A female cop has been gang-raped in her own home by armed men, including two teens, just minutes after going off duty.

Cape Town - A female police officer has been gang-raped in her own home just minutes after going off duty.

Cops say a group of armed men, including two teenagers, ambushed her in front of her house while she was still in full uniform.

The attackers forced the 36-year-old Khayelitsha officer into her vehicle, climbed in with her and robbed her of her handbag.

They then dragged her into her own house and gang-raped her before fleeing.

Two days later, cops arrested a 17- and 19-year-old suspect, as well as a 20-year-old man.

Police spokesman Captain FC van Wyk said the unsuspecting female cop was attacked on Saturday at 6.05am after parking her car outside her home.

Van Wyk said: “According to the victim, while busy unlocking (the gate to her home), she looked back and saw two unknown males running towards her.

“She noticed that one was carrying a firearm and the other a knife.

“They demanded money and cellphones and searched her.

“She was still in full police uniform. They forced her to open the vehicle and all three got into the vehicle.

“Thereafter (they) went into her house and raped her.”

Van Wyk said the suspects took her handbag containing an undisclosed amount of cash, a cellphone, lunchbox and wallet with bank and shopping cards.

“Most of the items were recovered in the dustbin outside one of the houses,” he said.

“After gathering all the information, police officers visited all the addresses of the suspects during the early hours of Monday morning and arrested them.

“Three males have been arrested, aged 17, 19 and 20 years old.”

The suspects are due in the Khayelitsha Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, another female cop who wants to remain anonymous said she is terrified of walking in uniform because criminals see them as targets.

The cop said: “Criminals don’t care that you’re a law enforcer, they will do what they want.

“People are supposed to seek safety in us but we live in fear and we also need protection.

“I am terrified of walking anywhere because of my uniform.”

She said it is shocking to be raped in a uniform.

“Being attacked in your own home is worse than being on a job. It’s lower than low, it’s unacceptable,” she said.

“If that police officer had her firearm and shot one of them it would have been treated like the Andries Tatane case.”

Van Wyk said crimes perpetrated against police members will not be tolerated or taken lightly.

“Every endeavour will be taken to apprehend these criminals,” he said.

* Anyone with information about this incident is requested to call 021 360 2433, 021 360 2435, 021 360 4804 or 083 681 9681.

Daily Voice

Three people who kidnapped the daughter of tavern owner Mzoli Ngcawuzele were sent to prison for between seven and 12 years.

Cape Town - Three people who kidnapped the daughter of a prominent Cape Town businessman were sent to prison for between seven and 12 years, it was reported on Wednesday.

The Cape Times reported that Sisanda Ngcawuzele, daughter of Mzoli's tavern owner Mzoli Ngcawuzele, was kidnapped by the trio in December 2006.

They posed as prospective clients for her promotions company and requested a meeting at a Parklands house. On arrival, she was bound to a chair.

They demanded R300 000 from her father and he contacted the police, who found his daughter, 20 years old at the time, three days later.

She was dehydrated and had minor injuries.

On Tuesday, the Wynberg Magistrate's Court described Mzwamadolo Tyuluba as the “mastermind” of the plot and handed down 12 years.

Luther Kwinana was sentenced to 11 years and Nandipha Mshudulu to seven years.

Ngcawuzele and his daughter told the newspaper they were happy with the sentencing.

“Sunday was my birthday. This was the best gift I have had,” his daughter said. - Sapa

While an ANC MP recovers from a attack in her home, there are fears that burglars and robbers are getting off scot-free.

Cape Town - As ANC MP Susan van der Merwe recovers from the attack in her Rondebosch home last week, there are fears that burglars and robbers are getting off scot-free.

Van der Merwe, 58, was assaulted and strangled by two intruders who broke into her house on Friday night. She was left with a broken arm as well as cuts and bruises, but is recovering, according to her family.

The police confirmed that two men had robbed her of a small amount in cash and a ring before fleeing. A charge of house robbery has been laid, but no arrests have been made.

Meanwhile, the family of John Commins, 71, who was murdered in his Newlands home in January, are still waiting to see his killers arrested.

The former Western Province Union cricketer was killed after three men climbed through a bedroom window and tied him to his bed.

His daughter, Donne Commins, said she had become frustrated by the lack of progress in the case. Despite offering a large reward to anyone with information that could lead to the arrest of her father’s killers, the investigation has been unsuccessful.

“On a positive note, the reward has led to some leads but they haven’t borne any fruit yet. It is frustrating dealing with the police - they don’t seem to communicate everything they have and what they find,” she said.

However, Commins did not blame the police, saying they were trying to do their best with limited resources.

She had now decided to put resources into her own investigation.

“My question is, how much do we all care about the long-term future of our country? Crime is crippling us. It creates investor scepticism, makes good, intelligent people… leave; and it literally kills good citizens like my dad,” said Commins.

