Anni's killer suffers from an extremely rare brain cancer with a low survival rate, the court heard.

Cape Town - Anni Dewani's killer suffers from an extremely rare brain cancer with a low survival rate, the Western Cape High Court heard on Monday.

 Jeanette Parkes, an oncologist at Groote Schuur hospital, said Xolile Mngeni was diagnosed with a pineoblastoma in May last year and underwent surgery two months later.

 “It's a very rare kind of brain tumour. It represents less than 0.1 percent of brain tumours,” she told the court.

 “It's more common in children and disseminates in the brain. It causes seeding in the brain and around the spinal cord.”

 She said international studies showed there was a less than 20 percent chance of survival over a five-year period.

 Parkes was testifying in mitigation of sentence. Mngeni was convicted of the premeditated murder of the tourist last week.

 He was also found guilty of robbery with aggravating circumstances and the illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition.

 Dewani was shot dead in Gugulethu on November 13, 2010, in an allegedly faked hijacking. Her body was found the next day.

 Parkes said Mngeni underwent radiotherapy and chemotherapy after his surgery in 2011 and it seemed to have been successful.

 A scan last week showed the disease to be clear.

 “The tumour is no longer visible, but I know from natural behaviour that once you've had spread [of cells], there's a fairly high chance the tumour will recur,” she said.

 “If the tumour recurs, there is very little treatment offered. It if recurs, the outcome is nearly always fatal.”

Qalisile Dayimani, for Mngeni, appealed to Judge Robert Henney not to impose the minimum prescribed sentence of life, citing the medical condition as a substantial and compelling circumstance.

 Henney said he had a very difficult decision ahead, balancing Mngeni's medical condition with the fact he had shown no remorse.

 Sapa

A young boy miraculously came back to life - after being declared dead for half an hour.

Cape Town - A boy miraculously came back to life - after being declared dead for half an hour.

The family of little Naasiek Whiting, eight, had given up all hope after he apparently drowned during a family day out at Boulders beach.

But despite having no pulse, a hero doctor somehow managed to revive him after spending more than 30 minutes battling to save his life.

The drama unfolded as Naasiek and his family, who are from Bridgetown, were enjoying a day out at the popular spot last Sunday.

Naasiek got separated from his parents after he went to have a closer look at the penguins on the beach.

When they saw him next, a doctor was standing over his lifeless body desperately trying to bring him back to life.

“I told my husband ‘look there, someone has drowned’ - not knowing it was my own child,” Naasiek’s mother Kashiefa , 30, said.

Doctor Mohammed Slamie, 42, was also enjoying a family day out at the beach when he noticed a child’s body floating in a shallow water.

“I was enjoying the day at the beach with my two children and taking pictures of them,” Dr Slamie said.

“My daughter ran in another direction and I ran after her - that’s when I saw the penguins and I snapped pictures of them.

“In the same breath I saw a body floating in the water, right behind the penguins.”

The quick-thinking doctor immediately kicked off his sandals and waded into the icy-cold water to drag Naasiek’s body out.

Dr Slamie says Naasiek was “already dead in the water”.

He added: “As I held his body in my arms, I could already feel he was dead. He was foaming at the mouth and I could not feel a pulse.”

Dr Slamie immediately administered CPR (cardio-pulmonary resuscitation) and battled for more than 30 minutes to bring Naasiek back to life.

“After doing CPR for almost 30 minutes, Alhamdulillah [Praise be to God], he coughed up water and there was a heart beat again, albeit very slow.”

But just before paramedics arrived at the scene, Naasiek slipped into a coma. The boy’s distraught mother thought there was no way back for her son.

“It was the biggest shock of my life - I never imagined it would happen to my own child,” Kashiefa said.

Naasiek was rushed to the Red Cross Children’s Hospital.

He woke from his coma the next day and was discharged from hospital on Friday.

Kashiefa says her little boy would be dead if it were not for the intervention of Dr Slamie. “That man saved my son,” she said.

“He is a hero and I want to thank him and everyone else for their support.”

Despite being medically dead for half an hour, Naasiek has not suffered any long-term damage.

“Naasiek has recovered fully and is doing very well now - he doesn’t even have a single bruise or effect from the accident,” Kashiefa added.

Daily Voice

"The callousness of his actions... can be found in the shopping trip he did mere hours after the murder," the State argued.

Cape Town - Xolile Mngeni must be jailed for life for killing honeymoon tourist Anni Dewani, the Western Cape High Court heard on Monday.

Shareen Riley, for the State, argued that Mngeni, 25, had not shown any substantial or compelling circumstances for the court to deviate from the minimum imposed sentence for premeditated murder.

“The murder was committed out of greed for pure economical reasons. For the State, it's more telling what he did after the offence,” Riley said.

“The callousness of his actions, the lack of remorse, can be found in the shopping trip he did mere hours after the murder, at the Waterfront.”

Dewani was shot dead in Gugulethu on November 13, 2010, in an allegedly fake hijacking. Her body was found the next day.

Mngeni was convicted last week of the tourist's premeditated murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances and the illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition.

He was paid a fee to kill the tourist and spent a large amount of money he previously never had in a shopping trip the day after her death.

Riley painted a less than perfect picture of the killer, saying he had a blasé attitude, antisocial behaviour and did not seem like a candidate for rehabilitation.

“He displays an arrogance, a cockiness and is a person devoid of any morality.”

She said his brain cancer could not be considered a mitigating factor, as he currently had a clean bill of health and a premature death was not definite.

Medical parole was always an option if he became terminally ill.

An oncologist earlier testified that Mngeni suffered from a rare brain cancer, which only one in five people survived in a five-year period.

