The traumatised mom of a teen who was beaten by a mob before being burnt alive said that she is “relieved” her son is dead.

Cape Town - The traumatised mother of a teenager who was brutally beaten by a mob before being burnt alive said that she is “relieved” her son is dead.

Vuyelwa Dlakehla, 40, made the startling admission just hours after she heard her 18-year-old son was necklaced in the latest mob justice killing to rock the Cape.

It is the 14th fatal necklacing recorded by cops since the beginning of the year.

Sakhumzi Dlakehla’s charred remains were discovered lying face down nestled between large rocks on an open field at Siqalo Informal Settlement near Samora Machel early on Sunday.

The teenage thief was caught by angry residents as he was walking home on Saturday afternoon.

His mutilated and burnt corpse lay out in the open ground for the whole night as nobody bothered to call the cops until Sunday morning.

And his own mom admitted she didn’t think of calling the police when she learned of her child’s murder.

“I got the call at around 5pm on Saturday that residents had caught him with stolen goods,” Vuyelwa said.

“I knew that the community would not just beat him for no apparent reason.

“He was a thief who regularly broke into people’s homes.”

The mother of five said her eldest son terrorised everyone in her household.

“He would get home at 1am, demanding I make him food or kick the pots saying that my cooking was s***,” added Vuyelwa.

“He would steal groceries from the house and sell it for tik.

“The community did the right thing and I feel relieved now that he is gone.

“My other children can come home and live in peace. I’m now going to fetch my 13-year-old daughter to come live with us.”

Sakhumzi’s aunt Thandokazi Ngombane, 25, witnessed her nephew’s horrific death.

She said the teenager begged the mob to spare his life, but they ignored his pleas.

“They dragged him into the house where he pointed out many of the stolen goods,” the aunt said.

“They found an amplifier, groceries, payslips, IDs, a stove, a TV and many other things.

“The group beat him with sticks and knobkierries. They broke his leg by hitting it with a large brick so that he won’t run away.

“He cried the whole time and kept asking for forgiveness. I was not even allowed to speak to him.

“They dragged him to the field at around 9pm and by then his head was all mushy and both his legs were broken from the waist down.

“He was set alight and he cried out once. I knew that he had just taken his last breath.”

Police spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Andrè Traut has confirmed that no arrests have been made yet.

“It is believed the victim was severely assaulted by members of the community and set alight in a brutal act of violence,” he said.

*This article was published in the Daily Voice

Police arrested five people in Swellendam for the alleged possession of stolen property after foreigner-owned shops were looted.

Cape Town - Police arrested five people in Swellendam on Sunday for the alleged possession of stolen property after foreigner-owned shops were looted by protesters at the weekend.

The protesters turned on refugees as they took to the streets declaring war on their DA-led municipal council.

Police spokesman Lieutenant- Colonel Andrè Traut said intelligence led police to the houses of five suspects which resulted in their arrest for the “possession of presumed stolen property” on Sunday.

“During our operation we confiscated music equipment comprising compact disc players, mixers and speaker systems, four deep freezes, a bar fridge, as well as groceries which we believe were stolen when business premises were looted during the recent public unrest in Swellendam,” Traut said. “The value of the items is conservatively estimated at R20 000.”

The suspects, all men aged between 24 and 28, will appear in court in Swellendam once they have been charged.

“We have reason to believe that these five men were not the only ones who stole from retailers during last week’s violence in the area, and we will continue with our investigations so that more criminals can be brought to book,” Traut said.

“Although we have understanding for the public’s right to voice their concerns, it should never be done on the account of other people.”

Chaos erupted in the town last week after the Western Cape High Court granted interim relief to the DA, effectively giving the party the green light to take back the municipality, which was snatched during a hostile take-over by the ANC and a rogue ACDP councillor last month.

The situation reached boiling point on Wednesday night after word spread that the DA-led municipality had suspended the municipal manager appointed by the ANC.

On Saturday, national Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Richard Baloyi and Local Government MEC Anton Bredell met disgruntled Swellendam residents in a bid to end the ongoing protest.

The two agreed to work together on an action plan to see good governance returned to the local municipality, and to get back to the community by the end of the week.

About 1 000 people attended the four-hour meeting on Saturday. Both Baloyi and Bredell fielded a host of questions and complaints about corruption, maladministration and lack of service delivery.

On Sunday, Bredell met his officials to work through the complaints.

“Most people are saying there is corruption,” Bredell told the Cape Argus. “We will now work through these queries and go back to the people in five days.”

Bredell said that the DA and ACDP were still in control of the Swellendam municipality.

The town’s mayor, Nic Myburgh, condemned last week’s violent clashes which led to several businesses being forced to shut their doors to avoid damage.

