Detectives from the South African Police Services Mdantsane cluster secured two life terms for a man who raped a 14-year-old girl in Reeston in 2014 and a 10-year jail term for a second man also found guilty of raping her.

Commenting on the sentencing disparities, police spokesman Lieutenant Nkosikho Mzuku said East London High Court Judge Igna Stretch sentenced 36-year-old Sonwabo Lose to two life terms as he committed the rape twice.

East London High Court Judge Igna Stretch sentenced 36-year-old Sonwabo Lose to two life terms as he committed rape twice.

His co-accused, 27-year-old Luvuyo Budaza, was sentenced to undergo 10 years imprisonment as he was forced by Lose to rape the girl.

The sentences were handed down on Wednesday.

The rape occurred on the night of August 1 2014.

The 14-year-old girl came across the two men who were armed with a panga while she was on her way to look for her older sister at a tavern.

“Lose grabbed the girl and headed to the bush. He instructed Budaza to rape her first saying if this was not done he would kill him. Budaza proceeded to rape the girl and when Lose was raping the girl Budaza got a chance to run away,” said Mzuku.

He said Lose proceeded to take the girl to his shack where he continued to rape her. The girl later escape while Lose was sleeping.

“Lose gave chase and caught up with her at her house where a man tried to save her but Lose threatened to kill the man. He took the girl back to his shack and continued raping her. The incident was eventually reported to police,” said Mzuku.

At the time Lose was out on parole for two separate rapes.

Igna in her sentencing remarks found Lose could not be rehabilitated.

The man accused of attempting to extort a quarter of a million rand from Oscar Pistorius will remain in prison for another week after his case was postponed at the Specialised Commercial Crimes Court in Pretoria on Monday.

Tshifhiwa Rudzhadzi’s newly appointed attorney‚ Mpesi Makhanya‚ asked for a postponement to April 12.

Oscar Pistorious

Makhanya said he only learnt on Sunday evening that he was to take over from the previous attorney and he was not ready to proceed with a bail application. He said he needed time to consult with his client and verify certain information vital for the bail application.

Prosecutor Willem van Zyl said Rudzhadzi had had enough time for consultation with his lawyers and accused him of playing cat and mouse with the prosecution.

But Makhanya said it could prejudice his client’s rights to proceed with a bail application on a Schedule 5 matter without proper consultation.

Rudzhadzi faces charges of corruption and extortion.

He was arrested last month for allegedly trying to solicit a bribe of R250 000 from convicted murderer Oscar Pistorius to have his murder conviction quashed. Rudzhadzi allegedly claimed to work for the National Prosecuting Authority.

Due to a previous conviction‚ the charges Rudzhadzi faces now fall under Schedule 5 of the Criminal Procedure Act‚ which places the onus on him to prove exceptional and compelling circumstances why he should be granted bail.

Magistrate Nicca Setshogoe granted the postponement‚ saying that she was duty-bound by the constitution to protect the accused’s right to freedom.

A suspected gangster has been taken into custody at the Port Elizabeth Magistrate’s Court after he allegedly tried to stab a witness in a court case.

The incident happened in regional court 10 in the magistrate’s court building on Friday morning.

A suspected gangster attempted to stab a witness in court.

A group of about 10 suspected gangsters were all made to lie on the floor by police as they were searched for further weapons.

It is understood that two knives were confiscated.

– TMG Digital/HeraldLive

The case against #OutsourcingMustFall activist Vusi Enoch Mahlangu was postponed in the Mthatha Magistrate Court yesterday in order for the state to verify his residential address and identity number.

Mahlangu, who faces charges of perjury and defeating the ends of justice, was remanded in custody until Friday when he will appear for an official bail hearing.

Vusi Mahlangu appeared at Mthatha Magistrate’s Court on charges of perjury and defeating the ends of justice and his case was postponed to next Friday for an official bail appeal. Picture: MKHULULI NDAMASE

Delivering the ruling, magistrate Thukela MacPauzin said: “It is in the interest of justice that the state is granted the time in order to attend to outstanding issues. The postponement is granted and the accused will be remanded in custody until Friday, April 15, 2016 for a formal bail application.”

