Mario Pietrowski, a former fitness champion and professional model, vows to beat the paralysis he suffered after a car crash.

Cape Town - Fitness model and personal trainer Marco Pietrowski never imagined that being able to twitch his legs would be a massive achievement.

But after being paralysed in a car crash in December, it’s the first sign that his first steps may be within reach.

Pietrowski, 28, is wheelchair-bound in the Western Cape Rehabilitation Centre. The muscular physique he spent 13 years building has gone – but doctors say his body saved his life.

Now, he shows off by raising his hands just high enough to pray, and dreams of the day he can leave the rehab centre to marry his fiancée, Mauneen Hogan.

Pietrowksi achieved professional status last August. That means he is one of the best in the country, and can compete overseas.

“This year was going to be my debut,” he said. He already had three overseas competitions lined up, including the world champs in Las Vegas in July.

But on December 8, everything changed. He had been looking forward to that night for a long time – a chance to hang out with the owners of the World Beauty Fitness and Fashion organisation.

On the way home to Camps Bay, he remembers the back tyres screeching and the car in which he was a passenger ramping on to the pavement and rolling down an embankment.

The driver escaped with a few cuts; the other passenger was unhurt; but Pietrowski couldn’t move.

“Before I knew it I was at Groote Schuur and they stuck calipers in my head,” he said. “It was so surreal.”

He dislocated the C3 and C4 vertebrae in his neck, and fractured C5. He had surgery and doctors are unable to say if he will make a full recovery, but Pietrowski is determined.

“I’m still going to walk on stage. I’m going to come back,” he said – even though his view of his body has changed since the accident. “I’ve realised there’s much more to life, but I want to do it just one more time.”

Pietrowski gives himself up to two years to get back in the gym.

“When I look at my reflection, I do get upset. It’s not about vanity, it’s about losing what I’ve worked for all my life. It torments me.”

Pietrowski’s body was his livelihood. He needed it to secure modeling contracts, to compete, to do his work as a personal trainer – and even simply to travel to work. Without it, he has no income.

“It’s going to be a very expensive future,” he said. “That scares the living hell out of me.”

He has turned to the fitness community for help. The Run For Marco campaign will be held in gyms across the country next month.

* Facebook page “Run for Marco”, or www.marcothewarrior.com

chelsea.geach@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

A teenager forced to marry a man she never knew escaped from her attacker twice before she was rescued, court records show.

Cape Town - An Eastern Cape teenager trafficked to Cape Town and forced to marry a man she never knew escaped from her attacker twice before she was rescued, court records show.

The 14-year-old girl’s ordeal started in February 2010 when she was kidnapped from her home in Ngcobo in the Eastern Cape and forced to marry Mvumeleni Jezile, 30. He appeared briefly in the Wynberg Regional Court on Monday.

In a statement to police, the girl said she first escaped on February 12, 2010 – two days after she was taken from her home. Before she was taken from her home, she was dressed in “marriage clothes”. While being held by Jezile, she said “I was brought food, but I refused to eat… He wanted to have sex with me, but I refused. He took a (whip) and beat me.”

National Prosecuting Authority spokesman Eric Ntabazalila said the case against Jezile was the Western Cape’s first case of ukuthwala: the traditional practice of kidnapping a young woman in an attempt to force marriage negotiations.

Ntabazalila said the marriage had been arranged between the girl’s uncle, grandmother and Jezile’s family. After she ran away, the girl’s family took her back to Jezile.

Soon afterwards, Jezile put her in a taxi to Cape Town and followed. The girl said she lived with Jezile at his home in Brown’s Farm, Philippi, and was raped several times. “I never went outside, the burglar gate was always locked.” The girl said Jezile raped her and forced her into submission by beating her with a broomstick, whip and belt. “I ended up doing what he instructed me to do.”

A month later, she asked Jezile’s relatives to leave the security gate open because she wanted to do the washing.

She ran away, boarded a taxi to the Khayelitsha police station and made a statement.

Jezile was arrested and charged with six counts including rape, human trafficking and assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm.

He pleaded not guilty to the charges, but in November last year, magistrate Daleen Greyvensteyn convicted Jezile of human trafficking, three counts of rape and assault.

Jezile was expected to be sentenced on Monday, but the case could not go ahead because Jezile’s lawyer, advocate Tammy Lendore, had not yet discussed the contents of the pre-sentence reports with him.

The air conditioning system in the courtroom was also problematic

Jezile is due back in court next Friday when the court is expected to hear arguments on whether the media is allowed to report on the sentencing proceedings which have been set down for February 13.

jade.otto@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

Armed men killed a security guard and critically injured a police officer while fleeing a robbery in Philippi.

Cape Town - Armed robbers killed a security guard and critically injured a police officer in Philippi on Monday.