He laid the blame for the riots at the feet of the ANC, saying the municipality had always provided equal services to all residents.

yolisa.tswanya@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

The province’s agriculture sector has suffered huge financial losses during widespread farm protests.

Cape Town - The province’s agriculture sector has suffered huge financial losses as a result of damage to infrastructure and crops during widespread farm protests, says Western Cape Agriculture MEC Gerrit van Rensburg.

He urged everyone in the agricultural sector to remain calm and to support ongoing negotiations.

However, plans for a huge farmworkers strike that threatens to shut down towns in the rural areas of the Western Cape are under way.

The stay-away was set to take place on December 4, said Mario Wanza of the recently formed United Democratic Front (UDF).

“Communities will be shut down by a massive stay-away if negotiations do not bring an acceptable outcome. We are planning on mobilising people from other areas Cape Town to join the striking farmworkers,” Wanza said.

Cosatu warned that should an agreement not be reached farmworkers would resume the strike on December 4.

Van Rensburg said the future of agriculture in the province was bleak and uncertain.

“Farmers and farm workers in the Western Cape have lost their appetite for their very own industry,” he said. “Farmers are now reluctant to invest, and farm workers are doubtful about their job prospects.”

Farmworkers are demanding a pay hike of a minimum of R150 a day, most earn between R69 and R75.

“We will have to start negotiations with the actual profitability of the sector as a reference point,” said Van Rensburg. “It is therefore essential that our best economists and auditors be part of these negotiations.”

Two people have died and 54 people have been injured since the two weeks of unrest over wages.

Farmworker Bongile Ndleni, 40, was shot in Prince Alfred Hamlet on Wednesday, allegedly by men driving a bakkie. He was admitted to hospital and then discharged on Friday night but was found dead in his home on Saturday morning.

Also on Wednesday, tractor driver Michael Daniels, 28, was shot dead when police allegedly fired at protesters in Wolseley.

Sixteen towns in the province have been affected by the protests. The most hard-hit towns include De Doorns, Ceres, Prince Alfred Hamlet, Montagu, and Bonnievale. Negotiations between unions, the government and farm owners are expected to resume on Thursday.

Cosatu’s provincial secretary Tony Ehrenreich said more workers were expected to return to work on Monday.

Last week, acting Labour Minister Angie Motshekga launched an investigation to review the minimum wage of R69 a day for all farmworkers in South Africa.

A notice was published in the Government Gazette on Friday informing the public of the “commencement of an investigation” which would “review minimum wages in the farm worker sector in South Africa”.

Interested parties can make written representations to the Department of Labour’s Employment Standards Directorate within 15 days from Friday.

Conditions of employment of farm workers were also under review, Motshekga announced.

On Sunday, police spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Andrè Traut said although the violence and number of incidents had subsided, law enforcement agencies would not withdraw resources from the affected areas until it was certain the protest action had ceased.

Traut said the unrest had left considerable damage to property and infrastructure.

“We are hopeful that negotiations can be amicably and expediently resolved so that order can be restored before the holiday period is in full swing,” said Traut.

Nils Flaatten, chief executive officer of the Western Cape’s Investment and Trade Promotion Agency (Wesgro), said the widespread strike might disrupt planned events on some of the farms. “It might cause minor disruptions in travelling since some of the roads might close. Safety for tourists is not in jeopardy at the moment.” Various meetings were held in Robertson and Bonnievale on Sunday.

Western Cape Premier Helen Zille tweeted: “People moving around farms trying to mobilise for an extension of the strike tomorrow - from Botrivier to Piketberg.”

The Western Cape government has set up a hotline for people to report incidents of unrest or plans to cause violence or destruction in the province.

People living in or travelling through areas these areas can call the hotline to confirm whether the unrest was continuing and to find out about safe routes. The number is 0860 142142.

nontando.mposo@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

Judge Robert Henney started reading out the judgment relating to one of honeymoon tourist Anni Dewani's alleged killers.

Cape Town - A Western Cape High Court judge started reading out the judgment relating to one of honeymoon tourist Anni Dewani's alleged killers on Monday morning.

Xolile Mngeni, 25, appeared before Judge Robert Henney, and put his head down on his arms to hide from the throng of photographers and video cameras.

Mngeni briefly spoke to his lawyer and then took off his peaked cap as the judge entered.

He has pleaded not guilty to hijacking, robbing and killing the tourist in Gugulethu, on November 13, 2010.

She was on honeymoon with her husband Shrien at the time.

Henney first gave a background to the murder plot, alleged to have been set up by her husband.

The judge said it needed to be remembered that Shrien Dewani had not yet been charged and no direct evidence was presented against him as it was Mngeni's trial.

Shrien was in the process of being extradited from the United Kingdom.

Mziwamadoda Qwabe and shuttle driver to the Dewanis, Zola Tongo, had already been convicted of the murder and were sentenced in terms of a plea agreement.