Just a month after the Commins murder, Dawnsy Mieny plunged to her death while trying to escape a mugger in the Bo-Kaap. Mieny, 47, had travelled from Jeffreys Bay to join her daughter Jasmin, 21, for the Red Hot Chili Peppers concert at Cape Town Stadium that night.

They set out on foot for the stadium and were above the disused quarry near Strand Street when they were confronted by a knife-wielding mugger. According to Jasmin the attacker wrestled with her mother for her handbag. Police were not able to respond, after several attempts were made for a follow up.

Police spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel André Traut said he was unaware of any arrests.

Cape Argus

Retired doctor Cyril Karabus is now “on the edge, suffering from extreme depression”, his lawyer has warned after another court delay.

Cape Town - Retired Cape Town doctor Cyril Karabus is now “on the edge, suffering from extreme depression”, his lawyer has warned after another court delay.

And the SA Medical Association (Sama) has slammed Karabus’s treatment “as bordering on torture”.

The paediatric oncologist, who turned 78 this month, was due to have been released after the legal case against him was dropped in the United Arab Emirates late last month. But, in a devastating blow, Karabus was informed that the decision to free him would be taken on appeal.

On Tuesday, he appeared in court again. His Cape Town lawyer Michael Bagraim said: “We had been told by our lawyers that the prosecution wasn’t keen on pursuing this. But then the judge ruled, out of the blue, that the medical translator was not present, and so postponed the matter until April 23. Dr Karabus is now suffering from extreme depression. I’m having doubts about how much more he can take.”

Bagraim said Karabus’s wife, Jenny, was “devastated”.

He said the Deputy Minister of International Relations and Co-operation, Marius Fransman, had assured him he was “still on the case”.

Mark Sonderup, vice-chairman of Sama, charged that, even worse than this illegal “punishment”, Karabus’s treatment “is now bordering on torture”.

“It’s time the global community started turning its attention on the UAE and surrounding countries. In this case you have a country acting with complete impunity.”

Cape Argus

A 78-year-old woman is appealing to fellow pensioners to be on their guard after she was scammed of her pension.

Cape Town - A 78-year-old woman is appealing to fellow pensioners to be on their guard after she was scammed of her pension last month.

Sheila February of Kensington says she was robbed of R650 by a woman who gave her name.

“I know her vaguely from church, but I didn’t know much about her.”

February claims the woman approached her in tears outside a shop in the CBD.

“She said she needed money urgently because her brother-in-law died, and had to be cremated,” February said.

According to February, the woman requested an amount of R800 with a promise to pay her back.

“She was crying and I felt sorry for her so I gave her R650 and asked for her details. She gave me her phone number and address.

“That was the last time I saw her.”

When February got home, suspicion made her phone the number given to her by the woman.

“The number did not even ring. It doesn’t exist.”

February wished to warn others to be on alert for people who scam pensioners.

“They are everywhere, and it can be anyone - even people you know,” she said.

sibusisiwe.lwandle@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

The State aims to convict ex Fidentia boss J Arthur Brown on two charges to which he admitted some form of culpability, the court heard.

Cape Town -

The State aims to convict former Fidentia boss J Arthur Brown on two charges to which he admitted some form of culpability, the Western Cape High Court heard on Wednesday.

Prosecutor Jannie van Vuuren said there was sufficient evidence to prove Brown committed fraud in respect of the two charges.

They were counts two and six, which relate to Fidentia's dealings with the Transport Education and Training Authority (Teta) and Mantadia Asset Trust Company (Matco).

Brown originally faced nine charges, based on the State's allegation that he ran a pyramid scheme and used investors' funds for personal gain.

Van Vuuren said he would not pursue conviction in terms of the first count, a fraud charge involving Fundi Projects.

“The State will not ask for conviction. I don't think it was proven beyond reasonable doubt,” he said during arguments.

It was also abandoning counts three, four, five, seven, eight and nine, which related to Teta, Thaba Manzi, Infinity and Antheru.

The charges were corruption, money-laundering, theft and fraud.

“There is not sufficient evidence. There is no official evidence in terms of documentation,” Van Vuuren told the court.

On Tuesday, Brown handed up a document with key admissions relating to counts two and six.

Regarding count two, he admitted that the amounts Teta entrusted him with were invested from time to time in asset classes different to those specified in their non-discretionary mandate.

“At the time and throughout the period, I knew that investing in these alternative asset classes would be more risky and would not be as safe as those described in the Teta mandate, and could cause potential prejudice and I have reconciled myself with this fact,” he said in the document.

He also admitted that monthly statements prepared for Teta between May 2003 and September 2006 were incorrect.

“I knew that this could cause potential prejudice and I have reconciled myself with this fact.”

He said his actions on this count were a misrepresentation of the true facts and he had thereby caused potential loss to Teta.

“My actions were unlawful and constituted fraud by way of dolus eventualis (indirect intention).”

Regarding Matco, he admitted that Fidentia misrepresented itself by saying the full purchase price for the company would be paid before it took control of Matco.

He said these actions amounted to misrepresentation of the true facts in respect of the sale of share agreement.

