“Enough is enough. The bucket toilets are the DA’s way of bringing back apartheid.”

Cape Town - A police escort carrying Premier Helen Zille and guests was targeted on Tuesday by protesters, who flung buckets of human waste at the convoy as it left an official event in Khayelitsha.

The “110 percent green” event was hosted at an indoor hall in Harare.

After the event, Zille was whisked out the back door by police to a waiting car.

But protesters were quick and managed to empty buckets of raw sewage on every vehicle in the convoy, including the vehicle carrying Zille, as well as a bus that had earlier ferried people to the event.

Police fired stun grenades to disperse the protesters and two people were arrested during the commotion.

“Two people, aged 23 and 26, from Khayelitsha, have been arrested for public violence,” said police spokesman Colonel Tembinkosi Kinana. “They are due to appear in the Khayelitsha Magistrate’s Court (on Wednesday).”

The protest came after ANC Youth League members emptied five portaloos full of human waste on the steps outside the provincial legislature in Wale Street on Monday.

Zille was in Khayelitsha to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the launch of the Western Cape government’s “green” campaign. The initiative supports organisations promoting green businesses such as community gardens and creating jobs in their communities.

The event was attended by owners of local “green” businesses, whose cars were also smeared with faeces.

About an hour into the event, protesters started singing Struggle songs outside the main entrance. Some of them rolled out blankets and emptied portaloos full of sewage on the blankets.

Protesters carried placards reading: “Zille must not come here with a legacy of apartheid in our ward 98. Can you relieve yourself in a bucket as a human being?”

Former ANC councillor and suspended youth league member Andile Lili, who was among the protesters, said Zille was carrying out the legacy of apartheid.

“Enough is enough. The bucket toilets are the DA’s way of bringing back apartheid,” Lili charged.

“It’s inspired by what was established by their forefathers. We want to show the whole world that the city is not providing services to black people. We will continue to embarrass her (Zille) until such a time that there are no more bucket systems.”

Zak Mbhele, Zille’s spokesman, said on Tuesday that legal charges would be filed against all ANCYL members who spilled faeces and urine outside the legislature’s main entrance on Monday.

ANC proportional councillor and youth league member Loyiso Nkohla said Zille was “taking black people for fools” if she expected them to carry on using “dehumanising open-air toilets”.

“She (Zille) expects our people to relieve themselves in front of their children,” Nkohla said.

“Imagine how embarrassing it must be for a woman to sit on a porta-loo? She will send the police to arrest us but we are ready and will fight the racist madam.”

Mbhele said “the boorish behaviour of a rabble-rousing minority” would not deter the premier from attending events in the township.

“These incidents are an exact, if somewhat odorous, reflection of the state of the ANC Youth League and its leadership in the Western Cape: in deep doo-doo,” he said.

Regional ANCYL chairman Khaya Yozi said he was not aware of the involvement of any of its members.

“We approve and give notice ahead of any programmes. When we are embarking on a programme, we call media and all media houses and let them know about a protest or march. We did not organise this,” he said.

Meanwhile, Cape Town mayor Patricia de Lille and the city’s mayoral committee member for utility services, Ernest Sonnenberg, are expected to brief the media on the city’s rollout of the portable flush toilets on Wednesday.

nontando.mposo@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

Mayor Patricia de Lille was again forced to leave the stage of a public meeting but she has a stern message for the ANCYL.

Cape Town - Mayor Patricia de Lille was again forced to leave the stage of a public meeting on Tuesday night, this time in Samora Machel.

A week ago, a crowd shouted her off the stage during a similar meeting in Philippi.

De Lille was whisked away in the back of a police Nyala shortly before 8pm on Tuesday after the angry crowd in the Weltevreden Community Hall in Kosovo started stacking chairs while singing Struggle songs.

The Weltevreden Valley residents refused to let anyone speak after the MC announced ward councillor Nico Mzalisi was not present.

Last week, De Lille was to speak to Philippi residents in a school hall, but they started singing and stacked chairs when their councillor too failed to arrive.

The meetings are part of a series organised by the City of Cape Town in a campaign to “know your community, know your contractor”, against a background of intensifying service delivery protests.

De Lille’s spokesman, Solly Malatsi, described the meeting as “round two”, following last week’s chaos.

“The councillor was invited and his name is even on the mayor’s prepared speech – she was going to acknowledge him,” he said.

When residents heard Mzalisi would not be present they began singing. Metro police filed in and stood at the front of the hall, and minutes later De Lille was whisked away.

She said she would continue her meetings, adding: “We will not be deterred by the ANC Youth League in trying to build a more caring city… we have already sent out the message by sending out pamphlets in the communities.”

She said the meetings were not political, but meant for community engagement.

The next one is to be held in the Luyolo Community Hall in Gugulethu on Thursday.

Cape Argus

MYCiTi bus drivers are fuming after having their pay docked despite not participating in the three-week bus driver strike last month.

Cape Town - MYCiTi bus drivers are fuming after having their pay docked despite not participating in the three-week bus driver strike last month.

The City of Cape Town suspended the MyCiTi service for two weeks last month out of fear for the safety of its drivers and to protect the buses from potential damage.

Speaking on behalf of several bus drivers on Tuesday, a MyCiTi driver, who asked not to be named, said their pay had been docked after they had been told the service had been suspended during the strike.

“There are a lot of things that are wrong here.

“We didn’t say we don’t want to work and join the strike, but they still took out money.”

