Johannesburg – Adriaan Netto, the 37-year-old father accused of raping and murdering his 10-month-old baby, is a wanted man after failing to show up at court on Thursday morning for judgment.

Instead of arriving at court to hear whether or not he has been found guilty of killing his tiny daughter, Netto fled from his home early Thursday morning.
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Cape Town – It was main road madness in Green Point and Sea Point overnight as three separate collisions destroyed four cars, two shop fronts, two sidewalk bollards and two lampposts.

The first smash happened about 4.40pm on Wednesday on the corner of Beach Road and Marine Drive, when a BMW slammed into a lamppost, bringing it down and blocking traffic at the start of peak hour. No one was injured, said traffic spokesman Richard Coleman.
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Durban – A ship carrying 3 500 cattle, sheep and goats set sail for Mauritius from East London on Wednesday – leaving furious animal rights activists in its wake.

Tension ran high on the quayside, with the National Council of SPCAs (NSPCA) saying its inspectors were not given full access to the MV Barkly Pearl to monitor the loading of the animals.
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Johannesburg – Prison warders protested outside Mangaung Prison in Bloemfontein on Thursday, the prison said.

The warders, who were employed by a security company, were angry about the suspension of a fellow employee on Monday, said the prison’s contract management director Joe Maako.

He said the suspended employee was accused of intimidating and influencing members to protest during wage negotiations.

The protest began on Wednesday. Only a few of the prison’s 400 warders reported for work.

The warders were expected to meet with the security company’s management on Thursday, said Maako.

Sapa

Johannesburg – The Constitutional Court dismissed an application on Thursday “for reconsideration” of a previous order it made relating to an order of costs.

In May, the Constitutional Court dismissed, with costs, an application for leave to appeal against an order of costs by attorney Sizwe Snail.

The High Court in Pretoria had granted an application against Snail with costs de bonis propriis (from his own pocket).

Snail’s conduct in the high court, while representing a client, had led to the punitive cost order against him.

The high court and the Supreme Court of Appeal refused him leave to appeal.

After the Constitutional Court dismissed Snail’s application, he brought an application “for reconsideration”.

The Constitutional Court held that, in terms of common law, once a court had made a final decision in a matter, it had no power afterwards to reconsider its decision. This could happen only on grounds of rescission or variation of judgments.

Snail elected not to cast his as a rescission application.

However, even if he had, the court held that he would not have succeeded because the facts of the case did not show that the judgment had been incorrectly made.

Sapa

Durban – A case of attempted murder is being investigated by Melmoth police after an unknown gunman fired several shots into the mayor’s bedroom.

Police said the mayor of Mthonjaneni, Maureen Ndlangamandla, was at home watching televison with her husband at the time.

No one was injured,” said police spokesman Captain Thulani Zwane on Wednesday.
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Cape Town – Global security matters such as the Syrian crisis must be dealt with by the UN, President Jacob Zuma again insisted on Thursday.

Speaking to members of the parliamentary Press Gallery Association, Zuma referred to last week’s G20 summit, which saw South Africa, Russia, China, India, Indonesia, Brazil, and Argentina speak out against a possible US -led military strike on the strife-torn country.

“We emphasised our view that the United Nations Security Council is better placed to handle the Syrian question within the ambit of international law,” Zuma said.

“South Africa raised sharply the need to respect the United Nations and multilateralism in issues of global security.”

Certain Western countries are reportedly drawing up a possible military response – likely to be limited to missile attacks – to a suspected chemical weapons attack near Damascus last month that activists say killed hundreds of people.

– SAPA

Pretoria – The widow of a slain Marikana miner accused the government on Thursday of taking sides by funding one party over another at the Farlam Commission of Inquiry.

“Government is taking sides, as if the commission is being held for the police only,” Zameka Nungu said at the Union Buildings in Pretoria.

She said the workers wanted their counsel Dali Mpofu and his team to represent them and not state lawyers.

The government’s failure to fund the workers’ legal team would result in the truth about what happened in Marikana not being known, she said.

“I still don’t know what happened. I want to know why they were shot.”

The Farlam Commission is investigating the deaths of 44 people in strike-related violence near Lonmin’s platinum mine in Marikana, North West, last year.

