LHR details incidents of alleged abuse and torture against 16 inmates by correctional officials.
Allegations of severe torture against 16 inmates who allegedly witnessed the murder of another inmate by wardens at the Kgosi Mampuru II Correctional Centre in Pretoria, have surfaced.
Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) have now requested the Pretoria Central Police station to investigate the allegations.
In a letter sent to the station commander, LHR details incidents of alleged abuse and torture against 16 inmates by correctional officials.
Clare Ballard, head of LHR’s Penal Reform Programme, said they were prompted to call for the investigation after receiving an increasing number of complaints of severe assault.
It appears that the alleged incidents of assault have, for the most part, occurred during purported search and seizure operations.
“If we are to prevent incidents of assault and torture, which our international obligations indeed require of us, then the criminal prosecution of those responsible for assaults and torture is vital,” said Ballard.
Source: The Citizen
Showing posts with label Correctional Service. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Correctional Service. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 18, 2015
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Zuma parolee held for murder
One of the five robbers linked to the brutal murder of Jansenville stock farmer Owen Charles on Sunday night was among the prisoners released in line with President Jacob Zuma's special remission of sentence concession.
A 12-year-old is among those arrested in connection with the murder. The man had been arrested only three months ago for breaking into the Armadale farmhouse in which the weekend attack took place. This emerged after four of the five suspects, all minors, were arrested following a high-speed car chase and shoot-out in Knysna on Monday night. The arrested suspects are all between 12 and 17 years of age.
The police have already linked them to the murder of Charles, 70, who was stabbed during the robbery. His wife Janet, 69, was beaten unconscious and admitted to a Port Elizabeth hospital.
Earlier this month, a 94-year-old grandmother was raped in Swayimane, in KwaZulu-Natal, also allegedly by a man released on Zuma's remission programme, which was announced on Freedom Day. Jansenville police spokesman Rino Kilian confirmed the arrests. Six firearms, jewellery and other valuables were stolen. The robbers took the couple's bakkie and fled.
The bakkie was spotted by the police on the N2 highway at about 7pm on Monday being driven through Knysna towards Cape Town. The driver, a 22-year-old man, escaped after the vehicle overturned and rolled down an embankment.
Source: Times Live
A 12-year-old is among those arrested in connection with the murder. The man had been arrested only three months ago for breaking into the Armadale farmhouse in which the weekend attack took place. This emerged after four of the five suspects, all minors, were arrested following a high-speed car chase and shoot-out in Knysna on Monday night. The arrested suspects are all between 12 and 17 years of age.
The police have already linked them to the murder of Charles, 70, who was stabbed during the robbery. His wife Janet, 69, was beaten unconscious and admitted to a Port Elizabeth hospital.
Earlier this month, a 94-year-old grandmother was raped in Swayimane, in KwaZulu-Natal, also allegedly by a man released on Zuma's remission programme, which was announced on Freedom Day. Jansenville police spokesman Rino Kilian confirmed the arrests. Six firearms, jewellery and other valuables were stolen. The robbers took the couple's bakkie and fled.
The bakkie was spotted by the police on the N2 highway at about 7pm on Monday being driven through Knysna towards Cape Town. The driver, a 22-year-old man, escaped after the vehicle overturned and rolled down an embankment.
Source: Times Live
Friday, July 20, 2012
Selebi to be released on medical parole
FORMER national police commissioner Jackie Selebi, convicted of corruption, will be released from prison on Friday, Correctional Services Minister Sibusiso Ndebele announced in Pretoria. "Mr Selebi will be going home today (Friday)," he told a media briefing in Pretoria. "The department has limited capacity to provide for palliative care needed by some offenders," he said.
Palliative care meant Selebi would be kept comfortable until his death, as there was no hope of him recovering. An 11-member medical parole advisory board met on June 20 and recommended the release of six offenders, including Selebi. Three of them had since died, Mr Ndebele said.
The minister said all offender and remand detainees had the right to adequate healthcare services, as enshrined in the constitution. "In terms of the Correctional Services Act, the department must provide healthcare services and refer patients to external healthcare facilities for secondary and tertiary levels of healthcare," he said.
The Correctional Services Act was reviewed, with the Correctional Matters Amendment Act approved in May last year. According to Section 29A and B of the act, an offender, nurse, medical practitioner, spouse, guardian or legal representative could apply for parole on a detainee’s behalf. Criteria for medical parole included a terminal, chronic or progressive medical condition, which had caused permanent or irreversible deterioration to the detainee’s state of physical health.
Medical parole advisory board chairman Dr Victor Ramathesele said Selebi’s condition qualified him for medical parole. "As the medical parole advisory board we examine every applying patient. We went to Steve Biko hospital and found him to be at the end stages of renal disease, undergoing perennial dialysis daily," he said.
James Selfe, Democratic Alliance spokesperson for correctional services, said it was important to ensure that proper procedure was followed when the decision on Selebi’s medical parole was made. "The old criteria limited medical parole to those who suffered from a terminal illness," he said. "This made it hard to determine who deserved medical parole. We need to ensure that procedures to ensure the interests of the victims are considered take place, including a hearing to decide these matters."
Mr Selfe said he would question Mr Ndebele on this in the National Assembly. Selebi was the president of Interpol at the time of the investigation of claims that he received money from convicted drug trafficker and police informer Glenn Agliotti.
He was convicted of corruption on July 2 2010 and handed a 15-year jail sentence. Selebi appealed against the corruption conviction in the Supreme Court of Appeal but his appeal was denied in December 2011. He collapsed at his home in Waterkloof, Pretoria, while watching the judgment on television.
It was decided he would stay in the medical wing of Pretoria Central Prison indefinitely as he suffered from diabetes and kidney disease. Doctors who were treating Selebi at Steve Biko Academic Hospital said his medical management was complicated.
"It was apparent from his admission that Mr Selebi had various chronic illnesses and thus needed constant medical care by suitably qualified practitioners. Because of his poor health prognosis and soaring hypertension levels, as well as unstable and uncontrollable sugar diabetic levels, he was referred to the Steve Biko Academic Hospital on December 12," correctional services commissioner Tom Moyane said at the time.
Source: Business Day
Palliative care meant Selebi would be kept comfortable until his death, as there was no hope of him recovering. An 11-member medical parole advisory board met on June 20 and recommended the release of six offenders, including Selebi. Three of them had since died, Mr Ndebele said.
The minister said all offender and remand detainees had the right to adequate healthcare services, as enshrined in the constitution. "In terms of the Correctional Services Act, the department must provide healthcare services and refer patients to external healthcare facilities for secondary and tertiary levels of healthcare," he said.
The Correctional Services Act was reviewed, with the Correctional Matters Amendment Act approved in May last year. According to Section 29A and B of the act, an offender, nurse, medical practitioner, spouse, guardian or legal representative could apply for parole on a detainee’s behalf. Criteria for medical parole included a terminal, chronic or progressive medical condition, which had caused permanent or irreversible deterioration to the detainee’s state of physical health.
Medical parole advisory board chairman Dr Victor Ramathesele said Selebi’s condition qualified him for medical parole. "As the medical parole advisory board we examine every applying patient. We went to Steve Biko hospital and found him to be at the end stages of renal disease, undergoing perennial dialysis daily," he said.
James Selfe, Democratic Alliance spokesperson for correctional services, said it was important to ensure that proper procedure was followed when the decision on Selebi’s medical parole was made. "The old criteria limited medical parole to those who suffered from a terminal illness," he said. "This made it hard to determine who deserved medical parole. We need to ensure that procedures to ensure the interests of the victims are considered take place, including a hearing to decide these matters."
Mr Selfe said he would question Mr Ndebele on this in the National Assembly. Selebi was the president of Interpol at the time of the investigation of claims that he received money from convicted drug trafficker and police informer Glenn Agliotti.
He was convicted of corruption on July 2 2010 and handed a 15-year jail sentence. Selebi appealed against the corruption conviction in the Supreme Court of Appeal but his appeal was denied in December 2011. He collapsed at his home in Waterkloof, Pretoria, while watching the judgment on television.
It was decided he would stay in the medical wing of Pretoria Central Prison indefinitely as he suffered from diabetes and kidney disease. Doctors who were treating Selebi at Steve Biko Academic Hospital said his medical management was complicated.
"It was apparent from his admission that Mr Selebi had various chronic illnesses and thus needed constant medical care by suitably qualified practitioners. Because of his poor health prognosis and soaring hypertension levels, as well as unstable and uncontrollable sugar diabetic levels, he was referred to the Steve Biko Academic Hospital on December 12," correctional services commissioner Tom Moyane said at the time.
