Disused drop-safe bombed
2011-10-12 20:15
Johannesburg - Two men bombed a disused business drop-safe in Fort Beaufort
near Alice on Wednesday, Eastern Cape police said. "The suspects obviously
thought there was cash stashed inside. Video cameras captured two men on the

scene and we are searching for them," said Warrant Officer Bradley
Rawlinson. He said the door of the safe was flung 20m away by the explosion,

which happened at about 02:00 on Wednesday. No arrests have been made.
www.news24.com

Suspect killed in shoot-out with KZN cops
2011-10-12 21:58
Durban - A man has been killed in a shoot-out with police in Welbedacht, in
Durban, KwaZulu-Natal police said on Wednesday. Acting on a tip-off, police
were approaching the house of suspected criminals when they came under heavy

fire on Tuesday, Captain Thulani Zwane said. They returned fire and a
shootout ensued. Two men fled the scene. A third man was shot dead. Zwane
said the people in the house had been linked to various crimes including
hijacking, house robberies, murder and attempted murders. "Two pistols and a

Mazda 323 which was hijacked in Chatsworth in October, cellphones and CDs
were found at the house," he said.  www.news24.com

Cops assault wrong man
13 Oct 2011
Mckeed Kotlolo
A PRETORIA businessman was hauled out of his car and beaten up by men he
believed were hijackers. But it turned out that the men were police
officers. Sibusiso Mafalala, 28, who lives in Pretoria East and owns a
transport business in Cape Town, was allegedly chased by an unmarked police
car along the Mabopane freeway on Tuesday evening. "As I looked at my rear
view mirror, I noticed this suspicious-looking and speeding car behind. "I
decided to move from the fast lane to the slow one, but the car followed me.

"After a short distance I moved to the fast lane again, and there it was
behind me as we drove through the mountain pass in the direction of
Soshanguve," he said. "And without signalling me to stop, they started
firing at my car. It was only after I decided to pull over that they put up
a blue light in their car. Then more police officers arrived on the scene
and started beating me up. "Before I could sit down as instructed, they had
already started assaulting me. I tried to speak to them but they told me to
shut up," he said. "They then ordered me to lie on my stomach and
hand-cuffed me before pepper-spraying me and kicking me all over the body."
And then he heard one of the officers speaking to another over the phone. "I

could overhear them saying the car they were looking for was a VW Golf GTi
and not a Polo," he said. "They then apologised for their mistake and said
that they got wrong information from a tracking device company." Mafalala
sustained a black eye and severe bruising to his body, but fortunately no
broken bones, his doctor told him. His lawyer, Maki Nogaga, said they had
laid criminal charges against the police at the Soshanguve police station,
north of Pretoria. "We want the identities of the police officers involved.
We are also going to lay a complaint with the Independent Complaints
Directorate because we do not want the police to investigate the case
themselves," Nogaga said. Soshanguve police spokesman Captain Solly Marindi
confirmed that a case was opened. "But I can only give details tomorrow
after having gone through the docket, which is with the investigating
officer. Unfortunately, I cannot get hold of him now," he said.  Sowetan

Limpopo cops kill two alleged robbers
October 12 2011 at 12:56pm
Police have shot dead two suspected robbers in Ga-Masemola village in Nebo,
Limpopo, police said on Wednesday. The robbers fired at police officers at
the Opel Cross RDP section around 11pm on Tuesday, Lieutenant-Colonel Mohale

Ramatseba said. The police returned fire, killing the robbers on the scene.
A pistol and a revolver were found next to the bodies, Ramatseba said. He
said one of the robbers, Johnny Diale, 31, allegedly killed a man on
Saturday afternoon in the same village. “Diale was bragging about having two

firearms before he shot the 25-year-old man.” Ramatseba said Diale had also
been wanted in connection with 12 other crimes including murder, attempted
murder, rape, business robbery and motor vehicle theft. The crimes were
committed in several villages in Nebo and the surrounding areas between
January and August.  www.iol.co.za

Gauteng census official arrested
October 12 2011 at 06:44pm
A census official was arrested for allegedly soliciting bribes from youths
looking for work in Roodepoort, Gauteng police said on Wednesday. The
fieldwork co-ordinator was arrested on Tuesday after a complaint was laid
with the police, said Lt-Col Tshisikhawe Ndou. Ndou said the man was
released without appearing in court to allow police to obtain further
information. According to the SABC, the official demanded R150 from
desperate job seekers, promising them work as census anumerators. Census
spokesman Trevor Oosterwyk said they were looking at other complaints at the

same office. He said this was the first of such a case to come to their
attention. “If there are any others coming to the fore, they will be dealt
with accordingly. We don't want the census to be contaminated by such
things,” said Oosterwyk.  www.iol.co.za

