Police gave chase after a Durban pension pay point was robbed, arresting three suspects after a gun battle in which one was wounded.

Durban - Three men were arrested on Friday after an armed robbery in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal police said.

A 10-man gang attacked security guards dispensing cash at a pension pay-out point at 9.15am, said Colonel Jay Naicker.

“One security guard was shot and injured, and the suspects took an undisclosed amount of cash and fled on foot to a... bakkie, which is presumed to be their getaway vehicle,” he said.

Police, responding to the robbery, saw the bakkie and gave chase, returning fire when the robbers shot at them.

The robbers then abandoned the car and got into a minibus taxi.

“The police continued pursuing the robbers (who were) in the... minibus taxi, and the gun battle between the police and robbers continued,” said Naicker.

The taxi stopped and two men got out and opened fire on the police with automatic weapons.

Police returned fire and arrested both men. One of them was wounded. The other was unharmed.

The police seized two rifles, an Uzi submachine gun and a money box. They also confiscated the bakkie and another car believed to have been used in the robbery.

They continued pursuing the minibus taxi, which was stopped in Shongweni.

“The driver was arrested in Shongweni and was found in possession of a shotgun,” Naicker said.

“The police recovered some of the money boxes inside the (minibus taxi). The security guard shot by the robbers was airlifted to hospital in a critical condition.”

Naicker said it was later established that the bakkie used by the robbers was reported stolen in Phoenix earlier in the week.

He said the firearms seized would be sent for ballistics testing to determine whether they had been used to commit any other crimes.

The wounded robber was under police guard in hospital.

He and the other two men arrested would be charged with robbery with aggravating circumstances, attempted murder, possession of unlicensed firearms and ammunition, and theft of a motor vehicle.

They were expected to appear soon in the Mpumalanga Magistrate's Court. - Sapa

Health workers picketed at Durban's Addington Hospital about two radio therapy machines were left idle for five months.

Durban - About 100 health workers picketed at Durban's Addington Hospital on Friday about the fact that the hospital's two radio therapy machines were left idle for five months.

In a memorandum handed to an official they demanded an explanation from health MEC Sibongiseni Dhlomo.

“(He must) supply the full facts surrounding the entire Addington radiotherapy debacle,” they said in the document.

Tecmed, the company which installed the two Varian Rapid Arc Linear Accelerators and is responsible for maintaining them, stopped servicing the machines in January.

This, after the department stopped paying the maintenance contract nine months earlier.

The department has claimed that Tecmed fraudulently obtained the tender for the two machines.

Last month, Dhlomo announced that the department would start paying the contract and a few days later Tecmed serviced the machines.

Dhlomo blamed Tecmed for machines' failure to operate. He believed the department had a strong case against the company.

He said the resumption of payments would be on a month-to-month basis pending the outcome of investigations, and pending negotiations with Varian, the manufacturer of the machines, which are called Varian Rapid Arc Linear Accelerators.

Tecmed, which is the South African agent for Varian, has denied any wrongdoing.

The department said it had opened two cases with the police against Tecmed in May and July 2010, but that the company had not been charged.

In Friday's memorandum, the Health and Other Service Personnel Trade Union (Hospersa) accused the department of denying cancer patients treatment, “causing some of them to move from being treatable to terminal”.

“This is a human rights violation that should be a matter of concern for the SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC).”

The union said the fact that patients from Addington had been placed on waiting lists at Inkosi Albert Luthuli Hospital did not “translate into treatment”.

Hospersa spokeswoman Michelle Conolly said the union was working on a submission which it would submit to the SAHRC.

Several of the protesters had banners and placards. One of them read: “Cancer Kills, so does our government”, and another:

“Apologise Now MEC Dhlomo”.

The union also wanted the department to fill vacant posts, and to end what it described as financial mismanagement in the department. - Sapa

Durban mayor James Nxumalo has challenged a recent survey, naming Cape Town as the city with the fittest people in SA.

Durban -

EThekwini Municipality mayor James Nxumalo has challenged a recent survey, naming Cape Town as the city with the fittest people in the country.

A shocked Nxumalo questioned the criteria used to rank the cities, which placed Durban fourth after Port Elizabeth and Pretoria. Joburg was fifth and sixth, according to an index by Discovery Vitality.

“Us, fourth? No ways,” said the mayor on Friday.

“Durban has the fittest people in the country, and possibly in the world.”

Nxumalo questioned what the results were based on, saying the city had the most number of fitness-driven activities and events.

“We just had the ECR Big Walk that saw more than 33 000 people participating. Two weeks ago we hosted the Comrades and next weekend we will have the Spar Ladies Walk, where we are expecting more than 15 000 ladies.

“How then do these people place Durban so far down the pecking order when our people are active all year round and we are the only city that has two seasons all year - summer and summer, which allows a lot of outdoors activities,” Nxumalo protested.

The study found that the Cape Town’s urban infrastructure gave Capetonians the edge when it came to facilities and an environment that encouraged and facilitated exercise.

The city also had the greatest number of sports clubs, gyms, fitness facilities, and parks per 100 000 people.

Jill Borresen, a clinical wellness manager - who was part of the advisory board, which consisted of University of Cape Town academics - conceded that Durban had made a number of significant strides.

Borresen, however, said while the city was not without facilities, it ranked low because of the lack of public participation.

She suggested that Durban produce and promote a citywide map of parks, trails, cycling and walking routes and facilities that offered sports and physical activity programmes, to educate people about the outdoor facilities the city offered.

“The city can increase visibility of traffic officials along the Suncoast cycle routes to ensure that motorists are not using it during the designated ‘cyclists only’ times to encourage cyclists to make use of this route.

“In addition to this, the city can increase, improve and promote park safety and implement free outdoor gym and sport facilities,” said Borresen. - Independent on Saturday

A Durban woman, who pretended to be a psychic and drugged and stole from the elderly, has been jailed for 15 years.

