First Thandikhaya Shweni, 24, lost his job, then he lost an eye in police fire during a service delivery protest.

Cape Town - Four years ago an Eastern Cape man moved to Cape Town in search of a better life. But it didn’t work. First he lost his job, then he lost an eye in police fire during a service delivery protest.

Thandikhaya Shweni spoke to the Cape Argus about life on the streets.

At 20 his life in rural Mthatha was bleak, he said. His parents were dead. He lived in a mud house with four siblings and there was little money for food and school fees.

In Grade 9 he dropped out to pursue a life his older brother promised would be better, a life in Cape Town.

Moving in with his brother in Philippi, he got a job as a petrol attendant earning R550 a week. After getting a security certificate, he got a part-time job as a night guard at a factory in Westridge. There he earned R2 500 a month. “My life started looking better. It felt good to be independent and to have my own place to stay,” he said.

But now Shweni, 24, lives in a shack at Sweet Home Farm, in Philippi. Outside his door is a pool of “stinking” water. “It's always there, whether it's raining or not,” he said.

Shweni shares a toilet about 2km away from his place with other people. He has been unemployed for eight months after his security guard contract wasn’t renewed.

In July he was shot in the eye during a violent protest by residents of Sweet Home Farm. A Golden Arrow bus driver was killed and the bus and traffic lights were set alight.

Shweni spent a week at Groote Schuur Hospital. “I told the doctors to take my eye out if that’s best. I just wanted the pain to stop.” He was fitted with a temporary rubber eye. He has a case against the police that’s still pending.

Shweni admits protesting and damaging property is not helping the community, but he doesn’t see any other way to put pressure on government.

“Nothing has changed since the protests started, people are left with little choice. This place is my home now… Electricity and toilets will make it better for us here,” he said.

Shweni’s brothers now take care of his food and basic needs. “I am looking for a job and it’s going to be harder with one eye. I can’t work as a security now,” he said, adding that he was thinking of going back to the Eastern Cape.

Cape Argus

The Western Cape sees more violent service delivery protests than most other provinces.

Cape Town - The Western Cape is seeing more violent service delivery protests than most other provinces. For the first time in five years, the province has had more protests than Gauteng.

While Gauteng’s protests have dramatically decreased this year, the Western Cape is leading the trend in violent protests.

There were more than 200 protests in SA between January and August.

Reasons include unhappiness with municipal services like water and electricity. But other issues like land and housing are also major factors.

These are the findings of the Multi-level Government Initiative’s Service Delivery Protest Barometer.

The protest barometer initiative is based within UWC’s Community Law Centre.

Researchers on Wednesday outlined their latest findings.

In the first eight months the Western Cape had 51 protests to Gauteng’s 30.

Violent protests include rocks hurled at motorists or tyres burned to block roads.

Jaap de Visser, who heads the initiative, said it was not clear why the numbers were rising in the Western Cape while dropping in Gauteng.

“Gauteng could be getting something right, or the media there is not writing that much about the protests.

“In the Western Cape it could be linked to the stand-off between the DA and the ANCYL… or because there is progress, but people don’t see that progress where they want to see it.”

Nico Steytler, the director of UWC’s community law centre, said the reasons for protests often changed.

The unhappiness might have started with housing. But when it was not resolved, people became frustrated.

“Housing is no longer the issue, it’s now: ‘You are ignoring us’. The lack of response then triggers another cycle of protests.” Steytler said local government was often the target. For instance, there were no protests against the provincial government when there were low matric pass rates. “Local government is the closest to the people.”

Derek Powell, a senior researcher with the initiative, said it was important not to draw “large conclusions” based on the findings.

Powell said more research needed to be done linking issues like unemployment to protests. The initiative would also track a municipality’s audit outcomes to see whether this had any impact on the number of protests.

“We should be prudent and cautious about speculation on these issues.”

Powell said the initiative wanted to study the triggers and warning signs of protest violence.

The city stressed that the spate of recent protests in Cape Town were politically motivated. Since July protests have caused R14 million worth of damage.

Solly Malatsi, spokesman for mayor Patricia de Lille, said there was a “clear political motive” from the ANCYL who “threatened on numerous occasions” to make the city and province “ungovernable”. “It is essential to differentiate between genuine service delivery protests by communities calling for additional services and politically orchestrated protests that are initiated by a political minority to advance their political agenda.”

