A man believed to be the leader of a notorious hijack gang was killed by police after a car chase and shoot-out.

Durban - A man believed to be the leader of a notorious gang that has been terrorising communities across Durban – robbing them at gunpoint and hijacking cars – was killed by police after a car chase and shoot-out on the M25 near KwaMashu on Wednesday.

Nkululeko Sithole, 23, alleged leader of the Casper Gang, was wanted for robberies in Durban North, Westville, Mayville, Bellair, Pinetown and Umbilo and on the Bluff.

Police spokesman Vincent Mdunge said the gang had hijacked a car and were then spotted by police on the highway.

The dog unit tried to stop the gang on the M25, but they sped away, he said.

“The police chased the car and the three suspects started shooting and the officers returned fire,” he said.

When the police were closing in, the gang stopped on the side of the road and ran into the bush, firing at police with R4 rifles.

Sithole was chased by a police dog then shot and killed during the pursuit. His two accomplices escaped.

Mdunge declined to confirm Sithole’s identity, saying his next of kin had yet to be notified.

His victims would remember him from the high-speed chase with the Brighton Beach police after his gang had robbed a house in Kingsley Road on the Bluff, a policeman said on Wednesday.

He was also sought for the April car chase and shoot-out that started in Pietermaritzburg, continued through Pinetown and ended in Chesterville where he and his accomplices abandoned the car and disappeared between the shacks.

A policeman who has been chasing the Casper Gang for months described them as “ruthless” and “extremely dangerous”.

“If the victims got in their way, they hurt them,” he said.

“I have chased Casper (Sithole) several times after a house robbery, and we have had gun fights, but he was always ahead.”

For the last two weeks the gang was operating in Durban North, Umbilo and Mayville, the policeman said.

“We intend approaching a judge for a warrant to publish the rest of the gang’s pictures and names in the media,” he said.

Robin Candy, of the Greenwood Park community police forum, said he was aware that Sithole was a wanted man.

“Residents can feel a little safer, he said.”

Candy said Durban North had been hit hard by crime in the past week with eight incidents reported.

“Robbers are quite willing to shoot and that makes it very difficult for residents,” he said.

“There’s no deterrent from the justice system.”

The situation was not helped by the decrease in informers who trusted police, he said.

In the recent spate of incidents, armed robbers forced their way into homes, making off with anything from jewellery to digital appliances.

In the latest incident, a gang of five held a domestic worker and a child at gunpoint in Monteith Place, Durban North, on Monday.

Another domestic worker had also been held up and robbed by a gang of five in Marine View Avenue in Umgeni Park last Friday.

Blue Security managing director Darryn le Grange urged Durban North residents to join their neighbourhood watch.

“Crime in the upper highway area was being brought under control due to an increased police presence in recent weeks and because residents joined forces with security companies. Syndicates are now looking elsewhere for targets,” he said, explaining that they moved on as residents stepped up their security systems.

The Mercury

A Westville woman who mistook a vehicle belonging to armed robbers for a pharmacy delivery van was attacked by four men at her home.

Durban - A Westville woman who mistook a vehicle belonging to armed robbers for a pharmacy delivery van was attacked by four men at her Westville home on Wednesday morning.

During the incident, the woman’s 80-year-old mom was knocked to the ground and their domestic worker accosted when she tried to hide in the toilet.

A caregiver to the elderly woman fled into the backyard.

Neighbours who heard screams coming from the house pressed their panic alarm buttons.

The woman, 45, who did not want to be named because she feared for her life, said she had been expecting her local pharmacy to deliver medication for her diabetic mother.

The robbers had pressed the intercom button and when she caught a glimpse of a white van, she opened the electronic driveway gate. She said the regular delivery vehicle was also white.

“A well-built, smartly dressed man jumped out and walked down the steps towards me. He had a huge smile on his face and asked me if a Mr Buthelezi lived here,” she said.

“Before I could press the panic button, he grabbed me and placed his hand over my mouth,” she said.

Her mother, who was standing next to her, was pushed to the ground.

The woman said the man threatened to beat her mother with her walking stick if she did not keep quiet. Their domestic worker ran into the toilet and locked the door.

“One of them spotted her. He kicked the door twice and it broke open,” the woman said.

She said one of the robbers grabbed the domestic worker and pulled her out of the toilet.

“They also gave her a slap before taking her to the lounge.”

She said that by this point her mother was still lying on the floor, shaking.

“She was praying aloud, which annoyed the man. I was also taken to the lounge.”

She said she watched helplessly as the robbers ransacked their home.

One of the robbers then asked her where she kept her jewellery and cash.