Riley said the court should not confuse mercy for sympathy.

Judge Robert Henney said that in his view, mitigating factors included Mngeni's serious medical condition, his age, first offender status and poor background.

“The vulnerability of the accused as a poor person was, in my view, exploited,” the judge said.

Riley said that many people from similar backgrounds chose the moral high ground and never committed murder for money.

If Mngeni had been a man desperately trying to support himself and his family, he would have spent the money on basic necessities instead of brand name clothing. - Sapa

“I believe that something will happen with her. She can do anything because she has this spirit.”

Cape Town - Education is the next hurdle for Michelle Motibi, but the five-year-old burn victim from Wallacedene has two “sisters” who are championing her cause as far afield as Germany.

On Saturday night a benefit concert was held in Hamburg to raise funds for the education of Michelle and another patient of the burns unit at Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital.

Michelle suffered burns to 86 percent of her body in April when a candle fell over in her home, causing a blaze. She was administered palliative care and left to die, but as one of her doctors put it: “Michelle decided that we are not done yet.”

Now, seven months later, she is recovering well.

Dr Roux Martinez said that after her colon had been redirected to a bag, the two ends of the colon had been stitched together again.

“She has gained more use in her right hand since her first reconstructive surgery was completed,” said Martinez.

“She is able to play outside, she is running and jumping and has a better appetite.

“Michelle wants to become a doctor and her knowledge of burn care is astounding. She even has useful comments on suggesting what dressings to use and whether a patient’s urine output is sufficient or not.”

A proper education is the next step for Michelle. St Joseph’s Home in Montana that cares for children with chronic medical conditions who need regular access to the hospital, has been identified as the way forward, as she would have to be taken to the hospital twice a day for rehabilitation.

Two funds have been set up by Phoenix Burns Project and The Friends of the Children’s Hospital Association for the education of Michelle and another burns unit patient. The education will cost about R70 000 a year for both children.

Marie Mey, an 18-year-old from Hamburg, Germany, who volunteers with the Friends of the Children’s Hospital Association, has built a strong relationship with Michelle.

Mey has taken on the role of a big sister, holding Michelle’s hand when she has her dressings changed and trying to trick her into eating her vegetables.

Mey and Liezel Menigo, the project manager of the association, have started raising funds for the education of Michelle and the other burns unit patient.

“I believe that something will happen with her. She can do anything because she has this spirit,” Mey said.

“I just want her to have a chance. I want her to have this opportunity to have a good life and she won’t have a good life if no one is going to help her.

“There are people coming to give her money for… clothes, but she needs a good education,” Mey said.

Menigo said: “Education will be key to giving her a better life… We need to do something.”

After Mey approached Menigo about fundraising and was given the go-ahead, Mey approached her high school, Gymnasium Klosterschule in Hamburg.

“I told teachers at my school what we are doing and they chose this topic as the theme of a benefit concert involving German artists in Hamburg,” Mey said.

Menigo said she and Mey planned to hold an annual event for Michelle and other burns unit patients.

“This is a commitment we will continue every year… If you put someone into the right environment, they will flourish.”

The fund for Michelle and the other patient will be added to an existing account for the burns unit, with 60 percent going towards education for the two and 40 percent to the ward.

Having been seeded with R50 000, the Phoenix Burn Survivor Education fund has reached the R59 000 mark.

Mey has a number of videos of Michelle singing and dancing along to Justin Bieber’s hit Baby. Menigo said Michelle loved Bieber and she was trying to organise a visit by the pop star.

She had offered to try to get Chris Brown or Lady Gaga to come and visit, but Michelle only wanted Bieber.

Tears welled up in Menigo’s eyes as she recalled holding Michelle’s hand while having her dressings changed. “She has bad bruising and the scars are still healing. It is really painful for her and she just says, ‘Please hold my hand! Please hold my hand!’”

“She is a tough cookie and took off her own bandage. She has a cut on her abdomen and said: ‘No, its sore, I’ll take it off myself’.”

Cape Argus

Former Fidentia boss J Arthur Brown bought property and vehicles with investor funds, the Western Cape High Court heard.

Cape Town - Former Fidentia boss J Arthur Brown bought property and vehicles with investor funds, the Western Cape High Court heard on Monday.

He also used money meant for investment to pay the salaries of his employees, chartered accountant Graham Maddock testified.

Earlier in the day, Brown pleaded not guilty to all the charges against him.

He has been charged with four counts of fraud, two counts of corruption, one count of money-laundering and two counts of theft.

He was arrested in 2007 in one of the biggest financial scandals South Africa has seen.

The State alleges that Brown ran a pyramid scheme and used investors' funds for his own personal gain.

On Monday, Maddock testified about his involvement in the scheme.

He has already served time in prison after entering into a plea bargain with the State. He was sentenced to in effect seven years in 2008 for his role in the Fidentia matter, but served only two years.

Judge Anton Veldhuisen told Maddock that he was “compelled to testify in an open and honest manner”.

“Then, at the end of the trial, the court will give you an indemnity so you can't be prosecuted in future.”

Maddock told the court he was first introduced to Brown in 2002. He said Brown wanted a number of companies set up “to formalise his business” and he assisted with that.

He said he was asked to look after the administration of Brown's companies and received “10 percent of the shares of the group at the time”.

Maddock testified that he had a trust account which was used by Brown to hold investor funds.

Fundi was one such company which invested with Fidentia.

Maddock said director Leon Grobbelaar made a R8 million payment into his trust account.

He said he “believed Grobbelaar's money was to be invested by Mr Brown and Grobbelaar was to get returns”.

