Political leaders in Nepal on Wednesday voted overwhelmingly to abolish the Himalayan nation's 240-year-old Hindu monarchy and declare a republic. In an historic vote that caps a peace deal between Maoist rebels and mainstream parties, a new constitutional assembly ordered unpopular King Gyanendra to quit his palace within 15 days so it can be turned into a museum. "The sacrifice of thousands of Nepalese has been honoured today by us getting rid of the monarchy," Maoist spokesman Krishna Bahadur Mahara told AFP.
The abolition is a triumph for the ultra-leftists and marks a fresh start for one of the world's poorest countries, still reeling from a civil war that left at least 13,000 people dead. "The Nepalese people have been freed from centuries of feudal tradition, and the doors have now opened for a radical social and economic transformation," Mahara said. Nepal's fiercely-republican Maoists, who fought for 10 years to remove the monarchy and create a secular republic, won the largest single bloc of seats in the assembly in elections last month.
A senior member of the 601-member Constituent Assembly, Kul Bahadur Gurung, said only four lawmakers opposed the move. The republican declaration states that Nepal will become "an independent, indivisible, sovereign, secular and an inclusive democratic republic." "All the privileges enjoyed by the king and royal family will automatically come to an end," it says, noting that May 29 will henceforth be celebrated as "Republic Day."
Gyanendra, who ascended the throne after a drunken prince killed most of the royal family in 2001, was given 15 days to pack up and vacate his Kathmandu palace. "This assembly asks the government to make the necessary arrangements to vacate the Narayanhiti Royal palace," Gurung told the late-night gathering, prompting huge cheers and applause. "The meeting also directs the government to take necessary actions to turn the palace into a national museum." Outside the venue, a crowd of about 1,000 people -- who had been waiting impatiently for the vote -- cheered wildly as the decision was announced, an AFP reporter at the scene said. "I am overjoyed. This is the most important day of my life," said Rajesh Subedi, a 21-year-old student and Maoist supporter.
The former rebels have told Gyanendra and his son and heir, Crown Prince Paras -- loathed for his reported playboy lifestyle -- to bow out gracefully and adapt to life as a "common citizen" or else face "strong punishment." Nepal's peace minister, Ram Chandra Poudel, told reporters the monarch "should understand and leave the palace by himself, that would be the best thing."
Gyanendra, seen by loyalists as the reincarnation of a Hindu god, was vaulted to the throne after the 2001 massacre of his popular brother Birendra and most of the royal family by a drink-and-drug-fuelled crown prince who later killed himself. But the dour-faced monarch never managed to win much support from the public, with many Nepalese suspecting he was in some way involved in the palace killings -- even though officials and experts have dismissed such a conspiracy theory. His ill-fated decision to seize absolute power to fight the Maoist rebellion further damaged his status. He still enjoys some support from Hindu hardliners and powerful elements in the armed forces and ruling elite, who argue the royals are a crucial symbol of the neutrality of a country wedged between Asian giants India and China. "No one now has a political basis to try and revive him," said analyst and commentator Prashant Jha.
Many had feared Nepal's radical transformation would give way to more violence, but this week suspected pro-royals only managed to carry out minor bomb attacks that caused a small number of light injuries. The Maoists are set to lead Nepal's new government, although many are still sceptical of the movement -- whose loyalists are regularly accused of using violence and intimidation. The United States also continues to list the former rebels as a foreign "terrorist" organisation.
Source: AFP
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
The forgotten kid of Guantánamo
When Mohammed Jawad, a 23-year-old Afghan detainee, was summoned to appear before the military commissions at Guantánamo Bay for his arraignment in March, he told his military handlers that he would not go. After being held for more than five years here, he didn't believe he could get a fair hearing from the U.S. military.
But appearing at arraignments at Guantánamo is mandatory, so as has been done with others, military personnel forcefully extracted Jawad from his cell and brought him to court in shackles. Sitting before the judge in his orange jumpsuit, the color reserved for uncooperative detainees, Jawad buried his face into his hands and announced that he would boycott future proceedings -- a right the commissions allow.
So this month, when Jawad was scheduled to appear at the courthouse for another pre-trial hearing, nobody expected him to show up. But as a cluster of journalists, observers from nongovernmental organizations (including me, as a representative of Human Rights Watch) and military personnel gathered in the courtroom, Jawad, now dressed in khaki, a color reserved for more cooperative detainees, was escorted inside by two guards and quietly took a seat beside his defense counsel and an interpreter. Although he appeared uneasy and nervous, he was markedly calmer than at his arraignment.
Jawad put on the headset that would allow him to listen to a translation of court proceedings (something he refused to do during his March hearing) and politely asked the military judge, Col. Peter Brownback, if he could turn around to look at the audience in the courtroom. The judge agreed, and Jawad turned around to face us, revealing a wispy beard that only partly covers his post-adolescent acne.
The U.S. government claims that Mohammed Jawad is an unlawful enemy combatant who tried to murder two U.S. soldiers and their translator in Afghanistan by tossing a grenade into their vehicle in December 2002.
But Maj. David Frakt, his military-appointed attorney, argues that Jawad -- who was a teenager of 16 or 17 at the time of his alleged offense (Jawad doesn't know his birth date) -- is a victim. He says Jawad was a homeless teenager who was drugged and forced to fight with Afghan militia, then abused by the United States, which transported him halfway around the world and imprisoned him at Guantánamo for five years without charge and is now using him as a guinea pig to test a new system of military justice with no regard to his initial status as a juvenile.
When Frakt arrived at Guantánamo to meet Jawad, he said he found a profoundly disturbed young man who was reluctant to talk. "Jawad is in an extremely fragile mental state," Frakt said in an interview following the hearing. "He has been here for so long -- he has essentially grown up in Guantánamo. He has lost track of time, lost touch with reality, and suffers from severe depression. And he doesn't believe he can get justice from the military commissions."
Both U.S. and international law requires governments to provide children with special safeguards and care that take into account their vulnerability and culpability as children. They are supposed to be housed separately from adults, allowed to contact family members, provided with educational opportunities, and given prompt legal assistance. The United States has acknowledged holding eight teenagers at Guantánamo, but although some of them were given special housing and educational opportunities and were eventually released, the U.S. has ignored Jawad's status as a juvenile.
Jawad's decision to attend commission hearings this month appears to owe much to his newly appointed military defense counsel, Maj. Frakt, a law professor in the Air Force Reserves who was called up from Western State University in California to represent the young detainee (now 22 or 23) just a few days earlier. (Jawad's previous defense counsel left after his reserve duty ended in late March.) With the help of an Afghan interpreter -- an elderly man from the same tribe as Jawad who managed to establish a rapport with the detainee -- Frakt was able to persuade Jawad to appear before the court so that he can "challenge the legality and legitimacy of the military commissions" and possibly argue for an improvement in the conditions in which Jawad is being held.
Jawad is not the only detainee at Guantánamo to be charged before the military commissions for an offense allegedly committed as a juvenile. Omar Khadr, a Canadian charged with throwing a hand grenade that killed a U.S. soldier, was 15 at the time of his alleged crime. Khadr's story has made headlines in newspapers and magazines around the world. He is even the subject of a new book, "Guantanamo's Child: The Untold Story of Omar Khadr," by Michelle Shephard. Lawyers in Canada have sued the Canadian government for access to documents on his case, and child rights groups have embraced his cause.
But Jawad is an illiterate Afghan from a poor Pashtun family with no ties to the Afghan government. According to Frakt, Jawad's father died during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. His mother remarried, and the family fled to Pakistan. Jawad spent his childhood years in a refugee camp and was educated at a local madrassa where all the teaching is conducted orally. He never learned to read or write.
Frakt says that when Jawad was 13, his family kicked him out and told him he needed to find a job. He spent much of those years hanging around a mosque looking for work. Sometime in 2002, Jawad was told he could have a job helping eradicate land mines in Afghanistan, so he returned to his native country. Once he arrived, however, Frakt says he was recruited by the local militia, drugged and forced into combat. Soon after, he was arrested by the Afghan police and handed over to the Americans.
Unlike most of the detainees at Guantánamo, Jawad was never provided a "habeas counsel," that is, a civilian lawyer to file a petition of habeas corpus on his behalf. Until he was charged this year, he was virtually unknown to the world.
Frakt said that his meetings with Jawad have been difficult, in part because Jawad doesn't understand the legal process, and in part because Jawad doesn't trust anyone in a U.S. military uniform, which Frakt is obligated to wear when he visits his client. "It is difficult to establish a trusting relationship with a detainee who has suffered so much and been detained by the U.S. military for five years," Frakt said. "He has a natural distrust of me, and he is not sure that I am here to help him." For now, Jawad has agreed to allow Frakt to represent him in a limited capacity -- to challenge the legality and legitimacy of the commissions. Frakt hopes he will be able to persuade his client to allow him to give Jawad a more complete representation in a case that points to crucial questions about American justice in the war on terror.
From the government's point of view, Jawad's is a seemingly straightforward case. The prosecution has located eyewitnesses who claim to have seen the Afghan teenager throw the grenade. In addition, it says it has a signed confession from Jawad. But Frakt says the case isn't nearly as straightforward as the government alleges. He says that the prosecution chose to prosecute Jawad because it viewed his as a "sexy" case -- Jawad is a defendant with "blood on his hands," in the government's view, which is something the American public understands better than something more abstract, like charges of material support for terrorism. While Frakt acknowledges that the prosecution has witnesses who saw his client throw the grenade, he says the defense has also located witnesses who say the teenager appeared to be drugged at the time. As for the confession, Frakt says it is in Farsi -- a language Jawad does not speak. And the "signature" on it is in the form of a thumbprint, because Jawad does not read or write.
Frakt hopes to be able to make these arguments on Jawad's behalf if or when the case goes to trial. In the meantime, Frakt says has serious reservations about Jawad's ability to aid in his defense because of his fragile mental state -- something that was evident when Jawad himself addressed the court this month.
When the judge asked Jawad if he would like to make a statement, the young man spoke for about 20 minutes, saying that he didn't understand why he was at Guantánamo and why he was being punished. As he described his ordeal -- of being flown from Afghanistan to Guantánamo, locked in a steel cage, moved from cell to cell in the middle of the night, and sometimes being kept in a cell that had bright lights on 24 hours a day -- he said he had lost track of time and couldn't remember when or for how long he was held in each camp. Sometimes he stopped to rub his head and seemed to forget what he was saying in mid-sentence.
When Jawad finished his statement, Frakt requested that his client be taken out of the maximum security facility where he is currently housed -- where he is confined to a windowless cell at least 22 hours a day -- and moved to a "quiet, restful place where he can rehabilitate." He also requested that Jawad be examined by a mental health professional. The judge told Frakt to put the request in writing and said that he would consider it. But it remains unclear whether the judge at the military commissions has the authority to order military officials at the detention facility at Guantánamo to do anything.
The next hearings in Jawad's case are scheduled for June 24-25. Frakt is hoping Jawad will participate.
Source:
But appearing at arraignments at Guantánamo is mandatory, so as has been done with others, military personnel forcefully extracted Jawad from his cell and brought him to court in shackles. Sitting before the judge in his orange jumpsuit, the color reserved for uncooperative detainees, Jawad buried his face into his hands and announced that he would boycott future proceedings -- a right the commissions allow.
So this month, when Jawad was scheduled to appear at the courthouse for another pre-trial hearing, nobody expected him to show up. But as a cluster of journalists, observers from nongovernmental organizations (including me, as a representative of Human Rights Watch) and military personnel gathered in the courtroom, Jawad, now dressed in khaki, a color reserved for more cooperative detainees, was escorted inside by two guards and quietly took a seat beside his defense counsel and an interpreter. Although he appeared uneasy and nervous, he was markedly calmer than at his arraignment.
Jawad put on the headset that would allow him to listen to a translation of court proceedings (something he refused to do during his March hearing) and politely asked the military judge, Col. Peter Brownback, if he could turn around to look at the audience in the courtroom. The judge agreed, and Jawad turned around to face us, revealing a wispy beard that only partly covers his post-adolescent acne.
The U.S. government claims that Mohammed Jawad is an unlawful enemy combatant who tried to murder two U.S. soldiers and their translator in Afghanistan by tossing a grenade into their vehicle in December 2002.
But Maj. David Frakt, his military-appointed attorney, argues that Jawad -- who was a teenager of 16 or 17 at the time of his alleged offense (Jawad doesn't know his birth date) -- is a victim. He says Jawad was a homeless teenager who was drugged and forced to fight with Afghan militia, then abused by the United States, which transported him halfway around the world and imprisoned him at Guantánamo for five years without charge and is now using him as a guinea pig to test a new system of military justice with no regard to his initial status as a juvenile.
When Frakt arrived at Guantánamo to meet Jawad, he said he found a profoundly disturbed young man who was reluctant to talk. "Jawad is in an extremely fragile mental state," Frakt said in an interview following the hearing. "He has been here for so long -- he has essentially grown up in Guantánamo. He has lost track of time, lost touch with reality, and suffers from severe depression. And he doesn't believe he can get justice from the military commissions."
Both U.S. and international law requires governments to provide children with special safeguards and care that take into account their vulnerability and culpability as children. They are supposed to be housed separately from adults, allowed to contact family members, provided with educational opportunities, and given prompt legal assistance. The United States has acknowledged holding eight teenagers at Guantánamo, but although some of them were given special housing and educational opportunities and were eventually released, the U.S. has ignored Jawad's status as a juvenile.
Jawad's decision to attend commission hearings this month appears to owe much to his newly appointed military defense counsel, Maj. Frakt, a law professor in the Air Force Reserves who was called up from Western State University in California to represent the young detainee (now 22 or 23) just a few days earlier. (Jawad's previous defense counsel left after his reserve duty ended in late March.) With the help of an Afghan interpreter -- an elderly man from the same tribe as Jawad who managed to establish a rapport with the detainee -- Frakt was able to persuade Jawad to appear before the court so that he can "challenge the legality and legitimacy of the military commissions" and possibly argue for an improvement in the conditions in which Jawad is being held.
Jawad is not the only detainee at Guantánamo to be charged before the military commissions for an offense allegedly committed as a juvenile. Omar Khadr, a Canadian charged with throwing a hand grenade that killed a U.S. soldier, was 15 at the time of his alleged crime. Khadr's story has made headlines in newspapers and magazines around the world. He is even the subject of a new book, "Guantanamo's Child: The Untold Story of Omar Khadr," by Michelle Shephard. Lawyers in Canada have sued the Canadian government for access to documents on his case, and child rights groups have embraced his cause.
But Jawad is an illiterate Afghan from a poor Pashtun family with no ties to the Afghan government. According to Frakt, Jawad's father died during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. His mother remarried, and the family fled to Pakistan. Jawad spent his childhood years in a refugee camp and was educated at a local madrassa where all the teaching is conducted orally. He never learned to read or write.
Frakt says that when Jawad was 13, his family kicked him out and told him he needed to find a job. He spent much of those years hanging around a mosque looking for work. Sometime in 2002, Jawad was told he could have a job helping eradicate land mines in Afghanistan, so he returned to his native country. Once he arrived, however, Frakt says he was recruited by the local militia, drugged and forced into combat. Soon after, he was arrested by the Afghan police and handed over to the Americans.
Unlike most of the detainees at Guantánamo, Jawad was never provided a "habeas counsel," that is, a civilian lawyer to file a petition of habeas corpus on his behalf. Until he was charged this year, he was virtually unknown to the world.
Frakt said that his meetings with Jawad have been difficult, in part because Jawad doesn't understand the legal process, and in part because Jawad doesn't trust anyone in a U.S. military uniform, which Frakt is obligated to wear when he visits his client. "It is difficult to establish a trusting relationship with a detainee who has suffered so much and been detained by the U.S. military for five years," Frakt said. "He has a natural distrust of me, and he is not sure that I am here to help him." For now, Jawad has agreed to allow Frakt to represent him in a limited capacity -- to challenge the legality and legitimacy of the commissions. Frakt hopes he will be able to persuade his client to allow him to give Jawad a more complete representation in a case that points to crucial questions about American justice in the war on terror.
From the government's point of view, Jawad's is a seemingly straightforward case. The prosecution has located eyewitnesses who claim to have seen the Afghan teenager throw the grenade. In addition, it says it has a signed confession from Jawad. But Frakt says the case isn't nearly as straightforward as the government alleges. He says that the prosecution chose to prosecute Jawad because it viewed his as a "sexy" case -- Jawad is a defendant with "blood on his hands," in the government's view, which is something the American public understands better than something more abstract, like charges of material support for terrorism. While Frakt acknowledges that the prosecution has witnesses who saw his client throw the grenade, he says the defense has also located witnesses who say the teenager appeared to be drugged at the time. As for the confession, Frakt says it is in Farsi -- a language Jawad does not speak. And the "signature" on it is in the form of a thumbprint, because Jawad does not read or write.
Frakt hopes to be able to make these arguments on Jawad's behalf if or when the case goes to trial. In the meantime, Frakt says has serious reservations about Jawad's ability to aid in his defense because of his fragile mental state -- something that was evident when Jawad himself addressed the court this month.
When the judge asked Jawad if he would like to make a statement, the young man spoke for about 20 minutes, saying that he didn't understand why he was at Guantánamo and why he was being punished. As he described his ordeal -- of being flown from Afghanistan to Guantánamo, locked in a steel cage, moved from cell to cell in the middle of the night, and sometimes being kept in a cell that had bright lights on 24 hours a day -- he said he had lost track of time and couldn't remember when or for how long he was held in each camp. Sometimes he stopped to rub his head and seemed to forget what he was saying in mid-sentence.
