Marikana residents injured by police rubber bullets

Sapa | 15 September, 2012 14:51 A women gestures at Lonmin's Marikana mine in South Africa's North West Province September 15, 2012.

Image by: SIPHIWE SIBEKO / REUTERS A man holds a stone as he runs across the road as police approach at Lonmin's Marikana mine in South Africa's North West Province September 15, 2012. Image by: SIPHIWE SIBEKO / REUTERS Police inyalas (armored vehicles) drive around at Lonmin's Marikana mine in South Africa's North West Province September 15, 2012. Image by: SIPHIWE SIBEKO / REUTERS previousnext 123 Police officers assigned to disperse protesting Lonmin mineworkers were accused of shooting residents of Nkaneng informal settlement in Marikana on Saturday morning. SAVE & SHARE EMAILPRINT Several community members emerged with bleeding wounds, which they claimed were caused by police rubber bullets. Two women sat in a narrow path in the informal settlement, surrounded by sympathetic residents. One of the wounded, Melita Ramasedi, said they were shot at while watching the police breaking up the crowd of protesters. "I am deeply hurt by this situation. A police nyala drove past us, we were a group of women and others ran away. "I just stood there, watching and they shot me in my leg," she said showing her bleeding leg. Another victim Ntombe Ncence was visibly upset as she told journalists that she was at the entrance of a spaza shop when she was shot with a rubber bullet. "I do not understand why the police officers shot me. I was knocking at the door of a shop and police officers inside a nyala shot my leg." The bleeding woman said she did not know where her two children had fled to when the skirmishes between mineworkers and police began in the morning. Earlier, a 24-year-old man said police officers shot him with a rubber bullet while he was repairing his shack in the informal settlement. Xolisa Ntshantha said he does not work for a mine and had never been part of the protests. "I was working on my shack and suddenly I was shot from behind. I did not realise where the police officers came from," said Ntshantha. "They manhandled me and threw me into the nyala. I was assaulted by police officers inside the truck," he claimed. Ntshantha raised his shirt and torn jacket to reveal a large red blister on his back. Earlier, the protesters gathered at an open veld next to the koppie, where 34 people were killed in a violent confrontation on August 16. They sang, waving weapons, before the police arrived. At least seven police nyalas drove into Nkaneng, causing workers to scamper in different directions. The crowd ran into the informal settlement as the nyalas followed them on narrow foot paths. A cloud of pepper spray filled the area causing protesters and journalists to shed tears and cough. Earlier, police raided a nearby hostel. Five people were arrested and weapons were confiscated. Brigadier Thulani Ngubane said the people were arrested during a disarmament operation at a hostel where hundreds Lonmin mineworkers . Police confiscated a large number of knobkerries, pangas and other dangerous weapons. Ngubane could not give an exact quantity of arms confiscated, but said "truck loads" of contraband weapons were seized. On Thursday, Justice Minister Jeff Radebe told journalists in Pretoria that government would "deal very swiftly" with illegal protests. The situation at the mines did not warrant a declaration of state of emergency, he said. Times Live - Comments by Sonny - President Zuma, the person the poor miners voted for, is intent on on showing "his followers" just who's the BOSS! Could it be that if the poorest of the poor did not vote for the ANC then they (ZUMA) would not have been in power and the economy would have had a better International rating? Next week will be decisive for Zuma and the ANC run government.

Another shooting in ‘wild west’ Muldersdrift

A 50-year-old man was shot three times at his Muldersdrift home on 13 September, 2012. Picture: Alex Eliseev/EWN. Alex Eliseev | 2 hours ago MULDERSDRIFT - There has been another shooting in Muldersdrift, west of Johannesburg, less than 500 metres from the spot where 13-year-old Alyssa Botha was gunned down a week ago. On Thursday, a gang of robbers attacked a family sitting outside their house and shot a 50-year-old man three times when he tried to flee. The shooting came on the same day five men arrested in connection with the teenager's murder were released from custody due to a lack of evidence. Police say six people were relaxing outside at about 7:30pm, when four robbers ambushed them. A neighbour, who tried to save Botha’s life last week, was again called to help on Thursday. She said the wounded man was struggling to breathe, while his pregnant wife stood beside him in a shocked state. According to the neighbour, the couple’s son fled the house to seek help. Robbers escaped with three cellphones and a television. Members of the Hawks were at the scene to assist with the case. Officials said three men who were arrested at the scene of a robbery in Rietfontein on Thursday were found in possession of goods which may have been taken from the house in Muldersdrift. It is unclear if the men have been linked to the shooting. Police have declined to say whether this was the work of a single syndicate. The wounded man is being treated in hospital. A man who spoke to Eyewitness News after Botha's shooting described the area as the "wild west". (Edited by Thato Motaung) EYE WITNESS NEWS - Comments by Sonny - Five men got arrested as suspects for the murder of 13 year old Alyssa Botha one week ago. The police find a cell phone with a picture of one of the deceased's friends on it. The suspects are released due to lack of evidence? Now this happens in the same area a day after the release of the suspects? The lights are on but the police are not on duty! Where is this country going under the rule of Zuma and the ANC? South Africa is on a slippery slope heading towards ZIMBABWE!

