Innholdsfortegnelse for 2022-07-05 i Cape Argus

Almost six months after former Piketberg police constable Richard Smith allegedly killed his girlfriend Natasha Booise, the court concluded final arguments on his bail application yesterday. Smith appeared in the Piketberg Magistrate’s Court where the case was postponed until July 19 for bail judgment. Booise’s family had expressed disdain over the dragging bail application, saying the constant court postponements were bringing heartache to the family as they could not find closure. Smith is charged with the murder of Booise, two counts of attempted murder (allegedly attempting to murder Roslin Kaaiman and Erin Plaatjies), discharging a firearm in a built-up area, and handling of a firearm while under the influence of a substance that has an intoxicating or narcotic effect. Rural and Farmworkers Development Organisation director Billy Claasen said they hoped…

Has the will to govern escaped the ANC? When the ANC was doing its damnest to gain political control of the country, it made promises that seemed realistic and attainable. Mandela, a formidable presence and spokesperson for the party, made good sense, presenting a roadmap that was inclusive and exciting. After the 1994 elections, the future looked bright – the ANC had arrived, like manna from heaven, to save us from our political incoherence. But 28 years later, those of us who hung on to Mandela’s every word, have been traumatised, our psyche pummelled, by the horrors of mismanagement perpetrated by people who clearly know not what they do. It is time for the president and his immediate team to acknowledge that they don’t have what it takes to govern…

Around the middle of 2013, a series of stories appeared in the South African press about a new phenomenon, “plasma gangs”, presented as the latest iteration of the country’s crime crisis. Journalists, broadcasters, police and government spokespeople, social media users and local residents shared tales online and in mainstream media of the frightening exploits of these gangs, said to be located in Alexandra township, Johannesburg. Alex, like other townships, is an underdeveloped and sometimes precarious area blighted by the inequality and racial segregation that were central to apartheid spatial engineering. Developed in the early 20th century to house about 30 000 people, it is now home to an estimated 700 000. This density creates intense pressure on infrastructure and resources, as well as a powerful community culture that…

LondoN: Cereals giant Kellogg’s yesterday lost a High Court challenge against new UK rules limiting the prominence of sugary foods in English shops to tackle child obesity. At a hearing in April, the Frosties and Rice Krispies maker argued against the government’s strategy to calculate fat, salt and sugar content of cereals when eaten dry, not when taken with milk. But in a ruling yesterday, Judge Thomas Linden said 54.7% of Kellogg’s cereals would be classed as less healthy under the new regulations that take effect from October. Kellogg’s claimed the change would hit annual profits by about £5 million (R98m). | AFP…

Russian troops were yesterday holding the strategic Ukrainian city of Lysychansk after Kyiv’s forces retreated, in a major boost for Russia’s campaign to seize the entire Donbas region of eastern Ukraine. With the war well into its fifth month after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, governments and organisations gathered for a conference in Switzerland to launch a plan to rebuild the country even as the conflict shows no sign of abating. The loss of Lysychansk over the weekend prompted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to step up calls for an increased supply of weapons from the West so Kyiv can keep up the resistance and regain lost territories. After giving up on its initial war aim of capturing Kyiv following tough Ukrainian resistance, Russia has focused its efforts on…

Ethan Brooks, 20, will head into his second consecutive Hollywoodbets Cosafa Cup tournament in as many years, but will be required to take up a leadership role among a very youthful Bafana Bafana squad. Assistant coach Helman Mkhelele named his final 23-man squad on Friday – a group that is made up of national Under-23 players as they look to prepare for next year’ s Olympic qualifiers. Brooks, who recently earned himself a move to Durban-based side Amazulu FC, believes the tournament is a great tool as they look to gain experience against all kinds of competition. He understands that he will probably have to take up a different role this time round, playing with teammates in the same age group. “It was a great experience for me, last year…

South Africans have a long tradition of loving to hate some of their sportsmen and currently, Elton Jantjies is top of the pops. Boy, did social media go to town on Sunday with some entertaining memes – unless you are Jantjies, of course – and his recent performance on an overseas flight only gave the joke writers some explosive ammo. But I am going to buck the trend and suggest that Jantjies should not be put on an Emirates Airline plane out of the Springbok camp. Jantjies undeniably had a horror first half at Loftus Versfeld but I agree with his former coach at the Lions, Swys de Bruin, who has questioned why Jantjies was “thrown under the bus” after having played just 13 minutes of rugby all year because…

Under siege from crime, many keen to relocate from W Cape THE brave men and women from the province’s emergency medical services, under constant attack from criminals for trying to save lives, are increasingly looking to relocate to other provinces, because of the trauma of working in the Western Cape. Such is the exodus that the National Education, Health and Allied Workers Union (Nehawu) Western Cape provincial secretary Baxolise Mali said EMS staff in the metro were looking to leave due to the continual violence they experienced, with an increase in Western Cape EMS employees leaving for other provinces. “Incidents are reported to labour on a quarterly basis to the bargaining chamber. It is reported on a monthly basis to the labour level of the institution. The common form of…

