Probe after top cop's party

31 July 2010, 10:26

The acting station commissioner of Hillbrow Police Station looks set to take the rap for organising a farewell party for the top cop in the province - at a notorious Joburg brothel owner's house.

On Friday night, the National Police Commissioner's office confirmed that Colonel Koos van Rhyn was under investigation after Gauteng Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Perumal Naidoo attended the function at Alan Kukard's house in Houghton nine days ago to receive an award as a token of the Hillbrow police cluster's appreciation of his work and leadership.

Naidoo officially retires tomorrow after 37 years service, which began as a beat constable in Chatsworth. He is taking early retirement, apparently on the grounds of ill health.

Last night, Naidoo said he didn't want to talk about the matter, except to say that he had approached his lawyers.

Van Rhyn has been fingered in a letter written by Tebogo Merafhe, president of the National Rental Association of South Africa, as having a cosy relationship with Kukard, who owns the notorious Hillbrow Inn and Maxime Hotels which are openly run as brothels.

Merafhe claimed Van Rhyn was a key member of the so-called Hillbrow Mafia.

Paena Galane, spokesperson for Deputy Police Minister Fikile Mbalula, confirmed that the ministry had been informed of numerous allegations concerning Van Rhyn and Kukard, but said the ministry would wait for the outcome of the internal police investigation before acting.

The Independent Complaints Directorate, said this week, it would take its lead from the national police commissioner's office.

The investigation into Van Rhyn comes hot on the heels of a crackdown on corrupt police officers. A total of 15 officers have been arrested countrywide in a 24-hour blitz for a variety of offences, including armed robbery.

National Police Commissioner General Bheki Cele issued a blunt warning to crooked police officers at a memorial service on Thursday for the seven officers who died in a helicopter crash while responding to a robbery in Emalahleni (Witbank) last Friday, saying he would not tolerate corruption or dereliction of duty in any form and would be ruthless in eradicating it.

Deputy Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Arno Lamoer said the message from the top brass was clear. "If you don't feel like being in this organisation, pick up, walk and go. We don't need criminals. We are here to fight crime and serve our community," he said.

Yesterday, DA member of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature Jack Bloom said Hillbrow was renowned as a hotbed of vice and corruption and there was a strong suspicion of police corruption during raids.

According to newspaper reports, the party for Naidoo had been thrown by the Hillbrow business forum.

Kukard was reported as paying tribute to Naidoo for the hard work of the police to make the area safer.



This article was originally published on page 1 of The Pretoria News on July 31, 2010

The Star

Comments by Sonny

It's because of parties like these that caused Jackie Sebeli to land up where he did with Glenn Agliotti and associates!

Corruption in High Places

Warder 'had sex with inmate for R1 000'
Share |
30 July 2010, 15:07

A prison official in the Eastern Cape has been suspended following allegations that she had sexual intercourse with an inmate, the department of Correctional Services said on Friday.

"Investigations are currently afoot to determine whether this was a once-off activity or an ongoing phenomenon [at the Kokstad Maximum Correctional Facility]," said correctional services spokesman Phumlani Ximiya.

"And whether one official or many officials were involved," he said.

Allegedly the warder opened the electric control gates to gain access to the inmate's cell and had sex with him in exchange for R1 000.

"All these details will be investigated and once they have been finalised severe penalties will be meted out to all those found to have compromised the image of the Department as well as the character of a Correctional official."

The inmate in question allegedly has a history of escaping from correctional service centres.

Ximiya said that the inmate would also be punished once investigations were complete.

"The Department will not allow a few rotten potatoes to remain in the service geared at upholding the public safety of all South African citizens," he said. - Sapa

Saturday Star

Comments by Sonny

Nothing new in SA.

The front page of Saturday Star runs a damning report of the Gauteng Commissioner P Naidoo attending his farewell at the house of a known 'pimp' Alan Kukard!

Kukard is known for entertaining the AG of Johannesburg and CCB partners at his run down hotel in Mayfair in the late 1980!

He now own the Moulin Rouge amongst other 'seedy joints' in the Hillbrow area!

Was laundered money used to entice the top cops and government officials?

Hillbrow has seedy stories dying to be published!

Kids found dead, mom missing

30 July 2010, 18:44

Pretoria police were searching for the mother of two young girls, who had been found dead in their house in Theresa Park on Friday.

Police Spokesman Constable William Mahlaole said the bodies of a four-year-old girl and her eight-month-old sister were found by a friend of their mother when she visited their home north of Pretoria.

The chidren's mother and her car was nowhere to be found, and police was searching for her.

Mahlaole said it looked as if the four-year-old girl had been drowned because there was water in a bath nearby.

The baby was believed to have been smothered with a hat that was still lying on her face when police entered the house.

No visible bruises or wounds were present on either of the children.

Mahlaole said the friend went to the house to deliver something and saw that the door of the house was open.

She called out for the mother but there was no reply so she phoned the local security company.

The security company arrived and together they inspected the house, finding that the house was in disarray and had a rancid smell.

The mother of the children last spoke to family members on Thursday. Mahlaole said she had been missing since Friday morning.

Police suspected that either the mother was involved in the children's deaths or that robbers killed them and kidnapped the mother.

There were no signs of forced entry.

Police were investigating the cause of the children's' deaths.

The father of the children had passed away in February. - Sapa

The Star

Comments by Sonny

How bizarre.
What is this world coming to?

Man jumps to death from 10th floor

29 JUL 2010 | STORY AND PHOTOS BY BAFANA MAHLANGU | 19 COMMENTS

29-year-old Mandla Zwane strolled into an office building and spoke pleasantly to the Security. Ten minutes later, he was dead

Report and Photos by Bafana Mahlangu

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HERE IS THE FULL STORY:

At about 11am yesterday, 29-year-old Mandla Zwane strolled into a building in Johannesburg and asked the security guard where he could make photocopies.
The unsuspecting guard allowed him to enter the FHA House business building and told him where to go.

Ten minutes later, Zwane was dead.

He had jumped from the 10th floor and landed on the balcony of the first floor.
His body was trapped there and emergency services had to use specialised equipment to free him.

The building is situated at corner Market and Von Wielligh streets in downtown Johannesburg.

Zwane allegedly sat at the top of the 10-floor building, swinging his feet and was all smiles, with his feet facing the ground as if he was basking in the sun.

People started shouting at him telling him that the game he was playing was dangerous.

Zwane then stood up and jumped.

He was certified dead at the scene.

Johannesburg emergency services spokesperson Percy Morokane said: “We do not know why he jumped.

“He lived in Jeppe and was on leave.

“His family had been preparing an unveiling of four of his brothers in Vryheid, KwaZulu- Natal at the weekend.”

