Oscar Pistorius is set to appear in court today for a bail hearing that could send him back to jail after he was convicted of murder on appeal for shooting dead his girlfriend.

The Supreme Court of Appeal last week threw out his earlier conviction on the lesser charge of culpable homicide for killing Reeva Steenkamp in the early hours of Valentine’s Day in 2013.

Oscar Pistorious

Pistorius, 29, is under house arrest in Pretoria after serving one year of his five-year prison sentence for culpable homicide.

“It’s a bail application. His (earlier) conviction has been overturned, so his sentence from before has been scrapped,” Lusanda Ntuli, spokeswoman for the justice ministry said.

“The defence and prosecution will present their arguments.”

The double-amputee athlete now faces a minimum 15-year jail sentence for murder, although the term could be shorter if he is released on parole.

“If he is given bail, it may come with different conditions perhaps not as stringent as house arrest,” criminal lawyer Martin Hood told AFP.

Pistorius killed Steenkamp at his home in Pretoria two years ago, saying he mistook her for an intruder when he shot through the locked door of his bedroom toilet.

The appeal court ruling changed his conviction to murder and sent the case for re-sentencing, saying the original trial judge had made “fundamental” errors in her ruling.

It was high drama at the Mthatha High Court premises  yesterday when a group of eight trial-awaiting prisoners staged a daring escape by overpowering police officers and driving off in a police van.

However five were captured less than an hour after the escape following a high-speed car chase involving the prisoners who were in two police vehicles.

IT was high drama at the Mthatha High Court premises yesterday when a group of eight trial-awaiting prisoners staged a daring escape by overpowering police officers and driving off in a police van.

The drama happened around 2pm according to Mthatha police spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Mzukisi Fatyela as the prisoners were being led to a van after a  court appearance.

He said among them were two prisoners  linked to the case of murdered Elliotdale police station commander Lieutenant-Colonel Nomalizo Dukumbana who died in a hail of bullets from hired hitmen two years ago.

“They [awaiting-trial prisoners] had finished appearing in court and were being led to the van when they jumped on police officers escorting them back to the Mthatha Correctional Centre,” said Fatyela.

“Fortunately they did not get any weapons because our officers were unarmed.”

All the prisoners were appearing in court yesterday on murder charges but for different cases.

The spokesman said shots were fired by a group of pursuing police officers towards the fleeing prisoners.

“None of our officers were injured during the incident,” he added.

The police vehicle was found abandoned near a stream in the Nepgen residential suburb about a kilometre from the high court.

“Thanks to the quick response from our members we managed to arrest about five of them within minutes of escaping.”

Fatyela said only three escapees are still at large –  Thando Myendeki, Samuel Rwentsana and Dumisana Lwana.

He said they were extremely dangerous and urged members of the public to contact the nearest police station should they see them.

He said police would leave no stone unturned in making sure the three escapees were also recaptured.

“We are using tracing dogs, a chopper and even our mounted unit to try and track them down,” said Fatyela. —sikhon@dispatch.co.za

After 10 years of loud noise, littering and loitering, three Quigney residents have successfully obtained interim court orders to stop neighbours from “rowdy” behaviour.

While two of the neighbours living in Hillview Road – Daphne Williams and Louise van Rensburg – cited as applicants in the matter – said not much had changed at the “problematic” property since the court orders were obtained, a third resident, who asked not to be named or associated with the matter said: “The neighbour problem that I had experienced has been sorted out to my satisfaction”.

STOP THE NOISE: Three Quigney residents have obtained an interim court order against their neighbours, ordering them to stop their rowdy behaviour

Williams said yesterday that over the years she had been collecting and documenting evidence concerning the occupants of a house next to her property, who she claimed had contravened the city’s by-laws.

“I have been picking up household waste dumped in the 55cm-wide alley that separates my house from the transgressors for years,” she said.

“I then placed that waste which consist of items such as used tampons, condoms, toilet paper holders, in plastic bags and dated them,” Williams said.

“We also have dated pictures of activities that go against the bylaws, such as cars playing loud music with open doors and of public alcohol consumption.”

She said after numerous attempts to resolve the problem in “a civilised manner” with owner of the property, Lungile Nonkwelo, she approached the court. Williams said she and two other neighbours who were also affected by the noise, met and decided to pursue legal action.

“We went onto the Department of Justice’s website and downloaded the J59 (Court Order forms) and we each filled out two court orders, one against the owner of the property and one for her son, who lives on the property.

“We took the forms to the court and on October 30 interim court orders were granted against the owner and her son.”

The orders, which have been seen by the Dispatch, prohibit Nonkwelo and her son, Piko Yako, from playing loud music, littering or loitering.

“There have been two occasions where I had to call the police and they were immediately dispatched when mentioning to them there was a court order.

Van Rensburg said she had not noticed much difference in the noise levels since the interim orders were granted.

