Rohgan Mane lost five teeth after a fellow learner allegedly smashed a garbage can on his head.

Cape Town - A schoolboy has lost five teeth after a fellow learner allegedly smashed a garbage can on his head.

The Grade 8 learner’s mother said that she was angered because the school did not inform her of the attack and that her son had been taken to hospital.

And while cops are investigating claims of assault, the department of education said it is all an unfortunate accident.

Rohgan Mane, 13, was left in pain after the impact knocked loose five of his teeth, which later had to be extracted.

The Hawston High School learner says he was listening to music with a group of friends when the bin fell on him from a balcony on Tuesday.

His mom Gloria Mane, 35, claimed the school did not tell her of the incident and she learnt about it from a relative.

The caretaker took Rohgan to a nearby clinic before he was taken by ambulance to the Hermanus Hospital where Gloria found him.

“I almost collapsed when I saw my child,” said the traumatised mother.

“He was covered in blood, his mouth was swollen and his gums were torn.

“I could have lost him… he is my only child.”

Police spokesman Colonel Tembikosi Kinana said that they are investigating a case of assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

“The suspect, who is known to the complainant and who is a learner at the same school, has not been arrested because the circumstances surrounding the incident are still being investigated,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Western Cape Department of Education spokesman Paddy Atwell added: “At this stage it looks as if it was an accident.

“According to the girl who handled the bin, she let it fall while she was trying to pick it up from a wall alongside the stairs.”

He adds that the school has made contact with Gloria to have a meeting to discuss any further issues.

“Our district office will advise the school on further steps, if they are required pending the outcome of the meeting.”

Daily Voice

A man accused of terrorising people across the Western Cape for more than 15 years is expected to go on trial.

Cape Town -

A man accused of terrorising people across the Western Cape for more than 15 years by robbing, raping or killing them is expected to go on trial in the Western Cape High Court.

Siyabulela Sandlana faces two cases in the high court. The first has 17 counts, including aggravated robbery, attempted murder, rape and the illegal possession of firearms and ammunition, dating back to 1998.

According to the State’s summary of facts, Sandlana is alleged to have:

* Accosted two women at gunpoint and robbed them of a case of beer in February 1998.

* Fired a number of shots in Gugulethu in May 1998, injuring a young boy in both legs.

* Raped a Khayelitsha woman at gunpoint in June 2007.

* Threatened to kill a woman who was with him in his flat in Brackenfell, unless she had sex with him. He allegedly raped her. This was in 2008.

* Followed a man who had withdrawn R10 500 from a bank in Lansdowne and robbed him of the cash at gunpoint, on August 13, 2011.

* Stole a white Citi Golf from a woman in Somerset West, also in August 2011. The vehicle was found in Milnerton later that day after being used in a robbery. In that instance a Milnerton man was robbed of R4 000.

* Caught in possession of an AK47 last year and later released on bail. Soon afterwards Sandlana approached a man in Gugulethu with a firearm. The man tried to get away but was killed in the process.

* In September 2012, a Bothasig couple were robbed of a television set, a sound system, a laptop, eight bottles of red wine and their Mercedes-Benz car, among other things.

Sandlana had allegedly used the stolen Mercedes-Benz to rob a convenience store in Eerste River the next month. Three firearms were later also discovered.

The second case against Sandlana involves him and another man, Vukile Simakuhle. Sandlana and Simakuhle are alleged to have killed a 21-year-old Khayelitsha man in a botched robbery last October.

The men, who are behind bars, are expected to appear in the high court for a pre-trial hearing on Friday.

jade.otto@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

The Anti-Drug Alliance says money spent on criminalising dagga should rather be spent on rehabilitating drug users.

Cape Town -

The Anti-Drug Alliance is calling for the decriminalisation of dagga, saying money spent on criminalising it should be spent on rehabilitating drug users.

In a report, “At what cost? The futility of the war on drugs in South Africa”, released this month, the alliance’s chief executive, Quintin van Kerken, said legalising dagga would help to make the government money, as it would be able to tax it.

“Regulating and controlling illegal drugs would collapse the illegal markets and get the drug smugglers and dealers out of this business,” he said.

“If we want to really get tough on the drug-dealing gangsters let’s take away their biggest source of revenue and try to collapse the illegal drug business for good.”

In 2011, Professor JP van Niekerk, managing editor of the South African Medical Journal, made a similar call for dagga to be decriminalised.

Portugal became the first European country to decriminalise all drugs. Drug users are provided with therapy instead of being imprisoned.

In the Czech Republic, a fine for the possession of certain drugs equals that of a parking ticket.