Instead, two properties were bought with some of this money. Maddock said the properties were in Sunset Beach, Milnerton, and were held in trusts operated by Brown.

Maddock said “at some stage Grobbelaar requested a cancellation of the investment” and about R3m was paid back. He said investments from another company, Teta, were used to pay back Grobbelaar as his original funds were no longer available.

The former chartered accountant also testified about the purchase of four SUVs. He said the cars were bought for R3.2m using investor funds.

He was given the use of one, Brown drove one, and so did two other Fidentia directors.

Maddock testified about negotiations to acquire a company called Matco.

The company controlled R1.13 billion of beneficiaries funds. The beneficiaries were the orphans and widows of mineworkers.

Maddock said the purchase price was R93m, but he was “not aware that Fidentia had those funds at that time”.

He said Old Mutual, which was handling the money for Matco, was reluctant to hand over the money to Fidentia and asked for “proper mandates before they transferred the funds”.

The State alleges that Fidentia used inflated administration fees to come up with the money.

Maddock told the court that once Fidentia had control of the R1.13bn it used some of it to buy a company called Infinity, and a number of properties.

In 2005, Maddock said the salaries of Fidentia employees totalled about R12m a month, and the money was “paid out of investor funds”.

He said the administration fees for Matco were ramped up to R67m, which were “excessive fees, but a lot of work had to go into the take on of Matco”.

Maddock admitted that he, Brown, and another Fidentia director received R6m in restraint of trade fees, but he admitted “we didn't have anything restrainable”.

He also told the court about properties invested in the Sante Hotel and Spa “was meant to be revenue generating, but ran at a loss”.

He said R12m was paid for farms in the Eastern Cape and that a water bottling plant was supposed to be set up, but never was.

Maddock said he received an instruction from Brown in January 2007 to transfer R5m from Infinity to Fidentia as the company was short of that amount and could not foot its bill for employees' salaries.

Brown often shook his head, sighing loudly.

He is defending himself.

He claims to have run out of money for legal fees, and has been accused of delaying the trial because of frequent changes in his legal representation. - Sapa

Professor Jakes Gerwel has not died but is in a critical condition following heart surgery, his family has said.

Professor Jakes Gerwel has not died but is in a critical condition in hospital following heart surgery, his family said in a statement.

“Following media reports that Professor Jakes Gerwel has passed away, the Gerwel family would like it to be known that while Professor Gerwel is in a critical condition following heart surgery in Cape Town, the reports are untrue,” the family said.

The statement was prompted by earlier reports on news sites and Twitter that Gerwel, the chairperson of Media 24online and chancellor of Rhodes University, had died.

His family added: “As and when necessary, further updates will be given.” - IOL

Cape Town -

Cape Town -

The murder trial of the widow of acting judge Patrick Maqubela was postponed to next year by the Western Cape High Court on Monday.

Marius Broeksma, for Thandi Sheryl Maqubela, was meant to have cross-examined State pathologist Dr Sipho Mfolozi.

However, Broeksma told the court he could not begin without consulting private pathologist Prof G Saaiman, who is the dean of pathology at Pretoria University.

He said Saaiman had been caught up in the pressures of examinations at the university and would not be available until February 4.

Broeksma said the professor was also needed in court during cross-examination.

Mfolozi was seated in the witness stand, ready for cross-examination when the case resumed before Johannesburg-based Judge John Murphy on Monday.

Murphy apologised to Mfolozi for the inconvenience, and said:

“Unfortunately, this is how the cookie crumbles.”

Maqubela is on trial for allegedly murdering her husband. With her in the dock is her business associate Vela Mabena.

Both have pleaded not guilty to a charge of premeditated murder.

Maqubela is also charged with fraud and forgery.

Prosecutors Bonnie Currie-Gamwo and Pedro van Wyk allege that she forged her husband's will, and fraudulently lodged the forged will at the office of the Master of the High Court in Johannesburg.

The Master of the High Court is a division of the justice department, and deals with deceased estates.

Maqubela has pleaded not guilty to all the charges.

The trial resumes on February 4. - Sapa

Brown deliberately created confusion with solicited investments in a network of pyramid schemes, says his indictment.

Cape Town - Former Fidentia boss J Arthur Brown deliberately created confusion with solicited investments in a network of illegal pyramid schemes, according to his indictment in the Western Cape High Court.

In pyramid schemes, investors are falsely promised unrealistically high returns on their money, which is not invested. Returns are paid out from investments other people make.

Brown faces four counts of fraud, two of corruption, two of theft and one of money-laundering.

At the end of the preamble to the 90-page indictment, State prosecutor Jannie van Vuuren SC accuses Brown of using smoke-and-mirror tactics.

“The accused orchestrated a huge exercise of inflated assets, the back-dating of documents and asset-swap agreements, in an effort to defeat the attempts of the Financial Services Board to investigate and uncover the true picture,” he writes.

“This smoke-and-mirror play was designed to play for time, and stall the uncovering of fraud, in an attempt to escape responsibility for his actions.”

The fraud charges involve four entities:

* Fundi Projects:

It invested R9 million with Fidentia Asset Management. It is alleged that Brown falsely informed Fundi that the investment would give Fundi a monthly income, capital guarantees and growth which would enable Fundi to fulfil its obligations to Zambian company, Nitrogen Chemicals.

Brown allegedly used some of the money as a deposit for a beach property for himself and his family, and Fidentia was unable to repay the investment when called upon to do so.

* Teta (the State-owned Transport, Education and Training Authority):

Brown is accused of soliciting a R200m investment from Teta by giving Teta CEO Piet Bothma a R6m bribe.

