Ten years ago, a couple lost their four-year-old son. Tragically they lost another son of the same age in a similar accident.

Cape Town - Ten years ago, the Mila couple lost lost their four-year-old son in a car accident. This week, tragedy struck again when they lost another son of the same age in a similar accident.

On Wednesday, Sizwe Mila and his wife, Mandisa Mila, sitting in their Ilitha Park home in Khayelitsha, described the events that led up to the accident in which little Iviwe died.

“I took my wife and daughter to their church in the morning and my son, who normally goes with them, said he wanted to stay home and go with me to my church instead,” Sizwe Mila said.

While Mila was getting ready, Iviwe asked for money to buy sweets at the shop.

“But I said no because I know that road where the shop is is dangerous. I said we can get sweets on the way to church. Then he asked if he could go and play outside with his friends while he waited for me and I said ‘Yes’.”

A few minutes later, Mila heard screeching tyres and a loud bang.

“Then people started screaming and I went to look, only to find that it was my son who had been knocked over by the car.”

As he told the story, Mila’s wife, Mandisa, sat quietly next to him trying to hold back her tears.

Neighbours told Mila that Iviwe had been running from a nearby spaza shop with his friends. The others had made it safely across the street.

“People treat this road like it’s a freeway. They drive too fast, especially when coming around the bend,” Mila said.

He said the accident brought back memories of the death of their older son, Ntlahla, who was run over when the family were living in Luzuko Park, Gugulethu, in May 2003.

“It is like the same tragedy is happening to us all over again,” said Mila.

When the Cape Argus went to the street where the recent incident happened, residents had blocked part of the road with debris, stones and sand, reducing the two lanes to one.

“They should put speed humps on this road in order for us to avoid this happening again to another child,” Mila said.

“Prevention is better than cure, and I feel this should have happened right at the beginning when the road was built.”

Mila said their son would be buried on Saturday.

neo.maditla@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

A Western Cape gardener who killed his elderly employer has been sentenced to 18 years in jail under a plea agreement.

Cape Town - A gardener who killed his elderly employer was sentenced to 18 years in jail by the Western Cape High Court on Thursday, under a plea agreement.

Rudolph Jones, 62, appeared before Judge President John Hlophe, and pleaded guilty to murdering and trying to rob 72-year-old June Nefdt.

He was sentenced to 18 years for the murder and 10 years for the attempted robbery. The sentences would run concurrently.

According to the plea agreement, he maintained the garden at Nefdt's Athlone home and ran errands for her.

On June 11, 2012, he accosted her and demanded money. They wrestled and he strangled her with a scarf.

He apparently then searched her drawers and cupboards for money.

Aggravating circumstances taken into account were that Nefdt was old, she had been murdered in her own home, and her family members were still struggling to get over her death.

Nefdt had often made food for Jones, even when he was not working for her.

Mitigating circumstances taken into account were Jones's age, his Grade Seven education, that he was financially supporting his family, and that he did not have previous convictions of a violent nature.

He had also shown remorse, helped the police investigation, and saved the court the expense of a long trial.

Nefdt's family wept and consoled each other when Jones was led past them in shackles. - Sapa

Two schools, one in Gauteng and one in the Western Cape, will be used to pilot a new sign language curriculum.

Johannesburg - Two schools, one in Gauteng and the other in the Western Cape, will be used to pilot a new sign language curriculum, and from next year, all public schools will be required to teach a vernacular language.

These announcements were made by Basic Education Minister, Angie Motshekga when she delivered the department’s budget vote for the 2013/14 financial year in Parliament on Tuesday

.

The department’s overall budget for this period is R17.592 billion, a R1.248bn increase over last year’s R16.344bn.

Motshekga revealed that of the country’s 12 433 949 pupils in more than 25 000 public schools, more than 8 million - 82 percent - were in non-fee schools.

She said the department was on track in reaching the 75 percent matric pass rate target by 2014.

The matric pass rate last year was 73. 9 percent.

To further improve academic performance, Motshekga said the department had established a maths and science task team to identify teaching and learning difficulties in these areas.

Dinaledi schools, whose focus is on maths and science, have been allocated R105.1m.

Technical secondary schools are set to receive R220.9m as part of a recapitalisation programme aimed at refurbishing facilities and providing new equipment at these schools.

Motshekga said R859.3m had been allocated for workbooks.

She added that the department was planning to replace 200 inappropriate schools and provide sanitation facilities to 873 schools, water to 448 and electricity to a further 369.

nontobeko.mtshali@inl.co.za

The Star

Netting similar to that used on Chapman’s Peak is being fitted along Sir Lowry’s Pass to reduce the threat of rockfalls.

Cape Town - Chapman’s Peak-like netting is being erected on one of the Western Cape’s most-travelled passes - Sir Lowry’s Pass - to prevent rockfalls as is being done on the famous coastal route.

