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Three questioned on Dr Heyns’ death

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Cape Town police have questioned three more men in connection with the murder and robbery of Dr Louis Heyns.

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Cape Town - Three more men are being questioned in connection with the murder and robbery of Dr Louis Heyns, Western Cape police said on Thursday.

Captain Frederick van Wyk said the men, between the ages of 22 and 29, were arrested late on Wednesday.

He said one of them was a police official but he could not reveal his rank.

Three men have already appeared in court in connection with the crimes.

Marthinus van der Walt, 33, his brother Sarel, 42, and Malmesbury businessman Juan Liedeman, 37, appeared in the Somerset West Magistrate's Court on Monday.

The Cape Times reported that the brothers were told they would be charged with murder and robbery, while Liedeman faced a robbery charge.

According to the newspaper, the charge sheet stated Heyns had been kicked and hit with fists near De Beers Avenue at Somerset Mall on May 22.

The charge sheet reportedly stated further that, in the same vicinity, he had been robbed of his vehicle, a gold ring, a cellphone, a pair of takkies, and two cards.

His body was found in a shallow grave in Strand a week ago.

Liedeman would apply for bail in the Western Cape High Court later on Thursday.

National Prosecuting Authority Western Cape spokesman Eric Ntabazalila said they intended opposing the application.

The case would resume in the Somerset West Magistrate's Court on Monday. - Sapa


This little piggy needs a home

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“He was a great guard ‘dog’… He loves dried banana bits, and he gobbles up chocolate milkshake. That’s his favourite.”

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Cape Town - Lounging in the grass outside his Woodstock home and munching on an apple, Ninja is clearly a contented pig. But his days in the suburbs may be numbered.

His owner, Robert Bingham, said the trotter had been “arrested” twice, chased away from beaches and parks and now he feels he cannot take the miniature pot-belly pig anywhere anymore. “I have no choice, I have to get him out of here.”

Bingham’s frustration came to a head after the “mischievous” pig managed to escape from his yard to sniff around the street last Thursday.

But while the pig was “minding his own business” he was quickly surrounded by police.

“One of the residents called them in,” said Bingham, who was at a nearby corner store when it happened. “I was told three cars turned up and it took all of the policemen to get him into the back of the car.”

The 40kg pig was taken to a pound in Atlantis and Bingham had to fork out R500 to bail him out.

However, police spokesman Captain FC van Wyk said that no incident of this nature had been reported to them.

This was not the pig’s first brush with the law. Last year, Ninja found himself in a tricky situation after he joined his owner for a walk in Newlands forest.

Bingham said the park’s law enforcement unit descended on the hiking party and escorted him from the forest.

Bingham added that he felt like the trotter was the target of “ignorant thinking” and “religious intolerance”.

“He’s gentle, he would never hurt anyone. People are allowed to take their dogs everywhere, but I can’t even take Ninja out of the yard.”

SANParks spokeswoman Merle Collins said national parks had to protect their wildlife and had to have strict rules to prevent the introduction of deadly diseases.

“The basic rule is that no pets are allowed… The reason we allow dogs into the Table Mountain National Park is because an environmental plan was made to allow for dog walking.”

Ninja was set to be taken to a “halfway house in the country” today where he will live until his owner can make permanent arrangements.

Bingham hoped it would give the pig a little more freedom, but he admitted it would be a painful parting.

“He was a great guard ‘dog’… He loves dried banana bits, and he gobbles up chocolate milkshake. That’s his favourite.”

Cape Argus

Mom blames wait at clinic for baby’s death

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A two-month-old baby has died after nurses apparently failed to examine him in the three hours he was at a Gugulethu clinic.

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Cape Town - A two-month-old baby has died after nurses apparently failed to examine him in the three hours he was at the Gugulethu community health centre.

Nokubonga Nombewu, the mother of Mbuso, claims that by the time her baby was seen by a doctor it was too late. He died in the doctor’s arms.

Nombewu claimed that despite reporting her baby – who had a swollen abdomen and had not urinated for nine hours – to a nurse on arrival she had been told to “wait your turn”.

She said she waited three hours for a doctor.

During this time, Nombewu said she approached four nurses and begged them to examine Mbuso. Only the fourth nurse called a doctor.

The provincial Department of Health has denied that Mbuso was treated only after three hours.

Faiza Steyn, spokeswoman for the department, said Mbuso’s folder had gone missing, but the clinic’s records showed “he was triaged within 30 minutes of admission”.

Steyn said records, which were acquired through “clinical reports at the trauma unit and interviews with staff on duty at the time”, showed he died within an hour of being admitted.

Steyn confirmed that there were two doctors on duty, but one was taking a nap as he had been working for long hours and had decided to take a “break when it became quieter”.

This week, Nombewu was adamant that at no point was her baby triaged by any of the nurses.

The fourth nurse called a doctor. “My baby was now screaming and had started to turn blue. He went quiet shortly after I put him in front of the doctor who was trying to put a drip on him… I think he died at that moment,” she said.

Nombewu heard of her son’s death through an informal conversation between a cleaner and security guard before she was told by medical staff.

She was asked to call a private mortuary to fetch his body.

“The undertaker went back to the clinic the following day to get death certification documents but was told the folder had gone missing,” said Nombewu, who lodged a complaint with Health MEC Theuns Botha’s office.

The baby was certified dead and a postmortem was done. However, Nombewu claimed the doctor wrote down that her baby died on May 21 – two days after he had actually died.

Steyn said circumstances surrounding the baby’s death were still “under investigation”, but she noted that the weekend that Mbuso was treated was the “busiest of the month” and this may be why she was made to wait.

