A Cape student drowned shortly after matriculants celebrating on the beach saw him diving into the water.

Cape Town - A 23-year-old student drowned at Clifton’s Fourth Beach shortly after matriculants celebrating on the beach saw him diving into the water from rocks on Wednesday.

Michael Gresak’s body was recovered by police divers late on Wednesday after he was reported missing at about 3pm.

Relatives and friends of the matric student comforted one other as police divers and National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) members searched the waters near Clifton.

Gresak was last seen diving off a rock, waving at fellow students and swimming back to shore.

When he did not surface, his friends alerted rescuers.

NSRI spokesman Craig Lambinon said rescuers had received the distress call at about 3pm.

The cries of Gresak’s grief-stricken mother resounded in the La Med parking area as rescuers told the family that his body had been recovered at 5.45pm near Duiker Rock.

It is believed that a group of students from Progress College in Rosebank, a private high school, had decided to have a get-together at the beach after their valedictory on Wednesday.

Witnesses gave varying reports.

Nicolette Arulnathan and Clarence Hermanus, both 18 and matriculants at Rylands High, said they saw a fellow student swimming out to a large rock earlier in the afternoon.

“He waved at us and we were clapping for him,” Arulnathan said.

“Then he dived off the rock and we clapped again but after he was in the water we didn’t check where he went,” Hermanus said.

Another witness, who asked not to be named, said a group had decided to jump off a rock but once there they saw someone on a rock further away who appeared to be in trouble.

The group then called the police. While waiting for police to arrive the person tried to swim to safety thrice but could not get very far. He was then swept off the rock by a wave.

Trauma counselling was arranged for Gresak’s family.

Students will receive counselling at the college.

Rosebank College principal Harold Idesis called Gresak talented and creative. He had won a prize for history on Tuesday night.

“The current was too strong for him. Other students tried to save him,” said Idesis.

On Wednesday night, the college sent an SMS to students, expressing its condolences.

natasha.prince@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

* IOL has confirmed with the Cape Argus that Michael Gresak was 23 years old and in matric at a private college.

Parents at some of the Cape Town schools to close at the end of the year are concerned for their children’s safety.

Cape Town - Parents at some of the schools to close at the end of the year are concerned for their children’s safety as they will have to rely on transport arranged by the provincial Education Department to get to their new schools.

On Tuesday. Education MEC Donald Grant announced that 20 schools would be closed at the end of the year for a number of reasons, including dwindling or low pupil numbers and multigrade teaching.

Nettie Koordom, governing body chairwoman at Bergrivier NGK Primary in Wellington, said the pupils refused to go to another school. “They don’t want to go to school by bus.”

Sharon Filander, governing body chairwoman at Bracken Hill EK Primary near Knysna, said parents “don’t want their children to take the bus. They said this is no option”.

Lititia October, acting principal at Denneprag Primary in Mossel Bay, said children would have to get up earlier for school and would arrive home later.

Grant’s spokeswoman Bronagh Casey said rigorous safety measures were applied to transport contracted by the department. The measures included a team of seven officials who checked whether contractors were complying with conditions.

Members of the team travelled with road inspectors to carry out spot checks.

Each district also had officials responsible for managing the transport scheme in their areas. Casey said that while road traffic regulations required transport suppliers to renew roadworthy certificates every 12 months, the department required them every six months.

Grant said Education Department employees, including teachers and support staff, would move with pupils to their new schools or alternative schools would be sought. Where a pupil had to move from a no-fee to a fee-paying school the department would pay their fees in 2013. Where necessary, the department would assist parents to apply for fee exemptions.

David Millar, provincial chairman of the National Professional Teachers’ Organisation of SA, said it was commendable that the financial circumstances and concerns of parents had been considered.

“Naptosa notes that safe transport has been promised and the union appeals to the education and transport MECs to monitor official learner transport constantly.”

ilse.fredericks@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

“The message we want to send is: if you kill a policeman and you get arrested, there will be no bail. You must rot in jail.”

Cape Town - About 20 000 Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (Popcru) members are angered by the murder of two police officers gunned down in Hout Bay last week.

Popcru provincial secretary Mncedisi David Mbolekwa, backed by dozens of Imizamo Yethu informal settlement residents, protested outside the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday.

“The message we want to send is: if you kill a policeman and you get arrested, there will be no bail. You must rot in jail,” Mbolekwa said.

Popcru and the residents were at court on Wednesday for the first appearance of the man accused of killing two police officers in the informal settlement last Friday.