While legalising drugs such as crystal meth (tik) made “no sense”, regulating the dagga industry “would make fiscal sense”, said Van Kerken.

“Years of fighting drugs seemed to have been (almost) pointless and futile… The war on drugs is the real enemy, and people fighting addiction are its victim.”

Van Kerken said that if criminalising drugs was effective there would be no drugs on the streets, all the dealers would be in jail, and there would be no recreational users of drugs, and no addicts.

He had been an addict for 10 years and had spent an equal number of years in recovery working with the alliance to do research and help with rehabilitating drug users.

They “fully agree that drugs are dangerous and must be controlled”.

People arrested during raids were “rarely the drug dealers and even when drug dealers are arrested, the drug trade continues in a different area while prison populations increase, which is a burden on the taxpayer”.

Trying to eradicate dealers, who were “simply supplying a demand”, made no sense.

“No matter how many dealers we arrest or smuggling networks we ‘smash’, the void is always filled by the queue of willing replacements, hungry for the extraordinary profits prohibition offers them.

“Arresting dealers and confiscating drugs simply funnels business elsewhere. It does not stop the supply of drugs; it simply slows the flow down.”

neo.maditla@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

The City of Cape Town’s first batch of volunteer auxiliary law enforcement officers have started patrolling.

Cape Town -

Sixteen volunteer auxiliary law enforcement officers had their first taste of life on the streets as they started patrolling in Athlone last week.

The auxiliaries are the first batch of officers dispatched by the City of Cape Town. Mayco member for safety and security JP Smith said they aimed to have 800 auxiliary officers in the near future.

“This is a significant milestone in our commitment to being a safe and caring city, but it’s only the beginning. We hope to grow our volunteer law enforcement component to 400 in the next two years to augment our policing efforts across the metropole, benefiting all of Cape Town’s residents.”

Smith said it had been a “very painful” three-year journey but they were pleased the city council had finally approved the auxiliary officers, or Specials.

The Specials had undergone training on the Criminal Procedure Act, human rights and other aspects of their duties at the Metro Police College in Observatory after hours and over weekends last year.

“For you this is a passion, you are passionate about this because you care and you will set high standards… and that’s what we want, quality members,” Smith told the Specials.

He added that they were a much-needed addition to the force since residents constantly complained about high crime in their areas.

“Communities are crying, we need this now. People are desperate to see uniforms in their communities.”

The Specials received the same training as full-time law enforcement officers and will be trained in the use of firearms once they have been declared competent.

Simon Bungane from Crossroads said he was happy to be starting as a Special and said he had joined the force because he wanted to help curb crime.

“I am happy that the city organised this and I am happier to be a part of it. There is a lot of crime here (Cape Town) and I am glad that I will be able to help lessen the crime, especially in my community.”

Bungane, a mechanic, said he would now be able to educate people about the laws and city by-laws.

Constantia resident Sean Murray said he joined the Specials because “it is something that is needed in our area”.

“The course was informative and I learnt how we can stop crime before it gets bigger. To stop crime we need to have the police and the community involved and when that connection is made it can be one of the best things in the world.”

yolisa.tswanya@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

Motorists and pedestrians using the R300 have been told to be vigilant after several incidents, including a rape, were reported.

Cape Town - Delft police have cautioned motorists and pedestrians using the R300 to be vigilant on the stretch of road after several incidents, including a rape, were reported in recent months.

Brigadier Hendrik Jansen, the cluster commander for Delft, asked people to “take the necessary precautionary measures”, saying the area was “isolated” and that criminals had targeted people on the R300.

He appealed to motorists to ensure their vehicles were in roadworthy condition and adequately fuelled when travelling along the road.

Between May and last month there were 16 reported cases of malicious damage to property.

Police found that in many instances people who had mechanical trouble had left their vehicles to find help and returned to find them broken into.

Police said a 25-year-old woman reported recently that she was raped while walking along the R300 at night.

Several incidents had been reported in which pedestrians had been run over by cars. There had also been two cases where pedestrians had had to fight off robbers.

Jansen warned the public to be “extremely cautious” when travelling on the R300 and to be particularly aware of pedestrians crossing the road.

Cape Argus

National anger over the rape and murder of Anene Booysen did little to bring about systemic change, two authors have said.

Cape Town - National anger over the rape and murder of Anene Booysen did little to bring about systemic change that underpins gender violence.

This was one of the conclusions presented by authors Joy Watson and Vivienne Lalu who presented a paper on the social and political response to the Bredasdorp teenager’s death in February.