Malatsi said this was also a finding in the Municipal IQ. The city’s own customer satisfaction survey showed the majority of residents were satisfied with municipal services. He said the city also provided a wide range of free services.

The ANC in Cape Town said the increase in protests spoke of the frustration of residents whose complaints were falling on deaf ears.

Tony Ehrenreich, the leader of the ANC in the city council, said the number of protests were climbing because people were becoming more frustrated.

“People believe their demands are not being taken seriously. There is a sense that their needs are not at the top of the list. The experience is that the actual delivery takes place in the wealthy areas and the promises of delivery happen in the poor areas.”

Ehrenreich said although other provinces did have the funds to address all service delivery problems, they were at least committing money to solve them.

“In the Western Cape there is significant under-expenditure in relation to people’s needs.”

bronwynne.jooste@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

Protesters turned up at court to support fraud accused Arthur Brown, but several said they didn't know who he was.

Cape Town - About 50 protesters turned up to support fraud accused Arthur Brown outside court on Wednesday, but several said that they didn’t know who he was and that they had been paid to protest.

One Mitchells Plain man said he was part of a group who had been “randomly selected off the streets” to take part.

He said that they were “obviously” not willing to do it for free and that they had been paid “a fee”, but he would not say how much or by whom.

He then pointed out former Fidentia employee Mogamad Salie, saying he would have more information because he had helped organise the protest.

Salie denied any knowledge of protesters being paid.

“Most of these people are investors or they worked for Fidentia,” he said. “I was a delivery driver.”

The protesters gathered outside the Western Cape High Court on Wednesday for what was to be the start of Brown’s criminal trial.

But Judge President John Hlophe postponed the case to November 6 because the judge to whom the trial had been allocated, Judge Daniel Dlodlo, had previously handled a matter involving Brown.

As Brown left the courthouse, another of the protesters – who confirmed he, too, was being paid to be there – asked whether Brown was “the man this is about”.

He said that none of the protesters knew what they were protesting about or who Brown was. They brandished posters, some of which read: “Brown is innocent”, “Curator is a crook”, “Curator stole my money” and “Fraud Services Board”, referring to the Financial Services Board (FSB), which placed Fidentia under curatorship in 2007.

One of the protesters also handed out four-page, colour-printed comic booklets to people coming to the court.

The contents of the booklet, titled The Tale of the Two Curators, appeared to mock the board and Fidentia curators Dines Gihwala and George Papadakis.

Among the protesters were former SA Nylon Spinners employees. One, Woodrow Christian, who said some of the workers had invested money in Fidentia through the Antheru Beleggings Trust.

“We received payouts from 2004 to 2007, but we haven’t got anything since,” said Christian. He believed Brown was innocent.

Approached inside the court after the proceedings, Brown said that he did not know anything about a protest outside because he had arrived at the court early.

After he left the courthouse, he addressed the media, saying it felt “good” to have supporters.

“These people aren’t wrong to blame the curators for losses [of Fidentia money],” said Brown.

He said he had filed criminal complaints against the curators about such losses.

Eric Ntabazalila, regional spokesman for the National Prosecuting Authority, could not confirm whether charges had been laid against Gihwala and Papadakis.

Brown faces nine criminal charges: four counts of fraud, one of money laundering and two each of corruption and theft. His case has been on the court roll for two years.

When he last appeared in court in August, Judge Hlophe warned Brown his R1 million bail would be forfeited if he was not ready to proceed with the trial.

Speaking after court proceedings on Wednesday, Brown’s attorney, June Marks, said they were ready to go to trial.

leila.samodien@inl.co.za

Cape Times

President Jacob Zuma has received some welcome backing, albeit from an unlikely source.

Cape Town - President Jacob Zuma, facing public fire over Nkandla, strikes, a faltering economy and the jostling for position within the ANC, has received some welcome backing, albeit from an unlikely source - former DA leader Tony Leon.

The retired ambassador to Argentina addressed the Cape Town Press Club on Wednesday and touched on a number of matters, from the Marikana tragedy to Zuma’s presidency.

Comparing Zuma with Thabo Mbeki, with whom Leon had a frosty relationship as leader of the opposition in Parliament, he described the current president as “far more affable” than Mbeki. On Zuma’s stewardship, Leon said people needed to understand that Zuma did not promise to be a visionary leader with an individual agenda, but would take direction from his party, the ANC.