He allegedly used more than R3m of the Teta money to buy four 4x4 vehicles for himself and his co-directors, and he used Teta money to buy two more beach properties for himself and his family.

* Antheru Trust:

Brown allegedly solicited a R44m, five-year investment from the Antheru Trust, and he used the Antheru money, and Teta and other investments, to repay investment capital, and to make interest payments to Antheru investors.

* Matco:

Matco controlled a Trust with more than R1.2 billion in pension and provident funds, under administration and investment with Old Mutual on behalf of beneficiaries. Matco also had R70m available in its current bank account for the payment of monthly beneficiary-related obligations.

Brown allegedly acquired Matco, but orchestrated the transaction so he gained control of the company before full payment of the purchase price.

He is accused of stealing the R70m to finance the balance of the Matco purchase price.

“ (He) in fact used Matco's own money to buy Matco”, Van Vuuren alleges.

Brown allegedly produced Standard Bank “Letters of Comfort”, to give the Matco Board the false impression that Fidentia had the means to purchase the company.

The State claims that, once in control of Matco, Brown ordered the transfer to Fidentia of the R1.13bn in beneficiary funds invested with Old Mutual.

He is alleged to have tried to obtain R150m from Old Mutual, but was declined because of improper authorisation by Matco.

These funds were apparently nevertheless systematically depleted, with only R500m potentially recoverable when the FSB stopped the Brown operations.

On one theft count, the State alleges Fidentia bought the company Infinity, from which Brown stole R5m to pay Fidentia salaries.

On the second theft count, Brown is alleged to have stolen R12.6m of Antheru funds to buy the Eastern Cape farm, Thaba Manzi.

The two corruption counts relate to the alleged bribing of Bothma, for the R200m investment.

The money-laundering charge relates to amounts totalling R93.8 million, which formed the proceeds of Brown's alleged unlawful activities. - Sapa

Workers at a County Fair factory claim they were fired at with paint ball guns while picketing outside the premises.

Cape Town - Workers who downed tools at a County Fair chicken factory in Stellenbosch over wages claim they were fired at with paintball guns while picketing outside the factory.

Workers spent the day picketing outside the County Fair offices in Muldersvlei along the R304 on Monday.

Theo Delport, managing director for the poultry division of Astral Foods, confirmed that workers were on strike and that they were “not happy with what’s on the table”.

“The chicken industry is in crisis at the moment [and is] not performing very well. It’s all about affordability, but it doesn’t help our cause if the [strikers] are damaging property,” Delport said.

Management said they had to count costs to keep head above water.

The workers said they wanted R1 500 a week. They added that they were currently earning about R499 a week after deductions.

“This year we’ve heard nothing about increases. We’ve got nothing and they’ve been quiet,” said one worker who asked not to be named.

She said the strike started last Wednesday, but that operations had not ceased at the factory. She claimed that management had bused in casual staff.

By Monday afternoon, a group of about 100 people sat at the entrance of the factory near the offices along the R304 Klipheuwel Road.

After a while they had started marching slowly, singing and dancing and waving sticks, sjamboks and posters. About four police vehicles were parked close by and officers stayed close to the protesters as they moved towards the offices.

Earlier in the day police stepped in to disperse the crowd, some of whom claimed they were shot at with paint ball guns by the factory’s security.

Delport denied that shots were fired from their security guards.

natasha.prince@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

It was easy to convict Xolile Mngeni, but sentencing the terminally ill man was difficult, Judge Robert Henney said.

Cape Town -

Sentencing Anni Dewani’s killer – Xolile Mngeni – is the hardest task Western Cape High Court Judge Robert Henney faces.

Judge Henney said in open court on Monday that it was easy to convict Mngeni of premeditated murder and aggravated robbery but sentencing the terminally ill man was difficult.

“The difficulty I have with this matter is that this (sentencing) is the most difficult part of this case and the accused has not [shown] a shred of remorse. I would’ve expected someone like him, with his back against the wall, who made a [tell-all] statement to show remorse,” Judge Henney said.

The judge also made reference to Mngeni’s accomplices Zola Tongo and Mziwamadoda Qwabe, who each pleaded guilty to the November 13, 2010 murder and struck a deal with the State.

While Tongo is serving 18 years in jail, Qwabe was sentenced to 25 years behind bars.

Sentencing was not “a mathematical equation” but he had to consider the facts before him, the judge said. They included the seriousness of the offence, the interest of society and the fact that Mngeni is 25, a first offender and recovering from a brain tumour.

The defence called one witness, radiation oncologist Dr Jeannette Parkes, to testify in mitigation.

Parkes said Mngeni was first admitted to Groote Schuur Hospital’s casualty ward on May 19 last year. According to his medical history, he had severe headaches and double vision five months before admission.

Parkes said Mngeni was, in the same month, diagnosed with an unusual malignant tumour which originates from the pineal gland situated centrally in the brain.

He had surgery to remove the tumour on July 9 last year, and later, a combination of chemo and radiation therapy. A post-treatment scan conducted on May 15 this year showed that what was left of the tumour had disappeared and the deposits which spread to his spinal column were no longer visible.

Mngeni had reacted well to treatment but there was a real risk of it re-occurring and if it did, it could be fatal. “One in five people will survive five years with this disease,” Parkes said.

Mngeni’s lawyer, Matthews Dayimani, argued that Judge Henney should find that substantial and compelling circumstances existed to justify a deviation from the prescribed minimum of life imprisonment.

But State advocate Shareen Riley disagreed, saying Mngeni was not remorseful and had in a callous manner gone to the V&A Waterfront hours after the murder to buy expensive clothing.

