Daily Archives: February 15, 2014

Radebe welcomes ukhuthwala conviction


Johannesburg – Justice Minister Jeff Radebe on Friday welcomed the first conviction of a man linked to the ukuthwala practice in the Western Cape.

“The Constitution states that a child’s best interests are of paramount importance in every matter concerning the child,” Radebe said in a statement.

“We believe that the sentencing will send a strong message to those who are still practising ukuthwala, against traditional practices and the law.”

The practice, which is associated with some African traditions, involves the abduction of women and under-aged girls and leads to forced marriage.

On Thursday, Wynberg Regional Court Magistrate Daleen Greyvensteyn sentenced Mvumeleni Jezile, 32, to 22 years behind bars, The Star newspaper reported.

He kidnapped a 14-year-old girl in 2010 and forcefully married, raped, and assaulted her.

Jezile was found guilty of trafficking, three counts of rape, and two counts of assault.

His victim said she was kidnapped from her home in Ngcobo, Eastern Cape, and forced by her grandmother to marry Jezile.

She escaped from him and returned home but her family forced her to return to him.

She told the court that Jezile had assaulted her when she refused to have sex with him.

In November, KwaZulu-Natal traditional affairs MEC Nomusa Dube-Ncube signed a pledge denouncing the practice of ukuthwala.

It was also signed by Commission for Gender Equality chair Mfanozelwe Shozi, provincial House of Traditional Leaders chair Inkosi Chiliza, and KwaZulu-Natal Council of Churches chair Bishop Mike Vorster.

They agreed that the practice should take place only if both parties to it consented, and the woman was of marrying age – 18 under South African law.

During the pledge signing it was announced that the National Prosecuting Authority would also charge the parents of under-aged girls who agreed to their children being forcefully married.

Radebe encouraged victims of ukuthwala to lay charges of kidnapping, rape, and trafficking so that the perpetrators could face the law.

He further urged them to apply for a protection order under the Domestic Violence Act against family members involved in the abductions.

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FFPLUS asks for probe involving R3bn


Johannesburg – The FFPlus has asked Public Protector Thuli Madonsela to investigate a R3 billion investment transaction between an oil company and a corporation.

“The Freedom Front Plus would like to know exactly what is happening,” spokesperson Anton Alberts said in a statement.

“The FF Plus requested the public protector to investigate the whole transaction and also to look at any advantage which the ANC may receive from it.”

The allegation involved Camac Energy and the Public Investment Corporation (PIC), which manages the state’s pension fund.

Large portion

The Mail & Guardian reported on Friday that the PIC planned to invest the money with Kase Lawal, Camac’s chief executive and an acquaintance of President Jacob Zuma.

Alberts said the transaction involving R3bn was questionable.

“Everything points to the [oil] company being on the brink of bankruptcy and the possibility exists that a large portion of the money can be channelled back to the ANC’s election fund.”

ANC spokesperson Jackson Mthembu could not be reached for comment.

The newspaper said the PIC failed to answer questions and the ANC did not respond to its question on whether Lawal had given it funding.

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SA gives Shrien Dewani undertaking


London – The South African government confirmed on Friday that it would give an undertaking on how long honeymoon murder suspect Shrien Dewani would be kept in the country.

Dewani has come a significant step closer to removal from Britain to South Africa to face charges of organising the killing of his wife.

The Press Association reported that the South African government paved the way for imminent extradition by confirming it would give an undertaking on how long Dewani would be kept in the country without trial if he continued to suffer mental health problems.

The confirmation looks set to bring to an end a three-year legal battle to block his removal, although there remains the possibility of a last-ditch appeal to the UK Supreme Court.

A panel of High Court judges, headed by Lord Chief Justice Lord Thomas, ruled last month that it would not be “unjust and oppressive” to extradite Dewani, despite his illness, if an undertaking was given by South African authorities.

A Judicial Office spokesperson said on Friday: “The court has received a letter from the South African government stating that they will be providing an undertaking which will be with the court on 21 February as directed in the judgment.”

Dewani, 33, from Bristol, has been fighting removal from the UK to face proceedings over his wife Anni’s death until he has recovered from mental health problems, including severe depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.

His lawyers have said at various hearings that he will be willing to defend himself at trial once he is fit to do so, but they say he is unfit to plead under English law and his “prognosis is not certain”.

Dewani, who is compulsorily detained in hospital under the Mental Health Act, is accused of ordering the killing of his new wife Anni, 28, on their honeymoon.

The pair were kidnapped at gunpoint as they drove through the Gugulethu township in Cape Town in a taxi in November 2010. Dewani was released unharmed.

The next day the body of Mrs Dewani was found in the car. She had injuries to her head and chest.

Xolile Mngeni was later convicted of premeditated murder and jailed for life. Prosecutors allege he was hired by Dewani to kill his wife.
Dewani has always denied the accusation and has been fighting efforts to secure his extradition since it was first ordered by a senior district judge in 2011.

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Biker killer held


Johannesburg – A motorist who allegedly shot dead a motorcyclist in an apparent road-rage confrontation in Johannesburg on Friday has been arrested, Gauteng police said.

The driver, in his forties, was arrested after being treated for head injuries under police guard at a nearby hospital, said Lt-Col Katlego Mogale.

He would appear in the Roodepoort Magistrate’s Court on Monday on a murder charge, Mogale said.

The sedan driver and 39-year-old biker Douglas Pierce had an argument while driving on Malibongwe Drive just after Witkoppen Road earlier on Friday, said Mogale.

They both pulled off the road, the biker allegedly confronted the driver and the argument got heated.

“The biker allegedly assaulted the motorist who in turn fired shots, fatally wounding him.”

Police recovered firearms from both men. They had been taken for ballistic testing.

The Star reported that Pierce was married and had a four-year-old child.

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Zuma told many lies in SONA- EFF


Johannesburg – President Jacob Zuma told “many lies” and claimed easy victories in his State of the Nation address, the EFF said on Friday.

“Importantly, there was no clarity… of whether Zuma was giving [an] account of the successes from 1994 or from 2009 when he assumed office as president of the republic,” said Economic Freedom Fighters spokesperson Mbuyiseni Ndlozi in a statement.

“This is important to flag because there are so many contradictions and lies by omissions that were committed in the 2014 State of the Nation speech.”

Ndlozi said the post-1994 government had failed dismally to bring unemployment below 20%.

Corruption

“There are no sustainable jobs that the ANC can claim to have created because the jobs that happened since 1994 happened both in the public and private sector because the population grew,” said Ndlozi.

He said Zuma claimed the current government was fighting corruption, but failed to acknowledge corruption and incompetence that included the construction of Zuma’s Nkandla homestead.

“Zuma is claiming to be condemning violence during protests when his own political party was throwing petrol bombs and bricks at Democratic Alliance protesters when they were fighting over who is the best neo-liberal and right-wing policy implementer,” he said.

“Like all previous [opening speeches]… the 2014 one basically told many lies and claimed easy victories.”

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