Kidnapped schoolgirl's burnt body found
2011-10-12 19:14
Cape Town – Eyewitness News reported that Louise de Waal’s family have
confirmed the kidnapped 17-year-old’s burnt body has been found near
Magaliesburg. Her body had been burnt beyond recognition but the family had
been able to identify her body by her unique belly ring. Her body was found
on a farm near Magaliesburg. She was kidnapped on Wednesday morning after a
grey Toyota Hilux bakkie pulled up alongside her and a friend while walking
on the corner of Rina and Herman streets in White Ridge, Roodepoort, at
about 07:00, Lieutenant Colonel Tshisikhawe Ndou said. "A man got out and
ordered the teenager into the vehicle. When the girl refused, he pointed a
firearm at her until she complied." The other girl ran away and the bakkie
sped off with her friend. The girls were both pupils at Hoerskool Die Burger

in Roodepoort. Ndou said the suspect was thought to be aged between 20 and
30, with brown hair. Police have found a vehicle matching the description of

the suspect's bakkie at a house in Roodepoort with a school bag inside. A
massive search was underway for the suspect.  www.news24.com

Man held for Louise de Waal murder - reports
2011-10-13 07:27
Johannesburg - Gauteng police will hold a press briefing on Thursday morning

amid unconfirmed reports that a man has been arrested for the murder of
Roodepoort schoolgirl Louise de Waal. Asked to confirm the arrest, which was

reported on by SABC radio news, Gauteng police spokesperson Lieutenant
Colonel Tshisikhawe Ndou said: "We will hold a press briefing at our
provincial offices in Parktown [in Johannesburg] at 09:00." According to an
unsourced SABC radio news report on Thursday morning, an arrest had been
made. According to Beeld newspaper, the police had been investigating a man
in the Roodepoort area after finding De Waal's schoolbag in a car that
matched the description her friend gave to police. Burnt body - Ndou earlier

said a grey Toyota Hilux bakkie, matching the description of the car used to

abduct the teenager on Wednesday morning, had been found abandoned at a
house in Florida, Roodepoort. Beeld reported that the man had been under
investigation in the past for harassing schoolgirls in the Roodepoort area.
Police were still waiting for DNA results to confirm that a burnt body,
found on a farm in Magaliesburg on Wednesday afternoon, was De Waal's. Her
family was however widely quoted in the media on Thursday as saying the
17-year-old Horskool Die Burger pupil's body had been identified by a belly
ring and earrings. On Wednesday morning, a bakkie pulled up alongside two
girls walking on the corner of Rina and Herman streets in White Ridge around

07:00. "A man got out and ordered the teenager into the vehicle. When the
girl refused, he pointed a firearm at her until she complied," Ndou said.
The other girl, Natasha Gordon, ran away and the bakkie sped off with her
friend.  www.news24.com

Smash-and-grab suspect killed
October 12 2011 at 04:58pm
Tshwane metro police shot dead a smash-and-grab robbery suspect on
Wednesday. Spokeswoman Louise Brits said he and another man were apparently
about to commit a smash-and-grab robbery at Pretoria's Fountain Circle.
Tshwane metro police patrolling the circle noticed two men heading towards
cars that had stopped at a traffic light. Brits said the officers shouted at

the two men to stop, but they fled. One of them scaled the fence of a nearby

nature reserve and disappeared into the undergrowth. One of the officers
apparently fired a shot into the ground at the nature reserve. One of the
men was later found with a gunshot wound to his head and was taken to
hospital. He died a few hours later. Brits said the search also yielded the
handbag of a woman who had fallen victim to a smash-and-grab incident at the

same intersection on Tuesday evening. The contents of the bag were returned
to the woman. Some cash was missing. Police detectives were investigating.
www.iol.co.za

North West reservist kills girlfriend, self
2011-10-12 17:49
Johannesburg - A police reservist shot his girlfriend five times before
committing suicide by turning the gun on himself, North West police said on
Wednesday. Lieutenant Colonel Lesego Metsi said Maloti Makokwe, 33, held his

girlfriend Tebogo Mosimanyane, 34, hostage at his home in Ikopeleng village
in Ramatlabama, 25km north of Mafikeng, on Tuesday evening. Their bodies
were found around 19:45, after Mosimanyane's family alerted the police. His
service pistol was used in the shooting. Police opened an inquest and murder

docket.  www.news24.com

Cop accused in ET murder trial
Rahima Essop
12/10/2011
The defence in the Eugene Terre’Blanche murder trial on Wednesday accused a
policeman who found his body of "feeding a pack of lies" to the court.
Terre’Blanche
was beaten and hacked to death in 2010 allegedly during a fight with his
employees over unpaid wages. The two accused have pleaded not guilty to the
charges against them. It was a tough afternoon for the state's fifth witness

Jack Ramonyane. Chris Mahlangu's attorney Kgomotso Tlouane accused him of
lying. He questioned why changes were made to his previous sworn statements.