The driver said he was paid only R2 000 for May, instead of his normal R6 000 salary.

The MyCiTi bus drivers operate under the companies Kidrogen and Transpeninsula, companies created by taxi associations on the West Coast after the MyCiTi service was introduced.

Antoine Smith, lawyer and consultant for Kidrogen, said the salaries had been cut because “the MyCiTi drivers decided that their lives were in danger if they continued to work”.

“Once they failed to commence their duties, they became part of the national strike, and the city was forced to suspend the service,” Smith said.

* Meanwhile, as of July 1, the MyCiTi tariff between the Cape Town Civic Centre and Table view will rise from R10.60 to R11.50 and the fare for a trip on an area service from R5.30 to R5.80. The airport shuttle fare will go from R57 to R62 for adults and from R28.10 to R30.30 for children aged four to 11.

Monthly tickets for the airport shuttle will rise from R449.50 to R484.60, while a myconnect card will now cost R25. Children under four years and shorter than 1m still travel free.

yolisa.tswanya@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

Capetonians can expect a slight reprieve from the rain over the next two days. But don't pack away the wellies yet.

Cape Town - Capetonians can expect a slight reprieve from the rain over the next two days. But don’t pack away the wellies and brollies yet, another cold front is expected to make landfall at the weekend.

On Tuesday, disaster risk management teams continued mop-up operations after heavy weekend downpours left thousands homeless.

Charlotte Powell, of the city’s disaster risk management team, said a weather advisory indicated rough seas, 7m swells and very cold temperatures, but no rain for the rest of the week.

Powell said the advisory expected very cold conditions on the western high ground of the Western Cape with snowfalls in some parts. She said teams were called out to parts of Mitchells Plain, Sir Lowry’s Pass Village and Khayelitsha on Tuesday to assist with mop-up operations.

Weather office forecaster Stella Make said no rain was expected for the rest of week, but warned of showers on Saturday when a cold front was expected to move in.

Meanwhile, provincial disaster risk management teams were dispatched to Wupperthal on the West Coast where flooded low water bridges were obstructing access to the small residential area, said the province’s disaster management chief director Colin Diener.

Rescuers headed to the town after they battled to get information and the area was cut off, he said.

In the Swartland, 15 people were displaced in Chatsworth. While snow was expected in parts of the province, conditions were not as devastating as last year’s storms, Diener said.

Snow fell on the western high ground of the province at the weekend. In Sutherland, the Verlantenkloof Pass from Matjiesfontein was closed and several vehicles were stuck in the snow, including a group of bikers who had cruised into town on a joyride.

By midday on Tuesday, an officer at the Sutherland police station confirmed that the pass was opened and that those who had been “stuck” in town were able to leave.

Denise du Plessis, at the Sutherland Hotel, said there was still no power by lunchtime on Tuesday and that the local OK Minimart was the only business with a generator. “It’s so cold and so cloudy,” she said.

Du Plessis said that while some of the bikers had ventured off early on Tuesday, many of them chose to stay in the hotel.

The situation had “normalised” in the Cape Winelands district municipality, and there were no incidents reported in the Overberg, Eden and Central Karoo district municipalities, said authorities.

natasha.prince@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

The State rejected an accused's guilty plea for the rape of Anene Booysen because it would have implied a lesser sentence, according to the NPA.

Cape Town - The State rejected an accused's guilty plea for the rape of slain teenager Anene Booysen because it would have implied a lesser sentence, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said on Wednesday.

Western Cape NPA spokesman Eric Ntabazalila said they asked Johannes Kana, 21, to plead to Booysen's rape and murder on Monday to limit the issues in dispute at a later stage.

Kana pleaded guilty to the rape, but not to the murder.

“In the case of Kana, his guilty plea did not correspond with the evidence available to the State,” Ntabazalila said.

“In respect of the rape charge he describes circumstances which only warrant a minimum sentence of 10 years imprisonment and not the circumstances as contained in the docket, which warrants a minimum sentence of life imprisonment.”

In Kana's plea, he admitted to leaving a Bredasdorp pub with Booysen and later assaulting her by kicking her and hitting her with his fists. He then raped her.

Ntabazalila said Kana did not say where or how he raped the 17-year-old.

“It is clear from the plea explanation offered in respect of the rape charge that he denies inflicting the extensive genital injuries on the deceased which caused her intestines to protrude from her genital area and ultimately, caused her death.

“He therefore denies that he murdered her.”

The State alleges that Kana unlawfully and deliberately sexually penetrated Booysen with his penis or with another object not known to the State, between February 1 and 2 this year, near Kleinbegin, Bredasdorp.

Kana then allegedly used his hand or another object to disembowel her, which resulted in her death at Tygerberg Hospital on Saturday, February 2.

The matter would now go to trial and the State would use Kana's admissions as evidence against him.

“This will shorten the trial because the focus of the trial will be on proving the exact circumstances of the rape and the remaining murder charge,” Ntabazalila said.

The case was postponed until July 9 for provincial public prosecutions director Rodney de Kock to decide whether the trial should be held in the regional court or the Western Cape High Court.

Two weeks ago the State dropped charges against Kana's co-accused, 22-year-old Jonathan Davids. At the time, Ntabazalila said an investigation had revealed there was insufficient evidence to secure a conviction.

“We understand the sense of shock and outrage that was induced by the incident. However, as the prosecution, we can only prosecute successfully on sufficient evidence,” he said.