The four robbers had stolen about R1 000 from the Tops liquor store at the Philippi Plaza soon after 9am on Monday. They returned to their vehicle, a white Volkswagen, and made a dash for the shopping complex’s exit.

Constables Zamikhaya Tshaya and Sandiswa Lala were entering the parking lot on a routine patrol at that very moment.

The robbers immediately opened fire on the police vehicle, hitting 32-year-old Tshaya in the head, through the windscreen.

His partner, Lala, cocked her gun but was forced to duck during the barrage of gunfire. The police vehicle crashed into the robbers’ car during the shoot-out.

The attackers got out of the car and ran away. At the gates they shot and killed Compass security guard Grant Stephans, before crossing Govan Mbeki Road and disappearing among the adjacent shacks.

On a nearby road, the four hijacked a silver Chevrolet Aveo. By mid-afternoon police had recovered the vehicle where the robbers had abandoned it.

The four are still at large.

“It was chaotic, I couldn’t count how many shots there were,” said a street vendor who witnessed the shooting. He did not want to be named for fear of the robbers returning.

“Throughout the entire parking lot I saw people dropping to the ground, as they tried to avoid the bullets. I did the same. You cannot name me. These guys are crazy. There is no telling what they may do.”

Police closed down the parking lot and customers and staff were seen leaving the complex from a back entrance.

Lala, visibly distressed, returned to the scene to fetch her personal effects from the crashed police vehicle. She was accompanied by colleagues from the Philippi East police station.

Provincial commissioner Lieutenant-General Arno Lamoer called the attack “horrible” and “despicable”.

“That such a violent attack can be carried out when the robbers got away with a little more than R1 000 baffles belief,” he said.

“Our sincere condolences go to the family of the security guard who died as a result of this crime.”

Stephans was from Mitchells Plain. The Cape Argus spoke briefly to his employer, Ernst Bester, as he was on his way to meet Stephans’s family.

“This is a terrible personal loss and a huge loss to our company.” Stephans “was by far one of the best officers we had”, Bester said, extending his condolences to the Stephans family.

The family were not willing to be interviewed.

Bester praised his other officers for their bravery after they used their own bodies as human shields to protect Stephans’s body after he was shot.

The injured police officer was in a critical condition at Vincent Pallotti Hospital at the time of publication.

Lamoer had been briefed by doctors, and he reported that Tshaya would survive.

Police are still seeking the “armed and dangerous” robbers.

Members of the public should phone Crime Stop at 086 001 0111, said police spokesman Captain FC van Wyk.

daneel.knoetze@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

Scores of women protested outside a court ahead of a bail bid of a man charged with raping a nine-year-old girl.

Cape Town - Scores of young women protested outside the Bellville Magistrate's Court on Tuesday ahead of a bail application of a man charged with raping a nine-year-old girl.

The 27-year-old man allegedly raped her, then set her alight in bushes along the R300 highway in Delft, Cape Town, a week ago.

The man faced charges of rape, sexual assault, abduction and attempted murder, and the State would oppose bail.

The National Prosecuting Authority said the man could not be identified as he had not yet pleaded.

Around 100 people, mostly women, sang and danced outside the court, blocking one lane of Landros street.

They chanted “no bail” and carried posters stating: “We refuse to be silent about sexual violence” and “having sex with a child is a crime”.

A group of police kept an eye on the peaceful protest.

The crowd later packed the benches of courtroom G for the bail application.

Meanwhile , the medical team treating the girl are satisfied with her progress, the hospital said on Monday.

Red Cross Children’s Hospital spokeswoman Angelique Jordaan said the young girl had been moved from the hospital’s intensive care unit to a general ward and was continuing with the treatment to her burn wounds.

On Monday night, Western Cape Community Safety MEC Dan Plato held a prayer meeting in Delft which was open to residents and those who wanted to show their support for the girl.

Cape Argus, Sapa

The SPCA is probing a case of animal abuse after a teen allegedly hacked off the head of a dog and threw it at a friend.

Cape Town -

A teenager allegedly hacked off the head of a dog while it was in the care of the chairman of the Oude Molen Eco Village in Pinelands, Hudson McComb.

The SPCA is investigating a case of animal abuse, and the teenager has been admitted to the Valkenberg Psychiatric Hospital.

Maxi, a small black mongrel, was rescued in Observatory by Maureen Weekes about seven years ago. Eventually, the dog found a home with McComb.

This week, Weekes, who worked in the animal sanctuary at the eco village, was in a state of shock. She said:

“The dog appeared to have a good home and Maxi spent every day of his life with me during the day. I would return him home every evening.”

But, on January 14, Weekes had to go out. Later that day it is alleged the teenager cut off the dog’s head. He buried the body in the family garden, and then took the severed head to a friend at the eco village and threw it at the friend shouting: “Watch your backs.”

