"It is likely that the expected heavy rainfall will cause localised flooding across the Cape Peninsula."

Cape Town - The city’s disaster risk management centre is on high alert as the Western Cape braces for a cold front accompanied by heavy rains and gale force winds.

Disaster management spokesman Wilfred Solomons-Johannes said supporting disaster response agencies and public safety authorities were “prepared and ready” as heavy downpours hit Cape Town on Tuesday night, and were forecast to continue on Wednesday and tomorrow.

“It is likely that the expected heavy rainfall will cause localised flooding across the Cape Peninsula,” Solomons-Johannes said.

“This may be exacerbated by the fact that the water table in the Cape Flats is already very high as a result of recent rains.”

The city’s disaster team was hard at work on Tuesday at informal settlements in Khayelitsha and Gugulethu, cleaning stormwater drains of blockages caused by mud and sand, among other things, said Solomons-Johannes.

“We are also clearing paths for emergency service access.”

SA Weather Service forecaster and meteorologist Henning Grobler said the cold front would be accompanied by “on and off” rain showers.

“Heavy rainfall of 50mm is expected in the Cape Town metro and Overberg. There is a small chance of flooding. The rain will start clearing by tomorrow morning. Fine and sunny conditions are expected over the weekend,” Grobler said.

A resident of Europe informal settlement in Gugulethu, Sinezwi Radebe, said the community was preparing for the winter months.

The informal settlement is one of many in the city that is seriously affected by flooding every year.

Radebe said residents had started digging trenches outside their homes to allow for easy water flow.

“That’s all we can do for now. We have to wait for it to see what damage the rain will cause. Usually it’s bad, with water seeping into our shacks from the roof and the floor,” he said.

The SA Weather Service has also warned of gale-force north-westerly winds travelling at 70km/h between Cape Columbine and Cape Agulhas. Rough seas with waves of 4-6m are expected between Table Bay and Cape Agulhas and Cape Columbine and Plettenberg Bay on Wednesday.

In cases of emergency, dial 107 from a landline, or 021 480 7700 from a cellphone. Dial 0860 103 089 for flooding, blocked drains and service disruptions.

How to weather wet and wild conditions

The city’s tips to residents to prevent wind and fire damage to their homes:

* Install straps or additional clips to your roof to secure it to the frame structure, in order to prevent roof damage.

* Trim trees and shrubs around your home.

* Protect windows and doors with covers or wind shutters.

* Reinforce double entry doors.

* Secure metal siding and metal roofs.

* Brace gable-end roof framing.

* Ensure adequate insurance cover for possible storm damage.

* Exercise extreme caution in mountainous areas.

* Keep a watchful eye on open flames and extinguish them before going to bed (including candles, lamps and paraffin stoves)

nontando.mposo@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

Capetonian Jason Bell finished his first Boston Marathon half an hour before two explosions rocked the finish line.

Cape Town - Capetonian Jason Bell finished his first Boston Marathon half an hour before two explosions rocked the finish line.

Speaking from Boston’s Logan International Airport on Tuesday, Bell told the Cape Argus of the “chaos, panic and pandemonium” that erupted in the minutes following the second blast.

Bell, programme director of International Fund for Animal Welfare in South Africa, was about 500m from the explosions. He had moved up the road to meet a friend, but when the friend did not arrive, he moved back towards the finish line.

“In the seconds between the two explosions, I did a tremendous amount of mental processing. I knew that it was a public holiday and suspected that cannon blasts may have been organised to accompany the festivities at the finish line. But then I asked, why would there be so much smoke? Next I thought it may have been a gas explosion at a restaurant.”

But when he saw screaming and crying people running both away from and towards the blast sites, the possibility of a terror attack crossed his mind. He moved away as police, paramedics and concerned loved ones ran straight towards the blast sites.

“It is ‘terrorism’. When you see something like that you realise how fitting that description is for an attack such as this. It’s impossible to remain calm, people just freaked out.”

Bell shared in this panic, not knowing whether his friend had been injured in the blast. It was only much later, when he borrowed a cellphone, that he found out that the friend was unharmed.

Bell made special mention of the calm professionalism displayed by police and race officials in the chaos. They calmly diverted the crowds, secured the site and assisted those with injuries to the medical tents.

In 2001, Bell was also in the US, near Boston, when the 9/11 attacks took place.

“It’s just a another surreal ending to another trip to the States. The Boston Marathon is one of the greatest races in the world. It was a wonderful experience up until that moment when everything changed,” he said.

