It was chaos in Sea Point and Green Point as three separate crashes destroyed 4 cars, 2 shop fronts, 2 bollards and 2 lampposts.

Cape Town - It was main road madness in Green Point and Sea Point overnight as three separate collisions destroyed four cars, two shop fronts, two sidewalk bollards and two lampposts.

The first smash happened about 4.40pm on Wednesday on the corner of Beach Road and Marine Drive, when a BMW slammed into a lamppost, bringing it down and blocking traffic at the start of peak hour. No one was injured, said traffic spokesman Richard Coleman.

Then, at 3am on Thursday, in Victoria Road, Green Point, the driver of a red Audi A4 lost control - apparently at high speed - not far from the traffic department offices at Gallows Hill.

Hardly an hour had passed before another motorist lost control and smashed into the rear end of a parked vehicle, sending it into another lamppost.

For the superstitious who believe that bad things happen in threes, the collisions might very well mean there won’t soon be another crash on Victoria Road in the foreseeable future, and the owners of one of the shops damaged in the chaos certainly hope so.

“We couldn’t believe it when we got here,” said Mimi Winkler, who owns The Butcher Man, in Victoria Road.

“The car was standing in front of our shop on the pavement, the music still blaring on its hi-fi system. The driver was gone.

“Our shop hasn’t been open for two months yet and this has got to happen. It is not good for us, that’s for sure.”

The Butcher Man and its immediate neighbour to the right, the restaurant Best of Asia, were extensively damaged.

The car ran up the pavement in front of Giovanni’s coffee shop to the right of the Asian restaurant, but did not touch it. It hit and bent over two bollards on the pavement that were installed to prevent cars from getting on the pavement in the first place, and is believed to have flown through the air before coming to rest against The Butcher Man.

“Witnesses said the driver jumped out of the car, hopped into a taxi and fled,” Winkler said.

“A taxi driver apparently saw the man get into the car at Kennedy’s and drive off at high speed.”

A friend of the owner of the parked car destroyed in the third accident said the noise of the collision woke him.

Timothy Gabb, who lives in a flat next to where the crash happened, said he woke at around 4am to the sound of a crash.

“I looked from the balcony and saw my friend’s car wrapped around a (lamp post),” he said.

“Another car had slammed into the back of it, and had enough momentum after the crash to end up on the other side of the road.

“I’m not sure if anyone got hurt, but all of a sudden there were quite a few people around and a huge commotion. We called the police and went back inside.

“It’s a bummer for my friend, though, because her car was just parked there and now it’s written off.”

Cape Argus

A Namibian man was convicted of the murder of two police constables, who were shot and killed in Hout Bay last year.

Cape Town - A Namibian man was convicted of the murder of two police constables at the High Court in Cape Town on Thursday, Western Cape police said.

Colonel Tembinkosi Kinana said Fabianus Philipus was convicted for the murder of constables Pindiwe Nikani, 26, and Mandisi Nduku, 27.

The two constables were shot and killed, while on duty at Imizamo Yethu in Hout Bay in October last year.

Nikani died on the scene and Nduku who was seriously injured died later in hospital.

Philipus would be sentenced on September 18.

“We have always maintained that an attack on police officers is an attack on the state. Police officials are there to ensure the safety and security of communities as mandated by the country's Constitution and not to be targets of heartless killers,” said Western Cape police commissioner Lt-Gen Arno Lamoer.

“Today's court decision must serve as a good lesson that will send a strong message to other criminals, that the decision to kill our police is wrong on their part,” he said. - Sapa

Pupils from Cape schools build model Bloodhound rocket-cars, and race them down a track.

Pupils from several Western Cape schools learnt how to build model rocket cars on Thursday and race the cars down a track.

The pupils were participating in a Bloodhound Supersonic Car workshop at the Cape Academy for Mathematics, Science and Technology in Constantia.

Bloodhound SSC is a rocket and jet-powered supersonic car that will attempt to break the world land-speed record by exceeding 1600km/h (1.4 times the speed of sound).

The car is being built in Bristol in the UK and it will make the record attempt at Hakskeenpan in the Northern Cape in 2015.

David Willetts, UK Minister for Universities and Science, told pupils the project would make many pupils in Britain and South Africa excited about science and engineering.

SHARED PROJECT

Dave Rowley, education director for the Bloodhound project in South Africa, said the project was special in that the research, design, manufacture and the testing of the car was being shared with schools and universities.