Police Minister Bheki Cele has said “life will be better for Capetonians”, now that a wanted suspect, Yanga “Bara” Nyalara is off the streets, following his arrest at the weekend. Nyalara yesterday appeared in the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court where he chose to abandon his bail application after he was charged with 31 counts under the Prevention of Organised Crime Act (Poca). The State alleges Nyalara was involved in a pattern of criminal gang activity, including the killing of 18 people since May 2021 in Khayelitsha. It is alleged Nyalara was behind the mass shooting in Khayelitsha on May 8, where six men were killed in Site C, and the killing of 12 people in another mass shooting in Khayelitsha Site B on May 15, 2021. Cele was present…

District Six Museum’s storyteller, Joe Schaffers, has received his honorary doctorate from the University of Edinburgh for work done at the museum, an award delayed by the Covid-19 pandemic. District Six Museum deputy director Chrischene Julius said Schaffers had been the museum’s resident musician, with an encyclopaedic knowledge of “langarm” traditions in Cape Town and beyond, with the museum drawing on his expertise before his employment at the museum. Until his retirement in 2020, Schaffers worked as an education officer, conducting tours with primary and high school learners, university groups and a range of community groups visiting the museum, for 20 years. Chatting to the Cape Argus from Scotland prior to the official ceremony, Schaffer said: “I never in my wildest dreams expected it – that I would ever land…

After the 2024 general elections in South Africa a new political axis will be born. The probable partners in this new axis will be the ANC, the DA and the EFF. The likely results from the election, according to the current trajectory of events, will see the once impregnable ANC garner about 40% of the popular vote, the DA about 24% and the EFF at about 19%. A marriage of convenience will be consummated by these three lovers of power in order to govern a badly fragmented political structure. A coalition will not be possible without the heterogeneous opposition parties entering a marriage of convenience, which could in the long run transform into a marriage of inconvenience. These three potential axis partners have diametrically opposed ideologies on virtually every aspect…

At the heart of many modern technologies is electricity, but in South Africa the inconsistent supply of electricity is at the heart of many problems. The country’s economy is on its knees due to inconsistent electricity supply. Eskom continuously cautions the public that it will still take a few weeks for the power generation system to fully recover to pre-strike levels. In Durban, contractors working for eThekwini Municipality downed tools over several grievances. Contractors, in some instances, take days to replace stolen cables or repair electrical faults. With the country reluctant to explore renewable and sustainable energy, the citizens have no option but to swallow the bitter pill of sitting in darkness. Striking Eskom employees have exacerbated the problem, forcing the utility to implement stage 6 load shedding at various…

Tehran: Iranian officials closed government offices, courts, schools and universities in Tehran yesterday after a severe sandstorm hit the capital, state media reported. Visibility was severely limited in Tehran, a city of more than eight million people. The neighbouring province of Alborz, located west of the capital, also announced the closure of all offices, banks and scientific and educational centres. It reported an “increase in the concentration of atmospheric pollutants and dust” in the air. The trend is linked to climate change and associated with overgrazing. | AFP…

Former Kaizer Chiefs defender Lorenzo Gordinho has joined Danish second division side HB Køge. The 28-year-old joined the club on an 18-month deal and will now be playing his football under the guidance of former Liverpool defender Daniel Agger. Gordinho most recently played for Viborg FF. “Lorenzo fits the criteria we have been looking for in a new centre-back this summer,” stated Køge director Per Rud. “He is strong and aggressive in his defensive game but can, at the same time, lead the ball forward and help build our offensive game. “He has lots of experience from the highest level in South Africa, where he has also been on the national team, and at the same time he knows Denmark and the Danish culture from Viborg. “We are sure he…

Manchester United have agreed a deal in principle to sign Denmark midfielder Christian Eriksen on a free transfer, according to reports yesterday. United manager Erik ten Hag made the three-year contract offer to Eriksen after the Dane's impressive comeback with Brentford. The 30-year-old is reported to have a verbal agreement with United and will officially complete his move to Old Trafford after a medical. Eriksen's impending switch to United completes an incredible return after his brush with death last year. He had a cardiac arrest on the pitch in Copenhagen while playing for Denmark at the European Championship and was forced to leave Inter Milan after recovering due to Serie A health regulations. Eriksen, fitted with a implantable cardioverter defibrillator, proved his form and fitness during a loan spell at…