Before she died, Booysen said from her hospital bed that five or six men were involved in the attack. She mentioned the name “Zwai”, which was both the nickname of Davids and another man said to live in Zwelitsha. - Sapa

The trial of a taxi driver and his guard who allegedly went on a rape and robbery rampage across Cape Town has been delayed.

Cape Town - The trial of a taxi driver and his guard, who allegedly went on a rape and robbery rampage across Cape Town six years ago, has been delayed because one of their lawyers failed to show up in court.

The State was expected to lead evidence against Tony Myburgh and Peter Andrews on Tuesday but the case could not go ahead because Andrews’s lawyer, Tashriq Ahmed, was not in court.

The men made a brief appearance before Cape Town Regional Court magistrate Lulumile Mdoda on Tuesday.

Prosecutor Merle Engelbrecht told the court the State was ready to proceed with the case but could not get hold of Ahmed. She had not received any messages from him.

State witness Andrew Davidson, who was expected to testify about video footage of an ATM at which a victim was robbed, was in court on Tuesday.

Mdoda told the men that the case could not go ahead without Andrews’s lawyer.

Myburgh’s lawyer, Andre Kirsten, said he too was not sure why Ahmed was not in court. “We don’t know what is going on. It could be an emergency and he is in hospital or he could be on the side of the road with a broken car,” Kirsten said.

The men are on trial in connection with 20 counts of rape and attempted rape and robbery involving nine women and a man during June 2007.

It is alleged that the taxi was in motion when the robberies took place, but parked in secluded spots when the alleged rapes took place.

Myburgh and Andrews have pleaded not guilty to all the charges.

They were arrested on June 25, 2007 and have been in custody ever since.

The men are due back in court next Tuesday, when the trial is expected to continue.

Cape Argus

Elizabeth Bosman passed her two children through a small window and ran for her life as smoke filled her room.

Cape Town - “I thought as long as my children were safe I can die.”

This went through a mother’s head as she was forced to hand her baby and small child through a small window on the first floor of Salt River’s Locomotive Hotel to save them from approaching flames in an alleged arson attack.

Police spokesman FC van Wyk said on Tuesday they were searching for Cameron Dimitri Dias, 21, of Kensington, suspected of the arson.

“It is alleged that after a heated argument between a couple staying at the Locomotive Hotel on Monday, the boyfriend went to the room and set it alight. The fire damaged seven rooms, and left 30 adults and five children homeless,” he said.

Van Wyk said Dias fled and remains at large. “The circumstances are under investigation. A case of arson is being investigated,” he said.

Elizabeth Bosman said she was asleep with her five-month-old and four-year-old sons when she heard banging on her door and neighbours alerting her to the fire after 11pm.

“I was so scared, I grabbed my children, but there was so much smoke so we couldn’t go down the stairs,” she said.

Bosman has lived in the building, one of Salt River’s oldest, on the corner of Albert Road and Durham Avenue for several years.

She said the only way to ensure the safety of her children was to pass them through a small window from the first floor to community members below.

“One of my neighbours told me to put my children out the window so they can catch them. I thought as long as my children were safe I can die, then I just put a wet cloth over my face and ran,” she said.

“We lost most of our things, but I’m glad no one got hurt.”

Another resident, Brian Randall, said the building manager had offered to give them their R2 000 deposit immediately, but they were required to look for their own alternative accommodation.

On Tuesday, charred items were being carried from the building as some who had lost most of their belongings just sat on the pavement.

When the Cape Times approached the owner, who identified himself as Steven Jones, he said he was distressed by the incident, but would comment to the media only on Wednesday.

Fire and Rescue spokesman Theo Layne said:

“Everyone inside the building at the time of the fire was evacuated and no injuries were reported. The building was declared unsafe as there was extensive damage to the roof and first floor.”

Layne said authorities were investigating the fire.

Police have urged anyone who may know the identity and whereabouts of the man in the image on the right, or have information about the incident to contact Constable Donovan Petersen at Woodstock police station on 021 486 2863 or CrimeStop anonymously at 08600 10111 or SMS Crime Line on 32211.

Cape Times

The case against four men accused of killing a Cape Town woman was postponed yet again due to a backlog at the state’s forensic labs.

Cape Town - The case against four men accused of killing a Saldanha Bay mother with a panga has been postponed yet again due to a backlog of cases at the state forensic laboratories.

Marlon van Wyk, 25, Sharif Padayachee, 22, Ricardo Williams, 23, and Jerome Januarie, 28, appeared briefly in the Vredenburg Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday.

The men are accused of murdering Sinodia Schutt, 32, on February 26 by smashing her jaw and slashing her several times with a panga.

They also appeared on a second charge of racketeering, while Van Wyk and Januarie face a third charge of possessing an illegal substance - tik.

On Tuesday, prosecutor Eben van Tonder said forensic tests from DNA found on the clothing of the accused were still outstanding, but that these had been prioritised.

He requested a final postponement.

The men were previously denied bail.

Magistrate Martie Wilson postponed the case to July 30 for further investigation.

Meanwhile outside the court, Rene van Wyk, the mother of one of the accused, listened as the four men shouted from holding cells for her to forgive them.

“Aunty please forgive us.”

The mother, who works with troubled children with drug addictions, said she had forgiven them.

“Obviously I have forgiven them. I don’t know why they are asking me for forgiveness,” she said. “They are children who always came to me for help with their drug addiction. There are several tik awareness projects that I am involved in.”

