“Three of them jumped out of the car and randomly started shooting at the bystanders in the front garden of 25 Matroosberg Street.”

Cape Town - A man was shot dead and four people were seriously injured in Belhar yesterday evening after gunmen drove into Matroosberg Street and started shooting wildly at bystanders.

The attack came at about 7pm, when a car with four men raced into the street. Three men leapt out and opened fire.

Police spokesman Captain FC van Wyk said police have not yet confirmed whether the incident was gang-related.

“Four unidentified men in a silver VW Golf or Polo with unknown registration number stopped in Matroosberg Street, Belhar,” Van Wyk said.

“Three of them jumped out of the motor vehicle and randomly started shooting at the bystanders in the front garden of 25 Matroosberg Street.”

After the shooting, the three gunmen jumped back into the car and it raced off, leaving shocked residents to deal with the aftermath. Belhar police launched a hunt for the gunmen.

A 30-year-old man, who lived at the address, died at the scene.

A woman, 48, a 25-year-old man and a 12-year-old girl who also live in the same house, were badly wounded.

Another man, aged 29, from Maartlelie Street in Rosendal, Delft, was also wounded, Van Wyk said.

He declined to name the victims.

“All the victims were taken to a nearby hospital for medical treatment. The incident occurred in the yard of 25 Matroosberg Street, Extension 13, Belhar.

“A murder and attempted murder case was opened for investigation. No arrests have been made as yet.

“The circumstances surrounding the incidents are being investigated, and the motive is yet to be established. Therefore it is not possible to speculate on gang violence at this stage,” said Van Wyk.

Cape Argus

Deceased acting judge Patrick Maqubela's widow Thandi and her co-accused Vela Mabena will apply for their acquittal and discharge.

Cape Town - Deceased acting judge Patrick Maqubela's widow Thandi and her co-accused Vela Mabena will apply for their acquittal and discharge, the High Court in Cape Town heard on Tuesday.

Their defence team, Marius Broeksma for Maqubela and Randall Titus for Mabena, announced they would bring the combined application on March 7.

The State closed its case earlier on Tuesday.

It alleges that the two suffocated Maqubela with cling-wrap in his Sea Point apartment on June 5, 2009.

The widow then allegedly forged her dead husband's signature on a fake will.

Maqubela and Mabena have both pleaded not guilty, before Judge John Murphy, to charges of murder, fraud and forgery.

The defence claims the judge died of natural causes.

In the discharge application, the defence will have to satisfy the court that the prosecution team failed to prove Maqubela and Mabena's guilt, and that they have no case to meet.

If the application is unsuccessful, Maqubela and Mabena will need to decide whether to testify in their own defence or to remain silent. - Sapa

These are the words of rape survivor Rochelle Herbst, 37, who was raped at knifepoint on a smallholding in Melkbosstrand.

Cape Town - “I’ve become a horrible and angry person. I now have so much hate towards people in general, but mostly men. My life will never be the same again. He has left me with a deep scar – it’s going to take a while before it heals.”

These are the harrowing words of rape survivor Rochelle Herbst, 37, who was raped at knifepoint on a smallholding in Melkbosstrand on January 27. Her rapist’s words, “If you try anything I will kill you”, echoed in her ears every day, she said

“Every little sound makes me jump. I’ve always been afraid of the dark, but now I’m so terrified that I sleep with the lights on.”

Herbst was house-sitting on the property where she was employed as a dog groomer and lived in a shipping container. She has since moved out. Just before 7pm she heard a noise in the yard. When she went to investigate she found a man standing next to her home carrying a backpack. He said he was looking for a job.

She told him to leave, but he did not move. When she reached for her cellphone he produced a knife, grabbed her by the neck and pushed her inside the container.

Once inside, he demanded valuables. “There was nowhere to escape. I was trapped inside a little room with one small window.”

Herbst said her attacker then put socks over his hands and threw a blanket over her head.

