The framework agreement for a sustainable mining industry must be implemented, Cosatu said on Wednesday.

“Cosatu demands that the SA Police Service [SAPS] and National Prosecuting Authority [NPA] do everything possible to implement that agreement, so that people can walk in the streets in safety and enjoy their constitutional human right to move freely without fear of attack,” said Cosatu spokesperson Patrick Craven.

He was reacting to the death of former National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) Lonmin shop steward Percy Letanang, 45.

Letanang died in hospital on Tuesday night after being shot seven times when he arrived home in Segwaelane, near Marikana, in North West, on Sunday night.

“Cosatu is outraged by the continuation of what are clearly deliberate assassinations of NUM members in the area, and the failure of the police to arrest most of the perpetrators and bring them to justice.”

The framework agreement, which was signed in July, demanded that the police, the intelligence service, and the courts act effectively and without delay to bring to justice those guilty of violent crimes.

“Impunity must be rooted out and the confidence in the justice system restored. Government must implement these measures without any further delay,” Craven said.

NUM Rustenburg regional co-ordinator Mxhasi Sithethi said Letanang had been employed at Lonmin’s Eastern Platinum mine, and took a voluntary severance package (VSP), after Lonmin de-recognised the NUM when its membership numbers fell below the required threshold.

The Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) has since become the majority union at Lonmin.

Rivalry between unions

Several killings of union members are believed to be due to rivalry between the two unions.

“After Lonmin decided to de-recognise us, most comrades took their VSPs fearing for their safety at the mine, and comrade Letanang was one of them,” said Sithethi.

The NUM was worried about the increasing number of murders of its shop stewards in Marikana and in the greater Rustenburg area.

“In less than three months, four of our members have been killed… How long is blood going to have to flow in Marikana?” he asked.

“It is impossible not to feel heavy-hearted when our shop stewards are brutally killed…” he said.

North West police said Letanang was shot around 21:00 when he arrived home from work.

“It is alleged that the victim was shot seven times in his shoulder, right upper arm, ribs and in his stomach.

“The victim was taken to a nearby hospital where he died on Tuesday,” said police spokesperson Thulani Ngubane.

No arrests had been made.

– SAPA

Johannesburg – Less than half of eligible voters under the age of 30 are currently registered to vote, the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) said on Wednesday.

Only 8.7% of eligible voters were aged between 18 and 19, compared to the average registration levels of over 90% for older age groups, IEC chairperson Pansy Tlakula told reporters in Centurion.

“As of 31 October 2013 there were 23 139 142 people registered to vote, representing 73.6% of the voting age population according to the latest census figures.

“Through its registration drive, the electoral commission hopes to increase registrations to 80% of the voting age population, in line with levels of previous elections, which would require an additional two million voters to register,” she said.

Tlakula was briefing the media on the IEC’s readiness for its registration weekend.

All 22 263 voting stations around the country would be open from 08:00 to 17:00 on Saturday and Sunday for people to register, change their registration details or verify their details.

Tlakula said Gauteng had the lowest number of registered voters, at 69.2%, followed by Mpumalanga, the Western Cape and North West, all at 70.3%.

The Free State had the highest, at 80%; the Eastern Cape 79.6%; Northern Cape 77.6%; Limpopo 77%; and KwaZulu-Natal 75%.

– SAPA

Pretoria – The accurate collection and capturing of crime information at police stations is vital for crime prevention, a security consultant said on Wednesday.

“The police Crime Administration System [CAS] will give you what has been put into it. It all depends on what you feed into the system,” retired police Major General Chris de Kock said at an Institute for Security Studies seminar in Pretoria.

De Kock was responsible for crime data collection at the SA Police Service 18 years ago.

He said the CAS was developed in the 1970s to administer crime.

The information captured on the system should be analysed all the time to obtain information on hotspots, peak times and the modus operandi used by criminals.

The information was correlated from stations, to clusters, and then to provincial level before it reached head office.

“It is impossible to say that every station does the analysis every 24 hours. If this is thoroughly done, it automatically ensures accurate and quality data to the head office,” said De Kock.

The reason why crime went down in 2009, 2010, and 2011 was because of the soccer Confederation Cup and the 2010 World Cup, he said.

“Police analysed the system daily and accurately, and used it to prevent crime during that period.”

– SAPA

Johannesburg – Residents of Zonkizizwe, on the East Rand, must stop illegally burying people in Magagula Heights, the Ekurhuleni municipality said on Wednesday.

“It has come to our attention that some families are utilising the piece of land unlawfully to bury their deceased loved ones,” parks and cemeteries director Victor Nesengani said in a statement.