He said Zuma was not necessarily at fault for some of the problems the country and ANC were facing today.

Leon pointed to similarities between Argentina and SA and part of his speech was about how he saw events taking place in SA from overseas: “I have spent much of the past three years thinking deeply about the considerable similarities - both have resource-rich economies of the same size ($400 billion), both have a geo-strategic location on either side of the South Atlantic.

“Both have overcome oppressive and authoritarian governments and have been replaced with democratically elected governments, both of which have populist elements and a tendency to centralise power.”

Leon said that compared with the rest of the world, there were several advantages that only SA has: mineral pre-eminence, unique tourism diversity, the beauty of the land and economic sophistication, the geo-strategic location between rising Asia and South America, and the extraordinary example of its negotiated constitutional settlement.

On the constitution, he said: “It is no holy grail, [it is] simply a set of arrangements and rules of the road for the neverending journey towards democracy”.

He added that with elections where the majority party gets more than 60 percent of the vote, constitutional caution should be encouraged.

“Sometimes the finer detail and often the motivating spirit of the constitutions are ignored for the simple reason that they can be. More competitive politics will obviously change behaviour and that too is a task for the opposition forces in both places to address.”

Leon said SA was a country of light and darkness, this being exemplified by the 2010 World Cup and, lately, the Marikana shootings: “[SA] has limitless potential to achieve the best, but also has the complexity of our socio-economic reality. In the real world we have to deal with both.”

On his future, Leon said he was not looking to go back into party politics or seeking a leadership position. But he was still a supporter of the DA and what it stood for. He said his membership probably lapsed since he had been away.

sibusiso.nkomo@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

The deadly gang war being waged across Cape Town is being driven by internal battles for control, gang experts say.

Cape Town - The deadly gang wars being waged across the city are being driven by internal battles for control, rebuilding, re-arming and reclaiming territories, gang experts say.

At stake for competing gangs is the prospect of gaining a bigger share of the Cape’s lucrative drug trade, and, for leaders and their rivals, the prestige and wealth that goes with it.

Suburbs like Hanover Park, Lavender Hill, Bishop Lavis and Elsies River have been caught in the grip of one of the most vicious gang wars in years, with

children often being caught in the crossfire.

There are an estimated 100 000 gangsters in the Western Cape, with the majority operating in poor communities on the Cape Flats.

Criminologists say the Mongrels gang is involved in an internal war for control, with one faction wanting to shift activities into legitimate businesses like owning taxis.

The Hard Livings are reclaiming their space in Manenberg and are squaring up for a battle with the Americans.

The Americans and the Mongrels are also at war with each other over drug turf.

The Mongrels are using smaller gangs to fight their internal battles, but also increasingly younger gangsters are gunning for leadership positions.

The smaller gangs are often groups of youths who aspire to belong to the bigger gangs. They usually start out as “runners” for the gangs. Now however, in some areas, they are being armed by both camps in the Mongrels to aid the factions’ firepower.

The Hard Livings gang, based in Manenberg, has been rebuilding and re-arming itself after virtually going to ground for a few years.

A number of Hard Livings gang leaders have applied to be paroled from jail and if this were to happen, there would be an internal power struggle for control of the once-feared gang.

A swathe was cut through the once-powerful gang when many of their leaders, including Rashied Staggie, were imprisoned.

The Americans took over the area but now as the Hard Livings return to prominence, there is a fight brewing between them to control the area.

Now, with some leaders already out on parole and others like Staggie awaiting the results of their aplications, the two gangs are holding back on a full-scale war.

Eldred De Klerk, a policing specialist, said leadership change, amalgamation and splintering in gangs were some of the big reasons for the ongoing war. “There is a change in leadership and it is more than just about passing the torch. The fight in the Mongrels is about what the gang is going to look like.”

According to De Klerk, it is a classic fight. On the one hand is the current leadership wanting to maintain the status quo, on the other is a new brand of leadership that wants to legitimise the gang’s operations, increasing their footprint in businesses like taxis.

The fight is playing itself out on the streets of Hanover Park and Lavender Hill. Young boys who loiter on the streets and who have formed “pavement gangs” are being armed.

