A six-year-old boy is in intensive care after a bullet punctured his kidneys and pancreas and just missed his spinal cord.

Cape Town - A six-year-old Hanover Park boy is in intensive care after a bullet punctured his kidneys and pancreas and just missed his spinal cord.

Ziyaad George was playing outside his home in Lomond Court on Sunday when he was caught in crossfire during a suspected gang shooting.

A 22-year-old man was also shot and died.

Ziyaad’s mother, Fazlin George, said she was cleaning the house and her son was playing outside when the shooting broke out.

“It was just before 10am and I put on some gospel music and his father was sitting at the door when someone shouted that my son was shot,” George told the Cape Argus on Tuesday.

The mother of five said she ran outside to find her son in a neighbour’s car. Ziyaad was rushed to hospital.

“My brother and neighbour were in the car with him and then I held him on my lap, there was a lot of blood,” she said.

“His eyes rolled and I kept telling him to stay awake as we drove to the Hanover Park Day Hospital.”

The bullet passed through Ziyaad’s left arm and left side and stopped at his spinal chord, George said.

Ziyaad was transferred to the Red Cross Children’s Hospital where he had an operation to remove the bullet. He is in the hospital’s ICU.

“The doctors said the bullet damaged his kidneys and pancreas and touched his spinal cord,” George said. “There is still swelling around his spinal cord and he can move his right leg, but not his left leg.”

George added that her son was to enter Grade 1 next year, but now she did not know whether he would be able to.

“He is so small and witty, but I don’t know about his future now,” she said. “I just want to be strong for him.”

George said the gang violence was “very bad” in Hanover Park.

“There is a field behind our block, where [gangsters] always shoot at each other,” she said.

“We must lie on the ground when the shooting starts, and some people even put their TVs on the floor because bullets end up damaging the TVs.

“[During] Guy Fawkes, a friend’s three-year-old son was shot in the arm. It is heartbreaking. Children can’t play outside any more.”

Ziyaad’s father, Cleveland George, said he was just happy that his son was alive.

“When I visited him in hospital, I pinched his left leg, but he could not feel it,” he said with tears in his eyes.

“He was only playing like any other child.”

natasha.bezuidenhout@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

Some of SA’s top artists are set to perform at the annual switching on of the festive lights ceremony in Cape Town.

Cape Town - Some of South Africa’s top artists are set to perform at the annual switching on of the festive lights ceremony in Cape Town on Sunday.

Legendary jazz musician Jimmy Dludlu, songbird Lira, hip-hop master DJ Ready D and pop band Freshlyground, who will also be debuting their new album Take Me to the Dance, are part of the line-up at the Grand Parade.

Mayor Patricia de Lille will switch on the festive lights in Adderley Street, marking the official start of the festive season in the city. Local performers including comedian Emo Adams, Zayn Adam and Mynie Grove are also expected to entertain.

This year’s theme is “Our City, Our People”.

The performances will start at 3pm. De Lille will switch on the lights at 8pm, which will be followed by dazzling fireworks and laser light displays. Three LED screens in Adderley Street will enable spectators to follow the action on stage. The night will end with a street parade.

“The festive lights switch-on event is very close to the hearts of all Capetonians and every year we aim to provide the best stage performances possible,” De Lille said. “We think this year’s line-up will take it to the next level.”

Table Mountain will also be officially inducted as one of the New Seven Natural Wonders of Nature on Sunday with a special tribute float and performance. Late musical icons Brenda Fassie and Taliep Pietersen will be celebrated at the event. The MyCiTi bus service times will be extended on the day with the last bus departing the civic centre at 11pm.

The lights will stay on until the end of January.

yolisa.tswanya@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

Martinique Welch was left with two fractured vertebrae after advertising scaffolding collapsed on her at the Cape Town Stadium.

Cape Town - Wednesday marks 21 days since the Lucozade advertising scaffolding collapsed at the Cape Town Stadium shortly before the Linkin Park rock concert. The incident killed 33-year-old Florentina Heaven-Popa and injured 19 others.

Martinique Welch, 16, was left with two fractured vertebrae. On the day of the concert, Martinique was working for a promotions company, Nicky’s Spotlight’s Promotions, handing out samples of the energy drink.

She saw the scaffolding coming towards her before it hit her on the head on November 7, shortly before the concert began.

When the Cape Argus visited her at her Bothasig home on Tuesday, she was lying on a bed in the living room. Next to her was her “comfort”, a stuffed brown and white monkey she’s named Linkin. She has to wear a back brace to stabilise her spine for at least the next three months. Her life as a netball enthusiast and a member of the first girls’ soccer team at Edgemead High School is on hold for now.

Last Thursday, she underwent a three-hour operation at Panorama MediClinic. On Tuesday she told the Cape Argus she was still in a lot of pain and taking strong pain-killers three times a day.

“It sucks that I have missed my exams that I have studied so hard for,” said Martinique, who is in Grade 10.

“The hardest part is not being able to do sports. I miss hanging out with my friends and boyfriend.”

Martinique said her friends and her school had been very supportive by showering her with get-well gifts and visiting her regularly. She said she still had flashbacks to the ordeal.

About 10 000 people were in the stadium precinct when the incident happened. Afterwards, the city announced that it would conduct its own investigation into the events that led to the tragedy.

City spokeswoman Kylie Hatton said on Tuesday that the investigation was still under way.

Martinique’s father, Roger Welch, 49, said the entire ordeal had been a “shock to the family” and had caused “immense stress”.

Welch said the family would take legal action against whoever was liable once they learnt the outcome of the city’s investigation.

Martinique has to stay on her back; she can’t sit or bend.

Her mother Alison said: “I am angry that no one, from the organisers to the city, has picked up the phone to find out how my child is doing. They sent her flowers at the hospital… the flowers are dead now, but my child is still flat on her back.”

Martinique’s father said they were positive that she would make a full recovery: “It could’ve been worse. Doctors told us she came close to being paralysed… she’s one lucky lady.”

Apart from physiotherapy at the hospital, Martinique walks around her neighbourhood for at least 10 minutes every day.

