Kimberley – A statement by the teenage accused in the Griekwastad farm murder trial was not in line with evidence found at the scene, the Northern Cape High Court heard on Wednesday.

“It is not consistent from the evidence at the scene of the crime,” police crime scene and blood spatter expert Captain Marius Joubert said.

Judge President Frans Kgomo is hearing evidence in Kimberley in the trial of a 17-year-old youth accused of murdering Northern Cape farmer Deon Steenkamp, 44, his wife Christel, 43, and their daughter Marthella, 14.

They were shot dead on their farm Naauwhoek, near Griekwastad, on 6 April 2012.

Joubert submitted that the blood stains on a T-shirt apparently worn by the boy had multiple transfers of blood marks.

“It is not consistent with one action,” he said.

He told the court there was no sign of movement where the girl was found.

“I reject the paragraph in the [youth’s] statement.”

Joubert concluded his testimony that Marthella Steenkamp defended herself against an attacker outside the house and not inside.

Before Joubert’s evidence-in-chief, the family members present were again warned about the type of evidence to follow.

“It will be one of those days that will not be pleasant,” said prosecutor Hannes Cloete.

Blood trail

Joubert told the court the 14-year-old girl left a trail of blood through the kitchen on her way to the telephone.

He said the blood from the gunshot wound to her chest had flowed down her body, her right leg and arm, and right hand, and had dripped onto her feet, indicating she was upright when that happened.

He submitted to court the drip, flow and smear blood spatters from the back door through the scullery and into the kitchen.

The girl’s DNA was linked to all these spatters.

He showed photographs of where the girl, covered in blood, leaned against the kitchen counter. The blood trail went around the counter to the telephone.

It seemed as if the girl had stopped between the counter and the wooden dining room table, halfway to the phone.

There was a collection of blood spatters on the floor and a bloody handprint on the dining room table.

“The spatters are concentrated in one area. The victim must have stood for a while and left blood to collect,” Joubert said.

The court heard on Monday that Marthella Steenkamp was shot once in the chest and three times in the head.

Referring to a blood smear found near her father Deon Steenkamp, Joubert said it was probably created by a forearm which had moved inwards towards the body.

“Possibly by the victim to make himself comfortable… pulling in [his] arm.”

Joubert will be cross-examined by the youth’s defence team on Thursday.

The trial continues.

– SAPA

Cape Town – The legal practice bill passed by the National Assembly this week risks hampering the effective functioning of the legal profession, the SA Attorney’s Association said on Wednesday.

“It is regrettable that some of the provisions of the bill will make inroads into the profession’s ability to remain viable, effective and competent,” it said.

The association singled out the wide ministerial powers conferred by the bill for criticism, notably that to nominate members of the new, single statutory council that will replace all existing law societies.

“The minister will have wide regulatory powers, previously held by the law societies, including the determination of fees for legal services, the issuing of regulations regarding community service and the power to appoint an interim council after dissolving the Legal Practice Council pursuant to a court order,” it said.

It also voiced fears that the provisions of the legislation aimed at ensuring that the legal profession was transformed to reflect the racial demographics of the country could be abused “to restrict entry into the profession”.

The controversial bill was finally passed by the National Assembly on Tuesday after nearly two decades in the pipeline, despite strong objections from the opposition and from the profession.

In the debate on the bill, Justice Minister Jeff Radebe conceded that consensus had not been reached but said the search for it could not continue forever.

He insisted that government had a legitimate interest in ensuring that the constitutional imperative of transformation of the judiciary became a reality.

Opposition parties said the bill would damage the advocate’s profession, though the bill stopped short of its original intention of fusing it with that of attorneys, and undermine the independence of the legal fraternity.

– SAPA

Bloemfontein – The State has asked for a separation of trial after one of two accused in a rightwing coup plot case agreed to a plea bargain, the Bloemfontein High Court heard on Wednesday.

Mark Trollip, 48, and Johan Hendrik Prinsloo, 49, appeared in court on charges of high treason and conspiracy to commit terrorist acts.

They were allegedly involved in plans to bomb the African National Congress’s national conference in Mangaung last December.

According to the charge sheet, Trollip and Prinsloo planned to acquire weaponry such as AK-47, R1 and R4 rifles to execute the coup.

Kenny Pretorius, for Trollip, agreed to a plea and sentencing agreement.

In terms of this, Trollip pleaded guilty on the conspiracy charge and was sentenced to eight years in prison. The state withdrew a charge of high treason.

Johann Nel, for Prinsloo, said he did not agree to the plea bargain and his trial would continue.

Prosecutor Torie Pretorius said that if found guilty of high treason the accused faced a minimum of 15 years in prison.