“I told him I did not have any jewellery. He pulled at my hand and said I was a liar.”

The woman then heard her neighbour’s alarm go off, which surprised the robbers.

“They just walked out of the house and pulled the door behind them.”

She rushed to attend to her mother, whose arm was bruised.

Police spokesman Captain Thulani Zwane said the men fled with a television, appliances, money, cellphones, a laptop and jewellery.

The woman said she had moved from Cape Town to Gauteng where she lived for five years before moving to Durban last December.

Her mother had been staying with her for three months.

Daily News

The IEC has raised concerns about reports of rising instances of electoral fraud, especially in KwaZulu-Natal.

Durban - The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) has raised concerns about reports of rising instances of electoral fraud, especially in KwaZulu-Natal.

Briefing members of the KZN legislature, the commission chairwoman, advocate Pansy Tlakula, said the busing of people was a “big problem”, especially during by-elections, when people were bused into wards in which they were not eligible to vote.

“We are seeing the phenomenon increasing to the extent that two by-elections in this province had to be postponed through court orders… We have put mechanisms in place to deal with the problem, but it seems that the political parties outdo us.”

Tlakula called on political parties to take strong action against members who might be involved in such activities, which had the potential to undermine the commission and the integrity of the elections.

She said the commission had acted against its staff implicated in such activities. One such IEC staffer had resigned because the commission was about to fire her, Tlakula told MPLs.

ANC MPL Sipho KK Nkosi said the busing of people during elections in KZN was “as old as the first election”.

He called for drastic action against parties found guilty of doing this, saying the IEC should look at disqualifying parties because it was “corruption of the highest order”.

The IEC said parties found guilty could be disqualified because this was one of the sanctions prescribed in the Electoral Act.

Tlakula said the IEC would embark on a voter education drive, which would also be directed at communities in volatile areas. The IEC did not want those who lived in areas where there were protests to forfeit their right to vote because they were angry, Tlakula said.

During the briefing, the IFP expressed concern about the use of South African Democratic Teachers Union members as electoral staff during elections.

IFP MPL Mntomuhle Khawula said such members could not be entrusted with running voting stations because their union was affiliated to Cosatu, which was allied to the ANC.

The IEC said it could not disqualify people on the basis that they belonged to a particular union. However, people who were office-bearers in any political party or in organisations affiliated to political parties were prohibited from acting as electoral staff.

Because some schools were used as voting stations, it became important to use teachers as electoral staff, Tlakula said.

DA provincial leader, Sizwe Mchunu, said the party had made a proposal to the IEC to look at a system that could confirm voters’ residential addresses.

“There have been cases where voters have listed open spaces or unoccupied land as a residential address.”

Mchunu said his party was concerned about the increase in electoral fraud and that all political party leaders met the IEC after its briefing for a frank discussion.

“We’re committed to ensuring the elections are free, fair and not prejudiced and have called on all parties not to compromise the integrity of democracy.”

ANC provincial secretary Sihle Zikalala said the ANC had often been a victim of electoral fraud and are happy the problem of busing in voters is being addressed.

“Yesterday [Wednesday], we raised the issue with the IEC giving examples of problems at previous by-elections such as those in Nkandla and KwaNongoma where an IEC official was fired. This is affecting us and there is serious concern about the coming by-elections in KwaMashu. Previously, people from afar such as Ndwedwe have been bused in to vote,” he said.

The MF’s Patrick Pillay said the busing in of voters had been a common problem over the years.

“We shouldn’t be seen as making a mockery of the electoral process. The MF has always insisted that its members not engage in this activity,” he said.

bheki.mbanjwa@inl.co.za

Daily News

Ulundi’s municipal manager has a week to respond to a R2 million lawsuit.

Durban - Ulundi’s municipal manager has until next Friday next week to respond to a R2 million lawsuit by the mother of a boy who has been permanently disfigured when he suffered an electric shock, or face jail time for contempt of court.

The municipality failed to file its response to the lawsuit when the matter was before the court last year.

Doreen Nzimande launched the application on behalf of her son, Solomuzi, who suffered severe burns to his face, neck, arms, legs and torso when he came into contact with a distribution transformer unit near their family home in Ngwegwe Crescent, Ulundi, on February 26, 2007.

The Pietermaritzburg High Court on Wednesday granted a temporary order in favour of Nzimande and ordered the municipality’s response be filed no later than June 21, or else a permanent order will be granted.

Solomuzi was five at the time of the electrocution.

The little boy is believed to have touched part of the distribution unit that conducted live current.