On Thursday, the Heinrich Böll Foundation hosted a discussion on “Cross Border Observations” from India and South Africa. Both countries have seen unprecedented periods of protest against rape and gender in recent months.

Riots broke out across India after the gang rape and murder of 23-year-old Jyoti Singh Pandey.

Watson and Lalu called this an “awe-inspiring moment” that made the response of South Africans seem “hollow” by comparison.

The South African government’s response, an investment of R10 million in Bredasdorp to help with job creation and poverty alleviation, was also seen as “misplaced and delinked from the issue of sexual violence” resulting in very little change in terms gender violence in the Overberg town.

Last week’s discussion was the first event in a project between the Böll Foundation in India and in South Africa.

The foundation has commissioned studies in the two countries to understand the two countries’ responses to the rape of Pandey and Booysen. As the India study has not yet been completed, last week’s discussion focused primarily on the Booysen case.

“Why, among countless other victims, has Anene become almost an icon of violence against women in South Africa?

“Why in a country with such widespread and normalised levels of violence, do some cases spark public outrage while others don’t?” asked Layla Al-Zubaidi, the foundation’s director.

Al-Zubaidi noted a number of other recent cases of rape and murder that received less attention than Booysen’s – Charmaine Mare, the 16-year-old Mpumalanga girl who was murdered and dismembered in Kraaifontein; Thandeka Mandonsela, 14, was found gang-raped and murdered in a field in Joburg; and Ge-Audrey Green, 15, who was found murdered and stuffed in a drawer under a bed in Kraaifontein.

Watson and Lalu noted rape had become so endemic in South Africa that the brutality of these individual crimes had become a benchmark for judging how worthy of attention a particular case is.

“Yet it is the everyday acts of violence, such as those acted out within many intimate relationships, that create the social conditions within which the more brutal manifestations of violence become possible,” the authors noted.

They argued that, although it was important to individualise cases through telling the story of specific victims, the context and systemic causes that allowed for these extremely brutal rapes and murders needed greater attention.

daneel.knoetze@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

Western Cape top cop Arno Lamoer has been criticised for his silence concerning corruption allegations levelled against him.

Cape Town -

The Western Cape parliament’s standing committee on community safety has criticised provincial police commissioner Lieutenant-General Arno Lamoer for his silence on corruption allegations levelled against him, saying public confidence in the police is already at an all-time low.

Committee chairman Mark Wiley urged Lamoer to take the public into his confidence concerning the serious allegations against him.

“I note the very conspicuous silence from the police commissioner, Lieutenant-General Lamoer, regarding various allegations of corruption being levelled against him,” Wiley said.

“These allegations are currently being investigated by the Hawks. Public confidence in the South African Police Service is already at an all-time low.”

His comments followed recent media reports that Lamoer allegedly had a corrupt relationship with Cape Town businessman Mohamed Salim Dawjee, who openly admitted he had had a close relationship with Lamoer for 20 years but denied any wrongdoing.

Lamoer is being investigated over alleged payouts from Dawjee.

The Hawks have been investigating the pair for about four months – a probe that has included phone taps.

Wiley said the fact that Lamoer was yet to speak in his own defence increased the feeling of unease surrounding the matter.

“This is amplified by the media reports that the national police commissioner, Riah Phiyega, illegally informed Lamoer of the investigation against him by the Hawks.”

Meanwhile, the chairman of the Western Cape Development Committee of the Justice, Crime Prevention and Security Cluster, advocate Hishaam Mohamed, said crime-fighting structures in the province were not affected by the allegations.

“We have full confidence in the police commissioner, who for more than 30 years continues to serve our cluster with distinction, and have no reason to doubt his integrity as our colleague.”

Mohamed said their structures were led by experienced managers who daily continued to strive to ensure that all people in the province were safe and felt safe.

He added that the cluster’s programmes and operations were on track to ensure the safety of the public during the festive season.

warda.meyer@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

Peak hour traffic on the N1 near Vasco Boulevard was badly disrupted when the trailer of a large truck caught fire.

Cape Town - Traffic on the N1 near Vasco Boulevard was badly disrupted during peak hour on Monday when the trailer of a large truck caught fire.

No one was injured and the driver was able to unhitch the trailer to save the truck, said Cape Town traffic spokeswoman Maxine Jordaan.

But the fire closed two lanes of the highway into Cape Town, with only the lane on the extreme right open.

The fire started about 5.30am, when a tyre on one of the trailer’s wheels burst, Jordaan said.

