Raafiq Abrahams stands accused of stabbing Sulaiman Brey inside his Wynberg store after a botched robbery in 2002.

Cape Town - Relatives of Sulaiman Brey are anxiously awaiting the outcome of a plea agreement that a Kenwyn man is expected to enter into for murdering the businessman 11 years ago.

Raafiq Abrahams, 25, stands accused of stabbing Brey, 63, inside his Wittebome Superette in Wynberg after a botched robbery on November 13, 2002.

Abrahams was on the run for more than a decade but in December came forward and confessed to Brey’s murder, saying that he had been just 14 at the time.

Brey’s daughter, Fowzia Sonday, and other relatives were at the Wynberg Regional Court on Tuesday when Abrahams was expected to strike a plea and sentence agreement with the State. But it did not go ahead because Abrahams’s lawyer, Milton de la Harpe, wanted to go through the probation officer’s report with his client first.

“We assumed the case would come to head today (Tuesday)… It becomes tiresome for one to be sitting there and you don’t know whether it will be done but… we are happy it will take place next week,” Sonday said.

De la Harpe explained in court that he had only received the probation officer’s report late on Monday. An address also needed to be verified before the plea and sentence agreement could be signed off.

Abrahams has been charged with murder and aggravated robbery and has indicated that he wants to plead guilty.

De la Harpe asked that the case be postponed for a week. Prosecutor Waldo Müller did not object.

Magistrate Gavin du Plessis postponed the case to next Friday.

jade.otto@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

The SA Jewish Board of Deputies has slammed the ANC provincial chairman’s snub at a attempt to mediate a complaint.

Cape Town - The SA Jewish Board of Deputies has slammed ANC provincial chairman Marius Fransman’s snub of the SA Human Rights Commission’s attempt to mediate a complaint that he had insulted Jews.

While the commission had confirmed a month ago the mediation meeting would be held on Tuesday, with Fransman’s agreement, he had failed to attend. This showed disrespect of the concerns of the Jewish community and other minority groups, said board chairwoman Mary Kluk.

Fransman, who is also the deputy minister of International Relations and Co-operation, maintains he did nothing wrong. The commission is to take further steps against him.

In an interview in February on Voice of the Cape, a Muslim community radio station, Fransman said, without proof, that the DA had handed building contracts in Observatory and Woodstock, previously held by Muslims, to Jewish businessmen.

The board at the time said to attract votes Fransman had made “demeaning and inflammatory remarks” that would create animosity between Muslims and Jews.

Soon after, it lodged a complaint against him with the commission. Kluk said they were outraged when they arrived at the meeting on Friday to find Fransman had no interest in participating.

“The meeting was mutually agreed on a month before so I flew down from Durban. When we got there, they told us that Fransman would not be attending and he had no interest in participating. It sends a clear message to South African Jewry and minority communities that he has little respect for the constitutional processes to protect their rights,” she said.

Kluk said Fransman’s refusal to engage in talks added to his “insulting behaviour” towards the Jewish community.

“He accused the (board) of being unpatriotic simply for seeking to fulfil its mandate to uphold the constitutionally protected civil liberties of the Jewish community. It is completely unacceptable that Fransman had accused (the board) of being ‘un-South African’ and of driving an interest outside of the national interest on behalf of a foreign country,” she said.

Kluk said the commission’s investigation into the complaint would be taken further after Fransman’s refusal to participate.

Fransman said he saw no reason to attend the mediation as he had not said anything in violation of human rights: “I don’t believe what I said was wrong. I was trying to highlight certain groups in the Western Cape, including the Jewish community, are part of a privileged group.

“I’m prepared to meet them (the board) to engage about real human rights issues in previously disadvantaged communities.”

Fransman said he had written to the commission to explain his absence and was waiting for its response.

Commission spokesman Isaac Mangena confirmed the letter from Fransman, saying he had other matters to attend to on Friday. He said a letter would be sent to Fransman soon. “As he didn’t attend… we will issue him with a notice that (sets out) the complaint against him. He (Fransman) will be given a chance to respond. For now, the investigation into the complaint… will continue,” he said.

barbara.maregele@inl.co.za

Cape Times

An argument over a spoon resulted in a Khayelitsha schoolboy being assaulted by a fellow pupil.