Durban -

Durban casino con woman Nancy Shanelle Naidoo, 33, was sentenced to 15 years in prison for fraud and theft by the Durban Regional Court on Friday.

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

Naidoo convinced her victims to part with their valuable items by promising them that she, or her alleged alter ego, “a psychic friend”, could perform rituals to bless them and give them luck, and never returned the items to their owners.

She also drugged elderly people and stole from their homes.

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

Naidoo began conning people in 2007 when she defrauded Dhanasagree Govender of R7 550 by claiming she was employed by the Southern Sun Elangeni hotel in Durban and was authorised to sell catering equipment that she said were “rejects”.

In another case, elderly people were drugged and threatened in order to get them to part with their jewellery and cash.

Evidence was led during the court case that in August 2008, Naidoo made off with R4 000 after promising a woman she would retrieve her mangalsutra, a sacred necklace which is a symbol of marriage in the Hindu tradition, from a pawn shop.

In September 2010, it is claimed that Inderbassie Boodhoo gave Naidoo gold bangles and earrings to be blessed, and in a separate incident Boodhoo was allegedly drugged and threatened before Naidoo took a R4 000 gold chain and R200 in cash.

During her trial Naidoo, going by the name of Veneshree, posed as a physiotherapist working at Addington Hospital and misrepresented herself to two elderly people, claiming that she was employed at the hospital and could arrange for, and dispense, medication and visit patients at their homes to do physiotherapy and massage.

When she went to their home, Naidoo gave them tablets and they fell into a deep sleep. When they woke, their home had been ransacked and jewellery valued at more than R100 000 was missing.

One of her victims, whose 21-year-old daughter had been killed in a car accident, was told by Naidoo that she had bad luck which needed to be cleansed to prevent her son and granddaughter from being killed in a similar way.

The woman handed over jewellery and cash totalling R820 000, which she never saw again.

Another alleged victim, who was promised “luck at the casino”, handed over jewellery and cash totalling R446 000.

In opposing bail, investigating officer Captain Louis Helberg said many complainants had identified Naidoo, but she had changed her appearance dramatically through make-up and jewellery on the day an identity parade was to be held.

Helberg said he had discovered that from August 2011 to November 2012 Naidoo had lost R511 000 on slot machines. He had argued that Naidoo was a risk to society because she drugged elderly people, “three of whom have ended up in hospital”.

Naidoo, in her affidavit, had denied committing any crimes and said she earned her living from running a take-away service from home and selling Eastern wear. - Independent on Saturday

Nelson Mandela is a very lonely man, says one of his bodyguards, who has accused SANDF doctors of controlling visits like prison guards.

Nelson Mandela is back in a prison and the SANDF doctors who are treating him are his warders, according to his bodyguard.

Warrant Officer Shaun van Heerden, who has been one of Mandela’s bodyguards for nearly 10 years, believes he was sidelined by SANDF doctors because he had spoken out about their constant and uncalled for need to control visitors and hog the limelight.

“For me, Madiba… has been very lonely. It’s like his medical people have put him right back into prison again,” Van Heerden said.

Last night Ahmed Kathrada, Mandela’s fellow Rivonia trialist, said he had not been to visit Mandela since the medical team asked that people refrain from doing so earlier this year.

“I have made no effort to go. The doctors have asked that we leave Madiba in peace - to rest.”

Kathrada knows Van Heerden well. “He is a good guy. He was insistent that I visit him frequently. Look, I can’t really comment on what he is alleging, it is his view, but I can’t contradict him either.”

Van Heerden, part of the SAPS Protection Services for 12 years, was this week placed on “standby” at home after SANDF Lieutenant-General Doctor Vejay Ramlakan accused him for the second time of alerting the press as to which hospital Mandela was being treated at.

The first time was in December, after the ANC’s conference in Mangaung where he had been working with President Jacob Zuma.

“On December 24, I was working at the (Mediclinic Heart Hospital in Pretoria), where Madiba was and walked into the reception area and Dr Ramlakan walked in. He said ‘since you arrived, there is more media outside here’. And I said ‘excuse me sir, what are you implying? That I informed the media of Madiba’s whereabouts? He said ‘yes’. So I left it and went to my station where Madiba was and I phoned my commander to tell him what happened.”

Van Heerden said that afternoon, his commander called him back and told him that he had to leave. “They said I must be removed from the hospital, I must either take leave or take rest days… But I refused because as far as I was concerned I was suspended.”

But two days later, his superior called him back to work. “I didn’t ask him why because I knew they realised the blunder. They must have checked the intelligence that I didn’t phone any media.”

Then last Saturday, after Mandela was admitted again, Van Heerden was told that “his doctor friend” was at it again. He was again placed on “standby” at home. But no one called two days later. “For these medical people, it’s all about photo opportunities with Madiba and him signing autographs. I was one of the people who reprimanded them,” he said. “Sometimes they would come to his room late at night and put copies of his book (Long Walk to Freedom) under his hands to be signed, I warned them. Whenever a special guest comes to see Madiba, they want to be in the picture with him.

“The same General (Ramlakan) invited me to take a photo with Hillary Clinton and my answer was that I don’t take photos with Madiba’s guests. I stopped them with this signing of books but they would go behind my back… and have photos taken.”

Van Heerden said the medical team were acting as if they owned Mandela. “Yes, there is control over who comes and sees him. But you would think that Madiba would be visited by his old friends like Ahmed Kathrada, George Bizos, Sophie de Bruyn, because they are his peers, but they are prevented because a medical team decides who can and who can’t. They went as far as writing a letter to Graça Machel that Doctor Plitt (Madiba’s physician for years) must not to come visit Madiba.”

Plit said he was not aware of what Van Heerden was talking about. He said he spoke to Machel every now and then and had visited Madiba last year “on a social basis”.

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Outgoing Nelson Mandela Foundation chief executive Achmat Dangor also said he had no knowledge of such a letter.