The resulting sparks set boxes containing plastic bottles of kitchen cleaning fluid alight, and because of the ammonia content of the fluid, bottles began to explode, she said.

The fire was extinguished by 8.30am and a second lane was opened to traffic as workers began cleaning up.

At the weekend, two men were killed and a woman was injured in three crashes in stormy weather. One of the drivers had stopped to help at a crash scene when another motorist ran into him.

In the early hours on Sunday, a man who had crashed into a fence on Ottery Road was knocked down while crossing the road afterwards.

Provincial police spokesman Tembinkosi Kinana said they received a report that a 41-year-old driving a Toyota Corolla had veered off the road and hit a fence and a tree. The driver left the car to get help.

“While he was busy trying to get some help, another vehicle appeared and hit him,” Kinana said. The man was declared dead at the scene.

A case of culpable homicide was being investigated. No arrests had been made by late on Sunday.

In another crash late on Saturday night, a good Samaritan was killed while stopping to help motorists who had been in a collision on the N2.

The accident eventually resulted in a five-vehicle pile-up on the N2 outgoing lane near the Vanguard Drive turn-off.

Cape Town Traffic Services’ Jordaan confirmed a man had been killed when he had stopped to help.

Jordaan said initially two vehicles had been involved in a collision.

The vehicles were moved to the side of the road, when a third motorist arrived and offered to help. As the driver was assisting the two motorists on the side of the road, he was knocked down by a fourth vehicle.

A fifth car then crashed into the other four. The dead man was in his late thirties. Five people were slightly injured.

Meanwhile, on Sunday at 6.15am, a woman driving a red Mazda 6, who had swerved on to the side of the road on Hospital Bend, was knocked down after getting out of her car.

It was believed the 49-year-old woman lost control of the Mazda as she was approaching the M3 but managed to pull over to the side of the road.

Jordaan said the woman got out of the vehicle and was standing on the side of the road when a motorist in a white Golf knocked her down.

Jordaan said the woman was treated for minor injuries.

natasha.prince@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

Two women drowned during flooding in the Western Cape over the weekend, police said.

Cape Town - Two women drowned during flooding in the Western Cape over the weekend, police said on Monday.

Their car was swept off a bridge in Jonkershoek, Stellenbosch, while they were on their way to church on Friday, Colonel Thembinkosi Kinana said.

The first woman was found on Saturday. Divers found her companion on Sunday after water levels had subsided. The two, aged 35 and 47, were not related.

Over 18 000 people were affected by the floods. The affected areas included Delft, Faure, Fish Hoek, Gugulethu, Hout Bay, Khayelitsha, Kraaifontein, Kuils River, Macassar, Philippi, Scarborough, Sir Lowry's Pass, Somerset West, Strand, and Valhalla Park.

The flooding caused numerous rockfalls, mudslides and landslides along mountainous areas.

Cape Town disaster management spokesman Wilfred Solomons-Johannes said conditions had improved and people were back in their homes. All roads except Chapman's Peak drive were open.

He said the city was currently assessing the cost of the damage.

Sapa

Johannes Christiaan de Jager pointed out a flat he visited with a prostitute who was later found dead, two police officers testified.

Cape Town - Johannes Christiaan de Jager pointed out a flat he visited with a prostitute who was later found dead, two police officers told the Western Cape High Court on Monday.

Constables Estelle Lewies and Randal van der Westhuizen both testified that De Jager, 48, directed them to the flat in Parow, Cape Town, in 2011.

He told them the flat belonged to the sister of a man known as Johan, who he had only met once, and that the address was the last place he saw 18-year-old prostitute Hiltina Alexander.

De Jager has pleaded not guilty to raping and killing Alexander in May 2008.

Her body was found next to the N7 highway in Philadelphia, near Atlantis on May 19, 2008.

His version was that he met Johan, picked up Alexander and brought her to the flat. He said he did not have sex with her but drank with Johan.

His memories were vague as a result of the drinking. He claimed he never saw the two again.

Lewies testified that she got the case docket in 2011 and was instructed by the Atlantis Regional Court prosecutor to follow up on where De Jager last saw the accused.

She, Van der Westhuizen and De Jager met at Elsies River police station. He got into her detective vehicle and directed them to the block of flats.

They took the lift up and De Jager pointed to a flat. They knocked on the door but no one was home, so they left.

Sakkie Maartens said his client's version was that he could not remember the exact flat and had to walk down a floor using the stairs.

“He walked in front and said this is the address where he and Johan were... he didn't act confused or unsure of where the address was,” Lewies replied.

Van der Westhuizen testified that he took over the docket from Lewies in January 2012.