He was treated at four hospitals for his injuries and has since undergone various treatments including, skin grafts, plastic reconstruction surgery and physiotherapy.

Solomuzi will also require further medical treatment and because of his permanent disability, he will also suffer a loss of future earning capacity.

Nzimande says the municipality had an obligation to maintain the distribution unit, knowing that it was close to a residential area and had parts that conducted live current.

The boy’s mother claims that the municipality ought to have taken precautions such as ensuring that the distribution unit was locked securely or sealed off, preventing unauthorised access, or ought to have inspected the unit regularly to ensure people could not come into contact with it.

Nzimande claims that by failing to take these precautions the municipality was in breach of its duty as the unit posed a great risk of people suffering serious injury by electric shock.

The case has been adjourned to allow for the municipality to respond.

Daily News

The chief executive and medical manager at a Newcastle Hospital have been suspended after the hospital allegedly refused to help a stabbing victim.

Durban - The chief executive and medical manager at Newcastle Provincial Hospital have been suspended following allegations the hospital refused to help a stabbing victim who later bled to death.

Health MEC Sibongiseni Dhlomo announced this on Wednesday, saying his department was concerned by the incident as no patient - especially in emergency cases - should be refused help by any health institution.

According to reports, 21-year-old Marklin Kally bled to death two weeks ago after the hospital - a regional mother- and-child hospital - refused to treat him, saying it handled only child cases.

He was allegedly referred to Madadeni hospital, some 16km away.

He had been stabbed after being accosted by a gang 2km from the hospital.

After being turned away from the Newcastle hospital, Kally’s parents took him to Madadeni hospital, but he died on the way there.

Dhlomo said the two officials had been suspended pending the finalisation of investigations into the incident.

Similarly, the Health Department said it would investigate claims that a heavily pregnant woman was forced to give birth on the street after being turned away from the KwaMashu Poly Clinic.

IFP MPL Ncamisile Nkwanyana called for heads to roll, saying such behaviour by hospital staff was the reason why the department was facing many lawsuits.

Dhlomo said he would be back at the legislature to table an executive statement on the matter as his department viewed it very seriously.

l Meanwhile, Dhlomo announced a number of measures to be introduced by his department in the current financial year.

These would include the introduction of night-time aeromedical services. It would entail buying an additional aircraft to supplement the existing helicopter and two fixed-wing aircraft.

Dhlomo said the programme would require additional lighting at airstrips, as well as the provision of night-vision goggles, which would cost the department about R3 million.

bheki.mbanjwa@inl.co.za

Daily News

Hundreds of Nehawu members marched in Durban, demanding the dismissal of the provincial health chief.

Durban - Hundreds of National Education Health and Allied Workers' Unions (Nehawu) members marched in Durban on Thursday, demanding the dismissal of the provincial health chief.

The union carried placards with the words “Away with incompetent managers”, “Head of department must go” and “Immediate payment of community care givers”.

In a memorandum handed to health MEC Sibongiseni Dhlomo, Nehawu demanded that KwaZulu-Natal health department head, Dr Sibongile Zungu, be dismissed.

Nehawu wanted vacant posts to be filled and compliance by the province with the National Health Act. Union secretary general Zola Saphetha said if the MEC did not respond to the demands within 14 days, the union would approach the premier.

Saphetha said if the premier failed to address workers' demands, the union would withdraw its workers from the department.

Dhlomo said the department had a vacancy rate of 25 percent in 2009. - Sapa

The mom of the KZN baby who was allegedly assaulted by his father has thanked Daily News readers for their generosity.

Durban - The mother of the Newlands baby boy who was allegedly assaulted and choked by his father has thanked Daily News readers for their generosity.

A pile of goods from readers was delivered on Wednesday.

“I want to thank them for everything,” she said.

Her baby son was left with a fractured arm among his injuries after the alleged assault. The father is also claimed to have kept his family captive for seven years.

A cast was removed from the now three-month-old child on Wednesday, and he was said to be recovering well.

The woman’s six-year-old daughter has enrolled at a school and has been attending classes for two weeks.

“She’s very happy and gets ready so early,” said a relative they are staying with.

The mother has not gone back to the Newlands house where her husband is living to get their ID documents.

“The police must go back, I won’t go back home,” she said.

Although she was still traumatised, her two nieces were keeping her in good spirits.

“They are just making me laugh all the time,” she said.

Community members have also rallied round, bringing things for the little boy.

ayanda.mhlanga@inl.co.za

Cadet News Agency

Daily News

Hundreds of informal settlement residents blocked one of Durban's busiest roads for several hours in demand of better services.