Mahlangu appeared with a shaved head wearing a PAC T-shirt, a black Walter Sisulu University (WSU) Fila jacket, blue jeans and black All Star sneakers.

As he walked in and out of court, Mahlangu looked to the gallery and raised his hand high to the Xhobani Security Services and Red Alert Cleaning workers who were in court to support the 33 year-old.

Organised crime unit detective, Captain Nceba Mdebuka, the investigating officer in the case, testified that the two days granted by the court on Wednesday to verify Mahlangu’s residential address and identity number had not been enough.

Mdebuka said Mahlangu had provided police with three different dates of births in previous cases.

“The accused also did not cooperate with me by refusing to give me the phone he was using. Those phones can help with this case,” he said.

Mdebuka said when he asked Mahlangu if he had been arrested before he lied and said only once even though he had faced three previous assault cases.

Mahlangu was never convicted in any of the three previous cases.

Senior prosecutor Thembisa Ntloko earlier said: “The state seeks a second postponement because there is still information lacking so the state cannot oppose bail without it.”

But Mahlangu’s lawyer Bayethe Maswazi had argued it would be a violation of his client’s right for the case to be postponed again.

He put it to the court that the state had enough evidence to oppose bail if it wanted instead of asking for a postponement.

“This postponement is a malicious attempt by the state to detain the accused. It is an orchestrated and a calculated attack by the state to secure a postponement by hook or crook,” he said.

The application by Justice and Correctional Services Minister Michael Masutha for leave to appeal against a judgment which ordered the release of Chris Hani’s murderer got underway at the Palace of Justice in Pretoria on Tuesday morning.

Hani’s widow Limpho was present in court as well as South African Communist Party members‚ who occupied the back bench in the courtroom.

CHRIS HANI

The application came just two days after the 23rd anniversary of Hani’s assassination was commemorated in Boksburg on Sunday‚ at which Limpho Hani reiterated her opposition to Walus being paroled.

In public speeches and interviews‚ she has claimed there is more to know about who sanctioned Hani’s assassination‚ and why.

Masutha turned down Walus’s application for parole on April 10 last year. But Walus‚ who is serving time in the Kgosi Mampuru II prison in Pretoria‚ secured a court order for his release on parole in the high court in Pretoria when he asked the court to review Masutha’s decision to refuse his parole application. The court ordered that he be released within 14 days of the order but his release was placed on hold by Masutha’s application.

Walus shot and killed Hani – who was the secretary-general of the South African Communist Party‚ a member of the African National Congress’s national executive committee and uMkhonto we Sizwe leader – when negotiations to end apartheid were taking place‚ on Easter Sunday April 10‚ 1993.

He was convicted of murder and sentenced to death in October 1993. In November 2000‚ his sentence was commuted to life imprisonment.

Walus‚ 63‚ has been serving his sentence for 23 years.

His co-conspirator Clive Derby-Lewis‚ also jailed for life‚ was released on medical parole last year because he is suffering from lung cancer.

The justice minister was on Thursday refused permission to appeal against a court order that he must release Chris Hani’s murderer Janusz Walus on parole. 

Justice and Correctional Services Minister Michael Masutha had challenged Judge Nicolene Janse van Nieuwenhuizen’s ruling that his decision to overturn the parole board’s decision to have Walus released was irrational.

Chris Hani killer Janusz Walus

Counsel for the minister‚ Marumo Moerane SC‚ had argued in the High Court in Pretoria on Tuesday that there was no justification for Janse van Nieuwenhuizen’s ruling.

Asking Janse van Nieuwenhuizen for leave to appeal against her judgment to the full bench‚ Moerane said the judge did not distinguish between rationality and reasonableness in her judgment.

“They are lumped together in one sentence.”

Moerane said Masutha’s decision to refuse to release Walus on parole was not unreasonable.