Fabianus Fillipus, originally of Namibia, was arrested on Sunday for the murders of Constable Constable Phindiwe Nikani, 26, and colleague Mandisi Nduku, 27.

Magistrate Marietjie van Eeden explained Fillipus’s rights, but Fillipus said he did not understand English very well and later asked that a Xhosa interpreter assist him.

Fillipus said he would defend himself.

State prosecutor Andile Tembani asked that the case be postponed for one week to ascertain Fillipus’s bail profile and decide whether the State would oppose bail.

After a short deliberation, the magistrate decided to roll the case to Thursday so that an interpreter could be arranged.

Fillipus was held at the Bellville police station.

jade.witten@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

Patricia de Lille has described Superintendent Mpumelelo Xakekile as a dedicated officer who was passionate about his job.

Cape Town - Cape Town mayor Patricia de Lille has described slain metro police officer Superintendent Mpumelelo Xakekile as a dedicated officer who was passionate about his job.

Xakekile, 50, was shot dead last week while issuing a fine to a minibus taxi in Khayelitsha.

Speaking at a memorial service for the officer on Wednesday, De Lille told a packed OR Tambo Hall in Khayelitsha that she had worked with Xakekile two weeks ago while officers were out on a drug raid in Hanover Park and Kewtown.

“I witnessed a man who was dedicated to and passionate about his job. That dedication and passion are evident in all the men and women who work day and night to make our city safe,” De Lille said.

“Superintendent Xakekile was so committed to rooting out lawlessness in the city that he could not let a violation of the law go unpunished simply because he was not on duty.”

De Lille said she had visited Xakekile’s family to convey her condolences to his wife, Nomzingisi, and daughter Nompululelo.

She said she tried to share the family’s grief, especially as Xakekile had died on his wife’s birthday and the two were planning to spend the evening together.

“He was a hero in life as he was in his tragic death,” she said. “We are doing everything we can to ensure that justice is achieved for his death. We are living in a sick society where people took away an innocent life for the fun of it. We will leave no stone unturned to bring the murderers to book.”

Sipho Xakekile told those at the memorial service that he had arrived at the scene as paramedics were trying to resuscitate his nephew after he had been shot. He said he knelt and prayed the minute his nephew died, when a blanket was placed over his body.

He said his nephew’s death was a blow to the family as he was a breadwinner and someone who loved his job, family and serving the community.

Meanwhile, police spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Andrè Traut has said the memorial service for two slain Hout Bay police officers, Phindiwe Nikani and Mandisi Nduku, is to be held at 10am on Friday in the multi-purpose hall in Hangberg.

neo.maditla@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

The City of Cape Town envisages its commuters using different modes of transport across one seamless network, an official said.

Cape Town - The City of Cape Town envisages its commuters using different modes of transport across one seamless network, a council official said on Thursday.

A commuter would in the future be able to buy one ticket to travel on a train, taxi and bus regardless of operators, transport mayoral committee member Brett Herron said at the launch of the city's single transport authority.

“This also means the harmonisation of timetables and connections... It means integrated fares across multiple public transport operators.”

Herron said the network would be within 500 metres of nearly every home in the city.

Western Cape transport MEC Robin Carlisle said the project would tackle spatial and racial divides.

“Nothing can bridge the apartheid barriers of this city faster than an integrated transport network,” he said.

The single authority to manage the network would be called “Transport for Cape Town”.

Mayor Patricia de Lille said a single system would mean faster travel times, more safety measures and better facilities.

No date was announced for the official network launch.

Sapa

Two people have been arrested in connection with the shooting of a Belhar policeman, Cape Town police said.

Cape Town - Two people have been arrested in connection with the shooting of a Belhar policeman, Cape Town police said on Thursday.

Warrant Officer November Filander said the two, aged 28 and 33, were arrested in Belhar on Wednesday.

They were found in possession of a firearm, which might have been used in the shooting, he said.

They allegedly shot and wounded Sergeant Kevin Rogers while he was arresting three men in Belhar on Tuesday night.

“The two suspects will appear in the Bellville Magistrate's Court tomorrow [Friday], on charges of attempted murder,” said Filander.

He said three people taken in for questioning on Tuesday were released on Wednesday as they could not be linked to the shooting.

Sapa

An advocate has gone on the attack over “skewed” briefing patterns, which, he said, resulted in black and women counsel being overlooked.

