Durban – The raid that led to the rescue of 16 girls, many of them under age, from an alleged brothel in Durban was illegal, the policeman who spearheaded the operation has conceded.

Warrant Officer Cyril Freese was testifying in a trail-within-a-trial in the Durban Regional Court on Thursday regarding the admissibility of the search warrant he executed on February 16 last year.
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Nelspruit – A woman convicted of playing a role in her brother’s murder was sentenced to life imprisonment and an additional 18 years in the Nelspruit Circuit of the High Court in Pretoria on Friday.

Belinah Maluka, who was 63 when the crime was committed in 2011, was sentenced with her co-accused, Louis Mlungisi Given Msibi, 28, and Surprise Sibusiso Nzima, 25, a Sapa correspondent reported.

Their co-accused, Percy Dube, 23, turned State witness after confessing to the crime, for which he received a 20-year prison term.

The three were convicted of robbing Julia Dories Mashabane and killing her husband, traditional healer Richard Philip Manikela, 53.

Manikela was shot dead at his home in Phathwa Trust on the morning of July 22, 2011.

Judge Mmonoa Teffo said evidence showed Maluka met Dube to arrange a robbery at her brother’s house.

“That was when she told him (Dube) her brother was keeping an amount of R3 million in cash inside his house,” she said.

“Prior to the murder, Maluka then met with Dube, Msibi, Nzima and a fourth suspect, Steven, who was not before court, at her house, where the robbery was planned.”

Teffo said the group initially planned to scare Manikela, using an electric iron and masking tape, rather than kill him.

Manikela’s hands and feet were tied and his mouth was sealed with masking tape. He was tortured with the iron in an effort to compel him to give them the money.

Teffo said Nzima then went into Manikela’s bedroom, where Dube was demanding the money from Manikela’s wife.

“He saw the deceased’s pump-action shotgun with ammunition inside the safe, took it and went to the kitchen and shot Manikela, who died as they watched.”

The men stole the gun, ammunition, a cellphone, money, and fled in Manikela’s car.

“The robbers followed on Maluka’s information. The deceased’s family regarded her as their sister, sister-in-law, and aunt. They felt safe in her hands,” Teffo said.

“Out of greed, Maluka abused that relationship with the family. She became evil and planned the robbery, which ultimately resulted in Manikela’s death. There are no compelling and substantial circumstances for a lesser sentence for Maluka.

“The torture, using a plugged and hot iron was cruel and brutal. Where have you seen a human being ironed?”

Teffo sentenced each of the three to life imprisonment for the murder, and 15 years for the armed robbery.

Maluka and Msibi each got an additional three years for possession of an unlawful firearm. Nzima received another six years for possession of two unlawful firearms and ammunition. The sentences would run consecutively.

Sapa

Durban – A Hindu priest from Chatsworth who was jailed for raping a child devotee has failed in his bid to present further evidence.

Cooper Reddy, 60, of Havenside, was sentenced in May to 15 years in prison after being convicted on two counts of rape, a count of indecent assault and one of sexual assault.
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Port Elizabeth – A 16-year-old girl was killed and nine others were injured when a bus overturned in Ncanarha near Port Elizabeth, the Eastern Cape traffic department said on Friday.

The accident happened on the N10, N2 and R72 interchange on Thursday night, said provincial traffic department spokesman Tsepo Machaea.

The driver lost control of the bus while approaching a curve. It went through the embankment and overturned.

The teenager died on the scene. The injured were taken to Livingstone Hospital in Port Elizabeth, said Machaea.

The bus was transporting 75 athletes from schools in the Alfred Nzo District to Port Elizabeth for provincial games.

Eastern Cape sport MEC Xoliswa Tom sent her condolences to the family of the girl. She wished the injured pupils speedy recovery.

“I feel heartbroken when young children being developed to be the future stars that can represent this country in sport, are subjected to such trauma,” she said.

