Ten job applicants challenging Correctional Service’s employment equity plan in the Labour Court are confident of a victory.

Cape Town - The court case union Solidarity says will “forever change the face of affirmative action”, is drawing to a close in the Labour Court, with the applicants confident of a victory.

The case involves 10 job applicants challenging the Department of Correctional Service’s employment equity plan, claiming they were not considered because they were coloured.

On Monday, the department’s legal team called a final expert witness, researcher Susan Nkomo, to the stand.

The applicants, represented by Solidarity, are made up of a group of nine Correctional Services Department employees and a job applicant.

Nkomo gave evidence based on a report before court which she had compiled in response to a report introduced by Solidarity economic researcher Paul Joubert, who had earlier testified that equity targets should be based on figures that represented South Africa’s active workforce, not the total population.

Marumo Moerane, representing the department, said the employment equity plan needed to be viewed in the proper context – politically, historically, economically and socially.

Moerane also argued previously that coloured people were given preferential treatment and were more protected than black people during the years of apartheid.

In her report, Nkomo said: “Joubert’s argument pivots on a notion of the Western Cape as somehow different from or apart from the rest of South Africa. Further, he expects the Department of Correctional Services to conserve the peculiarities of the Western Cape by treating it differently from the rest of the country.”

Both parties were expected to hand in their heads of arguments to presiding Judge Hilary Rabkin-Naicker later this month.

After court proceedings, Solidarity called a meeting with the group of applicants.

Solidarity’s Dirk Hermann commended the applicants for their ”bravery”. He said the union was convinced they and the applicants had done “more than enough” in court. If this court bid was unsuccessful, they would be “going all the way” and would appeal.

During the meeting, Freddie Engelbrecht, deputy regional commissioner for Correctional Services, thanked Solidarity on behalf of the group, saying that without the union they could not have done it.

“The community outside cannot wait for an outcome,” he said.

Judge Rabkin-Naicker said a decision on when the case would resume would be made after the heads of argument were handed to the court.

natasha.prince@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

Parkin Emslie admits his decision to build a luxury beach house on the West Coast near Elands Bay was “naughty”.

Cape Town - Parkin Emslie has built a R3-million beach house on the West Coast near Elands Bay. Many admire the design and the way the architect has placed it in the stark coastal landscape.

But the Cape Town businessman did not get any building plans approved by the Cederberg Municipality - as is legally required - before construction started. And he did not first apply for permission in terms of the National Environmental Management Act (Nema) - as is legally required because the house is built within the proclaimed coastal strip.

He also failed to first inform Heritage Western Cape about the construction - as he was legally obliged to - despite the fact that a proclaimed Provincial Heritage Site, known as Mike Taylor’s Midden, occurs on part of the property, and that this section of the coast is a well-known archaeological treasure chest of global significance. Emslie confirms all this.

“Ag, I’m not going to tell you a story. I was a naughty boy doing it,” he said.

But he insists no damage has been done to the property - a long, thin 97 hectare strip that is a portion of Mosselbaai Farm about 3km south of Elands Bay - and says he would not have gone ahead without all the required permissions if he had realised that “the repercussions would be that big” or that anybody would be “making a big hoo-ha about it”.

There are questions as to whether he was also required to first apply for permission from the departments of Agriculture and of Water Affairs. Local Elands Bay environmentalists are angry at the manner in which the Cederberg Municipality failed to apply building regulations for construction that was well under way by August 2011.

Emslie is now attempting to get ex post facto planning, environmental and heritage approval for the house, after a formal investigation was triggered - after a long delay - by a complaint to Environment and Planning MEC Anton Bredell.

“Zoom in on Google Earth - there’s virtually no damage done,” Emslie says. “The only vegetation removed was really where the deck (overlooking the sea) is, the rest is all pathways. I didn’t go in there and bulldoze everything flat… (Critics) don’t look at the good things we’re doing… We look after that piece of land.”

Last year, he appointed a consultant to submit a “Section 24G” application in terms of the Environmental Management Act, for “the rectification of unlawful commencement or continuation of a listed activity”, and this was received by the province in June last year. The province is entitled to order Emslie to demolish the structure and rehabilitate the property, or it may fine him and/or condone the unlawful work and/or require rehabilitation.

Aziel Gangerdien, spokesman for Bredell’s department, said the application had been been subject to a public participation process, with people able to comment on a draft environmental impact report. The department was waiting for the final report to be submitted.

Heritage legislation is different and does not have provision for ex post facto condonation, and Heritage Western Cape is now doing an investigation that may lead to a decision to prosecute. Heritage Western Cape chief executive Andrew Hall confirmed he had asked the owners to provide information to be put before the committee for archaeology, palaeontology and meteorites.