Cape Town -

A senior advocate has gone on the attack over “skewed” briefing patterns, which, he said, resulted in black and women counsel being overlooked.

He said this applied especially to those who had studied at previously disadvantaged universities.

Ashton Schippers, SC - who said he was from the Cape Flats - was one of eight candidates interviewed on Wednesday by the Judicial Service Commission at a city hotel to fill four vacancies at the Western Cape High Court.

Schippers’ interview centred largely on the slow pace of transformation in the legal profession.

This came amid hot debate during Wednesday’s interviews over the transformation of the Bench, particularly the lack of women judges.

It emerged that on the Western Cape Bench, eight of the 28 judges are women and only one is an African woman.

Of the 20 men, nine are white, five African, four coloured and two Indian.

Besides the one African woman on the Bench, there are three coloured women, as well as two who are Indian and another two white.

Justice Minister Jeff Radebe questioned many of the interviewees about whether they considered themselves ideal candidates, not only in relation to whether they were “fit and proper” to be a judge, but also whether they believed their appointment would advance transformation goals.

Early in his interview, Schippers raised concern over the briefing of advocates.

He said he had researched briefing patterns for matters which had appeared in the Supreme Court of Appeal and the Constitutional Court over the last three months.

He said he had found that “not less than 70 percent” of appearances in these two courts over that period had been white, male advocates.

The University of the Western Cape’s Dean of the Law Faculty, Professor Julia Sloth-Nielsen, had also in recent months told him about an incident last year in which one of her graduates - who had been doing her articles at a big law firm at the time - was asked by a partner “what it was like to have received education at an inferior institution”.

“Now I don’t have to tell you that partner will never brief a black advocate, let alone someone from UWC,” said Schippers.

He believed that in order to bring about change, attorneys had to change their briefing patterns by making use of black and women advocates.

Senior counsel had to do the same by roping them in as junior counsel.

This could result in the transfer of skills and, consequently, the expansion of the pool of potential judges.

Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng also made his voice heard on the issue, saying students from previously disadvantaged universities were “almost condemned to mediocrity” because these institutions did not have the budget to afford professors and lecturers with “strings of degrees”.

“That speaks to the attorneys and advocates who come from there and quality of work that is going to be given to those people,” said Justice Mogoeng.

However, Gauteng Judge President Bernard Ngoepe warned that while people should be given opportunities, it should not give rise to a “culture of entitlement” and the relaxing of professional standards.

The JSC also interviewed magistrate Nonkosi Saba, attorneys Stephen Koen, Pearl Mantame, Judith Cloete and Nape Dolamo and advocates Jeremy Gauntlett, SC, and Owen Rogers, SC.

Gauntlett’s much-anticipated interview was relatively subdued.

His candidacy stirred up controversy this week when Paul Ngobeni, former special adviser to Defence Minister Lindiwe Sisulu, wrote a scathing letter to the JSC claiming that Gauntlett was “uniquely unfit” for the Bench.

This was followed by a response by Gauntlett, while the JSC also received a flurry of correspondence in support of him.

Another talked-about candidate was Rogers. When he was not appointed last year it sparked successful litigation from the Cape Bar Council against the JSC.

Rogers stuck to his published view that the institution of “silk” should be abolished.

leila.samodien@inl.co.za

Cape Times

A single Cape Town transport network will be rolled out within the next five years, a council official said.

Cape Town - A single Cape Town transport network will be rolled out within the next five years, a council official said on Thursday.

Buses would be the first to fall under the control of the newly-launched “Transport for Cape Town” authority, followed by minibus taxis and then trains, transport mayoral committee member Brett Herron told Sapa.

These processes would take place in phases until the full roll-out within four to five years.

It was envisaged that the network would be within 500m of nearly every home.

A commuter would be able to travel on all three modes of transport with one card, regardless of operators.

There would be one transport timetable and integrated fares.

He said city dwellers would need to buy a smart card, but those who could not afford it would pay a lower fee.

The authority was launched with much fanfare on Thursday in the Cape Town city hall.

Speaking on the sideline of the launch, Transport Minister Ben Martins said other provinces could soon get an integrated transport network.

“The purpose is always to take that practice throughout the country. So we are starting here today (Thursday), we'll learn many important lessons from this endeavour and as we refine the system, we'll take it to other provinces.”

Western Cape transport MEC Robin Carlisle said the Cape Town transport network would tackle spatial and racial divides.

“Nothing can bridge the apartheid barriers of this city faster than an integrated transport network.”

According to Carlisle, around two million people in the province used some form of public transport every day.