The South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) reports that following a major rockfall in July last year, the project was fast-tracked due to its status as an “emergency”.

Construction started in November, with the main focus on the most severe areas to ensure that the road could safely be opened for the December holidays.

This took place and work was restarted in mid-January, with the rock-side upward lane being closed to traffic with large concrete barricades between the two up-bound lanes. At present, work is due to continue until mid-June.

At first most of the work was near-invisible to passersby. A large crane could be seen at the rock face - a drilling machine which prepared holes for rock bolts. Once the rock face was prepared, mesh was wrapped over massive sections of cliff face.

And, finally, large rocks were manually being attached to the rocky slopes to prevent further movement.

The contractor has also begun installing “catch fences” on the upper slopes of the mountain - similar to those seen high above Chapman’s Peak Drive.

Inclement weather - especially wind - is still one of the biggest concerns that could result in construction delays.

“Occupational, health and safety regulations restrict working at height under certain conditions; strong wind is one of those restrictions,” explained Tiago Massingue, Sanral’s project manager in Western Cape.

Construction work continues as weather conditions permit.

Road users are advised to allocate extra time to their travels and also “to proceed with utmost caution through the mountain pass”, Massingue warned.

Alternative routes such as the N1 via the Huguenot Tunnel “should be considered”. - Cape Argus

“Hundreds” of court records are lost or destroyed - and in some cases leading to convicted criminals being set free on appeal.

Cape Town - “Hundreds” of court records are lost or destroyed - and in some cases this may lead to convicted criminals being set free on appeal.

This was the case for Pieter Davids, who was found guilty of murder by the Bredasdorp Regional Court in July 2005 and sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment.

His conviction and sentence have been set aside by the Western Cape High Court because virtually all of the regional court record - which the high court needs to make a decision on appeal - is missing.

Davids has been set free.

In his judgment, Judge Lee Bozalek said the inability to appeal because of a missing record was a “breach of the constitutional right to a fair trial”.

He also noted a “disturbing” point the State had made, which was that there were “hundreds of similar cases” of lost or destroyed records in the magistrates’ and regional courts in cases that were becoming the subject of appeals in the high court.

Judge Bozalek sent a copy of his judgment to the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development’s regional director.

While court records can be destroyed, this is not meant to happen until after the prisoner’s imposed prison term has expired.

Criminal defence lawyer William Booth agreed that the issue of missing court records was a “serious problem”.

“It happens more often that records are not properly transcribed or go missing,” he told the Cape Times.

The department’s regional head, Hishaam Mohamed, acknowledged that the judgment had been received.

However, he painted a different picture of the situation, saying the Western Cape had the best record-keeping system in the country. He said that missing records had been a “crisis for a long time”.

Two years ago, they’d appointed a five-member task team to tackle the matter.

The team’s March report showed that according to an audit in 2008/09, 423 appeals had not been finalised for a number of reasons, among them that court records were missing, had been misfiled or there had been a lack of communication among those involved in or dealing with the appeal.

Most of these had been at the courts in Cape Town (101 appeals), Somerset West (54 appeals), Malmesbury and Vredenburg (52 appeals each).

Of the 423 appeals, 404 had been resolved.

Mohamed said this was because the record had been discovered after having been misfiled, or the court record had been reconstructed.

The department had launched another initiative about a year ago by appointing a special clerk to deal with appeals in each of the province’s 25 major courts, he said.

In Davids’s case, a search for the record had begun as far back as September 2006.

According to Judge Bozalek’s judgment, the office manager at the Bredasdorp Magistrate’s Court could not explain why the matter had been allowed to “drift for more than five years without any decisive action being taken”.

The case against Davids could be reinstituted as if he hadn’t been charged, tried and convicted. This was because his sentence and conviction had been set aside on the grounds of a technical irregularity, Judge Bozalek said.

Eric Ntabazalila, regional spokesman for the National Prosecuting Authority, confirmed that if an appeal succeeded because the record was incomplete, the State could reinstate prosecution.

leila.samodien@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

If you get lost on a mountain in the Western Cape, a simple cellphone message or tweet could help you find your way back.

Cape Town - If you get lost on a mountain in the Western Cape, a simple cellphone message or tweet could help you find your way back.

Two skilled mountain users, one of them a Wilderness Search and Rescue (WSAR) member, have set up a tracking system to monitor hikers and other mountain users via cellphone and Twitter.

On Wednesday Anwaaz Bent, WSAR member and convener of a group named Hikers Network, said a number of hiking groups had been making use of the system.

Bent said he had worked on the idea of tracking mountain users via cellphones to boost their safety and Tim Lundy, the son of hiking book author Mike Lundy, had agreed to work with him.

Mountain users who were on Twitter could tweet Bent, under the handle @SafetyMountain, and Lundy, @hikingcapetown, about where they planned to hike, their starting point and time and progress made.

