No room at this hut for white hikers

Table Mountain National Park (TMNP) is investigating what appeared to be a "misunderstanding" when two students were allegedly told they could not rent a hikers' hut on the mountain because they were white.

The investigation was launched in response to a complaint of race discrimination lodged with the Human Rights Commission (HRC) by civil rights initiative AfriForum at the weekend.

The complaint was lodged on behalf of Pretoria students Etienne and Stiaan Terblanche who claimed they had been refused accommodation at the People's Trail Hut because they were told it was reserved for the use of black people.

The hut is used by special groups and organisations that educate children from disadvantaged backgrounds about nature and Table Mountain. It costs about R30 a night per person while other accommodation on the mountain starts at around R300 a person per night.

Park spokesman Evelyn Holtzhausen said on Monday that the policies of both the TMNP and South African National Parks were "totally non-racial".

"The park doesn't discriminate against anyone in terms of race, class, status or on any other grounds," Holtzhausen said.

He said there was "obviously a misunderstanding", but the facts were still unclear.

Once the investigation was concluded, the TMNP would issue a statement.

AfriForum chief executive Kallie Kriel said at the weekend that the case would be referred to the Equality Court if the HRC "does not treat the matter with the gravity it deserves".

"Youths who only started their school careers during the new dispensation are in effect now being treated on Table Mountain as second-class citizens because of the colour of their skin," he said.

AfriForum suggested income would be a better criterion for access to the more affordable accommodation on the mountain.

The HRC could not be reached for comment on Monday.

The 'good' name of South Africa disgraced again, still, whatever

Were Huntley's statements about crime in SA a thumbsuck?

Toronto couple stabbed while hiking in S. Africa‎

pic below - the warning sign supposed to save your lily white ass

Whoppee! this should do the trick - pepper spray and whistles given to small hiking groups

A warning sign at the entrance to Fernkloof Nature Reserve, in Hermanus, South Africa, erected a week ago.

South Africa is a hellhole of crime, do not visit while it remains the criminal infested hellhole it currently is. Follow 'white one, from suburban Hell that is Mowbray', Huntley's example stay the hell away.

What you should know

• The SA police are not capable of protecting you.
• SA state protection is inadequate and non-existent.

The facts about South Africa - "stealing from whites is not a crime".

Tourists, farmers, soccer fans, whoever, if you are white, beware, your life is in danger - there is no safe place in SA, not even in the mountains.

Let's talk about the rift between Pretoria and Ottawa

Q; Who said: "If the country is so bad, why would you return after fleeing SA? ...even for a brief period. Once a person has fled South Africa due to high levels of crime he should NEVER return to visit his family or graves of his ancestors".

A; The ignorant Canadian Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, in his attempt to reverse the IRB’ decision to grant Brandon Huntley refugee status.

Robbed? stabbbed? We believe you, thousands wouldn't..
Oh and be sure to report these 'irrelevant' criminal acts to the inefficient cops...
no thumbsucking please and no playing Die Hard 3 in Gugulethu!

This leaves me with one quesion "Will the SA police find the savage, scumbag perpetrators?"

Answer: "Let's not, and say we did" SAPS motto!

OK two questions "How long before this docket goes missing?"

by:- Wily whiner crime whinger in SA Gangster Paradise

Toronto banker and wife stabbed in South African nature reserve

ANC earns more damage and negative publicity for SA.

A brutal assault on a Canadian financial executive, the second violent attack on a Canadian this month, has triggered headlines and recriminations in South Africa as the country prepares for an influx of foreign visitors during the World Cup.

Repeatedly stabbed and beaten with rocks on a hiking trail, robbed of their jewellery, digital cameras and cellphones, tied up with shoelaces and left bleeding on the remote mountain.

The attack, two weeks after an armed assault on a 70-year-old Canadian priest that left a second priest dead, is provoking another round of soul searching over South Africa’s high rate of violent crime, along with fears that the country’s tourism business could be damaged as the soccer tournament approaches.

The attacks have led to front-page headlines in South African newspapers, sparking new questions about safety for the half-million foreigners who will visit the country next June and July. President Jacob Zuma has promised to reduce crime, but a spate of armed robberies at shopping malls has prompted South African police to threaten “lethal force” against criminals.

Mr. Stern, 59, and Mrs. Stern, 57, South African expats living in Canada were found by hikers about two hours after they were attacked on Tuesday morning, the fourth in two months at the busting holiday town's Fernkloof Reserve. They were flown out by helicopter, but reportedly lost a lot of blood and were hospitalized in serious condition.

Martin said having hiked for more than half an hour from the entrance to the reserve at the bottom of the kloof, they were walking along a jeep track on top of the mountain when they passed two men walking in the opposite direction.

"I said good morning, and they nodded," he said, speaking from his hospital bed at Hermanus Medi-Clinic. A few seconds later they heard running footsteps behind them and presumed joggers were approaching.

"The next thing we knew we were being stabbed in the back. I was stabbed next to my kidney, and they stabbed Janet in the arm," said Martin. "They pushed us to the ground and picked up rocks."

One attacker smashed Martin across the face with a rock and ripped his bag from his back using his knife.

They had large hunting knives that looked about 12 inches (30cm) long, then they really started roughing us up.

The attackers took a camera, Janet's watch and wedding ring and cellphone before forcing them down the slope away from the road, throwing rocks at them as they walked.

About 30m down the slope the attackers used the couples' shoelaces to bind their feet and hands.

"We were feeling very faint and we were beginning to pass out and they told us to lie down."

When Janet tried to raise her head, they threw rocks at her, and then the couple were left alone, dehydrated, drenched in blood and weak.

Staggering back to the road, they collapsed repeatedly.

The Sterns have visited Hermanus annually for the past 10 years.

Now settled in Toronto where Martin works in finance, they said they left South Africa in 1986 for business reasons. Fernkloof was a hiking route Martin said they hiked once or twice a year.

Grant Forbes, reserve manager at Fernkloof, said that in the first attack two months ago, an Italian couple were approached from behind and held up at knifepoint: "They didn't see the guys' faces."

The other two attacks were similar. In the second, a woman was slapped in the face, and in the most recent attack, three weeks ago, eight hikers were mugged by two men who beat them with their own walking sticks.

In each incident the attackers were two men, although police Inspector David Payne said there was no evidence linking the attacks, which all occurred on the same trail, in the same area.

Zybrandts said two men were apprehended by baboon monitors after the third attack, but they were released due to a lack of evidence.

A sign was erected at the entrance to Fernkloof a week ago, warning hikers to be vigilant, and offering emergency phone numbers.

Zybrandts said signs were now being erected at all informal entry points to the trail, encouraging hikers to walk in large groups and to start at the main entrance. Security guards would be provided for large groups and small groups would be given pepper spray canisters and whistles. While law enforcement teams did patrol the trails during the holiday season, their number was being increased.