Durban - Hundreds of informal settlement residents blocked one of Durban's busiest roads for several hours on Thursday in demand of better services.

Burning tyres, trees, mattresses and rubbish littered a three kilometre stretch of Alpine Road, in Durban, which links the suburb of Overport with the Springfield industrial area.

The protesters started dispersing around midday after being addressed by eThekwini metro mayor James Nxumalo.

Residents had been protesting since 3am, said Nabantu Zulu, a long-time resident of the Jadhu Place squatter camp, which borders Alpine Road.

The squatter camp is believed to have between 1000 and 2000 residents.

They had apparently refused to disperse until Nxumalo spoke to them.

“We are living in tins. They (eThekwini metro) gave us these as temporary (accommodation), but how long must we wait?” asked Zulu.

He said residents were demanding land, housing, electricity, water, and speed humps in Alpine Road.

Protesters, carrying bottles and vuvuzelas, sang, danced, and chanted on a hill overlooking Alpine Road.

They claimed they were promised housing in 2007 by a former eThekwini mayor, and that they had been forgotten.

Nxumalo said he encouraged the community to elect a 10-member committee, with which he would meet on Tuesday. Heads of various departments would also meet the committee.

“I think they are raising valid issues. The situation is deplorable and we want to prioritise these items.”

He said that while the residents waited for housing, there should be an attempt to get electricity and sanitation to the community.

Earlier in the morning, one of the protesters, a woman, collapsed and was taken away in an ambulance escorted by police. A police officer on the scene said she was thought to have had a heart attack.

The police and the metro police monitored the protest.

The police had to use teargas at various stages to disperse the group.

Residents of Overport watched the protest nervously from their houses, and Durban Solid Waste employees were on standby to clear the road, which was expected to be opened later in the day. - Sapa

The nation should learn from former president Nelson Mandela, who believed in young people, KwaZulu-Natal premier Zweli Mkhize said.

Durban - The nation should learn from former president Nelson Mandela, who believed in young people, KwaZulu-Natal premier Zweli Mkhize said on Thursday.

“He neither condemned them, nor regarded them as a burden on society. Instead, he viewed young people as valuable assets and successors upon whom a country depends for the continuity of development,” Mkhize said.

Mandela had created scholarships programmes for the youth, and had advocated for the creation of a better life for children during his term in office, he said.

“Mandela remains an inspirational figure for all of us and he exemplifies all of the qualities that the so-called Mandela generation should strive to have,” Mkhize said.

He was speaking at the Youth Economic Summit held at the International Convention Centre in Durban. - Sapa

Five years after pulling out of the international Blue Flag beach excellence scheme, Durban has rejoined the programme.

Durban - Five years after pulling out of the international Blue Flag beach excellence scheme, Durban has done an about-turn and rejoined the programme.

The decision, announced by mayor James Nxumalo on Thursday night, has been widely welcomed and is expected to go a long way towards restoring confidence among local bathers and tourists about the cleanliness of sea water on the Golden Mile.

Initially, the city is hoping to retrieve blue flags at four local beaches (uShaka, eMdloti tidal area, eMdloti main and Umgababa) and, at a later stage, the main beach at uMhlanga Rocks and Westbrook on the North Coast.

However, before the flags can be hoisted, the first four beaches will have Blue Flag “pilot status” for a year until the city can demonstrate that the city complies with all 33 quality criteria required by Blue Flag International, which currently recognises 3 850 beaches and marinas in 48 countries across Europe, South Africa, Morocco, Tunisia, New Zealand, Brazil, Canada and the Caribbean.

The Blue Flag scheme dates from 1985, when several French coastal municipalities were awarded the flags for complying with sewage treatment and bathing water quality criteria after mounting concern about the deterioration of water quality at several Mediterranean beaches.

The scheme is run by an NGO, the Foundation for Environmental Education, and effectively provides an independent guarantee that beaches comply with strict criteria on water quality, environmental education, lifeguard training, safety, and other issues.

Durban pulled out of the scheme in 2008, during the tenure of former city manager Michael Sutcliffe, who argued that Blue Flag administrators were applying “double standards” when comparing the cleanliness of sea water in Durban with that in Europe.

However, if Sutcliffe had not pulled out of the scheme in a huff, it is likely that all of Durban’s formerly accredited beaches would have ended up losing their blue flags, because of the high levels of sewage contamination in several areas.

Problems emerged in 2006, when four local beaches failed to comply with sewage pollution standards.

Blue Flag also stipulates that an independent laboratory should be responsible for testing all sea water samples. Sutcliffe insisted that the city’s own laboratory technicians should do the tests.