A date for Prinsloo’s trial would be set later in the day.

– SAPA

Johannesburg – The Municipal Demarcation Board (MDB) will consider new municipal boundary proposals for redetermination only after the 2016 municipal elections, the board said on Wednesday.

MDB chair Landiwe Mahlangu said the board was holding discussions about reducing the number of municipalities to ensure their efficiency, viability, and sustainability.

Last month, the board released its final decisions on municipalities that were up for consideration.

“This effort is not only taking place in the Eastern Cape province but includes… Mpumalanga and Northern Cape where the MDB has recently interacted with the local SA Local Government Association [Salga] structures on similar challenges,” said Mahlangu.

“In as much as discussions are taking place, the only changes that are going to be effected are those on which the board has taken a decision that was communicated last month.”

The MDB was also waiting for Co-operative Governance Minister Lechesa Tsenoli and MECs in the affected municipalities to determine formulae and legislative changes that would affect the municipalities involved.

Mahlangu encouraged stakeholders to contribute to the development of municipalities.

He was currently on a road show aimed at briefing provincial Salga structures on the final decisions taken by the board and the implications these would have.

The board had given information to the Independent Electoral Commission for it to comment on the impact of its decision and would soon be embarking on a ward delimitation process, part of which would be to ensure the smooth transition of the affected municipalities.

– SAPA

Durban – Three men accused of strangling two pensioners in their home in Shongweni on the outskirts of Durban appeared in the Pinetown Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday.

The three are accused of murdering John Noble, 72, and his wife Hester, 68.

Noble was strangled with a wire, while his wife, who suffered from emphysema, was strangled with the tubes of her oxygen tank.

Their bodies were found at their Shongweni Valley home last week by neighbours.

Scelo Matabane, 30, Siyabonga Xaba, 24, and Philani Shange, 28, face two charges of murder, a charge of housebreaking, and a charge of aggravated robbery.

The three claimed in court through their court-appointed lawyer that they had been assaulted and Matabane said they feared for their lives if they were to be held at Hillcrest police station.

However, Magistrate Ishmael Motaung ordered that they be detained at the police station.

Matabane was sporting a grazed face, a swollen eye and limped into the court room.

Police said on Monday that eight people had been arrested and that four were directly linked to the murders.

The other four had allegedly received property stolen from the crime scene.

It was not clear when the other accused would appear or exactly what charges they would face.

They remained in custody until their next appearance in court on 21 November.

– SAPA

Johannesburg – Trade union Solidarity has condemned as a disgrace the nomination of Robert McBride as the new head of the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID).

“McBride’s nomination is another disgrace to the already beleaguered SA Police Service,” the union said in a statement.

General secretary Flip Buys said taxpayers were tired of their money being used for “repeated inappropriate appointments”.

“Taxpayers have to stand by powerlessly and watch cadre deployment being put before effective service delivery.”

Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa announced on Tuesday that Cabinet had approved the nomination of the former Ekurhuleni metro police chief as head of IPID.

Buys urged government to withdraw McBride’s appointment for the position in order to restore the country’s image, both locally and internationally.

Solidarity said it was obtaining legal advice about the possibility of contesting such an appointment.

– SAPA

Kimberley – The 14-year-old girl killed in the Griekwastad farm murder left a trail of blood through the kitchen on her way to try and reach the telephone, the Northern Cape High Court heard on Wednesday.

“It will be one of those days that will not be pleasant,” prosecutor Hannes Cloete warned relatives in court before photographs taken of the crime scene and of the post mortems were shown.

He then led police crime scene expert Captain Marius Joubert in his evidence-in-chief.

He is a crime scene and blood spatter expert from the police forensic science laboratory in Cape Town.

Joubert said the blood from the gunshot wound to Marthella Steenkamp’s chest flowed down her body, her right leg and arm, right hand and dripped onto her feet.

She left a trail of drops from the kitchen back door, through the washing room (scullery) and into the kitchen.

He showed the court photographs of where the girl, covered in blood, had leaned against the kitchen counter.

The blood trail went around the counter to where the telephone was.

Halfway to the phone she stopped between the counter and the wooden dining room table.

There was a collection of blood spatters on the floor and a bloody handprint on the dining room table.

“The spatters are concentrated in one area. The victim must have stood for a while and left blood to collect,” Joubert said.

Shots fired

The court heard on Monday that Marthella Steenkamp was shot once in the chest and three times in the head. She collapsed and died near the phone.

Referring to a blood smear found near her father, Deon Steenkamp, Joubert said it was created by a forearm which had moved inwards towards the body.

“Possibly by the victim to make himself comfortable… pulling in [his] arm.”

