A security camera set up on a popular mountain route on Table Mountain to watch for muggers has disappeared.

Cape Town - A security camera set up on a popular mountain biking and running route on Table Mountain to watch for muggers has disappeared.

The camera, a wireless unit operating by cellphone signal, disappeared in the past two weeks after it ran out of airtime and had no signal, said Robert Vogel of cycling club Table Mountain Bikers, which put it up.

The camera was one of three put up by Table Mountain Bikers with money donated by supporters.

Since the cameras had been erected, there had been no incidents of crime, Vogel said.

“We cannot be sure when exactly the camera was stolen,” he said. “The camera was in an area where the signal was a bit dodgy, but we had to have a camera there to monitor a specific trail.

“It did not take a picture when it was removed obviously, but it was enclosed in the steel casing, so it could have taken the thief some time to open it up.

“We are trying to get information from the service provider, Vodacom, to see if we can determine a last known position.”

Cape Argus

A man accused of killing and dismembering a teenage girl has had his case moved to the Western Cape High Court.

Cape Town - A man accused of killing and dismembering a teenage girl appeared in the Blue Downs District Court on Monday afternoon.

Johannes Christiaan de Jager, 48, wearing a blue fleece top and jeans, was told his case was being transferred to the Western Cape High Court.

He applied for legal aid because he could no longer pay his lawyer.

His case was postponed until September 13, for a pre-trial conference in the high court. His trial was set down for October 7 to 31.

De Jager allegedly murdered 16-year-old Charmaine Mare in January, while staying at her home in Kraaifontein, in Cape Town's northern suburbs. At the time Mare's mother and other family members were away on a sea cruise.

He also allegedly raped and murdered a prostitute, Hiltina Alexander, in May 2008.

De Jager faces charges of murder, aggravated robbery, defeating the ends of justice, dismembering a corpse, and fraud.

He allegedly buried Mare's partially-burned torso in open ground in Kraaifontein, and hid her arms and legs in a carton in the garage of her home. He then allegedly falsely reported her missing to police.

De Jager had already appeared in the Atlantis District Court for Alexander's murder. The two cases have been combined.

The court heard on Monday that De Jager had a list of defence witnesses he intended calling. This list would be forwarded to his advocate for subpoena purposes.

Sapa

A “backlog” of beds at Cape Town's Valkenberg Psychiatric Hospital delayed a fraud trial involving a paralegal graduate.

Cape Town - A “backlog” of beds at Cape Town's Valkenberg Psychiatric Hospital delayed a fraud trial involving a paralegal graduate on Monday.

Chris Lodewyk, 46, was referred to the hospital for 30 days' observation but could not start the assessment until a bed became available, legal aid lawyer Hailey Lawrence told the Bellville Specialised Commercial Crime Court.

Lodewyk, of Goodwood, faces eight counts - two of illegally practising as an attorney, one of practising as an attorney without the required Fidelity Fund Certificate, two of fraud, and three of theft.

Magistrate Sabrina Sonnenberg heard at his previous appearance that Lodewyk was number 180 on the waiting list.

At Monday’s proceedings prosecutor Valley Omar told the court the situation was unchanged, and asked for a postponement to September 9.

Lodewyk was referred for psychiatric assessment after psychiatrist Wayne Sanders diagnosed severe depression. In a letter filed on the court record, Sanders said Lodewyk's depression was caused by an abusive relationship.

According to the charge sheet, Lodewyk practised as a paralegal in the name of Legal Max, and advertised himself on the website Gumtree.

On one fraud charge he allegedly unlawfully received R50 280 from client Richard Watkins, between 2008 and 2011, and R79 600 from another client Werner Schreuder, between 2010 and 2012, for legal work he did not do.

Watkins had a dispute with a motor dealership, and Lodewyk allegedly falsely informed him that the matter had gone to court and that the court had ruled in Watkins's, favour, with costs.

Schreuder allegedly engaged Lodewyk to appear for him in high court litigation, in Schreuder’s absence, which Lodewyk failed to do.

As a result, a civil judgment was granted against Schreuder, but the first that he knew about it - and of Lodewyk’s alleged failure to act for him - was a visit from the sheriff to attach Schreuder’s car.

On the second fraud charge Lodewyk allegedly obtained R216 000 for investment from Richard and Elizabeth Dickenson in 2008, after falsely informing them that he was a registered investment broker.

Lodewyk was to invest the money with First Stage Holdings Ltd, at between 16 and 18 percent interest per annum, but allegedly kept the money for himself.

The three theft charges are based on the fraud charges, involving the victims Watkins, Schreuder, and the Dickensons.