She added that she thought the men wanted to apologise because her son had also been arrested.

“He was always a tik addict, but he has never committed a violent act before.”

natasha.bezuidenhout@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

The ANC Youth League says throwing faeces at somebody is not something it stands for.

Cape Town - The ANC Youth League in the Western Cape says it is “disgusted” by the faeces flung at Premier Helen Zille’s convoy on Tuesday, as well as the dumping of human waste on the steps of the provincial legislature’s earlier this week.

A police escort carrying Zille and guests was targeted on Tuesday by protesters, who flung buckets of human waste at the convoy as it left an official event in Khayelitsha on Tuesday.

After the event, Zille was whisked out the back door by police.

But protesters managed to empty buckets of raw sewage on every vehicle in the convoy, including the vehicle carrying Zille, as well as a bus that had earlier ferried people to the event.

Police fired stun grenades to disperse the protesters and two people were arrested during the commotion.

On Wednesday, the ANCYL held a press conference to make its stance clear and shortly beforehand, Khaya Yozi, the Ancyl’s provincial elections co-ordinator and also the chairman of the Ancyl’s Dullah Omar region, told the Cape Argus: “We believe the attacks were disgusting.

“This was not a co-ordinated programme by the ANC Youth League.

“We recognise that there were members of ours who may have been involved, but we say it is unacceptable.

“While they are members of this organisation they are bound by its principles and values, which command how you conduct yourself as an individual too.

“Our values include respect and good morals. Throwing faeces at somebody is not something the ANC Youth League stands for.”

Yozi said the league members involved would face disciplinary action and the league in the province would also seek guidance from the national ANC on the matter.

“We will ensure that such things never happen again,” Yozi declared.

Earlier on Wednesday, Zille’s spokesman also challenged the allegations made around toilets on Tuesday.

Her spokesman, Zak Mbhele said: “The City has been rolling out portable flush toilets, to eradicate the last of the bucket systems.

“These are proper flush toilets in every respect, except that the sewage is flushed not into a mains system underground, goes into a sealed container at the bottom of the unit. These are serviced by the City three times a week.”

These were in addition to residents’ legally-prescribed access to built flush toilets - household-to-toilet ratios which were set according to national government guidelines.

Mbhele said it was “part of the ANC Youth League’s ungovernability campaign to claim that this is a roll-out of the bucket system - when it is exactly the opposite”.

“The portable flush toilets specifically aim to eradicate the bucket system,” Mbhele said.

Mayor Patricia de Lille also held a press conference on Wednesday to challenge allegations around toilets. In a statement, she said: “There have been a number of claims around the standard of sanitation provided in the City. Many of these lack historical context, are inaccurate and betray a lack of technical understanding of the nature and scale of the services provided.

“The population of Cape Town has grown by close to 30 percent over the last 10 years, the second highest growth rate in South Africa. Despite this, the City continues to provide the highest level of sanitation in the country with 97.2 percent of all residents having access to sanitation.

“This is due to sustained and large-scale investments in sanitation services in informal settlements. These include massively increased sanitation investment in sewage infrastructure which rose from R51 million in the 2006/7 financial year, to R130 million in the 2011/12 financial year.”

De Lille said the number of toilets in informal settlements had “more than doubled from 10 591 to over 35 000 over the same period”.

“The percentage of households with access to sanitation on a 1:5 ratio has increased from 47.1 percent to 88.2 percent between 2006 and 2012,” she said.

Cape Argus

Getting the right train to work is going to become harder in Cape Town as MetroRail has had to take five train sets out of service.

Cape Town - Getting the right train to work is going to become harder as MetroRail has had to take five train sets out of service for replacement, service and repair.

Regional manager Mthuthuzeli Swartz said that five train-sets have been removed from service until further notice to restore what he termed “a measure of predictability” to the region’s train service.

“We need 88 train sets to operate our 688 daily trains,” he said. “As a rule we have three to five spare sets to press into service to maintain our timetable and replace defective in-service sets.”

But now, without the required number of spare sets, Metrorail is forced to cancel trains in service once these break down or require routine maintenance that cannot be performed after hours.

“The loss of 10 carriages during the past year to fire impacts on our ability to service our timetable. These are yet to be returned as fully functional refurbished units.”

Railway line maintenance had been affected by water seepage in certain badly drained areas, while delays were being experienced in the Nyanga to Philippi sections where sewerage was being “dispensed” onto rail tracks by informal communities.

Other problems affecting the commuter rail service were power outages in the Lentegeur, Bonteheuwel and Langa, delays attributable to goods trains, trees blowing over or livestock being struck by goods trains have recently caused delays.

Customers can check daily changes at www.gometro.co.za

The following trains will not operate until further notice:

South

#0105 (5.42am CT – Fish Hoek)

#0117 (6.43am CT – Fish Hoek)

#0128 (6.55am Fish Hoek – CT)

#0140 (7.40am Fish Hoek – CT)

#0502 (5.52am Retreat – CT)

North

#2510 (6.20am Kraaifontein – CT)

#2503 (5.45am CT – Kraaifontein)

#2512 (6.20am Kraaifontein – CT)

Central

#9406 (6.10am Khayelitsha – CT)

#9308 (6.30am Khayelitsha – CT)

#9981 (7.38pm CT – Chris Hani)

Cape Argus

The family of a South African couple held captive by kidnappers in Yemen are devastated by the lack of updates.