Van Heerden, a former gang violence investigator from Port Elizabeth, recalls two incidents where the doctors had “blurred their mandate”. He said while doing a trial run for Mandela’s appearance at the World Cup in 2010, Dr Ramlakan had instructed that it would be the medical team who accompanied him on the golf cart.

“He said to us, ‘we are in charge of Nelson Mandela, we will take him to the field’. I stood back, but I knew what was going to happen because of operational procedures, but in the end they were overruled.

“They didn’t understand that there was no way in hell that I was going to stop on that field if something happened to Madiba. We were not going to have billions of people see him being treated on that field… They wanted the limelight.”

Van Heerden said when Hillary Clinton had visited Mandela in Qunu, the medical team “hijacked” her for photos.

Van Heerden was adamant that he was not speaking out now just because Mandela was in hospital.

“I have been through a lot of difficulties with my unit. I never used Nelson Mandela to sell myself. I had very private moments with Mandela and some of those I will take to my grave,” he said.

The constitution demanded of him to put his life on the line and kill to protect the VIPs he was assigned to, he said.

Last night, national SAPS spokesperson Phuti Setati said that Van Heerden was attached to an important police unit. It was unfortunate that the SAPS had to learn about his grievance via the media, as it had channels through which he could lodge

complaints. - Independent on Saturday

Three cars burst into flames and several bodies were strewn across the road, but miraculously one family escaped unscathed.

Durban - It started as a weekend outing for the King family, on their way from the Eastern Cape in a Toyota Tazz to watch the Top Gear Festival.

On Friday night the family were driving on the N2 near Umkomaas when they hit a car. Dazed, Gary King, 33, pulled his pregnant wife and two children from the wreckage. Seconds later their car exploded.

King, 33, then watched as two other vehicles involved in the accident burst into flames. The crash left seven people dead.

King and his wife Michelle, 28, and two children Haden, 10, and Dane, 4, were taken to Netcare Kingsway Hospital in Amanzimtoti in a serious condition.

When the Sunday Tribune visited the scene on Saturday, there was still evidence of the mayhem, including broken bones, bottles and a crushed stereo.

In the Park Rynie pound were the charred vehicles, chunks of human flesh still visible.

Road Traffic Inspectorate officer Aboo Aboobaker said a Ford, travelling south on the N2, was driving ahead of a white Hyundai Elantra when it suddenly turned on to the emergency crossover point from the south to the northbound lane.

The driver of the Hyundai was able to avoid hitting the Ford as it crossed the centre median, but was hit by an oncoming Toyota Hilux bakkie with two occupants.

The bakkie was then hit by the King’s Toyota, with the Hilux bakkie veering off the road and down the embankment. All three vehicles burst into flames.

Two people in the bakkie were trapped inside the vehicle and burnt to death. The body parts of the five occupants of the Ford were strewn across both carriageways.

King’s uncle, Paul Horner, who was at the crash scene on Saturday, confirmed the Kings were going to the Top Gear Festival.

“They didn’t even tell us they were coming. I was shocked when I got a call from him saying that they had been involved in an accident,” said Horner.

Horner visited the family in hospital and said they were okay.

The women in the Ford have been identified as Nozibele Mthide, 44, from Flagstaff; Ncumisa Sitsha, 32, from Ntabankulu; Thembeka Zulu, 35, from Bizana; Matshidiso Mokhele, 42, from Mount Fletcher.

The driver is known only as Dumisa. They all lived in Kenville and Mayville.

Pastor Albert Mavundla of St Johns Church in Kenville said they were members of his church. He said they left on Friday evening for Flagstaff in the Eastern Cape to attend a funeral.

“I had suggested that they take a taxi on Saturday morning, but they were eager to leave as soon as possible. Later they phoned to say they had hired a car. I prayed for them. They were like my children and they have been members of my church for a long time,” said Mavundla.

Provincial police spokesman Captain Thulani Zwane said the cause of the accident is unknown at this stage. “A case of culpable homicide has been opened at Umkomaas police station.”

Transport MEC Willies Mchunu expressed shock and sadness at the deaths.

“This accident appears to be a product of yet another failure to obey road regulations. On the face of it, it appears that these deaths could have been avoided if we had adhered to the basic rules and regulations governing proper conduct on roads,” he said.

Mchunu expressed his condolences to the families of the deceased and has ordered a full investigation into the accident.

Sunday Tribune

The man earmarked as the next head of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) faces 12 counts of misconduct.

Durban - The man earmarked as the next head of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) faces 12 counts of misconduct, detailed below, the Sunday Tribune can reveal.

Pinetown magistrate Stanley Gumede, who was expected to be named by President Jacob Zuma as the head of the NPA, faces a host of charges by the Magistrates’ Commission.

Nomgcobo Jiba holds the post in an acting capacity. She took over in 2011 when Menzi Simelane was sacked.

The Sunday Tribune has learnt that the charges against Gumede – some of which date back to 2003 – include complaints of sending a police officer to jail, releasing suspects without a bail hearing and using “strong” language against a prosecutor.

The DA has threatened to take Zuma to court unless he makes a permanent appointment within six weeks.

Presidential spokesman Mac Maharaj would say only that Zuma had “made a decision” and that “the public will be informed”.

NPA national spokeswoman Bulelwa Makeke said yesterday she had “no idea” when the announcement would be made or whether Gumede was still in the running for the post.

She would not be drawn on whether the charges Gumede was facing would have any effect on his appointment.

Commission secretary Danie Schoeman said a date had not been set for Gumede’s hearing and that “certain administrative processes” still had to be finalised.

Durban attorney Comfort Ngidi, who is supporting Gumede’s appointment to the NPA and is a spokesman for Gumede, wrote to the commission earlier this year, complaining that its investigation was unfair because it had dragged on for years.

Ngidi said he suspected the charges had resurfaced because of Gumede’s possible NPA appointment.

“He should have been charged with misconduct as soon as his employer became aware of the complaints. The charges get raised whenever he is considered for a prominent position,” said Ngidi.