When Jawad finished his statement, Frakt requested that his client be taken out of the maximum security facility where he is currently housed -- where he is confined to a windowless cell at least 22 hours a day -- and moved to a "quiet, restful place where he can rehabilitate." He also requested that Jawad be examined by a mental health professional. The judge told Frakt to put the request in writing and said that he would consider it. But it remains unclear whether the judge at the military commissions has the authority to order military officials at the detention facility at Guantánamo to do anything.
The next hearings in Jawad's case are scheduled for June 24-25. Frakt is hoping Jawad will participate.
Source:
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo arrested for crimes allegedly committed in the Central African Republic
Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo, alleged national of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), about 45 years old, was arrested today by the Belgian authorities following a warrant of arrest issued under seal by the International Criminal Court.Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo, President and Commander in Chief of the Mouvement de libération du Congo (MLC), is alleged to be criminally responsible for four counts of war crimes and two counts of crimes against humanity committed on the territory of the Central African Republic from 25 October 2002 to 15 March 2003. On 23 May 2008, Pre-Trial Chamber III issued a sealed warrant of arrest for Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo. The warrant remained under seal until today.
Pre-Trial Chamber III found that there are reasonable grounds to believe that in the context of a protracted armed conflict in the Central African Republic from about 25 October 2002 to 15 March 2003, MLC forces led by Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo carried out a widespread or systematic attack against a civilian population during which rape, torture, outrages upon personal dignity and pillaging were committed in, but not limited to, the localities of PK 12, Bossongoa and Mongoumba. Pre-Trial Chamber III also found that there are reasonable grounds to believe that Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo, as President and Commander in Chief of the MLC, was vested with de facto and de jure authority by the members of the MLC to take all political and military decisions.
According to the warrant of arrest for Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo, he is criminally responsible, jointly with another person or through other persons, within the meaning of article 25(3)(a) of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, on:
* two counts of crimes against humanity: rape - article 7(1)(g), torture ‑ article 7(1)(f);
* four counts of war crimes: rape ‑ article 8(2)(e)(vi), torture - article 8 (2(c)(i), outrages upon personal dignity, in particular humiliating and degrading treatment - article 8(2)(c)(ii), pillaging a town or place ‑ article 8(2)(e)(v).
Source: International Criminal Court
Friday, May 23, 2008
The Union of South American Nations
The Union of South American Nations (Spanish: Unión de Naciones Suramericanas - UNASUR, Portuguese: União de Nações Sul-Americanas - UNASUL, Dutch: Unie van Zuid-Amerikaanse Naties - UZAN) is a supranational and intergovernmental union integrating two existing customs unions; Mercosur and the Andean Community, as part of a continuing process of South American integration. It is modelled on the European Union.
The UNASUR Constitutive Treaty was signed on May 23, 2008.
Source: Wikipedia
The UNASUR Constitutive Treaty was signed on May 23, 2008.
Source: Wikipedia
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Political parties unite behind Scorpions
The African Christian Democratic Party, Democratic Alliance (DA), Independent Democrats and United Democratic Movement have filed a joint submission in the Pretoria High Court as a friend of the court in support of Hugh Glenister's bid to stop the disbanding of the Scorpions, the parties said on Thursday.
Recognition as a friend of the court permits the parties to offer information that would assist the court in arriving at a decision.
Recognition as a friend of the court permits the parties to offer information that would assist the court in arriving at a decision.
Friday, May 9, 2008
Law society calls for overhaul of justice system
The Law Society of South Africa (LSSA) on Friday called for an overhaul of the justice system to deal with crime in the country. Co-chairpersons Vincent Saldahna and CP Fourie said the scourge of crime needed a more holistic and serious solution, which included the proper training and deployment of police officers, as well as a proper overhaul of the criminal justice system. "Government is urged to give its undivided attention to finding such a solution, since the unacceptable levels of crime -- particularly violent crime -- are, among other things, a serious threat to our young democracy". They said the LSSA was committed to assisting the state in whatever way it could.
The LSSA also expressed concern at the statements made by the Deputy Minister of Safety and Security, Susan Shabangu, encouraging members of the public and the South African Police Service (SAPS) to use force against suspected criminals. "Owners of licensed firearms, be they members of the public or the SAPS, must in terms of legislation be fully cognisant of their rights and responsibilities as contained in legislation governing the use of firearms," they said. They indicated that such statements might encourage members of the public to act unlawfully and take the law into their own hands.
Source: Mail & Guardian
The LSSA also expressed concern at the statements made by the Deputy Minister of Safety and Security, Susan Shabangu, encouraging members of the public and the South African Police Service (SAPS) to use force against suspected criminals. "Owners of licensed firearms, be they members of the public or the SAPS, must in terms of legislation be fully cognisant of their rights and responsibilities as contained in legislation governing the use of firearms," they said. They indicated that such statements might encourage members of the public to act unlawfully and take the law into their own hands.
Source: Mail & Guardian
A hip-hop metro cop
With a R17-million mansion and a fleet of top-end sports cars and sports utility vehicles in the driveway, all under the watchful eye of armed guards, Durban Metro Police officer S’bu Mpisane is living a life straight out of a hip-hop music video. But there are more questions than answers about his lavish lifestyle.
Is he merely a good businessman, as his father explained to local media this week? Or, as one former colleague suggested, did he marry into money, which flows in through a host of companies that benefit from government tenders?
Or is there, perhaps, a darker connection to organised crime syndicates in the city, which may have been armed with guns originating from Metro police officers themselves?
Investigative magazine noseweek reported recently that Mpisane’s BMW M5 sports car was one of several getaway vehicles used by a gang of hitmen during a 1998 shootout outside the Durban High Court during the trial of high profile taxi bosses. The shooting left bystanders wounded and led to the death of Sergeant Craig van Zyl of the police dog unit.
Mpisane subsequently disappeared for almost a year before seamlessly returning to work -- despite a “manhunt” for him launched by the former Durban murder and robbery unit, wrote noseweek.
“He came back to work a year later and it was all kept very quiet,” said a high-ranking former policeman. “The matter was dealt with at a very high level and not very many people were briefed about what transpired. He may even have been in a witness protection programme, but it was all kept very hush-hush.”
According to the municipality’s senior human resources officer, Monty Naidoo, Mpisane was dismissed when he returned after a year’s absence, but was reinstated after lodging an appeal with the bargaining council.Naidoo was unable to confirm the nature of Mpisane’s appeal.
Mpisane was also one of 13 police officers cleared by a 2006 investigation instituted by municipal manager Michael Sutcliffe into allegations ranging from gun-running to corruption, nepotism and maladministration.
DA caucus leader in the Durban municipality, John Steenhuisen, questioned the thoroughness of the internal investigation. “Another cop on that list, Dees Govender, was cleared but subsequently arrested by the Scorpions for corruption after being caught in a sting operation,” Steenhuisen pointed out.
Sutcliffe dismissed inquiries by the Mail & Guardian about Mpisane’s year-long absence, saying only that it had occurred before he was installed as municipal manager.
Mpisane did not respond to messages left by the M&G at one of his businesses, Zikhulise Auto Restorers in Briardene, Durban.
Sutcliffe has, meanwhile, launched an investigation into whether Mpisane was given permission to pursue outside business interests and whether he had declared them. He said the probe stemmed from a “separate set of procurement issues” almost two months ago. He refused to elaborate.
South African Municipal Workers Union KwaZulu-Natal secretary Jaycee Ncanana was sceptical about the probe, calling it a “smokescreen”. “Why is it taking so long? It takes a day for them to find out if a declaration [of outside interests by Mpisane] was made or not,” he said, adding that he was in possession of a declaration signed by Mpisane in 2007.
But Sutcliffe’s probe might be extended to Mpisane’s wife, Shaun Flora Mkhize, the daughter of Durban ward 96 councillor Florence Mkhize.
With noseweek reporting that the Mpisanes’ neighbours had seen various high-profile ANC politicians visiting their mansion in the upmarket suburb of La Lucia, there is no doubt the couple are politically connected.
And, according to the DA’s Steenhuisen, the Zikhulise Cleaning, Maintenance and Transport company has already benefited from a R179-million government contract for the maintenance and refurbishment of low-cost housing developments.
Other companies registered by Mpisane or his wife include Ukhozi Civil, Cleaning and Construction and a shelving company, Inyanga Restorers 559 cc. Shaun Flora Mpisane referred questions from the M&G to her senior counsel, Jerome Brauns, who, in turn, referred them to lawyer Thipe Mothuloe, who did not respond to calls.
This week Metro Members Police Forum chairperson Wiseman Mchunu lauded Mpisane for “showing policemen the way forward towards financial independence” and avoiding bribery and corruption. Others take a different view. Said Steenhuisen: “Such a lavish lifestyle would mean quite big business interests, which really makes one question his ability to do his job as a policeman if he’s getting calls about a matter at his business empire. “I also wonder if it is right for a policeman to have a panelbeating and automative restoration business. What happens if stolen cars come into his shop? Or if he is asked to investigate a car hijacking syndicate?”
Since being shot in the stomach during a gun battle with would-be
hijackers in 2003, Durban Metro police officer Cherise Cox’s life has
been “a nightmare”. After 13 operations, she has “no large colon and only a little bit of my small intestine left”. The 35-year-old lives with constant pain, restricted movement and a
colostomy bag. She is attempting to wean herself off the 100mg of morphine she has to take every two or three days when the pain becomes too intense: “I feel like I’m too young for this, I feel like I’ve had my job -- which I loved -- and my life taken away from me,” says Cox. “Besides the pain, I’m trying to get off the morphine. But its hard. You get the sweats but you can never be warm enough ... I’ve also been vomiting so much,” says Cox.
To compound the tragedy, the guns used against Cox belonged to the
Durban Metro Police. At the time it was alleged that the weapon which mutilated Cox was one of 128 guns found by an audit in 2002 to be missing from the municipal armory. There were suggestions that these had been sold to criminals by police officers. An internal investigation by eThekwini municipal manager Michael
Sutcliffe exonerated two officers, Thembinkosi Mthethwa and Sthembiso
Zimu, of selling the guns. The investigation concluded that the weapons
had been stolen from the two officers at gunpoint. But several police officers were sceptical about the finding.
A 2006 Independent Complaints Directorate (ICD) investigation into the
missing fire-arms pointed to “discrepancies”. The ICD report found that 21 case numbers provided by the Metro police as relating to stolen police weapons either did not match SAPS records or were non-existent. It also found that 66 firearms had been reported missing but had not been recovered at the time the report was finalised. A further 25 firearms had been recovered, while two firearms reported stolen
“actually belonged to private persons”.
Is he merely a good businessman, as his father explained to local media this week? Or, as one former colleague suggested, did he marry into money, which flows in through a host of companies that benefit from government tenders?
Or is there, perhaps, a darker connection to organised crime syndicates in the city, which may have been armed with guns originating from Metro police officers themselves?
Investigative magazine noseweek reported recently that Mpisane’s BMW M5 sports car was one of several getaway vehicles used by a gang of hitmen during a 1998 shootout outside the Durban High Court during the trial of high profile taxi bosses. The shooting left bystanders wounded and led to the death of Sergeant Craig van Zyl of the police dog unit.
Mpisane subsequently disappeared for almost a year before seamlessly returning to work -- despite a “manhunt” for him launched by the former Durban murder and robbery unit, wrote noseweek.
“He came back to work a year later and it was all kept very quiet,” said a high-ranking former policeman. “The matter was dealt with at a very high level and not very many people were briefed about what transpired. He may even have been in a witness protection programme, but it was all kept very hush-hush.”
According to the municipality’s senior human resources officer, Monty Naidoo, Mpisane was dismissed when he returned after a year’s absence, but was reinstated after lodging an appeal with the bargaining council.Naidoo was unable to confirm the nature of Mpisane’s appeal.
Mpisane was also one of 13 police officers cleared by a 2006 investigation instituted by municipal manager Michael Sutcliffe into allegations ranging from gun-running to corruption, nepotism and maladministration.
DA caucus leader in the Durban municipality, John Steenhuisen, questioned the thoroughness of the internal investigation. “Another cop on that list, Dees Govender, was cleared but subsequently arrested by the Scorpions for corruption after being caught in a sting operation,” Steenhuisen pointed out.
Sutcliffe dismissed inquiries by the Mail & Guardian about Mpisane’s year-long absence, saying only that it had occurred before he was installed as municipal manager.
Mpisane did not respond to messages left by the M&G at one of his businesses, Zikhulise Auto Restorers in Briardene, Durban.
Sutcliffe has, meanwhile, launched an investigation into whether Mpisane was given permission to pursue outside business interests and whether he had declared them. He said the probe stemmed from a “separate set of procurement issues” almost two months ago. He refused to elaborate.
South African Municipal Workers Union KwaZulu-Natal secretary Jaycee Ncanana was sceptical about the probe, calling it a “smokescreen”. “Why is it taking so long? It takes a day for them to find out if a declaration [of outside interests by Mpisane] was made or not,” he said, adding that he was in possession of a declaration signed by Mpisane in 2007.
But Sutcliffe’s probe might be extended to Mpisane’s wife, Shaun Flora Mkhize, the daughter of Durban ward 96 councillor Florence Mkhize.
With noseweek reporting that the Mpisanes’ neighbours had seen various high-profile ANC politicians visiting their mansion in the upmarket suburb of La Lucia, there is no doubt the couple are politically connected.
And, according to the DA’s Steenhuisen, the Zikhulise Cleaning, Maintenance and Transport company has already benefited from a R179-million government contract for the maintenance and refurbishment of low-cost housing developments.
Other companies registered by Mpisane or his wife include Ukhozi Civil, Cleaning and Construction and a shelving company, Inyanga Restorers 559 cc. Shaun Flora Mpisane referred questions from the M&G to her senior counsel, Jerome Brauns, who, in turn, referred them to lawyer Thipe Mothuloe, who did not respond to calls.
This week Metro Members Police Forum chairperson Wiseman Mchunu lauded Mpisane for “showing policemen the way forward towards financial independence” and avoiding bribery and corruption. Others take a different view. Said Steenhuisen: “Such a lavish lifestyle would mean quite big business interests, which really makes one question his ability to do his job as a policeman if he’s getting calls about a matter at his business empire. “I also wonder if it is right for a policeman to have a panelbeating and automative restoration business. What happens if stolen cars come into his shop? Or if he is asked to investigate a car hijacking syndicate?”
Since being shot in the stomach during a gun battle with would-be
hijackers in 2003, Durban Metro police officer Cherise Cox’s life has
been “a nightmare”. After 13 operations, she has “no large colon and only a little bit of my small intestine left”. The 35-year-old lives with constant pain, restricted movement and a
colostomy bag. She is attempting to wean herself off the 100mg of morphine she has to take every two or three days when the pain becomes too intense: “I feel like I’m too young for this, I feel like I’ve had my job -- which I loved -- and my life taken away from me,” says Cox. “Besides the pain, I’m trying to get off the morphine. But its hard. You get the sweats but you can never be warm enough ... I’ve also been vomiting so much,” says Cox.
To compound the tragedy, the guns used against Cox belonged to the
Durban Metro Police. At the time it was alleged that the weapon which mutilated Cox was one of 128 guns found by an audit in 2002 to be missing from the municipal armory. There were suggestions that these had been sold to criminals by police officers. An internal investigation by eThekwini municipal manager Michael
Sutcliffe exonerated two officers, Thembinkosi Mthethwa and Sthembiso
Zimu, of selling the guns. The investigation concluded that the weapons
had been stolen from the two officers at gunpoint. But several police officers were sceptical about the finding.
A 2006 Independent Complaints Directorate (ICD) investigation into the
missing fire-arms pointed to “discrepancies”. The ICD report found that 21 case numbers provided by the Metro police as relating to stolen police weapons either did not match SAPS records or were non-existent. It also found that 66 firearms had been reported missing but had not been recovered at the time the report was finalised. A further 25 firearms had been recovered, while two firearms reported stolen
“actually belonged to private persons”.
Metro deal for Metro cop’s wife
The wife of Durban’s "millionaire" Metro cop secured a R10,3 million housing deal funded in part by the eThekwini Municipality where he works.
S’bu Mpisane (48), a sergeant in the Metro police dog unit reportedly earning R15 000 a month, hit the headlines last week when it emerged that he and his accountant wife Shauwn Mkhize (33) own a R15,5 million mansion in La Lucia. Now questions are being asked about a housing tender granted to a company owned by Mkhize, her business dealings with the municipality and whether she declared her links to Mpisane and to an ANC councillor believed to be her mother. A lawyer acting for the Mpisane family has threatened to sue anyone who "defames" them.
The DA has written to the KwaZulu-Natal head of the Scorpions, calling for them to investigate Mpisane’s "lavish lifestyle". eThekwini councillor John Steenhuisen wrote that "it is abundantly clear that Mpisane could not afford this lifestyle on a police officer’s salary". The municipality paid R3,5 million in January 2004 to fund the Lamontville housing project and develop 277 sites. The balance of funding came from the Housing Department. Zikhulise Construction was awarded the tender to build the "top structures", according to a press release issued before the launch on
January 17, 2004.
