Cape Town – MPs adopted a revised report on Wednesday about recent, minor amendments to the protection of state information bill, bringing it a step closer to becoming law.

They added a summary of minority views in which opposition parties stated their concerns that the amendment process was legally flawed, and a further 30 typographical corrections to the bill, to which the opposition also objected on a point of law.

Their argument is that constitutionally the committee had to confine itself to correcting only those parts of the bill pinpointed by President Jacob Zuma when he sent it back to Parliament, and that he failed to provide clarity on what could be changed.

DA MP Dene Smuts reiterated that the ad hoc committee did not have the right to address anything in the bill apart from the constitutional flaws cited by the president, saying: “For obvious reasons we have to oppose. Grammar cannot be corrected under a section 79 referral.

“We did not conclude that the committee has the plenary powers to amend as it wishes.”

The meeting, the last before the bill goes back to the National Assembly next week, dissolved into a bitter row over the views the IFP wanted to include in the minority report.

Other parties objected to IFP MP Mario Oriani-Ambrosini’s insistence on recording that the committee “wrongly refused to consider” a legal opinion from advocate Anton Katz on the bill.

Smuts said this was factually incorrect as the committee was not asked to consider Katz’s opinion.

“There is no way that I will condone what is essentially a misrepresentation,” she said.

The matter was finally settled after State Security Minister Siyabonga Cwele proposed recording Oriani-Ambrosini’s request and the reason for rejecting it.

Bill sent back

The bill was sent back to the committee by the National Assembly earlier this month because Oriani-Ambrosini complained to the Speaker that it failed to observe procedural rules when it amended sections 42 and 45.

The amendments were pushed through by the ANC majority on the committee, which adopted the view that Zuma had mandated MPs to rewrite those sections and nothing else when he referred the bill back to its drafters in September.

It involved correcting a cross-reference in section 42 and a punctuation error in section 45 that in effect rendered meaningless a hard-won safeguard on the state’s powers to classify information.

Critics of the contentious bill had hoped that the process would result in far-reaching changes to other sections.

They argue that the bill raises the spectre of excessive state secrecy and have vowed to challenge it in the Constitutional Court.

– SAPA

Pretoria – The North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria ruled on Wednesday that the Boeremag members sentenced for high treason will not get back the assets seized from them by the police.

Exactly 11 years after a series of home-made bombs rocked Soweto, five of the men were given suspended sentences and the other 14, sentences of in effect five to 25 years.

Judge Eben Jordaan granted an order on Wednesday declaring the Boeremag assets, ranging from firearms to vehicles, laptops and GPS devices, forfeited to the State as the proceeds of crime.

The assets include a large number of firearms and ammunition, an ambulance, truck, bakkie, Mercedes-Benz sedan, a trailer, laptops and GPS devices.

The firearms include handguns, an AK-47 assault rifle, two shotguns and an R4 and an R1 rifle.

After claims that the bakkie belonged to Boeremag leader Tom Vorster’s wife and that a family member of one of the Pretorius brothers had an interest in the truck, Jordaan gave interested parties 30 days to register their interest.

Weapons for self-defence

Most of the men also applied to the court on Wednesday to retain the firearms that had not been seized, saying they needed their weapons for self-defence and hunting.

Giel Burger, a former colonel in the defence force, who received a suspended sentence, said it would be almost impossible for him to get a job if he did not have the right to own a firearm.

His lawyer said Burger had been a career soldier, but now had to start rebuilding his life and was considering a job offer with a security company.

Vorster’s lawyer argued that he was an old man, but wanted the right to defend himself if he ever came out of jail.

The 63-year-old Vorster was sentenced to in effect 25 years’ imprisonment.

Daan Mostert, for Vorster’s second-in-command Dirk Hanekom, argued that a weapon was “an emotional thing”, and was “absolutely part of the culture of Africa”.

He said a handgun was absolutely necessary if one had a “difference of opinion” with a buffalo, to which Jordaan said he would not be so brave as to attack a buffalo with a handgun.

Pieter van Deventer, who was given a suspended sentence, submitted that he lived alone on a smallholding where there had been a series of break-ins and needed his firearm to protect himself as he could not afford a security company or an electrified fence.

‘Selfish reasons’

To the State’s argument that the men wanted their firearms for “selfish reasons”, Paul Kruger for Van Deventer and Visagie, said it could not be described as selfish if one wanted to protect oneself in a country with the second highest murder rate in the world.

“The community got what it wanted yesterday. It was all over today’s front pages that they had been sentenced to over 400 years. They cannot ask more,” Kruger said.