Source: Business Day
Monday, February 13, 2012
M&G fights to protect its sources from Bosasa
The Mail & Guardian is in court this week to protect its sources in a story that alleged large-scale corruption and to fight a defamation case brought against it and a former employee by facilities management company Bosasa. The case calls on the court to balance the right of discovery -- which enables parties in a civil case to gather pertinent information -- with the right to protect sources. It is the first case of this kind under the new Constitution.
Bosasa has been the recipient of a number of multi-million rand tenders since 2006 and in 2009, the M&G published a series of stories, which alleged that it had gained exclusive access to tender documents before they were publically advertised. The company is asking for an order to have the M&G remove an article from its website and for an apology from the newspaper. The article, written on May 22 2009 by investigative journalist Adriaan Basson, states that Bosasa was engaged in a corrupt practices connected to the department of correctional services.
It is also asking for an order to compel the M&G to reveal its sources for a series of stories on the company. As part of pretrial proceedings, Bosasa asked Basson and the M&G to hand over information it deemed pertinent to the case. This forms part of discovery procedures, whereby both parties ask for additional information with which to build their case.
However, Bosasa was not satisfied with the information the M&G provided, which included sections that had been blacked out to protect the identity of its sources. Bosasa is asking that the M&G turn over notes and recordings of interviews with sources, source documentation, unpublished drafts of stories relating to Bosasa, and internal emails between Basson, colleagues who assisted with the stories and their editors.
The newspaper has declined to provide some of the information sought, including un-redacted versions of some documents, some notes from interviews with sources, and internal communications. In its heads of argument, Bosasa said confidential sources can be used to promote hidden agendas, disseminate propaganda or disguise lazy reporting. Jeremy Gauntlett, acting for Bosasa, said that the media is asking for "press exceptionalism" and that it could not simply flash its media card and claim an absolute privilege to protect the identity of its sources. "None of us have an absolute right to information nor do the respondents [M&G and Basson] have absolute right to immunity of disclosure of information they've chosen to rely upon," he said.
But Wim Trengove, acting for the M&G and Basson, said forcing journalists to reveal their sources would have a chilling effect on uncovering corruption. He said journalists internationally regard offers to protect a source's identity as "sacrosanct", not only as a matter of honour but also because protecting of sources is so important to their trade. "Valuable resources of information that come from high places would be very significantly diminished if journalists were not able to give sources the same assurances that policemen and detectives give their informants, that their identity will be protected," said Trengove. The harm caused would be to the public interest, and would outweigh any commercial interest Bosasa may have in this case, he said.
The freedom of expression NGO Section 16 and the South African National Editors' Forum (Sanef) have applied to be admitted to the proceedings as amicus curiae or friends of the court. Kate Hofmeyr, representing Section 16 and Sanef, said the media should not be compelled to give up its sources at such an early stage as there was no guarantee that the case will proceed to trial. "We all know what happens in the preparation to trial. There's a prospect of settlement. There's also a prospect of aspects of the matter being withdrawn. Those we don't know with any certainty," she said, adding that compelling the media to give up its sources would have a material, negative and chilling impact on the free flow of information to the public.
M&G editor-in-chief Nic Dawes said the newspaper's ability to protect the identity of confidential sources is crucial to its ability to expose corruption and other serious wrongdoing. "That makes this case a particularly important test of the constitutional protections afforded the press," he said. He added: "Bosasa's attempt to discover who our sources are has nothing to do with their rights and everything to do with their efforts to staunch the flow of damaging news about the way they do business."
The case continues on Tuesday.
Source: Mail & Guardian
Bosasa has been the recipient of a number of multi-million rand tenders since 2006 and in 2009, the M&G published a series of stories, which alleged that it had gained exclusive access to tender documents before they were publically advertised. The company is asking for an order to have the M&G remove an article from its website and for an apology from the newspaper. The article, written on May 22 2009 by investigative journalist Adriaan Basson, states that Bosasa was engaged in a corrupt practices connected to the department of correctional services.
It is also asking for an order to compel the M&G to reveal its sources for a series of stories on the company. As part of pretrial proceedings, Bosasa asked Basson and the M&G to hand over information it deemed pertinent to the case. This forms part of discovery procedures, whereby both parties ask for additional information with which to build their case.
However, Bosasa was not satisfied with the information the M&G provided, which included sections that had been blacked out to protect the identity of its sources. Bosasa is asking that the M&G turn over notes and recordings of interviews with sources, source documentation, unpublished drafts of stories relating to Bosasa, and internal emails between Basson, colleagues who assisted with the stories and their editors.
The newspaper has declined to provide some of the information sought, including un-redacted versions of some documents, some notes from interviews with sources, and internal communications. In its heads of argument, Bosasa said confidential sources can be used to promote hidden agendas, disseminate propaganda or disguise lazy reporting. Jeremy Gauntlett, acting for Bosasa, said that the media is asking for "press exceptionalism" and that it could not simply flash its media card and claim an absolute privilege to protect the identity of its sources. "None of us have an absolute right to information nor do the respondents [M&G and Basson] have absolute right to immunity of disclosure of information they've chosen to rely upon," he said.
But Wim Trengove, acting for the M&G and Basson, said forcing journalists to reveal their sources would have a chilling effect on uncovering corruption. He said journalists internationally regard offers to protect a source's identity as "sacrosanct", not only as a matter of honour but also because protecting of sources is so important to their trade. "Valuable resources of information that come from high places would be very significantly diminished if journalists were not able to give sources the same assurances that policemen and detectives give their informants, that their identity will be protected," said Trengove. The harm caused would be to the public interest, and would outweigh any commercial interest Bosasa may have in this case, he said.
The freedom of expression NGO Section 16 and the South African National Editors' Forum (Sanef) have applied to be admitted to the proceedings as amicus curiae or friends of the court. Kate Hofmeyr, representing Section 16 and Sanef, said the media should not be compelled to give up its sources at such an early stage as there was no guarantee that the case will proceed to trial. "We all know what happens in the preparation to trial. There's a prospect of settlement. There's also a prospect of aspects of the matter being withdrawn. Those we don't know with any certainty," she said, adding that compelling the media to give up its sources would have a material, negative and chilling impact on the free flow of information to the public.
M&G editor-in-chief Nic Dawes said the newspaper's ability to protect the identity of confidential sources is crucial to its ability to expose corruption and other serious wrongdoing. "That makes this case a particularly important test of the constitutional protections afforded the press," he said. He added: "Bosasa's attempt to discover who our sources are has nothing to do with their rights and everything to do with their efforts to staunch the flow of damaging news about the way they do business."
The case continues on Tuesday.
Source: Mail & Guardian
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Hijacker bail fraud outrage
The Justice Department has been urged to investigate how a dangerous crime suspect being held for hijacking three cars managed to slip out of jail using a fraudulent bail certificate. Police yesterday confirmed that a warrant of arrest has been issued for Innocent Phumlani Dlamini, 21, who, according to court records, was granted bail of R3 000 on December 22, 2009. However, Dlamini appeared in court on December 14, his case was adjourned for trial on January 22.
The Justice Department has been urged to investigate how a dangerous crime suspect being held for hijacking three cars managed to slip out of jail using a fraudulent bail certificate. One of his victims, says she has lost faith in the justice system."I was shocked. How could he have gotten bail when he had been remanded and was due to appear in court this week? My faith in the entire judicial system came crashing down after waiting almost a year to get a court date finalised."
A source has confirmed to the Sunday Tribune that the suspect appeared in U regional court on October 7 last year and again on December 14 when his trial was set down for January 20 to 22. He was remanded in custody at Westville Prison to stand trial on five counts of robbery with aggravating circumstances. However, according to the J7 form, which is the warrant of detention, the suspect was granted bail in U court on December 22. Warrants of detention are usually filled out by the court orderly, who is a police official. They are then signed by the magistrate. The source said the suspect should not have been called to court on December 22, and according to the charge sheet, he was not. The charge sheet does not reflect an appearance in any court on that day.
The source confirmed that the U court, where the suspect was allegedly granted bail, was closed for the day and the magistrate, Anand Maharaj, denies it is his signature on the form. Dianne Kohler Barnard, MP and DA shadow minister of police, said, "This country's criminal justice system is almost beyond repair. At the root of much of the problem is corruption shown, for example, by the continuous increase in missing police case dockets, the number of which has increased every year since 2003, and totals more than 2 500 since then. "By all accounts this man is a serial criminal, yet he played the system like a maestro. Good cops put their lives on the line apprehending suspected criminals like this, and for him to be out on the streets again is unconscionable. "Yet it's their colleagues and the officials they work with on a daily basis who have allowed him to stroll out."
