Firefighters who fought tirelessly to combat the Cape fires will be honoured at the Cape Town Carnival, the mayor has said.

Cape Town - Firefighters who fought tirelessly to extinguish fires across the Cape over the last month would be honoured at the annual Cape Town Carnival on Saturday.

Six hundred firefighters and volunteers would join the parade, the city’s executive mayor Patricia de Lille said in a joint statement with the Cape Town Carnival on Thursday.

“This forms part of the City of Cape Town’s initiatives to honour the many brave firefighters who worked tirelessly over the past weeks to combat the fires that have devastated a large part of our city,” said De Lille.

“They went above and beyond the call of duty to protect lives and property, and we would like to express our heartfelt gratitude for their efforts,” she said.

The city and Cape Town Carnival called on all residents and visitors to join them as they saluted the local heroes.

“We, along with the Cape community, are overwhelmed with gratitude for these heroes who have fought so bravely to protect local lives, nature and property from the devastating fires,” said Cape Town Carnival marketing, media and sponsorship director, Shelley Finch.

“We are calling on everyone to join us in giving them the reception they so richly deserve. This is the time to celebrate our city’s spirit of unity.”

Spectators were encouraged to join in festivities from 4pm, when the fan walk would turn into a pedestrian walkway with food vendors and festive hospitality areas.

Western Cape Minister of Economic Opportunities Alan Winde said on Thursday that the carnival together with the Cape Epic, which starts this weekend, would add a substantial boost to the provincial economy.

“In the previous financial year, (these) events generated R1.6 billion for our economy,” Winde said in a statement released.

“The Absa Cape Epic and the Cape Town Carnival are major assets to our events economy,” he said.

A total of 1200 local and international riders will take part in the Cape Epic.

Cyclists will travel 739km over eight days, from March 15 to 22.

The race begins at the University of Cape Town and finishes at the Meerendal Wine Estate in Durbanville, having traversed some of the most beautiful terrain in the Western Cape.

ANA

Most husbands would buy a bouquet of flowers for their fifth wedding anniversary. But Byron Smith had other ideas.

Cape Town - Most husbands will dig into their pockets for a pair of sapphire earrings, or maybe just a bouquet of daisies, for their fifth wedding anniversary. But self-proclaimed romantic Byron Smith had other ideas.

On Thursday morning, on the front page of the Cape Argus, he bought out an advert wishing his wife a “Happy Anniversary Baby”.

“I just wanted you to know that being married to you has been the most incredible experience of my life,” he wrote next to an image of him posing with his then three-year-old daughter Ashley and wife Jessica.

But it’s not the first time the 42-year-old art director has pulled this stunt. Four years ago he managed to buy up space on the Argus’s cover. However, his wife, who was heavily pregnant, only had two hours to “absorb” the gift before she went into labour.

“She still loves it, so I thought, I’m a romantic, let me do it again,” he said.

The Cape Argus surprised Jessica on Thursday morning when they arrived at her home to present her with a copy of the newspaper.

Their anniversary only takes place tomorrow but, as Byron explains: “I know (it) is only tomorrow, but you know how I like to jump the gun, that and I couldn't get place.”

kieran.legg@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

Musician Taliep Petersen may soon be honoured by having one of seven footbridges in Cape Town named after him.

Cape Town - Slain musician Taliep Petersen may soon be honoured by having one of the seven footbridges crossing Nelson Mandela Boulevard and Rhodes Drive named after him.

The other bridges could be named after:

* /A!kunto: /A!kunto (Klaas Stoffel) was the first contributor to the Wilhelm Bleek and Lucy Lloyd Archive of /xam and !kun texts.

* Tuan Guru: Imam Abdullah Ibn Qadhu Abdus Salaam, known as Tuan Guru, is regarded as one of the Fathers of Islam in South Africa. Guru was banished by the Dutch invaders to the Cape in 1780 and was incarcerated on Robben Island for 12 years until 1792. He wrote several copies of the Holy Qur’an from memory during his time there, possibly the first Qur’an in South Africa.

* Ingrid Jonker: Her poem Die Kind was read by Nelson Mandela during the opening of the first democratic Parliament in May, 1994.

* Dawid Kruiper: A traditional healer and leader of the Khomani San in the Kalahari, Kruiper spoke for the rights of indigenous people at the UN in 1994, and led the way for successful land claims for the San people in South Africa.

* Father John Oliver: The Anglican priest from District Six, who died in 2013, founded the Cape Town Interfaith Initiative.

* Father Basil van Rensburg: The Catholic priest who gained international recognition for his fight against the forced mass removals from District Six. He mobilised public opinion against the removals, writing to newspapers and holding public meetings. He was born in Woodstock in 1930 and died in 2002 at 71.

“The naming of these footbridges is an ideal opportunity to commemorate the people and events that influenced the fibre and culture of the city,” said naming committee chairman Brett Herron. The names were drawn from more than 2 000 suggested during a public participation process between November 2013 and February last year.

