The security company that had a multimillion-rand contract to guard Durban’s ICC declared invalid, is studying the judgment.

Durban - The Durban security company that had a multimillion-rand contract to guard Durban’s International Convention Centre declared invalid by an independent adjudicator is studying the judgment, the company said on Tuesday.

In a statement to the Daily News on Tuesday, Vimal Dabideen, spokesman for Isidingo Security Services, said the contract was taken away from them because of a “technicality”.

This was after an independent adjudicator declared the contract invalid and ordered the entity’s bid adjudication committee to consider other bids.

The adjudicator found Isidingo Security Services did not meet the mandatory criteria to provide security to Durban’s five-star, internationally renowned conference centre.

An appeal launched by losing bidder, Khuselani Security and Risk Management, which had been providing security to the ICC, and the Security Association of South Africa (Sasa), objected on the basis that, among other things, Isidingo had been unfairly scored on its experience and had not complied with legislation governing the security industry.

Yesterday, Dabideen said the judgment dismissed earlier allegations of non-compliance against the company.

“It appears from the judgment that a technicality arose concerning the ICC’s interpretation of what constituted acceptable experience from the hospitality industry,” he said.

“Tenderers were invited to provide documented evidence of such experience, with consideration given to tenderers providing a security service to large, upmarket shopping centres. Isidingo Security complied with these requirements, and demonstrated experience, which was accepted by the ICC.

“However, the chairman ruled that the definition of the hospitality industry could not include upmarket shopping centres. It was on this ground, and this ground alone, that the award was set aside. At all instances and times, Isidingo Security submitted a fully responsive bid and met all the specific criteria as laid down by the ICC,” he said.

According to a spokesman for the ICC, the matter has been referred back to the Bid Evaluation Committee for reconsideration and evaluation.

Durban ICC acting-chief executive, Nicolette Elia-Beissel, said: “The Durban ICC is committed to good governance and financial compliance, as demonstrated by the clean audit received from the auditor-general in our past financial year.

“If the initial award of this tender by the Bid Adjudication Committee was based on documentation supplied by the tenderer, which was later found to be spurious or imprecise, then we will follow the recommendations made by the independent adjudicator. Fairness and transparency are of paramount importance to us, as well as maintaining our reputation for sound financial practices,” Elia-Beissel said.

Daily News

A hotel manageress was making a monthly profit of R25 000 selling food to the customers of an alleged brothel.

Durban - A hotel manageress was making a monthly profit of R25 000 selling food to the customers of a hotel owned by a doctor accused of running a brothel with young girls, the Durban Regional Court heard on Wednesday.

Veena Budhram told the court she would make a profit of between R25 000 and R30 000 a month from the catering enterprise she operated at one of her boss's two hotels without his permission.

Budhram was being re-examined in the case of Dr Genchen Rugnath, who is accused of running a brothel from his hotel, Durban's Inn Town Lodge.

He, his wife Ravina, and their co-accused Sandile Patrick Zweni, Nonduzo Dlamini and Bhabha Dubazini, have pleaded not guilty to 156 charges, including assault, rape, sexual exploitation of a child, and racketeering.

Zweni allegedly operated a prostitution ring with girls as young as 12 from the Inn Town Lodge with the Rugnaths' consent and knowledge.

During cross-examination earlier this year, Rugnath's lawyer Anand Nepaul accused Budhram of stealing R50,000 a month from the business.

She denied the allegation.

“I was not stealing. I was working hard to make the money,” Budhram replied at the time.

The court heard that when she started working for Rugnath in 2002 she earned R2500 a month and was given a room to live in at Rugnath's other hotel that she managed Ä the Down Town Lodge. It had restaurant from which hotel customers could order food. However, Budhram provided food and billed the customers separately.

On Wednesday she said her salary was increased to R4000 a month in 2004.

She also earned additional money for running her nephew's lodge, the Kampara Inn. This amounted to about R14,000 a month.

“I made more from the catering business,” she said.

Budhram was initially arrested with the five accused in 2012, but turned State witness.

Sapa

Mothers living at the “women only” Thokoza Hostel will no longer have to smuggle their children past guards.

Durban - Mothers living at the “women only” Thokoza Hostel secured a court victory on Wednesday, getting an interdict stopping the eThekwini Municipality from preventing their 24 children, and a baby yet to be born, from living with them.

In terms of the order granted by Durban High Court Judge Johan Ploos van Amstel, guards at the hostel cannot bar access to the children.

For many, it will be the first time that they will be able to freely attend school and live openly with their mothers and guardians.

The children went to court on Wednesday with their mothers to hear the outcome of the urgent application which was launched with the assistance of the Durban’s Legal Resource Centre.

Advocate Sandile Kuboni, for the city, told the judge that his client was prepared to give an undertaking that the children would be allowed to stay, citing “overcrowding” as one of the reasons why there had been attempts to bar them.

He said there were separate legal proceedings to evict some of the residents of the hostel, but none were the applicants in the present matter.

But advocate Sarah Jane Linscott, for the mothers, persisted with her application for an interdict, saying similar undertakings given in the past had not been complied with.

Judge Ploos van Amstel agreed, noting that the city was not entitled to prevent any resident from leaving or entering the hostel without bringing proper eviction proceedings.

He said it was “easier to bring contempt proceedings” if there was an interdict in place. The interdict would remain in place until the finalisation of a related application challenging the “no kids” policy, saying it was an affront to the constitutional rights of the mothers and their children and should be reviewed and set aside.