Sapa

Mbombela – A woman convicted of playing a role in her brother’s murder was sentenced to life imprisonment and an additional 18 years in the Mbombela Circuit of the High Court in Pretoria on Friday.

Belinah Maluka, who was 63 when the crime was committed in 2011, was sentenced with her co-accused, Louis Mlungisi Given Msibi, 28, and Surprise Sibusiso Nzima, 25, a Sapa correspondent reported.

Their co-accused, Percy Dube, 23, turned State witness after confessing to the crime, for which he received a 20-year prison term.

The three were convicted of robbing Julia Dories Mashabane and killing her husband, traditional healer Richard Philip Manikela, 53.

Robbery arranged

Manikela was shot dead at his home in Phathwa Trust on the morning of 22 July 2011.

Judge Mmonoa Teffo said evidence showed Maluka met Dube to arrange a robbery at her brother’s house.

“That was when she told him [Dube] her brother was keeping an amount of R3m in cash inside his house,” she said.

“Prior to the murder, Maluka then met with Dube, Msibi, Nzima and a fourth suspect, Steven, who was not before court, at her house, where the robbery was planned.”

Teffo said the group initially planned to scare Manikela, using an electric iron and masking tape, rather than kill him.

Manikela’s hands and feet were tied and his mouth was sealed with masking tape. He was tortured with the iron in an effort to compel him to give them the money.

Teffo said Nzima then went into Manikela’s bedroom, where Dube was demanding the money from Manikela’s wife.

“He saw the deceased’s pump-action shotgun with ammunition inside the safe, took it and went to the kitchen and shot Manikela, who died as they watched.”

‘Sister became evil’

The men stole the gun, ammunition, a cellphone, money, and fled in Manikela’s car.

“The robbers followed on Maluka’s information. The deceased’s family regarded her as their sister, sister-in-law, and aunt. They felt safe in her hands,” Teffo said.

“Out of greed, Maluka abused that relationship with the family. She became evil and planned the robbery, which ultimately resulted in Manikela’s death. There are no compelling and substantial circumstances for a lesser sentence for Maluka.

“The torture, using a plugged and hot iron was cruel and brutal. Where have you seen a human being ironed?”

Teffo sentenced each of the three to life imprisonment for the murder, and 15 years for the armed robbery.

Maluka and Msibi each got an additional three years for possession of an unlawful firearm. Nzima received another six years for possession of two unlawful firearms and ammunition. The sentences would run consecutively.

– SAPA

Johannesburg – A Tlokwe special council meeting on Friday was properly convened, the council said.

“The council meetings that were convened on Monday this week as well as this [Friday] morning were in order and legal,” spokesperson William Maphosa said in a statement.

He was responding to the DA’s claim that a council meeting set for Friday was called illegally, because it did not have the backing of a quorum of 50% of the councillors plus one.

Maphosa said: “Sections 36 and 37 of the Municipal Structures Act as well as the council’s rules of order empower the speaker of council to call all meetings, both ordinary and special council sessions.”

Earlier, DA North West leader Chris Hattingh said in a statement the party did not attend the special council meeting on Friday.

Maphosa said this decision was “disingenuous”.

“One would have expected the DA, as democrats that they claim to be, to accept democratic processes to take their course without resorting to technicalities and clutching at straws.”

The ANC in the North West earlier said that one of the items on the agenda for the meeting was a motion of no-confidence in Tlokwe Mayor Annette Combrink, of the DA, but this would not be effected on Friday.

“While the motion appears as an agenda item in today’s [Friday] council meeting, the ANC will not be acting on this matter today,” spokesperson Kenny Morolong said in a statement.

Fourteen ANC councillors were expelled from the party in July for participating in a motion of no confidence in then Tlokwe mayor Maphetle Maphetle. He was replaced by Combrink.

The ANC’s national disciplinary committee subsequently overturned the expulsions.

“The inevitable removal of the mayor who ascended to the position through the subversion of democracy will only be effected after the conclusion of the outstanding by-elections,” Morolong said.

