Muldersdrift murders out of control

Police hunt for murderous Muldersdrift gang

FILE PICTURE: A 50-year-old man was shot three times at his Muldersdrift home on 13 September, 2012. Picture: Alex Eliseev/EWN. Mbali Sibanyoni | 2 hours ago MULDERSDRIFT - The hunt continues for an armed gang following yet another murder in Muldersdrift on the West Rand. A 55-year-old man was shot dead on Saturday night by unknown men as he stepped outside the house to visit his neighbour and check up on why his dogs were barking incessantly. The Muldersdrift area has recently seen a rise in violent crimes. Police’s Katlego Mogale said, “It is unknown what the motive was as the suspect did not take anything.” Last week a man was shot dead after walking into his home to find three men robbing his home and holding his wife at gunpoint. The incident took place as Gauteng police commissioner Mzwandile Petros met with community members to discuss ways on how to make the community safer. In the past, a 13-year-old girl was also killed during a house robbery while her father and younger sister were wounded. In that incident the robbers managed to steal two cellphones and an empty wallet. (Edited by Katleho Mogase) EWN Eyewitness News | 27 December 2012 JOHANNESBURG - Gauteng police have launched a manhunt for another suspect wanted in connection with crimes committed in Muldersdrift on the West Rand this year. Three suspects were arrested last week Thursday, after the police's tracing unit tracked a credit card stolen in a housebreaking to Diepsloot. A withdrawal of more than R9,000 was processed at a pub in the area. The trio have been linked to crimes including houserobbery, kidnapping and theft. It is the group swooped on a Muldersdrift family when they arrived at their residence on the evening of 17 December. The suspects allegedly held the family at gunpoint and stole several goods including a plasma television, laptops, cellphones and cash, said police. The family vehicle was also stolen and later found abandoned in Diepsloot. One of the victims was kidnapped and later released at a spot in Midrand. A fourth suspect is still at large. Police say the arrest of another suspect wanted in connection with violent crimes in Muldersdrift is imminent. Police spokesperson Lungelo Dlamini said the three arrests were a major breakthrough in the case. He says police are confident the arrest will conclude the investigations into the crimes. A duo was also on Friday at the Muldersdrift informal settlement and have been linked to the eight incident of violent crimes. Police have since linked them to crimes committed between July and December 2012. In the most recent crime they've been linked to, two men from the Mageregere informal settlement were robbed and shot at before the suspects allegedly fled with their cash. One died at the scene, while another remains in a critical condition at hospital. The two are accused of other housebreaking and business robberies. In most of the crimes, victims were shot at before being robbed. The pair will appear in the Krugersdorp Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday. It is believed they worked with two others who are still at large. Muldersdrift man murdered in front of wife 2013-01-25 09:27 Related Links Muldersdrift gangsters in court Muldersdrift farmworkers shot execution-style Man kidnapped from Muldersdrift plot Johannesburg - A Muldersdrift man was shot dead during an attempted robbery at his home, West Rand police said on Friday. The man walked into his house to find three men holding his wife at gunpoint on Thursday, said Inspector Solomon Sibiya. "According to the wife, there was a struggle for the gun and one of the robbers was shot with their own firearm.... Her husband was then shot twice in the chest." He later died. The woman was unharmed. The robbers fled. "When we got to there, we found the gun which was used in the shooting, a crowbar and a flat screen TV that the robbers were trying to take," said Sibiya. Beeld newspaper reported that the robbery occurred while Gauteng police commissioner Mzwandile Petros was addressing Muldersdrift residents about crime in the area. Muldersdrift has been hit by a string of killings, house and business robberies since July. According to The Star, one street in particular had been targeted, with 93% of households hit in Clinic Road. - SAPA Gauteng MEC for Economic development Nkosiphendule Kolisile and MEC of Community Safety, Faith Mazibuko to visit Muldersdrift 3 Dec 2012 Gauteng MEC for Economic Development Nkosiphendule Kolisile and the MEC for Community Safety Faith Mazibuko will visit Muldersdrift on Friday, 14 December 2012. Muldersdrift has been a scene of violent crime, robberies and murders in the recent past. The area is located in proximity to the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site and the surrounding