Steyn conceded that releasing the body to a private mortuary was procedurally incorrect. “The attending doctor should ideally have referred the baby to the state mortuary as the cause of death was not clear,” she said.

sipokazi.fokazi@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

Slain traffic cop ‘was a hero’

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Had Phumzile Banisi managed to dodge the reckless driver, he probably would have told his colleagues about the close shave.

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Cape Town - Had provincial traffic inspector Phumzile Banisi managed to dodge the reckless driver on Monday night, he probably would have told his colleagues about the close shave with wide eyes.

“His stories were always entertaining. Even the serious ones were full of funny punch lines, drama and ‘i-yohs!’. That’s who he was, he could make light of a serious situation in a way that set people at ease,” said a close friend and colleague, Simphiwe Mabizela.

“When we had an office party he was the first guy to start dancing, and would call on others to join him.”

As it turns out, Banisi was struck and killed on impact as he tried to stop a white Toyota Hilux travelling from Paarl to Worcester.

The driver of the Hilux, a 57-year-old man from Somerset West, was arrested and awaits charges while police complete a case docket for culpable homicide. He would appear in Worcester Magistrate’s Court, said police spokesman Captain Andre Venter.

Minutes before his death, Banisi had arrived on the scene of a broken down truck 5km from Worcester’s Shell Ultra City. The truck was obstructing a lane.

While he waited for back up, Banisi had to stop and direct traffic so the unobstructed lane could alternately accommodate both incoming and outgoing cars.

“It was so ironic that he lost his life while controlling traffic to protect the lives of motorists. This is the sacrifice that traffic officers (sometimes) make when they… try to keep the road safe for the general public,” said Cecil Nyman, a senior inspector at Worcester’s provincial traffic office.

Nyman and Mabizela agreed that Banisi was highly professional, a “hero” and an “example” to younger traffic officers.

“He was always on time and willing to go on call-outs. He loved his job, and we loved to work with him,” said Mabizela, adding that Banisi was the main breadwinner in a family which still had four children of schoolgoing age.

“He was also in the process of mending his marriage with his estranged wife, when his life was cut so suddenly short. It is very sad, there is not a dry eye in our office today,” said Mabizela.

Transport MEC Robin Carlisle said Banisi was a Western Cape traffic employee for the past eight years, and an official with an “impeccable” reputation.

“It is a terrible tragedy. I can only hope that the driver realises the gravity of his actions.”

Banisi’s wife is in the Eastern Cape and could not be reached for comment. Banisi’s brother, Welcome Banisi, said arrangements were being made to take his body to the Eastern Cape where a funeral was being planned.

Banisi is the second government official to die in the line of duty on the province’s roads since Sunday.

Msindisi Duka, a 38-year-old road worker with the Cape Winelands Municipality, died after being struck by a rock while clearing the Franschhoek pass of obstacles during wet weather on Sunday.

daneel.knoetze@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

School slams alleged rugby field racism

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Paarl Gimnasium says it condemns any form of racism, after its rugby players were accused of racial abuse during a game.

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Cape Town - Paarl Gimnasium says it condemns any form of racism, after its rugby players were accused of racial abuse during a game.

The players were accused of racially abusing players from Wynberg Boys’ High during a tense under-16 schools match in the Boland town at the weekend.

It led to some Wynberg players walking off the field, forcing the match to be abandoned.

According to sources at the game, Wynberg players were subjected to the k-word from Paarl Gim players. At one point during the game, a Paarl Gim boy allegedly told a Wynberg Boys’ player: “I will slap the coloured off your face.”

On Wednesday, Paarl Gim headmaster Eddie Bateman said the school condemned “any form of racism”.

“Racism is diametrically opposed to the value system of the school. If a learner were to be found guilty of such conduct, he/she would have to face the consequences and be punished accordingly.”

Bateman said his school was in discussion with Wynberg Boys’ about the incident and called on anyone who could assist with the investigation to submit reports.

“This includes feedback from Wynberg arising from their investigation… If the investigation reveals that action needs to be taken, this will be undertaken forthwith,” he said.

Wynberg headmaster Keith Richardson said he spoke to the team and denied that the entire team had walked off the field as was previously reported. “It wasn’t a team decision to walk off the field but some of the boys walked off the field – it wasn’t a mass walk-off.”

He said indications were that it was a “fractious match” and that there was frustration among the players.

“A retreating Paarl player appeared to say something to a Wynberg player. Several Wynberg players were seen to be taking huge exception to what had been said.”

Richardson said Wynberg players reported the racial insults to a parent. He added that the referee then called full time with a quarter of the match remaining.

Western Province Rugby Union’s manager of schools rugby, Theo Kleinhans, said the matter had to be handled with care as young players were involved.

“I contacted the school and the headmasters and the governing bodies are dealing with it… I believe that is it in very capable hands,” Kleinhans said.

yolisa.tswanya@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

Couple accused of defrauding wine giant

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Jacobus du Toit Terblanche and his wife have been accused of defrauding the wine company Douglas Green of about R10m.

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Cape Town - A couple accused of defrauding established wine company Douglas Green of about R10 million and then spending some of the proceeds on home renovations and school fees is expected to go on trial next week.

Jacobus du Toit Terblanche and his wife Cornelia le Roux Terblanche, who both used to work for Douglas Green Bellingham (Pty) Limited (DGB), are expected to plead and go on trial in the Commercial Crimes Court in Bellville on Monday.

Collectively they face 54 counts.

According to court papers, DGB produced, distributed and imported wine and spirits in South Africa.

It also sold locally produced wine and acted as an agent for other wine estates.