“It’s a known area of high archaeological sensitivity. We need to see whether heritage resources have been damaged and, if so, to what extent there may be mitigation.”

The Cederberg Municipality said it had “since” received building plans - it is not clear exactly when - but would wait for the outcome of the Section 24G application before taking a decision on any possible legal action against Emslie, and before assessing the building plans.

Responding to questions by the Cape Argus, the municipality confirmed that an investigation had been ordered after the complaint had been sent to Bredell. Two municipal officials had investigated on August 12, 2011, and had photographed structures, “but none of these were new structures”.

One of the officials had discovered the illegal building work only in November 2011 during a “routine inspection”, and a cease-work order had been served on November 16. “It should be noted that the building plans were only submitted on May 31, 2012 when the building was almost complete,” it stated.

But this is contradicted by a letter from the municipality to Bredell’s office, dated September 14 2011, which states: “An inspection was carried out on Friday August 12, 2011, at said site and it is clear that illegal building activities are taken (sic) place. This matter will be dealt with by the relevant building control officials.”

The property is zoned “agricultural” which entitles the owner to a single residence and appropriate outbuildings.

The Section 24G application states that the applicant bought the property in 2004: “The owners do not want to change the zoning but would like to formalise the structures on site... The applicant went ahead as per his existing rights and in 2011 constructed a very modern main house at large cost of R3m.”

“The applicant also constructed an additional accommodation unit and social area using only wood from the area… Both the main house and the additional structure is, however, closer than 100m from the high water mark.”

The application does not refer to other structures on the property, but these are listed in the environmental impact assessment heritage report as “low-key development” put in since 2004: the house and four wooden “cabins”, all cast on concrete floors; a network of informal roads to various cabins; caravan sites with shade mesh and wall screens; the permanent stationing of caravans on site; the laying of services, building of outdoor showers and toilets, and “presumably” septic tanks/latrine pits; and the construction of plant walkways linking a number of cabins.

Cape Argus

Nyanga residents have been shown how to secure a crime scene, should they arrive before the police, so that evidence is preserved.

Cape Town - Nyanga residents have been shown how to secure a crime scene, should they arrive before the police, so that evidence is preserved.

The crime scene awareness campaign was organised by the non-profit organisation DNA Project at the Lusaka Community Hall in Nyanga on Monday. It is part of the police’s Women’s Month Programme.

DNA stands for deoxyribonucleic acid, a molecule which is found in almost every cell in the human body and acts as a personal “identification number”. While fingerprints can be found at a crime scene only if a person touches a surface with bare fingers, DNA can be extracted from blood, hair, body fluids, skin cells and fragments of bone and teeth.

Nyanga’s police station commander, Brigadier Mpumelelo Manci, said 10 areas in the Western Cape had extremely high numbers of reported rape cases, including Nyanga, Gugulethu, Mitchells Plain and Manenberg. The plan is to visit these areas this month to tell people what to do and not to do should they come across a crime scene.

Manci said: “It was imperative that we prioritise educating the Nyanga community first. Community members are often the first ones to arrive at a crime scene. We need communities to help us not only by testifying in court but by understanding they have an important role to play in preserving evidence.”

Residents were shown a mock-up of a crime scene, complete with different items that contain DNA, such as condoms and hair.

The DNA Project’s trainer Grant Godsmark, said DNA was a vital aid in getting bad guys off the streets.

“It’s very difficult not to leave some kind of DNA behind at a crime scene. And the crime scene is usually bigger than a person might think, as one does not know where a criminal has been. It’s important not to touch or remove anything… It’s also important to make sure that the victim, if still alive, is looked after, but at the same time it’s important to ensure that the evidence is secured. If you do move anything let the police know.”

Godsmark said the first person at a crime scene should not touch anything but record and observe. If anyone was lurking around, take note of their appearance as they could be a suspect.

Godsmark said it took 30 to 120 days for the police to process and analyse DNA.

Nyanga resident Nolukholo Phoyiyana said she had come across several crime scenes in the township. “Sometimes a person is already dead and covered with a sheet, and we sometimes lift the sheet to check if it’s someone we know,” she said. “Now I know why we shouldn’t touch it and why the police tell us to move away from the scene.”

The DNA Project was founded by attorney Vanessa Lynch in 2008, after her father was murdered in his home. No one was convicted after all traces of DNA and other forensic evidence were lost. Since then, Lynch has been lobbying for Parliament to pass the DNA bill, also known as The Criminal Law (Forensic Procedures) Amendment Bill.