The committee also agreed on Wednesday that the park on Quinan Road in Somerset West should be renamed after doctor and trade unionist Neil Aggett, who died in police custody in 1981. The Old Civic Centre in Macassar is to be renamed the Macassar Riverside Civic Centre. Herron said the proposals would be referred to the mayoral committee and then to the council at the end of the month for a final decision.

anel.lewis@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

An "oranje, blanje, blou" flag is still fluttering at a house on the Cape Flats, sparking outrage from neighbours.

Cape Town - The “old South Africa” is still alive and well on the Cape Flats.

The country’s old “oranje, blanje, blou” flag was spotted fluttering at a run-down house in Fifth Road, Heathfield.

But neighbours say the flag is an insult to those who fought for freedom, and reminds them of the brutal days of apartheid.

They say the flag has been hoisted since October, and requests for it to be taken down have been ignored.

“This behaviour, in my opinion, indicates a total disrespect to the law and an insult to others,” said resident Richard Talliard.

But Mishkah Jappie, 36, says her husband Thaabied, 40, has “very good reasons” why he hung the flag on their roof.

“We believe nothing has changed from the apartheid days,” said the mom of six.

Thaabied was out on the road, looking for work when the Daily Voice visited. He lost his job as a paramedic in 2009.

“We don’t have water or electricity here and nothing seems to be better in our lives,” added Mishkah.

She said Thaabied got the flag from his stepfather, who served in the army during apartheid.

Her husband has become bitter because doors are still being slammed in his face more than 20 years after democracy.

“I am proud to say Nelson Mandela has opened up the pathway for us to prosper equally. But a lot of people are struggling while a few are getting richer everyday,” she added.

She said neighbours have asked them to remove the weathered and faded flag, but they refused.

The flag has become her family’s own symbol of oppression in the new South Africa.

“The neighbours say it’s hurting them to see the flag, but there are still features of the old order here,” said Mishkah.

A neighbour who did not want to be identified said: “Many people died because of that flag, it opens up old wounds for all of us.”

The South African Human Rights Commission said it would look into the matter.

Spokesman Isaac Mangena says: “South Africa has a flag that represents a rainbow nation. People must desist from displaying anything that would remind others of their sad past.”

Daily Voice

The harsh sentence handed down to a man who repeatedly raped his girlfriend's 10-year-old daughter has been applauded.

Cape Town - Four life sentences handed down on Thursday to a man who repeatedly raped his girlfriend’s 10-year-old daughter is testament to the government’s resolve to prioritise sexual offences against children, said National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesman Eric Ntabazalila.

The sentences will not run concurrently.

The man, who cannot be named as it would identify the victim, was found guilty in the Wynberg Regional Court on Wednesday on seven counts of rape and sexual assault of his girlfriend’s daughter in 2006.

The victim left South Africa and returned in 2013. She filed the charges in June last year.

Her attacker was also sentenced by acting Regional Court Magistrate Tom Cloete to seven years’ imprisonment for two counts of indecent assault and another two years for sexual assault.

Ntabazalila said the sentence sent out a strong message that the judiciary would not tolerate “gruesome” crimes against the most vulnerable in society – children.

“Prosecutor Nina Meyer argued for a harsh sentence to be handed down to the accused. We are pleased as our resolve to prioritise sexual offences against children is bearing fruit.

We hope this sentence serves as a deterrent to others that (if) you commit these types of crimes, you will pay dearly for them,” Ntabazalila said.

Rape Crisis director Kathleen Dey said an average of 9 000 women, children and men reported being raped in the Western Cape every year.

According to the South African Medical Research Council statistics released last year, only one in 25 people raped by a family member ever reported it to the police, while one in 13 people raped by a stranger did the same.

While Dey welcomed the sentencing, she said more needed to be done to ensure the swift prosecution of sexual predators.

“The road to justice is a long one for the victim. It deals harshly with the victim’s feelings, and often the road is met with disappointment. But this case is a success story – it shows people that justice can prevail,” Dey said.

Childline national executive Dumisile Nala said the fact that the girl knew her rapist was not uncommon.

“It is seldom that the rapist is ever a stranger. When the trust of a child is destroyed in that way, the psychological impact is hard to overcome and intense therapy is needed.”

Childline is based at some NPA Thuthuzela care centres in the country, including three in KwaZulu-Natal, one in Limpopo, the Free State and the Eastern Cape.

Nala said its hotline receives about a million calls a year from children seeking advice on relationships, sexual abuse and problems at home.

“South Africa is facing a rape crisis.

“I applaud the harsh sentence handed down to the rapist,” Nala said.

Department of Justice and Constitutional Development regional head Hishaam Mohamed said the sentence proved that crimes against women and children would not be tolerated.

The Western Cape had around 42 000 cases on the court roll, which included that of sexual offences, he said.

“This judgment is a positive one. A lot needs to be done to dispose of the cases in court, but we have made a step in the right direction.” To report abuse of children, contact Childline at 08000 55 555.

francesca.villette@inl.co.za

Cape Times

Julius Malema proved to be popular at Stellenbosch University, with students even staying after his address to take selfies.