“He ransacked the place for about 20 minutes,” she said. “He then asked me to pull down his pants as he ‘wanted to have sex with a white woman’.”

He then raped her. “I could feel the tip of the knife at the back of my neck…it’s a horrible experience I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy.

“I kept thinking ‘he is going to kill me because I know what he looks like’.”

When her rapist was done he told her: “It’s getting dark. I have to catch a bus, but I will see you again.”

She ran to a nearby farm and was taken to hospital.

“I was so angry, I didn’t feel like talking to anyone,” she said.

Herbst has now started to see a counsellor from the Community Intervention Centre in Milnerton. “Talking about it helps me handle the flashbacks that haunt me.”

No arrests have been made.

Cape Argus

The rape and murder of Anene Booysen has brought back memories for a woman who was also gang-raped at 17.

Cape Town - The rape and murder of 17-year-old Anene Booysen has brought back memories for a woman who was also gang-raped at 17.

It has been 28 years, but Analise Grimwood remembers the assault as if it happened yesterday. She said she and a male companion ran out of petrol in Sherwood Park on the way home from a club on Christmas Eve.

“As we climbed out of the car, four men, wearing balaclavas and carrying knives, surrounded the car. They threatened to kill us and my male friend ran off.”

Grimwood said one man put a knife to her neck and threatened to kill her if she screamed. “I was so paralysed with shock that I couldn't walk. They had to drag me. By then I realised what they were going to do, I wet myself from the shock.”

They dragged her into someone's backyard and took turns raping her, while smoking and drinking. “Afterwards they removed their balaclavas and said they would have to kill me because I saw their faces.”

Grimwood said it might have been a gang initiation because two of the younger perpetrators did not want to rape her, but were forced to.

She said the men started arguing about who would kill her and she ran to the house’s back door. She was stabbed in the back as she fled.

She found the door open. “Luckily the woman living there left the door open for her son who was a firefighter on night shift.”

Grimwood’s lungs had been punctured and she had to have dialysis.

She was in hospital for a month. She identified one of the men in a police identity parade, but he was released after his mother testified that he had been at home with her that night.

“No one even asked me to speak in court. My family and I had bricks thrown through our house windows, with notes threatening to kill us if we spoke.”

Grimwood said she had last asked after her case a year ago.

“The police told me it was probably in the archives, because they have no record of it.” She added that reading about Booysen’s case made her emotional, because nothing had changed.

“Half the time people report rape, but nothing gets done. I went to the police all the time, but no one told me anything... Rape survivors need more support.

I would like to find out what has happened to my case.”

Police spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel André Traut said crimes against women and children were prioritised and it was unfortunate no one had been convicted.

He said cases of this nature were closed if there were no developments, but could be reopened. He urged Grimwood to approach the Manenberg police.

natasha.bezuidenhout@inl.co.za

Survivors haunted by trauma

Survivors of traumatic events like rape go through different forms of emotional and physical aftershocks, says Megan Meredith, manager at the Community Intervention Centre, a free 24-hour intervention and support service operating from Medi-clinic Milnerton.

“Most victims go through physical reactions such as fear and anger directed towards themselves as they couldn’t protect themselves. Some doubt they will ever feel normal again, and others experience heart palpitations and loss of appetite,” she said.

Meredith and her team are often called on to counsel rape survivors soon after the crime happens. “Most women are in complete shock and numb. Others will act out by screaming and shouting. The anger happens afterwards. Our main focus is to stabilise the person and provide a support system, which includes getting them to acknowledge what has happened to them,” she said. - Nontando Mposo

Cape Argus

The daughter of a Grabouw councillor is the latest gang rape victim – by two men she considered good friends.

Grabouw - The daughter of a Grabouw councillor is the latest gang-rape victim – by two men she considered good friends and who were trusted by her family.

The 22-year-old, with her leg shaking uncontrollably, on Tuesday told the Cape Times about her ordeal on Saturday. She cried as she recalled how the two suspects pushed her against a wall and took turns to rape her.