However, Schoeman dismissed claims of a plot to block Gumede’s appointment, saying the commission had received complaints and started with the misconduct investigation long before there was any speculation that Gumede might be a candidate for the position of NDPP.

On Friday, DA federal executive chairman James Selfe said he had written to Zuma urging him to appoint a permanent national director of public prosecutions by no later than July 31 or the DA would “take appropriate measures at law to compel him to do so”.

THE CASE AGAINST GUMEDE

Count 1, misconduct:

Gumede is accused of interfering with the powers and duties of the prosecutor while presiding in the criminal case of the State vs J Khanyile on July 20, 2009 and on August 5, 2009. He allegedly dictated to the prosecutor, a Mr Meiring, which witnesses to call and not to call and refused to let the prosecutor consult with his witness, Captain Brown, and called a State witness, Freedom Mahlanzi, as a witness and refused to allow the prosecutor to cross-examine the witness.

Count 2, misconduct:

He allegedly conducted court proceedings in the absence of the prosecutor on November 7, 2007 while presiding in the criminal case of the State vs MD Msomi.

Count 3, several acts of alleged misconduct:

(a) Displaying unbecoming conduct towards witnesses. On May 25 and May 26, 2004 he allegedly displayed irregular or unbecoming behaviour towards a witness, Patricia Sookraj, by sending her to police holding cells without following due process, and for not calling a second witness, Ronnie Sookraj, irrespective of the fact that he was too traumatised to testify.

(b) For alleged interference with the functions and duties of the prosecutor. Gumede allegedly refused to hear an application for recusal and dictated to prosecutor Koen which witness to call and unduly cross-examined witnesses and instructed the witness, Santoj Sooraj, to read his statement into the record, and informed the State and the defence that they were entitled to cross-examine the witness at the time.

Count 4, misconduct:

On October 15, 2009 and on November 18, 2009, in the criminal case of the State vs Meyiwa, Gumede allegedly made unbecoming remarks in court while the witness, Ndlela was testifying. He allegedly irregularly… and unduly cross-examined Ndlela.

(a) Unbecoming conduct towards a prosecutor by unjustifiably attacking the integrity of prosecutor Meiring in open court by stating he was unprofessional.

(b) Interference with the functions and duties of a prosecutor. On October 15, 2009 he allegedly refused to listen to certain aspects of the evidence of the witness, Sipho Sokhela, and actively participated in the cross-exemination of the witness and dictated to the prosecutor which witnesses to call.

Count 5, misconduct:

On 24 August 2009, Gumede allegedly displayed unbecoming behaviour towards witness Kimora Chetty and threatened the witness that she would be locked up, and he irregularly and unduly participated in the cross-examination of the witness.

Count 6, various:

(a) Unbecoming conduct towards witnesses in the criminal case of the State vs M Dlamini and Another. On July 2, 2009, July 7, 2009 and August 27, 2009, Gumede allegedly displayed unbecoming behaviour and biased behaviour towards a witness De Bruin by telling him that the evidence he tendered was a distortion of the truth. He allegedly unduly participated in the cross-examination of the witness and threatened the witness with punishment.

(b) Unbecoming conduct towards a prosecutor. In July 2009 he dictated to prosecutor Meiring which witness to call and made unbecoming remarks regarding the credibility of the prosecutor by stating that he was placing evidence that was nonsense before the court.

Count 7, unbecoming treatment of a witness:

On March 10, 2008 and on July 18, 2008 he constantly interrupted witnesses Rodrigues, Andereone, Shaik, Maphumulo and Johnson by irregularly engaging in arguments with them while they were testifying. It is also alleged that he made remarks which were “uncalled-for” about police officers as witnesses and unduly participated in the cross-examination of the witnesses.

Count 8, misconduct:

In the case of the State vs Nkala, on January 27, 2010 and on October 6, 2010, Gumede

(a) Allegedly refused to listen to certain aspects of the evidence of witnesses Shelembe, Hadebe and Mngadi and irregularly and actively participated in the cross-examination of witnesses and threatened to send witnesses to Westville prison.

(b) It is alleged that Gumede unjustifiably released the accused on warning without conducting a formal bail application. This was while the case was not allocated to him or his court, whereby he abused his powers.

Count 9, misconduct:

In the criminal case of the State vs RR Ngubane on June 3, 2009 he engaged in arguments with prosecutor Meiring in court whereby he lectured the prosecutor and indicated to the prosecutor that he had already made up his mind in respect of certain evidence.

Count 10, unbecoming conduct in court:

On March 4, 2011 and on March 7, 2011, he allegedly abused his power or committed irregularities by engaging in discussions about irrelevant aspects in open court, whereby he wasted court time and or used the court as a forum to air his personal grievances and or attacked the integrity of the prosecutor

Count 11, interfering with the functions and duties of the court’s support staff:

On March 7, 2011 he allegedly interrupted normal court activities when he called for administrative staff members Thiroosha Raphuswe and Byron Pillay to testify in court instances other than the case he was dealing with. It is also alleged that Gumede followed procedures which are “foreign” to the execution of a presiding officer’s duties and that he interfered with the retrieving of recorded court proceedings.

Count 12, interfering with the prosecutor in the performance of her duties; of showing unbecoming conduct towards the prosecutor; and for conducting a criminal case in the absence of the prosecutor:

In the criminal case of the State vs BC Shangase on November 20, 2012, Gumede allegedly irregularly interfered with the work of prosecutor Mshololo by:

(a) Demanding she tell him what the witness she intended to call would say to the court, and that until she did that, the witness would not give evidence and insisting he would not listen to her or the witness.

(b) Saying to Mshololo: “If you cannot listen to what I’m saying , just walk out the door, I lay down the (law), it’s going to happen that way. If you want to argue with me, don’t, because it’s not going to happen your way. I have told you what you should do, you should do exactly that.”

Gumede also allegedly said to Mshololo: “I have told you what to do, don’t argue with me. I have told you that you need to listen to me and do what I say you must do and don’t argue and you carry on arguing.”