“How Van Deventer can again try to take over the government with his .38 revolver is beyond me.”

Pieter Luyt, for the State, opposed the application, and said the court had to act in the interests of justice and the community by declaring all of the men unfit to own firearms.

“What can be more irresponsible than to plan using your personal firearm to take over defence force bases?

“However, much they want to hunt or protect themselves, they should have considered the consequences when they planned to take over the government,” Luyt said.

“No grounds except selfish reasons have been placed before the court.”

Jordaan reserved judgment on the application.

An application for bail pending an appeal by Dr Lets Pretorius will be heard on Friday.

Pretorius, who was out on bail for several years, was sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment with his son Kobus, while his other sons Johan and Wilhelm were each sentenced to 25 years’ imprisonment.

The court will hear legal argument on the granting of indemnity from prosecution for the accomplices who became State witnesses.

– SAPA

Johannesburg – The ANC must dismiss councillor Loyiso Nkhola for inciting the violence that occurred in the Cape Town CBD on Wednesday, the DA said.

“The actions by members and supporters of the ANC Youth League, led by ANC councillor Loyiso Nkhola and expelled ANC councillor Andile Lili today [Wednesday] are pure vandalism and thuggery,” DA Western Cape leader Ivan Meyer said in a statement.

“The DA condemns this in the strongest terms.”

Earlier on Wednesday, ANC Youth League Western Cape spokesperson Muhammad Khalid Sayed said in a statement that there was no justification for the criminal activity in the CBD.

“Those responsible should be held accountable for their actions,” he said.

“No amount of frustration can be used as an excuse to harbour and protect thieves and looters.”

It was sad that the legitimate plight of people demanding quality service delivery and access to land was vulgarised by thugs hiding among people with legitimate concerns.

Some protesters looted shops and vendors, and damaged property during a protest in the CBD, said police spokesperson Frederick van Wyk.

He said it appeared around 3 500 people took part in the protest. No arrests had been made.

According to a newspaper report, Meyer said Nkhola had urged residents in a number of informal settlements to loot the CBD and start erecting illegal structures in and around the city.

“He was quoted saying: ‘You will not have to go hungry because there are so many places that you can loot in the CBD. The police can’t arrest us all because there will be too many of us’ at a public meeting held in Nyanga over the weekend,” he said.

Criminal charges

The DA would lay a charge of incitement to commit a crime against Nkhola in light of the inflammatory statements he had made and the violence and looting in the CBD.

He said that, given the Constitutional Court ruling that the organisers of a march or gathering could be held liable for damage caused, the organisers of Wednesday’s march should also be held responsible for the damage caused.

“Today’s protest march to the [provincial] legislature in itself was purely political grandstanding,” said Meyer.

“The leaders of the march claim it was in reaction to not receiving satisfactory response from the department of human settlement to earlier grievances.”

Rather, Human Settlements MEC Bonginkosi Madikizela at the time had requested that more information be provided regarding their concerns so that the department could investigate and report back to them.

“Although the group undertook to submit a revised memorandum, they never did so,” Meyer said.

“What happened during the protest march, namely the looting of shops and informal vendors in the city centre, was shocking.”

It was proof that the marchers’ actions were all part of the ANC’s ongoing ungovernability campaign in the Western Cape.

The ANC in the Western Cape was not available for comment.

– SAPA

Johannesburg – The ANCYL on Wednesday slammed the violence in the Cape Town CBD, saying no amount of frustration can be used as an excuse to harbour and protect thieves and looters.

Shops and vendors’ stalls were looted and property damaged, said the police’s Frederick van Wyk.

He said it appeared around 3 500 people took part in the protest. No arrests had been made.

ANC Youth League Western Cape spokesperson Muhammad Khalid Sayed said in a statement that there was no justification for the criminal activity in the CBD.

“Those responsible should be held accountable for their actions,” he said.

It was sad that the legitimate plight of people demanding quality service delivery and access to land was vulgarised by thugs hiding among people with legitimate concerns, Sayed added.

Cope spokesperson Johann Abrie, in criticising the violence, said ANC councillor Loyiso Nkohla should be held accountable.

Abrie said that over the weekend, Nkohla told Nyanga residents: “You will not have to go hungry because there are so many places that you can loot in the CBD.”

He also allegedly told residents that the police could not arrest all of them because there would be too many people.

“President Zuma and the ANC’s lack to discipline their members might be interpreted as a silent endorsement of their actions,” said Abrie.

Sayed said the ANCYL would never support such anarchy.

“We live in a democratic South Africa where service delivery concerns ought to be championed within the framework of the law,” he said.