The court papers said about 35 percent of DGB’s business dealt with the export of wine and “exports are directed at approximately 50 countries worldwide”.

It said Du Toit Terblanche had been a director of DGB’s board and in charge of international export operations, while his wife was an accounts executive in DGB’s export division.

She was also the only member of Taster Wines cc and Fine Cape Wine Exporters cc - the principal business of which was the export or import of wines.

The paper said 13 years ago an account had been opened for an entity, Bacco Trading, which had an address in Italy.

However, Bacco was never listed as a company in Italy, nor was it registered as a company in South Africa.

Terblanche, in charge of international export operations, approved the opening of the Bacco account.

In August 2000 “a number of bulk wine sale transactions were processed through Bacco Trading’s account with DGB” and Terblanche had “reduced the price of the wine Bacco Trading was purchasing from DGB”.”

Because Bacco Trading was viewed as a foreign entity and the wine was exported with this in mind, no Value Added Tax (VAT) was added to invoices issued to Bacco “as exports are zero-related for VAT purposes”.

The papers said Terblanche bought the wine from DGB using an account of Taster Wines cc and the wine was then sold to customers who paid into the Taster Wines cc account.

“The accused created Bacco Trading as part of the scheme to launder the proceeds of fraud by disguising the source of funds received,” it said.

The papers said the accused used the proceeds of fraud for: home loans, their personal bank accounts, credit cards, home renovations, school fees, suppliers and creditors.

They had led customers to believe Taster Wines cc was part of DGB - “a reputable company with years of experience”.

It said the couple diverted orders for wine by DGB customers to Cornelia Terblanche or one of the closed corporations.

The couple then purchased the wine from other suppliers, not DGB, and sold it.

Customers made payments into one of the closed corporations bank accounts.

Cape Times

DA’s Obama call a publicity stunt – ANC

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The ANC has dismissed the DA’s request for US President Barack Obama to address Parliament as a “cynical publicity stunt”.

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Cape Town - The ANC has dismissed the DA’s request for US President Barack Obama to address both houses of Parliament when he arrives in the country later this month, as nothing but a “cynical publicity stunt”.

The party was reacting to DA parliamentary leader Lindiwe Mazibuko’s statement earlier this week that she had written to National Assembly Speaker Max Sisulu and chairman of the National Council of Provinces Mninwa Mahlangu to request that they convene a special joint-sitting, in terms of Rule 7(2), to allow Obama to address a joint sitting of Parliament on his official visit.

This is the second spat between the parties involving Obama, after the Western Cape ANC called on Obama and his wife Michelle not to accept the City of Cape Town’s Freedom of the City award.

Mazibuko said this week that the “successful reconvening” of the two houses of Parliament for the address by the Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan was a perfect example of why Obama should be allowed the same opportunity to “cement” South Africa’s bilateral relations with the country.

“There can be no doubt that President Obama’s first state visit to South Africa constitutes a significant enough milestone for Parliament to accommodate a special parliamentary session.

“It is also worth remembering that when President Obama visited Ghana in 2009... he delivered a keynote address to the Ghanaian parliament as part of his state visit,” said Mazibuko.

But ANC chief whip Mathole Motshekga dismissed this as “logically flawed”.

“It is important to note that in terms of international protocols, Parliament cannot invite a foreign head of state to address it. President Obama is visiting this country as the guest of the South African government, and not as a guest of Parliament.

The programme of his visit therefore is determined jointly by the two governments. Parliament may therefore not hijack him, as suggested by the DA’s request,” said Motshekga.

Motshekga said the addressing of joint sittings of Parliament occur only as a result of a joint arrangement between the host head of state and their visiting counterpart.

Political Bureau

Cop quizzed over Heyns’ murder

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Three more people - including a policeman -have been brought in for questioning over Professor Louis Heyns murder.

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Cape Town - In a dramatic new turn in the Professor Louis Heyns murder investigation, three more people have been brought in for questioning - including a policeman.

And parts of Heyns’s car have been found and seized too - parts which may help explain how the doctor came to be murdered, where and why.

The 59-year-old went missing on May 22, and his body was found in the early hours of May 30 in a shallow grave on the Strand beachfront. Three men were arrested in Malmesbury.

And now, a week later, police detectives have rounded up three more people, one of them a policeman from Malmesbury. “As part of our investigation three suspects between the ages of 22 and 29 have been taken in for questioning, of which one is a police official,” said police spokesman Captain FC van Wyk.

Of the original trio arrested, Marthinus van der Walt, 33, and his elder brother Sarel, 42, were charged with Heyns’s murder. And Juan Liedeman, 37, was charged with the pair with “robbery with aggravating circumstances” after Heyns’s car was found at Liedeman’s business premises.

The trio were behind bars at Pollsmoor Prison following their court appearance on Monday, when prosecutor Deidre Hindley secured a seven-day remand in order for the provincial Director of Public Prosecutions to rule on what schedule of crimes the trio should formally face. Different crimes are categorised by “schedule” in the Criminal Procedure Act and can dictate key determinants in bail hearings, such as whether the prosecution or defence should carry the onus of proving exceptional circumstances in favour of, or against, granting bail.

But the lawyer hired by Liedeman’s family, William Booth, objected to the request for the remand and late on Wednesday, he approached the Western Cape High Court to challenge his client’s detention. The matter was due to be heard on Thursday.

But this may be complicated by the questioning of three more men in Malmesbury. At the time of publication on Thursday, it had not been explained what charges the new trio could face.

It is believed that parts of Heyns’s Peugeot 308 were also discovered - parts that had been missing when police first found his car 10 days ago.