Attempts to get hold of Yako – who lives in the house – were unsuccessful at the time of writing. Nonkwelo declined to comment on the matter when contacted.

Williams said they were due back in court next month, when Yako and Nonkwelo would be given an opportunity to state why the interim order should not be made final.

Legal experts have said the extensive reportage of Oscar Pistorius’ murder trial could be one of the appeal grounds the Paralympian raises before the Constitutional Court.

Defence advocate Barry Roux SC confirmed on Tuesday‚ as Pistorius appeared in the Pretoria High Court‚ that he will apply for leave to appeal his murder conviction at the Constitutional Court.

Oscar Pistorious

Pistorius applied for and was granted bail pending his new sentencing hearing in the high court.

On December 3‚ Pistorius‚ 29‚ was convicted by the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) of murdering his girlfriend‚ Reeva Steenkamp‚ setting aside the Pretoria High Court’s ruling that he was guilty of culpable homicide. The SCA referred the case back to the high court to sentence Pistorius anew.

Pistorius shot Steenkamp‚ who was 29‚ through a locked toilet door at his Pretoria home on February 14‚ 2013. He claimed that he had fired the four shots believing that an intruder was in the house and that he and Steenkamp were in danger.

In an affidavit before court‚ Pistorius detailed some of the grounds on which he plans to approach the Constitutional Court‚ including:

- That the SCA impermissibly reconsidered a factual finding by trial judge Thokozile Masipa that he genuinely and honestly believed that his and Steenkamp’s lives were in danger when he fired the shots;

- That the SCA‚ by reconsidering the aforementioned factual finding‚ denied him the right to appeal that finding;

- That the SCA dealt incorrectly with putative self-defence by introducing an element of objectivity into the test. Putative self-defence is a defence raised when an accused genuinely believed his life or that of another was in danger but he was mistaken; and

- That the SCA dealt with the principle of dolus eventualis incorrectly by considering the knowledge of unlawfulness as distinct from it. Dolus eventualis is a form of intent which provides that if someone foresees the possibility that his actions may cause someone’s death and reconciles himself with that possibility by going ahead‚ he is guilty of murder.

The affidavit stated that these grounds were not exhaustive.

Criminal defence lawyer Llewelyn Curlewis said that Pistorius thus kept the door open to introduce more grounds for appeal in his application.

Curlewis said he believes Pistorius’ best chance of success would be to argue that his constitutional right to a fair trial has been infringed. He said Pistorius may claim that he was prejudiced by the media’s presence at his trial‚ the first to be televised live in South Africa.

But lawyer Ulrich Roux said Pistorius can only base his application on grounds emanating from the SCA’s ruling and this excludes the infringement of his right to a fair trial.

Curlewis‚ Roux and criminal defence lawyer William Booth all believe Pistorius’ chances of success in the Constitutional Court are slim.

Curlewis said that if the Constitutional Court refuses to hear Pistorius’ appeal‚ he may approach Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng directly and ask him to reconsider.

Deputy Judge President Aubrey Ledwaba on Tuesday set Pistorius’ bail at R10000‚ due to be paid by 4pm on Friday.

Pistorius will remain under house arrest at his uncle Arnold’s luxury home in Waterkloof‚ Pretoria‚ where he has been staying since his release from prison in October.

Pistorius was sentenced to five years in jail in October 2014 but was released under correctional supervision after serving about a year behind bars.

He may leave the house between 7am and noon and may not travel further than 20km from his uncle’s house. He will be monitored electronically by the Department of Correctional Services and must appear in the high court again on April 18 to report on the progress of the planned appeal.

He now has until mid-January to file his application with the Constitutional Court.

“You wish‚” Agatha Habedi exclaimed as Judge Solly Sithole recounted testimony that her slain son Nkululeko “Flabba” Habedi spat in his girlfriend’s face during an altercation that led to his death.

This was the testimony of Sindisiwe Manqele‚ 26‚ the girlfriend who was charged with his murder in the Johannesburg High Court sitting in Randburg.

Sindisiwe Manqele covers her head with a scarf as she appears in the Randburg Magistrate’s Court on. The 26-year old allegedly stabbed and killed her boyfriend, Nkululeko “Flabba” Habedi

Skwatta Kamp band member Habedi‚ 37‚ died of a stab wound to the chest on March 9 in his home in Alexandra‚ Johannesburg.

Manqele pleaded not guilty‚ saying she stabbed him in self-defence.

The trial revealed details of jealousy and infidelity in the relationship‚ as well as details of a bitter fight between the couple‚ which had started at a Sandton nightclub earlier that fatal night.

On Wednesday‚ Sithole started reading his 50-page-long judgment by recounting the evidence of the witnesses for the state and the defence.

As he summarised Manqele’s testimony about the argument between her and Habedi on the night of his death‚ Agatha started shaking her head.

