Farmers have rushed to secure insurance against violent protests which left them carrying a bill of more than R100m.

Cape Town - Hundreds of South African farmers have rushed to secure insurance against violent protests after the destruction of vineyards, storerooms and machinery by striking farmworkers here which left them carrying a bill believed to be more than R100 million.

Many of the farmers targeted during the strikes were fully insured for damage such as hail or fires that occurred naturally, but will have to dig deep into their pockets to pay for the damage that resulted from the unrest – because they hadn’t taken out the extra insurance needed to protect them from unrest. The farmworkers went on strike early last month, setting fire to farmers’ properties and crops, with grape and fruit farms in De Doorns and Ceres worst affected. The strike has been suspended until January 9.

Santam and Mutual & Federal insurance companies have reported being inundated with calls from farmers asking for unrest insurance through Sasria, the Special Risk Insurance Association, to be added to their policies.

Santam insurance’s head of agricultural cover, Schalk Schultz, said hundreds of farmers from across South Africa, but especially in the Western Cape, had approached the company in the past month to get the cover.

“There’s been a dramatic increase in farmers obtaining unrest cover,” he said, adding that the majority of farmers had not previously sought this option.

Mutual & Federal insurance’s agricultural manager Andries Wiese said:

“We’re getting an incredible number of calls. Fifty percent of our calls come from farmers saying they slipped up and need to make it right by getting Sasria unrest insurance. The violent strikes were a wake-up call.”

Wiese met farmers in the Ceres area two weeks ago to advise them.

“We’re telling them not to get caught with their pants down again,” he said. Wiese explained that Sasria was a cheap product. For example, to ensure assets worth R350 000 cost just R45 a year.

“The farmers would be stupid not to take it out.” Schultz agreed: “It costs R144 per year to insure assets worth R1m. In future, Santam intends including Sasria cover automatically.”

Wiese said the reason most farmers had in the past failed to obtain Sasria cover was because they believed there was no chance their properties would be destroyed during unrest. “Who has ever heard of people who burn vineyards down? It’s something new. I’ve been in the industry for 22 years and it’s the first time I have heard of people setting a vineyard alight,” he said.

“The chances of a veld fire is one thing. But the farmers reckoned the chances of a fire as a result of a protest was none. Now the farmers are sitting with damage that’s not covered and they have to cover it themselves.”

Some farmers had, however, insured their vehicles against unrest damage, because they often travelled to cities which they considered potentially dangerous, Wiese added.

Meanwhile, farmers say they are battling to come to terms with their losses. The biggest loser during the strike, Agri Du Toit, which is based in Ceres, incurred damages estimated at R30m when striking workers burnt or damaged their buildings, tractors, large containers, crates, irrigation systems and orchards.

The company’s head, Pieter du Toit, said although Agri Du Toit had Sasria unrest insurance, they remained uncovered for causal damage.

Agri Du Toit employs 8 000 workers and owns 10 farms in the Western Cape. Du Toit said they were grateful they would be reimbursed for the direct physical damage via Sasria, but that the company was compiling the quantam of causal damage it suffered, with a view to taking legal action against those who organised the violent protests. The causal damage included nectarines that had to be thrown away, as well as cherries that were picked too late, fruit that didn’t receive irrigation and orchards that weren’t pruned in time.

De Doorns farmer Gerhard de Kock had no Sasria cover and said he expected losses of R6m over the next five years following the strikes, which saw workers burn 6ha on his property about a month ago. Ten hectares of his neighbour’s vineyards were also burnt, and his neighbourhood also did not have Sasria cover.

“Most farmers are in the same situation as us,” De Kock said.

Du Toit and De Kock are also forking out a fortune on private security, contracted to prevent more damage. Du Toit said he had already spent a few million rand on security, which was scaled down this week. De Kock said he was also spending “lots of money” on private security, and planned to employ them until March.

Both farmers reported that all their workers were back at work and that productivity had been excellent over the past few weeks.

henriette.geldenhuys@inl.co.za

Weekend Argus

Krejcir has been sentenced to 11 years in prison in the capital of his home country, but doesn't look set to go to jail any time soon.

Cape Town - Convicted Czech criminal Radovan Krejcir has been sentenced to 11 years in prison in the capital of his home country, but doesn’t look set to go to jail any time soon, and intends staying in South Africa indefinitely.

Krejcir was sentenced in Prague last Friday after being convicted in absentia of money-laundering involving R227 million. The sentence is cumulative and involves three criminal convictions in the Czech Republic against him since 2006.

South African authorities, including the Department of Home Affairs and the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), have failed to eject Krejcir from South Africa or to prosecute him after his arrest here for fraud and armed robbery.

But NPA spokesman Medupe Simasiku said on Friday he believed the sentence imposed on Krejcir in the Czech Republic could be used to deny him refugee status.

He pointed out, however, that the South African cases against Krejcir had been withdrawn because of lack of evidence.

Home Affairs spokesman Ronnie Mamoepa warned: “Those who seek to subvert the rules and think they can abuse South African law will ultimately face the might of that very same law.”

Meanwhile, Krejcir’s friend, Serbian assassin Dobrosav Gavric, who has twice been refused refugee status after being sentenced in 2006 to 30 years in jail for triple murder in Serbia, has again appealed against the refusal.

Extradition proceedings against Krejcir and Gavric have yet to begin. The two, who both entered South Africa on false passports in 2007, are launching every conceivable appeal in an effort to stay out of jail and secure refugee status.