Hatton said the city would ensure that all necessary safety procedures were adhered to for the Lady Gaga concert at the Cape Town Stadium on Monday.

nontando.mposo@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

Hollywood film bosses have hired ex-gangsters to play themselves in a multi-billion rand blockbuster.

Cape Town - Hollywood film bosses have hired ex-gangsters – to play themselves in a new multi-billion rand blockbuster.

The hardened ex-cons will be starring alongside Hollywood superstars Orlando Bloom and Forest Whitaker in the film Zulu.

The movie is currently being filmed at various locations around the CBD.

But the Daily Voice has learned that movie chiefs also built a massive purpose-built set on the mean streets of Parkwood.

The notorious suburb has been buzzing all week as Tinseltown descended on the Cape Flats.

Crews spent a week building a gigantic set that mirrors a typical Flats neighbourhood – complete with fake DStv satellite dishes, aerials and sink houses.

Over 60 local community members were hired as painters, carpenters and security guards.

And other lucky people found themselves being hired to act as extras in the film – portraying their former lives as gangsters.

“I didn’t have to go for acting classes – I just had to act like I did in the past,” reformed gangster-turned-actor Elroy “Madt” Martheze told.

Elroy and his fellow “actors” were paid R300 a day for four weeks while key “fighting and shooting” scenes in the film were filmed in Parkwood.

Another local man Esa Adams, 25, offered his home as part of the set – and it was used as a tuck shop in the international movie.

Then he landed a part playing one of the gangsters.

The extras say they were treated like royalty during filming.

They dined with the stars of the movie and even shared the same make-up artist as one of Hollywood’s biggest stars.

“The first time the girl put make-up on me I told her she is making me feel like Orlando Bloom,” joked Esa.

All of the cast described Bloom and his co-star Forest Whitaker as down-to-earth guys who treated the rest of the crew as if they had known them for years.

“When they first came here I thought ‘I can’t speak to them because they won’t speak back’,” said extra Eugene Williams.

“But I was wrong – they turned out to be the ones asking to take pictures with us!”

They even taught the stars how to speak fluent Cape Flats slang.

“I taught him [Forest Whitaker] how to say pagamiesa – it took a few minutes for him to pronounce it properly,” laughed Esa.

The crew said the filming also brought in some much-needed cash into the gang-ravaged area.

“I am really thankful for the R300 we got as our pay per day,” added Esa.

“This money came in useful because I have a laaitie (child) of five years old and a princess on the way, so just like the rest of the community I used the money for food, clothes, and krag geld [electricity money].”

But for others, the magical movie inspired them to try and make it big in the acting world.

“Dié is die begin van my drome [this is the beginning of my dreams],” Asheekah Adams, 20, said.

Asheekah excitedly describes how directors and actors gave her invaluable advice on how to achieve her goal of becoming an actress.

She was so motivated that she even began to look for her own agent.

Others were just happy to get close to one of Hollywood’s hottest leading men.

Zainunesa Bianchi, 35, was literally blown away by Orlando Bloom’s gorgeous body as he gave her a tight-squeeze in his kwaai geboude (muscled) arms.

“Ek het gedink ‘Here, hier faint ek’. Maar dit was so lekker [I thought ‘Oh God, I’m going to faint’. But it was so nice],” Zainunesa said.

The location manager of the movie, who is from Cape Town but who does not want to be named, reveals the actors immediately “fell in love” with the idea of shooting the movie on the Cape Flats and got excited when introduced to Parkwood.

“We had the option of using Gugulethu and Manenberg – but I decided on Parkwood because it is much safer and the people here are not afraid to get their hands dirty,” he told.

Filming on the movie has now moved to Sea Point and other parts of the CBD.

Zulu is due to be released in South African cinemas in April next year.

*This article was published in the Daily Voice

It could have been different if I had been behind the wheel, says the sole survivor of the matric car smash.

Cape Town - The distraught sole survivor of the horror matric car smash says his friends would still be alive if he had been behind the wheel.

Nazan Klaasens, 20, was sleeping in the back of his mother’s Toyota Corolla when the car was crushed by a Golden Arrow bus in the early hours of Saturday morning.

In an exclusive interview with the Daily Voice, Nazan reveals he had asked his friend, Keenan Smith, 18, to drive him – and their two friends Leigh Anne Swail, 18, and Kelly-Jade Ford, 18, home from Clifton beach because he was sleepy.

Kelly was mom to a 22-month-old son, Alex.

The trio all attended Mondale High School in Portlands, Mitchell’s Plain.

Nazan says he only remembers dozing off in the backseat and then waking up in hospital and receiving the news that his friends were dead.

“I am still in shock and I am still upset, it could have been different because I would have been the one driving. I miss my friends,” Nazan said. “For all the families involved, I want to apologise for what happened.”

Nazan returned to his Woodlands home on Monday evening after he was discharged from Groote Schuur Hospital.

The Cape Peninsula University of Technology student had to receive stitches to his head. His face is swollen and a patch covers his right eye.

Nazan pieces together the events which led to the crash along Church Way and Spine Road in Strandfontein.

He tells how Keenan came to watch him play for his local soccer team FC Tygerberg in Blue Downs on Friday.

Later the young men linked up with Kelly and Leigh in Cape Town. Then they decided to visit Clifton beach.

“We went to Clifton and when we left there, that is when the accident happened,” added Nazan.

He says he was previously involved in a car crash when he was feeling tired, so he decided it was best that Keenan drive them home.

He took a seat in the back, behind the passenger’s seat, next to Leigh before dozing off.

“I told him [Keenan] I was tired and asked him to drive home,” Nazan recalled.

“Before, I had an accident because I had been tired. I fell asleep behind the passenger seat [on Saturday].

“I don’t remember anything – I only remember waking up in hospital. An inspector of the police came and told me my friends were dead.”

Now Nazan says he knows God has given him a second chance – a chance his friends will never get.

“I feel good to be given a second chance, to live life to the fullest, because they [friends] can’t,” he explained.

Nazan’s mom Freda Klaasens, 43, said she was relieved to have her son at home safe.

“On Saturday, I didn’t know if it was him or Keenan lying on the ground,” she said. “When I saw a picture of Keenan, I fell to the ground. I trust God to strengthen Nazan – especially since he has to face the families.”