tourism catchment area. There are thousands of jobs that stem directly and indirectly from tourism and leisure in this area and its surroundings. The MECs will hold meetings with tourism businesses, community leaders, representatives from Mogale City, the Tourism Safety Initiative, community leaders and the Gauteng Tourism Authority (GTA). MEC Kolisile and MEC Mazibuko will also visit the community and the families that have recently lost their loves ones as a result of violent crime in the area. The media will also be briefed about the initiatives taken by the Department of Community Safety, Economic Development and the Gauteng Tourism Authority to stem the tide of crime in area. The details of the visit are as follows: Date: Friday, 14 December 2012 Time: 9h00 - 11h30 Venue: Kloofzicht Lodge, Kromdraai Road, Muldersdrift. For more details and media enquiries please: Phindile Kunene (Economic Development) Cell: 082 494 2409 Tel: 011 085 2538 Email: Phindile.Kunene@gauteng.gov.za Thapelo Moiloa (Community Safety) Cell: 084 805 2247 Email: Thapelo.Moiloa@gauteng.gov.za Issued by: Gauteng Community Safety 3 Dec 2012 2 in court over Muldersdrift murders 2012-09-17 19:36 Related Links 3 arrested after Muldersdrift shoot-out Teen holds dying sister after robbery Johannesburg - Two men accused of killing a Muldersdrift man during a robbery appeared in the Krugersdorp Magistrate's Court on Monday, police said. Lieutenant Colonel Katlego Mogale said the two would be back in court on 1 October. They remained in custody. She said a third man was in hospital and would appear as soon as he was discharged. The men were arrested on Friday. They allegedly robbed and wounded the 50-year-old man on Thursday evening. Police said the man was with other people outside his home when a barking dog alerted them to a group of men carrying firearms. The robbers entered the house and shot the man seven times. He died in hospital on Saturday. While police were investigating this robbery, they heard reports of a second attack - in the early hours of Friday morning - in which a television set was stolen. Police chased a group of men to a field near the N14 Swartkop off-ramp, where a shoot-out ensued. One of the men was wounded, another ran away, and two others were arrested. Mogale said the men faced charges of armed robbery and murder, and that police were investigating whether they were part of a gang which killed a 13-year-old girl and wounded her 17-year-old sister and her father in a robbery in the same area two weeks ago. Police arrested five men in connection with the robbery, but all of them were released because there was not enough evidence against them. One of the men had a memory card belonging to one of the girls. SAPA Muldersdrift under siege from criminals - Kate Lorimer Kate Lorimer 11 September 2012 DA MPL says 93% of households on a single street victims of crime Community under Siege: DA wants answers from police The ongoing reports of rampant violent crime in Muldersdrift are disturbing. Alyssa Botha, 13, was shot dead last Wednesday. She was the latest victim in a wave of violent crime, in which 93 percent of households on a single street in the community have been targeted. Alyssa's father Anton was also shot in the abdomen and her sister Meghan in the leg. I will visit the police station in Muldersdrift to assess the response by the South African Police Service (SAPS) in the area. I will also evaluate the local visible policing strategy and investigate whether the local police are properly equipped, especially in terms of the number of appropriate vehicles allocated to the area. I will also request information on the local Community Policing Forum (CPF) and the engagement between the forum and the local SAPS. All information will be shared with Gauteng Provincial Police Commissioner Mzwandile Petros and I will request that he address the safety and security needs of the Muldersdrift community as a matter of urgency. The war on crime in Gauteng must not merely be confined to the major urban centres of the province while those on the outskirts are forgotten and neglected. Statement issued by Kate Lorimer MPL, DA Gauteng Community Safety Spokesperson, September 11 2012 Click here to sign up to receive our free daily headline email newsletter Politicsweb - - - - COMMENTS BY SONNY - - - - With all these murders and arrests why has the SAPS not been able to solve the ongoing violent crimes in Muldersdrift? What is happening to all the criminals appearing in court and then disappearing into thin air and a void Abbas. The public is beginning to think that these crimes are motivated by racism hate more than just random criminal acts. General Petros' visit to the area did nothing to reassure the residents there. Is a mythical Lion killing off our population in Muldersdrift? Should the army be called in to patrol the area?