Now, however, it is understood that all samples will be analysed by the CSIR, rather than the city, to meet the requirement for independent tests.

Nxumalo said that since Durban pulled out of the scheme in 2008, there had been a number of calls from the public, hospitality and business entities, as well as the provincial and national governments, for the eThekwini Municipality to re-enter the programme.

In January, the council resolved to re-enter the Blue Flag scheme this year, and it is believed that city officials formally submitted an application to re-enter the scheme on a pilot basis two weeks ago.

“Our biggest challenge is undoubtedly the state of our water quality at our beaches,” Nxumalo said.

“A critical review of the city’s water quality results has narrowed the potential pilot Blue Flag beaches to six candidates.”

Durban Chamber of Commerce chief executive Andrew Layman expressed his delight at the news, and offered the municipality his full support.

“We feel very strongly that some, if not all, of Durban’s beaches should have their Blue Flag status reinstated,” Layman said.

“As an international symbol, Blue Flag status indicates to tourists the quality of both the water and the amenities at our beaches.”

The head of Umhlanga Tourism, Peter Rose, said re-entering the programme was a step in the right direction and he supported it. But he questioned whether Blue Flag status was recognised by US tourists, who he said made up the second-largest group of tourists to the country.

Blue Flag was mainly recognised in Europe, and Durban had established itself as a premier tourist destination before Blue Flag had begun.

“Having Blue Flag beaches is not the be all and end all,” he said, “but I would still rather we had them than not.”

The Mercury

The death of a dangerous hijacker and robber drew no sympathy from Durban residents who praised the policeman who shot him.

Durban - The death of a man believed to have been a dangerous hijacker and robber drew no sympathy from Durban residents on Thursday who praised the policeman who shot him after a chase by the Dog Unit into the bush alongside the M25 near KwaMashu earlier this week.

Nkululeko “Casper” Sithole, 23, was a suspect in a host of violent and high-profile crimes.

It is believed he was present when a gun was shoved into 13-year-old Matthew Daley’s mouth when the family was attacked in Durban North last month.

The gang threatened to kill the teenager unless his father pointed out the safe.

On Thursday, Matthew’s father, Mark, said his son was still shaken, but was recovering.

“It is a relief. When we did the ID parade last month, there were victims from Overport and Durban North who pointed the men out as well,” he said.

Sithole was also wanted for a robbery in Kingsley Road on the Bluff. Afterwards he was involved in a car chase with Brighton Beach police, but he escaped.

In April, he robbed a man of his car in Pietermaritzburg and, in a high-speed chase with police, raced to Durban weaving through Pinetown, then towards Westville, near the Pavilion Shopping Mall, where gang members took shots at the pursuing police.

The car was abandoned in Chesterville where the gang disappeared.

On Facebook and Twitter on Thursday there was celebration at the news of the gangster’s death.

“Unfortunately you can’t like a comment more than once otherwise I would put 1 000 000 000 000 000 likes!” said Sharyn Mowat.

On Greenwood Park’s Community Policing Forum Facebook page, resident Colwyn McDonald Kilian wrote: “Awesome! Well Done SAPS.”

Grayson Thangalan echoed his sentiments: “Well done, Casper is now a real ghost.”

On the Queensburgh Residents’ Watch Facebook page Duane Bosch was concerned that Sithole’s accomplices escaped.

“Ja, ok, but what about the other guys, I’m sure they are just as notorious as they were committing the same crimes alongside Casper.”

Independent Police Investigative Directorate spokesman Moses Dlamini said an investigation into the shoot-out was under way.

This was the procedure followed when a policeman killed a suspect.

Police spokesman Vincent Mdunge said: “We cannot bar commendations from the public for excellent police work done by our officers.”

Mdunge warned that the gang was “violent” and urged the public not to approach them.

lungelo.mkamba@inl.co.za

The Mercury

A strike by taxi drivers in Durban was reported to be peaceful, eThekwini metro police said.

Durban - A strike by taxi drivers in Durban on Friday was reported to be peaceful, eThekwini metro police said.

Spokesman Eugene Msomi said police were keeping watch, but that so far only two instances of intimidation had been reported.

South African National Taxi Council secretary general Philip Taaibosch said the drivers were demanding formalised employment in the industry.

“The leadership will try to engage them,” he said.

He said the taxi industry would benefit from having drivers properly employed.

Sapa

King Goodwill Zwelithini has slammed international suppliers for using KZN as a dumping ground for sub-standard food.

Durban - Zulu king Goodwill Zwelithini has called on the people of KwaZulu-Natal to stop international suppliers from using the province as a dumping ground for sub-standard food.