Eyewitness John Khumalo said: “I was next to my window on the 4th floor when I saw what I thought was an object falling from above. But later I heard people screaming and went down to see for myself.

“I was shocked to see that it was a man.

“The man does not live in this building nor does he work here. He just came to commit suicide.”

SOWETAN

What a "joke", says PSA
Eyewitness News | 3 Hours Ago


The Public Servants Association (PSA) on Thursday described government’s revised wage offer as "a joke."

The state is offering employees a 6.5 percent wage hike and a R630 housing allowance, R10 more than its previous offer.

Hours before the proposal was tabled at the bargaining council in Centurion, meetings were held between Public Service and Administration Minister Richard Baloyi and union representatives.

Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan and Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga were also there.

The PSA’s Manie de Clerq said after all the high-level engagements he was shocked by the offer tabled on Thursday night.

“I don’t think these people are taking us seriously,” said de Clerq.

State employees remained firm on their demand of an 8.6 percent wage hike, a R1000 housing allowance and the equalisation of medical aid subsidies.

Meanwhile, the Basic Education Department said the nationwide PSA strike will not disrupt classes on Friday morning.

It said all teachers were accounted for at schools on Thursday when civil servants downed tools and they were expecting a similar turn of events on Friday.

Teachers unions were expected to strike but on Thursday the South African Democratic Teachers Union (Sadtu) discouraged teachers from taking part saying it would negatively impact school pupils.

The Education Department’s Granville Whittle said all provinces reported a 100 percent attendance on Thursday.

“As far as we know it should be a normal school day and the whole of next week. The South African Democratic Teachers Union has indicated that their strike will commence on August 6. As far as we are concerned we have had normal schooling throughout the country,” said Whittle.

EWN

Comments by Sonny

This is what happens when SA citizens are underpaid and underfed!!

The ANC is responsible for service delivery and decent living conditions FOR ALL!!

ANC warns of rogues taking over the party
Stephen Grootes | 2 Hours Ago


The ANC on Thursday said "rogues" could take over the organisation if members are continually shouted down and violence is used against them in party meetings because they have opposing views.

The comments are contained in policy documents published ahead of the party’s National General Council.

The ANC said it is crucial for the organisation to draw a line between what is morally right and what is morally wrong.

In policy documents the ANC said factionalism is removing the tolerance for debate that is the lifeblood of the organisation

It also said a shadowy sub-culture is feeding public perceptions that its leaders are socially distant and have lost the moral high ground.

The papers also said this culture is forcing the organisation to lurch from conference to conference hamstrung by leadership battles, and that this is leading to indecisive leadership.

The documents also suggest that every province should have two regional courts specialised in dealing with corruption modelled on the World Cup courts.

These papers make for interesting reading but there is still no sign of the paper on economic transformation, which is expected to deal with the nationalisation of mines.

EWN

Comments by Sonny

Rogues are already in control of the ANC?

Are there any more "Rogues" waiting on the wing?

Sisulu stands ground on report

2010-07-29 20:07



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Cape Town - Defence Minister Lindiwe Sisulu on Thursday firmly rejected renewed calls by MPs to release reports on conditions in the military, saying she could only do so once it was completed.

One of the reports was leaked to the media and allegedly warned that morale in the military was so low as to pose a threat to national security.

Democratic Alliance MP David Maynier accused Sisulu of a cover-up and said she should be compelled to release the documents, which were compiled by the Interim National Defence Force Service Commission.

"I would like to know what's in these reports that the minister would like to keep from us," he charged.

But Sisulu denied any crisis and said once completed, the commission's work would first go to herself, then to the president and Cabinet before it was made available to Parliament.

'No crisis'

She irritably told Maynier to stop posturing and "get over it".

"The report Maynier is ranting and raving about is a work in progress... the final report has not been given to me, not to the commander-in-chief, and not to the Cabinet."

She added: "There is no crisis in the defence force. Most members have a salary double what it was last year."

Pressed by reporters later in the day, Sisulu later said she expected the interim commission to complete its work by September, a year after it was appointed by her.

"I set a deadline of September."

She confirmed she had acted on interim reports by the commission, notably recommendations on improving salaries in the lower ranks of the military, which were implemented this month.

"They reviewed the salary situation and we had to act on that. It was urgent."

Bone of contention

The report has been a bone of contention in Parliament's defence portfolio committee for months, and on Thursday chairperson Nyami Booi revealed he had written a letter to Sisulu asking to see it.

Sisulu said she did not receive the letter, sent on July 15.

Booi eventually accepted the minister's reasons for not submitting the report to Parliament, after she said it was not relevant to put draft legislation before the committee.

Sisulu assured MPs that fears that they would be "legislating blind" were misplaced as the reports had no bearing on a bill that sought to set up a permanent service commission for the military, taking it away from the ambit of the Public Service Commission.

"This has no implications for the bill we need to amend now."

She again indicated she wished to see legislation banning soldiers from belonging to labour unions, and told reporters at a later meeting that government was likely to ask the Constitutional Court "to review this".

Sisulu said there was uncertainty as government believed the country's highest court had ruled last year that soldiers should have trade unions, but that it now seemed the ruling was not so clear-cut.

- SAPA

News24.Com

Comments by Sonny

The only crisis the Defence has is its minister!!

She should be redeployed!

Notorious convict and randy warder enjoy nooky in cells

29-JUL-2010 | MHLABA MEMELA | 37 COMMENTS

THE imprisoned leader of a notorious gang is enjoying nooky in the chookie - thanks to a senior female warder.



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Jailhouse sex


Prison authorities at Kokstad maximum prison in KwaZulu-Natal say the randy pair were caught on CCTV camera.

The inmate has a history of escaping from correctional service centres.

The warder, whose name is known to Sowetan, has since been suspended.

The inmate is known for masterminding escapes from prison and is kept at C-Max prison in southern KwaZulu-Natal.

Sowetan has learnt that offenders pay officials up to R1000 in exchange for sexual intercourse.

It's alleged that the female warder had opened the electric control gates to gain access to the inmate's cell after she had allegedly drugged an official operating the cameras.

It's alleged that the camera operator fell asleep after taking the drug and woke up realising the gate was open.

The female warder was noticed inside the offenders' cell and her colleague allegedly pressed the button to lock the gates until the morning.

It is believed that after it was opened in the morning she jumped into her car and sped off.

She was later rescued by her friends while allegedly trying to commit suicide outside the prison.

A senior official at the C-Max prison said the warder had, after leaving the cells, locked herself in her car and attempted to inhale deadly fumes from the engine.

"But she was rushed to hospital and now she is recovering at an undisclosed venue.

"She has not been at work for the past two weeks.

"No one has spoken about the issue because everyone is scared to dent the department's image," the official said.