Bell was scheduled to arrive back in Cape Town on Wednesday. He participated in the marathon to raise awareness of the plight of African elephants.

daneel.knoetze@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

Sanral has dismissed claims that the planned Cape Winelands toll project is "anti-poor".

Cape Town - The South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) says the planned toll roads on the N1 and N2 will create close to 5 000 jobs and dismissed charges that the project is anti-poor.

Defending its decision to implement tolling, the agency said the project would boost the province’s tourism during the construction phase.

Sanral spokesperson Vusi Mona said 72 percent of the jobs would go to lower-paid workers.

“After construction about 600 direct jobs will be generated annually,” Mona said.

He said since the inception of the project Sanral had met local authorities 96 times and held 20 meetings with communities, including farmers.

“The upgrade of the N1-N2 Winelands route will be of great benefit to all communities in the region and will not impact negatively on poorer communities. Sanral views the upgrading of the road network as a major infrastructural investment which will lead to increased job opportunities and will also boost the economy in the region.

“This is in line with the government’s priority on job creation and the government-led infrastructure investment programme,” Mona said.

This as resistance grows to Sanral’s plan to toll sections of the highways in the Winelands.

On Monday, the Democratic Alliance announced it would mobilise residents against tolling while Cosatu provincial secretary Tony Ehrenreich also came out against the project, saying it would affect the poor.

While the two organisations worked hand-in-hand opposing e-tolls in Gauteng, its members marching together in protest, Ehrenreich said: “Cosatu (in the Western Cape) will not even consider running a campaign that may include the DA, unless the DA publicly states that they will stop defending the apartheid generational advantage of white communities, and will put in place programmes that ensure that public funds are spent to remove the huge inequalities between white and black areas as a matter of urgency.”

Ehrenreich said Cosatu would campaign to reduce the impact of tolling on working class communities, businesses and jobs in the affected areas.

It would also hold talks with Sanral over an “inadequate” participation process and would organise protest marches.

Ehrenreich said the DA still spent money to maintain the gap between facilities in affluent and poor areas, and that Transport and Public Works MEC Robin Carlisle should consider that regarding next year’s general election.

Premier Helen Zille said it was hypocritical of Ehrenreich to oppose the project publicly when the ANC caucus in the city council, led by Ehrenreich, voted against the city’s decision to fight tolls.

“As recently as two weeks ago, the ANC opposed the city’s plan of action to oppose the toll roads in a meeting of the portfolio committee for transport, roads and stormwater,” Zille said.

Asked about Zille’s statement, Ehrenreich said: “I can’t say I recall that happening. We would never do that. We have always been against tolling.” - Cape Argus

Western Cape paramedics say three men were killed when their vehicle overturned in Kuils River.

Cape Town - Three men died when their vehicle overturned in Kuils River on Wednesday morning, Western Cape paramedics said.

ER24 spokesperson Derrick Banks said the men, all in their 30s, were travelling on the Stellenbosch Arterial Road when their bakkie overturned in Sarepta at around 1am.

Two men died at the scene. The third died in hospital. - Sapa

A Cape Town woman who faked her death to cash in on a life insurance policy has been sentenced to four years in jail.

Cape Town - A Somerset West woman who faked her death to cash in on a life insurance policy worth R3.6 million will spend at least eight months in jail after she was sentenced in the Cape Town Regional Court.

Magistrate Jan van Zyl on Tuesday sentenced Hanelie Nel, 50, to four years in jail in terms of a section in the Criminal Procedure Act which allows her sentence to be converted to correctional supervision if she behaves well in prison.

Nel and her co-accused - Charlene van Graan, 39, of Stellenbosch, and Doretha Kotze, 59, of the Free State - admitted in court on Tuesday that they were involved in a scam to fake Nel’s death on March 14, 2011. Each pleaded guilty to one charge of fraud.

The court heard that Nel had taken out a life insurance policy with Liberty life on September 15, 2009, and more than doubled it the following year. Kotze was listed as Nel’s beneficiary.

In Nel’s guilty plea she said she had been going through “tough, personal, financial challenges” and decided to concoct the plan.

Nel approached Van Graan, who worked at Avbob Funeral and Assurance Services at the time, and persuaded her to issue a fake death registration certificate in return for a payment of R100 000.

When the document and death certificate were handed to Liberty Life and the claim was being processed, staff noticed the place of death listed on the relevant documents were not the same.