In a further twist, on Thursday the media were barred from attending Krejcir’s appeal against South Africa’s refusal to grant him refugee status. The Pretoria High Court ruled all asylum applications before the Refugee Appeal Board were “absolutely confidential at all times”, to protect refugees. The court said a blanket ban was further justified to “protect the privacy of witnesses, relatives and associates”.

Krejcir said he would continue appealing to secure himself refugee status. He would also appeal against his prison sentence in the Czech Republic.

“[Last] Friday’s sentence happened in the lowest court in Prague. Unlike in South Africa, a sentence of the magistrate’s court in Prague doesn’t lead to a person being jailed. I will appeal to the Czech Republic’s High Court, then to the Appeal Court and the Constitutional Court, if necessary.”

If he was refused by the Constitutional Court, he would appeal to the European Court of Human Rights – “where I have already won two cases”.

Krejcir welcomed the decision to ban the media from the proceedings, saying he planned to call high-profile foreign politicians, police, lawyers and other professionals from the Czech Republic and the Seychelles to help him win refugee status.

“It’s important that the identities of these high-profile people be protected,” he said.

Krejcir fled the Czech Republic for the Seychelles after being sentenced in absentia to six and a half years in jail for fraud, before coming to South Africa.

The Czech fugitive was closely linked to security boss Cyril Beeka and strip club boss Lolly Jackson, both of whom were murdered.

Forensic investigator Paul O’Sullivan, who is working to see Krejcir thrown out of South Africa, said it would have been nice for the refugee hearing to be open to the public to “ensure things are done properly”.

“If he’s a legitimate refugee, then the moon is made of green cheese,” O’Sullivan said, adding this country had enough of its own home-grown criminals, and didn’t “need to import them”. O’Sullivan said it was time for South Africa to take a stand against foreign criminals entering the country.

“… It’s shocking that both of them [Krejcir and Gavric] are fugitives from crime and both entered South Africa on fake passports.”

henriette.geldenhuys@inl.co.za

Weekend Argus

The ANC in the Western Cape will ask the party's constitution be amended to give its top six officials an unbroken 10-year term, it was reported.

Cape Town - The ANC in the Western Cape will ask the party's constitution be amended to give its top six officials an unbroken 10-year term, it was reported on Sunday.

Provincial African National Congress chairman Marius Fransman told the Sunday Times this proposal would stabilise the ANC and would avoid bruising leadership contests every five years.

The proposal was would be tabled at the party's 53rd elective conference in Mangaung next week.

“Some of us will be part of a very strong lobby that will push for stability. Part of that stability is that we must manage our elections better within the ANC, and in order to do that we need a 10-year trajectory of leadership,” Fransman said.

He said the proposal would avoid the practices of factions purging those who did not agree with their leadership choices or positions ahead of conferences.

According to the report, the proposal would not affect members of the national executive committee, who would still be elected every five years.

The newspaper reported that Fransman's proposal could meet with stiff resistance in Mangaung, as it would affect the upward mobility of ambitious members. - Sapa

A fire in Gugulethu has left 40 people without homes, a Cape Town city official said.

Cape Town - A fire in Gugulethu has left 40 people without homes, a Cape Town city official said on Sunday.

The blaze started in the Europe informal settlement of NY108 around 8pm on Saturday, said disaster risk centre spokesman Wilfred Solomons-Johannes.

He said 10 wood and iron structures were destroyed.

The city was assisting those displaced with food, clothing and other items.

No casualties were reported. The cause of the fire was not known. - Sapa

Traffic authorities and the Justice Department appear to be at odds over new plans to get tough on motorists caught drinking and driving, with the department saying that the change in tack announced on Saturday would have minimal effect.

Cape Town - Traffic authorities and the Justice Department appear to be at odds over new plans to get tough on motorists caught drinking and driving, with the department saying that the change in tack announced on Saturday would have minimal effect.

A day after traffic authorities, police and the

National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) announced that they would switch focus to bring to book motorists who appeared to be driving drunk – prosecuting them on a main charge of driving under the influence of alcohol, for which a blood test was not required – provincial justice head Hishaam Mohamed poured cold water on the plan.

“My view is that the new approach may not make a major indent on the problem at hand,” he said.

The plan includes that motorists will, as an alternative count, be charged with driving with a blood alcohol count over the legal limit – for which a blood test is necessary. Motorists are usually charged with both counts and, in the event that the main charge fails, prosecutors go for a conviction on the alternative.

On Friday, the NPA announced that law-enforcement officials would be looking for evidence to support a conviction on the main charge, because it carried harsher penalties – a fine of up to R180 000, or nine years behind bars.

It stressed, however, that the change of focus did not mean that blood testing would be abolished. In a statement on Saturday, provincial NPA spokesman Eric Ntabazalila said the aim was to emphasise the seriousness of driving under the influence of alcohol.

“We therefore urged officials to collect all relevant evidence to enable the prosecution to proceed on the main count of driving under the influence in appropriate matters,” he said.

But Mohamed said while innovations were welcome, he had doubts about the authorities’ expectations, saying that, for example, if a driver was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol, and the arresting officer and an experienced doctor who examined the suspect concluded he was drunk on the basis of his bloodshot eyes and the manner in which he spoke, there could be an innocent explanation. This could create a problem for the prosecutor, who might be forced to proceed on the alternative count.

Mohamed agreed that the backlog at state forensic laboratories made it difficult for authorities to prosecute on the basis of blood tests.

But he said that a new multimillion-rand state forensic laboratory in Plattekloof should be fully operational by February, and would help clear the backlog.

The turnaround time for the testing of samples should then improve, he added.

fatima.schroeder@inl.co.za

Weekend Argus

The body of a missing angler was found at Muizenberg on Sunday, the Cape Town disaster risk management centre said.