Riley submitted a victim impact report in which Dewani’s father, Vinod Hindocha, said Dewani’s death had caused his family a lot of pain. He said all her family wanted was to know what exactly happened and why.

“Words cannot describe how painfully difficult it has been for us,” Hindocha said in the report.

Mngeni is expected to be sentenced next Wednesday.

jade.otto@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

Sitting in a stationary bakkie after being offered a lift to the shop ended in tragedy for 14-year-old Renee Gideon.

Cape Town -

Sitting in a stationary bakkie after being offered a lift to the shop ended in tragedy for 14-year-old Renee Gideon on Saturday night when she was killed during a drive-by shooting in Delft.

The Grade 8 pupil was in the vehicle with four others when men believed to be gangsters opened fire and killed her with a bullet to the head.

The shooting happened a few blocks from her home in Eindhoven.

Chanel Scholtz, 24, her aunt, said she was at home doing her hair when she heard gunshots.

“I was busy with my hair when I heard three shots and then a few more, it sounded like seven gunshots,” Scholtz said.

She added the family heard that Renee had been offered a lift to the shop, but was not a target.

“It was just unfortunate. It is a great shock because it was so sudden… she was such a happy person who liked to sing,” she said.

Renee’s mother, Delene Gideon, 42, said her daughter had asked to go to a 21st birthday party with a friend on Saturday night.

“She was with a friend on Saturday night and we were at home when we heard the news,” Gideon said.

“My neighbour’s boys came to knock on the door telling us that she had been shot.

“I just want to see her now. We were at the mortuary today but can only see her tomorrow.”

Gideon added that it was especially hard for Renee’s father to come to terms with her death.

“Her dad has taken it very hard, she was the youngest.”

The distraught mom said parents feared for their children after gang violence erupted in the area.

“A few weeks ago, a man was shot, and there have been several incidents,” she said.

“We fear for the safety of other children and don’t feel safe in the area anymore.”

A resident, who asked not to be named, said she saw men run across a field, shooting sporadically two weeks ago.

“Children cross the field to and from school every day; what would happen to them if gangsters are shooting?

“We are not part of the ‘numbers’ but innocent people get shot,” Gideon said despairingly.

The woman added that gang violence in Delft had started up a month ago.

On Sunday, a 34-year-old man was gunned down in Pinati Estate, next to Hanover Park, and in a separate incident a 22-year-old man from Hanover Park was killed and a six-year-old boy was wounded in crossfire.

Police said no arrests had been made.

natasha.bezuidenhout@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

Drugs to the value of R590 673.11 were seized and 1 625 people were arrested in the Western Cape in the past week.

Cape Town -

More than 1 600 people have been arrested on drug-related charges in the Western Cape in the past week, provincial police commissioner Lieutenant-General Arno Lamoer has revealed.

Lamoer was speaking on Monday at the launch of Drug Watch, a Lead SA collaboration between the Cape Argus, 567 CapeTalk, 94.5Kfm and law enforcement agencies.

He vowed that police would clamp down on drug-related crime this festive season.

Lamoer said drug-related crime remained high on the police’s priority list and that since last Monday drugs to the value of R590 673.11 were confiscated and 1 625 people arrested on various charges across the province.

Lamoer related a story of how a boy from Grassy Park, who was addicted to tik, killed his mother before hiding her body in a cupboard.

The boy took the body out four days later and tried to stuff it into the dustbin for it to be removed with the trash. The boy was arrested last month and was behind bars.

Lamoer said law enforcement agencies would continue to do their work despite the negative publicity police were receiving.

“Where is the breakdown in relationships?” Lamoer asked in reference to the recent commission of inquiry into the breakdown in the relationship between the police and Khayelitsha residents.

Lamoer called on schools and churches to get involved to help fight the drug problem instead of pointing fingers at police. There would be roadblocks throughout the festive season.

A video shown at the launch included comments from a pediatrician, drug counsellor and a mother who’s son committed suicide as a result of drugs.

Ashley Potts, director at Cape Town Drug Counselling Centre, said about 70 percent of its patients were on tik, followed closely by heroin and dagga.

If 80 percent of all pregnant women in the Western Cape used tik, what would become of their children, he asked.

Venetia Orgil, a Cape Town mother who lost her son after he committed suicide, also spoke on the video explaining that her son was addicted to tik among other drugs.

Orgil said what was most hurtful was a day when her son asked her to have sex with him as that was the only thing that could help him cope with his addiction. Orgil’s son later committed suicide.

After the video was shown, Hanif Loonat, chairman of the Western Cape Community Policing Forum, said the community needed to help the police as they could not fight drug abuse on their own.

“The province is being held hostage by the scourge of drugs…I applaud the police and law enforcement agencies for closing the gaps and I am sure we can do more,” Loonat said.

He said drug dealers used vulnerable people to hide drugs for them and that the parents and community members needed to break the silence and report drug dens in their areas.

“The community must get involved. The police can’t fight this alone,” Loonat said.

Crime Line head, Yusuf Abramjee, said drugs was a “chemical warfare” eating into the moral fibre of society.

“We cannot keep quiet any longer,” Abramjee said.

He urged all South Africans to join the fight against drugs by reporting drug dens to the police or anonymously through Crime Line.

He said 82 percent of all the anonymous tip-offs received were drug related.

Abramjee said it was hoped to use the Western Cape as a pilot project for Drug Watch over the next three months.

Colleen Louw, station manager of Kfm and CapeTalk, said the radio stations had teamed up with the Cape Argus and law enforcement agencies to initiate Drug Watch because it wanted to reflect what was important to its listeners.