The finance house called in the police, who determined that Nel was alive.

She was arrested. Van Graan and Kotze were arrested soon afterwards.

On Tuesday, Van Zyl sentenced Van Graan to five years in jail, wholly suspended for five years. He warned her not to commit a similar crime of fraud or theft or she would be sent to jail.

“Both of you (Nel and Van Graan) are mature. One would expect you to act responsibly and be an example to younger people, but this wasn’t the case when you planned this crime,” Van Zyl said.

The case against Kotze was separated on Tuesday because Van Zyl was not convinced that she admitted guilt.

In her guilty plea Kotze said she was unaware of Nel’s plan and had received the death certificate and policy in the post. Later, Nel contacted her and lived with her. Only then did she realise something strange was going on.

Despite this, Kotze did not inform the police or tell Liberty Life to stop the claim.

Kotze is expected to appear before a new magistrate today.

jade.otto@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

A teenage prostitute who was allegedly abducted and held as a sex slave has broken her silence after the ordeal.

Cape Town - The teenage prostitute who was allegedly kidnapped and held hostage as a sex slave has broken her silence on her 24-hour nightmare.

In an exclusive interview with the Daily Voice, the traumatised young woman recounts her ordeal of being kidnapped - allegedly by a couple - as well as the hell that followed.

The teen claims the male suspect forced her to have sex without a condom and raped her from behind, while the woman tried to perform oral sex, molested her with her fingers and sucked on her breasts.

After hours of abuse, she said, it felt like she was losing her mind and she pulled out her own braids.

The Daily Voice has also learned her pimp had been forcing her to have sex for food, and wanted to send her back out into the streets the night after she escaped the couple.

Melanie Blomerus, 38, and David Julies, 52, have since been arrested for allegedly kidnapping and sexually assaulting the 19-year-old.

“I remembered all the things they did to me. It was emotional for me,” said the young woman, speaking through Ntokozo Yingwana, advocacy officer for the Sex Workers Education and Advocacy Taskforce (Sweat).

The teenager said she was approached by Julies in Main Road, Kenilworth, on Thursday, April 4.

“He was alone. He didn’t mention the lady or the threesome,” she said.

At the Belhar home, Julies introduced her to Blomerus and told her that they were going to have a threesome.

“I asked him to use a condom, but he also refused and told me he didn’t have any diseases,” she said.

“When I refused to have sex with him without a condom, he pushed me down and forced me to have sex with him.”

The couple then locked her in a room, with only a mattress and a chair.

Blomerus, she said, then tried to perform oral sex on her, sucked her nipples and fondled her vagina.

She claims Julies raped her “many times” from behind, and when she tried to get away, he pulled out some of her braids.

“I was going mad, not knowing if I was going to live, and I pulled out some of the braids myself,” she said.

She said the pair didn’t leave the house the whole night and the next day.

The victim said she finally escaped when the pair allowed her leave the room to use the toilet.

“When I left the room, I saw that the front door was opened a little, and that’s when I escaped,” she said.

The woman then ran into the streets naked, begging for help.

She said a neighbour came to help and later took her to the police station.

Yingwana, from Sweat, tells the Daily Voice the teen initially told them her pimp was her boyfriend.

“We struggled to get hold of her through him after she had been discharged from hospital on Saturday,” said Yingwana.

“We discovered that she had been forced into the sex trade or would not get food.”

The young sex worker called the man from the hospital to fetch her after being discharged.

“He asked her to get ready because she was being sent out to work that night. He said, ‘This is no bed and breakfast’.”

The victim is now staying at a women’s shelter.

The couple will apply for bail on May 15. - Daily Voice

Former Fidentia boss J Arthur Brown will soon know whether his misrepresentations in business dealings amount to fraud.

Cape Town - Former Fidentia boss J Arthur Brown will soon know whether his misrepresentations in business dealings amount to fraud, a Western Cape High Court judge said on Wednesday.

Judge Anton Veldhuizen accepted an altered admissions document Brown made in relation to two fraud counts, and said he would pass judgment on Thursday morning.

The court initially expressed concern that the admissions on count six, which related to the Mantadia Asset Trust Company (Matco), were not strong enough for conviction.

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

His lawyer was given time to sit with him, and the altered admissions were handed to Veldhuizen for consideration on Tuesday.

Brown initially 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.

He also admitted that Fidentia had misrepresented itself by saying the full purchase price for Matco would be paid before it took control.