The only company that corresponds on the eThekwini municipal suppliers list is Zikhulise Cleaning, Maintenance and Transport, which is owned by Mkhize. A previous member of the business was Dumazile Mkhize (65), an eThekwini ANC councillor who, according to Steenhuisen, is Mkhize’s mother.
The councillor has refused to comment and referred questions to the same legal team representing the younger Mkhize. The elder Mkhize reportedly resigned from the business on February 25, 2004 — a month after the tender was announced.
According to the municipality’s "vendor" records, Zikhulise’s listed "competencies" include civil construction, concrete works, fencing, general building work, paving, plumbing and roadworks. It can also supply building materials, cleaning supplies and chemicals, food supplies and stationery. According to a print-out of the municipality’s computerised records, Zikhulise has five full-time employees and lists its annual turnover at only R200 000.Mkhize this week did not deny securing the tender, but declined to comment and referred all queries to her legal representatives.
Lawyer Thipe Mothuloe — who is acting for her and her husband — said he is unable to comment on whether his client declared a conflict of interest as he has not seen the tender documents submitted to the municipality. "What is wrong with being a cop and being a millionaire? … What are you seeking to achieve with that line of questioning?" Mothuloe asked. He said he has been "instructed to institute legal action against the publications who have clearly defamed my client by suggesting he is a fraudster". "You must just be careful about that," he warned.
eThekwini city manager Mike Sutcliffe would not be drawn on whether Mkhize declared her interests or whether there is a conflict. "The Mpisane issue emerged out of our own investigations into procurement matters. I’m not going to answer to specifics now until our investigations are complete."
Another company of which Mkhize is the sole member, Ukhozi Civil Cleaning and Construction CC, is also on the eThekwini Municipality list. It too has five full-time employees, but has a far greater annual turnover of R5 million.
In 2004, Mkhize’s business was highlighted in the Soros Economic Development Fund annual report as a beneficiary of Nurcha, a not-for-profit construction finance company funded by the South African government and the Soros Foundation.
According to the report, Mkhize — an accountant — started business with contracts to renovate schools. In March 2003, it built 117 houses in KwaZulu-Natal.Not long afterwards, Mkhize received another construction contract worth about R4,7 million to build 307 low-income houses. She obtained a R1,4 million loan from Nurcha. According to the Soros report, she made a R290 000 profit. By 2004 she was involved in two other projects.
Mpisane has remained mum about the source of his wealth. "I do a lot of things other than being a policeman, but I cannot mention them right now," he said last week.
He also said he is a qualified pilot, a claim dismissed by the Civil Aviation Authority, which said his student pilot licence expired in March.
Source: The Witness
S’bu Mpisane (48), a sergeant in the Metro police dog unit reportedly earning R15 000 a month, hit the headlines last week when it emerged that he and his accountant wife Shauwn Mkhize (33) own a R15,5 million mansion in La Lucia. Now questions are being asked about a housing tender granted to a company owned by Mkhize, her business dealings with the municipality and whether she declared her links to Mpisane and to an ANC councillor believed to be her mother. A lawyer acting for the Mpisane family has threatened to sue anyone who "defames" them.
The DA has written to the KwaZulu-Natal head of the Scorpions, calling for them to investigate Mpisane’s "lavish lifestyle". eThekwini councillor John Steenhuisen wrote that "it is abundantly clear that Mpisane could not afford this lifestyle on a police officer’s salary". The municipality paid R3,5 million in January 2004 to fund the Lamontville housing project and develop 277 sites. The balance of funding came from the Housing Department. Zikhulise Construction was awarded the tender to build the "top structures", according to a press release issued before the launch on
January 17, 2004.
The only company that corresponds on the eThekwini municipal suppliers list is Zikhulise Cleaning, Maintenance and Transport, which is owned by Mkhize. A previous member of the business was Dumazile Mkhize (65), an eThekwini ANC councillor who, according to Steenhuisen, is Mkhize’s mother.
The councillor has refused to comment and referred questions to the same legal team representing the younger Mkhize. The elder Mkhize reportedly resigned from the business on February 25, 2004 — a month after the tender was announced.
According to the municipality’s "vendor" records, Zikhulise’s listed "competencies" include civil construction, concrete works, fencing, general building work, paving, plumbing and roadworks. It can also supply building materials, cleaning supplies and chemicals, food supplies and stationery. According to a print-out of the municipality’s computerised records, Zikhulise has five full-time employees and lists its annual turnover at only R200 000.Mkhize this week did not deny securing the tender, but declined to comment and referred all queries to her legal representatives.
Lawyer Thipe Mothuloe — who is acting for her and her husband — said he is unable to comment on whether his client declared a conflict of interest as he has not seen the tender documents submitted to the municipality. "What is wrong with being a cop and being a millionaire? … What are you seeking to achieve with that line of questioning?" Mothuloe asked. He said he has been "instructed to institute legal action against the publications who have clearly defamed my client by suggesting he is a fraudster". "You must just be careful about that," he warned.
eThekwini city manager Mike Sutcliffe would not be drawn on whether Mkhize declared her interests or whether there is a conflict. "The Mpisane issue emerged out of our own investigations into procurement matters. I’m not going to answer to specifics now until our investigations are complete."
Another company of which Mkhize is the sole member, Ukhozi Civil Cleaning and Construction CC, is also on the eThekwini Municipality list. It too has five full-time employees, but has a far greater annual turnover of R5 million.
In 2004, Mkhize’s business was highlighted in the Soros Economic Development Fund annual report as a beneficiary of Nurcha, a not-for-profit construction finance company funded by the South African government and the Soros Foundation.
According to the report, Mkhize — an accountant — started business with contracts to renovate schools. In March 2003, it built 117 houses in KwaZulu-Natal.Not long afterwards, Mkhize received another construction contract worth about R4,7 million to build 307 low-income houses. She obtained a R1,4 million loan from Nurcha. According to the Soros report, she made a R290 000 profit. By 2004 she was involved in two other projects.
Mpisane has remained mum about the source of his wealth. "I do a lot of things other than being a policeman, but I cannot mention them right now," he said last week.
He also said he is a qualified pilot, a claim dismissed by the Civil Aviation Authority, which said his student pilot licence expired in March.
Source: The Witness
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Cele loses provincial support
The African National Congress (ANC) zones in the eThekwini region have endorsed John Mchunu to lead the party in a move seen as a rebuff for current leader, MEC of Transport, Community Safety and Liaison Bheki Cele. Mchunu is the current ANC secretary in the eThekwini region and is also a member of provincial legislature.
ANC leaders sympathetic to Cele said yesterday that he has been betrayed by the region he successfully led since 2002. Last year, Cele was asked not to stand for any of the top five ANC provincial leadership positions ahead of the party's elective provincial executive committee at the end of this month. Acting on the region's directive, Cele said late last year that he would not be available for nomination for any position in the provincial executive committee. Sources state that Cele, tipped as one of the front runners for provincial chairman, had listened to the directive hoping that he would keep his position as leader of the eThekwini region.
The eThekwini region is the biggest in the province and it was one of the regions that played a pivotal role in campaigning for ANC president Jacob Zuma before the Polokwane conference. Vigorous campaigns spearheaded by Cele, among other leaders in the region, resulted in Zuma trouncing the incumbent, President Thabo Mbeki. In what has been described as a major blow for Cele, the Daily News has learnt that of the region's 17 zones, 15 have nominated Mchunu and only two chose Cele as their preferred candidate.
The ANC Youth League is one of the ANC wings backing Mchunu. Sthe Mshengu, the league's regional secretary, confirmed that they were fully behind Mchunu, but denied there was a concerted effort to snub Cele. "We have made our position clear. We want comrade John (Mchunu) to lead the region. It must also be made clear that we acknowledge the contribution that Bheki (Cele) made when he led the region," Mshengu said.
The region will choose five top officials and 15 additional members during a three day conference starting on May 30. An eThekwini ANC leader said there was general agreement that Mchunu should be at the helm of the ANC in the region. "The movement has a pool of people with the potential to lead. We don't want people who hold too many positions at the same time. Bheki is okay holding the national executive position and we need to give other people a chance to lead," he said.
Cele, who is currently in Germany, yesterday refused to comment, saying that he was too busy. Mchunu also refused to comment, arguing that it would be improper for him to say anything because his name was also involved. According to the proposed list, S'bu Sibiya is earmarked to be secretary and Zandile Gumede, the eThekwini Municipality's Masakhane committee chairperson, is likely to get the treasurer position. There are still engagements on who should be deputy secretary and deputy chairman. Cele is likely to get a position in the national assembly after the general elections in April next year, sources said.
ANC leaders sympathetic to Cele said yesterday that he has been betrayed by the region he successfully led since 2002. Last year, Cele was asked not to stand for any of the top five ANC provincial leadership positions ahead of the party's elective provincial executive committee at the end of this month. Acting on the region's directive, Cele said late last year that he would not be available for nomination for any position in the provincial executive committee. Sources state that Cele, tipped as one of the front runners for provincial chairman, had listened to the directive hoping that he would keep his position as leader of the eThekwini region.
The eThekwini region is the biggest in the province and it was one of the regions that played a pivotal role in campaigning for ANC president Jacob Zuma before the Polokwane conference. Vigorous campaigns spearheaded by Cele, among other leaders in the region, resulted in Zuma trouncing the incumbent, President Thabo Mbeki. In what has been described as a major blow for Cele, the Daily News has learnt that of the region's 17 zones, 15 have nominated Mchunu and only two chose Cele as their preferred candidate.
The ANC Youth League is one of the ANC wings backing Mchunu. Sthe Mshengu, the league's regional secretary, confirmed that they were fully behind Mchunu, but denied there was a concerted effort to snub Cele. "We have made our position clear. We want comrade John (Mchunu) to lead the region. It must also be made clear that we acknowledge the contribution that Bheki (Cele) made when he led the region," Mshengu said.
The region will choose five top officials and 15 additional members during a three day conference starting on May 30. An eThekwini ANC leader said there was general agreement that Mchunu should be at the helm of the ANC in the region. "The movement has a pool of people with the potential to lead. We don't want people who hold too many positions at the same time. Bheki is okay holding the national executive position and we need to give other people a chance to lead," he said.
Cele, who is currently in Germany, yesterday refused to comment, saying that he was too busy. Mchunu also refused to comment, arguing that it would be improper for him to say anything because his name was also involved. According to the proposed list, S'bu Sibiya is earmarked to be secretary and Zandile Gumede, the eThekwini Municipality's Masakhane committee chairperson, is likely to get the treasurer position. There are still engagements on who should be deputy secretary and deputy chairman. Cele is likely to get a position in the national assembly after the general elections in April next year, sources said.
South African 'Scorpions' boss to join World Bank
The head of South Africa's Scorpions crime-fighting unit, Leonard McCarthy, was appointed Monday to lead the World Bank's anti-corruption department, a day after the South African government said it would disband the unit. World Bank President Robert Zoellick, in a statement, said South African President Thabo Mbeki had agreed to release McCarthy from service to take up the position as vice president of the bank's Department of Institutional Integrity on June 30.
The World Bank anti-corruption unit investigates fraud and corruption in development projects financed by the global development agency in developing countries, and McCarthy will lead an overhaul of the department. "Leonard McCarthy is recognized worldwide for his integrity, independence and effectiveness in fighting corruption and strengthening good governance," Zoellick said. McCarthy's appointment comes a day after Mbeki's government agreed to dissolve the Scorpions, bowing to pressure from supporters of rival and head of the governing African National Congress, Jacob Zuma, who accused it of political abuse. In 2005, the unit raided properties belonging to Zuma and his lawyer as part of an investigation of the politician, who is scheduled to go on trial in August for fraud, bribery and other wrongdoing tied to an arms scandal.
The ANC leadership last year voted to dissolve the unit, officially known as the Directorate of Special Operations. The unit was established by Mbeki to fight high-profile corruption cases and scored successes against organized crime in a number of cases. On Monday, an independent report by Judge Sisi Khampepe defended the Scorpions, arguing it was needed to tackle organized criminals in the crime-infested country. While urging Mbeki to retain the Scorpions, the report also criticized the unit for feuding with police and delving into matters outside its realm. The unit was independent of the police and reports to the National Prosecuting Authority, which in turn answers to the South African Justice Department.
McCarthy has held numerous positions in government, including investigating director in the Office for Serious Economic Offenses, deputy attorney general of the Cape province and senior public prosecutor. He was appointed as a director of public prosecutions by former President Nelson Mandela. The World Bank's integrity department has not been without its own controversy over the past several years, amid concerns about its investigative practices and pressure from member countries that the bank must do more to root out corruption.
Former U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker led a panel last year to examine the World Bank unit's role amid criticism of its director, Suzanne Rich Folsom, who resigned in January. Volcker's panel said tensions and friction between the World Bank anti-corruption unit and the rest of the bank undermined the unit's ability to do its work properly. It suggested the bank find ways to better integrate its work into mainstream operations. An internal World Bank group in January said it agreed broadly with Volcker's recommendations, including the creation of a small independent advisory board to ensure the independence and accountability of the anti-corruption unit.
Source: Polity
The World Bank anti-corruption unit investigates fraud and corruption in development projects financed by the global development agency in developing countries, and McCarthy will lead an overhaul of the department. "Leonard McCarthy is recognized worldwide for his integrity, independence and effectiveness in fighting corruption and strengthening good governance," Zoellick said. McCarthy's appointment comes a day after Mbeki's government agreed to dissolve the Scorpions, bowing to pressure from supporters of rival and head of the governing African National Congress, Jacob Zuma, who accused it of political abuse. In 2005, the unit raided properties belonging to Zuma and his lawyer as part of an investigation of the politician, who is scheduled to go on trial in August for fraud, bribery and other wrongdoing tied to an arms scandal.
The ANC leadership last year voted to dissolve the unit, officially known as the Directorate of Special Operations. The unit was established by Mbeki to fight high-profile corruption cases and scored successes against organized crime in a number of cases. On Monday, an independent report by Judge Sisi Khampepe defended the Scorpions, arguing it was needed to tackle organized criminals in the crime-infested country. While urging Mbeki to retain the Scorpions, the report also criticized the unit for feuding with police and delving into matters outside its realm. The unit was independent of the police and reports to the National Prosecuting Authority, which in turn answers to the South African Justice Department.
McCarthy has held numerous positions in government, including investigating director in the Office for Serious Economic Offenses, deputy attorney general of the Cape province and senior public prosecutor. He was appointed as a director of public prosecutions by former President Nelson Mandela. The World Bank's integrity department has not been without its own controversy over the past several years, amid concerns about its investigative practices and pressure from member countries that the bank must do more to root out corruption.
Former U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker led a panel last year to examine the World Bank unit's role amid criticism of its director, Suzanne Rich Folsom, who resigned in January. Volcker's panel said tensions and friction between the World Bank anti-corruption unit and the rest of the bank undermined the unit's ability to do its work properly. It suggested the bank find ways to better integrate its work into mainstream operations. An internal World Bank group in January said it agreed broadly with Volcker's recommendations, including the creation of a small independent advisory board to ensure the independence and accountability of the anti-corruption unit.
Source: Polity
Monday, May 5, 2008
Cabinet approves end of SA's elite crime unit
President Thabo Mbeki's government has approved the disbanding of an elite South African crime-fighting unit, bowing to pressure from supporters of rival Jacob Zuma who accused it of political abuse. Mbeki's cabinet adopted two bills last week paving the way for the end of the Directorate of Special Operations, commonly known as the Scorpions, and the creation of a new unit within the police, South Africa's Sunday Times reported.
The FBI-style unit had been living on borrowed time since Zuma beat Mbeki for the leadership of the ruling African National Congress in December. Zuma's camp accused the Scorpions of engaging in a plot to smear and deny Zuma the ANC top job. In 2005, the unit raided properties belonging to Zuma and his lawyer as part of their corruption investigation of the politician, who is scheduled to go on trial in August for fraud, bribery and other wrongdoing tied to an arms scandal. Government spokesman Themba Maseko said the bills dissolving the unit would be tabled in parliament this week and be followed by public hearings, the Times said. The ANC-dominated parliament is expected to ratify the move.
Established by Mbeki in 1999 to fight high-profile corruption cases, the Scorpions have scored successes against organised crime, despite seeing their reputation attacked as a result of the Zuma investigation. The unit is not part of the police and reports to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA). The NPA in turn answers to South Africa's Justice Department. The Scorpions had waged a turf war with the police and were accused of using their power to settle scores, most notably in Zuma's corruption case but also in an investigation of the country's police chief. Zuma is widely seen as the frontrunner to replace Mbeki, who must leave office in 2009, and Zuma supporters have been purging party and parliamentary bodies of the most pro-Mbeki officials.
The rivalry between the two has stoked investor fears of political instability in Africa's largest economy. It is unclear, however, whether disbanding the Scorpions will have any bearing on the legal case against Zuma, who has pledged to step down as ANC leader if convicted. Mbeki fought to save the Scorpions and had the support of the main opposition party, but his ministers were lukewarm to the idea in the face of pressure from the Zuma-led ANC. The South African leader is due on Monday to release a report of an investigation into the Scorpions that will recommend the unit be retained while criticising the way it operated, the Times said.
Source: Polity
The FBI-style unit had been living on borrowed time since Zuma beat Mbeki for the leadership of the ruling African National Congress in December. Zuma's camp accused the Scorpions of engaging in a plot to smear and deny Zuma the ANC top job. In 2005, the unit raided properties belonging to Zuma and his lawyer as part of their corruption investigation of the politician, who is scheduled to go on trial in August for fraud, bribery and other wrongdoing tied to an arms scandal. Government spokesman Themba Maseko said the bills dissolving the unit would be tabled in parliament this week and be followed by public hearings, the Times said. The ANC-dominated parliament is expected to ratify the move.