The remaining three charges involve alleged violations of the Attorneys Act.

The matter was postponed to September 12. Lodewyk's R25 000 bail was extended.

Sapa

Western Cape authorities have not confirmed that ANC NEC member Tony Yengeni had been arrested for drunk driving.

Cape Town - Western Cape authorities could not confirm on Monday evening that a man arrested for drunk driving in Cape Town was ANC national executive committee member Tony Yengeni.

National Prosecuting Authority spokesman Eric Ntabazalila said he had followed up the incident with the relevant courts.

“I can confirm that Tony Yengeni did not appear in a Cape Town court.”

Police spokesman Captain Frederick van Wyk stuck to an earlier statement that a 58-year-old man was arrested on the corner of Somerset and Dixon Roads in Cape Town on Sunday for drunk driving.

“He was detained at Cape Town central police station for the duration of the night and released on bail this morning, 7.30am Monday,” he said.

“He is due to make a court appearance at the Cape Town Magistrate's Court on 4th March 2014.”

Beeld online reported on Monday that its Cape Town sister newspaper Die Burger had seen Yengeni leaving police cells in the morning after paying R500 bail. He was reportedly driving a Maserati when he was arrested.

In 2007, Yengeni was arrested in Goodwood, Cape Town, on a charge of driving under the influence of alcohol. He was also granted R500 bail at the time. He was found not guilty.

At the time, Yengeni was out on parole after his 2003 conviction for defrauding Parliament by failing to disclose a 47 percent discount on a 4x4 Mercedes-Benz.

Sapa

Two sets of digital film footage were taken of Tony Yengeni before and after his arrest for alleged drunk driving.

Cape Town - At least two sets of digital film footage were taken of ANC national executive committee member Tony Yengeni before and after his arrest on Sunday night for alleged drunk driving.

Yengeni was arrested near the corner of Somerset and Dixon roads shortly before 11pm and kept in custody at Cape Town Central police station overnight, before being released at about 7.30am on Monday.

He is due to appear in court on March 4 next year.

The City of Cape Town has denied any suggestion its officers targeted Yengeni, pointing out he had been driving erratically and his white Maserati was short of at least one number plate.

He was then tested with a hand-held screening device and found to be “substantially over the limit”, said City of Cape Town mayoral committee member JP Smith.

According to reports, Yengeni’s breath alcohol content reading was 0.69mg of alcohol per 1 000ml of breath.

The legal breath alcohol limit is 0.24mg per 1 000ml, which corresponds to a blood alcohol content of 0.05 percent.

“Officers had spotted the Maserati driving erratically. Also, we take the absence of number plates extremely seriously, (because) if a vehicle doesn’t have a number plate then no other enforcement is possible.

“Officers used a screening device, which showed he was substantially over the limit, which was sufficient basis on which to take him to the Shadow centre in Athlone.”

The Safely Home Anti Drunk-driving Operations War Room is a dedicated facility equipped to process allegedly drunk drivers.

Smith said the centre was used to ensure no extra pressure was put on hospital resources.

“The centre has the added benefit that the entire encounter with the alleged drunk driver is recorded. The entire process is filmed to ensure that no one can make any false claims later.”

Yengeni was subsequently taken to Cape Town Central where he spent the night.

Regarding the Maserati, Smith said officers typically gave alleged drunk drivers the option of phoning a friend to come and remove their vehicle, or otherwise their vehicles were impounded. “Officers can’t very well put an inebriated person back in the driving seat.”

Asked to respond to suggestions on social media that Yengeni had been “targeted”, Smith said: “Fifty-two people were nabbed across the province this weekend. Mr Yengeni is one of 52 – so he certainly wasn’t targeted.

“Anyway, without a number plate it was improbable that officials would have known who he was anyway.

“Video footage will be made available to prove that officers had a probable cause for pulling him over.”

This would come from CCTV cameras that monitor large parts of the city, including Somerset Road.

Smith said the matter was in the hands of police, but he was also confident that metro police could obtain a copy of the blood test, “as a backup”.

This follows a debacle in November 2007, when Yengeni was held for drunk driving after his BMW swerved and landed on the centre island. The case against him then took a dramatic turn when a station commissioner and a junior policeman were alleged to have interfered with the case.

A court later heard that the original case docket had disappeared from a safe and a blood sample was tampered with. At the time, Yengeni was on parole with conditions that he observe a 10pm curfew and not drink alcohol.

He was acquitted of all charges on that occasion.

Cape Argus

An autopsy to establish the cause of death of a soldier who died at Oudtshoorn army base has been performed.