Over half used trains, about 30 percent took taxis and the remainder travelled by bus.

Martins announced in his speech that the bus rapid transport system, as seen in Cape Town and Johannesburg, would be taken to about 12 other cities.

He did not divulge which cities would benefit. - Sapa

The defence team in the Maqubela murder trial warned that it would request a formal inquiry in the event of any unreasonable delays.

Cape Town - The defence team in the Maqubela murder trial warned on Thursday that it would request a formal inquiry in the event of any unreasonable delays.

Counsel Marius Broeksma gave notice in the Western Cape High Court that he would demand such an inquiry after the prosecution team had the case postponed to Monday for the testimony of a medical practitioner.

Thandi Maqubela and businessman Vela Mabena are on trial for the alleged murder of Maqubela's husband, acting judge Patrick Maqubela.

The judge was found dead in his apartment in Sea Point in June last year.

Prosecutors Bonnie Currie-Gambo and Pedro van Wyk allege that the judge was suffocated by means of a strip of plastic cling wrap placed over his face.

Maqubela and Mabena deny the murder charge and claim he died of natural causes.

Currie-Gambo told the court matters had to wait until Monday because the next witness, the judge's physician, lived in Port Elizabeth and was elderly and found travel uncomfortable.

Broeksma said he would demand a formal inquiry in terms of the Criminal Procedure Act in the event of any further unreasonable delays.

In terms of the act, the reasons for the further delays would have to be explained to the court.

If the court found them reasonable it would allow them, but the act empowered the court to refuse them if the delays were deemed unreasonable. - Sapa

After cycling across Africa and paddling around Madagascar, Riaan Manser is out to complete possibly his greatest challenge yet.

He has cycled across Africa and paddled around Madagascar and Iceland, and now Riaan Manser is out to complete possibly his greatest challenge yet.

His goal is to raise awareness of the plight of hungry children in SA, by living on a restricted diet of around 2 500 calories a day while cycling the word “hope” across the face of the country.

“I would normally eat 6 000 calories a day,” said Manser, who set off from Cape Town with the Add Hope campaign on September 14, and had already covered 2 800km when he stopped in at the 1 000 Hills Community Helpers in Inchanga, yesterday.

Despite having cycled for more than a month, he was animated and friendly while he shared lunch with toddlers at the centre – the very children that he was riding for.

Covering an average of 130km a day, in combination with the restricted food intake, has taken its toll on Manser, who has lost 11kg since his journey began. “I don’t have the energy to motivate myself. It is hard to get on the bike,” he said.

“I am doing a job, and my job is to know what it is like to be hungry,” he added.

He said that being truly hungry was a feeling that could not easily be described, and children going hungry was a problem that needed to be highlighted, especially in October – World Hunger Month.

Despite the severity of the challenge he was still facing, Manser maintained that the hope of aiding those in need would see him through.

The founder and director of 1 000 Hills Community Helpers, Dawn Leppan, praised Manser for what he was doing.

“It is so nice to meet someone who is doing their bit for the country.

“He is a great guy doing great things for people in desperate need.”

Manser will ride into Durban today as he completes another leg. His journey is scheduled to finish at Joburg’s Park Station on November 2.

The Mercury

Growing tourism in Cape Town in a weak global economy will require attracting more visitors from emerging economies, mayor Patricia de Lille said.

Cape Town - Growing tourism in Cape Town in a weak global economy will require attracting more visitors from emerging economies, mayor Patricia de Lille said on Thursday.

She said the current economic climate was putting strain on Europe and North America, Cape Town's traditional tourist markets.

“We need therefore to ensure that we channel energy and resources into attracting tourists from areas where there remains strong growth in tourist numbers,” De Lille told the 8th annual general meeting of Cape Town Tourism, according to a copy of her speech.

This meant drawing tourists from Asian, African and the Pacific regions where economies were growing at eight percent a year, as opposed to four percent in Europe.

She said the tourism sector would remain an important contributor to economic growth in Cape Town, as well as the nation as a whole. - Sapa

Poachers who helped save the lives of tourists say they are the unsung heroes of the Hout Bay boat disaster.

Cape Town - Poachers who helped save the lives of tourists say they are the unsung heroes of last Saturday’s Hout Bay boat disaster.

But these self-confessed criminals claim they have not received any recognition or thanks for coming to the rescue of the 37 people they found floating near a capsized boat.