Stats SA officials made mistakes

Adriaan Bester embraces his civic duties as a South African patriot.Shutterstock 2013-01-27 10:25 Adriaan Bester embraces his civic duties as a South African patriot.Shutterstock Multimedia · User Galleries · News in Pictures Send us your pictures · Send us your stories Related Links Census cover doesn't add up... Stats Council defends Census data Stats SA vs the truth Johannesburg - Two senior Stats SA officials are facing disciplinary action for allegedly refusing to correct errors in the census, City Press reported on Sunday. A deputy director at Stats SA, Jairo Arrow, and a senior statistician, Marlize Pistorius, had apparently made mistakes that would have provided wrong figures of the census by province, as well as an incorrect national figure. "The evidence is that the results they presented were totally wrong and there were methodological and computational errors in what they presented to me," statistician-general Pali Lehohla was quoted as saying. He repeatedly asked them to find the problem and correct it. "Ms Pistorius and Dr Arrow argued that the results they presented to me in July would not change," he said. Disciplinary hearing Arrow presented a written apology to Lehohla and went on early retirement last Friday after facing a disciplinary hearing for "dereliction of duty and gross incompetence". Pistorius was also facing a disciplinary hearing, which would resume in February. She was responsible for the post-enumeration survey. This is a second, smaller population count used to determine by how much the initial census results have to be adjusted. University of Cape Town statisticians, Tom Moultrie and Rob Dorrington, had publicly raised concerns about the integrity of the post-enumeration survey and the reliability of the final count. The census cost R3.4bn. The results are used to allocate about R350bn in government funds each year, City Press reported. SAPA - - - - - COMMENTS BY SONNY - - - ARE THESE THE STATS ZUMA IS BRAGGING ABOUT WHEN HE SAYS THE ....."WHITES IN SA HAVE MUCH MORE MONEY THAN THEIR BLACK COUNTERPARTS?"........ The 2011 STATS WERE FLAWED! They were done in "PENCIL" so that they could be altered at will. We, THE WHITES OF SA REFUSE ACCEPTING THE FLAWED RESULTS OF THE 2011 STATS! WE REFUSE TO ACCEPT ANY CORRUPTION AND ABUSE BY THE RULING ANC PARTY! WE MIGHT BE A MINORITY GROUP, BUT WE WILL NOT COWER IN THE FACE OF ADVERSITY!

A long history bearing witness to violence

Veteran news photographers Greg Marinovich and Joao Silva on the set of 'The Bang Bang Club', the Canadian-SA film adaptation of their book of the same name, in 2009 Image by: loanna hoffmann / Images24.co.za GRAEME HOSKEN | 25 January, 2013 00:17 Veteran news photographers Greg Marinovich and Joao Silva on the set of 'The Bang Bang Club', the Canadian-SA film adaptation of their book of the same name, in 2009 Image by: loanna hoffmann / Images24.co.za previousnext 12 Click, click, click. Within minutes of being hit in the face by a brick, internationally renowned conflict photographer Joao Silva is shooting again, cigarette clamped in his mouth, concentration etched on his face. "That was close," he says, gingerly touching the side of his face. It is Tuesday morning. We are in Sasolburg's Zamdela township where protesters have been rioting for three days in protest against a proposed merger with a neighbouring municipality. By the end of the day six people will be dead. Silva, whose legs were blown off in a landmine explosion in Afghanistan in 2010, is back on the frontline - exactly where he wants to be. Moving stiffly but rapidly on his state-of-the-art prosthetic legs, Silva is on assignment for The New York Times. The next day his pictures will be used prominently in the paper. Silva has fought a remarkable comeback since his admission to the US army's Walter Reed army hospital in Washington DC. US first lady Michelle Obama visited him last year during his 10-month rehabilitation. A member of the fabled Bang Bang Club - the hard men of South African news photographers who covered the violence leading up to the transition to democracy - Silva is working today with his friend and fellow internationally recognised photographer Greg Marinovich. Standing next to their Mercedes-Benz, badly damaged by rioters, they watch a handful of police face off thousands of armed protesters. The excitement is evident. They joke and inspect the shattered windows of our car, in which moments before French photographer Lydie Sarda has been hit on the head by a brick. With the adrenaline still pumping, the reality of our close call sets in. "You all right?" Silva asks me. "No, I'm scared." "You guys were really lucky," he says with a small smile, "and if you weren't afraid you should have been." Watching Silva and the speed with which he moves, lopsided, his camera trained on the action, leaves one in awe. With the sun blazing and acrid black smoke billowing into the air from barricades blocking routes into the township, Silva doesn't miss a moment as police shoot at the crowd moving towards them. Two days later, I call him to ask what it is like to be covering conflict again. "Tuesday was really strange," he says, "but I knew it would come. South Africa is facing some interesting times . in Sasolburg there are some very gatvol people . I want to document that." Next month, Silva will be on the operating table again, this time to undergo major abdominal surgery to repair the wall of his stomach damaged in the blast. He is philosophical: "It will set me back six months, but I will come back. I am good, strong and mobile. I will come back even stronger." If The New York Times were to ask him to go back to Afghanistan, he would go there - or anywhere else. "I have no psychological issues." Silva, 46, who lives in Johannesburg with his wife and two children, says it is great to be back. "It is like making hay while the sun shines." - - TIMES LIVE - - - COMMENTS BY SONNY - - Shooting violent scenes is like playing Russian Roulette - Eventually the bullet with your name on it comes up! SA has had a culture of violence ever since Mandela, in 1960, DECLARED WAR ON THE R.S.A.' History just gets to repeat itself from time to time! While the poor pray for 'RAIN' the rich eat CAKE!