“Although I was not directly involved in each and every detail of this transaction, I did not prevent the format of the transaction. I foresaw that this could cause potential prejudice to the shareholders of Matco and reconciled myself therewith,” Brown admitted in the document.

“My actions were unlawful and constituted fraud by way of dolus eventualis.”

Brown said he made the admissions to “bring an end to the trial”. - Sapa

Urgent steps are being considered around the Signal Hill road and parking lot after a young Norwegian student was raped.

Cape Town - Urgent steps are being considered around the Signal Hill road and parking lot after a Norwegian exchange student and a friend were robbed there and the student was raped.

At about 1am on Saturday the student, 19, and a friend, a South African man, were robbed in the parking lot and forced back into their car by the attackers.

Police spokesman Andre Traut said the man was tied up before the attackers drove away with them.

On the way, the attackers took turns raping the exchange student. When they arrived in Summergreens, Milnerton, the attackers ran away.

Traut said no arrests had been made.

The Signal Hill road and parking lot are patrolled by the police, the metro police and the Table Mountain National Park’s guards.

The mayco member for safety and security, JP Smith, said various safety aspects would be studied after the attack.

The CCTV camera at the main parking area on the hill could not capture activity at night. There were also many more smaller view sites along the scenic road - and cameras could not be positioned at each of these.

The Table Mountain Safety Forum would discuss whether and how to increase patrols at all these sites, or whether some should be closed during certain hours.

Smith said while Capetonians knew that parking at remote view sites late at night was inadvisable, tourists might not, and ways had to be found to communicate this information to visitors.

A formal request would have to be made to the city if the road was to be closed at night.

Andre van Schalkwyk, spokesman for Table Mountain Watch, accused the city of downplaying crime to tourists. He said on Tuesday that signage warning visitors of potential crime hotspots was necessary.

In the brief period that Signal Hill was closed off with a boom after 10pm, there was a noticeable decline in violent crimes.

But Cape Town Tourism chief executive Mariette du Toit-Helmbold said crime had become less of an issue for tourists over the past few years.

“This incident comes after a period in which we have noticed increased confidence in Cape Town as a safe destination.

“We are outraged by this incident.”

She said there was a range of reactive and proactive safety and support programmes available to visitors in the Mother City.

“It remains our duty as hosts to ensure that our visitors are protected and cared for.”

Cape Town Tourism, the police, the City and SANParks are due to meet today to discuss the attack as well as broader safety precautions in the city’s national parks and other tourism attractions.

murray.williams@inl.co.za and kieran.legg@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

Police have launched a major anti-crime operation in Lavender Hill in retaliation for the shooting death of a traffic officer.

Cape Town - Police have launched a major anti-crime operation in Lavender Hill in retaliation for the shooting death of traffic officer Wesley Woodman last week.

Woodman’s death, along with a spate of gangsterism, murder and drug dealing in the area prompted police and Metro Police to launch their “largest” targeted operation in the area to date. Mayoral Committee member for Safety and Security JP Smith, said it was law enforcement’s “retaliation”.

Traffic officer Woodman was fatally shot by gangsters last week while while issuing a fine to Shuaib Afradien, 26, in Lavender Hill. Afradien was killed too. There have been several other incidents in the past few weeks.

“We want gangsters to know that they can expect this sort of reaction if a city or police official becomes the target of this violent crime. It sends out a message and hopefully ensures that criminals will think twice before attacking an official,” Smith said.

Smith added that “the gangs must know that we are there”.

Metro Police Chief Wayne le Roux described Operation Choke as a stabilisation period, saying that information from the community suggested that there were imminent plans in a number of gangs to up the ante in the ongoing turf warfare.

“Plans for a great deal of shooting are afoot; we want to curb and avoid this,” said Smith.

Similar police operations would follow in other areas in the Cape Flats.

Le Roux added: “Over the last two weeks we have seen a significant increase in gang shootings.

“The conflict has been centred on, but not confined to, Lavender Hill. We have had a number of incidents where members of the public have been caught in this crossfire.”

The operation, which includes the police, traffic officers, the Metro Police and other law enforcement officials, will focus on retrieving stolen goods, identifying and shutting down council properties used for illegal activity, setting up roadblocks, vehicle searches, the confiscation of illegal weapons and warrant of arrest checks.

There will also be foot and dog handler patrols throughout the area.

The operation is expected to run for up to two weeks.

In the last few days alone, police have confiscated several firearms including a Z88 9mm handgun, an AK-47 and an LM6 assault rifle in Lavender Hill and surrounding areas.

With schools reopening this week, their intention was also to protect pupils as they returned to their classrooms.

Cape Argus

There are difficulties in deciding whether the admissions of former Fidentia boss J Arthur Brown are sufficient to convict him of fraud, the judge said.

Cape Town - There are difficulties in deciding whether the admissions of former Fidentia boss J Arthur Brown are sufficient to convict him of fraud, a Western Cape High Court judge said on Wednesday.