Her father decided to go public, saying the justice system failed rape victims because his daughter’s attackers were released on R500 bail each.

“The bail means there is something seriously wrong with the justice system. I don’t know if it’s just here in Grabouw or everywhere, but we are not happy about that,” the father said.

This case comes exactly three weeks after the rape and murder of Anene Booysen, 17, of Bredasdorp.

The woman said: “I never suspected anything before because we were good friends and I trusted them.”

She used to date one of the men, whom she has known since 2006. The other suspect was her sister’s boyfriend for the past 18 months. Her sister broken up with him after the rape.

Her father said: “I know both guys very well and I am shocked because… they came into my house all the time. They were like my children.”

The victim was at a club with the two suspects and her boyfriend on Friday evening and then slept at her boyfriend’s house.

On Saturday morning, the two suspects came to the boyfriend’s house and she got a lift home with them.

“My boyfriend and I were fine with them taking me home because we have all been friends for so long and we always hang out,” she said.

The two men decided to buy beers, which the woman said she shared with them but later asked go home because she was tired from the night before.

They went to the one suspect’s house where she again complained that she was tired and the one suspect offered her a room to sleep in.

He followed her into the room. The second suspect came in and locked the door behind him. Then they raped her.

“I just asked them to stop and leave me alone,” she said.

Eventually they decided to take her home and she asked to be dropped at her boyfriend’s house: “I knew if I went home, my family would scold me and ask where I was and I would’ve just washed and gone to sleep. But I went to my boyfriend because I trust him and had to tell someone.

Her father said it was “a blessing” that his daughter was still alive. “Normally when people know the victim, they kill the person so that the story never comes out. We are very grateful that she was not seriously harmed.”

She said: “I am shocked that they did this to me because they were friends… I feel ashamed and dirty.”

* Police spokesman Captain Frederick van Wyk said two men, both 24, appeared in the Grabouw Magistrate’s Court on Monday and on Tuesday. They were granted bail of R500 and their case was postponed till April 29.

zara.nicholson@inl.co.za

Cape Times

City of Cape Town vehemently denies using traffic fine quotas as a performance indicator.

The city of Cape Town has vehemently denied that it uses traffic fine quotas as a performance indicator for individual metro police and traffic officers.

This comes after leaked e-mails between managers at Mandela Park metro police indicated that each officer needed to bring in a minimum of 15 traffic fines a day.

The e-mails, dated January 29, were addressed to superintendents for the area and indicated minimum daily and monthly quotas that were expected from officers.

Mayoral committee member for safety and security JP Smith said Cape Town was one of the few cities in the country that did not have traffic quotas as performance indicators.

“The only indicator is a reduction in road fatalities, which we are achieving year on year. In fact, we are the only city in the country that is,” Smith said.

NOTHING WRONG IF CORRECTLY APPLIED

While insisting the city did not employ a fine quota system, Smith maintained that there was nothing wrong with quotas as a performance management tool “if correctly applied”.

He said managers of traffic and police units needed to address different road safety threats, as well as be sensitive to complaints by residents. Keeping track of the number of infringements logged (and fines issued) was a means of ensuring that road safety targets were met and complaints were attended to.

Smith explained that the targets issued in private by Mandela Park’s metro police were the direct result of a community meeting, at which residents complained that traffic violations were not being properly policed.

Yagyah Adams, a member of the city’s finance portfolio committee who alerted the Cape Argus to the leaked e-mails, said he remained “an ardent supporter” of the metro police and Smith for the “dangerous work that they did”.

INCONVENIENT

“My concern is that, by having such a high quota in any specific region may result in officials concentrating more energy on attempting to reach their daily quota than a primary concern for serious law enforcement. In our society we have serious challenges such as narcotic dealing, rape, child abuse and murder,” he said.

Smith, however, gave the assurance that other indicators were equally measured by law enforcement units. These included the amount of time spent on patrol, response rate to incidents, the number of by-law infringements addressed and the number of illegal taverns inspected.