Established by Mbeki in 1999 to fight high-profile corruption cases, the Scorpions have scored successes against organised crime, despite seeing their reputation attacked as a result of the Zuma investigation. The unit is not part of the police and reports to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA). The NPA in turn answers to South Africa's Justice Department. The Scorpions had waged a turf war with the police and were accused of using their power to settle scores, most notably in Zuma's corruption case but also in an investigation of the country's police chief. Zuma is widely seen as the frontrunner to replace Mbeki, who must leave office in 2009, and Zuma supporters have been purging party and parliamentary bodies of the most pro-Mbeki officials.
The rivalry between the two has stoked investor fears of political instability in Africa's largest economy. It is unclear, however, whether disbanding the Scorpions will have any bearing on the legal case against Zuma, who has pledged to step down as ANC leader if convicted. Mbeki fought to save the Scorpions and had the support of the main opposition party, but his ministers were lukewarm to the idea in the face of pressure from the Zuma-led ANC. The South African leader is due on Monday to release a report of an investigation into the Scorpions that will recommend the unit be retained while criticising the way it operated, the Times said.
Source: Polity
Khampepe commission of inquiry into the mandate and location of the Directorate of Special Operations
This report, compiled by Justice Sisi Khampepe, was intended to create a guideline and provide direction into the mandate and location of the Directorate of Special Operations.
The report can be found here.
Source: Polity
The report can be found here.
Source: Polity
Friday, April 25, 2008
Investigation into Teta almost complete
Fidentia CE J Arthur Brown was on Thursday late for a scheduled appearance in the Cape Town Magistrate's Court, on charges that include fraud involving the Transport, Education and Training Authority (Teta). In the dock without him were co-accused Dr Piet Bothma, Teta's CE, and a newcomer, Jacobus Theart, who is cited in the charge sheet as accused number three.
Scorpions prosecutor Bruce Morrison SC, assisted by Tersia du Toit, told the court they had called the case earlier than expected, and that Brown was not at fault for his absence. He and Du Toit had tried without success to telephone Brown to get him to court sooner, they said. The case was postponed to July 29 in Brown's absence.
Morrison said the investigation was almost completed and that there were "just a few more things to be done". He said he envisaged an additional charge to the current charges of fraud, corruption, money laundering, reckless trading and a contravention of the Financial Intelligent Centre Act.
The fraud charge relating to Teta involves over R2m. Theart faces charges of theft involving R800,000 and money laundering. However, Morrison did not indicate to the court how Theart fitted into the picture. He said both the Cape Town and Randburg Courts had jurisdiction to deal with the case, and he would launch an application to centralize the charges -- so they could all be dealt with together in Cape Town.
In the Teta case, the trio are expected to eventually go on trial in the Cape High Court. Later, Brown alone stood in the dock of the Cape Town Regional Court, where he is to go on trial on September 15 on two charges of fraud, one of theft and one of violating the Companies Act.
These charges relate to his involvement with Fidentia. In these proceedings, Du Toit told magistrate Wilma van der Merwe that she had furnished defence attorney Asghar Mia with further particulars to the charges. At her request the case was postponed to May 30.
Source: Moneyweb
Scorpions prosecutor Bruce Morrison SC, assisted by Tersia du Toit, told the court they had called the case earlier than expected, and that Brown was not at fault for his absence. He and Du Toit had tried without success to telephone Brown to get him to court sooner, they said. The case was postponed to July 29 in Brown's absence.
Morrison said the investigation was almost completed and that there were "just a few more things to be done". He said he envisaged an additional charge to the current charges of fraud, corruption, money laundering, reckless trading and a contravention of the Financial Intelligent Centre Act.
The fraud charge relating to Teta involves over R2m. Theart faces charges of theft involving R800,000 and money laundering. However, Morrison did not indicate to the court how Theart fitted into the picture. He said both the Cape Town and Randburg Courts had jurisdiction to deal with the case, and he would launch an application to centralize the charges -- so they could all be dealt with together in Cape Town.
In the Teta case, the trio are expected to eventually go on trial in the Cape High Court. Later, Brown alone stood in the dock of the Cape Town Regional Court, where he is to go on trial on September 15 on two charges of fraud, one of theft and one of violating the Companies Act.
These charges relate to his involvement with Fidentia. In these proceedings, Du Toit told magistrate Wilma van der Merwe that she had furnished defence attorney Asghar Mia with further particulars to the charges. At her request the case was postponed to May 30.
Source: Moneyweb
Sunday, April 20, 2008
An executive-minded decision
The issue of land claims and homelessness continues to be one of the most pressing of our social problems. Unsurprisingly, the courts have been drawn into the intricacies of this problem, particularly when it comes to squatters and their removal.
Recently, in the Johannesburg City case, the Constitutional Court sought to guide authorities confronted with the dilemma of the removal of a large group of people who reside in unsafe buildings but who have nowhere else to live. The court's judgement ruled that the relevant authority engaged with the affected dwellers before eviction could take place: "Engagement is a two-way process in which the city and those about to become homeless would talk to each other meaningfully in order to achieve certain objectives." This follows earlier qualifications to the previously absolute right of an authority or land owner to evict persons, but its full implications do not appear to have reached Cape Town.
On March 10, the Cape High Court ordered the eviction of about 20 000 residents from the Joe Slovo settlement. The residents argued that the parties that sought their removal -- a company charged with the task of transforming the settlement into formal housing and the provincial and national ministries -- had no legal standing to bring an application for eviction. They also argued they had a expectation that 70% of the opportunities afforded by the new housing at Joe Slovo would be awarded to their community.
The decision on the argument regarding legitimate expectations is illuminating. Their claim on 70% of Joe Slovo was not denied by the applicants for their eviction. The court accepted this and the entitlement would act as a defence against eviction. But the court also found that the initial occupation was unlawful, which can never give rise to a legitimate expectation, so the residents could not rely in law upon the undertaking that had been given to them.
This is surely a controversial judgment. It cites but one decision as authority for this finding. Although there is no unanimity on the point, there is alternative authority that supports the argument that there is a substantive legitimate expectation, where such an undertaking is given, except if the undertaking is made in violation of a statute or when it is not in the public interest. Neither was the case in this dispute; hence there appears to be a significant injustice if people were removed from land where clear promises had been made to them.
But more problematic is the absence of any engagement as set out by the Constitutional Court. Though the Cape High Court found compliance with the Johannesburg City case, the residents asserted that no meaningful consultation had taken place. The applicants conceded that consultation had been limited. No evidence of such engagement was shown.
A unilateral decision was made to move the residents more then 37km, far from where their children went to school and where many were employed.
Of course a court must seek to balance the state's attempt to give effect to its constitutional obligation to provide housing with the rights of those who are homeless but whose actions may frustrate the housing programme. That will often prove to be a difficult balancing exercise, hence some sympathy for the judicial dilemma. But in this case the court manifestly glossed over the undertaking given to the residents and the legal implications of meaningful engagement before any removal could take place. It is this deference to developers and the diminution of the importance of consultation that makes this judgement so problematic.
This case must raise a debate about the meaning of legal transformation.
Recently, in the Johannesburg City case, the Constitutional Court sought to guide authorities confronted with the dilemma of the removal of a large group of people who reside in unsafe buildings but who have nowhere else to live. The court's judgement ruled that the relevant authority engaged with the affected dwellers before eviction could take place: "Engagement is a two-way process in which the city and those about to become homeless would talk to each other meaningfully in order to achieve certain objectives." This follows earlier qualifications to the previously absolute right of an authority or land owner to evict persons, but its full implications do not appear to have reached Cape Town.
On March 10, the Cape High Court ordered the eviction of about 20 000 residents from the Joe Slovo settlement. The residents argued that the parties that sought their removal -- a company charged with the task of transforming the settlement into formal housing and the provincial and national ministries -- had no legal standing to bring an application for eviction. They also argued they had a expectation that 70% of the opportunities afforded by the new housing at Joe Slovo would be awarded to their community.
The decision on the argument regarding legitimate expectations is illuminating. Their claim on 70% of Joe Slovo was not denied by the applicants for their eviction. The court accepted this and the entitlement would act as a defence against eviction. But the court also found that the initial occupation was unlawful, which can never give rise to a legitimate expectation, so the residents could not rely in law upon the undertaking that had been given to them.
This is surely a controversial judgment. It cites but one decision as authority for this finding. Although there is no unanimity on the point, there is alternative authority that supports the argument that there is a substantive legitimate expectation, where such an undertaking is given, except if the undertaking is made in violation of a statute or when it is not in the public interest. Neither was the case in this dispute; hence there appears to be a significant injustice if people were removed from land where clear promises had been made to them.
But more problematic is the absence of any engagement as set out by the Constitutional Court. Though the Cape High Court found compliance with the Johannesburg City case, the residents asserted that no meaningful consultation had taken place. The applicants conceded that consultation had been limited. No evidence of such engagement was shown.
A unilateral decision was made to move the residents more then 37km, far from where their children went to school and where many were employed.
Of course a court must seek to balance the state's attempt to give effect to its constitutional obligation to provide housing with the rights of those who are homeless but whose actions may frustrate the housing programme. That will often prove to be a difficult balancing exercise, hence some sympathy for the judicial dilemma. But in this case the court manifestly glossed over the undertaking given to the residents and the legal implications of meaningful engagement before any removal could take place. It is this deference to developers and the diminution of the importance of consultation that makes this judgement so problematic.
This case must raise a debate about the meaning of legal transformation.
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Zimbabwe Arms Shipped by China Spark an Uproar
A Chinese ship loaded with armaments for Zimbabwe steamed into the port of Durban this week (19 April 2008) and set off a political firefight, putting newfound pressure on South Africa — and now China — to reduce support for Zimbabwe’s government as it cracks down on its rivals after a disputed election.
Dock workers at the Durban port, backed by South Africa’s powerful unions, refused to unload the ammunition and weapons on Friday, vowing protests and threatening violence if the government tried to do it without them.
Source: New York Times
Dock workers at the Durban port, backed by South Africa’s powerful unions, refused to unload the ammunition and weapons on Friday, vowing protests and threatening violence if the government tried to do it without them.
Source: New York Times
Monday, April 14, 2008
UN Rights Council to Review South Africa
South Africa’s human rights record will be scrutinized on April 15, 2008 by the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva at a Universal Periodic Review Session that is likely to focus on abuses around HIV infections, sexual violence, and asylum procedures.
Under the review process, governments submit a written report and nongovernmental organizations are invited to comment on the human rights situation. But since South Africa did not submit its report until the eve of the session, and did not consult ahead of the session with South African civil society groups and international nongovernmental organizations, these groups were only able to present written concerns about a wide range of human rights issues to the council.
Among the topics of concern to Human Rights Watch are:
* The high incidence of sexual violence and the scale of HIV infection in South Africa. It is essential that health provision reform due in May 2008 ensure that all victims of sexual violence have prompt access to and information about post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) to reduce the chance of contracting HIV.
* The 2007 Sexual Offences Act, which requires victims to either file criminal charges with the South African Police or report the alleged offence to a designated health establishment as a condition of receiving PEP. Human Rights Watch and other organizations have found that conditioning assistance on filing a police report may effectively prevent victims from receiving lifesaving PEP because many survivors are reluctant to file charges or because of police delays.
* Asylum procedures, which can be onerous. Asylum-seekers often face obstacles in filing asylum applications. With the deteriorating situation in Zimbabwe, urgent reform is needed to ensure protection for Zimbabweans seeking refuge in South Africa.
Under the review process, governments submit a written report and nongovernmental organizations are invited to comment on the human rights situation. But since South Africa did not submit its report until the eve of the session, and did not consult ahead of the session with South African civil society groups and international nongovernmental organizations, these groups were only able to present written concerns about a wide range of human rights issues to the council.
Among the topics of concern to Human Rights Watch are:
* The high incidence of sexual violence and the scale of HIV infection in South Africa. It is essential that health provision reform due in May 2008 ensure that all victims of sexual violence have prompt access to and information about post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) to reduce the chance of contracting HIV.
* The 2007 Sexual Offences Act, which requires victims to either file criminal charges with the South African Police or report the alleged offence to a designated health establishment as a condition of receiving PEP. Human Rights Watch and other organizations have found that conditioning assistance on filing a police report may effectively prevent victims from receiving lifesaving PEP because many survivors are reluctant to file charges or because of police delays.
* Asylum procedures, which can be onerous. Asylum-seekers often face obstacles in filing asylum applications. With the deteriorating situation in Zimbabwe, urgent reform is needed to ensure protection for Zimbabweans seeking refuge in South Africa.
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Zuma on crime: Shabangu has a point
Deputy Safety and Security Minister Susan Shabangu's controversial "shoot to kill" comment has received African National Congress (ANC) president Jacob Zuma's backing.
Speaking at the KwaZulu-Natal Institute of Local Government and Traditional Leadership's fund-raising gala dinner on Friday night, Zuma said: "If you have a deputy minister saying the kind of things that the deputy minister was saying, this is what we need to happen." Zuma pointed out that police had at one stage been "asked not to shoot at criminals". "Because the fact of the matter [is that] criminals shoot police. Instead of talking at that level, we ought to be seeing action that we are tougher on the criminals. That's the point I'm making. What the deputy minister was saying is what we are to be doing is dealing with the criminals rather than talking about it."
Shabangu, who was speaking at an anti-crime imbizo (meeting) in Pretoria West, was quoted by the Pretoria News as saying: ""You must kill the bastards if they threaten you or the community. You must not worry about the regulations. That is my responsibility. Your responsibility is to serve and protect." While her comments have sparked outrage among some and received the backing of others, the issue of crime has been raised repeatedly at several functions attended by the ANC president in Durban and Richards Bay during the past two days. "You know, if you haven't experienced crime, you can theorise about it, but for those that have experienced it, it is a painful thing," Zuma said. He said he had visited the Cape Flats and heard several horrendous crime stories. He added that many of those who felt strongly about crime had been victims themselves. Addressing the media, he said: "I'm hoping that when you write, [you] don't sensationalise what I said. Use the words that say exactly what I say. I just hope the clarity is as clear as I put it."
Earlier on Friday, Zuma had said that the issue of bail for those accused of rape and murder needed to be debated. "I don't think we have debated the issue. Let us do something that favours the victim and not the criminal." Asked if he was personally in favour of rape and murder accused being denied bail, Zuma said: "I'm not saying it's my personal view. I want to say that these things need to be looked at." Zuma cited a number of examples where members of the public had questioned him about criminals being released on bail. "I have not been able to give them answers. We over-stretch human rights sometimes," he said. He pointed out that once a murder had taken place, a person's right to life had already been infringed. "We need to look at the things we do that don't favour the victim." He also said it was an "open secret" that murderers released on bail often interfered with witnesses.
At the dinner, Zuma said he believed that education could play a major role in combating crime. If the country could tackle crime, health and education, many of its problems would be resolved. He suggested that remuneration in these three sectors needed to be addressed. "I don't think we should be afraid to pay for those services," he said.
Source: Mail & Guardian
Speaking at the KwaZulu-Natal Institute of Local Government and Traditional Leadership's fund-raising gala dinner on Friday night, Zuma said: "If you have a deputy minister saying the kind of things that the deputy minister was saying, this is what we need to happen." Zuma pointed out that police had at one stage been "asked not to shoot at criminals". "Because the fact of the matter [is that] criminals shoot police. Instead of talking at that level, we ought to be seeing action that we are tougher on the criminals. That's the point I'm making. What the deputy minister was saying is what we are to be doing is dealing with the criminals rather than talking about it."
Shabangu, who was speaking at an anti-crime imbizo (meeting) in Pretoria West, was quoted by the Pretoria News as saying: ""You must kill the bastards if they threaten you or the community. You must not worry about the regulations. That is my responsibility. Your responsibility is to serve and protect." While her comments have sparked outrage among some and received the backing of others, the issue of crime has been raised repeatedly at several functions attended by the ANC president in Durban and Richards Bay during the past two days. "You know, if you haven't experienced crime, you can theorise about it, but for those that have experienced it, it is a painful thing," Zuma said. He said he had visited the Cape Flats and heard several horrendous crime stories. He added that many of those who felt strongly about crime had been victims themselves. Addressing the media, he said: "I'm hoping that when you write, [you] don't sensationalise what I said. Use the words that say exactly what I say. I just hope the clarity is as clear as I put it."
Earlier on Friday, Zuma had said that the issue of bail for those accused of rape and murder needed to be debated. "I don't think we have debated the issue. Let us do something that favours the victim and not the criminal." Asked if he was personally in favour of rape and murder accused being denied bail, Zuma said: "I'm not saying it's my personal view. I want to say that these things need to be looked at." Zuma cited a number of examples where members of the public had questioned him about criminals being released on bail. "I have not been able to give them answers. We over-stretch human rights sometimes," he said. He pointed out that once a murder had taken place, a person's right to life had already been infringed. "We need to look at the things we do that don't favour the victim." He also said it was an "open secret" that murderers released on bail often interfered with witnesses.
At the dinner, Zuma said he believed that education could play a major role in combating crime. If the country could tackle crime, health and education, many of its problems would be resolved. He suggested that remuneration in these three sectors needed to be addressed. "I don't think we should be afraid to pay for those services," he said.