Cape Town - An autopsy to establish the cause of death of a soldier who died during the night at Oudtshoorn army base last Thursday was carried out on Monday.

The results were, however, not yet available, said police spokesman Captain Malcolm Pojie.

Private Sikwane Walter Masamba, 27, was from Venda and was the seventh person to have died in the past four years at the base, according to the SA National Defence Union (Sandu).

Sandu chairman Pikkie Greeff said the death appeared to have been due to hypothermia. He accused the command at Oudtshoorn of failing to check on soldiers while they were on guard duty.

“We are saying that if proper protocol was followed the death could have been prevented,” he said.

Defence ministry spokesman Brigadier-General Xolani Mabanga said the soldier had been found dead in a tent.

“To suggest that there was no radio contact between the soldier and the commander is nonsensical.”

Mabanga talked of “individuals who will always try to discredit the SANDF”.

Greeff, in turn, said “it is neither I nor Sandu who seeks to discredit SANDF, your bosses do a pretty good job of that all by themselves”.

Mabanga said the SANDF would not comment further since it was now a matter between the family, the police and the doctor who conducted the autopsy.

daneel.knoetze@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

The death of Wilfred Jacobs, who died when his truck went over the pier at the V&A Waterfront, left his faimily in shock.

Cape Town - While the investigation continues into the incident in which a truck that went over the pier into the water at the V&A Waterfront, killing one man, friends and colleagues are shocked by the death.

Wilfred Jacobs worked as a maintenance man for the Waterfront and lost his life after the vehicle he was driving veered off the East Pier on Sunday afternoon

Despite the efforts of two pilots, based at a nearby helicopter company, to save him, Jacobs, 33, was declared dead on the scene by paramedics.

It is still unclear what caused the truck to veer off the pier.

A passenger in the vehicle at the time managed to get to safety.

Waterfront spokeswoman Carla White said the man was receiving counselling.

He had not yet been named.

“The car was taken out of the water on Monday and now police can continue with their investigation and determine the cause of the accident.”

White added that talks were being held with the Jacobs family and that the Waterfront was ready to help them in any way it could.

“We are working with the family and arrangements will be made with them, we will offer any assistance we can.”

Friends and colleagues posted messages of condolence and some of disbelief on Facebook.

“Wilfred you will be missed. A one-of-a-kind, a guy that highlighted mischief. It is really a sad day and you can feel it in the office air, just silence and the whispers of your name. Bru you are already missed.”

Another comment simply read: “RIP dear colleague, indeed a sad day at work, you will be dearly missed.”

Another colleague said: “Only the Lord knows why.”

A police spokesman said an inquest had been opened and the investigation could take anything from six months to two years to complete.

yolisa.tswanya@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

Sex worker activists have hailed as a rare victory the speedy arrest of a Cape cop accused of raping a sex worker.

Cape Town - Sex worker activists have hailed as a rare victory the speedy arrest of a Cape Town police captain accused of raping a sex worker.

They said that most such cases went unreported - despite a pilot education drive rolled out in the province to sensitise officers in dealing with sex workers.

The Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) on Monday confirmed that a captain in the Western Cape police’s Special Task Force had been arrested for rape last week. He is the fifth police officer to be arrested for rape in the province since July 10.

Ipid spokesman Moses Dlamini said a 26-year-old woman had been picked up by the policeman in a private vehicle in the early hours of August 3.

After agreeing on a price for oral sex, the policeman allegedly changed his mind and demanded sex. When the woman refused, he assaulted and raped her. After the rape, the woman escaped and later reported the vehicle’s registration number to the police.

Five days later, the policeman was arrested and detained at Claremont police station. He appeared in Wynberg Magistrate’s Court on charges of rape and assault on Monday.

Western Cape NPA spokesman Eric Ntabazalila said the police officer was granted bail of R1 000 and ordered not to make contact with the complainant.

“We are pleasantly surprised,” said Ntokozo Yingwana of the Sex Workers Education and Advocacy Taskforce (Sweat), adding that often sex workers were too afraid to report rapes. In this case it appeared that the woman did not know the alleged rapist was a police officer.

“Usually there is a tardiness in these investigations, and we have to do a lot of canvassing before we see an arrest. In this case we came to hear about the rape only after the arrest had already been effected. This should be precedent setting.”

Sweat have vowed to picket at the man’s future court appearances.

Pickets of this sort were more than a show of solidarity and could have a discernible impact on how seriously a case was taken by prosecutors and the Justice Department, said Sithuthukile Mkhize of the Women’s Legal Centre. “Unfortunately, sex workers are often marginalised and cases can come to naught if they do not have the backing of organisations, activists and members of the public who continue to lobby on their behalf,” she said.