The messaging service Whatsapp could also be used to keep in touch with Lundy.

Bent explained that hikers who felt unsure of their way could take a photograph of the scene on their cellphone and send it to Lundy.

He and Lundy could then work out where the hiker was and give advice aboutthe safest path to take.

At the moment nearly 600 people were following the @SafetyMountain account. He planned to approach authorities in the hope that someone could be stationed at a control centre to track users.

About a month ago a follower had tweeted @SafetyMountain about hearing a woman screaming. It was found that a woman was stuck on a ledge on Table Mountain and she was airlifted to safety.

Bent may be contacted on @SafetyMountain and Lundy on @hikingcapetown or 083 444 5267(cor).

caryn.dolley@inl.co.za

Cape Times

There has been a spike in the illegal occupation of private land in Cape Town, a mayoral committee member said.

 Cape Town - There has been a spike in the illegal occupation of private land in Cape Town, a mayoral committee member said on Thursday.

Human settlements councillor Tandeka Gqada said the occupation of the Marikana site in the city earlier this week, and other areas, seemed to be part of a co-ordinated effort to “make the city ungovernable”.

“The City is aware, through our law enforcement and other agencies, that information is being provided to groups of people regarding the location of vacant land which they can attempt to illegally occupy,” she said.

“Privately owned land, in particular, appears to have been targeted in a systematic fashion.”

The city said the housing problem should be solved within the confines of the law, to ensure a just and equitable process.

“Whilst we are deeply sympathetic to the plight of residents currently without access to formal housing, we have a duty to protect the rights of the hundreds of thousands of people who have gone through the correct channels in order to be provided with a housing opportunity by the City.”

Last week the City demolished shacks erected at the Marikana site in Philippi East, where the land had been set aside for other purposes. - Sapa

Prison officials have been accused of “doing nothing” to combat gangsterism in their facilities.

Cape Town - Prison officials have been accused of “doing nothing” to combat gangsterism in their facilities after it emerged a gang management strategy produced years ago has yet to be implemented in many areas.

Members of Parliament’s correctional services oversight committee also said the department was failing to rehabilitate offenders and treating prisons like “warehouses” to store human beings until their release.

ANC MP Salam Abram said this reduced inmates to “forlorn souls, resigned to being nobody” and created fertile ground for gangsterism.

Correctional Services top brass were in Parliament to give an update on gang-related incidents at the Groenpunt Maximum Correctional Centre in the Free State, the Pollsmoor remand centre in Cape Town and the St Albans remand centre in the Eastern Cape.

Summarising the findings of an investigation into the Groenpunt incident in January, when a police officer was stabbed during a riot and an inmate died after allegedly being beaten by warders later, Western Cape regional commissioner Delekile Klaas said disciplinary action had been recommended against the head of the centre and the area commissioner.

The findings included that the gang management strategy hadn’t been implemented, conflict resolution had been poor, security weak and chronic overcrowding combined with staff shortages had contributed to the frustrations of the prisoners.

The management strategy had also not been implemented at St Albans, where three inmates died and several were injured after a fight between members of the 26 and 28 gangs.

Disciplinary action had been instituted against the head of security and the unit manager for poor management of keys, the failure to implement the strategy and poor control over the movement of offenders.

Correctional Services chief security officer Gcinumzi Ntlakana said the department had decided to focus on implementing the strategy in “key” centres where gangsterism was most prevalent.

“If we solve the top 20 or so sites that we recognise as being drivers of gang activism, then we’re going to have a better result than if we try to do a one-size-fits-all type of intervention nationally,” Ntlakana said.

But members of the committee were angered by the delay in rolling out the strategy and the department’s failure to respond to recommendations made by the inspecting judge of prisons and the committee, which had both probed the Groenpunt incident.

“Gangsterism is very serious in (prisons) and you are not addressing it. You are doing nothing,” said Meriam Phaliso (ANC).

“There were recommendations… we recommended to management in Pretoria two years back, please put cameras after lock-up, so that you can see what is happening… because there are not enough officials.”

She said it was “inhuman” to have 770 inmates and just four officials looking after them, as at Groenpunt.

The DA’s Lennit Max said he had asked in 2010 about the strategy and officials had said a gang management unit was to be established, but this had not happened.

Somebody had to take responsibility for the failure to comply with the policy, he said, because it had resulted in deaths and injuries.

Political Bureau

A man who went on a spending spree with cloned bank cards was jailed for three years by the Bellville Specialised Commercial Crime Court.

Cape Town - A man who went on a spending spree with cloned bank cards was jailed for three years by the Bellville Specialised Commercial Crime Court in Cape Town on Thursday.

Riaan Alexander, 40, a divorced father, appeared in plea-bargain proceedings in court before magistrate Sabrina Sonnenberg.