“This is an important matter. The State started off with nine counts. There are two (counts) left, basically. I do not think the parties understand the difficulties the court faces at the moment,” Judge Anton Veldhuizen said during Brown's trial.

He was referring to counts two and six, both of fraud, which relate to Fidentia's dealings with the Transport Education and Training Authority (Teta) and Mantadia Asset Trust Company (Matco).

Brown handed up a document on Tuesday in which he admitted some form of culpability in terms of these counts.

Following this, the State said on Wednesday that it would focus on these two counts as it did not have enough evidence for conviction on the other counts.

Veldhuizen said the difficulties he faced were specifically with count six.

“I must make it clear at this stage that I have fully discussed this with my assessors and the difficulty is not so much in count two... (where there are) admissions which spell out what would amount to fraud,” he said.

“I would like full heads of argument and I will give you time to prepare these heads.... I am not going to rush this matter.”

Regarding Teta, prosecutor Jannie van Vuuren argued that Brown was guilty of two types of misrepresentation, which resulted in fraud.

The first was when Brown broke the non-discretionary investment mandate he had with Teta and decided to invest in asset classes that were more risky.

He said Brown had had a legal duty to act positively and remove the misconception that he was not investing as promised.

Veldhuizen said these actions seemed more like a breach of contract than fraud.

The second misrepresentation on this count was that he had admitted to sending incorrect financial statements to Teta, Van Vuuren said.

Regarding Matco, the State believed Brown made misrepresentations when he told company heads he could afford to buy Matco, when actually he could not.

Brown admitted that Fidentia did not have enough liquid cash at the time of purchase, but that it had enough assets in the form of negotiable instruments.

Van Vuuren said it was due to Brown's misrepresentation of being able to afford the company, that Matco handed over control of company operations before the full purchase price was paid.

Veldhuizen disagreed and said the State had to prove a link between Brown's actions and the handing over of control.

“What was in their (Matco's) minds? Why did they hand over control? Where does it appear? I need causation,” the judge said.

The trial was postponed until Monday for full argument. - Sapa

Five people will appear in the Oudtshoorn Magistrate's Court for allegedly stripping feathers off live ostriches.

Cape Town - Five people will appear in the Oudtshoorn Magistrate's Court on Wednesday for allegedly stripping feathers off live ostriches, Western Cape police said.

Captain Malcolm Pojie said the group, aged 20 to 28, were arrested in Oudtshoorn on Monday morning.

“They are supposed to appear in court today 1/8Wednesday 3/8, but are still waiting in the cells for the case to be called,” he said.

They had been linked to five cases of ostrich feather theft since December.

Pojie said the estimated total value of the plucked feathers was R117,000.

Two people faced additional charges of theft for possession of stolen chainsaws and a drill.

“The ostrich industry has suffered substantial damage due to the stripping of ostrich feathers and we therefore hope the arrests are a deterrent to potential poachers,” Pojie said.

He said the state would oppose any bail applications by the five.

The Cape Argus reported on Tuesday that the Western Cape government's research farm in Oudtshoorn was one of the main targets of feather poachers.

Researcher Stefan Engelbrecht said it was first hit by feather thieves about a month ago, and then again recently.

About 70 birds were plucked and four were bludgeoned to death.

To date, 50 percent of ostrich farmers had reportedly left the industry because of an export ban following a bird flu outbreak in 2011, and subsequent job losses.

A new outbreak of avian flu, detected on an Oudtshoorn farm on Tuesday, was the latest possible threat to the industry. - Sapa

Five people accused of stripping feathers off live ostriches appeared in the Oudtshoorn Magistrate's Court.

Cape Town - Five people accused of stripping feathers off live ostriches appeared in the Oudtshoorn Magistrate's Court on Wednesday, Western Cape police said.

Captain Malcolm Pojie said Andre Prinsloo, 21, Jakobus November, 28, Karel Jansen, 35, Jonas Jansen, 25, and Dawid Piedt, 31, would be back in court on April 19. They remained in custody.

They were arrested in Oudtshoorn on Monday morning in connection with five cases of alleged theft of ostrich feathers, worth R117 000, since December, said Pojie.

Two of them faced additional charges of theft for possession of stolen chainsaws and a drill.

“The ostrich industry has suffered substantial damage due to the stripping of ostrich feathers and we therefore hope the arrests are a deterrent to potential poachers,” Pojie said.

The police would oppose any applications for bail by the five.

The Cape Argus reported on Tuesday that the Western Cape government's research farm in Oudtshoorn was one of the main targets for feather poachers.

Researcher Stefan Engelbrecht said feather thieves first struck about a month ago, and then again recently. About 70 birds were plucked and four were bludgeoned to death.

To date, 50 percent of ostrich farmers had reportedly left the industry because of an export ban imposed after an outbreak of bird flu in 2011 and subsequent job losses.

A new outbreak of avian flu detected on an Oudtshoorn farm on Tuesday was the latest threat to the industry. - Sapa

Murder-accused widow Thandi Maqubela was questioned about her movements and cellphone calls the day her husband died.