Marikana violence outrageous – Godsell

2012-09-11 08:51 Striking Lonmin miners. Picture: Felix Dlangamandla/Beeld Galleries · User Galleries · News in Pictures Send us your pictures · Send us your stories Related Links Cops save man from armed Marikana strikers Lonmin attendance up to 6% 'Mdluli man behind torture’ Miners paid ‘sweat-shop wages’ – minister Marikana: Never forget The violence at Marikana was “outrageous” and the killers needed to be held accountable, Business Unity SA chairperson Bobby Godsell has said. “In an apartheid South Africa with no (democratic) constitution you can say that violence was regrettable and understandable,” he said during a discussion at the Gordon Institute of Business Science in Johannesburg yesterday. “In a constitutional democracy, (violence) is not understandable. It is completely outrageous. “People must be held accountable for those murders.” For South Africa to fix what happened at the Lonmin platinum mine in Marikana, North West, wage negotiation processes had to change. “We have to make wage negotiation work. It has to be inclusive. We have to include people in the negotiation process. “It has to deliver outcomes that people find broadly acceptable.” A panel consisting of business leaders, economists and political commentators discussed what led to the deaths of 44 people, most of them striking Lonmin employees, in August. Executive head of joint venture operations at Anglo American Platinum, Vishnu Pillay, said South Africa needed successful communities to prevent the Marikana tragedy. Pillay said it was clear there was a link between the social problems faced by Lonmin workers and what the workers wanted from management. The tragedy, he added, taught the mining community that it needed to conduct its business differently. Pillay said both the mining company and unions had “in some way” failed the mineworkers in Marikana. On August 16, police fired on a group of protesters near Lonmin’s Marikana mine, killing 34 and wounding 78. Another 10 people were killed in the preceding week, including policemen and two security guards. SA Chamber of Mines CEO Bheki Sibiya echoed some of Pillay’s views. “Mining is a microcosm of what happens in South Africa. Because it is a microcosm we find that a lot of problems which are happening around (the country) are happening in the mining industry as well.” The fact that most of the 260 people who were arrested on August 16 did not work at Lonmin showed the Marikana tragedy was underpinned by social issues. Sibiya urged all parties involved in Marikana to stop blaming one another. “Let’s hang our heads in shame and fix the problem.” Most of the panellists also criticised he inefficiency of the National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac), a forum where government, labour, business, and community organisations negotiate. “I don’t go to Nedlac because it’s a waste of time. I don’t go there because the government officials who were supposed to be making it successful decided not to attend,” Sibiya said. Chief executive of Pan-African Capital Holdings, Iraj Abedian, pinned the blame on the nation’s failure to practice what it preached. Abedian said everyone knew the mining sector had not complied with its social responsibility targets, and nothing had been done about it. The government and society had done little about structural risks in the mining sector. “In economics if you do not manage the structural risk and you hope that it will go away... it bounces back,” he said"... - SAPA - CITY PRESS - Comments by Sonny - The mining industry profit margins are based on greed. The SA government is not run democratically as expressed by Bobby GODSELL. This problem has been coming a long time and nobody saw the red lights flickering. For too long has the mining industry and government ignored the needs and grievances of the POOR! These lights are flickering as they did during the "Arab Spring!" Only yesterday did the president lie to the people and say that all is well in the National municipalities regarding service delivery and their accounting systems and practices. Will Zuma last another year? THE PEOPLE SHALL GOVERN SOUTH AFRICA!

Court hears Cullinan robbery ordeal

Locked in a cupboard while her house was burning down, an elderly Cullinan woman told her attacker her last wish was to go to heaven, the High Court in Pretoria heard on Monday. 10 September 2012 | Sapa PRETORIA - The evidence was given in a statement by one of the men accused of murdering 64-year-old Piet van den Berg and attempting to murder his wife Madelein on their smallholding near Cullinan in July 2009. Judge Vivian Tlhapi earlier ruled that the accused Mphanyana Given Kanyane's statement to a magistrate was admissible as evidence, even though he claimed it had not been made voluntarily. Kanyane, Mduduzi Sbusiso Hlengethwa and Wonder Mbongezini Makwakwa have pleaded not guilty to charges including robbing the couple of a cellphone and other goods, and maliciously damaging their property. Van den Berg was shot dead when robbers invaded his home. His wife was tied up and locked in a cupboard and left for dead when the robbers set the house alight. Kanyane said in his statement he and Makwakwa had decided to rob the Van den Bergs because they wanted money to go to Johannesburg. After abandoning their initial attempt, they met Hlengethwa who told them he had a fishing knife and was a "professional robber". They returned to house, where they waited for the elderly man to come out, then pounced on him, demanding money and firearms. He gave them a firearm and pointed out the safe. According to Kanyane, Hlengethwa was holding the firearm while he was looking at the safe. He heard a sound as if Van den Berg was trying to escape, followed by a shot. He took the firearm from Hlengethwa, who told him Van den Berg had untied himself. Kanyane then demanded the safe keys from his wife. Inside, they found old currency, papers, another