Source: Mail & Guardian
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Kill the criminals, minister tells cops
Deputy Minister of Safety and Security Susan Shabangu told police that they should kill criminals if they threaten police or the community, the Star reported on Thursday. "You must kill the bastards if they threaten you or the community. You must not worry about the regulations. That is my responsibility. Your responsibility is to serve and protect," Shabangu said at an anti-crime imbizo in Pretoria West on Wednesday.
Shabangu, who received a standing ovation, was responding to questions on what police and the government are doing to curb crime. Residents of Danville, Pretoria West, Lotus Gardens, Hercules and Elandspoort complained about the "pathetic excuses" given by police allegedly unable or unwilling to deal with crime. "I want to assure the police station commissioners and policemen and women from these areas that they have permission to kill these criminals. "I won't tolerate any pathetic excuses for you not being able to deal with crime. You have been given guns, now use them." She added that there should be no warning shots. "I want no warning shots. You have one shot and it must be a kill shot. If you miss, the criminals will go for the kill. They don't miss. We can't take this chance. "Criminals are hell-bent on undermining the law and they must now be dealt with. If criminals dare to threaten the police or the livelihood or lives of innocent men, women and children, they must be killed. End of story. There are to be no negotiations with criminals."
She said law-abiding people and not the criminals must be protected. "I say that criminals must be made to pay for their crimes. The Constitution says criminals must be kept safe, but I say No!" she said.
Source: Mail & Guardian
Shabangu, who received a standing ovation, was responding to questions on what police and the government are doing to curb crime. Residents of Danville, Pretoria West, Lotus Gardens, Hercules and Elandspoort complained about the "pathetic excuses" given by police allegedly unable or unwilling to deal with crime. "I want to assure the police station commissioners and policemen and women from these areas that they have permission to kill these criminals. "I won't tolerate any pathetic excuses for you not being able to deal with crime. You have been given guns, now use them." She added that there should be no warning shots. "I want no warning shots. You have one shot and it must be a kill shot. If you miss, the criminals will go for the kill. They don't miss. We can't take this chance. "Criminals are hell-bent on undermining the law and they must now be dealt with. If criminals dare to threaten the police or the livelihood or lives of innocent men, women and children, they must be killed. End of story. There are to be no negotiations with criminals."
She said law-abiding people and not the criminals must be protected. "I say that criminals must be made to pay for their crimes. The Constitution says criminals must be kept safe, but I say No!" she said.
Source: Mail & Guardian
Saturday, April 5, 2008
McCarthy resignation a mystery
The Presidency and Justice Ministry on Friday claimed to have no knowledge of Scorpions boss Leonard McCarthy's attempts to resign.
They also claimed to knowing nothing about President Thabo Mbeki's reported refusal to accept the resignation letter. "There's no such thing," said presidential spokesperson Mukoni Ratshitanga. "Leonard McCarthy accounts to the minister of justice. The Department of Justice will deal with this matter."
Spokesperson for Justice Minister Brigitte Mabandla, Zolile Nqayi said he knew neither of a reported meeting between McCarthy and the Justice Ministry, nor of the resignation itself.
The Cape Times reported on Friday that Mbeki was apparently refusing to accept McCarthy's resignation letter, which was submitted this week. According to the article, the newspaper had "reliably learnt" that McCarthy met Deputy Justice Minister Johnny de Lange on Thursday to discuss the issue. The government, the National Prosecuting Authority and legal sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed the meeting, as well as Mbeki's apparent reluctance to accept the resignation, the Cape Times reported.
Source: News 24
They also claimed to knowing nothing about President Thabo Mbeki's reported refusal to accept the resignation letter. "There's no such thing," said presidential spokesperson Mukoni Ratshitanga. "Leonard McCarthy accounts to the minister of justice. The Department of Justice will deal with this matter."
Spokesperson for Justice Minister Brigitte Mabandla, Zolile Nqayi said he knew neither of a reported meeting between McCarthy and the Justice Ministry, nor of the resignation itself.
The Cape Times reported on Friday that Mbeki was apparently refusing to accept McCarthy's resignation letter, which was submitted this week. According to the article, the newspaper had "reliably learnt" that McCarthy met Deputy Justice Minister Johnny de Lange on Thursday to discuss the issue. The government, the National Prosecuting Authority and legal sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed the meeting, as well as Mbeki's apparent reluctance to accept the resignation, the Cape Times reported.
Source: News 24
Friday, April 4, 2008
FBI nabs Fidentia fugitive
One of the alleged masterminds in the Fidentia scandal was arrested by the FBI in the United States, the National Prosecuting Authority said on Tuesday. Spokesperson Tlali Tlali said Steven William Goodwin was arrested following a request by the Directorate of Special Operations, better known as the Scorpions.
According to the NPA, Goodwin was detained on Saturday at Los Angeles airport by US authorities and the Customs and Immigration Department. "Their intervention followed an alert issued by Interpol that Goodwin was en route to the US and that a warrant for his arrest had been issued in South Africa in July 2007. "Goodwin left South Africa for Australia in early February 2007, following the appointment of a curator to manage the Fidentia group of companies and before the Scorpions investigation was authorised in February 2007," said Tlali.
Goodwin was described as the "real founder" of Fidentia and has been named repeatedly in a draft indictment against Fidentia boss J Arthur Brown. He left South Africa just days before Brown was arrested in March last year. The draft charge sheet says that at the time Goodwin owned and was MD of a company named Worthytrade 185. Acting as a broker, he initiated the contact that resulted in the Transport Education Training Authority (Teta) entrusting promissory notes worth R100,3-million to Maddock Incorporated in April 2003.
The NPA has 60 days within which to apply for Goodwin's extradition and is preparing papers to launch such an application, said Tlali. "The Scorpions are currently working with the US Department of Justice to ensure the matter is resolved speedily and successfully. Once on South African soil, Goodwin will face charges of theft, fraud and corruption running into millions," he said. The charge sheet says Brown acted "in the execution of a common purpose" with Goodwin in providing a R6-million bribe to ensure that the Teta board made the investment with FAM. Goodwin is also named repeatedly in the section of the charge sheet that deals with money laundering.
Brown will go on trial in September on fraud and theft charges. He is out on R1-million bail.
The financial director of Fidentia, Graham Maddock, was effectively jailed for seven years on 54 counts involving fraud, theft, money laundering, contraventions of the Financial Intelligence Centre Act and the reckless or fraudulent conduct of business.
Source: Mail & Guardian
According to the NPA, Goodwin was detained on Saturday at Los Angeles airport by US authorities and the Customs and Immigration Department. "Their intervention followed an alert issued by Interpol that Goodwin was en route to the US and that a warrant for his arrest had been issued in South Africa in July 2007. "Goodwin left South Africa for Australia in early February 2007, following the appointment of a curator to manage the Fidentia group of companies and before the Scorpions investigation was authorised in February 2007," said Tlali.
Goodwin was described as the "real founder" of Fidentia and has been named repeatedly in a draft indictment against Fidentia boss J Arthur Brown. He left South Africa just days before Brown was arrested in March last year. The draft charge sheet says that at the time Goodwin owned and was MD of a company named Worthytrade 185. Acting as a broker, he initiated the contact that resulted in the Transport Education Training Authority (Teta) entrusting promissory notes worth R100,3-million to Maddock Incorporated in April 2003.
The NPA has 60 days within which to apply for Goodwin's extradition and is preparing papers to launch such an application, said Tlali. "The Scorpions are currently working with the US Department of Justice to ensure the matter is resolved speedily and successfully. Once on South African soil, Goodwin will face charges of theft, fraud and corruption running into millions," he said. The charge sheet says Brown acted "in the execution of a common purpose" with Goodwin in providing a R6-million bribe to ensure that the Teta board made the investment with FAM. Goodwin is also named repeatedly in the section of the charge sheet that deals with money laundering.
Brown will go on trial in September on fraud and theft charges. He is out on R1-million bail.
The financial director of Fidentia, Graham Maddock, was effectively jailed for seven years on 54 counts involving fraud, theft, money laundering, contraventions of the Financial Intelligence Centre Act and the reckless or fraudulent conduct of business.
Source: Mail & Guardian
Monday, March 24, 2008
The Prince of Mines
Patrice Motsepe entered the mining business when South Africa ended apartheid. Today the onetime lawyer and avowed capitalist is the country's first black billionaire.
On a brilliantly sunny Thursday in January, Patrice Motsepe, a vigorous 46-year-old with regal posture, is striding through a gleaming shopping mall on the Cape Town waterfront. Suddenly a crowd forms. A half-dozen employees from the Build-A-Bear Workshop ask for his autograph. Two giggling young women roll up their sleeves as Motsepe signs their arms with a black marker, smiling while admirers snap photos with cell phones. An older woman approaches Motsepe and nearly swoons, grasping his arm and laying her head on his chest as he pats her back and murmurs thank you in Xhosa, one of the six African languages he speaks.
All this is not for a movie star or entertainer but for South Africa's first black billionaire. Over 15 years Motsepe, preaching free market capitalism, turned a low-level mining services business into the country's first black-owned mining company, African Rainbow Minerals, with 2007 revenue of $875 million. Driven by the Asian commodities boom, ARM's share price has rocketed in the past year from $12 to $24, pushing the value of Motsepe's net worth to $2.4 billion. Motsepe, a lawyer by training, serves as ARM's executive chairman, with a 42% stake in the company. He also owns a 5.5% stake worth $295 million in Sanlam, a publicly traded financial services company outside Cape Town.
By billionaire standards Motsepe has a modest lifestyle. His three sons attend prestigious private schools, but he has only one home, in the affluent Johannesburg suburb of Bryanston, and no yacht or plane. His one indulgence is to own the Mamelodi Sundowns, a soccer team. It doesn't tarnish his star quality that he's married to one of South Africa's most glamorous women, a medical doctor turned fashion impresario.
But for all the adulation, in South Africa such success comes with a price: being labeled an oligarch. Even many blacks have complained that the country's 1994 transformation from apartheid to democracy has benefited only the elite few. The criticism stems from laws that require substantial black ownership in certain industries, including mining. A handful of politically connected individuals have grown enormously wealthy as a result. One of Motsepe's sisters, Bridgette Radebe, who's married to transport minister Jeffrey Radebe, heads a mining company and is said to be among the wealthiest black women in the country. "It's called crony capitalism," says Moeletsi Mbeki, 62, brother of South Africa's president and an outspoken critic of the race-preference laws. "It's an anticompetitive system."
Motsepe concedes he benefited from the system yet says that his success was no handout, as he began building his mining business before the laws started taking effect in 2005. He says, "The legislation came way after we did our deals."
Motsepe and his family were in a better position than most to take advantage of the end of apartheid. Born in the sprawling black township of Soweto (next to Johannesburg), where his mother had grown up, Motsepe is a member of a royal clan within the Tswana tribe. He is, in fact, a prince.
Motsepe's father, Augustine Motsepe, was a critic of the apartheid regime. Before his son Patrice was born, Augustine was banished by the government to Hammanskraal, a rural area north of Pretoria where the government thought he could do less damage (he named his son after Patrice Lumumba, head of the Republic of the Congo and one of the first black African postcolonial leaders). There he opened a grocery store and then a beer hall and restaurant. "People don't know that there were very successful black businessmen in the years of apartheid," says Motsepe.
Though one of Patrice's maternal great-grandfathers came from Scotland, the old government classified the Motsepes as African. The family had to pull strings to get their seven children admitted to an Afrikaans-language Catholic boarding school that was officially designated for so-called "coloreds," South Africans of mixed race. From age 6, Motsepe spent school holidays working behind the counter in his father's store, where he says he learned his earliest lessons about business. "Whenever my father made a profit, he always plowed it back into the store," Motsepe recalls.
He graduated from the University of Swaziland and then became one of the few black law graduates of the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, designated whites-only by the apartheid government (Motsepe had to apply for an exemption to attend). In 1988 he joined Bowman Gilfillan, one of South Africa's largest corporate law firms, and in 1993 he became the firm's first black partner. Energetic and affable, Motsepe never wore his race on his sleeve, says Bowman partner and longtime Motsepe lawyer and confidant Neil Rissik.
Indeed, ask Motsepe about what it was like to grow up as a black man under the violent, racist apartheid regime and he responds with bromides. "The apartheid system was very bad for our people, very bad," he says blandly, switching quickly to the positive. "Only in South Africa could you have a change in government without civil war. If there wasn't the depth of love and caring among our people, this would not have happened."
Source: Forbes Magazine
On a brilliantly sunny Thursday in January, Patrice Motsepe, a vigorous 46-year-old with regal posture, is striding through a gleaming shopping mall on the Cape Town waterfront. Suddenly a crowd forms. A half-dozen employees from the Build-A-Bear Workshop ask for his autograph. Two giggling young women roll up their sleeves as Motsepe signs their arms with a black marker, smiling while admirers snap photos with cell phones. An older woman approaches Motsepe and nearly swoons, grasping his arm and laying her head on his chest as he pats her back and murmurs thank you in Xhosa, one of the six African languages he speaks.
All this is not for a movie star or entertainer but for South Africa's first black billionaire. Over 15 years Motsepe, preaching free market capitalism, turned a low-level mining services business into the country's first black-owned mining company, African Rainbow Minerals, with 2007 revenue of $875 million. Driven by the Asian commodities boom, ARM's share price has rocketed in the past year from $12 to $24, pushing the value of Motsepe's net worth to $2.4 billion. Motsepe, a lawyer by training, serves as ARM's executive chairman, with a 42% stake in the company. He also owns a 5.5% stake worth $295 million in Sanlam, a publicly traded financial services company outside Cape Town.
By billionaire standards Motsepe has a modest lifestyle. His three sons attend prestigious private schools, but he has only one home, in the affluent Johannesburg suburb of Bryanston, and no yacht or plane. His one indulgence is to own the Mamelodi Sundowns, a soccer team. It doesn't tarnish his star quality that he's married to one of South Africa's most glamorous women, a medical doctor turned fashion impresario.
But for all the adulation, in South Africa such success comes with a price: being labeled an oligarch. Even many blacks have complained that the country's 1994 transformation from apartheid to democracy has benefited only the elite few. The criticism stems from laws that require substantial black ownership in certain industries, including mining. A handful of politically connected individuals have grown enormously wealthy as a result. One of Motsepe's sisters, Bridgette Radebe, who's married to transport minister Jeffrey Radebe, heads a mining company and is said to be among the wealthiest black women in the country. "It's called crony capitalism," says Moeletsi Mbeki, 62, brother of South Africa's president and an outspoken critic of the race-preference laws. "It's an anticompetitive system."
Motsepe concedes he benefited from the system yet says that his success was no handout, as he began building his mining business before the laws started taking effect in 2005. He says, "The legislation came way after we did our deals."
Motsepe and his family were in a better position than most to take advantage of the end of apartheid. Born in the sprawling black township of Soweto (next to Johannesburg), where his mother had grown up, Motsepe is a member of a royal clan within the Tswana tribe. He is, in fact, a prince.
Motsepe's father, Augustine Motsepe, was a critic of the apartheid regime. Before his son Patrice was born, Augustine was banished by the government to Hammanskraal, a rural area north of Pretoria where the government thought he could do less damage (he named his son after Patrice Lumumba, head of the Republic of the Congo and one of the first black African postcolonial leaders). There he opened a grocery store and then a beer hall and restaurant. "People don't know that there were very successful black businessmen in the years of apartheid," says Motsepe.
Though one of Patrice's maternal great-grandfathers came from Scotland, the old government classified the Motsepes as African. The family had to pull strings to get their seven children admitted to an Afrikaans-language Catholic boarding school that was officially designated for so-called "coloreds," South Africans of mixed race. From age 6, Motsepe spent school holidays working behind the counter in his father's store, where he says he learned his earliest lessons about business. "Whenever my father made a profit, he always plowed it back into the store," Motsepe recalls.
He graduated from the University of Swaziland and then became one of the few black law graduates of the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, designated whites-only by the apartheid government (Motsepe had to apply for an exemption to attend). In 1988 he joined Bowman Gilfillan, one of South Africa's largest corporate law firms, and in 1993 he became the firm's first black partner. Energetic and affable, Motsepe never wore his race on his sleeve, says Bowman partner and longtime Motsepe lawyer and confidant Neil Rissik.
Indeed, ask Motsepe about what it was like to grow up as a black man under the violent, racist apartheid regime and he responds with bromides. "The apartheid system was very bad for our people, very bad," he says blandly, switching quickly to the positive. "Only in South Africa could you have a change in government without civil war. If there wasn't the depth of love and caring among our people, this would not have happened."
Source: Forbes Magazine
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
'If you show that you support MDC, you will starve'
Credible elections in Zimbabwe were among the main objectives of the talks between the Zimbabwean government and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) last year. But despite new regulations, Zimbabwe's polls are unlikely to be free or fair.
President Robert Mugabe's government would like the world to believe otherwise, arguing that political space has been opened up for the opposition to campaign. Neighbouring states should look beyond the rhetoric as, sadly, nothing could be further from the truth.
For weeks now, I've been travelling through Zimbabwe's 10 provinces. Ordinary voters around the country described to me how supporters of the ruling party have physically attacked and intimidated people perceived to support the opposition.