Police have since opened a case of culpable homicide.

Golden Arrow officials are also carrying out an investigation into the tragedy.

*This article was published in the Daily Voice

Premier Helen Zille responds to the announcement that the deadline to review the agricultural sectoral determination would not be met.

Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula must send army troops to Western Cape rural areas to prevent farmworker violence, provincial premier Helen Zille said on Wednesday.

She said the army was needed to keep the peace and to prevent workers from violence and arson.

Her request followed Labour Minister Mildred Oliphant's announcement on Tuesday that the December 4 deadline to review the agricultural sectoral determination would not be met.

Oliphant said the Basic Conditions of Employment Act allowed a review of the determination only 12 months after promulgation.

The latest sectoral determination was put in place in March.

Sixteen Western Cape towns were hit by violent protests this month over farming wages and working conditions. Two people died and there was extensive damage to property.

The protests started with table grape harvesters in De Doorns, who were calling for wages of R150 a day. Most earn between R69 and R75 a day.

Workers agreed to suspend their strike until December 4 on condition that the employment condition commission (ECC) look at the sectoral determination for agriculture.

Representatives of both sides have been in negotiations since the strike was suspended.

The Congress of SA Trade Unions (Cosatu) in the Western Cape accused Oliphant of undermining these negotiations with her announcement and said the news could renew strikes.

Cosatu's provincial secretary Tony Ehrenreich said that should a strike go ahead, it would most likely lead to violence and death.

“This strike... can set back labour relations on farms by decades and could see a reversal to the low-level civil war we all witnessed on farms a few weeks ago,” he said.

Zille said Ehrenreich's statement corroborated evidence that some organisations were distributing pamphlets calling for a “day of action and mobilisation” on December 4.

“It is essential that the SA National Defence Force (SANDF) be brought in to hotspot areas so that they can play a peacekeeping role in order to support the SA Police Service (SAPS) to maintain law and order,” she said.

“We must do everything we can to prevent the further outbreak of violence on farms in the province.”

According to Zille, President Jacob Zuma's spokesman Mac Maharaj had said she was entitled to approach the defence minister to call for such assistance.

“Maharaj responded that there was no need for me to approach the president as he had already authorised the SANDF to support the SAPS in areas around the country.” - Sapa

A tool used to torture a Modimolle woman was later used to free her, the Pretoria High Court has heard.

A tool used to torture a Modimolle woman was later used to free her, the High Court in Pretoria heard on Wednesday.

Vivienne van der Merwe testified that she went to the house of Johan Kotze late on the afternoon of January 3 at the request of her husband Dirk.

He asked her to go and find out what was going on at Kotze's house, after Kotze told him in a phonecall that he was on his way out of town and that Van der Merwe would not see him again.

Kotze had been renting the house in Modimolle from the Van der Merwes.

Vivienne van der Merwe found Marthinus Cloete at the house, but did not suspect anything was wrong until Cloete told her he had seen movement in one of the rooms.

Inside, she found Kotze's wife Ina Bonette tied to the window and bed with cable-ties and a rope.

She had been gagged, her breasts were exposed and there were blood on her nipples and marks on both of her breasts.

Van der Merwe used a side-cutter on a table next to the bed to free Bonette, who told her three men had raped her.

Bonette earlier testified that Kotze used the side-cutter to cut off one of her nipples and a small saw to remove her other nipple during a prolonged torture session.

Kotze had directed his three co-accused to rape her.

Bonette told the court she listened to her son Conrad pleading for his life before Kotze allegedly shot him to death.

Van der Merwe testified that she ran out of the house, phoned her husband and asked him to call the police as something terrible had happened.

In the meantime, Bonette and Cloete had found the body of Bonette's son Conrad in another room.

Bonette told Van der Merwe her son had been shot and insisted that they get to the police as quickly as possible, because Kotze was on his way to her parents.

Van der Merwe told the court of a confrontation with Kotze during dinner the previous evening, when she had told him to sort out his problems with Bonette because his friends were tired of hearing about them.

She was not surprised to see Bonette's car at the house that afternoon, because Kotze had told her they were getting together to reach an agreement.

Kotze, Andries Sithole, Pieta Mohlanhe and Frans Mphaka are accused of murdering Conrad Bonette and of kidnapping, repeatedly raping, assaulting and attempting to murder Ina Bonette.

Police cellphone expert Captain Francois Möller testified that Kotze and Sithole phoned each other on numerous occasions between December 20, 2011 and January 3 this year.

Kotze phoned Sithole 40 times between December 20 and January 3, while Sithole phoned Kotze eight times between Christmas Day and January 3, and tried to phone him a further 36 times.

Sithole had also phoned Mohlane 10 times on January 3 and twice on January 5.

Kotze contacted Sithole for the first time shortly before 5am on January 3.

Sithole's cellphone records showed that he tried to get hold of Kotze 26 times between 4pm that afternoon and 9pm that night, but that Kotze's phone had been switched off.

Kotze also bombarded Bonette with phone calls and text messages between November 1 last year and January 3 this year, clocking up 154 calls and 184 text messages.

In the same period, Bonette phoned Kotze 12 times and sent him 63 text messages.

Kotze's records also showed that he had tried to phone Bonette on the night after her ordeal, while he was still on the run from the police.

The trial continues. - Sapa

Eighteen schools in the Western Cape are seeking an urgent interdict to prevent the education department from closing their doors at the end of the year.

Eighteen schools in the Western Cape are seeking an urgent interdict to prevent the education department from closing their doors at the end of the year.

The schools and the SA Democratic Teachers' Union filed papers for the interim interdict in the Western Cape High Court on Tuesday.

The action was directed at provincial education MEC Donald Grant and his department, Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga, and Justice Minister Jeff Radebe.

The application seeks to prevent Grant or the department from closing or merging the schools and moving pupils, teachers, and resources.

It also asks for subsidies and salaries to be paid in the interim and that the department be forbidden from interfering in school operations.

The urgent application will probably be heard next Friday.

Grant announced in October that, after careful consideration, 20 schools would be closed.

At the time, he said most were small farm schools in rural areas with low enrolment numbers and multi-grade classes. The rest were in urban areas and were largely plagued by a decline in pupil numbers.