These are now likely to be sent for extensive tests and analysis, and may help investigators prove where Heyns was murdered - near Somerset Mall, or around the Strand beachfront, where his body was dug up.

The Van der Walt brothers are due to appear again on Monday, with Liedeman, unless Booth has already succeeded in persuading the High Court to free him on bail.

Cape Argus


W Cape shows growth in its population

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The Western Cape is one of four provinces that has shown a significant growth in its share of the country’s population.

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Cape Town - The Western Cape is one of four provinces that has shown a significant growth in its share of the country’s population.

According to the South African Institute for Race Relations, this increase mainly boils down to internal migration as people seek job opportunities, facilities and housing.

Using data obtained from Stats SA’s 2011 census and comparing it with 2013’s estimates, institute researcher Thuthukani Ndebele found that the Western Cape and Gauteng had both experienced massive increases in their population over the last 12 years.

The Western Cape’s population has grown by around 1.5 million but, more importantly, the province’s share of the country’s population increased from 10.1 to 11.4 percent.

Gauteng’s population grew by almost 4 million as its share of the population shifted from 19.7 percent to 24 percent.

Meanwhile, the Eastern Cape’s share dropped by 1.9 percent and KwaZulu-Natal, previously South Africa’s largest population, dropped by 1.3 percent, falling behind Gauteng.

Ndebele said that in a country with a population of almost 60 million, these shifts were significant.

“While there are a combination of factors behind this… inter-provincial migration is a major contributor in the shift,” Ndebele said.

“Provinces offer a lot of different opportunities. In this case you have two provinces standing out - Gauteng and the Western Cape.

People are moving there primarily for employment.”

A census of inter-provincial migration between 2006 and 2011 showed that more than 300 000 people moved to the Western Cape and more than 1 million migrated to Gauteng. On the other hand, just over 150 000 people left the North West and 100 000 moved out of the Eastern Cape.

“People are naturally attracted by better opportunities. In 1990, 52 percent of the country’s population resided in urban areas. In 2011, it was 62 percent.”.

But he added that it was important to note that there were other factors behind the growth. For example, the Western Cape has the highest life-expectancy figure at 67 years, according to the Statistician-General’s mid-year population report.

“We are seeing far less deaths in this province,” said Ndebele.

Other factors included mass immigration from countries across Africa and better health care in certain provinces.

Michael Bagraim, chairman of the Human Resources Committee for the Cape Chamber of Commerce, said there was definitely a perception of the Western Cape, and particularly Cape Town, being a hub of employment opportunities.

“That’s the problem. The people who do migrate are the ones looking for jobs… And they can’t find jobs because there aren’t any here. So where do they end up?

“The perception speaks volumes of the Cape… But Cape Town simply can’t keep up with the pace of people migrating down here. It puts pressure on the province both in terms of providing facilities and on businesses who have to provide jobs.”

kieran.legg@Inl.co.za

Cape Argus

Hawks man ‘never saw assault’

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The beating and torture of three men in Hawks custody never happened - at least not in the presence of the testifying officer.

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Cape Town - The beating and torture of three men in Hawks’ custody never happened - at least, according to him, not in the presence of an officer who took the witness stand on Wednesday.

George Ainslie testified in the Western Cape High Court that while the men had been taken into custody, he did not know anything about them having been assaulted.

He is one of 13 Hawks policemen accused of murdering a New Crossroads man and assaulting two others.

Sidwell Mkwambi, 24, was arrested along with his friend Siyabulela Njova on February 9, 2009, and taken to the Hawks’ offices in Bellville South.

This was in connection with a Hawks investigation into an attack on a couple of their members a few weeks earlier.

The State alleges that officers beat and tortured Mkwambi, Njova and another man, Mthuthuzeli Rantaoleng, and that Mkwambi died because of his injuries.

But the 13 policemen deny assaulting the three men.

According to their version, Mkwambi was not murdered - he jumped out of a moving vehicle.

On Thursday, defence counsel Stanley O’Brien put several questions to Ainslie over certain allegations that had been made: that Ainslie had “threatened to rape” Rantaoleng’s wife and daughter, that he drank beers in the wee hours on the night of the incident, used a chain to threaten the men, kicked in the door to Njova’s home and kicked Mkwambi while he was on the floor.

Ainslie denied all the allegations.

He said that while he might have greeted Rantaoleng, he had not had any conversations with him.

He had never, he also told the court, been inside Njova’s house so he could not have kicked in a door there.

Ainslie testified that he was in the same office as Njova while two of his colleagues questioned him.

They were speaking in Xhosa, he said, and another colleague interpreted the conversation.

“The information that came back to me is that he’s not speaking the truth, that we’re lying, (and) that he denies everything,” said Ainslie.

He said that while he could not be sure, the conversation seemed “aggressive” because they were talking loudly.

When O’Brien asked him whether he had seen Njova injured, he responded that he had not noticed anything.

Had injuries been evident, he would have seen something, he said.

He testified that no assault of the three men had taken place.

When Judge Robert Henney asked him about Njova and Rantaoleng’s allegations that they had been smothered with pieces of plastic, he said that this “never took place in my presence”.

Ainslie is yet to be cross-examined.

His co-accused are Tobezi Jam Jam, Norton Ndabambi, Banele Mgogodlo, Ludwe Mzana, Nkosikhona Mthembu, Zamikaya Mbali, Reginald Mtshali, Wayne Louw, Edmunt Sombo, Riaan Kielblock, Mphathi Velani and Siseko Mtotywa.

They have all pleaded not guilty.