firearm, ammunition, and jewellery which they loaded into a bag. Hlengethwa put Madelein Van den Berg into a wardrobe. He dressed in her husband's clothes, took a cigarette and started lighting papers in the house. "I went to the wardrobe where the lady was and told her, her house was on fire. I asked her what her last words were. She told me she wants to go to heaven. I took the bag and firearms and ran out," he said. Van den Berg pointed out the three accused as the men who had attacked her and her husband of 40 years that day. She had tried to drag her husband's body out of the house after freeing herself, but he was too heavy for her. A neighbour managed to get his body from the house before it burnt to the ground. The trial continues. The Citizen - Comments by Sonny - Yes, its only in Africa where the children get killed for a cellular phone. The old and frail get murdered in their homes where they are supposed to be safe. The callous criminals feel nothing for the authorities, peoples lives and property. High walls and electric fences don't mean 'Protection' but rather FEAR! - THE FOLLOWING IS A 13 DAY HORROR SHOW -bloodiest-13-days The past 13 days has witnessed the bloodiest killings of Boers in South Africa, by black assailants. Yes, Boers, because according to the perspectives of black terrorists, all whites are Boers, demons, and a legitimate target for a killing, to purge the South African nation, of the white tribe. Yes, despite your political affiliations or liking, even members of the DA was stoned when they protested against the Cosatu march, earlier this year. All whites are deemed ‘colonialists’ by the ever-ready socioparasites of Africa. This perception, formed after being bombarded by 80 + years of communist propaganda, makes it psychologically easier to act as willing executioners and judges of whites during this massacre. This communist propaganda started in 1928, when the world’s controlling body of communism, the KOMINTERN decided that South Africa should have a black communist government. Bill Andrews, the chairman of the SACP at the time, returned to South Africa, and immediately set about measures to ultimately achieve that goal. Yes there is a Boer genocide. In this is included all the English, and victims of other white nationalities as well. In South Africa, all white targets are viewed as Boers. The revolutionary songs of the terrorists in Southern Africa, only sing about the successful killing of the ‘Amabunhu’, the Boers. In other words, -whites. But apart from that, after the concentration camps at Auchswitz, where the Jews were slaughtered, the world’s definition of a genocid was changed by a Polish lawyer with the surname of Lemke. In 1947, the United Nations adopted a new set of definitions of a genocide. A body count was since then, by no means the only measure with which it was decided whether a genocide was being committed or not. Forcing conditions of living upon a target group, or particular culture group, which makes it difficult or even impossible to survive, is a genocide on its own. In that regard, all affirmative actions, and laws qualify as a full –blown genocide on its own, whether it is contained in our constitution or not. The constitution only legitimizes a genocide in this regard. It is still against the Statutes of Rome, and a crime according to the UN’s Convention on the Crime and Punishment of Genocide. The fact that Affirmative Action and BEE is contained in the ‘Constitution’ is therefore nothing but the legalizing of terrorism against the white population. And THAT is exactly the instruction that Lenin gave to Commissar Ivanovich; – to formulate terror as widely as possible, and then to legalize it as a principle. The ANC legalized terror. That’s all. There is a wider world out there in the international community and laws, that describe affirmative action as a genocide. So, my dear brothers and sisters, that are all fellow Boers, so defined by the enemy’s actions against us; today we bleed. Today I received a list of our fellow whites’ that were tortured, maimed and massacred in the past 13 days in South Africa. May God be with them and may they rest in peace. My condolences go out to each and every family member. Our fallen brothers and sisters are: *WARBURTON/ LOTHAIR: Tony Mason aangeval. Ernstig aangerand. *KLERKSDORP/ HARTBEESFONTEIN: Hendrien Johnstone De Lange doodgeskiet tydens ‘n plaasaanval. *JANSENVILLE: Owen Charles, ‘n Sewentigjarige boer van die Jansenville-omgewing is dood en sy vrou ernstig beseer in ‘n plaasaanval. *AMANZIMTOTI: Lucas Holtzhausen in ‘n koma met breinskade na barbaarse aa nval deur drie swartes in Umbilo straat. *POTCHEFSTROOM: PLAASAANVAL: Oom Jurie Barnard (82) en tannie Anna (80) aangeval, aangerand en met warm strykyster gebrand. *RHODESFIELD,KEMPTONPARK: Karen Goosen (44) veg om haar lewe na sinnelose, barbaarse aanval deur twee swartes: *SABIE: Mavis Koekemoer van Lewis gister oorval en in pikdonker stoorkamer toegesluit. *RICHMOND: MAN DOODGESKIET: Man vermoor in Richmond KZN. geskiet en bakkie gevat het op n plaas net buite Richmond gebly. *SMITHFIELD: BOER AANGEVAL: Johan Neethling (56), ‘n boer van Smithfield, is gisteraand beseer toe hy glo vier mans in n verdagte Toyota Corolla met ‘n Noord-Kaapse registrasienommer op ‘n grondpad in die omgewing van sy plaas voorgekeer het. *ODENDAALSRUS: Anet Knoetze (64) met mes doodgesteek in haar huis. *BRONKHORSTSPRUIT: My kleinboet is aangerand deur ‘n klomp van sy Mosambiekse werkers. Hulle het hom met stompe geslaan en beide sy bene gebreek, sowel as sy arm. Hy het inwendige en kopbeserings opgedoen en is tans bewusteloos in ‘n hospital. *CLOCOLAN: Oom Kempen Hugo oorlede na aanval. *LINKSFIELD: Erhard Enslin, 27, is laas Vrydag is in Linksfield vermoor gevind. *WITBANK: 73-jarige tannie vertel van haar vyf ure van hel terwyl sy verkrag en aangerand word. *WITBANK: Plaasaanval: Elmarie Faber (54) aangerand tydens aanval: Die merke om me. Elmarie Faber se