Northern Cape Judge President Frans Kgomo is hearing evidence in the trial of a 17-year-old youth accused of the murders of farmer Deon Steenkamp, 44, his wife Christel, 43, and their daughter Marthella.

They were shot dead on their farm Naauwhoek, near Griekwastad, on 6 April 2012.

State witness Warrant Officer Phillip Bekker of the crime scene unit and laboratory in Port Elizabeth was excused from the stand after the defence team decided they had no questions for him.

The trial continues.

– SAPA

By Obakeng Maje
Kuruman- Police arrested a 40 year-old Mozambican national for allegedly raping a 2 year-old baby girl from Bankhara village in Kuruman.

On Tuesday, at about 20:45, Kuruman Station Commander, Lt Col Jacobus Van Wyk arrested the suspect at Bankhara village, after being pointed out by the victim’s mother.

“The victim’s mother alleged that on Saturday the toddler was playing outside her home not far from the suspect’s shack. At about 13:00, she realised that the child was not around, she then went to search for the child and knocked on the suspect’s door” lieutenant Sergio Kock said.

Kock said while enquiring from the suspect about the child’s whereabouts, she saw her daughter emerging from the bedroom with her underwear pulled down. The mother became suspicious and after consulting with an older woman in the community, a case of rape was opened on Monday.

The suspect will appear before the Kuruman Magistrate’s Court on Thursday for rape.-TDN
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The board of the 2010 FIFA World Cup Legacy Trust met today in Johannesburg, South Africa, to assess the progress of the first grants that were issued at the beginning of the year and set the requirements for the next phase of applications.

Under the chairmanship of the South African Football Association (SAFA) President Dr. Danny Jordaan, and with representatives of FIFA, SAFA, the South African government and the South African Business Community, the board commended the work achieved so far. The 2010 FIFA World Cup Legacy Trust was established in the wake of the 2010 FIFA World Cup to promote and extend the development of football in South Africa and support initiatives using football as a tool for social development. The first 973 beneficiaries were approved in January 2013 and the initial results are promising.

In the area of social development, the Legacy Trust is supporting a number of Football for Hope Centres across Africa, an initiative which has already brought education and health services to over 70,000 young people in disadvantaged communities in 16 countries across Africa.

Moreover, a total of 800 legacy bags that consist of football equipment to the value of ZAR 7500 were distributed to clubs and schools across the country.

The Legacy Trust also funded a number of key football grassroots activities implemented by the South African Football Association and its regional and local affiliates, including a Women`s High Performance Programme and Women`s Regional Leagues, as well as U-13, U-15, Beach Soccer and Futsal competitions.

In an effort to ensure accountability and compliance, all awarded projects have to submit a progress report and are being monitored by the administration of the Trust.

Looking at the next phase of application for the period March 2014 to February 2015, the board approved a total budget of ZAR 60 million to be allocated to projects and has set the following categories for the presentation of applications:

· Equipment and kit

· Bursaries

· SAFA

· Regional football entities

· Sport schools, including public specialised schools

· Academies

· Football for Hope

· NGOs working on social development through football

The application process will now be opening on the 20th November 2013 and close on the 31st January 2014.

The Chairperson of the Trust, Dr. Danny Jordaan said that he was particularly pleased with the outcomes of the first phase of funding and noted that “the World Cup left a lasting legacy given the positive response received from beneficiaries particularly the grass roots clubs. The impact of this funding can now be seen through the emergence of the leagues for the U13 and U15 boys and girls at the various Local Football Associations and the qualification of the Youth Teams at international levels”.

FIFA Secretary General Mr Jerome Valcke said that “Our commitment when we set up this Trust was to ensure that the FIFA World Cup leaves a lasting legacy in its host country by supporting long term football development in South Africa and social development organisations. I’m happy to see that we are making progress and fulfill our commitment”.-TDN
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By Obakeng Maje
Koster-Police are investigating a case of ATM bombing as per Sec 27(1) of the Explosives Act 26/1956, Attempted Murder & Malicious Damage to property after two ATM’s were bombed.

“It is alleged that in the early hours of Tuesday, the Community Service Centre received a tip off from a community member that there are ± 5 African males tempering with ATM’s in town. Patrol vehicle as well as crime prevention were summoned to the scene” Brigadier Thulani Ngubane said.

According to the information given, upon arrival at the scene the suspects shot at the police and no one was injured.
“Suspects fled the scene with an undisclosed amount of cash in a black BMW. At the scene of the crime, there were 16 empty cartridges of R5, 2 empty cartridges of K47 and one R5 live ammunition” Ngubane said.
An investigation continues and the police would like anyone with the information that can lead to the arrest to contact the Koster Police on 014 545 8618.-TDN
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