“The ladyship’s finding that the minister’s decision was irrational and unreasonable was a misdirection‚” Moerane argued.

Walus’ advocate‚ Roelof du Plessis SC‚ had on Tuesday submitted that an offender was still being punished if he was released on parole but that the focus upon release shifted to the rehabilitation of the offender.

Du Plessis said there were no prospects of success in an appeal and urged the court to dismiss the application for leave to appeal.

Walus was sentenced to death in 1993 for the murder of Hani‚ who was the secretary-general of the South African Communist Party‚ a member of the African National Congress’s national executive committee and uMkhonto we Sizwe leader.

Walus’ sentence was commuted to life imprisonment after the Constitutional Court declared in 1995 that capital punishment was inconsistent with the Constitution.

Du Plessis said the retributive and deterrence aspects of the sentence became less important after a person had served a lengthy prison term.

Du Plessis said the court had been correct in finding that Masutha’s April 2015 decision in which he refused to place Walus on parole was irrational and unreasonable.

“Justice has been done and justice is still being done even if this man gets parole‚” Du Plessis said.

The justice minister was on Thursday refused permission to appeal against a court order that he must release Chris Hani’s murderer Janusz Walus on parole.

Justice and Correctional Services Minister Michael Masutha had challenged Judge Nicolene Janse van Nieuwenhuizen’s ruling that his decision to overturn the parole board’s decision to have Walus released was irrational.

The justice minister has been refused permission to appeal against a court order that he must release Chris Hani’s murderer Janusz Walus on parole

Counsel for the minister‚ Marumo Moerane SC‚ had argued in the High Court in Pretoria on Tuesday that there was no justification for Janse van Nieuwenhuizen’s ruling.

Asking Janse van Nieuwenhuizen for leave to appeal against her judgment to the full bench‚ Moerane said the judge did not distinguish between rationality and reasonableness in her judgment.

“They are lumped together in one sentence.”

Moerane said Masutha’s decision to refuse to release Walus on parole was not unreasonable.

“The ladyship’s finding that the minister’s decision was irrational and unreasonable was a misdirection‚” Moerane argued.

Walus’ advocate‚ Roelof du Plessis SC‚ had on Tuesday submitted that an offender was still being punished if he was released on parole but that the focus upon release shifted to the rehabilitation of the offender.

Du Plessis said there were no prospects of success in an appeal and urged the court to dismiss the application for leave to appeal.

Walus was sentenced to death in 1993 for the murder of Hani‚ who was the secretary-general of the South African Communist Party‚ a member of the African National Congress’s national executive committee and uMkhonto we Sizwe leader.

Walus’ sentence was commuted to life imprisonment after the Constitutional Court declared in 1995 that capital punishment was inconsistent with the Constitution.

Du Plessis said the retributive and deterrence aspects of the sentence became less important after a person had served a lengthy prison term.

Du Plessis said the court had been correct in finding that Masutha’s April 2015 decision in which he refused to place Walus on parole was irrational and unreasonable.

“Justice has been done and justice is still being done even if this man gets parole‚” Du Plessis said.

#OutsourcingMustFall activist Vusi Mahlangu was today granted R600 bail by the Mthatha Magistrate’s Court.

#OutsourcingMustFall activist Vusi Mahlangu has been granted bail

The case was postponed to July 11 for further investigation.

Xhobani Security Services and Red Alert Cleaning workers who supported Mahlangu since he was arrested paid for his bail.

They all contributed R10 towards his bail after it emerged that the money already prepared for his bail had not been brought to court.

Mahlangu stood with his hands on his back, smiling and nodding to the workers at the public gallery.

After Mthatha magistrate Thukela MacPauzin delivered the verdict, the workers left the court, singing struggle songs and pro-Mahlangu songs in front of the Mthatha Magistrate’s Court.

The state proposed a R1000 bail with Mahlangu’s lawyer Bayethe Maswazi saying he had no income and proposed the bail be set at R500.

MacPauzin set it at R600.