Henney said Mngeni was linked to the crime scene by his prints.

“Although initially vehemently denied as the fingerprint of the accused, this fact was later conceded. It can therefore be safely accepted that this was the left palm print of the accused.”

A total of 26 witnesses were called by the State to strengthen its case.

The defence disputed the evidence of six witnesses.

One of the witnesses was the middleman who helped set up the murder.

His identity was being protected in terms of a court order.

“Although he gave no direct incriminating evidence against the accused... His testimony is important in completing the overall factual matrix of this case,” Henney said.

Qwabe, who considered himself Mngeni's friend and had known him for nine years, also took the stand.

The judge went into detail and read out Qwabe's testimony in full.

The matter continues. - Sapa

One of Anni Dewani's convicted killers presented credible evidence against his alleged accomplice, Judge Robert Henney has said.

Cape Town - One of Anni Dewani's convicted killers presented credible evidence against his alleged accomplice, a Western Cape High Court judge said on Monday.

Judge Robert Henney said Mziwamadoda Qwabe's evidence against Xolile Mngeni, 25, was clear, precise, detailed and chronological.

He said Qwabe came across as intelligent and did not contradict himself on the stand.

Henney was reading his evaluation of evidence as part of Mngeni's 60-page judgment.

Mngeni has pleaded not guilty to hijacking, robbing and killing the tourist in Gugulethu, on November 13, 2010.

She was on honeymoon with her husband Shrien at the time.

Qwabe was sentenced for the crimes in terms of a plea agreement.

He testified that Mngeni helped him hijack the Dewanis and pulled the trigger on the honeymoon bride.

His testimony was the only direct evidence presented in court.

Henney said the evidence of alleged accomplices, like Qwabe, had to be treated with caution and backed up with evidence by other witnesses.

The State called 26 witnesses in total to strengthen its case.

“Much of Qwabe's evidence was corroborated by other witnesses and other evidence,” Henney concluded.

He said this was despite Qwabe not being a perfect witness, contradicting what he had said in his statement to police and what he had said on the stand.

“The contradictions are not of such significance that it affected credibility and consistency.”

The defence had pointed out that Qwabe originally pleaded not guilty to the murder, citing this as a reason he could not be trusted.

Qwabe explained on the stand that he did not think he was guilty of murder at that stage because he did not pull the trigger.

It was only later that he became aware of the concepts of common purpose and conspiracy to murder.

“In my view, that is a perfectly reasonable explanation considering that Qwabe is not schooled in law,” the judge said.

“Even lawyers sometimes get confused about common purpose.” - Sapa

Xolile Mngeni has been found guilty of British tourist Anni Dewani's murder in the Western Cape High Court.

Cape Town - Xolile Mngeni has been found guilty of Anni Dewani's murder in the Western Cape High Court.

Judge Robert Henney found Mngeni, 25, guilty of robbery with aggravating circumstances, premeditated murder and illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition.

Dewani was shot and killed in an apparent orchestrated hijacking in November 13, 2010 while on honeymoon in Cape Town. Her body found the next day.

“The State has proven its case beyond reasonable doubt,” Henney said as hedelivered his judgment in the three-month long trial on Monday.

“The case against the accused is overwhelming and the accused could barely avoid the avalanche of evidence from crashing down on him.”

Mngeniwas acquitted on a kidnapping charge as this was executed as part of a single chain of events leading up to the murder.

Mngeni stood expressionless as the judgment was delivered. His family watched wide-eyed from the gallery above.

Heis the only accused to have stood trial so far, after two of his alleged accomplices, Mziwamadoda Qwabe and Zola Tongo reached plea agreements with the State.

Earlier Henney said Qwabe's evidence against Mngeni, 25, was clear, precise, detailed and chronological.

Qwabe testified that Mngeni helped him hijack the Dewanis and pulled the trigger on the honeymoon bride.

His testimony was the only direct evidence presented in court.

Henney said Qwabe came across as intelligent and did not contradict himself on the stand.

Hesaid the evidence of alleged accomplices, like Qwabe, had to be treated with caution and backed up with evidence by other witnesses.

The State called 26 witnesses in total to strengthen its case.

“Much of Qwabe's evidence was corroborated by other witnesses and other evidence,” Henney concluded.

The alleged murder mastermind, Anni's husband, Shrien Dewani, is still fighting extradition to South Africa. - Sapa, IOL

Former politician David Malatsi handed himself over to the Witbank prison in eMalahleni, a correctional services official said.

Johannesburg - Former politician David Malatsi handed himself over to the Witbank prison in eMalahleni on Monday, a correctional services official said.

“Mr Malatsi handed himself over at 8.30am on Monday morning,” spokesman Koos Gerber said.