Skipper Alphonso Wichman, 39, and his crew of divers and deckhands were one of the first vessels that assisted the victims of The Miroshga as they clung to whatever they could find to stay afloat.

“We went down to the harbour at about 2pm to start work,” Alphonso told the Daily Voice.

“The wind was strong and there was very high swells but we were used to this weather. We went out and had just passed Hangberg and we were about 100 metres past Seal Island when we saw a life raft.”

He says they looked around and sprang into action helping the people out of the water when they saw the capsized boat.

“Half the people weren’t wearing life jackets and we knew we had to save them,” said Alphonso.

“There were children in the water and we didn’t want to see any of them die or get hurt.”

John Knowles says he was one of the first people who jumped overboard to help the victims of ill-fated Miroshga.

“The water was cold and rough. We are used to that type of water but the tourists aren’t,” he said. “They were panicked and scared.”

John says he went back and forth pulling people from the water and handing them over to his colleagues on the boat.

“All I thought was, what if it was me, I would want somebody to help me,” said John.

Alphonso said he had used his 5.5m rubber duck to transport people from the shallow water to the rescue boats.

“My divers would swim to them, bring them to the boat and we would pull them on board and out of the ocean,” he said.

Kyle Cairns, 25, helped transport people from the sea to the waiting vessel.

“They were so desperate to get out of the water that they clung to us and tried to climb on top of us,” said Kyle.

“At one point I thought I was going to drown the way they pulled me down.”

Reemo Raatz, 25, one of the people on board Alphonso’s boat, says the people they saved were clearly relieved to get out of the water.

“They were in shock, as we pulled them out of the water they just laid there and they cried,” he said.

“We pulled all the people out of the water but we couldn’t save the three ladies that was trapped in the boat because we didn’t have the right equipment.

“Then when the rescue boats arrived and we told them that there was still three people trapped in the hull of the boat, they just dismissed us and told us to leave.”

Alphonso told the Daily Voice that officials at the harbour had dismissed their contribution to the rescue of the tourists.

“But if it wasn’t for us then more people probably would’ve died,” said Lincoln Theunissen.

“And then we read and heard that the NSRI were the ones who saved those people’s lives when it was really us.”

Spokesperson for Alan Winde, MEC for Finance, Economic Development and Tourism, Phumzile van Damme said that a collective thank you had been extended to the Hout Bay community for their help on Saturday.

“The entire community was thanked for their contribution and all their help,” said van Damme.

Daily Voice

A second police station will soon open in Nyanga - the province’s murder capital - the Western Cape police commissioner announced.

Cape Town - A second police station would soon be opened in Nyanga - the province’s murder capital - Western Cape police commissioner Lieutenant-General Arno Lamoer announced on Thursday.

The announcement was made at the launch of the police’s “Safer Festive Season” campaign in Brown’s Farm.

Nyanga has been the province’s murder capital for five years. Nyanga cluster commander Jeremy Veary said the Brown’s Farm area accounted for about 49 percent of murders in Nyanga.

Lamoer accompanied officers on a walkabout through Brown’s Farm on Thursday, where he announced that a new mobile police station would be opened soon. This would be followed by the opening of a satellite police station in the area in the future.

He told residents criminals no longer only targeted residents, but law enforcement officers, including police, were also in the firing line. Four law enforcement officers were attacked in the Western Cape this week.

Lamoer said safety was not only a police matter, but residents, NGOs, the City of Cape Town, businesses and the provincial government needed to work together to curb crime.

“Safety is not only a police problem, it needs efforts from all of us. Co-operation must be strengthened and we don’t need to be vigilantes to clear the streets,” Lamoer said.

There have been at least 14 known acts of vigilante killings in Khayelitsha and Nyanga over the past few months, which led to the establishment of a commission of inquiry to investigate police inefficiency in Khayelitsha.

Lamoer said the challenge now was “to make this festive season the safest ever”. He urged residents to forget their differences and work together.

Lamoer commended Veary and other policemen for continuing to do their job despite criticism and attacks from criminals.

Veary said they had established a “people policing” strategy to tackle crime in the area in the past three months. It comprised 66 street committees in Nyanga with one policeman allocated to a committee.

“Crime is down and this increases our presence in Nyanga.”

Veary said they had found that most assaults and murders in the area occurred between people who knew each other. He said the street committees had been most effective here, as they were run by locals living in the area, with the help of police.

Veary said large socio-economic issues needed to be tackled.

“You can have 1 000 policemen here, but as long as the people live in poverty there will always be crime.”