The attack took place on a mountain hiking trail in a nature reserve near Hermanus, a famed whale-watching town on the Atlantic Ocean, east of Cape Town. Because of other mugging attacks recently, the nature reserve was posted with a large sign, warning hikers to be “vigilant at all times” and not to carry any valuables, passports or credit cards.

A day before the attack, a group of hikers found a decomposed body on a hiking trail in the same nature reserve. At least four hikers have been attacked in the reserve, but the attack on the Canadians was the first since security was boosted recently, local media reported.

A senior official of the Western Cape government, Alan Winde, expressed worry about what the attack on the Canadians would do for South Africa’s image in the lead-up to the World Cup. “We must not allow these kinds of attacks on anybody in our country, specifically because the eyes of the world are on us at the moment, as we are gearing up to host one of the biggest events in the world,” he told a South African media agency.

Earlier this month, a Canadian priest narrowly survived an armed assault that killed another priest. Father Guido Bourgeois, a 70-year-old Catholic missionary from Canada, was able to barricade himself in a room when his house was attacked by armed robbers near Johannesburg, but another priest in the same house, 70-year-old Father Louis Blondel of France, was shot dead. He was the fourth Catholic priest to be killed in South Africa this year.

A spokeswoman for Canada’s Foreign Affairs Department would not give any details of the latest incident.

Canadian consular officials at the High Commission in Pretoria said they were aware of the stabbing of two Canadian citizens in South Africa, but would not be able to provide additional information because of the Privacy Act.

"Consular officials are actively providing consular assistance and support to them," said Lisa Monette, a spokeswoman for Foreign Affairs and International Trade.

source - http://www.nationalpost.com/news/canada/story.html?id=2376594

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/toronto-banker-and-wife-stabbed-in-south-african-nature-reserve/article1410653/

South Africa safety and security travel warning

Travel Warning

South Africa has a very high level of crime, including rape and murder.

During 2007 and 2008 there were a number of incidents involving foreigners being followed from OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg to their destinations by car and then robbed, often at gunpoint. We recommend you exercise particular caution in and around the airport and extra vigilance when driving away.

The risk to visitors travelling to the main tourist destinations is low. But if you are mugged or your car is hijacked you should remain calm, offer no resistance and hand over possessions without question. Avoid eye contact. Consult a reliable tour guide if you are visiting a township.

South Africa actively promotes an HIV/AIDS awareness campaign. But given the high level of HIV/AIDS in the country, you should seek immediate medical advice if you are sexually assaulted or otherwise injured.

As elsewhere, thieves like to operate at international airports, bus and railway stations. Keep your baggage with you at all times. Due to pilfering of luggage at OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, it is recommended that where possible, and where local regulations permit, hold luggage is vacuum wrapped.

Passport theft is common and increasingly occurs at airports on arrival or departure, although some passports are taken during muggings. You should carry photocopies of your passport with you.

Keep large amounts of money, expensive jewellery, cameras and cell phones out of sight. Do not change large sums of money in busy public areas.

Do not give personal or financial account information details to unknown parties. There are international fraud rings operating in South Africa who may target visitors, foreign businessmen and charities.


In mid May 2008 there was a spate of violent attacks in townships within Gauteng Province. Foreign immigrants from Zimbabwe and other neighbouring states were targeted. Though these attacks have ceased, you should avoid townships in Gauteng Province. You should check this advice regularly for updates.

Johannesburg, like other major international cities, has specific risk areas. You should avoid Berea and Hillbrow. There is a high level of muggings around the Rotunda bus terminus in the Central Business District.

In all areas of South Africa, you should be cautious when out after dark. Streets, even in urban areas, are not brightly lit at night. Be vigilant at all times in Durban's city centre and beach front area. Keep to main roads and avoid driving at night when visiting Northern KwaZulu Natal and Zululand, as there have been incidents of hi-jacking and robbery, particularly on isolated secondary roads.

You should park in well-lit areas. Do not pick up strangers. Do not stop to assist (apparently) distressed motorists, as this is a technique sometimes used by hijackers. It is better to report the incident to the police.

Be vigilant on the approach roads to and from Kruger Park where there have been cases of car hijacking. The local authorities have increased police patrols in this area.

Avoid isolated beaches and picnic spots across South Africa and stay in company. Walking alone anywhere, especially in remote areas, is not advised and hikers should stick to popular trails. Call the police (on 10111 (112 from cell phones)) at the first sign of a threat.

There have been attacks on hikers and tourists on Table Mountain. Some attacks have been violent. You should be cautious when in the quieter areas of the Park, especially early in the morning or just before the park closes. Park authorities, who are attempting to address the problem, recommend that visitors should walk in groups and take all appropriate precautions.

Frenchwoman found slain, as her baby cries

The French Embassy in South Africa, still to this day, warns of the murder last year of French national Charlotte Coutrot (30) who was shot and killed during a robbery at her Parkhurst home on 11 December 2008. She had been shot in the head. Her four month-old baby was found crying next to her.

Woman shot dead, baby found crying

L’Oréal manager leaves SA after wife’s killing

30-year-old French woman found murdered in her Parkhurst, Johannesburg, home.

The murder of the young mother, whose baby was left crying in the main bedroom, shocked the Parkhurst community.

Charlotte Coutrot, 30, was found dead by her partner, Maxime du Pont, and a security guard he had called for assistance, when he arrived home from work.

Coutrot had lived in South Africa for less that two years.

She was found on December 8 in a bedroom of the Seventh Street home she shared with Du Pont, an employee of French cosmetics giant L'Oreal.

Du Pont had tried to call her on her cellphone earlier in the day but got no response.

When he arrived home at about 5.30pm he found the gate to their home open and could hear their baby crying.

He called a security guard and the two entered the house. Coutrot had been shot in the head.

A DVD player, a camera and several other electrical and kitchen appliances were missing. There was no sign of forced entry.

The police said that surveillance camera footage would help to solve the murder. One police official said this week that the post-mortem results, as well as other forensic test results, were being awaited before an arrest was made.

"We have our suspicions about who [the murderers] are, but the investigation is now at a sensitive stage and we want to be sure of all our facts before we arrest these people and take them to court," he said.

Greg Margolis, the chairperson of the Parkhurst Residents' Association, said he was inundated with phone calls from concerned residents on the day of the murder.

"The residents were very shocked. My phone did not stop ringing on the day that it happened.

"The crime rate in our suburb is pretty stable and there is not much serious crime here. I cannot remember when last we had a murder.

"This was a shocking incident," he said.

Margolis and the local police are convinced that the murder was an isolated incident, perpetrated by someone the victim knew.

"There is no indication of a spike in crime in Parkhurst," said Margolis.

Deborah Schepers, who had attended an ante-natal course with Coutrot and Du Pont, said on her website that she was "deeply shocked and saddened" to hear about the murder.