She looked down when Sithole read out an SMS that Manqele sent to her son after she discovered that he was cheating on her.

Sithole said Manqele testified that during their argument in Habedi’s room‚ Habedi spat on her and rubbed the spit on her face.

As Sithole continued to read Manqele’s evidence about the fight‚ Agatha repeatedly exclaimed‚ “You wish.”

The judgment continues.

The conviction and sentencing of a 20-year-old man of Scenery Park in East London for the rape of a 10-year-old boy has been welcomed by the commander of the Family Violence‚ Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit (FCS) at Mdantsane‚ Lieutenant-Colonel Patricia Maqhubela.

The conviction of a child rapist has been welcomed

Wandisile Kapi‚ who enticed the young boy with sweets and then raped him near a local tavern‚ was on Tuesday convicted of the crime in the East London Regional Court and sentenced to 12 years’ imprisonment.

Lt Col Maqhubela congratulated the detective member responsible for securing the sentence “at a time when the South African Police Service is up in arms fighting gender based crimes throughout the country”.

The Mthatha High Court yesterday praised police officers for being credible state witnesses in the trial-within-a-trial regarding the murder of popular US-born Mthatha-based Catholic nun, Sister Mary Paul Tacke, 82.

Judge Lusindiso Pakade ruled that a statement which implicated accused Asiphe Ndikinda, 23, and co-accused as Msixole Ndlebe, 22, was admissible.

STATEMENT ADMITTED: Subs please make a generic and relevant caption for Asiphe Murder accused Asiphe Ndikinda, 23, of Sibangweni near Mthatha appearing in the Mthatha High Court yesterday

The judge found that Ndikinda made the statement freely and voluntarily, and was not under any influence or duress, and was a person of sound and sober mind.

Ndikinda claimed that he was tortured and assaulted by police to make the statement, which implicated him and Ndlebe.

The judge also ruled that Ndikinda was informed by police of his constitutional rights and given access to legal representation.

Ndikinda and Ndlambe stand accused of the murder, kidnapping, robbery with aggravating circumstances and unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition.

Tacke’s body was discovered in a stream at Tyharha village near Nyandeni Great Place, in Libode, on June 16 last year.

She had been kidnapped a day earlier as she finished delivering food to her children’s project, Thembelihle Home, in Norwood in Mthatha.

Captain Bongani Ngxola, who was found by the judge to be a credible state witness, read Ndikinda’s statement, which he took down on June 20 last year.

In it, Ndikinda explained how the pair planned to hijack a car in Mthatha and then rob foreigners’ shops in Libode.

The two arranged to meet in Mthatha, and Ndlebe brought a gun.

They then went to Ngangelizwe, Khwezi and Mbuqe, looking for a car to hijack, but could not find any, so they went to Norwood, where they hijacked Tacke.

“I said to Masixole that we must not hijack the old lady because we will cause ourselves bad luck.

“But Masixole pointed the firearm at her and I was forced to drive the car,” said Ndikinda.

He drove to the N2 and then in the direction of Sibangweni village, heading towards Tsolo, on the Nyandeni gravel road.

“The old lady was begging with us not to drive fast because she has heart problems, but Masixole would not listen and pointed a gun at her,” said Ndikinda.

He said they stopped at a bridge near Nyandeni, forced Tacke out of the car and “Masixole shot at her”.

They then proceeded to Libode to rob foreign stores, but they were all closed.

In the statement, he did not say whether Ndlebe shot the nun dead or explain how her body ended up in the stream.

He said they then drove back to Mthatha, where they were chased by the police, and overturned the vehicle.

They escaped on foot, leaving one of their cellphones and the gun in the car.

Pakade closed the trial-within-trial, and the main trial will resume on March 22.

The 24-year-old grandson of the late former President Nelson Mandela was back in court on Monday morning on a rape charge.

The man appeared briefly in the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court where he stood accused of allegedly raping a 15-year old girl in the bathroom of a pub in Greenside, Johannesburg in August.

The 24-year-old grandson of the late former President Nelson Mandela was back in court on Monday morning on a rape charge.

The accused, who bore a remarkable resemblance to his grandfather, took to the stand looking calm in a blue checked shirt and a black blazer.

The State asked for the matter to be postponed for further investigation because of an outstanding statement from a witness, although they said that they did have enough evidence to proceed with the case.

According to the State, the complainant has not been assessed yet due to the fact that she has been busy writing exams.

Magistrate Hasina Habib said she was concerned that the matter was taking so long and that there still was no trial date. She felt that the constant adjournments were not in the interest of justice, and said the witness had to be assessed in the next month.

The trial is due to start on March 9 2016, with the accused to remain out on bail until then.

The man last appeared at the end of August when he was granted bail. Back then he requested that he be treated as a normal citizen and not as a Mandela.

The  cops and  a soldier were among those arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol at the weekend. The Buffalo City Metro (BCM) operation netted 70 over the past few days and is set to continue into the new year.