“We admitted him and he started serving his sentence this morning.”

Gerber could not immediately explain why Malatsi failed to hand himself over on Friday at the Goodwood Prison as he was supposed to do.

Malatsi is serving a five-year jail term for corruption after an appeal was dismissed by the Western Cape High Court on Tuesday.

Judge Patrick Gamble took less than a minute to read out his judgment. The “appeal is dismissed and the conviction is confirmed”, he said at the time.

The former provincial environment affairs MEC and national deputy social development minister was not present in court when judgment was handed down.

In October 2006, Malatsi was found guilty of corruption by the Cape Town Regional Court for accepting a R100,000 payment from the developer of the Roodefontein Golf and Country Estate to approve the development, despite environmental concerns.

The money was given to him - in April 2002 - by Count Riccardo Augusto, the owner and developer of the R550 million Plettenberg Bay project.

He was sentenced in December 2006 to five years in jail, and, at the same time, was granted leave to appeal.

He was granted bail pending the outcome of the appeal. - Sapa

It was meant to be a night of celebration for Rushaan Nero, but hours later she lost her grandmother and aunt in a gruesome crash.

Cape Town - It was meant to be a night of celebration for Rushaan Nero when she made it into the top 20 of the Spring Queen competition, but hours later the teenager lost her grandmother and aunt in a gruesome accident.

The Nero family of Parkwood were left reeling after the tragedy in the early hours of Sunday.

They were returning from the competition when, police allege, two dicing drivers caused the crash on the M5, just before the Kenilworth off-ramp.

Four people died and 12 others were injured. Police spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Andre Traut said they were still investigating.

Witnesses said a Mercedes-Benz and a Volvo were dicing on the M5 and it appeared they had forced the taxi off the road.

Rushaan, 18, who works for Medac in Diep River, was still wearing the sparkly red dress she wore during the pageant and was excited after being named one of the top 20 finalists.

The family had hired the taxi to go to watch her on stage.

Rushaan’s grandmother Christine Nero, 76, her aunt Diane Marais, 52, a cousin’s wife, Annalise Louw, 50, and Louw’s daughter’s boyfriend, Vincent Johnson, 20, were killed instantly.

Marais and the Neros lived in Parkwood and Louw and Johnson in Eersterivier.

With tears welling, Nero said her grandmother and aunt had hugged and congratulated her and Marais had promised to make her a dress for next year’s competition.

“Those were the last words, the last hugs,” she said.

“I saw sparks coming from the wheel and the driver lost control.”

Most of the taxi passengers were flung from the vehicle and Christine landed on the grass next to her granddaughter. Johnson fell on top of Rushaan Nero.

They were both dead.

Johnson’s girlfriend, Lee-Talia Louw, has a two-month-old baby.

Co-driver Keagan Stewart, 26, was sitting in front of the taxi when he felt it being knocked.

The driver lost control and the taxi rolled, knocking out the windscreen. Stewart jumped out and landed in a ditch before the taxi rolled again.

His right collarbone was broken.

Stewart said the taxi he had been driving had broken down on the way back from taking the family to the Good Hope Centre. He had arranged for another taxi to collect them and he had acted as co-driver.

“I feel so bad,” he said on Monday. “It is not a nice feeling; I know the family well,” he said.

Rushaan’s mother, Brenda, who was also in the taxi, said they were still coming to terms with the deaths.

“My mother was a wonderful woman and helped wherever she could, my sister was the best sister in the world,” she said.

She said she was particularly heartsore for Lee-Talia Louw, who had given birth two months ago.

“She lost her mother and her boyfriend.”

On Monday, most of the family congregated at Christine’s Parkwood home, many wearing bandages, their arms in slings, their faces swollen and scratched.

Cape Argus

Six-year-old Leana van Wyk has made a full recovery two months after she was shot in the head.

Cape Town - Six-year-old Leana van Wyk has made a full recovery two months after she was shot in the head, and, with the help of her mother, she is now trying to put the traumatic memory of the incident behind her.

Leana, who had been playing in the street with her friends, was shot in the head in gang crossfire in Hanover Park in September.

She and her friend Liam Davids, 7, were playing in John Down Walk, Hanover Park, on September 16 when they were caught in the middle of a clash between two factions of the Mongrels gang. A bullet grazed Liam’s skull, while another hit Leana’s head.

Police arrested two men shortly after the shooting and charged them with attempted murder.

Leana spent about a month in Red Cross Children’s Hospital in a medically-induced coma.

Reports emerged that she was taken to ICU following surgery to stop the bleeding and there were reports of swelling on her brain.

Her mother, Louise van Wyk, said Leana had been struggling with her speech therapy and there were concerns about memory loss. She said Leana was having trouble with her sight and that she was concerned that it could be a problem when she went to school.