Meanwhile, advocate Norman Arendse had his chance to dig into the witness.
He managed to get Ramonyane to admit that he was forced by the investigating

officer into changing certain information in his second statement. Arendse
asked Ramonyane whether the investigating officer made him to speck about
things he didn't want to speak about. He also admitted that he did not see
the witness.  www.ewn.co.za

Suspected cop killer in court
2011-10-12 20:15
Johannesburg - An Mpumalanga municipal director appeared in the Ermelo
Magistrate's Court on Wednesday in connection with the murder of a police
officer. Daniel Maluleka was released on R1 000 bail, Lieutenant Colonel
Leonard Hlathi said. The matter was postponed to November 21 for further
investigations. Maluleka is the director of public safety in the Msukalikwa
municipality. He allegedly shot dead Constable Patrick Mashaba, 34, on
Tuesday night in Ermelo, Hlathi said. "Police found Maluleka standing next
to the body on the street. They arrested him after he confessed to have
committed the crime with his service pistol." The motive for the murder was
not immediately clear.  www.news24.com

Man jailed for ANC councillor’s murder
October 12 2011 at 07:22pm
A Mpumalanga man has been jailed for 35 years for killing ANC councillor
Johan Ndlovu earlier in the year, police said on Wednesday. Life Khoza, 22,
pleaded guilty to murder in the Nelspruit Circuit of the Pretoria High Court

long before he was jailed on Tuesday, Lieutenant-Colonel Leonard Hlathi
said. Khoza shot dead Ndlovu near his house in Thulamahashe, in the Mhala
district, in January. He took two cellphones and fled in Ndlovu's car.
Ndlovu's family discovered his body under a bush in Thulamahashe, the day
after he disappeared. They searched for the body after Khoza allegedly
called Ndlovu's wife and told her where he had dumped it. The car was later
found abandoned about a kilometre away from the body in the same village.
Police followed leads and arrested Khoza, who was hiding in a house in
Hazyview, several days later.  www.iol.co.za

Alleged Facebook rapist pleads guilty
October 12 2011 at 01:38pm
The man dubbed the “Facebook rapist” has pleaded guilty to raping two women
and robbing them of their valuables. Thomas Bester pleaded guilty to all
four charges against him in the Durban Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday
afternoon. He faced two counts of rape and two counts of armed robbery with
aggravating circumstances. His lawyer Narendra Narotam read a statement to
the court in which he explained how he committed the crimes. He admitted
raping two women in Westville and Umhlanga, in Durban, in August. Although
he raped them, his intention was only to rob them of their valuables such as

cellphones, credit cards and watches. It emerged in court that Bester had a
previous conviction for fraud. Details of the conviction were expected to be

released when he appeared again in court on Friday. Narotam suggested his
client be assessed by a psychologist, saying Bester had tried to commit
suicide. “He has told me many things that I cannot mention here. I believe a

psychological report will be needed,” he said. Bester told the court he
understood the nature of the charges he faced. He was arrested last
Wednesday in Alberton, south of Johannesburg. Bester lured women by sending
them e-mails claiming international modelling scouts were interested in
them. He befriended them on Facebook, then met them in person.
www.iol.co.za

VIP cops trained to ‘eliminate’ any threat
October 12 2011 at 09:00am
Sharika Regchand
MEMBERS of the police VIP unit assigned to protect MECs are trained to
“eliminate” any motorist they perceive as a threat, whether or not the
official they are meant to protect is present. This was the evidence of
Martin Thulani Khanyile, a trainer of VIP protection officers, in the
Pietermaritzburg Regional Court yesterday. “They (VIP members) must stay
alive in order to protect. That’s what we train them… they have to act as if

the minister is there… if there is a life-threatening situation, they should

make a point that they eliminate the threat,” he added. Khanyile was
testifying on behalf of VIP officer Hlanganani Nxumalo, who is charged with
six counts of attempted murder and unlawfully discharging a firearm after a
shooting incident on the N3 near Ashburton, KwaZulu-Natal, in 2008. Nxumalo
fired two shots at a car, causing the driver, Anuvasen Moodley, to lose
control. It veered onto the median and into oncoming traffic, colliding with

a bakkie. Nxumalo was a passenger in a black VW Golf with flashing blue
lights, on its way to pick up MEC Meshack Radebe. The driver, Caiphus
Ndlela, is charged with reckless and negligent driving in the incident.
Nxumalo said he fired warning shots because the driver of the car had been
braking in front of him, switching lanes and trying to push them off the
road. He said he felt his life was in danger. The case resumes today.  The
Star

Blue light shooting case closed
October 12 2011 at 09:24pm
The State closed its attempted murder case against two KwaZulu-Natal VIP
unit members in the Pietermaritzburg Regional Court on Wednesday. Lawyers
representing Constable Hlanganani Nxumalo and Caiphus Ndlela and their State

counterparts are expected to present their closing arguments on December 15.