The same month, he went back to the flats and knocked on the same door.

“I knocked at 402 and Mr Trevor Hayes opened up the door. I introduced myself to him and asked him questions,” Van der Westhuizen said.

“Mr Hayes will say he's lived there for 16 years and doesn't know him (De Jager), Johan, or the sister. He stays alone.”

Maartens questioned both officers about the two brothers, Colin and McNeil Jacobs, who were last with Alexander before her disappearance.

In their first statements, they said Alexander was picked up in a white bakkie in the late hours of Saturday May 17, 2008 and Sunday May 18, 2008.

This was later changed in a following statement to May 18 and May 19, 2008.

Maartens said the police docket contained statements from an organiser of the Voortrekker movement which showed that De Jager was attending a camp in Wemmershoek from that Friday until 4pm that Sunday.

“Yes, I heard of that. He wasn't at the camp the entire weekend and I heard he confirmed he was at Johan's address,” Lewies said.

De Jager has also pleaded not guilty to killing Charmaine Mare, 18, who spent her holiday with him and his girlfriend in Kraaifontein, Cape Town, in January this year.

He said she lost her balance, hit the rim of a bath and never regained consciousness. He panicked and hid her body in a drain.

He pleaded guilty to cutting off her limbs to fit the torso in the drain, and to dumping the limbs in separate areas.

Sapa

Murder-accused Johannes Christiaan de Jager did not co-operate after his arrest, an investigating officer told the Western Cape High Court.

Cape Town - Murder-accused Johannes Christiaan de Jager did not co-operate after his arrest, an investigating officer told the Western Cape High Court on Monday.

Captain Michael Volkwyn said he was a warrant officer at the time he arrested De Jager, at his workshop in Parow, Cape Town, on June 3, 2008.

De Jager is charged with the rape and murder of 18-year-old prostitute Hiltina Alexander, whose body was found in May that year.

He pleaded not guilty to both charges last week.

His version was that he met a man named Johan that weekend, picked up Alexander and brought her to Johan's sister's flat. He said he did not have sex with her but drank with Johan. He claimed he never saw the two again.

Volkwyn testified he contacted De Jager a week after his release on bail.

“I made contact with the accused so he can show me the address where he says Johan stays. Unfortunately, I did not get any co-operation from the accused,” he testified.

“The two times I was at his mother's house, he was not present. If I called him on his cellphone, he would tell me he has things to do and he cannot wait for me.”

Sakkie Maartens asked if his client knew the officer was planning to visit his mother. Volkwyn replied that he made arrangements with De Jager and told him he was on his way.

His two attempts took place over two days. Maartens asked if he tried to meet De Jager at his workshop after that. Volkwyn said he did not.

“After two attempts, you did nothing to get information about the flat out of him?” the lawyer asked.

Volkwyn conceded he did not make any further attempts. He also conceded that De Jager was prepared to show him the flat, but did not follow through.

The court heard Volkwyn was acting branch commander at the time and used his initiative to take on the case, instead of assigning it to another officer.

He was promoted and had nothing to do with the case after September 2008.

Maartens commented that nothing was followed up from September that year until June 2011.

It was then that the Atlantis Regional Court instructed police officers to follow up on the flat, which resulted in De Jager pointing the dwelling out.

De Jager has also pleaded not guilty to killing Charmaine Mare, 18, who spent her holiday with him and his girlfriend in Kraaifontein, Cape Town, in January this year. He said she lost her balance, hit the rim of a bath and never regained consciousness. He panicked and hid her body in a drain.

He pleaded guilty to cutting off her limbs to fit the torso in the drain, and to dumping the limbs in separate areas.

Sapa

Cape Town - Two men appeared in the Beaufort West Magistrate's Court on Monday for possession of perlemoen (abalone) worth an estimated R1 million, Western Cape police said.

Cape Town - Two men appeared in the Beaufort West Magistrate's Court on Monday for possession of perlemoen (abalone) worth an estimated R1 million, Western Cape police said.

Thembazami Boyisi, 36, and Vusumzi Mongameli, 32, both from Strand, Cape Town, were arrested on November 14 while travelling on the N1 through Beaufort West to Johannesburg, said Captain Malcolm Pojie.

About 6648 perlemoen in 67 bags were found when police stopped and searched their car.

The two would appear in court again on November 25 for a bail application.

Sapa

The man accused of raping and killing 18-year-old prostitute Hiltina Alexander knew the area where her body was found, a witness has testified.

Cape Town - The man accused of raping and killing 18-year-old prostitute Hiltina Alexander knew the area where her body was found, the Western Cape High Court heard on Monday.