"Offenders have a lot of money and they establish relationships with officials to assist them to escape or for sexual favours.

"Warders have been partaking in obscene conduct where they flirt with the inmates."

Provincial manager of the Public Servants Association of South Africa, Claude Naiker, said they were aware of the one case in which a female warder was implicated in having indulged in sex with an inmate.

"She has been suspended. The charges are that she was allegedly involved in sexual activities with an inmate," Naiker said.

"We will be presenting the allegations to the warder at a disciplinary hearing. The date has yet to be set."

Prison officials are expected to release an official statement later.

Sowetan

Comments by Sonny

How can female warders be allowed in the men's sections of the prison service?

Or is it Correctional?

JAILHOUSE ROTS!!

Do these 'perks' come with the job nowadays?

Ex top cop 'threatened state witness'

29 July 2010, 14:33

By Noelene Barbeau

A conversation in passing led to a death threat if the state witness would not change his evidence while testifying against former Sydenham police station commander Glen Nayager.

This was the evidence heard during the controversial police officer's bail application on charges of intimidation, assault (through verbal threats) and affecting the administration of justice.

Nayager was arrested on Tuesday while entering the Pinetown Regional Court to appear for his trial dealing with allegations of theft, fraud and defeating the ends of justice.

The state alleged that Nayager, on Tuesday, intimidated one of the state witnesses, Colonel LJ Matthysen, who is expected to lead evidence against him during his trial which runs until the end of the week.

During his testimony at Nayager's bail application the investigating officer, Captain Louis Helberg, elaborated on the charges.

He said that on Tuesday Matthysen overheard Nayager and others talking about how they had to park across the road. Matthysen told them it was not safe to do so.

Helberg said when Matthysen returned from checking on his car, Nayager approached him. "Colonel Matthysen then asked Nayager what he could do for him and Nayager replied that Matthysen was a key witness and asked him to 'make a flop with his evidence' (make a mistake with his evidence). Matthysen refused and Nayager threatened to kill him, saying he wouldn't do it himself, he'd get someone else to do if for him," Helberg testified.

Matthysen reported this to the investigating officer in the trial and this led to Nayager's arrest later that day.

Helberg said he later learnt that Matthysen had received five death threats on his cellphone on Tuesday evening and admitted he was afraid because he believed he would be killed.

He said Matthysen told him again yesterday he was afraid to testify.

During cross-examination, Nayager's legal counsel advocate Jay Naidoo pointed out that the threatening phone calls were not mentioned in Matthysen's written statement.

He added that the Colonel's demeanour yesterday was not of someone who was afraid or stressed.

Naidoo told Helberg that Matthysen was acting as station commander at the Sydenham police station, which was Nayager's position.

He said Matthysen was involved in the Labour Court dispute where Nayager was fighting to resume his post at the police station.

Nayager's bail application continues today together with his trial.

In court papers submitted during Nayager's trial yesterday detailing why he was pleading not guilty to all three counts, Nayager claimed the "present prosecution is malicious and an abuse of process against me".

He said in the past 18 months he had been subjected to various acts of victimisation, harassment and unlawful conduct by the SAPS and had been the victim of a conspiracy to oust him from his position as station commander.

He said in a disciplinary hearing in May he was found guilty of sexual harassment and appealed against this decision.

Nayager said the SAPS failed to finalise his appeal during the stipulated period of time so he returned to work, but was threatened with arrest for impersonating a police officer. He disputed this and learnt on July 22 that the SAPS agreed he could report for duty.

Details of the charges he is currently on trial for deal with allegations that Nayager was found in illegal possession of three case dockets, which were kept in a safe at Sydenham police station and that he used a contractor, who was not on the police supplier database, to do the tiling at the police station.

Nayager allegedly hid the dockets so that the cases could not be investigated. The cases include a drug charge, an assault charge against Nayager and a contempt of court charge.

noelene.barbeau@inl.co.za



This article was originally published on page 2 of The Daily News on July 29, 2010

The Star

Comments by Sonny

Is this the corruption General Bheki Cele is talking about?

How can a villain like this protect the public?

Where is our country going!

Cops arrested for truck looting

2010-07-27 17:41



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Johannesburg - Five policemen and a former policeman appeared in court in connection with the theft of chocolates and alcohol from trucks that had crashed in the Northern Cape, the province's police said on Tuesday.

On July 12, a truck overturned on the N12 near Belmont and alcohol worth about R620 000 was stolen from the wreckage, said Captain Cherelle Ehlers.

On July 17, a truck overturned on the N8 in the province and chocolates valued at about R290 000 were stolen from that wreckage.

Officials from the Directorate of Priority Crimes, also known as the Hawks, and detectives in Kagisho in the province investigated and arrested the five on Tuesday.

Constable Andre Palm from the Kimberley 10111 centre, Constable Errol van Ade from the dog unit and Constable Donovan Bitterbosch, also from the dog unit, appeared in the Kimberley Magistrate's Court in connection with the chocolate charges.

Palm, Van Ade, Constable Tiny Segani who works in a court in Galeshewe, Warrant Officer Dannyboy Nkalitshane from the Kimberley Flying Squad and Marcus Alemona, a former policeman from Hopetown, then appeared in connection with the alcohol theft.

Those arrested on the chocolates case were released on warning.

Palm, Segani, Nkalitshane and Van Ade were released on R500 bail and Alemona was released on warning on the alcohol charges.

They will return to the town's regional court on August 5.

In a police statement, Major General Liziwe Ntshinga, deputy provincial commissioner for the Hawks, commended the investigating officers.

- SAPA

News24.com

Comments by Sonny

Any suspensions?

Or is it duty as usual?

SAPS Stats please....!

Are these 'cops' not causing the accidents with the intent to loot?

Facebook sleuthing leads to arrest of killer

28 July 2010, 09:56

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Manila - Philippine police on Wednesday said they used Facebook to track down a Filipino computer technician blamed for the gruesome murders of nine people, three of them foreigners.

The suspect, Mark Dizon, 28, was captured by police in San Fernando City north of Manila on Tuesday after his father, fearful that his son would be killed in a gunbattle, arranged to meet him.

Dizon was initially identified by witnesses through his Facebook account, where police found out that a daughter of one of the victims was an ex-girlfriend.

"He had an account on Facebook and two witnesses positively identified him," Senior Superintendent Danilo Bautista, chief of police of nearby Angeles city where the murders took place, told AFP.

"He did not brag about the killings on Facebook, but we found out that a daughter of Albert Mitchell was a former girlfriend."

He said Dizon apparently closed his Facebook account recently after sensing police were on his heels, but two witnesses had already positively identified him using his profile picture.