Cape Town - An argument over a spoon ended with a Khayelitsha schoolboy being assaulted by a fellow pupil.

Bronagh Casey, spokeswoman for Education MEC Donald Grant, said the incident occurred during the lunch break on Monday when pupils at the Sizimisele Secondary were receiving their feeding scheme meal.

“Two male learners began arguing over a spoon,” Casey said.

“A Grade 9 learner then wounded a Grade 11 learner on the ear with a spoon. The learner was taken to hospital for a dressing to the ear.”

Casey said this was the second incident of this nature at schools at which metro police officers, called school resource officers, had been placed.

The first was at Oscar Mpetha High School where, in March, a Grade 9 pupil was stabbed twice in the abdomen and was injured on the head.

In the same month, Uviwe Mzingelwa was stabbed to death with a pair of scissors on the way to school.

Metro police chief Wayne le Roux confirmed the incident. “We will continue to endeavour to curb such school violence,” he said.

The incident was not a “regular occurrence” and he advised parents to ensure their children did not resort to violence at school.

Ilse.fredericks@inl.co.za

yolisa.tswanya@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

“Why did you hurt her? Why did you take her life? I have no sympathy for you. Do you realise what Anzunette meant to all of us?”

Cape Argus - Convicted murderer Moegamat Armien Salie not only killed Anzunette du Plessis, but also ruined the lives of her three-year-old daughter, her fiancé and her mother, the Western Cape High Court has heard.

This was the submission, prosecutor Evadne Kortje made during closing arguments in the high court on Tuesday.

Kortje argued that Salie also ruined the lives of her two children when he robbed and killed Du Plessis inside her Claremont home on October 4 last year.

On Monday, acting Judge Dianne Davis found Salie guilty of premeditated murder and aggravated robbery after he was found in possession of stolen property valued at R43 000 less than an hour after the murder.

In aggravation of sentence, Kortje handed to the court letters from Du Plessis’s mother, Sandra, and from her fiancé, Claude Kruger.

Sandra’s letter was addressed to Salie directly: “I want to tell you how my whole life changed in the blink of an eye… Why did you hurt her? Why did you take her life? I have no sympathy for you. Do you realise what Anzunette meant to all of us? You did not only take her life but all of ours too!!!!”

In a letter to Du Plessis, Kruger told her of all the milestones their three-year-old daughter achieved and promised to keep her engagement ring and everything she owned for their daughter.

In mitigation, Salie’s lawyer, Ken Klopper, argued that there were substantial and compelling circumstances to deviate from the prescribed minimum sentence of life in prison for premeditated murder and 15 years in jail for aggravated robbery.

Klopper said his client left school at a young age, had a difficult childhood, was not an idle member of society as he had worked for his father’s maintenance business for 15 years and was married with two children.

“I ask the court to accept that he has a problem with drugs but never used this as an excuse for committing the offence. I want to argue, despite the gravity of the offence, Mr Salie isn’t trying to minimise his role but was genuinely showing remorse,” Klopper added.

Salie is to be sentenced on Friday.

jade.otto@inl.co.za

Cape Town

More than 4 800 proposals have been put forward for the 91 NY streets in Gugulethu that are expected to be renamed by August.

Cape Town - More than 4 800 proposals have been put forward for the 91 NY streets in Gugulethu that are expected to be renamed by August.

Many of the names suggested are of ordinary people who have contributed in some way to the community - such as Sophaphazi, the owner of a funeral parlour, and Njunja, after an NY11 resident who shone on the basketball court.

While political figures such as Nelson Mandela and Thabo Mbeki are on the list, there are other suggestions that simply capture the spirit of this neighbourhood.

These include “Luvuyile” to signify that “we are happy and united on this street”, “Buntu” because “the people help each other fight crime” and “Sisonke” because “we help and motivate each other”.

Religious names are also popular, such as “Qabazi” to honour the resident priest of the parish on NY3. Struggle icons are also remembered, with proposals for streets to be named after Archie Gumede, Chris Hani and Robert Sobukwe. Businessmen, community leaders, spiritual figures and even the police who were allocated houses in NY155 may feature when the new names are chosen.

Popular tavern owner Mzoli Ngcawuzele may also be honoured for his contribution to the community.