Cape Town - EFF leader Julius Malema has promised to keep the “Pay Back the Money” campaign going strong while the party waits for an answer from President Jacob Zuma.

Malema was addressing several hundred Stellenbosch University students.

Since last year, Malema has been demanding Zuma pay back the R246 million used for upgrades to his Nkandla homestead, which has become a major issue during Zuma’s second term as president.

In Parliament on Wednesday night, Zuma told MPs he did not have to repay back the money as per the public protector’s recommendation.

But Malema said:

“Zuma must pay the money back, the next five years is dedicated to him and we will keep the campaign going until he does. He is not above the law, if he steals from the country he is stealing from the poor.”

In 2012, Malema was accused of tax evasion. However, the former ANC Youth League leader dismissed those charges yesterday and then gave some advice to the students.

“I was never charged with tax evasion. What happened was that I did not update my details and I was charged with a 60 percent penalty that had 200 percent interest. That added up to R16 million. We spoke to Sars and I agreed to pay back R4m, which I did.

“When all of you start working you will see that you will always be in trouble with Sars and you must pay back. So how come some people do not have to pay back when all of us have to?”

Malema told the students about the EFF’s “seven cardinal pillars”, which he believed were needed to make South Africa a better place.

The seven pillars are: the expropriation of land without compensation; nationalisation of mines and banks; free quality education, health care, and houses; building state and government capacity; massive protected industrial development; massive investment in the development of the African economy; and an open, accountable, corruption-free government and society.

Malema received a warm welcome from the students and a host of them stayed behind in the hall to take selfies with the EFF leader.

Khadija Bawa, executive member of advertising and marketing for the Stellenbosch Political Science Students Association, said: “Mr Malema relates to a lot of the students here because he speaks about issues that affect us, like student loans. So that is why I think he always gets a good response, especially if he comes here to speak.”

junior.bester@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

An evening run turned into a “rattling” stand-off after two joggers were robbed at knife point in Red Hill.

Cape Town - An evening run turned into a “rattling” stand-off after two joggers were robbed at knifepoint in Red Hill.

Sandy Trope, 49, and her sister, who did not wish to be named, had been running along the trails that wind through the mountain pass, near Simon’s Town, at about 6pm on Wednesday.

It’s something the pair have been doing for the past three years and it’s a popular spot for joggers, mountain bikers and swimmers.

Trope said she “noticed these three young guys sitting along the trail, they didn’t seem like they belonged”.

The pair had a dip in the Kleinplaas dam to cool down. As she swam she noticed the trio of men had disappeared.

“I thought that was a good thing.”

But as Trope and her sister left the dam to return to the parking lot, the men jumped from a bush.

The cigarettes they had been smoking earlier had been swopped for long knives which they pointed in Trope’s face. She “kind of lost sense of where her sister was”.

“It was very scary, they were right there, standing there with these really wicked-looking knives.

“The way they were waving them around, I thought in that moment I might die here, they might stab me.”

But when she quickly handed over her bags and her necklace, the trio seem satisfied. They took her sister’s car keys, the only possession she had brought with her, and then turned to run towards Ocean View.

“Ha, this is almost comical, but my sister shouted at them to give back her car keys… One of the guys turned around and gave them back to her.”

The pair ran to her sister’s car and alerted authorities.

Trope said she was shaken. She never expected to be robbed along Red Hill’s scenic hiking paths.

“If I ever go back it will be in a big group.”

SANParks spokeswoman Merle Collins said members of the organisation were set to meet with Trope and her sister on Saturday to discuss what had happened and see if they could bolster security along the hiking path.

Police confirmed that the incident took place at about 6pm.

But Trope said they were only filling out an official police report at the Simon’s Town Police Station on Thursday night.

Last year, a man was stabbed to death while hiking along the Trappieskop Trail in Kalk Bay. Builder Henri La Cour, 72, and a woman in her forties were confronted by a robber who attacked the pair and escaped with several stolen items.

kieran.legg@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

Anni Hindocha’s birthday is always a painful day for her family, but this year the circumstances are even more dire.

Cape Town - Anni Hindocha’s birthday is a painful day for her family who were left mourning after she was murdered while on honeymoon in Cape Town five years ago.

But this year the circumstances are even more dire, with Vinod Hindocha celebrating his daughter’s birthday from a hospital bed after his arm was ripped off in a lift accident.

In a picture uploaded by the 65-year-old engineer on to Facebook, Vinod and his wife Nilam are smiling with two nurses as they pose with a birthday cake.

On his wall he wrote: “Happy Birthday little Angel. Miss U for ever. We R celebrating this Birthday In Gothenburg hospital,love U for EVER.”

Vinod was admitted to hospital last week Tuesday after he had been working on a faulty lift which crashed while he was inside.

His brother Ashok told the Cape Argus Vinod’s arm had been outside of the lift when it dropped, causing it to be severed between the elbow and shoulder.

He was rushed to a hospital in Gothenburg, Sweden, and the arm was reattached during in an 18-hour operation.