Cape Town - The body of a missing angler was found at Muizenberg on Sunday, the Cape Town disaster risk management centre said.

Shark spotters saw a body about 40 metres off-shore between Baileys Cottage and Surfers' Corner at Muizenberg, said spokesman Wilfred Solomons-Johannes.

The city's marine unit, the police diving unit and the National Sea Rescue Institute began a search, but suspended it sunset on Saturday because of poor visibility.

The search resumed on Sunday and at 10.30am the body was found on rocks near Rocky Beach at Muizenberg, said Solomons-Johannes.

He said Premduth Parboo, 59, of Steenberg, was reported missing on Sunday. He was thought to have been washed off the rocks and drowned while angling on Saturday. - Sapa

A pregnant matric pupil has died after being stabbed in the stomach and chest, allegedly by someone known to her.

Cape Town - A pregnant matric pupil has died after being stabbed in the stomach and chest, allegedly by someone known to her.

Ncebakazi Bili, 20, from Samora Machel, Philippi, was eight months pregnant and had just completed her final matric exams. She was planning to study electrical engineering at UCT next year, but her life was cut tragically short at the weekend.

The 20-year-old suspect is believed to have stabbed her in an apparent jealous rage. He was drinking with friends at Bili’s house before the incident.

The stabbing happened late on Saturday and came just two days before the end of the 16 Days of Activism for No violence Against Women and Children.

Bili’s cousin, Nomava Mbengu, said the family – especially Bili’s father – was distraught. She said the family had lost its breadwinner and a hard worker.

Mbengu said the family was drinking and “chilling” while Bili was sitting on the steps outside.

The suspect, who was known to her, was also there.

Mbengu said the suspect, who lives next door, left for a while and when he came back he allegedly stabbed her.

Mbengu said they didn’t hear Bili’s screams because of the loud music, but another man apparently threw the suspect out when he realised what had happened.

“Her brother and some of the other guys hit him and he was sent to hospital, the residents were furious and also wanted to hit him but our family stopped them,” Mbengu said.

She explained that the suspect’s family took him to hospital and left Bili, who had collapsed, lying outside her home in Samora Machel.

“His family has a car and they took him to hospital and left her lying here in the yard, she died before getting to the hospital. By the time we got there they said there was nothing they could do,” Mbengu said.

Another family member, Siphokazi Billy, said that if the suspect’s family had taken her to the hospital in time she might have survived.

“If his family took her first she would have been here now, but they just didn’t care,” Billy said.

The family said that Bili was stabbed five times in the stomach and chest and died right in front of them.

Her younger sister, Nandipha, relied a lot on her sister and didn’t take the news well as her older sister was more like a mother to her.

“She took care of us and did people’s hair so we could have food on the table,” she said.

Nandipha said their mother died in 2010 and her father, who stayed in Nyanga and checked on them regularly, was distraught by the news.

Police spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Andre Traut confirmed the stabbing and said the incident was being investigated.

“I can confirm that a 20-year-old female was stabbed to death after a domestic dispute and the suspect is yet to be arrested,” Traut said. He added that they could not confirm the injuries sustained by the victim.

The funeral will be held in Bili’s hometown of Mthatha in the Eastern Cape. The family said they would be leaving on Friday to attend the funeral on Saturday.

yolisa.tswanya@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

National Prosecutors say each application has to prove location has a high accident rate.

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has denied it limits the amount of speed cameras the City of Cape Town is allowed to install, saying each application had to prove the location had a high accident rate.

On Wednesday the Cape Times reported that on average 87 motorists were fined every day for jumping red traffic lights in Cape Town and that the city was only allowed to have 50 speeding cameras.

The city has to apply to the NPA to install cameras and André Nel, the deputy traffic chief, said the number of cameras was limited because traffic courts could deal with only a certain number of prosecutions. Nel also said the NPA insisted cameras only be installed in high accident rate locations.

In the past year the city has issued about 1.5 million traffic and by-law fines, with about half the fines (740 000) issued for speeding.

More than 30 000 fines were for motorists jumping red lights.

Mayoral committee member for safety and security JP Smith revealed this in response to a column in Friday’s Cape Times calling on traffic authorities to install more speeding and traffic signal cameras to reduce fatalities ahead of the festive season.

Smith said the city had asked permission to install more cameras but later understood why the number of cameras could not be increased.

He said the city was willing to fund R1.9 million to employ additional magistrates and prosecutors at courts to deal with the high volume of traffic offences.

NPA spokesman Eric Ntabazalila said: “The NPA emphatically denies that it has limited the number of speed cameras to be set up around the metro. We have never put a figure on the number of cameras that must be installed.

“Every application we have received that has been accompanied by motivation and statistics of accidents, has been approved.

“We have never instructed any authority not to set up a speed camera or limited the number of cameras.”

Ntabazalila said municipal courts were established with the Department of Justice and municipalities to remove traffic matters from the ordinary court rolls in order for them |to receive the attention they warranted.

“If we had not done this, there would have been chaos in the ordinary courts. As a result of this action, although we are not in a position to provide you with statistics presently, we have seen a significant improvement in dealing with traffic matters,” Ntabazalila said.

Smith said: “We are not at loggerheads with the NPA. We fully agree that we shouldn’t expand the number of cameras until court capacity catches up.” - Cape Times

NPA says visual evidence will also be used to nail those driving under influence.

There are no changes to the way drunk drivers are to be prosecuted.

This clarification comes after some reports at the weekend which may have been misinterpreted.