Grant said pupils would be transferred to schools which offered better opportunities. Where necessary and possible, the department would help with school uniforms, transport, and feeding.

If a pupil was moving from a no-school fee school to one which charged fees, the department would cover the fees for 2013.

The department also would cover the difference in cases where fees were more expensive.

Grant said teachers would remain employed and their salaries would not change.

The department originally earmarked 27 schools for possible closure.

Public hearings were held to collect arguments for and against the closures, by school governing bodies, parents, and civil society.

Beauvallon Secondary School principal Henry Hockey, in an affidavit on behalf of all applicants, said the closures were unlawful and unconstitutional.

He said that Grant's reasons for the closures were “irrational”.

Teachers had not been consulted about possible changes to their employment, and schools had received either insufficient placement plans or nothing at all, he said.

The schools alleged their electricity was being cut off and their furniture being moved before the closure date of December 31.

The urgent interdict could put a halt to the process until the schools can apply for a review and setting aside Grant's decision.

Hockey said the department had failed to put a timeous and focused intervention in place for underperforming schools.

He said these schools lacked a holistic approach.

“First, a culture of teaching and learning has to be cultivated; second, the biggest challenge is the safety issue... third, the problem of drugs and gangsterism have never been effectively or adequately addressed by the department,” he said in the affidavit.

Grant's spokeswoman Bronagh Casey said she could not comment on the legal papers as they were received only on Wednesday morning.

“Therefore, the ministry is currently studying them with a view to taking legal advice. This is an extensive process that requires careful reading and consideration,” she said.

“School closures are about creating better opportunities for these learners. It is about what is in our children’s best interests and how we can improve their life chances.”

She said district officials were liaising with principals to make sure school inventories were complete. The department would move furniture and other assets only once schools were closed at the end of the term. - Sapa

Professor Jakes Gerwel drove the vision of reconciliation by leading heads of departments during a crucial time.

South Africans will be “eternally” grateful to Professor Jakes Gerwel for laying a strong foundation in the administration of a free South Africa, President Jacob Zuma said on Wednesday.

Gerwel, 66, died in the Kuils River Hospital, in the Western Cape, early on Wednesday morning.

His memorial service will be held in the main hall of the University of the Western Cape on Saturday at 3pm.

“We will sorely miss the tenacity and dedication of this distinguished academic and leader of our society,” said Zuma.

He said Gerwel had driven the government's vision of reconciliation by leading heads of departments during a crucial time in South African history.

The African National Congress was shocked by his death.

“The ANC will always cherish the contribution that Professor Gerwel made to the ANC and the people of SA in general,” it said in a statement.

Former president Thabo Mbeki considered Gerwel a valued comrade and friend, his office said in a statement. Mbeki got to know Gerwel when he became vice-chancellor at the University of the Western Cape.

“He therefore stood in the front ranks of those who helped to transform our centres of higher education into institutions which would use their concentrated brain power to contribute to the transformation of our country into a non-racial and non-sexist democracy,” Mbeki said in the statement.

The Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory, which Gerwel chaired, conveyed condolences to the professor's family and friends.

“We will deeply miss 'Prof' as we fondly refer to him. Our founder (former president Mandela) worked with Prof for many years, throughout his presidency and during and beyond his retirement.

“When Madiba stepped down... Prof Gerwel, his director general, left the office of the president to join Madiba in his post-presidential work.”

The Nelson Mandela Children's Fund said Gerwel would be remembered for the different ways in which he had served his country.

“The academic, public servant, businessman and councillor who created a bridge for solid, common-ground building; for (his)synergistic response to the country's national development challenges, defines the hectic life of man who also served as board chairman of our sister organisation,” CEO Bongi Mkhabela said.

The United Democratic Movement said Gerwel had the right combination of philosophy, discipline, and humility.

“He was a renaissance man... former president Nelson Mandela recognised these qualities in him and appointed him as director general in his office,” said UDM president Bantu Holomisa.

The Government Communication and Information System (GCIS) said Gerwel played a significant role in shaping South Africa's political history through his involvement in the Black Consciousness Movement.

“Prof Gerwel will be sorely missed by government, academic circles, and South Africans at large,” GCIS acting CEO Vusi Mona

said.

The University of the Western Cape said it had lost its most eminent alumni, who had been instrumental in the university's transformation from an apartheid institute into an intellectual resource for a new nation.

“He was an inspiring teacher, pioneering new approaches to his discipline of literary studies. At the same time, he was fully engaged in intellectual and practical ways with the struggle for freedom,” university spokesman Luthando Tyhalibongo said.

Gerwel became the rector and vice chancellor of the university in 1987.

Cape Town mayor Patricia De Lille said he had played a significant role in establishing a professional civil service in the first democratically elected government.

Gerwel had signed the City of Cape Town's Civic Honours Book, a civic honour bestowed on people who had made a significant contribution in business, academia, and leadership.

Family spokeswoman Pam Barron said the family would like its privacy to be respected in the next few days.

Gerwel was a well-known figure in South Africa's political history. In his later years he chaired and was on the boards of major organisations and corporations.

He was married to Phoebe Abrahams. They had two children, a daughter Jessie, a son Heinrich, and four grandchildren.

The Institute for Democracy in SA, where Gerwel was chairman of the board of directors, said: “Jakes had a profound impact on our organisation... both in terms of strategic direction and the wisdom and presence he brought to every event, interaction and meeting.”

The ANC said it would announce funeral arrangements soon. - Sapa

A police officer has been arrested for allegedly raping a 14-year-old boy in Worcester.

A Western Cape policeman has been arrested for allegedly raping a 14-year-old boy in Worcester, the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) said on Wednesday.

The officer, based at the Worcester police station, was arrested on Tuesday for the crime committed on June 30, Ipid spokesman Moses Dlamini said.

The boy was alone at home at the time of the attack. His mother was working a night shift at the time.

“There was a knock on the door, but when the boy went to the door there was no one. The victim, who was scared, went to the neighbour's flat to report the anonymous knock,” Dlamini said.