Oscar Pistorius is due in the Pretoria High Court on Monday for the first time since he lost his final bid to be able to appeal his murder conviction.

The case is expected to be formally postponed to June for sentencing proceedings.

Oscar Pistorious

The double-amputee athlete must be sentenced afresh after the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) last year overturned his culpable homicide conviction for shooting and killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp and replaced it with a murder conviction.

Pistorius‚ 29‚ shot Steenkamp‚ 29‚ through a locked toilet door at his Pretoria home on February 14 2013.

He said that he had fired the four shots believing that an intruder was hiding behind the door and his life and Steenkamp’s were in danger.

The Constitutional Court last month dismissed Pistorius’s application for leave to appeal to that court against the SCA ruling.

Pistorius has not been seen in public since that decision.

He is out on bail of R10 000 and has been living at his uncle Arnold’s luxury home in Waterkloof‚ Pretoria‚ ever since his release from prison in October last year.

He had served about a year of the five-year jail term imposed on him before being released under correctional supervision.

The state or the defence may ask for alterations to Pistorius’ bail conditions now that his attempt to appeal his murder conviction has failed.

Pistorius’ current bail conditions allow him to leave his uncle’s house between 7am and noon. He is not allowed to travel beyond 10km from his uncle’s house.

The Office of the Chief Justice announced last month that Pistorius’s sentencing proceedings have been set down for June 13 to 17 after agreement between the state and defence lawyers and Deputy Judge President Aubrey Ledwaba.

Supporters of Oscar Pistorius gathered outside the Pretoria High Court on Monday where he was to appear for first time since he lost his final bid to be able to appeal his murder conviction.

TheY carried posters saying “Trial by media” and unfurled a banner proclaiming “Worldwide supporters of Oscar Pistorius” and bearing a selection of international flags.

The case is expected to be formally postponed to June for sentencing proceedings.

The double-amputee athlete must be sentenced afresh after the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) last year overturned his culpable homicide conviction for shooting and killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp and replaced it with a murder conviction.

Pistorius‚ 29‚ shot Steenkamp‚ 29‚ through a locked toilet door at his Pretoria home on February 14 2013.

He said that he had fired the four shots believing that an intruder was hiding behind the door and his life and Steenkamp’s were in danger.

The Constitutional Court last month dismissed Pistorius’s application for leave to appeal to that court against the SCA ruling.

Pistorius has not been seen in public since that decision.

He is out on bail of R10 000 and has been living at his uncle Arnold’s luxury home in Waterkloof‚ Pretoria‚ ever since his release from prison in October last year.

He had served about a year of the five-year jail term imposed on him before being released under correctional supervision.

The state or the defence may ask for alterations to Pistorius’ bail conditions now that his attempt to appeal his murder conviction has failed.

Pistorius’ current bail conditions allow him to leave his uncle’s house between 7am and noon. He is not allowed to travel beyond 10km from his uncle’s house.

The Office of the Chief Justice announced last month that Pistorius’s sentencing proceedings have been set down for June 13 to 17 after agreement between the state and defence lawyers and Deputy Judge President Aubrey Ledwaba. – TMG Digital

Almost a year after the disappearance and murder of 29-year-old Jayde Panayiotou‚ her husband Christopher Panayiotou and his co-accused are expected back in court on Monday.

Jayde was abducted outside her Kabega Park townhouse complex almost a year ago on April 21‚ 2015. Her body was found on a farm in Rocklands near Uitenhage the next day.

CHRISTOPHER PANAYIOTOU

Her husband Christopher‚ 28‚ is accused of orchestrating Jayde’s murder. It is alleged he paid Luthando Siyoli‚ 31‚ a bouncer at his nightclub in Algoa Park‚ to hire hit man Sizwezakhe Vumazonke‚ 30‚ to murder his wife.

A fourth accused‚ Sinethemba Nenemba‚ 28‚ was also linked to the case late in 2015. Siyoli has since turned state witness. — TMG Digital/Heraldonline

Sentencing proceedings against Oscar Pistorius will go ahead on June 13.