The Saturday Argus reported that telltale signs of drunk driving, and not only blood tests, would be enough to land motorists in trouble with the law as the authorities sought new ways to crack down on the problem.

The National Prosecuting Authority held a joint pre-season briefing with the police on Friday, reminding the public that blood tests were not necessary for a conviction.

With roadblocks planned across the province, traffic officials would instead be looking for the telltale signs of inebriation - unsteadiness and an inability to perform simple tasks, such as walking in a straight line.

This was apparently interpreted by some readers as suggesting that blood tests would no longer be used to convict drunk drivers. Some readers apparently may also have thought that a new charge was being introduced, namely “driving under the influence”.

However, the law has always existed.

Drunk drivers can be charged on two potential offences:

Driving ‘over the limit’: Thiis means the driver was tested and found to be over the legal limit for blood alcohol, breath alcohol or both. Those on this list would all be blood-tested. The legal limit is 0.02 percent, or 0.05g, per 100ml of blood.

Driving ‘under the influence’: This means the driver was convicted, based on records showing him or her to be driving under the influence of intoxicating liquor or drugs - for example, eyewitness testimony or photographic evidence.

The NPA has since reiterated, to clarify: “Blood samples will still be taken because when there is not enough evidence to charge on the main count, namely driving under the influence, the State will proceed on the alternative count, namely driving with a blood alcohol content above the legal limit.

“By this the NPA would like to emphasise the seriousness of driving under the influence of alcohol, and we therefore urged officials to collect all relevant evidence to enable the prosecution to proceed on the main count of driving under the influence in appropriate matters.”

Prosecutor Christhenus van der Vijver stressed that the move did not mean blood-alcohol tests would be abolished. Rather, it meant that the State did not have to rely on blood tests for convictions - instead applying the alternative charge of ‘driving under the influence’.

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Cape Town traffic cops, civic organisations plan ways make black spots safer for traffic.

The City of Cape Town could introduce a new type of road marking that creates an illusion that a vehicle is speeding up, so that the driver actually slows down, helping to improve traffic safety.

A first for Cape Town if accepted - city traffic engineers still have to give it the technical go-ahead - this will be one of several measures aimed at reducing the number of accidents at the “black spot” intersection of Ou Kaapse Weg and Steenberg Road.

Also, a third set of road signs warning truck drivers to slow down ahead of this high-accident intersection will be erected within the coming weeks, while existing lane markers on the road surface will be repainted.

Elsewhere on Ou Kaapse Weg, the city will post a limited number of traffic officials to patrol the road to create a higher law enforcement presence, and it will look at the possibility of banning right-hand turns off this busy route into Silvermine Road, Noordhoek, for drivers travelling south. This intersection is also an accident black spot where fatalities have occurred.

LIVELY TWO-HOUR MEETING

The city has agreed to start discussions with major businesses in the South Peninsula - such as the retail giants in the Sun Valley and Longbeach Mall - to see whether they will agree to keep their heavy delivery vehicles off Ou Kaapse Weg during peak traffic hours, but it has suggested that civic groups and non-government organisations do likewise and that this could produce quicker results.

These are some of the outcomes of a lively two-hour meeting between senior city officials and representatives of seven civic associations in the ‘Deep South’ and of the body corporate of the Steenberg office park and the Home Owners’ Association of the adjoining Silvertree Estate, at the northern end of Ou Kaapse Weg.

The groups had asked for an urgent meeting to discuss growing concern and frustration at the increasingly severe traffic problems and the high number of accidents on Ou Kaapse Weg in recent years - and particularly since the start of the project to upgrade Main Road between Muizenberg and Clovelly.

TIPPING POINT

While the meeting, chaired by the chairwoman of Subcouncil 19 Felicity Purchase, was called specifically to discuss traffic issues on Ou Kaapse Weg, the civic groups also hit out at the city for not responding timeously to issues raised and for allowing the rapid development of the Far South in recent years without adequate infrastructure, and questioned whether levies from developers were being used appropriately.

Former councillor and Simon’s Town mayor Nikki Holderness warned: “I think we’ve come to crunch time now”, while Theo Verrijdt of the Kommetjie Residents’ and Ratepayers’ Association said: “We are all getting to the tipping point.”

The possible use of the “illusion” road marker was raised during a presentation by traffic engineer Sean Glass, head of the city’s transport network development, who explained why the city did not agree with the proposal for a runaway truck “arrester bed” at the Steenberg intersection.

An analysis had shown that “risky behaviour” by truck drivers here was the major cause of accidents, not brake failures.

He also said the city believed the environmental and financial costs of passing lanes on Ou Kaapse Weg were “possibly not that well understood”. - Cape Argus

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Cape Town’s emergency call centres and selected police stations have aced a test and proving they are ready for anything.

Cape Town - Cape Town’s emergency call centres and selected police stations have aced a test by the Cape Argus to determine whether operators were at their posts and ready to assist in an emergency.

A Cape Argus reader recently expressed concern about the fact that some emergency numbers that she dialled on a Sunday were not answered promptly.

The Cape Argus called 10 different numbers on Sunday and counted the number of rings in each case. In most cases the call was answered promptly and the operator immediately asked what the emergency was.

The only number that was called more than once was for Red Cross poisons information, which was answered on the third call.

The results were:

* 107 - Made the call at 11.58 am and it was answered after six rings. The operator asked what the emergency was and advised that the number could be called for a number of emergencies in the city.

* 10111 - The call was made at 12.05pm. The call was answered after two rings.

* Cape Town Central police station - Called the number at 12.36pm and it was answered after two rings.

