Johannesburg – A shooting on Tuesday on the M1-south highway near Killarney in Johannesburg was like a movie, said witnesses.

“It sounded like a battlefield,” said Nomonde Sithebe, who works at an office park close to the scene.

“We heard gunshots. They were so loud… I think they exchanged more than 30 bullets.”

A man in a minibus taxi chased by police was shot and wounded in the shooting.

Police spokesperson Lungelo Dlamini said the man suffered wounds to the upper leg.

Eyewitness Khanyisile Khoza said the man’s wounds were severe.

“I don’t think his lower part will ever work again,” she said.

The man was taken to hospital under police guard.

Police were still searching for his accomplice, who fled after the bullet-riddled taxi came to a standstill near the Joe Slovo Drive off-ramp.

The man shot at police as he fled.

The wrecked vehicle was still parked under the bridge near the off-ramp by lunchtime and ballistics officials were combing the scene.

Confronting the driver

Dlamini said police approached the minibus taxi at a Pretoria taxi rank after a commotion, but it sped off.

“Police officers summoned back-up vehicles, including a chopper.”

Witnesses said shots were also coming from the chopper.

The man who fled the scene shot at police and they returned fire.

Dlamini said police had his particulars and were searching for him.

No police officials or other motorists were injured in the shoot-out.

The taxi driver would be charged with malicious damage to property and attempted murder.

Traffic on the M1-south was disrupted and traffic was moving slowly as dozens of traffic officials, police officers, and medics worked on the scene.

The police landed their helicopter on the highway. Shortly before 15:00, it was still there.

Traffic was being redirected.

– SAPA

Cape Town – Terminally-ill politician Mario Oriani-Ambrosini returned to the National Assembly on Tuesday with a poignant call for a new centre for the treatment of cancer.

Rising to deliver a statement in the House, the gaunt-looking IFP MP – who revealed earlier this year that he was stricken with inoperable lung cancer – told members the current “scientific paradigm” on the disease was wrong.

Oriani-Ambrosini took leave from his post earlier this year. In a statement in May, he announced he had been diagnosed with cancer.

“Suddenly, and without significant prior symptoms… I received a diagnosis of stage four lung cancer, which has extensively metastasised throughout my pleura.

“The condition is terminal and not operable, and, if left untreated, will cause me to be removed from all lists for Christmas functions or gifts,” he said at the time.

On Tuesday, as he stood with the aid of a stick to speak, he was greeted with long applause from fellow MPs across the House that twice stopped the start of his statement.

Speaker Max Sisulu told him: “Honourable member, welcome back; we’re delighted to have you back.”

Oriani-Ambrosini said 10 million people died world-wide of cancer each year, and new strategies were needed to deal with the disease.

However, the current legal framework in South Africa allowed only certain treatments to be administered to sufferers.

Further, only those treatments developed for profit by medical conglomerates were permitted, while alternatives were “prohibited from being administered” to patients.

Appeal for funding

Millions of people were “going through this hell of being a cancer patient, and die and suffer, possibly unnecessarily”, because government was not funding research and expediting approval for treatments where there was no profit to be made.

Oriani-Ambrosini then appealed to Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi to “establish in this country a centre, which can bring together different treatments for cancer”.

Responding, Motsoaledi said he had taken note of the appeal.

“I take note of what you said and will be eagerly waiting to welcome you to the department of health and listening to you attentively.”

In his statement in May this year, Oriani-Ambrosini said he was pursuing a course of treatment “based on different science, not on an alternative to science”.

He had been receiving this treatment for a while.

“At this point, I shall not speak or vouch for such a treatment, nor discredit it. My death or survival will do so,” he said at that time.

– SAPA

London – The next extradition hearing for honeymoon murder suspect Shrien Dewani should take place as soon as possible, Lord Chief Justice Lord Thomas said on Tuesday.

A panel of three high court judges, headed by Thomas, ruled that there were outstanding legal issues the court had to decide, the British Press Association reported.