Postponed by-elections

The ANC retained control of two of three wards in Tlokwe by-elections on Wednesday.

The Electoral Court in Bloemfontein ordered on Tuesday evening that five of the nine by-elections in Tlokwe be postponed.

This was after the court heard an application by five independent candidates, who were disqualified from taking part in the by-elections by the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC).

A sixth by-election, in Ward 13, was earlier postponed after an out-of-court settlement.

North West Local Government MEC Manketsi Tlhape said on Wednesday the date for the remaining by-elections would be announced once her office received the required documents from the IEC.

Morolong said: “The ANC reaffirms its unwavering resolve to restore democracy and the will of the people of Tlokwe, thus building on the foundation we have already laid to change the lives of our people for the better.”

Maphosa said the DA was only interested in holding onto power in Tlokwe to the detriment of service delivery.

– SAPA

Cape Town – Western Cape police will step up crime intelligence operations in Nyanga, Cape Town, provincial police commissioner Arno Lamoer said on Friday.

Lamoer denied a lack of police visibility led to the area again recording the highest number of murders in the country.

The national crime statistics, released on Thursday, showed 262 people were murdered in the area in 2012/13. He said more plain clothes officers would be employed to crack down on criminals.

“I deploy detectives there in private clothes. I deploy crime intelligence officers there in private clothes,” he said.

Visibility alone would not solve the high crime rate in Nyanga.

“We want to make sure that you must be scared to commit a crime because you don’t know [whether] the person walking next to you can be a police officer,” Lamoer said.

By-laws

Another strategy Lamoer said needed to be implemented was cracking down on the blatant violation of by-laws in Nyanga and surrounds.

“You look at the health and building regulations that are not adhered to. You drive around in Nyanga and you see how many cars are unroadworthy. If you start dealing with the smaller crimes, you start making an impact on the bigger crimes.”

Lamoer wants to strengthen investigative capacity at the station and possibly make some staff changes.

The latest statistics, for the financial year from April 2012 to March 2013, painted a bleak picture for not only Nyanga, but other areas in the Western Cape.

Four other parts of Cape Town were in the top 10 areas with highest murder rates in the country.
Khayelitsha had 168 murders, Harare 132, Gugulethu 129, and Delft 113.

Steep increases in crime

Overall, murder increased by 12% in the province, while attempted murder shot up by 42%.

There were also steep increases in the so-called trio crimes. House robberies in the province went up by 23%, business robberies by 23%, and carjacking by 46%.

Drug-related crime rose by 6.5%.

The only category of crime to see a downward trend was sexual offences, down 6.5%.

Lamoer said he was concerned about crimes against women and children.

“The 4-month-old baby that was raped in Ceres. Those are things we see on a daily basis happening in this province.

“Two weeks ago we had an eight-month-old baby that was raped and those are things that really keep me awake at night to try and figure out what can we do to turn that around,” Lamoer said.

Protest strain

Police had to improve on curbing spaza shop robberies, policing in gang areas, and strengthening partnerships with communities.

They were starting to do well with a high rate of illegal firearm recoveries, good work on policing and investigating sexual offences, and police control over strikes and violent protests.

Protests were however putting strain on police resources.

“One of the core reasons our resources have been stretched is protest action,” Lamoer said.

He said the problems protesters had were not with police, yet officers bore the brunt of their frustrations.

Lamoer urged other government departments to step in quicker when problems with delivery arose.

“The time we spent on these things [protests] is amazing. Take the De Doorns [farmworkers’ strike] for instance. The number of police officers I deployed there from the metropole to go to deal with those issues, that’s a serious concern.”

– SAPA

Johannesburg – Sixteen animals burned to death and 61 were critically injured in veld fires in Thomas River near Stutterheim this week, the Eastern Cape SPCA said on Friday.

The blaze broke out on Thursday afternoon and destroyed grazing on four farms, said Eastern Cape Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals spokesperson Annette Rademeyer.