Justice spokesman Tlali Tlali said officials would investigate to establish if this was "an isolated incident or a phenomenon". KwaZulu-Natal's state attorney Krish Govender said it would be wrong to assume that forged bail applications were a trend, but said the matter deserved urgent investigation. "This is the first time I am hearing of such a case in KZN. I'm sure the Department of Justice will pursue this matter with vigour."
Source: IoL
The Justice Department has been urged to investigate how a dangerous crime suspect being held for hijacking three cars managed to slip out of jail using a fraudulent bail certificate. One of his victims, says she has lost faith in the justice system."I was shocked. How could he have gotten bail when he had been remanded and was due to appear in court this week? My faith in the entire judicial system came crashing down after waiting almost a year to get a court date finalised."
A source has confirmed to the Sunday Tribune that the suspect appeared in U regional court on October 7 last year and again on December 14 when his trial was set down for January 20 to 22. He was remanded in custody at Westville Prison to stand trial on five counts of robbery with aggravating circumstances. However, according to the J7 form, which is the warrant of detention, the suspect was granted bail in U court on December 22. Warrants of detention are usually filled out by the court orderly, who is a police official. They are then signed by the magistrate. The source said the suspect should not have been called to court on December 22, and according to the charge sheet, he was not. The charge sheet does not reflect an appearance in any court on that day.
The source confirmed that the U court, where the suspect was allegedly granted bail, was closed for the day and the magistrate, Anand Maharaj, denies it is his signature on the form. Dianne Kohler Barnard, MP and DA shadow minister of police, said, "This country's criminal justice system is almost beyond repair. At the root of much of the problem is corruption shown, for example, by the continuous increase in missing police case dockets, the number of which has increased every year since 2003, and totals more than 2 500 since then. "By all accounts this man is a serial criminal, yet he played the system like a maestro. Good cops put their lives on the line apprehending suspected criminals like this, and for him to be out on the streets again is unconscionable. "Yet it's their colleagues and the officials they work with on a daily basis who have allowed him to stroll out."
Justice spokesman Tlali Tlali said officials would investigate to establish if this was "an isolated incident or a phenomenon". KwaZulu-Natal's state attorney Krish Govender said it would be wrong to assume that forged bail applications were a trend, but said the matter deserved urgent investigation. "This is the first time I am hearing of such a case in KZN. I'm sure the Department of Justice will pursue this matter with vigour."
Source: IoL
Friday, November 20, 2009
Prisons graft: Bosasa's empire of influence
The company at the centre of South Africa’s prison corruption scandal is closely connected to powerful individuals on the political landscape, including the country’s new spy boss, Gibson Njenje. A number of them were also close to Thabo Mbeki’s presidency.
Bosasa Operations, exposed this week in Parliament for allegedly bribing top prison officials to secure contracts worth more than R1,7-billion, makes a killing from government business. This includes work for the departments of correctional services, justice, home affairs, transport and the provincial governments of Gauteng and the Eastern Cape. Bosasa’s chief executive, Gavin Watson, has close links with the governing ANC through his family’s anti-apartheid struggle credentials and his brothers’ post-1994 business interests. Njenje is a founding member of Bosasa Operations and was a director of the company before being appointed head of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) in October.
A number of people benefiting from Bosasa contracts or linked to Watson and his family had links to Mbeki’s office, including the ex-president’s political adviser, Titus Mafolo, and Mbeki’s head of office, Lorato Phalatse, who is married to former Strategic Fuel Fund chairperson Seth Phalatse. Watson’s brother, Valence, is the chief executive of Vulisango Holdings, the empowerment partner of controversial mining firm Simmer & Jack. Valence Watson’s business partners include Nozuko Pikoli, the wife of axed prosecutions boss Vusi Pikoli, and Siviwe Mapisa, the brother of Correctional Services Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula.
Mapisa-Nqakula told the M&G this week that she knows Gavin Watson. “Mr Watson is a former CEO of Dyambu Holdings, a company the minister was formerly affiliated to. Mr Watson resigned from Dyambu and went on to form Bosasa. The minister has had no contact with him since then.” According to the minister, she has “no relationship with Bosasa nor has she benefited from the operations of Bosasa”. She is “not aware of any relationships members of her family may have” with Bosasa. The M&G can reveal that Bosasa is seeking to interdict the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) and President Jacob Zuma from continuing its investigation into tender rigging.
In its frantic efforts to halt the SIU’s graft probe -- which could lead to both civil and criminal charges -- Bosasa claims that the SIU leaked sensitive information to the Mail & Guardian that resulted in a “trial by press”. Bosasa is referring to a series of M&G exposés of collusion between Bosasa and senior correctional services officials, including former prisons’ boss Linda Mti and the department’s former chief financial officer, Patrick Gilllingham. Zuma’s involvement in the case stems from Mbeki’s authorisation, as president, of the SIU probe into Bosasa. The SIU and Zuma are defending the matter.
The Bosasa group has benefited from prison tenders worth more than R3-billion since 2004. SIU head Willie Hofmeyr shocked Parliament with sordid tales of corruption inside South Africa’s prisons, disclosing details about how Bosasa put the likes of Gillingham and Mti firmly in its pocket. Hofmeyr’s briefing also raised uncomfortable questions about why Mapisa-Nqakula has been sitting on the SIU report from at least mid-September. It is the duty of the minister -- Mapisa-Nqakula -- or of the acting prisons commissioner, Jenny Schreiner, to launch a civil claim against Bosasa. Hofmeyr said on Tuesday: “It is a matter that justifies the institution of legal proceedings by the department to recover damages from the company.”
Mapisa-Nqakula, who was appointed by Zuma in May to head the prisons department, originally said she had to present the SIU report to Cabinet before releasing it. Her spokesperson, Sonwabo Mbananga, later told the M&G that this release was on hold because of Bosasa’s pending legal action against the SIU. The M&G now has access to the court papers filed by Bosasa against the SIU. Nowhere does it seek to interdict the SIU or Zuma from releasing the final report. Instead the applications focus on the alleged tainting of the probe due to media leaks.
Approached again after Hofmeyr’s explosive briefing to Parliament, Mbananga remained adamant: the minister would still not release the report because the SIU has referred it to the National Prosecuting Authority “and therefore the contents ... are sub judice”. Bosasa’s spokesperson, Papa Leshabane, denied the corruption claims, labelling Hofmeyr’s briefing as “speculative, arrived at without hearing Bosasa, are disputed and will be dealt with in the appropriate forum”. Bosasa also disputes the way in which Hofmeyr dealt with the matter at Parliament. According to Leshabane, their attorneys have advised them that Hofmeyr went beyond the powers of the SIU, acted unlawfully and breached Bosasa’s constitutional rights.
Although Hofmeyr evidently referred to Bosasa, Mti and Gillingham in his briefing, he didn’t name them, citing pending legal action against his unit. Hofmeyr’s presentation this week vindicated the M&G’s revelations in February that Bosasa had access to tender documents before they were publicly advertised. Bosasa is demanding R500 000 from the M&G for referring to a “corrupt relationship” between the group and the department of correctional services.
Bosasa’s strategy to avoid penalties is two-pronged. First, it is pursuing an application for an interdict preventing the SIU from continuing its investigation until the court has made a final decision. The application is brought by Bosasa Operations, the company’s operations coordinator Angelo Agrizzi, financial coordinator Andries van Tonder, buyer Frans Vorster and Watson. The four men were given notices by the SIU to provide certain documentation during interrogation by the unit.
The applicants claim that the SIU’s probe is tainted because of alleged media leaks and the handling of a seizure operation at Bosasa’s premises. In reply the SIU denies leaking information to the M&G and accuses Bosasa of activating a “data deletion utility” on Bosasa’s servers shortly before the SIU arrived.
In the second court action the plaintiffs ask the court for a permanent order against the SIU, “declaring the entire process of the first defendant’s (SIU) investigations into the plaintiffs to be fundamentally tainted”. Hofmeyr’s presentation brought into sharp focus again Bosasa’s astonishing success in winning government tenders. Even after 2007, when it became publicly known that Bosasa was under investigation for tender rigging, the group continued to secure lucrative contracts from the justice department and the Eastern Cape.
The group’s most recent tender is a R3,9-billion contract awarded by the Eastern Cape to Phakisa Fleet Solution, a Bosasa company, to manage the provincial fleet of vehicles. At the time when the Bosasa group was awarded its first major prisons contract for catering in 2004, the company was owned by Watson’s family trust (26%), Bosasa directors Carol Mkele (33,3%) and Joe Gumede (18,5%), and the Bosasa Employees Trust (22,2%). Between 2004 and 2006 three companies in the group -- Bosasa Operations, Sondolo IT and Phezulu Fencing -- were awarded six tenders by the prisons department at the value of R1,8-billion.