Speaking during the opening of a two-day Ingonyama Rural Development Forum in Durban yesterday, the king said the province had enough land for fresh food production.

King Zwelithini is the chairman of the Ingonyama Trust Board, which organised the forum in preparation for the Rural Development Summit, which takes place inDurban next month.

He appealed to community leaders to come up with ideas of how to use rural land productively.

“I don’t support imported food. I want food to be produced here. Let us not be treated as a dustbin for lower quality food which cannot be consumed where it comes from,” he said.

According to the SA Revenue Service website, food suppliers spent R4.5 billion on importing dairy and grain products in April.

KwaZulu-Natal Agricultural Union president Brian Aitken, said

: “We provide rural stability, we provide food and we employ South Africans. Which is why we do not support the importing of food.”

Judge Jerome Ngwenya, acting chairman of the board, said it had asked tribal authorities to provide 100ha of land each to be used for food production.

The Mercury

A KZN woman who stole from casino patrons while performing good luck rituals has been jailed for 15 years.

Durban - A woman was sentenced to 15 years in prison for fraud and theft by the Durban Regional Court on Friday.

 Nancy Shanelle Naidoo pleaded guilty to 29 charges, which included fraud, robbery, and extortion.

She stole cash and jewellery from people while performing good luck rituals at a casino and victims' homes.

In a statement read by her lawyer Hycenth Mlotshwa, Naidoo admitted to drugging elderly people and robbing them of cash and jewellery.

"I visited the various complainants mentioned in the charge sheet at their homes and told them that I was a nurse employed at Addington Hospital and I was qualified to dispense medication," she said.

"I would then drug them with tablets and while they were drugged I would steal their jewellery, cash, and items mentioned in the charge sheet."

Two of her victims had to be taken to hospital as a result of being drugged.

In one case, a woman was robbed of jewellery valued at R700 000.

She convinced the woman that she would perform a cleansing ceremony for her son and granddaughter, as their lives were in danger.

The woman's daughter had died in a car accident and Naidoo pressured the woman into giving her jewellery so she could be cleansed of ill-luck.

She also took payments of R118 000 from the same woman.

Naidoo admitted asking her victims to give her jewellery so she could pray for them to have luck.

"While they were busy with something and distracted I then stole the jewellery and items mentioned in the charge sheet."

She committed the crimes between 2007 and 2012, robbing her victims of a total of R3.5 million. - Sapa

Virginia Airport operators will approach the Durban High Court to enforce a council resolution renewing tenants' leases by 10 years.

Durban - Lawyers representing the Virginia Airport operators will be approaching the Durban High Court to enforce a council resolution made in October 2011, renewing the tenants’ leases by 10 years.

The two parties met in February after the city manager, S’bu Sithole, reneged on the resolution, offering the tenants month-to-month leases.

The city once again met operators in February and a verbal agreement was made that five-year leases with the option of a three-to-five-year renewal would be granted and this was to be concluded in March.

City officials once again met the operators last month and were given a two-week deadline by the operators before legal action would be pursued.

Daryl Mann, owner of Aero Natal, is heading the legal battle on behalf of the operators.

According to Mann, city officials postponed the meeting, set to be held on June 7, to Monday and changed the venue three times, after which the city manager failed to show up.

“We have the minutes which are on council letterhead from February where the city agreed to the five-year leases.

“If the city manager wants to play the entrepreneur game then he must resign from his job…” said Mann.

The DA has called for the city manager’s head, saying he has failed to honour a commitment to renew the leases.

In a statement issued yesterday the DA said it received information indicating that Sithole was leaning towards an “unsolicited bid from a private company to develop this land”.

”His public/private partnership - which would avoid the requirements to go to public tender - is worth R150 million,” the statement read. Speaking to the Daily News on Thursday, Dean Macpherson, DA economic development spokesman, said this was a “gross violation” of the city manager’s contract and that there were already development plans for the site for mixed use of residential, offices and commercial.

He said the plans and artist’s impressions were in Sithole’s office and the unnamed developer had approached the city manager’s office directly about the plan.

Macpherson said the city manager had acted unilaterally and had “gone against the council’s own resolution”.

While Macpherson was not against development, there was no point in looking at any development for the next five years or even 10 as no environmental impact assessment had been done, he said.

He said he was confident the airport operators would win their case as they had council resolutions and signed leases. The DA insisted Sithole must foot the legal bill.

Municipal spokesman Thabo Mofokeng said they were exploring different options for the site.

“We will not be blackmailed into accepting timeframes that are not in the best interest of the Municipality,” he said.