The trial continues.

leila.samodien@inl.co.za

Cape Times

‘Loser’ turns his life around

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Going through hard times ignited the hunger that drives this young entrepreneur to succeed despite the odds, writes Esther Lewis

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Cape Town - ONE computer, one client and R600 may not sound like a recipe for business success, but it’s worked for young Gugulethu entrepreneur Bheki Kunene.

He started his creative design company with only that, and four years later he employs four full-time staff, has international clients, and is being recognised for being an inspirational youth.

Fresh out of school, Kunene studied web and graphic design at Concept Interactive School of Communication. In 2009, the then 19-year-old was tasked with finding a three-month internship, but instead of finding a job at a corporate company like the rest of his classmates, he decided to start his own business.

This is how Mind Trix Media was born: in his bedroom in the Khayelitsha house he shared with his mother.

Without any business management experience, Kunene found that things were difficult.

After his required internship period ended, he tried to get rid of his one client and close his business.

But the client continued commissioning work and told his friends about Mind Trix Media, and soon Kunene had to start hiring to keep up with the work.

Four years later, Kunene – now 24, and living and working – has the only creative design agency in the township. It specialises in web development and design, printing, marketing material and developing apps.

“The bigger picture is to develop the township’s first web and creative design academy, a hub of success and a go-to point for any previously disadvantaged individual wanting to change their lives via education,” says Kunene.

He describes himself as a go-getter and dreamer, and a social entrepreneur.

“My hunger for success has kept me going. I was born into poverty. I couldn’t grow up and be poor. It’s something I couldn’t accept,” says Kunene.

He has been on several courses and in his office is a shelf with several books. Whenever he comes across a problem or situation he’s not familiar with, Kunene researches it thoroughly. And while he and his employees have had formal training, many of their skills are self-taught.

Kunene now has clients in Minneapolis and Chicago in the US, Angola and across South Africa. This year, he is pushing a six to seven figure net profit.

But it isn’t all about the bottom line for Kunene. He believes in uplifting those around him.

Using his business contacts, he has put two people through tertiary education.

One is now his permanent employee, while the other was placed at an associate’s company.

Kunene’s company has given 18 people the opportunity to pursue a tertiary education, but his success didn’t come easily. Speaking of his early teenage years, Kunene says: “I was an outsider, a misfit, the menace who didn’t belong in society.”

He was expelled from school, spent time in juvenile detention and believed he would die “a loser or a jailbird”.

Many members of his immediate family started dying. When he went to the bush for circumcision, he nearly lost his life, too.

While his next-door neighbour died, Kunene survived. Then his personal life began to unravel. In 2010, he was wrongfully arrested for murder. Kunene says he was picked up from his home, taken to a police station and held for seven days. On the eighth day he was released, as the real culprit had been arrested.

After his ordeal, he drew strength from his mother’s and grandmother’s words: “Keep going. As long as you can breathe, there is hope.”

In 2011, Kunene found himself on the verge of homelessness.

“That’s when I learned how to strive and push hard. That is when I had to make it one way or another.

“I had no choice but to hustle hard, and to this day I remain hungry for success because of the realness of my pain, depression, failures and traumatic experiences,” he says.

Stellenbosch University Africa Centre’s director of educational theatre and creative arts, Professor Jimmie Perry, selected Kunene as the recipient of this year’s Youth Recognition Award.

He will receive the award at the centre’s annual South African Artists for Aids Awareness concert on Sunday.

The title of this year’s production is Lets Beat It, and it will be staged at Artscape.

Perry says the award is presented to someone who has faced many challenges but managed to develop themselves.

“His story is compelling. For someone that came through all of that, to this, is the major aspect (of why he was selected),” says Perry.

Cape Argus

Cederburg mayor axed over porn pics

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Jonas White has been axed and expelled from the party after the provincial ANC found him guilty of sexual misconduct and fraud.

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Western Cape - Controversial Cederberg mayor Jonas White has been axed and expelled from the party after the provincial ANC found him guilty of six charges of sexual misconduct and one of fraud.

White is alleged to have sent pornographic images to his deputy, Lorna Scheepers. He also reportedly offered her a private trip for the two of them to Durban, to be paid for with municipal funds.

Scheepers lodged the complaints against White with the ANC and the police.

White was charged in April on six counts of sexual harassment and one of fraud and corruption at an internal ANC disciplinary hearing. He pleaded not guilty to all the charges.

White has 21 days to appeal against the party’s ruling.

The DA’s Bokkie Geyer welcomed the ANC’s decision, saying: “You got rid of White, now eradicate the rest of the rot.”

He said the DA had contacted the public protector three times last year to report cases of maladministration, financial mismanagement and corruption in the ANC-led municipality. White had continued to act as mayor while his hearing was under way.

“Getting rid of White is only the beginning. The rot in the Cederberg Municipality filtered down from the top and infiltrated every fibre of the municipality. Unless the full extent of the corruption and mismanagement that took place there is exposed, proper service delivery and clean administration will never become a reality for the people of Cederberg,” said Geyer.

anél .lewis@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

Beaten to death with his own crutches

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A Cape Town woman, 54, will appear in court for allegedly beating her boyfriend to death with a set of his crutches.

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Cape Town - A Cape Town woman, 54, will appear in the Muizenberg Magistrate’s Court on Friday for allegedly beating her boyfriend to death with a set of his crutches.

On Sunday, Lionel de Robillard, 50, of Marina da Gama in Muizenberg, was spotted by his neighbours crawling naked down a pavement on Shearwater Drive in the canal suburb, trying to escape an attacker.

De Robillard, a car salesman at Turner & Turner Motors in Diep River, was allegedly beaten with his own crutches by his girlfriend of seven years.

She cannot be named.

De Robillard’s distraught brother, Patrick, told the Cape Argus his brother had had a hip replacement about a year ago. He had used the crutches during his recovery.