At Thursday’s workshops pupils were divided into teams to build their cars, and once completed the car was put on a track and the speed it which it travelled was measured.

Zakariyah Toyer, a Grade 11 pupil at the Cape Academy, found the workshop interesting.

“Many young people are not interested in science. This could get them interested in a fun way.” - Cape Argus

A man appeared in court after being accused of spitting on his partner's domestic worker and using the K-word.

Cape Town - A Table View man appeared in the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court on Thursday accused of spitting on his partner’s domestic worker and using the K-word on several occasions.

Members of the South African Domestic Service and Allied Workers Union (Sadsawu) and other protesters gathered outside the court in solidarity with Gloria Kente.

André van Deventer, 35, appeared briefly in court on a charge of common assault and crimen injuria. The case was postponed to October 16.

When Van Deventer left the courtroom, the protesters followed him down the road.

Meanwhile, Kente and her lawyer, Peter Williams, gave a brief press conference outside the court.

Kente said she had been employed by the family for eight years and alleged that Van Deventer had racially abused her since he moved into the home about six years ago.

She would live with the family at the weekends while her employer, who worked in a hotel, was away.

One weekend the situation with Van Deventer had worsened, she alleged.

The next day, with the support of her employer, she decided to lay a charge against Van Deventer.

Van Deventer was arrested on July 7 and subsequently released on a warning.

He first appeared in court on August 14.

Williams said the matter was on the court roll for mediation but that they were not interested in mediation.

“We want a full court case to take place,” he said.

He said they were also looking at taking the matter to the Equality Court.

Wilhemina Trout, the national co-ordinator for Sadsawu, said that members were outside the court to show solidarity with Kente and the provincial trade unions for taking on the matter.

“We are also here to support the brave step that Gloria has taken, today she is the hero of the day. I hope that this will be an example for many domestic workers.

“We get these complaints on a regular basis and as soon as you mention court or let’s contact the employer then people are so afraid.

“I think for Gloria it was also the encouragement of the employer... She got the support and the employer obviously stood by her.”

neo.maditla@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

Flippie Engelbrecht’s self-styled spokeswoman says the Engelbrecht family has been subjected to “countless” death threats.

Cape Town - Flippie Engelbrecht’s self-styled spokeswoman has revealed that the amputee and his family had been subjected to “countless” death threats since charges were laid against a wine estate owner and manager.

She was speaking on Thursday, less than 24 hours before the manager, Wilhelm Treurnicht, the remaining accused in the case of assault against Engelbrecht, 20, was due to appear in the Ashton Magistrate’s Court. The owner of the wine estate on which Engelbrecht was allegedly assaulted, Johnny Burger, killed himself last week.

Freedom Trust secretary Carina Papenfus, the struck-off lawyer who is championing Engelbrecht’s cause, said death threats had been sent by email, called in over the phone and posted to her home in Hermanus.

“It’s terrible, it’s rude and it’s filthy,” she said, citing one that threatened to give her Aids.

“There are others that are just deliberate attempts to incite people to kill me or Flippie and his family.”

She said the threats had become a common part of her life since the case began. “It always escalates right before a court appearance. It’s clearly an orchestrated attempt to try and intimidate us.”

But police spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Andrè Traut said the police had no records of threats directed at Papenfus or the Engelbrechts.

Meanwhile, Burger’s family, who had kept silent since the 62-year-old’s death, have finally spoken.

The farmer, who is charged with assaulting Engelbrecht in 2008, shot and killed himself at his family home on the Rietvallei Wine Estate in Robertson last week.

His son Kobus, now managing the estate, told the Cape Argus that the family needed some space.

“At this point I’m focusing on my family,” he said, responding to questions about the court case.

Burger’s death means that “Dozi” Treurnicht will have to face court proceedings alone. During the previous appearance, just a day or two before Burger’s suicide, police used a stun grenade to disperse angry protesters outside the court building.

It is the State’s case that in 2008, Burger and Treurnicht beat Engelbrecht, who was 15 at the time. The Freedom Trust claims the beating left Engelbrecht blind and subject to epileptic seizures.

Later, during a fit, he fell into a fire and lost both his hands.

Papenfus said the case was likely to be postponed again on Friday. But she said three more farmworkers, who claimed they had also been assaulted by Treurnicht, would be outside the court to share their stories on Friday.

Police confirmed they are investigating another three assault accusations lodged against the farm manager.

“(There are) two charges of assault and one of sexual assault. We will, however, not elaborate on the investigation at this stage.”