The mothers, in their court application, claimed they had to hide and smuggle the children past the guards. They lived in constant fear that they would not be allowed back in. They said there had been at least three occasions when access was denied, and twice they had managed to sneak the children back in.

The municipality is opposing the review application, but has not filed any papers yet.

However, in a document before the court, the hostel’s superintendent, Siyabonga Mkhize, said the hostel building was unsuitable for children and was overcrowded.

Mkhize said there were plans to upgrade the building into “family units”.

The Mercury

The KZN Finance Department has been called on to take over the headcount of all provincial government departments.

Durban - The KZN Finance Department has been called on to take over the headcount of all provincial government departments, to quickly get rid of “ghost” public servants and prevent billions of rands from being lost to fraud.

ANC MPL Jomo Sibiya insisted that the Finance Department take over the headcount in the Education Department.

He was reacting to finance head Simiso Magagula’s concern that it would be costly for the provincial government to conduct headcounts in all departments.

The department had appeared before the finance portfolio committee to be scrutinised by MPLs about various aspects either raised in or left out of Finance MEC Belinda Scott’s budget speech this week.

Finance portfolio committee chairman Sipho “KK” Nkosi, who chaired the meeting at the legislature in Pietermaritzburg on Wednesday, said the provincial Education Department had charged 289 principals after its investigation had uncovered 17 000 ghost pupils in the province. The province had spent up to R932 a pupil last year.

These pupils were likely to have led to the creation of 485 “ghost teachers”, who were earning about R15 000 a month, which amounted to R7.2 million spent through fraudulent salaries a month.

Sibiya said the headcount was urgent.

“If there are findings that give us an indication that ghost teachers and learners exit, it would obviously cut down the spending on salaries of teachers,” said Sibiya. “It would also clear the spending in terms of the money allocated to schools based on number of children.”

ANC MPL Lizzy Shabalala had initiated the idea that the Treasury should conduct all headcounts in the province.

She said the executive council and Treasury had for years been thinking about how to deal with non-existent employees on the government payroll. However, Magagula said previous attempts to conduct headcounts had proved expensive.

“A proper headcount is to count each teacher at the schools and to count the children that are at the schools… Even our education allocation depends on the numbers at the schools,” he said.

The Mercury reported earlier this year that in the uThungulu district - the only district in which the department had finalised its probe - 286 schools had been investigated for inflating pupil numbers, and 150 principals had been charged. Nkosi said among those who had been charged, some had already confessed that they had submitted made-up names of pupils to the department.

“In primary schools, the minimum number of pupils in a class is 40… if you divide the 17 000 by 40, you will find that there were 425 ghost teachers earning a minimum of R15 000 a month. If these teachers were all in secondary schools where the minimum class capacity is 35, it would mean there were 485 ghost teachers,” he said.

Nkosi said the department was conducting further investigations to establish how much money it had lost.

The Mercury

People from Mariannhill, where six foetuses were found, say an illegal abortionist could be operating in the area.

Durban - People from the area where six foetuses were discovered by children this week say there should be a thorough investigation because an illegal abortionist could be operating there.

This is after the gruesome discovery of the foetuses in bottles at an illegal dump site at Mariannhill’s Desai area on Monday afternoon.

Resident, Simon Xaba, said it was hard to believe the foetuses had been kept for a long time.

The former police officer said when he got to the scene, one of the jars was broken and there was blood.

“If the foetuses were preserved and had been kept in the jars for a long time, why would they bleed then? It doesn’t make sense. There should be a thorough investigation because I believe there could be someone running an illegal abortion practice in the area,” he said.

Zandile Jobe, a nurse who lives in the area, said the jars were not similar to those used in medical facilities.

She did not know what to make of the mystery.

“This is strange. What I do know is that it was a health hazard for children and adults who search for ‘valuables’ at the dump site,” she said.

Childline said parents should warn their teenage girls about the consequences of unplanned pregnancies.

Dumisile Nala, national executive officer of Childline, said although she did not have details of the dumped foetuses, women, particularly teenagers, should plan for their children.

“Teenage pregnancy should be discussed before and after birth so young mothers can take better decisions for themselves,” Nala said.

Resident Nthabiseng Maduna said her 13-year-old son who had discovered the items at the dump, came running back home shaking.

“He was shocked, trying to tell me what happened,” Maduna said.

Stan Jewaskiewitz, president of the Waste Management of Southern Africa, said “a ‘dump’ does not signify that it is a proper licensed disposal facility, normally referred to as a landfill site (licensed in terms of the National Environment Management), which is not allowed to receive such waste”.

Jewaskiewitz said medical waste should either be treated by incineration (pathological waste), autoclaving or hydroclaving (infectious wastes).

“The disposal or dumping of foetuses on a landfill is therefore illegal. They should have been treated by way of incineration.

“The dangers of disposal of medical wastes on a landfill can lead to a variety of diseases, such as hepatitis C,” Jewaskiewitz said.

KwaZulu-Natal police spokesman, Colonel Jay Naicker, said an inquiry had been opened.

“It is alleged they were found in medical storage jars in an open area near an old doctor’s surgery.

“The doctor has passed away and the community alleged that someone was seen recently cleaning up the premises. No arrest has been made and the investigation is continuing,” Naicker said.

The site had been cleared of the medical waste by on Wednesday and no further dumping was seen by workers at the neighbouring concrete brick manufacturing company.