McComb later retrieved the head and buried it.

Weekes said: “This is a despicable crime and he (the teenage boy) must account for it.”

SPCA chief inspector Moyo Ndukwana confirmed that a case of animal abuse was being investigated.

McComb declined to comment.

dylan.oktober@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

Breakfast pledges help childen start the day on a happier note...

Cape Town - More than 950 000 pupils have been back at school for two weeks now – but according to Food Bank SA, nearly one out of five go to school hungry.

Last year’s National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey revealed a shocking number of children have nothing to eat before school.

Food Bank SA has partnered with the Kellogg Company and Parmalat to pledge breakfasts for 25 000 children across the country this year, amounting to five billion bowls of cereal.

Eighty of those servings were hungrily munched by pupils at Ysterplaat Primary School on Monday morning. The school relies on donations to feed its needier pupils, who often have no food to eat at home.

Matthew van Hansen, 10, loves eating breakfast at school. “We don’t have enough money to buy porridge and milk and food at home,” he said.

His father, Riaan van Hansen, works as a caretaker at the school, helping the teachers where he can and keeping the school safe.

“As a father it hurts, because I know he’s hungry. But as far as possible I feed him first, even if I go hungry myself,” he said.

“Sometimes we have no money. Even after I got paid, we only had maize meal for the month. Matthew would stay home from school, hungry and tired. Now he always wants to go to school.”

Van Hansen said many of the school’s pupils relied on whatever meals the school could provide.

“For a lot of kids this is the only meal they get. They leave the soup kitchen feeling happy and ready for the day.”

Principal Nataly Horn said although 80 of her 460 pupils were registered to receive food, many more were too proud to admit they were in need.

“Our biggest problem is that they don’t eat over weekends or during school holidays,” she said.

“You cannot teach a child who is hungry.”

With a reliable breakfast supply, Horn has experienced a tangible change in her young charges.

“It makes the whole class atmosphere different,” she said. “The children in front of you feel cared for, not neglected.”

Registered dietician Linda Drummond said breakfast provided the energy children need for sport, play and learning.

“Carb-based foods are ideal in the morning because they provide readily-available energy,” she said.

chelsea.geach@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

A man accused of raping a nine-year-old girl and setting her alight abandoned his bail bid but requested solitary confinement.

Cape Town - A Cape Town man accused of raping a nine-year-old girl and setting her alight abandoned his bail application in the Bellville Magistrate's Court on Tuesday.

The 27-year-old man, wearing a torn grey jersey and army print pants, appeared before magistrate Cyril Kroutz and packed benches of concerned community members.

Deputy Women and Children's Minister Hendrietta Bogopane-Zulu was also in attendance.

Two minutes into the hearing, a sobbing woman had to be escorted from the courtroom.

The man's defence confirmed he was abandoning his application.

They made an application for solitary confinement at Goodwood Prison because he had been assaulted and had fresh wounds on his face.

“The request that the accused be kept in solitary confinement is granted. It seems his life is in danger,” Kroutz said after deliberation.

The magistrate ordered that the man be kept under medical observation.

The matter was postponed until March 27 for further investigation.

The crimes against the girl took place along the R300 highway in Delft a week ago.

The man faces charges of rape, sexual assault, abduction and attempted murder.

The National Prosecuting Authority said the man could not be identified as he had not yet pleaded.

Around 100 people protested outside the court before his appearance, blocking one lane of Landros street.

By the time the application had been abandoned, the crowd of mostly women had doubled.

They chanted “no bail” and carried posters stating: “We refuse to be silent about sexual violence” and “having sex with a child is a crime”.

A group of police kept an eye on the peaceful protest.

Priscilla Mcentee, chairwoman of the Delft Suburban community watch, said she had apprehended the man after seeing him walk down the road with blood on his white trousers.

“I said to him: 'I am not accusing you of being a rapist. I am not accusing you of being a murderer. The only thing I want is you must tell me why you are full of blood'.”

She said the man had told her he had been in a car accident.

Mcentee and a few other community watch members convinced a crowd of people not to assault him and he was kept in a garage until the police arrived.

On Tuesday, Red Cross Children's Hospital spokeswoman Angelique Jordaan said doctors were satisfied with the progress the child was making.

“She was moved from the intensive care unit yesterday (Monday) and continues to receive the necessary treatment for her burn wounds.” - Sapa

When an angry group threatened to kill Mayedwa Simelela if he did not hand over two young men, Simelela complied.

Cape Town - When an angry group of youths in Khayelitsha threatened to kill Mayedwa Simelela in his own car if he did not hand over two young men accused of theft, Simelela complied, fearing for his life.

