The Democratic Alliance is to take the African National Congress, the South African Communist Party and Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) to the newly established Equality Court for incitement to violence.
This comes after members of the tripartite alliance brandished posters saying "Kill the boer, kill the farmer" outside the Phalaborwa magistrate's court in Limpopo on Tuesday. Other posters waved outside the court read "Tired with the boers" and "Castrate the boers".
The angry ANC, SACP and Cosatu members were protesting over the brutal murder of former construction worker Nelson Chisale, who was fed to lions near Hoedspruit last month, allegedly by his former boss Mark Scott-Crossley, 35, and three other men, Simon Mathebula, 43, Richard Mathebula, 41, and Robert Mnisi, 34.
The murder charge against Mnisi was withdrawn on Tuesday, apparently after he agreed to turn state witness. Last year, the South African Human Rights Commission declared the slogan "Kill the boer, kill the farmer" to be hate speech. "It was outrageous for those slogans to have been used," DA spokesperson Sandra Botha said on Wednesday. "We should be getting rid of racism, instead they (the tripartite alliance) are using slogans that have been ruled as hate speech." Botha said that only one person accused of the murder was white, and that the crime was not racially motivated. "Whenever a white person is accused of a crime (against a black person) then the slogans are used against a section of the population, the farmers," said Botha.
She added that Scott-Crossley was not a farmer, but owned a construction company which he ran from a smallholding. However, the tripartite alliance has come out fighting, saying the DA is politicking during an election year.
ANC spokesperson Smuts Ngonyama said: "The question they are raising is about members using the slogans, whereas it is (actually) about one human being throwing another to the lions. "Our primary focus at the protest was to highlight the barbarism of the people who allegedly fed a man to the lions," he said. Ngonyama added that the DA was trying to "hide" the killing by only highlighting the sloganeering.
Cosatu spokesperson Patrick Craven said: "We have made it quite clear that 'kill the boer, kill the farmer' is not and was never a Cosatu slogan. We understand how those protesters were feeling, and we believe in the rule of the law, and that law should take its course."
SACP spokesperson Mazibuko Jara called the DA "melodramatic" and "opportunistic". "The DA is trying to divert attention away from racism, the exploitation of farmworkers and violence on farms. The DA should condemn these atrocities and enter into dialogue with the people affected," Jara said.
Source: IoL
Thursday, February 19, 2004
Friday, February 13, 2004
NPA ‘strengthened by Hefer Commission'
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has emerged as a stronger organisation following the Hefer Commission, national director of public prosecutions Bulelani Ngcuka said yesterday. "We faced one of the toughest public tests any organisation can face. This does not happen with many institutions, especially not with organs of state. However, there should not be any doubt in our minds that as an organisation we emerged a lot stronger after the Hefer Commission".
Ngcuka was speaking at the NPA's national conference in Johannesburg. He said the Hefer Commission had united the personnel of the NPA. "We emerged stronger also because the people of South Africa witnessed first hand what the allegations were about. The result was that public confidence in the NPA and law enforcement in general increased". He warned that this confidence came at a price: "The price is that our obligations towards the public we are serving have now increased. People are now going to expect more from... the NPA, which is a positive challenge for us".
Ngcuka said the commission had also "exposed and tested the vulnerability of the relationships between the law enforcement agencies". The NPA now had to find ways to rebuild those relationships. The organisation's operations had also been tested in the process, he said. This was an apparent reference to former transport minister Mac Maharaj allegation that someone in NPA's investigating arm, the Scorpions, had leaked information to the media claiming his wife, Zarina, was being investigated for tax invasion. Ngcuka said: "Organisationally we need to re-examine our policies, procedures and processes. If we find any weaknesses, we need to tighten those up". Ngcuka said the organisation was still trying to come to terms with the impact of the commission. "We should determine, without delay, the extent of whatever collateral damage the whole Hefer episode might have caused to the reputation and the capacity of the NPA to meet the demands of its mandate".
Ngcuka said he chose to see the Hefer Commission as a positive opportunity to start afresh. "I am not saying that Hefer was not a painful experience nor that it did not do damage. It was painful and it has caused damage". Ngcuka said in the past the NPA had focused on technical competence. "Our experience during the Hefer Commission and our initial assessment of the impact of the commission on our organisation, clearly shows that the time has come to shift gears. In light of this "we need an attitude change, a leadership change". By this Ngcuka did not mean he was resigning: "I am not quitting. I am here to stay," he told delegates. He meant the NPA was to "embark on a new and exciting leadership initiative called the 'fearless executive'". This was a special programme drawn up for the NPA, which would be introduced soon.
The Hefer Commission was established to investigate allegations that Ngcuka may have been an apartheid spy. The commission's report can be found here
Ngcuka was speaking at the NPA's national conference in Johannesburg. He said the Hefer Commission had united the personnel of the NPA. "We emerged stronger also because the people of South Africa witnessed first hand what the allegations were about. The result was that public confidence in the NPA and law enforcement in general increased". He warned that this confidence came at a price: "The price is that our obligations towards the public we are serving have now increased. People are now going to expect more from... the NPA, which is a positive challenge for us".
Ngcuka said the commission had also "exposed and tested the vulnerability of the relationships between the law enforcement agencies". The NPA now had to find ways to rebuild those relationships. The organisation's operations had also been tested in the process, he said. This was an apparent reference to former transport minister Mac Maharaj allegation that someone in NPA's investigating arm, the Scorpions, had leaked information to the media claiming his wife, Zarina, was being investigated for tax invasion. Ngcuka said: "Organisationally we need to re-examine our policies, procedures and processes. If we find any weaknesses, we need to tighten those up". Ngcuka said the organisation was still trying to come to terms with the impact of the commission. "We should determine, without delay, the extent of whatever collateral damage the whole Hefer episode might have caused to the reputation and the capacity of the NPA to meet the demands of its mandate".
Ngcuka said he chose to see the Hefer Commission as a positive opportunity to start afresh. "I am not saying that Hefer was not a painful experience nor that it did not do damage. It was painful and it has caused damage". Ngcuka said in the past the NPA had focused on technical competence. "Our experience during the Hefer Commission and our initial assessment of the impact of the commission on our organisation, clearly shows that the time has come to shift gears. In light of this "we need an attitude change, a leadership change". By this Ngcuka did not mean he was resigning: "I am not quitting. I am here to stay," he told delegates. He meant the NPA was to "embark on a new and exciting leadership initiative called the 'fearless executive'". This was a special programme drawn up for the NPA, which would be introduced soon.
The Hefer Commission was established to investigate allegations that Ngcuka may have been an apartheid spy. The commission's report can be found here
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