Nxumalo, bodyguard for KwaZulu-Natal social development MEC Meshack Radebe,
allegedly shot out the tyre of a Mazda car near Camperdown, resulting in the

driver losing control and colliding head-on with a bakkie. Eight people were

injured in the accident in 2008. Nxumalo has argued that he fired shots
because the driver of the Mazda posed a danger to him and his colleague. The

case caused a public outcry with opposition politicians saying that VIP
officers were abusing their blue lights which allow them right of way in
traffic. On Wednesday, Ndlela told the court they were in a hurry to fetch
Radebe when the incident happened. “We were instructed to fetch the MEC at
9pm. This had changed to 8.30pm and this put pressure on us to reach the
destination on time,” he said. Asked what speed he had been driving at,
Ndlela said he had driven at no more than 140 kilometres an hour. Ndlela
said that after the shooting, his colleague called the emergency number
10111 and his superior reported the matter to Road Traffic Inspectorate
Officers.  www.iol.co.za

Man steals R1m but avoids prison
2011-10-12 22:46
Johannesburg - A Western Cape property developer received a suspended
sentence on Wednesday for stealing more than R1m from the trust account of
an attorney's firm. Pieter Johannes Groenewald, of Durbanville, was
sentenced to three years' imprisonment suspended for five years by the
Specialised Commercial Crime Court in Bellville, Cape Town. He was ordered
to repay the money in monthly instalments of R5 000. Magistrate Amrith
Chabilall said: "You are not going to prison today, but if you fail to make
any of the payments on due date, or at all, the suspended jail sentence will

be put into operation." It emerged in court that Groenewald manipulated a
conveyancing secretary, employed by the attorney's firm to steal the money.
He appeared in his personal capacity and also as the chief executive of
Dangene Property Developers (Pty) Ltd, which is under liquidation. The
company - cited as "accused number one" on the charge sheet, while Groenwald

was the second accused - was fined R100 000. According to the charge sheet,
the company bought an erf (plot) in Eversdal, which was bonded by Standard
Bank, for R6.4m. The property developer then sub-divided the property into
seven portions. Standard Bank consented to the sub-division on payment of R1

151 865 to release the property from the bond. The conveyancing attorneys,
MHI, paid the required release money to Standard Bank by means of an
electronic fund transfer, but for reasons not explained the bank rejected
the payment. The money thus landed back in MHI's trust account. MHI simply
had to re-deposit the money, but Groenewald persuaded a conveyancing
secretary to allow him to personally pay the rejected amount back to
Standard Bank, on MHI's behalf. In order for Groenewald to do this, the
secretary made out a trust cheque to Dangene Property Developers. According
to the charge sheet, Groenewald then deposited the cheque into Dangene's
account, instead of paying it to Standard Bank as he had undertaken to do.
As a consequence, MHI had to make good Standard Bank's loss. Groenewald was
found not guilty of fraud, and was instead found guilty on the alternative
charge of theft.  www.news24.com

Mistake cripples father
October 12 2011 at 10:14am
LEBOGANG SEALE
He was shot and wounded and spent 40 days handcuffed and shackled under
police guard in an incident of mistaken identity involving a car hijacker.
Last month, Gezani Abel Baloyi, 41 was acquitted in the Alexandra
Magistrate’s
Court – 30 months after his shooting and wrongful arrest. Now, the father of

three has lost his job and has been declared medically unfit to work. “I am
so angry and frustrated. Whatever I have done to get back my job or money
owed to me haven’t been successful. I feel like a dead man walking,” he
said. Baloyi lamented how his wrongful arrest had cost him his job as a
supervisor for the construction of the Gautrain tunnel. His life was
miserable, he said. He lives on the margins of survival with no income, is
struggling to pay for his children’s school fees and is heavily in debt.
Adding to his woes is that he recently failed to renew his driving licence.
He was told that his fingerprints showed he had a criminal record. “My life
is a mess. I can’t stand on my feet for an hour without feeling pain. I
spend most of the time asleep,” he said. Medical reports seen by The Star
indicate that Baloyi has “a gun wound with a chronic draining” and medical
nails and screws in his right leg. They confirm that he is in constant pain
and suffers from anxiety. Doctors at Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic
Hospital and Malamulele Hospital in Limpopo have recommended him for
disability grants, but a year later he is still waiting. Baloyi, of
Alexandra, said his misery began on the evening of March 6, 2009. He and his

three brothers were walking along a street when police officers raced past,
chasing a speeding vehicle that the driver jumped out of. “The police
couldn’t
see him. One of them shot at me. I fell down and saw blood gushing out from
my right leg,” Baloyi recalled. He saw the motorist fall down after hearing
several gunshots. As Baloyi lay on the ground grimacing in pain, the police
pointed guns at him, and he immediately pointed out the motorist. “My leg
was slightly twisted. It was broken and very painful.” But the police
handcuffed and shackled him before he was placed under police guard in
hospital. He spent 40 days handcuffed and shackled while in excruciating
pain. “At times, I felt like I wanted to die,” he cried. In May 2009 Baloyi
was discharged, then detained at the Alexandra police station. He made his
first court appearance in the Alexandra Magistrate’s Court three days later,

and after his fourth appearance, was granted bail. He was acquitted on
September 30 this year. Gauteng police said they could not comment on
matters that had been through to the courts.  The Star

Simelane fails to report to Parliament
2011-10-12 16:26
National Director of Public Prosecutions Menzi Simelane infuriated MPs
yesterday by not turning up to answer questions on the National Prosecuting
Authority’s (NPA’s) yearly report. Simelane was notified of the meeting with