Smith said some people found certain laws inconvenient “presumably because they transgress these laws themselves”. He argued this was why people tried to bring law enforcement into disrepute - by leaking e-mails of the sort mentioned above, for instance.

“There is an attitude that the police should be policing every type of offence except that which the offender in question is committing, amounting to a constant deflection of responsibility.” - Cape Argus

Motorists, residents and even officials are baffled as to how a hooded figure in a green boat landed up on the Black River.

Cape Town - Motorists, residents and even officials are baffled as to how a hooded figure in a green boat landed up on the Black River.

The hooded figure, which resembles the popular depiction of the grim reaper, sits in a boat with a dead branch that has plastic bottles hanging from it and has been sighted on the river since Tuesday last week.

Liesbeek River maintenance project manager Jason Mingo said speculation was that the figure in the boat may have been a prank. “We have gone out to look at it but we don’t know what it is. We think it could be part of a student prank,” he said. They had no jurisdiction over the Black River and they couldn’t just remove it.

Artist Emily Robertson said she had received e-mails and phone calls as the figure looked a lot like the artwork she did.

UCT professor Kevin Winter said the artist could have been trying to depict the idea of the “ferryman” in Greek mythology.

He said he was glad about the attention the artwork was bringing to the river, as the water quality had been improved

.

yolisa.tswanya@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

An ex Ugandan child soldier accused of murdering a Danish millionaire has disputed allegations that the murder was premeditated.

Cape Town - The former Ugandan child soldier accused of murdering Danish millionaire Preben Povlsen in Gordon’s Bay has disputed allegations that the murder was premeditated.

“One has to question why a person of my skill and experience would have created such a self-incriminating crime scene,” Francis Kimeze said during his closing arguments in the Western Cape High Court on Tuesday.

Kimeze, 39, who represented himself in court, read from 10 pages of closing arguments.

While he admitted he had stabbed 71-year-old Povlsen to death on January 14, 2008, he denied he had planned the murder.

Kimeze tried his best to point out inconsistencies in the State’s case saying the police manipulated the case against him and his two sisters who are his co-accused.

Povlsen’s wife, Maria, 34 and her sister, Stella Sengendo, 43 have pleaded not guilty to charges of premeditated murder and aggravated robbery.

Kimeze testified earlier in the trial that he killed Povlsen inside the garage of his Gordon’s Bay home, after drinking alcohol and smoking tik with a friend known only as Frank.

Povlsen was stabbed about 48 times and his partially brunt body was dumped in the bushes off Otto du Plessis Road in Bloubergstrand six days after his murder.

In denying that he planned the murder, Kimeze asked the court to consider: why he would look for bed sheets to wrap Povlsen’s body in; why he would borrow money from Sengendo to buy new carpets and why he would not have replaced them himself. Why would he allow Frank to choose the site to dump the body, and if he planned the murder he would not have committed it inside the house.

Prosecutor Mmatlhapi Tsheole argued the murder had been planned and covered up because new carpets were fitted and parts of the house were painted before Maria Povlsen told the police her husband was missing.

She said there had been no trace of blood in the garage and almost all traces of blood inside the house had been cleaned up.

According to the anti-nuptial contract Maria Povlsen stood to benefit from her husband’s R14m estate if he died but not if they were divorced.

Kimeze said he was sincere when he gave his version of events.

Judge Rosheni Allie is expected to give judgment on Monday.

Cape Argus

The State has closed its case in the trial of Thandi Maqubela - accused of killing her husband, Acting Judge Patrick Maqubela.

Cape Town - The State has closed its case in the trial of Thandi Maqubela - accused of killing her husband, Acting Judge Patrick Maqubela.

The widow and co-accused Vela Mabena are on trial before Judge John Murphy on charges of murder. Thandi Maqubela also faces charges of fraud and forgery.

On Tuesday, prosecutor Bonnie Currie-Gamwo told the court that the State had closed its case.