Calls by the provincial government to the Presidency to deploy the army have been denied. Police provincial head Arno Lamoer says the police are capable of dealing with the violence and their wide-ranging strategy is starting to pay off.

Lavender Hill has been quiet for weeks following an increase in police activity in the area.

Lamoer says 50 percent of the crimes in the province are recorded at 23 stations, many of them in places like Steenberg, Lavender Hill, Grassy Park and Mitchells Plain, where gang and drug activity is common.

Part of Operation Combat is to identify the gangsters, build up their profile and conduct search-and-seizure operations.

The plan includes retraining police officers to deal with a range of incidents and for the force to be cleaned up.

Last year, 87 officers were arrested for corrupt activities and crimes like selling drugs to gangsters and participating in armed robberies. Of these, 20 have been dismissed.

Cape Argus

A larger police contingent is needed in crime-stricken areas of Cape Town, the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) said.

Cape Town -

A larger police contingent is needed in crime-stricken areas of Cape Town, the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) said on Thursday.

Spokesman Velaphi Ndlovu said not a day went by without a housebreaking or fatal stabbing in Khayelitsha and the Cape Flats.

Residents feared for their children's safety, and even answering a cellphone call in public carried the risk of the phone being stolen.

“The Minister of Police Nathi Mthethwa must send more police officers into these areas. The residents have now lost all faith in the police and there seems to be no solution in sight.”

The IFP called on residents to play their part by reporting criminals to police and working closely with community policing forums.

It also called for residents to receive and carry whistles, to “inform others if there is a crime taking place”.

Mthethwa's spokesman Zweli Mnisi was not immediately available to comment. - Sapa

A statement by the widow of deceased acting judge Patrick Maqubela was admissable evidence against her, the Western Cape High Court ruled.

Cape Town - A statement made to the police by the widow of deceased acting judge Patrick Maqubela was admissable evidence against her, the Western Cape High Court ruled on Thursday.

Thandi Maqubela and her business partner, Vela Mabena, have pleaded not guilty to a charge of murdering the judge in June, 2009.

Prosecutors Bonnie Currie-Gamwo and Pedro van Wyk allege that the judge was suffocated by means of a piece of plastic cling-wrap over his face.

The two accused deny this, and claim that the judge died from a heart attack. The trial this week developed into a trial-within-a-trial.

Marius Broeksma, for Maqubela, contested the validity of the sworn statement that Maqubela made to investigating officer, Captain Etienne van Ede.

Broeksma contended that Maqubela ought to have been considered a suspect in the murder of her husband at the time she made the statement.

For this reason, she ought to have been warned of her constitutional right to remain silent.

The court found the investigation started as an inquest into the judge's death, with no foul play suspected.

The statement was made during the inquest investigation, when Maqubela was considered an inquest witness and not a suspect in a criminal investigation.

Maqubela ought to have been warned of her right to remain silent, in terms of the Judges' Rules, but the failure to do so did not violate her constitutional rights, nor did it constitute an unfair trial, the court concluded.

In the statement, Maqubela told of arrangements she had made with her husband to go together to the Eastern Cape where they were building a home.

They had arranged to meet at the Cape Town International Airport, but he did not arrive as planned.

She said she was unable to reach him by cellphone, and she then boarded a plane to Johannesburg to visit her father instead.

She returned to East London the next day.

In the Eastern Cape, she was still unable to contact her husband, and she eventually phoned a friend in Cape Town, who went to Maqubela's apartment.

The friend reported to her that her husband's body was found in the apartment.

Maqubela declined to testify in the trial-within-a-trial, and both teams had only closed their cases in the trial-within-a trial.

The trial itself will continue on Tuesday next week, when the State is expected to lead further testimony. - Sapa

Tourism Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk launched the annual Blue Flag Season initiative at Grotto Beach in the Western Cape.

Johannesburg -

Tourism Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk launched the annual Blue Flag Season initiative at Grotto Beach in the Western Cape on Thursday.

He said Blue Flag beaches were becoming the beach of choice for holiday makers.

“As the number of Blue Flag beaches increases in South Africa, domestic visitors are increasingly exercising their choices in which beaches they visit.”

Ministerial spokeswoman Melene Rossouw said Grotto Beach was one of those awarded Blue Flag status this year.