But De Robillard, who had flown down from Joburg, said his brother had also had a stroke just a week earlier.

Neighbours protected De Robillard from further attack, and called an ambulance.

He died on Tuesday at 7.30am. Police said he had severe head injuries.

 

“I spoke to him last Thursday and told him we had to get him out of his abusive relationship,” De Robillard said, adding his brother had been attacked with a hammer about a year ago.

“He had been thinking about possibly moving back to Mauritius, where we are from.”

He “loved plants, had green fingers, loved animals and loved the auto trade”.

Roddy Turner, the car salesman’s employer, described his friend’s death as “a tragic loss”.

A colleague, David Norton, said he visited De Robillard in hospital before he died.

“He explained to me what had happened.”

 

At the time nurses had told him they were most worried about swollen internal organs. He had died the following morning.

De Robillard alleged the suspect had attacked a woman at William Simpson Cars in nearby Lakeside several years before. The woman, Jacqui Duyn, confirmed this, and said it had taken five policemen to remove the women from their showroom.

“The next day I had two black eyes,” she said.

De Robillard was divorced, with a son and daughter who live in Durban, and another daughter in Cape Town.

Cape Argus

From toilet cleaner to UCT graduate

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A Worcester man who works as a cleaner at a petrol station hopes his life will change after his graduation from UCT.

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Cape Town - A Worcester man who works as a cleaner at a petrol station hopes his life will change after his graduation from UCT on Friday with a degree he completed about 17 years ago.

Joseph Khohlokoane, 45, dreamt of becoming a social worker when he enrolled at UCT in 1992.

He studied towards a Bachelor of Social Science degree and completed his studies in 1996 but never graduated because of financial difficulties.

“I asked my mother for money, but she couldn’t help and told me to look for work instead.”

Khohlokoane, a father of two, then started working as a petrol attendant at the Ultra City Breede Valley in Worcester, where he is now employed as a cleaner.

Khohlokoane said he felt “small” when people who had studied with him saw him at the petrol station.

“This really hurt me. I started to feel ashamed of myself. I didn’t want to talk about it to anyone. I was without hope.”

He decided not to tell anyone at work that he had studied at UCT.

But things changed earlier this year when Clarence Johnson, former executive mayor of the Cape Winelands District Municipality, intervened.

His son, David-John, had heard about Khohlokoane’s story and told his father, who then contacted Khohlokoane.

“He told me that he hadn’t been able to pay. I decided to make contact with UCT and the Department of Higher Education and Training.”

He said that with the help of the department Khohlokoane’s debt was “written off”.

“I am so happy that I will finally be graduating,” Khohlokoane said.

His employer, Willem Venter, said that until about two weeks ago he didn’t know that Khohlokoane had studied at UCT.

“He is such a modest person. How many people would be so modest about the kind of things that he has achieved. I feel sad that I didn’t know. I told him that 17 years might have passed but now he has to look forward.”

Venter said he would drive Khohlokoane, who would be accompanied by his eldest child and his wife, to his graduation on Friday.

He said he hoped that Khohlokoane would now find a job that was relevant to his qualification. Khohlokoane said that during his studies he had been told not to pursue a career in social work because he stuttered, but he was hoping to get a job in community development and further his studies.

UCT confirmed that Khohlokoane had studied towards his Bachelor of Social Science degree at UCT in 1996 and would be graduating on Friday.

ilse.fredericks@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

‘We desperately need toilet cleaners to return’

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Kosovo residents are “shocked” that Cape Town’s mayor has lumped them with criminals that attacked city toilet cleaning staff.

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Cape Town - Residents in Kosovo say they are “shocked” and “saddened” that Cape Town mayor Patricia de Lille has lumped them with criminals that attacked city toilet cleaning staff in recent weeks.

On Wednesday, De Lille announced a suspension of toilet cleaning services in four informal settlements, including Kosovo, because of safety concerns for sanitation staff.

Mayoral committee member for utilities Ernest Sonnenberg told the Cape Argus that some residents threatened city staff with violence on Saturday as they tried to clean toilets in Kosovo.

This follows violent panga and brick attacks on staff, respectively in Kanana, Gugulethu and the Boystown area.

At an event to demonstrate the settlement’s lack of sanitation to the media, Kosovo ANC ward councillor Nico Mzalisi on Thursday urged residents to remain peaceful. He asked a gathered crowd of around 200 people not to attack city staff, vandalise city property or dump faeces to demonstrate their frustration.

Resident Victor Gulwa said Kosovo was in “desperate need” of these services and that he wanted the cleaners to return. He gave the Cape Argus a tour of the worst affected areas

Gulwa said bucket toilets had not been cleaned for at least two months. In early April, Sannicare workers – contracted by the city to provide the service – went on strike.

People have apparently been dumping human waste on the roadside at informal dump sites used for anything from rotting food to general household refuse. The smell of sewage was pervasive at these sites.

Holding his nose, Gulwa opened the door to one of these bucket toilets. The sudden stench sent fellow residents fleeing.

Nearby, a series of flush toilets dating from 2006 lie broken, but not disused.

Nonzwakazi Sibili, who lives near the the toilets’ concrete walls, said people came in the middle of the night to break the structures’ locks so they could relieve themselves.

She said her three-year-old grandson was ill from living so close to half a dozen piles of human waste.

“Sipelo was healthy when he came to live here four months ago. Now he has TB and diarrhoea,” she said.

Later, residents led Mzalisi, controversial suspended ANC Youth League member Andile Lili and current ANCYL member Loyiso Nkohla on a similar tour.