"Our hearts go out to him and their baby daughter, who has suddenly been left without a mother," she said.

The French embassy in South Africa assisted Coutrot's family, who accompanied her body back to France for burial late this week.

Celeste Tema, the spokesperson for L'Oreal, extended the company's condolences to DuPont, his daughter and family, saying the young woman's murder was shocking.

It is not known whether Du Pont, who returned to France this week to bury his partner, will come back to South Africa.

White Woman Tortured, Sexually Assaulted & Murdered in broad daylight

Posted June 5, 2009

A woman was killed in broad daylight in Lynnwood Manor after she stumbled on a gang of armed men ransacking her house.

Cathy Odendaal was tortured, sexually assaulted and then murdered by the four-man gang who have been terrorising the suburb.

But in an unusual mobilisation of forces on Tuesday night, members of the community, along with a group of construction workers from Mamelodi, rallied together to hunt down the alleged culprits.

Two men who were found in possession of an unlicensed handgun and jewellery belonging to Odendaal were arrested – one of them was seriously hurt after being subdued by the workers.

The men broke into the Farnham Street home while Odendaal’s domestic worker Francia Majadibodu was taking a shower.

Odendaal was out shopping at the time, and believed to have been attacked by her killers, who were armed with an assortment of weapons, including a screwdriver, when she surprised them as they were ransacking her home.

The men are believed to have tortured her before sexually assaulting her.

Neighbours and police said it seemed as if the attackers were fleeing through the garden when Odendaal, who had been left for dead, managed to raise the alarm.

This apparently prompted her attackers to return.

It seems they then killed Odendaal. Police at the scene could not say whether she had been shot or stabbed.

Majadibodu discovered Odendaal’s body lying sprawled in a outside room near the kitchen.

Police spokesperson Inspector Paul Ramaloko confirmed that Odendaal had apparently been tortured before being murdered

White Mom killed, throat cut in front of her two children by savage blacks

August 8, 2009

An occupational therapist and mother of two died after her throat was cut by attackers, who also stabbed her several times.

They first attacked her daughter, Alicia O’Dell, 17, with a crowbar in a bedroom, presumably during an attempt to rob the house in Noordheuwel, Krugersdorp.

They then killed her mother, Marinda O’Dell, 48.

Police found one of the murderers hiding in the roof of the house.

Another man was arrested a few hours after the murder in the nearby Munsieville.

Alicia had arrived home shortly after 14:00. She first spoke to people who were at the house for after-hours occupational therapy sessions with her mother, before she went into the house.

Shortly afterwards, she was overpowered in her bedroom, assaulted and choked, said police. She lost consciousness and collapsed on the floor.

Her mother arrived at the house shortly afterwards. She had just dropped off children from Lantern School, a school for children with special educational needs where she worked, at home.

O’Dell invited the clients into her office before she went looking for her daughter. She presumably became suspicious when Alicia didn’t respond to her calls. She was apparently calling a friend to hear whether she knew where Alicia was when she was overpowered and murdered.

Her body was found in the main bedroom.

It was still unclear how the clients, a woman and her child, had survived the attack.

Marinda’s husband, Henry O’Dell, was in Durban at the time of the murder and flew back home on Wednesday night.

The men who were arrested, were 27 and 28 years old.

More Brutal Attack on rural defenseless Whites in South Africa, by Blacks.

October 21, 2009

The day before yesterday evening, a paraplegic prayed continuously and begged three armed robbers not to abduct his mother and little sister just after they shot his father dead before him.

Mr. Henry Locke (39), an automotive electrician from the Elands game reserve near Cullinan, north-east of Pretoria was shot in the heart and collapsed in his living room where his paralyzed son Dawie (23) lay.

13 year old Monique, a grade 7 student at Cullinan school, recalled how she, her brother and their mother Mrs. Amanda Locke (43), sat in the living room until after 11.00pm talking until the dogs started barking furiously. Her father was asleep.

“My mother initially tried to quiet the dogs through the window. When she couldn’t quiet them down she took a flashlight and went outside.

“Just as my mother went through the door, a man who apparently was hiding behind the wall by the front door, grabbed her,” Monique said.

At that stage she was right behind her mother and saw how the attacker grabbed her mother and noticed two other attackers rushing upon her.

“I ran into the house to go and wake my dad. When my dad came out of the living room door they shot him in the heart.

“He collapsed by the couch. One of the robbers then told my mom that she had to sit down.

“I sat next to my dad and held him tightly,” Monique said.

“My brother asked the robbers not to take us away or to harm us.

“My mom told the robbers that my brother is paralyzed and that they must not hurt him. She told them that they could take everything.

“They took my mother and brother’s cellphones, a laptop and my mother’s wedding rings from her finger. The attackers then fled.

The robbers cut two fences to gain access to the property.

Man shot dead in robbery

A 43-year-old man has been shot dead in a robbery in Kameeldrift outside Pretoria.

Two robbers had broken into the house at around 3.30am on Tuesday.

"The husband heard them and tried to push closed the bedroom door. They couldn't open it and they shot him through the door," said Maleka.

"He was shot several times in the stomach."
She said the couple had been tied up and the robbers had demanded firearms and jewellery, and asked where the safe was.

"They... fled with a laptop computer, cellphones and the couple's bakkie."

Beeld newspaper reported that the victim, Renier Lamprecht, had died an hour after he was shot.

It said it was the second time he had been shot in a robbery. Three years ago he had been robbed on his smallholding in Rustenburg, and shot three times in the stomach.

The paper added that the Kameeldrift community suffered heavily from serious and violent crime.

In March 2008, a 38-year-old man, Marius van Greunen, was killed in a robbery. In May 2008, Adriaan Steenberg, 45, was murdered. In the same month there were more than 14 armed robberies.

In October 2008, robbers killed Rudi Roach, 50, for a cellphone and a couple of beers. In the same month a woman and her daughter were robbed and a 16-year-old girl was raped during a separate robbery.

In February this year, Renier Boshoff, 67, was shot dead in front of his wife. In August, a 55-year-old woman, Essie Ferreira, was robbed and earlier in December a 41-year-old woman was raped in her house.

'Oh God, not again'

Pretoria - "Oh God, not again," said Renier Lamprecht on Tuesday when he realised he'd been shot during a house robbery for the second time in three years.

He died an hour later.

His partner, Hannelie du Toit, 39, was with him in their bedroom when four men broke into the couple's house on a smallholding in Pumulani in the Kameeldrift area, north east of Pretoria.

Du Toit only realised Lamprecht , 43, had been shot when she saw the bed was soaked in blood.

Lamprecht was hit in the torso. A tearful Du Toit told how Lamprecht had seen four men in the living room when he got up to use the bathroom at about 03:30.

"His screaming woke me up.