This was its 11th flag since the initiative was introduced in the country 12 years ago.

The initiative, which began in Europe in 1987, encourages beaches and marina to comply with the European Union's Bathing Water Directive.

It monitors water quality, environmental education and information, management, safety and services.

Over 40 countries were currently participating in the programme, with a total of 3489 beaches and marinas awarded the Blue Flag status in 2012.

Rossouw said South Africa had 36 beaches and marina being monitored for the initiative, and four of them were awarded full flag status this year.

The tourism ministry was pleased with the progress the country was making in attracting visitors to the beaches.

“Travel receipts increased in the second quarter of 2012, rising by R5 billion to R83.5 billion,” Rossouw said.

“Tourist arrivals to our country increased by an overall 10.5 percent year-on-year during the first quarter and overseas arrivals increased by nearly 18 percent.” - Sapa

At least eight trucks were attacked and set alight in Cape Town.

Western Cape -

At least eight trucks were attacked and set alight in Cape Town on Thursday, police said.

In Bellville, two truck drivers were slightly injured when they jumped out of their burning trucks.

“Reports indicate that they were sitting inside the trucks when unknown suspects threw unidentified objects into their vehicles, which set the vehicles on fire,” said Captain FC Van Wyk.

A PicknPay truck was set alight in Strandfontein.

The driver and a passenger were sitting in the vehicle after stopping to repair a puncture.

Three men ordered them to get out of the vehicle, which was then stoned and set alight.

“The three men fled towards Muizenberg in a cream Toyota sedan, registration number is unknown,” said Van Wyk.

A bread delivery truck was also set alight in Philippi. The driver ran away from the scene.

Four passengers were injured when their truck was attacked and set alight in Athlone.

In Strand, a petrol-bomb was thrown into a truck transporting toilet paper.

In Gugulethu, a group of people threw stones at a truck and then set it alight. The driver escaped unharmed.

No one was arrested and separate cases of arson, public violence and malicious damaged to property were being investigated.

“There is a possibility that the violence is related to the truck drivers' strike.”

Van Wyk said five “prominent” SA Transport and Allied Workers' Union leaders had been arrested for convening an illegal meeting.

“They were arrested for convening a gathering for which no notice was given at Borchards Quarry, Nyanga. They will appear in the Philippi Magistrate's Court soon,” he said. - Sapa

Popcru has welcomed the reward offered for information about the murder of metro police officer Senior Superintendent Mpumelelo Hubert Xakekile.

Cape Town - The police must speed up their investigations into the murder of Western Cape metro police officer Senior Superintendent Mpumelelo Hubert Xakekile and arrest his killers, Popcru said on Thursday.

“We also welcome a cash reward of R50 000 offered by Mayor Patricia De Lille for information which could help in the police's investigations,” said the Police and Prison Civil Rights Union's (Popcru) Western Cape secretary Mncedisi Mbolekwa.

He said union members were shocked at the killing of Xakekile, 50, who was shot dead by two men while issuing a fine to a taxi driver at 6.30pm on Wednesday. He had been a metro police officer for 10 years.

The union conveyed its condolences to Xakekile's family and colleagues. - Sapa

A body found in a freezer at Senator Park has been identified as being that of a woman.

Cape Town - A body found in a freezer at Senator Park earlier this month has been identified as that of a woman.

The police confirmed that an autopsy had been done on Thursday.

The body was found in a freezer on the fifth floor of the notorious block of flats in central Cape Town on October 3.

“According to the pathologist report, the deceased is an unknown female,” said police spokesperson Captain FC van Wyk.

He said police would try to find out more about her through possible medical history records.

The discovery of the body shocked the owner of the flat and the building manager who said that the incident was a sad reminder of what Senator Park used to be like.

Senator Park, previously known as a hotbed for drugs, crime and prostitution, is now undergoing a multimillion-rand upgrade.

Van Wyk said no further information would be released as the police investigation into the matter continued.

yolisa.tswanya@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

A young Cape Town woman has died on the eve of her 21st birthday on the N2 highway.

Cape Town - A young Cape Town woman has died on the eve of her 21st birthday on the N2 highway.

Just two hours after a metro policeman was murdered on the N2 near Khayelitsha, Siobhan Natasha Smit died barely 10km away.

Smit had been travelling near Somerset West with fellow passengers at around 8.30pm on Wednesday night.