The SIU’s probe focused on four tenders: a catering tender for R717-million over three years; an access control tender at R237-million; a fencing contract for R587-million, and a tender for TV systems in prisons at a cost of R224-million. Hofmeyr’s probe found that in almost all cases Bosasa was involved in the drafting of tender specifications and that procurement policies were severely discounted.
Former correctional services chief Linda Mti is a Teflon man. Though he has been involved in numerous controversies and charges, he has never been censured, writes Adriaan Basson. Despite being arrested for drunk driving on at least three occasions and being convicted twice, he still heads security for the 2010 World Cup local organising committee (LOC) with no hint of any action against him.
Hofmeyr’s briefing to Parliament this week adds weight to the suspicion that Mti received more than free air tickets and hotel accommodation from Bosasa, as reported by the M&G in February. Hofmeyr, though not naming Mti directly, told how Bosasa paid architects to design Mti’s house in the luxury Savannah Hills Estate in Midrand. The only concrete penalty Mti has faced to date is the confiscation of his driver’s licence for six months and a R20 000 fine or two months’ imprisonment in his home town, Port Elizabeth, last month. Mti pleaded guilty to drunk driving and paid the fine. In 1992 Mti was also convicted of drunk driving in Port Elizabeth. He was sentenced to two months in prison with the option of a R400 fine. Mti paid the fine. Two years later he was appointed a member of Parliament for the ANC and shortly after that as the country’s national intelligence coordinator.
In 2006 Mti was again arrested on suspicion of driving drunk, this time in Johannesburg. He was acquitted in 2008. At the same time Beeld revealed that he had a business relationship with Bosasa’s company secretary, Tony Perry. Mti was not reprimanded, but he was redeployed from the prisons department to the 2010 LOC to head security. Last month’s conviction after his guilty plea to drunk driving related to a car crash in Port Elizabeth in 2005. He also received a six-month sentence suspended for five years. The LOC has since responded that they still trust him. Mti declined to comment and said the M&G should refer inquiries to the Special Investigating Unit.
Suspended senior prisons official Patrick Gillingham’s opulent lifestyle, allegedly partly bankrolled by Bosasa, was laid bare this week in Parliament. The former finance chief of the prisons department was presented as a main beneficiary in the irregular awarding of lucrative tenders. The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) claims that he was handsomely rewarded for his loyalty to the company. The “at least” R2.1-million of kickbacks allegedly paid to Gillingham included cars for him and his children, rugby tickets at Loftus Versfeld, an overseas trip for his daughter and a house in an exclusive Midrand estate. Court papers before the North Gauteng High Court also mention the cars for his children, but Gillingham’s lawyer Ian Small-Smith this week denied his client’s guilt. “It is factually incorrect to allege that Bosasa Operations and/or any company in the Bosasa group purchased the vehicles in question. Upon proper investigations it would be revealed that not Bosasa Operations, or any company in the Bosasa group, had anything to do with the purchase of the vehicles.” Gillingham does not have a tertiary qualification.
Beeld reported in 2006 that he was managing the department’s budget of more than R9-million a year with only a matric certificate. After school Gillingham joined the prisons service as a warder. His personal and professional lives soon converged when he married the daughter of a senior prisons official in the apartheid regime.
Gillingham’s career in correctional services bloomed. He quickly rose through the ranks to become functional services director and later KwaZulu-Natal’s commissioner, before being promoted to the chief financial officer position. In 2007 it seems Gillingham was becoming a liaibility. He was moved to the position of regional commissioner for Limpopo, Mpumalanga and North West -- a move perceived as a demotion and linked to his involvement in the Bosasa saga that was starting to hit the headlines. In September last year he was suspended by former prisons boss Vernie Petersen after he [Petersen] was presented by the SIU with a draft report of its findings.
Gillingham has been on paid leave ever since. During his tenure as chief financial officer, Gillingham was a confidant of both prisons boss Linda Mti and his minister Ngconde Balfour.
Source: Mail & Guardian
Bosasa Operations, exposed this week in Parliament for allegedly bribing top prison officials to secure contracts worth more than R1,7-billion, makes a killing from government business. This includes work for the departments of correctional services, justice, home affairs, transport and the provincial governments of Gauteng and the Eastern Cape. Bosasa’s chief executive, Gavin Watson, has close links with the governing ANC through his family’s anti-apartheid struggle credentials and his brothers’ post-1994 business interests. Njenje is a founding member of Bosasa Operations and was a director of the company before being appointed head of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) in October.
A number of people benefiting from Bosasa contracts or linked to Watson and his family had links to Mbeki’s office, including the ex-president’s political adviser, Titus Mafolo, and Mbeki’s head of office, Lorato Phalatse, who is married to former Strategic Fuel Fund chairperson Seth Phalatse. Watson’s brother, Valence, is the chief executive of Vulisango Holdings, the empowerment partner of controversial mining firm Simmer & Jack. Valence Watson’s business partners include Nozuko Pikoli, the wife of axed prosecutions boss Vusi Pikoli, and Siviwe Mapisa, the brother of Correctional Services Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula.
Mapisa-Nqakula told the M&G this week that she knows Gavin Watson. “Mr Watson is a former CEO of Dyambu Holdings, a company the minister was formerly affiliated to. Mr Watson resigned from Dyambu and went on to form Bosasa. The minister has had no contact with him since then.” According to the minister, she has “no relationship with Bosasa nor has she benefited from the operations of Bosasa”. She is “not aware of any relationships members of her family may have” with Bosasa. The M&G can reveal that Bosasa is seeking to interdict the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) and President Jacob Zuma from continuing its investigation into tender rigging.
In its frantic efforts to halt the SIU’s graft probe -- which could lead to both civil and criminal charges -- Bosasa claims that the SIU leaked sensitive information to the Mail & Guardian that resulted in a “trial by press”. Bosasa is referring to a series of M&G exposés of collusion between Bosasa and senior correctional services officials, including former prisons’ boss Linda Mti and the department’s former chief financial officer, Patrick Gilllingham. Zuma’s involvement in the case stems from Mbeki’s authorisation, as president, of the SIU probe into Bosasa. The SIU and Zuma are defending the matter.
The Bosasa group has benefited from prison tenders worth more than R3-billion since 2004. SIU head Willie Hofmeyr shocked Parliament with sordid tales of corruption inside South Africa’s prisons, disclosing details about how Bosasa put the likes of Gillingham and Mti firmly in its pocket. Hofmeyr’s briefing also raised uncomfortable questions about why Mapisa-Nqakula has been sitting on the SIU report from at least mid-September. It is the duty of the minister -- Mapisa-Nqakula -- or of the acting prisons commissioner, Jenny Schreiner, to launch a civil claim against Bosasa. Hofmeyr said on Tuesday: “It is a matter that justifies the institution of legal proceedings by the department to recover damages from the company.”
Mapisa-Nqakula, who was appointed by Zuma in May to head the prisons department, originally said she had to present the SIU report to Cabinet before releasing it. Her spokesperson, Sonwabo Mbananga, later told the M&G that this release was on hold because of Bosasa’s pending legal action against the SIU. The M&G now has access to the court papers filed by Bosasa against the SIU. Nowhere does it seek to interdict the SIU or Zuma from releasing the final report. Instead the applications focus on the alleged tainting of the probe due to media leaks.
Approached again after Hofmeyr’s explosive briefing to Parliament, Mbananga remained adamant: the minister would still not release the report because the SIU has referred it to the National Prosecuting Authority “and therefore the contents ... are sub judice”. Bosasa’s spokesperson, Papa Leshabane, denied the corruption claims, labelling Hofmeyr’s briefing as “speculative, arrived at without hearing Bosasa, are disputed and will be dealt with in the appropriate forum”. Bosasa also disputes the way in which Hofmeyr dealt with the matter at Parliament. According to Leshabane, their attorneys have advised them that Hofmeyr went beyond the powers of the SIU, acted unlawfully and breached Bosasa’s constitutional rights.
Although Hofmeyr evidently referred to Bosasa, Mti and Gillingham in his briefing, he didn’t name them, citing pending legal action against his unit. Hofmeyr’s presentation this week vindicated the M&G’s revelations in February that Bosasa had access to tender documents before they were publicly advertised. Bosasa is demanding R500 000 from the M&G for referring to a “corrupt relationship” between the group and the department of correctional services.