Parliament’s portfolio committee on justice on September 30, but cancelled
yesterday because he was going abroad, the committee heard. ANC MP John
Jeffery said it was unacceptable that not only had Simelane failed to attend

despite being given nearly a fortnight’s notice, but that the prosecuting
authority’s chief financial officer was also absent. “Twelve days isn’t
 bad,” he said. Committee chairperson Luwellyn Landers said he shared these
sentiments and allowed the meeting to continue only so as not to let the
travel costs of Simelane’s deputy Nomgcobo Jiba and the director general of
justice Nonkuleleko Sindane go to waste. “I must agree with Mr Jeffery.
Regrettably this is not the first time. Maybe this is shows an attitude of
‘well, there is no need for us to engage Parliament’,” Landers said. “If
this is the attitude taken, it is in their interest to dispel it as soon as
possible.” Simelane was said to be in Rwanda representing Justice Minister
Jeff Radebe at an international conference on the death penalty. Democratic
Alliance MP Dene Smuts said sending Sindane to stand in for him at the
committee briefing showed that Simelane did not see the NPA as an
independent body, but as part of the justice ministry. “This goes to the
heart of the matter. It goes back all the way to the Vusi Pikoli saga to
Simelane’s conceptualisation of his role as DG. The NPA is now back in the
hands of the department.” The Ginwala inquiry into former NPA boss Pikoli’s
fitness for office suggested that Simelane, then director general of
justice, possibly contravened the NPA Act by instructing Pikoli to abort the

imminent arrest of former national police commissioner Jackie Selebi.
Simelane’s absence meant MPs could not get answers to their questions on the

status of criminal investigations against Asset Forfeiture Unit head Willie
Hofmeyr. Jiba said she did not know. “We expected that this would happen,”
Landers remarked. It emerged in July that Simelane had referred to the
police corruption allegations against Hofmeyr, also the head of the Special
Investigating Unit, by billionaire tax evasion suspect Dave King. This
contributed to reports of tension between Simelane and Hofmeyr and prompted
Radebe to meet with them to assess the situation. Hofmeyr said today that it

seemed that Simelane’s controversial plans to restructure specialised units
within the NPA, including the AFU, to make them less autonomous appeared to
be largely on hold. The NPA received an unqualified audit for the first time

in four years, but MPs had a barrage of questions on its annual report.
These included the authority’s high vacancy rate, its increasing use of
informal mediation, and the moratorium on sexual offences statistics.
Jeffery questioned the “pretty large” figure of 81 000 cases that were
concluded through informal mediation, a practice Simelane promotes. He said
it should be regulated and such cases should not be reported as finalised,
but as removed from the court roll because they were distorting the NPA’s
statistics.  City Press

Skandaal gaan koppe laat rol by Poskantoor
2011-10-12 00:00 James-Brent Styan
Kaapstad
Die Poskantoor gaan straks vandag een van sy topbestuurslede skors en
soortgelyke stappe word glo teen nog twee ander hoës oorweeg. D?t volg op ’n

ondersoek van 16 maande wat gedoen is nadat die Poskantoor ’n onregmatige
uitgawe van R425miljoen aangegaan het vir ’n nuwe hoofkantoorgebou in
Centurion. Die Burger verneem van twee onafhanklike ingeligtes die drie
amptenare wat ondersoek word, is me. Motshwanesti Lefoka, die Poskantoor se
uitvoerende hoof, mnr. John Wentzel, die bedryfshoof, en me. Marikie
Lancester, die strategiese hoof. Die Poskantoor wou nie dié name bevestig of

ontken nie. Mnr. Shu’ayb Patel, ’n poskantoor-direksielid, wou ook nie
gistermiddag die bestuurslid teen wie nou opgetree word identifiseer nie,
maar het wel gesê dit is nie Lefoka nie. Mnr. Gallant Roberts,
sekretaris-generaal van die Communication Workers’ Union (CWU), het gesê dié

drie was ongetwyfeld by die omstrede transaksie betrokke. “Dit is mense op
hul posvlak wat dié bedrae goedkeur en afteken.” Mnr. Phuti Phukubje, ’n
senior ouditbestuurder in die kantoor van die ouditeur-generaal (OG), het
gister aan die parlementêre portefeuljekomitee oor kommunikasie gesê dié
onreëlmatigheid het verlede jaar in die OG se oudit aan die lig gekom. “Daar

was ernstige oortredings van prosedures. Die Poskantoor het byvoorbeeld nie
eens tenders uitgereik vir die nuwe kantoorgebou nie. “Vir sulke groot
bedrae is die Wet op Openbare Finansiële Bestuur (PFMA) baie streng oor die
prosedures wat gevolg moet word.” Phukubje het die komitee gevra om vas te
stel waarom niemand geskors is terwyl die ondersoek aan die gang is nie. Hy
het met Roberts saamgestem oor die topbestuur se verantwoordelikhede. Patel
het bevestig die ondersoek duur voort. Hy het gesê alle opsies word oorweeg
vir verdere stappe sou die individue skuldig bevind word. “Die PFMA maak dit

moontlik dat ons eise kan instel teen individue vir geld wat verkwis is. Dit

sal gedoen word indien dit tot daardie stadium vorder.” Roberts het gesê die

CWU het die openbare beskermer intussen gevra om die saak te ondersoek. “Ons

het ook maande lank gevra dat die mense geskors word, maar het nog geen
antwoord gekry waarom dit nie gebeur het nie.” Patel het gesê skorsings is
op regsadvies nie gedoen nie en dat al die nodige prosesse om soortgelyke
voorvalle te vermy in werking gestel is.”  Die Burger