Mayoral committee member for transport Brett Herron said there was still some debate about the meaning of the NY term, commonly thought to stand for “Native Yard”. However, regardless of its meaning, NY was not a “dignified” moniker for the streets and public places of Gugulethu.

“Over the past nine months, assisted by our service provider Name Your Hood, we have been consulting with the residents of Gugulethu, and in particular the people who live on these 91 streets, and have been encouraging them to submit naming proposals for their streets.”

He said the city’s extensive public consultation process had been very successful.

“We have knocked on doors and spoken to residents at shops, churches, schools and other public places in Gugulethu. We have also run a very modern electronic platform for our Gugs residents to submit naming proposals.”

The 11-person panel, chaired by Shado Twala, will consider the proposals and make recommendations to the city’s naming committee. These will then be referred to the mayor and council for approval.

anel.lewis@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

The ANC has accused Western Cape Legislature Deputy Speaker Piet Pretorius of bias in his ruling against MPL Max Ozinsky.

Cape Town - The ANC has accused Western Cape Legislature Deputy Speaker Piet Pretorius of bias and threatened to litigate against him and Speaker Richard Majola.

Pretorius made a ruling last week against ANC MPL Max Ozinsky, ordering him to withdraw his remark “she wanted to kill us” during a debate on May 9.

Ozinsky was referring to Helen Suzman and Umkhonto we Sizwe soldiers.

Premier Helen Zille, who raised a point of order with Pretorius, came to the defence of Pretorius on Tuesday and said Ozinsky’s remark was clearly unparliamentary.

Zille said the ANC’s statements were “far from the truth”.

“Deputy Speaker Pretorius was correct in his ruling and he was very meticulous. He is the most unbiased person I know,” she said.

Ozinsky has refused to retract his statement.

All the ANC MPLs walked out of the sitting last week to show their opposition to Pretorius’s ruling.

ANC chief whip Pierre Uys said on Tuesday that the ruling “was just another example of how the presiding officers are biased against the ANC and (how) the DA was closing democratic debate”.

“We wrote to the Speaker and requested a meeting, but parallel to this we are considering legal action against the two presiding officers (Pretorius and Majola). It cannot continue like this,” he said.

He said ANC MPLs felt DA members were allowed to say anything during sittings while ANC members were called to order when they did the same.

Pretorius said he was offended by the ANC’s statement that he was biased but that he did not want to get into a “public spat” with the party.

“It was no out-of-the-ordinary ruling. I make these rulings on a regular basis,” he said, adding: “My ruling had nothing to do with the Know Your DA campaign and its use of Helen Suzman.”

Ozinsky said his right to freedom of speech was denied.

“I never insulted Helen Suzman. I just put the facts on the table,” he said.

Legislature spokesman Matthys Odendal said meetings with all the parties and Pretorius would be held to discuss the issues.

cobus.coetzee@inl.co.za

Cape Times

A group of Muslim lawyers wants SA to arrest “ war criminal” US President Barack Obama when he visits later this month.

Cape town - A group of Muslim lawyers in Johannesburg wants South Africa to arrest US President Barack Obama when the country hosts him on a state visit later this month “because he is a war criminal”.

“Obama ordered drone strikes that killed innocent civilians. In terms of the Rome Statute, South Africa has the right to prosecute a war criminal on its territory if there is sufficient evidence,” Muslim Lawyers’ Association spokesman, Yousha Tayob, said on Tuesday.

Launched in 2007, the association provides legal services and advice to Muslims, locally and internationally, on issues that affect them. Membership of the association is open to judges, magistrates and prosecutors, among others.

aziz.hartley@inl.co.za

Cape Times

ANC proportional councillor Loyiso Nkohla, one the apparent ringleaders in the "faeces war", has been arrested.

Cape Town - ANC proportional councillor and youth league member Loyiso Nkohla was arrested on Tuesday morning at Cape Town police station.

Nkohla joins 184 people who were arrested in Woodstock on their way to the provincial legislature on Monday to dump human waste outside Premier Helen Zille’s office.

All the members of the group arrested on Monday appeared in the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday morning, among them former ANC councillor and suspended ANC Youth League member Andile Lili.