gewrigte, is ‘n onaangename herinnering aan die oggend toe sy deur gewapende mans by haar plaashuis oorval en vasgebind is. *SUNWOODPARK: ‘n Afgetrede, welaf man deur 3 swartes aangeval. Hul het hom doodgesteek met messe nege uur die oggend in sy huis, selfoon en skootrekenaar gesteel. *AMANZIMTOTI: Malcolm Murray aangeval deur gewapendes by burgersentrum: “Amanzimtoti man was attacked and brutally beaten with a gun at the civic centre” *LADYBRAND: Allen Rodgers, `n Amerikaanse plaasbestuurder in die Ladybrand distrik, is per ambulans met kap wonde en snye na die MediClinic in Bloemfontein gejaag nadat hy vroegaand op die plaas Geluk met kapmesse aangeval is. Rodgers (61) is deur drie mans aangeval en het kap wonde aan sy kop, snye aan sy hande en kneusings opgedoen. Hy is ingewag nadat hulle eers sy vriendin, Mandy, oorval en vasgebind het. *HARTBEESFONTEIN: Ronel van Eyk (46) is by haar plaashek doodgeskiet minute nadat sy haar seun Freddie (9) by die skool afgelaai het. Die rowers het haar oorval toe sy uit haar Toyota Condor klim om die plaashek oop te maak. Die rowers het Van Eyk verskeie kere geskiet, onder meer in die gesig. Jurie Fourie, eienaar van die buurplaas, het vertel hy was besig met ontbyt in sy dorpshuis toe sy selfoon 08:00 lui. Dit was Ronel, sy het net geroggel. Ek het teruggebel toe die selfoon afgaan. Ronel het opgetel en weer net geroggel. Fourie en `n vriend, Sarel van Biljon, het hulle na die plaas gehaas. Daar het hulle Van Eyk nog lewend by die plaashek aangetref. Hulle het `n dokter, die polisie en ambulans ontbied. Van Eyk het kort voordat sy beswyk het, beduie daar was drie moordenaars. *OOS – TVL.: `n Boer wat `n hofinterdik bekom het, dat `n sekere pad nie gebruik mag word nie, op swartes afgekom wat die hofbevel geïgnoreer het. Hy het gestop om met hulle hieroor te praat, waarna jeugdiges [ongeveer 10 tussen die ouderdom van 15 – 21] op hom afgestorm, op die grond neer gegooi, en hom in die gesig met klippe begin slaan het! Net voor die boer uit sy bakkie geklim het om met hulle te praat het hy vir van sy werkers per radio laat weet van die situasie. Dit het egter sy lewe gered, want op die oomblik toe hulle sy keel met `n mes wou sny het hulp gearriveer. Volgens gerugte was die swart polisie wat opgedaag het absoluut antagonisties teenoor die bebloede boer en het eerder met die jeugdiges gestaan en gesels? *ESTON KZN: Aug 9 2012 – Morné Vorster writes: “my good friend Robbie Anderson’s body was found next to the road in Eston KZN. Murdered. He was shot for what? Because he lives on a farm and works hard, who knows. He ran the sawmill in Richmond for his father Malcolm Anderson, the owner of the Minerva Private Game Reserve and Museum in Byrne. Robbie lived on a farm just outside Eston. Absolutely shocked that such a good person has to be murdered in such a gruesome manner. ” *KEMPTON PARK: August 9 2012 Karen Joost’s face beaten to a pulp: nose torn off by two black males: Stephen Barnard writes: Karen Jooste 44 is fighting for her life in ICU at the moment. She was viciously attacked on her porch while waiting for her lift to work yesterday morning around 7am in Rhodesfield, Kempton Park. *BLOEMFONTEIN: Aug 3 2012 – Volksblad journalist Andre Damons writes that Afrikaner toolmaker Johannes Ludewikus Wiesner, 45, was found bludgeoned to death with a hammer in his department. *HURLYVALE: The Edenvale SAPS confirmed that a woman was beaten to death in her home in Hurlyvale yesterday. “The woman, in her 20s, was attacked with a hammer and died at the scene due to her injuries. Her husband was also stabbed. He was taken to hospital,” Lt Col Roberts said. *BUTTERWORTH: ’n Priester van Butterworth se twee kinders het hul pa se lyk in ‘n plas bloed gevind, het die Oos-Kaapse polisie gesê. Hy sê die 46-jarige priester van die gebied se Anglikaanse kerk, het veelvuldige wonde gehad. Die polisie vermoed ‘n skerp voorwerp is gebruik om die man dood te steek. Die motief is nog onbekend, aangesien sy besittings nog in die huis was. *KROONSTAD: – ’n Voormalige landdros van die dorp moes ure van hel hier saam met verskeie inbrekers in haar huis deurbring terwyl sy deur een van hulle aangehou, herhaaldelik aangerand en gewurg is terwyl die ander haar huis gestroop het. Jolene Tredoux (46) is deur haar aanvallers in die huis toegesluit toe hulle daar weg is. Erg beseer en geskok moes sy ’n vensterruit breek en na buite om hulp roep. Bure het haar te hulp gesnel. *EDENVALE: ʼn Bejaarde vrou van Edenvale is Donderdag dood nadat rowers haar met ʼn stomp voorwerp oor die kop geslaan het. *Wesrand Muldersdrift: ’n Gr. 8-leerling aan die Hoërskool Monument in Krugersdorp is dood en haar pa en suster gewond toe die gesin op hul hoewe in Muldersdrift aangeval is. Alyssa Botha (13) is in die maag geskiet en haar suster, Megan (17), ’n gr. 11-leerling aan dieselfde skool, is in die bene gewond. Hul pa, Anton, is in die maag geskiet. Sy een nier en ’n deel van sy lewer en dikderm moes verwyder word. *Oos-Tvl Ermelo: Annemarie Burke Van Ermelo is net voor 8 vanoggend in haar huis verkrag en toe vermoor! Haar keel is met ‘n mes afgesny!!! We are in dire straits as whites in this country. This is 30 white victims, all considered Boers, in the past 13 days. The genocide of Boers (whites) is continuing unabated, and escalating to almost three whites per day. Remember, this is only the number of victims we are able to source in the media and from the account of relatives. Due to the official policy of keeping this genocide a secret, the actual number is much higher. And that excludes the number of whites that commit suicide due to the intolerable conditions of living that affirmative action forces upon their culture. The number of suicides is estimated to be twice as much as the actual murders of whites, by professionals working in die medical and trauma fields. We bleed, we die, and we are being forced into a corner from which is virtually impossible to escape. Our options and our time is running out….. Author not recorded