Cape Town - Murder-accused widow Thandi Maqubela was questioned on Tuesday about her movements and cellphone calls the day her husband, acting judge Patrick Maqubela, died in 2009.

She has been charged in the Western Cape High Court with his murder, and has pleaded not guilty. She has also denied guilt on fraud and forgery charges pertaining to her husband's signature on his will, and its presentation to the Master of the High Court's Johannesburg office.

With her in the dock is her business associate Vela Mabena, who has also pleaded not guilty to the murder.

Prosecutor Bonnie Currie-Gamwo said cellphone-mapping records show Maqubela was in her husband's Bantry Bay apartment for four hours on the afternoon of the murder.

“If the records say so, then I was (there),” Maqubela said.

Currie-Gamwo said this meant Maqubela was not at the airport that afternoon, waiting to meet her husband.

However, Maqubela insisted she did go to the airport that afternoon. She said she and her husband had arranged to meet at Cape Town International Airport, and were to board a flight to the Eastern Cape together. When her husband “did not pitch”, she booked a flight to Johannesburg instead, to be with her children.

“I did go to the airport to meet my husband that afternoon. I am definitely sure about that,” Maqubela said.

Asked if she was concerned about her husband's failure to meet her at the airport, she said she was accustomed to him changing his mind willy-nilly.

Knowing the “type of man” he was - a reference to his alleged womanising - she said she was not concerned, and that if he had arrived at the airport after she had left, he could have phoned her.

“I had known my husband for 13 years, and knew that he is apt to change his mind at any time about anything,” Maqubela said.

Currie-Gamwo said: “I put it to you that you had no intention of going to the Eastern Cape with your husband that afternoon.”

Maqubela replied: “As far as I know, we were going to our home in Qumbu.”

Currie-Gamwo persisted: “You knew that your husband was not going to be at the airport that afternoon.”

Maqubela replied: “I don't know about that.”

The trial continues. - Sapa

Former SA Idols winner Karen Kortje has appeared in court on charges of driving under the influence of alcohol.

Cape Town - Former South African Idols winner Karen Kortje has appeared in court on charges of driving under the influence of alcohol.

A smartly dressed Kortje, accompanied by her husband, Shaundore Aspeling, appeared calm as she entered the dock of the Kuils River Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday.

Prosecutor Denzyl Jooste told magistrate Bea Vermeulen that Kortje, 33, had been arrested on July 8 last year for allegedly driving under the influence of alcohol on Van Riebeeck Road, the main road in Kuils River. She was arrested in front of the police station.

Police pulled her over when they noticed her allegedly driving erratically and recklessly. She was arrested, charged and released on a warning to appear in court on Wednesday.

Jooste said that the forensic report detailing Kortje’s blood-alcohol level was still outstanding, and asked for the case to be postponed.

Marcello Stevens, for Kortje, said the date of November 12 suited him, and Vermeulen postponed the case to that date. Afterwards, neither Kortje nor her husband wanted to speak to the media at court.

Kortje is no stranger to controversy. In 2005, she was working as a packer on an apple farm and was the lead singer of Grabouw-based band the Elginaires when she won Idols.

A year later, her then-boyfriend Cheslin Williams was arrested for the murder of Durbanville guest house owner Renata Kellerman. Williams was sentenced to life in prison for the murder.

Kortje, a mother of three, was also slated when she started dating Aspeling - a married man. Aspeling divorced his wife and married Kortje in 2009. Her career took a dive, but recently she has appeared in a number of singing productions.

jade.otto@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

An eyewitness has come forward to describe the massacre of four Pakistani men in Mitchells Plain last month.

Cape Town - An eyewitness has come forward to describe the massacre of four Pakistani men in Mitchells Plain last month.

In an exclusive interview with the Daily Voice, the woman told how she came face-to-face with one of the gunmen before he blasted the four men to death.

“It was terrible – they came into the house and shot everyone,” the distraught eyewitness said.

“I thought it was just a robbery, but then the gunman shot everyone.”

Dressed in parda (Islamic attire covering the face), the 57-year-old woman is now living in fear for her life.

She bravely spoke out as Lehano Jansen, 28, Moegamat Nasief de Villiers, 34, and Yazeed “Wildskit” Hendricks, 41 made their second court appearance at the Mitchells Plain Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday.

All three men will be applying for bail.

They are accused of murdering Muhammed Shafique, 42, Adnan Haider, 23, Ghulam Bajar, 23, and Shazad Ahmad, 39, at the Uranus Street home in Rocklands, Mitchells Plain, on March 19.

Two other Pakistani men were wounded during the shooting.

The three men all face charges of murder, attempted murder, house robbery, car hijacking and possession of an illegal firearm.

The house was used as a bakery and police believe a business feud involving bread distribution is the motive.

The distraught eyewitness and a female relative – also dressed in parda – arrived at the courthouse on Wednesday to face the men cops say murdered their loved ones in cold blood in front of them. The woman took the Daily Voice back to the scene of the murder, dramatically recalling the fatal night.