He told him to sit down, and that he was the one who had knocked. He then allegedly raped him. Dlamini said the boy reported the matter to his mother in October. The police were informed and he was arrested.

The man would appear in the Worcester Magistrate's Court on Thursday. - Sapa

ATM users have been warned to exercise caution following a rise in bombings believed to be orchestrated by Joburg syndicates.

Cape Town -

Joburg syndicates made up of Eastern Cape men with military training have moved into Cape Town and are using Semtex and dynamite to blow up ATMs.

Police have now urged people to be vigilant when using ATM machines following the recent spike in ATM bombings in the city.

Another ATM was bombed early on Wednesday at a supermarket in London Way, Eerste River. The robbers managed to evade police and escape with the money boxes from the ATM.

Sources close to police investigations said police are looking for Joburg-based syndicates comprising men from the Eastern Cape, many with military training, who have moved into Cape Town because security has tightened in Gauteng.

They said the gangs used Semtex and dynamite and usually hit ATMs on the outskirts of the city where things were relatively quiet. Semtex is a plastic explosive used in demolition, commercial blasting and in certain military applications.

Johan Burger, of the Institute for Security Studies, said the thieves used industrial explosives to crack open the machines.

“Normally, in Gauteng, they use industrial explosives they buy from crooked miners and I am certain this is the case in other provinces,” Burger said.

“I haven’t heard of cases where military-environment explosives or privately-made explosives have been used,” Burger said.

He added that although we are seeing a drop in cash-in-transit heists, ATM bombings seem to be on the increase.

“In 2006, we saw a huge increase in cash-in-transit heists but this has been decreasing, whereas ATM bombings are fluctuating.”

Burger said that robbers have changed their focus to ATMs because they are less risky than robbing cash-in-transit vans: “ATMs are less risky and if you were to hit a couple in one day you would leave with a substantial amount of money. It is the festive season now and ATMs constantly have a lot of money and criminals are aware of that.”

He said that it is anyone’s guess what the trend will be in the future, but the recent spate of ATM bombings will decrease once the syndicates involved are shut down.

Police spokesman Captain FC van Wyk said that the gang involved in the Eerste River bombing escaped in a white Mazda.

“While on their way, [police] noticed a white Mazda with unknown registration number speeding pass them. They gave chase and lost sight of the vehicle.” He added that an undisclosed amount of money was stolen during the heist.

“The white Mazda was later found abandoned in 5th Ave, Malibu Village. The vehicle was reported as stolen at Dieprivier SAPS earlier in November.

“The spate of ATM bombings is worrisome to SAPS, and every endeavour is made to apprehend those responsible. We want to warn ATM users to exercise caution when using these machines, especially during the early hours of the morning.”

He said that residents in the city using ATMs should never challenge “suspicious” people in the vicinity of the machines as they could be armed and dangerous.

According to official police statistics released last month, 261 ATMs around South Africa have been blown up in the last financial year. Between April 2010 and March 2011, 399 ATMs were bombed. Between January and July, on average, an ATM was blown up every week in areas like Goodwood, Parow, Nyanga and Gugulethu.

Police have asked anyone with information on the latest ATM bombing to call Crime Stop on 086 001 0111.

yolisa.tswanya@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

Hundreds of mourners attended a memorial service for three Mitchells Plain matrics who died at the weekend.

Cape Town - Hundreds of mourners attended a memorial service on Wednesday for three Mitchells Plain matrics who died at the weekend.

Mondale High School pupils Kelly Ford, Leigh-Ann Swail and Keenan Smith, all 18, died in a car crash on Saturday. Ford and Smith died on the scene while Swail died at Groote Schuur Hospital.

Former Mondale pupil Nazan Klaasen, 20, survived the crash, which happened on the corner of Spine Road and Church Way in Strandfontein.

Earlier this week, the Cape Argus reported that shortly before 6am on Saturday, Ford phoned her mother to say she was on her way home from a night out on the town.

Minutes later, the Toyota Corolla Smith was driving collided with a Golden Arrow bus.

On Wednesday, classmates paid tribute to the three pupils at the service at the school, which was attended by family members, pupils and teachers, education officials and community members and leaders.

Principal Owen Bridgens told the Cape Argus that the death of the three had left a mark on the matric class and had made them reflect on their own lives.

“The teachers have also been very badly affected. To them the children are like their own children.” Counselling has been provided for pupils. Bridgens said the school’s matric ball would take place on Monday.

Teacher Sandy Williamson said the dance would be bittersweet for the matrics as the popular trio would not be there to share the moment with their peers.

Shortly after the incident, Ford’s mother, Patricia, said Ford and Swail were best friends and had been inseparable since Grade 8. She said Ford had lived for her 22-month-old son, Alex.

News of the crash spread like wildfire on social networks and more than 1 000 people assembled at the school to hold a candlelight vigil on Sunday.

Cape Argus

Western Cape farmworkers are set to resume their strike over wages and living conditions next week, their coalition said.

Cape Town - Western Cape farmworkers are set to resume their strike over wages and living conditions next week, their coalition said on Thursday.

“On December 4, people will not be going to work. We are encouraging people to shut down farming towns for the day,” activist Mario Wanza said on behalf of the strike coalition.

“What will happen is communities will be moving towards a central point in the community where they will gather, and in some areas they will go through the town.”

He said the plan was to meet farmers in the spirit of “peace and friendship” on the day, to discuss a way forward.

A letter was sent to Agri-SA on Wednesday asking them to meet the coalition to discuss the arrangements for that day.

Wanza said they were still waiting for a reply.

“On December 4, we want to talk about where we are at as people, meaning our country is torn apart. We are fighting with each other. Isn't there another way forward? There must be a common point of reference.”

The coalition represents organisations including Women on Farms, Sikhula Sonke, the Black Association of the Wine and Spirit Industry, Cosatu and non-unionised workers in Zolani, Bonnievale, De Doorns, Worcester, Robertson and Nkubela.

Table grape harvesters started protesting in De Doorns at the start of the month for wages of R150 per day and improved living conditions. Most earned between R69 and R75 a day.

The protests soon spread to 15 other towns, leading to violence and two deaths.

Workers suspended their strike until December 4 on condition that the employment condition commission (ECC) look at the sectoral determination for agriculture.