Hanif Loonat, Western Cape Community Policing Forum board chairperson, appealed to residents to speak out against criminal activities.

Loonat urged them to stop supporting illegal shebeens, gangs and the killing of policemen.

“Your silence makes you as guilty as the perpetrators of the crime.”

Lamoer said attacks on police officers had increased to 180 in the past nine months.

Cape Argus

Social networks were buzzing as the search for Rabbit steamed ahead. The hullabaloo was for Nicolas “Nic” Henshilwood, who suffers from thyroid cancer.

Cape Argus - Social networks were buzzing on Thursday as the search for a stuffed brown bunny named Rabbit steamed ahead. The hullabaloo was for nine-year-old Nicolas “Nic” Henshilwood, who suffers from thyroid cancer.

Nic will undergo a three-day radioactive iodine treatment at Groote Schuur Hospital soon. But after his treatment Nic will have to give up his companion, Rabbit.

His mother, Barbara, 40, of Wynberg, told the Cape Argus on Thursday that Nic has slept with Rabbit from birth.

“Rabbit has been with him every single night of his life. He gives him great comfort,” she said.

Nic and Rabbit will be in isolation for three days while undergoing therapy.

After the treatment, Nic’s clothes and Rabbit will be incinerated to avoid radiological contamination.

Rabbit, who was bought at Woolworths, was given to Barbara by her sister when she was pregnant with Nic, as a present for her first-born.

Henshilwood said she had received “overwhelming support from people around the country”, wanting to help. “I believe there is a look-alike in Pretoria that’s on its way, but we will only know for sure once we have him in our hands,” she said.

Nic, a Grade 3 pupil from Sweet Valley Primary School, in Bergvliet underwent a “massive” operation three weeks ago at Vincent Pallotti Hospital to remove a lump on his neck, and that’s when the cancer was discovered.

“Although he has gone through enormous strain in the past weeks he has been a brave little boy. He has taken everything in his stride. The only thing that’s giving him stress is that Rabbit will have to be destroyed after his treatment,” said Henshilwood.

Leaving Rabbit at home is not an option for Nic, as the family wants to create a comfortable environment for him while he isolated.

Besides Rabbit, Nic will take with him his Nintendo game, a TV and a DVD player.

nontando.mposo@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

He was a musician, a songwriter and an actor – Michael Gresak was convinced that his life would be special.

Cape Town -

He was a musician, a songwriter and an actor – Michael Gresak was convinced that his life would be special. But on Wednesday afternoon his life was cut short after he drowned at Clifton’s Fourth Beach.

The 23-year-old had returned to finish his matric at Rosebank Progress College after dropping out of school when he was younger to pursue a career in theatre.

The day after a valedictory service on Tuesday night, where he landed the history prize, Gresak and fellow matric students decided to have a picnic at Clifton’s Fourth Beach.

According to Harold Idesis, Progress College’s principal, Gresak went for a swim and was caught in strong currents and pulled out to sea.

“He couldn’t get back,” said Idesis. “The other students phoned the police.

“I’m very proud of how my students reacted,” he added.

By 5.45pm on Wednesday Gresak’s body had been recovered by the NSRI.

June Howell, Gresak’s history teacher, said she couldn’t believe what had happened. Gresak had told her he was done with his practical education and ready to become an academic.

“He was such an insightful and intelligent young man,” she said. “He was very excited about the prospect of being accepted into UCT.”

While Gresak enjoyed entertaining his fellow pupils and teachers with songs, dancing and even rap routines, he was also very hungry for good grades.

“Every exam he wrote, he would fight for every mark,” she said.

“You must see his papers, all the marks have had corrections made to them. “He always had a different take on everything, he was very special,” she added.

Paul Griffiths, a teacher at the Waterfront Theatre School Gresak attended for four years, said what really stood out about the talented student was his sense of purpose.

“He was on this journey to find his purpose, and to have it cut short is a terrible thing,” he said.

Gresak was well-known for composing his own music and writing his own plays. Griffith said for the 23-year-old it was a way of communicating his completely different perception of the world to others.

Griffith also admired Gresak’s acting skills, which had earned the young actor the attention and friendship of actress Anthea Thompson.

“He was one of the few actors who was able to make the audience cry,” he said.

On his Facebook page, Gresak described himself as “a golden bullet sent through space at the beginning of time riding the wave of lightning stopping for no one”.