Zuma sues Media24 for R5 million

 

Zuma sues Media24 for R5 million

Sapa | 25 January, 2013 11:48

South Africa's President Jacob Zuma
Image by: PASCAL LAUENER / REUTERS

President Jacob Zuma's case against Media24 and former Rapport editor Tim du Plessis for allegedly harming his reputation and dignity continued in court this week, according to a report on Friday.

The Star reported that Zuma was demanding R5 million over a photo which appeared in Rapport in December 2007, showing him braaiing with singer Steve Hofmeyr and comedian Leon Schuster.
The case came before the Western Cape High Court this week.
The text above the photo read: "Piekniek by Dingaan [Picnic at Dingaan's]".
Zuma filed a damages claim in 2010, alleging that the innuendo was that he was a person such as the Zulu King Dingaan, who had pretended to befriend the Afrikaners while he had in fact plotted to kill them.
The defendants -- the media company and Du Plessis -- denied in their court papers that it had been their intention to create that innuendo.
They said the reasonable Rapport reader would have understood that it was a playful reference to the Dingaan incident, or to a satirical 1998 cabaret by Koos Kombuis and Johannes Kerkorrel, or to both.
In October 2012, Zuma withdrew a defamation case against Jonathan "Zapiro" Shapiro and The Sunday Times over the cartoon "Lady Justice". In the claim, lodged in December 2008, Zuma initially demanded R5m.

At the time, the presidency said it felt the courts were not always the best places for these matters to be resolved, and added that the president needed to get on with resolving urgent economic and political issues.

E-tolling regulations too vague, says Outa

Alex Eliseev | 12 hours ago PRETORIA - A Pretoria court has rejected National Treasury's argument that e-tolling is a "scrambled egg that cannot be unscrambled" and has allowed the battle to proceed to the Supreme Court of Appeal. The North Gauteng High Court on Friday granted the Opposition to Urban Tolling Alliance (Outa) leave to appeal its earlier judgment, which paved the way for the South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) to roll out the controversial project. Outa will now present a case largely rooted in the Constitution, while e-tolling should start once a bill is passed through Parliament. In a sweltering courtroom, the alliance's advocate - Mike Maritz - set out to convince Judge Louis Vorster that another court may arrive at a different verdict. He argued the public were robbed of a chance to influence the outcome of e-tolling, and that the regulations were too vague. “On the finding of your Lordship, Sanral can decide to pave that road in gold, and say 'it will cost you R50, 000 per motorist, per trip'.” Treasury's advocate, Jeremy Gauntlett, fought back. "The eggs are well and truly scrambled. We are so down the road, [and] have litigants who say they love the road. It is hoped the case, which is likely to land up at the Constitutional Court, will be heard within six months. The legal battle in the SCA and the Constitutional Court will not however affect the launch of e-tolling. Revenue from the project will pay a 2007 multibillion rand debt incurred by Sanral to build the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project. EWN - - - - COMMENTS BY SONNY - - - The Treasury which is part of the ANC top structures is relying on Government "rubber stamping' of this illegal Bill in Parliament to make this flawed process a reality. Their Law - The majorities law - Belongs to the ANC alone. They have bent every rule in the Constitutional and Democratic books to get their own way. Ultimately the funds will go to overseas agents and Bank accounts and then eventually to private off shore private accounts of the ruling elite! SANRAL developed one lane on Gauteng Highways and now wants to claim credit for the whole National Highway system. Public participation in the end was so flawed that it was an embarrassment for the public to try and participate. The ANC is so confident of their power, after MANAUNG, that they will now try everything to push for majority rule prior to the 2014 elections. Zuma is on record to not give a damn for the Constitution, public funds, public, poor, frail and youth and its education in this Country. He is perceived to be the ANC dictator at present.