(c) Irregularly continued with the case despite the absence of the prosecutor.

Sunday Tribune

Five people were killed and four others injured in a head-on collision on the R102 in Mnini near Umkomaas, KwaZulu-Natal.

Johannesburg - Five people were killed and four others injured in a head-on collision on the R102 in Mnini near Umkomaas, KwaZulu-Natal, on Sunday, paramedics said.

Of the four injured, one was in a critical condition and three were in a serious condition, Netcare 911 spokesman Chris Botha said.

The car, carrying six people, collided with a bakkie in the early hours of the morning.

The injured were taken to Kingsway and Prince Mshiyeni Memorial hospitals. - Sapa

The new struggle facing South Africa’s youth was against drugs, gangsterism, alcohol-abuse, says President Jacob Zuma.

The new struggle facing South Africa’s youth was against drugs, gangsterism, alcohol-abuse, teenage pregnancy, truancy, mob justice, child and women abuse and xenophobia.

These were the enemies of freedom and democracy.

President Jacob Zuma made these comments yesterday at a Youth Day celebration in Newcastle while marking the 37th anniversary of the Soweto uprising.

“As we speak today, many parents are in pain as they watch their children deteriorating and their lives being destroyed by drugs and alcohol abuse,” said Zuma.

He told the crowd about his recent visit to Eldorado Park in Joburg and how he had listened to horrific stories of young people who robbed their families to get money for drugs.

“I have heard tales of children as young as eight who are now addicted to drugs. I have heard tales of young girls molested in drug dens, or lolly lounges.

“The youth have become slaves of drugs such as nyaope, whoonga, tik and kuber (a libido-enhancing and mind-altering smokeless tobacco used as a drug) among others. Others are slaves to alcohol abuse,” he said.

The government, with its partners, was implementing the anti-substance national plan of action, and communities had to play a role in ensuring its success.

The police already played a key role in fighting the scourge through visible policing.

“We must declare drug traffickers and those who run illegal alcohol outlets that sell alcohol to our children, (as) the enemies of our freedom. They should be ashamed of running businesses that destroy children, the youth and many families,” said Zuma.

The president spent a big part of his speech on education and assured young people their future was in good hands as the government was committed to improving education and creating jobs.

He used Census 2011 to point out that the figures for those who were in school as well as doing tertiary education were growing.

Unemployed youth remained a challenge though.

“Our education and development programmes are designed to correct this,” said Zuma.

The government had prioritised technical and vocational skills development when it invested R17.4 billion in increasing enrolment at FET colleges.

Since last year, these colleges had enrolled more than 550 000, the target the government had set.

“We exceeded this target and colleges enrolled 657 690 students. This represented an increase of 54 percent over the preceding year.”

There was also a plan to help young people start their own businesses. The newly formed Small Enterprise Funding Agency, a merger of small business financing institutions, had pledged to subsidise business training with R1.7bn over the next five years.

“In addition, the Industrial Development Corporation has announced a R1bn youth fund for concessional lending to youth-owned enterprises that create jobs. We have put all these programmes in place, and will also continue to improve access to education and basic services to improve the quality of life of young people,” he said.

Opposition parties, which shared the podium with him, accused the ANC of betraying young people by offering a sub-standard education.

PAC Youth League president Pitso Mphasha said only free education at all levels would brighten the future of young people.

“We don’t need this current education system that teaches us to be jobseekers. You cannot speak about development when you prepare youth to be the slaves of capitalists,” he said. - The Star

Former Durban mayor Obed Mlaba is tipped to become the South African High Commissioner to the UK.

The former mayor of Durban Obed Mlaba is tipped to become the South African high commissioner to the UK.

It is believed that Mlaba has been nominated for the position and is the preferred candidate for the top diplomatic post.

After stringent diplomatic processes and training, Mlaba is set to take over from the incumbent high commissioner to the UK and Northern Ireland, Zola Skweyiya.

Skweyiya, a former minister of social development, was appointed by President Jacob Zuma in September 2009 and his term of office as an ambassador ends in December.

According to the durban.gov.za website, Mlaba holds an MBA in Strategic Marketing Management from the International Management Centre in the UK.

He was the mayor of eThekwini for more than a decade. Before his work in the public sector, Mlaba was a manager of business development at Eskom.

Last year, he was named in the Manase investigation into fraud and corruption in eThekwini for his alleged involvement in a tender for the waste volume reduction plant, at the Bisasar Road landfill site, in Springfield.

Mlaba, however, emerged unscathed, as a senior advocate advised the city that no action could be taken against him.

He was implicated in the award of a tender to EWS, a company to which he was linked, after another company, which bid for the contract, complained about irregularities to the Manase investigators.

The report said it was unclear how the Manase investigators had found that city officials had colluded with the company, as all the correspondence was “official”.

Yesterday Mlaba refused to comment, adding that he would be “very angry” if The Mercury published a story with unconfirmed facts.

International Relations Department spokesman Clayson Monyela said no announcement had been made by the president on the appointment.

He said until Skweyiya’s term of office came to an end, “you can’t talk about his replacement”.

Monyela also said it was frowned upon for a country to announce a nominee for such a position because that candidate would first have to be given diplomatic credentials by the receiving country.

“When the president nominates a person to be an ambassador and high commissioner, that candidate is not announced until they get to that country and present their credentials.

“Once the receiving country accepts the appointment then an announcement is made by the president. Announcing it before the receiving country accepts may be seen as undermining that country,” he said.

A former South African ambassador to Turkey, Thomas Wheeler, said political appointments were common in the diplomatic corps of many countries, but it was a practice he was strongly against.

But he echoed Monyela’s sentiments, saying that “to save embarrassment” nominees were not announced until an agreement was reached because there were cases in which the receiving country rejected a nomination.

“I object to politicians becoming ambassadors because it takes away career opportunities for professional diplomats who worked their entire lives to become ambassadors.