Dewani is fighting removal to South Africa to face trial over his wife Anni’s death until he has recovered from mental health problems, said to include depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.

His lawyers have stressed at various hearings that he will be willing to defend himself at trial once he is fit to do so.

Thomas ruled his case must be reopened to consider two key issues. The first related to Dewani’s status as “an accused person”.

The second concerned whether it would be “unjust and oppressive” to extradite Dewani “regardless of the prognosis” of his mental condition.

Legal experts said the renewed hearing, which could lead to appeals all the way to the Supreme Court, could delay any possibility of Dewani being extradited for months, if not years.

Wanting closure

Outside court, Anni’s sister Ami Denborg said: “We’ve been waiting patiently for three years and today there is another delay in this case. We don’t really understand why there are all these delays.

“We really want this case to move on. We want this to go to South Africa now because this is taking a toll on the family. It’s hard for us to move on with our lives.”

Her brother Anish Hindocha added: “We need closure. We can’t bear it.”

Denborg said: “It is up to Shrien’s doctors to judge whether he is fit or not to stand trial, but he needs to go to South Africa and answer the questions raised against him. It doesn’t help anyone, him not being able to answer anything.

“In November it will be three years since my sister died and we’ve gone nowhere.”

In July, Chief Magistrate Howard Riddle ruled at the Westminster Magistrate’s Court that Dewani should be extradited and rejected his attempt to stay in the UK for further hospital treatment.

He said Dewani, from Bristol, was still not fit to plead or stand trial at present, but there was evidence he would receive the care he needed in South Africa.

Appeal

Judge Riddle had originally given the go-ahead to Dewani’s extradition in 2011, but had to reconsider the position after the high court allowed his appeal in March last year.

Dewani is suspected of ordering the killing of his new wife Anni, 28, who was shot as the couple travelled in a taxi on the outskirts of Cape Town in November 2010.

So far three men have been convicted for Anni Dewani’s death.

Last year, Xolile Mngeni was convicted of premeditated murder for shooting her.

Prosecutors claimed he was a hitman hired by Dewani to kill his wife, something Dewani has consistently denied.

Taxi driver Zola Tongo was jailed for 18 years after he admitted his part in the killing.

Another accomplice, Mziwamadoda Qwabe, also pleaded guilty to murder and was handed a 25-year prison sentence.

Dewani’s family have said that he remains committed to returning to South Africa “when his health would permit a full trial and when appropriate protections are in place for his health and safety”.

– SAPA

Johannesburg – An Eastern Cape Grade 11 pupil’s case against Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga about the condition of her school was struck off the roll of the Bhisho High Court on Tuesday, Equal Education (EE) said.

“[We are] still waiting for the department to submit their signed copy of the settlement agreement,” EE said.

The matter would be re-enrolled once the documents had been submitted.

On 11 October an agreement was reached between the pupil, her school and the basic education department about the poor conditions at the school.

“A settlement agreement signed by the parties on 12 August 2013 and made into an order of the Bhisho High Court, settles the matter,” EE said in a statement at the time.

EE said the pupil, Palesa Faith Manyokole, initiated legal proceedings against the Moshesh Senior Secondary School’s principal, its governing body, the provincial and national education departments, and Motshekga.

“Learners from the school first wrote to Equal Education in 2012 to ask for the organisation’s assistance,” it said.

EE visited the school and found that the principal had spent nine months out of school, there were not enough teachers, that some did not attend school, there were too few textbooks, and that conditions at the hostel were appalling.

Eastern Cape education spokesperson Loyiso Pulumani said at the time that the department was satisfied and relieved that common ground had been found.

“A dedicated team was placed to focus on making these rather urgent improvements. We have a very able head of that district, and we are confident that indeed the issues will be dealt with.”

EE said that in June the department said it had probed financial mismanagement at the school. It said the principal was suspended, and an acting one was appointed to improve the school.