Cape Town - The family of a South African couple held captive by kidnappers in Yemen are devastated by the lack of updates from the Middle Eastern country.

It has been nearly a week since Pierre and Yolande Korkie of Bloemfontein were kidnapped in the city of Taiz.

Today family spokesman Michael Venter said they were none the wiser about the captors’ identity, the reason for the kidnapping or the conditions in which they were being held. Suggestions in the Yemeni press last week that the couple were involved in a land dispute relating to the development of a hotel were met with bemusement by the Korkie’s relatives in Port Elizabeth.

“Pierre has been teaching English in Yemen for three years. His wife was not employed in the country. The family has no knowledge of any involvement in construction developments or land issues in Yemen,” said Venter.

Department of International Relations and Co-operation’s spokesman Nelson Kgwete said the department was in daily contact with Yemini authories, but was dependent on Yemeni to secure the release of the Korkies.

“We do not have a diplomatic mission in Yemen and are working through our ambassador in Saudi Arabia (Mogamat Jaffer),” Kgwete said. It is understood Jaffer is not in Yemen but communicating with Yemeni authorities from Saudi Arabia. This means South Africa has no personnel working on the kidnapping in Yemen.

The Cape Argus approached the Institute for Security Studies for comment, but Monique de Graaff, programme administrator for the Transnational Threats and International Crime Division, said it could not give meaningful analysis without knowledge of the kidnappers’ identity and motivation.

The Korkies were teachers in Bloemfontein.

One former pupil, Olympian Ryk Neethling, expressed concern on his Twitter feed on Monday.

Cape Argus

Cape Town mayor Patricia de Lille says the ANCYL are "thugs" from whom the ANC mother body has distanced itself.

 Cape Town - The City of Cape Town will not be distracted from delivering sanitation services by "thugs" within the ANCYL, mayor Patricia de Lille said on Wednesday.

 "The ANCYL are a lot of thugs. They've got no credibility whatsoever. Who do they represent? Even the ANC mother body has distanced themselves from the ANCYL. You can't take them seriously," she told reporters in Cape Town.

 She said the latest generation of ANC Youth League members were not around during the struggle for freedom, yet wanted to stop the city from engaging with communities.

 "I am not bothered by the ANCYL. We will continue to do our meetings and continue to engage the communities."

 A group of people disrupted a public meeting in Kosovo, Philippi on Tuesday night, resulting in De Lille having to abandon her speech.

 Her spokesman Solly Malatsi said at the time that a man dressed in ANCYL attire started shouting and causing a disturbance just as De Lille was about to address the meeting.

 "This is clearly part of their ongoing ungovernability campaign," he said.

 The meeting formed part of the city's "Know your community, know your contractor campaign", which aimed to help bring contractors to account for sanitation and solid waste services in the area.

 De Lille said she had six more meetings scheduled until the end of July.

 ANCYL regional secretary Mfuzo Zenzile denied that it was involved.

 "If any individuals have broken any laws, they must be brought to book. If their behaviour is in conflict with the ANCYL position, we will also bring those to the disciplinary committee," he said.

 Zenzile said De Lille's comment about thugs was unwarranted.

 "The ANCYL has been there for many years, even before her. It's generations which keep on revolving. It was founded in 1944 and comrades before us and after us know the values."

 The ANCYL was also accused of throwing human waste at cars and a bus on which Western Cape premier Helen Zille and others had travelled to a green economy event on Tuesday afternoon.

 Western Cape police said two men had been arrested for public violence in connection with the incident.

 National Prosecuting Authority provincial spokesman Eric Ntabazalila said Bongile Zanazo, 23, appeared in the Khayelitsha Magistrate's Court on Wednesday.

 He was granted R500 bail and his case was postponed until July 5 for further investigation.

 Ntabazalila said charges were dropped against the second man, because there was no evidence linking him to the crime.

 The ANCYL also denied involvement in this, and the dumping of human waste on the steps of the Western Cape legislature by two men on Monday.

 At the time, ANC councillor and ANCYL member Loyiso Nkohla, and former ANC councillor and banned league member Andile Lili told The Cape Argus it was a "warning" of things to come.

 "We will return with thousands of these bucket toilets next week and empty them around the legislature building," Lili was quoted as saying.

 "We were ready to be arrested, and will die for this."

 Zenzile said on Wednesday that the ANCYL was still investigating the involvement of these individuals, and had heard that they may also have been involved in the throwing of faeces at Zille's bus.

 Regional ANC chairman Xolani Sotashe condemned the "attacks" and demonstrations. He also distanced the ANC, ANCYL and any connected party from them.

 "The act of pouring faeces on the steps of Parliament denigrates the institution of Parliament itself as a democratic institution of the people, and whilst we agree that the treatment, by the Democratic Alliance government, of the people living in townships is appalling, we distance ourselves from these acts of vandalism.

 "This is clearly a community action in response to the ongoing portable toilet protests, and not an ANC plot as claimed by media publications and the DA," he said. - Sapa

A Stellenbosch property developer gave an environmental officer R500 as a token of goodwill, a Cape Town court heard.

Cape Town - An environment official was told that the money a Stellenbosch property developer gave him was not a bribe, but a token of goodwill, a Cape Town court heard on Wednesday.

Luxolo Kula was testifying in the trial of Asrin Properties' director Shiraz Hassan in the Bellville Specialised Commercial Crime Court.

He told the court Hassan gave him the money during a meeting at a Cape Town coffee shop last April.