"I jumped up and helped him close the door. Then I heard the shot."

While Lamprecht and Du Toit were trying to keep the door closed, the robbers fired a shot through the door. Then Lamprecht stood back and the robbers came into the room.

Lamprecht and Du Toit were forced onto their bed, where their hands and feet where tied.

The robbers repeatedly asked them for firearms, a safe and jewellery, but they had nothing. Eventually the robbers fled with Lamprecht's bakkie, three cellphones, a laptop and Du Toit's handbag.

"Renier turned around and realised he'd been shot. He just said: 'Oh God, not again'," Du Toit said.

When Du Toit heard the robbers driving off, she loosened the cellphone charger cables around her wrists with her teeth and hopped to the kitchen where she could cut off the tie and shoelaces around her ankles.

She went back to the room to cut Lamprecht's restraints before going to the neighbours to look for help.

Du Toit was still at the neighbours' house when the paramedics came to tell her they'd done everything they could, but unfortunately were unable to save him.

"I went home just to say 'bye'," she said as she wiped the tears from her cheeks.

In the previous incident, about three years ago, Lamprecht had been alone in a house on a smallholding outside Rustenburg when two robbers broke in.

They robbed him and shot him in the stomach three times. - Beeld

Canadian tourists stoned, stabbed and robbed while hiking in Cape Nature Reserve

Countdown to the 2010 FIFA World Cup

Two Canadian tourists was attacked on the famous Fernkloof nature reserve near Hermanus. They were on the trail about 7am and heading up the trail when they were attacked by rock throwing knife yielding savage scumbags.

The savages then proceeded to brutally stab the two Canadian tourists, they almost bled to death but luckily other hikers came up the same trail around 10am three hours later. The two Canadians were then airllifted to hospital by helicopter.

Hiking tourists found stabbed on trail - Star

Two Canadian tourists remained in a serious but stable condition in hospital on Wednesday after they were brutally assaulted during a hike in a nature reserve on Tuesday.

Two South African expatriates living in Canada were stabbed several times while hiking in Fernkloof Nature Reserve near Hermanus yesterday.

Two fellow hikers found the couple - the man aged 59 and his wife, 57 - with multiple stab wounds and trussed up at around 9.45am and alerted the police.

They were found with their hands bound behind their backs. They had been stabbed several times in the shoulders, back, neck and legs. They had also been stoned with rocks.

The pair had been held up, robbed of cellphones, a digital camera, watches, rings and carry bags before being tied up with their shoelaces. Car keys had also been stolen, but the robbers had not stolen the car parked at the base of the trail.

It is understood that they had been lying where they were found for at least two-and-a-half hours - all the while losing blood from the knife wounds to their arms, legs and necks.

A helicopter had been close by and was immediately dispatched to race to the couple's assistance and the pair were airlifted to Hermanus Medi-Clinic private hospital.

The couple has not been named.

Police spokesman Neville Philander said today the two remained in hospital and that the attackers had still not been found.

A case of aggravated robbery has been opened, and anyone with information is urged to contact investigating officer David Payne on 028 313 7000 or 083 444 0702.
Overberg fire chief Riaan Jacobs said the two had been airlifted at about 9am. He said they had lost "quite a lot of blood" and were not able to walk or properly communicate.

Overstrand municipal manager Werner Zybrands said there had been four incidents where hikers were attacked but the robbery of the Canadian couple was the first since the municipality beefed up security in the nature reserve.

South Africa: 'Flawed Democracy' Slips in Governance Rankings

Yarik Turianskyi and Steven Gruzd

Which way is governance going on the African continent and particularly in South Africa? According to the newly released 2009 African Governance Report (AGR-II), put together by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, it seems that many of the continent’s newly-established democracies are suffering from an authoritarian hangover.

Overall, progress is marginal at best and mixed, and worryingly, South Africa is sliding slowly down the ranks. South Africa has many internal problems that it seems not willing or able to solve, which bring into question its aspirations for leadership in governance in Africa.

How much governance change can we really measure in four years? The answer is: not much. The AGR-II, which covers 32 African countries, states that compared to the findings of AGR-I in 2005, indicators on political representation, independence of the electoral process and power distribution remained flat across the continent as a whole, while on political party freedom and security the index reveals a one percent slide, and an increase of three percent on the rule of law as well as on the independence of civil society and the media.

Overall, no dramatic shifts either way. In only three countries did more than half of the experts surveyed agree that the democratic framework is accepted by all social and political groups, suggesting that democracy has shallow roots. Limited respect for the rule of law and constitutionalism is evident in many African countries, and written rules are undermined by unwritten practices.

How then, does South Africa stack up against its African counterparts? Truth be told, although it is consistently in the top 10 on AGR-II’s rankings, there are some rather worrying trends. In terms of acceptance of a democratic framework, South Africa ranks tenth, with less than 38 percent agreeing that such a framework is accepted by all. Furthermore, it is behind states like Sierra Leone and the Republic of Congo, which hardly epitomize democratic rule.

South Africa is ranked at number seven on respect for the rule of law, with less than half the experts agreeing that there is adherence in the country. A similar percentage believes that the police and government always respect human rights in South Africa, placing it behind states like Benin and Morocco. On corruption, South Africa is ranked as the fifth least corrupt in the executive branch, but eighth in the judiciary and tenth in the legislative branch, coming in behind Malawi and Tunisia.

The fact that South Africa, a leading state in Africa and one that often seeks to promote good governance and democracy in the rest of the continent, is not in pole position in these rankings is worrying.

It is important to bear in mind that the AGR-II is mostly based on expert surveys, grounded in opinions and perceptions. One could therefore argue that surveying a different set of experts might have produced a very different report. Yet other international governance rankings support AGR-II’s findings. The country has been slowly losing ground. According to a November 2009 report published by the Democratic Alliance,

South Africa has dropped 10 places in Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions index; five spots in the African Governance Index; 24 places on the Global Peace Index; and two places in the Index of Democracy, which also classified it as a “flawed democracy

These figures should ring alarm bells. South Africa faces many governance challenges. These were highlighted in the country’s 2007 African Peer Review Mechanism report, and include “unemployment rates; capacity constraints and poor service delivery; poverty and inequality; land reform; violence against women and children; HIV/Aids pandemic; corruption; crime; racism and xenophobia; and, managing diversity.”

Combined with the fact that South Africa has been making international and African headlines for all the wrong reasons lately (corruption trials of high-standing public figures, xenophobic attacks, refusal of a visa to the Dalai Lama, accusations of abuse of state organs), sinking rankings negatively affect its international image.

With all the plethora of governance reports, indices, monitoring frameworks and tracking tools in Africa, one can only wonder why governance on the continent is not improving at a faster rate. While the AGR-II tells us little that’s new, it echoes what is being said by others: governance in Africa is variable and South Africa is doing worse than it used to.