On Friday 25 drivers were arrested and 45 more on Saturday. One was alleged to have been seven times over the legal limit of 0.24mg/1000ml. The driver recorded 1.68mg/1000ml.

Top cop in court today over drink driving

Operation Safer Festive Season is driven by traffic officers and national, provincial and BCM police.

Provincial transport spokesman Ncedo Kumbaca said 18 drivers had been arrested in Mdantsane, 16 in Gonubie, 11 in the East London area, 11 in Buffalo Flats, five each in Beacon Bay and Duncan Village and four in Cambridge.

Kumbaca said 66 drivers arrested were men and four women. The oldest was 69 and the youngest 19.

“Amongst the two police officers arrested, we are deeply concerned that one of them is a high ranking South African Police Services official,” Kumbaca said.

He could, however, not provide details about the arrested top cop before he appears in court this morning.

Kumbaca said blood samples were taken from all those arrested before they were detained for the mandatory four hours. Some were released on a minimum bail of R2000 ahead of their court appearances in Mdantsane and East London. “Their cases will be remanded for later dates pending their blood sample results from the laboratory.” Kumbaca – who himself was arrested and fined for drunken driving a few years back – added that the provincial government was deeply concerned about the huge number of motorists arrested.

He said this meant that motorists were continually disregarding the rules of the road.

Kumbaca said the past weekend had been targeted specifically because authorities knew there were many traditional functions, year-end work parties, people paid a few days prior and many people from outside the province starting to arrive for the holidays.

In the Mthatha area, four drivers were arrested on drunken driving charges and five for stealing cars.

Mthatha police spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Mzukisi Fatyela said notices worth more than R41000 had been issued.

“Two cars reported stolen were recovered. Three occupants, aged between 21 and 41 were arrested after a Toyota Corolla reported stolen in Ngcobo last week was stopped,” said Fatyela.

Two occupants of a Ford Bantam reported stolen in Elliot on Friday were arrested when the car, among 831 other vehicles, was stopped by police and traffic officials. — asandan@dispatch.co.za

A man from Dutywa has appeared in court for allegedly shooting his mother dead on Wednesday.

Ntombizanele Pamla, 65, was killed at her Sikhobeni Village home. Her son, Melikhaya Pamla, 39, had arrived home from Cape Town only 20 minutes earlier.

A MAN from Dutywa has appeared DUTYWA man in court for allegedly shooting his mother dead

A licensed firearm was recovered from the suspect.

Butterworth police spokesman Captain Jackson Manatha said Ntombizanele Pamla was shot in the upper body, and died on her bed.

Melikhaya Pamla had been charged with murder, and the motive for the crime was unclear.

The accused appeared briefly in the Dutywa Magistrate’s Court on Friday. He was not asked to plead. He would remain in custody until a bail application was held today.

lAn elderly man, accused of raping his granddaughter since January this year, is to appear in the Ngqamakhwe Magistrate’s Court today.

The grandfather is 76, and his granddaughter, 33.

Manatha said: “It is alleged that the grandmother of the victim, who is not residing with the grandfather of the victim, had been sending the victim to wash the dishes and clean the house of the suspect.”

It was alleged the suspect “would threaten his granddaughter not to tell anyone [about the crime”.

Butterworth police recovered 1000 fake CDs and machines that reproduce them on Saturday.

The vendors accused of selling the fakes fled. Manatha said the fake CDs would be destroyed.

lAn 18-year-old suspect has been arrested by Dutywa police for possessing dagga.

Dagga in two plastic bags was found at the suspect’s home on Saturday at Mangathi Location Doti Village, Dutywa.

Manatha said police, acting on a tip-off, found the dagga, which weighed 2.488kg and had a street value of R3000.

The suspect would appear in court today.

Abathembu King Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo’s Bumbane Great Place, about 50km from Mthatha, was deserted yesterday.

The only sign of movement was a bakkie seen leaving with some goods on a trailer.

PLACE WITHOUT KING: King Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo’s Bumbane Great Place was yesterday deserted lTo see a video of this report on a smartphone, see instructions on page 2 Picture: LULAMILE FENI

The Daily Dispatch has learnt that the king has moved his family and some of his staff to his house in Nkululekweni, a former ministerial complex, outside Mthatha.

In contrast Nkululekweni was a hive of activity, with many cars parked in the driveway and people seen coming and going.

Dalindyebo is expected to hand himself over to prison authorities today.

His spokesman Mfundo Mtirara confirmed that the king’s family, including Queen Nokwanda Dalindyebo and their children, were moving to the Nkululekweni house.

“It’s because the king will not be here and there will be no income to run both houses. The children are at school in town and Nkululekweni is closer, so it will make things easier,” Mtirara said.