The suspect tried to pull out a gun when police pounced on him on Tuesday, but he was quickly subdued, Bautista said.

Dizon is suspected of killing American Albert Mitchell, 70, Briton James Porter, 51, and Canadian Geoffrey Bennun, 60, their three Filipina partners and three Filipino domestic helpers in separate attacks in Angeles this month.

All the men were retirees and lived in separate gated communities that are popular with foreigners in Angeles, which lies outside a sprawling former US airbase, Bautista said.

The good-looking Dizon allegedly befriended the victims first to gain their trust, allowing him to go into their homes freely on the pretence of fixing their computers, Bautista said.

He then allegedly attacked them using a 9mm pistol, and robbed them of valuables including electronic gadgets which he then pawned.

Murder charges will be filed against Dizon later on Wednesday, Bautista said.

"We have an airtight case against him. I believe it is ironclad," he said. - Sapa-AFP

The Star

Comments by Sonny

People who steal identities on FaceBook must know that they will get caught and fried in the end!

FaceBook does not treat perverts and Psycho's with respect!

FaceBook members don't take kindly to these creeps!

Cabinet approves new fines for errant ministers

MANDY ROSSOUW | JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA - Jul 27 2010 17:34

President Jacob Zuma and his Cabinet ministers will face fines equivalent to their monthly salaries, or a reduction in salary for 15 days, if they step out of line again.

On Tuesday the Cabinet adopted sanctions for errant members of the executive who breach the code of ethics that they have to abide by when they take office.

According to the code, ministers are expected to not:
Undertake paid work;

Act in ways that are inconsistent with their office;

Expose themselves to any situation involving the risk of a conflict between their official responsibilities and their private interests;

Use their position to enrich themselves or benefit another person;

Act in a way that compromises the integrity of government.
They must also ensure that they declare their financial interests to Parliament and to Cabinet within a defined period after taking office.

Any findings that show they have breached these rules can cost Cabinet ministers up to R120 000 -- they earn annual salaries of about R1,6-million.

Fortunately for Zuma, who was found guilty by the Public Protector of not declaring his interests, these sanctions come too late; also for ministers like Communications Minister Siphiwe Nyanda, who was found guilty by the Public Protector of using his position to influence processes -- he publicly supported Siyabonga Gama's bid to become Transnet CEO.

According to government spokesperson Themba Maseko, these sanctions will not work retrospectively and will only be in place until November this year, when Justice Minister Jeff Radebe will release a comprehensive review of the Executive Ethics Code.

At the time when Zuma's non-declaration of interests was discovered, government insiders said it led to a scramble among Cabinet ministers, several of whom also failed to declare their interests. It is understood they have brought this up to date now, and therefore will not fall victim to these sanctions either.

CONTINUES BELOW

TOPICS IN THIS ARTICLE
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Mail & Guardian

Comments by Sonny

More false promises by a false prophet?

ANC struggle heroine dies

27 July 2010, 15:37

ANC struggle stalwart Cheryl Gillwald died of cancer at the weekend, the African National Congress Women's League said on Tuesday.

"The ANCWL national executive committee is shocked and saddened by the news of the passing on of Mrs Cheryl Gillwald, the heroine of our struggle for liberation," said ANCWL spokeswoman Edna Molewa in a statement.

"We join hands with millions of our people in paying tribute to this brave woman of our country who has truly played a noble and prominent role in our people's struggle for freedom."

Gillwald, who died aged 53, served as a Member of Parliament for 12 years, from 1994 to 2006.

She was appointed deputy justice and constitutional development minister in 1999, and in 2004 she became deputy correctional services minister.

She resigned from public office in 2006.

"The ANCWL acknowledges Gillwald's tireless efforts towards human rights and creating a better life for all - a vision she lived throughout her life," said Molewa. - Sapa

The Star

Comments by Sonny

Mrs Cheryl Gillwald died pretty young!

Noseweek editor 'had to be taken care of'

27 July 2010, 06:27

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By MICHELLE JONES

Noseweek editor Martin Welz was "blissfully unaware" his murder had been plotted by mining figure Brett Kebble.

Testifying on the first day of Glenn Agliotti's trial on charges relating to the murder of Kebble, the first State witness, Michael Schultz, said the mine owner had created a hit list and plotted the murders of Welz and Allan Gray auditor Stephen Mildenhall.

"Welz had to be taken care of because he had apparently been writing bad stories about the Kebble family," Schultz said. Mildenhall had been blocking a R500 million loan from Allan Gray to Kebble.

Noseweek ran a number of reports on questionable deals by Kebble, with Welz denouncing him as a "conman" and criticising his failure to pay tax.

Yesterday Welz said: "I was blissfully unaware at the time I was on a so-called hit list. Our policy has been to publish without restriction."

Welz said Kebble had been thought of as a "celebrity".

"He had hired public relation companies to polish his image and we destroyed that."

michelle.jones@inl.co.za



This article was originally published on page 3 of The Cape Times on July 27, 2010

The Star

Comments by Sonny

At the rate Kebble was going, he got what he asked for!

He was just another scum-bag!

How many more ""celebrities"" are running loose in our society?.

DA Newsletter from Helen Zille 27 July 2010

26 July 2010

Welcome to the latest edition of SA Today, the weekly newsletter from the Leader of the Democratic Alliance, Helen Zille.



SA Today
Helen Zille, DA Leader

Breaking through the race barrier


When The Economist labelled Africa “The Hopeless Continent” ten years ago, the magazine was suggesting that the downward spiral towards the failed state is inevitable in Africa. We know it is not.

We are making a different choice. More and more South Africans want our politics to be an open contest of ideas and values, rather than a closed circle of conflict between race groups.

Very few complex plural societies have made this choice.

That is because race is a powerful mobiliser. So are culture, language, and religion. These things shape our identity. Our need to belong is real and important to us all. But more and more, South Africans are realising that making a different political choice is not a threat to their identity. In fact, quite the reverse. Each of us can confidently be who we are only if we secure that right for everyone else. Each time we stand up for another’s rights, we defend our own.

South Africans are, increasingly, choosing to value each other by what Martin Luther King described as the “content of our characters”, not the colour of our skins. We are choosing to come together on a platform of shared values – integrity, fairness, service, tolerance, the quest for excellence. All of these override the things that separate us.

South Africans who are making this choice are coming together in the Democratic Alliance. It is the reason why the DA has become, in Professor Lawrence Schlemmer’s words, “the most non-racial party South Africa has ever had.”

This week, we saw this trend accelerate. We won three more by-elections in wards we have never won before. We have now won 11 new wards since last year’s election. But the most exciting development of all, this year, was breaking through another race barrier. In political terms it is like breaking the sound barrier. It is an historic moment. If we seize it, it will be the beginning of a new era.