A 30-YEAR-OLD man is expected to appear in the Bishop Lavis Magistrate’s Court following his arrest at the weekend for an alleged brutal attack on a young mother in Bonteheuwel. Police say the suspect was nabbed shortly after a charge of rape was laid against him at the Bishop Lavis police station. The complainant said she had been attacked in the early hours of Sunday morning. Police spokesperson FC van Wyk said: “A 30-year-old man was arrested and charged for a rape case reported at Bishop Lavis for investigation. According to reports, the incident occurred on Sunday, July 3, at about 12.15am. The suspect is due to make a court appearance at Bishop Lavis Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday.” A close relative of the complainant who…

Anti-gender-based violence (GBV) organisations, working in areas identified as hot spots for sexual violence in the province, have called on the provincial government and the police to focus resources on these areas. A parliamentary response by Police Oversight and Community Safety MEC Reagen Allen on the breakdown of the reported sexual offences per police station in the province, between January 2021 and March, revealed Delft recorded the most cases at 420, followed by Harare police station in Khayelitsha at 329, and Mfuleni at 265. Gugulethu recorded 256 cases, while in Nyanga 244 cases were reported. The Redelinghuys police station in the Berg River Local Municipality recorded the least incidents, at only two cases. These cases included attempt sexual offences,…

Like many other locals, I do not have money left after paying rates, taxes, home loans, electricity, petrol, school and university fees, etc. So I pondered, where do people get money to hide in furniture? Either they got the money illegally or hid “legit” money from the tax collector. If the money was illegal, it suggests criminality – threatening the collective well-being of our nation. Ironically, by hiding legal income from the tax collector, the person considers the taxation system to be unfair. I think our President hid the “legal” money from farm profits, but felt he was over-taxed, like most of us feel when we pay tax. So, he hid his own money. Since the President obviously dislikes paying tax, I suggest he rethinks the entire taxation system. During…

The Dream Factory Foundation, a Non-Profit Organisation (NPO) in Observatory, works with young people in Cape Town and Africa by providing skills and learning opportunities on community welfare and gender-based violence (GBV). Dream Factory Foundation started as a Christian motivational roadshow but in 2011 developed into an NPO. “Founders Lusanda Magwape and Laurian Jamie Nortje were working in under-resourced schools in the Western Cape and were confronted with the realities of lack of access to quality education, high levels of unemployment, lack of exposure to sustainable livelihoods and poverty faced by young people in these schools,” said Aviwe Gwayi, marketing and communications officer for Dream Factory Foundations. Gwayi said they have been doing an online safety campaign where school learners are taught about the dangers of the internet, social media…

Certain events seem to make the course of current affairs pivot, to open up possibilities for large-scale human advancement, for an enlargement of freedoms and for the enactment of inclusive, progressive ideals. The election of Nelson Mandela and Barack Obama are cases in point. But we are also all too familiar with events that are malign in their impacts and pernicious in their longer-term effects, such as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and its devastating impact on human security both near and far. No doubt many in Africa will regard the recent US Supreme Court ruling which struck down the constitutionality of abortion as regrettable, but distant – unlikely to be felt by Africans. But I believe that in addition to the immediate harm it will cause to American women, it…

TRIPOLI: Libyans angered by rising prices, chronic power cuts and political deadlock planned further demonstrations yesterday after angry protests across the capital. Masked youths set alight car tyres and blocked roads, including a major coastal highway between central Tripoli and its western suburbs, but security forces did not intervene. A youth movement calling itself “Beltress” is demanding elections and the dissolution of the country’s rival governments and their two houses of parliament. Public anger has been fuelled by power cuts that often last 18 hours despite Libya sitting on Africa’s largest oil reserves. | AFP…

Mecca: Saudi authorities have arrested and fined nearly 300 people caught trying to perform the Hajj without permits, an official said yesterday, as the kingdom prepares to receive 1 million people for the annual pilgrimage tomorrow. About 288 “citizens and residents were arrested for violating Hajj regulations”, said Lieutenant General Mohammed al-Basami, head of Hajj security, adding they were each fined 10 000 Saudi riyals (about R44 000). Officials have also imposed a security cordon around Mecca, Islam’s holiest city, and barred nearly 100 000 people in more than 69 000 vehicles from entering, he said. | AFP…

In the main curtain raiser on the opening day of the Under-18 Craven Week at Rondebosch Boys’ High School, the Western Province XV scored a comprehensive 65-7 victory over a hapless Boland side. The home team, who led 34-0 at the interval, outscored the visitors by 10 tries to one, which was indicative of their superiority. It also underlined the strength of schoolboy rugby in the Cape. The Province XV were vastly superior in all facets of the game, but it was the dominance of their forwards which laid the foundation for their stellar performance. They were on top in the set pieces, while their loose trio spearheaded by No 8 Hugo Horn were collectively quicker to the breakdown to secure a surfeit of second-phase possession. A feature of their…