“We will always support our people in their genuine demands for a better life, but will never tolerate looting or violence as a method of protest.”

The ANC, and by implication the ANCYL, had always been and remained a peaceful and peace-loving movement in championing the legitimate concerns of all South Africans, said Sayed.

The ANC in the Western Cape was not available for comment.

– SAPA

The arrest of a 30-year-old Zimbabwean man as a suspect in connection with the murder of the late journalist and editor of the now closed North West Publication Taxi Times, Thabo Kgongwana should sent a clear message to criminals that they may run but they cannot hide from the long arm of the law, North West Premier Thandi Modise said on Wednesday.

“We hope that the Kgongwana family, his colleagues, those he mentored into the media industry and the broad communities that he served are relieved and will see justice served. This case proves yet again the relentlessness with which investigations are carried out by members of our police detective services whose effort we sometime do not recognise,” said the overjoyed Premier Modise.

Thulani Gumbo faced charges of murder, business robbery and possession of firearm and ammunition when he appeared in the Mmabatho Magistrates Court last week. The suspect who is still in police custody is to appear in court again on 22 November 2013 for legal representation.

According to police, the arrest of Gumbo followed an investigation that lasted over nearly three years after a business robbery at a Mahikeng Hotel on 7 April 2010 during which an undisclosed amount of cash was allegedly taken by about 15 armed robbers.

Kgongwana was allegedly shot as he was leaving the hotel after attending a government function.

North West Police Spokesperson Brigadier Thulane Ngubane said that from the video footage at the hotel, five suspects were identified during investigation some of whom were facing charges of casino robbery in Durban.

According to Ngubane the accused was arrested after DNA tests linked him to the murder and robbery in the Mahikeng hotel.-TDN
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Police should spare no effort to ensure that the 33-year-old serial rapist accused who escaped from police custody six weeks ago is rearrested and removed from society, North West Premier Thandi Modise said on Wednesday.

“As long as the suspect who stole the innocence of the young girls remains at large, other children in our communities are not safe. The sooner he is behind bars, the safer our neighbourhoods,” said Premier Modise in appeals to communities to assist police to trace Boas Jacob Kgatlhane of Thabazimbi.

According to police, Kgatlhane who is supposed to face 13 rape charges in the Limpopo and North West provinces preyed on teenage girls aged between 17 since April 2009 until August 2013 whom he allegedly targeted while they were walking alone.

North West Provincial Spokesperson, Brigadier Thulane Ngubane says that the charges he has to face include one count of rape in Mecklenburg, three counts in Thabazimbi, two in Lethabong (North West) and seven in Letlhabile, near Brits.

Ngubane said that Kgatlhane escaped on September 17 while being escorted from the Brits court after a short appearance, where he was denied bail.

He allegedly kicked open the door of the police vehicle transporting him and bolted when it stopped at a traffic light.

“Though an ongoing operation to recapture Kgatlhane is under way, We request the public not to make any attempts to capture the suspect but to report him to the police,” appealed Ngubane

In the meantime, police are appealing to members of the public who may know of his whereabouts to contact WO Seraka Temane on 0829346275 or Capt Kgaithiue Mafotsa on 0822695175, Crime Stop number 0860010111, Crime Line 32211 or the nearest police station. -TDN
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Pretoria – The High Court in Pretoria ruled on Wednesday that the Boeremag members sentenced for high treason will not get back the assets seized from them by the police.

Exactly 11 years after a series of homemade bombs rocked Soweto, five of the men were given suspended sentences and the other 14, sentences of in effect five to 25 years.

Judge Eben Jordaan granted an order on Wednesday declaring the Boeremag assets, ranging from firearms to vehicles, laptops and GPS devices, forfeited to the State as the proceeds of crime.

The assets include a large number of firearms and ammunition, an ambulance, truck, bakkie, Mercedes-Benz sedan, a trailer, laptops and GPS devices.
For more http://www.iol.co.za

Bloemfontein – A Bloemfontein mother who repeatedly raped her son should be jailed for life, the Bloemfontein Sexual Offences Court heard on Wednesday.

Magistrate Jan Greyvenstein was hearing argument in the sentencing of the woman, who raped her son between the ages of 11

and 17.

Prosecutor Louis York told the court this had been one of the most difficult cases in which to suggest a sentencing option.

“The State agrees to the psychological problems. She had a difficult youth, but she had a choice not to take it out on her own boy, despite the difficulty of her own life,” he argued.

The woman admitted having had sex with the boy without his consent. She confessed to raping him from December 2007 to January this year.