Police spokesman FC van Wyk said their car had broken down and Smit and another person had stepped out of their car to try to find the problem.

But as they did so, a white bakkie had ploughed into them.

Smit died on the scene and her fellow passenger was taken to hospital.

Smit, from Gordon’s Bay, had been due to celebrate her 21st birthday on Friday and died on the scene.

“Police are investigating a culpable homicide case. No arrest has been made as yet,” Van Wyk reported.

Cape Argus

Thirty-four trucks have been torched in Cape Town since the start of the transport workers’ strike three weeks ago.

Cape Town - Thirty-four trucks have been torched in Cape Town since the start of the transport workers’ strike three weeks ago, say city authorities.

At least eight trucks were attacked and set alight in Cape Town on Thursday.

Five truck drivers were admitted to GF Jooste Hospital and were being treated for burn injuries on Thursday night.

Western Cape Health Department deputy communications director Mark van der Heever confirmed the five drivers were admitted on Thursday.

“Five truck drivers were taken to GF Jooste and two of them are on ventilators, the one sustained 40 percent burns and the second 60 percent burns to their bodies, Van der Heever said.

Patrick Thapile, a truck driver who works for a toilet paper company, whose truck was stoned and burnt in Philippi on Thursday, said he was terrified of going back to work.

“From what I could see, it was like 50 men that came running towards our truck and started to throw stones and we were lucky we got away. When I came back to check on the truck it was on fire,” Thapile said.

A 59-year-old and a 51-year-old driver sustained minor injuries as they jumped out of their trucks to avoid being attacked, while Pick n Pay drivers ran towards the ocean after their truck was pelted with stones on Baden Powell Drive near Strandfontein. In Gugulethu, a truck driver and his assistant escape injury after being stoned.

City fire and rescue services spokesperson Theo Layne said a total of 34 trucks had been torched since the strike began on September 24.

Police spokesperson Captain FC van Wyk confirmed Thursday’s incidents and for the first time linked the attacks to the strike.

“The motives of the violence could possibly be related to the strike.”

Van Wyk said cases of arson, malicious damage to property and public violence have been opened and requested that anyone with information contact crime stop on 086000111.

* On Friday, the Road Freight Employers Association said all four unions were set to sign a three-year wage deal to end the countrywide truck driver strike.

The agreement would be signed at 10am on Friday. Details of the deal would be made public after the signing.

yolisa.tswanya@inl.co.za

Cape Argus, Sapa

The brother of slain metro cop Mphumelelo Xakekile is “heartbroken and saddened” by the death of his “loving” sibling.

Cape Town - The brother of slain metro police officer Mphumelelo Xakekile is “heartbroken and saddened” by the death of his “loving” sibling.

Mkhululi Xakekile, 43, told the Cape Argus on Thursday that his brother was “dedicated” to his work.

“He loved his work… it’s a good send-off for him that he died doing what he is most passionate about - his work,” he said.

Xakekile, 50, was gunned down and killed on Wednesday night after he stopped a minibus taxi on the N2 near Khayelitsha to issue a fine.

The taxi driver told police two men came running from the bushes nearby.

One had elbowed him while the other started shooting.

Xakekile, the father of a teenage girl, was shot in the arm and chest. He died at the scene.

Family members and friends gathered at his home in Khayelitsha on Thursday to express their condolences. Mkhululi said his mother was still in “shock and too distraught” to speak to the media.

Mkhululi described his older brother, the eldest of five siblings, as a man who had “a strong character”.

Mayor Patricia de Lille has offered a R50 000 reward to anyone with information that could lead to the arrest of the gunmen who killed Xakekile, a senior superintendent.

Police have asked anyone with information to call Crime Stop at 08600 10111 or Captain Arte Bavuma at 082 469 1532.

nontando.mposo@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

A Milnerton man recovered his R65 000 custom built mountain bike through an ad posted on Gumtree the same day it was stolen.

Cape Town - A Milnerton man recovered his R65 000 custom-built Santa Cruz mountain bike through an advertisement posted on Gumtree the same day it was stolen.

John Wilkinson had only had the bike for four days when it was stolen from his garage last Thursday.

On the same evening, the bike was listed anonymously on Gumtree as an urgent sale.