He said the move to Nkululekweni began at the weekend. Mtirara said Dalindyebo’s son Prince Azenathi Dalindyebo may opt to stay at the Great Place.

Yesterday, a group calling itself the Society for the Protection of Our Constitution said they had launched a written appeal to President Jacob Zuma and Justice Minister Michael Masutha asking for a retrial.

The organisation’s secretary Muhammed Vadwa claimed two court assessors were appointed to assist the judge during Dalindyebo’s original trial.

Vadwa said one of the assessors died during the trial and the judge never asked Dalindyebo if they should continue with just one assessor.

He further said Dalindyebo should not report to prison as court had been in recess since December 11.

He claimed this meant the 14-day order for which he had to report to prison should only come into effect after January 15 when court returned from recess.

Justice spokesman Mthunzi Mhaga said no appeal had yet been lodged. He said the society had misinterpreted the 14-day deadline and he did not expect the minister to interfere with Dalindyebo’s bail conditions.

“The only thing we know is that the king must hand himself in at Wellington prison [today].”

Years of lavish living and high rolling – including investing in a top restaurant, gambling and buying designer jewellery, handbags and shoes – has caught up with an East London family accused of defrauding a local company of R70-million.

Henry Louis Fourie Schreuder has been accused by his employer – Floorworx Africa (Pty) Ltd – of “misappropriating” R70-million over a six-year period.

KARIN SCHREUDER

Schreuder allegedly spent the money on his wife Karin, his son, also Henry Schreuder, and gambling, among other things.

Credit card records included with documents filed in a civil case in the East London High Court last week show R140000 was spent at Hemingways Casino from August 21 to September 20 2012.

Karin is said to be employed by the National Intelligence Agency, while Henry is running top East London restaurant Le Petit, which the family bought earlier this year.

Floorworx has asked the courts to freeze all their accounts pending the civil case. In a founding affidavit, Christopher Povall a director at Floorworx Africa, said Schreuder had been with the company for 20 years and was currently a financial director.

“It has come to light that [Schreuder] has misappropriated approximately R70-million and deposited funds in two accounts under cover of payments to fictitious suppliers.”

Approached for comment at his upmarket Nahoon home on Wednesday, Schreuder invited a Dispatch team into the house before saying the matter was “all speculation”.

Asked where his wife was, he said she was “at the shops”.

A BMW X5 was parked in the driveway and the home was decorated with expensive-looking boutique furniture. The dining room and lounge area upstairs had a large flatscreen TV mounted on the wall.

“This matter is still under investigation. Speak to my attorney – he has got all the information,” Schreuder said, before adding: “There will be papers filed in court early next year.”

East London attorney Neil Ristow confirmed he was representing Schreuder.

“I have just been brought on board and I do not know enough because it is still early days. Currently people are on holiday and it is not easy to get hold of the roleplayers,” Ristow said.

Questioned about the future of Le Petit, Ristow said he did not know what money was used to purchase the restaurant and it would be “business as usual”.

Although previous owner Llwellyn Thatcher had declined to disclose how much he sold the restaurant for, in a May article the Daily Dispatch reported the asking price had been R2.5-million.

Henry jnr declined to comment.

In the founding affidavit, Povall says of Schreuder: “His modus operandi seems to have been that he laundered this money by making payments into the bank accounts of his wife and son.”

A known gambler, Schreuder is said to have typically withdrawn R10000 at a time to spend at casinos, including Hemingways and Queens Casino in Queenstown.

He is also known to have told colleagues he purchased a restaurant for his son, who also has a laundry business and is a member of two companies.

Henry Louis Fourie Schreuder

Court documents reveal other notable purchases/payments made by Schreuder this year include:

lA Rolex watch from Dennis Collins Jewellers on January 19 for R129855;

lA payment of R19855 to EL Wholesale Jewellers on January 22;

lR25000 to EL Wholesale Jewellers on February 2;

lTwo payments of R45000 and R10000 to EL Wholesale Jewellers and R30000 to Dennis Collins Jewellers, all on February 10; and

lR52995 to Browns Jewellers on May 11.

In October, he had allegedly made enquiries for a ring at Jenna Clifford Jewellers valued at R74410, which was later discounted to R55807.

By November 4 he had paid R35807 of the total amount.

Last week Judge Igna Stretch gave the family until January 12 to file papers indicating if they intended to oppose the application and give their version.

A criminal case has been opened at Scenery Park police station.

East London police spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Mtati Tana confirmed the case but said the matter was being investigated by the Hawks. No response to questions had been received from the Hawks at the time of writing. — siyab@dispatch.co.za

Award-winning house DJ Black Coffee is due to appear at the Roodepoort Magistrate’s Court on Monday after being arrested for speeding over the weekend.

DJ Black Coffee

The We Dance Again hit maker was arrested on Christmas Eve when he was caught travelling at 200km/h in a 120km/h zone. Black Coffee, whose real name is Nkosinathi Maphumulo, was nabbed on the N1 highway near the Maraisberg Bridge.