Chris Archer, the chief executive of the South African Private Practitioners Forum, said the incident was an outright criminal matter.

He said if a member of their forum was found guilty of such an act, he/she would be expelled right away.

Daily News

Durban - A policeman was shot dead while hunting down the robbers of a Melmoth petrol station on Wednesday.

A policeman was shot dead while hunting down the robbers of a Melmoth petrol station.

Doctors have joined Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi’s outcry about the escalating cases of doctors being sued.

Durban - Doctors have joined Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi’s outcry about the escalating cases of doctors being sued, with some specialists suggesting this could worsen the critical shortage of skills.

On Wednesday the SA Medical Association (Sama) said the increasing frequency and costs of medical malpractice claims not only threatened the delivery of health services to the poor, but could result in “extinction of critical medical specialities”.

These included gynaecology, neurosurgery, anaesthesiology and neonatology (medicine for babies).

This week, Motsoaledi hit out at lawyers and doctors for being “pocket liners”, saying some lawyers had left courts for hospitals and were targeting certain specialities.

Addressing the country’s first Medico Legal Summit in Pretoria, Motsoaledi said some public hospitals’ bosses had been arrested for being part of syndicates operating in hospitals which shared information leading to the looting of funds meant for the public.

“We are aware that the same syndicates which bankrupted the Road Accident Fund (RAF) are very busy with health.”

Motsoaledi said as a result of a rising number of court cases, some private specialists were paying steep insurance costs, with indemnity insurance shooting up by almost 600 percent in recent years.

On Wednesday, Sama joined the protest, calling for “lawyers to get out of hospital and go back to court, and for doctors to get out of courts and go back to hospital”.

Sama president, Dr Phophi Ramathuba, said that while access to justice for medical malpractice victims should never be compromised, escalating malpractice claims threatened the delivery of health services to the country.

“As stakeholders in health we need to improve the access to and quality of our services. The impact of medico-legal cases has dire consequences for everyone. Limited resources are diverted from life-saving activities, while there is a risk of extinction of critical medical specialties such as gynaecologists,” he said.

Dr Peter de Jong, a Cape Town gynaecologist and obstetrician, said many specialists in his field were leaving in droves and opting for other careers as gynaecology was no longer profitable. The exodus was so huge that in future there might not be enough specialised doctors to deliver babies.

“We are certainly running out of gynaecologists. My younger colleague is doing an MBA and leaving the profession, due to the crippling problems we face. What a waste.”

De Jong, who paid almost R500 000 a year on insurance premiums, said many gynaecologists were practising defensive medicine, and often opted for Caesarean sections to avoid the risks associated with natural births.

He welcomed the pending appointment of a health ombudsman, saying this would cap the settlement claims.

Dr Thane Munting, a Cape Town consultant orthopaedic surgeon, said the spiralling costs of medical litigation were discouraging many doctors from specialising in certain fields such as spinal and trauma orthopaedics.

“If you’re a spinal orthopaedic surgeon your insurance premiums are double those of an ordinary orthopaedic surgeon, as your chances of being sued are more.

“These expensive costs discourage many doctors from specialising, contributing to a skills shortage which the country is trying to address.”

Daily News

MK veterans, some employed by eThekwini Municipality, have illegally occupied low cost housing developments.

Durban - Umkhonto weSizwe (MK) veterans, some employed by eThekwini Municipality to assist the council curb invasions, have illegally occupied low-cost housing developments.

Now, the municipality has turned to the courts as it seeks to evict these veterans.

Justifying their action, veterans said they were tired of waiting for the ANC to deliver on its promises.

The municipality’s human settlements and infrastructure committee chairman, Nigel Gumede, on Wednesday said the city had applied for an urgent interdict to remove MK veterans who had invaded council-owned houses in Illovo, south of Durban, which was earmarked for people moved to transit camps for various reasons.

Veterans had also illegally occupied houses in Cornubia, uMlazi and Phoenix, in which the city intended to house people as part of the slums clearance and the eradication of transit camps programmes.

“Our brothers from the MK should be showing they are respectable and disciplined people who do not go against the law,” said Gumede, adding that this insubordination was cause for immediate dismissal for those veterans party to the invasions while employed by the municipality in various capacities in anti-invasion units.

“How is the community going to look at us when we canvass for votes while our own members are taking homes from them?”

Gumede said the municipality made provision for veterans and appealed for them to be patient as housing was a challenge around the country. “We appeal to comrades to be disciplined and not do something which they know is unfair to communities. This is damaging the name of the ANC. As part of the organisation we should be of one accord,” he said.

Veterans felt betrayed by the ANC, said Themba Mavundla, KZN chairman MK Veterans Association.

“We knew it was wrong (to invade housing) but 20 years down the line we could not keep waiting to die in squalor. It’s unfair. The government and ruling party in particular are supposed to be the ones championing our plight. We refuse to be used and dumped.”

Mavundla said they had for years been in talks with the Department of Human Settlements in a forum comprising representatives from the department, military wings MK, the PAC’s Azanian People’s Liberation Army and Azapo’s Azanian National Liberation Army.

“We came up with the term - nothing about us without us - and there was an agreement that veterans would be consulted on the housing being built and prioritised for job and business opportunities,” he said.

Mavundla said after years of waiting, they found the department “was not negotiating in good faith or serious about ensuring we experienced the freedom we fought for”.

Recognising that there was a challenge of - among others - serviced land, Mavundla said the process had dragged on too long, during which time veterans had been destitute.