Papenfus claimed “many” other farmworkers had come forward after Burger’s death and Treurnicht could be facing “a mountain of cases” in the future.

But as the main battle unfolds in the courtroom, another one is escalating on the Internet. Papenfus is being scrutinised online for her persistent and “obtrusive” social media campaign against Burger and Treurnicht.

This week saw the setting up of an anti-Papenfus website, Carina de Vries Papenfus Uncut, and a parody Twitter account. The website links users to the page for her husband’s property company, which counts Papenfus as one of its employees.

A large part of the criticism was incited by Papenfus’s attempts to get the wine industry to blacklist Rietvallei Wine Estate’s products.

Wines of South Africa spokesman Andre Morgenthal confirmed that the group, among others, had received an email in July calling for a boycott of the estate’s wines.

The email claimed that the farm’s current manager, Kobus Burger, had witnessed the assault on Engelbrecht and had done nothing about it.

But Morgenthal said he would reserve comment on the issue until the case had been completed.

According to farmers in the area, some retailers had already taken the wines, which include the John B range, off their shelves.

Claims that Engelbrecht had suffered from epilepsy at least two years before he was allegedly assaulted have added fuel to the fire.

On Monday, the Cape Argus reported that a former neighbour of the Engelbrecht family had witnessed Engelbrecht having seizures in 2006.

This, and other apparent inconsistencies - such as those reportedly found in some of Engelbrecht’s medical records - have led people to question Papenfus’s motives and background.

But the former lawyer said she had nothing to hide, tackling head-on reports that she had been admitted to the Lentegeur Psychiatric Hospital in 2008. “I had a nervous breakdown and yes, I went to the neural clinic there,” she said. “I’m bipolar and have obsessive compulsive disorder.”

She said that after receiving treatment she left the clinic in December that year. Neither condition affected her ability to work and to represent Engelbrecht’s best interests, she said.

“I believe in Flippie and this is why I’m doing this.”

Meanwhile, she said, Engelbrecht’s seizures had become more frequent.

“We have been instructed by his medical team to shield him from the outside world for at least the next two weeks in an attempt to stabilise him.

“We have been warned that his seizures might be fatal.”

She said he was not set to appear in court on Friday.

kieran.legg@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

A man has been sentenced to 15 years for killing 19-year-old Ge-Audrey Green, whose body was found in a drawer under his bed.

Cape Town - A Kraaifontein man has been sentenced to 15 years for murdering Ge-Audrey Green, 19, whose body was found in a drawer under his bed.

Charlton Douw entered into a plea and sentence agreement with the State in the Western Cape High Court on Thursday. In the agreement, it emerged that Douw, 21, tried to kill another woman, Ester Sokupe, in Kotze Street, Scottsville, four months before he murdered Green, whose body was found under his bed in the flatlet behind his family home.

Douw said in the agreement that he had invited Green to his flat on February 7 and they had consensual sex. She started to scream.

“He became worried that his grandparents in the main house would be aware that he had someone in the flat, and (that he) would be chastised for his behaviour,” the agreement reads. “He strangled her in an effort to subdue her screams.”

Two days later, Douw’s mother, Magdeline Douw, and her niece, Mellisa Reiners, went to clean his room and found Green’s body.

On February 11, Douw admitted to Hawks Captain Paul Hendrickse that he had killed Green and had tried to kill Sokupe on October 20.

He had lured Sokupe from her home under the pretext of taking her to her son.

“Once outside her dwelling he… strangled her with his bare hands. A struggle ensued and when she managed to scream for help he ran away and left her,” the agreement reads.

The mitigating factors were that Douw was young, in custody for seven months and addicted to tik at the time of the offences .

Judge President John Hlophe sentenced Douw to 15 years for Green’s murder and 10 years for the attempted murder of Sokupe. The sentences will run concurrently.

Cape Argus

Jacob Zuma's attitude towards women and Baleka Mbete's fashion sense were in focus as a political debate became nasty.

Cape Town - A heated debate in the provincial legislature over the undermining of women in the Western Cape turned into a catfight over President Jacob Zuma’s attitude towards women and the wardrobe and fashion sense of ANC national chairwoman Baleka Mbete.

Premier Helen Zille said it was extraordinary that in an area where the ANC had failed so profoundly, members would come to the provincial legislature and accuse the DA government of failing women.

“The ANC is an organisation that in its 100 years of existence has never had a woman leader. And it has a leader who disparages women at every turn.”