SCA will throw e-tolling case out – Treasury

e-Tollie

PRAVIN GORDHAN

Jeremy GAUNTLETT Alex Eliseev | 2 hours ago JOHANNESBURG - National Treasury and the South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) on Friday slammed the case against e-tolling as "exaggerated", and said the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein would throw it out. Earlier, the North Gauteng High Court granted the Opposition to Urban Tolling Alliance (Outa) leave to appeal its December judgment. In handing down his verdict, acting judge Louis Vorster said: “Leave is granted to the applicants to appeal to the Supreme Court of Appeal against my whole judgement and all the handed down on 13 of December last year.” In that judgment, the court found that enough public participation had taken place, and that since the Constitutional Court had already ruled on the matter, there was no point in taking it any further. The court also slapped the alliance with a crippling costs order. Today, Outa argued the e-tolls process was unfair and flawed. But Treasury's advocate, Jeremy Gauntlett, accused the alliance of changing its tune. “It changes its case by having introduced a so-called constitutional property claim and gone boots and all on the public participation process.” He said Outa's case was doomed to fail. "The argument was an exaggerated one; it was an attempt to make perception the enemy good." It is not yet clear when e-tolling will commence. Motorists with e-tags will pay up to 30 cents per kilometre or a maximum of R550 a month to use Gauteng's highways. Revenue from the project will pay a multibillion rand debt incurred by Sanral top build the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project. EWN Breaking News: Outa wins latest e-tolls court fight Email Share Keep for later Wayne Duvenhage, who is leading Outa's fight. Picture: Taurai Maduna/EWN Eyewitness News | 5 hours ago PRETORIA - The North Gauteng High Court has granted the Opposition to Urban Alliance (Outa) leave to appeal a previous ruling allowing the South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) to implement electronic tolling systems on Gauteng's highways. The leave to appeal order was made shortly after midday. Outa can now take its fight to stop the system being rolled out to the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein. The alliance believes Sanral deliberately kept the public in the dark and was dishonest about the process of implementing tolls in Gauteng. Motorists with e-tags will pay up to 30 cents per kilometre or a maximum of R550 a month. Earlier today, Outa's advocate Mike Maritz said acting judge Louis Vorster failed to weigh up what true procedural fairness was when he made his order in Sanral's favour in December. “Crucially as it was pointed out in the Constitutional Court, procedural fairness has at its heart a chance to the public to influence the decision making process.” Judge Vorster ruled that the crux of Outa’s application, that there had not been an efficient public participation process, was flawed, adding that aspects of its application were “erroneous” and “speculative”. EWN - - - COMMENTS BY SONNY - - - - It would appear from this bold statement that the Treasury runs the Judiciary? Pravan Gordhan should be careful that someone does not probe the use of Public Pensions Funds without shareholder permission? There are still Broederbond elements serving as "Trustees" on State run pensions funds. It could be construed as "STATE CORRUPTION!" e-Toll (SANRAL) was illegal from the beginning. Jeremy Gauntlett is being paid 'Big Buck" to make the following assertions;......"The argument was an exaggerated one; it was an attempt to make perception the enemy good."