He released a statement on his Facebook page apologising for the incident saying he had to rush to a family emergency.

Johannesburg Metro Police spokesperson Edna Mamonyane said the DJ was arrested along with a number of other motorists during an operation that started on Christmas Eve.

She confirmed that he was caught driving at 200km/h in his blue Maserati.

He received bail of R800, Mamonyane said.

Popular house DJ Black Coffee did not appear in the Roodepoort Magistrate’s Court as anticipated on Monday. 

DJ Black Coffee

His name was not on the court roll, which listed all the people scheduled to appear.

Court officials said the docket had not been brought to the court from the Florida police station because the DJ, whose real name is Nkosinathi Maphumulo, was only scheduled to appear on Wednesday.

Officials had earlier said that he was expected to appear on Monday.

It was not immediately clear what had led to the mix-up.

The We Dance Again hit maker was arrested on Christmas Eve after he was caught travelling at 200km/h in a 120km/h zone on the N1 highway, near the Maraisberg Bridge, in his Maserati.

He released a statement on his Facebook page apologising for the incident, saying he had been rushing to a family emergency.

He is out on bail of R800.

Crimes of passion and contract killings involving loved ones will take centre stage in South African courts this year with trials, judgments and appeals on the cards in several high-profile cases.

Last year saw the return to court of amputee sprinter Oscar Pistorius, sentenced to five years in jail in 2014 after being found guilty of culpable homicide for shooting and killing his model girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp.

Pistorius, who was released from prison on correctional supervision after a year behind bars, was hauled back to court by the National Prosecuting Authority, which succeeded in convincing the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) that Pistorius was guilty of murder and not culpable homicide.

This year, Pistorius will either be sentenced for murder or argue his case before the Constitutional Court if his bid to appeal to that court succeeds.

The athlete will appear in court again on April 18.

He must file his application with the Constitutional Court this month.

Sindisiwe Manqele, the woman convicted of the murder of her rapper boyfriend, Nkululeko “Flabba” Habedi, will return to court exactly one year after his death on March 9 to be sentenced for the crime.

She stabbed Skwatta Kamp star Habedi in the chest on March 9 last year in his home in Alexandra, Johannesburg.

Manqele has indicated she plans to appeal against her conviction after she has been sentenced.

Thandi Maqubela will also this year appeal her conviction for the June 2009 murder of her husband, acting judge Patrick Maqubela.

She is serving an 18-year jail sentence for the murder and tampering with her late husband’s will.

She was recently denied bail by the high court in Cape Town pending her appeal to the SCA.

Former Jozi FM DJ Donald Sebolai will be punished when he appears in court on February 10 to be sentenced for stabbing his girlfriend, Rachel “Dolly” Tshabalala, to death.

Port Elizabeth businessman Christopher Panayiotou will be tried in the high court in Port Elizabeth for allegedly orchestrating the kidnapping and murder of his wife, Jayde.

He is accused along with alleged hitman Sizwezakhe Vumazonke and Sinethemba Nenembe. The three will appear in court again next week.

The trial of Pretoria businessman Nico Henning, accused of master-minding the murder of his wife Chanelle, starts on June 6.

Chanelle was gunned down after dropping their son off at a creche in Faerie Glen, Pretoria, four years ago.

The trial of popular kwaito star Sipho “Brickz” Ndlovu, accused of raping a 17-year-old girl in his Honeydew home in March 2013, continues in Roodepoort.

A relative of the late former president Nelson Mandela will appear in court again in March for allegedly raping a 15-year-old girl at a restaurant in Greenside, Johannesburg, in August last year.

The former statesman’s ex-wife, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, continues her bid for the icon’s Qunu home. She claims the property was hers and had been given to her while Mandela was still in prison. In his will, he left the property to his family trust.

You’ve gained a good couple of kilogrammes and, after a week cooped up with your spouse, you can’t tolerate another second – let alone a lifetime.

So perhaps it’s little wonder that January 4 has been cheerily dubbed “Divorce Day”, when lawyers receive the most inquiries from couples who can take no more.

Infidelity route to saving a marriage splits court of public opinion

A recent poll showed one in five consider splitting as soon as the decorations are taken down.

Many more aren’t quite ready for the decree nisi but are still desperate for some extra-marital spice.

Infidelity websites report a 30% rise in membership at this time of year from jaded partners looking for an affair.

One such site, Illicit Encounters, predicted Monday this week would be “the most adulterous day of the year”, when couples returned to work after an extended period of family lockdown.

Increasingly, some experts believe that an affair – when handled correctly – can actually revive dying relationships, giving the unfaithful partner an outlet for frustration while allowing families to stay together. In 2008, US marriage therapist Mira Kirshenbaum outraged many with her book When Good People Have Affairs, which claimed the “right kind” of fling could “jolt people from their inertia”.