“I immediately informed Hassan that I could not accept it,” he said.

“(Hassan) insisted that I keep it and urged me to consider it a token of goodwill, and not as a bribe.”

Hassan has pleaded not guilty to a charge of corruption.

Kula told the court Asrin Properties was busy with a development outside Stellenbosch. Asrin had taken over the project from another developer.

He said the processing of an application filed by Hassan to amend the original environmental authorisation was delayed because it went to the wrong section in the department as a result of an incorrect signature.

Kula was appointed as case officer responsible for resolving the problem.

At the coffee shop, Hassan complained about the delay and allegedly told Kula he would look after him if he expedited the matter. Kula said he ignored the remark.

However, as he was gathering his papers and files afterwards, he found a small transparent bag of money containing R500 in R100 notes.

At Hassan's insistence, he took the money, but reported the incident to his supervisor, who was shocked, and went to one of the department's directors. The director called the police and photocopied the banknotes. Kula made an affidavit about what had happened.

Asked by prosecutor Xolile Jonas what he thought when he was given the money, Kula answered: “I considered it inappropriate and said I could not accept it.”

Asked what his reaction would be if Hassan denied the incident, Kula said: “When I lifted the files to leave, and saw the plastic container with money in it, I said I could not take money and he said I must not take it as a bribe, but as his gesture of goodwill.”

The case continues on October 4. - Sapa

“This is the last kick of a dying horse. We are not here to please them (ANCYL). They are out of touch with society.”

Cape Town - The leadership of the ANC Youth League in the metro are a bunch of “attention seekers out of touch with society” seeking relevance in the toilet war targeted at Premier Helen Zille, says former ANC councillor and suspended youth league member Andile Lili.

This comes after the league’s Dullah Omar (metro) region distanced itself from the portaloo protests on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, a police escort carrying Zille and guests was targeted by protesters, who flung buckets of human waste at the convoy as it left an official event in Khayelitsha. This came a day after protesters, led by Lili and ANC councillor and league member Loyiso Nkohla, emptied five portaloos full of faeces on the steps of the provincial legislature on Wale Street.

On Wednesday, regional ANCYL chairman Khaya Yozi said an internal probe would determine which members were involved in the protests, and those found guilty would face disciplinary action.

“This was not a programme of the ANC Youth League… as members of the league they are bound and guided by the ANCYL constitution. ANCYL members do have a responsibility to act in an exemplary manner.”

Yozi added that Lili was 37 years old and had graduated from the ANCYL.

“Lili was acting in his personal capacity. He is not a member of the league anymore.”

In response, Lili said the league was “speaking without any understanding of what is going on on the ground”.

“This is the last kick of a dying horse. We are not here to please them (ANCYL). They are out of touch with society, this is why informal settlements are coming to us for help.”

Nkohla vowed to continue with the “faeces war” on Zille.

“Their investigation is not going to stop me representing the people when they call on me for help,” he said.

“The people have a genuine concern and we will continue until Zille stops this racist approach when it comes to black people. The portaloo toilets are no better than the open-air toilets. They flush but the waste does not go down a drain, it stays in your shack causing a stink.”

Zak Mbhele, Zille’s spokesman, said legal advice had been sought on filing charges against the protesters.

Two people were arrested and charged with public violence during the protest in Harare on Tuesday.

Bongile Zanazo, 23, was granted bail on Wednesday and is due back in court on July 5. The second suspect was released because of a lack of evidence, said the NPA’s Eric Ntabazalila

* Cosatu has offered to mediate for an end to the “toilet war” between residents and the provincial government. “There are also significant health risks with this kind of protest action. We understand the frustration of the people but do not believe this is the best way to resolve problems,” said provincial secretary Tony Ehrenreich.

Cape Argus

Away from the sewage-flinging protesters, for many citizens of Cape Town portaloos have been an everyday reality for a long time.

Cape Town - Away from the sewage-flinging protesters, for many citizens of Cape Town portaloos have been an everyday reality for a long time and not a tool meant for making a political statement.

Portaloo toilets are two white buckets placed one on top of the other. The top bucket has a hole that acts as a toilet seat and the bottom holds the sewage.

Between the buckets is a lever for flushing. Before pulling the lever water needs to be poured in the bottom section first.

Noliyema Hlela, of Nkanini in Khayelitsha, has been using a portaloo for the past three years.

She leaves their portaloo outside for sanitary reasons and because there is no room for it in their two-room shack.

“How do I put it inside the house, when someone who is in the kitchen can see and smell it?”

She tries to not use it during the day lest someone sees her, so she mostly uses it at night.

“Sometimes at night my four-year-old child needs to go to the toilet because of diarrhoea. We are not happy with these things, but we don’t have a choice.”

A neighbour, Phatiswa Hlelingane, said she was happy with the toilets and that they served their purpose.

“They help me because my children don’t have to dig holes to relieve themselves and they are clean,” she said.

Hlelingane explained that the sewage was collected three times a week by the city and that diminished the odour.

Cape Argus

The City of Cape Town will no longer clean toilets in at least four areas where staff have been attacked.

Cape Town - The City of Cape Town will no longer clean toilets in at least four informal settlements – Kanana and Barcelona in Gugulethu, and Kosovo and Block 6 in Philippi - areas where council staff have recently been attacked and intimidated.

On Wednesday, Mayor Patricia de Lille said they could not send staff into areas in which violence had been continuously threatened against them.