He made a brief appearance in the Pretoria High Court on Monday‚ his first since he lost his final bid to be able to appeal his murder conviction.

Oscar Pistorious

The double-amputee athlete must be sentenced afresh after the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) last year overturned his culpable homicide conviction for shooting and killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp and replaced it with a murder conviction.

Pistorius‚ 29‚ shot Steenkamp‚ 29‚ through a locked toilet door at his Pretoria home on February 14 2013.

He said that he had fired the four shots believing that an intruder was hiding behind the door and his life and Steenkamp’s were in danger.

The Constitutional Court last month dismissed Pistorius’ application for leave to appeal to that court against the SCA ruling.

Pistorius has not been seen in public since that decision.

He has been out on bail of R10 000 and has been living at his uncle Arnold’s luxury home in Waterkloof‚ Pretoria‚ ever since his release from prison in October last year.

He had served about a year of the five-year jail term imposed on him before being released under correctional supervision.

The Office of the Chief Justice announced last month that Pistorius’s sentencing proceedings have been set down for June 13 to 17 after agreement between the state and defence lawyers and Deputy Judge President Aubrey Ledwaba. – TMG Digital

A former Walter Sisulu University student has been sentenced to life imprisonment for hijacking and killing a prison warder.

Siphesihle Ngozi, 26, cried as he was led down to the cells, saying it was not fair his accomplice got off scot free. “Yes, the sentence is fair for me. I am paying dearly for my stupidity and the crime I have committed. I do not blame the court for this.

Former WSU student sentenced to life for warder’s murder

“But what breaks my heart is that the other person, a friend of mine, with whom I planned and committed crime, is roaming the street.

“He is a free man although like me he made confession,” said Siphesihle Ngozi, speaking to the Dispatch in front of his lawyer, Nothemba Dandala-Pungula, minutes after the sentencing. Ngozi was 24 years old when he committed the crime.

Mthatha High Court Judge Lusindiso Pakade sentenced Ngozi to life imprisonment for the murder of Mthatha prison warder Dumisani Tiya, 37, and 18 years for the robbery with aggravating circumstances.

The sentences will run concurrently.

The attack took place at Lurhasini village between Tsolo and Mthatha in July 2013. Ngozi, a student at WSU’s Potsdam campus in East London at the time, planned to rob Tiya of his City Golf.

Ngozi was armed with an iron spanner and his friend with a rope. The knew when Tiya would knock off from work and approached his home at about 9pm. They blockaded the gravel road to his home with wooden logs.

“He arrived there at about 9pm. As he stopped, the accused came to the driver’s side and smashed the window with the iron wheel spanner and hit the driver on the head.

“They tied the driver’s neck with the rope to the head rest of the passenger seat. The accused drove the car to Zandukwane forest, planning to tie him to a tree.

“But when they arrived at the forest the victim was already dead,” said Judge Pakade in delivering sentence on Wednesday. He said they had decided to hide the corpse.

They drove the victim’s car to East London where Ngozi was studying.

He drove the car around East London until arrested on July 30, 2013.

“The accused said he wanted to sell the car so that he can have money,” said the judge.

He said Ngozi was not remorseful. — lulamilef@dispatch.co.za

The Tsolo Magistrate’s Court has ordered the release of former OR Tambo ANC regional chairman Thandekile Sabisa and deputy secretary Lawrence Mambila from police custody.

The two were arrested on April 18 in connection with the death of Zukile Nyhontso, the bodyguard of current regional chairman Xolile Nkompela.

APRIL 26, 2016: Police were kept busy trying to divide hundreds of ANC member of two feuding groups at Tsolo Magistrates Court on Tuesday. Some of the members were supporting OR Tambo district municipality deputy mayor and former regional chairman Thandekile Sabisa and former regional secretary and OR Tambo councilor Lawrence Mambila as they appeared at Tsolo Magistrates Court accused of murder of an ANC body guard of an ANC leader and attempted murder of the current ANC regional chairman and Mhlontlo council speaker Xolile Nkompela. Others were supporting Nkompela. Picture:LULAMILE FENI.