* Manenberg police station - Made the call at 12.45pm and it was answered after two rings.

* Table View police station - The call was made at 12.46pm and it answered on the second ring.

* Harare police station - Called the station at 12.49pm. The call was answered after three rings.

* Gugulethu police station - The call was made at 12.54pm and answered after two rings.

* Red Cross Children’s Hospital poison information - The first call was made at 1.24pm, but after 20 rings it had not been answered. A second call was made an hour later with the same result. The third call was made a few minutes later and answered after the 10th ring. The person who answered said that a resuscitation had to be done earlier.

* Mountain Rescue - The call was made at 1.33pm and answered after three rings. The operator explained that the number could be called in the event of major incidents, including drowning.

* Sea Rescue - The call was made at 1.40pm and answered on the third ring.

ilse.fredericks@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

“We are going to be focusing intensively on gangs and drug dealers. We are going to catch them.”

Cape Town - Major-General Peter Jacobs paces back and forth while briefing members of the SAPS on parade who will be taking part in a raid on Friday.

His voice echoes around the warehouse where nyalas and other police vehicles are parked.

Members of the media wait outside as the logistics of the operation are explained to the police.

“This is the start of the next five weeks which is the active part of the festive season,” Jacobs explains after the briefing.

“This weekend is where we are starting with full-scale activity. We need to make the impact felt now.”

The police break off into smaller teams and the final briefing takes place before they walk to their vehicles.

Operations like this take place every day in Cape Town, says Lieutenant Lance Goliath.

The operation, focusing mainly on gang areas, involves a large number of officers split into groups with each targeting a different area.

A long convoy snakes its way through the narrow streets of Manenberg, splitting up at a T-junction, both teams speeding up as they head off in different directions.

After a few sharp turns both sets of vehicles converge on a house from different directions. Doors open and members of the police stream out and file through the open front gate on to the property.

Six shacks are visible on the property, built around a brick house.

The officers fan out, and head for the various doors of the buildings. After a lot of shouting, a man wearing only boxers appears at the doorway of the main house.

The police go inside and begin their search.

People are searched in the yard. One officer looks inside the overflowing wheelie bins, dogs barely move as their eyes follow the movement of officers.

An officer walks out of the house and mutters: “There must be more here,” after telling a colleague that a parcel of dagga has been found in the house.

He is right. A paint tin, half-filled with small plastic bags of dagga is found in another room.

This police team has its first haul of the day with an estimated street value of over R1 000.

The raid on the house lasts a little over 10 minutes; the team moves out as quickly as it moved in.

The man who appeared in the doorway in his boxers is marched out of the house. People walking past don’t even look twice as he is put in the back of a police van.

As soon as the van door shuts, the other cars move back into convoy to head for their next target.

Vans with flashing lights block a main road to allow the convoy a safe passage into another area of Manenberg.

At one house officers are met with barks and snarls from a dog the size of a small lion. It jumps up against a metal gate set into a high, face-brick wall that resembles a fortress.

An officer stares down at the dog and it starts to back away, still snarling.

“This house gives us a lot of trouble,” an officer says.

A journalist walks from neighbour to neighbour in a futile attempt to get comments. No one wants to talk.

Shouts are heard from a second floor window. Officers lean out pointing to a small parcel in the snarling hound’s enclosure. Three officers try to reach the package through the fence without getting too close to the dog.

At the same time, a young man wearing an American flag draped around his neck is led out of the house.

The arresting officer holds the suspect in one hand while clutching a tied-up red and white scarf containing drugs in the other.

The suspect’s personal belongings are taken off him while he is quizzed on his gang affiliations and age.

Other officers open the scarf to examine the contents - a number of packets of tik and a pill bottle containing mandrax.

The notorious John Down Walk in Hanover Park is next on the list. John Down Walk is a territory of the Mongrels Gang and has been the scene of many shootings in the past few months.

The blocks of flats are surrounded by corrugated-iron structures with many walkways and narrow routes between them.

“This is why they always manage to vanish,” one officer says, pointing down one of the walkways.

People fill the streets to watch the action. Some of the residents chat to the officers, who they seem to know from various community events such as protest marches and peace gatherings.

Police vehicles fill the narrow streets as a search is conducted on a number of properties.

A young policeman stands guard at one entrance while his colleagues search inside.

Nothing is found on the property, but one resident remarks that it is good these searches are conducted.

According to Major-General Jacobs, the operations are not only aimed at getting drugs off the streets, but also at catching drug lords.

“If large numbers of drugs come into Cape Town they have to be distributed internally,” Jacobs explains.

“So part of the operation is to attack the routes inside Cape Town for the effective control of the drug issue.

“We are going to be focusing intensively on gangs and drug dealers,” he says. “We are going to work to ensure that we can deal with [their] activity. We are going to catch them, and once we catch them ensure that they stay in [prison].”

Cape Argus

Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa's application for an interdict against the Khayelitsha commission of inquiry will be heard soon.

Cape Town - Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa's application for an interdict against the Khayelitsha commission of inquiry will be heard on Thursday in the Western Cape High Court, ministerial spokesman Zweli Mnisi has confirmed. It was originally set down for Monday.

Mnisi said the interdict argument would be heard, followed by discussions on “the substantive matters in relation to the commission”.

Mthethwa filed papers in the high court in November to have the commission temporarily suspended, pending a review of the decision on its establishment.

Provincial premier Helen Zille set up the commission in August to probe allegations of police inefficiency in Khayelitsha, Cape Town. She said the commission was necessary because there was a breakdown of trust between Khayelitsha residents and the police.