Labour Minister Mildred Oliphant announced this week that it was impossible to meet the deadline.

She said the sectoral determination was put in place in March this year and, by law, could only be reviewed again in 12 months.

Both sides have been in negotiation since the strike was suspended, with talks set to resume later on Thursday.

Wanza said government had to take responsibility for the deadline and farmers should be willing to co-operate.

“Surely you can give everyone a bonus. Nothing in law prevents a farmer from giving workers a weekly bonus. If you have farmworkers living on your land for 20 years, why not give (them) a title deed to that piece of land?”

Wanza condemned calls for violence during the strike, saying the planned protest would “steer away from that rhetoric”.

He, however, could not guarantee peace.

“I don't think we as a coalition can claim to say everything will go well. When a protest happens, anything is possible. There is extreme anger, with workers saying: 'We have nothing left to lose, we are treated like slaves. Let's go all the way'.”

It was agreed that the strike would go on indefinitely until demands were met.

Wanza conceded that there was no unity within the coalition, referring to seemingly conflicting statements sent out by Cosatu's Western Cape secretary Tony Ehrenreich.

He said Ehrenreich seemed to be commenting on behalf of the coalition when he had not even attended the coalition's meetings with workers.

“You're absolutely right. I don't think there is a union of people working together. Different views are coming across.

“Our fear is that people want to project violence so it keeps conflict alive, and we hold a different view: that the Freedom Charter is what we have been struggling for.”

Ehrenreich was not immediately available for comment. - Sapa

Helen Zille and Cosatu’s Tony Ehrenreich have both asked for the deployment of the army, but for different reasons.

Cape Town - Western Cape Premier Helen Zille and Cosatu provincial secretary Tony Ehrenreich have both asked for the deployment of the army to help police deal with an anticipated farmworkers strike, but for opposing reasons.

Farmworkers in the Boland, Hex River Valley and Breede River Valley are considering resuming their wage strike next Tuesday after their hopes of being paid a R150 a day were dashed by Labour Minister Mildred Oliphant.

She said on Tuesday it would be “practically impossible” to determine a new minimum wage in the agricultural sector before December 4.

The current minimum is R69.39 a day.

Zille wrote to Defence and Military Veterans Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula on Wednesday requesting the deployment of the army “to play a peace-keeping role”. This followed warnings by Ehrenreich of a “low-level civil war” in farming areas, Zille stated.

She had also contacted provincial police commissioner Arno Lamoer for his support for her request for the army to be called in.

“My request follows the challenges SAPS faced in limiting the destruction and multimillion-rand damages caused in the violent strike two weeks ago,” Zille said. She said everything should be done to prevent further violence.

“Further unlawful strikes cannot serve the interests of the farmworkers and will only result in the decline of the agricultural sector, which is the key source of jobs for unskilled labour in the province,” Zille said.

Ehrenreich said the army should be used to protect farmworkers from what he described as private armies or right-wing vigilantes and death squads on farms.

“This killing of workers by the security companies and the brutality of farmers against workers can only be described as a low-level civil war. The farmers in a public meeting had called for farmers to arm and protect themselves and said they would not be caught napping like two weeks ago, facts that Zille ignores,” Ehrenreich said.

“The premier has not once tried to facilitate or participate in a meeting trying to find a solution. It is a sad indictment of a leader when the only thing she can do is call on someone else to come and solve the problem.”

Zille responded by saying she had visited farming communities on Wednesday, talking to workers and farmers, but none of them raised the issue of private security guards.

“Several permanent farmworkers spoke at length about the extent of the intimidation they experienced from temporary, seasonal workers. The Western Cape government takes the side of everyone in agriculture who wants to see the industry succeed on fair and proper terms.”

She said if there were any murders of farmworkers by private security firms, those incidents should be brought to the attention of authorities.

A mass meeting of farm workers is planned for Sunday at the Zolani Sports Stadium in Ashton.

“We are preparing for a general agricultural strike from the 4th [December] until our demands are met. Farworkers, worker committees, and land rights activists will come together, stand together and prepare for action together,” the Commercial Stevedoring Agricultural and Allied Workers Union said in a statement.

Cape Times

The financial adviser of J Arthur Brown has testified against the former Fidentia boss after striking a deal with the State.

Cape Town -

The financial adviser of former Fidentia boss J Arthur Brown took the stand in the Western Cape High Court for the second day of a multibillion-rand fraud case on Wednesday.

Chartered accountant Graham Maddock is the first witness the State is relying on to prove the allegations against Brown.

Maddock entered into a plea and sentence agreement with the State in 2008 for his role in the Fidentia saga. He served two years in jail and is under correctional supervision for the remainder of his seven-year prison term.

As part of the plea deal, Maddock agreed to testify against Brown.

On Monday, Brown who is defending himself, pleaded not guilty to nine counts, including four of fraud, corruption and theft.

He was arrested in 2007 after the lid on the Fidentia scandal was lifted. He is alleged to have misappropriated millions of rand from various companies in which people invested.

The fraud charges involve four entities - Fundi Projects, Teta (the state-owned Transport, Education and Training Authority), Antheru Trust and Matco.

On Wednesday, Maddock testified about money that was deposited into his trust account while he was the financial adviser to Fidentia Holdings, which initially traded as Brown Brothers Investment Management Services.

Maddock testified that he had difficulty explaining what he and Brown discussed after the Fundi account went sour because it was about a decade ago.

The court heard that Fundi’s director, Leon Grobbelaar, transferred R9.5 million into Maddock’s trust account for investment purposes between 2002 and 2003.

But when Grobbelaar became suspicious he asked to be reimbursed. While most of the money was repaid, Grobbelaar struggled to get the remaining R3m.

He took the matter to court and an order was granted that the R3m be repaid. But before the order was granted, Grobbelaar sent a number of letters to Brown and Maddock in connection with the money.

Maddock testified that he or his secretary had responded to Grobbelaar on Brown’s instruction.

“I was put forward as the auditor and the funds were to be placed into my trust account under instructions. My instructions came from Mr Brown,” Maddock said.

State advocate Jannie van Vuuren went through the tedious process of reading each letter of correspondence.