The department said the school was underperforming and that it would try to address the issue. Two months later, the agreement was reached.

One of the provisions was that the department submit a progress report a month after the order was signed.

– SAPA

North West departments have been told to increase spending on infrastructure and conditional grants to speed up service delivery, Finance MEC Paul Sebegoe said on Tuesday.

This was after the North West medium-term expenditure committee held a meeting with all provincial departments and public entities, to review spending trends for the six months ended September.

“We want to see more labour intensive projects that… reduce unemployment and create jobs for our people,” Sebegoe said.

Departments that spent far below the 50% threshold would not receive any extra budget, as per their request, during next month’s adjustment budget.

Neither under- nor over-expenditure would be tolerated, he said.

“Sometimes officials disappoint us as politicians. When you postpone projects’ implementation we must be aware that we cannot postpone hunger as most of our people live in poverty,” Sebegoe said.

He directed that a forum on the expanded public works programme be established, consisting of senior managers who would be able to take necessary decisions.

This would help ensure that more people were absorbed into the programme in mid-November, creating labour-intensive jobs to help more people earn a living.

– SAPA

Johannesburg – The case of the minibus driver accused of killing mountain biker Burry Stander in an accident was postponed in the Port Shepstone Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday.

“The case was postponed to 28 and 29 November for further evidence to be gathered,” National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Nathi Mncube said.

Njabulo Nyawose allegedly knocked down Stander, 25, while he was cycling in Shelley Beach, on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast, on 3 January.

Two witnesses appeared on Tuesday.

Stander was fifth in the men’s cross-country race at the 2012 London Olympics.

Four years earlier, at the Beijing Games, he finished 15th in the cross-country event.

– SAPA

Johannesburg – Bredasdorp teenager Anene Booysen could have been raped and disembowelled before being dumped at a construction site, the Swellendam Circuit Court reportedly heard on Tuesday.

SABC radio reported that police dog unit investigator Sergeant Jerome Timmy, testified that he believed there was not enough blood spatter at the scene to indicate the attack took place there.

Johannes Kana is on trial for allegedly raping and disembowelling Booysen, 17, in Bredasdorp, in the Western Cape, in February.

Booysen died in Tygerberg Hospital on the afternoon of Saturday, 2 February.

He has admitted leaving a Bredasdorp pub with Booysen, hitting and raping her, but has denied killing her.

According to the broadcaster, the court heard that a baseball cap, allegedly belonging to Kana, had tested positive for traces of blood.

The investigating officer in the case was expected to testify when the case resumed on Wednesday.

– SAPA

Johannesburg – Discrepancies in the qualifications of acting head of crime intelligence Major General Chris Ngcobo is another blunder for police management, the DA said on Tuesday.

“[We are] angered at further revelations that police commissioner Riah Phiyega has once again bungled a major appointment in the SA Police Service [SAPS],” DA MP Dianne Kohler-Barnard said in a statement.

“This is the second major Phiyega appointment blunder. The question is: Did it take over a year for those processing his top secret security clearance to discover these discrepancies – or has it only now been conveniently revealed?”

Kohler-Barnard said Phiyega had been quoted declaring her support for former intelligence head, whom Ngcobo replaced, Richard Mdluli.

Special leave

Phiyega put Ngcobo on special leave on Monday.

Phiyega said in a statement: “It is… with a huge sense of disappointment that during a vetting process discrepancies were found between the declaration made by Major General Chris Ngcobo and official records pertaining to his qualifications.

“Major General Ngcobo, acting divisional commissioner of crime intelligence, has so far failed to satisfactorily explain the discrepancies.”

Phiyega said Ngcobo’s top secret security clearance had been denied.

She had also instructed that criminal investigations and disciplinary action against him be initiated.

Replacement

Major General Bongiwe Zulu would assume Ngcobo’s role until further notice.

Zulu was currently serving in the human resource development division.

Ngcobo took over the crime intelligence unit after Mdluli was suspended last year amid charges of fraud and corruption, and charges relating to the murder of his ex-lover’s husband.