Judge Murphy said the matter would be adjourned to give the defence an opportunity to bring a 174 application, for discharge. The accused are entitled to apply under Section 174 of the Criminal Procedures Act to show there is not enough evidence to convict them.

The defence is to present its heads of argument on February 25 and the State is to respond by March 4.

The judge was found dead on his bed in his Bantry Bay flat on June 7, 2009.

The pathologist who performed the post-mortem could not confirm the cause of death. The defence says the judge died of natural causes. The hearing is to resume on March 7.

natasha.prince@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

In the small town of Grabouw, reported sexual crimes have increased steadily over the past five years, from 39 cases to 65 in 2012.

Cape Town - In the small town of Grabouw, reported sexual crimes have increased steadily over the past five years, from 39 cases to 65 last year.

The latest SAPS crime statistics, released last year, show that sexual crimes have decreased nationally and in the province but increased in Grabouw, where a councillor’s daughter was allegedly raped.

The family has been left traumatised and shocked as they all knew the two suspects very well and trusted them. For the period from April 2011 to March 2012, 65 sexual crimes were reported in Grabouw.

This is up from 56 reported cases in the previous year. Between April 2007 and March 2008, 39 cases were reported and the number of cases has increased each year since then.

The brutal gang-rape and murder of Bredasdorp teenager, Anene Booysen, 17, three weeks ago has again highlighted the issue of rape in the country, with civil society calling for tougher action to be taken.

Nationally, reported sexual crimes decreased to 64 514 between April 2011 and March last year from 66 196 in same period the previous year.

In the Western Cape, reported sexual crimes also decreased to 9 153 last year from 9 299 in the period from April 2010 to March 2011.

zara.nicholson@inl.co.za

Cape Times

The Western Cape government is "purging" itself of its black staff, the ANC in the province claimed.

Western Cape - The Western Cape government is “purging” itself of its black staff, the ANC in the province claimed on Wednesday.

“Despite (provincial premier Helen) Zille's assurances to the contrary, she is still purging blacks from her administration and pursuing her refugee agenda,” said member of the provincial legislature Lynne Brown.

She told reporters in Cape Town that the alleged riddance of black staff who spoke out against Zille would be more “vigorously” looked at this year.

Brown could not give exact figures of those she claimed were affected, but said “many” staff members were in various stages of progress at the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA).

She said staff were being rid of because of procedural matters and not because they could not do their job.

“I can tell you now that I will be accused of being racist,” she said.

“The point is, all of us make up the Western Cape and we must be reflected within the leadership of the running of our lives.”

In 2009, Zille came under fire from the Congress of SA Trade Unions (Cosatu) for her cabinet being all white and male.

Cosatu took Zille to the Equality Court but eventually dropped the complaint.

Brown's comments come two days before Zille delivers her state of the province address at the opening of the provincial legislature.

The premier's spokesman Zak Mbhele said he would be issuing a statement later in the day in response to the allegations. - Sapa

Almost 80% of senior staff in the Cape are categorised as black, Helen Zille said, rebutting ANC claims of a racial "purge".

Western Cape - Almost 80 percent of senior staff in the Western Cape are categorised as black, premier Helen Zille said on Wednesday, rebutting ANC claims of a racial "purge" in the province.

She said blacks, coloureds and Indians made up 39,276 of the 50,521 staff members who were in top or senior management, were professionally qualified or skilled technicians.

She was responding to allegations by the provincial African National Congress that the government was "purging" itself of its black staff.

MPL and former premier Lynne Brown said on Wednesday that Zille was pursuing a "refugee agenda".

Brown could not give figures of those she claimed were affected, but said "many" staff members were in various stages of progress at the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA).

Zille rubbished these claims.

"Lynne Brown's claims of a 'purge' of black people from the Western Cape government is complete nonsense. We note that she failed to give a single specific example, and therefore this claim is not worthy of attention."

She said the government had met its employment equity target for black women in the four top employment categories, and was apparently "over-represented" with coloured women.

Brown had alleged that staff were being purged because of procedural matters and not because they could not do their jobs.