This was the testimony of investigating officer Captain Michael Volkwyn in the trial of 48-year-old Johannes Christiaan de Jager.

De Jager has pleaded not guilty to the crimes against Alexander, in May 2008, and the murder of 18-year-old Mpumalanga resident Charmaine Mare in January this year.

Volkwyn said a day after De Jager's arrest on June 3, 2008, he took a warning statement from him.

“Because the deceased was found in an area where prostitutes congregate, I wanted to make sure the accused was familiar with the area,” he testified.

He said Alexander's body was found in bushes next to a footpath leading to an informal settlement, between Van Schoorsdrift road and Frankdale.

Her body was completely covered with branches and her camouflage print pants were partially pulled down.

He asked De Jager if he was familiar with the Van Schoorsdrift road turnoff on the N7.

According to the statement, De Jager replied with a “yes” and said he had only driven along there to see his brother, who lived in the area.

Volkwyn's cross examination continues on Tuesday.

Sapa

The Western Cape High Court heard how the body of murdered prostitute Hiltina Alexander was found.

Cape Town - Prostitute Hiltina Alexander’s body was found lying face up, covered by leafy branches, in a secluded area near the Frankdale informal settlement off the N7.

Captain Michael Volkwyn, who was stationed at Philadelphia near Atlantis, told the Western Cape High Court he was called after a passer-by found Alexander’s body.

She had been raped twice and murdered on May 18, 2008, allegedly by Ruyterwacht mechanic Johannes de Jager, who is also on trial for the murder of Charmaine Mare, 16, in Kraaifontein this year.

Volkwyn said he found forensic investigators and a police photographer already combing the bushy area close to a footpath that led to the informal settlement.

“Hiltina was clothed in camouflage pants that were partially pulled down, and… a dark-coloured sleeveless top. The body was covered entirely with dry branches. When the body was turned over, I saw blood on the back of her head and on the grass and soil,” said Volkwyn, the first of at least five investigating officers who handled the case. He traced Alexander’s mother to Elsies River and found her friends.

Colin Jacobs, the State’s first witness, was instrumental in De Jager’s arrest on June 3, 2008.

He testified that he was with Alexander, 18, shortly before she went missing and last saw her get into De Jager’s white Ford bakkie. Two weeks later he saw the bakkie in Epping Avenue and called Volkwyn, who arrested De Jager.

De Jager has admitted that he picked Alexander up in his bakkie but said he dropped her at a flat in Parow for another man known only as Johan. He denies raping and murdering her.

Volkwyn had taken a warning statement from De Jager a day after his arrest. “Because Hiltina was found in an area where prostitution is a problem, I wanted to make sure if De Jager was familiar with the area. That’s why I asked him specifically of the turn-off to Van Schoorsdrift Road (near Philadelphia), where he confirmed his brother stayed,” Volkwyn said.

Evidence detailing the January 11 murder of Charmaine has not yet been led in court. De Jager has denied killing her but admitted that he dismembered her.

In his plea explanation, he said Charmaine must have died after she slipped on a bath mat and hit her head against the edge of the bath.

He panicked and “foolishly” hid her body in a drain outside a house in Kraaifontein and later, to get her out, cut off her limbs. Charmaine’s scorched torso was found in an isolated field three days after the murder.

Volkwyn is expected to be cross-examined today.

jade.otto@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

Angry Khayelitsha residents forced their way into vacant houses in Eerste River, saying they were tired of waiting for homes.

Cape Town - Doors were kicked in and fences broken down when angry Khayelitsha residents forced their way into vacant houses belonging to Our Pride Housing Project in Eerste River over the weekend.

Bulelwa Makile said she was tired of waiting for the provincial government to give her a home. “It is very frustrating because when we go to the Human Settlements Department we are told that we do own houses in Eerste River and do not qualify for other housing applications, but in reality we still don’t have our houses.”

According to the government, the problem was a misunderstanding between “free houses” and subsidised gap market units.

Our Pride Housing Project is a government-funded initiative that provides “free houses” to people on the municipal housing list.

Bruce Oom, spokesman for the provincial housing department, said the gap market units were for people who earned between R1 500 and R3 500 a month. To apply for the subsidy a buyer had to go through a bank.

The invaders broke into three subsidised units and damaged 11 others. They had applied for “free houses”.

Makile said the houses had been completed in 2010. “We have been on the waiting list since,” she said.

Eerste River resident Malcolm Mamphuta saw the invasion and said this was the second one this year.