Police said an autopsy had not been completed and detectives were waiting for the relevant paperwork to be filed before the investigation into his death started.

kieran.legg@inl.co.za

Cadet News Agency

Cape Argus

A policeman accused of raping a woman in the station’s toilet overdosed on tranquillisers the day he was arrested, a court has heard.

Cape Town - A police officer accused of raping a woman in the toilet of Elsies River police station overdosed on tranquillisers the day he was arrested, the Western Cape High Court has heard.

Constable Jaede Fillies’s lawyer, Adrian Montzinger, called doctor Quanita Gool to verify that she had prescribed five Adco-alzam tablets to Fillies a day before his arrest.

Gool, a general practitioner in Elsies River, testified on Thursday that Fillies had seen her on July 29, 2010 and complained that he was under stress.

She testified that after consulting with him she decided to prescribe the pills to calm him and help him sleep.

Gool booked Fillies off from work as she wanted him to see a psychologist. She said if he was on the medication, he would not have been able to perform his duties effectively. But Fillies went to work the next day anyway.

On July 30, 2010, police arrested Fillies for his alleged role in the rape and kidnapping of a 29-year-old woman. Fillies had testified earlier during a trial-within-a-trial that he took three tablets that morning instead of a half-tablet as prescribed by Gool.

Gool said side effects of the drug included sedation, drowsiness, disorientation and memory loss. If Fillies had taken three that morning, the side effects would’ve been more severe.

Fillies’s defence will argue that he was not of a sound and sober mind at the time his statement was taken and that it should therefore not be admitted as evidence.

The State alleges Fillies and one of his co-accused, Theodore Syster, kidnapped the woman and her boyfriend from Viking Park, Epping, on June 15, 2010 and took them to the police station. Her boyfriend paid a R100 public nuisance fine and was told to leave.

Syster allegedly raped the woman inside a toilet at Elsies River police station while Fillies allegedly filmed part of the ordeal on a cellphone. Two others, admin clerk Beverly Carelse and constable Theo van Wyk, are also on trial for being accessories to the crime.

Closing arguments in the trial-within-a-trial are expected to be heard on Monday.

jade.witten@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

Struggle veteran and maths professor Sedick Isaacs, who had taught fellow Robben Island inmates like President Jacob Zuma and Justice Dikgang Moseneke, has died.

Cape Town -

Struggle veteran and maths professor Sedick Isaacs, who had taught fellow Robben Island inmates like President Jacob Zuma and Justice Dikgang Moseneke, died on Thursday. He was 73.

“He passed away in hospital [of] cancer,” Isaacs’s brother-in-law, Riedewaan Davids, said.

Isaacs was 23 when he began a 13-year sentence for sabotage, sharing time with Nelson Mandela, after the apartheid police captured him in 1964.

“He had a passion to teach and had touched so many lives. Sedick started the library on Robben Island,” said Davids.

Isaacs was freed in 1977, but banned for seven years.

Davids said Isaacs was born in Bo-Kaap, grew up in the area and was close friends with the late historian Achmat Davids. He taught maths and science at Trafalgar High School at the time he was captured. Davids said Isaacs studied at UCT and Unisa and was a fellow of the Royal Statistical College in London.

While Isaacs was on the island, he completed a Bachelor’s degree in maths, a Master’s in information science and a doctorate in computer science.

“While on the island he made a key that could fit all the cell doors. He had to make another one because after the prison was shut down, the last person to leave apparently lost the key. Sedick kept a copy of the key and from it he made a duplicate. His key is still here. Sedick was dedicated, always seeking truth and justice.”

After his release Isaacs was not involved in party politics, but returned to teaching and was involved in business.

Zuma’s spokesman, Mac Maharaj, was asked for comment, but did not respond by deadline.

ANC provincial chairman Marius Fransman saluted Isaacs and paid tribute to him for the contribution he made to the struggle. Isaacs was an example of the finest activists who fought for freedom, he said.

“We are saddened to hear that a hero of the struggle has passed on. Sedick left his own legacy on the island as a sports administrator and a scientist. Our deepest condolences go to the family and we thank them for… a man who dedicated his life to the struggle.”

One of Isaacs’s Trafalgar High School pupils, Mogamat Salie of Wynberg, said he had taught maths and science not only during school hours, but also in his free time at home.

“He was the most humble and kind person. He also taught after hours for free. I last saw him when I went to get my copy of his book Surviving in the Apartheid Prison autographed recently. He was sickly. I’ll remember him as a good teacher and a kind man,” Salie said.