Each new DA victory shows that South Africa’s democracy is working. People are making free choices.

Nothing can describe the exhilaration you feel when you get an SMS in the middle of the night to say that we have just won a 52% majority in a voting district where there is not a single minority voter. Only black South Africans freely choosing to support the Democratic Alliance. Just one year ago, a mere 1.8% of voters supported us in Mkhondo, Mpumalanga. Since then, the people who live there have made a different choice. This confirmed what we saw in the Grabouw by-election in May this year. Voters who change their minds are not disloyal. On the contrary. This is the stuff of which all successful democracies are made.

It is also the result of exceptional sustained effort and dedication. It shows we can do it. And it sends a clear message to the political analysts who propose that we remain a party for minorities only. The voters don’t agree with you. We all know that it usually takes the analysts a few years to catch up with the voters.

What these analysts don’t understand is that the DA could never be a party just for minorities, even if some may think it strategic to do so. Our entire reason for being is to challenge the notion that ethnic and racial nationalism is the only way South Africans can conduct their politics. And that is what we are doing. We are building a new majority.

For this reason, I am particularly excited by the many young people, from all backgrounds, who are making the DA their political home. They are beginning to emerge everywhere and will soon take their place in leadership roles throughout our party. To meet and engage with them is to become really optimistic about South Africa’s future. Their choice for the DA will transform our party and our country.

Many of us don’t realise just how significant our progress has been. It sometimes takes an outsider to point this out.

During the World Cup I was privileged to meet international leaders who, without exception, understand the DA’s epoch-making achievements.

They know that Africa cannot succeed unless South Africa’s democracy succeeds.

They understand the significance of our party’s growth from just over 300,000 votes in 1994 to just under 3-million votes last year. We did this by offering an alternative to racial and ethnic nationalism. And that truly contradicts the logic of history on our continent.

[This week’s edition of SA Today is an extract of Helen Zille’s opening address at the DA’s Federal Congress taking place this weekend. Click here for the full text of her speech]


Signed Helen Zille

Police officer shot in face

26 July 2010, 15:55

A police officer has been seriously wounded when he was shot in the face while on duty at Poortjie police station, south of Johannesburg, Gauteng police said on Monday.

"A man walked into the police station and shot a police officer while he was helping a community member at the counter on Sunday night," said Warrant Officer Molefe Mokoena.

The man stole the police officer's firearm and ran out.

The police officer was rushed to hospital where he was being treated.

It was unclear how many suspects there were.

Police had opened a case of attempted murder and robbery. - Sapa

The Star

Comments by Sonny

Where in the sticks is this place Poortjie?

We can remember when a policeman was shot through the head at a satellite station in Ivory Park, some years ago!

How many members were on duty at Poortjie?

SAPS members are sitting ducks at satellite stations!

They are supposed to serve the community, but, does the community protect them?

'Kebble plotted editor's murder'

Expose' of who is really behind organised crime in SA?

26 July 2010, 11:49

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By Gill Gifford and Omphitlhetse Mooki

Details of the underworld operations in which the Kebble mining family meddled emerged in the Johannesburg High Court on Monday morning, with a State witness telling the court how Brett Kebble had plotted the murder of a Cape Town editor and an Allen Grey auditor.

Auditor Stephen Mildenhall had to be murdered because he was making difficult for Brett Kebble and John Statton to access a R500m loan from Allen Grey Limited, a portfolio managing company, Michael Schultz told the court.

"Clinton Nassif said Brett and John were about to access a R500m loan from Allen Grey. They were gonna get the loan but this guy was standing on the way. Clinton said this guy had to be shot dead," Schultz said.

Mildenhall's house, along with others on a hit list of those causing problems for the Kebbles, was then put under survaillance after Nassif provided adresses.

The Noseweek editor had to be "taken care of because he had apparently been writing bad stories about the Kebble family".

This breaking news flash was supplied exclusively to iol.co.za by the news desk at our sister title, The Star.

For more about this story, carry on watching iol.co.za or click here to subscribe to the digital or print edition of the newspaper.

The Star

Comments by Sonny

Who plays God in SA?

The evidence is before the High Court!

Selebi has tarnished the good name of INTERPOL and the SAPS!

DA, ID to pull together for local elections

Jul 25, 2010 10:26 PM | By SIPHO MASONDO
The Democratic Alliance and the Independent Democrats are due to make an announcement "soon" on how they will co-operate during next year's local government elections.

Helen Zille
Photograph by: .


THE Democratic Alliance and the Independent Democrats are due to make an announcement "soon" on how they will co-operate during next year's local government elections.

Both parties said yesterday they had received mandates from their members to start negotiations with each other and other opposition parties.

ID boss Patricia de Lille and her DA counterpart, Helen Zille, have been at the forefront of the move to get opposition parties to work closely together in a bid to form a viable coalition party and take on the ANC.

Speaking after delivering a speech at the DA federal congress in Cape Town yesterday, De Lille said: "The next step is to look at how to work together during local government elections next year.

"The 'how' part will now start. As they say, the devil is in the detail. For instance, we could agree on a criteria to choose a certain councillor for a specific area."

De Lille said the parties would have finalised the agreement by September 20.

United Democratic Movement leader Bantu Holomisa was also part of talks to realign opposition politics in South Africa, said De Lille. She hoped COPE would also come on board once it had sorted its internal squabbles.

Earlier De Lille told delegates that opposition parties should work together to create a "force that can have a realistic opportunity of taking over national government in the near future".

"Instead of stroking our own egos, we have a vision of a strong new entity - one that is greater than the sum of our individual parties. This is not about simply adding up our current voter percentages. It is about building a political force that can hold the government accountable where it counts: at the ballot box."

Zille said she was excited about the prospects of working with De Lille and others. "Patricia and I will have a meeting this week," she said.

Times Live

Comments by Sonny

Now COPE must decide to come aboard, then we will have 1 000 000 black voters more!

Nyanda found guilty

Public Protector tells minister he acted improperly - but he gets off scot-free

Jul 25, 2010 9:58 PM | By MOIPONE MALEFANE

Beleaguered Communications Minister Siphiwe Nyanda has been found guilty of "improperly" using his cabinet position to defend former Transnet Freight Rail CEO Siyabonga Gama.

Communications Minister Siphiwe Nyanda
Photograph by: MOHAU MOFOKENG
'Your utterances created the impression that they were intended to benefit Mr Gama'
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The Times has established that Public Protector Thulisile Madonsela sent Nyanda a two-page letter last week in which she told him that he had breached the executive ethics code when he publicly defended Gama after his suspension from Transnet.

Gama was suspended for his involvement in the questionable awarding of a security contract to a company linked to Nyanda.