Once it is law, the bill will boost the size of the National DNA Database, a database of all suspected and convicted criminals. The larger the database, the more chance police have of linking an unknown DNA profile to a known profile taken from a suspect or convicted offender.

nontando.mposo@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

Eleven people were left destitute after their homes burnt down in the Bardale informal settlement in Cape Town.

Cape Town - Eleven people were left destitute after their homes burnt down in the Bardale informal settlement in Blue Downs, Cape Town's Disaster Risk Management Centre said on Tuesday.

The fire, in Parliament Street, destroyed two structures and caused damage estimated at R84 000 on Monday night, spokesman Wilfred Solomons-Johannes said in a statement.

The victims tried to douse the fire using buckets of water. It is suspected that the fire was started by a short circuit.

Solomons-Johannes appealed to residents to isolate electrical devices and extinguish gas burners, candles, lamps, and paraffin stoves when going to bed to prevent fires.

Sapa

A commission of inquiry into policing in Khayelitsha does not have the authority to subpoena the police, the Concourt heard.

Cape Town - A commission of inquiry into policing in Khayelitsha near Cape Town does not have the authority to subpoena the police, the Constitutional Court heard on Tuesday.

“Ordinarily the province cannot call the police or provincial commissioner to account,” Norman Arendse, SC, for the police, told the court.

If the police were subpoenaed they would have to be at a particular place at a particular time, preventing them from doing their work.

Arendse said the police were not immune to being held accountable for their actions, but this should be done through the Civilian Secretariat Act. It made provision for control and management of the police.

The secretariat was a constitutional structure in existence since 1996 and provided a good example of effective and efficient civilian oversight of the police.

Even if the Khayelitsha inquiry was comprised of independent members there was a “clear link” to the provincial executive, he said.

Western Cape premier Helen Zille set up the inquiry last August to investigate alleged police inefficiency in the Cape Flats area.

Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa opposed the inquiry in the Western Cape High Court. His application for interim relief was dismissed in January. Mthethwa then approached the Constitutional Court.

On Tuesday, Arendse argued that Zille was authorised to appoint a commission, but said it was for a specific purpose.

He said Zille did not have the authority to allow the commission to subpoena the police, station commanders, and provincial commissioner.

Justice Bess Nkabinde questioned Arendse on whether the commission could make recommendations.

“Do you accept that this commission was intended to give advice to the national minister [of police]?” Nkabinde asked.

“We accept that... it must make recommendations to the minister,” Arendse responded.

He said the minister did not have a problem with the province's appointing a commission to exercise an oversight role and make recommendations to him.

“The problem is the coercive powers that are conferred on the commission of inquiry to achieve this purpose.”

The matter continues.

Sapa

A bid has been launched to impeach Chief Justice Mogoeng after "a racist and sexist attack against white male lawyers".

Cape Town - A bid has been launched to impeach South Africa’s Chief Justice, Mogoeng Mogoeng, following “a racist and sexist attack against white male lawyers”.

Advocate Paul Hoffman SC, the Cape Town-based director of the Institute for Accountability (Ifaisa), laid the impeachment complaint against the Chief Justice, for alleged contempt of court, attempting to defeat the ends of justice or gross incompetence, with the Judicial Service Commission and the Chief Justice on Monday.

“The details of the complaint relate mainly to a speech made last month to Advocates for Transformation by the Chief Justice.

“The most serious aspects include allegations of contempt of court and attempting to defeat the ends of justice which it is alleged amount to gross misconduct justifying impeachment,” the institute said in a statement.

“In the alternative a complaint of gross incompetence is included in the complaint to cover the eventuality of the JSC being unable to find the necessary intention for the charges of contempt and attempting to defeat the ends of justice.”

Hoffman said: “He climbed off his perch and descended into the arena of debate and contestation over political issues which are pending in the courts – how the JSC is supposed to function and, prospectively, the constitutionality of the Legal Practice Bill.”

Hoffman said a number of organisations believed the Legal Practice Bill was unconstitutional.

On the Ifaisa website, the institution said: “Speaking at the Advocates for Transformation Dinner held on July 6, Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng complained of what he called the apparent resistance to change by a good number of fellow South Africans who, to him, benefitted from opportunities reserved exclusively for them by the apartheid system.

“The Chief Justice well knows that it is foundational to our new constitutional order that the values of non-racism and non-sexism be upheld.

“The Chief Justice has sworn an oath of office that he will uphold the constitution. To launch a racist and sexist attack against white male lawyers, which is what the Chief Justice has done, does not serve to achieve or advance the type of transformed nation that is envisaged in the constitution,” the institution’s website read.

Hoffman told the Cape Argus: “The fact that he has publicly commented on matters which need to be decided in courts of law amounts to interference in the functioning of the judiciary. He’s not up to the job he’s meant to do. He’s guilty of contempt of court or attempting to defeat the ends of justice.