While some were released on Monday evening, Lili and six others remained in custody. They were charged with contravening the Gatherings Act, failing to give notice of a protest, contravening a court order, violating the Health Care Act by transporting hazardous material (human faeces on public transport), and for travelling without a valid train ticket.

Nkohla and former ANC councillor Lili seem to be the ringleaders in the “faeces war” on Zille. The two, armed with tanks full of human waste, led the first group of protesters to the provincial legislature last week to spill the sewage outside her office. A day later, the pair were among the group that flung faeces at Zille’s convoy.

A group from Khayelitsha told the Cape Argus before entering the court that they would “continue to fight until there were no more portaloos or bucket systems” in Cape Town.

Sibusiso Zonke, 23, said the charges against him would not stop him taking part in more “poo protests”.

“Since when is it illegal for us to sing Struggle songs in the train when people can sing religious songs without getting arrested? They (the police) must tell us why they arrested us.”

He also mentioned the fact that mayor Patricia de Lille was wearing protective gear and a face mask during her visit to Barcelona and Kanana on Tuesday to clean toilets.

“Why was De Lille wearing a mask yesterday while we have to smell and live with the smell of s*** in our homes every day? She can’t handle the smell, yet she expects us to live with it.”

Cape Argus

The SA Democratic Teachers Union and 16 of the affected schools had asked that Grant’s decision be reviewed and set aside.

Cape town - It is not adequate to give one-word reasons or simple sentences as a reason for a school’s closure.

This was the argument put forward by advocate Thabani Masuku on behalf of Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga in the Western Cape High Court on Tuesday.

There should be a certain “level of engagement” between the MEC and the community surrounding the school and the process to close schools should include more than just mechanical recordings of meetings, he said.

A full Bench of judges - Andre le Grange, Lee Bozalek and Nape Dolamo - are hearing a review of Education MEC Donald Grant’s decision to close 20 of the 27 schools which had been identified for possible closure last year.

The SA Democratic Teachers Union and 16 of the affected schools had asked that Grant’s decision be reviewed and set aside.

They attacked the constitutional validity of Section 33 of the Schools Act, the legislation which underpinned the way in which an MEC could go about closing schools, because it did not require Grant to “follow a fair, lawful and constitutional procedure, and it was also vague and overbroad”.

An important question in the review was whether the department had fulfilled its requirements to hold public hearings and allow communities to make representations.

Masuku likened school closures to the “death penalty”, describing it as “snuffing the life out of a school” so that it “ceases to exist”. “Section 33 intends to include more than just a mechanical recording of representations and then a decision.” He said because a school was often a source of pride and history in its community, its closure should be dealt with sensitively.

“In this litigation between the applicants and the provincial authorities, Section 33 must not be the casualty of the litigation. The MEC must have the power to close schools.

“The question is, under which circumstances?

“It is a power that should be used to advance the rights in the Bill of Rights.”

Masuku said it was required of the MEC to engage with those affected by the closure.

“There is a duty of the decisionmaker to act transparently, accountably and responsibly.

“It is not a mechanical engagement where the MEC looks at reports which have been prepared.”

He said without talking to people personally, and looking at their faces, the MEC would not be able to make an informed decision and would not be able to convince community members that the school’s closure was in their best interests.

Masuku said there was no doubt that Section 33 was constitutional.

A majority judgment last year found that the procedure had fallen short of what was expected in a public consultation process, while a minority judgment had found that the act distinguished between representations and a process of consultation.

Judgment was reserved.

michelle.jones@inl.co.za

Cape Times

“At some point she was so sick that I wanted to give up. I thought she would die, but today I’m happy that my little girl has made it.”

Cape Town - Three-year-old Ventacia Jafta is familiar to medical staff at the newly-renovated Burns Unit at Red Cross Children’s Hospital.

When the Cape Argus photographer walks towards her, she pulls away from her mother, Linray. She has been resting following a painful dressing procedure to her tiny frame, but she manages to smile for pictures.

This does not last long before she buries her face into her mother’s chest once more. Her body is still sore from the burn wounds she suffered at her Atlantis home a month ago.

Ventacia was playing at home when her arm got entangled in an electric frying pan that had hot water in it.