Although a long way from catastrophic, this trajectory is going the wrong way. If South Africa wants to be a continental leader in governance matters and help others, it first needs to get its own house in order. It is important that the Zuma administration tries to turn this trend around.

Images of a dying man

How much more evidence is needed before the government takes action against Shaik?

The supposedly "gravely ill" Shaik looked healthy in photographs of him carrying bread and magazines, and getting into his BMW X6, which were published in City Press yesterday.

Shaik was quoted as saying he suffered from uncontrollable stress, but "being home, just seeing the greenery, feeling the sun, getting fresh air, having good food, that alone allows recuperation. That helps me reduce my stress and, to some extent, my recovery."

Shaik was further quoted as saying he was spending a fortune on glasses, because the retina of one of his eyes had been damaged as a result of high blood pressure.

"I'm on goji berries now. Someone told me that with them I'll make a miraculous recovery ... hoping my eyesight will improve, but it isn't."

The paper reported that Shaik had aggressively asked the photographer why he didn't rather apply his "creative skills" to finding out why he was not getting a pardon, "because the longer I stay as a prisoner, other people are equally guilty".

"Why should I even be asking for a pardon? If three people were part of a so-called plot to elicit funds from the French, why are the French free, why is the president free and why is Shaik still sitting as a convict. Cmon!" he is quoted as saying.

Shaik was also spotted in October playing golf. While he denied it, golfers insisted they had seen him.

DA correctional services spokesman James Selfe said yesterday Shaik's release on medical parole should be re-evaluated as he was making a mockery of the system.

"His release on medical parole now needs to be reviewed. How much more proof does the minister need before deciding to act against the convicted fraudster?

"The larger problem is, of course, that the lack of action by the department following these reports further undermines the criminal justice system in the eyes of South Africans, who perceive that there is one law for the politically connected and another for ordinary citizens," he said.

Selfe added there was absolutely no doubt that Shaik was released for political reasons and not on medical grounds.

IFP correctional services spokesman Albert Mncwango said that because of Shaik, the credibility of the country's parole system was in tatters and being used for political expediencies.

"People will not stop complaining about Shaik because he was released on the basis that he was dying. But it has been proved beyond reasonable doubt that his state of health is not what it was said to be at the time.

"Correctional Services needs to explain to the public what has changed since his release, or people will believe it was politically motivated," he said.

Shaik was convicted on two counts of corruption and one of fraud in 2005. He served only two years and four months of his 15-year sentence, spending most of the time in hospital because of high blood pressure, depression and chest pains.

After Shaik's release, his brother Yunis was reported as saying Shaik was "gravely ill", his kidneys and brain had been badly affected and he had lost 50 percent of his sight.

Yunis yesterday said there had been no change in Shaik's medical condition.

"His parole allows him to leave his home, and each time he does, he is tormented. It is not a reportable event to go to a pharmacy to acquire medicine or to a shop to purchase bread," he said.

Correctional services spokesman Manelisi Wolela said: "No evidence had been provided before about Shaik and these are new allegations that have come about regarding Shaik's violation of parole. We have asked for a report from our regional office and will comment after we have studied it."

Jacob Zuma's R65m home expansion

Jacob Zuma has prompted anger with a reported R65m expansion of his personal residence in one of the country's poorest regions.

Zuma's rural homestead will gain a police station, helipad, military clinic, visitors' centre, parking lot for 40 vehicles and three houses, according to South Africa's Mail & Guardian newspaper, which claimed taxpayers would foot "the largest chunk of the bill".

New houses are apparently being built to accommodate Zuma's three wives, the paper said. Critics accused the president of "conspicuous consumption in the face of dire poverty".

The rural family homestead is in Nkandla, in KwaZulu-Natal province, where many of Zuma's neighbours lack electricity or running water. Official figures show that more than half of KwaZulu-Natal's 10 million population live in poverty, with 1.2 million surviving on less than R200 a month. Sources told the paper that the expansion will cost an estimated R65m.

Polygamy is common in rural KwaZulu and Zuma is no exception. His residence has a house for his first wife, Sizakele Khumalo. More are reportedly being built to accommodate his other wives, Nompumelelo Ntuli and Thobeka Mabhija. The houses will have thatched roofs and contain his-and-hers bathrooms, walk-in closets and a study. One will contain four bedrooms; the smaller will have three.

The costly transformation was criticised as insensitive a day after Zuma warned that more jobs could be lost because of a recession that has put nearly a million out of work. William Gumede, a political author, said: "A massive house in South Africa costs R10m, so why spend R65m? … It's conspicuous consumption in the face of dire poverty."

The South African presidency said no government funding would be used for Zuma's household, but the state would be responsible for the adjacent developments. "We … reject any insinuation that there could be any untoward abuse of state resources by the president or his family," it said.

Brutal attack on eye surgeon

An eye surgeon who for 21 years was president of the International Intraocular Society, might never be able to see normally again after a brutal attack.

Marius Pretorius, 70, and his wife Lien, 68, were overpowered in their Vereeniging flat last week by three men armed with guns and knives.

They tied up both victims with rope and ties, before trying to strangle Mrs Pretorius.

The couple's daughter, Hannelie Warren, said on Monday they also tried to gouge out her dad's eyes. The robbers apparently said they didn’t want him to see again and identify them to the police.

"One attacker sat on my dad's back and smoked a cigarette while he was tied down. My dad has horrific injuries - he may never have normal vision again."

Warren said Pretorius was still in hospital. The muscles behind his eyes were damaged and specialists aren't sure whether the muscles will recover sufficiently for him to have normal vision again.

Warren said her parents were severely traumatised and receiving counselling.

No arrests have been made and Warren accused the police of dragging their feet.

Pretorius, speaking from the Emfuleni Medi-Clinic in Vanderbijlpark, said on Monday evening that since the attack almost six days ago, police had not interviewed him about what had happened.

"They only spoke to my wife. No one has been to ask me any questions," he said.

Warren said people in the building where the attack had taken place and who saw the attackers before and after the incident had also not been approached by police in a bid to gather any evidence.

"This is appalling," she added.

Captain Shado Mashobane of the Vereeniging police station confirmed that no arrests had been made, but said the investigation was underway.

Warren said they had been flooded with e-mails and phone calls of support from ophthalmologists in the UK, US, Australia, China, Canada, Hungary and Hawaii.

- News24

Manto will be remembered for her failure to fight Aids

MANTO Tshabalala-Msimang, South Africa’s controversial former health minister has died.