He pleaded guilty to 48 counts of fraud, 53 contraventions of the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act (ECTA), and violations of the Identification Act.

In addition to the three-year prison sentence, he was sentenced to eight years, conditionally suspended for five.

According to prosecutor Jacques Smith, Alexander was arrested at a Sea Point residential guest house with alleged accomplice Charl Roux.

The spree also involved two waiters at Mitchell's Brewery at the V&A Waterfront, who received “kickbacks” for fraudulent purchases at the pub.

Among those affected by the cards were Absa, HSBC, Bank of America, American Express, Diner's Club, Sun International, Protea Hotels and First National Bank, involving a total of R271 485 between May and October last year.

Defence lawyer Dominika le Roux said Alexander had lost the trust of his wife and family, who had separated from him.

He was “systematically trying to prove remorse and correct his wrongdoing”, she told the court. - Sapa

Wellington has been rocked by the murder of a couple who were found with hands bound and bags over their faces.

Wellington - The Boland town of Wellington has been rocked by the murders of an elderly couple whose bodies were found in their home.

Daan Rousseau, 71, and his wife Erka, 70, were living peacefully in retirement in a large house on Charon Street in an up-market neighbourhood. The pair busied themselves with church services and morning walks.

But on Wednesday evening, they were found dead in their bedroom, their hands tied behind their backs and plastic bags wrapped over their heads. Nothing appeared to be missing from the house other than Erka’s handbag and the couple’s cellphones.

Their eldest son, Pierre, whose dog was being cared for by his parents, was the first to realise something was wrong.

Pierre “spoke to his father at 9.48am on Wednesday and told him he was on his way to pick up his dog”, said Johan Cilliers, a neighbour and teacher in the town.

Pierre arrived about an hour later, but nobody answered the door.

“He could hear the dog barking inside… He thought that his parents had gone out.”

In a rush to attend to a commitment in Sutherland, he slipped a book through the door to show them he had dropped by.

But later, after his mother’s congregation reported that Erka had been absent from church, and after numerous unsuccessful attempts to reach his parents, Pierre phoned the police.

Cilliers, who had known the couple for almost 25 years, said when he looked out of the window of his home, he was shocked to see a fleet of police vehicles outside the couple’s home.

“I joined them and started looking myself. Then the cops spotted that his car was still in the garage.”

Police found a sliding door was open at the back of the house and were given permission to go inside.

Cilliers said: “I watched them go in, and then one came out. He told me the couple were still in the house but they were dead. He told me Daan was lying on the floor and Erka was lying on the bed… Both of them were covered with sheets.”

Police suspect the pair were strangled and suffocated.

Police spokesman Colonel Tembinkosi Kinana said that by Thursday night no arrests had been made.

The investigation was continuing.

Another son of the couple, Siegfried, was outside the house on Thursday night. He said it was reassuring to see that police were taking the case seriously.

But he was frustrated.

“Why would anyone do this to a sweet, defenceless old couple?”

Holding back tears, the 40-year-old, who had flown down from Joburg, said there could be no justice.

The criminals “have taken away my parents’ basic right to live. Even if they get arrested, there will not be justice.”

The couple had three sons – Pierre, Siegfried and Wouter – and three grandchildren.

The couple are to be buried from Church East in Wellington at 10am on Monday.

kieran.legg@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

Top cops marched through Delft, painting huge red Xs on the houses of alleged gangsters and drug merchants.

Cape Town - We know who you are, we know where you live and we are coming for you.

This was the chilling message from police to gangsters and drug dealers in a Cape Town neighbourhood on Thursday.

Top cops backed by members of the community marched through Delft, painting huge red Xs on the houses of gangsters and drug merchants.

Along the way, fed up residents even snitched on other criminals unknown to cops.

The move comes as police crack down on crime-ridden suburbs like Delft and Hanover Park.

Police have arrested three gang figures in Hanover Park in the last two weeks and claim this has reduced gang activity and violence in the area.

But even as the huge contingent of officers flooded Delft on Thursday, the shooting of a suspected gang leader was happening just a few kilometres away.

Colin Booysen, one of the suspected leaders of the notorious Sexy Boys gang was gunned down outside his home before being rushed to hospital where he is fighting for his life.

His shooting has now sparked fears of violent retaliation by the gang.

The march through Delft was called after the fatal shooting of four people in the area including two young lovebirds.

Jarryd Manuel, 19, and his girlfriend Megan Hendricks, 17, died in a hail of gunfire near Jarryd’s Vuurlelie Street home on Sunday night.

Megan, a Grade 12 pupil at Bellville-South Secondary School, died in hospital after being shot in the head, while Jarryd died on the scene.

Standing in front of Megan’s home, Colonel Basil Vellai vowed that police would hound gangsters and drug dealers out of their homes if they did not change their ways.