She, her 12-year-old granddaughter and another woman had been watching television in the first bedroom next to the lounge.

Inside her bedroom, the woman pointed to a little corner between the bed and a cupboard where the first murder took place.

She indicated a bullethole on the cupboard and pointed to her bed where she had been watching television.

The woman says her granddaughter lay on the floor drawing. The other woman was sitting on the single bed.

She recalls how the gunman stormed into the room pointing a pistol at Ghulam Baqar.

And she claimed the killer demanded Ghulam open the safe and identify himself.

“The door was closed and the light was off,” she told the Daily Voice.

“When he [gunman] entered, he put the light on.”

The terrified woman said she knows the identity of the gunman, but we cannot reveal his name for legal reasons.

She explained how the killer then ordered the terrified Pakistanis to “lay still”.

He ordered Baqar to identify himself – and then opened fire on the victims.

The gunman fired up to 40 rounds, killing the four Pakistanis.

“It was five minutes and then everything was over,” the witness said.

The woman says when she rushed to the front door to tell the neighbour to call the police and ambulance, she saw a black bakkie in the road.

She claimed the gunmen also opened fire on her neighbour.

The woman later found a single bullet – a 9mm next to the chest of drawers – which she says police have not yet collected.

Earlier in court, Magistrate Walter Golding told the suspect Hendricks that the bullet lodged in his pelvis – which doctors had examined at Groote Schuur hospital – was an old projectile.

Golding had ordered the bullet be removed as the State believed it could place Hendricks at the murder scene.

But Hendricks’ lawyer said his client claimed the bullet was from another incident and had been lodged inside the suspect for 18 years.

And Golding announced De Villiers would be transferred from Goodwood to Pollsmoor Prison because he claimed his life was in danger.

De Villiers claimed a gun had been found in the cell next to him and that he received threatening messages.

The case resumes on May 27.

Daily Voice

Murder-accused Thandi Maqubela boarded an aircraft to Johannesburg after being told that her husband had been hospitalised.

Cape Town - Thandi Maqubela, accused of killing her husband, Acting Judge Patrick Maqubela, boarded an aircraft to Johannesburg after being told that he had been hospitalised in Cape Town and she had not heard from him for hours.

On Wednesday, the Western Cape High Court heard how cellphone relays from different base stations were used to determine the widow’s movements on the day her husband died.

Maqubela and co-accused Vela Mabena are on trial for the murder of the acting judge, whose body was found in his Bantry Bay flat on June 7, 2009. The State believes he died on Friday, June 5.

Maqubela on Wednesday changed her story regarding her movements on the Friday her husband died.

She told the court she had gone straight to the airport from Bellville, which the State said was backed by the cellphone evidence.

Maqubela had also received a call earlier that Friday morning from a court registrar to say her husband had not arrived for work and who, according to Maqubela, “mentioned something about Groote Schuur”.

Cellphone triggers also show that she had taken five minutes to drive from the city to Newlands. Maqubela maintained that during that time she had stopped at Groote Schuur to check if her husband was at the hospital.

It later emerged that she had booked a flight earlier in the day - anticipating that her husband would not pitch up for their planned trip to the Eastern Cape.

She said she did attempt to contact him but he did not respond. She said he had six cellphones.

”On that day, it would appear that your husband’s phone seemed to be travelling with your phone. Can you provide an explanation?” asked prosecutor Bonnie Currie-Gamwo.

“I don’t have an idea,” she replied. She denied having her husband’s phone.

natasha.prince@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

Police kicked down doors as they swooped on suspected drug dens and gang safe houses in Lavender Hill.

Cape Town - Dozens of armed metro police officers swooped on suspected drug dens and gang safe houses in Lavender Hill on Wednesday.

Teams of officers kicked down doors and made residents lie on the floor as they ripped through mattresses and checked for drugs, illegal firearms and stolen goods.

For the next few days, Lavender Hill will be under “total lockdown”, with officers patrolling on foot and traffic officials searching cars. Cape Town’s Special Investigating Unit (SIU) will continue issuing search warrants and looking for contraband.

Lavender Hill has a long history of violent gang wars over drug turf. Last July, Premier Helen Zille asked President Jacob Zuma to deploy the army to stabilise the area, saying 23 people - including seven children - had died in the preceding months.

Kevin Southgate, chairperson of the area’s community police forum, said that there had subsequently been a lull in the violence - especially after the police permanently deployed an armoured Nyala to the area in August.

“We welcome any intervention, but the concerns also remain. Is this commitment going to be on-off and shortlived? Or will it be sustained?” he asked.

On Wednesday, the Cape Argus witnessed four homes being searched, resulting in two arrests - one for the possession of about 400g of tik and a military-issue stun grenade, another for possession of a parcel of dagga.

Metro police chief Wayne le Roux said that increasingly powerful firearms were being confiscated by his officers.

“In the past few days we have confiscated a Z88 9mm pistol, an AK-47 and an LM-6 assault rifle. These are high-calibre guns, and it’s incredibly concerning that there are probably many more out there.”