Zille said the statistics showed that 65 percent of employees who had exited the public service had resigned, 15 percent had retired, seven percent had died, five percent had absconded or been dismissed, and the rest had been transferred.

"Lynne Brown needs to get a firm grasp of the facts first before making wild and unfounded accusations," Zille said.

"If she wishes to make a useful contribution to improving the state of the province, she should lobby her party in national government to start implementing the National Development Plan immediately." - Sapa

A former police commander of the Visible Policing Unit in Tulbagh was fined R30 000 or three years imprisonment for extortion.

Western Cape - A former police commander of the Visible Policing Unit in Tulbagh, in the Western Cape, was fined R30 000 or three years imprisonment on Wednesday for extortion.

The Bellville Specialised Commercial Crime Court gave a tearful Captain Riaan Jordaan, 40, 24-hours to either pay the fine or face a prison term.

He tried to extort money from police reservist Zolani Jam-jam.

Jordaan issued a letter of recommendation for the permanent employment of Jam-jam in 2009, and later demanded that Jam-jam pay him R40,000, in instalments, as payment for “the favour”.

The reservist complained to his seniors and a trap was set for Jordaan.

Magistrate S Sonneberg said Jordaan, as a senior, had put too much pressure on Jam-jam to pay money that he did not owe. This resulted in Jam-jam being unable to perform at his best.

“What makes this offence that much worse is that as a captain you had to be an example to your subordinates, but you were not.”

Jordaan had failed the community of Tulbagh, said Sonneberg. - Sapa

A Capetonian adventurer has claimed a new “first” - the first person to paddle solo around the coast of South Africa.

Cape Town - A Cape Town adventurer has claimed a “first” - as the first person to paddle solo around the coast of South Africa.

Richard Kohler, 43, of Milnerton, set off from the mouth of the Orange River, which forms part of the South African-Namibian border, on October 24.

On Saturday, after 70 days of paddling, he crossed the “finish line”, the South African border with Mozambique, just north of Kosi Bay.

Speaking to the Cape Argus last night from the N1, on his way home in his sponsored Land Rover Defender expedition vehicle, he said: “I’m feeling 100 percent. In fact, I’m feeling so good I thought for a moment about carrying on up to the equator.

“In 70 days of paddling I’ve encountered too many amazing people, bays, landmarks, lighthouses, rocky peninsulas and islands to describe in one breath.”

More important for Kohler was that he raised money and awareness for the Cipla Miles For Smiles Foundation, which supports Operation Smile SA in raising funds for life-changing operations for children born with cleft palates.

Cape Argus

In just a year Nkazimlo Primary’s results in provincial Grade 3 maths tests increased from 51.7 percent to 81.2 percent.

Cape Town - A change in attitude, shortened school holidays, and a crackdown on tardiness have contributed to a dramatic improvement in results at a Khayelitsha primary school.

In just a year Nkazimlo Primary’s results in provincial Grade 3 maths tests increased from 51.7 percent to 81.2 percent.

The school’s Grade 3 results in provincial language tests also increased from 2.6 percent in 2011 to 62.4 percent last year.

On Tuesday night, the school received two awards at the 2012 Western Cape School Awards for Language and Mathematics. More than 250 000 grade 3, 6 and 9 pupils wrote the province’s annual language and maths tests in October.

Nkazimlo Primary received the awards for greatest improvement in performance in Grade 3 language as well as in Grade 3 maths for schools with an enrolment of 500 or more pupils. The school received R40 000 to purchase learning material.

Corina Futwa who became the school’s principal a year ago, said one of the first steps the school took was to change the attitudes of teachers and parents.

“We had to make sure that educators know that they had to work hand in hand with the parents and vice versa.”

Late coming and absenteeism were the next problems the school “eliminated”.

Futwa said each teacher kept a register of latecomers. After a week this register was checked for regular culprits. Letters were then sent to the parents and meetings were held.