Referring to other instances, she highlighted the spat between Zuma’s international relations adviser Lindiwe Zulu, and Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, who had praised Zuma for silencing his envoy.

“Instead of protecting her from the insults of Robert Mugabe and seriously sexist insults - calling her a streetwoman, among other things - while she’s there representing our interests, and very well too.

“And Zuma’s a man who admits to having had unprotected sex with the daughters of his friends on more than one occasion. What kind of role model is that for protecting the dignity of women and children?”

Referring to reports on Mbete’s connections with Goldfields, Zille said: “The ANC does have a woman chairperson, Mr Speaker, and let’s see what kind of a role model she is. She is certainly one of the best dressers in politics. She certainly is a role model for her wardrobe. I’ve never seen her in the same outfit twice. And she certainly is a role model on how to abuse your position to enrich yourself - commonly known as bribery - that’s what the lawyers in New York found,” Zille said.

ANC MPL Lynne Brown, who introduced the debate on women’s position in the province, said the Western Cape required a ruling party whose leader was not deaf to the cries of the poorest and the most vulnerable.

Brown said the DA had turned a serious topic into a discussion of individuals.

“This is a very serious debate about the most vulnerable amongst us, our children and women. And they turn this whole agenda into whether somebody has shares or not.”

Referring to the ANC Women’s League’s march to the legislature last month, Brown said the women came as peers in government, mothers, sisters, and daughters to say to the Western Cape that the premier was wrong.

“The women came to Zille’s office to say she is wrong to only appoint men as MECs…They came to say it is wrong to disregard national guidelines and legislation...”

Cape Argus

A Cape Town teacher who was threatened by a gunman in her classroom says she’s scared to go back and may leave the profession.

Cape Town - A teacher who was threatened by a gunman in her classroom says she fears going back to school and may leave the teaching profession.

Early last month, a man forced his way into a classroom at Dr Nelson R Mandela High School in Crossroads and pulled a gun on Maureen Gcantsana, 54, in front of her Grade 9 class. She said the man was accompanied by one of her pupils.

“He (the man) asked if I’m Miss Gcantsana. He said: ‘I have been sent to you’. The gun was pointed at my face.”

Gcantsana said a psychologist had booked her off work until next month, but she was afraid to return as other teachers had told her the pupil was still at school. She was not aware of any disciplinary action being taken against the boy. “I’m so afraid to go back. Other teachers are telling me the school is a mess. I’m thinking of looking for another job.”

Western Cape Education Department spokesman Paddy Attwell confirmed that the pupil was at school.

“The school suspended the learner for seven days, in line with procedure, pending a disciplinary hearing. The hearing has not yet taken place.”

The department was paying for security guards at the gate. The circuit team would have further talks with Gcantsana about her concerns.

ilse.fredericks@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

The entire family of Rashied Staggie’s rape victim have been taken to “a safe place” by police.

Cape Town - The entire family of Rashied Staggie’s rape victim have been taken into police safety.

In the early hours on Wednesday morning, the woman’s relatives were taken from their Manenberg home and transported to a “safe place” by police.

It is believed they were placed in the police’s witness protection programme along with the 30-year-old victim, whose testimony put former gang leader Staggie behind bars.

But it is not clear if they were reunited with their daughter, who escaped death two months ago.

In July, the mother of five was shot five times, allegedly by gangsters.

She survived the shooting and has since gone into witness protection.

Curious residents told the Daily Voice a convoy of about 40 police cars lined Renoster Road early on Wednesday.

Before 6am, the entire family was whisked away, with the exception of the victim’s 32-year-old brother.

He told the Daily Voice he did not want to go.

“I stayed for my own reasons,” he explains.

Speaking from his mother’s living room filled with bags of clothes, the son says he is glad his family is safe.

“A lot has happened since my sister was shot,” he says.

“Our house was watched (by gangsters), the family received death threats and they (gangsters) were following us. We reported all of this to the police.

“I always knew my family was going away (into witness protection) but none of us knew when,” he says.

The man said although he does not know where they are, he is relieved that his family is safe now.

“I don’t know where they went and I don’t want to know,” he explained.

“I wouldn’t want to go visit them and even if they call me, I won’t ask where they are.

“They (police) came on Tuesday night to fetch their things and the next morning they came to fetch the family.”

He says the family are still haunted by his sister’s rape - more than 10 years ago.

“My sister went through a lot, I’m just glad that she’s safe,” the man says.