Court hears Cullinan robbery ordeal

Locked in a cupboard while her house was burning down, an elderly Cullinan woman told her attacker her last wish was to go to heaven, the High Court in Pretoria heard on Monday. 10 September 2012 | Sapa PRETORIA - The evidence was given in a statement by one of the men accused of murdering 64-year-old Piet van den Berg and attempting to murder his wife Madelein on their smallholding near Cullinan in July 2009. Judge Vivian Tlhapi earlier ruled that the accused Mphanyana Given Kanyane's statement to a magistrate was admissible as evidence, even though he claimed it had not been made voluntarily. Kanyane, Mduduzi Sbusiso Hlengethwa and Wonder Mbongezini Makwakwa have pleaded not guilty to charges including robbing the couple of a cellphone and other goods, and maliciously damaging their property. Van den Berg was shot dead when robbers invaded his home. His wife was tied up and locked in a cupboard and left for dead when the robbers set the house alight. Kanyane said in his statement he and Makwakwa had decided to rob the Van den Bergs because they wanted money to go to Johannesburg. After abandoning their initial attempt, they met Hlengethwa who told them he had a fishing knife and was a "professional robber". They returned to house, where they waited for the elderly man to come out, then pounced on him, demanding money and firearms. He gave them a firearm and pointed out the safe. According to Kanyane, Hlengethwa was holding the firearm while he was looking at the safe. He heard a sound as if Van den Berg was trying to escape, followed by a shot. He took the firearm from Hlengethwa, who told him Van den Berg had untied himself. Kanyane then demanded the safe keys from his wife. Inside, they found old currency, papers, another firearm, ammunition, and jewellery which they loaded into a bag. Hlengethwa put Madelein Van den Berg into a wardrobe. He dressed in her husband's clothes, took a cigarette and started lighting papers in the house. "I went to the wardrobe where the lady was and told her, her house was on fire. I asked her what her last words were. She told me she wants to go to heaven. I took the bag and firearms and ran out," he said. Van den Berg pointed out the three accused as the men who had attacked her and her husband of 40 years that day. She had tried to drag her husband's body out of the house after freeing herself, but he was too heavy for her. A neighbour managed to get his body from the house before it burnt to the ground. The trial continues. - The Citizen - Comments by Sonny Only in South Africa do you get such callous barbarians. Here they kill children for their cellular phones.

News Africa Mugabe man cashes in on diamond fields

07 SEP 2012 00:00 - MAIL & GUARDIAN REPORTERS Mega-rich Zimbabwean businessman Robert Mhlanga stands at the centre of an opaque network of companies set up to cash in on Marange diamond fields. OUR COVERAGE Mugabe's man shells out R185m for prime SA property Murky world of Marange mining firms Mhlanga, a retired air vice-marshall, is widely regarded as a close associate of President Robert Mugabe and a business representative of the Mugabe family, although both parties have denied this. The Mail & Guardian recently reported that Mhlanga has been on a R200-million property buying spree in South Africa. The company he chairs, Mbada Diamonds, and other concerns operating in Marange have been accused of remitting inadequate revenue to the Zimbabwean treasury despite making "a killing". The United States and the European Union recently introduced new measures that require processors of rough diamonds to disclose the origin of the gems, putting a squeeze on companies operating in Marange. Central to Mbada's operation is a South African scrap-metal company, New Reclamation. Despite its lack of mining expertise, Reclamation was chosen to partner Marange Resources, wholly owned by the state's Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation (ZMDC), in a joint venture called Mbada Diamonds. Mbada, favoured ahead of several other established diamond-mining companies, immediately received a 1000-hectare concession in the Marange fields. In October 2009 Zimbabwe's minister of mines and mining development, Obert Mpofu, appointed Mhlanga chairperson of the joint venture, which Reclamation entered through its Mauritian-registered subsidiary, Grandwell Holdings. Grandwell was given the mandate to oversee day-to-day operations and the right to market all diamonds produced. Although Mhlanga was ostensibly appointed to its board to represent the government's interests, the M&G has established that he has a stake in other companies linked to Mbada. Joint venture deal These include the mysterious Hong Kong-registered Transfrontier Mining, which acquired 49.99% of Grandwell last year. The owners of Transfrontier who would benefit could not be established. However, Mbada's Marange concession was increased sevenfold after Transfrontier bought into Grandwell. Mhlanga's lawyer of more than 10 years, Paul Casasola, a director of Grandwell and Mbada, is seen to represent Mhlanga's interests in both companies. The M&G was told that Casasola was involved in crafting the joint venture – although he insisted that the negotiations "occurred prior to my appointment as director at Mbada and Grandwell". He said he was a director of both companies but "had no financial interests in either". He did not respond to a question asking him whether Mhlanga had employed him to work in the companies. At the time the joint venture deal was clinched, Grandwell was wholly owned by New Reclamation. Casasola said he had "absolutely no relationship" with the latter. The M&G has also established that when a ZMDC team visited Johannesburg to conduct due diligence on Reclamation in August 2009, Mhlanga was among the representatives who met the group. Mhlanga attended the meeting in his capacity as the chairperson of a South