The school also formed a literacy and numeracy committee and set targets for improvement. Futwa said the school’s senior management team had visited classes to identify problems. Curriculum advisers had also made visits.

She said teachers who performed well supported their colleagues who did not perform as well. Classes were held on weekends and school holidays were shortened.

Futwa said the school also networked with schools that had previously done well in the tests.

“I was so excited and the teachers were so excited when we received the results. It was achieved through their team work,” she said.

Education MEC Donald Grant, who visited the school on Tuesday, said: “

I am proud of the achievements of Nkazimlo Primary School and all the other schools that saw improvements in their results last year.”

ilse.fredericks@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

Eskom has appealed to the public to use electricity sparingly after one of its two reactors at the Koeberg nuclear plant went down.

Cape Town - Eskom has appealed to the public to use electricity sparingly after one of its two reactors at the Koeberg nuclear plant went down on Thursday.

“The power system is extremely tight at present, particularly during the evening peak hours between 6pm and 9pm. We appeal to all customers to reduce their electricity usage and to switch off all non-essential appliances over the peak period,” it said.

It is unclear what happened but an official, who said he could not be named, said they had lost 900 MW of power. He said they were investigating the electrical fault.

Koeberg provides 6 percent of South Africa’s power and has been operating since 1984 with a capacity of 1 800 MW.

In 2006 the city and some parts of the Western Cape experienced blackouts following damage to one of the reactors at Koeberg. But Eskom said there wouldn’t be any power cuts this time. It was working to ensure the unit was running as soon as possible.

“The reduced supply from Koeberg has put added strain on a power system which was already tight because of reduced imports from Cahora Bassa in Mozambique and volatile plant performance,” read an Eskom statement.

An Eskom transmission line from the Cahora Bassa hydroelectric scheme in Mozambique was damaged by flooding of the Limpopo River last month.

Its capacity of 1 300 MW has been reduced to 650 MW.

Eskom said it was working on restoring the line. “The performance of Eskom’s generation fleet has been volatile, reflecting the fact that we do not have enough space to achieve the sustained levels of planned maintenance which are needed to improve the reliability of the power.

“We urge all South Africans to partner with us to save 10 percent of their electricity usage, especially during the evening peak.

“This will make it significantly easier to manage the power system during this challenging time, while also enabling us to do planned maintenance to ensure the reliability of our plant.”

Cape Times

The DA’s finance spokesman Tim Harris tweeted that Parliament’s unit manager, Mkethwa Mkhize, had been killed.

Cape Town - A Parliamentary staff member was reportedly murdered last week.

The DA’s finance spokesman Tim Harris tweeted on Thursday that Parliament’s unit manager, Mkethwa Mkhize, had been killed.

“He was the head of the committee section here in Parliament,” Harris told the Cape Argus on Thursday. “He was incredibly intelligent… he had a very affable way of dealing with the members, assisting us regardless of our political alignment.”

Harris said Mkhize’s death was “heartbreaking”. The circumstances surrounding his death are unclear.

Harris said Mkhize had earlier been reported missing in Durban before his death.

Parliament spokesman Luzuko Jacobs said they had been informed by Mkhize’s family that he had died, but did not know any other details.

Police were unaware of the incident.

Cape Argus

Two men were arrested for allegedly operating a Mandrax factory in Strand, Western Cape police said.

Strand - Two men were arrested for allegedly operating a Mandrax factory in Strand, Western Cape police said on Friday.

Lieutenant-Colonel Andre Traut said the men, aged 37 and 57, were pulled over in a green Chevrolet on Beach Road on Thursday afternoon because they looked suspicious.

The police recognised one of the men as a drug manufacturer they arrested last year in Nyanga.

The investigation led officers to a flat in George Road, where they seized containers with methaqualine and Mandrax powders in the bedroom.

“A Mandrax press (used to manufacture the tablets) and a number of punches for use in the press were also seized,” Traut said.

The powders, estimated to be worth a considerable amount on the street, would be examined by a forensic laboratory.