Bosasa’s strategy to avoid penalties is two-pronged. First, it is pursuing an application for an interdict preventing the SIU from continuing its investigation until the court has made a final decision. The application is brought by Bosasa Operations, the company’s operations coordinator Angelo Agrizzi, financial coordinator Andries van Tonder, buyer Frans Vorster and Watson. The four men were given notices by the SIU to provide certain documentation during interrogation by the unit.
The applicants claim that the SIU’s probe is tainted because of alleged media leaks and the handling of a seizure operation at Bosasa’s premises. In reply the SIU denies leaking information to the M&G and accuses Bosasa of activating a “data deletion utility” on Bosasa’s servers shortly before the SIU arrived.
In the second court action the plaintiffs ask the court for a permanent order against the SIU, “declaring the entire process of the first defendant’s (SIU) investigations into the plaintiffs to be fundamentally tainted”. Hofmeyr’s presentation brought into sharp focus again Bosasa’s astonishing success in winning government tenders. Even after 2007, when it became publicly known that Bosasa was under investigation for tender rigging, the group continued to secure lucrative contracts from the justice department and the Eastern Cape.
The group’s most recent tender is a R3,9-billion contract awarded by the Eastern Cape to Phakisa Fleet Solution, a Bosasa company, to manage the provincial fleet of vehicles. At the time when the Bosasa group was awarded its first major prisons contract for catering in 2004, the company was owned by Watson’s family trust (26%), Bosasa directors Carol Mkele (33,3%) and Joe Gumede (18,5%), and the Bosasa Employees Trust (22,2%). Between 2004 and 2006 three companies in the group -- Bosasa Operations, Sondolo IT and Phezulu Fencing -- were awarded six tenders by the prisons department at the value of R1,8-billion.
The SIU’s probe focused on four tenders: a catering tender for R717-million over three years; an access control tender at R237-million; a fencing contract for R587-million, and a tender for TV systems in prisons at a cost of R224-million. Hofmeyr’s probe found that in almost all cases Bosasa was involved in the drafting of tender specifications and that procurement policies were severely discounted.
Former correctional services chief Linda Mti is a Teflon man. Though he has been involved in numerous controversies and charges, he has never been censured, writes Adriaan Basson. Despite being arrested for drunk driving on at least three occasions and being convicted twice, he still heads security for the 2010 World Cup local organising committee (LOC) with no hint of any action against him.
Hofmeyr’s briefing to Parliament this week adds weight to the suspicion that Mti received more than free air tickets and hotel accommodation from Bosasa, as reported by the M&G in February. Hofmeyr, though not naming Mti directly, told how Bosasa paid architects to design Mti’s house in the luxury Savannah Hills Estate in Midrand. The only concrete penalty Mti has faced to date is the confiscation of his driver’s licence for six months and a R20 000 fine or two months’ imprisonment in his home town, Port Elizabeth, last month. Mti pleaded guilty to drunk driving and paid the fine. In 1992 Mti was also convicted of drunk driving in Port Elizabeth. He was sentenced to two months in prison with the option of a R400 fine. Mti paid the fine. Two years later he was appointed a member of Parliament for the ANC and shortly after that as the country’s national intelligence coordinator.
In 2006 Mti was again arrested on suspicion of driving drunk, this time in Johannesburg. He was acquitted in 2008. At the same time Beeld revealed that he had a business relationship with Bosasa’s company secretary, Tony Perry. Mti was not reprimanded, but he was redeployed from the prisons department to the 2010 LOC to head security. Last month’s conviction after his guilty plea to drunk driving related to a car crash in Port Elizabeth in 2005. He also received a six-month sentence suspended for five years. The LOC has since responded that they still trust him. Mti declined to comment and said the M&G should refer inquiries to the Special Investigating Unit.
Suspended senior prisons official Patrick Gillingham’s opulent lifestyle, allegedly partly bankrolled by Bosasa, was laid bare this week in Parliament. The former finance chief of the prisons department was presented as a main beneficiary in the irregular awarding of lucrative tenders. The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) claims that he was handsomely rewarded for his loyalty to the company. The “at least” R2.1-million of kickbacks allegedly paid to Gillingham included cars for him and his children, rugby tickets at Loftus Versfeld, an overseas trip for his daughter and a house in an exclusive Midrand estate. Court papers before the North Gauteng High Court also mention the cars for his children, but Gillingham’s lawyer Ian Small-Smith this week denied his client’s guilt. “It is factually incorrect to allege that Bosasa Operations and/or any company in the Bosasa group purchased the vehicles in question. Upon proper investigations it would be revealed that not Bosasa Operations, or any company in the Bosasa group, had anything to do with the purchase of the vehicles.” Gillingham does not have a tertiary qualification.
Beeld reported in 2006 that he was managing the department’s budget of more than R9-million a year with only a matric certificate. After school Gillingham joined the prisons service as a warder. His personal and professional lives soon converged when he married the daughter of a senior prisons official in the apartheid regime.
Gillingham’s career in correctional services bloomed. He quickly rose through the ranks to become functional services director and later KwaZulu-Natal’s commissioner, before being promoted to the chief financial officer position. In 2007 it seems Gillingham was becoming a liaibility. He was moved to the position of regional commissioner for Limpopo, Mpumalanga and North West -- a move perceived as a demotion and linked to his involvement in the Bosasa saga that was starting to hit the headlines. In September last year he was suspended by former prisons boss Vernie Petersen after he [Petersen] was presented by the SIU with a draft report of its findings.
Gillingham has been on paid leave ever since. During his tenure as chief financial officer, Gillingham was a confidant of both prisons boss Linda Mti and his minister Ngconde Balfour.
Source: Mail & Guardian
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Prisons chief finance officer cleared of wrongdoing
The acting chief financial officer of Correctional Services, Nandi Mareka, has been cleared of wrongdoing after being suspended alongside national commissioner Xoliswa Sibeko, the ministry said on Tuesday. Sibeko is still facing disciplinary action.
The two senior correctional services officials were suspended in July over allegations related to the renting of accommodation for senior executives with "exorbitant cost" to the taxpayer. "Ms Nandi Mareka was found not to have been involved in any wrongdoing in the rented housing matter and was therefore cleared," the department said in a statement.
However, Sibeko was still facing disciplinary proceedings. "A process of engagement was initiated by the Department of Public Service and Administration. Following this process, Minister Richard Baloyi then decided to initiate disciplinary proceedings against the suspended national commissioner. The national commissioner shall remain on suspension until the matter is finalised."
A team of Correctional Services officials who investigated the allegations recommended that Mareka return to work as soon as possible. It was alleged that Sibeko and her Gauteng counterpart Thozama Mqobi-Balfour were renting properties in Pretoria's Woodhill golf estate at a cost of R30 000 a month. The rentals were being used while official residences remained empty.
Source: IoL
The two senior correctional services officials were suspended in July over allegations related to the renting of accommodation for senior executives with "exorbitant cost" to the taxpayer. "Ms Nandi Mareka was found not to have been involved in any wrongdoing in the rented housing matter and was therefore cleared," the department said in a statement.
However, Sibeko was still facing disciplinary proceedings. "A process of engagement was initiated by the Department of Public Service and Administration. Following this process, Minister Richard Baloyi then decided to initiate disciplinary proceedings against the suspended national commissioner. The national commissioner shall remain on suspension until the matter is finalised."
A team of Correctional Services officials who investigated the allegations recommended that Mareka return to work as soon as possible. It was alleged that Sibeko and her Gauteng counterpart Thozama Mqobi-Balfour were renting properties in Pretoria's Woodhill golf estate at a cost of R30 000 a month. The rentals were being used while official residences remained empty.
Source: IoL
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Serial killer found hanging by a sheet
Recently convicted Modimolle serial killer David Randitsheni, 45, has committed suicide, said Limpopo police on Monday. Captain Mashudu Malelo said Randitsheni was found hanging by a sheet from a window frame in the Thohoyandou prison on Sunday. An inquest docket was opened.
Randitsheni was serving 16 life sentences and 220 years after he was sentenced in the Modimolle Circuit Court three weeks ago. Randitsheni was convicted on 10 counts of murder, 17 counts of rape, one count of indecent assault and 18 counts of kidnapping. He had raped and killed a number of children and one adult in the Modimolle area between 2004 and 2008. He was arrested on May 16, 2008 after an intensive police investigation during which over 550 DNA samples were tested before a police forensic expert identified the suspect.
Source: IoL
Randitsheni was serving 16 life sentences and 220 years after he was sentenced in the Modimolle Circuit Court three weeks ago. Randitsheni was convicted on 10 counts of murder, 17 counts of rape, one count of indecent assault and 18 counts of kidnapping. He had raped and killed a number of children and one adult in the Modimolle area between 2004 and 2008. He was arrested on May 16, 2008 after an intensive police investigation during which over 550 DNA samples were tested before a police forensic expert identified the suspect.