“This might seem like a cheap alternative for families, but it places them at risk, as the graves are not protected by the municipality and anyone utilising the land might find themselves at risk of being arrested.”

Nesengani said the illegally buried remains would have to be exhumed and reburied in another, official cemetery.

The municipality urged those who had buried people at Magagula Heights to contact it, so the correct processes could be followed.

– SAPA

Johannesburg – The IEC was ready to conduct voter registration this weekend in all nine provinces, even in areas that had been identified as hotspots because of service delivery protests, chairperson Pansy Tlakula said on Wednesday.

She said this would not deter the IEC from doing its work.

“We have made arrangements, even in the areas you call hotspots, for registration to continue, because we cannot have a situation in this country of no-go areas.

“We are aware of very few areas in the country where there are some problems,” Tlakula said.

A total of 45 795 election officials would work to register new voters and verify existing registration details.

Voting districts had increased by 7% from the 20 859 districts for the 2011 local government elections.

“The growth reflects an expansion of voting districts in predominantly rural areas, with increases of 15% in the Free State, 10% in Limpopo and 9% each in the North West and KwaZulu-Natal, to reduce the distance required for voters to travel to voting stations,” Tlakula said.

The IEC leadership was working well together.

“We are happy people…. We are a team…. We’ve been working well over the months. The info we just gave you shows that, as a team, we are ready for the current registration and the elections,” she said.

Tlakula also said that less than half of eligible voters under the age of 30 are currently registered to vote.

Only 8.7% of eligible voters were aged between 18 and 19, compared to the average registration levels of over 90% for older age groups, Tlakula said.

– SAPA

Pretoria – The authorities have yet to ascertain how Major General Thirani Maswanganyi was killed, the Pretoria North Magistrate’s Court heard on Wednesday.

Provincial investigating unit commander Colonel Abednego Shibiri said the cause of death would be known only when toxicology and histology reports were released.

“We can get the histology reports anytime from now, but the toxicology reports do take time. We have requested the department of health to expedite the process,” said Shibiri.

“Normally those reports can take four to five years,” he said.

Strangulation

The health department has said the toxicology reports should be available in the first quarter of 2014, he said.

Shibiri said indications so far were that Maswanganyi was strangled.

The senior policeman was opposing a bail application brought by Maswanganyi’s alleged killers Nditsheni Daniel Nefolovhodwe, Ndaedzo Isaac Vele, Tshepo Mosai and Roger Godfrey Moseki.

Shibiri said property stolen from Maswanganyi, including cellphones and a computer tablet, had not been recovered.

He said the police had yet to arrest other suspects related to the crime, and that if released on bail, the four would jeopardise the ongoing investigations.

During a previous appearance last month, the court heard that one of the men had asked a sangoma “to make his case go away”.

Shibiri said Nefolovhodwe had sought the services of a sangoma prior to his arrest on 25 June.

Accused SANDF members

The court also heard that Vele did not have money and would not abscond if released on bail.

Maswanganyi was found dead in a field near the R101, near Hammanskraal, north of Pretoria, in June.

His hands and feet were bound. A police patrol found Maswanganyi’s abandoned Isuzu bakkie next to the road.

A police uniform and police identification card were in the bakkie, which prompted a search.

Three of the four accused, including Vele and Nefolovhodwe, were members of the SA National Defence Force.

– SAPA

Kimberley – The damage to a T-shirt found on the scene of the Griekwastad farm murders could have been caused during a rugby game, the Northern Cape High Court heard on Wednesday.

The court was hearing evidence in the trial of a 17-year-old boy accused of the murders of Northern Cape farmer Deon Steenkamp, 44, his wife Christelle, 43, and daughter Marthella, 14.

They were shot on their farm Naauwhoek on 6 April 2012.

“The T-shirt was used in the play of rugby, that could have happened, [it is] a factor,” defence counsel Willem Coetzee said while cross-examining State witness Lieutenant Colonel Gerhard Vermeulen.

Vermeulen, a scientific analyst in the police forensic department, was being questioned about a blue T-shirt belonging to the boy found at the crime scene.

The shirt was torn and had stretch damage at the shoulder areas.

Vermeulen told the court in his evidence-in-chief the damage was most probably caused by a strong pull downwards along the body of the wearer.

“It tells me the same power was used to both sides. In broad terms I would say the damage on both sides was done at the same time.”

Coetzee stated laboratory tests would not be able to determine under what circumstances the T-shirt was torn.

Earlier, the State suggested some scenarios that could have led to the damage to the shirt.

Vermeulen reiterated that it was difficult to determine how much force was applied to the shirt.