“We are seeing people benefit from freedom we fought for while we are being sidelined in the public and private sector, even within the ANC…”

Forcefully moving into housing was a way of exerting pressure on government to step up. In October, the national department committed R1 billion for housing for almost 5 600 military veterans around the country over the next five years.

Mavundla lauded government for establishing a dedicated ministry but called for the same commitment to filter to provincial and municipal level.

Spokesman for the KZN Department of Human Settlements, Mbulelo Baloyi, said they were committed and had held workshops in August to update veterans on progress. Baloyi said Mavundla had been party to these ongoing talks and should not be condoning the invasions.

“We don’t want to see confrontations between legit beneficiaries of low-cost housing and military veterans,” he said.

Responding to whether the actions of the veterans could not be construed as seeking handouts, Mavundla said they had volunteered for service, they were not forced or promised anything.

“No one owes us anything, not government not the ANC, but we see people burning libraries, clinics and schools because they want service delivery. They say they voted, therefore government owes them.

“To turn around and judge us is a double standard. Votes did not bring freedom; we fought and died for that vote, not for ourselves but for the nation. All we are asking for is the humanity of appreciation.

“We are not demanding millions, just basic human needs; shelter and work,” he said.

Daily News

Ethekwini and parts of the North and South Coasts could run short of water in just two years if rainfall trends continued.

Durban - Ethekwini and parts of the North and South Coasts could run short of water in just two years if rainfall trends continued and nothing was done to augment supplies.

KwaZulu-Natal’s chief director of water and sanitation, Ashley Starkey, said this in a presentation at the launch of National Water Week on Wednesday.

The event was hosted by Umgeni Water, Mhlatuze Water and the eThekwini and iLembe municipalities and held at the Hazelmere Dam.

Starkey presented a “water balance” scenario for the uMngeni water system, which considered the impact of planned projects and demand trends.

The upper uMngeni system serves the Umgungundlovu District Municipality, Msunduzi Municipality and eThekwini Municipality’s Outer West area; and the lower system serves the coastal areas and hinterland of the eThekwini Municipality.

This sub-system also serves the northern coastal areas of Ugu District.

“Water has no substitute and the province is facing a drought, so the situation is urgent,” Starkey told the Daily News.

He said the uMngeni system provided about 350 million cubic metres of water a year, augmented by just less than 50 million cubic metres from the Spring Grove Dam.

With demand now at 400 million cubic metres, it means that there is just enough water.

By 2017 the areas fed by the system could face a short-term deficit.

However, by 2019 treated effluent water would come on tap, increasing supplies to 430 million cubic metres a year.

Desalination of sea water on the North Coast was expected to further augment supplies from 2023.

The Smithfield Dam augmentation scheme in 2029 will further strengthen water security in the province.

Starkey urged people to use water sparingly.

“Last year at this time, the Hazelmere Dam was sitting at 97 percent capacity, but is now at 46 percent.

“That is half of its capacity. Low rainfall will continue the trend,” he said.

Earlier this year, the dam was sitting at 34.6 percent and water was predicted to run out by August.

In April, an emergency pumping scheme from the uThongathi River was commissioned at a cost of more than R30 million.

Umgeni Water’s chief executive, Cyril Gamede, said the organisation had a short-term and a long-term view, extending to 2030.

“(We will) plan long-term water resources adequacy; establish a water demand management business unit to address high water loss, and proactively plan and build new bulk regional water schemes whilst continuously investing in operations and maintenance.”

Non-revenue water - lost through theft or leaks - also featured in the discussion.

“The national estimate is 36.8 percent.

“Rural municipalities have higher (usage) than metros and urban municipalities and the volume of water in South Africa was 1 580 million cubic metres per annum, which equated to 30 percent of total water supply.

“This is more than 3.5 times Umgeni Water’s annual supply and the estimated value of (this water) is R7.2 billion.”

How drought money will be spent:

Earlier this year the province was allocated more than R353.7million to ease the effects of the drought. On Wednesday KZN’s chief director of water and sanitation, Ashley Starkey, gave a breakdown on how the money would be spent:

96 water tankers: R123.5m

Operational costs for the water tankers (six months): R14.7m

Supply and installation of storage of water tanks (1 905): R19.7m

Protection of existing springs (119 projects): R11m

Refurbishment and upgrade of water supply infrastructure (50 projects): R83.1m

Water tankering reduction programme: R8m

Siting, drilling, testing, equipping boreholes and construction of bulk infrastructure, reticulation and stand taps (116 projects): R93.6m

Daily News

A Parlock family believe the recital of the Qu’ran saved them from danger after four robbers stormed their home.

Durban - A Parlock family believe the recital of the Qu’ran (Koran) saved them from danger after four robbers stormed their home and held them up early on Wednesday.

The family, who wish to remain anonymous, were left shaken by the robbery at their Parlock Drive home.

Police spokesman, Colonel Jay Naicker, said the incident happened at 6.30am, when four men, three with firearms and one armed with a knife, held the family up.

“They took the son into the house and held up the family. The men took three cellphones, a firearm, laptop, tablet and other belongings in the house. They took cash from one of the victims’ wallet. No shots were fired and no one was injured. They fled the scene in the son`’s Isuzu bakkie,” Naicker said.

The home owner, 76, said he had been asleep in his room when his son, 49, opened the house gate to put his children’s school bags in his van.

One robber walked into his bedroom and woke him up.