“But if the JSC rules that he doesn’t understand what he’s doing, then he’s grossly incompetent,” Hoffman said.

The Chief Justice’s spokeswoman, Lulama Luti, said: “If a complaint has been laid with the commission, then we will await its processes to unfold accordingly.”

Cape Argus

The trial of Thandi Maqubela, accused of killing her husband Judge Patrick Maqubela, was postponed by the Western Cape High Court.

Cape Town - The trial of Thandi Maqubela, accused of killing her acting judge husband Patrick Maqubela, was postponed by the Western Cape High Court on Tuesday.

Marius Broeksma, for Maqubela, asked Judge John Murphy for more time to prepare argument on the amendment of her murder and forgery charges.

Maqubela and her co-accused Vela Mabena, both out on bail, were asked to return to court next Tuesday.

The two have pleaded not guilty to suffocating the acting judge with cling-wrap in his Sea Point, Cape Town, apartment on June 5, 2009.

Maqubela has also pleaded not guilty to forging her husband's signature on his will, and then fraudulently presenting it at the Johannesburg office of the Master of the High Court.

Last month, Murphy indicated he intended amending the charges on the indictment.

On the murder charge, he wanted to extend the cause of death by adding “or means unknown” to “suffocation with plastic”.

He said this was after the State previously conceded that it was unable to submit evidence regarding an alternative means of death.

Regarding Thandi Maqubela's alleged forgery of her husband's will, he wanted to amend the charge from “making of the signature” to “making of the will”.

Broeksma would present argument next week as to the prejudice his clients would suffer should the charges be amended.

The court heard the defence intended calling a witness next Wednesday.

Sapa

A beer ceremony to thank the ancestors turned sour after a five-year-old girl was run over by a suspected drunk driver.

Cape Town - A traditional beer ceremony to thank the ancestors turned sour when a five-year-old girl was knocked over by a suspected drunk driver leaving the function.

Little Anelisiwe Saul died tragically on Sunday afternoon after she fell from the back of the bakkie and the driver reversed over her head.

The five-year-old was playing in the back of the vehicle with her older sister Abongile Saul and two other children outside a relative’s home in Kuyasa, Khayelitsha, when the incident happened.

Relatives say the driver had been part of the umqombothi, or traditional beer ritual, when he left shortly after 5pm.

Anelisiwe’s mother Neliswa Saul, 39, says: “We were all sitting inside the house and he [the driver] got up to leave.

“He was here for the umqombothi and had been drinking alongside everyone else.

“His van was parked outside and the children were busy playing inside it.

“He got in the car, drove around the block and went to his brother’s house down the road.

“And for some reason he reversed over a speed hump and that’s when Anelisiwe fell out.

“He backed up again and hit her on the head as she tried to get out from underneath the van.

“When we got there, she was bleeding all over, the paramedics arrived soon after but she died in their arms,” says the grieving mom.

The mother of three says she is still battling to come to terms with her daughter’s untimely death.

“We don’t even live this side, I brought my children here for the weekend just for the ceremony and for one of them to die like that is hard to believe,” she adds.

“When the police arrested him for drunken driving yesterday [Sunday], I told them I did not want him in jail.

“I want him to come out and bury my child because we do not have the money.”

Police spokesperson Captain FC van Wyk confirms the suspect was arrested and charged with culpable homicide.

Daily Voice

Big-wave surfers have descended on the city as the Cape of Storms works up some of winter’s best swells.

Cape Town - Big-wave surfers have descended on the city as the Cape of Storms works up some of winter’s best swells.

For most Capetonians it was time to pack away the sunblock, and the SA Weather Service said a chilly week lay ahead.

But for champion big-wave surfers like Durban’s Grant “Twig” Baker, it was time to get into the water.

Cape Town’s notorious big-wave spot, Dungeons near Hout Bay, is experiencing huge swells as a deep low pressure system with a steep gradient approaches the city.

The rough stuff was expected to hit the Western Cape before spreading to other parts of the country, said senior forecaster Ezekiel Sebego.

He said the wintry weather would spread throughout the Western Cape on Tuesday, as well as southern parts of the Northern Cape and western parts of the Eastern Cape.

Wednesday, widespread showers were expected in the Western Cape, with heavy rain in the winelands and the Overberg.

Snow is expected in the south-western parts of Western Cape and Northern Cape on Wednesday morning, spreading east towards Lesotho by Thursday.

“The public are advised that such snowfalls are highly likely to result in the temporary closure of certain mountain passes,” Sebego said.

Gauteng, Limpopo and Mpumalanga would experience mild conditions until Thursday. The chill was expected to arrive in Gauteng by Thursday. Conditions would be cold and windy on Friday.