The pan tipped over, spilling the water on her, burning her neck, torso, arms and back - an area that amounted to 27 percent of her body surface. Her injuries and weakened immune system later led to her suffering a bacterial cross-infection and pneumonia in hospital, which landed her in the intensive care unit, and her being on a ventilator.

“At some point she was so sick that I wanted to give up. I thought she would die, but today I’m happy that my little girl has made it and that we will be going home soon,” said her mother.

Last week, Ventacia enjoyed her birthday party with friends and family in hospital - thanks to the dedication of staff at that unit.

But she is just one of the many patients that stream to the unit every year. According to hospital spokeswoman Lauren O’Connor-May, winter is the busiest time of the year for the unit, which treats about 1 300 patients a year.

The number of admissions during this time of the year increases by between 60 and 80 percent, the hospital says.

Dr Roux Martinez, a burns doctor at the unit, who has been treating Ventacia for the past four weeks, said about 75 percent of the burns patients presented to the unit suffered hot water burns, with 60 percent of these related to tipped electric kettles, which children often pulled by the cords.

“Some of these burns are so serious that children die before they make it to hospital. Because children pull these from the top while their necks are stretched they tend to inhale the hot steam or swallow the hot water. Because their airways are so fragile they swell quickly and close up, resulting in breathing difficulties and sudden death,” she said.

Apart from kettle accidents, Martinez said the unit was also seeing more burns related to burst hot water bottles and electrical burns - where children either chewed electrical cables or stuck their hands in vandalised street lights.

The average size of burns the hospital treated was anything between 10 and 35 percent of the body surface - injuries considered so significant in other African countries that “if a child suffers more than 30 percent of burns they are considered too complicated that they are just given morphine and left to die”, said Martinez.

The hospital treats some of the severe burn wounds using the cadaver skin transplant or donor skin as a biological dressing - a process that allows the skin to grow back..

sipokazi.fokazi@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

A woman was killed when the car she was driving collided with a police vehicle in Milnerton, Cape Town.

Cape Argus - A woman was killed when the car she was driving collided with a police vehicle late on Tuesday night.

The police vehicle was on its way to the Milnerton police station with five suspects in the rear lock-up at about 10.30pm, said police liaison officer Captain FC van Wyk.

The five people were arrested in Du Noon and the police had opted to return from there to Milnerton along the N2 and then the off-ramp on to Plattekloof Road, to turn down Koeberg Road.

When they reached the intersection of Koeberg and Plattekloof roads, the traffic light was green for them and the driver continued, proceeding through the intersection, Van Wyk said.

As the police vehicle turned left into Koeberg Road, a gold-coloured Volkswagen Golf slammed into its side, Van Wyk said.

It is believed the woman driving the Golf had skipped the red traffic light.

She has not yet been named, as police have not yet been able to track down her next-of-kin. She was from Smallville, Burgundy Estate, Richwood.

Van Wyk confirmed that the woman had two dogs in her car, one of which was killed on impact.

The other dog had run off and has not yet been found.

Van Wyk could not confirm if anybody in the police vehicle had been injured but witnesses said it appeared one of the arrested men had a broken leg.

Van Wyk said a case of culpable homicide was opened for investigation, as required by legal procedure.

“Anyone with information about this accident is asked to contact the investigating officer Detective Colonel Douglas Muller at 021 528 3800,” he said.

The accident happened in lanes where road construction is underway for more BRT bus lanes.

Cape Argus

About 180 people accused of illegally gathering on a train while carrying human waste have appeared in court.

Cape Town - About 180 people accused of illegally gathering on a train while carrying human waste appeared in the Cape Town Magistrate's Court on Wednesday.

The group had to be separated into smaller groups of 10 to 15 people and were led into the court room in succession.

Although 184 people were arrested, the court was informed that a few people had not arrived. The group was told to return to court on August 2, after further investigation.

Western Cape police spokesman Captain Frederick van Wyk said they were arrested at the Esplenade railway station in Woodstock on Monday morning, while en route from the Chris Hani station to the Cape Town station. He said 118 people on the 10.15am train were arrested and 66 on the 11.15am train.

They were allegedly on their way to dump human waste in the city. They were charged with public violence and convening a gathering without notice, before being released on a warning to appear in court again.