But the idea has gained ground. The following year, French psychologist Maryse Vaillant published Men, Love, Fidelity, a book that claimed couples would be happier if they acknowledged many men loved their wives, but still needed “breathing space”, and that the “pact of fidelity was cultural not natural”.

Infidelity route to saving a marriage splits court of public opinion

That is also the view of Gweneth Lee, a 45-year-old businesswoman who’s been a mistress to several married men.

“When my lovers were with me, they were much nicer to their wives, so their wives were nicer back to them. The marriage stayed together, no one was heartbroken and no one ended up poorer,” she says.

It was the same need for an outlet that drove Lee – whose husband died of liver cancer when she was 31 – to seek an affair, after her next partner became impotent.

Wanting sex but not wanting to leave him, she was urged by a friend in a similar situation to join Illicit Encounters. Through it she met a married accountant with five children.

“He was a lovely man whose wife had gone through the menopause and started drinking, since when there’d been no sex for eight years.”

“After he started seeing me [during which time Lee’s own relationship ended], he became so much more cheerful, had a lot more energy and was willing to help around the house.

“His wife noticed and as he became nicer, she drank less and decided she wanted to win him back,” she said.

The affair ended soon afterwards.

But according to Kirshenbaum, affairs can succeed only if they are kept secret; cheats can never alleviate guilt by confessing, nor must they view their lover as a potential second spouse.

Research suggests that only about one in 10 affairs leads to a long-term relationship, of which only about 10% become permanent.

So can this recipe for a happy marriage – using adultery to breathe life back into the relationship – really work? Relationship counsellor Paula Hall thinks not.

“Dishonesty causes considerably more damage to marriages than anything else,” Hall says.

“If one person is having an affair behind the other’s back, it stops the pair of you dealing with problems, or either of you moving on to a new relationship where you could both be happy.”

An open relationship, on the other hand, can work, she believes.

“If your contract of fidelity to each other doesn’t include sexual behaviour, then there’s not a problem.”

Hall says, the important question to consider is why are you doing it?

“If the answer is: ‘Because I don’t love you any more,’ then it’s likely it’s going to be the end of the relationship; if not you can work at rescuing things.”

The Jayde Panayiotou murder trial is likely to get underway in July 2016.

This after Christopher Panayiotou‚ Sizwezakhe Vumazonke and Sinethemba Nenemba appeared briefly in the Port Elizabeth Magistrate’s Court on Monday‚ where the matter was postponed to March 11 for further investigation.

The Jayde Panayiotou murder trial is likely to get underway in July 2016.

Panayiotou‚ 28‚ is accused of orchestrating the murder of his 29-year-old wife‚ Jayde‚ in April 2015. It is alleged he paid Luthando Siyoli‚ 31‚ a bouncer at his nightclub in Algoa Park‚ to hire a hit man‚ identified as Vumazonke‚ 30‚ to murder his wife.

Late in 2015‚ Nenembe‚ 28‚ was also linked to the case. Siyoli has since turned state witness.

Jayde was abducted outside her Kabega Park townhouse complex at about 6.30am on April 21 while waiting for a lift to work.

Her body was found on a farm in Rocklands near Uitenhage the next day. — TMG Digital/The Herald

In finding Oscar Pistorius guilty of murder‚ the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) exceeded its jurisdiction and made errors of law.  

This is the contention by Pistorius’s lawyer in an application filed on behalf of the amputee sprinter at the Constitutional Court.

Oscar Pistorius

Pistorius is applying for permission to appeal to the Constitutional Court against the SCA’s December 2015 judgment in which it set aside his culpable homicide conviction and found him guilty of murder.

The Pretoria High Court convicted Pistorius of culpable homicide in September 2014 for shooting and killing his model and law graduate girlfriend‚ Reeva Steenkamp. Pistorius shot Steenkamp through a locked door in his Pretoria home on February 14 2013. He said he thought she was an intruder and their lives were in danger.

The SCA referred the case back to the high court for a new sentence to be imposed.

Pistorius was granted bail in December last year to await the outcome of his Constitutional Court application. The sentencing cannot go ahead until the Constitutional Court has either dismissed his application or heard the case and ruled on it.

Lawyer Andrew Fawcett said in the application that the SCA went beyond its jurisdiction by rejecting the High Court’s factual finding that Pistorius genuinely‚ though erroneously‚ believed that his and Steenkamp’s lives were in danger. He said the SCA does not have the power to reject factual findings of the trial court.

Fawcett also said the SCA made mistakes in its application of the principle of dolus eventualis. The court found Pistorius had intent in the form of dolus eventualis‚ which means even though one does not directly intend to kill someone‚ you are guilty of murder if you foresee that it can happen and go ahead anyway.

Fawcett said the SCA failed to consider the second component of dolus eventualis‚ namely whether Pistorius knew that his actions were unlawful.