“Cold conditions are expected in Gauteng on Women’s Day on Friday, when there will also be a likelihood of light showers,” Sebego said.

Limpopo would also experience cold conditions on Friday.

Cape Argus

Planning Minister Trevor Manuel called on the government to strengthen its partnership with the public for the good of democracy.

Cape town - Plannig Minister Trevor Manuel has called on the government to strengthen its partnership with the public for the good of democracy.

“(Leaders) should always reach out to people,” said Manuel, also head of the National Planning Commission, on Monday during a Leadership of Service debate in Cape Town, organised by the Catholic Parliamentary Liaison Office and the Hanns Seidel Foundation.

“If we only focus on our responsibilities in office, then we say: “Look, I can be a good minister by doing my day job, and to hell with the people.”

Manuel said a key issue of leadership was the way individuals conducted themselves.

He urged leaders in public office to be accountable. “Behaviour should be something that is not dependent on serving in office, but when you do serve in office it does set the bar pretty high.”

Manuel also stressed the importance of open communication. “There needs to be a lot more public discussion. I think the other side of that is that democracy is actually a partnership. It can’t be waiting on government to do something for us. We need to strengthen the partnership.”

Retired Constitutional Court Judge Albie Sachs said South Africa had come a long way since democracy. “People who say ‘the more things change, the more things stay the same’… certainly weren’t in jail otherwise they wouldn’t be saying that. Look at what we’ve accomplished… People come from all over the world to observe elections in South Africa… to see what lessons they can take to other countries.”

However, Sachs agreed with Manuel that there needed to be more of a link between civil society and the government. “To me the big challenge is to find the way between the two and to manage tensions and contradictions, rather than to try to suppress them.”

matthew.hirsch@inl.co.za

Cadet News Agency

Cape Times

The National Drug Master Plan has called for an in-depth probe into whether the decriminalisation of dagga is needed in SA.

Cape Town - The National Drug Master Plan, the country’s blueprint on substance abuse, has called for an in-depth probe into whether the decriminalisation or legalisation of dagga is needed in South Africa.

The 2013-17 master plan, formulated by the Central Drug Authority, a state advisory body on substance abuse, was approved by the cabinet about a month ago and implemented with immediate effect.

On Monday the Cape Times quoted Gareth Newham, the head of the Institute for Security Studies’ crime and justice programme, and criminologist Liza Grobler as saying decriminalising drugs would weaken gangs as their main source of power and income would be ruined.

Newham said if dagga were decriminalised, police could focus their resources and clamp down on harder drugs.

Authorities, including Community Safety MEC Dan Plato, were against decriminalising the use of drugs.

The authors of the master plan said when it came to substance abuse, a balanced approach was needed to deal with the problem.

“In the field of substance abuse it is generally accepted that no single approach such as criminalising or decriminalising substances or abusers would solve the problem of substance abuse,” it said.

When it came to dagga, the master plan said it was “well known” that dagga was the second-most used “dependence-forming” substance in South Africa. It said that nine years ago, preparations for a position paper on dagga started and three years ago this paper was presented to parties for consultation.

But the master plan said the stance towards dagga, in South Africa and other countries, had since changed and further research become necessary.

“There is a need for an in-depth investigation of the dynamics of (dagga) use and related harm in South Africa, as well as the relevance of current international/local policies regarding (dagga) use, including measures such as legalisation and/or decriminalisation,” the master plan said.

“The results of this investigation should then be used to develop government policies, legislation, protocols and practices related to (dagga) use.”

The authors said little attention had been given to the problem of driving under the influence of dagga.

A resolution passed at the 54th session of the Commission for Narcotic Drugs, held two years ago in Vienna, requested that a response be developed to “drug-affected driving”.

The master plan said the response would involve collecting data on drug-affected driving and developing a way to test this at the roadside.

In terms of addressing substance abuse, the master plan said it would look at:

* Focusing on a specific community, instead of a national solution, and devising a strategy for that community.

* Applying and developing evidence-based solutions.

* Introducing “a monitoring and evaluation approach” for formulating results. This would include looking at targets and the outcomes of a strategy.

caryn.dolley@inl.co.za

Cape Times

A 17-year-old girl snatched by men in a white bakkie while on her way to school in Grassy Park, managed to escape unharmed.

Cape Town - A 17-year-old girl snatched by men in a white bakkie while on her way to school in Grassy Park on Monday, managed to escape unharmed.

The Plumstead High pupil was grabbed in Williams Avenue and forced into the back of the bakkie from where she called her mother on her cellphone, and told her that she was being kidnapped. Her mother called the police.

Provincial police spokesman FC van Wyk said a helicopter search had been launched, but the bakkie was not spotted.