Headed by retired judge Catherine O'Regan and advocate Vusi Pikoli, the commission was to hold public hearings from November 12 to December 14. A full report was due on February 24, 2013.

The commission has since been suspended pending the outcome of the court hearings.

The Social Justice Coalition, which led the call to establish the commission, has been included as a respondent in Mthethwa's application.

Sapa

Shopping centre safety has come under the spotlight after a man collapsed and died in Cavendish Square.

Cape town - Shopping centre safety has come under the spotlight after a man collapsed and died in Cavendish Square.

The man, a security guard, collapsed near the Nu Pharmacy entrance in the centre on November 29.

A witness, Suzanne Du Plessis, and her husband saw the guard collapse and tried to assist with first-aid treatment.

It is believed the security guard, Max Ntantiso, had worked at Stuttafords for four years and had been on his way to a bus with his colleague when he collapsed.

Du Plessis said she was appalled that there were no oxygen tanks in the mall to help the man breathe.

“Obviously the problem here is, how safe are our malls. Should something happen to us, are they properly equipped to ensure basic first-aid is afforded to patrons?” Du Plessis asked.

“One should have a portable tank of medical oxygen with a bag valve mask as most times the person convulses and starts to vomit, which Max did.”

Du Plessis said she had tried to find gloves and a plastic resuscitation valve.

“In case of Aids or TB as there was slight blood in the mucous, they said they did not have one, and only brought it out when Max was already in cardiac arrest.”

She said the centre’s security personnel had assisted by bringing a wheelchair and a stretcher.

“But one could not move him because it was too late,” she said.

“When asked for the medical oxygen they eventually brought a BA set (compressed air) which is inappropriate,” she added.

Du Plessis said they had managed to get some medical oxygen from Dis-chem Pharmacy and a young student who had recently qualified as a doctor, arrived and helped.

They were unable to administer a drip until help arrived. By the time the ambulance arrived Ntantiso had died.

“When we covered him with a blanket people broke out in song which I am sure carried his soul in comfort that he did not die alone,” she said.

Cavendish Square’s Brenda Bibby confirmed that efforts by medical, paramedical and security personnel to resuscitate Ntantiso had been unsuccessful.

She said Cavendish Square conformed to the Occupational Health and Safety Act, by regularly conducting assessments of the risk and type of emergencies that could happen on site.

Bibby said the centre had equipment and trained personnel on site to deal with such incidents and had emergency response paramedic teams on call.

She added that apart from on-site first-aiders, there were first-aid boxes and a first-aid room.

“The equipment at Cavendish Square does indeed include a portable oxygen supply,” she said.

Cape Town Fire and Rescue Services’ Theo Layne said from a health and safety perspective, only basic first-aid was required at shopping centres. There was no legislation that required shopping centres to have mobile oxygen tanks or masks.

Dr Cleeve Robertson, a senior manager at the Western Cape’s Emergency Medical Services, said the agency responsible for a large shopping mall, factory or business should ensure the following:

* An emergency number is clearly displayed to in order to contact an EMS and Rescue Service.

* An emergency medical response is provided for Basic Life Support Care with the facility to use an Automatic External Defibrillator, which automatically diagnoses life-threatening heart diseases.

* Basic emergency medical equipment is available.

natasha.prince@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

A Cape Town man has been shot dead in a tussle between two police officers and a crowd, Western Cape police said.

Cape Town - A Cape Town man has been shot dead in a tussle between two police officers and a crowd, Western Cape police said on Monday.

Lt-Col Andre Traut said the two officers were called out to Bishop Lavis around 5.30pm on Sunday to investigate a shooting complaint.

“Upon arrival, the police members were approached by a riotous group of people who smashed their vehicle's windows and assaulted the members while they were trapped inside the vehicle,” he said.

While the police were trying to disarm the group a shot went off, killing 34-year-old Jerome Brown.

Traut said the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) was investigating the death. Spokesman Moses Dlamini was not immediately aware of the matter.

The two police officers had been admitted to hospital and were recovering from their injuries. Additional officers were sent to the area to restore order.

Traut said the tussle was a deliberate attempt by local residents to intimidate police officers and protect gang members.

“As yet, no one has been arrested in connection with the attack on our members... We will not allow violence to be perpetrated against police officers and every endeavour will be made to bring those responsible to book.”

Sapa

Bo-Kaap residents have successfully stopped the sale of liquor next to a mosque in the area.

Cape Town - It has been a “long battle” - though possibly not the last - for Bo-Kaap residents who have successfully stopped the sale of liquor next to a mosque in their area.

The Bo-Kaap Civic Association and the Nurul Islam Mosque cemented their victory in the Western Cape High Court on Friday.

Judge President John Hlophe set aside the premises’s liquor licence, which was granted on November 14 last year.

The applicants took Samuel Wekwete, who ran a restaurant at 59 Wale Street, next to the mosque, to court. Other respondents were the Western Cape liquor authority, the liquor licensing tribunal, the MEC for economic development and tourism, and seven others. The City of Cape Town shut down the restaurant this year because the property did not have a fire escape.

The property is owned by Beekay 122 Investments, a company registered in Cape Town, which in turn is owned by Dutch citizens.

Wekwete rented the building from Beekay.

In a bid to have Beekay’s liquor licence set aside and to stop it from being transferred to Wekwete, the civic association and the mosque filed the court action.

The application was initially opposed. However, the applicants’ attorney, UWC Legal Aid Clinic acting director Shamiel Jassiem, said that opposition had later been withdrawn.