The size of each farm was believed to be in the region of 3 000ha. “The whole place is devastated and there is absolutely no grazing for 3 000 animals rescued.”

Badly burnt animals had to be killed. Rademeyer appealed to farmers in other provinces to donate food for feed the surviving animals.

In the Free State, Zastron, Petrus Steyn, and Rosendal were also affected by fires. Apparently thousands of hectares of land and grazing were destroyed.

Free State SPCA spokesperson Nazareth Appalsamy said countless animals were affected. A call had been made for donations to help with the relief efforts, he said.

Teams had been sent to assess damage and help animals in the affected areas.

– SAPA

Johannesburg – The views on police evidence expressed in a statement are not those of the Farlam Commission of Inquiry, the commission said on Friday.

The statement, issued on Thursday, had contained the submissions made to the commission by senior evidence leader Geoff Budlender, SC, in support of an application for a postponement to 25 September, the commission said in a statement.

Budlender wanted the postponement to enable the evidence leaders to work through the new material, running into thousands of papers. It had been made available by the SA Police Service, and the SAPS legal team to provide explanations on certain matters arising from the documents seen so far, it said.

Thursday’s statement read: “In the past 10 days we have discovered through the evidence leaders that there must be information that was not disclosed by the police that seeks to suggest that the information was withheld to try and portray a certain approach to the commission in relation to what has been discovered.”

‘Not the truth’

On Friday, the commission said it was important to stress three facts.

During the course of Budlender’s submissions he stated that in the opinion of the evidence leaders some of the documents obtained demonstrated that the SAPS version of the events at Marikana, as described in its presentation, and the evidence of SAPS witnesses in the commission, were in material respects not the truth.

Commission chairperson, retired judge Ian Farlam, had said that that might not be so, whereupon Budlender said it was a matter for the commission, and not the evidence leaders, to decide ultimately.

Secondly, in granting the postponement sought, which was not opposed by the SAPS or any of the other parties present, Farlam had said: “I think it appropriate to place on record these are at the moment only concerns.

“There are no findings made, these are matters that have to be looked at, and we don’t know what the results of the examination of these points will be. But clearly from what you tell us, these are matters that require careful consideration, which I am sure they will receive.”

Open mind

Finally, the commission intended keeping an open mind on the matters on which it had to make findings until the results of all the investigations, all the evidence, and all submissions were before it.

The commission, sitting in Centurion, is investigating the deaths of 44 people during strike-related unrest at Lonmin’s platinum mining operations at Marikana, near Rustenburg in the North West last year.

Police shot dead 34 people, almost all of them striking mineworkers, while trying to disperse and disarm them on 16 August 2012. Ten people, including two police officers and two security guards, were killed in the preceding week.

President Jacob Zuma established the commission shortly after the unrest.

– SAPA

Bloemfontein – A 15-year-old schoolboy is expected to appear in Sasolburg Magistrate’s Court soon after shooting a teacher at his school, police said on Friday.

Sergeant Sellwane Mapamela said the incident occurred at around 10:45.

“This morning, a 15-year-old boy was chasing three other pupils at school. He was stopped by the deputy principal, asking him why he was chasing them,” Mapamela said.

“During this questioning, the boy pulled a pistol from behind his back but a shot did not go off.”

Mapamela said the boy then ran away. Two teachers followed and tried to disarm him. During the scuffle, a shot went off, hitting one of the teachers in the right lower leg.

Mapamela said the boy again ran off and was accosted by police in DF Malan Street in Sasolburg. The firearm, believed to be that of his grandfather, was found in his possession.

The boy was in police custody and undergoing psychological assessment.

The wounded teacher was in a stable condition and receiving treatment at a local Sasolburg hospital. According to Corenl van Heerden, a Beeld photographer, the teacher’s name is Johan Jordaan.

Mamapela said an attempted murder docket had been opened.

“A case of pointing a firearm and attempted murder has been registered for further investigation.”

– SAPA