Daily News

Nine men charged with the murder of a policeman and several ATM bombings in the KZN Midlands have applied for bail.

Durban - Nine men charged with the murder of a policeman and several ATM bombings in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands will apply for bail today.

The State is opposing the application at the Pietermaritzburg Regional Court.

The men face four charges of robbery with aggravating circumstances, five charges of contravening the Explosives Act and causing an explosion, five counts of malicious damage to property, eight counts of attempted murder, three counts of murder, and charges of unlawful possession of explosives, prohibited firearms and ammunition.

They are Thembela Ngubane, 27; Menziew Mdakane, 28; Sifiso Mdakane, 32; Sisfiso Khubeka, 28; Sibongiseni Msibi, 33; Sphelele Dubazane, 27; Muthikabani Buthelezi, 31; Mthenjwa Buthelezi, 27; and Lungisani Dladla, 32.

A tenth accused, Siphiwe Mabizela, 34, is charged with unlawful possession of firearms and a count of robbery with aggravating circumstances. His trial has been separated from his co-accused.

The alleged crimes were all committed from September 28 last year to January 13. The suspects have all denied the allegations against them.

The men are charged with shooting dead K9 unit Constable Vidhur Jadoo in Howick on November 7 and the murders of Sizwe Gule and Patricia Nkosi in Utrecht on December 5.

They are alleged to have stolen more than R1 million.

Daily News

Kantha Padayachee said at the time she was escorted out of the department building she felt "totally worthless".

Durban - The Health Department legal adviser who says she was suspended because she exposed irregularities relating to the “Amigos” matter has told how she was humiliated and dehumanised on the day she was ordered to leave.

 “I was advised not to take any department property, I was given very limited time to gather my personal things and I was escorted right into my vehicle from the building,” said Kantha Padayachee.

The legal services general manager was giving evidence on Thursday at the Labour Court in her case to have her three-year suspension overturned

Padayachee was suspended in February 2010 and charged by the department with seven counts of misconduct.

This came the day after she had met a Hawks detective investigating a multimillion-rand tender to supply water purification plants to the Health Department. The investigation had led to the corruption case involving Uruguayan businessman Gaston Savoi, owner of Intaka Holdings, the company awarded the water purification tender.

In the case several senior KwaZulu-Natal government officials were charged with money laundering, racketeering and fraud.

Charges against ANC politicians Peggy Nkonyeni and Mike Mabuyakhulu have since been withdrawn.

On Thursday in court, Padayachee said at the time she was escorted out of the department building she felt “totally worthless”, describing the incident as embarrassing.

“The net effect of this was that I had to defend myself against derogatory statements and incur legal costs to defend myself,” she said.

She had been forced to cash in her daughter’s education policy to meet legal costs to defend herself against a “malicious”’ attack, she said.

She had chosen to challenge the suspension to clear her name for her own personal and professional advancement.

“I have also suffered a setback to my health. During the past three years I have been hospitalised at least three times because of medical conditions that my physician says were largely due to stress.”

The hearing continues in five months, when Padayachee is expected to be cross-examined by the legal representative of the respondents, the MEC for health and department head, Sibongile Zungu.

Padayachee has also asked the court to interdict the department and Zungu from continuing with disciplinary action against her.

Daily News

“The machines are back on, but there is still no secure and permanent arrangement to assure patients’ treatment will continue uninterrupted.”

Durban - The uncertainty over the future of Addington Hospital’s R120 million cancer treatment machines has prompted a health workers’ union to approach the South African Human Rights Commission.

The Health and Other Service Personnel Trade Union of SA (Hospersa) has also undertaken to provide legal advice to patients who want to take the matter to court.

After being out of action for months while the KwaZuluNatal Department of Health and the supplier, Tecmed, fought over maintenance costs and allegations of tender irregularities, the machines were switched on again recently after the parties appeared to come to a compromise.

But Hospersa said on Thursday that although patients were now receiving radiation treatment in the hospital’s oncology unit, the issue was far from resolved.

“The fact… is that the department denied cancer patients the care they needed for five months. This is a violation of the constitutionally guaranteed right to health. We can no longer tolerate continued misuse of health services,” said union spokeswoman Michelle Connolly.

“We want (Health MEC Dr Sibongiseni) Dhlomo to take responsibility and apologise for the debacle. Thus far all we have heard are lame excuses and effectively what amounts to passing the buck to the service provider. He must give some assurance that this will never happen again and that the mismanagement of public resources by his department will stop,” said Connolly.

The union said it planned to lodge a complaint with the commission, and would picket outside the hospital on Saturday.