Cop back home after Rosebank tragedy
October 12 2011 at 06:42pm
Rosebank police station commander Lt-Col Thandi Mkhize was back home from
hospital after being shot by a police clerk last August, Gauteng police said

on Wednesday. “Mkhize went back home early last month and she can now easily

walk on her own,” Lt-Col Tshisikhawe Ndou said. Mkhize was airlifted to
Milpark Hospital after being shot by clerk David Kekana on August 1. Kekana
entered the Rosebank police station in Johannesburg around 3pm. He went to
Mkhize's office and shot her and Captain Neelavathi Naidu. Both Naidu and
Kekana died on the scene after Kekana turned the gun onto himself. Ndou
could not immediately say whether Mkhize had resumed her duties at the
station.  www.iol.co.za

Bad guys on billboards new SAPS plan
October 12 2011 at 05:26pm
The faces of wanted criminals are to become a more common sight, Police
Minister Nathi Mthethwa said on Wednesday. Responding to a written question
in the National Assembly by the Democratic Alliance's Kenneth Mubu, he said
the SA Police Service (SAPS) planned to put the faces of wanted people on
billboards, television, and newspapers. Asked how many billboards would be
contracted per city and which newspapers would be used, Mthethwa said that
at this stage the SAPS was not in a position to “break it down as required
by Parliament”. The breakdown would be available only after receipt of the
proposal for media bulk buying from the government communications and
information system. “The billboards will be updated as and when it is
necessary. Information that will be provided for each newspaper will be
updated as well when it becomes necessary,” he said.  www.iol.co.za

No info on police guns used in crime
2011-10-12 17:32
Cape Town - The SA Police Service does not currently have information on how

many lost or stolen police firearms have been used to commit crime, Police
Minister Nathi Mthethwa said on Wednesday. He was responding to a written
parliamentary question by the DA's Dianne Kohler Barnard, who asked whether
any civilian or police officer had been shot with a firearm registered by
SAPS as lost by or stolen from SAPS. "Information is not available on how
many firearms registered as lost or stolen were then used to commit crime in

each province," Mthethwa said. The department kept a generic database of
firearms used in the commission of crimes, irrespective of whether the
victim was a civilian or a police member, he said. Kohler-Barnard also
wanted to know when the Integrated Ballistics Identification System started
marking SAPS firearms. Mthethwa said the marking of SAPS firearms was
managed through an integrated process between the firearm permit system,
which generated a unique barcode, and the provisioning administration
system, which was the master asset register. All firearms were identified
through a unique serial number allocated to the weapon at manufacture. The
additional markings attached to SAPS firearms were to further enhance
identification. A total number of 171 500 SAPS firearms had been marked as
at August 31, 2011. A total of 91 191 SAPS firearms still needed to be
marked. A plan to mark all police firearms by the end of the financial year
was in place, Mthethwa said.  www.news24.com

Govt corruption: R30bn could be lost - SIU
2011-10-12 22:46
Cape Town - The head of both the special investigating unit and the asset
forfeiture unit said on Wednesday the country could lose as much as 20% of
its total procurement budget to graft annually, in response to a question
about the extent of government corruption in South Africa. "I think that may

not be an unrealistic estimate," Willie Hofmeyr told Parliament's justice
committee, adding that it translated to between R25bn and R30bn. The SIU was

currently investigating 558 procurement contracts to the value of R1.9bn and

360 cases of conflict of interest where R3.4bn was involved. Hofmeyr said
the fight against corruption was hindered by a shortage of investigators and

the low rate of criminal convictions of officials found with their fingers
in the till. "We should have 7 000 people whose job it is to investigate
corruption and I think we have 700. "Our policies are pretty good but if
there are not consequences for breaching them... a culture of impunity
spreads pretty quickly." Hofmeyr welcomed the cancellation of the flawed
lease contracts with Roux Shabangu for new police headquarters but went on
to highlight further problems in the police and public works departments.
"From the kind of things we have found the SAPS leases are not an uncommon
practice elsewhere." SIU investigations have shown that public works paid at

least R35m to entities where staff held undeclared interests and were
investigating irregularities to the tune of R330mlinked to the building and
renovation of 33 police stations. However, he said, the worst leeching of
taxpayers' money was not happening at national level. "Local government is
where the problems are the worst and where oversight mechanisms are the
least." Asked about the implications of the Constitutional Court judgment in