Source: IoL
Monday, August 24, 2009
Minister to decide on Nofemela parole
The High Court in Pretoria on Monday gave Correctional Services Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula 10 days to decide whether Almond Nofemela should be released on parole, his lawyer said. "The minister must either say yes or no," said attorney Julian Knight who is representing Nofemela. The former apartheid era policeman was on death row when his expose of apartheid hit squads gave him a reprieve. However, he still had to serve a life sentence for the murder of Johannes Lourens on his farm near Brits.
In terms of section 136(3) of the Correctional Services Act, any person sentenced to life in prison before October 1, 2004, is entitled to be considered for parole after serving at least 20 years of the sentence. After 21 years behind bars, his case was submitted to the National Council of Correctional Services for consideration and parole was recommended. Earlier, the department said that the minister was considering the matter, but Knight said that Nofemela's attempt at parole has taken at least two years so far and that he just wanted an answer.
Source: IoL
In terms of section 136(3) of the Correctional Services Act, any person sentenced to life in prison before October 1, 2004, is entitled to be considered for parole after serving at least 20 years of the sentence. After 21 years behind bars, his case was submitted to the National Council of Correctional Services for consideration and parole was recommended. Earlier, the department said that the minister was considering the matter, but Knight said that Nofemela's attempt at parole has taken at least two years so far and that he just wanted an answer.
Source: IoL
Friday, August 21, 2009
Warders take inmate home to drink coffee
TWO prison warders have been accused of driving a convicted criminal to his home for coffee instead of taking him back to his cell after a court appearance. Christopher “Gielie” Willemse, who is doing time in Krugersdorp Prison for assault, had to testify in the Johannesburg magistrate’s court on Tuesday.
Andries Mpondo and Godfrey Ntshenkong handcuffed Willemse and took him to court from prison. But instead of returning him to prison the warders drove to Willemse’ s home in Claremont, west of Johannesburg. Once there, they allegedly allowed Willemse, who is also on trial facing murder and drug charges, to relax with his family while they drank coffee.
But none of them knew that South Africa’s top cop, Piet Byleveld, had tailed them from court. They got a rude awakening when Byleveld and his team invited themselves into the house. “We got a tip-off and decided to follow them from court. When we arrived at the house we found him relaxing with his family,” Byleveld said. “We arrested the two officers on the spot.”
The two appeared in the Johannesburg magistrate’s court yesterday on charges of defeating the ends of justice.
Source: The Sowetan
Andries Mpondo and Godfrey Ntshenkong handcuffed Willemse and took him to court from prison. But instead of returning him to prison the warders drove to Willemse’ s home in Claremont, west of Johannesburg. Once there, they allegedly allowed Willemse, who is also on trial facing murder and drug charges, to relax with his family while they drank coffee.
But none of them knew that South Africa’s top cop, Piet Byleveld, had tailed them from court. They got a rude awakening when Byleveld and his team invited themselves into the house. “We got a tip-off and decided to follow them from court. When we arrived at the house we found him relaxing with his family,” Byleveld said. “We arrested the two officers on the spot.”
The two appeared in the Johannesburg magistrate’s court yesterday on charges of defeating the ends of justice.
Source: The Sowetan
Friday, May 22, 2009
'Very brave for a young man'
On a Sunday evening in February I was phoned by a woman with a raspy voice who told me she knew where I lived. The woman, later identified as communication strategist Benedicta Dube, also knew where and what I had studied, where I was born, what my ID number was and she read to me the names of some of my friends and their professions.
During our conversation of almost 18 minutes Dube also threw in lines such as: “You are very brave for a young man” and said she would “kill” me if I told anyone about our conversation. Her call came after I exposed in the Mail & Guardian over a period of three weeks the corrupt relationship between facilities management company Bosasa and the Department of Correctional Services. Dube posed as sympathetic -- she warned me Bosasa had commissioned a private investigator to do a report on me and offered to meet me to discuss the “bigger” issues behind the story.
I was sceptical -- she spent most of our conversation talking about my personal details “because I want to be sure I’m talking to the right person”. My suspicions were confirmed by an inside source, who told me Dube had been briefed on me by Bosasa executives since at least August 2008 (I’ve been investigating the company since early 2006). A strategy to discredit the M&G and me was discussed.
My attempts to secure a meeting with her have proved futile. I am convinced her motives were never to caution, but rather to intimidate The M&G’s lawyer wrote to Bosasa and Igagu Media (where Dube is “group executive: media and publishing”) on May 6, demanding an immediate return of all my personal information in their possession. Bosasa’s lawyer denied the company had acted in an “unlawful manner as alleged or at all” and said Dube's information “falls within the public domain”. Igagu Media did not respond. Dube claims she doesn't recall our conversation and that she doesn't work for Igagu anymore. She accused the M&G of “blackmail journalism”.
Adriaan Basson
Source: Mail & Guardian
During our conversation of almost 18 minutes Dube also threw in lines such as: “You are very brave for a young man” and said she would “kill” me if I told anyone about our conversation. Her call came after I exposed in the Mail & Guardian over a period of three weeks the corrupt relationship between facilities management company Bosasa and the Department of Correctional Services. Dube posed as sympathetic -- she warned me Bosasa had commissioned a private investigator to do a report on me and offered to meet me to discuss the “bigger” issues behind the story.
I was sceptical -- she spent most of our conversation talking about my personal details “because I want to be sure I’m talking to the right person”. My suspicions were confirmed by an inside source, who told me Dube had been briefed on me by Bosasa executives since at least August 2008 (I’ve been investigating the company since early 2006). A strategy to discredit the M&G and me was discussed.
My attempts to secure a meeting with her have proved futile. I am convinced her motives were never to caution, but rather to intimidate The M&G’s lawyer wrote to Bosasa and Igagu Media (where Dube is “group executive: media and publishing”) on May 6, demanding an immediate return of all my personal information in their possession. Bosasa’s lawyer denied the company had acted in an “unlawful manner as alleged or at all” and said Dube's information “falls within the public domain”. Igagu Media did not respond. Dube claims she doesn't recall our conversation and that she doesn't work for Igagu anymore. She accused the M&G of “blackmail journalism”.
Adriaan Basson
Source: Mail & Guardian
Friday, February 6, 2009
Linda Mti's Bosasa bonanza
Controversial facilities management group Bosasa lavished flights and luxury hotel stays on former prisons boss Linda Mti -- while it landed prisons contracts worth more than R1-billion. The mutually beneficial relationship between Bosasa and Mti, now head of security for the 2010 Local Organising Committee, is laid bare by travel records in the Mail & Guardian’s possession.
They show that Bosasa:
* Sponsored the domestic air fare of Mti and his family members on at least five occasions;
* Paid for Mti’s stay at the luxury Hemingways hotel in East London on at least two occasions; and
* Rented premium cars for Mti when he visited East London at least twice.
Mti received these benefits while prisons commissioner. During the last two years of his tenure the group won contracts from the correctional services department worth more than R1-billion. Mti failed to respond to numerous queries, while Bosasa’s lawyer advised the company not to answer the M&G’s questions.
Mti left correctional services under a cloud of suspicion in 2006 after Beeld revealed that Bosasa’s company secretary, Tony Perry, had registered a private company for him. He was subsequently appointed head of security for the Fifa World Cup.
Bosasa’s travel records show that:
* On June 15 2005 Mti flew to East London at Bosasa’s expense and was put up in the four-star Hemingways hotel for four nights. The company also paid for his Avis premium rental car. The trip came shortly after Sondolo IT, 40% owned by Bosasa Operations, won a R237-million contract for the supply and installation of access control systems and CCTV at 66 prisons on April 29 2005.
* On July 25 2005 Bosasa sponsored the return airfare of Mti’s relative, Sehlule Mti, from Johannesburg to Port Elizabeth and back. Three days later Bosasa paid for Mti and then National Intelligence Agency deputy director general Gibson Njenje to fly from Johannesburg to Port Elizabeth.
In December 2005 Bosasa company Phezulu Fencing won a R487-million tender to supply and install security fencing at 66 prisons.
* On March 3 2006 Bosasa sponsored a weekend trip for Mti to East London, where he stayed in the Hemingways hotel’s presidential suite. Bosasa’s travel agent was instructed to rent a seven-seat Mercedes Benz Vito for Mti.
Two weeks later, on March 17 2006, Sondolo IT won a R224-million tender to install TV sets in all prison communal cells.
A day later Bosasa paid for Mti’s son, Vukani, to fly from Johannesburg to Cape Town on a return ticket.