When the Cape Argus visited the area on Monday, most windows and doors had been repaired.

Oom said of the 229 gap market houses, 157 had been sold to qualifying beneficiaries and the rest had interested buyers.

He said the department had laid a charge against the invaders.

zodidi.dano@inl.co.za

Cadet News Agency

Cape Argus

A group of Angolan tourists on holiday in Cape Town say R12 000 was stolen from their luggage at a Waterfront hotel.

Cape Town - A group of Angolan tourists on holiday in Cape Town say thieves have put a damper on their visit after US$1 200 (about R12 000) was stolen from their luggage at a plush Waterfront hotel.

The group of five booked into the Waterfront Village at about 3pm on Friday, said Edson Coelho who helped the group find accommodation for the weekend.

The Village is on the marina between the Cape Grace and the One&Only Hotel, and boasts “luxury serviced apartments”.

He said the group took their luggage to their room.

Since the safe in the room would not lock they put their money in one bag, locked the door and went to lunch, Coelho said.

When they returned they found their bags had been tampered with and the money was missing.

When the group approached security, they were told the surveillance cameras were not working.

They reported the matter to police who promised to send investigators.

The group continued with their holiday, sightseeing and visiting shopping centres. The following night they were told the locks on their room had been changed and they were given new keys.

Paula Manuel, one of the holidaymakers, said they had been “saddened” by the incident.

At the weekend she said: “Now we are short of money - we came here for a weekend to have a holiday and now it is spoiled.”

Provincial police spokesman Tembinkosi Kinana said that a case of theft had been laid with the Table Bay Harbour police and an investigation had been launched. He said: “There is no description of the suspect. No arrest has been made.”

The Waterfront Village’s Maree Brink said that management and an independent Waterfront security company were doing “extensive investigations”.

Brink said on Monday the hotel management was awaiting a detailed report on the matter.

“As the Marina Residential development is such a secure environment with extensive security procedures, we are treating the matter very seriously.”

Cape Argus

Cape Town mayor Patricia de Lille says R3m has already been spent to provide relief to flood-hit city residents.

Cape Town - The City of Cape Town has already spent R3 million to provide storm relief to the 18 000 residents affected by the weekend’s storm, says Cape Town mayor Patricia de Lille.

The city had been warned of the storm and prepared for it.

“However, the magnitude of the floods and our stretched resources meant that we were not always able to assist all residents as quickly as we wanted to. To this end, we are grateful to all residents and community organisations who offered their assistance under very difficult conditions to ensure that we provided social relief to as many affected residents as practically possible,” she said.

As the city and residents started mopping up on Monday, new damage was reported. A building in Bree Street, which once housed the infamous Moulin Rouge strip club, partly collapsed on Monday morning. No one was injured, although a Toyota Yaris parked alongside the building was badly damaged.

Maxine Jordaan, spokeswoman for the city’s traffic services, confirmed that all roads other than Chapman’s Peak Drive had been re-opened. Rockfalls and mudslides were still being cleared from the drive on Monday.

Meanwhile, the Western Cape Disaster Management Centre has confirmed extensive flooding occurred across the Cape Winelands, Overberg and Eden District municipalities.

Informal settlements in Caledon, Gansbaai, Mount Pleasant, Hermanus, Barrydale and Swellendam were worst affected and the railway line at Caledon was damaged.

On Tuesday afternoon, Provincial Traffic said several roads remained closed because of flooding, including the R44 near Kleinmond, the R43 between Stanford and Hermanus, and the Franschhoek Pass between Franschhoek and Villiersdorp.

daneel.knoetze@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

Hundreds of pupils in the Overberg region have been missing classes since the heavy rains that flooded parts of the Cape.

Cape Town - Hundreds of pupils in the Overberg district are missing classes after the weekend’s storm.

At Roodewal Primary in Worcester every classroom was flooded, which meant the school’s 900-plus pupils were unable to attend. Lemoenpoort Primary and Bo-Doornrivier Primary, in the Robertson district, were closed because the only access was across a swiftly flowing river.

But no matric exams were disrupted, said Bronagh Casey, spokeswoman for Education MEC Donald Grant.

Where floods or flood damage prevented candidates from getting to their exam venues, the department either arranged for an alternative venue or worked with emergency services to provide access.

Casey said flooding was also reported at the Sao Bras Secondary School exam centre in Mossel Bay, but it had been cleaned up on Monday before exams started.

“There are a number of schools in the Overberg district that have no or limited access due to flooding rivers.”

Of Roodewal, Casey said: “The school is not officially closed - educators are present - but learning cannot take place.”