This was his testimony before the Khayelitsha commission of inquiry at which Simelela and his niece Nomamerika Simelela spoke of their links to a vigilante attack on two young alleged robbers last year.

Uncle and niece were arrested last year on charges of kidnapping and murdering two teenagers who had allegedly robbed Nomamerika and her boyfriend.

They did not contact the police when the teenagers were assaulted and beaten to death that night, saying the police would not have responded soon enough in the “location”.

The case against the Simelelas was later withdrawn.

Commissioners Kate O’Regan and Vusi Pikoli have been heading the inquiry which seeks to probe allegations of police inefficiency and the breakdown in communications between the police and the community in Khayelitsha.

The commission was set up by Western Cape Premier Helen Zille after complaints by various NGOs.

On Monday, Nomamerika Simelela became tearful as she told of her encounter with a group of robbers at the Khayelitsha Mall on June 13 last year. Simelela said she and her boyfriend had been robbed of a cellphone, jacket and about R2 500. The couple had been planning to go to the Eastern Cape to attend a funeral. After the robbery she immediately contacted her uncle, Mayedwa.

News of the robbery spread and community members became involved. By the time her uncle arrived, Nomakerika, her boyfriend and other residents had traced the robbers.

One was found wearing the stolen jacket, but the money and cellphone were missing.

Following an interrogation, the youths admitted to robbing the couple, promising to return the money.

At that point a group who had identified the teenagers from an earlier confrontation closed in around their car. They told the Simelelas that if the suspects were not handed over, they would set his car alight with the boys inside.

The Simelelas fled and did not see the crowd assault the boys, who were beaten to death that night.

When lawyers representing police at the commission asked why the Simelelas had not gone to the police, they said they did not think the police would have assisted them.

A third witness, Zolani Magadla, broke down before he was set to testify. He told the commission how his illegal shebeen had been robbed on New Year’s Eve, and how he and four others had been arrested for the murder of the robbers following a mob justice attack.

Charges against him were also withdrawn months later.

natasha.prince@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

Fresh out of two-day stay in hospital, an avid cyclist who was mugged is already scouring the internet for a new bike.

Cape Town - It’s not the cracked helmet, stitched wound or patchwork of cuts and bruises that worry Abbas Harris in the aftermath of a vicious mugging.

Fresh out of two-day stay in hospital, the avid cyclist is already scouring the internet for a new bike.

“It was sad to see him run off with my bike around the corner. I spent ages building that bicycle.”

But Harris, 42, is lucky to be alive.

On Sunday, at about 7am, the 10-time veteran of the Cape Argus Pick n Pay Cycle Tour was

riding along the shoulder of an empty Turfhall Road, which connects Manenberg and Lansdowne, when he saw a couple standing beside the road.

“It was dead quiet, they were the only people in sight. The man started crossing the street and I even greeted him.”

But seconds later Harris was flung off his bike by a blow to his head.

“It felt like he hit me with a brick, I’m not sure, but it was definitely hard, it cracked my helmet.”

Harris hit the road, landing between jagged shards of scrap metal. One piece slashed his stomach, another left a gash below his left knee.

Harris said the man grabbed his R60 000 Scott bike and fled up a side road, while the woman snatched his cellphone and ran in another direction.

“I just watched him run round the corner, and my bike was gone. For five minutes I didn’t feel any pain and then it really started to hurt.”

An ambulance that had been parked nearby came across Harris and he was rushed to hospital.

Harris said it could have been much worse. ”What if I hadn’t been wearing a helmet. The blow could have killed me, or they could have stabbed me.”

Turfhall Road is rapidly becoming a no-go area for cyclists. The long uninterrupted stretch of tarmac is ideal for cycling, but on thehubsa.co.za, a local cycling forum, many cyclists have reported being robbed there, their attackers often taking their bikes.

“The reality is it’s unsafe and something needs to be done. I just want to raise awareness of what is going on there, maybe to stop someone from being killed.”

Harris was due to report the incident to the police on Tuesday, but he hoped the tracking software on his phone might expose the thief’s location.

Doctors have advised him against cycling, but he is keen to get back to the sport. He is the secretary of Team Spartans Cycling Development Club.

“I hope this won’t stop me getting my sub-three time in the Argus.”

kieran.legg@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

Three people were killed in a crash on Sir Lowry’s Pass after the driver of one car apparently tried to do a U-turn on a bend.

Cape Town - Three people were killed in another horror crash on Sir Lowry’s Pass this morning after the driver of one car apparently tried to do a U-turn on a bend.

The crash occurred at the sharpest bend on the steep pass and involved a Toyota Hilux and a BMW sedan. The Toyota was travelling down the pass in the direction of Cape Town when it hit the BMW side-on. The BMW was apparently travelling from Cape Town when the driver attempted to make a U-turn and drive back towards Somerset West just before impact.