This opened the door for the applicants to secure the court relief, which Judge Hlophe granted.

They received an affidavit from the liquor licence authority’s lawyers last week, telling of the reasons for the authority’s withdrawing its opposition to the matter.

“The affidavit basically said that at that stage, when they considered the application, they’d had no knowledge it was in the vicinity of a mosque,” Jassiem said.

However, he cautioned that while this was a victory for his clients, Judge Hlophe’s order did not prevent a person from applying for a liquor licence for the premises in the future.

If this did occur, the civic association would oppose it, particularly if the proper procedures were not followed.

Osman Shaboodien, chairman of the civic association, said the court’s decision had brought an end to a “long battle” that had shed light on liquor licences being issued “recklessly”.

“This is a victory for the Bo-Kaap community, especially considering what’s happening in terms of gentrification there. It lays the foundation that there needs to be a mutual respect of people’s beliefs, cultures and traditions.”

leila.samodien@inl.co.za

Cape Times

Traffic chief to confiscate keys of drivers appearing tired, whether it's legal or not.

Sleepy motorists will now be pulled off the road, forced to rest and have their vehicle’s keys confiscated, in a drastic move by provincial traffic authorities who say they will push ahead even if it is illegal.

The initial fatigue management plan aimed at public transport has been operating for a year, but yesterday provincial traffic chief Kenny Africa said he had extended it three days ago to include all drivers.

He had been advised to do so by Transport and Public Works MEC Robin Carlisle.

Yesterday Carlisle said 54 people had died in road accidents in the province since the start of December and at least 25 were fatigue-related.

LEGAL? DON’T CARE...

Asked if it was legal to confiscate drivers’ keys and force them to rest, he said: “I have no idea, but I don’t care either... We’ve got no option but to pull out all the stops, whether illegal or legal... I just don’t know what else to do than to become very rough.”

Local criminal lawyer William Booth said there had to be a law in place in order for traffic officers to carry it out, but as far as he was aware no such law existed and there was no legal basis for it to be done.

Automobile Association of SA spokesman Gary Ronald said while it would be “very difficult” to measure fatigue, even if the measure was illegal, he believed its intention was good.

“It’s a great initiative just to get the message across.”

Ronald said fatigue played a “massive” role in road deaths, and truck drivers were among those worst affected by it.

Yesterday Africa confirmed that the measure would be carried out. He had sent out an urgent message on Friday notifying traffic officers to be on the lookout for sleepy drivers.

SYMPTOM SPOTTING

He said officers would look out for symptoms including red eyes and drowsiness when trying to identify a tired driver.

If an officer felt a driver was fatigued, the officer would confiscate the driver’s keys and park the vehicle in a safe spot. The traffic officer would then watch over the resting driver.

Africa said if the driver was “obviously fatigued”, he or she would be made to rest for two to three hours.

The public transport fatigue management plan started on December 22 last year and Africa said one of the first drivers was pulled over near the Huguenot Tunnel.

After being forced to rest for two hours, he said officers had been unable to rouse the driver as he was sleeping so deeply.

In one of the latest fatigue clampdowns, Africa said between 8pm on Saturday and 6am yesterday on the “death stretch”, the road between Beaufort West, Laingsburg and Aberdeen, traffic officers had stopped 17 000 taxis.

Of these, he said 3000 drivers had appeared fatigued and were “parked”.

“We confiscated their (vehicle) keys to enforce rest.”

Africa warned other drivers that this would happen to them regardless of the type of vehicle they drove or the road they were spotted on.

Another matter authorities were focusing on was drunk driving. At the weekend, 19 drunk drivers were arrested around the province.

Yesterday National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesman Eric Ntabazalila said the NPA was focusing on the main count related to drunk driving – driving under the influence of alcohol.

This was different to the alternative count a driver could face, of driving with a blood alcohol content above the legal limit.

“The main count is more serious and carries a harsher penalty,” Ntabazalila said.

A driver could face a R180 000 fine or nine months imprisonment, or both, if found guilty of driving under the influence of alcohol.

Ntabazalila said while the NPA was focusing on the driving under the influence of alcohol count, blood samples would still be taken from suspected drunk drivers so that if there was not enough evidence to support the main count, the State could pursue the alternative blood alcohol content count.

Regional justice department head Hishaam Mohamed said the department welcomed any measures that would lead to greater accountability.

“However, a blood alcohol test remains the primary evidentiary proof for the successful conviction of drunken driving,” he said.

Mohamed said the turnaround time for blood test results was between three to eight months, which was “obviously unacceptable”.

He hoped the forensic laboratory in Plattekloof would reduce the turnaround time. -Cape Times

With less than a week to go until Mangaung, the ANC’s deeply divided Western Cape leaders engaged in a war of words.

Cape Town -

With less than a week to go until the ANC’s crucial Mangaung elective conference, its deeply divided Western Cape leaders have hurled insults, with Songezo Mjongile accusing Marius Fransman of dictatorship for proposing a 10-year term of office for Jacob Zuma.

Fransman, the provincial chairman, responded by accusing Mjongile, the provincial secretary, of stupidity. Fransman had claimed to the media the province wanted the ANC constitution amended to double the term of the party’s top six leaders from five to 10 years.

He had argued that such a move would bring stability to a party beset by internal battles over the choice of leadership.

Fransman wants ANC president Jacob Zuma given a second term while Mjongile wanted Zuma replaced by ANC deputy president Kgalema Motlanthe.

At Wednesday’s ANC Western Cape provincial council, 99 votes were cast in favour of Motlanthe and 90 for Zuma.