The gang, one of whom was wearing a balaclava, told the family not to make any sudden movements or scream.

The son’s wife was reading the Qu’ran in the lounge and the mother, 66, was making breakfast in the kitchen.

Three men went into the rooms and brought the elderly man and two schoolchildren, aged 13 and 19, into the lounge.

One man watched over them while the others ransacked the rooms.

The men threatened to harm the children if they did not get access to the safe.

“One of the guys had a gun in his hand and took me to the lounge, where I saw the rest of my family. The recital of the Qu’ran helped calm these men down and they left without harming us,” he said.

Before the robbers left they asked the son how to open the driveway gate. They took his van and told him they would leave it on Inanda Road.

“They told us politely that they were leaving and then pushed us into one of the rooms and locked the door. We heard the van leave and opened the window to call neighbours, who unlocked the door. The children lost their school bags and study material,” said the homeowner.

The van had not been found by deadline.

A case of house robbery is being investigated by Newlands East SAPS.

Daily News

Two supermarket chains are probing separate allegations of workers being beaten after being accused of theft.

Durban - Two Durban supermarket chains are probing separate allegations of assaults on workers, who claim they were beaten – in one case with metal bars and brooms – after being accused of theft.

Two workers were accused of stealing cheese.

The incidents are alleged to have happened at the Checkers Pavilion supermarket and at Cambridge Food’s KwaZulu-Natal Distribution Centre in Westmead, last week.

Checkers has suspended managers accused of the beating, and the security company that employed the implicated guard has been given notice.

Cambridge has handed its matter to police.

Two merchandisers employed by an external agent at Checkers Pavilion were accused of theft after three blocks of cheese were allegedly found in a box of cornflakes as one of the two men was leaving.

The pair were allegedly beaten by three managers and a security officer in a back room at the supermarket. One claimed he was beaten with a heavy metal coil spring exercise bar on his head and private parts.

Nkosi Maxakana, 27, the merchandiser allegedly beaten on the forehead with the bar, was in Addington Hospital for three days. He was discharged last Friday and has been given time off to recuperate by his employer, Smollan Merchandisers.

The other worker, Robin Delwa, 26, who had allegedly been caught with cheese in his cornflakes box, said he was hit on the legs with a broom and the coil spring exercise bar.

Checkers spokeswoman, Sarita van Wyk, said the chain “deplored the actions of three employees who assaulted two merchandisers caught while allegedly stealing merchandise after trading hours.

“The store employees were put on immediate suspension pending a disciplinary hearing.

“The security contractor that employs the security guard involved has been given notice and will be removed from the store. The guard has already been removed,” she said.

“The supermarket group does not condone violent behaviour on its premises and is therefore following appropriate procedure to address the matter.”

Cosatu’s provincial secretary, Edwin Mkhize, said the trade union federation would consider action against the two supermarkets and demand the employees be compensated.

“Let’s just say for argument’s sake that they did steal. Does that warrant employees being beaten?

“Companies have procedures and policies to deal with workers. No company has procedures to assault any employee,” he said.

In a separate incident, a Cambridge Foods employee allegedly found with a bottle of Vaseline in his bag at the company’s warehouse was arrested after being beaten, allegedly by his manager.

Cambridge’s managing director, Andrew Stein, said the matter had been handed to police for further investigation.

“Cambridge Foods takes the employee’s allegations of assault seriously and will investigate the matter and take the appropriate remedial action as required,” Stein said.

sihle.mambo@inl.co.za

Daily News

A Pietermaritzburg businessman accused of hurling racial insults at his employee had charges against him withdrawn.

Durban - A Pietermaritzburg businessman accused of hurling racial insults at his employee, had charges against him withdrawn at the Pietermaritzburg Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday, to the anger and disappointment of the employee and members of the EFF.

Charges of crimen injuria against 74-year-old Edmund Rusty Roodt were withdrawn on the instructions of the chief prosecutor.

No other reasons were furnished in court.

It was alleged that Roodt repeatedly called his employee, Jabulani Tshabalala, a baboon.

According to Tshabalala, 54, a stock receiver, and a branch chairman of the Economic Freedom Fighters, his former boss had been verbally abusing him since 2007.

Tshabalala said Roodt had previously called him a k*****, and then more recently started referring to him as a baboon.

“I am not an animal. He calls me a baboon because I am black and have dark skin. That is just racist,” Tshabalala said.

He said he was very sad that charges against Roodt had been withdrawn, as he had been robbed of his dignity.

“This is not justice,” he said.

EFF provincial chairman, Vukani Ndlovu, who was at court supporting Tshabalala on Wednesday, along with 20 other EFF members, said it was shocking that the case had been dismissed.

“The court did not furnish us with any reasons for the withdrawal of the charges. How can we move forward without even an explanation? We believe there is strong evidence against Roodt, who even admitted to media that he had called Mr Tshabalala a baboon,” Ndlovu said.

“What more does the court require?”

He promised that the EFF would not allow the matter to rest until justice was done for Tshabalala.

“How can we accept white people referring to black people as baboons in our democracy?

“We will take the war to the doorstep of people like this. They think they have won this round, but they haven’t. This was round one… We will return for round two and we will fight until round 100, if that’s what it takes,” Ndlovu said.

Ndlovu said the EFF would secure the services of an attorney for Tshabalala and assist him in reinstating the charges against Roodt.

“This case must be resolved in and out of court. Racism of this nature cannot be tolerated in a civilised society,” he said.