Principal Andre van der Merwe said the school flooded each year, but this year had been the worst.

“During the weekend all classes, which accommodate 923 pupils, were flooded. Around 30cm of water was measured against the school walls. We are assessing the damage and mop-up operations have begun,” said Van der Merwe.

The admin block and assembly hall of Hottentots Holland High School in Somerset West was under water while Montagu High School’s roof was leaking.

Nine other schools in the Overberg district were affected either by high absenteeism due to transportation issues or flooding damage at school.

Cape Argus

The Vergelegen Mediclinic was closed after being flooded during a heavy downpour. But who is to blame?

Cape Town - Could the devastating flood in a private Cape Town hospital have been prevented if steps had been taken since the hospital last flooded in August?

This debate is now raging in Somerset West and neighbouring towns after the flood on Friday night saw patients of Vergelegen Mediclinic evacuated and the hospital itself closed. It will be weeks, if not months, before it re-opens.

Sources say the effects will be felt severely in the area.

Central to the allegations are that the City of Cape Town, and possibly hospital authorities, failed to heed the warning when the hospital partially flooded on August 28. They are accused of failing to effectively manage the wide floodplain in the valley upstream of the hospital.

The hospital lies just 500m from the Lourens River, and in winter the water table is high. The hospital is also directly in the path of a purpose-built stormwater overflow gulley, designed to carry floodwater if the Lourens River breaks its banks.

Further upstream, the river’s banks have not been sufficiently built up to prevent floodwaters from spilling into farmlands, from where the waters race into a residential suburb, Bizweni, and then into the hospital.

Also upstream, an irrigation canal runs east off the river, and the river bank has not been built up sufficiently to ensure the flow into this canal is contained and regulated.

Since its construction in 1988, the hospital’s location was always a potentially dangerous one, affected parties told the Cape Argus. They asked not to be named to protect their various positions in the community.

The hospital group’s spokesman, Biren Valodia, said it had made “every effort from our side to investigate and address the causes of the flooding” in August. The hospital appointed consulting engineers “to provide proposals and recommendations towards averting or mitigating the effects of possible future stormwater flooding during heavy rains”. These had included possible on-site and off-site retention dams.

But Valodia added that “the magnitude of the latest flood far exceeded the design parameters of the previous recommendation that was based on thorough investigations and findings, and we are currently considering a new proposal”.

Brett Herron, mayoral committee member for stormwater, responded: “Unfortunately, it was an extraordinary event... when rainfall in excess of 120mm was measured over a three-hour period in the mountainous areas draining to the Lourens River.”

The city estimated the storm to be worse than a one-in-50-year flood, while the the storm of August 28 had been a one-in-10-year flood.

“Such intense rainfall ordinarily results in rivers overflowing, bursting their banks and flowing across their natural floodplains,” Herron said.

The city argued that erecting berms at various sites to channel any floodwaters more effectively “could serve to compromise other parties by redirecting water flow and raising flood levels elsewhere”.

The city was implementing a “flood management scheme” for the river.

But many locals disagreed, arguing the hospital was important enough to protect specifically. And now that it was already trashed, any flood plan was too late.

Cape Argus

One of the Absa Cape Epic’s favourite sons has survived being ambushed and shot at his country home.

Cape Town -

One of the Absa Cape Epic’s favourite sons has survived being ambushed and shot in the neck at his country home.

Brian Pickering has for a decade been one of three lead motorbike riders for “the Untamed African MTB Race”, who ride ahead of the field to ensure the routes through the notoriously rugged terrain are clear.

He also assists with the routes’ design through the Cape countryside, and owns Nature Discovery Tours, which offers quad bike tours through the Cape countryside.

Pickering’s home is a cottage at the Elgin Grabouw Country Club.

Police spokesman FC van Wyk said last night Pickering had been at home at about 10.15pm on Sunday when he “went to investigate a suspicious noise coming from the back of his house”.

A colleague told the Cape Argus he understood that outside taps had been turned on. Pickering had gone outside and “was then attacked by an unknown male”, Van Wyk reported.

“A scuffle ensued and the suspect shot the victim and fled the scene on foot.”

Pickering’s colleague, Sean McGuire, said Pickering moved his head before the attacker fired, resulting in the bullet hitting his neck and not his head.

Pickering alerted residents at the club and was taken to hospital.

Last night he was undergoing an angiogram to ascertain whether any blood vessels in his neck had been damaged, but it appeared the bullet had missed his spinal column and his trachea. He also has a severely injured arm.

Van Wyk said the gunman was still at large.

Cape Argus