the Glenister case, Hofmeyr said if a central anti-corruption agency were
created he would like the SIU to be part of it and believed the Hawks also
had a central role to play. "There isn't really a centre from which
government's anti-corruption efforts are driven. I think there is a bit of a

gap there. The Glennister judgment is an urgent issue that needs to be
resolved soon," he said. "If there is a new corruption unit set up we would
like very much to be part of it." The court found that the legislation that
created the Hawks did not give the unit enough independence and gave
Parliament 18 months to amend it. Funding trouble - The special
investigating unit ran into severe funding trouble this year when Eskom
established that legally it may not be paid by state entities that solicit
its help, MPs heard.  He told the justice committee the corruption-busting
entity had expected to earn R240m from such agreements but instead had to
turn to Treasury to tide it over. "We are getting an additional R97m from
Treasury this year," he told MPs. Hofmeyr said the SIU was alerted to the
problem by Eskom in June after the electricity utility had asked it to probe

"corporate governance issues", notably persistent problems surrounding its
coal supply contracts. He said the SIU obtained two legal opinions which
confirmed that provided by Eskom, upsetting a 7-year-old practice that had
seen it accepted remuneration from a range of state entities. "We got our
own legal opinion at the end of June and then a second opinion that
confirmed it and accepted we have got a problem," he said. "Basically, we
are not allowed to charge departments for our services. Everybody was a bit
blind-sided by this issue." Hofmeyr mentioned the matter in a briefing on
the SIU's annual report. He said the unit had not wanted to make it public
until it was confident of finding both long and short term solutions because

it did not want its staff to fear for their jobs, he said. An amendment to
the SIU Act that would make such payments legitimate is in the pipeline,
Hofmeyr said. At present, the legislation is silent on the issue.
www.news24.com

Duplicate ID battle continues
2011-10-12 21:57
Cape Town - Home Affairs eliminated more than 84 000 illegal "duplicate"
identity documents (IDs) over the past year, but a further 130 000 remain to

be tracked down, the department said on Wednesday. "The resolved duplicates
for the year in question [2010/11] were 84 500," deputy director-general of
civic services Vusumuzi Mkhize told journalists at Parliament. Responding to

questions on the department's 2010/11 annual report, he said people with
duplicate IDs fell into one of two categories: those who had two ID books;
and those who "shared" or had the same ID number. The 84 500 total included
both. On the scale of the outstanding problem, Mkhize said the department
had a problem tracing people. "We have a challenge tracing people who have
the same ID number. There are still 37 000 people we are trying to track."
There were many more with multiple IDs. "There are also 99 700 people with
multiple ID numbers," he said. According to the annual report, the duplicate

ID problem "will require more than one year to resolve". It found two main
causes of the problem: "reference book holders issued with ID numbers during

the apartheid regime without consultation and confirmation of their birth
registration details"; and the wrong classification of fingerprints in the
manual fingerprint system. On illegal foreigners in South Africa, director
general Mkuseli Apleni said 55 825 were deported during the past financial
year. Asked how many illegal foreigners the department estimated were still
in the country, he said South Africa's porous borders made it impossible to
determine the number undocumented foreigners. Earlier, the department
briefed members of Parliament's home affairs portfolio committee on its
2010/11 report, the first in 16 years to receive an unqualified audit
opinion. In a statement on Wednesday, committee chairperson Maggie Maunye
said MPs appreciated the "hard work and dedication" of the department in
managing a clean-up of its finances.  www.news24.com

Lab backlog delays insurance payouts
2011-10-12 22:46
Johannesburg - A significant backlog at a number of the state's forensic
laboratories has meant that some consumers are being forced to wait for as
long as two years before pathology results are finally made available. As a
result, any insurance claim that remains dependent on such test results
could potentially end up being considerably delayed. According to Justus van

Pletzen, chief executive officer at the Financial Intermediaries Association

of Southern Africa (FIA), pathology results can often be vital in the
finalisation of certain insurance claims. "Forensic test results are often
essential in serious cases such as those where someone has been killed or
seriously injured in an accident. This is particularly relevant if alcohol
or drugs are thought to be contributing factors." Van Pletzen says such
results can also be vital if an insurance company is investigating claims
for damage to property. "If someone has a car accident or damages property
whilst under the influence of drugs or alcohol then an insurer can repudiate

a claim. "However, this may need to be proven through a forensic test which
can potentially delay any settlement. He says the FIA has been assured by a
number of insurance companies that they are aware of the situation and will
take every possible step not to delay decisions regarding the settlement of
such claims. "It is positive that insurance companies are choosing not to
simply wait for the official test results before deciding whether to settle
on a claim, even though this may often be a stipulation of the policy.
"Insurers can obtain relevant information in a number of other ways
including police reports, witnesses and family members, as well as examining

the particulars of the event and past history in order to reach a reasonable

conclusion." He says in some cases the outcome may be a partial interim
payment, while other insurers have agreed to meet a claim on condition that
an 'acknowledgement of liability' statement is signed, guaranteeing that the

amount will be paid back to the insurer should an eventual analysis find
traces of alcohol or drugs." Van Pletzen says that while insurance companies

are actively trying to work with clients to find solutions to the ongoing
delays, it is important for consumers to be aware of their rights in such a
situation. "Insurers should not repudiate a claim on the basis that the
insured [consumer] needs to provide satisfactory proof that they did not
have traces of drugs or alcohol in their system. "These delays are
frustrating for all parties involved and cases that require forensic
pathology tests are often by their nature traumatic. "However, by working
together, consumers and insurers can attempt to alleviate some of the stress

involved to ensure a speedy resolution, even if a test result is not
available," says Van Pletzen.  www.news24.com