Seven of the accused, including former councillor and ANC Youth League member Andile Lili, were kept in custody. They would be back in court later on Wednesday to apply for bail. - Sapa

The family and neighbours of an elderly Milnerton woman who was murdered in a home invasion are reeling with shock.

Cape Town - The family and neighbours of an elderly Milnerton woman who was murdered in a home invasion on Tuesday are reeling with shock.

Arlene Davids’ body was discovered by a neighbour and friend who went to investigate after she had not emerged from her Sanddrift home in Diana Road by mid-morning.

It is believed that she was killed during a home invasion, shortly after her son, understood to be the only other person living in the house, went to work.

On Tuesday her body was removed by forensic pathologists from her home, but crime scene investigators were still on the scene this morning, as weeping family members held vigil in the street outside.

Police said this morning that the 60-year-old woman’s neighbour came to her house to confirm a lift that she arranged with her previously.

The neighbour knocked on the door, but there was no answer.

She noticed the gate and door standing ajar and went inside the home and discovered the body of the victim on the floor of her bedroom.

The woman had suffered severe blunt trauma to her head and had died on the scene, said police spokesman Captain FC van Wyk.

The circumstances surrounding the incident were unknown at this stage, said Van Wyk.

Approached by the Cape Argus, the family asked to be left alone. Neighbours from the quiet cul-de-sac were willing to speak, but said that there many rumours about the crime.

“I don’t want to spread half-truths, but this certainly is a terrible tragedy. I have lived here for 40 years, and never have we had anything more than an average house breaking.

“I used to feel so safe that my front door would be unlocked. Now I don’t know anymore, all of us will have to be more vigilant,” said Diana Street resident Laura Hoffman.

Hoffman said that Davids was a “quiet and cordial lady”, who lived with her son, a school teacher.

The Cape Argus spoke briefly to the neighbour who had discovered the grisly murder scene inside the house. The woman was visibly in shock. The interview was cut short by members of Davids’ family who asked that reporters return this afternoon, after they have had a briefing from the police on the details of the murder. A murder case has been opened and no arrests have been made.

daneel.knoetze@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

The seven alleged “ringleaders” of a plot to dump human waste in Cape Town appeared in the Cape Town Magistrate's Court.

Cape Town - The seven alleged “ringleaders” of a plot to dump human waste in Cape Town appeared in the Cape Town Magistrate's Court on Wednesday.

Former councillor and ANC Youth League (ANCYL) member Andile Lili and six others appeared before magistrate Chumani Giyosi late in the afternoon.

Giyosi rolled over the formal bail applications of Lili and two others to Thursday.

Four others were released on warnings and were told to appear again on August 2.

The group and 176 others were arrested on Monday morning and charged with public violence and convening a gathering without notice.

Captain Frederick van Wyk said they were arrested at the Esplanade railway station in Woodstock on Monday morning, while en route from the Chris Hani station to the Cape Town station.

He said 118 people on the 10.15am train were arrested and 66 on the 11.15am train.

They were allegedly on their way to dump human waste in the city.

The group had to be separated into smaller groups of 10 to 15 people, which were led into the court room in succession throughout Wednesday morning.

They were told to return to court on August 2, after further investigation, and ordered not to convene or take part in any protest without first getting permission.

They could not threaten, intimidate or assault any member of the public, or damage or threaten to damage public property.

Once the large group had appeared, they convened outside the court, singing, dancing and playing games in front of about 10

police officers wearing full riot gear.

A week ago, a group of people in Khayelitsha threw human waste at a bus and cars used for transport to a green economy event hosted by Western Cape premier Helen Zille.

A day before that, two men dumped faeces on the steps of the Western Cape legislature in a protest about portable flush toilets (PFTs).

De Lille then called on the SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) to help the city educate residents in informal settlements about the benefits of PFTs.

Some residents feel the PFTs are another form of the bucket toilet system.

Magasela Mzobe, who introduced himself as the ANCYL national task team co-ordinator, explained the political stance on the issue.

“Throughout this saga, the name of the ANCYL has been mentioned and we felt as a task team we must come and summarise the problems of our people and give the necessary support that they need,” he said outside court.

He said the ANCYL distanced itself from the faeces throwing, but not from raising poor service delivery.