“I’m scared that she might walk into things, or that the other children might run her over,” she said.

Leana was on medication for fits, Van Wyk said, and had not had any episodes since taking the medication.

Leana did not spend too much time in ICU, her mother said. She recalled the first time he daughter walked at Red Cross Hospital.

“We laughed together, and then I started taking her to the toilet or for short walks around the hospital,” she said.

When the Cape Argus visited their home on Monday, a smiling Leana scrambled up the stairs towards the journalists, but the young girl’s demeanour changed after a while and she lay in her mother’s lap, hiding her face.

“She doesn’t like it when I talk about what happened to her and the shooting. She’ll say ‘mummy must stop talking about that’,” Van Wyk said.

“To think this is a child that saw her death… she was almost dead.”

natasha.prince@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

Western Cape high schools specialising in maths can now qualify for cash rewards if they boost their results in the subject.

Cape Town - Western Cape high schools specialising in maths can now qualify for cash rewards if they boost their results in the subject or increase the pupil retention rate.

The incentives are aimed at increasing the number of pupils doing maths, retaining maths pupils and improving maths performance, said Bronagh Casey, spokeswoman for Education MEC Donald Grant.

She said Dinaledi-main and Dinaledi-incentive schools whose Grade 10 to 12 results improved, could qualify for the money.

The 48 Dinaledi schools in the province focus on maths and science. Dinaledi main schools receive funding from the Department of Basic Education, while the incentive schools are funded by the Western Cape Education Department. About R1 million has been budgeted for incentives.

Casey said if the number of pupils entering Grade 10 and taking maths increased by between six and 10 pupils compared to the previous year’s Grade 10 enrolment, they would receive R5 000. If the increase was more than 30 pupils they would receive R10 000.

They could also receive a bonus of up to R20 000 for retaining maths pupils between Grade 10 and matric.

Schools that showed an increase of more than five pupils achieving more than 50 percent in maths in the matric exams would also receive cash.

Phadiela Cooper, principal of the Centre of Science in Technology in Khayelitsha, said:

“If the quality of maths passes will go up then this (the incentives) is a good thing.”

ilse.fredericks@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

Former Intelligence minister Ronnie Kasrils has slammed the ANC over the alleged backtracking on the draft Info Bill.

Cape Town - Former Intelligence minister Ronnie Kasrils has slammed the ANC over the alleged backtracking on the draft Info Bill.

Concessions made by the National Council of Province’s ad-hoc committee have allegedly been chucked out by State Security officials. He said the bill was full of deviousness and “full of toxic poisonous gruel”.

Kasrils was speaking on Monday at a Right2Know (R2K) camp-out outside Parliament. The group will camp there for the week, 24 hours a day. The organisation on Friday accused the ANC of sending mixed messages about the bill.

“I haven’t given up on the ANC and its alliance with Cosatu, but I am worried and not happy… the alliance has lost its way,” Kasrils said.

He said the people had lost confidence in how the country was being governed.

“They [the government] must serve the interests of the people, not [their] own.

“The secrecy bill has shown it is to hide a growing number of things that embarrass [the government].”

Kasrils added that it was important to have a free press, investigative journalists and that the voices of the poor and marginalised in rural and urban areas were heard.

The R2K’s national co-ordinator, Mark Weinberg, said there should be no distance between those in power and ordinary people.

“The secrecy bill must be scrapped. They must go back to the drawing board - you [MPs] must give us a bill that protects our people,” Weinberg said.

In a statement, the ANC said it was regrettable that there was a perception it was reneging on its amendments. The bill was passed by the National Assembly in November 2011.

sibusiso.nkom@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

Equal Education’s victory in its campaign to secure a minimum level of infrastructure for schools could benefit thousands of pupils.

Cape Town -

Advocacy group Equal Education’s victory in its campaign to secure a minimum level of infrastructure for schools could benefit thousands of pupils across South Africa.

In a settlement reached on Friday, Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga agreed to promulgate regulations to create binding minimum norms and standards for school infrastructure.

The regulations would require every school in South Africa to meet a minimum but acceptable level of school infrastructure conducive to learning and teaching.

According to the settlement, the norms and standards will be published for public comment by January 15 and finalised by May 15.

“What is good about publishing the norms and standards is that everyone will know what resources they are entitled to,” said Equal Education chairwoman Yoliswa Dwane.

Equal Education has campaigned for Motshekga to set minimum norms and standards for school infrastructure for two years. If no settlement had been reached, the matter was set to be heard in the Bhisho High Court on Tuesday.

Dwane said it was hoped that an implementation plan would be put in place with set targets for provinces.

In a press statement, Equal Education said that of the 24 793 public schools in SA:

* 93 percent have no libraries.

* 95 percent have no science labs.