“My objection comes when someone has been a failure elsewhere and gets sent off to be an ambassador,” he said.

Wheeler said it was important to have trained diplomats who understood how the world of diplomacy worked.

“We should get someone who can represent South Africa in a dignified and useful way. They must be able to engage with politicians, businessmen, media and non-government organisations.

“It’s a demanding job that requires someone who is hard-working and dynamic,” he said. - The Mercury

Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson clearly has a thing for Durban.

Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson clearly has a thing for Durban.

“God, I love being in Durban,” he tweeted to his 1.9 million followers at the weekend during the Top Gear extravaganza.

And, it wasn’t a one-off.

After arriving at the Moses Mabhida Stadium last Thursday, the irreverent Clarkson tweeted: “The greatest stadium in the world. And our home for the next five days.”

By 4pm yesterday his Durban tweet had been re-tweeted 924 times.

EThekwini Speaker Logie Naidoo was delighted.

“Cape Town has the lion’s share of visitors, but this will change when Durban becomes one of the leading tourism cities in the world,” he said.

Phillip Sithole, eThekwini’s head of tourism, said the reason that the city had wanted to host the Top Gear event was to promote Durban as a tourism destination.

“We want to align ourselves with brands that are known globally, like Top Gear,” he said. “If we want to be known as the sports capital we have to host mega events.”

Sithole said that Clarkson himself was a brand and that most of the international tourists who came to the city were from the UK.

“Jeremy has a lot of followers, so being promoted through people like him helps Durban access and cement that market,” he said.

Geoff Paton of the Hardy Boys advertising agency said it was “brilliant” that Clarkson was talking positively about the city but added that Durban had to be marketed consistently.

“It’s good when people say good things about Durban, but we need to sustain it through marketing,” he said. “The council needs to promote the city more and we need more positive media coverage.”

Last night festival director Hannah Cabral sent this comment to The Mercury: “Thank you, Durban! The Top Gear Festival this year has been phenomenal. The shouts of the crowd coming together with the engine roars could be felt throughout the stadium and beyond, creating an incredible energy. It’s been a fantastic event, our best one yet.” - The Mercury

The father of a KwaZulu-Natal high school pupil dropped from his school's cricket team is suing the coach for R2.1 million.

Pietermaritzburg - The father of a KwaZulu-Natal high school pupil dropped from his school's cricket team is suing the coach, The Times reported on Tuesday.

A Pietermaritzburg lawyer had papers served on the first XI team coach at St Charles College, Dave Karlsen, for R2.1 million.

The lawyer claimed Karlsen deliberately hampered his son's progress as a cricketer by not allowing him to captain any teams since he was under 15 and that he was being prejudiced because he was Indian.

Karlsen had to pay by August 2, or challenge the lawsuit.

He was not available for comment.

The father could not be named to protect his son's identity.

The lawyer alleged that his son being axed from the captaincy of the first team had resulted in his son “suffering damages to his person, his dignity, and his reputation”.

Last month, the lawyer took the school to the Pietermaritzburg High Court to have his son reinstated as captain after the pupil alleged that he was not being selected because of his race.

Karlsen had denied this.

In a previous report, the boy's father said not selecting him as captain would crush his future cricket career. - Sapa

A Durban cardiothoracic surgeon, who was accused of using the k-word by his colleagues, has been dismissed.

Durban - A Durban cardiothoracic surgeon, who was accused of using the k-word by his colleagues when referring to a black doctor, and making other racist, blasphemous and bigoted remarks, has been dismissed by his employer, the University of KwaZulu-Natal.

Professor Anunathan Reddi, who is also the head of cardiothoracic surgery at Durban’s Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central Hospital, which is linked to the university, is appealing against the decision.

On Monday, the university’s executive director of human resources, Mojaki Mosia, confirmed the dismissal and that Reddi would appeal, but was tight-lipped on the details, saying the matter was sub judice.

The Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central Hospital’s chief executive, Dr Sifiso Mtshali, confirmed that he had been told of Reddi’s dismissal by the university and that the hospital no longer had a “formal arrangement” with him.

Mtshali said the cardiothoracic unit would not suffer and was fully operational.

He explained that Reddi was employed by UKZN – which was why the complaints against the professor were referred to it.

On Monday, The Mercury was told by a source that senior specialist Dr Raj Madansein had stepped into Reddi’s shoes.

Madansein was not listed among those who, last year, accused Reddi of racism, and who he, earlier this year, then accused of orchestrating a smear campaign against him.

In January, the Sunday Tribune reported that Reddi had served court papers on six of his medical colleagues claiming R2 million in damages.

They were doctors Gerard Alexander, Surendra Naidoo, Julian Buckels, Direndra Rajaruthnam, Kaven Naicker and Ebrahim Mansoor.

It was they who claimed Reddi had used the k-word and had referred to Muslims as “slumous”.

He had also allegedly made sexual innuendos when speaking to staff, used vulgar language when addressing them and ridiculed them in front of junior staff, the six said.

Reddi was also accused of making remarks that some Indians had not evolved from their ancestors’ days in the canefields, and that the only development they had shown since then was that their “sickles had been replaced by stethoscopes”.

Reddi denied the allegations of verbal abuse through his lawyer, Jay Reddy.

Reddy told the Sunday Tribune that the allegations were “baseless, vexatious and spurious in nature” and all part of a plan to unseat his client from his position as the cardiothoracic unit’s chief.

The allegations of racism, blasphemy, bigotry and unprofessional conduct first surfaced early last year, and were contained in a six-page complaint.

The Daily News then reported that the document stated that Reddi’s behaviour was indicative of his “inability to respect and value diversity of culture, belief and opinion in the workplace”.

At the time, Professor Richard Hift, the dean of UKZN’s Nelson Mandela Medical School, said that the matter was being attended to at executive level.