“I’m also glad that my mother is safe.”

A neighbour, who did not want to be identified, says with the family gone, other residents can also feel safe.

“We are glad they are all safe but it is also a relief for those of us who live close by,” the man told the Daily Voice.

“It affects us as neighbours as well when gangsters attack their home.”

Police have also remained tight-lipped about the family.

Major-General Jeremy Vearey would not divulge any information about the family’s whereabouts.

“All I can say is that the family is safe,” says Vearey.

Earlier this week, the Daily Voice reported how Vearey broke the news to the family that their child was still alive as they were planning her burial.

Daily Voice

A Namibian living in Cape Town has been convicted of the “execution-style” killing of two police officers in Hout Bay.

Cape Town - A Hout Bay man has been convicted of the “execution-style” killing of two police officers after an altercation about moving his car.

Western Cape High Court Judge Patricia Goliath and her assessor agreed that the State had proven beyond reasonable doubt that Fabianus Fillipus had killed constables Phindiwe Nikani, 26, and Mandisi Nduku, 27, while they were patrolling in Mandela Park at about 11pm on October 12.

The officers had asked Fillipus to move his white BMW because it was blocking a narrow road in the informal settlement, and while he initially resisted, he later agreed to do so.

About 20 minutes later witnesses heard gunshots.

During the three-hour judgment Fillipus, from Namibia, sat stony-faced in the dock and, after the guilty verdict was handed down, stood up and stretched before being escorted to the holding cells.

Judge Goliath referred to the evidence of a pathologist who said the officers were shot in their vehicle at point-blank range, from between 40cm and 60cm.

The shots came from the left-hand side of the vehicle where Nikani was seated. She was hit in the head, chest and left hand, and died at the scene. Nduku was shot once in the head and died in hospital. Ballistic evidence showed that no shots were fired from the officers’ service pistols.

Witnesses testified that when they arrived at the scene the police vehicle’s engine was still running and its lights were on.

Judge Goliath said the State witnesses made a good impression on the court and she found they were reliable and honest. She said the three Namibian witnesses knew Fillipus. “So the chances of mistaken identity in terms of their evidence is not an issue. Fillipus and the Namibian witnesses had no axes to grind,” the judge said.

Referring to the evidence of two South African witnesses, Judge Goliath said they had impressed her.

While one saw Fillipus look back three times as he ran from the murder scene, she was able to identify him as the man who drove the white BMW in the area. The other, although she drank seven alcoholic drinks that night, said she had spoken to Fillipus before and could give a clear account of what she saw to police.

“She established the Namibian connection of the perpetrator.”

The judge rejected Fillipus’s alibi defence as false because the man he claimed he was with that night had testified against him.

In court, Fillipus said he left Hout Bay after the killings because residents told him his life was in danger.

The judge said: “He was clearly acting like someone who had done something wrong… in our view, the cumulative effect of the circumstantial evidence points in one direction and that is that the accused is the person who committed the crimes.”

Sentencing proceedings are set to start on Wednesday.

jade.otto@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

The Public Protector picked up complaints of racial discrimination during surprise visits to facilities in Paarl and Cape Town.

Cape Town - The Public Protector picked up complaints of racial discrimination, poor staff attitudes and shortages of ambulances and medicine during unannounced visits to health-care facilities in Paarl and Cape Town.

Briefing members of the provincial legislature on Thursday night, following a recent visit to Phola Park clinic in Paarl and Paarl Hospital, Thuli Madonsela said staff attitudes were a big concern at Phola Park.

“I’m asking that this be looked at, at the level of government in this province, because it was raised very sharply. It wasn’t just people complaining that staff were rude and discourteous, particularly at Phola Park.

“There was a general complaint even when we came back here, that there was issues of racial discrimination or perceived racial discrimination… People felt there was a racial hierarchy in these hospitals.”

Madonsela said Health MEC Theuns Botha undertook to investigate whether the problems were a matter of perceptions or a reality.

The Public Protector stressed her presentation was not based on formal findings but merely her and her team’s observations during their visit.

“The broad issues were the problem of waiting times at hospitals and response times for ambulances. There was also a shortage of medicines and equipment, and in some instances there were complaints that there was not enough staff at Phola Park clinic in Paarl.”

Madosela had only praise for the facilities at Paarl Hospital, saying it was one of the most well-managed places they had come across.

Other issues raised were allegations of ill-treatment of patients by staff, queues and in some cases racism. There were also complaints about general service delivery.