Madonsela wrote: "Your utterances created the impression that they were intended to benefit Mr Gama."

In September, Nyanda backed Gama, saying he was being persecuted in the same way as President Jacob Zuma had been.

The comments that got him into trouble were: "He is a young man. Very few people are as capable or as suitable as he is. The challenge is that some people out there are really bent on ensuring that he is destroyed.

"What happened to JZ [ Zuma] is happening in this case. People vilify and cast aspersions [on the man ]," Nyanda said.

Transnet fired Gama last month after he was found guilty of irregularly awarding an R18-million contract to a company linked to Nyanda.

The Public Protector's investigation followed a complaint made by the Congress of the People.

The five allegations against Nyanda included that he undertook paid work outside his job as a cabinet minister, benefited improperly from contracts awarded to Abalozi (formerly General Nyanda Risk Advisory Services, or GNS) and that his remarks in defence of Gama were in breach of the executive ethics code.

Madonsela found him guilty of only one offence and described the others as unfounded.

"Because of your position as a cabinet minister, you ought to have been more circumspect when dealing with all the issues pertaining to Mr Gama, given Abalozi's business association with Transnet Freight Rail at the time."

Madonsela said her findings were based on Nyanda's past and current association with Gama through Abalozi Security Risk Advisory Services: "The executive ethics code proscribes this type of conduct."

But Madonsela said that no punitive action would be taken against Nyanda because the findings were not based on "legal opinion but on the investigation carried out by my office".

She will send her report to Zuma.

Nyanda has previously maintained that his comments about Gama were made in the context of transformation in general, particularly in state-owned enterprises because they were critical agents in the delivery of the government's promises to the electorate.

He has denied a friendship with Gama.

Communications spokesman Tiyani Rikhotso yesterday refused to comment.

But, though Nyanda has been acquitted on most of the charges, he might face legal action on a different front.

In recent weeks, his department has been embroiled in controversy that increased at the weekend when he fired his director-general, Mamodupi Mohlala.

Weekend reports say that Mohlala rejected a payout offer of a year's salary of R1.6-million because she believed she was entitled to more.

Following an exchange of letters, Nyanda axed Mohlala on Friday, alleging a "breakdown of trust and confidence".

Mohlala threatened him with court action if he went ahead with his plan to dismiss her. In a confidential letter to Mohlala last week, Nyanda said a breakdown of trust "justified a conclusion that" their "employer-employee relationship" was severely hampered by "incompatibility".


Times Live

Comments by Sonny

Siphiwe Nyanda has been using his position in the ANC to benefit his own pocket!

Then again, all the cronies in the ANC think and act alike!

His DG should be reappointed, above him!!

2014 should herald the end of the ANC in SA politics!

Policeman, former rugby star arrested for mine robbery

Jul 25, 2010 12:58 PM | By Sapa

A policeman, a former rugby player and two other people were arrested after their alleged mission to rob a gold mine plant in Welkom was foiled, Free State police said.

Mine shaft
Photograph by: Sydney Seshibedi


The group allegedly planned to rob gold personnel when leaving the President Steyn Gold Plant where the policeman was to execute an arrest in the process, Sergeant Mmako Mophiring said.

The arrest comes after police received information about the alleged intended crime on Thursday.

The group aged between 20 and 43 were arrested at the plant after they arrived in three vehicles, including a police marked Nissan Tiida, driven by the off-duty officer at the time.

Mophiring said when the four, who included a security official and an unemployed man, were questioned about their activities at the plant they could not give reasonable answers until the policeman confessed.

An unlicensed firearm with a licence that expired in 2003 was confiscated allegedly from the policeman.

The policeman is expected to face charges of corruption, using a state vehicle without consent and possession of an unlicensed firearm.

The other three suspects will face corruption charges when they all appear in the Welkom Magistrates’ Court soon.

Times Live

Comments by Sonny

While some policemen get killed fighting crime, others are committing CRIME!

If the license of the firearm seized expired in 2003, it means the policeman failed to renew his license?

Or was it one of the firearms handed in at the police station by a member of the public who did not want to renew his/her firearm license?

SA editors reject ANC media tribunal proposal

Jul 25, 2010 4:12 PM | By Sapa
Sanef has expressed its "strong rejection" of renewed proposals for a state-appointed tribunal and a growing slate of new legislation that is "hostile" to the free flow of information to South Africans.


Times Live

Comments by Sonny

When its time for Zuma to go ; He doesn't want the PRESS to know!!

Max du Preez dra oud-spioen se kis

Max du Preez dra oud-spioen se kis
2010-07-23 22:49
Artikelopsies Deel Kry Beeld op

’n Skets van John Horak

Foto's · Lesersfoto’s · Nuus in Foto's
Stuur vir ons jou foto's · Stuur vir ons jou foto's

Philip de Bruin
Twee van sy laaste wense voor die dood van mnr. John Horak, oud-mediaspioen, gaan bewaarheid word.

Die oud-koerantredakteur Max du Preez gaan een van die draers op sy begrafnisdiens wees.

Ná sy verassing gaan sy as op die sportvelde van die Hoërskool Diamantveld in Kimberley gestrooi word. Horak het sy skoolopleiding daar ontvang.

Horak (70) het Woensdagmiddag kort ná ’n botsing in Dannweg, Glen Marais, Kempton Park, in die Milpark-hospitaal in Johannesburg weens veral erge breinbeserings gesterf.

Nadat hy as spioen sy dekades lange infiltrasie van die Suid-Afrikaanse media laat vaar het, is hy Londen toe. By sy terugkeer het hy as kantoorbestuurder by die Kempton Parkse prokureursfirma Joubert Scholtz begin werk.

Hy het aan die firma ’n koevert gegee met sy laaste wense wat ná sy dood oopgemaak moes word.

Een daarvan was dat Du Preez ’n draer by sy begrafnis moet wees.

Du Preez het gister bevestig dat hy dit as ’n eer beskou en beslis ’n draer sal wees.

Dr. Gert Horak, John se broer, van die Volle Evangelie-kerk in Bloemfontein sal die roudiens Woensdagmiddag om 14:00 uit die AGS Synnyside op die hoek van Troye- en Kotzestraat lei.

BEELD

Comments by Sonny

Colonel HORAK, Sir, Our man in the Media, we will remember YOU!

Go in peace and greet all our fallen comrades where you are going!

Eulogy

John, You moved in and out of the shadows
Sometimes in awkward places
Sometimes under pressure
Never alone


You were rewarded by your handler
You are now to meet again!
God speed and drive safely!

The chariot awaits your departure!
See you on the other side!

RIP

© Billy Cox 2010

Cele: Our members died for a good cause

July 23 2010 at 07:55PM Get IOL on your
mobile at m.iol.co.za

Misty weather could have caused the helicopter that left seven policemen dead to crash in Witbank on Friday morning, the department of police said.