In August last year, the Women’s Legal Centre and Sweat published a report on the abusive relationship between police and sex workers in South Africa. The report found that 70 percent of the 308 sex workers who were interviewed had experienced abuses at the hands of police officers.

These included cases of rape, sexual assault, assault and police corruption - abuses which were found to be “systemic and widespread” in the police’s dealings with sex workers.

Following the report, Deputy Minister of Police Makhotso Magdalene Sotyu visited Sweat’s Cape Town offices and allowed the organisation to run training workshops at police stations.

Ninety-five officers have since received the training, and “sensitisation pamphlets” are due to be distributed at police stations. Sweat hopes that the training programme can be rolled out to other provinces in the coming months.

daneel.knoetze@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

A frontal system was expected to be moving over the Cape, bringing heavy rains and strong winds.

Cape Town - City of Cape Town disaster risk management teams have been put on high alert as heavy rains have been forecast for the next couple of days.

But many farmers in the Overberg are delighted.

A frontal system was expected to be moving over the Cape on Tuesday and Wednesday, bringing heavy rains and strong winds. Areas of concern would be closely monitored by disaster risk management teams, the city said.

Disaster risk management spokesman Wilfred Solomons-Johannes said low-lying areas on the Cape Flats had been identified as vulnerable and routine inspections would be undertaken. Residents would be helped to wet-weatherproof their homes.

Maximum temperatures are expected to stay in the mid-teens, with a 76 percent chance of rain on Tuesday. There will be a 30 percent chance of rain for the rest of the week, and 60 percent on Saturday.

Cape Town weather office forecaster Stella Nake said alerts for flooding and high seas had been issued.

“Localised urban flooding is likely in places over the Cape Metropole, Overberg and the south-western parts of the Cape Winelands due to heavy rains expected.”

High seas with wave heights from six to nine metres were expected to develop south of Table Bay, she said.

Agri Wes-Cape chief executive Carl Opperman said the spring-like weather last week deprived farmers of much-needed rain. This week’s rainfall would compensate for the dry spell last week.

“We are now moving into spring and the time for rain is getting less and less. We don’t need hot weather yet but at least the cold weather we are expected to have is rectifying it.”

Opperman said some farms could be overwhelmed by the heavy rains, but most would benefit from it.

“Some farms could go under water and if it doesn’t dry fast enough it could damage the crops. The overall benefit, however, will be better than the damage that will be caused.”

He added that last year, the rainy season started much earlier. A comparison between the two years could only be made in September when the crop yield could be given.

“In Swellendam, some livestock died after being sheared because of the cold weather.

“If we can get one more spell of rain and cooler weather after this one, the crops will be sorted and we will see great deciduous fruit and table grapes being harvested from October,” Opperman said.

yolisa.tswanya@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

The lawyer for Johannes de Jager, the man accused of killing and butchering two girls in Cape Town, has withdrawn from the case.

Cape Town - A Ruyterwacht man accused of killing two teenagers in separate incidents said he had “a lot” of witnesses for the trial, expected to start in October.

Dressed in a navy blue and grey fleece top and a pair of blue jeans, Johannes de Jager, 48, cut a solitary figure in the dock in the empty court room at the Blue Downs Magistrate’s Court on Monday.

His lawyer, Niel Slabber, withdrew from the case because of “inadequate financial instruction”. He was the second attorney to withdraw from the case.

In January, De Jager was arrested and charged with the murder of 16-year-old Charmaine Mare in Cape Town.

Mare was on holiday from Mpumalanga with a Kraaifontein friend when she was attacked and mutilated.

The State alleges De Jager murdered the teenager before dismembering and burning her body and dumping her scorched torso in a field near Windsor Park.

De Jager was also charged with the murder of 18-year-old Hiltina Alexander in May 2008.

The State has since combined the two cases. Magistrate Francis Makhamandela asked De Jager whether he would be applying for legal aid. He replied: “Yes.”

Asked if he had witnesses who could be subpoenaed to the pre-trial and trial proceedings, he said: “Yes, I have a lot of witnesses.”

The case was postponed for pre-trial in the Western Cape High Court on September 13 and the trial was set for October 7 to 31.

Cape Argus

The NSRI came to the rescue of 12 crew members after their fishing boat ran aground on the south-western side of Robben Island.

Cape Town - Twelve crew members were rescued after their fishing boat ran aground on the south-western side of Robben Island, the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) said on Tuesday.