He also said the court introduced an objective test of what the rational person would have believed and done instead of the subjective test it should have used.

The state now has 10 (ten) days to respond if it plans to oppose the application.

- TMG Digital/TMG Courts and Law

Two men were beaten, a house gutted and a woman shot and killed following mayhem at a “kangaroo court” in a village outside Alice.

The incident happened on Sunday afternoon in Jani village about 5km outside Alice when two seven-year-old boys accused village residents Qinisekile Matakane and Mzwabantu Jantjies of stealing a goat.

The boys claimed they had seen the two men tying up a goat on Friday afternoon.

Relying solely on the “testimony” of the two children, Matakane and Jantjies were hauled before a meeting of villagers on Sunday.

Deputy chairman of the village, 70-year-old Thozamile Kilimani, said the matter was brought to his attention and a “court” sat on Sunday after the two kids agreed they would testify.

Matakane and Jantjies were then fetched from their homes by a group of 15 youths and brought before the gallery inside the community hall.

“We told them the charges against them and showed them the witnesses who saw them tie the goat up, they denied ever stealing the goat,” Kilimani said.

“We then asked the boys to stand up and show us who they saw stealing the goat, they pointed to the two men. We then realised these people were the ones making our livestock disappear in this village.”

Matakane and Jantjies were assaulted with sticks and fists and also pelted with stones while they were inside the hall.

Matakane said they had told the other villagers they did not steal any goats, but no one would listen.

“Some people went outside and fetched tyres used at a nearby creche and brought them into the yard. They started burning them and the councillor said since we are not telling the truth, we must go out in the fire and maybe the truth will come out,” Matakane said.

Ward 13 ANC councillor Thobeka Mjo confirmed having attended proceedings but said she arrived when the youths were becoming unruly.

“I said they must be taken out so proceedings could continue peacefully inside because we were no longer hearing each other because of all the noise,” Mjo said.

By 4pm, members of the Alice police station arrived in the village.

After successfully retrieving the two men from the hall, angry residents are alleged to have pelted police vans with stones.

Police responded by firing live ammunition, with 50-year-old mother of four Mileka Peter being hit below the arm.

She died in the ambulance while on her way to Victoria Hospital.

Her last words according to her younger sister Noluthando Peter, were: “Do you see me?” referring to her being hit and wounded by a bullet.

Eastern Cape police spokesman Khaya Tonjeni said: “A police officer was kidnapped when he was trying to rescue the two community members who were accused of stealing a goat.

“The two victims were being assaulted by members of the community. Two warning shots were fired when members of the community denied access to the police.

“The police managed to get in and released the two victims, but on their way out, the community members pelted vans with stones while the officer was attacked and assaulted with stones.

“They grabbed an officer’s service pistol from his waist and during the struggle, the firearm discharged and hit Mileka,” Tonjeni said.

Tonjeni said the shooting was being investigated by members of the police’s Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid).

Ipid spokesman Robbie Raburabu confirmed the matter had been brought to their attention.

“The allegations are that the police attended a scene but were pelted with stones and one of them was also physically assaulted.

“In the process of defending themselves and a victim being assaulted, the police discharged their weapons and in the process the deceased was hit.”

Matakane and Jantjies, who are both in hiding for fear of their safety, have been warned not to set foot in the village again.

“We don’t want criminals here,” the deputy chairman said.

One of five men accused of being contract killers in different parts of the province yesterday told the court he did not know where Fort Beaufort was.

Thabiso Mini is on trial in the East London High Court, accused of being hired with four other accused as hitmen in Mdantsane, King William’s Town and Fort Beaufort in 2010.

ONE of five men accused of being contract killers in different parts of the province yesterday told the court he did not know where Fort Beaufort was.

Mini, with Vuyani Sibanda, Isaac Phiri, Sakhela Magasana and Makhaya Qwala, faces charges of racketeering, conspiracy to murder and robbery with aggravated circumstances.

Ntsikelelo Manani, a sixth accused, escaped from police custody in August 2012. After his rearrest in October 2012, he was found guilty of escaping and sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment. He is to be tried separately.

Yesterday Mini told acting judge Robert Dilizo that he pleaded not guilty to all the charges against him as he was being set up.

One crime alleged is the robbery of Fort Beaufort businessman Mshiceleli Ndita and his family during which Ndita was murdered and robbed of his Hemingways Casino winnings.

Mini said he was falsely accused because he did not even know where Fort Beaufort was and therefore could not have committed the crime. He further denied being part of a syndicate. He said he did not know how a gun belonging to Nditha was found in the area where he was arrested in George or how his fingerprints came to be there too.

Mini further testified that the only thing he knew about the Nditha family was that when Nditha’s daughter, Nasiphi, testified in court, she said she had recognised him from the crime scene because he was handsome.

The trial continues today — siyab@dispatch.co.za