It is understood that charges had been withdrawn against Roodt because he had laid counter-charges of assault against Tshabalala.

It was decided by senior prosecutors that the charges against the pair were mutually destructive and both charges (that of crimen injuria against Roodt and assault against Tshabalala) were withdrawn.

Roodt declined to comment on the matter.

Daily News

The investigating officer in the murder of Kurtlee Pillay admits he does not have evidence linking one of the accused to the murder.

Durban - The investigating officer in the murder of Overport student Kurtlee Pillay has admitted he does not have any evidence linking one of the accused to the stabbing, hijacking and robbery.

Warrant Officer Krishna “Monty” Naidoo came under heavy scrutiny during his cross-examination in the bail application of two of three alleged killers, Blaine Raman, 20, Dinesh Nana, 21, and Bilal Tayob, 26, at the Durban Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday.

The three have been charged with premeditated murder, kidnapping and robbery with aggravating circumstances of Pillay, 20, on the night of November 4, at West Riding Row in Sherwood.

Raman and Nana are currently making bids for bail.

Attorney Anand Nepaul, acting on behalf of Raman, on Wednesday continued his cross examination of Naidoo, who previously testified he had strong evidence against the men.

Nepaul questioned Naidoo on the forensic analysis done on Raman’s clothes used on the night of the incident.

Naidoo admitted the results showed negative against Raman and positive against Nana and Tayob.

Nepaul told the policeman Raman had admitted he had used the same clothes at the time of his arrest the next morning, and if the forensics revealed no match of Pillay’s DNA on his clothing, then surely he could not have been involved in the stabbing.

Naidoo said the knife and a belt found at one of the crime scenes were still to be analysed by forensics in Pretoria.

Nepaul questioned Naidoo on the statements given to him by the arresting officers and the security guard at Belmont Hotel stating they did not implicate Raman.

The security guard admitted in his statement he could not identify the accused who allegedly ran away from the hotel exit when chased by police.

The investigating officer conceded he did not have any photo evidence, video footage, fingerprint matches, DNA and cellphone records linking Raman to any of the charges he is facing.

Nepaul then took issue with the warning statements Naidoo had taken after the men were arrested. He went through the answers Raman had given in an interview conducted with Naidoo under warning.

Nepaul argued that Raman’s answer regarding the last time he saw Pillay rendered the statement factually incorrect because it did not tie up with the times that Pillay is supposed to have died.

Naidoo had also previously testified that he had a statement from a witness who claims Pillay had received a call on his cellphone which eventually led to his death.

However, Nepaul pointed out in the cross examination that the records of Raman’s phone did not reveal any contact between him and Pillay.

Naidoo argued the cellphone records of Pillay were still being investigated.

The three men are alleged to have lured Pillay to his death stabbing him more than 30 times and driving over him with his own car in Sherwood.

The bail application continues on Thursday.

Daily News

The prosecution has admitted that there is no record of telephone contact between Dr Genchen Rugnath and Sandile Zweni.

Durban - A man accused of operating a prostitution ring with young girls from a Durban hotel never had any telephonic contact with the hotel owner, who is accused of running a brothel, the Durban Regional Court heard on Thursday.

“We can say there are no (records of ) calls between accused four (Rugnath), five (Rugnath's wife) and accused one (Zweni),” prosecutor Yuri Gangai said.

Gangai asked for an adjournment to analyse telephonic records for Dr Genchen Rugnath, his co-accused, and key witnesses.

Rugnath, his wife Ravina, and their co-accused Sandile Patrick Zweni, Nonduzo Dlamini and Bhabha Dubazini, have all pleaded not guilty to 156 charges, including assault, rape, sexual exploitation of a child, and racketeering.

Zweni allegedly operated a prostitution ring with girls as young as 12 from the Inn Town Lodge, with the Rugnaths' consent and knowledge.

Gangai said there were calls between the Rugnaths and their former hotel manageress, Veena Budhram. She has turned State witness since she was arrested along with the five accused in 2012. He said there were calls between Budhram and Zweni.

Gangai told the court he expected to conclude the State's case by next Wednesday or Thursday.

The case was adjourned to Monday.

Sapa

Durban - Two policemen from Intsikeni, Kokstad, were arrested for murder, attempted murder and defeating the ends of justice on Thursday, the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) said.

Two policemen from Intsikeni, Kokstad, were arrested for murder, attempted murder and defeating the ends of justice.

One of SA's richest men has resorted to court action to evict his ex-girlfriend from the mansion they once shared.

Durban - One of South Africa’s richest men has resorted to court action to evict his former girlfriend from the Morningside, Durban, mansion they once shared before what he says was their “singularly unpleasant” break-up.

Alan Burke, founder and chairman of ARB Electrical who has previously made the country’s “rich list” with shares worth more than R600 million, said in affidavit which came before Durban High Court Judge Peter Olsen on Thursday that his eight-year “on-and-off” relationship with Abigail Edwards was over, but she refused to move out of his Mentone Road house.

He alleged she had sold his television set, damaged a marble-top antique table, picked the lock on his private wine cellar, stealing fine whisky and wine worth more than R100 000, chased away a security guard by spraying him with a hosepipe, left his tools out in the rain and cut down a tree.

He also accuses her of contravening a “cohabitation agreement” spelling out terms and conditions of their relationship and the “rewards” of compliance.

Edwards, in a separate court action, is suing Burke for R6m, saying he is the one who broke the agreement.