“They were transported to Robben Island's Murray Bay harbour and treatment for hypothermia and shock was commenced,” NSRI spokesman Craig Lambinon said.

All 12 were men aged between 18 and 52, Lambinon said.

“It appears that the vessel lost motor power and they were drifting ashore in stormy seas with five to six metre breaking swells,” he said.

“The situation intensified when it became clear that the vessel was hard aground on rocks... casualty crew had no further choice and they began to abandon ship under their captain's instruction.”

Rescue operations ended at about 5.17am.

The South African Maritime Safety Authority would investigate the vessel's environmental impact and chances of salvaging it, Lambinon said. - Sapa

A man accused of being a “recruiter” in a human trafficking syndicate is attempting to get bail in a Cape Town court.

Cape Town - A man accused of being a “recruiter” in a human trafficking syndicate that allegedly used women for sexual exploitation is attempting to get bail in the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court.

Francis Chidiebane Nweke, 31, is one of four men accused of trafficking at least three women from Joburg, KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape who were allegedly used as prostitutes.

Nweke, Nwafor Emmanuel Jideoffer, 24, Billy Emeka Amune, 37, and Ogechukwu Kingsley Mmaduekwe, 32, who are all originally from Nigeria, are accused of 14 charges related to the trafficking and exploitation of women.

The State said the men lived off the money the women made as prostitutes.

They have been charged with various counts, including rape, kidnapping, trafficking in persons for sexual purposes, the involvement of trafficking persons for sexual purposes, living on the earnings of prostitution, and assault.

Nweke wants bail and had previously testified he had a child in South Africa he needed to take care of.

On Monday, investigating officer Warrant Officer Lizette Durrbaum told the court a specialist investigations unit had rescued a 19-year-old woman who had allegedly been sold and trafficked from Joburg to Cape Town by the syndicate.

The court heard how the woman, who had grown up in Belfast, on the border of Mpumalanga and Gauteng, had left her aunt’s house a few years ago because she had been ill-treated there.

The woman went to Joburg and, while wandering the streets of Hillbrow, met a woman who offered to help her.

The 19-year-old was then introduced to the woman’s husband, “William”, at an “underground” club.

She lived with the couple at their Brooklyn house, and after two weeks was told to work as a prostitute so that she could pay for her rent and food.

A year passed and all the money she earned was given to William and the woman.

On January 15, this year, William said she was to leave with a man called “Destiny” (later identified by authorities as Ogechukwu Kingsley Mmaduekwe) to go to Cape Town to work in a computer shop.

Durrbaum said the woman agreed to go because she thought her circumstances would be better there.

She left the next day on a bus with “Destiny”.

But the woman told investigators she was raped by him and made to work as a prostitute.

She refused, but was told that she “had no choice because he had already paid for her”, Durrbaum said.

On the second night on the streets of Cape Town, city law enforcement officers approached her when they realised she was new to the area.

She told officers her story and led them to Destiny’s home, where they found an asylum-seeker permit bearing his real name, Ogechukwu Kingsley Mmaduekwe.

A short while later, the police arrested Mamduekwe at OR Tambo airport, before he could leave for Nigeria.

When she was back in Joburg, she showed investigators where “William” lived in Turffontein.

The police, accompanied by the woman, then approached Nweke.

Durrbaum said they were investigating a syndicate, and that they were checking cellphone links to prove that the men were communicating.

They had also arrested Jideoffer and Amune during their probe.

The matter continues.

natasha.prince@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

Felicia Wenn is accused of hitting a seven-year-old pupil at St Joseph’s special school in Montana with a plastic pipe.

Cape Town - A teacher accused of assaulting one of her pupils appeared briefly in the Bishop Lavis Magistrate’s Court on Monday.

Felicia Wenn, 54, appeared on a charge of assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm.

The case was postponed until September 10 for a regional court date.

Wenn was scheduled to appear before a disciplinary hearing of the Western Cape Education Department on July 22, but resigned.

At the time, department spokesman Paddy Attwell said the teacher had allegedly hit a seven-year-old pupil at St Joseph’s special school in Montana with a plastic pipe on May 23.

She had been charged with serious misconduct.

The department regarded her resignation as a “deemed dismissal” in terms of the Employment of Educators Act. “In terms of the act, education departments may deem employees to have been dismissed if they resign after being charged and before the disciplinary process has been completed,” Attwell said.

ilse.fredericks@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

A teen, who returned to Cape Town after two years in the countryside, where he went to avoid gang violence, has been shot dead.

Cape Town - A 16-year-old, who returned to Cape Town after two years in the countryside, where he went to avoid gang violence, was shot dead in Manenberg at the weekend.