African-registered commodities company, the Liparm Corporation, which trades in diamonds. He is its sole shareholder and director. Share registry documents indicate that Liparm does not have a stake in the Reclamation group. Reclamation's lawyer, David Hertz, said the scrap metal company "has a commercial arm's length relationship with Liparm". Until early this year, Liparm listed Transfrontier and Mbada Diamonds as sister companies on its website. However, the relevant section has been removed from the site. In questions put to him through Casasola, the M&G asked Mhlanga to explain his role in Mbada, but he did not respond. Mhlanga also did not answer a question about the nature of his relationship with the Reclamation Group and its chairperson, David Kassel, a director of both Grandwell and Mbada. Vision and growth strategy Casasola said he would meet Mhlanga on August 20 to put the M&G's questions to him, but later said the meeting did not take place. Mhlanga is believed to have played a role in ensuring Reclamation's acceptance as the ZMDC's partner, ahead of specialist mining companies such as Alrosa, Namakwa, Gem Diamonds, SAIIC and Community Energy. It is thought the scrap metal company's relationship with Mpofu dates to when he was Zimbabwe's industry and trade minister. In 2008 Reclamation approached Mpofu to acquire a stake in Zimbabwe's ailing state steel manufacturer, Ziscosteel. However, Mpofu was reassigned to the mines portfolio in February 2009 before the deal was concluded and Reclamation's Marange coup followed soon after. Ironically, the ZMDC team that came to South Africa to conduct due diligence "on approved" companies noted that Reclamation had no experience in diamond mining. Despite this, it gave the company the thumbs-up. Allegations are that Mhlanga and Mpofu's influence may have been crucial. "Reclam is not a mining house and is currently not involved in mining ... They have no diamond mining as part of their vision and growth strategy," the due diligence report states. Complicated mining techniques Hertz said there was nothing amiss with Reclamation landing the deal, because the company "drew on the experience of certain key executives and employees who have extensive experience in the mining sector". "These individuals were involved in the reopening of the Roberts Victor Diamond Mine in Kimberley and the Monarch Gold Mine in Botswana, which ... required the utilisation of complicated mining techniques and methods," he said. This is an apparent reference to Kassel, whose role in the two mines is mentioned on the company's website. Hertz said none of the Reclamation executives have a personal relationship with Mpofu. It had bid for Ziscosteel but the minister had not influenced the outcome. "The first time a meeting was held between any members of the Reclamation Group's executive team and minister Mpofu was in 2009 when the ministry met with the Reclamation Group to discuss the then prospective Marange transaction," Hertz said. "Subsequent to that meeting, the Reclamation Group interacted with the ZMDC and its wholly owned subsidiary, Marange Resources (Pvt) Limited." Allegations of diamond revenue being diverted into private pockets and concerns that elements of the Zimbabwean security forces have control of diamond companies have resulted in the US, Australia, New Zealand and European Union imposing restrictions on diamonds from Marange. Repeated efforts to contact Mpofu for comment were unsuccessful. * Got a tip-off for us about this story? Email amabhungane@mg.co.za The M&G Centre for Investigative Journalism (amaBhungane) produced this story. All views are ours. See www.amabhungane.co.za for our stories, activities and funding sources. - Mail & Guardian - MONDAY JUN 25, 2012 Ballito mansion battle rages on The battle over planning approval for an estimated R200 million development in Ballito by an alleged business associate and former helicopter pilot of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe raged on in the Durban High Court this week. This followed the High Court granting an interim order by consent to KwaDukuza Municipality in which the developer agreed not to occupy any of the new structures on the properties, to submit building plans, to allow access to building inspectors and to demolish any further work done on the properties should plans not be approved or opposition to the application fail. The court order read that it granted the order "as prayed" but it has emerged that this did not include an interdict asking them to stop work immediately. The municipality, however, had issued two stop-work orders to project manager Tozamile Hogana, the third respondent in the matter. The other respondents are Straightprops 92, For mate (Pty) Ltd and Stefanutti Construction. Robert Mhlanga, sole director of SalesTalk403 and Formate (Pty) Ltd, which owns the two plots of land next to Zimbali, this week lodged a counter-application and his responding papers, in which he claims that the municipality had "obstructed" and "frustrated" the developer in preventing his architect Ewald Plekker from lodging building plans. He said one of the properties was agricultural land for which no building plans were legally required. Mhlanga lashed out at the Saturday Star this week after we named him as the mystery man behind the development, and a close associate of Robert Mugabe. In his counter-application Mhlanga asked the court to order the municipality to approve or refuse approval of the plans that have since been submitted for approval via a covering letter from his attorneys, after it allegedly refused to accept plans over the counter. Mhlanga said the municipality had sent him a letter demanding "all planning approval rights for the property, letters of approval from the Department of Agriculture and Environmental Affairs, a letter of approval from the Department of Agriculture and a letter of approval from the Department of Transport" which it said was required