Ashok said it would take over a year for the nerves to grow back and for the limb to regain its strength and movement.

“There is no justice in this world, why must bad things happen to such good people?”

Last year the Hindocha family were devastated when Shrien Dewani, charged with orchestrating Anni’s death, was acquitted of all charges at the Western Cape High Court.

Anni would have turned 33 on Thursday.

kieran.legg@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

If SANParks had been able to carry out more prescribed burns, last week’s fires would not have been so destructive.

Cape Town - If SANParks had been able to carry out more prescribed burns, last week’s fires would not have been so massive or so destructive to property.

SA National Botanical Institute ecologist Tony Rebelo says if more extensive prescribed burns are not done in future, we are likely to see a major fire like last week’s sweeping through Table Mountain National Park every 15 years.

But officials say it is not a simple matter to put a match to a fynbos park ringed by a city. There is a complex, time-consuming bureaucratic process to go through, there is not always enough money to do the burns, and a big problem is the often strong opposition from some Capetonians.

The city council, which issues the legally-required permit to SANParks to burn, first has to get public comment. Opposition ranges from fears of damage to property to “no, the fire will dirty my washing”.

Park manager Paddy Gordon said on Thursday there was a major difference in attitude from Capetonians during the wildfire compared to during a prescribed burn.

“There is tons of food and drinks if we ‘bravely’ battle a wildfire, but filing cabinets full of complaints if we light the fire ourselves. Yet the prescribed burn is in the interests of the mountain, the fynbos, the recreational user, tourism and even the little goggas.”

Fynbos has evolved to be dependent on fire to regenerate. Before urbanisation, a fire of last week’s scale would have posed no problem, but ringed by a city, there is a risk. Last week’s fires damaged 13 properties, caused millions of rand of damage to infrastructure, and claimed the life of Working on Fire pilot Bees Marais.

Carly Cowell, SANParks regional ecologist for the Cape, said Cape Point and Tokai had been on the park’s list of upcoming prescribed burns. Both were part of last week’s wildfires.

“We need to harness the public support we saw in the wildfires, and turn that into support for prescribed burns. When Capetonians are asked for comment about a prescribed burn, we need them to say: ‘Oh good, yes, we need it’ instead of: ‘No, it will dirty my washing’.”

Because of the risk of a prescribed burn getting out of control, burns in the park may take place when the temperature is less than 28ºC, wind speed less than 20km/h and humidity greater than 25 percent.

In addition, there must be rainfall within a certain number of days before and after the burn. The upshot is there is an average of only 12 days a year when SANParks can do burns.

Mayoral committee member for health Siyabulela Mamkeli said the permit conditions had been determined by a team from the Fire Protection Association, SANParks, the city’s fire and rescue service, its biodiversity management and air quality management.

“Many areas of the national park abut residential areas, and the public has a right to be consulted and submit comments on applications that may affect them,” Mamkeli said.

Cape Times

Philippi pupils have laid charges of assault against "trigger-happy racist police" after a protest in Cape Town last week.

Cape Town - High school pupils who are being taught in shipping containers have laid charges against “trigger-happy racist police” after a protest in the Cape Town city centre last week.

Representatives for the 683 Grade 10 to 12 pupils from Philippi Secondary School said police called pupils the K-word before injuring some of them outside the Western Cape Education Department’s offices on Friday.

Principal Mandisa Cenga said the 15 containers at Hinds Park Primary School were supposed to be a temporary solution for the high school pupils in 2007.

Frustration over the department’s failure to build a proper high school led pupils to protest.

In an e-mail sent to the Cape Times, pupil Athule Baba wrote: “While pushing, shoving and even hitting us, police repeatedly called us the K-word, threatened us, insulted us and told us to go back to the township as we did not belong in the city centre. Five students were badly injured. We have since laid charges of assault.”

Western Cape police commissioner Arno Lamoer said the allegations of racism and violence allegedly perpetrated by police would be investigated.

Police spokesman Frederick van Wyk said: “The pupils were asked to disperse as their gathering was illegal. They refused to do so, and police were met with resistance.

“Police started to used stun grenades in an attempt to defuse the situation.

“Some of the pupils suffered injuries and a case of public violence is being investigated.”

carlo.petersen@inl.co.za

Cape Times

Subsidy houses, formerly known as RDP houses, are being sold illegally for cash on classified websites.

Cape Town - Subsidy houses, formerly known as RDP houses, are being sold illegally for cash on classified sites such as OLX or Gumtree, leaving the beneficiaries to return to informal settlements or the street.

Often the properties are sold below market value with no guarantee that the buyers will get the title deed they need to be the legal owners.

While formal statistics are scant, the Western Cape’s human settlements department says the illegal sale of RDP housing is widespread, and difficult to prevent.

In Dunoon, for example, only four out of 10 RDP houses are occupied by the original beneficiaries.

The national Department of Human Settlements said it was illegal for the recipient of an RDP house, now known as a Breaking New Ground house, to sell it before having lived in the structure for at least eight years.