“You are going to see, police will dominate this area,” he told the more than 200-strong crowd.

“We have marked the houses [of gangsters and drug dealers] to tell us and the community who you are.

“These gangsters are a minority and I told them to shape up or ship out.”

Vellai together with church leaders and Jarryd’s mom Hazeline Manuel and Megan’s mom Mona Hendricks laid a wreath on the spot where the couple died, calling for an end to the killings.

“This will be the last death, the last life taken,” Vellai told the crowd as some shed tears for the slain youngsters.

Megan’s grieving mom Mona said ironically her daughter wanted to move out of the area where she was shot dead.

“When she finished matric, she wanted to move because she didn’t like it here anymore,” said Mona.

She was consoled by the grandmother of murdered Chantine Veldsman, Carol Mentoor.

Three-year-old Chantine, daughter of slain gang boss Glen Khan, was murdered in Beacon Valley in Mitchells Plain, 14 years ago.

“I have also lost a loved one and we have no closure. I know this mother is speechless and angry,” Carol said.

The crowd then targeted the homes of known offenders, handing them letters containing demands from the community.

This includes stopping all drug-related activities, violent acts and providing police with the details of wanted criminals.

The gangsters were asked to sign it in front of the residents and cops to acknowledge that their criminal activities are known.

Members of the Jesters and Dixie Boys gangs were left speechless when police and the community descended on their doorsteps.

The area is home to a number of gangs including Mal Boys, Americans, Jesters, Dixie Boys, Yakkies and members of the 26 and 28 prison gangs.

At two houses in Vytjie Circle, a red X was sprayed on the walls, while the occupants looked on.

One of the occupants approached Reverend Eunice Davids of the St Matthews Anglican church and denied being a drug dealer and asked that they pray for him.

At 106 Nastergal, Roosendal, Jeffrey “Plank” Links admitted he was a member of the Dixie Boys but claimed he was not dealing in drugs.

He signed the list of demands in front of Major Christel Cloete and Warrant Officer Brian Daniels.

“You must sign your name and write that you are a Dixie Boy, ‘Plank’, jy moet nou stop met jou dinge (You should stop with what you are busy with),” Cloete told him.

“Sien jy die mense (Do you see these people),” Cloete said while pointing to the angry crowd.

Plank told the Daily Voice that he is a gangster but not a drug dealer.

“I don’t feel good about the people outside my home. This isn’t a drug house. I am only a Dixie Boy,” insists Links.

But he did not get any sympathy from the crowd who moved on to the next suspected drug dealer’s house to be marked with a red X.

Daily Voice

“For better and not for worse, for richer and not for poorer… as long as the money lasts,” said Business.

Cape Town - Business and the government make for an unholy alliance or matrimony, activists from the My Vote Counts campaign suggested with a mock “Gupta wedding” protest outside the World Economic Forum at the Cape Town International Convention Centre on Thursday.

A mock sermon and wedding ceremony, piggybacking on the Gupta wedding, saw a marriage of The Government and Big Business.

“For better and not for worse, for richer and not for poorer… as long as the money lasts,” said the “groom”, playing the role of Business.

Zukiswa Vuka, the My Vote Counts co-ordinator, explained that the group lobbied for more transparency in the funding of political parties.

She suggested the large amounts of cash that political parties sourced from private commercial donors meant their allegiances to the people of South Africa might be compromised by their indebtedness to donors.

“In South Africa, parties spend (large) sums of unnecessary money with no rules to regulate expenditure. The total cost? Unknown.”

Cape Argus

An alleged gang boss believed to be a leader of the Sexy Boys was wounded following a shooting outside his house in Belhar.

Cape Town - An alleged gang boss believed to be a leader of the Sexy Boys has been wounded following a shooting outside his house in the gang’s stronghold in Belhar.

On Thursday, Colin Booysen, one of three brothers who allegedly run the Sexy Boys gang, was shot in the arm and leg.

Provincial police spokesman Colonel Tembinkosi Kinana confirmed the shooting.

Kinana would only confirm that the injured man was in his 40s but police have refused to release his name.

However, sources have confirmed that Booysen, the brother of Jerome “Donkie” Booysen, was wounded.

On Thursday, onlookers gathered in Jakaranda Street as police forensics teams combed the scene. The shooting occurred around midday.

A silver VW Golf was parked in the garage where forensic teams gathered, while glass lay scattered in the street in front of the house.

Kinana could not confirm whether it was from a car involved in the shooting. He said they had reports that the victim had been parking his car when another car - a Toyota Tazz - pulled up alongside him.

It was not clear how many occupants were in the Toyota. A conversation ensued and multiple shots were fired, according to Kinana.

Booysen had gunshot wounds to his “upper and lower body” sources said. They confirmed he was shot in an arm and leg.

Kinana said information received from the people police had spoken to, was that the shooting was not gang related.