The admission statement handed up on Wednesday included the terms of the purchase agreement and made it clear that the purchaser had to have “immediately available funds”.

“Fidentia and I misrepresented that Fidentia was able to do so and thereby induced the shareholders of Matco to enter into the agreement and sell their shares to Fidentia,” Brown said in the altered document.

He admitted that Fidentia took control of Matco in October 2004, before full payment was made to all shareholders, contradictory to the terms of the agreement.

Accepting personal responsibility, he said he ordered the transfer of R69 million from the Matco account to Fidentia, which would later be used to pay the remainder of the Matco purchase price.

“The above actions amounted to a misrepresentation of the true facts in respect of the sale of share agreement and the method and time of payment.... My actions were unlawful and constituted fraud by way of dolus eventualis (indirect intent).”

The State confirmed there would be acquittal on counts three, four, five, seven, eight, and nine, which relate to the Transport Education and Training Authority, Thaba Manzi, Infinity, and Antheru.

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

Veldhuizen said arguments in aggravation and mitigation of sentence would be heard on April 29. - Sapa

A Cape Town man has survived falling from a train.

Cape Town - A Cape Town man survived falling from a train on Wednesday morning, Metrorail said.

Regional manager Mthuthuzeli Swartz said the man was between two carriages when he fell off around 8.30am. He escaped with bruises and refused medical attention.

“Safety rules protect commuters and anyone flaunting safety endangers themselves and other innocent parties,” Swartz said.

Anyone caught travelling between carriages risked a fine or prosecution. Around 185 people were prosecuted every month for rail-related offences, he said. - Sapa

"Two men jumped out of the car but, because it is an automatic vehicle, the Mercedes just kept going."

Cape Town - A car smashed into the sushi bar at the Food Lover’s Market in Lower Loop Street on Wednesday morning, apparently after two men who were being chased by police abandoned the vehicle, which then kept moving.

A senior employee at the shop, who asked not to be named, spoke to the Cape Argus from the scene this morning. He said the occupants of the Mercedes-Benz C-Class were being chased by police at the time of the crash.

“Two men jumped out of the car but, because it is an automatic vehicle, the Mercedes just kept going,” he said, adding that he was not aware of any injuries resulting from the crash.

“It ramped the pavement and came crashing through the windows of the sushi bar.

“Luckily there was a low wall on the inside of the glass. This acted as a barrier which prevented the car from driving further into the shop and causing more damage.”

A police officer on the scene apparently informed employees that the men were suspects in a “bank robbery”, others said the car was stolen.

One of the suspects ran past guards at the entrance of the centre where the Food Lover’s Market is situated. He ran into the bathrooms and locked himself in a cubicle.

“When the police came in we directed them to the restrooms. They knocked on the door and asked the suspect to come out, but he refused. They had to forcibly remove him and cuffed him before leading him away,” said the employee.

Police spokesman Captain FC van Wyk said officers were still on the scene gathering information. He could not provide a comment at the time of publication.

daneel.knoetze@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

Three people died after a motorist lost control of his vehicle in heavy rain in on the R300 in Cape Town.

Cape Town - Three people died after a motorist lost control of his vehicle in heavy rain in the city just after midnight.

Two passengers died on impact early this morning and the seriously injured driver died later in hospital after a Toyota Hilux bakkie hit a concrete barrier on the R300 near the Van Riebeeck Road off-ramp, said Cape Town traffic spokeswoman Merle Louwrens.

It is believed the accident happened during a heavy downpour.

Cape Town residents have also been warned to wrap up warmly, because it is going to be very cold tonight.

Temperatures are going to drop well below the double figures after today’s cold front moves over Cape Town, satellite weather expert Jean-Pierre Arabonis has warned.

The first real winter system to hit Cape Town last night brought heavy rain and wind that blew down electricity lines in Brooklyn and Plumstead, but the city escaped largely unscathed, said disaster risk management spokesman Wilfred Solomons-Johannes.

There were no reports of localised flooding overnight, but the department was ready for action should today’s front bring more than normal rain, he said.

The broken power lines left small areas of Plumstead and Brooklyn in the dark last night and technicians were working hard at fixing them this morning, he said.

Arabonis predicted heavy rain for this afternoon due to isolated clouds following behind the front.

“This type of cloud could bring heavy rain in isolated places such as Muizenberg and Newlands, while a place like Fish Hoek may just get normal rain,” he said.