The book details Isaacs’s experiences on the island, including how inmates played soccer with a ball fashioned from rags.

Isaacs will be buried according to Muslim rites this afternoon. He is survived by his wife, Mareldia, two daughters, Nadia and Wanita, and two grandchildren.

aziz.hartley@inl.co.za

Cape Times

Government departments spent R11bn on consultants, contractors, legal costs and outsourced services in the last financial year.

Cape Town - Government departments spent R11 billion on consultants, contractors, legal costs and outsourced services in the last financial year, reflecting a growing reliance on outside help.

It was an increase of 6.5 percent, or R680 million, from the previous financial year.

Departments spent R425m on legal costs, R2.6bn on “business and advisory services”, R1.9bn on “agency and supported [or] outsourced services” and R5.6bn on contractors.

The figures emerged with the release of departments’ annual reports, which have been the subject of briefings in Parliament in recent weeks.

The biggest spenders on business and advisory services were the departments of Transport (R664m), Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (R268m), Defence and Military Veterans (R219m), Water Affairs (R166m) and Rural Affairs and Land Reform (R148m).

Of the R425m spent on legal costs, the Police Department topped the charts (R135m) followed by the Rural Affairs Department (R58m).

One factor cited in the use of consultants is the high vacancy rates in some departments. In the Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs, for example, the vacancy rate is 26.6 percent.

DA spokesman on public service and administration Kobus Marais said the figures were “evidence of the crippling effects of cadre deployment”, as well as the public sector’s inability to attract and retain skilled personnel.

He said the government had an average vacancy rate of 15 percent - or 19 950 positions - but this did not appear to correlate with savings on the salary bill. “Despite massive spending on consultants and R4.1bn spent on salaries for senior managers, national departments only reached, on average, 52 percent of their performance targets.”

He would write to Public Service Commission chairman Ben Mthembu to request an investigation.

He said during a presentation to Parliament last year that Mthembu had highlighted the “issue of consultants” as a major concern.

Mthembu had committed to “conducting comprehensive research into this matter”, he said.

Political Bureau

President Jacob Zuma has extended his condolences to the family and friends of the late Professor Sedick Isaacs.

Cape Town -

President Jacob Zuma on Friday extended his condolences to the family and friends of the late Professor Sedick Isaacs.

“On my behalf and that of government and the people of South Africa, I would like to express our deepest condolences,” said Zuma.

The 72-year-old liberation movement activist died in a Cape Town hospital after a short battle with an illness, on Thursday evening.

Zuma hailed him for promoting reading among prisoners at Robben Island while he was detained in 1964.

During his 13-year imprisonment, Isaacs served as chairman of the education committee and the prisoners’ first aid unit.

He also taught mathematics and science to his fellow prisoners.

“May his soul rest in peace,” said Zuma. - Sapa

A Cape Town man is about to make history as the first blind person to take part in the 100-man Antarctica Marathon.

Cape Town - Blind adventurer and daredevil Hein Wagner from Cape Town has never been able to see, but that has not stopped him from following his vision.

Wagner, 40, suffers from Leber congenital amaurosis (LCA), a condition in which there is no communication between his eyes and brain.

Despite this, Wagner is about to make history as the first blind person to take part in the 100-man Antarctica Marathon.

His vision? To complete seven marathons on seven continents.

“I wanted to complete the most difficult of the seven races and according to Mike [Bailey, his fellow athlete], it was the one in Antarctica. Luckily, I have already participated in New York, Hong Kong and Cape Town marathons and am excited to tick this one off my bucket list in March,” he said, adding that the idea was the brainchild of Bailey.

The pair aim to complete the full Antarctica 42.4km marathon.

Wagner said the biggest challenge would be the unpredictable weather.

“On a nice day, it could be minus 10 Centigrade with little wind, while the next could be minus 35 degrees with icy gale-force winds. The harder the wind blows, the less I can hear what’s going on around me, especially instructions from my running partner.”

To prepare themselves for the race, the pair run about 50km a week.

And to get used to the cold, they plan to set up a treadmill in a cold storage room.

When not sailing from Cape Town to Rio or breaking the world land-speed record for a blind driver at 322.52km/h, Wagner enjoys listening to audio books.

His future adventures include a triathlon in December where he will complete a 2.2km swim, a 90km cycle (on a tandem with Bailey) and a 25km run.

“If you give a little bit of what you’ve got, you’ll get back more than you’ve ever imagined,” he said.

lauren.isaacs@inl.co.za

Cape Times