“We are of the view that RDP houses must never be sold,” said ministerial spokesman Ndivhuwo Mabaya. “They must be improved and handed over from generation to generation. Our research is that these houses are sold to satisfy short-term interest and for financial relief. This is a problem, as the (seller) either returns to informal settlements or becomes a street citizen.”

During the eight years the beneficiary may only sell the property back to the provincial human settlements department.

Most of the time the house is sold at a price that covers the debt owed, not a price that reflects the full value of the property.

The national department said subsequent buyers usually would not qualify for state housing subsidies.

Mabaya said many of the property sales were illegal, with the sellers returning to informal settlements to “instigate protests and violence at times against the people they have sold houses to”.

They were being sold to “anyone who has money”.

The Cape Argus contacted someone who was advertising several RDP properties on OLX. In WhatsApp correspondence about the advertised property, he insisted the transaction had to be cash only. Subsidies would not be accepted.

A quick search on other online classified websites showed he was selling several properties, ranging from R100 000 to almost R200 000. In some cases he specified that the houses were more than 10 years old.

Bonginkosi Madikizela, Western Cape MEC for Human Settlements, said the resale of subsidy houses was almost impossible to prevent.

“We can have as many laws as we want but this is difficult to prevent. We are giving houses to people who have nothing to put on the table. A house is not a substitute for a job. That is why people end up selling or renting their house.”

Madikizela said the eight-year restriction, or pre-emptive clause, was forcing people to sell their houses illegally or informally. This often meant the new buyers would not get title deeds or proper transfer of the property. Sales on the informal market were “impossible to police”.

In response to a parliamentary question last August, Human Settlements Minister Lindiwe Sisulu said there were no protocols to track the unlawful sale of subsidised houses. However, there was a record of cases reported to the respective provincial housing departments where the eight-year restriction had been waived.

Sisulu said the Western Cape government waived the eight-year pre-emptive right for 151 houses in the 2011-12 financial year, allowing the house to be sold after the beneficiary had lived there for two years.

In 2012-13, 389 houses were sold after only two years – 112 in the Eastern Cape, two in Limpopo and 275 in the Western Cape. The number increased to 2 852 in 2013-14, with most in the Eastern Cape. The Western Cape allowed for the sale of 154 houses after two years during this period.

Sisulu said the Eastern Cape provincial housing department reported the illegal sale of 112 houses in 2012, and 2 697 the following year.

Madikizela said the problem was widespread in the Western Cape. A recent study in Thembalethu, George revealed that out of 10 RDP houses, only one occupant was the original beneficiary. A study in Dunoon revealed only 40 percent of the RDP tenants were the original beneficiaries.

Many of the houses were being used as spaza shops.

Sisulu said in August last year the national department would conduct an occupancy audit of government houses.

“We have started auditing our waiting list in order to create the demand database to strengthen our allocation policies, to ensure that those who have benefited do not move to another municipality and benefit again,” said Mabaya.

An education campaign is to be launched next month, cautioning beneficiaries about the risks of selling their houses.

Mayoral committee member for human settlements Benedicta Van Minnen said the city dedicated “significant resources” to educating beneficiaries in financial management, basic legal advice, general home maintenance and repairs, and establishing food gardens to increase food security.

R165 000 cash, and three days later house is yours

At least seven RDP houses are listed “For Sale” on popular online advertising websites.

On Thursday a Cape Argus reporter, posing as a potential home buyer, met a man claiming to be a property developer who promised to have “the perfect house to sell”.

The man works for a company which advertises property on OLX and Gumtree.

He said he had properties in Khayelitsha, Eerste River, two in Happy Valley in Blackheath, two in Wesbank and one in Kuils River. The houses in Khayelitsha, Eerste River, Wesbank and Blackheath were RDP houses.

In an arranged house viewing visit to the house in Happy Valley, which was listed on sale for R165 000 cash, he warned about the condition of the house. “It’s not an ideal house unless you are looking into developing it and selling it later or renting it out.”

He attempted to persuade us to view the house in Eerste River, which he said was worth R400 000. “We are selling it for R200 000,” he quickly assured us.

The house in Happy Valley was semi-attached with barbed-wire fencing and two big trees in the front.

He told us: “I am a property developer. Normally a client approaches us to develop and then sell the property. But this particular client did not have money to develop the house – she just wants to sell it.”

He said the owner had a title deed and the company had received a document from the Human Settlements Department approving the sale of the house.

After viewing the house from the outside, we found that the home owner was in. The woman, who appeared to be in her fifties, said she was no longer living in the house and was renting it out.

She said she was tired of living in the area and wanted to get rid of it.

The house had one bedroom. It was empty inside except for a council rubbish bin. The ceiling needed a touch-up and the house needed repainting.

The owner left us with agent and did not take part in our talks. “The house is R165 000 – cash not subsidy,” he said. “That amount includes our transfer fees and client fees. Our lawyer takes care of the transfer.”

Once the amount was deposited into their account, the lawyer began processing the sale. “Our client moves out immediately the money is in her account and we give you a proof of transfer while the council is still processing it.