“The motive is not known,” Kinana said.

But a source said the shooting could be related to an internal gang power struggle.

Police would also not confirm whether any relatives were in the house at the time of the shooting, but could confirm that the wounded man was transported to hospital by “family members”.

Many Sexy Boys gang members were arrested and convicted between 2000 and 2002.

Former leader Michael Booysen is in prison serving a life sentence for murder.

Jerome Booysen is a former City of Cape Town employee. He worked in the housing department.

natasha.prince@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

Relatives of June Nefdt, who was killed by her gardener, will focus on celebrating her life as the case into her murder is closed.

Cape Town - Relatives of June Nefdt, 72, who was killed inside her Athlone home by her gardener, will focus on celebrating her life now that the case into her murder has been closed.

Nefdt’s killer, Rudolph Jones, 62, was sentenced to an effective 18 years behind bars after he entered into a plea and sentence agreement with the State on Thursday.

Speaking on behalf of the family, Nefdt’s son-in-law, Justin Diedericks, said the finalisation of the case had given the family the ability to move on and celebrate the great woman that she was.

“Although no punishment could ever bring back our beloved mother, grandmother and friend, whose departure was so untimely, we believe that justice has been served.

“With time I am sure the family will be able to forgive, as this is what she would have done in keeping with the Christian way in which she lived her life,” Diedericks said. “Our family is relieved that this part of our trauma is closed and we can now truly honour and celebrate her life by keeping her memory alive and living our lives in a manner that would make her proud.”

On Thursday, Western Cape High Court Judge President John Hlophe sentenced Jones to 18 years imprisonment for murder and a concurrent 10 years for trying to rob Nefdt on June 11.

In the plea, Jones admitted that on that afternoon he and Nefdt had argued about money he claimed she owed him.

A scuffle ensued, and Jones grabbed her and strangled her to death with a scarf inside her bedroom.

Jones had regularly done gardening and odd jobs for Nefdt at her home in Athlone.

Jones further admitted that after the murder he ransacked the cupboards and drawers inside the house, unsuccessfully looking for money.

Factors considered in aggravation of sentence included Nefdt’s age, the fact that she was brutally killed inside the privacy of her home and that her family were still struggling to come to terms with her death.

In court on Thursday, Nefdt’s relatives sobbed uncontrollably during and after the court proceedings.

The court heard that Jones had no previous convictions for violent crimes, worked as a security officer and supported his family.

“Take him down to the cells, court is adjourned,” Judge Hlophe said after sentencing. Jones was declared unfit to possess a firearm.

jade.otto@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

Hawkers trading at the Khayelitsha railway station claim that Metrorail security guards burnt down 50 of their stalls.

Cape Town - Metrorail security guards are accused of burning down about 50 hawker stalls at the Khayelitsha railway station in Cape Town, it was reported on Friday.

The Cape Argus reported that Metrorail had not denied responsibility for burning the stalls.

“Traders were requested to remove their belongings from the site. Any confiscated items may be reclaimed after payment of the requisite fine. Remaining rubble and waste was burnt,” Metrorail regional manager Mthuthuzeli Swartz told the newspaper.

He said the hawkers had been trading illegally on “railway property”.

The lack of formal trading amenities had led to excessive littering, had posed a health hazard and had become an “additional financial burden”.

“We will continue to remove unlawful traders from trains and stations, but always in compliance with the law,” he said.

Hawker Christina Mafenuka, 50, told the Cape Argus her sales of fruit, sweets and chips at the station in the past 23 years had helped her support her entire family and send her two children to university.

She said the hawkers met with Metrorail last year when it was agreed they could trade along a single line so commuters could easily walk past.

“We did that. If they saw that we were not following the agreement they should have come to us.” - Sapa

Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe is expected to attend a meeting with De Doorns farmers and workers this weekend.

Cape Town - Two mass meetings on farming issues will be held in De Doorns on Saturday to address workers’ concerns and help farmers come to terms with the new minimum wage in the agriculture sector.

Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe, in his second visit to the area, is expected to address workers and farmers at the United Reformed Church to take up the issues raised at his first meeting in February.

At a second mass meeting later in the day, the Food and Allied Workers’ Union is due to meet its 2 000 members at the De Doorns sports field over labour brokering. - Cape Times

SA’s plan to spend R2.3 trillion on mega coal and nuclear energy plants could lead the country into a series of dodgy energy deals.

Cape Town - South Africa’s plan to spend R2.3 trillion on mega coal and nuclear energy plants in the context of widespread tender corruption could lead the country into a series of dodgy energy deals that exacerbate poverty and contaminate the environment.

This was said in a report released yesterday by environment NGO Earthlife Africa, which warns that the huge projected Strategic Infrastructure Project Programme - of which electricity infrastructure makes up 67 percent - will require massively stepped up oversight by the national Treasury to ensure social and environmentally sound projects.