Wilkinson contacted a friend, Waleed Baker, who is also the founder of Pitstop, to help him recover the bike.

The frame of the bike was imported from the US and had to be assembled according to Wilkinson’s specifications.

It took six weeks to assemble and cost Wilkinson R65 000 to import the frame and acquire the other parts.

“I arranged to respond to the Gumtree advertisement and the person made contact with Waleed and me.

The guy arrived at Pitstop and I waited in the office while Waleed spoke to him. I went out and identified the bike. We told the guy he was in possession of stolen property.”

Baker took the bike and the man drove off.

Milnerton police are investigating a case of possession of stolen property and are still trying to track down the man who placed the Gumtree ad.

Cape Times

The family of the Cape Town doctor jailed in the Middle East is “delighted” at his being granted bail.

Cape Town - The family of the Cape Town doctor jailed in the Middle East is “delighted” at his being granted bail on Thursday.

Emeritus Associate Professor Cyril Karabus, 77, was granted bail in an Abu Dhabi court on Thursday after his fifth application.

His son, Michael, said from Cape Town: “We’re delighted, it’s fantastic news.”

He explained: “My father was granted bail subject to surrender of his passport, which was confiscated when he was originally arrested, and the payment of R240 000 to the court, which will be held as bond.

“We transferred the money today, but it will take 36-48 hours to reflect in our attorneys’ account there. As soon as it has, they will present it to the court and we hope my father will be released on the same day.” He hoped this would be Sunday.

His father, a specialist paediatric oncologist, will have been behind bars for nine weeks since his arrest on charges of culpable homicide, relating to the death of a girl he had treated for leukemia in 2002 while working in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.

“He will be free to move around within the UAE and we have arranged accommodation for him.”

The family was also delighted with further orders of the court - specifically that the hospital had to give Karabus’s lawyers access to the original patient’s file.

The court also ordered that an independent medical tribunal be established to review the file.

“All the evidence that we need is in that file, so we’re very happy that the judge has decided that the file is relevant to the case,” Karabus said.

Their lawyers would now push for the medical investigation to take place as soon as possible, hopefully before his father’s next court appearance on November 20.

Cape Argus

A man was jailed for life for raping a young woman in Mossel Bay, Western Cape police said.

Mossel Bay - A man was jailed for life for raping a young woman in Mossel Bay, Western Cape police said on Friday.

The Mossel Bay Regional Court handed down the sentence to Sibusiso Ntekiso, 31, on Thursday, for the rape in Kwanonqaba last year, Captain Bernadine Steyn said.

He was also sentenced for crimes committed against an 11-year-old girl last September. The man was given 10 years for robbery, 10 years for attempted murder, one year for sexual assault and three months for assault, which would run concurrently with the life sentence.

In August 2011, Ntekiso robbed a woman, 26, of her cellphone and bank card before leading her to the bushes with a knife. He stabbed her several times in the head, stomach, buttocks, back, legs, and arm.

“(He) raped her, after which he left the scene. He returned after a while to make sure that she was dead and left again,” Steyn said.

The woman managed to crawl to a street where a security guard found her. She made a full recovery.

The following month, he approached a girl and her younger brother who were walking across a soccer field. He took her to the bushes where a struggle ensued. He hit her head against a wall and sexually assaulted her. Her brother called for help and Ntekiso was arrested the same evening.

Steyn said she was happy with the sentence.

“We hope that it will send out a strong message to sex offenders that their freedom will be short-lived.” - Sapa

The SAPS is accusing the metro police of searching the wrong home and not correctly completing statements for search warrants.

Cape Town - The tension between SAPS and the city’s metro police is escalating.

The SAPS have now accused the metro police of searching the wrong home and not correctly completing statements for search warrants.

But the city said it was “dishonest” of the SAPS to say it was withdrawing from a joint operation because of this single instance.

It questioned why the entire operation could not continue since much of it did not hinge on search warrants.

This week, the Cape Argus reported SAPS decision to withdraw from the operation with the metro police in the Nyanga cluster. It was labelled Operation Sisonke and covered areas including Nyanga, Athlone and Gugulethu. General Jeremy Veary, the head of the Nyanga cluster, withdrew SAPS from the operation in July.

SAPS on Thursday held a press conference about the operation and its “perceived withdrawal”.