An inquest in November 2012 cleared Mdluli of any involvement in the death of his ex-lover’s husband.

The charges of fraud and corruption were all later also withdrawn.

In September, the high court ruled that all fraud and corruption charges against Mdluli be reinstated and that Phiyega take steps to reinstate disciplinary charges against him.

The SAPS and National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) have filed an application for leave to appeal the court order.

– SAPA

North West Premier Thandi Modise says the arrest of suspect in the rape and murder case of Pinky Mosiane, after nearly two years on the run, shows that the arm of the law is too long and that police are genuinely committed to their work.

The body of Pinky Semakaleng Mosiane was found underground at Anglo Platinum’s Khomanani mine in North West on February 6 in 2012.

Initial investigation revealed that she had been gang raped and killed afterwards.

“Though we deplore that it took two years to arrest the suspect and that failure to arrest perpetrators promptly might contribute towards escalation of sexual violence incidents as people think that they could get away with it, we nonetheless congratulate our police service for the breakthrough in the case. We wish to reiterate our call for stiff sentences possible for perpetrators of this horrendous gender based violence,” said Premier Modise, who has repeatedly made a plea for the arrest of the suspect in the case. Her latest plea for the arrest was on Sunday last week, just three days before the police’s breakthrough.

The 32-year old suspect was arrested on Tuesday this week in Hoopstad in the Free State, after eluding the police for nearly two years.

Police say the suspect was employed a private company as an underground safety officer at the time of the brutal rape and murder.

“We trust that police would expedite their investigations and round up all those who were allegedly involved, so that the Mosiane family finds closure in knowing that those who have robbed them of their loved one are behind bars,” stressed the Premier.

“We want the law enforcement authorities to send a stern warning to would-be perpetrators by making examples of the perpetrators, as a way to curb the spate of attacks on women working underground,” said Modise.

She said that the province needs to go back to mobilise women to protect themselves and remind them that their work to transform society is not over.

Last week Modise called on mines to develop strategies that will safeguard the safety of female miners.

The arrest of the suspect in Pinky Mosiane’s case comes just few days after the arrest of a 29-year-old man in connection with the murder of another woman working underground at Aquarius platinum mine’s Kwezi shaft in Rustenburg.

Premier Modise said that there is no place in our society for men who perceive women as sexual objects to the extent that they cannot work together without posing a danger to them.-TDN
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By Obakeng Maje
Kimberley-Police arrested a 22 year-old male suspect for the second time in one month for stealing from a parked motor vehicle in the Kimberley Central Business District (CBD).

“The suspect allegedly broke into an Opel Corsa Bakkie which was parked in Phakamile Mabija Road in Kimberley on Tuesday, at approximately 10:55am. The man allegedly stole a laptop from the vehicle and was spotted by patrolling police. The Kimberley Visible Policing unit gave chase on foot and apprehended the suspect seconds later” lieutenant Sergio Kock said.

The laptop was handed back to its original owner.

“It was found that the same suspect was apprehended by the same policemen last week. The suspect allegedly stole a female’s handbag, jewellery and other valuables worth R22 000, 00 from her motor vehicle parked in Woodley Street in Kimberley. All the goods were retrieved from the suspect and were handed back to the rightful owner” Kock said.

The suspect was granted bail of R200, 00 by the Kimberley Magistrates’ Court yesterday and the case was remanded until 14 December 2013.

The police suspects that thieves are using remote controls to confuse the signals of the motor vehicle alarm systems. This remote is activated simultaneously with the alarm system of the vehicle causing the car to stay open even though the owner has activated its locking device.

The police request that motor vehicle owners physically feel whether their motor vehicles’ are locked by lifting the door handles before leaving the vehicle.

“The suspect should be appearing in the Kimberley Magistrates’ Court soon and the police will definitely oppose bail in this regard” Kock concludes.

The investigation continues.-TDN
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