Western Cape Premier Helen Zille commended the public protector and her team on the feedback: “We believe in consistent and constant improvement, and if a single person has to suffer unnecessarily because services aren’t delivered at an adequate level, that is one person too many in this province and we would like to fix that.”

ANC MPL Pierre Uys thanked Madonsela for her positive feedback, saying: “I’m ANC and we actually started Paarl Hospital.”

Madonsela’s visits formed part of her office’s national stakeholder dialogue, which aims to strengthen the government’s ability to deliver on the Millennium Development Goals with specific focus on improving health and reducing hunger and poverty.

Cape Argus

Khayelitsha’s sanitation woes are at the centre of a war of words between the Social Justice Coalition and the City of Cape Town.

Cape Town - The Social Justice Coalition (SJC) and the City of Cape Town are engaged in a war of words over sanitation provision in Khayelitsha.

On Thursday, the SJC accused mayor Patricia de Lille of fabrication and “an exceptional show of force” after the arrest of 21 activists outside the Civic Centre on Wednesday.

Mayoral committee member for utility services Ernest Sonnenberg said the SJC was using the sanitation problems for “self-serving publicity”.

The city and the SJC have been at loggerheads over the provision of sanitation in informal settlements and about the way the city has monitored companies contracted to supply and clean chemical toilets.

On Wednesday, SJC activists, including general secretary Phumeza Mlungwana and Ndifuna Ukwazi director Zackie Achmat, chained themselves to railings outside the Civic Centre.

They were arrested and charged under the Illegal Gatherings Act and are to appear in the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court on September 18.

De Lille described the protest as a “publicity stunt” that “smacks of grandstanding”. She said the coalition had not responded to an offer to meet on October 8 or 17.

But the SJC said: “These are outright fabrications. The mayor only proposed these dates after the SJC’s lawyers, the Legal Resources Centre, sent two letters and it was clear that the SJC would be taking legal action against the city.”

The coalition again accused the city of being lax in its monitoring of toilet contractors and said it would continue to protest in spite of the arrests.

Mlungwana said the SJC had tried to set up an earlier date with De Lille as the sanitation problem in Khayelitsha was an “urgent” matter.

In June, it asked the city to provide a policy on sanitation and a plan to fix the problem in Khayelitsha, which the city had done.

“We had a lot of questions about the document. It didn’t say who was responsible for what and when they should be doing it. This is an urgent issue and we want the mayor to give answers,” Mlungwana said. In the policy document there was no indication of public consultation.

Achmat said the SJC wanted the city to provide a breakdown of how many people were employed to clean toilets, not only in Khayelitsha but other areas, and details of the equipment provided.

Sonnenberg said the 800 people employed in the programme were provided with “protective clothing, necessary immunisation and training”.

“There will always be management challenges… and the city has sought to respond to these as they arise. If the SJC has concerns…these should be reported as they arise so they can be remedied, not kept back to generate self-serving publicity.”

xolani.koyana@inl.co.za

Cape Times

A 26-year-old man died when his car collided head-on with a truck near Grabouw in the Western Cape, paramedics said.

Cape Town -

A 26-year-old man died when his car collided head-on with a truck near Grabouw in the Western Cape, paramedics said on Friday.

The accident happened on the N2 near Sir Lowry's Pass, ER24 spokeswoman Vanessa Jackson said in a statement.

The impact was so severe that the car was ripped apart.

“When paramedics arrived on the scene they found the engine of the car on the side of the road and the rest of the car on another side of the road,” said Jackson.

The driver was ejected from the car and his body was found a few metres from where the accident happened.

“The driver of the light vehicle was declared dead on scene and no one in the truck was injured.”

The accident happened on Thursday night at about 11pm.

The cause of the accident would be investigated by police. - Sapa

Two doctors have lodged an application to bar the media and the public from a hearing into alleged unprofessional conduct.

Cape Town - Two doctors have lodged an application to bar the media and the public from a hearing into alleged unprofessional conduct.

The hearing was scheduled to go ahead before a Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) conduct committee on Wednesday.

When the Cape Times arrived, doctors Kambu Bambi and Kashasha Mwenda objected to having their photographs taken, saying it was an invasion of their privacy.

Mwenda grabbed a camera from the hand of the newspaper’s photographer, then used a cellphone to film the Cape Times’s news team. They further insisted that the media was not permitted to attend the proceedings.