Louw said the radio stations constantly received calls from listeners asking for help to deal with drug addicts and most of them had nowhere to go.

“According to SAPS figures, an overwhelming majority of crimes in the Western Cape are related to substance abuse,” she said.

“Perpetrators of these crimes are either under the influence of substances, or trying to secure money for their next fix.

“The abuse of alcohol and drugs is a cause of grave concern and we are highlighting the great efforts of our law enforcement agencies who are aggressively tackling [it].”

Cape Argus executive editor Gasant Abarder said he was confident the initiative would make a dent in bringing down drug-related crime and commended law enforcement agencies for their work.

neo.maditla@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

Vinod Hindocha has given the court the most harrowing account yet of the effect Anni’s death has had on his family.

Cape Town - The devastated father of slain honeymoon bride Anni Dewani has revealed he is a broken man since his daughter’s brutal murder.

Vinod Hindocha gave the most harrowing account yet of the effect Anni’s death has had on his family in an emotional Victim Impact Statement to the Western Cape High Court.

In the three-page statement Vinod told how:

* He has not been able to return to work since Anni’s murder on November 13, 2010;

* He and his wife wake up crying every night thinking of their murdered daughter;

* Anni’s siblings Anish and Ami have never been the same since Anni’s death;

* His family will never rest until they find out why Anni was murdered.

Vinod said he spends every waking moment of his life thinking about his dead daughter.

He said this has affected his work and he was forced to quit his job because he was not able to concentrate on what he was doing.

“Since Anni’s death, I have not been able to go back to work,” he said.

“I have not worked for more than two years now. It has been impossible for me to concentrate and with my profession – electrical maintenance engineering – I need to have full concentration when I work.”

Anni was killed two weeks after marrying Shrien Dewani in a lavish wedding in India.

The last memories her family have of her is from her wedding ceremony.

As a result, her parents cannot bring themselves to attend weddings any longer.

“Attending weddings is one of the hardest things there is for us. We are so reminded of Anni [at] weddings that sometimes we just have to leave the room,” he said.

Vinod said that he sees a psychiatrist every two weeks as he struggles to get his life back on track, but it has been a long and hard journey for him.

“The nights have been really hard. My wife and I both struggle to sleep [and for the past year-and-a-half] we woke up in the middle of the night or early morning at 3am to 4am and start talking to each other about Anni,” said Vinod.

“We cried and it was just impossible to comfort each other since both of us share the same pain.”

Vinod said the joy has left his family, and his son Anish and eldest daughter Ami have been left devastated.

“I am myself in an emotional state and have not been able to be there for them,” he said.

He spends hours trawling the internet for any stories written about Anni and keeps a close eye on twitter and Facebook for any news.

“Questions like why Anni? She was such a wonderful girl, why did this happen to her?” he asked.

“None of us can grieve properly until we find this answer.

“I know that I will never get my daughter back but what I seek so desperately is justice for my precious Anni.

“I need to know what happened to her and I need to know why.

“Until then, until I know the whole truth and all answers from all [suspects] involved in this case, this is just a long psychological torture for me and my wife and we cannot and will not ever let it go.”

Convicted hitman Xolile Mngeni will be sentenced on Wednesday, December 5, after his sentencing was postponed again on Monday.

The court on Monday heard he has a rare cancer and has a one-in-five chance of living five years.

Mngeni was found guilty of murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances and the illegal possession of a gun and ammunition related to Anni’s brutal murder on November 13, 2010.

Cops claim Anni’s husband, Shrien Dewani, masterminded the murder in a fake hijacking after arriving in Cape Town on honeymoon.

His extradition has been postponed until he recovers from depression and post-traumatic stress.

* This article was published in the Daily Voice

Cape Town police are hunting a man suspected of stabbing his baby sister’s boyfriend to death.

Cape Town - Cape Town police are hunting a man suspected of stabbing his baby sister’s boyfriend to death.

The 26-year-old – who cannot be named for legal reasons – has not been seen since Mandlankosi Bisa, 26, was found dead in the early hours of Saturday morning.

Mandlankosi died instantly after he sustained stab wounds to his upper body and his throat at the Joe Slovo informal settlement in Langa.

It is understood the accused went looking for his victim after he heard he had slapped his teenage sister around in a shebeen.

The 16-year-old girl – who cannot be named because she is a minor – said on Monday night that she and her boyfriend fought after she refused to go home with him following a drinking spree.

“He arrived at the tavern at around 7pm, he settled our tab and bought some more alcohol for us,” she told the Daily Voice.

“A few hours later he took me outside and told me he wanted to go home but I explained it was too dark and late to walk there.

“I convinced him to rather come and sleep at my grandmother’s house with me and we agreed.

“So I walked out to another tavern where he came looking for me.

“He grabbed me, slapped me and asked what I was doing there without him but I explained that there was nothing going on so he decided to go home by himself and walked out.”

The Grade 8 pupil says she was shocked when she later heard her brother and boyfriend were fighting outside.

“I ran home to get my grandmother to help but on our way there he came towards us and said to go to sleep and everything was OK,” she added.

“But I went back to the shebeen and continued drinking with my friends.

“A few minutes later someone came to fetch me and told me Mandlankosi had been stabbed and was dead.”

The distraught girl urged her brother to hand himself over to the cops.

“I did not ask him to defend me, I understood that my boyfriend and I had a fight like a normal couple and would make up again,” she said.

“I’m deeply hurt by this situation.”

Mandlankosi’s family says they are still reeling in shock.