“But, tonight it is going to get really cold for the first time this winter.

“We can expect temperatures to drop to 6°C or even 5°C overnight.”

On Tuesday, Solomons-Johannes said the city was preparing to react to flooding, as the water table on the Cape Flats was already high from earlier rains.

Cape Argus

A fax about sex sent to the Western Cape High Court during investigations into the death of acting judge Patrick Maqubela took centre stage in court.

Cape Town - A fax about sex sent to the Western Cape High Court administration during investigations into the death of acting judge Patrick Maqubela took centre stage in court on Wednesday.

The fax was mentioned during cross-examination of the judge's widow Thandi Maqubela in the Western Cape High Court.

Prosecutor Bonnie Currie-Gamwo put it to Maqubela that she sent the fax from an internet cafe in Pretoria hoping it would stop the investigation.

Maqubela denied this.

The fax reads: “I was his regular girl. He died while we were having sex, it is as simple as all that.

“Security or no high security at the complex where the judge lived, we had a way of doing what we wanted to do. Of course, as a judge, he was connected with the police for his sexual activities.

“Why does the government waste so much money investigating a sex worker judge, who is all of a sudden a saint?

“As his regular call girl, he maintained me. I know about his death. I had access to his house in Cape Town, in Johannesburg, you name it.

“Judge Maqubela murdered, poisoned and all sorts of things,” the fax reads.

Maqubela and her business associate, Vela Mabena, have pleaded not guilty before Judge John Murphy and assessor Danie Marais, to the alleged murder of her husband, an acting judge in the Western Cape High Court, in June, 2009.

His body was found in the bedroom of his luxury Bantry Bay apartment.

Maqubela is also charged with fraud and forgery, relating to a fake will purporting to be his, with his signature forged on it, which was presented to the Johannesburg office of the Master of the High Court.

The State alleges he was suffocated with a piece of plastic cling-wrap. Maqubela claims that her husband died from natural causes.

Currie-Gamwo told Maqubela the fax was sent from the Fountains Internet Cafe.

Currie-Gamwo asked Maqubela: “How do you answer to the fact that you were in the vicinity of the cafe at the time the fax was sent, according to your cellphone mapping records?”

Maqubela said she did not know.

Currie-Gamwo added: “I put it to you that you in fact sent the fax yourself, to the Western Cape High Court.”

Maqubela denied this, and said she did not use “inferior methods of communication”.

Currie-Gamwo continued: “And you did so, aware of the murder investigation, because you wanted to stop it.”

Maqubela said she had wanted the investigation to continue. She agreed her husband had died without a will, and that his estate was declared intestate by the Master’s office.

Currie-Gamwo said the estate was worth at least R20 million.

When asked why she had made no effort initially to locate any will, Maqubela replied: “Money is not a problem with me, I know how to make money. Money is not an issue.”

She was appointed the estate's executor, but then she was required to deposit R20 million security once it became known a murder investigation was underway.

Maqubela was unable to provide the security, and her appointment was withdrawn.

It turned out that, after her appointment, she discovered a will in a box containing documents and books.

The trial continues. - Sapa

The Western Cape has a small pool of qualified people to consider for senior management positions, the premier said.

 Cape Town - The Western Cape has a small pool of qualified people to consider for senior management positions, regardless of race, provincial premier Helen Zille said on Wednesday.

She told reporters in Cape Town only 10 percent of the province's economically active population had a three-year-degree, one of the requirements of a senior management position.

Public service regulations required a university degree and five years of relevant management experience.

According to statistics compiled by Zille's department, six percent of whites, 2.1 percent of coloureds, 1.7 percent of blacks and 0.3 percent of Indians in the province had at least a three-year-degree.

She said these figures would be even more narrow if one included the relevant experience, which many young graduates did not have.

The racial representivity of the 75 senior managers in the 80 000 strong government workforce was therefore a moot point.

The challenge also lay in hiring professionally qualified specialists.

“These skills, and the necessary experience to work effectively at high levels of government, take years to develop. That is why the Constitution and the law make the skills pool a key criterion, and that is why employment equity plans need to focus on building the requisite skills pools.”

A recent media report attacked Zille over Employment Equity (EE) figures for senior management positions that were released in Parliament.

According to a Commission of Employment Equity (CEE) annual report released in September the province was the worst EE performer.

Zille said she felt compelled to set the record straight, as Labour Minister Mildred Oliphant was planning to release a new CEE report on Thursday, an event which they were not invited to.