The two are accused of getting other people to “stand in” for them at Nolungile Community Health Centre in Khayelitsha in March, 2010, without having informed their locum agency.

Suspicions about their identities were first raised when nurses noticed the so-called Bambi making phone calls while consulting with patients. According to a transcript of a previous sitting of the conduct committee in March, the man alleged to be Bambi had at one point diagnosed a girl patient, apparently merely anxious about her exams, as having a serious heart condition.

When the hearing was to continue on Thursday, Mwenda’s advocate, Sibongile Morara, brought an application for it to be held “in camera”, effectively preventing the media, or any member of the public who does not have a direct interest in the proceedings, from attending.

Morara feared her client was being subjected to a “trial by media”, saying it was a sensitive issue because the hearing dealt with doctors and their reputations.

“It could be of great prejudice to my client,” she said.

Bambi, who is representing himself, indicated he also did not want the media present. He argued that the names of patients might be mentioned during the proceedings and that this would violate their rights to confidentiality.

Committee chairwoman Joan Adams, an advocate, said that it was a “serious matter” to exclude the media and certain sections of the public from such a hearing.

In order to do so, she said, they had to cite case law on which to base their arguments.

Advocate Meshack Mapholisa, acting for the pro forma complainant, “vehemently” opposed the application. He said that according to the Health Professions Act, the public was allowed to attend conduct committee hearings.

The defence, he added, could only bring an application to bar the public in certain circumstances, which did not apply in Bambi and Mwenda’s case.

“The public is involved here and the HPCSA has a duty to protect the public,” said Mapholisa.

The Cape Times, meanwhile, has also made a bid to join in opposing the doctors’ application.

Morara requested more time to prepare arguments.

The committee was expected to hear the application on Friday morning.

leila.samodien@inl.co.za

Cape Times

Public Protector Thuli Madonsela has briefed the Western Cape legislature on service-delivery woes in the province.

Johannesburg - Public Protector Thuli Madonsela has briefed the Western Cape legislature on problems regarding service delivery in the province, her office said on Friday.

“Among issues brought to the attention of authorities, including Premier Helen Zille, were staff attitudes towards patients, including allegations of racist conduct, long waiting times and language barriers between staff and patients at Phola Park Clinic,” Madonsela's spokeswoman Kgalalelo Masibi said in a statement.

“Members of the legislature also heard about the problems of understaffing, shortages of medical supplies, such as chronic medication, shortage of equipment at the clinic, and problems with the ambulance service.”

Madonsela, accompanied by her deputy Kevin Malunga, briefed the legislature on Thursday following meetings she had with residents in Paarl and “formal stakeholders” in Cape Town in July.

The protector also reported on complaints relating to RDP houses, sanitation, social security, unemployment, rising electricity costs, land claims, and pensions for former public servants, Masibi said.

Madonsela told the legislature that her office was not able to obtain an integrated anti-poverty strategy, with clear annual targets in the build up to 2015, from the province. In 2015 the country would report on its performance regarding the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals.

Madonsela had also met opposition parties in the Western Cape. However, it was decided that in future she would no longer meet separately with opposition parties and the ruling party as part of her annual stakeholder dialogue, said Masibi.

“Future gatherings of that nature would be more effective if all parties represented in Parliament met with the public protector under one roof, the meeting resolved.

“However, the public protector remains open to meeting with any stakeholder on a one-to-one basis. This includes political parties.”

Sapa

A Cape Town man accused of killing and dismembering a teenage girl will go on trial in November.

Cape Town - A Cape Town man accused of killing and dismembering a teenage girl will go on trial in the Western Cape High Court in November.

Johannes Christiaan de Jager, 48, heard at his pre-trial conference on Friday morning that the State was ready to proceed with its case.

Romay van Rooyen, for the State, said the trial was to have started on October 7 but had changed to November 11, because the first date was not available.

High Court Judge Nape Dolamo heard that De Jager's legal team had received nearly all the documents it needed and would be ready by November.

He would remain in custody until the trial.

De Jager, dressed in a tracksuit, seemed irritated by a number of photographers around him before the court was in session and leaned in closer to his lawyer Sakkie Martins.

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 has 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 37-year-old childcare worker from Cape Town has been convicted of importing tik into New Zealand.

Cape Town - A childcare worker from Cape Town has been convicted of importing tik into New Zealand. Haley Carol Jacobs, 37, could be identified for the first time on Friday after pleading guilty to a charge of importing methamphetamine.