Njenje told the M&G he was Bosasa’s founding non-executive chairman before being headhunted by the NIA. While in the NIA’s employ his travels to Port Elizabeth were covered by Bosasa twice -- on June 10 and July 28 2005.
He told the M&G he saw no problem with Bosasa paying for his travel while he was a state employee. “I was headhunted into a government position while active as a businessman with various interests. All I needed to do to comply with the employment conditions was to resign as an executive director from the companies,” he said.
“My shareholding and all benefits accruing were a matter of declaring and that I did as required. Some of the companies I was a shareholder in had or have relations with Bosasa. My private travel expenses would be one of the benefits that accrued to all the shareholders of the companies I am referring to.
“So, as it were, it was not a matter of Bosasa ‘sponsoring’ my travels, but an arrangement between companies.”
The M&G received three calls this week from “concerned Bosasa employees” who said they were afraid the M&G’s reporting about their employer would cost them their jobs.
Two threatened to organise a protest march on the M&G’s office, accusing the paper of being “racist” and printing “untruths”.
“Who will look after my children if I don’t have a job anymore?” an employee from the East Rand said.
Bosasa spokesperson Papa Leshabane did not return the M&G’s calls on the matter.
Here’s the proof
Annexure A: Confirmation of travel booking for Linda Mti and Gibson Njenje by Bosasa’s travel agent
Annexure B: Email from Bosasa’s operations coordinator Angelo Agrizzi to Bosasa’s travel agent about ‘VIP booking” for Mti
Annexure C: Confirmation of travel and accommodation booking for Mti by Bosasa’s travel agent
Source: Mail & Guardian
They show that Bosasa:
* Sponsored the domestic air fare of Mti and his family members on at least five occasions;
* Paid for Mti’s stay at the luxury Hemingways hotel in East London on at least two occasions; and
* Rented premium cars for Mti when he visited East London at least twice.
Mti received these benefits while prisons commissioner. During the last two years of his tenure the group won contracts from the correctional services department worth more than R1-billion. Mti failed to respond to numerous queries, while Bosasa’s lawyer advised the company not to answer the M&G’s questions.
Mti left correctional services under a cloud of suspicion in 2006 after Beeld revealed that Bosasa’s company secretary, Tony Perry, had registered a private company for him. He was subsequently appointed head of security for the Fifa World Cup.
Bosasa’s travel records show that:
* On June 15 2005 Mti flew to East London at Bosasa’s expense and was put up in the four-star Hemingways hotel for four nights. The company also paid for his Avis premium rental car. The trip came shortly after Sondolo IT, 40% owned by Bosasa Operations, won a R237-million contract for the supply and installation of access control systems and CCTV at 66 prisons on April 29 2005.
* On July 25 2005 Bosasa sponsored the return airfare of Mti’s relative, Sehlule Mti, from Johannesburg to Port Elizabeth and back. Three days later Bosasa paid for Mti and then National Intelligence Agency deputy director general Gibson Njenje to fly from Johannesburg to Port Elizabeth.
In December 2005 Bosasa company Phezulu Fencing won a R487-million tender to supply and install security fencing at 66 prisons.
* On March 3 2006 Bosasa sponsored a weekend trip for Mti to East London, where he stayed in the Hemingways hotel’s presidential suite. Bosasa’s travel agent was instructed to rent a seven-seat Mercedes Benz Vito for Mti.
Two weeks later, on March 17 2006, Sondolo IT won a R224-million tender to install TV sets in all prison communal cells.
A day later Bosasa paid for Mti’s son, Vukani, to fly from Johannesburg to Cape Town on a return ticket.
Njenje told the M&G he was Bosasa’s founding non-executive chairman before being headhunted by the NIA. While in the NIA’s employ his travels to Port Elizabeth were covered by Bosasa twice -- on June 10 and July 28 2005.
He told the M&G he saw no problem with Bosasa paying for his travel while he was a state employee. “I was headhunted into a government position while active as a businessman with various interests. All I needed to do to comply with the employment conditions was to resign as an executive director from the companies,” he said.
“My shareholding and all benefits accruing were a matter of declaring and that I did as required. Some of the companies I was a shareholder in had or have relations with Bosasa. My private travel expenses would be one of the benefits that accrued to all the shareholders of the companies I am referring to.
“So, as it were, it was not a matter of Bosasa ‘sponsoring’ my travels, but an arrangement between companies.”
The M&G received three calls this week from “concerned Bosasa employees” who said they were afraid the M&G’s reporting about their employer would cost them their jobs.
Two threatened to organise a protest march on the M&G’s office, accusing the paper of being “racist” and printing “untruths”.
“Who will look after my children if I don’t have a job anymore?” an employee from the East Rand said.
Bosasa spokesperson Papa Leshabane did not return the M&G’s calls on the matter.
Here’s the proof
Source: Mail & Guardian
Monday, December 8, 2008
Former Vlakplaas agent wants parole
Former Vlakplaas operative Almond Nofemela may soon be a free man. Nofemela turned to the Pretoria High Court in an attempt to be freed following a 21-year stint in jail. He was recommended for parole by the parole board in February.
The recommendation was awaiting the signature of Correctional Services Minister Ngconde Balfour, Nofemela's attorney, Julian Knight, said. "The document has been on Balfour's desk since March and he has done nothing about it. I wrote to ask him to make up his mind, not to place Nofemela on parole, but to make a decision to either rubber stamp the approval or refuse it," he said. Nofemela went to court in an urgent bid to get answers. Correctional Services, represented by a senior and a junior advocate, asked for a two-week postponement, as the department was not ready to go ahead. The matter was eventually postponed for a week, and on Friday the minister agreed to consider Nofemela's placement on parole. The agreement was made an order of court by Judge Eberhard Bertelsmann. Knight said if the minister refused Nofomela parole, he would go to the Constitutional Court.
On the eve of his intended execution in the 1980s for the non-political killing of a Skeerpoort farmer, Nofemela spilled the beans on the security police hit squad operating from the Vlakplaas base. His death sentence was later commuted to a life sentence.
The recommendation was awaiting the signature of Correctional Services Minister Ngconde Balfour, Nofemela's attorney, Julian Knight, said. "The document has been on Balfour's desk since March and he has done nothing about it. I wrote to ask him to make up his mind, not to place Nofemela on parole, but to make a decision to either rubber stamp the approval or refuse it," he said. Nofemela went to court in an urgent bid to get answers. Correctional Services, represented by a senior and a junior advocate, asked for a two-week postponement, as the department was not ready to go ahead. The matter was eventually postponed for a week, and on Friday the minister agreed to consider Nofemela's placement on parole. The agreement was made an order of court by Judge Eberhard Bertelsmann. Knight said if the minister refused Nofomela parole, he would go to the Constitutional Court.
On the eve of his intended execution in the 1980s for the non-political killing of a Skeerpoort farmer, Nofemela spilled the beans on the security police hit squad operating from the Vlakplaas base. His death sentence was later commuted to a life sentence.
Friday, November 14, 2008
Hit squad whistleblower still in jail
The man who exposed the apartheid security force hit squads is trying to get out of jail - but Minister of Correctional Services Ngconde Balfour is ignoring him. Butana Almond Nofemela is in Pretoria Central Prison and has spent 21 years behind bars for a non-politically related murder. His request for parole was approved months ago and the documents were sent to Balfour, as legally required, in March.
Balfour has still not made a decision, Nofemela said in papers filed with the Pretoria High Court, citing the minister. Correctional Services is opposing Nofemela's application, although the court action is a demand for a decision from Balfour, not for parole." The department will defend the case although we have thus far received only a letter of demand," said Correctional Services Ministry spokesperson Manelisi Wolela. He did not respond to requests for further comment. Nofemela has been trying to secure parole for a year. "During November 2007 I was seen by the case management committee of the Pretoria Local Prison, who recommended my placement on parole," Nofemela said in an affidavit supporting his application. The request was then approved by the parole board, then forwarded to the National Council for Correctional Services which is headed by Judge Siraj Desai. The council's recommendation to grant parole was forwarded to Balfour in March, but Balfour had "failed, neglected and/or refused to consider" it, said Nofemela.
Nofemela's lawyer, Julian Knight, wrote to Balfour's office asking for a decision but received no response. Knight said it was "completely unacceptable" that the minister would neglect since March to make a decision, not just for Nofemela but for an unknown number of other parole applicants. "It displays callous disregard for the constitutional rights of prisoners," he said.