General Peter Jacobs, the deputy provincial commissioner for visible policing, explained that the issuing of warrants followed strict regulations under law. Jacobs said skirting any of these could result in the searches being questioned in court.

He said SAPS had been alerted that some of the searches in Operation Sisonke were “not meeting the tests” required by law.

In one instance, the metro police had provided information which lead to officers searching the wrong home.

Jacobs explained that procedures needed to be followed when obtaining warrants. This week, Veary told the Cape Argus that law enforcement officers should approach a magistrate during the day.

After hours, a standby magistrate can issue warrants. If this magistrate is not available, only a commissioned police officer can sign off.

Jacobs said they found that the metro police operations were not adhering to all of these conditions.

However, he said SAPS still had a good working relationship with the city. He added that “by-law enforcement” was key in a crime prevention strategy. Jacobs referred to suspected gangsters altering council-owned homes, adding that the city law enforcement was the first line of defence in such cases.

Hishaam Mohamed, provincial Justice Department head, said all law enforcement officers needed to comply with the laws: “No one should be too enthusiastic to cut corners in law enforcement… [some] feel the laws are tedious, but this is in protection of social liberties.”

JP Smith, mayoral committee member for safety and security, said the operation had been yielding results in some of Cape Town’s most dangerous areas. He said the current situation was an attempt by some police officers to “drive a wedge between SAPS and the metro police”.

Smith said the metro police approached magistrates for warrants, but in some cases would ask SAPS to assist. And the city continued to have good co-operation with most SAPS stations. He said the police’s latest statements were trying to “justify” Veary’s “inexplicable behaviour” by withdrawing from the operation.

bronwynne.jooste@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

“So many unnatural deaths, which means that there was foul play in one way or the other, and yet there have been no consequences”.

Cape Town - MP’s have called for the Judicial Inspectorate for Correctional Services to be given teeth amid complaints that there have been no consequences for the 146 reported cases of unnatural deaths in prison since 2009.

“So many unnatural deaths, which means that there was foul play in one way or the other, and yet there have been no consequences,” chairman of Parliament’s correctional services oversight committee Vincent Smith remarked during hearings on the inspectorate’s annual report yesterday.

The report noted that 48 cases of unnatural death had been recorded for the 2011/12 reporting period, of which 12 were classified as homicides, 20 as suicides and in 16 cases no cause could be attributed because autopsies had not been done by the provincial health departments.

“I think what we are asking is, do you just report it to the [correctional services] department? Why isn’t it reported to SAPS, or whoever else,” Smith asked.

Inspecting Judge of Prisons Vuka Tshabalala responded that it was the fault of the legislation under which the inspectorate operates.

His CEO, Adam Carelse, elaborated: “Section 90 of the Correctional Services Act is clear on what the powers, functions and duties are of the judicial inspectorate and of the inspecting judge, and the act is very clear that we can only inspect, investigate, monitor and report.”

But Smith was not satisfied, saying:

“Because if you are expected to provide a service and if the tools of the trade restrict you from providing that service, then we would expect you to at least say so, so that we can advance that argument. You should be saying if you want us to do our work, as the lawmakers, we implore you to change the legislation.”

Political Bureau

The Western Cape High Court has scheduled a third pre-trial conference in the Bronx murder case.

Cape Town -

The Western Cape High Court scheduled a third pre-trial conference in the Bronx murder case on Friday.

The conference was set down for October 26 after it emerged in court that one of the four accused, Achmat Toffa, who was previously represented by attorney William Booth, no longer had legal representation.

Judge John Hlophe reminded Toffa that he had a constitutional right to legal representation, and that he could apply to the legal aid authorities for free representation.

State advocate Carine Theunissen told the court Booth had withdrawn, as Toffa could no longer afford privately funded representation.

Toffa's co-accused are John Frederick Coetzee, 36, Fareez Allie, 29, and Kurt Erispe, 35.

They are accused of strangling Bruno Bronn, owner of The Bronx, a gay night club in Cape Town.

Bronn, 49, was found dead on the floor of his home on Ocean View Drive in Sea Point with his hands tied in front of him on February 7. He also had marks on his neck.

Toffa was released on R15 000 bail on August 15, but was taken back into custody when police found him parked outside the Maitland home of a State witness on September 8. He was also in possession of an unlicensed firearm. - Sapa