His brother Mawande Soxuza, 33, says: “I don’t think that boy realises what kind of hurt he has brought down to this family, we are all devastated.”

“This was a totally unnecessary situation, I’m sure they could have talked it out, but now two lives have been destroyed.”

Police spokesman Warrant Officer November Filander confirms a murder docket has been opened for investigation.

No arrests have been made.

*This article was published in the Daily Voice

Traffic authorities plan to show absolutely no mercy this holiday season.

We’ll show no mercy – that’s the message from city traffic authorities to partying matrics caught driving drunk.

Matrics caught driving under the influence would be arrested, traffic services spokeswoman Maxine Jordaan warned yesterday.

“They will have to face the consequences. We will be out there setting up roadblocks, day and night.”

On Monday the city announced that extra-vigilant policing would be deployed to Camps Bay, Clifton, Blaauwberg, Strandfontein, Mnandi, Strand and Gordon’s Bay.

In Hermanus, municipal officials said they would keep a close eye on the Onrus campsite.

Jordaan said matrics deserved a good party after their final exams, but should do so responsibly.

The city advised matrics to ensure they had safe transport to and from “end-of-exam” parties and events.

“The city’s traffic services will be out in full force to ensure that everyone obeys the rules of the road. Motorists caught drinking and driving or committing serious moving violations will be fined,” said the city.

“We are appealing to all matriculants and others involved in this weekend’s celebrations to behave in a responsible manner, adhere to the rules of the road and drive safely.”

TEST YOURSELF

Meanwhile, the provincial government, city and police – all of which have promised an extra-heavy crackdown on drunk drivers – have advised drivers to test themselves before taking the wheel.

The Cape Argus today publishes the latest “Name & Shame” list of motorists convicted of disregarding the drinking and driving laws – as various authorities announced their plans.

Provincial Traffic Services has been issued with disposable Breathalysers to hand out to motorists at roadblocks over the entire festive season, starting this week. It will use its own testing devices, and encourages motorists to use the disposable Breathalysers on their next night out with friends or family, before they get behind the wheel.

Provincial Community Safety MEC Dan Plato’s office said: “An average of 4500-6000 motorists are tested every weekend by Western Cape Traffic Services and 43 000 Breathalysers will also be distributed with the December edition of the Western Cape government’s Better Together magazine.

“All Western Cape provincial government employees receive a copy, and they will be available at our walk-in centres, hospitals and district offices for the public,” said spokesman Greg Wagner.

He explained that the programme’s reasoning was in support of a “shift towards a ‘whole of society’ approach towards improving safety, and living our motto of ‘Better Together’.”

“We can provide safe and reliable roads, but we need the public to act responsibly while using them. The disposable Breathalysers are a tool towards achieving this. By empowering the public to take responsibility for their actions and test themselves after they’ve been drinking they can make an active contribution by not driving if they are over the limit and ensure the roads in the Western Cape remain safe,” Wagner said.

Wagner quoted Plato saying: “Policymakers in all spheres of government have recognised the limitations of a law enforcement model. They have taken important steps to place a bigger focus on preventing crime, rather than just reacting to it.”

Citizens’ responsibility was the next step.

FREE SAFETY CHECKS

The City of Cape Town is offering to check motorists’ vehicles for free – to ensure they are roadworthy before holidaymakers head off this summer.

Free basic vehicle safety checks will be on offer at traffic offices at Bellville, Kuils River, Brackenfell, Hillstar, Goodwood and Durbanville from 10am-2pm each working day until December 14.

Vehicle checkpoints and speed checks are to be set up in the vicinity of various public transport interchanges – including Joe Gqabi, Bellville/Parc Du Cap, Mfuleni, Langa, Dunoon, Cape Town Station – where taxis and buses will also be examined.

“The public are requested to report any life or property-threatening emergency (including medical, crime, fire and traffic) to the 107 emergency number from a Telkom line. Cellphone users need to dial 021 480- 7700,” the city’s officials advised. -Cape Argus

The Western Cape law enforcement agencies have made their first Drug Watch arrests.

Cape Town - Western Cape law enforcement agencies have made their first Drug Watch arrests.

Provincial traffic chief Kenny Africa said a 31-year-old man had been arrested at a roadblock at the Rawsonville weighbridge for the possession of three bags of dagga.

In Mitchells Plain, police with a search warrant arrested a well-known drug dealer at a house in Walter Battiss Street, New Woodlands.

Police spokesman Captain FC van Wyk said 300 units of heroin and 150 prepacked units of tik were confiscated. “Another bag of heroin, another of tik and nine packets of tik were also found,” he said. The estimated street value of the confiscated drugs amounted to R200 000. Van Wyk said the 31-year-old man would appear in court soon.

In other unrelated incidents on Tuesday, a 42-year-old man and a 36-year-old woman was arrested for the possession of tik.

Van Wyk said members of the Maitland Dog Unit pulled a vehicle over on the corner of Klipfontein Road and Duinefontein Road near Guguletu and found a plastic bag in it containing 500g of tik with an estimated street value of R350 000.

Two people would appear in the Athlone Magistrate’s Court soon.

* The Western Cape’s fourth Outpatient Alcohol and Drug Treatment site - in Khayelitsha - has been opened.

The centre offers free treatment and will help individuals and families affected by alcohol and other drugs.

The other centres are in Tafelsig, Delft South and Table View.

Earlier this week, the Cape Argus, Kfm and 567 CapeTalk and the province’s law enforcement authorities launched Drug Watch as part of a Lead SA initiative.

In a video played at the launch, Prof Johan Smith, head of the neo-natal unit at Tygerberg Hospital and who works with tik-addicted mothers and their babies, said tik abuse had “escalated enormously” over the past 10 years.