Jacobs is from Cape Town, but lives in Christchurch, the New Zealand Herald reported on Friday.

She is married with a teenage son, and works at an early childhood learning centre for pre-school children in Christchurch.

New Zealand media reported that she had resigned shortly after her arrest from her job which she had held for about a month.

A spokeswoman at the centre said they were shocked by the “nightmare” revelations and had moved to reassure parents that their children were never in any harm.

Jacobs was caught when customs intercepted a package from South Africa at the International Mail Centre in Auckland on July 24, which contained 8g of the drug.

The drugs were wrapped in four small plastic bags inside a CD case and had been sent from a Cape Town address, news website stuff.co.nz reported.

After customs officers searched her Richmond home in Christchurch a week later, they found drug paraphernalia including three glass pipes and eight bags containing tik residue.

It was found that she had imported small amounts of the drug on several occasions from January last year until her actions were uncovered.

She told customs that she had arranged through a friend known only as “King” to have the drugs sent to her in Taranaki and Christchurch, with the amounts of tik varying between 2g and 4g.

Stuff.co.nz reported that Jacobs pleaded guilty to a charge which said she imported the drug several times from South Africa from January 1 to July 24 last year.

She is out on bail and will be sentenced on November 20.

Cape Argus

Two alleged members of a crowbar burglary gang have been arrested after a man reported an attempted break-in.

Cape Town - Police have arrested two members of a crowbar burglary gang after an alert home owner reported an attempted break-in to his neighbourhood watch.

Neighbourhood watches around Cape Town hailed the relatively recent roll-out of a two-way radio network specifically for them, after the arrest.

“Yesterday [Thursday], at approximately 10.25am, a home owner in Keurboom Street, Amandelrug, Kuils River, heard a loud noise at his front door and noticed that his safety gate was forcefully opened,” said police spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Andre Traut. “He also noticed a suspect in possession of a crowbar.”

The men fled in a car and the description was communicated to police vehicles in the area.

The vehicle was pulled over on the Stellenbosch arterial road. The two occupants were arrested and a crowbar was found on the back seat, Traut said. - Cape Argus

The man accused of assaulting former farmworker Flippie Engelbrecht could face additional charges.

The man accused of assaulting former farmworker Flippie Engelbrecht could face additional charges, the National Prosecuting Authority said on Friday.

New information had been received and was being studied, Western Cape NPA spokesman Eric Ntabazalila said.

“Depending on the outcome we might add new charges against accused number two.”

Willem Treurnicht appeared in the Ashton Regional Court on Friday and the case was postponed to October 14.

The case was also moved to the Worcester Regional Court because of security and space requirements, said Ntabazalila.

Treurnicht and Johnny Burger, the owner of Rietvallei Wine Estate, were charged with assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm.

Ntabazalila said charges against Burger had been withdrawn. Burger shot himself at his farm on September 3.

Flippie, 20, was allegedly left blind and started having epileptic seizures after the attack.

During one of his seizures, he fell into a fire and had to have his hands amputated. He was recently fitted with prosthetic hands. - Sapa

An alleged scheme to defraud Raya Hotel group owners has landed it’s assistant accountant in court.

An alleged scheme to defraud the Raya Hotel group owners of the Capetonian Hotel in Cape Town and the Balmoral Hotel in Durban, has landed the group's assistant accountant in court.

Myona Creighton, 31, of Kenwyn in Cape Town's northern suburbs, made her fourth appearance in the Bellville Specialised Commercial Crime Court on Friday.

She faces multiple counts of alleged fraud and one of money laundering.

According to the charge sheet, Creighton was responsible for the payment of the group's creditors, and was based at the group's Cape Town head office.

She had to present cheques for payment to the group's management for signature.

Prosecutor Simon Leope alleged that she either deleted or changed the details of the payees of cheques, after payment had been authorised by management.

It is alleged that the cheques would then be made payable to fictitious persons, and the proceeds channelled into Creighton's personal bank accounts.

In order to cover her tracks, Creighton would allegedly record the correct cheque details on a management payment schedule, but intercept and destroy bank-processed cheques as they arrived back from the bank, Leope alleges.

In this manner, Creighton allegedly eliminated evidence of her manipulation, and misappropriated the money.

Leope said that she concealed the payments, and used fictitious names, to hide the true nature of the fraudulent payments.

Creighton faces 250 counts of fraud involving R10,263,813 and one charge of money laundering.

Her trial is expected to start on September 18, in the form of a plea-bargain. - Sapa