A few hours later, Grassy Park police received a call from Cape Town’s central police station, saying the girl was there.

On Monday the girl, who cannot be identified due to her age, told Die Burger about her ordeal. However, the family has since asked for privacy, said Plumstead High’s principal Craig George.

“We are very glad to hear that she is safe, but we are also in the dark as to what happened. The pupil is not at school today, (she is) recovering from the ordeal at home.

“I have spoken to her parents, but they do not want to sensationalise this and have asked not to be bothered by the media,” George said.

Die Burger quoted the girl as saying that she was attacked from behind, suffocated and thrown into the back of a bakkie. A while later, after struggling in the back of the bakkie, she was made to sit between the two men in the front of the car.

From there she caught the attention of two passers-by, who pulled the kidnappers from the car and assaulted them. The girl escaped and the kidnappers drove away. Police confirmed this morning that no arrests have been made.

Grassy Park Community Police Forum chairman Philip Bam warned parents to ensure safe travelling plans were made for their children.

Earlier this year, another girl from Grassy Park was kidnapped and raped by three men.

Cape Argus

A man has been arrested in connection with the rape of a four-month-old baby and a seven-year-old boy in Ceres.

Cape Town - A man has been arrested in connection with the rape of a four-month-old baby and a seven-year-old boy in Ceres, Western Cape police said on Tuesday.

Lt-Col Andre Traut said a 32-year-old man was taken into custody and questioned in Ceres on Monday night.

A task team comprising various police units was created to investigate the rapes.

“We will go to great lengths to ensure that the perpetrator is brought to book,” he said.

Provincial police commissioner Arno Lamoer said on Monday that the baby had been sleeping in bed with her parents when a man snatched and raped her in the early hours of Saturday morning.

The boy was in the house and raped at the same time.

Lamoer said it was believed that the man had been staying in the house, on a farm, at the time.

“The child is currently at the Red Cross Children's Hospital, where she had reconstructive surgery, and she will stay there for a long time,” Lamoer told reporters on the sidelines of a police memorial service in Kuils River.

“As you can see, there is a sick society outside. Some men can't take the responsibility and we need to make sure this person is arrested.”

Traut clarified that the children were not siblings as previously reported.

Sapa

A police officer accused of raping a 14-year-old girl has appeared in the Paarl Magistrate's Court.

Cape Town - A police officer accused of raping a 14-year-old girl appeared in the Paarl Magistrate's Court on Tuesday morning.

Warrant Officer Anthony Gouws, 41, who is out on R1500 bail, will be back in court on August 29.

He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

According to the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID), the girl was raped twice at her home in April this year.

On another day, she was raped at the house of her alleged attacker, IPID spokesman Moses Dlamini said.

Afterwards, he dropped the teenager off at school. On another occasion, the girl was picked up in a police vehicle and taken to a field where she was raped.

Dlamini said the girl was allegedly raped on numerous other occasions.

“The victim had reported the rapes to her cousin but she was afraid to inform her parents.”

Her mother reported the matter after finding a message on her daughter's cellphone.

Sapa

Commercial Fraud Unit members surprised a man while he was preparing to clone bank cards in his bedroom, a policeman testified.

Cape Town - Commercial Fraud Unit (CFU) members surprised a man while he was preparing to clone bank cards in his bedroom, a policeman told the Specialised Commercial Crimes Court in Bellville on Tuesday.

Warrant Officer Jonathan Simpson, an intelligence official attached to the police Crime Prevention Unit, told the court he was with the CFU team when it secretly entered a three-bedroomed apartment in Thornton, Cape Town, about midday on October 1, 2010.

Simpson testified that he entered the unlocked room first, followed by his colleagues, to find Ikennia Ezennia sitting on his bed with a laptop, into which card cloning cables and a skimming device were plugged.

Ezennia and his co-accused Martin Igube, both Nigerians, have pleaded not guilty before magistrate Sabrina Sonnenberg to a charge of conspiracy to commit bank card fraud.

Simpson told the court the apartment belonged to a policewoman, who lived there and leased the two spare rooms to foreigners.

The policewoman had told him she suspected her tenants were cloning bank cards in Ezennia's room, and she also told Simpson of Ezennia's daily movements.

She claimed Ezennia usually visited a nearby pub in the morning, and returned to the apartment about midday, allegedly to clone bank cards.

Simpson said it was essential to catch Ezennia in the act, before he could dispose of his cloning equipment.

He and the CFU positioned themselves higher up the street, where they had a clear view of the apartment, and could see Ezennia when he left the pub.

Simpson said they waited a few minutes after Ezennia entered the flat, before quietly unlocking the front door.