"At this stage, speculation is that the huge mist within the vicinity of the area might have led to the cause of this accident," said Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa's, spokesman Zweli Mnisi, in a statement.

The chopper, carrying five policemen, a police pilot and a crew member plunged to the ground before bursting into flames in a field near Verena Road, about seven kilometres outside Witbank.

Mthethwa, accompanied by national police commissioner General Bheki Cele visited the accident scene earlier on Friday.

According to Mnisi the policemen, from the national intervention unit, were responding to a robbery at a bakery in Witbank.

"At about 5am an alarm went off at Jabulani bakery. When police arrived at the scene, seven suspects who were robbing the bakery, started opening fire on police," he said.

Two helicopters, carrying members of the National Intervention Unit were then deployed to the incident scene, Mnisi said. One helicopter crashed killing the officers.

Mnisi said all seven suspects were later arrested.

Mthethwa expressed his condolences to the family and friend of the deceased.

"As a police family, we feel deeply robbed of dedicated and committed police officers. These members lost their lives doing what they did best, that is, safeguarding our society against vicious and heartless criminals.

"We shall forever remember their relentless dedication and never forget their invaluable contribution to the fight against crime."

Cele described the horrific accident as "tragic and stomach turning".

"It is an unfortunate situation but our members died for a good cause, ours is to carry the baton forward and win the war declared by criminals," Cele said.

A mortuary van was still on the scene just after 2pm.

Pieces of the chopper, including the engine, were scattered across a field, near a squatter camp, about seven kilometres outside the town.

The entire area had been cordoned off by police tape.

A team of more than 20 forensic pathologists and police officers was on the scene to determine what caused the helicopter to crash.

Chopper manufacturers, Eurocopter said the helicopter was a BK117 B1 model, registered as ZS-HMY with the Manufacturer Serial Number 7033. It was manufactured in 1983.

"The aircraft was powered by two Lycoming LTS-750B engines. The aircraft underwent scheduled maintenance in June this year."

Eurocopter said it had offered full technical assistance to the South African Police Services which is investigating the accident.

The policemen who died in the crash are the pilot, 31-year-old Captain Wikus Zaayman and his crew member, Warrant Officer Thinus Gouws, 39.

The members of the National Intervention Unit are 39-year-old Colonel Teboho Percy Maduna, 37-year-old Warrant Officer Colin Davids, 35-year-old Warrant Officer Dirk Cornelis van Aswegen, 28-year-old Sergeant Jacobus Henning and 31-year-old Sergeant Daniel "Kraai" de Bruin. - Sapa

Saturday Star

Comments by Sonny

We will remember THEM!

Salute!

Addition : 24 July 2010 17:30


BLACK FRIDAY

The call came at the crack of dawn
Robbery and hostage situation in the East
Grab your equipment and meet on the runway
…..”We leave in five minutes!”…..

Like one they mounted their flying machines
To protect serve and engage as warriors
The flight was tense
The encounter unknown

One ship reached its destination without sweat
The other had problems staying on course
The blades were fluttering
The rudders were out of control

Mayday - Mayday was the response from the pilot
Super chopper down!

We mourn their loss
We will never forget THEM!

© Copyright William Ernest Cox 24 July 2010

Ehlers tried to do own surgery

Jul 23, 2010 2:25 PM | By Sapa

Christine Ehlers, a transgender woman claiming she was unfairly dismissed from her company, tried to cut off her own penis when she was five, the Johannesburg Labour Court hears.


Photograph by: AFP
Credit: AFP
I tried cutting off my own penis when I was five-years-old. At the age of five, I didn't know what the problem was, but I knew there was something wrong.

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Ehlers, previously known as Chris, testified she had a “very difficult” childhood and was depressed most of the time.

“I knew there was something wrong with me and I couldn't associate with other people because of my gender.

“I tried cutting off my own penis when I was five-years-old. At the age of five, I didn't know what the problem was, but I knew there was something wrong.”

Ehlers was dismissed from steel company Bohler Uddeholm in Isando, Johannesburg in 2009, where she worked as a sales representative. She claims the company unfairly discriminated against her by dismissing her.

Her psychiatrist and sexologist Dr Bernard Levinson, who diagnosed her with being a transsexual “trapped in the wrong body”, testified earlier that the 43-year-old Ehlers suffered from a “biological syndrome” and was in fact a woman in a male body.

“That is such a strange situation. The fact that she has a penis, that's so bizarre. That doesn't make her a male. What makes her a male is her whole personality. A persona inside that's masculine. She doesn't have that. She has a feminine persona. She is a woman. She is a woman with a disadvantage of having male genitalia that has to be removed, and a vagina has to be created,” said Levinson.

In his 30 years as a sexologist, he had diagnosed and treated over 100 people who suffered from this condition, of which he said one in 2500 people suffered.

“We know that it is a biological thing. They are being born this way. It is not a whim or a ploy, or something that will pass, a phase in their lives.”

He told the court a transsexual person had to be under his observation for two years, functioning completely as a woman, before he could give a surgeon permission to go ahead with the final operation.

“I would like them to dress and function as a woman to know whether they would be able to really manage this. Is this a reality or are we going to play some kind of a sad game?”

He said he was surprised to learn that Ehlers “was masquerading as a male to satisfy her work world, although her boss clearly knew she would inevitably dress as a woman”.

Levinson said Ehlers was a classical transgender patient, who always believed she was a woman.

“Her nursery teacher would tell the class 'all the boys stand against this wall, and all the girls against the other wall', and she would ask: ‘what about me? Where should I stand?'”

He said Ehlers was discriminated against and rejected throughout her life and felt angry and depressed.

She was happy that she was at last going to have the final operation to realise her “life-long dream” of becoming a woman, but fell into a deep depression when she was denied this, because of her dismissal from the company.

Ehlers was dismissed after rejecting an offer to take up a freelance sales position. The post was offered to her in an attempt to separate her from other staff at the company, to resolve bitter squabbles in the sales department.

Ehlers had laid a grievance against a sales clerk, Natasha Alves, 22, after Alves had sent her an sms reading: “I will never have respect for a low class woman wannaB”, after Ehlers apparently parked her in.

She later laid a grievance against Alves' mother and superior at the company, Fatima Lage, after an argument they had. She accused Lage of calling her “immoral”.

She was dismissed after the second grievance.


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Waterkloof Four prosecutor for Reitz case
Police helicopter crash bodies removed
Ehlers tried to do own surgery
'Darth Vader' robs bank


Times Live

Comments by Sonny

Dangerous lady with a blade!