“Operation Choke” was the city’s “retaliation” to the murder of traffic officer Wesley Woodman in Lavender Hill last week, said JP Smith, mayoral committee member for safety and security.

Woodman was gunned down as he was issuing a fine to an alleged gangster, Shuaib Arafdien. Arafdien, the apparent target, was also killed.

“We want to make lives difficult for the gang bosses. Through arrests and the confiscation of drugs and guns we hit the gangster economy at its heart. Criminals must know that this is what can be expected every time an official, traffic or police officer becomes a target in a violent attack.

“We are working towards a time where gang bosses will punish their foot soldiers for killing an officer of the law, because of the fear of such retaliations from the authorities.”

Woodman and Arafdien’s deaths followed an Easter weekend of violence in the area, with at least six shootings. Two people were killed and a number of others injured.

“There has been information that suggests imminent plans for a series of further retaliatory shootings in the area. This operation can therefore also be seen as a period of calm and stabilisation, to mitigate against an escalation of the violence.”

Smith said as guns and drugs were confiscated, gang bosses needed to transport new supplies into and around Lavender Hill. For the first time in such an operation, law enforcement foot patrols and traffic services roadblocks have been co-opted to assist police by searching people and vehicles travelling around the neighbourhood.

“We’ll stop the same taxi half a dozen times in a single day, because any one of those trips could be used to run guns or drugs,” Smith said.

But not everyone in the community is impressed by the operation.

Leaning on crutches after being hit twice in the crossfire of a shooting on Easter Saturday, resident Junior Kazinsquy observed one of the roadblocks with some bemusement.

“You have to take these operations with a pinch of salt. It’s a publicity stunt. The police at Steenberg (the local station) are corrupt. Even if they weren’t, you can’t address the problem without looking at the root causes.”

February-June 2012

Seven children are killed and six are injured in the crossfire of gang warfare in and around Lavender Hill. In Steenberg on June 28, eight-year-old Zunaid McKenzie is shot in the head and killed. Clive Jacobs, head of the Lavender Hill Youth Outreach Project, says the first half of 2012 has been the worst in terms of gang violence in years.

July 9, 2012

Premier Helen Zille writes to President Jacob Zuma asking him to deploy the South African National Defence Force to stabilise Lavender Hill. She says 23 people have been killed in and around Lavender Hill in recent months.

July 11, 2012

Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa, with national police commissioner Riah Phiyega and provincial police commissioner Arno Lamoer, visit Lavender Hill and Hanover Park. Mthethwa says bringing in the army to help combat gang violence is “out of the question” as it would turn the areas into war zones.

September 2012

After 10 weeks with no shootings reported, Kevin Southgate, chairperson of the Steenberg Community Police Forum, says an armoured police vehicle parked near Lavender Hill flats where three rival gangs operate had had calmed the violence.

September 2012 - March 2013

Southgate says the lull continues.

Easter 2013

Violence spirals over the Easter weekend, with six shootings resulting in two deaths and a number of injuries.

April 3, 2013

Traffic officer Wesley Woodman is gunned down and killed on Prince George Drive, Lavender Hill, as he issues a traffic fine to Shuaib Arafdien. Arafdien, allegedly a member of the Junkie Funkies gang, is also killed in the attack. - Cape Argus

The Western Cape Community Policing Forum has 350 members ready in Mitchells Plain to help LeadSA’s anti-drug initiative.

Cape Town - The Western Cape Community Policing Forum (CPF) has 350 members ready in Mitchells Plain to help LeadSA’s anti-drug initiative, Drug Watch.

The programme was started just before the December holidays by LeadSA - in association with the Cape Argus, 567 CapeTalk and law enforcement agencies - to help curb the drug problem in the province.

During the three months that the programme has been operational, drugs worth R10.5 million were confiscated and 15 919 people were arrested on drug-related charges in the Western Cape.

For the next three months, the initiative will focus on Mitchells Plain, which police say is the “drug capital of the province”. Western Cape CPF chairman Hanif Loonat said he had met neighbourhood watch members from the area. “Mitchells Plain is one of our strongest zones and we are ready to help,” he said.

Loonat said members would mobilise other residents to report drug activity, do daily patrols and run awareness-raising programmes at schools.

“We will invite prominent sports stars to come and speak to the kids about the dangers of drugs,” he said.

Although all kinds of drugs are sold in Mitchells Plain, cheaper drugs like tik and dagga, are the most common.

Loonat said they were also looking to help the police to bring down Mitchells Plain’s drug kingpins.

“Police have been arresting the foot soldiers of the trade but we need to go for the kingpins, who come and mess up our communities but live in leafy suburbs. It is no use taking off the leaves while the roots are going strong.”

He said syndicates run by foreigners from Russia and Germany controlled the drug trade in Mitchells Plain, and residents needed to speak out so that arrests could be made.

Tip-offs can be sent anonymously to Crime Line at 32211.

neo.maditla@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

A Cape Town family is mourning the death of their only son after an apparent case of apparent mistaken identity led to his death.