All three occupants of the BMW, men between the ages of 30 and 40, died. They have not yet been identified. The BMW belonged to a police officer but he was not in the car at the time of the collision, police said.

The driver and only occupant of the Toyota was taken to hospital in a critical condition.

Police forensic investigators were on the scene this morning and one lane was still closed to traffic at the time of publication.

Speaking from the scene, provincial traffic chief Kenny Africa said urgent intervention was needed to make the pass safer.

He will meet department officials and engineers this week to discuss options for reducing the risk of crashes. Reduced speed limits and a series of cameras were two of his off-the-cuff suggestions.

“We will do the necessary blood tests on the (deceased) driver of the BMW,” said Africa, adding there were a number of empty beer cans in the car.

He said the BMW had belonged to a police officer but it had been established that the officer was not in the vehicle.

“We can make interventions but we also have to appeal to motorists to take a positive approach.

“A mountain pass is always a dangerous stretch of road and drivers need to absolutely ensure that they stick to the speed limit and not (take) any risks when overtaking,” Africa said.

daneel.knoetze@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

The NG Kerk is to assist with the education of five-month-old Lesray Mentor who lost her mother in a taxi shooting.

Cape Town - The NG Kerk is to open a trust fund to assist with the education of five-month-old Lesray Mentor who lost her mother in a taxi shooting last week.

Lesline Mentor, 26, was shot dead while travelling to work in a taxi on Concert Boulevard in Retreat on the first day back after maternity leave.

Mentor was only due to return in March, but decided to go back earlier to make money to support Lesray, as it is understood the father was not supporting the child.

A 30-year-old man also died in the shooting.

Riaan de Villiers of the NG Kerk in Cape Town said church members were deeply shocked that a young mother was gunned down so brutally. He said they were tired of hearing about drugs and gangsterism.

“We saw that Lesray was orphaned and decided to start a trust for her education.”

De Villiers will meet the family on Wednesday to discuss the matter.

“We are planning a conference in March with speakers from Brazil and the US. Funds raised at this event will go straight into a trust for Lesray.”

Antonio Carlos Costa, the leader of the Rio de Paz movement in Brazil, a large NGO that stands up for the rights of victims of drug and gang violence, will be one of the keynote speakers. He will be joined by Shane Claiborne from the US, who has travelled to Rwanda, Afghanistan and Iraq on peace delegations.

Both pastors had done intensive work in troubled communities, said De Villiers.

Speaking on behalf of the family, Shaun Mentor said it was still extremely difficult to come to terms with Lesline’s death.

“Her mother, Francina, has taken it very hard.”

Lesline will be buried from St Mary’s Church in Retreat on Saturday.

natasha.bezuidenhout@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

Claims about preferential treatement and cover-ups in Cape Town's Metro police force have been denied.

Cape Town - Claims from within the city’s law enforcement that high-ranking officers get preferential treatment and are involved in “covering up corruption” have been denied by the City of Cape Town’s safety and security department.

Two officials, who asked not to be named as they are still employed by the city, said senior officials were getting away with misdemeanours, while lower-ranking staff were immediately suspended.

Those with family or connections in higher ranks were also given preferential treatment, they claimed.

The city’s executive director of safety and security, Richard Bosman, denied that rank had anything to do with the way an investigation was conducted.

“The City of Cape Town has a zero- tolerance approach to corruption and fraud and this applies to the safety and security directorate too. Investigations are conducted based on an allegation lodged or received against a metro police officer, including civilian staff.”

He said 26 complaints had been lodged against metro police officers between October and December last year and their ranks ranged from director and senior superintendent to student constable.

The law enforcement cops who spoke to the Cape Argus on condition of anonymity had several grievances about the way disciplinary matters were dealt with. These included the way some new recruits were given permanent contracts after only one month, while others had to wait longer for an appointment; suspension for some officers while others were allowed to continue working while a complaint was investigated; and abuse of overtime claims.

Bosman said not all officers under investigation would be suspended. “This depends on the nature of the complaint or allegation. Not all cases warrant suspension and each incident is treated on merit.”

The aggrieved officers also alleged that a metro police assistant chief had fraudulently claimed overtime for work done in Manenberg on the Safe Schools initiative.

They said the matter had been reported to the city’s fraud hotline without any action being taken. Lower-ranking officials were usually suspended when there was complaint or allegation of impropriety, but the assistant chief was still at his post.

Bosman said he was not aware of the alleged transgression and no complaint had been lodged. “Metro police’s internal affairs division investigates all complaints.”

Findings were usually made within 25 days, if possible. “The line manager is then informed of the outcome and if disciplinary action will be taken.”

But the city’s assurances have done little to quell officers’ concerns, who claimed that the city was “playing with people’s careers” by treating some staff differently from others.