* 2 402 have no water supply.

* 46 percent use pit latrine toilets.

* 913 schools have no toilets.

The group said its campaign was not over yet: “Vigilance is necessary to ensure that the minister now passes very serious norms and standards and not a substandard document. And beyond that we will need to ensure that implementation happens countrywide – which won’t happen without mobilised communities.”

Professor Maureen Robinson, dean of the faculty of education at Stellenbosch University, said the settlement was important from an educational as well as a political point of view.

“Acknowledging that we need healthy, safe environments conducive to learning and teaching is a step in the right direction,” she said.

Robinson said Equal Education was an organisation that was serious about education and it was encouraging that the minister was willing to engage with this stakeholder.

Annette Lovemore, the DA’s spokeswoman on basic education, said the DA welcomed any move by the government to improve school infrastructure: “The DA will closely monitor the compliance of the undertakings made by the minister and contribute to the regulation process with comment and recommendations. We must ensure that the norms and standards prescribed are pragmatic, implementable and in the best interests of learners to ensure the provision of quality education for all.”

ilse.fredericks@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

The street renaming campaign in Gugulethu kicks off as residents will be able to put their suggestions forward for 25 streets.

Cape Town - The street renaming campaign in Gugulethu starts on Monday, when residents will be able to put their suggestions forward for 25 streets.

Name Your Hood, which is running the campaign for the city, will launch this part of the process.

It allows people to check online all the suggestions for a street or “hood” and also to check which are the most popular names.

This campaign will involve naming eight “hoods” in the township as well as new names for 91 streets.

The names of “hoods” will be chosen by popular vote. There are also pamphlets explaining the history of each “hood”.

But the list of street name suggestions will be taken to the city, which will compile a shortlist. The list will be put out to city-wide public participation next year.

Name Your Hood had an online campaign in the city centre to name certain areas in the CBD.

In the Gugulethu process, residents can vote online and via their cellphones.

Voting forms are also given to residents to complete. People can deposit their forms in eight voting boxes at malls, clinics and taxi ranks across the area.

Name Your Hood has set up internet kiosks for residents where they can check on the process and see how many votes the different suggestions are receiving.

Each suggestion also has a motivation attached.

Soon, Name Your Hood will visit local schools and old-age homes with computers so they could also view the renaming campaign in real time.

Bruce Good, the founder of Name Your Hood, said this kind of participation meant that people could stay “actively engaged the entire time”.

“It’s very transparent and gives people time to get used to the new names.”

People have already been giving suggestions for the names of the first “hood”, which is seen as the arts and the culture hub of the area.

The suggestions include naming the area after Dr Aadil Moerat. There is already a Dr Moerat Street in this part of Gugulethu.

Moshe Apleni, Name Your Hood project manager, explained that Moerat had become known as the “people’s doctor” in Gugulethu.

“He would treat pensioners even when they could not pay, and they would pay later… he served the people so well,” said Apleni.

Another suggested naming one of the “hoods” Bishop’s Court.

bronwynne.jooste@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

Hitman Dobrosav Gavric is helping SA’s intelligence agency gather information on local organised crime bosses.

Cape Town - The international hitman Dobrosav Gavric is helping the country’s intelligence agency to gather information on top organised crime bosses here.

Sources have confirmed Gavric – who was arrested following the murder of his close friend, kingpin Cyril Beeka – has provided key details on shadowy Cape underworld figures.

But despite this, it is understood Gavric has not yet received anything in return for his assistance.

Gavric was also seriously injured when Beeka was taken out in a motorbike drive-by in March 2011.

Sources say the Serb can provide vital information that will help cops put Beeka’s killers behind bars.

“Gavric and Cyril [Beeka] were friends and they knew each other well,” a source close to Gavric said.

“He was present when Beeka was killed and he is an important witness for the State.

“He is able to identify the people who shot him and who are responsible for Beeka’s murder, yet police have done nothing to protect him.”

“He has co-operated with police and up until his arrest, he made himself available whenever they wanted to ask him anything.”

Our sources also indicated that Gavric met senior intelligence officers in Cape Town before his real identity became publicly known, and while there was an international warrant for his arrest.

It is believed Beeka introduced Gavric to his contacts at the country’s National Intelligence Agency.

“The intention of this introduction was so that Gavric could supply intelligence with information on criminal figures smuggling drugs into South Africa from the Eastern bloc,” a source added.

The revelation comes as Gavric appeared before the Cape Town Magistrates’ Court on Monday.

He is facing extradition as well as fraud charges for coming into the country using a false passport.

Prosecutor Dave Damerell told the court that the State is still waiting for the outcome of his application for refugee status.

And he said Gavric also launched an appeal on the refusal of his release on bail at the Supreme Court of Appeal.