Lili and Nkohla gained instant notoriety earlier this week when images of them dumping human faeces on the steps of the provincial legislature made headlines. The incident sparked the so-called “faeces wars”. A day later, protesters threw faeces at Premier Helen Zille’s convoy in Khayelitsha.

On Wednesday, the provincial branch of the ANCYL publicly distanced itself from Lili and Nkohla’s actions and the subsequent protests.

An ANCYL national task team member added on Thursday that “tough action” against the duo was imminent.

Lili remained unapologetic and said on Thursday that the invitation to view the conditions in Kosovo vindicated him.

daneel.knoetze@inl.co.za

Cape Argus


Red X aims to shame drug houses

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Delft residents are reclaiming their community by naming and shaming drug dealers and marking their houses with an X.

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Cape Town - Delft residents are reclaiming their community by naming and shaming suspected drug dealers and marking their houses with an X.

Reginald Maart, chairman of the Delft Community Police Forum, said residents were taking back what belongs to them.

“There is only one way to heal the community and that is by mass participation,” Maart said. “The influence of gangsters and drug lords is killing our community.”

Maart said they wanted to show drug lords that the community had had enough.

“We still want to break down those houses,” he said.

On Thursday, police, neighbourhood watch, community police forum members and residents walked to several reputed drug houses and marked their walls with an X.

Police also focused on “Casablanca”, a well-known alleged drug outlet, where several search and seizure operations took place.

David Tysen, a resident whose house was marked, said it was unfair because his family “never sold any drugs”.

His sister broke down in tears as police sprayed a red X on the front of their home.

“We don’t sell drugs here. No one hides anything either,” Tysen said. “Now police have come here and they don’t even have warrants or anything.”

Alinah Claasen, a mother of three, said her children could not walk to school without getting robbed.

“Our children can’t walk anywhere, because it’s so unsafe,” Claasen said.

“Two weeks ago, someone was shot dead at one of the drug houses. There are so many problems in the area. It is extremely dangerous to live here. We are too afraid to walk in the streets.”

Another resident, who asked not to be named, said she was happy that police were marking drug houses.

“I had a problem with my daughter, who was addicted to tik,” she said. “She stopped smoking it two years ago, though.”

The woman added that residents didn’t feel safe walking around and chose to stay indoors.

natasha.bezuidenhout@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

Businessman to be charged with Heyns murder

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The State intends to charge the Malmesbury businessman linked to the vehicle of slain Professor Louis Heyns with his murder.

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Cape Town - The State intends to charge the Malmesbury businessman linked to the vehicle of murdered Stellenbosch University Professor Louis Heyns with his murder.

This emerged during an urgent review application brought in the Western Cape High Court on Thursday by Juan Liedeman’s lawyer William Booth.

When Liedeman first appeared in court on Monday, the prosecution said Marthinus van der Walt, 33, and his brother Sarel, 42, were charged with the murder of 59-year-old Heyns, and that Liedeman, 37, was charged with being an accessory to the robbery after the fact.

Booth said Liedeman had only been arrested because Heyns’s car was found at his chop shop in Malmesbury, and that he was in no way involved in the murder.

On Thursday, Booth asked Judge Siraj Desai to order that Somerset West Magistrate’s Court magistrate Ntsikelelo Magutywa review his decision to grant the State a seven-day remand after his client’s first appearance on Monday. Booth also argued that Liedeman be released on bail.

But Judge Desai dismissed the application saying it was “without merit”.

“I would do the criminal justice system and the prosecution a great disservice to grant bail at this stage,” he said.

Prosecutor Samantha Raphels said the State was opposing Liedeman’s release on bail and that they would add him to the murder charge.

Raphels said the prosecution had evidence that Liedeman knew more about the murder than he claimed.

“(Liedeman) wasn’t only in possession of the stolen vehicle but he was involved in the cover-up of the vehicle and relevant evidence pertaining to the State’s case. Parts of the vehicle were burnt and others were hidden,” she argued.

This would amount to another charge of defeating the ends of justice.

On Thursday morning, police revealed that a further three men - including a police officer - had been arrested and taken in for questioning in connection with the murder.

The three men, aged between 22 and 29, had not yet been charged, police spokesman FC van Wyk said.

The police officer was alleged to have given Liedeman information about the case, after which Liedeman allegedly dismantled, destroyed and hid parts of the vehicle, the State said in an affidavit.

Raphels said that Liedeman was charged with a Schedule Six offence and had to convince the court why he should get bail.

Booth, however, said his client owned a business in Malmesbury, had lived there all his life, was married with children and was not a flight risk.

Heyns’s body was found in a shallow grave near the dunes along the Strand beachfront on May 30. He had last been seen alive a week earlier.

jade.otto@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

Government pulls plug on prison TV

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An award-winning initiative involving inmates in a radio station and plans for a world-first prison TV channel lie in tatters.

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Cape Town - An award-winning initiative involving inmates in a prison radio station and plans for a world-first prison television channel lie in tatters after the project, which had been running for 14 years at Pollsmoor prison in Cape Town, was shut down by the area commissioner.

After more than a year of official promises that have never materialised, and the loss of all his sponsors, the founder of the Prison Broadcasting Network (PBN) has all but given up.

The project grew from a music collection of 20 CDs and a CD walkman broadcasting over the PA system into a fully fledged radio station with sound and television studios, training inmates in radio, music and TV production. But the Pollsmoor area commissioner, Mandla Mkhabela, terminated the programme in January last year, saying the facility had changed and now housed mostly awaiting-trial prisoners, who were not involved in rehabilitation programmes.

Marius Boaden, the founder of the network, says this is nonsense, since other rehab programmes continue at Pollsmoor, and many of his students are still there.