They said morale in the metro police was at an all-time low, but that many were afraid to speak out for fear of losing their jobs.

anel.lewis@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

The wife of a Wilderness aviation consultant worries as he languishes in a hell-hole in Equatorial Guinea.

Wilderness -

The wife of a Wilderness aviation consultant who has been locked up in an Equatorial Guinea jail for the past six weeks prays each day she will be reunited with her spouse of 24 years.

Melanie Janse van Rensburg, 46, of Hoekwil in the Wilderness, has not spoken to her husband, Daniel, since December 17, when he was arrested on a plane home to South Africa.

Daniel, 46, had been jailed twice in the three months before the latest arrest, after a business deal with a senator, Gabriel Mba Bela Angabi, turned sour.

For the past six weeks he has been held at the notorious Black Beach prison in Malabo, the same jail where British mercenary Simon Mann was held after allegedly plotting a coup against Equatorial Guinea.

“I have not heard from him since December 17, and I am so worried. He has written letters, but I can only make out a few things. I know he is in prison with a murderer and a drug dealer,” Janse Van Rensburg said.

She said when she had last spoken to him via Skype he had told her he was having nightmares about the holding cells. “My daughter and I have Googled Black Beach prison, and read that the inmates do not have access to food and water. The temperature is also 40 degrees outside, so you can imagine the heat inside the cells.”

The couple’s two children are students at Stellenbosch University.

Daniel had been working on a plane rental operation with Angabi since 2012, but the latter accused him of wanting to steal money when Daniel requested permission to work on another deal in Cameroon for a week.

“For the past year and a half, the money has been coming in in dribs and drabs. There is a big problem with money laundering in Equatorial Guinea, and so this is carefully monitored. The deal was always stalled by things like Angabi not having a licence to hire a plane,” Janse van Rensburg said on Monday.

She said that in September Daniel had flown to the country to finally guarantee the deal.

“Everything was fine for about three weeks. Then Angabi said he was going with his assistant to Dubai. Daniel requested permission to go to Cameroon, and Angabi said it was fine, but he would hold on to his passport. Then suddenly Daniel was arrested and charged with theft. The police said Angabi claimed he was going to steal his money.”

Although Daniel was released 24 hours later, he was again arrested and detained at the end of October.

“A judge told him that he should get a local lawyer and get his contracts in order, which he did. The case was thrown out of court and the judge assured him his no-flight status would be repealed.

“But Angabi made sure he could not leave the country. Daniel waited for papers, eventually staying at the South African embassy while he waited. After two weeks he received the papers to say he could fly, but the police stormed the plane and arrested him.”

A spokesman for South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Co-operation, Clayson Monyela, said the government was liaising with Equatorial Guinea authorities on Daniel’s imprisonment.

GARDEN ROUTE MEDIA

Some police officers at station level in Khayelitsha, Cape Town, are homophobic, the Khayelitsha Commission of Inquiry heard.

Cape Town - Some police officers at station level in Khayelitsha, Cape Town, are homophobic, the Khayelitsha Commission of Inquiry heard on Tuesday.

This was the testimony of Funeka Soldaat, from Free Gender, an organisation committed to advocating for the rights of lesbian women.

She took the stand on day four of oral hearings in Khayelitsha for an inquiry into alleged police inefficiency in the township.

Soldaat cited cases where she and others were mocked and disrespected by police officers when they went to Harare police station to report crimes.

“In 2012, one of our members went to lay a complaint... also something to do with rape... there she met a police officer who started violating and mocking her... wanting to know how everything works,” Soldaat, speaking through an interpreter, said.

Soldaat said the woman had laid a complaint with Western Cape police commissioner Arno Lamoer's office.

She was promised officers would look into the matter and the officer involved would face disciplinary action. She heard no more about the matter from police.

Soldaat said in another incident she went to report a theft case to police. Instead a policeman enquired about her marital status and who her husband was.

“I corrected him and told him I don't have a husband, I have a wife.”

She left after a disagreement with the officer and was told to meet him the next day. The officer never showed up.

Soldaat conceded police at management level had established a good working relationship with her organisation but that relationship and respect did not filter down to officers on the ground.

The commission - headed by retired judge Kate O'Regan and advocate Vusi Pikoli - began sitting last week.

Premier Helen Zille established the commission after complaints from community organisations that police inefficiency was leading to increased vigilantism, which had already claimed many lives in the area.

The establishment of the commission was delayed after opposition from Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa, who lost his bid to have the inquiry halted in the Constitutional Court last year.

Sapa

A former child maintenance official appeared in a Cape Town court for allegedly failing to repay money she stole.

Cape Town - A woman appeared in the Bellville Specialised Commercial Crime Court in Cape Town on Tuesday for allegedly failing to repay money she stole.