“The machines are back on, but there is still no secure and permanent arrangement to assure patients’ treatment will continue uninterrupted from now on,” said Connolly.

She said the department had also not yet paid Tecmed the money owing to it.

Hospersa planned to hand over a memorandum to the MEC demanding that he sign a contract with Tecmed or get a reliable maintenance service provider tied to a contract for patients’ security.

During the shutdown, patients were transferred to Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central Hospital for treatment, but Connolly said the cancer facility there already had a full roster.

“The patients were effectively referred to a long waiting list. Some who were meant to have five radiotherapy treatments ended up only having one,” she said. “Their disease advanced, their condition went from treatable to terminal.”

Dr Sibongile Zungu, head of the KZN Department of Health, said on Thursday that she did not know about Hospersa’s gripes and its plan to picket. She appealed for patience as the department tried to resolve issues hindering the provision of health care.

Zungu said patients were given alternative access to treatment.

“When there is suspected corrupt activities which erode our limited resources, the department tries to root it out to save money in order to provide quality services,” she said. “We can either sit and live with corruption and let money be thrown away from patients or deal with it.”

Tecmed would be on a month-to-month contract until the investigation was resolved, she said, adding that the department had also advised the company’s Swiss parent, Varian Medical Systems, of the alleged irregularities in the procurement of the machines.

The Daily News reported in December that the two state-of-the-art radiation machines were shut down due to lack of maintenance after Tecmed had not received the R400 000 monthly maintenance payments from the department.

Tecmed’s executive chairman, Werner Begere, said this week that his company had been left with no choice but to stop the maintenance. “Our whole business is people’s lives. We give a 365-day service around the country, but we had to draw the line. We did not expect that this (payment) would take such a long time,” he said.

The maintenance fee had not been paid for 10 months and attempts by Tecmed to find out why proved futile, he said.

“We have always had a good relationship with the department… but for whatever reason the Addington situation became a huge issue. This is regrettable,” said Begere.

He said the assurance by Dhlomo that the outstanding amount would be paid was enough for them to make the machines operational again.

Daily News

One of the men involved in an attempted robbery, was dropped off at St Augustine’s Hospital, where he died of gunshot wounds.

Durban - One of the men involved in an attempted robbery at a Parlock home was dropped off at St Augustine’s Hospital, where he died of gunshot wounds.

The Daily News learnt on Thursday that the man was left at the hospital shortly after the gunfight with the home owner on Tuesday.

Four men had attempted to rob a Parlock family in their home by trying to force their way through the kitchen door.

The home owner fired shots at the men, who fled.

One of the men had shot at the house with an AK-47 rifle. A bullet grazed the head of the home owner.

Police spokesman Captain Thulani Zwane said one of the men was wounded at the scene, adding police were continuing with their investigation and were following several leads.

Daily News

Ten men accused of being part of an ATM bombing syndicate which caused three deaths will remain behind bars until their next court appearance.

Pietermaritzburg - Ten men accused of being part of an ATM bombing syndicate which caused three deaths appeared in the Pietermaritzburg Regional Court on Friday.

The matter was postponed to June 24, when magistrate Kevin Leat will make a ruling in their bail application.

The men are Thembele Ngubane, Menziwa Mlakuze, Sifiso Malakane, Sifiso Khubeka, Sibusiso Msibi, Sphelelo Dubasane, all from Bergville; Siphiwe Madsuku, of Ladysmith; and Mathibane Buthelezi, Mthemgubo Buthelezi and Lungisani Dladla, all from Mtubatuba.

Prosecutor Dorian Paver opposed bail, contending that even though all of them might not have participated in the bombing, they were bound by a common purpose.

The men had applied for bail through affidavits, ruling out any form of cross-examination.

Paver said that in the affidavits, they merely denied committing the crimes they were accused of, which was not a good enough reason for them to be granted bail.

He said two of the men's accomplices would testify for the State and there would be evidence that the bombers made calls to one another close to and during ATM bombings.

The men were kept under tight security during their appearance.

They are charged with murder, eight counts of attempted murder, three of aggravated robbery, eight of malicious damage to property, possession of illegal explosives, firearms and ammunitions, and theft.

The syndicate allegedly committed four ATM bombings in Howick between September and November, stealing amounts of R214 280, R241 000, R153 750, and R342 000.

It also allegedly carried out a bombing in Greytown, in which R500 000 was stolen in December, and another the same month in Utrecht, where R1.9 million was stolen.

The police seized weapons allegedly belonging to the syndicate at Jozini in Zululand.

Replying to a defence submission that the men were not flight risks, Paver said several of the charges carried life sentences, which was a motivation to flee. - Sapa