Food has become a political weapon. In nearly all the provinces I visited, Zimbabweans told me that only supporters of the ruling Zanu-PF receive state-subsidised grain or farming equipment. An elderly man from Marange in Manicaland province told me: "If you show yourself to support the opposition, you will starve."
In Mutare, even a Zanu-PF loyalist confirmed that the party manipulates the distribution of food according to political loyalty: "It is very easy. Only those who are on the councillors' lists can access the grain," she told me. "At our rallies, only known supporters of Zanu-PF are allowed to attend."
Despite improved electoral laws, across Zimbabwe I found a chaotic -- and easily abused -- voter registration process. The electoral commission is unprepared and partisan. The voting procedure will be new and more complex than before, but there has been minimal voter education around the country. The opposition's access to the broadcast media is restricted.
A local activist from Makonde constituency in Mashonaland West province told me about the intense intimidation of opposition supporters in his area. "The opposition MDC are visited daily by Zanu-PF youth who shout and sing outside their homes," he said. "They call them sell-outs and tell them they will deal with the MDC candidates after the elections."
In spite of the intimidation, violence has been less conspicuous than in previous elections - in part because of prohibitions in the reformed Electoral Act. But, given the widespread violence during elections in 2000 and 2002, mere threats or allusions to past acts are enough to scare people.
In Masvingo province, a primary-school teacher told me how ruling party youths attacked him after he urged people to register to vote.
"They hit me with clubs on my head," he told me. "They displayed me before the rest of the school and now they are keeping an eye on me." Terrible scars were still visible on his head a month after the attack.
The police claim they are taking a "zero tolerance" approach to violence ahead of the polls, although many members of the police were previously involved in attacks on the opposition, civil society activists and perceived opposition supporters. None of these incidents, documented by Human Rights Watch, have been investigated. The teacher in Masvingo reported the incident, but the perpetrators were never caught.
The onus for reporting violations now rests on regional observers, in particular the Southern African Development Community (SADC) observer mission. International and local observers who charged that previous elections in 2000 and 2002 were blatantly fraudulent were not invited to return for parliamentary elections in 2005, nor for the general elections.
Mugabe's government claims that the elections will conform to the SADC guidelines and principles governing democratic elections. South Africans and their SADC neighbours have a key role to play in the run-up to the elections. SADC should call on the Zimbabwean government to grant access to all election sites. To gauge compliance, observers need to judge the political context in which the elections are being held, not just the voting process itself.
Previous post-election assessments by SADC were alarmingly positive, despite widespread human rights abuses and irregularities in the last three polls. If South Africa and other SADC observers are serious about ending Zimbabwe's political crisis, then another round of flawed elections in Zimbabwe cannot be followed by a "business-as-usual" approach.
South Africans have already seen hundreds of thousands of Zimbabweans vote with their feet by crossing the Limpopo to flee hunger, violence and persecution. Now is the time for SADC to help ordinary Zimbabweans to exercise their right to vote freely at home.
Source: Human Rights Watch
President Robert Mugabe's government would like the world to believe otherwise, arguing that political space has been opened up for the opposition to campaign. Neighbouring states should look beyond the rhetoric as, sadly, nothing could be further from the truth.
For weeks now, I've been travelling through Zimbabwe's 10 provinces. Ordinary voters around the country described to me how supporters of the ruling party have physically attacked and intimidated people perceived to support the opposition.
Food has become a political weapon. In nearly all the provinces I visited, Zimbabweans told me that only supporters of the ruling Zanu-PF receive state-subsidised grain or farming equipment. An elderly man from Marange in Manicaland province told me: "If you show yourself to support the opposition, you will starve."
In Mutare, even a Zanu-PF loyalist confirmed that the party manipulates the distribution of food according to political loyalty: "It is very easy. Only those who are on the councillors' lists can access the grain," she told me. "At our rallies, only known supporters of Zanu-PF are allowed to attend."
Despite improved electoral laws, across Zimbabwe I found a chaotic -- and easily abused -- voter registration process. The electoral commission is unprepared and partisan. The voting procedure will be new and more complex than before, but there has been minimal voter education around the country. The opposition's access to the broadcast media is restricted.
A local activist from Makonde constituency in Mashonaland West province told me about the intense intimidation of opposition supporters in his area. "The opposition MDC are visited daily by Zanu-PF youth who shout and sing outside their homes," he said. "They call them sell-outs and tell them they will deal with the MDC candidates after the elections."
In spite of the intimidation, violence has been less conspicuous than in previous elections - in part because of prohibitions in the reformed Electoral Act. But, given the widespread violence during elections in 2000 and 2002, mere threats or allusions to past acts are enough to scare people.
In Masvingo province, a primary-school teacher told me how ruling party youths attacked him after he urged people to register to vote.
"They hit me with clubs on my head," he told me. "They displayed me before the rest of the school and now they are keeping an eye on me." Terrible scars were still visible on his head a month after the attack.
The police claim they are taking a "zero tolerance" approach to violence ahead of the polls, although many members of the police were previously involved in attacks on the opposition, civil society activists and perceived opposition supporters. None of these incidents, documented by Human Rights Watch, have been investigated. The teacher in Masvingo reported the incident, but the perpetrators were never caught.
The onus for reporting violations now rests on regional observers, in particular the Southern African Development Community (SADC) observer mission. International and local observers who charged that previous elections in 2000 and 2002 were blatantly fraudulent were not invited to return for parliamentary elections in 2005, nor for the general elections.
Mugabe's government claims that the elections will conform to the SADC guidelines and principles governing democratic elections. South Africans and their SADC neighbours have a key role to play in the run-up to the elections. SADC should call on the Zimbabwean government to grant access to all election sites. To gauge compliance, observers need to judge the political context in which the elections are being held, not just the voting process itself.
Previous post-election assessments by SADC were alarmingly positive, despite widespread human rights abuses and irregularities in the last three polls. If South Africa and other SADC observers are serious about ending Zimbabwe's political crisis, then another round of flawed elections in Zimbabwe cannot be followed by a "business-as-usual" approach.
South Africans have already seen hundreds of thousands of Zimbabweans vote with their feet by crossing the Limpopo to flee hunger, violence and persecution. Now is the time for SADC to help ordinary Zimbabweans to exercise their right to vote freely at home.
Source: Human Rights Watch
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Shock testimony at Taylor trial
Charles Taylor celebrated his rise to power in Liberia with a ceremony involving a human sacrifice, burying a pregnant woman alive in sand, one of his former military commanders has testified. The admission came during a trial at The Hague where the former president is accused of war crimes. During a day of grim testimony, Joseph "Zigzag" Marzah described the ceremony and acknowledged committing hundreds of other murders on Taylor's orders.
"We executed everybody - babies, women, old men. There were so many executions. I can't remember them all," Marzah told the court. Among the victims were Taylor's opponents and former allies who he thought had betrayed him, Marzah said. One was a guerrilla commander known as Superman, who Taylor ordered executed and his severed hand brought to him as proof of his death. The killers ceremonially ate Superman's heart, and afterwards were given $200 each which they were told came from Taylor for "cigarette money".
Taylor often leaned forward with a scowl on his face as he listened to Marzah's testimony for more than five hours. Asked under cross-examination if he had any "pangs of conscience", Marzah replied "yes", but said he had no difficulty carrying out his orders."I was a servant to my chief, Charles Taylor," he said. He was adamant that Taylor had specifically ordered him to chop off hands, and paid a monetary reward for the killing of babies. He recalled receiving an order from Taylor to cut open a woman close to giving birth because the unborn child "is an enemy". Under prompting from Courtenay Griffith, defence counsel, Marzah said: "It's not difficult to kill a baby. Sometimes you just knock them on the head, sometimes you throw them in a pit, sometimes you throw them in the river and they are dead. Then you give the report to Charles Taylor."
Prosecutors described Marzah as one of their key witnesses, testifying with inside knowledge of the former Liberian president's operations in Liberia and neighbouring Sierra Leone. In both countries he is accused of responsibility for the widespread murder, rape and amputations committed by soldiers loyal to him.
The first former African head of state to face an international tribunal, Taylor, 59, has pleaded not guilty to 11 charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity. He is being tried by the UN-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone. His trial began last year but was halted for six months after a chaotic first day on which he fired his legal team. The case resumed in January, when prosecutors began to call the first of dozens of witnesses expected to testify.
Describing the ceremony on the beach behind White Flower, Taylor's executive mansion in Monrovia, Marzah said a woman was placed standing up in a pit between two oil drums, then covered over with sand. Then a white sheep was killed on the spot. "It was a sacrifice," Marzah said. Taylor "was the first person to put sand in his hand and put it in the hole". Marzah said the event happened in 1995, although Taylor did not come to power until he won an election in 1997. At other times, Marzah repeatedly became frustrated and angry when questioned too closely about the timing of events, saying he had been with Taylor "from beginning to end," and had done too much to recall the dates of each event.
Marzah said Taylor encouraged his fighters to "play with human blood" to create fear among his enemies. He described militia checkpoints meant to terrify the population. After setting up roadblocks, "we used human intestines. We put heads on sticks for people to be afraid. "When the person is executed, the stomach is split and you use the intestine as a rope".
Source: Al Jazeera
NPA: Parly 'incorrect' over Browse report
Parliament's joint standing committee on intelligence came to "incorrect conclusions" in its report on the so-called "Special Consolidated Report" produced by the Scorpions, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said on Wednesday.
Source: Mail and Guardian
Source: Mail and Guardian
Monday, March 10, 2008
Anger at Cape eviction order
The Cape High Court has given the go-ahead for the eviction of several thousand residents of the Joe Slovo informal settlement to make way for a housing development. The order, handed down by Judge President John Hlophe on Monday, followed an application by state-owned developer Thubelisha Homes, Housing Minister Lindiwe Sisulu and Western Cape minister of housing Richard Dyantyi. Hundreds of Joe Slovo residents, who had gathered in the street outside the court, chanted angry slogans after the judgment was handed down.
Anti-Eviction Campaign coordinator Mzonke Poni said: "We really do not welcome the judgement because we are saying there's no way a judge can issue an order to evict more than 20 000 people without considering the impact it will have on their livelihoods. The residents are being evicted to make way for the construction of the N2 Gateway housing project.
Source: Mail & Guardian
Anti-Eviction Campaign coordinator Mzonke Poni said: "We really do not welcome the judgement because we are saying there's no way a judge can issue an order to evict more than 20 000 people without considering the impact it will have on their livelihoods. The residents are being evicted to make way for the construction of the N2 Gateway housing project.
Source: Mail & Guardian
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Cosatu axes Willie Madisha
The suspended head of South Africa's main union body, an ally of President Thabo Mbeki, has been expelled after a probe into the disappearance of a large cash donation, media reports said on Wednesday.
Willie Madisha's expulsion was decided at the central executive committee meeting of the labour federation, Cosatu, which considered a report on the missing money, public radio reported. The Sowetan and Business Day newspapers also said Madisha, a vocal backer of Mbeki, had been fired.
Source: News24
Willie Madisha's expulsion was decided at the central executive committee meeting of the labour federation, Cosatu, which considered a report on the missing money, public radio reported. The Sowetan and Business Day newspapers also said Madisha, a vocal backer of Mbeki, had been fired.
Source: News24
Monday, February 25, 2008
Don't sacrifice lives for profit, says Motsepe
No life could be "sacrificed" in the name of profits, mining magnate and businessman Patrice Motsepe told protesting workers at a ferromanganese smelter near Durban on Monday. Speaking to workers, who on Monday staged a protest at the Assmang smelter following Sunday's blast that claimed the lives of five people, Motsepe said: "There is no life that can be sacrificed in the name of profits or making money. I will not tolerate it."
Motsepe, who is the largest single shareholder in African Rainbow Minerals, which is a 50% shareholder in Assmang, said that the circumstances surrounding Sunday's accident appeared to be similar to an accident that happened at the smelter last year. Motsepe spoke to workers after meeting with the Assmang management as well as senior workers' representatives. The explosion and subsequent fire ripped through the number six furnace of the smelter shortly before 5am in Cato Ridge, about 60km from Durban. One person died at the scene while a further four died during the course of Sunday and Monday morning. After addressing the workers, Motsepe told journalist that he could not comment on the cause of the accident until the completion of investigations. "We are not representing shareholders' interests if there is no zero tolerance towards [poor] safety," he said. Following the blast, the smelter's six furnaces were shut down. Motsepe could not immediately say how much the shutdown was costing the company. However, even though the smelter had been shut down, the estimated 700 workers were still expected to report for work to ensure that they were paid.
KwaZulu-Natal provincial minister of social welfare Meshak Radebe and Durban mayor Obed Mlaba also briefly spoke to the protesting workers. Earlier in the day about 100 workers marched from the smelter to the Cato Ridge Country club with a coffin, which they then placed in the middle of a hall where a Labour Department inquiry into a manganese poisoning case at Assmang was being held. The inquiry had to be postponed and was resumed later in the afternoon when the workers returned to the smelter. The inquiry, headed by Vuli Sibisi, is investigating the alleged 40 cases of manganism caused by workers breathing in fumes with airborne manganese particles.
Manganism is acquired by over-exposure to airborne manganese and is a disease that affects the sufferer's central nervous system, leaving them with symptoms very similar to Parkinson's disease and multiple sclerosis. Assmang executive director, Brian Brookeman, was about to give testimony when the workers marched into the hall with their coffin. On Monday, the Labour Department announced that the company would be subject to a second inquiry that would investigate the cause of Sunday's explosion. Labour department spokesperson Zolisa Sigabi said "a full-scale government investigation is under way following yesterday's [Sunday] massive explosion. The inquiry aims at establishing the cause of the tragedy, including any possible negligence or flouting of occupational health and safety measures," she said. On Sunday she said: "Labour inspectors who immediately arrived at the scene have in a preliminary report indicated that it is suspected that a water leakage into furnace number six caused the explosion to occur."
Earlier, National Union of Metalworkers (Numsa) spokesperson Mziwakhe Hlangani said that the company's engineers had ordered that the furnace be shut down before the explosion "after it was detected to have a water leakage". "We do not know how and why it was operated by the night-shift staff operators, because it was declared unsafe to put it [the furnace] in operation and we believe drastic steps after thorough investigations should be taken," Numsa local organiser Siphiwe Ntsele said. He said it was the second blast in nearly three months. He claimed that a worker had died on December 14 2007, in a similar blast.
Labour Minister Membathisi Mdladlana on Monday condemned the blast and vowed to "pull all stops in getting someone to account for the deaths and injuries" in Sunday's incident.
Source: IoL
Motsepe, who is the largest single shareholder in African Rainbow Minerals, which is a 50% shareholder in Assmang, said that the circumstances surrounding Sunday's accident appeared to be similar to an accident that happened at the smelter last year. Motsepe spoke to workers after meeting with the Assmang management as well as senior workers' representatives. The explosion and subsequent fire ripped through the number six furnace of the smelter shortly before 5am in Cato Ridge, about 60km from Durban. One person died at the scene while a further four died during the course of Sunday and Monday morning. After addressing the workers, Motsepe told journalist that he could not comment on the cause of the accident until the completion of investigations. "We are not representing shareholders' interests if there is no zero tolerance towards [poor] safety," he said. Following the blast, the smelter's six furnaces were shut down. Motsepe could not immediately say how much the shutdown was costing the company. However, even though the smelter had been shut down, the estimated 700 workers were still expected to report for work to ensure that they were paid.
KwaZulu-Natal provincial minister of social welfare Meshak Radebe and Durban mayor Obed Mlaba also briefly spoke to the protesting workers. Earlier in the day about 100 workers marched from the smelter to the Cato Ridge Country club with a coffin, which they then placed in the middle of a hall where a Labour Department inquiry into a manganese poisoning case at Assmang was being held. The inquiry had to be postponed and was resumed later in the afternoon when the workers returned to the smelter. The inquiry, headed by Vuli Sibisi, is investigating the alleged 40 cases of manganism caused by workers breathing in fumes with airborne manganese particles.
Manganism is acquired by over-exposure to airborne manganese and is a disease that affects the sufferer's central nervous system, leaving them with symptoms very similar to Parkinson's disease and multiple sclerosis. Assmang executive director, Brian Brookeman, was about to give testimony when the workers marched into the hall with their coffin. On Monday, the Labour Department announced that the company would be subject to a second inquiry that would investigate the cause of Sunday's explosion. Labour department spokesperson Zolisa Sigabi said "a full-scale government investigation is under way following yesterday's [Sunday] massive explosion. The inquiry aims at establishing the cause of the tragedy, including any possible negligence or flouting of occupational health and safety measures," she said. On Sunday she said: "Labour inspectors who immediately arrived at the scene have in a preliminary report indicated that it is suspected that a water leakage into furnace number six caused the explosion to occur."
Earlier, National Union of Metalworkers (Numsa) spokesperson Mziwakhe Hlangani said that the company's engineers had ordered that the furnace be shut down before the explosion "after it was detected to have a water leakage". "We do not know how and why it was operated by the night-shift staff operators, because it was declared unsafe to put it [the furnace] in operation and we believe drastic steps after thorough investigations should be taken," Numsa local organiser Siphiwe Ntsele said. He said it was the second blast in nearly three months. He claimed that a worker had died on December 14 2007, in a similar blast.
Labour Minister Membathisi Mdladlana on Monday condemned the blast and vowed to "pull all stops in getting someone to account for the deaths and injuries" in Sunday's incident.