There will also need to be far greater public accountability to avoid repeats of the Arms Deal, the Pebble Bed Modular Reactor and the World Cup, which was “riddled with costs escalations, crony capitalism and marginal benefits for the poor”. So far, much of the proposed energy planning has been kept from the public.

The report says this is particularly so in the proposal to build 9 600MW of new nuclear power plants, between six to 10 new nuclear power stations, depending on the technology selected. “Only minimal information has been provided. The nuclear expansion programme was not discussed in the national Budget speech of 2012, or the 2011 and 2012 Medium Term Budget Policy Statements, the Minister of Finance’s 2012 Budget speech or the president’s 2012 State of the Nation address. The Department of Energy has refused to co-operate with civil society groups that seek transparent administration in this process,” the report said.

Yet the proposed nuclear programme is the single biggest state tender in South Africa’s history - five times larger than the Arms Deal at a conservative estimate. The government has put the cost of the nuclear programme at R300 billion. However, the report said if one included the “typical” time and cost overruns for nuclear plants, the nuclear price tag could exceed R1.4 trillion. This was roughly double the country’s projected tax revenue for the 20011/12 financial year.

“Given South Africa’s dubious history with regard to the procurement of mega projects, there are well-founded fears that a new nuclear-build tender will ignite a feeding frenzy, opening up unprecedented opportunities for corruption, political patronage and the abuse of state power for party political gain,” the report said.

In 1998, the projected cost of the “pocket nuke” reactor was R1.1bn. By 2009 estimates were R32bn. It was due to be completed in 2003. The project was eventually shut down in 2010 after it had used R8.6bn of the public’s money.

Under the New Generation Capacity Regulations of 2009, the Minister of Energy was given far greater power, which restricted the oversight job of the Treasury and made the system less transparent. “This raises concerns about how appropriately the minister can assess the cost effectiveness of the procurement process, without another party monitoring it… The minister is permitted to determine the tendering process as she chooses, and if she does not make any such determination, the procurer may determine the form of the Independent Power Producers procurement programme.”

The report criticised as outdated the electricity plan, the 2010 Integrated Resource Plan, containing energy choices which conflict with the National Development Plan, for instance where gas is preferred over nuclear energy.

Cape Times

Tempers flared during an employment equity debate in the W Cape provincial legislature with an ANC MPL asked to leave.

Cape Town - Tempers flared in the Western Cape provincial legislature on Thursday in a debate on employment equity and an ANC member was asked to leave, while DA provincial leader Ivan Meyer was accused of making statements similar to those of Adolf Hitler and Hendrik Verwoerd.

Deputy Speaker Piet Pretorius instructed ANC MPL Khaya Magaxa to leave the House after he acted “against the rules of the House” and warned members “to use their words carefully”.

ANC MPL Max Ozinsky said Meyer’s statement that coloured people were being “pushed away and trampled upon” by the ANC was similar to “Nazi leader Adolf Hitler and apartheid’s Hendrik Verwoerd” in the way he was “raising coloured fears”.

“You are telling coloured people they must stand behind the DA and they will protect your interests,” he said.

MPLs were debating the latest Commission for Employment Equity report that found white men occupied 65.5 percent and white women 14 percent of top management positions in the government, business, NGOs and educational institutions in the Western Cape.

Of all provinces, the Western Cape has the most whites in top management. On average, white men hold 57.8 percent and white women 12.2 percent of top management posts across South Africa.

The ANC leader in the legislature, Lynne Brown, said on Thursday the report showed one had to be “pale and male” to find work in the province.

“The Western Cape is becoming more unfriendly to people who are not white,” she said.

“Just here in the legislature the majority of MPLs are pale and male. In (provincial) government, as black women leave, white males are there to replace them. Women are the worst off in this province.”

She said no amount of propaganda could hide the true facts of the report.

“We all want quality services but it doesn’t mean it should be white,” she said.

The DA’s Meyer, MEC for Cultural Affairs and Sport, rejected the commission’s report and said “it was an abuse by state institutions to target the well-run government of the Western Cape”.

He said the ANC wanted to punish coloured people for voting for the DA in Western Cape by not applying regional demographic statistics in implementing employment equity.

“The ANC wants to apply employment equity at all cost and at the cost of service delivery,” he said.

Meyer said the ANC should stop undermining coloured people.

“Coloured people are pushed away and trampled on by the ANC. Everyone gets trampled upon, even Trevor Manuel,” he said.

Cope MPL Mbulelo Ncedana cautioned Meyer about his statements. “Don’t pretend you speak on behalf of coloured people,” he said.

“Everywhere the DA takes power black people are not fit for purpose… they are either corrupt or incompetent,” he said.

ANC MPL Khaya Magaxa said the DA had turned back the clock on employment equity since it took over the provincial government.