“It would be irresponsible to do so. As long as threats of intimidation and violence against city staff and community members are ongoing, we cannot service the toilets in these areas.”

Seven city officials were attacked with pangas and bricks and at least two council vehicles were damaged, said mayco member for utility services Ernest Sonnenberg, and more have been threatened.

But the Social Justice Coalition’s Gavin Silber said the city still had an obligation to provide these essential services: “You can’t collectively punish a community for the actions of a few.”

He said the city should rather look at providing protection for council staff going into troubled areas instead of withholding services: “This will only antagonise people further; it won’t lead to a solution.”

But Sonnenberg said: “ We cannot compromise the lives of our staff. Regrettably, until such time as we are confident our staff members are safe, we will be reluctant to let them enter violent areas. Our policing resources are already overstretched, we need community co-operation. We hope the protesters will reconsider their violent behaviour…”

When pressed to explain the city’s zero tolerance approach, De Lille said: “What can we do? City officials were stoned. They burnt out a city truck. What more can we do? I wish someone would give me advice.”

She acknowledged that “community dynamics” and “political influences” had an impact on the provision of services, and said she would not be deterred by a group of “thugs” incited by the ANC Youth League.

De Lille has been forced to abandon two public meetings – one in Philippi last week and one in Kosovo on Tuesday night – after she was prevented from speaking. In both cases it was the same group from the ANCYL, she said.

Premier Helen Zille had sewage thrown at her convoy of vehicles earlier this week, and the contents of portaloos were spilled on the steps of the provincial legislature.

These high-profile protests come after reports last month of residents in Europe (informal area) being threatened for helping officials who came to service their toilets.

The city was forced to do the cleaning because it’s service provider, Sannicare, was locked in a labour dispute with former employees. Six city officials involved in this maintenance were attacked and a council vehicle was set alight in Kanana. A city official was injured when a brick hit him on the head while he was driving through Boystown.

Speaking at a press conference about the city’s service delivery, De Lille said Cape Town provided the highest level of sanitation in the country, with 97.2 percent of all residents having access to a toilet of some kind. The number of toilets in informal settlements has more than doubled to over 35 000. Cape Town was also the only municipality to introduce janitorial services to monitor the maintenance of toilet services.

Furthermore, the bucket system has almost been eradicated, with the city servicing only about 600 known bucket toilets.

More than 13 000 portable flush toilets have been given to these households as an alternative to the 25-litre bucket toilet. These self-contained units were serviced three times a week, and provided “the same privacy, dignity and safety” as a normal flush toilet, De Lille said.

However, not all residents are keen to switch to the portable flush toilet. De Lille referred to a list of refusals that had been recorded by field workers in parts of Boystown and KTC.

In most cases, people indicated that they preferred to use the outside flush toilet, while one resident said it was “pointless going from one bucket system to another”.

De Lille said: “We cannot force people to accept our assistance. If we continue to receive resistance to our efforts in a community, the city will be obliged to move our focus to areas where the initiatives are welcomed.”

The mayor called on the Human Rights Commission to intervene and explain the benefits of the portable flush toilets, as access to a toilet was a “human rights issue”.

Meanwhile, she said she would continue to engage with communities about services in their area as part of her “know your contractor” campaign.

“I am not bothered by the ANCYL. I have not changed my itinerary and I will continue to have meetings. I will show up the ANCYL for what they are.”

The mayor will meet with residents from Kanana, Kosovo and Barcelona on Thursday night in Gugulethu.

Cape Argus

Norman Pudney, also known as Puddles the Clown, has won a defamation case against the editor and publisher of FHM.

Cape Town - Norman Pudney is not clowning around when it comes to his reputation.

The full-time children’s performer and circus artist recently won R60 000 in a defamation case against the editor and publisher of the men’s magazine FHM.

In December 2007, the magazine ran an article titled “FHM calls Bull****”, which focused on a variety of circumstances and people it detested.

The story condemned airline fares, car guards and clowns, saying they often resembled “grown men with long-term tik habits, dressed like transvestites from hell”.

Pudney’s character, Puddles the Clown, was featured as the story’s main image.

“Being a clown of impeccable integrity and a children’s entertainer for 29 years, I had to do something about the story,” said Pudney.

“My character is my livelihood. They wanted to print a retraction, but it was too late, the damage was done.”

Pudney’s legal team sued Hagen Engler, FHM’s editor at the time, and UpperCase Media for defamation in 2007. In April this year, the court found in his favour and he was granted a large sum for damages.

FHM took the photo from a database provided by Masterfile Corporation. Pudney posed for Masterfile in 2006. The picture was to be shared if certain conditions were met.

Pudney’s lawyer had to prove that FHM intended to defame Pudney and had breached the conditions of using a Masterfile photo.

The court found that FHM had breached its contract with Masterfile by using the photo “intentionally and maliciously”, according to court documents provided by the Western Cape High Court.

“The photo in isolation is not defamatory,” said Sean Rapaport, who represented Pudney.

“The negative impact comes from the context, when people pick up a magazine and recognise him.”

The story defamed Pudney by portraying him in “a sensitive context” that associated him with substance abuse and an unstable mental condition, said the documents.

FHM had no comment.

madeleine.may@inl.co.za

Cape Times

One of the men accused of raping and murdering Asemahle Ntsabo allegedly made an obscure remark about the girl, a court heard.