before building plans could be submitted. Mhlanga said the plans submission fee of R19 368.87 had been paid on May 14 but the municipality repeatedly refused to accept the plans. He said his lawyer then sent a letter of complaint to the municipality on May 23 pointing out that the plans submission met all the requirements of the National Building Regulations. "To insist on further documentation before it would even accept the submission of the plans... was regarded as an act of bad faith and an attempt by the applicant (KwaDukuza Municipality) to frustrate the terms of the court order," Mhlanga said. Mhlanga said the municipality was "misguided" in contending that it was a "major development" because the building works did not cover the entire properties. He said although plans had now been submitted, the municipality had refused to consider or approve them until he had provided a site plan and approval letters from the various government departments. He said the municipality was acting "illegally" and not according to the National Building Regulations. In his answering affidavit to the municipality's initial application for an order to stop work, Mhlanga said he was the sole director and shareholder of SalesTalk403 (Pty) Ltd, which had acquired Straightprops 92, which owned one of the properties. "My intention was to develop the two properties as a private ecosensitive residence," Mhlanga said. He said the existing house on the Straightprops 92 property had been built in about 2004 and the new features included "a new pond and gazebo structure", "the guardhouse" and "a small changeroom incorporating ablutions". He said on the second property new features included "a gatehouse, certain driveways, a new pond which comprises a large water feature together with a gazebo comprising various rooms, which together are intended to function as an entertainment/recreational area". "The investigations conducted by me and the first respondent's legal representatives led us to conclude that at the time of the construction of the existing dwelling... the land in question comprised agricultural land for which no plans were required by the local authority at the time," Mhlanga said. However, he said that the Straightprops property had since come to fall within the ambit of the town planning scheme. "All improvements and structures that have been erected have, however, been professionally engineered and overseen and based on professional advice at the outset and during construction do not require environmental authorisation or the approval of any other authority for their erection," Mhlanga said. He added that the existing house had not been "extensively renovated and rebuilt" and that there was no underground construction, as suggested by the municipality. "There is a slope on the property in question. "Cut into the slope is a room which is built for the purposes of housing security monitors and security personnel. "This is depicted on the building plan and on the site plan." This reportedly has a grassed roof to blend in with the surroundings. "There are no below-ground works not depicted on the plan provided. There is a basement level depicted on the building plans submitted," Mhlanga said. "It has never been the intention to flout any applicable law," Mhlanga said. The Saturday Star tried twice this week to secure interview with Mhlanga. Saturday Star Comments by Sonny - Robert Mugabe's trusted chopper pilot? The Ballito architect who calls the shots for Robert Mugabe. NOBODY LIKES mugabe IN SOUTH AFRICA like the ANC! http://youtu.be/v-0u37ZppTQ

News National Bheki Cele rallies to unseat Zuma at Mangaung

09 SEP 2012 12:46 - SAPA Sunday reports claim former top cop Bheki Cele is rallying opposition to President Jacob Zuma ahead of the ANC's elective conference in Mangaung. SPECIAL FOCUS ANC Policy Conference 2012 OUR COVERAGE Mangaung offers our best chance Malema the Joker isn't to blame this time Strategic ABZ victory spells trouble for Zuma MORE COVERAGE Ethekwini throws muscle behind Zuma 'Anyone but Zuma' faction wins day in OR Tambo Oilgate report timing questioned ahead of Mangaung The Sunday Times reported that Cele was drumming up support for an "Anyone but Zuma" camp in the president's home province of KwaZulu-Natal, which was regarded as a Zuma stronghold. According to the newspaper, Cele had held meetings with Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe, Arts Minister Paul Mashatile and anti-Zuma groups. Cele was believed to still have influence in KwaZulu-Natal, where he previously chaired the eThekwini region. As such, he would reportedly be a useful ally to Motlanthe in the province, which has the greatest number of party members. In Mpumalanga – also previously regarded as loyal to Zuma – Human Settlements Minister Tokyo Sexwale, who is reportedly thought to be interested in standing for the presidency, was expected to attend a "cadre's assembly" with North West Premier Thandi Modise and ANC Youth League deputy president Ronald Lamola on Sunday. One of the camps opposed to a second term for Zuma met in Sandton on Wednesday and decided to support Motlanthe for president and Sexwale for deputy. The Sunday Independent reported that Cele attended the meeting, but he denied doing so and said that at the time, he was at his home in Durban, sleeping. "Unless somebody says I was a Holy ghost, which can be at two places at once," he told the newspaper. Overthrow According to the Sunday Independent, Cele, Sexwale and other ANC leaders were identified in an intelligence document as plotting to overthrow Zuma at the Mangaung conference. The ANC Youth League, which was previously thought to back Sexwale for deputy president, had now reportedly decided to back ANC treasurer Mathews Phosa instead. The Sunday Tribune reported that the party's provincial and regional chairmen had been warned that turning against Zuma would result in their influence over government tender processes coming to an