On Friday, Fransman said the province would propose a constitutional amendment at Mangaung and that there was support for such a move.

Mjongile said neither Wednesday’s council nor one held in June had decided on a constitutional amendment.

“It is not a provincial position at all. If we take such a position, it will be undemocratic. It is draconian. The right of ANC ordinary members to decide on leadership must not be interfered with. Giving10-year terms means putting some people in government for 10 years - meaning you want to change the constitution of the republic. It is akin to dictatorship,” Mjongile said.

He said Fransman, as international relations and co-operation deputy minister had a personal interest in a 10-year term for top ANC leaders who had appointed him.

“It is his master’s voice. It is very unfortunate and we must guard against this. Once we start toying with such ideas it will lead to changing the country’s constitution and us having life presidents,” he said.

Fransman hit back saying: “I don’t believe Songezo could have said those things. It is politically stupid. It is stupidity at its highest level.”

He said the June provincial council had not decided on a constitutional amendment, but had agreed members were entitled to their own views and seek support for them. He said all delegates to Mangaung had a right to propose issues for discussion at the conference.

“If anyone says there has been no instability in the last two years and the last few months, it is being stupid. I stand by what I said.”.

He said ANC members were entitled to air their views about Zuma’s leadership and while this should be done within party structures, some members had publicly criticised and insulted Zuma.

aziz.hartley@inl.co.za

Cape Times

A seven-year-old boy has told how his hero dad shoved him under a bed just moments before he was brutally murdered.

Cape Town - A heartbroken seven-year-old boy has told how his hero dad shoved him under a bed just moments before he was brutally murdered in their home.

Denver George, 37, and his brother-in-law Claude Campher, 41, both died trying to save their families after gunmen stormed into their home.

And Denver’s brother Lohencine George, 26, is lucky to be alive after one of the killers’ guns jammed twice as it was held against his chest.

Denver died seconds after pushing his terrified little son McKyle Asia to safety.

He shouted, ‘Lollie crawl underneath the bed’ then he died,” a shaken McKyle tells the Daily Voice as he is comforted by his mother, Erica.

Tears roll down the grief-stricken widow’s face as she recalls her hero husband’s last moments.

“He died a hero and he tried to stop them from going into the bedroom,” she sobbed.

The killers also tried to kill Lohencine but he survived when the gun jammed.

“I was the first person they got to because I was standing outside when they jumped over the wall,” Lohencine told the Daily Voice.

“As one of the men stormed in, another kept me outside and pushed me against the wall. He held the gun to my chest and pulled the trigger, but it jammed.

“He tried again after he cocked the gun and changed the magazine but it jammed a second time.”

Bizarrely, the same gun “worked 100 percent fine” when the suspect joined his accomplice in the house where they each fired several shots at Denver and Claude, killing them on the spot.

“While I was held up outside, I was not really aware of what was happening around me until I heard the gunshots inside,” Lohencine adds.

The shocking murders occurred in the victims’ family home in Scottsdene in the early hours of Saturday morning.

Police are hunting the killers but so far no arrests have been made.

Police say they have not yet established a motive for the murders.

“We can confirm the murders of two men are being investigated,” police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel André Traut said. “The motive is unknown.”

Relatives admit Denver was a member of the 27s prison gang, but insist he had no enemies outside.

Claude’s wife Sheris, 41, says the family fears the killers will return to finish them off.

“I don’t know why they did this,” Sheris says.

“We are too afraid to stay at home because these men could come back.”

*This article was published in the Daily Voice

Former Fidentia chief executive J Arthur Brown, who faces fraud charges in two Cape courts, hopes to consolidate both cases and go on trial in the High Court.

Cape Town -

Former Fidentia chief executive J Arthur Brown, who faces fraud charges in the Western Cape High Court and the Cape Town Regional Court, hopes to consolidate both cases and go on trial in the High Court.

In the Western Cape High Court on Monday, Judge Anton Veldhuizen told Brown he had no authority to dictate to the State how it should conduct the high court and regional court cases.

The judge said because Brown and co-accused Jacobus Theart had not yet pleaded to the regional court charges, it was possible to run both cases in the high court one after another.

Veldhuizen added it was up to the State to decide.

In the regional court, Brown and Theart, the latter formerly of the Antheru Trust, faces fraud charges involving R700,000.

Brown appeared in the Western Cape High Court on Monday before Veldhuizen in the Fidentia matter. The case still had logistical matters in relation to electronic data and saw Brown asking that his own IT expert be given an opportunity to liaise with the State's expert.

Brown told the court he had “sympathy with the State” in relation to the electronic data that would be used in the case.

He said the prosecution team, senior counsel Jannie van Vuuren and advocate Tersia du Toit did not know what systems Fidentia used.

Brown said he already had discussions with the National Prosecuting Authority's IT experts, and a “plan could be made” if his own experts were required to go to Johannesburg to resolve problems.

The judge responded: “I do not want to waste time. If I postpone the case to tomorrow, I need to know that there will be a reasonable prospect of shortening the proceedings.”

Van Vuuren replied: “If substantial admissions are made by the accused, it will shorten the proceedings, but I have no idea what admissions will be made.”

Veldhuizen said: “I want to get this show on the road, otherwise this will go on for months.”

Veldhuizen said the State's IT expert was about to go on leave, to which the judge responded: “Well, use him while you can.”

Former Fidentia accountant Graeme Maddock was in the witness stand at Monday's proceedings, but did not begin his testimony. He was excused until Tuesday.

The State told the court Maddock could be reached at short notice and that it would take about an hour for him to arrive once notified.

The case continues on Tuesday. - Sapa