A former child maintenance official at the Bishop Lavis Magistrate's Court, Rene Borchjes, 39, was given a suspended prison sentence for fraud and money laundering in December.

She was sentenced to six years, suspended for five, on condition that by the end of December she repay the department of justice the R80 000 she stole.

Prosecutor Simon Leope alleged that Borchjes had breached the condition.

He said she was back in custody, and that the State would launch an application for her suspended sentence to be revoked so she could start serving jail time.

She appeared before magistrate Sabrina Sonnenberg, who postponed the matter to February 10 to enable her to re-engage defence attorney W Fourie.

Fourie represented Borchjes at trial on six counts of fraud and six of money laundering. Her trial took the form of a plea-bargain.

As a maintenance investigator, Borchjes had to investigate complaints of failure to pay child support allowance.

She had to determine whether errant fathers belonged to provident or pension funds, and furnish employers and fund management with maintenance court orders.

Borchjes used fake court orders to fraudulently secure pension and provident fund payouts into the court's bank account.

To cover her tracks, the money would be channelled into the bank accounts of mothers receiving maintenance via the court.

Borchjes then informed the mothers that the money had been paid in error, and that they had to repay the amounts into her own bank account.

Sapa

A prisoner appeared in court for allegedly bribing a police court orderly to allow him to have sex with his girlfriend.

Cape Town - A prisoner appeared in the Bellville Specialised Commercial Crime Court on Tuesday for allegedly bribing a police court orderly.

John Maggott, who is serving a life sentence for premeditated murder, allegedly paid the policeman to allow him to have sex with his girlfriend in the corridor of the holding cells.

Maggott appeared with Warrant Officer Bongani Ndokho, 42, who was a court orderly at the Wynberg Regional Court, where the incident happened in March 2012.

Prosecutor Simone Liedeman alleged that, for a R150 bribe, Ndokho allowed Maggott out of his holding cell to have sex with his girlfriend in the corridor.

Tuesday's proceedings were for the prosecutor to furnish legal aid lawyer Haley Lawrence with details of the charges.

Liedeman said both men were out on bail, but that Maggott had since been sentenced to life imprisonment for premeditated murder.

Ndokho faces two counts of corruption: one for allegedly receiving the R150 bribe, and the other for allegedly receiving additional bribes totalling R12 000 to smuggle dagga parcels to Maggott.

Maggott similarly faces two counts of corruption, as the alleged giver of the bribes.

Both men also face one charge each of dealing in drugs.

The charge sheet details a number of smses, allegedly arranging for dagga in parcels to be given to Ndokho, to smuggle to Maggott in the court holding cells, and for the alleged payment of bribes.

In one sms, Ndokho is alleged to have said that if the bribe was “not a block (R1000), don't bother coming”.

The prosecutor alleged that Ndokho deposited R12 000 into his bank account on March 27 last year.

Sapa

The dangers facing pupils at schools in Khayelitsha were brought to the attention of the Khayelitsha Commission of Inquiry.

Cape Town - The dangers facing pupils at schools in Khayelitsha were brought to the attention of the Khayelitsha Commission of Inquiry in Cape Town on Tuesday.

Chris Hani high school principal Madoda Mahlutshana told commissioners Kate O'Regan and Vusi Pikoli about the amount of dangerous weapons he had to confiscate from pupils.

“The elements of criminality at the school manifest themselves around the issues of gangsterism amongst the learners, issues of vandalism and burglary at school, issues of drug usage. Those are some of the factors I normally experience as a school principal,” Mahlutshana said.

While he tried to work with parents, residents and the police, the situation remained unchanged.

The number of weapons confiscated from pupils was disturbing.

“Your knives, your pangas, any dangerous weapon that you can think of... some would say it's a form of protection,” Mahlutshana said.

“I would want to say we've got a mini-museum at our school... where we store all these knives.”

Often pupils caught with these items were summoned to the principal's office along with their parents before the matter was brought before the School Governing Body (SGB) for disciplinary action.

Pupils carried weapons because of ongoing fights between gangs outside school grounds.

Drug use, especially by pupils dependent on dagga and tik, was rife.

“We have had a case of a learner who brought in and sold ganja muffins.

“This boy was a Grade 11 learner and he was saying he was sent in by the parents because they don't have money. And he would use the ganja muffins as a source of income, which we found very odd and it was quite disturbing,” Mahlutshana said.

Asked whether the muffins were on display in the “mini-museum”, Mahlutshana laughed and said they had been destroyed, and that he would not have tasted them as he had seen the effects on pupils who sampled the confectionery.

The pupil was later suspended by the SGB.

While the school had a good working relationship with police and the community policing forum, this had not put his mind at ease.