Repeated attempts to speak to Reddi on Monday night were unsuccessful.

leanne.jansen@inl.co.za

The Mercury

"I raised my son to be someone important in life but whoonga destroyed him. Now it will take miracles for him to recover."

Johannesburg - “I raised my son to be someone important in life, but whoonga destroyed him. Now it will take miracles for him to recover. I hate whoonga and I hate the people who are selling it.”

Those were the heartfelt words of Mandlenkosi Msibi of Chesterville, Durban, a father who has watched his 21-year-old son throw away his future for drugs.

On Monday, when Community Safety and Liaison Department head Ronnie Bhengu led police to about 20 houses, identified by the community to be selling whoonga in the township, Msibi was there watching events unfold.

The campaign was part of a three-day Youth Day event to root out the drug use and trade in Cato Manor, Chesterville and the surrounding areas.

Msibi recognised his son’s former school principal, Ntokozo Ngobese, of Chesterville Extension Secondary School, in the crowd and they spoke about the devastation that whoonga had wrought on his family.

“I have beaten my son so many times,” Msibi said. “I have tried to find professional counselling for him, but nothing has worked. I have sent him away to uMzimkhulu because I wanted him to be away from where he can access this drug,” he said.

“My son was very intelligent in school. He passed matric with flying colours, but his drug abuse worsened and he refused to study further.”

All the valuables in his home had been sold to feed his son’s hunger for whoonga.

The drug is a mixture of cocaine, the antiretrovirals used to fight HIV/Aids and Rattex.

“It is very addictive and the users get a craving quickly, pushing them to risk everything to lay their hands on the drug,” said Bhengu.

On Monday, Bhengu visited drug dens where the police questioned suspects.

“We found that young people were selling this drug, and, in some cases, their parents were also involved,” he said.

With dealing in drugs came housebreakings and robberies as addicts tried to get their hands on anything to sell for their next fix.

Ngobese said whoonga dealers had identified his school as a soft target and he asked Bhengu to ensure that the police did regular raids.

“Whoonga has led to many pupils dropping out of school. We have security guards, paid by parents, but they are incapable of confronting drug dealers when they arrive at the school,” he said.

On Sunday,

President Jacob Zuma said, during the Youth Day commemoration in Newcastle, that drugs, alcohol, gangsterism and the ensuing crime comprised the new struggle facing South African youth.

“We must declare drug traffickers and those who run illegal alcohol outlets that sell alcohol to our children the enemies of our freedom. They should be ashamed of running businesses that destroy children, the youth and many families.

“We must declare drug and alcohol abuse as the enemies of our freedom and democracy,” Zuma said.

The Mercury

Inkatha Freedom Party leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi's sometime speech writer has joined the ANC.

Durban - Inkatha Freedom Party leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi's sometime speech writer joined the African National Congress on Tuesday.

Roman Liptak, who represented the IFP in the KwaZulu-Natal legislature, was presented by the ANC, along with the IFP's former provincial health spokeswoman Usha Roopnarain, at a news conference in Durban.

Roopnarain was also a member of the KwaZulu-Natal legislature. Pat Lebenye, a former IFP Youth Brigade leader, was also presented as a new ANC member.

Provincial ANC chairman Senzo Mchunu said none of the three had been promised positions in the party.

The IFP said it would comment later.

Sapa

A KZN man will finally leave jail, three years after his daughter admitted she had lied that he had raped her.

Durban - A Westville prisoner’s fight for justice is due to end on Wednesday when he finally walks free, three years after his daughter admitted she had lied that he had raped her.

And his daughter, Pinky Dube, 18, will be at the prison gates waiting to welcome him.

“I am very happy my dad is finally being freed. I am really excited,” she said on Monday.

It will be an emotional reunion as Cedric Shezi and his daughter have only seen each other twice since he was convicted of two counts of rape in 2005, receiving a life sentence.

Shezi, 39, was arrested soon after the alleged offence, and has been in prison for 10 years.

A court is expected to issue the J7 form on Tuesday, instructing Correctional Services to release him. He will still have to go to court to get his conviction overturned.

He has always maintained his innocence and has twice attempted suicide.

Dube – who has given the media permission to use her name – had claimed that her father had raped her when she was eight years old.

But, haunted by the knowledge that it was her testimony that had sent him to prison, she later told her school principal and social workers that it was her mother – who was estranged from Shezi – who had put her up to it, coaching her what to say.

She had not understood the consequences, according to a report written by the Centre for Child Law in 2010.

Two separate sets of social workers who interviewed the teenager both reported that Dube had told them she had lied to the authorities about the rape.

Her mother died in 2007.

The prisoner advocacy group, Justice for Prisoners and Detainees Trust, has been fighting for Shezi and the Supreme Court of Appeal recently granted Shezi leave to have the convictions and sentence reviewed.

He has been granted R1 000 bail pending his appeal and was to have been released last Friday.

But a regional court official issued old and incorrect papers which meant Shezi had to spend even more time behind bars, leaving his disappointed daughter upset and in tears at the prison gates.

“I will be returning to the court (today) to correct the mistakes,” said Derrick Mdluli, the director of the Justice for Prisoners and Detainees Trust.

Dube, who lives with an aunt, said she visited her father in 2009 and last year and was very sad.

“I tried to hide how heartsore I was because he is sitting in jail for something he never did,” she said. “I was young (when she falsely accused her father) and did not know what was going on.”

She planned to tell her father that she loved him and also to ask for forgiveness on her mother’s behalf.

Mdluli planned to arrange for psychological treatment for Shezi, “because of the stress he has been under”. He said he would help Shezi to sue the government and the Minister of Justice for Shezi’s wrongful arrest, wrongful detention and “malicious” prosecution.

Daily News

The gross disparity between the public and private health sectors is unjust and unethical, a paediatric professor has found.

Durban - The gross disparity between the public and private health sectors is unjust and unethical.

The was the harsh diagnosis presented by Professor Hoosen (Jerry) Coovadia, emeritus professor of paediatrics and child health, to the Discovery Volunteer Forum in uMhlanga.