Cape Town - A Retreat family is mourning the death of their only son after an apparent case of apparent mistaken identity led to his death at the hands of gunmen.

Monray Rhode, 23, was gunned down on the corner of 11th Avenue and Tambourine Street at about 6.20pm on Wednesday. His aunt, Shireen Rhode, said this morning that Rhode had accompanied a friend, who was known to be a gangster, to a nearby shop to buy electricity. On their way home, two men drove up, jumped out of the car and opened fire. Rhode’s friend escaped.

She said a witness overheard the gunmen quarrelling because they had apparently shot the wrong person. Rhode’s friend had apparently survived an assassination attempt two weeks ago. In that incident, a bullet narrowly missed a primary school pupil.

Of the shooting, his aunt said: “Monray… was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. Now his mother is dumbstruck in her grief.”

Police have confirmed the shooting, but did not comment on whether arrests have been made.

Two men fled the scene, said police spokesman Lieutenant Colonel André Traut. “The motive for the murder is unknown at this stage.”

daneel.knoetze@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

Vehicles visiting Signal Hill at night will soon be closely monitored by SANParks rangers in an urgent bid to prevent violent crime.

Cape Town - Vehicles visiting Signal Hill at night will soon be closely monitored by SANParks rangers in an urgent bid to prevent violent crime at the famous view sites.

This was one of several proposals decided on at a meeting yesterday by representatives of SANParks, the City of Cape Town, the police, the Cape Town Central and Camps Bay community police forums (CPFs), Cape Town Tourism and the Oranjekloof Central Improvement District - meeting under the banner of the Table Mountain Safety Forum.

They resolved that SANParks will apply to the city to put access control in place at Signal Hill and Tafelberg roads from 10pm to 5am.

Rangers will record all vehicles’ details. In addition, the CCTV camera at the Signal Hill parking area will be refurbished to increase coverage and improve the clarity of its images.

Efforts will also be made to improve lighting at several parts of the site.

The Cape Town Central CPF would investigate the possibility of installing cameras with numberplate recognition abilities at the entry and exit points to automatically identify suspicious vehicles on the city’s databases.

The city’s mayoral council member for safety and security, JP Smith, questioned how to increase patrols at all of the view sites, or whether some should be closed during certain hours.

Smith said locals knew that parking at remote view sites late at night was inadvisable, but ways needed to be found to communicate this information to out-of-town and foreign visitors.

In early 2011, following a spate of attacks on the mountain, the Table Mountain Safety Forum was set up.

It reported earlier this year that, between 2011 and 2012, the number of crimes against mountain users had dropped by 50 percent. It said that in the City Bowl and Camps Bay where it was active there had not been a single reported incident between October 2011 and January this year.

It said there had been three incidents of robbery and attempted robbery in January and February and it had immediately responded “by increasing its activity with SANParks rangers, police officers on horseback and on vehicle patrol, neighbourhood watch patrols and through aerial surveillance, as well as through the eyes and ears of bikers, hikers and walkers”.

Cape Argus

Bursaries worth R10 000 each were awarded to 16 students from Mitchells Plain by a Mitchells Plain Bursary and Role Model Trust.

Cape Town - Bursaries worth R10 000 each were awarded to 16 students from Mitchells Plain by a Mitchells Plain Bursary and Role Model Trust on Wednesday night.

The students were from high schools in the area.

The founding trustee of the Trust, National Planning Minister Trevor Manuel said that the day was to celebrate the minds of the achievers from Mitchells Plain.

“There is significance to this day; 20 years ago we lost one of our finest politicians but all we can do is try to live by the values that he lived by and put honesty and service in what we do.”

Manuel was referring to SACP leader Chris Hani, who was assassinated 20 years ago.

“This is a day to celebrate the young minds and achievers… It is the people of Mitchells Plain that we will celebrate, a community that is determined to turn itself around.”

The event was held at the Liberty Promenade shopping centre. The students, parents, teachers and other dignitaries were entertained by spoken word artist and musician Janine van Rooy, known by her stage name Blaq Pearl, singer Keeno Lee and others.

Blaq Pearl performed a poem written by her late brother, titled Ignorance. She said that the piece was meant to inspire the young bursary recipients to be conscious and not ignorant.

“Be free, be you and be who you are… Education is an important thing, education is your key to success and I hope you learnt from this poem to always be conscious.”

The Trust aims to better the lives of the students by allowing them to further their studies.

Mitchells Plain Education Forum chairwoman Coleen Horswell said that an event like this would prove that there is more to Mitchells Plain than the negative aspects usually portrayed by the media.

“This proves that great things can happen in Mitchells Plain, because too often we hear only about the bad things.”

The trust has been supported by donations from Cape Peninsula University of Technology.

The vice-chancellors of University of Western Cape, the University of Cape Town and Stellenbosch University also pledged their support. The three Cape Town FET Colleges, False Bay Northlink and Cape Town College, also provided support to the trust.

Cape Argus