In his urgent application, brought in terms of the Prevention of Illegal Eviction From and Unlawful Occupation of Land Act, Burke said their relationship had always been “tumultuous” and he had broken up with her several times.

In August last year, they got back together and concluded the cohabitation agreement detailing the relationship rules which included that she was not to take diet pills or body enhancing pills which, he alleged, made her aggressive.

He said the agreement was predicated on her living in Cape Town in a house he would buy for about R6m.

The agreement, which is attached to the court papers, stipulated that he would give her R500 000 equity in the property every year and once her equity reached the purchase price, it would be transferred into her name. He would also pay her R40 000 a month.

In return she was to be faithful, not take diet pills and be respectful of his family and friends. Any contraventions would render the agreement null and void.

Burke said he did not buy a house in Cape Town because Edwards wanted to live in Durban and moved into his house instead.

“We agreed to a variation of the agreement that I would invest R2 million in the stock market and R500 000 would accrue to her every year,” he said.

In December he found packaging for slimming tablets in her bag and “I brought the agreement to an end, which I was entitled to do”.

He said Edwards denied breaching the agreement. She denied any variation to it and was suing him for R6 million because he did not buy a Cape Town property.

Burke said he had proposed mediation, but she had refused. He had offered her money to move out of the house, originally R750 000, but now, “given the damage to the property”, R500 000.

“The dissolution of our relationship has been singularly unpleasant… she appeared intent on damaging me and my reputation and has sent defamatory e-mails to the chief financial officer and board members of the listed company whose board I chair.

“The day after the theft of my liquor, she took out a domestic violence interdict against me (ex parte) and then contrived to have me arrested,” he said.

After hearing argument, Judge Olsen, noting Burke’s R500 000 offer, granted an order evicting Edwards, saying she must move out by 2pm on Friday.

Edwards’s attorney Andrea Ward told The Mercury afterwards that her client was persisting with her R6m claim.

She declined to comment further.

The Mercury

Ashraf Adam keeps getting KwaZulu-Natal fines and e-toll bills for a Volkswagen Golf that's never been out of the Cape.

Durban - The Cape Town driver who was served with several traffic fine notices from KwaZulu-Natal last year is still getting tickets for new offences, despite the transport department’s promise to intervene.

Ashraf Adam, 51, who has not visited KwaZulu-Natal in many years, has received tickets now totalling R2500.

Recently Adam received a ticket from the Mthonjaneni local municipality in the Melmoth area for R550, another from the Umlalazi local municipality in Eshowe for R375 and one from the Umhlathuze local municipality in Richards Bay for R850.

The most recent ticket to be served was from Umlalazi, which he received on Friday.

in 2014 Adam was summoned to court for fines that had not been paid; he had to drive from Cape Town to Melmoth to defend himself.

E-TOLL ACCOUNTS

Apart from the KwaZulu-Natal fines, he had also been served with several e-toll accounts, for amounts ranging from R300 to R400.

Adam said he had bought a new car in March 2014 and paid R4000 for a four-digit registration number. Soon after that, he started getting traffic fines.

The car in the picture printed on the notices was not his, he said. It was a silver Golf, like his, but a different model.

“It is too much of a coincidence for another silver Golf to have the same registration as mine,” he said. “I’m convinced there is some form of corruption going on and wouldn’t be surprised if the offender is an official.

“How else can someone repeatedly speeding in the same areas keep get away with it for so long?”

Adam said he had written to the relevant traffic officials at the municipalities and in some cases to the municipal managers as well. He said only the Umlalazi Municipality bothered to respond. The municipality told him he should open a case with the police.

But at two police stations that he went to in Cape Town, the police were surprised by his request and were reluctant to do so.

The Mercury

Illegal businesses are proliferating in Phoenix, raking in huge revenue but breaking laws and becoming an eyesore.

Durban - Illegal businesses are proliferating in Phoenix, raking in huge revenue but breaking laws and becoming an eyesore.

One businessman illegally leases a plot of municipal land to multiple tenants.

Another runs a scrapyard in a residential area.

A businessman making cash by packing charcoal for braaiing makes his migrant employees work in appalling conditions.

All three businesses are operating without permits.

These were some of the discoveries made during a blitz by eThekwini Municipality officials on Thursday when they pounced on businesses breaking a raft of laws.

The clampdown saw the multidisciplinary team issue fines and orders, with some transgressors instructed to stop operating or risk harsher sentences for acts related to crime, by-law infringements, illegal water and electricity connections and vandalism of municipal infrastructure.

Representatives of the departments of Labour and Home Affairs, the SAPS, metro police and private security joined the municipal officials.

The team was divided into two groups. The Mercury accompanied one group which inspected businesses in Eastbury Drive and Clayfied Road.

In one instance, it was found that a businessman had illegally invaded a municipal property and had leased it to 12 entrepreneurs. The entrepreneurs ranged from scrap metal dealers to panel beaters.

The “landlord” was nowhere to be found, but officials said the city’s legal department was handling the matter. He was apparently collecting about R56 000 in rent a month.

A tenant who rents a portion of the land for dealing in scrap metal said he had acquired the land from a “Mr Shan”.

“We found the land and asked next door who the owner was and they told us it was Mr Shan’s… I met him and we signed a lease agreement without going to the necessary departments,” he said.

The man’s business was not registered and he was ordered to vacate the land. He was also given a R1 000 fine. The illegal electricity connection was cut off.