“Our lawyers and the department work very fast, it could be up to three days – but the council delays the process.”

He assured us that this was not the first time he had sold a house.

“If you guys sort your finances out I assure you, you can have the house, no hassles.”

anel.lewis@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

Ulterior motives are behind the police minister's plan to suspend Ipid head Robert McBride, a court has heard.

Pretoria - Ulterior motives are behind Police Minister Nathi Nhleko's plan to suspend Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) head Robert McBride, the High Court in Pretoria heard on Friday.

“This is a power that has been exercised for an ulterior purpose,” submitted McBride's lawyer Steven Budlender.

“We still don't know on precisely which provision the minister relies for this suspension,” he told the court.

McBride received a letter from Nhleko on Wednesday morning asking him to make submissions by the end of the day on why he should not be suspended.

He had made the submissions as a matter of caution.

Budlender confirmed that McBride had not yet been suspended and that, according to discussions in Chambers, it was agreed he would not be suspended until judgment was delivered.

He asked the court to declare the minister's decision unlawful and invalid, and sought an order declaring unlawful provisions giving the minister permission to suspend the head of an independent body.

Budlender argued that it was essential that Ipid remain independent of the SA Police Service, as its job was to investigate the police.

“There's an obvious risk that he [Nhleko] will seek to interfere,” he told the court.

It was problematic that the minister could suspend, remove and replace the Ipid head with “no checks and balances” to ensure that the person was independent of the minister.

During the tea break, McBride, wearing a black, pinstriped suit and mustard tie, spoke on his phone in the front row of the public gallery. He appeared cheerful when he arrived at court earlier.

Sapa

Hundreds of UCT students attend a meeting on the Cecil John Rhodes statue, with scores calling for it to be removed.

Cape Town - UCT students came out in their hundreds to attend a meeting on the controversial statue of Cecil John Rhodes on the upper campus on Thursday, with scores calling for the monument to be removed.

Thursday’s meeting outside Jameson Hall came after human excrement was thrown at the statue on Monday. Some carried posters stating “I am not UCT” and “Black matters: Remove Cecil John Rhodes”.

Comments included that the statue showed white success while there were no symbols of black success, and that it represented land dispossession and had to go.

Some students wanted it kept, and one suggested it be moved from its prominent position overlooking the rugby fields to somewhere else on campus.

Kgotsi Chikane, “an ordinary student” who organised Thursday’s event, said name-calling and other “in your face” forms of racism were easy to see but “but when an institution actively works against a group of students but doesn’t even know that it’s doing it then we have a problem”.

“That’s what’s happening at UCT.”

He said the institution had “for so long” ignored real transformation.

Student Joshua Nott said: “You wouldn’t see a swastika in Jerusalem”.

The Ses’khona People’s Rights movement’s Loyiso Nkohla, who addressed students, said they would approach Higher Education and Training Minister Blade Nzimande on the legal avenues that could be followed to have the statue removed.

“We can’t have a management that doesn’t listen to the students. This matter has been raised for many years,” he said.

In a statement on Wednesday, the UCT Students Representative Council endorsed the call to have the statue removed.

“This university continues to celebrate, in its institutional symbolism, figures in South African history who are indisputedly white supremacists. Rhodes has been praised for donating this land to the university, building the South African economy and bringing ‘civilisation’ to this country. But for the majority of South Africans this is a false narrative - how can a coloniser donate land that was never his land in the first place,” said SRC president Ramabina Mahapa.

UCT spokeswoman Patricia Lucas said the university would “certainly consider” the call to have the statue removed but was mindful that the campus community comprised different groups of people with many different opinions.

“Alumni, staff and historians also have their opinions. This is one reason why we have initiated, with the SRC, a series of discussions on managing the challenges of transformation, to help identify ways that we might move forward. Our first meeting with be held at 4pm on Monday.”

ilse.fredericks@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

Fifteen children were injured after a bus overturned on the Nekkies Road in Worcester, ER24 reported.

Cape Town - Fifteen children were injured on Friday after a bus overturned on the Nekkies Road in Worcester in the Western Cape, ER24 reported.

“ER24 paramedics, along with other services, arrived on scene and found a large bus lying on its side on the side of the road,” ER24 said in a statement. “The occupants of the bus, being children, were standing around the vehicle.

“On inspection, paramedics discovered that 15 children, aged between 10 and 17, were found to have sustained injuries ranging from minor to moderate. Fortunately no-one sustained any serious injuries.”

Paramedics treated the patients and thereafter transported them to Worcester Hospital for further treatment.

It is believed that the bus overturned after one of its tires apparently burst.

Local authorities were on scene for further investigations.

ANA

Three bottle store employees allegedly stole customers' valuables, then sold it back to them for double their worth.

Cape Town - Three men working at a city bottle store appeared in the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court on Thursday for being in possession of suspected stolen property after it emerged that they allegedly stole customers’ valuables, which they sold back to them for double their worth.