The response from police, especially to burglaries and vandalism, had been poor.

“The experience is almost a very disappointing one that in all the break-ins, about six or seven, in the last four years, there has been no single person that has been convicted.”

Despite his frustrations, Mahlutshana said he did not believe that vigilantism was the answer to the problem, but a more effective and responsive police.

The commission began its sittings last week.

Premier Helen Zille established the commission after complaints from community organisations that police inefficiency was leading to increased vigilantism, which had already claimed many lives in the area.

The establishment of the commission was delayed after opposition from Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa, who lost a Constitutional Court bid to have the inquiry halted last year.

Sapa

Two fisherman have gone missing off shore of the Slangkop Lighthouse in Kommetjie, the National Sea Rescue Institute said.

Cape Town -

Two fisherman went missing on Wednesday morning off shore of the Slangkop Lighthouse in Kommetjie, the National Sea Rescue Institute said.

“It is believed there were four fishermen on a boat that had engine failure,” NSRI spokesman Craig Lambinon said.

“The boat drifted into the wave line and then two of the fisherman were swept overboard.”

The men, both from Hout Bay, went missing between 5am and 6am but for an unknown reason the alarm was only raised much later, said Lambinon.

A search was underway by NSRI Hout Bay, NSRI Kommetjie, a rescue helicopter, the police and the police diving unit.

“At this stage there is no sign of the two missing fishermen.”

Investigations into the incident were also being conducted, said Lambinon. - Sapa

The Western Cape had a new Crime Intelligence boss, provincial police commissioner Lieutenant-General Arno Lamoer said.

Cape Town -

The Western Cape has a new Crime Intelligence boss, police commissioner Arno Lamoer said on Tuesday.

Briefing the provincial legislature’s standing committee on community safety on the provincial police’s annual report for 2012/13, Lamoer announced that Major-General Peter Jacobs, the province’s former deputy provincial police commissioner, was now head of Crime Intelligence in the Western Cape. Jacobs took up the post on January 1.

The province’s Crime Intelligence unit has been plagued by controversy following allegations that the division under the leadership of its acting head, Mzwandile Tiyo, laid charges of defeating the ends of justice against the national police commissioner, General Riah Phiyega.

Deputy police commissioner Sharon Jafta has been moved into Jacobs’s position as deputy commissioner operational services. Her post as operational officer will not be filled.

Lieutenant-General Lamoer told the committee the killing of police officers remained a grave concern for police management and dealing with this would remain a top priority.

Lamoer said about 12 officers were killed while on duty in the Western Cape in the 2012/13 financial year.

On Monday, a police constable was shot in the head and critically wounded and a security guard was killed at the Philippi Plaza.

“Attacks on my police officers in comparison with any other province (are) much higher. There has been lot of debate about it but for us it is a simple thing: because we are doing our jobs, automatically criminals will retaliate.”

Committee chairman Mark Wiley called for a moment of silence for officers who had died in the line of duty.

Lamoer said that during the past financial year police work had resulted in “103 sentences of 20 years and more for various cases.

Of these, 33 convictions were for murder, 60 for rape and 10 for aggravated robbery.”

Lamoer said 41 life sentences had been handed down.

“On average we confiscate about 30 firearms per week… this shows about 1 500 firearms confiscated. But firearms are still the weapon of choice in some of the violent acts.”

He said more than 3 000 laptops had been distributed to make detectives’ work easier.

After a two-hour session, Lamoer conceded that while the targets police had set were not achieved, there was a clear improvement.

warda.meyer@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

ANC councillor Loyiso Nkohla’s “disgusting” protest action in Cape Town could see him booted by the city.

Cape Town - ANC councillor Loyiso Nkohla is facing expulsion from the City of Cape Town for his “disgusting” protest action that included throwing faeces in public.

The city’s disciplinary committee has ruled that Nkohla showed “utter disregard for the health and safety of the people of Cape Town” with his “unwarranted protest action”.

Nkohla and former ANC councillor Andile Lili were involved in several poo protests last year that included dumping faeces at the Western Cape Provincial Legislature and Cape Town International Airport.

The disciplinary committee found that Nkohla did not act in the interest of the council “on three occasions when he personally emptied containers of faeces in public”.

Lili was expelled from the council in March last year for his involvement in the illegal demolition of houses in Khayelitsha. Nkohla was also implicated in a protest march in October that turned violent when a breakaway group looted stalls and damaged property. He sent a sick note to excuse himself from a council meeting so that he could be at the march.

However, the disciplinary committee said it did not have enough evidence to find him guilty of taking part in this illegal gathering.

Both Lili and Nkohla have threatened to bring “ungovernability” to the city with another march, if Premier Helen Zille does not meet them to discuss grievances about sanitation next month.

anel.lewis@inl.co.za

Cape Argus