The men would appear in the Strand Magistrate's Courts on Monday.

“The seizure is thus regarded as a significant success in our endeavours to root out drugs,” Traut said. - Sapa

Sixteen Western Cape schools are operating without the necessary registration from the provincial education department.

Western Cape - Sixteen Western Cape schools are operating without the necessary registration from the provincial education department, it was reported on Friday.

The Cape Times reported that five of these had applied for registration as independent schools but were allegedly operating without the necessary documents, and 11 had not applied at all.

Education MEC Donald Grant's spokeswoman, Bronagh Casey, said the department would be following up on these institutions.

She said two schools, Manaarul Hudaa College in Manenberg and Tygerberg College in Monte Vista, had been operating illegally at the start of the year and were closed down.

Applications for the registration of independent schools should be submitted by June 30 of the year before the schools opened their doors.

Parents should check whether the schools were registered and ask for the relevant certificate.

School officials who flouted the law were liable to a fine or imprisonment. - Sapa

Police are searching for two young men who beat up an ice cream vendor with a baseball bat on Sea Point Promenade.

Cape Town - Police are searching for two young men who beat up an ice cream vendor with a baseball bat on Sea Point Promenade on Wednesday afternoon.

Luke Dausi, 22, was knocked unconscious and lost all his front teeth in the attack.

“A few days ago I looked normal and was happy – look at me now,” he said pointing at his bruised face and mouth with missing teeth.

Dausi was selling ice cream from his bicycle when the two men, one with a skateboard and the other wielding a baseball bat approached him at 4.20pm, and asked how much his ice cream was.

“When I showed them my price list, the one with the bat complained that it was too expensive.”

Before Dausi could respond, he was knocked unconscious with a blow to the face from the bat.

“I didn’t even feel the pain, because I didn’t expect it. I heard a smash and I knew something hit me.”

He recalls gaining consciousness and feeling his pockets being rummaged by the attackers.

“They were searching in my pockets, but I couldn’t move. When I could eventually open my eyes they were gone.”

The men fled with two cellphones and R430 in cash.

A man passing by helped Dausi to the sea nearby to rinse the blood off his face.

“When I rinsed my mouth and spat out the water, all my front teeth fell out,” he said.

Still in shock and covered in blood, Dausi managed to push his bicycle back to his employer’s Ecowaste offices on Main Road.

David East, who was in the office, was the first to see the blood-soaked Dausi.

“When he arrived at the office, he was in a state, in pain and in shock. I immediately called a doctor,” he said.

East then contacted Atlantic Seaboard ward councillor Beverley Schafer, who alerted police and Cape Talk radio station.

“This type of crime is alarming and unacceptable. Enough is enough,” said Schafer.

Dausi arrived in South Africa from Zimbabwe in August last year. He lived on the streets as a beggar, before getting a job as an ice cream vendor for Ecowaste and Ola, just three weeks ago.

East and partner Gary Saven said they felt Dausi deserved a chance to make something of his life.

“This is my chance to support my mother and two sisters back in Zimbabwe,” said Dausi.

Meanwhile, support has poured in from around the city.

Dr Marc Sher, a dentist in Sea Point, has agreed to volunteer his services in repairing Dausi’s teeth.

“I haven’t seen him yet so it’s difficult to assess the damage. Prosthetic components are required, and hopefully we can get a sponsor for that,” he said.

The Sea Point dentist said it was an unfortunate experience, and he felt it was important to help in any way he could.

Others have donated money. Grant Isaacs, a restaurant owner in Claremont, has offered R1 000 towards Dausi’s travelling and transport costs.

According to Captain FC van Wyk of the SAPS, police are still investigating and no arrests have been made.

The CCTV cameras at the Promenade did not record the attack, and police are calling on the passer-by who helped Dausi to come forward.

Any witnesses can call Inspector Olivier of Sea Point police station on 021 430 3700 or Crime Stop on 08600 10111

sibusisiwe.lwandle@inl.co.za

Cape Argus