Source: IoL
Friday, February 22, 2008
New evidence challenges official picture of Kennedy shooting
The official record states that senator Robert F Kennedy, like his brother before him, was killed by a crazed lone gunman. But the assassination of a man who seemed to embody so much hope for a bitterly divided country embroiled in an unpopular war still troubles this nation. Little about the official explanation of the events at the Ambassador Hotel on June 5 1968 makes sense. Now a new forensic analysis of the only audio recording of the fatal shots has given new weight to a controversial theory that there were in fact two shooters, and that the man convicted of Kennedy's killing — Sirhan Sirhan - did not fire the fatal shots.
Following his victory speech to supporters after clinching a tight democratic primary victory in California, Kennedy left the podium in the Embassy ballroom to address a press conference. But the shortcut he and his entourage took through the hotel's pantry quickly descended into bloody mayhem. As Kennedy turned from shaking hands with two of the kitchen staff, a gunman stepped forward and began firing. Kennedy was hit by four shots including one which lodged in the vertebrae in his neck and another which entered his brain from below his right ear. He died in hospital the following day. Five other people were injured but survived.
Sirhan - a Palestinian refugee who said he wanted to "sacrifice" Kennedy "for the cause of the poor exploited people" - was quickly apprehended. He was eventually sentenced to life imprisonment. "Sirhan was apprehended at the scene with literally a smoking gun," said acoustic forensic expert Philip Van Praag of PVP Designs, who has carried out the new analysis. "At the beginning many people looked upon this as an open-and-shut case. It was one man, Sirhan Sirhan, who was observed by a number of people, who aimed and fired a gun in the direction of Kennedy's entourage."
But the lone gunman explanation has always looked shaky. The autopsy of Kennedy's body suggested that all four shots that hit him came from behind, and powder marks on his skin showed they must have been from close range. But Sirhan was in front of Kennedy when he fired, and after shooting two shots was overcome by hotel staff, who pinned him to a table. Also, Sirhan fired eight shots in total, yet 14 were found lodged around the room and in the victims. "There is no doubt in our minds that no fewer than 14 shots were fired in the pantry on that evening and that Sirhan did not in fact kill Senator Kennedy," said Robert Joling, a forensic scientist who has been involved with the Kennedy case for nearly 40 years. He and Van Praag have published a book on the killing this week entitled "An Open and Shut Case".
The inconsistencies in the case have bred numerous conspiracy theories, including the involvement of the CIA and the idea that Sirhan - who claims not to remember the shooting and pleaded insanity at his trial - was a "Manchurian Candidate" assassin who was hypnotically programmed to kill the senator.
Now Van Praag has added new weight to the 'two shooters' theory. He reanalysed the only audio recording of the shooting, which was made by an independent journalist, Stanislaw Pruszynski. "At the time Pruszynski was not even aware that his recorder was still on," said Van Praag. The recording quality is poor, but it is possible to make out 13 shots over the course of just over 5 seconds, before what Van Praag describes as "blood-curdling screams" obscure the sound. That is more than the eight rounds that Sirhan's cheap Iver Johnson Cadet 55 revolver carried.
Also, there are two pairs of double shots that occurred so close together it is inconceivable that Sirhan could have fired them all. The third and fourth shots and the seventh and eighth were separated by 122 and 149 milliseconds respectively. In tests, a trained firearms expert firing under ideal conditions could only manage 366 milliseconds between shots using the same weapon. And he was not being pinned to a table at the time.
Lastly, five of the shots - 3, 5, 8, 10 and 12 in the sequence - were found to have odd acoustic characteristics when specific frequencies were analysed separately. Van Praag thinks this is because they came from a different gun pointing away from Pruszynski's microphone.
To recreate this he recorded the sounds made by firing the Iver Johnson and another revolver, a Harrington and Richardson 922. At least one member of Kennedy's entourage was carrying this weapon when the killing happened. In the acoustic tests it produced the same frequency anomalies Van Praag had seen in the original recording but only when fired away from the microphone. He presented his results on Thursday at the American Academy of Forensic Sciences annual meeting in Washington DC.
Paul Schrade, a close associate of Kennedy's who was director of the United Auto Workers union, was at the senator's side in the pantry and was shot in the head. He told the meeting that America lost an outstanding leader and potentially great president that day. "I think we were in a position of really changing this country," he said. "What we lost was a real hope and possibility of having a better country and having better relations around the world."
He wants to see the case reopened and properly investigated. "We're going to go ahead and do our best to find out who the second gunman was and that's going to take a lot of work," he said. Van Praag also wants the case reexamined. "We would hope that the evidence that we have uncovered ... would make a strong enough case to get serious consideration once again by the authorities," he said.
The following correction was printed in the Guardian's Corrections and clarifications column, Monday March 3 2008
In the report below (regarding new interpretations of forensic evidence relating to the assassination of Robert Kennedy) we stated that he was hit by four shots. However, only three bullets entered his body; the fourth was lodged in a shoulder pad. One of the pistols referred to was a Harrington & Richardson and not, as we had it, a Harrison & Richardson. This has been corrected.
Source: Guardian
Following his victory speech to supporters after clinching a tight democratic primary victory in California, Kennedy left the podium in the Embassy ballroom to address a press conference. But the shortcut he and his entourage took through the hotel's pantry quickly descended into bloody mayhem. As Kennedy turned from shaking hands with two of the kitchen staff, a gunman stepped forward and began firing. Kennedy was hit by four shots including one which lodged in the vertebrae in his neck and another which entered his brain from below his right ear. He died in hospital the following day. Five other people were injured but survived.
Sirhan - a Palestinian refugee who said he wanted to "sacrifice" Kennedy "for the cause of the poor exploited people" - was quickly apprehended. He was eventually sentenced to life imprisonment. "Sirhan was apprehended at the scene with literally a smoking gun," said acoustic forensic expert Philip Van Praag of PVP Designs, who has carried out the new analysis. "At the beginning many people looked upon this as an open-and-shut case. It was one man, Sirhan Sirhan, who was observed by a number of people, who aimed and fired a gun in the direction of Kennedy's entourage."
But the lone gunman explanation has always looked shaky. The autopsy of Kennedy's body suggested that all four shots that hit him came from behind, and powder marks on his skin showed they must have been from close range. But Sirhan was in front of Kennedy when he fired, and after shooting two shots was overcome by hotel staff, who pinned him to a table. Also, Sirhan fired eight shots in total, yet 14 were found lodged around the room and in the victims. "There is no doubt in our minds that no fewer than 14 shots were fired in the pantry on that evening and that Sirhan did not in fact kill Senator Kennedy," said Robert Joling, a forensic scientist who has been involved with the Kennedy case for nearly 40 years. He and Van Praag have published a book on the killing this week entitled "An Open and Shut Case".
The inconsistencies in the case have bred numerous conspiracy theories, including the involvement of the CIA and the idea that Sirhan - who claims not to remember the shooting and pleaded insanity at his trial - was a "Manchurian Candidate" assassin who was hypnotically programmed to kill the senator.
Now Van Praag has added new weight to the 'two shooters' theory. He reanalysed the only audio recording of the shooting, which was made by an independent journalist, Stanislaw Pruszynski. "At the time Pruszynski was not even aware that his recorder was still on," said Van Praag. The recording quality is poor, but it is possible to make out 13 shots over the course of just over 5 seconds, before what Van Praag describes as "blood-curdling screams" obscure the sound. That is more than the eight rounds that Sirhan's cheap Iver Johnson Cadet 55 revolver carried.
Also, there are two pairs of double shots that occurred so close together it is inconceivable that Sirhan could have fired them all. The third and fourth shots and the seventh and eighth were separated by 122 and 149 milliseconds respectively. In tests, a trained firearms expert firing under ideal conditions could only manage 366 milliseconds between shots using the same weapon. And he was not being pinned to a table at the time.
Lastly, five of the shots - 3, 5, 8, 10 and 12 in the sequence - were found to have odd acoustic characteristics when specific frequencies were analysed separately. Van Praag thinks this is because they came from a different gun pointing away from Pruszynski's microphone.
To recreate this he recorded the sounds made by firing the Iver Johnson and another revolver, a Harrington and Richardson 922. At least one member of Kennedy's entourage was carrying this weapon when the killing happened. In the acoustic tests it produced the same frequency anomalies Van Praag had seen in the original recording but only when fired away from the microphone. He presented his results on Thursday at the American Academy of Forensic Sciences annual meeting in Washington DC.
Paul Schrade, a close associate of Kennedy's who was director of the United Auto Workers union, was at the senator's side in the pantry and was shot in the head. He told the meeting that America lost an outstanding leader and potentially great president that day. "I think we were in a position of really changing this country," he said. "What we lost was a real hope and possibility of having a better country and having better relations around the world."
He wants to see the case reopened and properly investigated. "We're going to go ahead and do our best to find out who the second gunman was and that's going to take a lot of work," he said. Van Praag also wants the case reexamined. "We would hope that the evidence that we have uncovered ... would make a strong enough case to get serious consideration once again by the authorities," he said.
The following correction was printed in the Guardian's Corrections and clarifications column, Monday March 3 2008
In the report below (regarding new interpretations of forensic evidence relating to the assassination of Robert Kennedy) we stated that he was hit by four shots. However, only three bullets entered his body; the fourth was lodged in a shoulder pad. One of the pistols referred to was a Harrington & Richardson and not, as we had it, a Harrison & Richardson. This has been corrected.
Source: Guardian
Monday, February 18, 2008
Cape High Court confirm evitions
The Cape High Court on Monday dismissed an application for leave to appeal against an eviction order that compelled illegal occupiers of unfinished homes in Delft on the Cape Flats to vacate their houses by 6pm last Sunday.
Grounds for the application for leave to appeal were that the court had erred in treating the eviction application as urgent, in the first instance, and in making the provisional eviction order that was granted final. A third ground was that the scheduled eviction of about 1 600 people was not just and equitable, and a fourth was that the court should instead order mediation through the authorities and the illegal occupiers.
Judge Deon van Zyl ruled late on Monday that the grounds were altogether without merit and that no other court would reach a conclusion different to his.
Earlier on Monday, the Western Cape Anti-Eviction Campaign said: "The residents have vowed not to stop the fight. They are now preparing to petition the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein and thereafter will take their fight to the Constitutional Court. "The judge and African National Congress government and Thubelisha Homes are treating the residents of Delft as if they have alternative accommodation. Yet not one of them has any place to go. All of those who moved into the new houses were either homeless or backyard dwellers."
Asked when evictions would get under way, Thubelisha general manager Xhanti Sigcawu said he was expecting to hear from the sheriff before the end of the day. "We'll take our cue from the sheriff," he said.
Source: Mail & Guardian
Grounds for the application for leave to appeal were that the court had erred in treating the eviction application as urgent, in the first instance, and in making the provisional eviction order that was granted final. A third ground was that the scheduled eviction of about 1 600 people was not just and equitable, and a fourth was that the court should instead order mediation through the authorities and the illegal occupiers.
Judge Deon van Zyl ruled late on Monday that the grounds were altogether without merit and that no other court would reach a conclusion different to his.
Earlier on Monday, the Western Cape Anti-Eviction Campaign said: "The residents have vowed not to stop the fight. They are now preparing to petition the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein and thereafter will take their fight to the Constitutional Court. "The judge and African National Congress government and Thubelisha Homes are treating the residents of Delft as if they have alternative accommodation. Yet not one of them has any place to go. All of those who moved into the new houses were either homeless or backyard dwellers."
Asked when evictions would get under way, Thubelisha general manager Xhanti Sigcawu said he was expecting to hear from the sheriff before the end of the day. "We'll take our cue from the sheriff," he said.
Source: Mail & Guardian
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
ANC is committed to protecting free speech
In the front of his book The Fourth Estate, ex-editor of the Sunday Times Joel Mervis quotes former British Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin, who in 1937 said: "What the proprietorship of these papers is aiming at is power, and power without responsibility, a prerogative of the harlot throughout the ages".
Part of the ANC's resolution calling for debate on the Media Appeals Tribunal deals with accountability of the media.
Noting that "freedom of expression in society, including freedom of media, is located within the context of the Constitution of the Republic" and that the "media conducts itself in many instances to the detriment of the constitutional rights of others", the organisation argues that the media should contribute to the transformation of this new society and "be accountable for its actions".
What these quotes show is that the increasing exasperation felt by South Africans about media in general and the commercial press in particular, is not unique to South Africa. Of course here the dynamics are decidedly different from Britain in the 1930s, but the problem is the same a media that believes it is not subject to societal accountability. The most problematic fact about the South African media landscape is the lack of a diverse ownership profile, which in turn has an impact on the media products on offer from the commercial press.
Three large companies, Media 24, Independent Group and Johncom (the latter recently renamed Avuso), own virtually all the newspapers in this country. The vast majority publish only in English and Afrikaans. In the middle of last year, the ANC policy conference adopted the resolution cited above. It called for an investigation of the feasibility of establishing a Media Appeals Tribunal. This resolution was confirmed at the ANC's December conference in Polokwane. Not surprisingly, the commercial press is opposed to this idea. They argue that it is tantamount to interfering with the freedom of expression and freedom of media guaranteed under the Constitution.
The actual resolutions are interesting to read and should in fact be broadly circulated so that they can form the basis for public debate around the role of the media in a society in transition. Not surprisingly the print media has gone into attack mode and sensationalised the proposals as an attempt to control the media. What they fail to appreciate is that this is precisely the type of response that confirms to the public that the media is unwilling to introspect or acknowledge that there are problems.
On the whole, space is not provided for critical, independent-minded black people to air their views either about the media or matters that would upset white people. There are exceptions. When editor of The Star Moegsien Williams approached me in 2006 to write for the Independent Group, he stressed that he wished to make the opinion pages of more representative. City Press is also an exception. It is always possible to trivialise the ANC's concerns as an attempt to force the press to be less critical of it or the government. There is a far bigger body of public opinion that believes the commercial press does not reflect post-apartheid reality.
The resolution is a reflection of long and frustrating appeals to the media to respect the rights of all people and to try to be present in this democratic phase instead of being stuck in a default consciousness from our unequal past. If a referendum were to be to be held on the establishment of an Appeals Tribunal, it is probable most Africans who read the commercial press would say yes to the question of whether or not it should be established. The resolution reaffirms the ANC's commitment to media freedom, which it says is entrenched. It notes "that the ANC is faced with a major ideological offensive, largely driven by the opposition and factions in the mainstream media, whose key objective is the promotion of market fundamentalism, control of the media and the images it creates of a new democratic dispensation in order to retain old apartheid economic and social relations".
The ANC envisages the Tribunal to be a forum where the rights to freedom of expression can be balanced with other constitutional rights. It would adjudicate complaints by individuals against the print media in the same way as BCCSA and the Complaints and Compliance Committee of Icasa do in respect of the electronic media.
They believe that the Tribunal would not supplant, but strengthen the current Ombudsperson"s office. These are proposals for discussion. Despite my longstanding criticisms of the commercial press in this country, I have serious reservations about the desirability of such a Media Tribunal. While the motivation is persuasive, it is not likely to work in practice. It has the potential for acting as an editorial constraint, which is not at all what the intention is. The sense of responsibility and accountability that we seek as a nation, cannot be achieved through such a mechanism.
Other ways of ensuring representivity in the newsrooms and ownership is for Black business to either buy into existing media houses or set up their own. Also, all of us have a choice as to which newspapers to read. If papers do not reflect all perspectives, buy the one that does. Those who read poor quality newspapers out of habit, deserve to be aggravated. The key issue raised in the resolution is that as a matter of urgency the commercial press must be brought into the BEE charter processes.
The print media should give their readers an opportunity to debate the resolution by extracting it and giving a fair opportunity to ANC to explain to the public why they came to this conclusion. Scare tactics won't assist a balanced discussion of the implications. This is a chance for the commercial press to turn over a new leaf and to listen to the public. Humility can go a long way.
Source: IoL
Part of the ANC's resolution calling for debate on the Media Appeals Tribunal deals with accountability of the media.
Noting that "freedom of expression in society, including freedom of media, is located within the context of the Constitution of the Republic" and that the "media conducts itself in many instances to the detriment of the constitutional rights of others", the organisation argues that the media should contribute to the transformation of this new society and "be accountable for its actions".
What these quotes show is that the increasing exasperation felt by South Africans about media in general and the commercial press in particular, is not unique to South Africa. Of course here the dynamics are decidedly different from Britain in the 1930s, but the problem is the same a media that believes it is not subject to societal accountability. The most problematic fact about the South African media landscape is the lack of a diverse ownership profile, which in turn has an impact on the media products on offer from the commercial press.
Three large companies, Media 24, Independent Group and Johncom (the latter recently renamed Avuso), own virtually all the newspapers in this country. The vast majority publish only in English and Afrikaans. In the middle of last year, the ANC policy conference adopted the resolution cited above. It called for an investigation of the feasibility of establishing a Media Appeals Tribunal. This resolution was confirmed at the ANC's December conference in Polokwane. Not surprisingly, the commercial press is opposed to this idea. They argue that it is tantamount to interfering with the freedom of expression and freedom of media guaranteed under the Constitution.
The actual resolutions are interesting to read and should in fact be broadly circulated so that they can form the basis for public debate around the role of the media in a society in transition. Not surprisingly the print media has gone into attack mode and sensationalised the proposals as an attempt to control the media. What they fail to appreciate is that this is precisely the type of response that confirms to the public that the media is unwilling to introspect or acknowledge that there are problems.