end. An unnamed source told the newspaper: "We were told that we would be out in the cold ... that we would go hungry". A pro-Zuma camp, called the "national coalition", was reportedly expected to tell Northern Cape chairperson John Block that if he pledged support for Zuma, corruption charges against him would be withdrawn. According to the Sunday Tribune, KwaZulu-Natal Premier Zweli Mkhize, Free State Premier Ace Magashule, Mpumalanga Premier David Mabuza and Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande were rumoured to be members of the national coalition. – Sapa Mail & Guardian - Malema the Joker isn't to blame this time 03 SEP 2012 20:29 - VERASHNI PILLAY Malema is feeding off the violent chaos at our mines, much as the Joker from Batman would. But he's not the one to blame, writes Verashni Pillay. SPECIAL FOCUS Malema fuels the fire Marikana: Platinum mines in chaos OUR COVERAGE Take heart, sisters, spring has arrived Verashni Pillay: Strike a woman, you strike a hollow memory Verashni Pillay: DA vs Cosatu and the lessons they offer The Joker in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight is a terrifying character. Forget good and evil: in the late Heath Ledger's take on the classic villain, we are presented with someone who prizes violent chaos as an end in itself. One can understand the rationale of the classic bad guy: power mongering or accumulation of wealth. The Joker on the other hand – like Loki in Norse mythology – feeds off chaos. I can't help but think of both the Joker and Loki as I watch Julius Malema move from one tense situation to the next, stirring up already violent emotions among frustrated miners. It's the violent mines tour and it's taken him from the horror of Lonmin's mine in Marikana, to Aurora's mine in Springs and then on Monday, like clockwork, to Goldfield's mine on the West Rand. He was out doing what he does best: stoking the rage of the largely powerless and leaderless with simplistic half-truths and dangerous assertions. "Make the mines ungovernable" and "lead yourself" is his rallying cry in the face of the horror of 34 miners having already lost their lives doing just that. It seems like sinister mischief – plain and simple. As the Joker points out to Harvey Dent in The Dark Knight: "Introduce a little anarchy. Upset the established order, and everything becomes chaos. I'm an agent of chaos." But there is something honest about the Joker that ultimately endeared him to many fans in Ledger's version of the character. He truly doesn't care about any of the human motives for evil. He sets fire to a mountain of money and laughs at pain. "Do I really look like a guy with a plan? You know what I am? I’m a dog chasing cars. I wouldn’t know what to do with one if I caught it. You know, I just … do things," he says. Malema on the other hand is the more garden-variety bad guy. He has a nose for chaos and a more pedestrian desire for power. It's a horrible combination. The perennial bad boy of South African politics has re-emerged after an expulsion from the ANC that did little more than strip away what slight reservations he may have once had. Now it's become a free-for-all with Malema regularly playing on the same riff: Jacob Zuma is the worst president ever and needs to be replaced at Mangaung come December. But these days he has far better material to work with: angry miners who have, until now, been largely ignored by those who mattered. Malema has the best news sense of any politician in this country and sniffing out a platform to make himself heard about his new nemesis, he seizes it. The dirty and meaningless politicking is a weary but familiar sight but the opportunistic manipulation of such an incredibly dangerous situation is not. Where cool heads and firm leadership are needed to address the legitimate concerns of striking miners, Malema has stepped into the vacuum to offer fiery rhetoric and violent invective. And that's the real tragedy here. Malema isn't the reason we're experiencing the deepening crisis at our mines, the lifeblood of our economy. He is doing what any mischief-maker would: taking the opportunity handed to him on a silver platter by leaders who have absconded their responsibilities. In many ways Malema is really just being true to character. If anything, he is the only one doing his job brilliantly, while the mine bosses and ANC and union leaders offer no clear leadership in a situation that desperately needs it. Indeed South Africa seems to be all out of heroes to step in and save the day. The Joker ultimately meets his match in Batman, and balance between the forces of good and evil, order and chaos, are restored to a degree. But our golden days of great leaders who could step into a situation threatening to detonate and restore a semblance of order seem woefully far away. Zackie Achmat drove that change for HIV/Aids denialism, Jonathan Jansen did it for the racial tinder pot at the University of the Free State and Nelson Mandela personified that kind of leadership with the Rugby World Cup plus countless other tense situations. In a time like this we need a strong leader who can remind the miners, the mine bosses and the unions that we are better than this; that we can resolve the situation without further bloodshed. What we don't need is Malema playing with fire – all for the worst kinds of political opportunism. But in the end that is all that we – and the miners – are going to get, until a real leader steps forward. At the end of The Dark Knight the bat signal is smashed and the hero disappears. It's difficult not to wonder if we're in the same predicament. Verashni is the deputy editor of the M&G online. You can read her column here, and follow her on Twitter here. Mail & Guardian Comments by Sonny Is this how ZULU's settle scores? In the olden days it was on the 'BATTLEFIELDS'........ The enemy of my enemy is my friend. MALEMA FOR PRESIDENT! ZUMA BETTER HAVE A GOOD WITH DOCTOR - MAYBE THE ONE AT MARIKANA!