News of the move caused such an outcry last year that the Correctional Services Department told SABC following a Special Assignment programme on the subject that not only would the project be reinstated, it would be rolled out to all prisons. It had also mandated the national commissioner, Tom Moyane, to partner PBN in launching a world-first national prison TV channel. The spokesman for then Correctional Services Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula wrote to Boaden in February of that year confirming the proposal and told him to liaise with Moyane’s office.

Then, everything went quiet.

Boaden said on Thursday he had called and e-mailed Moyane’s personal assistant numerous times with no response. Following the cabinet reshuffle that resulted in S’bu Ndebele replacing Mapisa-Nqakula as Correctional Services minister, Boaden met Ndebele’s spokesman, Logan Maistry, in August last year, with no result. He wrote to President Jacob Zuma, and received a letter in April saying the matter was receiving attention, but has heard nothing further.

Maistry said on Thursday it was an operational matter and the ministry did not involve itself in these, referring the Cape Argus to Western Cape regional commissioner Delekile Klaas.

Klaas said he had asked for a report on the relationship with PBN. But

Boaden said he had not been contacted for any report.

Chairman of Parliament’s correctional services oversight committee Vincent Smith (ANC) said if PBN was being shut down the committee would want to get a deeper understanding of the reasons behind this.

craig.dodds@inl.co.za

Political Bureau

Complain to us more, says De Lille

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The Cape Town mayor finally delivered her message about the city’s water and sanitation campaign, without any disturbances.

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Cape Town - Mayor Patricia de Lille finally delivered her message about the city’s water and sanitation campaign in Seawinds, near Lavender Hill, on Thursday night, without any disturbances .

De Lille was forced to abandon two public meetings - one in Philippi last week and one in Kosovo on Tuesday night - after she was prevented from speaking.

On Thursday night, she arrived to cheers from the Seawinds residents before they welcomed her with a warm round of applause.

De Lille explained the relationship between the city and the companies, Sannicare and Mshengu, contracted to keep the community sanitation in order.

She told those present that this was the first time the city was doing something like this and they needed the help of the community.

“We want you to complain to us more so that we can take up the complaints immediately and that is why I am asking the community of the Heights tonight to be our eyes and ears so we can keep your community clean,” De Lille said.

In a programme issued by De Lille’s spokesman, Solly Malatsi, earlier this month, Thursday night’s meeting was scheduled for Gugulethu.

On Thursday, Malatsi said the venue was changed to Seawinds because the dates had been mixed up. The initial programme says Seawinds should have been the last stop, on July 4.

De Lille’s message seemed to be well received by the crowd. She was interrupted by cheers, and residents casually nodded in agreement as she spoke.

“I will accept no contractor to provide a bad service because people are living in an informal settlement… we need to know what they are doing then we can get them off the city’s database.”

De Lille reassured the communities that their complaints would be followed up. “We provide services as best we can, we do care about you and we feel your pain. We find that some contractors do not give quality services as if people in informal settlements deserve less, that is unacceptable.”

Malatsi said they were glad they got the chance to carry on with the meeting, as the past two meetings “didn’t go so well”.

“We wish others will carry on like this, the key is that communities get their points across and get to engage with the mayor.”

Malatsi reiterated that the change of venue was because of a misunderstanding and “nothing sinister”.

“The ward councillors were notified and adverts were put in community papers,” he said.

The next public meeting is to take place at the Oliver Tambo sports centre in Khayelitsha on June 18.

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.

On Thursday, council Speaker Dirk Smit, called on President Jacob Zuma to probe the disruption of the meetings by individuals claiming to be members of the ANC Youth League.

“In terms of the Municipal Structures Act and the delegations of council, I have a duty to ensure that council and councillors conduct their business,” Smit said. “Part of this business is community engagement. I have sought to bring this matter to the president’s attention and request the necessary interventions from his office.”

yolisa.tswanya@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

Security chief at asylum centre removed

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A security chief at the Department of Home Affairs refugee centre at Customs House has been removed from his post.

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Cape Town - A security chief at the Department of Home Affairs refugee centre at Customs House has been removed from his post while being investigated for taking bribes from refugees to help them get to the front of long queues at the centre.

The head of the Department of Home Affairs in the Western Cape, Yusuf Simons, on Thursday confirmed its head of security at the Customs House refugee centre was being investigated.

A Home Affairs supervisor allegedly saw the security official in question taking a bribe, Simons said.

For several years, refugees have complained that security staff at this centre, and at other Home Affairs venues, were demanding cash in return for helping them make progress in the queues.

Many refugees, since the days when large numbers of Zimbabweans entered the country, had complained of the same thing.

Last week, the Cape Argus reported an incident of crowd violence at the centre as queuing refugees lost patience with a system that forced many of them to sleep in the streets outside the building to have a chance of getting to the front of the queue.

An independent security company provides the security services to the centre under contract.

The department asked the company to replace the individual involved immediately after the claims of corruption, said Simons.

Simons said the claims were backed up when a Home Affairs supervisor saw the man getting involved in dubious actions with refugees and reported the matter.

Last week, asylum seekers standing in the long queue outside the building from early in the morning every day, became unruly and tried to storm the building. The police were called and had to act to restore calm.

Simons said the department wanted to prevent such incidents, which was why they had moved fast to remove the security chief in question. He said the centre was in the process of working on new arrangements for refugees applying for extensions and had appointed more staff.

“We decided last week that, instead of just extending asylum seeker permits, we also want to start finalising cases sooner,” he said. “We have scheduled more interviews with asylum seekers as a result.”

Cape Argus

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