Their release came after their lawyer, advocate Phillip Zilwa SC, argued that the two had been in custody for eight days and the state had failed to bring them to court within 48 hours of arrest.

However, they will still appear in court on May 19 to face the charges.

Zilwa said the court should order that the two be released from unlawful detention.

But prosecutor Betty Mashilo argued that the two had been lawfully arrested and detained.

She said the two leaders “cried out, they complained” of not being well and that when the state wanted to take them to a government hospital they refused and wanted to be taken to a private doctor.

APRIL 26, 2016: Hundred of ANC member came in number to support the OR Tambo district municipality deputy mayor and former regional chairman Thandekile Sabisa and former regional secretary and OR Tambo councilor Lawrence Mambila as they appeared at Tsolo Magistrates Court accused of murder of a body guard of an ANC leader and attempted murder of the current ANC regional chairman and Mhlontlo council speaker Xolile Nkompela. Picture:LULAMILE FEN

She accused them of deliberately delaying the case.

Magistrate Mtutuzeli Mnge ordered that the police take Sabisa and Mambila’s fingerprints and release them.

“According to the facts of this case, they were arrested on April 18 and never taken to any court.

“Therefore their detention became unlawful after April 20.

“This court also has the sentiments even now their further detention is unlawful.”

Yesterday morning, supporters of Sabisa and Mambila occupied the entrance to the court premises.

About 200m away, Nkompela’s backers also gathered and sang while carrying placards.

APRIL 26, 2016: Supporters of the ANC regional chairman and Mhlontlo council speaker Xolile Nkompela who survived shooting but his body guard shot dead were chanted and sing in front of the Tsolo Magistrate Court where OR Tambo deputy mayor and former regional chairman Thandekile Sabisa and former regional secretary Lawrence Mambila appeared for the murder and attempted murder cases on Tuesday. Picture:LULAMILE FENI

A few minutes later as the court was in session, the two groups clashed but a heavily armed police contingent stopped the confrontation.

Soon after the outcome of the court, Sabisa and Mambila’s followers were addressed by the leaders of the so-called Friends of Sabisa and Mambila campaign telling them of the outcome.

Later on, Nkompela walked out of the court premises to address his supporters.

There was another confrontation between the two groups, with police intervening and some of the people being arrested.

Mambila and Sabisa are still in hospital. — abongilem@dispatch.co.za

President Jacob Zuma has “noted” the Spy Tapes ruling handed down by the High Court on Friday.

President Jacob Zuma

A statement issued by the Presidency said‚ “The Full Bench of the North Gauteng High Court delivered judgment in a matter in which the Applicant asked the court to‚ amongst others‚ review‚ correct and set aside the decision of the Acting National Director of Public Prosecutions (Adv. Mpshe)‚ taken on the President‚ in accordance with charges contained in an indictment of 27 December 2007 and also to declare that the decision of the Acting National Director of Public Prosecutions to be inconsistent with the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa‚ 1996‚ and invalid“.

“The court has ordered that the decision taken by the Acting Head of the National Prosecuting Authority on 1 April 2009 to discontinue the prosecution against President Jacob Zuma‚ is reviewed and set aside.

“These charges were formally withdrawn by the High Court in Pietermaritzburg during April 2009 and as such there is no pending litigation before court against President Zuma.

“As a party to the proceedings‚ the President has noted the decision of the court and will give consideration to the judgment and its consequences and the remedies available in terms of our law‚” said the statement.

The case against murder-accused Christopher Panayiotou and his co-accused was once again postponed in the Port Elizabeth Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday.

CHRISTOPHER PANAYIOTOU

More than a year after the abduction and murder of Jayde Panayiotou‚ the case against Jayde’s husband‚ Christopher‚ Sizwezakhe Vumazonke and Sinethemba Nenemba was postponed to May 16‚ 2016.

In an interesting twist‚ supporters of Pananyioutou occupied the front row of the gallery wearing t-shirts stating that he is innocent.