She was controversial because of the stance that she took — backed by her then boss, President Thabo Mbeki — against rolling out anti-retroviral drugs to those with HIV/Aids.
Tshabalala-Msimang and Mbeki have been blamed for an estimated 330 000 preventable deaths according to a study by academics at Harvard University.
But it was not always so.
Few will remember now that it was her predecessor, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, who was first criticised for failing to properly address the Aids crisis.
In fact she made a very good impression on taking office.
One of the first things she did was to visit Uganda, then a leading example of how a relatively under-resourced government could mount a successful national campaign against Aids.
Zambia’s political leaders, in stark contrast to South Africa’s, mounted a strong public campaign calling for the use of condoms and the destigmatisation of those who had it.
Tshabalala-Msimang, it seemed, would finally get government’s Aids programme working.
But it was not to be. Under the shadow of an openly denialist Mbeki, she grew increasingly taciturn and eventually became the number one enemy of those lobbying for government to roll out Aids treatment.
She famously fought an application in the Constitutional Court for the roll out of Nevirapine, then the leading drug for the prevention of mother-to-child Aids transmission.
Tshabalala Msimang made a big contribution to the liberation of South Africa. But her legacy will sadly remain that of the minister who cost this country thousands of lives.

A Christmas wish list for the ANC

With December 25 upon us, let’s not forget the country’s most “needy” folk – the ruling elite.

"More, bigger, better" seems to be the inherent meaning of the ANC's "A better life for all". After 15 years, the ruling elite have become so avaricious, pompous and self-centred, that a "Dear Santa" letter follows on the party's behalf.

Dear Santa

With Christmas looming, we're writing to you on behalf of South Africa's most needy folk. We hope you're feeling generous and humorous. With a persisting recession and rising unemployment throughout 2009, life has been particularly tough for millions of people in South Africa. Some of these folk deserve extraordinary attention.

Therefore, please organise a gargantuan fleet of reindeer-drawn sleighs and a proficient team of logistical experts. In addition, please abandon your customary red-and-white branding this year in favour of green, yellow and black. That way, Santa, we won't label you "racist" or "supremacist".

Foremost, please bring Jay Z another four or five voluptuous wives and a more palatial presidential pad. His new pad should feature:

• a machine-gun shooting range;
  
• a recording studio for making funny anthems;
  
• 20 bedrooms and ten bathrooms each with a free-condom dispenser;
  
• a bulletproof, chauffeur-driven Bentley or Rolls-Rolls for each of his new wives;
  
• a luxurious guest wing to accommodate VIPs like Zapiro.
  

For the rest of our Cabinet, please present each minister and his or her deputy matching "his" and "hers" cars worth at least R2m each. We think a Mercedes-Benz SLC 500 should set the minimum standard for ministerial wheels. For our hardworking former finance minister, True Loverman, we hope you'll make a special concession by parking a £1m-plus Bugatti under his Christmas tree.

With most of the world's car plants being underutilised, perhaps you can help to resuscitate the global economy (including ours) by bringing all state employees a new car complete with:

• a satellite navigation system;
  
• a top-of-the-range iPod, laptop and cellphone;
  
• a boot full of gold bars.
  

For our Yoof Leeg baas, Julius Jackass, please upgrade his domestic and personal security, as well as his wheels of choice and his luxury Sandton pad. He also needs:

• a decent English-Pedi dictionary;
  
• a set of access-all-areas security cards for each of our campuses of higher learning;
  
• a high-tech White Trash detector should he still want Sandown and its precincts to be cleansed ethnically.

Blood River II

With South Africa preparing to host the 2010 FIFA World Cup, we'll need at least 30 of the fattest and finest bulls to be slaughtered as part of the opening ceremony. The international media wasn't around to document the original Battle of Blood River, so we don't want Africa's debut FIFA World Cup to be a disappointment. If the Spanish can attract so many tourists each year with their bullfights and bull runs, can you imagine our tourism potential if we have a constant supply of bulls to slaughter?

On the topic of entertaining public slaughters, David Bullard reminded us recently that our Buffoona-Buffoona squad needs a competent new coach. Especially if we want to watch our team scrape its way into the second round of the FIFA World Cup. Therefore, Santa, please bring our soccer boys:

• a skilled new coach;
  
• a heavyweight assistant coach;
  
• two middleweight assistant coaches;
  
• an assortment of fitness and motivational coaches.
  

As always, the magnitude of their fees is irrelevant.

We also desperately need smart executive coaches for our flagging state-owned enterprises (SOEs), among them Armscor, Eskom, SAA and Transnet. We don't care how many emoluments and perks they demand for their high-flying consulting roles, as long as they prevent our SOEs from disappearing into black holes and, therefore, reducing the rewards of riding the NGT (National Gravy Train).

If your resources allow at a time of grave polar meltdown (which means little to us with our gas-guzzling cars), perhaps you can orchestrate similar miracles for our ailing state departments, such as Home Affairs.

With crime and other community emergencies increasing, along with our indifference and incompetence, as well as the common folks' confusion about which hotline or helpline to phone in the case of an emergency, please install a multipurpose "666" Hotline-from-Hell service in all communities. Besides eliminating confusion over numbers such as 911, 999 and 1011, at least our dumbfounded electorate won't feel too dejected if they get diabolical service (should they get any assistance at all). Ideally, we should contract Telkom to install our nationwide 666 hotline at whatever fee it wishes, regardless of our business competition framework.

Time to party

This request might be rich, but please reserve our country's finest five-star hotels for the exclusive benefit of us, the ruling elite. Ensure you keep these resplendent palaces of hospitality fully stocked with every conceivable epicure's delight, not to forget massage parlours to de-stress ourselves when we graft too hard. Besides helping to keep our ruling elite and hotel magnates corpulent, this gesture would inject into our tourism sector much-needed financial Viagra before and after FIFA 2010.

Above all, Santa, please bring King Bling and our Blingmeisters every possible form of bling they desire ahead of our 2010 FIFA World Cup celebrations. As for the indigent folk in informal settlements with meagre food, water, energy and hope, please keep their plight obscured from our eyes ... because it's time to party ANC-style ... carefree, crazy and carnal!

With little gratitude and warmish regards

South Africa's Ruling Elite

Police in crime conspiracy

Investigation into fudging of crime statistics reveal how police downgraded serious offences.

A probe into the manipulation of crime statistics is gathering momentum as new details emerge of how police with evidence of serious crimes, such as child rape, failed to open dockets.

Police stations in two provinces stand accused of destroying dockets and downgrading the seriousness of reported crimes, in a conspiracy to make it look as if there was less crime in their areas.

This week it emerged that:

Police failed to open a docket into the alleged rape of five primary school pupils by one man in a single day, despite medical and other evidence;

The Independent Complaints Directorate (ICD), a police watchdog body probing the crime statistics scandal, now wants to scrutinise over 1000 more dockets in the Western Cape;

Western Cape community safety MEC Lennit Max called on the ICD to make public the preliminary results of their probe into 103 dockets in the province.

Four police officers, including Pietermaritzburg's Mountain Rise police station commissioner, Harriram Badul, were arrested after a probe into the alleged destruction of dockets.