He asked Magistrate Zwelidumile Sogwagwa to postpone the matter against Gavric so that both issues could be finalised.

When Sogwagwa asked why the State did not proceed with the fraud charges, Gavric’s lawyer Pete Mihalik said: “In essence my client will have to stay in custody pending the finalisation of his application for refugee status.

“We need the Department of Home Affairs to expedite the proceedings. If he is granted asylum, these [fraud] charges will fall away.”

A previous application by Gavric for refugee status in South Africa was rejected earlier this year. His lawyers launched an immediate appeal for a review of this decision.

Gavric will know next week whether this appeal for political asylum is successful.

*This article was published in the Daily Voice

Dignity has been restored at a Philippi creche, where about 60 pre-schoolers previously used old buckets to relieve themselves.

Cape Town -

Dignity has been restored at a Philippi creche, where about 60 pre-schoolers previously used buckets to relieve themselves during the day.

Toilets and taps, sponsored by NGO Breadline Africa, were installed at Khulanathi Educare on World Toilet Day on Monday.

Previously, the children lined up outside a small shack to relieve themselves in white buckets.

Educare principal Lindiwe Zoya said the shack was an upgrade from what they used a year ago, when the children had to relieve themselves in bushes close to the school.

Breadline Africa helped the creche with classrooms, a kitchen and proper ablution facilities. The NGO’s Edna Titus said she first noticed that there were no toilets during a recent visit to the creche.

She said the NGO was in the process of getting classrooms and a kitchen for the creche when she decided they needed toilets as well.

Breadline Africa recycles old shipping containers before converting them into classrooms, soup kitchens and toilets for people in informal settlements.

Titus said that as a mother she wanted the children to have the dignity of having their own toilets. She and her team officially handed over the toilets on Monday, as well as two classrooms and a kitchen – all housed in retrofitted shipping containers.

According to the 2011 census report released last month, more than 50 000 households in the Western Cape don’t have toilets and almost 60 000 households use the bucket system.

Zoya said she was pleased that the creche would no longer be using buckets as it took up to an hour at a time to help the little children. She said the smell from the buckets was “horrible”.

Zoya said it was also not good for the children’s health as they had nowhere to wash their hands.

“But now we have running water inside the kitchen and toilets. So it is safe for everyone.”

neo.maditla@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

The guilty verdict handed down to Xolile Mngeni for the murder of honeymoon tourist Anni Dewani was a milestone for the country's judicial system, government said.

Johannesburg - The guilty verdict handed down to Xolile Mngeni for the murder of honeymoon tourist Anni Dewani was a milestone for the country's judicial system, government said on Tuesday.

“The ruling ... reaffirms that crime is not to be tolerated in South Africa,” said Cabinet spokeswoman Phumla Williams.

Western Cape High Court Judge Robert Henney found Mngeni, 25, guilty on Monday of robbery with aggravating circumstances, premeditated murder and illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition.

He was acquitted on a kidnapping charge, as this formed part of a single chain of events leading up to the murder.

Dewani was shot dead in Gugulethu on November 13, 2010, in an allegedly faked hijacking.

The ruling was a warning to those who committed crimes against women and children in particular, said Williams.

“We acknowledge and commend the law enforcement agencies for their role in ensuring that the law takes its course.” - Sapa

Xolile Mngeni will be sentenced by the Western Cape High Court for the murder of British honeymoon tourist Anni Dewani.

Cape Town - One of the murderers of British honeymoon tourist Anni Dewani will be sentenced by the Western Cape High Court on Wednesday.

Xolile Mngeni, 25, has been found guilty of robbery with aggravating circumstances, premeditated murder and the illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition.

He was acquitted on a kidnapping charge, as this formed part of a single chain of events leading up to the murder.

Mngeni took the stand in his own defence, but failed to convince the court of his innocence.

The Khayelitsha resident was found fit to stand trial despite having a malignant brain tumour.

The judge said Mngeni had not taken the court into his confidence. He had offered only bare denials and a late revelation of alibi witnesses.

Dewani was shot dead in Gugulethu on November 13, 2010, in an allegedly faked hijacking. She was on honeymoon with her husband Shrien at the time.

Her body was found in a curled up position on the back seat of the hijacked vehicle, with a single gunshot wound to the neck. - Sapa

The ANC Dullah Omar Region in the Western Cape is split over whether Zuma should remain party president.

Cape Town - The ANC Dullah Omar Region in the Western Cape is split over whether Jacob Zuma should remain party president, the Cape Times reported on Wednesday.

Deputy chairman Faizel Moosa and secretary Vuyiso Tyhalisisu were reportedly at odds over whether to back Zuma or deputy president Kgalema Motlanthe at the party's elective conference in Mangaung next month.

The region covers Cape Town and is the largest in the province.