Panayiotou‚ 28‚ allegedly orchestrated his wife’s murder in April last year.

It is alleged that he paid Luthando Siyoli‚ 31‚ to a hire hit man‚ identified as Vumazonke‚ 30‚ to murder Jayde.

Nenemba‚ 28‚ was linked to the case late in 2015. Siyoli has since turned state witness.

In a case that shocked the city‚ Jayde‚ 29‚ was abducted outside her Kabega Park townhouse complex in Port Elizabeth on April 21‚ 2015.

Initially‚ her murder appeared to be a botched robbery after she was abducted at about 6.30am while waiting for a friend to give her a lift to work.

Her body was found the next day on a farm in Rocklands near Uitenhage. She had been shot in the head and upper body.

The warrant officer accused of killing his girlfriend and her new lover on Tuesday accused her of almost destroying his marriage and cheating on him.

Mandla Philemon Mokoena‚ 36‚ stands accused of killing Khanyi Mathebula and Getron Jabula Ndlovu in Tembisa in March 2014.

A married police officer is accused killing his mistress and her boyfriend.

He allegedly shot them multiple times one night at about 11pm in Maokeng Section.

Mokoena pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder. He claims it was self defence.
Moses Tumi Mpati who lived opposite a house where Mathebula lived said he heard screams at about 11:30pm.

He went to find out what was happening and found Mokoena trying to pull Mathebula while the landlord‚ Frida‚ tried to separate them.

“She stood behind sis Frida. She did not want to go to Mandla‚ she was frightened. She looked like she was crying and wanted to cry. I asked Mandla what the problem was. He said he found a room for her but she almost destroyed his marriage and was cheating on him. He pointed at a man who was sitting in a car and she was cheating with him‚” he said.

Mpati said he walked to the car and asked the man to leave and allow Mokoena and Mathebula to resolve their issues.

“He took time to leave. He said he can’t just leave her alone‚” he said.

TMG Digital/Sowetan

The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (NSPCA) on Thursday said it was disappointed by the decision by the director of public prosecutions in Grahamstown not to prosecute the directors of the Brian Boswell Circus and its former elephant trainers.

The manager of the NSPCA’s Wildlife Protection Unit‚ Isabel Wentzel‚ said she felt justice had not been served.

The NSPCA is disappointed with a Eastern Cape High Court judgement on alleged animal torture at the Boswell Circus.

In March 2013‚ the welfare organisation laid criminal charges against seven people from the Brian Boswell Circus related to the beating‚ chaining and confining of the elephants‚ and the failure to provide them with sufficient water and shade.

Video footage taken by witnesses at the circus showed two elephants beaten with sticks and whips‚ chained and exposed to heat for hours without access to shade or water whilst the circus was at Walmer West Primary School in Port Elizabeth between December 2013 and January 2014.

“The worse of it was the beating — the unnecessary beating — it wasn’t training‚ it wasn’t anything; it was just plain ‘I want to show you what I can do and just beat you’‚” Wentzel said.

Four of the handlers were allegedly dismissed after the video was shown on Carte Blanche and‚ according to the NSPCA‚ cannot be found.

Wentzel said that‚ short of finding the handlers who were shown beating the elephants in the footage‚ there is not much the organisation can do because the owners of the circus have not been forthcoming.

“They are not willing to give any information on the handlers…surely they must have their names‚ surely they must have ID numbers if you employ somebody‚” Wentzel said.

Wentzel said that without names or ID numbers police cannot issue warrants for arrests.

In January this year‚ the remaining three accused made their first appearances in a Port Elizabeth court‚ but the case was postponed a numerous times without any decisions being made.

Wentzel said that the organisation received a letter earlier this month from director of public prosecutions in Grahamstown advocate Chris de Klerk‚ informing them that the state declined to prosecute and that the charges must be withdrawn against the three accused.

In the letter quoted by the NSPCA‚ De Klerk said that the footage showed “incidents that amount to ill-treatment of elephants”‚ but added that the individuals involved could not be traced.