“We are talking to them that there is a better way that we can employ in raising the plight of our people without having to throw faeces all over the province,” he said.

“If they do not listen to that, we are forced then to look at the internal processes of disciplinary action.”

Mzobe would spend Wednesday and Thursday inspecting the toilet situation at the Barcelona and Kanana informal settlements.

The State said on Wednesday it would object to the release of Lili and the other two on bail. It asked for a seven-day postponement to obtain bail information.

Lawyer Duncan Korabie, representing the three, accused the State of having political interests, and of making the seven out to be “ringleaders”.

“They're being put up here as a show, not only to the court, but to the press,” he charged.

“Accused number one (Lili) is a well-known politician. Where is he going to go to? His face has been in the newspapers since last week... You want to keep him in jail to make a statement.”

Giyosi denied the State's request for a postponement, initially announcing at 4.30pm that the bail applications would take place immediately.

After hearing the State's concerns, he rolled the matter over and ordered that Lili and two others be kept in custody at the Cape Town police station rather than in prison. - Sapa

The Western Cape ANC Youth League's leadership will be announced next week.

Cape Town - The Western Cape ANC Youth League's leadership will be announced next week, the league's national task team (NTT) co-ordinator Magasela Mzobe said on Wednesday.

“We met with the Dullah Omar region today at 10am and disbanded them. We will constitute a team that will lead the province here,” he said in Cape Town.

“We don't have a leadership structure of the youth league in the province, but soon we will announce names: by next week Friday.”

The African National Congress disbanded the ANCYL's national leadership earlier this year.

On Monday, ANCYL national task team convenor Mzwandile Masina

said it had disbanded the organisation in Limpopo, Free State, North West, and the Northern Cape.

Its KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, and Western Cape structures had been “reconstituted”, he said.

The NTT had visited eight provinces to assess their structures. Its assessment of Gauteng was not yet complete. It would visit the Eastern Cape only in the next seven days.

“We have come to a conclusion that some drastic measures need to be taken,” said Masina.

“We are more convinced that the ANCYL is in a weaker state since its disbanding (of its national executive committee),” he said. - Sapa

A 54-year-old Cape Town woman was found guilty of nearly one hundred counts of fraud and theft.

Wynberg - A woman was found guilty of several counts of fraud and theft by the Wynberg Regional Court on Wednesday.

Magistrate Jackie Redelinghuys found Linda Adams, 54, guilty of 72 counts of fraud, 13 of theft and eight of failing to submit tax returns.

Adams was told to return to court on September 2 for sentencing.

Welcoming the judgment, National Prosecuting Authority spokesman Eric Ntabazalila said Adams practised under the company name 'TaxSave', and used various methods to defraud clients until one of them reported her suspicious conduct to the SA Revenue Service (Sars).

Adams arranged to have tax refunds due to clients posted to her own address. She then deposited the refunds into her own account.

Adams claimed the money she took was for fees to which she was entitled.

In court, she admitted she had not sent invoices to clients because her administration was in disarray.

Adams initially pleaded not guilty to all counts, but under cross-examination by prosecutor Freek Geyser changed her plea to guilty.

Cape Town mayor Patricia de Lille was one of the victims of the scheme.

Ntabazalila said the State's case was strong and that Adams had not only defrauded Sars, but also her own clients who trusted her.

He said the case had been on the roll for more than five years “but the State stuck to its guns and secured the convictions that it sought”.

“Some criminals regard it as not serious to commit white-collar tax-related offences. Our message is: 'Beware. You will be caught.'“ - Sapa

The woman involved in the car crash with a police vehicle in Milnerton that killed her and one of her dogs has been identified.

Cape Town - The woman involved in the car crash in Milnerton that killed her and one of her two dogs has been identified as Charmaine Wijnbeek, of Burgundy Estate in Richwood.

Wijnbeek was killed when her VW Golf collided with a police vehicle that was transporting five suspects to the Milnerton police station.

The vehicles collided at a traffic light at about 10.30pm on Tuesday.

Police spokesman Captain FC van Wyk said a case of culpable homicide would be opened to establish the exact cause of the accident.

“After SAPS members arrested five suspects in Dunoon, they returned to the Milnerton police station.

“On their way back, at the corner of Koeberg and Plattekloof roads, the driver of a VW Golf collided with the police vehicle,” Van Wyk said.