They moved quietly to Ezennia's room, where the door was ajar. Simpson entered first, followed by the others.

Simpson said he identified himself as a police officer, and Ezennia appeared shocked at their entrance.

Andre Johnson, for the defence, said he would dispute the validity of the entry-and-search without a search warrant, and that the court would be required to make a ruling on it after a trial-within-a-trial.

The matter was postponed to next Tuesday.

Sapa

In total darkness, with a four-month-old girl in tow, a boy managed to find his way home after having been raped.

Cape Town - In total darkness, with a four-month-old girl in tow, a seven-year-old boy from Ceres managed to find his way home after having been raped in the early hours of Saturday.

The man who allegedly raped them has been arrested, the Western Cape police said on Tuesday.

Police spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Andre Traut said the 32-year-old man had been taken into custody and questioned in Ceres on Monday night.

The suspect was expected to appear in court soon.

A task team comprising various police units was created to investigate the rapes.

Traut clarified that the children were not siblings as previously reported.

At a press conference held at the Ceres police station on Tuesday, provincial police commissioner Arno Lamoer said the rapes were “shocking and disgusting” and they were doing everything in their power to make sure they uncovered the truth.

Lamoer said the top detectives, tactical response team, dog units and the family violence, child protection and sexual offences unit were working on the case.

The four-month-old was at the Red Cross Children’s Hospital, where she has had reconstructive surgery, while the seven-year-old had been released into his mother’s care.

Lamoer said the child would not be taken away from his mother or be put in a witness protection programme because the police and the local Community Policing Forum (CPF) were sure he was safe with his parents.

Jan van der Merwe, CPF chairman in the area, said he had been impressed by the response from the police who had been working day and night to solve the case. He added that residents were shocked and angry following the incident.

“We feel that he must stay in jail or residents are going to kill him...

“This is a small town and this is the first time we are dealing with a child rape case like this in the community,” Van der Merwe said.

A short drive from the police station lies Vredebos Farm, where the alleged rape happened.

A dirt road leads from the main road to a row of wendy houses where residents were standing along the street while children played not far away.

Behind the wendy houses is a vineyard where it is alleged that the man took the two children to rape them.

But the wendy house in which the seven-year-old’s family live, stood empty on Tuesday.

Resident Lilian Mentoor said the seven-year-old’s family had lived on the farm for a number of years. The four-month-old’s family were visitors.

Another resident, Mietjie Lambert, said they did not know the man who is alleged to have raped the two children.

“No one knows this guy. We have never seen him before.”

On Saturday morning, Mentoor said, they were woken by police vans and investigators at the scene.

Witzenberg mayor Jacques Klazen and his deputy, Karriem Adams, visited the farm on Tuesday. The area was plagued by drug and alcohol abuse, Klazen said.

Lamoer and his team, which included deputy police commissioner General Peter Jacobs, arrived to show the media the area where the incident happened.

A footpath behind the wendy houses leads to the vineyard which is about 100m from the homes. The police stopped at a ditch where they said some of the baby’s clothes had been found.

Jacobs said that the seven-year-old was brave because he managed to find his way back home, with the four-month-old, and alerted his parents to what had happened.

Back at the wendy houses, Klazen said he wanted to build a crèche for the children on the farm.

Cape Argus

There were three likely outcomes to the complaint laid against Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng, a JSC spokesman has said.

Johannesburg - There were three likely outcomes to the complaint laid against Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng with the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), its spokesman told SAfm on Wednesday.

Advocate Dumisa Ntsebeza said a JSC committee would consider three options after looking at the merits of the complaint lodged by the Institute for Accountability and its director, Paul Hoffman.

Ntsebeza said the first possibility was that the committee would decide the complaint does not warrant an investigation.

Secondly, the committee could decide the complaint was serious enough for Mogoeng to be impeached. Then it would recommend that the complaint must be considered by the JSC, and the JSC would then recommend the appointment of a judicial conduct tribunal.

In this scenario, “an in-depth investigation will follow”, said Ntsebeza.

The third possibility was that the committee might conclude that the complaint was serious, but did not warrant an impeachment. The committee would then look at the merits and “deal with the judge about whom there is a complaint with a view to counselling”, said Ntsebeza.

Five judges sit on the committee that will initially consider the complaint.

Hoffman's complaint centres around an address by Mogoeng to Advocates for Transformation.

“The most serious aspects (of the complaint) include allegations of contempt of court and attempting to defeat the ends of justice which it is alleged amount to gross misconduct justifying impeachment,” the Institute for Accountability said.

In his speech, Mogoeng questioned critics who complained when a white male candidate was not recommended for appointment to the Bench, while those who were appointed were described as “executive toys”.