He was one of three people, including another teenager, aged 18, who died in suspected gang violence at the weekend. Two shootings took place on Saturday and the other one on Monday.

Provincial police spokesman Captain FC van Wyk said there had been no arrests yet.

Two years ago, after a fellow pupil was stabbed in front of him at Phoenix High in Manenberg, Dillan Cornelius’s family sent him to stay with his uncle in Vredendal.

“We feared for his safety,” said his father, André Cornelius.

But he returned home in December, and did not go back to school.

On Saturday evening, Dillan was walking to his home to Beatrix Road after visiting friends at nearby Dina Court when he apparently had an argument with a middle-aged man.

The man went away but came back and allegedly fired at Dillan, hitting him in the arm, leg and abdomen.

The teenager was taken to GF Jooste Hospital where he died.

Police said the gunman ran away, but witnesses said they recognised him and that he had recently been released from prison.

Dillan’s mother, Dianne, said the last time she had seen her son was when he had come to get a friend’s jacket an hour before he was shot.

“I told him, ‘Dillan, I haven’t seen you the whole day, come sit with me’. He replied, ‘I’m coming back now, mommy’.”

She said his death had broken her heart.

Police said an 18-year-old was shot several times on the corner of Ouplaas Street and Main Road in Wesbank at about noon on Saturday.

The motive for the shooting was unknown.

On Monday at about 9am, Alan Boch, 35, was shot in the face three times by an unidentified male while he was washing a neighbour’s taxi not far from his home in Tafelsig.

Boch’s sister, Laetitia Jansen, said she had received an SMS from her aunt, informing her about the shooting.

She said: “We are very emotional and heartsore. “We don’t know why anyone would target him.”

Jansen said a friend of Boch’s had told her the shooting was gang-related, but her brother “was no gangster”.

The family were due to identify his body at the Salt River Mortuary today.

zodidi.dano@inl.co.za

Cadet News Agency

Cape Argus

Schizophrenic Peter Appel has died after being brutally beaten allegedly by fellow prisoners in Pollsmoor prison.

Cape Town - A mentally ill man has died after being brutally beaten allegedly by fellow prisoners in Pollsmoor prison.

Now the family of Peter “Pietie” Appel, 45, are demanding justice for his senseless killing.

Appel, who suffered from schizophrenia, died in Caledon Hospital on Thursday evening, three weeks after he was allegedly assaulted by fellow inmates at Pollsmoor prison.

His sister Mina Hendricks, 41, said his death comes nine months after he was first arrested on charges of damage to property and assault on October 21.

“When the cops came, he threw a brick at the van but it didn’t hit the vehicle,” said Mina.

“He threw another stone that cracked the windscreen and he also threw out the side window.”

She said cops then pepper-sprayed him and loaded him into the van.

Meanwhile, Mina went to get help from another cop who knew her brother’s history of mental illness and managed to calm Pietie down.

“He appeared in Caledon Magistrates’ Court where the case was postponed until the Wednesday so they could get a doctor’s report about his condition,” she said.

“I don’t know why they didn’t just release him on bail when they got the report.

“Instead they sent him to Pollsmoor and we only saw him every month when he came to court.”

Her husband Ruan Wolmarans, 26, added: “People who do worse things like rape and murder get bail.

“My brother-in-law wasn’t a criminal, he was mentally ill so why couldn’t he be released?

“He wasn’t a danger to the community.”

In July, the couple were informed that Pietie had been admitted to Victoria Hospital after he was assaulted.

“He was in a coma the whole time and just stared ahead of him,” said Mina.

“Sometimes he would move his arm across his throat as if he was reliving the attack and wanted to ward somebody off.”

According to Mina, they were informed that Pietie sustained injuries to the brain after allegedly being attacked by three fellow inmates where they were held in a special section of the prison.

The family then requested that he be transferred to Caledon Hospital where he passed away last Thursday.

Now they are left with many unanswered questions.

“We want to know why they couldn’t have released him on bail until they found a bed at Valkenberg where he was supposed to go for psychiatric evaluation,” said Mina.

“Or why didn’t they keep him at the local hospital or in Caledon Prison where we could have visited him?”

According to Department of Correctional Services spokesman Simphiwe Xako, the deceased was held at the remand detention centre at Pollsmoor when the assault took place.

“We are awaiting the results of an internal investigation that has been launched,” he said.

Daily Voice

New signage in the Cape Town CBD will mean there is less chance of finding yourself at the wrong end of a long and busy street.