The State contended that the fact that the crime was committed within a close family circle, over a period of several years, outweighed any mitigating aspects.

“I feel sorry for her, just like anybody else, but this type of crime must be looked at seriously, even for first time offenders…. We must ask for life imprisonment,” York said.

He said the woman’s name should also be included in the sexual offences register.

The woman, with grey, shoulder-length hair, sat in the dock looking down at her hands during most of the argument on Wednesday. From time to time, she wiped her face with a handkerchief.

The court heard earlier that she had herself been sexually abused for several years.

Her counsel Themba Diba told the court she was also a victim in the case.

However, York argued that it had become a trend in family abuse cases for perpetrators to argue that they had been victims and had therefore done the same to somebody else.

“There is no way that what happened to the boy could be used by the accused as an excuse as to what happened to her.”

York argued that the mother’s abuse should be seen as aggravating because she knew what the effects of the abuse would be.

The State submitted there was nothing more repulsive to the general public than a parent having sex with their own child.

“There cannot be any guilt laid at the feet of the boy. He did nothing wrong in this matter.”

Arguing in mitigation, Diba submitted that the woman confessed when she was arrested, which was a sign of remorse.

Diba asked the court not to consider a sentence of life imprisonment.

He said the woman could not be “sacrificed” for all serious sexual crimes.

He contended that both the mother and the youth needed serious help and he suggested a short prison term with correctional supervision.

The matter continues next Wednesday.

Sapa

Pretoria – Two Mozambican men were jailed for life by the High Court in Pretoria on Wednesday for killing a student in Sunnyside three years ago.

Judge Bert Bam sentenced Ebrahim Mitchell Goulap and Paul Samuel to life imprisonment, along with local citizen Tebogo Mapeka Modise, for the February 2010 murder of Rifarothe Tshililo Tshikororo.

Goulap was sentenced to an additional 41 years’ imprisonment for robbing Tshikororo and his girlfriend of two cellphones and a laptop computer, and for unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition.

Samuel and Modise were each given an extra 30 years’ imprisonment for robbing Tshikororo and another man, Yusuf Hawazi, at a house in Pretoria West just three days later.

A fourth alleged member of the gang, Tebogo Mothola, is still being sought by the police after skipping bail earlier this year.

Tshikororo, an honours student who had completed an exam that morning, was socialising with friends at his girlfriend’s flat in Sunnyside when the gang entered through the unlocked door and ordered everyone to lie down.

Tshikororo was in the process of rising from the couch when he was shot.

His friends rushed him to a nearby hospital, but he was pronounced dead on arrival because of a gunshot wound to the chest.

Hawazi was shot in the leg and had to run for his life when Samuel and Modise robbed him of his cellphone and cash.

Bam said Hawazi was fortunate to escape with his life and the trauma he experienced was self-evident.

He said the robbery at the Sunnyside flat had no doubt been planned in advance.

“They came prepared and did not hesitate to kill the deceased in the process.

“It appears that robbers of the calibre of the accused do not have any respect for life.

“They killed the deceased… and did not hesitate to handle Hawazi and shoot him.

“Goulap and Samuel are Mozambicans. Our government extended a hand of friendship to them by granting them the right to stay in this country.

“They clearly abused that courtesy of the government by committing serious crimes in this case and even in the past,” he said.

Bam said Modise was a South African and it begged explanation why he became involved, because he did not have financial problems, he was qualified for several occupations and was apparently involved in a lucrative family business.

“The only inference that can be drawn is that he is inherently evil and by nature a criminal,” Bam said.

He emphasised that none of the accused had shown any remorse at all and, by their conduct, ruled out any possibility of rehabilitation.

“The accused are mature men over the age of 30. They elected to follow criminal careers. They are clearly dangerous criminals and should be removed from society permanently,” Bam said.

Tshikororo’s mother Moreti described her son as a peaceful man who loved studying and who helped others to turn away from crime.

She said she was still praying for her son, that his exams had gone well, but barely two hours later he was dead.

“I sometimes ask myself why the child I loved so much was taken away. Maybe it was because I loved him too much?”

Sapa

Bloemfontein – The Hawks have arrested a man in Kroonstad for drug dealing, Free State police said on Wednesday.

The Nigerian man was caught in Kroon Park on Tuesday evening and was found in possession of ecstasy and cat (methcathinone) with an estimated street value of R33 500, Captain Stephen Thakeng said.

Police impounded two cars. The man allegedly used one for drug dealing, the other one was stolen in Welkom in August.

The man would appear soon in the Kroonstad Magistrate’s Court.

Sapa