South Africa's helicopter gift for Mugabe

BREAKING NEWS JUST RECEIVED : JOHANNESBURG 25 JANUARY 2013 : 20:00 Court freezes chopper donation to Zim 2013-01-25 18:38 Alouette III helicopter (Picture: Supplied) Multimedia · User Galleries · News in Pictures Send us your pictures · Send us your stories Related Links SANDF defends spares donation to Zimbabwe Outcry as SA donates military gear to Zim kalahari.com Mugabe Power, plunder and the struggle for a fallen land. Now R135.00 BUY NOW Johannesburg - The North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria has granted an order to freeze the delivery of South African helicopters to the Zimbabwean military, lobby group AfriForum said on Friday. "An urgent interim court order was awarded to AfriForum late this afternoon by the North Gauteng High Court to prevent delivery of Alouette III Air Force helicopters by the SA National Defence Force to the Zimbabwean army. "The interim order shall stand pending the finalisation of the main application by 19 February 2013," said AfriForum's legal representative Willie Spies. AfriForum made the urgent application to the court on Friday after the news about the donation to the Zimbabwean government broke. Last week, AfriForum's legal team presented letters on the matter to the Minister of Defence Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, as well as the Minister of Justice, Jeff Radebe, who is also chairperson of the national conventional arms control committee. The letter were written after rumours surfaced that the SANDF had decided to donate its entire fleet of used Alouette helicopters to Zimbabwe. "The ministers were given seven days to react to the letters, but no reaction had been received by close of business yesterday." Spies said while the two ministers declined to react to the letters delivered to them, their spokesperson confirmed to Mail & Guardian that arrangements for the delivery of the helicopters had been finalised and that the delivery would take place shortly. "We have also informed the acting French Ambassador to South Africa in writing of the potential risk for his country, in that France may be contravening the arms embargo against Zimbabwe, as imposed by the European Union, as the South African government will now be donating imported French helicopter parts to Zimbabwe," Spies said. He said according to the National Conventional Arms Control Act of 2002, the National Conventional Arms Control Committee must consider certain principles before the sale or delivery of military equipment to another country can be authorised. "These principles include, inter alia, the human rights record of the particular country." The National Director of Public Prosecutions was recently ordered by the North Gauteng Pretoria to investigate certain offences against humanity committed by Zimbabwean military officers, he said. Spies said indications were that the Zimbabwean army was enhancing its visibility and mobility in anticipation of the national elections scheduled to take place later this year. - SAPA NEWS24.COM NEWS24.COM 25 JAN 2013 00:00 - CRAIG MCKUNE, STEFAANS BRÜMMER Fears have surfaced that retired military helicopters from the South African National Defence Force will be used to prop up Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF. OUR COVERAGE SA's military helicopters for Mugabe? Editorial: No SA aircraft for Mugabe's thugs Ramaphosa-Mugabe tension 'won't hamper co-operation' MORE COVERAGE South Africa sold weapons to Zimbabwe The South African National Defence Force is about to send a gift of helicopters and spares to its Zimbabwean counterparts, raising the spectre they will be used in a military-backed campaign to put President Robert Mugabe and his Zanu-PF party back in power in polls expected this year. The Mail & Guardian has seen the confidential minutes of a meeting in Cape Town two months ago between defence chiefs of the two countries. Under the heading "disposal of Alouette III helicopters and spares", the minutes noted that "the administrative processes in the SANDF have been finalised and the equipment will soon be handed over to the ZDF [Zimbabwe Defence Forces]". The department of defence confirmed shortly before going to press that "all processes for the disposal have been completed and the airframes and spares are ready for dispatch to that country as a donation". Zimbabwe is scheduled to hold elections by the end of March, although they are widely expected to be delayed for some months. Apprehension is building in civil society and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) that the military will step in, as it did during the violent 2008 presidential run-off to save Mugabe. The aged but versatile Alouette III, operated by the military in both countries since the 1960s, would be a force multiplier for the ZDF, providing fast access to rural areas. Zimbabwe is under European and United States weapons sanctions, hampering its air force's efforts to keep its handful of Alouette III and Agusta-Bell light utility helicopters in the air. Military meddling The ZDF notoriously stepped in to back Mugabe in the 2008 presidential run-off after the MDC beat Zanu-PF in parliamentary elections. Operation waVhotera Papi (For whom did you vote?) reportedly involved a systematic, brutal crackdown on MDC supporters. ZDF chief General Constantine Chiwenga openly backs Zanu-PF, and is alleged in media reports and by the MDC to be preparing a campaign to support Zanu-PF's election efforts and to have undermined the current unity government. The minutes seen by the M&G appear to reflect the ZDF's disdain for power-sharing. The Zimbabwean delegation was quoted as reporting: "The smooth governing of the country remained untenable owing to divergent political ideologies of the political parties in the inclusive government." The minutes are of