Cape Town - New signage in the city centre will mean there is less chance of finding yourself at the wrong end of a long and busy street and having to make a U-turn.

The City of Cape Town said on Monday it had spent more than R300 000 on upgrades for central Cape Town streets, including new street numbering, and parking bays for motorbikes and the disabled.

According to the city, it would be the first in South Africa to feature this international practice of including building numbers on the same signs as street names.

The project was a joint initiative between the city and the Central City Improvement District (CCID).

“The CCID invested in the preliminary research and reports required, which entailed walking each and every street in the CBD and identifying the direction of the street numbers, particularly as they pertained to every intersection,” said the mayoral committee member for transport, Brett Herron.

Tasso Evangelinos, the CCID’s chief operations officer, said the changes would enable visitors to the CBD to find their destinations easily.

“Motorists will be able to decide which way to turn into a street to find their destination. “This will save them time and fuel as they will no longer need to reroute or backtrack to the correct street.” Some streets - including Bree, Loop and Long - already had signs with sequenced numbering.

“There are more than 200 intersections in the city centre and many of the most prominent ones will be numbered by the time the project is completed next year,” Evangelinos said.

“We encourage building owners to prominently display their building numbers, as this will help to ensure that the street numbering system is even more effective for users of the CBD.”

Other upgrades included increasing the number of parking bays for motorcycles from 39 to more than 130.

Herron said: “World-class cities realise that people are becoming more conscious of their carbon footprint.

“More people are car-pooling, using the bus or opting for more fuel-efficient modes of transport such as motorcycles. We are now in a better position to cater for this need.”

Thirty-five new parking bays for the disabled had been created near such facilities as museums, libraries, hospitals and medical practices.

Cape Times

Two men are being sought after a woman was raped and robbed in George, Western Cape police said.

Cape Town - Two men are being sought after a woman was raped and robbed in George, Western Cape police said on Tuesday.

“The 36-year-old woman was doing her washing in the backyard of her home at around 2.30pm on Monday,” Captain Malcolm Pojie said.

“When she went back to the house she found two men inside, a coloured and black man. They threatened her verbally and demanded cash. While one of the suspects ransacked the house looking for [valuables], the other raped the victim.”

The men took R2000 before fleeing the scene.

They were believed to have gained entry through an open door.

Police were offering a reward, and anyone with information should call 044-803-4638 or 086-846-3633.

Sapa

When Andile Lili met a family living in a 4m shack using a "smelly" portable loo, he decided to take up their fight.

Cape Town - When former ANC councillor Andile Lili came across a Khayelitsha family of five living in a 4m shack using a “smelly” portable toilet, he decided to take up the informal residents’ cry for access to better sanitation.

In an interview on Monday, the suspended ANC member said that in March, when about 108 Sannicare employees were on strike, the workers had invited him to support them. He was unable to attend a meeting due to other commitments.

Lili then visited Barcelona, Kanana and Enkanani, where most of the Sannicare employees had focused their strike.

In Enkanini, Lili said he met a family using a portable toilet which they had just received from the City of Cape Town. He said the family lived in a one-room shack and had to use the toilet in full view of one another.

“The man of the house explained to us that the children complained that when he was using it, it was smelly. The father also told us that he felt the porta-potty took away his dignity because he had to use it in front of his children.

“Those are some of the things that made us decide to join with the communities in fighting these,” said Lili, 38, who lives in a shack in Makhaza, Khayelitsha.

“In many communities you will find that these toilets are filthy. There are maggots because they have not been cleaned for months.”

The dumping of human waste from portable toilets has been a feature of many recent protests in Western Cape informal settlements.

Lili and ANC councillor Loyiso Nkohla led a group that dumped excrement at the provincial legislature’s doorstep on June 3.

They then allegedly dumped faeces at Cape Town International Airport, for which they face up to 30 years for contravening the Civil Aviation Act.

Lili, who spoke to the Cape Times while at the Western Cape High Court fighting his expulsion from the city council on Monday, said: “In the protests people took the faeces and threw it in their own streets.

“But we said, ‘no this is not how it should be done. The people who are responsible for cleaning these toilets are in town’. That’s when we decided to take it to the City of Cape Town and the province.”

Lili could face expulsion from the ANC for his part in the protests. Last week, he and Nkohla were served with letters to appear before the party’s disciplinary committee on August 24.

Lili has already been suspended by the ANC for bringing the party into disrepute.

Even with the fresh charges, he remains defiant. He claimed that some members of the ANC’s provincial executive committee were out to destroy his name.

