sal maak. “Sensuswerkers sal ook op verskillende ure van die dag na

’n huis toe gaan en behoort ’n identifikasiekaart met ’n kontaknommer te los

waar mense hulle kan kontak om ’n afspraak te maak. Hulle werk van sowat
08:00 tot omstreeks 20:00. Mense is ook welkom om die navraesentrum te bel
en ’n afspraak te maak. Ons probeer ons bes om by almal uit te kom, maar die

sukses van die sensus hang ook af van mense se samewerking.” Bel die
navraesentrum by 0800-110-248 vir meer inligting.  Beeld

Millions of BlackBerry users cut off for third day
12 Oct 2011
Georgina Prodhan
Millions of BlackBerry users around the world were left without text
communication services for a third day on Wednesday. Research in Motion is
struggling to fix what it says is a switching failure in its private
network. Users in Africa, Europe, the Middle East and India suffered patchy
email service and no access to browsing and messaging, ratcheting up
negative sentiment towards a company already losing market share to Apple
and Samsung. RIM, which had said on Tuesday that services had returned to
normal, said later the problems had actually spread beyond EMEA and India to

Argentina, Brazil and Chile. “The messaging and browsing delays ... were
caused by a core switch failure within RIM’s infrastructure,” it said. “As a

result, a large backlog of data was generated and we are now working to
clear that backlog and restore normal service.” The service disruptions are
the worst since an outage swept north America two years ago, and come as
Apple prepares to put on sale its already sold-out iPhone 4S on Friday.
“It’s
a blow upon a bruise. It comes at a bad time,” said Richard Windsor, global
technology specialist at Nomura. “One possibility could be that it
encourages client companies to look more at other options such as allowing
users to connect their own devices to the corporate server and save
themselves the cost of buying everyone a BlackBerry.” Many companies, no
longer seeing the need to pay to be locked into RIM’s secure proprietary
email service, have already begun allowing employees to use alternative
smartphones, particularly Apple’s iPhone, for corporate mail. RIM has made
inroads into the youth market attracted by its free BlackBerry Messenger
(BBM) service, partially compensating for its losses in the corporate
market. But new products like its PlayBook tablet computer have been poorly
received. Following a dismal set of quarterly results and a plunge in its
share price, some investors are now calling for a break-up, sale or change
of management at the company. Increasingly frustrated users tweeted their
frustration on Wednesday, while RIM’s own official Twitter feed was last
updated on Tuesday night, saying problems were being resolved and it was
sorry for the inconvenience. Veteran British entrepreneur Alan Sugar, who
founded electronics company Amstrad in 1968, tweeted: “In all my years in IT

biz, I have never seen such an outage as experienced by Blackberry. I can’t
understand why it’s taking so long to fix.” Some customers used humour to
deal with the situation. One joke making the rounds on Twitter said: “What
did the one BBM user say to the other? Nothing.”  Sowetan