the defence committee of the seventh session of the South Africa-Zimbabwe Joint Permanent Commission on Defence and Security, a standing bilateral body. Meeting at Cape Town's Mount Nelson Hotel between November 21 and 23, the committee was co-chaired by South African army chief Lieutenant General Vusi Masondo and his Zimbabwean counterpart, Lieutenant General Philip Valerio Sibanda. Following allegations that his troops were campaigning for Zanu-PF in rural areas when elections were expected in 2011, Sibanda told the state-owned Herald newspaper: "We have troops in various parts of the country doing training and … assisting in various government departments like health and agriculture. It is unfortunate that we have some people who think that when they see army officers in a particular area ... they are undertaking political activities." Acquisition spree More recently, allegations surfaced of the military going on a vehicle shopping spree in anticipation of elections. The Zimbabwe Independent reported in November that the ZDF was buying about 1 000 Isuzu bakkies, complementing Zanu PF's acquisition of 550 cars, the latter "to ensure its officials and foot soldiers reach all corners of the country to mobilise voters". The quantity of Aloettes airframes and spares to be handed to the ZDF could not be establishedthis week. The South African Air Force retired its fleet of Alouette IIIs between 2005 and 2007, when they were replaced by Agusta light utility helicopters ordered in the arms deal. The defence department said in Parliament in 2008 that 17 Alouettes had been stripped of their guns and were for sale. The Zimbabwe arms embargo is not binding on South Africa, because the Russians and Chinese vetoed a 2008 United Nations Security Council attempt to extend sanctions. No permit Exports of military hardware from South Africa must be sanctioned by the Cabinet's National Conventional Arms Control Committee (NCACC), chaired by Justice Minister Jeff Radebe. Radebe's spokesperson, Mthunzi Mhaga, said the Alouettes and spares did not "fall within the NCACC's parameters of control" under its enabling legislation. The NCACC is apparently relying on the classification of the helicopters as "civilian" after their guns were stripped out, though both the giver and the recipient are military. Modise decided The defence department on Thursday defended the donation, saying that it stemmed from "a decision that was taken by the former and first minister of defence, Joe Modise, in 1997 when [the Alouettes] were being phased out. How the donation of the spares to the ZDF relate to the forthcoming elections in that country is difficult to understand. "The SANDF would like to place it on record that it has a bilateral agreement with the Zimbabwe Defence Force and a number of exchanges in various fields between the two defence forces have taken place and will continue." Zimbabwe army spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Alphious Makotore asked for questions to be physically presented to Colonel Overson Mugwisi based at Zimbabwe Defence House in Harare. For safety reasons, the M&G's Harare correspondent did not do this. MDC spokesperson Douglas Mwonzora said on Thursday his party was aware of a plot to beef up the military before elections in support of Mugabe. "The military chiefs have already stated their objectives and who they will back for president. "In our respectful view the military is political and it is evident that it will neither respect the views of the people, nor recognise an MDC victory in the coming election." – Additional reporting by M&G Harare correspondent A legend of the skies The Alouette III helicopter, which has flown Southern African skies for more than half a century, is a utilitarian machine, known for its durability and affectionately called the draadkar, or "wire car" – a comment on its not very fetching appearance. Developed by the French in the late 1950s, the Alouette debuted in both the South African and Rhodesian militaries in 1962. Over the next two decades, the South African Air Force purchased 118 of them, and the Rhodesian Air Force Alouette fleet grew to an estimated 47. When the South African fleet was being retired in 2007, SAAirforce.co.za effusively described it as "a legend in the South African Air Force. Doing all it was asked and more, this amazing helicopter served for 44 years and the fleet flew more than 346 000 hours. "The Alouette III will be remembered for its durability in the challenging African environment ... It was loved by its pilots and crew, feared by its enemies and regarded as a saviour by those it rescued from a mountain ledge or a flood-devastated area." Among the many missions over the decades, South Africa's Alouettes were used in the Angolan and Rhodesian bush wars, alongside Rhodesia's machines in the latter case. Zimbabwe used them during the war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo between 1998 and 2003. A number were reportedly shot down or written off. President Robert Mugabe's forces were left hungry for spares. But the arms embargoes made replacements hard to come by. – Craig McKune * 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 - - - - - COMMENTS BY SONNY This is the second time in how many decades that Mugabe gets all our "pensioned" helicopters (and spares) just before a rigged election. Private helicopters seem to be sold under a blanket of secrecy to Iran via MTN. Zimbabwe seems to have a more capable army than SA at the moment. Even if these helicopters are stripped of their guns they can be refitted in a matter of hours. Zuma really is pushing his part as the King in waiting in AFRICA! DESPOT MUGABE IS A THREAT TO GLOBAL PEACE. JOE MODISE's HELICOPTERS WERE DELIVERED TO MUGABE DURING THE SA ARMS DEBACLE. THIS IS A NEW BATCH OF HELICOPTERS GIVEN TO MUGABE UNDER ZUMA'S WATCH!