The officials found a charcoal packing business in a “despicable” state. It was also illegally located on municipal land with illegal electricity connections and no ablution facilities.

Three employees sleep in a foul-smelling room on the property.

The business owner said former ward councillor Ronnie Veeran had granted him permission to use the land. Veeran admitted this, but said this was in consultation with a municipal official.

Project co-ordinator Madala Nhleko, a town planning unit enforcement officer, said Thursday’s crackdown had yielded the desired results.

The project is expected to eventually cover the entire metro.

The Mercury

Women angry at a court ruling allowing children to remain at a KZN hostel, flashed their buttocks in protest.

Durban - Hundreds of angry women on Thursday night flashed their buttocks, blocked the road and protested against a Durban High Court ruling which granted 24 children permission to stay with their mothers at the Thokoza Women’s Hostel in the Durban CBD.

The group was in full voice, wielding planks and banging on plastic city bins as the bottom of Dr Yusuf Dadoo (Grey) Street was blocked off by four metro police vans during the protest.

The group was led by former hostel chairwoman, Mabongi Ngcobo, who said the judgment was unfair because it did not consider the well-being of other residents.

She said there was a lease agreement in place that dictated that pregnant women move out for six months and send their children home when they had been born.

“We all agreed that children are not allowed here, and that when you fall pregnant you will move out for six months and return later and find your bed. Now that they are pregnant and have children, they say they have no families, whereas we hire people to take care of our children in the homelands,” Ngcobo said.

Ngcobo claimed some women drove cars and were not supposed to be living at the hostel, as it was meant for poor people.

She claimed some of the mothers were government and municipal workers.

She called for the eThekwini Municipality to move the women to an alternative property because the hostel was already overcrowded.

Another angry dweller, Thembi Dlamini, said the conditions were not conducive for children to live in.

“We don’t want the children in the hostel. There are only 24 who want children here, while there are nearly 980 of us who don’t want children here.

“The conditions inside are bad. We are cramped and they are making decisions for us without consulting us. There are three beds per room, there’s no space to even walk inside, the toilets are dirty and they leave the children’s napkins lying around anywhere and their children are always crying,” she said.

Ngcobo said the lease agreement allowed children to visit in December and leave in January, and said the municipality should prioritise family units.

Some women chanted that if children were allowed, they would bring their men inside the hostel as well.

“The court was not supposed to grant permission. The court has not been here to see the conditions; maybe if they had seen the conditions they would understand that this is not a good environment for children to grow up in,” Ngcobo said.

Another angry woman, Jabu Sithole, said it was unfair to be subjected to living with children.

“The rooms are small. Imagine, when you are trying to eat and somebody is changing nappies. Is that fair? These hostels were made for people who seek employment to provide for their families. If people want to see their children, they must visit them like the rest of us,” she said.

Daily News

Two new State witnesses took the stand briefly at the Pietermaritzburg High Court in the murder trial of Rajive Soni.

Durban - Two new State witnesses took the stand briefly at the Pietermaritzburg High Court on Thursday in the murder trial of Pietemaritzburg businessman Rajive Soni.

Soni is accused of planning and paying for the murder of his former best friend, prominent doctor, Bhavish Sewram, in May 2013 after discovering that Sewram had an affair with his wife, Kerusha.

Sewram was gunned down outside his surgery on Chota Motala Road (Old Greytown Road) on the evening of May 13, 2013, by a hooded gunman.

Before the murder, Soni is alleged to have embarked on an obsessive campaign to run Sewram out of town, and hatched several plots to smear Sewram’s name, as well as orchestrate and paying for several assaults on the doctor.

Testifying on Thursday, Chota Motala Road resident, Keith Naidoo, 23, told the court how, on the evening of the murder, he had heard loud bangs that he at first thought were fireworks.

“I was standing outside with my friends and was facing away from the doctor’s surgery when I heard three loud noises. It sounded like fireworks and I turned to look up at the sky and saw nothing. Then I saw a guy casually walking across the road.

“As he reached the other side, he broke into a run through a lane between two flats,” Naidoo said, adding that he saw a car parked at the top of the lane.

By this time, Naidoo said he saw people rushing to Sewram’s Chevrolet bakkie which was parked outside the surgery.

“I ran towards the doctor’s van. A pharmacist in the area and an off-duty paramedic were trying to get the doctor out of the van. I helped them carry him out of the vehicle. I did not know what had happened, but I heard people saying that he had been shot,” Naidoo said.

Sewram’s parents, Parmanand and Nalini Sewram, sat listening intently to Naidoo’s evidence, which in essence, recounted their son’s final moments.

Also giving evidence on Thursday was Warrant Officer Prem Maharaj, of the Mountain Rise police station, who was one of the first policemen on the scene. He confirmed Sewram died at the scene of the crime while paramedics were attending to him.

He also said he noted three bullet holes in the window of Sewram’s vehicle, and three spent cartridges on the road next to the vehicle. He also established that Sewram had been shot in his neck, back and arm.

Ex-Mountain Rise policeman Sugen Naidoo, an accomplice witness who is testifying for the State, will return to the stand on Friday, where he will continue to be cross-examined by Soni’s advocate, Narend Sangham.

Naidoo’s cross-examination was halted on Wednesday when Sangham requested time to research a legal point regarding Naidoo’s witness statement.

It is understood Sangham intends making an application for Naidoo’s testimony to be rendered inadmissible, but would only do so at the conclusion of the State’s case.

The trial is proceeding.

Daily News