On 16 August 2012, police shot dead 34 people, mainly mineworkers, while trying to disperse a group gathered on a hill near the mine.

Ten people, including two policemen and two security guards, died in the preceding week.

Nungu said she had struggled to raise her children since her husband’s death.

“I have hope that the Lord will answer,” she said.

Funding needed

Mpofu recently provisionally withdrew from the commission’s hearings after failing to get state funding for himself and his team.

On Monday, the commission’s chairperson, retired Judge Ian Farlam, ruled that the commission would continue after Mpofu lodged an application to have it postponed until he secured funding.

Farlam found it would not be prejudicial to Mpofu’s clients to continue the hearings in his absence.

The march was organised by Citizens4Marikana, a group who came together through social media on the first anniversary of the Marikana shootings.

It wanted to appeal directly to President Jacob Zuma for legal funding in its quest to get to the truth about what happened at Marikana, spokesperson Erik de Ridder said on Monday.

March convenor Bishop Joe Seoka said on Thursday that the Marikana Dignity Trust, which was established to further the cause of the miners, would also be used to restore the dignity of the Marikana community.

“It will also be used to assist with counselling because people were traumatised by what they witnessed on the day,” he said.

– SAPA

Pretoria – Arguments advanced in seeking a review and the setting aside of the decision to withdraw charges against Richard Mdluli were based on hearsay, the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria heard on Thursday.

Advocate William Mokhari, representing the police, said lobby group Freedom Under Law (FUL) had formulated its court application based on hearsay in newspapers.

“It is now common knowledge that reliance by the applicant (FUL) on information from persons, who are unable to confirm the correctness thereof, or the veracity of the information is in fact counter-productive,” Mokhari said in written heads of arguments presented to the court.

Judge John Murphy asked Mokhari to specify the hearsay and the publications.

Mokhari submitted that the police and Mdluli had an employer/employee relationship, and that the Labour Court would be the appropriate forum to settle issues between them.

“The relationship between the [SA Police Service] and the fifth respondent [Mdluli] is governed by the employment contract concluded between the parties. In the absence of that contract, this court cannot assume jurisdiction on the matter, which emanates from an employment relationship.”

Review

Earlier, Advocate Laurance Hodes, representing the national director of public prosecutions (NDPP), contended that instead of “marching off to court”, FUL should have sought the review from the NDPP.

Hodes said the Mdluli matter had been provisionally withdrawn, which did not amount to a discontinuation of the prosecution process.

Decisions on whether to prosecute lay with the NDPP, not with courts, Hodes argued.

Judge John Murphy expressed reservations about Hodes’ assertion.

“So you can provisionally withdraw a matter for 25 years and that is fine?” he asked.

Murphy said that if courts could not intervene, it would enable corrupt prosecutors to get away with it, as cases would be taken off the roll.

FUL brought an application for a review and setting aside of the decision to withdraw criminal and disciplinary charges against the controversial former police crime intelligence head.

Mdluli was suspended amid charges of fraud and corruption, and charges relating to the murder of his ex-lover’s husband.

An inquest cleared him of any involvement in the murder.

The charges of fraud and corruption were also later withdrawn by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).

He was reinstated, but was again suspended in 2012 pending the court application to review the withdrawal of the criminal and disciplinary charges against him.

– SAPA

Johannesburg – Not enough candidates meet the requirements to fill senior job vacancies in the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID), Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa said on Thursday.

“We recognise the importance of a permanent head of IPID as well as the provincial heads,” he said in a statement.

“However, part of the delay why we could not finalise the appointment of provincial heads… was the fact that some of potential candidates did not meet some of the requirements.

“In fact, one of the first priorities of the head of IPID would be to put in place a management structure at the provincial level through the filling of these posts,” Mthethwa said.

The post of IPID head was advertised publicly in July.

The short-listed candidates were found not suitable for the position.

“We are cautious not to fill the vacancies willy-nilly or to meet a deadline without prior analysis including conducting the necessary competency tests, checks and balances,” Mthethwa said.

A second phase of interviews for the position took place in Pretoria last week.

Once a suitable candidate was found, Cabinet would still have to deliberate and approve the appointment.

– SAPA