Lili said he and Nkohla had been advised by residents to step back as they had done their bit to “launch the struggle”.

xolani.koyana@inl.co.za

Cape Times

NSRI rescuers have saved the lives of 12 fishermen from a shipwreck on Robben Island in a dramatic midnight ordeal.

Cape Town - Daring NSRI rescuers have saved the lives of 12 fishermen from a shipwreck on Robben Island in a dramatic midnight ordeal.

On Tuesday, the dozen men from the 19.6m Hout Bay fishing trawler Claremont were being treated in hospital.

And exhausted NSRI boat crews and rescue swimmers were being lavished with praise for their efforts.

“They did unbelievably well, it was a mammoth effort – swimming, wading and hopping from rock to rock, in foul weather, pouring rain, with huge waves breaking over them – for more than an hour-and-a-half… These guys deserve massive praise,” said the NSRI’s Craig Lambinon.

The NSRI’s Table Bay station commander, Pat van Eyssen, said the distress call came at four minutes after midnight.

“It appears that the vessel lost motor power and they were drifting ashore in stormy seas with five-to-six-metre breaking swells,” he said.

On board were the skipper and owner, Marcelino da Silva, 49, of Tableview, and 11 crew, aged 18 to 52.

Crews from three NSRI stations – Table Bay, Melkbosstrand and Bakoven – launched four vessels, while the WC Government Health Emergency Medical Service set up a joint operations centre.

The skipper told the NSRI by radio that waves were breaking over the vessel and that the vessel was being battered against rocks and was breaking up.

“Efforts to get the crew off from the sea side, with rigid inflatable rescue craft darting in between wave sets under the illumination of white illuminating flares proved fruitless, as waves of between five- and six-metre sets rolled in forcing our craft to abandon the efforts to avoid being capsized or rammed into rocks,” Van Eyssen said.

The crew began to panic, but the NSRI urged them to stay calm.

“The situation intensified when it became clear that the vessel was hard aground on rocks and listing to a 40 degree angle and casualty crew had no choice and they began to abandon ship under their captain’s instruction.

“NSRI rescue crews raced into Murray Bay Harbour and summoned the Robben Island Security who ferried them to the far side of the island.

“At first only one of the casualty crew managed to get to shore and NSRI rescue swimmers waded, swam and jumped from rock to rock, in between crashing waves to reach the ship where four casualty crew members were found perched on a rock. They were helped ashore,” Van Eyssen reported. In relays, all 11 casualty crew were helped ashore, while the skipper remained at his wheel house – exhausted and suffering from hypothermia.

By 4.17am all 12 crew members had been taken to Murray Bay Harbour and were treated for hypothermia and shock, before being hospitalised.

The SA Maritime Safety Authority is monitoring the vessel, which remains wrecked on the island.

Cape Argus

Thandi Maqubela would have conducted her defence differently had her murder and forgery charges been amended before the trial, her lawyer said.

Cape Town - Thandi Maqubela would have conducted her defence differently had her murder and forgery charges been amended before the trial, her lawyer said on Tuesday.

“Our contention is that the State, in effect, bound itself (in the indictment), putting its flag to its mast, and the defence approached the entire matter accordingly,” Marius Broeksma told the Western Cape High Court.

The defence would likely have sought further expert medical evidence.

Broeksma said the current charges were neither invalid nor defective.

“The only shortcoming is that it may be said that the State simply failed to prove the case that they had adequately alleged in the charges.”

Broeksma was arguing against the court's proposed amendment of the charges against Maqubela and co-accused Vela Mabena.

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

Thandi 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, Judge John Murphy indicated he intended making changes to 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”.

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 said that had the charges stood as such at the start of the trial, he would likely have called more witnesses to present medical evidence.

The defence may well have asked for the medical preparations next to the deceased judge's bedside table to be forensically analysed, and for a cardiologist to “further indicate the heightened likelihood of a natural death”.

Broeksma said the amendment to the murder charge made an otherwise “fairly specific charge” a vague one.

Maqubela was prejudiced in that she could no longer ask for further particulars to make the scope of the charge clearer.

He said she had the constitutional right to be informed of the charge with sufficient detail, and to have the trial concluded without unreasonable delay.

Murphy asked the State how it felt about the possible amendments.

“The State does not object to the amendments at all... the amendments as submitted by the court are evidence-driven,” prosecutor Bonnie Currie-Gamwo replied.

“If we had to re-charge his client, the State would be relying on the same facts. That says to me then that there is no prejudice.”

She said the State did not have any further evidence to present in terms of the origin of the judge's will, for example.

Murphy reserved his judgment on whether to amend the charges until Thursday.

Sapa