Tyhalisisu told an ANC Youth League special general council: “The regional leadership is clear - change is inevitable.”

He told the meeting that those who wanted to maintain the current African National Congress leadership were solely interested in looting the public purse.

“We are going to lose our dignity. We are going to be turned into political prostitutes,” he reportedly said.

Moosa said the secretary had no mandate to state the region supported Motlanthe.

“This type of behaviour reminds one of the unruly, ill-disciplined and vitriolic actions of some youth in February this year who, in their desperate attack on the persona of the president, confuse thuggery, hooliganism and opportunism for legitimate political process, debate and contestation.”

According to the report, half of the region's 110 branches had qualified to be represented at Mangaung, and 45 had already completed their branch meetings. - Sapa

Cape Town mother Lumka Jordan has been found guilty of murdering and concealing the death of her newborn baby.

Cape Town - Cape Town mother Lumka Jordan has been found guilty of murdering and concealing the death of her newborn baby.

Judge Thandazwa Ndita said the accused was guilty of “wrongfully and unlawfully” murdering her newborn baby “by partially decapitating him with a knife or sharp object”.

She added that Jordan was found guilty of unlawfully disposing of the body without a lawful burial order with the intent to conceal the baby’s birth.

Jordan arrived in court in shackles, wearing pink skinny pants and a baby blue hooded top.

She covered her head with the hood and kept her head lowered, hiding her face until Judge Ndita arrived.

When asked whether prosecutor Megan Blows would argue mitigation, Blows said the accused had no previous convictions.

The matter will continue in the Western Cape High Court on December 6 when the State and the defence are to lead evidence in mitigation of sentence. The defence will also hand in a psychiatric report.

Jordan had initially also faced a third charge of defeating the ends of justice, but the charge was withdrawn on Monday.

Jordan admitted to killing her newborn son by decapitating him with a knife or knives and/or a sharp object. The State argued that the murder was premeditated.

Jordan attempted to conceal the birth by placing the body on a rubbish heap in Philippi.

Cape Argus

For most of her life, Cassidy endured ridicule from her peers because she was different - she was born without ears.

Cape Town - For most of her life, little Cassidy Sitella of De Doorns endured ridicule from her peers and hid from others because she was different – she was born without ears.

The Grade 3 pupil from Nuwe Hoop Sentrum in Worcester was born with a rare congenital deformity, microcia – where the external ears are underdeveloped or non-existent. But this week the 10-year-old’s life has been changed.

Thanks to reconstructive surgery performed at Tygerberg Hospital, she is to have ears.

In a five-hour operation, doctors fashioned her first ear.

The surgery was performed as part of Smile Foundation’s Vodacom Smile Week.

The foundation is dedicated to arranging free corrective surgery for children with facial anomalies.

One in 750 children in South Africa has been born with a facial anomaly.

Before the operation, Cassidy had only tiny lobes in place of ears and depended on a hearing aid to assist her poor hearing.

Dr Alexander Zuhlke, a plastic and reconstructive surgeon who operated on Cassidy, said although having ears would not improve the girl’s hearing, it would go a long way in improving her image and boosting her self-esteem.

“She’s always been seen as different by others and was probably teased all the time,” he said.

“Kids can be very cruel to each other and being teased constantly can have a very negative impact on her psychologically.”

Zuhlke explained that the procedure of making the ear involved opening a pocket under Cassidy’s skin.

Cartilage was taken from Cassidy’s ribs, carved into an ear framework and placed into the pocket under the skin.

“We have also put a tube under to suck the skin into the cartilage to form an ear. The cartilage will get its blood supply from the skin,” Zuhlke said.

“For now the ear will lie flat against the face. [When] a second-stage operation is performed, we will lift it up into the shape of an ear.”

Zuhlke said the wound was expected to heal in two weeks.

Because of the pain associated with the complex surgery, Cassidy’s second ear is to be constructed in six months.

Cassidy’s mother, Cathleen Sitella, said she couldn’t wait to see her daughter’s “normal ears”.

“She was teased so much by her peers that she wore her hair in a way that covered her ear area,” Sitella said.

“She didn’t like to play with others because other children always mocked her about her looks and poorly-developed speech. I’m so happy that she will look like other children.”

Moira Gerszt, chief operating officer of the Smile Foundation, said more than 1 000 children had had corrective surgery since the organisation was launched 11 years ago.

The operations, which are performed in partnership with tertiary hospitals around the country, had not only encouraged skills transfer, but had alleviated theatre backlogs in these hospitals.

“This Smile Week is one of our biggest for the year and just in time for the festive season,” she said.

“It’s the perfect gift – not only a brand-new face, but also an opportunity in life that these children would ordinarily not have due.”

sipokazi.fokazi@inl.co.za

Cape Argus