Marc Truss, chief executive of the Green Point City Improvement District (GPCID), said a man who had entered the bottle store in Long Street on Tuesday, discovered after he had left that his cellphone was missing.

He had phoned his cell number and an employee at the bottle store had answered, saying he bought the phone from a street child for R2 000. The employee was willing to sell the phone back to its owner for R4 000.

Truss likened the incident to that of a credit card scam.

Truss said five laptops, 13 cellphones and six computer hard-drives were found in the store.

“People have their cellphones or laptops stolen while they are shopping. Thieves then attempt to sell them back to them, and a lot of the time it worked.

“Unsuspecting victims would thank the person and pay, rather than report the crime to police because they were happy that someone had ‘found’ their possessions,” Truss said.

The three men were charged.

The man, who declined to be named, said: “I’d really like to say thank you and compliment the GPCID, police and especially Marc Truss for handling this very bad situation in a most professional manner.”

francesca.villette@inl.co.za

Cape Times

A policeman based in Parow is accused of releasing a man arrested for drug possession, and forging a sick note to cover himself.

Cape Town - A policeman living in Paarl, but based at the Parow police station in Cape Town, appeared in the Bellville District Court on Friday, charged with fraud and defeating the ends of justice.

Nicolaas Petrus Cilliers, 25, responded to a call from the Parow Neighbourhood Watch to arrest a man it had caught with drugs in his possession.

Cilliers took the suspect into custody, but allegedly later released him, drugs and all, and failed to lock him in a holding cell for later investigation.

On the fraud charge, he allegedly forged a medical certificate to cover himself for absence from duty.

Cilliers was arrested on November 21 last year, and made his first appearance three days later, before magistrate Cyril Kroutz.

At his second appearance on January 30, he was released on R1000 bail.

At Friday's proceedings, his case was transferred to the Bellville Regional Court, where he is due to make his first appearance on April 1.

Sapa

Five suspects under the influence of drugs were given the fright of their lives by the City of Cape Town Ghost Squad.

Cape Town - Five suspects under the influence of drugs were given the fright of their lives by the City of Cape Town’s Ghost Squad on Friday the 13th.

On a day known by the superstitious to be unlucky, two traffic officers attached to the City’s Ghost Squad saw a Chevrolet Spark on the M5 highway near the Klipfontein off-ramp in Cape Town.

According to the City’s Mayoral Committee member for Safety and Security, JP Smith, the officers thought the occupants might be in need of assistance and approached the vehicle. From wanting to do a good deed for the occupants, however, the officers ended up doing the city a favour.

“The officer discovered the five occupants - two women and three men - were in possession of various car audio components they could not account for,” Smith said. “The items included sound systems and amplifiers thought to be worth at least R10 000.”

The five occupants - aged between 20 and 32 - were arrested and taken to the Mowbray police station where they subsequently admitted to being under the influence of tik and mandrax.

They were also all wanted on a range of charges including theft out of motor vehicle; theft of a motor vehicle; housebreaking; possession of stolen property; and possession, dealing and manufacturing drugs. One of the suspects had six outstanding warrants of arrest.

“It is disturbing that someone could have six warrants pending and still be roaming the streets. That is probably the most concerning aspect of this incident,” said Smith.

The suspects were from Sea Point, Fish Hoek, Newfields Village, and Athlone and would remain behind bars until their court appearance on Monday 16 March 2015.

“This was just another example of the great work that our staff members do on a daily basis,” said Smith.

“These officers were looking to do a good deed and in the end, they did just that by removing several wanted persons from the streets,” he added.

ANA

Doctors have successfully performed the world's first penis transplant on a young victim of a botched circumcision.

Cape Town - South African doctors have successfully performed the world's first penis transplant on a young man who had his organ amputated after a botched circumcision ritual, a hospital said on Friday.

The nine-hour transplant, which occurred in December last year, was part of a pilot study by Tygerberg Hospital in Cape Town and the University of Stellenbosch to help scores of initiates who either die or lose their penises in botched circumcisions each year.

“This is a very serious situation. For a young man of 18 or 19 years the loss of his penis can be deeply traumatic,” said Andre van der Merwe, head of the university's urology unit and who led the operation said in a statement.

The young patient had recovered full use of his manhood, doctors said, adding that the procedure could eventually be extended to men who have lost their penises to cancer or as a last resort for severe erectile dysfunction.

“There is a greater need in South Africa for this type of procedure than elsewhere in the world, as many young men lose their penises every year due to complications from traditional circumcision,” Van der Merwe said.

The patient, who is not being named for ethical reasons, was 21 years old when his penis was amputated three years ago after he developed severe complications due to a traditional circumcision as a rite of passage into manhood.

Finding a donor organ was one of the major challenges of the study, a statement by the university said.

The donor was a deceased person who donated his organs for transplant, doctors said without elaborating.

Each year thousands of young men, mainly from the Xhosa tribe in South Africa, have their foreskins removed in traditional rituals, with experts estimating around 250 losing their penises each year to medical complications.