On the whole, space is not provided for critical, independent-minded black people to air their views either about the media or matters that would upset white people. There are exceptions. When editor of The Star Moegsien Williams approached me in 2006 to write for the Independent Group, he stressed that he wished to make the opinion pages of more representative. City Press is also an exception. It is always possible to trivialise the ANC's concerns as an attempt to force the press to be less critical of it or the government. There is a far bigger body of public opinion that believes the commercial press does not reflect post-apartheid reality.
The resolution is a reflection of long and frustrating appeals to the media to respect the rights of all people and to try to be present in this democratic phase instead of being stuck in a default consciousness from our unequal past. If a referendum were to be to be held on the establishment of an Appeals Tribunal, it is probable most Africans who read the commercial press would say yes to the question of whether or not it should be established. The resolution reaffirms the ANC's commitment to media freedom, which it says is entrenched. It notes "that the ANC is faced with a major ideological offensive, largely driven by the opposition and factions in the mainstream media, whose key objective is the promotion of market fundamentalism, control of the media and the images it creates of a new democratic dispensation in order to retain old apartheid economic and social relations".
The ANC envisages the Tribunal to be a forum where the rights to freedom of expression can be balanced with other constitutional rights. It would adjudicate complaints by individuals against the print media in the same way as BCCSA and the Complaints and Compliance Committee of Icasa do in respect of the electronic media.
They believe that the Tribunal would not supplant, but strengthen the current Ombudsperson"s office. These are proposals for discussion. Despite my longstanding criticisms of the commercial press in this country, I have serious reservations about the desirability of such a Media Tribunal. While the motivation is persuasive, it is not likely to work in practice. It has the potential for acting as an editorial constraint, which is not at all what the intention is. The sense of responsibility and accountability that we seek as a nation, cannot be achieved through such a mechanism.
Other ways of ensuring representivity in the newsrooms and ownership is for Black business to either buy into existing media houses or set up their own. Also, all of us have a choice as to which newspapers to read. If papers do not reflect all perspectives, buy the one that does. Those who read poor quality newspapers out of habit, deserve to be aggravated. The key issue raised in the resolution is that as a matter of urgency the commercial press must be brought into the BEE charter processes.
The print media should give their readers an opportunity to debate the resolution by extracting it and giving a fair opportunity to ANC to explain to the public why they came to this conclusion. Scare tactics won't assist a balanced discussion of the implications. This is a chance for the commercial press to turn over a new leaf and to listen to the public. Humility can go a long way.
Source: IoL
Sunday, February 10, 2008
ANC rejects concerns over press freedom
South Africa's ruling African National Congress on Sunday rejected media accusations that its proposal for a new media complaints body was an attack on press freedom. The ANC said it had a good record on free speech in the country's vibrant media and said the press was over-reacting to the planned Media Appeals Tribunal, which would be accountable to parliament. "The aim is to strengthen the self-regulation mechanism of the print media... There is no such thing as an attack on media freedom," ANC Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe told the South African National Editors Forum, the Sapa news agency reported.
At a congress in December the party called for the creation of a tribunal through which the public could file complaints against the media. How the new body would work in practice is not yet clear. South Africa already has an press ombudsman that deals with complaints. Relations between South Africa's government and its independent media has been strained at times, with ANC leaders often accusing it of harbouring a racist agenda. "As usual the media are over-reacting," Motlanthe said. "They say that the ANC is hyper-sensitive to criticism but look at the reaction of the media to this (the tribunal). They see it as an attack on media freedom," he said.
Pallo Jordan, a senior ANC member and minister of arts and culture, said media freedom had been "on the masthead of the ANC since its inception". "There is no (South African) political party with a comparable record on media freedom," Sapa quoted him as saying. "We value it ... it lends quality to our democracy and it should prevail," he added.
South Africa's print media is mainly privately owned, while the broadcast media is still dominated by state-owned SABC.
Source: IoL
At a congress in December the party called for the creation of a tribunal through which the public could file complaints against the media. How the new body would work in practice is not yet clear. South Africa already has an press ombudsman that deals with complaints. Relations between South Africa's government and its independent media has been strained at times, with ANC leaders often accusing it of harbouring a racist agenda. "As usual the media are over-reacting," Motlanthe said. "They say that the ANC is hyper-sensitive to criticism but look at the reaction of the media to this (the tribunal). They see it as an attack on media freedom," he said.
Pallo Jordan, a senior ANC member and minister of arts and culture, said media freedom had been "on the masthead of the ANC since its inception". "There is no (South African) political party with a comparable record on media freedom," Sapa quoted him as saying. "We value it ... it lends quality to our democracy and it should prevail," he added.
South Africa's print media is mainly privately owned, while the broadcast media is still dominated by state-owned SABC.
Source: IoL
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
CIA admit 'waterboarding' al-Qaida suspects
Interrogators used "waterboarding" on three men shortly after the September 11 attacks, the CIA admitted today, naming for the first time the victims of a technique widely perceived as torture.
The men subjected to waterboarding, which simulates drowning, were al-Qaida suspects Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Abu Zubaydah and Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, the CIA director, Michael Hayden, told the US Congress. "We used it against these three detainees because of the circumstances at the time," Hayden said. "There was the belief that additional catastrophic attacks against the homeland were inevitable. And we had limited knowledge about al-Qaida and its workings. Those two realities have changed."
Hayden told the senate intelligence committee that Mohammed - the alleged mastermind of the 9/11 attacks - and the other two men were subject to waterboarding in 2002 and 2003. "The circumstances are different than they were in late 2001, early 2002," Hayden said, adding that he opposed limiting the CIA to interrogation techniques permitted in the US Army field manual, which bans waterboarding. Hayden told the committee that fewer than 100 people had been held in the CIA's terrorism detention and interrogation programme, with less than one-third subjected to "coercive" techniques. The CIA said in December that it had destroyed videotapes depicting the interrogations of Zubaydah and Nashiri, prompting a justice department investigation. The tapes were destroyed as Congress moved to pass a ban on inhumane interrogations and a prosecutor is investigating whether US intelligence officials broke the law or violated court orders in destroying the tapes.
In waterboarding, the victim's mouth is covered and water poured over his face, making the victim feel as if they are drowning. "Waterboarding taken to its extreme, could be death - you could drown someone," McConnell acknowledged. He said waterboarding remains a technique in the CIA's arsenal, but it would require the consent of the president and legal approval of the attorney general.
At the same hearing, the US director of national intelligence said the Taliban, which was overthrown in Afghanistan in late 2001, has expanded its operations into once-peaceful areas of western Afghanistan and around the capital, Kabul, despite the death or capture of three top commanders in the last year. McConnell also said al-Qaida maintains a "safe haven" in Pakistan's tribal areas, where the group is able to stage attacks supporting the Taliban in neighbouring Afghanistan. The Pakistani tribal areas provide al-Qaida "many of the advantages it once derived from its base across the border in Afghanistan, albeit on a smaller and less secure scale", allowing militants to train for strikes in Pakistan, the Middle East, Africa and the US, McConnell said. "Al-Qaida remains the pre-eminent threat against the United States, both here at home and abroad," McConnell said, even though the terror network had suffered setbacks in Iraq. He expressed concern that al-Qaida in Iraq is shifting its focus elsewhere in the region. "They may deploy resources to mount attacks outside the country," McConnell said, although fewer than 100 terrorists have moved to establish cells in other countries. McConnell also told the senate panel that US officials believe that Osama bin Laden is hiding in Pakistan's tribal areas. A report released in London said nearly 400 militant groups now operate around the world and the greatest proliferation has been in the border regions between Afghanistan, Pakistan and India.
The number of violent "non-state" groups has grown about 10% in the past year, according to the 2008 military balance report by the International Institute for Strategic Studies. Iraq and India, with more than 30 active guerrilla groups each, are the most volatile countries, the report said, with the Afghan-Pakistan border and the disputed Kashmir region between India and Pakistan the worst-affected areas.
Source: Guardian
The men subjected to waterboarding, which simulates drowning, were al-Qaida suspects Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Abu Zubaydah and Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, the CIA director, Michael Hayden, told the US Congress. "We used it against these three detainees because of the circumstances at the time," Hayden said. "There was the belief that additional catastrophic attacks against the homeland were inevitable. And we had limited knowledge about al-Qaida and its workings. Those two realities have changed."
Hayden told the senate intelligence committee that Mohammed - the alleged mastermind of the 9/11 attacks - and the other two men were subject to waterboarding in 2002 and 2003. "The circumstances are different than they were in late 2001, early 2002," Hayden said, adding that he opposed limiting the CIA to interrogation techniques permitted in the US Army field manual, which bans waterboarding. Hayden told the committee that fewer than 100 people had been held in the CIA's terrorism detention and interrogation programme, with less than one-third subjected to "coercive" techniques. The CIA said in December that it had destroyed videotapes depicting the interrogations of Zubaydah and Nashiri, prompting a justice department investigation. The tapes were destroyed as Congress moved to pass a ban on inhumane interrogations and a prosecutor is investigating whether US intelligence officials broke the law or violated court orders in destroying the tapes.
In waterboarding, the victim's mouth is covered and water poured over his face, making the victim feel as if they are drowning. "Waterboarding taken to its extreme, could be death - you could drown someone," McConnell acknowledged. He said waterboarding remains a technique in the CIA's arsenal, but it would require the consent of the president and legal approval of the attorney general.
At the same hearing, the US director of national intelligence said the Taliban, which was overthrown in Afghanistan in late 2001, has expanded its operations into once-peaceful areas of western Afghanistan and around the capital, Kabul, despite the death or capture of three top commanders in the last year. McConnell also said al-Qaida maintains a "safe haven" in Pakistan's tribal areas, where the group is able to stage attacks supporting the Taliban in neighbouring Afghanistan. The Pakistani tribal areas provide al-Qaida "many of the advantages it once derived from its base across the border in Afghanistan, albeit on a smaller and less secure scale", allowing militants to train for strikes in Pakistan, the Middle East, Africa and the US, McConnell said. "Al-Qaida remains the pre-eminent threat against the United States, both here at home and abroad," McConnell said, even though the terror network had suffered setbacks in Iraq. He expressed concern that al-Qaida in Iraq is shifting its focus elsewhere in the region. "They may deploy resources to mount attacks outside the country," McConnell said, although fewer than 100 terrorists have moved to establish cells in other countries. McConnell also told the senate panel that US officials believe that Osama bin Laden is hiding in Pakistan's tribal areas. A report released in London said nearly 400 militant groups now operate around the world and the greatest proliferation has been in the border regions between Afghanistan, Pakistan and India.
The number of violent "non-state" groups has grown about 10% in the past year, according to the 2008 military balance report by the International Institute for Strategic Studies. Iraq and India, with more than 30 active guerrilla groups each, are the most volatile countries, the report said, with the Afghan-Pakistan border and the disputed Kashmir region between India and Pakistan the worst-affected areas.
Source: Guardian
Monday, February 4, 2008
South African court rules against extraditing Radovan Krejčíř
One of the country’s most notorious fugitives, billionaire Radovan Krejčíř, is another step closer to escaping Czech justice forever. Almost a year after he was arrested in South Africa, a Johannesburg court on Friday ruled against his extradition to the Czech Republic. The court said that the murder plot and three-billion-crown tax fraud he was accused of are not considered crimes in South Africa.
The news from Johannesburg was a bad blow for the Czech Republic where Krejčíř has already been sentenced in absentia to six and a half years for tax fraud and is charged with a variety of other crimes including conspiracy to murder, counterfeiting, extortion and abduction. Although the prosecutor in the case Deon Barnard is mulling over whether to file an appeal, saying he needs more time to study the court's justification of its decision, the Czech Justice Ministry has not given up on the case. On Friday the ministry’s spokeswoman Zuzana Kuncová read out a brief statement to the press: “The Czech Republic has cooperated fully with the South African authorities in this extradition request and we are prepared to continue doing so in the future. Friday’s ruling is that of an independent court in a sovereign state and the ministry is not in a position to pass judgment on it.”
Radovan Krejčíř has thumbed his nose at the Czech authorities for years. He first gained notoriety by giving the police the slip while they were raiding his luxury villa in Prague and escaping to the Seychelles where he and his family lived for two years – beyond the reach of Czech justice. The Interior Ministry vowed to catch up with him and when in April of last year he was apprehended at Johannesburg airport in South Africa Czech Interior Minister Ivan Langer said this was a message to all criminals that one could not escape justice forever. On Friday a triumphant Radovan Krejčíř parodied the minister’s words from Johannesburg: “I have two messages for my countrymen. First good news for all the decent people like myself – namely that justice has been done. And I have bad news for all the corrupt politicians back home, whom I warn that the truth will eventually come out and every one of them will be held accountable.”
Krejčíř’s latest triumph in his cat and mouse game with the Czech authorities is a major embarrassment, especially since the Czech side made some procedural mistakes which slowed down the Johannesburg court case, while Krejčíř never put a foot wrong. He had clearly studied the South African legal system in great detail and has asked for political asylum in the country. A decision on that request may take years and Krejčíř cannot be extradited before it is reached. If the court decides that it has reason to do so, which at present seems more unlikely than ever.
Source: Radio Praha
The news from Johannesburg was a bad blow for the Czech Republic where Krejčíř has already been sentenced in absentia to six and a half years for tax fraud and is charged with a variety of other crimes including conspiracy to murder, counterfeiting, extortion and abduction. Although the prosecutor in the case Deon Barnard is mulling over whether to file an appeal, saying he needs more time to study the court's justification of its decision, the Czech Justice Ministry has not given up on the case. On Friday the ministry’s spokeswoman Zuzana Kuncová read out a brief statement to the press: “The Czech Republic has cooperated fully with the South African authorities in this extradition request and we are prepared to continue doing so in the future. Friday’s ruling is that of an independent court in a sovereign state and the ministry is not in a position to pass judgment on it.”
Radovan Krejčíř has thumbed his nose at the Czech authorities for years. He first gained notoriety by giving the police the slip while they were raiding his luxury villa in Prague and escaping to the Seychelles where he and his family lived for two years – beyond the reach of Czech justice. The Interior Ministry vowed to catch up with him and when in April of last year he was apprehended at Johannesburg airport in South Africa Czech Interior Minister Ivan Langer said this was a message to all criminals that one could not escape justice forever. On Friday a triumphant Radovan Krejčíř parodied the minister’s words from Johannesburg: “I have two messages for my countrymen. First good news for all the decent people like myself – namely that justice has been done. And I have bad news for all the corrupt politicians back home, whom I warn that the truth will eventually come out and every one of them will be held accountable.”
Krejčíř’s latest triumph in his cat and mouse game with the Czech authorities is a major embarrassment, especially since the Czech side made some procedural mistakes which slowed down the Johannesburg court case, while Krejčíř never put a foot wrong. He had clearly studied the South African legal system in great detail and has asked for political asylum in the country. A decision on that request may take years and Krejčíř cannot be extradited before it is reached. If the court decides that it has reason to do so, which at present seems more unlikely than ever.
Source: Radio Praha
Friday, February 1, 2008
Fidentia financial director gets jail time
The financial director of Fidentia, Graham Maddock, was on Friday effectively jailed for seven years on 54 counts involving fraud, theft, money laundering, contraventions of the Financial Intelligence Centre Act and the reckless or fraudulent conduct of business. Maddock appeared in the Bellville Specialised Commercial Crime Court before magistrate Amrith Chabilall. His wife and family sat on benches behind the dock, and all embraced him before the police court orderly led him from the courtroom to the holding cells to be transported to Pollsmoor Prison. The hearing took the form of a plea-bargain agreement. Although the charges concerned his involvement with J Arthur Brown's Fidentia group as its financial director, Maddock's chartered accounting firm, Maddock Incorporated, was cited in the plea-bargain agreement as accused number one, and Maddock as accused number two.
Scorpions prosecutor senior counsel Bruce Morrison said the case was the fist time in South African legal history that any company had been found guilty of money laundering -- especially involving a sum of R200-million. Maddock was in the dock in his personal capacity, as well as representing Maddock Incorporated. Morrison said Maddock Incorporated was in fact Maddock's alter ego. The firm itself was fined R50-million for money laundering, but the fine was suspended for five years. For five violations of the Financial Intelligence Centre Act, the firm was fined an additional R10-million, also suspended for five years.
Morrison said the sentences imposed on both were a message to other accountable institutions that they had to comply with the Financial Intelligence Centre Act, as well as the Prevention of Organised Crime Act. Morrison added: "When we come after them, this is the kind of fine they will have to pay." On the money laundering charges, the plea agreement said Maddock's conduct was deliberately orchestrated by Brown.
Source: Mail & Guardian
Scorpions prosecutor senior counsel Bruce Morrison said the case was the fist time in South African legal history that any company had been found guilty of money laundering -- especially involving a sum of R200-million. Maddock was in the dock in his personal capacity, as well as representing Maddock Incorporated. Morrison said Maddock Incorporated was in fact Maddock's alter ego. The firm itself was fined R50-million for money laundering, but the fine was suspended for five years. For five violations of the Financial Intelligence Centre Act, the firm was fined an additional R10-million, also suspended for five years.
Morrison said the sentences imposed on both were a message to other accountable institutions that they had to comply with the Financial Intelligence Centre Act, as well as the Prevention of Organised Crime Act. Morrison added: "When we come after them, this is the kind of fine they will have to pay." On the money laundering charges, the plea agreement said Maddock's conduct was deliberately orchestrated by Brown.
Source: Mail & Guardian
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