He agreed that factors playing a role would be the age of the T-shirt, how many other “powers” it had suffered in the past, and the weight of the person who pulled down on the shirt.

The court heard that the damage to the T-shirt could not have been caused by someone being pushed away from the wearer.

A communications and cellphone analyst Captain Francois Moller started to testify just before the lunch break on Wednesday.

– SAPA

By Obakeng Maje

Kagiso-Police are investigating a case of dealing in drugs after three suspects (two men and a woman) were arrested in Club 2000 on Wednesday, Northern Cape police said.

“The Galeshewe Cluster Drug Task Team followed up on information of drug sales at the specific shanty and managed to apprehend the three suspects at approximately 05:00am. The suspects are originally from Kwa- Zulu Natal and are currently residing in Club 2000” lieutenant Sergio Kock said.

Kock said the police searched the shanty and found 14 quarters, 5 halves and 1 full mandrax tablets hidden behind the kitchen cupboard. The police also found more than R4200, 00 cash stashed in different hiding places inside the premises.

“The three suspects aged between 24 and 40 years were arrested and should be appearing before the Galeshewe Magistrates Court soon” he concludes.
Investigation continues.-TDN
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Chad le Clos continued his dominance of the butterfly events at the Singapore leg of the Fina World Cup Series.

He added the men’s 100m butterfly gold to the 50m and 200m fly from yesterday, while he also showed his versatility, claiming first place in the 200m freestyle and individual medley.

Le Clos was in rampant form in Singapore yesterday when he set his second world short-course 200m butterfly record of the year in a time of 1:48.56 before he broke compatriot Roland Schoeman’s stranglehold on the 50m butterfly event.

On the second day of the gala, Le Clos made his intentions clear in his opening event when he coasted to victory in the men’s 200m freestyle to post the third-best time of the year.

He surged over the final 25m to touch the wall first in a time of 1:42.29, with Thomas Fraser-Holmes of Australia having to settle for second place in 1:42.47, while his countryman Bobby Hurley grabbed bronze in 1:43.44.

The South African again left it desperately late in the 100m butterfly as he characteristically kicked into gear over the final 25m, going from fourth place before the turn to first as he out-touched Poland’s Konrad Czerniak in 50.04 seconds.

Czerniak went head-to-head with Le Clos in the final stretch to post a time of 50.09 seconds, with Australia’s Tommaso d’Orsogna grabbing bronze in 50.86 seconds.

Le Clos added his fifth gold of the gala in the men’s 200m individual medley, where he once again finished strongly to claim the top-podium position.

He typically went out strong in the butterfly leg to lead the race from start to the finish to touch first in 1:53.36.

While he lost some ground over the breaststroke leg, he managed to hold on to the lead and pull away in the freestyle event to comfortably win the race, with Fraser-Holmes taking silver in 1:54.60 and Henrique Rodrigues finishing third in 1:55.08.

Earlier, South Africa’s long-distance ace, Myles Brown, added gold in the men’s 1 500m to the bronze he won in the 400m freestyle on Tuesday.

Brown stopped the clock on 14:56.94 for first place, with Hungary’s Gergely Gyurta taking second in 14:56.94, while Luiz Rogerio Lima Arapiraca finished third in 15:08.59.

– Sapa

The SA Police Service used the wrong population figures to work out crime ratios for the 2012/13 crime statistics, the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) has said.

“We all know there is some level of manipulation of crime statistics at police station level. There have been some prosecutions regarding that,” said Gareth Newham, who heads the governance, crime and justice division at the ISS.

“It is the first time we see such errors on statistics from the national level,” he said.

Crimes such as murders were calculated against a population of 100 000.

Newham said the police had used population estimates calculated by Stats SA in 2001, which estimated that the population would be 50.6 million in 2011, instead of using data from the 2011 census, which showed that there were 52.3 million people in South Africa.

By not updating the population, the police had understated the increase in serious and violent crimes.

“The police used old and outdated population estimates of 2001. The changing crime ratios were not matched with the new population ratio.”

Where serious crimes such as murder, robbery and assault were indicated to have gone down, raw statistics indicated that they had gone up.

Newham said the difference regarding these inaccuracies at provincial levels was up to 10%.

He called on Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa to establish an inquiry into why such an error had occurred.

“We recommend that the inquiry include independent statisticians and the outcome should ensure that this does not happen again.”

The ISS had not succeeded, despite several attempts, to meet national police commissioner Riah Phiyega, said Newham.

“We have written letters and have been waiting for the past seven weeks since the release of the statistics. We have also invited the police to this seminar, but have had no response.”

Phiyega’s spokesperson Lieutenant General Solomon Makgale was not available to comment this afternoon because he was in a meeting.

– Sapa