They were arrested on 51 counts of fraud and corruption and the case has been handed to the Hawks.

The Sunday Times this week established that police in Paarl, in the Western Cape, failed to open a docket after being handed doctor's certificates confirming injuries consistent with the rape of five primary school pupils. Neither did they arrest the suspect, pointed out by the victims - four girls and one boy aged 6 to 12 - earlier this year. Instead, they opened an inquiry, which, unlike a docket, is not counted among crime statistics. The suspect was only arrested in June after a special task team of about 25 members of the Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit (FCS) from Cape Town were sent to Paarl to track down and arrest suspects linked to over 100 cases registered as inquiries in the area.

The team swooped after Max asked the ICD to probe claims that crime figures were being manipulated in the province.

The team of detectives were handed over 100 dockets - all opened the day before they arrived in Paarl - and told to "immediately arrest all the suspects identified and pointed out" by their victims.

They arrested up to 30 suspects that day.

The ICD has now asked police to hand over 1000 dockets from the Boland cluster of police stations, which include Paarl, Paarl East, Mbekweni, Malmesbury, Riebeeck-Wes and Philadelphia. The provincial head of the police's legal services has written to the ICD, asking for the investigation to be "expedited and completed".

Max has also written to the ICD asking for their preliminary findings, based on an evaluation of 103 dockets from the Paarl area, to be made public.

"The ICD must first positively link somebody to any wrongdoing before any action is taken. I hope, however, that if there was any, the police will act consistently, as they did in the Lansdowne case."

The former station commissioner at Lansdowne police station in Cape Town, Senior Superintendent Charlene Chandler, became the first police officer in the country to be fired for fiddling with crime figures.

The SAPS fired her in October for defeating the ends of justice after an internal probe.

ICD spokesman Moses Dlamini this week confirmed there had been a request for more police dockets for the watchdog to examine. "We are waiting for SAPS to make them available," he said.

Director Novela Potelwa, spokesman for provincial police commissioner Mzwandile Petros, said: "We eagerly await the finalisation of the ICD investigation, which has been going on since June 2009. Unfortunately we cannot comment on any of the Paarl cases as they form part of the ICD investigation."

The Sunday Times spoke to the family of a 10-year-old girl who, with four other pupils, was lured to a house in Paarl and allegedly raped by a man earlier this year.

Her aunt, who cannot be named in order to protect the child's identity, said: "He told them he had food for them at home. While they were eating, he took them one by one to the room and (allegedly) raped them. One boy was sodomised and said he saw a lot of condoms on the bedroom floor."

Police were summoned by the school principal and the children taken to a hospital, where a doctor confirmed that they had injuries consistent with those of rape.

Miss World cost Jo'burg R90m

The Miss World pageant cost the City of Johannesburg R90 million, double the amount told to the public

The paper said this was according to an agreement signed by Graham Cooke from Miss World Limited, the pageant owners, and chief executive of the Johannesburg Tourism Company, Lindiwe Mahlangu-Kwele.

The contract stipulates that the JTC would pay a hosting fee of about R73 million and foot the bill for logistical, travel and accommodation arrangements, bringing the cost to "at least" R90 million, the report read.

The city would end up footing the bill because the JTC is a section 21 company funded by it.

The City cut its budget by more than four percent, the report read, raising concerns that it would falter on delivering essential services. It added that the JTC was insolvent and was given a R13 million loan by the city last month.

Mahlangu-Kwele denied that the company was insolvent and said the decision to host the pageant was taken by the mayoral council on November 6.

She confirmed that the city's contracted costs included 6 million pounds for the hosting rights with the R17.3 million projected budget to be offset by sponsors.

She did not indicate who the sponsors were or how much they would contribute, the report said.

Big cars for correctional services

Correctional Services Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula has bought herself a R960 000 Lexus, while her deputy, Hlengiwe Mkhize, chose to get a Porsche Cayenne, worth more than R750,000.

The Star newspaper reported on Friday that the combined cost of the two vehicles to the department was R1.73 million.

(Right) Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula

This while it overspent its budget by R500 million in the last financial year.

The information was contained in a series of replies to questions raised by the Democratic Alliance in parliament. The minister's Lexus LS460 cost R968,821, while the deputy minister's Porsche Cayenne's purchase price was R650,000, but accessories took the costs to R750,070.

DA correctional services spokesman James Selfe said this was an "example of gross self-indulgence from the ANC administration, which has now spent R47.8 million on motor vehicles since April".

Four Hyde Park suspects arrested

Soweto police have arrested four people for a robbery at the Hyde Park shopping centre this morning.

Inspector Kay Makhubela said the four were arrested in Bram Fischer, Dobsonville, while they were off-loading computers stolen from a computer shop in the Hyde Park shopping centre.

"They were found with six new computers, sound equipment and laptops," said Makhubela. Police also confiscated a firearm.

"We suspect that they were involved in the robbery this morning," said Makhubela.

A gang of 15 robbers armed with AK-47 assault rifles broke into Hyde Park shopping centre, north of Johannesburg, on Thursday morning.

"Around 4.30am, about 15 suspects broke the security door at the entrance and entered the shopping centre. They shot at security guards who shot back at them," said Inspector Moses Maphakela.

Maphakela said the robbers, wearing balaclavas and gloves, stole an unknown amount of clothing.

He said that while some of the gang members broke into the shop, others fired shots at the security guards. "The police are searching for 15 suspects; these people are armed with AK-47s, R5s and pistols."

They sped off in a silver Mercedes-Benz C200. Its back windscreen was shattered in the shooting. The other getaway cars used were a white Honda Ballade and a silver grey double-cab Ford Ranger.

Man killed in hijack

A 30-year-old man was shot dead during a hijacking in Meyerton in Johannesburg on Friday night, paramedics said.

"Paramedics arrived at the Meyerton fire station and found a man was shot through the heart and right leg during an alleged hijacking by three men around 8 pm. He was unresponsive," said ER24 spokesman Werner Vermaak.

Vermaak said paramedics attempted advanced life support resuscitation but it was unsuccessful.

"The hijack victim was subsequently pronounced dead on scene," he said.

In a separate incident a shop owner was wounded on Friday after he was shot by robbers in Lenasia, south of Johannesburg, police said.

Spokesman Inspector Kay Makhubele said armed robbers stormed into a clothing shop around 4pm and pointed a gun at the owner demanding money.

"The owner resisted and he was shot on the back after which the suspects ran away. No one has been arrested since," said Makhubele.

Police are investigating a case of attempted robbery and attempted murder.

Family robbed at home

A family was robbed of their cars and household goods by six armed men in Vereeniging last night.

Police spokesman Captain Shado Mashobane said the family of three were watching television at around 9.30 pm, when the men came into the house and demanded money and the family's car keys.