Judge Anton Veldhuizen had no problem with it. “I accept this isn’t a simple, straightforward matter. I have no difficulty if you and Mr Brown need to take your time. At this stage no one is under pressure.”

The trial continues on Thursday.

jade.otto@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

A Sea Point man has been jailed for 18 years for stabbing a woman 17 times after she told him she was HIV-positive.

Cape Town -

A Sea Point man has been sentenced to 18 years in jail for the murder of a 26-year-old woman whose body he hid under a bed.

Siyabonga Gelese, 23, was also sentenced to 10 years in the Cape Town Regional Court for raping a pregnant woman.

The sentences will run concurrently.

Magistrate Lulamile Mdoda said he had shown Gelese “mercy” by taking into account the fact that he has been in custody for almost two years.

The case stemmed from an incident last January when Gelese stabbed Desiree Davids 17 times before shoving her body under his bed. He also tied a plastic bag around her head.

The pair had met the night before and had sex in his flat. Then she told him she was HIV-positive.

Gelese told the court he was “incensed” as he had wanted to use a condom but she refused. In anger, he stabbed her and hid the body under his bed.

Hours later, Gelese went clubbing and returned with friends. One couple had sex on the bed under which Davids’s body lay.

Gelese then raped a pregnant woman while her boyfriend was asleep beside her.

He had pleaded guilty to murder, but denied the rape charge.

At the time of his arrest, Gelese was 22 and had been working as a barman at an Italian restaurant and had been renting the Sea Point flat.

On Wednesday, defence lawyer Aneeqah Booley argued that Gelese was fairly young, a first-time offender and was “provoked” when Davids told him she was HIV positive.

She said Gelese had insisted that they use a condom but Davids refused and later told him that she was HIV-positive.

Gelese said he had lost both his parents to HIV when he was a child.

Gelese said his childhood emotions returned under such provocation, which was why he stabbed Davids several times.

”He is an intelligent man, he made a mistake, that was his instructions to me, he made a mistake,” said Booley.

Mdoda said there was “absolutely no valid reason for killing the deceased”. Killing a person because they were HIV positive was no justification.

“And the person doing so has to be punished accordingly,” he said.

He said that Gelese had no reason to believe that Davids was infected with HIV.

He said that Gelese did not go for a test and there was no proof that Davids was telling him the truth that she was HIV-positive.

Of the rape, Mdoda said:

“When the victim testified in court she broke down which was indicative of the negative affect that the rape had on her life.”

natasha.prince@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

A Cape Town man has reportedly admitted to police that he killed his mother and kept her in a cupboard for days.

Cape Town - A Cape Town man has reportedly admitted to police that he killed his mother, stuffed her in a cupboard for days and then dumped her corpse in a wheelie-bin.

This week forensic teams have been frantically searching the woman’s Grassy Park home and rubbish dumps in the area to find her body.

Her son is currently behind bars after he was arrested earlier this month on separate burglary and shoplifting charges.

But the Daily Voice has learnedthat the 32-year-old told officers investigating the disappearance of his 62-year-old mom that he killed her.

The woman’s family also told the newspaper that he confessed his terrible crime to an uncle who visited him in Pollsmoor Prison.

“This has torn our family apart,” said the suspect’s brother.

“My uncles and aunties are still in shock, especially because my mom’s body hasn’t been found.”

The brother and his girlfriend share the house where his jailbird brother and mother lived.

But he says he has hardly spoken to his younger brother since he came out of prison in September, where he was serving a sentence for burglary.

When the suspected killer was released from jail, he was under house arrest, so he was at home alone with his mother every day.

His brother said he became suspicious when he returned home on the afternoon of Saturday, October 13, to find his mother was not there.

“(He) told me she had left with people in a blue Golf. He said my mother would be home later.”

The family really began to panic when the woman had not returned home by the following Monday.

“(He) couldn’t tell us who she left with and it wasn’t like her to stay away for so long,” said the brother.

“[He also] said we should wait until the following Wednesday, 3pm, before we report my mom missing.”

The family said the suspect then began acting very strangely.

“He never let anyone into his room, not even the kids. And he burnt incense sticks around the house the whole day,” the brother’s girlfriend explained.

Days later the man bizarrely tore down his bedroom door and started painting the wall outside his room.

The family now believe the mother’s body was stuffed inside his cupboard for almost a full week after she first went missing.

“The Friday after my mom disappeared I saw that the dirtbin had been slightly emptied and the rubbish was lying in the yard,” added the suspect’s brother.

“I think (he) probably moved my mom’s body in the middle of the night and put it in the bin.”

The brother said his mother’s remains may have lain in the wheelie-bin outside their home for another three days.

“On Tuesday I took the bin out. [I noticed] it was not normal for the bin to be so heavy.”

Police are now investigating the possibility that her remains could have ended up on a rubbish heap.

Police confirm that the suspect was first questioned about his mother’s disappearance last Friday, November 23.

He appeared at the Wynberg Magistrates’ Court on charges of burglary the same day.

Police say the next day his uncle asked them to open a murder docket after he told them his nephew had confessed to the murder when he visited him in prison.

On Sunday, investigating officers returned to the family home to search for fresh clues.

They turned the Grassy Park home upside down and found traces of blood on the panels of the bedroom cupboard.

They also took away the wheelie bin for forensic examination.

Senior police sources have confirmed that the suspect has verbally confessed to the murder to officers.

However, he cannot be charged until he has made a full written confession. He had not done so by the time of going to print on Wednesday night.

On Wednesday night police spokesman Frederick van Wyk said the investigation was still at “a sensitive stage”.

Daily Voice

A farmworkers’ coalition has announced a plan of action for a second wave of strikes in the Western Cape.

Cape Town - A farmworkers’ coalition has announced a plan of action for a second wave of strikes in the Western Cape next week.

And police will today reveal their plans for dealing with anticipated strikes and protests next week related to Boland farmworkers’ demand for wage increases.

At a meeting of the Farmworkers Strike Coalition in Ashton last night, it was decided that the strike would recommence on Tuesday as the government has said it could not finalise the workers’ increase before next year.