The crash happened in lanes where road construction was under way for rapid transit bus lanes.

Van Wyk said one of Wijnbeek’s dogs died in the crash.

“The other dog ran off and is missing.”

Witnesses can call investigating officer Colonel Douglas Muller at 021 528 3800.

yolisa.tswanya@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

Western Cape police have warned people to beware of a wendy house scam where deposits were paid but goods are not delivered.

Cape Town - Western Cape police have warned people to beware of a new wendy house scam.

The scam, said police, required people to deposit R1 500 into an account before their wooden houses were “delivered”.

So far, eight cases had been reported in the Western Cape, said police Captain Marie Louw.

She said police had also been in contact with at least 25 other people, from across the country, who had fallen prey to the scam.

In each case the modus operandi was the same, Louw said.

Pamphlets advertising “wendy houses for sale” were distributed with the company name and a contact person to call. People called the number and were told to deposit R1 500 into a Shoprite Money Market account.

After the deposit was paid, the wendy houses were never delivered and the “salesman” could not be reached.

Louw said some people were turned away at some police stations where officers believed the scam was a civil matter, while others did not complain.

Cases had been opened in Mitchells Plain, Somerset West, Riviersonderend, Swellendam and Port Elizabeth.

Those who have fallen victim to the scam or have information can contact Detective-Sergeant Stella van Schalkwyk at the Bishop Lavis police station at 082 312 7221.

Cape Argus

A man was convicted of the rape, murder or attempts to do so of three women, including one who was eight months’ pregnant.

Cape Town - An Eastern Cape man has been convicted of six counts involving the rape, murder or attempted murder of three women, one of whom was eight months’ pregnant.

On Wednesday, Western Cape High Court acting Judge Nolwazi Boqwana found that Sandisile Makhakha tried to rape mother-to-be Nozukile Ntshoze in the bushes near her home in Masakhane in Gansbaai on October 18, 2007, before killing her.

Ntshoze’s body was found buried face-down in a shallow grave about 120m from her home.

According to the postmortem, the cause of Ntshoze’s death was “asphyxia due to manual strangulation”.

Makhakha, who is also known as Lunga Msengana, was linked to the crime after his semen was found on Ntshoze’s underwear.

An unused condom, removed from its wrapper, was also found at the scene. This was, however, not enough to prove that Makhakha had raped her.

But as the prosecution argued, Makhakha had strangled Ntshoze to prevent her from reporting the incident to police because she knew him. They lived in the same area.

About a month later, a knife-wielding Makhakha accosted another Gansbaai woman, Phindiwe Keswa, 23, as she was walking home from work around midday on November 25, 2007.

He approached her from behind, drew the knife and said he wanted to kill her. Makhakha dragged her into the nearby bushes, choked her and robbed her of her cellphone and R300.

The woman filed a complaint at the police station and a passerby also reported the incident. Makhakha was arrested but used the fake name.

The charges were withdrawn against him a year later because Keswa refused to testify.

In July 2011, Makhakha struck again while he was living in the Eastern Cape. This time, he was seen walking with Azavela Ziwele,16, in the Balasi grazing field in Bisho. Two days later, a farmer discovered the teenager’s body in the field.

She too had been raped and strangled. Makhakha’s semen was found on her underwear.

He was arrested a week later.

The prosecution decided to combine the cases against Makhakha and try him in the Western Cape.

On Wednesday, Judge Boqwana convicted Makhakha of two counts of murder, one of attempted murder, one of rape, another of attempted rape and one count of aggravated robbery.

Sentencing proceedings are set to start on Thursday.

jade.otto@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

Cabinet has slammed the dumping of human waste by protesters in the Cape's informal settlements.

Cape Town -

Cabinet on Thursday condemned the dumping of human waste by protesters opposing portable flush toilets in informal settlements in the Western Cape.

“While, government respects citizens' right to protest, this particular form of protest is undignified and poses a serious health risk to communities and to the protesters themselves,” Minister in the Presidency Collins Chabane said in a statement.

Citizens should raise their problems in a constructive manner and respect public institutions.

“Cabinet further called on authorities to speedily address issues in a manner that is in keeping with our Constitution.” - Sapa