"When the man tried to resist, they hit him with a firearm on the head," said Mashobane. The man was treated for the wound on his head.

The robbers fled with the family's Ford Focus and Toyota double cab bakkie and some electrical equipment.

"The Ford Focus was later recovered in Naledi in Soweto, where it was abandoned," said Mashobane. He said the vehicle was fitted with a tracker.

"No suspects have been arrested," he said.

Mashobane said it was not known how the gang gained access to the house. No one else was injured in the robbery.

R10m for just holding meetings

SUSPENDED South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) boss Fezile Makiwane allegedly made irregular payments of R10 million to a company "for just holding meetings".

Makiwane was put on special leave in July in connection with alleged irregular transactions, and Social Development Minister Edna Molewa ordered a probe by the Special Investigating Unit.

The SIU recently handed over the report of its findings to Molewa.

A source close to the probe said the report revealed that R10m was paid to a company contracted by the agency to locate office space for Sassa throughout the country.

However, the amount covered only the costs of meetings that the agency had with suppliers.

"There are 11 transactions amounting to R10 million that was paid for just holding meetings. The money did not include the actual work (of the said company) to find office space (for Sassa)," the source said.

In one instance, the agency paid R900 000 for a single meeting that was held in one of the provinces, the source said.

The source added that the SIU's findings included the conclusion that prices charged for services were inflated.

While Sassa could have held meetings with suppliers at smaller venues, big marquees and chairs were hired at a high cost, the source said of the unit's findings.

The Social Development Department said in a statement earlier this week that Molewa had given Makiwane a copy of the report to study so that he could respond to the SIU's findings.

The minister said Makiwane would have until next Friday to file his response, after which she would decide her next course of action.

Molewa's spokeswoman, Zanele Mngadi, declined to comment when asked about the probe focusing on the R10m.

Mngadi said the minister would not say anything more than she had said in her statement.

Sassa spokesman Paseka Letsatsi also declined to comment, referring enquiries to Mngadi. Makiwane could not be reached for comment.

JZ's R2,5m bash funded with RDP cash

Other allegations that Makiwane has faced include the claim that she personally approved the transfer of a total of R4.3m - in separate transactions - to Durban businessman Mabheleni Ntuli for events at President Jacob Zuma's village at Nkandla, KwaZulu-Natal.

The first transfer was of R2.5m of RDP-designated funds and was used for celebrations at Zuma's traditional home in December last year.

When this allegation was made, the Democratic Alliance called for Makiwane's resignation.

The second transfer was for R1.8m - also raised by Ntuli in a similar way - again from an RDP-designated fund, and again approved personally by Makiwane.

The allegation is that the money was then apparently used to buy food parcels that were distributed to residents of Zuma's hometown.

When these allegations were first made, it triggered criticism from the DA, who said: "Again, this is money designated for social development that has instead been abused for the purposes of ANC patronage.

"Makiwane's actions are quite extraordinary and completely unacceptable.

"It beggars belief that money that was designated to be spent on social development projects, such as paying for chairs, buildings, toilets, generators and wheel- chairs required at social grant paypoints, can be diverted into the funds of a party for the ANC president.

"It is even more astonishing that it took Sassa only three days to release the money to Mabheleni Ntuli, the Durban-based businessman, who apparently then used the funds on the party."

Farm attack - man 'executed'

Farm murders Death toll now 3,115

A man from a farm in the Roossenekal district in Mpumalanga has been "executed" with his own firearm in a revenge attack.

Gawie Hough, 42, was attacked two months after a former employee of his brother Deon, 41, threatened him with the words: "I'll show you what I can do with a white man."

Deon Hough, owner of the farm on the Steelpoort road, says his brother was murdered on Thursday night.

"I left the farm on Thursday at about 16:30. We were still chatting and joking. Our neighbours heard four shots at 18:00. Our domestic worker, who was at home with my brother, only went to the police on Friday morning to report my brother's murder."

According to Deon, the attackers overpowered Gawie inside the house before dragging him about 600m away. They were on a footpath when they shot him at very close range in the left side of his face, probably while he was looking at them.

A source close to the Hough family says the gunpowder from the firearm was still sticking to Gawie's face after his death.

"We suspect he bled to death in the path because he was lying in a pool of blood. Then they dragged him 15m into the bushes, but possibly stopped to rest before dragging him another 15m, before leaving him under a tree," said Deon.

The attackers then dragged his brother a further 20m to a river bank and left him there in the bushes before they fled.

He was wearing only his underpants.

Deon says one of his farm workers disappeared after the incident. This worker's brother is a former employee of Deon. Both men are from Zimbabwe.

According to Deon, he sacked the one brother a few months ago because he'd been causing trouble.

"Two months ago, that worker phoned me and said: 'I'll show you what I can do with a white man.' I asked him what he wanted, and he replied he wanted R600 from me.

"I gave the R600 to his brother to give to him. I also asked the brother to get my cellphone back, which the other brother took when he left, but it was never returned."

Gawie's murderers fled with his revolver, two radios, two cellphones and about R1 000.

On Sunday Deon expressed his dismay that the police did not take fingerprints at the scene. They also did not take his cellphone number in order to be able to contact him.

Ronel Otto, police spokesperson, confirmed that the Houghs' domestic worker had reported the incident to the police. Otto says there is a possibility that three suspects were involved in the attack.

- Beeld

Farmer murdered in Ceres

A farmer was shot dead during a failed robbery on his farm outside Ceres in the Western Cape, the provincial agriculture department said on Sunday.

Mr PM Cilliers from the farm Loraine, outside Ceres, was fatally shot on Friday

Cilliers left his two children and two friends in the house and went outside when he heard a noise at the back door.

"Upon confronting the robbers, a scuffle ensued during which four shots were fired. His friends phoned their parents, who then contacted the police."

Cilliers died shortly after the police arrived. Nothing was taken from the house. No arrests had been made.

Western Cape Agriculture Minister Gerrit van Rensburg said he was shocked and saddened by the murder.

Robbers target international reporters

Two foreign television crews robbed in Cape Town on Friday ahead of the draw for the 2010 Soccer World Cup.

Foreign journalists have been told to be on guard against criminals after two international television crews were robbed by thieves in Cape Town.

Members of a German news crew were held up at knifepoint off Long Street, while a BBC crew had equipment worth an estimated R120 000 stolen out of their vehicle while filming on Ou Kaapse Weg.

The BBC crew has been in Cape Town for four weeks filming a documentary on the power of football to change people's lives - specifically disadvantaged youth.

Producer Andrew Bell said they had been doing shots of the Cape Flats from Ou Kaapse Weg when the thieves struck, smashing a window in their vehicle and stealing a lens, microphones and other camera equipment.

The German crew were accosted by a gang of well-dressed men carrying knives. The two German men were forced to hand over wallets, air tickets and cellphones.