She said the previous report had serious anomalies which she raised with Oliphant, but had not yet had a response.

“The CEE report said its figures reflected the status of EE during the period April 1, 2011 and March 31, 2012. However these figures weren't available at the time the report was compiled and released.”

Provincial governments were only due to submit those figures in October 2012. The other problem she had was that calculations included both provincial and local government data across the province.

“This resulted in a completely flawed and inaccurate picture emerging that alleged we were not meeting our targets, when in fact 77 percent of our 50,521 senior employees fell within the designated 'black group',” she said.

Zille said it was crucial the national labour department and CEE moved away from “unconstitutional racial head quotas” and advocated affirmative action policies prescribed by the Constitution, the EE Act and the National Development Plan.

“Crucially, national government needs to start focusing on interventions that exponentially increase the pool of qualified candidates in our country.” - Sapa

A yacht that broke from its mooring has sunk in Saldanha Bay, the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) said.

Cape Town - A yacht that broke from its mooring has sunk in Saldanha Bay, the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) said on Wednesday.

The Kalimba then washed up on rocks on Tuesday evening, NSRI spokesman Craig Lambinon said. There was nobody on board at the time.

A swimmer was sent onto the stricken yacht to help with the rescue.

“The weather conditions, location of the yacht and the fact that she had taken on water made it impossible for the NSRI sea rescue craft to free her alone,” Lambinon said.

The Transnet National Ports Authority provided help.

“On the pilot vessel's second attempt to pull the yacht off the rocks, the yacht was freed and taken under tow.”

It was berthed at a refuelling jetty.

“Unfortunately, due to the extensive damage, Kalimba sank whilst alongside the jetty. Currently a team of divers, along with the team at Yachtport SA, are attempting to refloat her,” Lambinon said. - Sapa

Two men have been arrested in Beaufort West for possession of thousands of Mandrax tablets.

fla

CRIME-MANDRAX

JOHANNESBURG April 17 Sapa

WCAPE TWO HELD AFTER DRUG BUST

Two men have been arrested in Beaufort West for possession of thousands of Mandrax tablets, Western Cape police said on Wednesday.

Captain Malcolm Pojie said the men were arrested on Monday morning, after a tip-off that two trucks transporting drugs to Cape Town would pass through the town.

"A drug detection dog was used, which responded positively towards a wrapped box that was stacked among several other boxes in one of the two trucks," said Pojie.

The two men, aged 48 and 53, were arrested and 14,000 Mandrax tablets worth about R840,000 on the street were seized.

They were charged with dealing in illegal drugs and are scheduled to appear in the Beaufort West Magistrate's Court on April 18.

Sapa

/cj/hdw/ks/dm 04/17/13 19-08

A Cape Town surfer who fell overboard and was left floating for 27 hours in Indonesia has been rescued, according to reports.

Cape Town - A Cape Town surfer who fell overboard and was left floating for 27 hours in Indonesia has been rescued by a Sydney-owned private charter boat, according to reports.

Brett Archibald, 50, from Camps Bay, went missing after apparently falling from a boat while at sea in the early hours of Wednesday.

He was on a surfing trip in the Mentawai Islands, on the western coast of Sumatra. A friend reported that he had been seasick in the night and had possibly fallen overboard while being ill, while everyone else on board was asleep.

A huge search-and-rescue operation was launched by the Indonesian Maritime Rescue Authorities, aided by the RNLI (UK maritime rescue), the Australian Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre, Jakarta Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre, and a host of private boats.

The captain of the Barrenjoey, which is owned by Sydney couple John and Belinda McGroder, reportedly found Archibald in the ocean, floating on his back about 20km from where the surfer had fallen overboard 27 hours earlier.

“Brett Archibald has boarded the Barenjoey 20 mins ago,” wrote All Aboard Travel on their Facebook. “He is alive. A bit sunburnt and dehydrated. He was floating alone. The boat is taking him to the Indies Trader III so that he can phone his wife.”

Cape Argus and IOL

The ANC has slammed a DA pamphlet showing former president Nelson Mandela and Helen Suzman embracing.

Cape Town - A DA pamphlet showing Nelson Mandela and Helen Suzman embracing, with the words “We played our part in opposing apartheid”, has angered the ANC, who say the party should not have used either of the two leaders.

Neither were ever members of the DA, the ANC has charged.