Judge Desai confirmed having dealt with Nofemela's case, but would not say what the decision was. It's not known how many other prisoners serving life sentences are also still waiting for decisions by the minister. It's understood that usually the parole board makes the decision, which is then endorsed by the minister. Judge Desai said his 20-member council had met three times this year and dealt with "30 or 40 cases". Another 20 are due to be discussed next month. Once the cases are referred to the minister, the council doesn't see them again as the minister refers his decisions to the department to implement. Judge Desai said there was an increase in parole applications by life-sentence prisoners because the death penalty was abolished about 20 years ago.
Democratic Alliance MP and party spokesperson on correctional services James Selfe said that in terms of the law, an inmate sentenced to life imprisonment could not get parole until he had served at least 25 years, or 15 years if he was over 65 years old. However, he said the act had been amended, which could affect Nofemela's case, or he could have qualified for "special or meritorious remission of sentence. Decisions about releasing inmates on parole should be taken by independent parole boards (or, in serious offenders' cases, by the Parole Review Board) after they have satisfied themselves that the inmate has corrected his behaviour and is rehabilitated," said Selfe. "Such decisions should not be made by any politician, particularly one as inefficient as Ngconde Balfour."
Nofemela was convicted of murder and sentenced to death in September 1987 for the murder of farmer Johannes Hendrik Lourens at Skeerpoort near Brits in September 1986.
In 1989, the night before he was due to be executed, Nofemela got an urgent application to stay the execution when he confessed to being an askari - a turned guerrilla working for the police - involved in a security police hit squad which operated from Vlakplaas near Pretoria. This was the first confirmation of a security force hit squad, and Nofemela's execution was put on hold while his claims were investigated.
Nofemela's story was supported by his former Vlakplaas police commander Captain Dirk Coetzee and fellow askari David Tshikalanga. Their story was also told to the Harms Commission of inquiry into hit squads, which ultimately did not confirm that there were any hit squads. In September 1994 Nofemela's death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment but he remained in jail due to his conviction for Lourens' murder, as this was not politically related but a robbery. Nofemela and Coetzee were later granted amnesty for killing human rights lawyer Griffiths Mxenge in Durban in November 1981. Nofemela was refused amnesty for Lourens' killing.
Last month Clive Derby-Lewis, jailed for killing SACP leader Chris Hani in 1993, brought an application in the Pretoria High Court to demand parole. The matter has been postponed. Derby-Lewis, 72, has been in jail for 15 years and is eligible to apply for parole because of his age.
Source: IoL
Balfour has still not made a decision, Nofemela said in papers filed with the Pretoria High Court, citing the minister. Correctional Services is opposing Nofemela's application, although the court action is a demand for a decision from Balfour, not for parole." The department will defend the case although we have thus far received only a letter of demand," said Correctional Services Ministry spokesperson Manelisi Wolela. He did not respond to requests for further comment. Nofemela has been trying to secure parole for a year. "During November 2007 I was seen by the case management committee of the Pretoria Local Prison, who recommended my placement on parole," Nofemela said in an affidavit supporting his application. The request was then approved by the parole board, then forwarded to the National Council for Correctional Services which is headed by Judge Siraj Desai. The council's recommendation to grant parole was forwarded to Balfour in March, but Balfour had "failed, neglected and/or refused to consider" it, said Nofemela.
Nofemela's lawyer, Julian Knight, wrote to Balfour's office asking for a decision but received no response. Knight said it was "completely unacceptable" that the minister would neglect since March to make a decision, not just for Nofemela but for an unknown number of other parole applicants. "It displays callous disregard for the constitutional rights of prisoners," he said.
Judge Desai confirmed having dealt with Nofemela's case, but would not say what the decision was. It's not known how many other prisoners serving life sentences are also still waiting for decisions by the minister. It's understood that usually the parole board makes the decision, which is then endorsed by the minister. Judge Desai said his 20-member council had met three times this year and dealt with "30 or 40 cases". Another 20 are due to be discussed next month. Once the cases are referred to the minister, the council doesn't see them again as the minister refers his decisions to the department to implement. Judge Desai said there was an increase in parole applications by life-sentence prisoners because the death penalty was abolished about 20 years ago.
Democratic Alliance MP and party spokesperson on correctional services James Selfe said that in terms of the law, an inmate sentenced to life imprisonment could not get parole until he had served at least 25 years, or 15 years if he was over 65 years old. However, he said the act had been amended, which could affect Nofemela's case, or he could have qualified for "special or meritorious remission of sentence. Decisions about releasing inmates on parole should be taken by independent parole boards (or, in serious offenders' cases, by the Parole Review Board) after they have satisfied themselves that the inmate has corrected his behaviour and is rehabilitated," said Selfe. "Such decisions should not be made by any politician, particularly one as inefficient as Ngconde Balfour."
Nofemela was convicted of murder and sentenced to death in September 1987 for the murder of farmer Johannes Hendrik Lourens at Skeerpoort near Brits in September 1986.
In 1989, the night before he was due to be executed, Nofemela got an urgent application to stay the execution when he confessed to being an askari - a turned guerrilla working for the police - involved in a security police hit squad which operated from Vlakplaas near Pretoria. This was the first confirmation of a security force hit squad, and Nofemela's execution was put on hold while his claims were investigated.
Nofemela's story was supported by his former Vlakplaas police commander Captain Dirk Coetzee and fellow askari David Tshikalanga. Their story was also told to the Harms Commission of inquiry into hit squads, which ultimately did not confirm that there were any hit squads. In September 1994 Nofemela's death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment but he remained in jail due to his conviction for Lourens' murder, as this was not politically related but a robbery. Nofemela and Coetzee were later granted amnesty for killing human rights lawyer Griffiths Mxenge in Durban in November 1981. Nofemela was refused amnesty for Lourens' killing.
Last month Clive Derby-Lewis, jailed for killing SACP leader Chris Hani in 1993, brought an application in the Pretoria High Court to demand parole. The matter has been postponed. Derby-Lewis, 72, has been in jail for 15 years and is eligible to apply for parole because of his age.
Source: IoL
Tuesday, May 10, 2005
Inmates appear in court after escape attempt
The trial of three convicted criminals who staged a daring escape attempt in 2004 during a visit by the minister of correctional services was on Monday postponed after the one accused unexpectedly ended the mandate of his lawyer.
Klaas Ndlovu, 32, and Jacob Kgatlane, 29, indicated in August that they would plead guilty. But the Pretoria regional court on Monday had to postpone the case at the last minute after Kgatlane decided to apply for another Legal Aid lawyer. Preparations were ready for their trial to be separated from co-accused Matthews Sithole, 34, who indicated he would plead not guilty.
The men are accused of escaping from C-Max prison in May. In the process they allegedly assaulted prison warder Thomas Malamathso when he refused to open a door for them. They are also accused of assaulting inmate George Mbonani and warder Jacobus Hatting by hitting them with the butt of a firearm.
The three prisoners then allegedly kidnapped warder Johannes Phaladi by dragging him from his office to his vehicle where they apparently stole the car. In addition, they are charged with the illegal possession of a .38 Special calibre Rossi Model revolver and five rounds of ammunition. Sithole was sent to C-Max in November 1998. He was serving a 66-year sentence for murdering a warder at the Venda Prison.
Kgatlane was moved to C-Max in August 2001 due to his involvement in gang unrest at Odi prison. He was serving three years for the illegal possession of a firearm. Ndlovu was in C-Max since October 2002 doing a four-year sentence for escaping from police custody. The case was postponed to May 30.
Source: IoL
Klaas Ndlovu, 32, and Jacob Kgatlane, 29, indicated in August that they would plead guilty. But the Pretoria regional court on Monday had to postpone the case at the last minute after Kgatlane decided to apply for another Legal Aid lawyer. Preparations were ready for their trial to be separated from co-accused Matthews Sithole, 34, who indicated he would plead not guilty.
The men are accused of escaping from C-Max prison in May. In the process they allegedly assaulted prison warder Thomas Malamathso when he refused to open a door for them. They are also accused of assaulting inmate George Mbonani and warder Jacobus Hatting by hitting them with the butt of a firearm.
The three prisoners then allegedly kidnapped warder Johannes Phaladi by dragging him from his office to his vehicle where they apparently stole the car. In addition, they are charged with the illegal possession of a .38 Special calibre Rossi Model revolver and five rounds of ammunition. Sithole was sent to C-Max in November 1998. He was serving a 66-year sentence for murdering a warder at the Venda Prison.
Kgatlane was moved to C-Max in August 2001 due to his involvement in gang unrest at Odi prison. He was serving three years for the illegal possession of a firearm. Ndlovu was in C-Max since October 2002 doing a four-year sentence for escaping from police custody. The case was postponed to May 30.
Source: IoL
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