Coovadia is a commissioner at the National Planning Commission, working on the National Development Plan’s focus on health. It aims to improve the health sector by 2030.

Having worked in the public health sector for his entire professional life, as well as contributing to numerous medical journals and publications, Coovadia was selected to contribute towards discussions and research on the proposed National Health Insurance plan.

“South Africa is the most unequal country in the world,” Hoosen said last week.

“It’s immoral that people must pay for education and health. When you go see a doctor, the first thing they ask you is, ‘Do you have medical aid?’ It’s no money, no service.”

Although there had been improvements in the health sector in the past 19 years, such as a decline in the infant mortality rate, the growing divide between public and private health, as well as the escalating costs of private health, was unsustainable, he said.

Citing an article published in The Lancet last year, Coovadia said that 44 percent of private health care funding went to helping only 16 percent of the population, whereas 43 percent of public health care funding went to helping 68 percent of the population.

The remainder was out-of-pocket payments.

Coovadia said that another problem was the movement of specialised doctors and equipment to the private sector.

“Years ago, the specialists would be in the public sector. If you needed any specialist surgery, that’s where you would go. That’s not happening any more,” he said. “We need to build up our specialists and not allow the private sector to blackmail us by saying if their salaries are cut, they will emigrate.”

The government’s green paper on National Health Insurance states that South Africa spends 8.5 percent of its GDP on health care services, 2.5 percent more than recommended by the World Health Organisation, yet the health outcomes are still poor.

It also indicates that private health-care costs have increased by 121 percent in the past decade, which means “the private health-care sector will have to accept that the charging of exorbitant fees completely out of proportion to the services provided has to be radically transformed”.

In the private sector, annual expenditure per capita is R11 150, compared with R2 766 in the public health sector.

“Health and education are essential to building a better… society. This will improve our capability,” said Coovadia.

lauren.anthony@inl.co.za

Daily News

Four armed men might have thought twice before robbing a defenceless woman, had they known they were unleashing the full force of the law.

Durban - Four armed men might have thought twice before robbing a defenceless woman in her office at Club Marina in Ifafa, had they known they were unleashing a dragnet by local police and their crime-fighting partners.

The men were arrested and were expected to appear in the Hibberdene Magistrate’s Court on Thursday for a formal bail application.

They are being detained in the Umzinto correctional facility.

Police spokesman, Captain Thulani Zwane, said the woman, 42, was approached by a man last week who asked to read her newspaper.

“While she reached out to fetch the newspaper, the man took out a gun and pointed it at her. Three others entered the office and took cash from the safe,” Zwane said. “They strapped her hands and legs together with cable ties and gagged her mouth with tape. The men then fled in her Uno,” he said.

Police scoured the area for the men and a number of local farmers joined the search, effectively boxing in the suspects.

The robbers abandoned the vehicle and hid from police in a sugar cane field.

Dog handlers Warrant Officer Paul Loubser of the Umzinto K9 Unit with patrol dog Wayne and Sergeant Desmond Theunissen, Constable Joe Cele and Constable Mark Banjo of the Port Shepstone K9 Unit with patrol dog Caesar, went in after them.

Warrant Officer Loubser arrested three of the suspects, while Constable Banjo, Sergeant Theunissen and Constable Joe Cele arrested the fourth.

Zwane said police found a knife and a firearm in the bushes near the cane field.

Daily News

a former Miss India SA, a campaigner for the pardoning of Schabir Shaik and human rights activist, has launched a political party.

Durban - A former Miss India SA, a campaigner for the pardoning of Schabir Shaik and human rights activist, has launched a political party.

Shabnam Palesa Mohamed launched Revolution South Africa (RSA), on Youth and Father’s Day at the weekend, and hopes it will appeal to the “oppressed, frustrated and unrepresented”.

Mohamed made headlines two years ago when she campaigned to get Schabir Shaik a presidential pardon.

She is also an attorney and the founder of Stand Up Foundation, an organisation which works for human rights.

The launch, outside the Durban city hall, was directed at gathering signatures of support and included an open mic event at which passers-by were encouraged to speak up about their causes and concerns.

On whether the party would stand a fighting chance in next year’s general election, political analyst Samadoda Fikeni said: “New parties try for that 1 percent of the vote and RSA may not have even that”.

He said although Mohamed might have her convictions, realistically the party would only stand a chance at local government elections and not in the provincial and national arena.

Fikeni said a high profile, struggle credentials, and business alliances to fund millionrand drives were important for a successful campaign.

Mohamed was confident the party would overcome the funding hurdle.

“We use our own resources until investors decide they are activists themselves and want to invest in the party,” she said, adding that funding would come from registration fees at R5, and from sales of the party’s newspaper.

Mohamed insisted the party would contest the national elections.

Independent Electoral Commission chief electoral officer for KZN, Mawethu Mosery, could not confirm yesterday whether RSA had registered.

He said parties could register at any time, at a cost of R500, but parties wishing to contest the national elections would be required to lodge a R500 000 deposit with the IEC by March next year. – Cadet News Agency

ayanda.mhlanga@inl.co.za

Daily News

The teen accused of stabbing his girlfriend to death at a Durban college will make his bid for freedom this week.

Durban - The teen accused of stabbing his girlfriend to death at a Further Education and Training (FET) college will make his bid for freedom on Wednesday.

Claudius Chetty, 18, is charged with the murder of 17-year-old Rashmika Janthielayal.

The State is opposing his bail application.

Rashmika, who was studying hairdressing and beauty at Umgungundlovu FET Northdale campus, was allegedly killed by Chetty, who was believed to be her boyfriend, after an argument on June 3. He fled after the murder, but was arrested soon after by police when he returned to the scene.

Rashmika’s family has denied the two were involved in a relationship.

The pretty teenager was stabbed several times in her face, neck and chest on the stairway during a break at the college.

She died on the scene.

The murder has left her family, friends and college staff and students in shock.

Daily News