The pamphlet, in which Suzman is identified as founder of the DA, is one of several in the DA’s “Know your DA” campaign in the build-up to the general elections next year.

ANC Western Cape chairman Marius Fransman slammed the DA campaign as a “cynical and opportunistic exercise in propaganda”.

But the DA said Mandela was a global icon and Suzman was a member of a predecessor party of the DA.

Fransman said: “This ploy is the latest in a litany of examples of its politics of deception and deceit as the DA desperately attempts to woo black voters.”

The ANC acknowledged the role played by Suzman in opposing the National Party in the apartheid Parliament before 1994, he said.

“It is debatable whether or not her role can be claimed as revolutionary. More importantly, of having any bearing on the values of the DA as a party today.”

Suzman, who served in Parliament for 36 years as an opposition MP during apartheid, had been a member of the Progressive Party which became the Progressive Federal Party and later merged with other parties to become the DA.

“Does (DA leader Helen) Zille honestly believe that she will be able to convince the majority of South Africans that the DA as a party has its roots in fighting apartheid when in fact its history and its current service delivery record where it governs tells another story?

“This cynical and transparent attempt to rewrite history and to pretend that most of the DA’s members and leaders were not beneficiaries of apartheid but champions against that crime against humanity is dishonest and desperate.”

The DA’s director of communications, Gavin Davis, said the party had every right to use the image and take ownership of Suzman’s role in ending apartheid.

“Nelson Mandela is a global icon and national hero. He is not the property of any political party.

“Helen Suzman was a Member of Parliament for the Progressive Party, a predecessor party of the DA. The values she stood for are defended and promoted by the DA today.”

He said the DA had seen “overwhelmingly positive response” to the campaign.

“The campaign tells the untold story of how current DA leaders and their predecessors fought apartheid. Most people we speak to on the ground and on social media love the image and message of the campaign.”

Davis said that Mandela had “recognised the role Helen Suzman played in opposing apartheid and we wanted to convey that message.”

The Helen Suzman Foundation’s Kameel Premhid said the foundation had no issue with the DA using the image as part of its campaign.

He said Suzman, who died four years ago aged 91, had belonged to the political party which the DA had grown from.

Premhid said the DA continued to champion the principles which Suzman had stood for.

The Nelson Mandela Foundation did not respond to a request for comment.

michelle.jones@inl.co.za

Cape Times

Heavy rain and strong winds raged across the Cape, flooding shops and houses and turning manhole covers into fountains.

Cape Town - Heavy rains and strong north-westerly winds raged across the Western Cape on Wednesday, flooding shops and houses and turning manhole covers into temporary fountains.

And it’s not over yet - in the first major cold front of the winter more rain is expected on Thursday, accompanied by chilly south-easterly winds and a maximum temperature of 17°C.

In the city centre, parts of Strand, Wale and Adderley streets were awash, while in Long Street, some shops were flooded.

At Uniglo mobile shop, a computer and cellphone shop in Long Street, Nita Jacks said the shop lost a lot of afternoon business because of the heavy rain. “We had to switch off all our electronic appliances and turn away customers because the floor was flooded,” she said. “The pavement is too low and the water just pools outside the door and then comes inside. If it rains like this through winter, we are bound to lose a lot of money,” she said.

Greenmarket Square vendors left early. Trader Andrew Macua, 57, said their wooden goods were easily damaged in the rain. “I’ve been trading here for more than 10 years and every winter is bad for business.”

There were a number of accidents as Capetonians made their way home in the evening rush hour, but Cape Town Traffic Service’s Merle Lourens said there were no serious crashes.

A truck driver lost control of his vehicle on De Waal Drive late on Wednesday, causing traffic delays.

“We had a few fender-benders but nothing serious,” Lourens said.

Charlotte Powell, spokeswoman for the city’s disaster centre, said it had had reports of flooding in two informal settlements in Mitchells Plain and Masiphumelele.

“Nobody was evacuated. We will assess the areas today and mopping-up operations will continue,” she said.

Those affected were offered accommodation in halls and provided with hot meals and blankets.

Residents in a low-lying Philippi informal settlement said their houses had been flooded, and they were using buckets to clear the water. There was also flooding at Brown’s Farm.

Phumlani Makhete, who uses the shack behind his house as a church, said that they might have to cancel services because of the damage caused by the flood. “I tried to fix the leaks on the ceiling when I heard it would be raining, but a shack will always get wet no matter what you try.”