In a statement today, the coalition’s Mario Wanza said mass meetings would be held on Sunday, and on Tuesday, workers would gather in farming towns to call on people to support the strike. Wanza said the strike “will continue indefinitely until the demands are met”.

There has been a fear expressed by politicians that December 4 will see a replay of the intimidation and violence seen in the region two weeks ago.

Western Cape premier Helen Zille has called for the army to be deployed.

Cosatu’s Tony Ehrenreich has compared the strike to Marikana, and spoken of a “low-level civil war” between strikers and private security companies contracted by farmers.

And, Agri Wes Cape’s president, Cornie Swart, has urged farmers to increase their vigilance and to “take the necessary steps” to protect their families, workers and properties.

Asked how police were gearing up to contain the anticipated strike, a spokesman said they were planning a press conference on the matter today.

The Farmworkers Strike Coalition, - a grouping of NGOs and unions including Cosatu - said it would meet police today [Thursday] “to share information and to work together”.

Farmers in the Hex River Valley, the centre of the violent farmworkers strike in recent weeks, however, appear optimistic about next week.

Michael Laubscher, spokesman for the Hex River Valley Tablegrape Association (HTA), said there is an air of calm in De Doorns. He said a near-full complement of workers was back on the farms and that it was only a minority of workers threatening further strike action.

“I really don’t foresee that things are going to get out of control... the fear that I am reading about in the press is not something that I am experiencing on the ground in the valley. We are prepared for any eventuality, but remain confident that the intimidation power of the minority of workers that are calling for the strike has been reduced.

“In fact, I don’t believe the strike will include nearly the same numbers we saw in the past,” he said.

Workers the Cape Argus has spoken to in recent days differ, however. Monwabisi Kondile, a worker from De Doorns says that a full-scale strike will begin on Tuesday. However, Kondile agrees that the possibility of the action turning violent remained unlikely.

Premier Helen Zille wants Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula to send troops to Western Cape farmlands to prevent farmworker violence.

Many farmworkers in the province have vowed to down tools on December 4, following Labour Minister Mildred Oliphant’s announcement on Tuesday that the deadline for reviewing the sectoral determination of minimum wages in agriculture would not be met.

When workers last went on strike two weeks ago, vandals and arsonists caused millions of rand worth of damage to the property of farmers and business owners in and around 15 towns in the province. Two people were killed in the unrest.

Zille took a swipe at Tony Ehrenreich, Cosatu’s provincial secretary, for responding to Oliphant’s announcement by saying that it “could see a reversal to the low-level civil war we all witnessed on the farms a few weeks ago”.

“My request [to the minister of defence] for the army to be deployed in a peacekeeping role in support of the police follows the challenges SAPS faced in limiting the destruction… two weeks ago,” said Zille, adding that the Presidency had authorised the SANDF to deploy soldiers to support police in maintaining law and order in the Marikana area and “other areas around the country where needed”.

Zille also called on farmers, farmworkers and communities to remain calm and support the processes required by the legislation in reviewing the minimum wage.

Speaking in Joburg yesterday, Cosatu general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi disagreed, saying a new wage settlement for striking Western Cape farmworkers must be agreed on immediately and not be subject to a new sectoral minimum wage.

This has been the position of Cosatu’s provincial branch since it entered into discussions with AgriSA (which represents farmer interests) and the Department of Labour in Cape Town last week.

Porchia Adams, spokeswoman for Agri Wes-Cape, said it was concerning that Cosatu was undermining the legal process set out by Oliphant.

She did not comment on Zille’s call for the army to be deployed, saying only that Agri Wes-Cape hoped the strike would be legal. Agri Wes-Cape was also counting on police to protect innocent people, she said.

Ehrenreich said he supported Zille’s call for the army, but “for very different reasons”.

He called for the army to step in to protect strikers from private security firms which farmers had contracted to protect their property in anticipation of Tuesday’s strike.

The companies “can only be described as private armies or right-wing vigilantes and death squads”, he said.

Siphiwe Dlamini, spokesman for the Defence Department, could not confirm whether Mapisa-Nqakula had received Zille’s request.

“Once the request is received, the minister will meet with her counterpart, [Police Minister] Nathi Mthethwa. She will also ask officials to make an assessment and to advise her on the situation in the Western Cape,” Dlamini said.

“The presidential guidelines are very clear... the defence force will only play a supportive role to the police.”

daneel.knoetze@inl.co.za - Cape Argus

ANC branches in the Dullah Omar region have endorsed the deputy president to lead the party.

ANC branches in the Dullah Omar region, the biggest in the Western Cape, have endorsed Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe as their preferred candidate to lead the party, the SABC reported on Thursday.

Branches in the province held their regional general council on Wednesday night, the broadcaster said.

The African National Congress holds its provincial general council meeting on Friday, ahead of the ANC's elective congress in Mangaung next month. - Sapa

An incitement case has been laid against Cosatu's provincial secretary over a poster in the Cape metro.

Western Cape Democratic Alliance leader Ivan Meyer has opened an incitement case against Cosatu's provincial secretary over a poster put up in the Cape metro.

The matter was registered at the Barrack Street police station in central Cape Town on Thursday, Meyer said in a statement.

The poster reads: “FEEL IT!!! Western Cape Marikana is here!!!”

Meyer said a National Education, Health and Allied Workers' Union logo was displayed on the poster above a picture of Congress of SA Trade Unions (Cosatu) provincial secretary Tony Ehrenreich.

Text on the poster stated that Ehrenreich “has warned Premier Helen Zille on the imminent Marikana of the Western Cape”.

Said Meyer: “Tony Ehrenreich seems intent on creating the climate that led to the violent and tragic clashes between police and workers at Marikana.

“Cosatu is using the symbolism and violence of Marikana to promote its public gatherings. This is happening even as South Africans grieve over... all those who needlessly died in that tragedy.”

Police shot dead 34 striking mineworkers and wounded 78 while trying to disperse a group encamped on a hill near Lonmin's platinum mine in Marikana on August 16.

Meyer said Ehrenreich should be punished for this “despicable display of incitement to violence. The DA expects the police to act on this matter without delay.”

Cosatu spokesman Patrick Craven could not immediately be reached for comment. - Sapa