Initiates are required to live in special huts away from the community for several weeks, have their heads shaved and smear white clay from head to toe and they move into adulthood.

Another nine patients will receive penile transplants as part of the study, doctors said, but it was not clear when the operations could be carried out.

Reuters

The teen who survived an axe attack in which three family members were killed is now in the second phase of recovery.

Cape Town - Marli van Breda, the teen who survived an axe attack in which three family members were killed, is now in the second phase of recovery, and friends are being allowed to visit her in a rehabilitation centre.

But her brother Henri van Breda, 20, the only member of their family to have escaped the attack with minor injuries, has not seen her, nor have the two communicated with one another.

On January 27 their father, international businessman Martin van Breda, 55, mother Teresa, 54, and eldest brother Rudi, 22, were killed inside their upmarket home on the De Zalze Golf Estate in Stellenbosch.

Marli, 16, sustained an axe wound to her head and a severed jugular. Up until a week ago, she was undergoing treatment in the Vergelegen Mediclinic. She has since been discharged to an unnamed rehabilitation centre.

Martin Coetzee, an advocate who is representing Marli because she is a minor, told Weekend Argus she had completed the first phase of her recovery. “The wounds have healed,” he said.

Marli had now begun the next phase of rehabilitation, which will focus on her cognitive state.

“She’s able to talk. She recognises people. But as with anyone with a serious brain injury her memory, for instance, is still being affected,” he said.

As far as he was aware, Coetzee added, Marli’s condition meant she had not yet made a statement to police.

She was being allowed controlled visits for short periods of time so as not to exhaust her.

“One or two friends have been visiting her, especially a very nice young lad who has quite an interest in her,” Coetzee said.

Asked whether Henri had visited her, he replied: “No, not at this stage.”

Coetzee said Marli would be allowed more visitors as her condition improved.

Police spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Andre Traut said there was nothing new to report on the case. It emerged previously that a legal team had been appointed to represent Henri. The team included Pieter Botha, an advocate who had also been a member of the team representing Shrien Dewani who was eventually acquitted, and Stellenbosch attorney Lorinda van Niekerk, who said she had been appointed to protect Henri’s legal interests.

After the murders, the De Zalze Golf Estate’s management issued an internal communication to residents saying there had been no security breach, and that the incident had been isolated.

Weekend Argus

Surgeons predict the recipient of the world's first successful penis transplant will be able to father his own kids naturally.

Cape Town - The world’s first successful penis transplant, which surgeons predict will give the young recipient the ability to father his own children naturally, has been performed at Tygerberg Hospital.

This pioneering operation also restored the dignity of the 21-year-old man, who lost his penis when it developed gangrene after a ritual circumcision.

“The patient is very happy and he’s doing well,” said Professor André van der Merwe, head of Stellenbosch University’s urology division, who led the surgery.

In a marathon nine-hour operation doctors transplanted the entire penis (from the glans to the base) from an organ donor. The patient’s own penis had to be amputated three years ago in order to save his life, leaving him with a stump no longer than 1.5cm, after which he was unable to urinate standing up or have sexual intercourse.

The patient has made a full recovery from the transplant, which took place three months ago. He is able to get erections, urinate standing up, and has sensation in the organ.

This is the second time this type of procedure has been attempted, but the first time a successful long-term result was achieved.

“There is a greater need in South Africa for this type of procedure than elsewhere in the world, as many young men lose their penises every year due to complications from ritual circumcision,” Van der Merwe said.

Although there are no formal records on the number of penile amputations per year due to ritual circumcision, one study reported up to 55 cases in the Eastern Cape alone. Experts estimate that as many as 250 amputations per year are done across the country.

“This is a very serious situation. For a young man of 18 or 19 years the loss of his penis can be deeply traumatic. He doesn’t necessarily have the psychological capability to process this. There are even reports of suicide among these young men,” Van der Merwe said.

The operation was part of a pilot study to develop a penile transplant procedure that could be performed in a typical South African hospital theatre.

“The research was conducted in partnership with local public health structures and will be delivered to the people who need it most,” said Dr Nicola Barsdorf, head of health research ethics at Stellenbosch University’s faculty of medicine and health sciences.

“Once the surgery is made broadly available, it will be offered in state facilities and be accessible to vulnerable groups that are often unable to afford state-of-the-art health care.”

Nine more patients will receive penile transplants as part of the study. This procedure could eventually also be extended to men who have lost their penises from cancer, or as a last-resort treatment for severe erectile dysfunction due to medication side-effects.

The planning and preparation for the study started in 2010. After extensive research Van der Merwe and his surgical team decided to use some parts of the model and techniques developed for the first facial transplant. The surgeons connected blood vessels and nerves as small as 1mm to 2mm using microsurgery usually employed in plastic and reconstructive surgery.

“South Africa remains at the forefront of medical progress,” said Professor Jimmy Volmink, dean of Stellenbosch University’s medicine and health sciences faculty.

“This procedure is another excellent example of how medical research, technical know-how and patient-centred care can be combined in the quest to relieve human suffering.”

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