Eight percent of all pregnant women in the Western Cape used tik. About 8 000 babies that had been exposed to tik were born in the province annually, Smith said.

At the launch of the Khayelitsha centre on Tuesday, deputy mayor Ian Neilson said the babies would have to fight withdrawal symptoms and cognitive delays.

Lungiswa James, the city’s health mayoral committee member, said the new centre would be a “beacon of hope for those struggling to fight addiction”.

James said reducing the alcohol and drug addiction rate would lead to a reduction in crime.

natasha.prince@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

The ANCWL has joined the bid in seeking the extradition of Shrien Dewani to stand trial for his alleged role in his wife’s murder.

Johannesburg - The ANC Women’s League will lobby the South African High Commission in London to “bring back Shrien Dewani” to stand trial for his alleged role in the murder of his wife in the country.

The league has also pledged to ensure that locals in court facing similar crimes were also sent to jail for longer periods.

This comes as the country is commemorating the 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children.

ANCWL president Angie Motshekga issued this warning on Tuesday when the league launched the Bring Back Shrien Dewani campaign - a week after Xolile Mngeni was convicted for killing Anni Dewani.

Two other self-confessed killers, Zola Tongo and Mziwamadoda Qwabe, entered into plea bargains with the State and were sentenced to 18 and 25 years in jail respectively.

They also assisted the Western Cape High Court to successfully prosecute Mngeni after he had pleaded not guilty to the charges of murder and robbery with aggravating circumstances.

Detailing the campaign on Tuesday, Motshekga said: “It must be made clear to the international community that South Africa is not a slaughterhouse where people can come to our country and commit crimes against women or anyone else.

“Dewani must be extradited and face the music for the murder of his wife, Anni Dewani.”

baldwin.ndaba@inl.co.za

The Star

The governing bodies of 18 schools and SATU have applied for an interim interdict to halt the closure or merger of schools.

Cape Town - The governing bodies of 18 schools and the SA Democratic Teachers’ Union have applied for an interim interdict to halt the closure or merger of these schools by Education MEC Donald Grant and the Western Cape Education Department.

Lawyers for the schools, which are situated across the province, filed the documents at the Western Cape High Court on Tuesday.

The schools are also seeking an interdict preventing the department from transferring any of their registered pupils and teachers or movable property, and asked that the department continue to provide full subsidies to the schools, including all teachers’ salaries, and be prevented from interfering with the running of the schools.

The schools have also brought the application against the ministers of basic education minister and justice.

In his founding affidavit, Henry Hockey, acting principal of Beauvallon Secondary School in Valhalla Park, said the department’s decision was procedurally and substantively flawed.

The two officials who had recommended the closures of Peak View Secondary in Athlone, Valpark in Valhalla Park and Lavisrylaan Primary in Bishop Lavis had presided over the public hearings at these three schools, which was “fundamentally unfair, unlawful and unconstitutional, while the MEC “did not attend any of the hearings”.

That R3 million had been allocated to John Ramsay Secondary - where Beauvallon pupils were meant to be placed - in March, had indicated that Grant had already made up his mind about the closure of the school.

Grant announced his decision to close schools last month, citing dwindling pupil numbers, poor infrastructure and multigrade teaching as some of the reasons.

Hockey said the application was urgent since the minister and the department had begun taking “unlawful actions” to close the schools before the scheduled date (December 31) including cancelling municipal services, cutting phone lines and confiscating school assets and equipment.

Grant’s spokeswoman Bronagh Casey said on Tuesday he had not received any legal papers, and that the department had confirmed it had not received any papers either.

The schools are expected to bring their application in the high court next Friday.

ilse.fredericks@inl.co.za and jade.otto@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

Police are asking for public assistance in identifying and locating a man in connection with the murder of a Claremont mother.

Cape Town - Police are asking for public assistance in identifying and locating a 28-year-old male in connection with the murder of a Claremont mother in October.

Anzunette du Plessis was found stabbed to death inside her house on October 4. A short while later, police arrested three suspects who were found carrying stolen goods from Du Plessis’ property. A fourth suspect escaped.

Moegamat Armien Salie, one of the suspects who had worked on the roof at Du Plessis’ house, admitted to stabbing her several times before slitting her throat.

Salie appeared alongside Warren van Rooyen, 28, and Dudley Boesak, 32, both of Hanover Park, at the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court on October 9.

Police have released two identikits, pictured, based on witness testimonies, of the fourth suspect. It is believed his name is “Nathan”.

“Nathan was last seen in the vicinity of Hanover Park,” said police spokesman Warrant Officer November Filander.

“Anyone with information regarding this murder case is kindly requested to contact the investigating officer, Detective Constable Mike Mlozana, at SAPS Claremont on 082 469 2525 or 021 657 2266, or Crime Stop on 08600 10111.”

Cape Argus

A gang targeted a supermarket ATM in Eersterivier just after midnight, getting away with a number of money boxes, police said.

Cape Town -

An ATM was blown up in Eersterivier, Cape Town, on Wednesday morning, Western Cape police said.

Captain Frederick van Wyk said a gang targeted a supermarket ATM on London Way just after midnight, getting away with a number of money boxes.

Police noticed a white Mazda speeding past them on the way to the scene, gave chase and lost them a short while later.

The car was later found abandoned on 5th Avenue in Malibu village.

No arrests have yet been made.

“The spate of ATM bombings is worrisome to SAPS, and every endeavour is made to apprehend those responsible, “ Van Wyk said.

He asked people to be cautious when using ATMs in the early hours of the morning. - Sapa