Courts are turning unions into zombies, Cosatu warns
October 12 2011 at 08:14am
By Jabulani Sikhakhane
The right of workers to strike was being whittled down by the courts,
turning trade unions into “scarecrows” and “zombies”, Cosatu president
Sidumo Dlamini said yesterday. He was speaking at the national congress of
the SA Transport and Allied Workers’ Union (Satawu), a Cosatu affiliate, at
Sun City. The use of the courts by employers to reverse workers’ hard-won
rights, Dlamini said, would turn “our unions into scarecrows who only have
an intimidating look, without the capacity to strike even a single blow.
“There is an attempt to change unions into walking zombies who only scare
employers without any capacity to force the issue. “Our right to strike is
being gradually and deliberately eroded and, unless we act now, we may wake
up without any rights”. Dlamini cited the Supreme Court of Appeal’s decision

last month to uphold a ruling by the Western Cape High Court, which found
Satawu liable for the damage to property caused by its members during a 2006

march in support of a strike. Another was the ruling in September last year
by the Durban High Court interdicting SA Commercial, Catering and Allied
Workers’ Union (Saccawu) members from making too much noise during their
picket against Dischem at La Lucia shopping mall. Growthpoint Properties,
owners of the centre, argued that the picket was so loud that other
businesses in the mall lost customers. Growthpoint, according to the
judgment, based its case on the common law of nuisance and its
constitutional rights to trade and a healthy environment. “This ruling
effectively rendered picketing as an instrument for putting pressure to the
employers useless, and the constitutional right to strike to be legally
enforceable only on paper,” Dlamini said. While workers were “being squeezed

to death and their armoury of defence systematically blunted”, employers
were maximising their benefits, even during an economic recession. Dlamini
pointed to retail group Shoprite CEO Whitey Basson’s 2010 pay packet of
R627.5 million (including salary, perks and share options). He also repeated

Cosatu’s call for multinational retailer Walmart’s purchase of Massmart to
be stopped. “We cannot allow Walmart on to our shores. Besides being
unpopular for not respecting worker rights, Walmart is known for its
aggressive tax-avoidance scheme,” he said. “The reality of the matter is
that in Walmart we are dealing with merciless economic serial killers for
whom it is profit by all means and at all costs,” said Dlamini. “We will
fight the Walmart take-over with everything we have,” he said.  Daily News

Cop hurt in Thembalethu riot
October 12 2011 at 03:14pm
Violence erupted in Thembalethu township, outside George, on Wednesday when
residents clashed with police in service delivery protests, Southern Cape
police said. “The situation is very tense. The people are throwing petrol
bombs at the police,” said Captain Bernadine Steyn. A policeman was hit by
an object thrown by the protesters. “One of our members has been rushed to
hospital after being hit above his eye,” she said. Three police vehicles
were damaged and the Thembalethu police station was pelted with stones. “We
are making arrests. I am not sure now how many people we have taken in but
we are arresting the violent protesters,” said Steyn. Police fired rubber
bullets and water cannons were used to disperse the crowd. Residents
protesting over poor service delivery had set up burning tyre barricades in
the streets. The community was reportedly enraged by water and sanitation
problems in the township. Police said around 4 000 people had gathered and
more were joining the protest.  www.iol.co.za

Police officers injured in S.Cape protest
Shamiela Fisher
13/10/2011
Four police officers were injured during a violent service delivery protest
in Thembalethu in the Southern Cape on Wednesday, police have said. About
3,000 people took to the streets, demanding better services. One police
officer was wounded above his eye and was rushed to hospital. The police's
Bernadine Steyn said three police vehicles and a traffic car were also
torched. “The sergeant sustained an open wound just above his eye and was
taken to hospital in an ambulance. An Opel Corsa bakkie was also set
alight," she said. Steyn added, "We arrested 16 people for public violence."

www.ewn.co.za

Users’ anger over BlackBerry crash
October 12 2011 at 09:00am
Sapa-AP and Staff Reporter
BlackBerry users across Europe, the Middle East and Africa were hit with
service disruptions to their smartphones for a second day after an
unexplained glitch cut off internet and messaging services for millions of
users around the world. Research in Motion Ltd, which makes BlackBerry
devices, said yesterday morning that services were operating normally and
the issue responsible for delays in subscriber services a day earlier had
been resolved. But BlackBerry’s popular messaging service was not fully
operational again yesterday afternoon, with users reporting trouble sending
and r