Black Friday for SAPF

A Black Friday for police – General Cele
Barry Bateman | 29 Minutes Ago


Shocked National Police Commissioner General Bheki Cele has said it is a Black Friday for the police, following a helicopter crash which killed seven police members on board.

The chopper accident happened on Friday morning in Emalahleni (formerly Witbank).

“It’s a really Black Friday for us since joining the organisation. I don’t think I’ve had such an encounter. It’s really devastating (and) a painful situation. I personally know them all too,” Cele said.

It was a very emotional moment for the General. He said the families had been notified but he intended to personally go and visit them all.

It is understood that the two pilots and five national intervention unit members were on their way to a hostage drama in Emalahleni.

Another chopper that was part of the formation made it to the local police station. Those officers went on to arrest seven suspects, unaware that their colleagues had been killed.

A forensic unit was on the scene gathering evidence to piece together what happened.

Cele did not want to describe what he saw at the scene of the crash.

Eyewitnesses who arrived first found the bodies of the seven officers among the burning debris scattered over the field.

Cele said they were all receiving counselling.

According to Cele the pilot joined the police from the national defence force two years ago and has clocked more than 3000 hours flying.

The helicopter he was piloting had a service in June and recently had an engine overhaul in America.

The general said there was also heavy mist in the area at the time but could not say whether it played a role in the crash.

(Edited by Deshnee Subramany)

EWN

July 23 2010 at 03:04PM Get IOL on your
mobile at m.iol.co.za

The bodies of the police officers killed in a helicopter crash near Witbank in Mpumalanga were removed from the wreckage on Friday afternoon.

A mortuary van was still on the scene just after 2pm.

Pieces of the chopper, including the engine, were scattered across a field, near a squatter camp, about seven kilometres outside the town. The entire area had been cordoned off by police tape.

A team of more than 20 forensic pathologists and police officers was on the scene to determine what caused the helicopter to crash.

It was carrying five policemen, a pilot and a crew member, when it plunged to the ground before bursting into flames around 9am on Friday.

Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa, accompanied by national police commissioner General Bheki Cele, visited the scene earlier in the day.

The helicopter, one of two carring national intervention unit members, was en route to a shooting in Witbank, according to national police spokeswoman Sally de Beer. - Sapax

IOL News

Picture IOL News

Police helicopter crash kills seven
Jul 23, 2010 11:16 AM | By Sapa
A police helicopter carrying seven people crashed outside Witbank, the police department says.

SAPS helicopter. File Picture
Photograph by: EUGENE COETZEE
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"It was a police helicopter with members of the National Intervention Unit," Minister Nathi Mthethwa's spokesman Zweli Mnisi said.

According to ER24 paramedics, the accident occurred around 9am in a field near Verena Road in Clarinet, where the chopper was found burnt beyond recognition, spokesman Werner Vermaak said.

Mnisi said Mthethwa, accompanied by national police commissioner General Bheki Cele, arrived at the crash site just before 11am.

"The minister and general have just arrived on the scene, they are there to determine what caused the crash."

Times Live

Comments by Sonny

Our broken hearts go out to all the families and friends of the deceased members of the SAPF who laid down their lives today fighting crime in SA.

WE WILL REMEMBER THEM!

Be like Mandela, Zuma implores

2010-07-18 18:11

Print article Email article

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Mvezo - President Jacob Zuma on Sunday called on South Africans to unify by drawing lessons from former president Nelson Mandela's legacy.

"One of the lessons that we must draw from the Mandela legacy is that we must work together to entrench unity and solidarity in our country," Zuma told thousands of people who attended Mandela's birthday celebrations at Mvezo Royal Palace in the Eastern Cape.

He said the spirit of unity displayed during the World Cup showed that unity between people of different races was possible.

During the FIFA World Cup South Africans were united and they worked together to achieve one goal.

"We urge a continuation of this spirit of African unity, love and friendship."

Zuma thanked all South Africans who dedicated 67 minutes to improve the lives of others in honour of Mandela's 92nd birthday.

- SAPA

News24.Com

Comments by Sonny

Mr President, please lead by example, we'll follow you, Sir!

KZN farm attackers took nothing

2010-07-22 07:24



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Bongani Hans, The Witness

Pietermaritzburg - Three people were brutally murdered and left in pools of blood in what is believed to have been a well-planned attack on a farm in Mooi River in the KwaZulu-Natal midlands on Wednesday night.

The attackers murdered a 58-year-old farmer’s wife and a 65-year-old worker, stabbing them and slitting their throats. A third victim, a 34-year-old domestic worker, was shot several times in her employers’ kitchen.

The horrific attack happened at Sherwood Farm on the Corrington road outside Mooi River town at about 20:00.

It seems that the attackers started by distracting the farm owner.

Fire

Police spokesperson Colonel Jay Naicker said they set a grass fire on the farm and waited for the farmer to leave the house to put out the blaze.

“The farmer went to put out the fire while his wife went to collect an employee to help. On their way to the fire, they [the wife and the labourer] were confronted by two men,” said Naicker.

The motive for the attack remains sketchy. Naicker said the attackers did not take anything from the farm.

“After the attack the men just ran away on foot,” he said.

He said police officers, with the police dog unit, were still searching for the attackers late on Wednesday night.

A paramedic with the Mooi River-based Nsele Emergency Service, Fritz Erasmus, said the wife’s body was found in a garage, the labourer’s body was outside the kitchen door while the domestic worker’s body was in the kitchen.

“There is plenty of blood at the scene and everybody is distraught,” said Erasmus.

A police officer, who arrived at the farm about an hour after the attack, described the scene as “nothing nice to look at”.

“I’m seeing very traumatised family members and friends. It is a very sad scene,” he said.

Netcare911 spokesperson Jeffrey Wicks said the three victims died before the paramedics arrived at the scene.

Farmers tried to barricade roads

A farmer who declined to be named said a group of local farmers tried to barricade about 15 roads with the aim of catching the suspects. He said about 100 people went to the scene.

“It is a brutal murder. That is what happened here.

“We came out in numbers to barricade the network of roads, including district and dirt roads,” said the farmer.

The KwaZulu-Natal Agricultural Union (Kwanalu) expressed shock at the attack. Its security desk manager, Koos Marais, said he believes the attackers had gone to the farm to rob it, but were distracted.

He said that since the beginning of the year there have been 18 farm attacks and three murders, excluding last night’s incident.

He added that the farmer whose wife was killed is a respected member of the union.

“Kwanalu calls on the government to take drastic action to halt the senseless killings of our nation’s food producers. Kwanalu wishes to express its condolences to the family [of the farmer’s wife] and families of the staff,” Marais said.


- The Witness

News24.Com

Comments by Sonny

A hit or disturbed?

Who are these savages and what's their game?