Makhete said they tried to keep water out by putting plastic sheeting on the roof and raising their entrances.

“Once the rainy weather starts it will only get worse. There is sand underneath here and it soaks up the water faster than we can get it out.”

Phumla Guzu said the water in her shack came from a puddle outside her door, which she says grew in a matter of minutes. “Water from the street came in and flooded the house. Luckily nothing came in through the ceiling just thought the front door.”

She said their shacks flooded every year and the weather always seems to have the upper hand. “It started raining around 1pm and my sofa was swimming.”

nontando.mposo@inl.co.za

yolisa.tswanya@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

Former Fidentia boss J Arthur Brown was found guilty by the Western Cape High Court on two counts of fraud.

Cape Town - Former Fidentia boss J Arthur Brown was found guilty by the Western Cape High Court on Thursday on two counts of fraud.

“We are satisfied the admissions (made by Brown) are sufficient for conviction,” Judge Anton Veldhuizen said.

“At this stage, I do not find it necessary to elaborate on the exact basis for this.”

The charges related to dealings with the Transport Education and Training Authority and the Mantadia Asset Trust Company.

Brown was acquitted on seven other charges. - Sapa

Brett Archibald was found sunburnt and dehydrated, but alive after drifting at sea for 27 hours without a lifejacket in Indonesia.

Cape Town - A Cape Town man was found sunburnt and dehydrated, but alive on Thursday after drifting at sea for 27 hours without a lifejacket in Indonesia, said the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI).

“He said he came close to drowning at least eight times during his 27-hour ordeal, swimming and drifting at sea, and that he had been stung by jellyfish, picked at by fish, and seagulls had tried to pluck his eyes out,” said NSRI spokesman Craig Lambinon.

Brett Archibald, from Camps Bay, was on a boat during surfing trip to the Mentawai Islands, off Sumatra, when he became sea sick. He was thought to have passed out on the deck and fallen overboard, said Lambinon.

He said Archibald remembered waking up in the sea and seeing the boat move away from him.

No one aboard the boat, the Naga Laut, realised he had gone overboard.

He was found around 1am on Thursday near Sipura Island by people onboard a surf charter boat.

Lambinon said he was apparently in good spirits, but that his medical condition would be assessed. He intended completing his surfing trip before returning home. - Sapa

A low wall was the only thing that stood between Lungiswa Dyani and sudden death at the Food Lover’s Market in Cape Town.

Cape Town - A low wall was the only thing that stood between Lungiswa Dyani and sudden death on Wednesday. Working the morning shift at Food Lover’s Market in Lower Loop Street, Dyani was preparing sushi when she heard police sirens soon after 8am.

“When I looked up I saw a man running down the street. I looked to see where he was coming from and there was a car (a silver Mercedes-Benz) with no one inside. It was rolling down the road. Next to it were two men - both were running and one was carrying a gun.”

Dumbstruck, Dyani watched as the Mercedes hurtled in her direction. Through the window she came nearly face to face with the gun-toting man, as he made a last-ditch attempt to re-enter the vehicle. Moments later, the car mounted the pavement and smashed through the window. Only after the glass came flying past her did Dyani make a run for it. Fortunately a low wall in front of the window stopped the car.

Meanwhile one of the suspects had entered the shopping complex, taking refuge in one of the restrooms.

“I had no idea what was going on. But when the police came running after him, I just pointed in the direction of the toilets,” said a security guard, who asked not to be named, at the entrance of the Food Lover’s Market.

Police apparently entered the restroom and asked the suspect to come out from behind a locked door. According to employees, the man was forcibly removed, handcuffed and led away.

Two hours after the crash it was business as usual. As police investigated the vehicle behind crime scene lines, staff vacuumed up the last of the glass from the sushi counter as customers sipped coffee and ate snacks nearby.

The Cape Argus caught up with Dyani on an early lunch break.

“Sho, I just wanted to calm down for a bit. But I’ll get back to work. Just not on the sushi counter today! Anywhere but there,” she laughed.

Police spokesman Captain FC van Wyk confirmed the arrest of a 33-year-old man.

“The suspect was one of three people spotted near a bank under suspicious circumstances,” said Van Wyk, adding that he was charged with reckless and negligent driving. He was to appear in the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court today.

Police are searching for two suspects and have asked people to report information to the Cape Town Central police at 021 467 8001 or Crime Stop at 086 001 0111.

daneel.knoetze@inl.co.za

Cape Argus