Cape Town - One of the men accused of raping and murdering six-year-old Asemahle Ntsabo made an obscure remark about the girl a day after she went missing from her home in Paarl, the Western Cape High Court has heard.

This was the evidence of security guard Lesley Volkwyn, who took the stand in the case against Langa Mbijana, Songezo Deleki Mpitolo and Phumelele Nodede yesterday.

Volkwyn told the court that he was on duty on January 22 last year, a day after Asemahle went missing.

While guarding the construction site where he worked, he noticed someone lying in an open field on the premises. It was Mbijana.

Volkwyn said he asked Mbijana why police vehicles were driving in the area and Mbijana said it was in connection with a missing girl who got into a car.

Volkwyn did not ask further questions. A week later police arrested Mbijana in connection with the girl’s disappearance.

It is the State’s case that the men kidnapped Asemahle while she was playing with her friends near her 55 Drommedaris Street home in Mbekweni on January 21 last year.

A large community and police search ensued but Asemahle, who was wearing a light pink top and blue skirt at the time, was still missing a month later.

Asemahle’s remains were found in bushes near the Nederpark railway tracks about 600m from her home in February last year.

A skull and some bones were sent for DNA analysis and found to be Asemahle’s.

She was reportedly murdered for muti.

The State alleges Asemahle was choked to death and raped after she was kidnapped.

The men have been charged with murder, conspiracy to commit murder, rape and kidnapping of a minor. They have pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The trail continues on Thursday.

jade.otto@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

The SA Human Rights Commission is to meet Patricia De Lille to discuss the provision of portable flush toilets in Cape Town.

Cape Town - The South African Human Rights Commission is to meet Mayor Patricia De Lille to discuss the provision of portable flush toilets in Cape Town.

De Lille said on Wednesday she had called on the commission to help the city eradicate the bucket system by educating residents on the benefits of using portable flush toilets.

She said some residents refused to accept the portable flush toilets and the city could not compel residents to accept them.

But the commission has declined her request.

Spokesman Isaac Mangena said on Wednesday: “We will not be taking the mayor up on that call because we do not agree with the way she is rolling out the sanitation programme in the Western Cape.”

Mangena said the commission was investigating the city’s sanitation programme and the commission’s chairman, Mabedle Lawrence Mushwana, would meet the mayor to discuss the programme.

“As it stands now we don’t support the way she is rolling out the programme.

“There are several issues we don’t agree with, like the fact that she claimed that people were happy to use the bucket system. We do not agree with that – the bucket system has to be eradicated completely,” Mangena said.

The commission had also been looking at the Social Justice Coalition’s findings on the provision and maintenance of chemical toilets in Khayelitsha, he said.

“We believe that if the mayor considers the Social Justice Coalition’s recommendations she will be addressing some of the challenges in sanitation provision.”

zara.nicholson@inl.co.za

Cape Times

At least 68 people are sexually violated in the Cape every day, according to figures released by the Department of Health.

Cape Town - Nearly 25 000 people were sexually assaulted in the Western Cape in the past year, according to figures released by the provincial Department of Health. This translates to 68 people being sexually violated in the province every day.

The latest figures – described as “huge and scary” by Medical Research Council senior researcher Dr Naeemah Abrahams – revealed huge disparities between the number of sexual assaults reported to the police and those reported at health care centres.

Department spokeswoman Faiza Steyn said 24 946 people were treated at the province’s four Thuthuzela Care Centres, clinics and hospitals between April 2012 and March this year.

This was more than double the number of sexual offences reported to the SAPS.

The 2011/2012 crime statistics show that the Western Cape had 9 153 sexual offences, while nationally this figure stood at 64 514. Between 2010 and 2011, 9 299 cases were reported to the police, while in the previous year the number stood at 9 678.

Steyn said sexual assault cases presented to the province’s health centres in the past five months stood at 7 517.

Of last year’s total figures of sexual assaults, almost 2 400 involved children under the age of 13, mostly girls, while 449 boys received treatment.

Dr Roy Chuunga, who runs the country’s oldest Thuthuzela centre at GF Jooste Hospital, said that while reportage of sexual assaults and rape had improved compared to what it used to be a decade ago, scientific research still suggested “under-reportage”.

“We are definitely seeing more survivors than what we used to see 10 years ago, but these are not even close to what we should be getting. This suggests that sexual crimes are still under-reported and what we are seeing is just a fraction of the reality out there. There are huge disparities between what is reported to the police and what is reported to health centres.

“Sexual assault victims are more likely to seek health care than reporting the matter to the police,” he said.

Chuunga said there were many factors that determined the under-reporting of sexual assaults.

One major factor was that the majority of perpetrators were known to the victims, and sometimes breadwinners of families.

In the Western Cape, young people between the ages of 13 and 35 were more likely to be raped than any other age group, the figures show.

Abrahams said the latest figures of sexual assaults in the province were frightening given the fact that sexual crimes, particularly rape, were under-reported.

“This is scary and it’s a very huge number for the Western Cape. It means that 68 people are assaulted in the province on a daily basis.”

Abrahams said that while the latest figures were “shocking”, they should be viewed “carefully”.

“It is possible that some people are taken to Thuthuzela centres on suspicion that they had been sexually assaulted.

“Sometimes parents bring their children thinking they had been sexually assaulted, but on medical examination it turns out they are not, and such cases therefore should not be viewed as sexual crimes,” she said.

sipokazi.fokazi@inl.co.za

Cape Argus