He was later asked to leave the legislature for disrespecting the chair, Deputy Speaker Piet Pretorius.

Premier Helen Zille was the last to speak and also rejected the commission’s report.

She said the provincial government had better levels of employment equity under the DA than when the ANC ruled.

“In the office of the premier we have 80 percent employment equity, that is better than any other province’s premier’s offices,” she said.

Zille said out of all senior managers in the Western Cape government, 65 percent were black African, coloured or Indian.

cobus.coetzee@inl.co.za

Cape Times

A Cape Town man says six bouncers used a spade, a brick and a taser to assault him during a brawl outside a nightclub.

Cape Town - A Cape Town man says six bouncers used a spade, a brick and a Taser to assault him during a brawl outside a Table View nightclub.

He now plans to take legal action against them.

Police are investigating the circumstances of the alleged assault which occurred outside the club, Medleyz Beachfront on Marine Circle, after midnight on Saturday.

Travis Baard, 20, of Kenilworth, said he was kicked out of Medleyz Beachfront as a result of an earlier argument with another man.

When the Cape Times contacted Medleyz, employee Eugene Alberts denied the accusations, but said they could not comment at this stage as the matter was under investigation.

Baard said the fight began when he attempted to get back into the club.

“I was sitting in the car for about 30 minutes when my cousin came out and told me that the bouncers said I could come back in.

“When we got to the door, the three bouncers outside refused to let me in, so I walked back to the car.

“That’s when my cousin and the bouncers started arguing. They punched each other and my cousin was sprayed with pepper spray,” he said.

Baard said he was hit on the back with a spade while trying to pull his cousin away from the fight.

Three other bouncers had now joined in he said.

“I felt like the wind was hit out of me. I told my cousin to just run. They started hitting me, but I managed to run to my car. They followed me, opened my door and started punching me. The one tasered me on the chest and the other one hit me in the face with a brick.”

Baard said the next thing he remembered was waking up in hospital.

“I couldn’t speak because the left side of my face was badly swollen and my teeth are chipped.

“My leg and back were paining. The doctors said there were shoe impressions on my back as well. The bone above my left eye and the cheek bone are fractured as well. My cousin got six stitches above his eye,” he said.

On Thursday Baard, who is on pain medication, was still recovering at home.

He said he would be consulting a lawyer about suing the club for his injuries, as he was forced to be absent from work.

Alberts said they planned to meet Baard and his lawyer on Friday.

Police spokesman FC van Wyk said an assault case had been opened, but the suspects still needed to be interviewed.

Van Wyk said anyone with information or who may have witnessed the incident should contact Detective Constable Siyabulela Mgaju on 021 521 3300, CrimeStop on 08600 10111 or SMS Crime Line on 32211.

Cape Times

A Hermanus woman is one of 170 South Africans who are set to sue hip replacement manufacturer DePuy in a British court.

Cape Town - A Hermanus woman is one of 170 South Africans who are set to sue hip replacement manufacturer DePuy in a British court for damages related to a recall of hip implants.

Martha Maria de Kock, 62, says she has lost partial vision in one of her eyes, walks with a limp, and experiences chest pains as a result of her surgery.

Fifty more individuals will join the case in the next few days, said Sunelle van Heerden of CP van Zyl. Medical malpractice attorneys at the law firm are suing the manufacturing company because of health- related issues such as the ones De Kock is experiencing.

De Kock has had three DePuy hip replacements: She received her first in 2005, and another in 2008. This past June she received her third hip replacement, and what her doctor found was disturbing.

“The flesh around the hip was black, they had to cut it out,” said De Kock. “There was a lot of fluid they had to drain.”

De Kock did research online and discovered other recipients of the hip replacement were experiencing similar symptoms of chest pain and loss of vision. Soon after, she was contacted by the legal team at CP van Zyl to join the case against DePuy.

“Not a day passes that you don’t think about this whole story, because you don’t know what is going on inside your body,” said De Kock.

De Kock’s surgeon saw her limping and asked her to come in for an examination. After blood tests, the doctor found that the elderly woman had an extremely high amount of cobalt metal in her blood, she said.

Since she is unable to walk properly, De Kock has been forced to give up her work as a financial manager of her husband’s business. She has had to hire another employee to take on her work, which is an additional expense.

More than 170 South African claimants will sue DePuy in a British court for damages related to a recall of hip implants, their lawyers said.

“Our South African clients were unable to sue DePuy in South Africa, and therefore started proceedings in England instead,” said Sunelle van Heerden.

They intend seeking millions in damages, claiming to have suffered injuries as a result of hip implants manufactured in England by DePuy - the DePuy ASR XL total hip replacement system and the DePuy ASR Hip Resurfacing System.

“The dismissal of DePuy’s jurisdiction objection means that the claims can now proceed,” Van Heerden said.

Cape Times