De Klerk said for the state to hold the owner accountable there needed to be evidence that the owner either knowingly permitted such conduct or failed to prevent such conduct through the exercise of reasonable care and supervision. He said that there was no evidence of that.

But the NSPCA contended that statements by witnesses indicate that these owners were personally informed of incidents of beatings of the elephants that occurred even before incidents were captured on video‚ but failed to take action.

The two elephants at the centre of this case were removed from the circus and returned to the premises of the Natal Zoological Gardens. – TMG Digital

Buffalo City Metro has resorted to the courts in a bid to halt the crisis of informal settlements mushrooming in the metro townships as hundreds of land invaders grab or “sell” municipal land. 

Having struggled with land invasion for years, on Wednesday BCM attained a court order from the Bhisho High Court ordering the land invaders to stop erecting “any structure” on open land hotspots in Scenery Park and at Mdantsane’s main entrance.

Buffalo City Metro has resorted to the courts in a bid to halt the crisis of informal settlements mushrooming in the metro townships as hundreds of land invaders grab or “sell” municipal land.

Acting Judge Xoliswa Bacela gave the land invaders until June 14 to report to court and state why an order allowing BCM to demolish and dismantle shacks should not be granted.

Invaders had attempted or threatened to unlawfully occupy open land in these areas.

At the Mdantsane main entrance more than 400 shacks have been illegally erected, causing a headache for businesses in the area and traditional leaders who used the land during initiation season.

Ward 5 councillor Zandisile Tokwe said in Scenery Park the invaders were stopped by law enforcement and SAPS officers earlier this year after they cleaned and cut grass to erect shacks on an open field.

Judge Bacela ruled that in the interim the land invaders were interdicted and restrained from:

“Entering upon or commencing to occupy or permitting to be occupied on their behalf any part or portion of the immovable property”; and

“Commencing or continuing to erect or occupy or permit to be occupied any structure on the (listed) immovable properties”.

She ruled that the Sheriff of the Court would be directed, empowered and assisted by BCM and the police to take all the necessary and “reasonable” steps to “dismantle and demolish” any structure erected on the two sites.

Ward 11 councillor Sakhumzi Caga said the order followed a council resolution earlier this year to find a sustainable solution to the land invasion crisis.

Caga called the court order a step in the right direction.

However, the chairwoman of the community committee at G-G informal settlement, Nokubonga Gola, said they were not aware of the court interdict.

Gola said the growth of the shacks there was “beyond the committee’s control.

After numerous court appearances over the past year‚ the case against murder-accused Christopher Panayiotou and his co-accused was on Monday transferred to the High Court and the trial is set to start on October 3‚ 2016.

The murder case against Christopher Panayiotou and his co-accused was on Monday transferred to the High Court

Panayiotou‚ who was previously denied bail on two occasions‚ will on Tuesday launch another attempt‚ based on new facts.

The courtroom was packed on Monday morning ahead of Panayiotou’s appearance. Once again‚ supporters of Panayiotou wearing T-shirts stating that he is innocent‚ were present in court.

It is alleged Panayiotou paid Luthando Siyoli to a hire hit man‚ identified as Sizwe Vumazonke‚ to murder his wife Jayde Panayiotou.

A fourth accused‚ Sinethemba Nenemba‚ was linked to the case late in 2015.

Siyoli has since turned state witness.

Jayde was abducted outside her Kabega Park townhouse complex in Port Elizabeth on April 21‚ 2015.

Her body was found the next day.

Fort Hare University East London campus students say they will boycott the centenary celebration event in Alice if the public violence charges against the 20 students who are appearing in court are not withdrawn today.

The 20 students were arrested during the #Feesmustfall violent protest last year.

Fort Hare students protesting outside the East London Magistrate’s Court.

Student organisations, which rallied together and marched to the East London Magistrate’s Court to show their support were met by police presence and were not allowed within 100m of the court building.

Court is still in session the students are yet to appear.