“These developments seem to suggest that war has been declared against transformation. People are clutching at straws to discredit the JSC. They seem to want the JSC they can dictate to,” Mogoeng said.

“The apparent discomfort with the progress we are making in transforming the Judiciary... must be dealt with decisively.

“And for the record, many white males have been recommended for appointment by the JSC over the years. It is for them and those who know them better to say whether they are 'executive toys'.”

JSC secretary Sello Chiloane on Tuesday said Mogoeng was part of the judicial conduct committee that would deal with the complaint.

“The chief justice is one of those judges on the committee, and because the matter involves him, they will have to consider how to deal with it. They will handle it in terms of their own processes.” - Sapa

The police are continuing their search for the bodies of two teenage girls they suspect may have drowned in a dam in Bellville.

Cape Town - The police are continuing their search on Wednesday for the bodies of two teenage girls they suspect may have drowned in a dam in Bellville on Monday.

By 3pm on Tuesday the police had still not found the bodies of the 13 and 16-year-olds and called off the search which was set to resume at 6.30am on Wednesday.

The teenagers are from Belhar.

Police spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Andrè Traut said it was suspected that the teenagers had drowned in the dam opposite the Bellville Velodrome while swimming with friends.

“Death inquest case dockets have been registered to investigate the circumstances,” he said

A boy, who was with the girls and other friends when the two disappeared, pointed to the area where they were last seen swimming.

Bellville police station spokeswoman Captain Fienie Nimb said since only one of the girls’ relatives had come forward, the names of the teenagers could not be released.

On Facebook Lance Elliott said he hoped there was a “no swimming” sign at the dam.

“As a kid we used to go shooting pellet guns there ‘in the bush’ and there have been stories of drowning there for years… RIP.”

Anwar Ismail, who stopped at the dam, wrote: “I witnessed a large police and emergency personnel, and police divers searching the very murky waters there. By this morning a SAPS rubber duck was added.”

Freddy Bolton wrote that the quarry’s steep slopes were treacherous. “The whole area ought to be fenced off.”

natasha.bezuidenhout@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

A Cape Town policeman allegedly shot dead his wife during a domestic dispute, police have said.

Cape Town - A Cape Town policeman was arrested on Wednesday morning for allegedly shooting his wife dead, police said.

The constable, stationed at the Kuilsriver police station, allegedly shot his wife, 40, on Tuesday night at their home during a domestic dispute, said Lt-Col Andrè Traut in a statement.

He fled the scene with his service pistol, he said.

“An immediate investigation led police to a residence in Delft where the member surrendered himself,” he said.

The 37-year old policeman would appear in court soon. - Sapa

The State has been instructed to oppose bail for the parents of Olivia van Voeght, who drowned in a vlei in Cape Town.

Cape Town - The director of public prosecutions has instructed the State to oppose bail for the parents of three-year-old Olivia van Voeght who was found dead in a vlei in Lotus River last week.

Olivia’s parents - Elizabeth van Voeght, 45, and Abraham Draghoender, 47 - appeared in the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday for the second time since their arrest last Wednesday.

They are alleged to have contravened the Children’s Act and have been charged with child neglect.

They were taken in for questioning the day after the little girl was reported missing.

Olivia was last seen alive at her Lotus River home at about 7pm last Tuesday. She was wearing a pink cap, a pair of brown trousers and blue slippers.

It is alleged that on that day, Elizabeth van Voeght was out drinking alcohol at a friend’s place. She had her daughter with her. The little girl apparently fell asleep.

Draghoender had then allegedly taken the sleeping Olivia home and left her there. Van Voeght allegedly continued drinking.

The next day, the couple realised Olivia was missing, and a large-scale police and community search ensued.

Olivia was discovered after police in a helicopter spotted the body of a little girl floating in Zeekoevlei.

Prosecutor Charlean Olivier-Manuel said in court on Tuesday that the director of public prosecutions had instructed that bail be opposed based on the seriousness of the offence.

Also, the case docket had to be sent to the director of public prosecutions after the couple appeared in court on Tuesday, she said.

According to the preliminary post-mortem report, Olivia drowned.

Her parents spent the weekend behind bars and are to remain in custody at Pollsmoor Prison for two weeks.

Their Legal Aid South Africa lawyer, Clint Coleridge, said his clients wanted to apply for bail.

One of Van Voeght’s daughters, Megan van Voeght, 19, who looked after Olivia during the day, broke down after seeing her mother in court.

Megan did not want to speak to the media.

Van Voeght has two other daughters, Dora Jumat, 28, who is married, and Shannon, 14, who lives with an aunt.

The couple are due back in court on August 23.

jade.otto@inl.co.za

Cape Argus