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03-29-2010, 06:35 AM #5911
Kombi-vrou: Polisie vermoed regsverydeling
Speurders gemoeid met die Nella Francom-saak ondersoek nou amptelik pogings om die polisie-ondersoek te dwarsboom.
Die eenheid teen georganiseerde misdaad, wat die saak ondersoek, het eergister ’n dossier van regsverydeling in Sabie geregistreer, het polisiebronne bevestig.
Francom se minibus is in Mei verlede jaar by Sabie oor ’n afgrond. Die polisie het aanvanklik aanvaar die verkoolde lyk wat agter die stuur aangetref is, was dié van Francom. Dit het egter later geblyk die kombi is oor die afgrond gestoot en die lyk was dié van ’n onbekende vrou. Francom word steeds vermis.
Die polisie ondersoek beweerde bedrog rakende ’n eis van R10 miljoen wat ingedien is teen ’n lewensversekeringspolis in Francom se naam. Die versekeraar, Old Mutual, weier om die eis uit te betaal.
Die ondersoek na regsverydeling hou onder meer verband met ’n verklaring deur ’n polisiebeampte van Sabie, wie se selfoon gekonfiskeer is as deel van die ondersoek.
Volgens mnr. Chris Ehlers, die private speurder van Benoni wat vasgestel het Francom is waarskynlik nie dood nie, het hy selfoonrekords wat bewys dié polisieman was die dag van die ongeluk naby die toneel.
Ehlers het die rekords aan die polisie oorhandig. Die polisieman ontken in sy verklaring dat hy naby die toneel was.
Die polisie ondersoek die prosedure wat dié polisieman en ’n versekeringsmakelaar van Hazyview gevolg het toe die lyk as dié van Francom uitgeken is. Volgens Ehlers het die makelaar nooit Francom se lyk gesien nie. Francom is ook glo nooit deur haar tweede man, Clint, of enige ander familielid uitgeken nie.
Rapport het eergister vasgestel vier lyke is in 2009, toe Francom verdwyn het, deur die staatshospitaal op Sabie aan ’n begrafnisondernemer oorhandig. Die lyke moes as armlastiges begrawe word en die staat het die ondernemer R5 000 daarvoor betaal.
Die munisipaliteit se grafregister is onlangs in ’n brand by die munisipale kantore vernietig.
03-29-2010, 06:39 AM #5912
From riches to rags for whites
SITTING in a deck chair at a white South African squatter camp, Ann le Roux, 60, holds a yellowing photo of her daughter’s wedding day. Taken not long after Nelson Mandela became the country’s first black president in 1994, it shows Le Roux standing with her husband and their daughter outside their home in Melville, an upmarket Johannesburg neighbourhood.
Sixteen years later, she lives in a caravan and a tent shared with seven other people, including her daughter and four grandchildren, at a squatter camp for poor white South Africans.
She is one of a growing number of whites living below the poverty line in South Africa who blame affirmative action and the ANC-led elected government for their plight.
Le Roux had to sell her house after her husband died and she lost her job as a secretary at the city planning council – where she had worked for 26 years – after she had taken time off work to recover from the loss of her husband.
“They wouldn’t take me back because of the political situation,” she says, looking down at the fading photo.
“Our colour here is not the right colour now in South Africa,” Le Roux says, echoing the complaint of many impoverished whites.
While most white South Africans still enjoy lives of privilege and relative wealth, the number of poor whites has risen steadily over the past 15 years. White unemployment nearly doubled between 1995 and 2005, according to the Institute for Security Studies.
Seeking to reverse decades of racial inequality, the ANC government introduced affirmative action to promote employment for blacks and aim to give black South Africans a bigger slice of the economy.
When the global financial crisis was added to the shift in racial hiring practices many poor white South Africans fell on hard times.
At least 450000 white South Africans, 10% of the total white population, live below the poverty line and 100000 are struggling just to survive, according to civil organisations and the largely white trade union Solidarity. South Africa’s population is about 50 million.
Many poor whites have ended up in places like Coronation Park in Krugersdorp, west of Johannesburg, a leafy former caravan site beside a water reservoir and a public picnic park frequented by middle-class families at weekends.
Ringed by yellow- brown hills of earth dug up by generations of gold miners, the park was used by the British as a concentration camp for Afrikaners during the Anglo-Boer war at the start of the 20th century.
Now it is home to about 400 white squatters living in cramped tents and caravans and sharing a single ablution block. Cats and dogs roam noisily through the camp, dodging heaps of rubbish, piles of scrap metal and abandoned car parts.
Water is heated and food cooked on open camp fires. The local council cut electricity to the camp after failing to evict the white squatters.
The council wanted to develop the area into a wide-screen viewing area for soccer matches ahead of the Fifa World Cup in June and July.
Some residents, including three black South Africans, have lived there for years. Others arrived in recent weeks.
“If you’re out of work and you haven’t got money, where must you go to? No one wants to help you – this is the only place to go to,” says Dennis Boshoff, 38.
When President Jacob Zuma visited a white squatter camp near Pretoria last year – ahead of his election – he said he was “shocked and surprised”.
“The vast number in black poverty does not mean we must ignore white poverty, which is becoming an embarrassment to talk about,” Zuma said at the time.
White poverty in South Africa is a politically sensitive subject that gets little attention, but it is not new.
Under apartheid, introduced in 1948, whites enjoyed vast protection and sheltered employment. The weakest and least educated whites were protected by the civil service and state-owned industries operating as job-creation schemes, guaranteeing even the poorest whites a home and livelihood.
But with that economic safety net now gone, South Africa’s unskilled whites find themselves on the wrong side of history, gaining little sympathy from those who perceive them as having profited unfairly during the brutal apartheid years.
Trade union Solidarity says there are about 430000 whites who live in squatter camps. Around Pretoria alone there are 80 squatter settlements. There are more than 2000 much larger black squatter camps across South Africa.
Formerly comfortable Afrikaners recently forced to live on the fringes of society see themselves as victims of “reverse apartheid” that they say puts them at an even greater disadvantage than the millions of poor black South Africans.
“Blacks get more than whites at the moment. They’re being pulled forward against us. That’s why all of us are here. It’s very unfair because they told us it was going to be equal, but it’s not equal,” said Boshoff.
This feeling of victimisation and abandonment by the state has forged at the camp a collective sense of fatalism, isolation and firm reliance on their Calvinist religion. Each of the camp’s ramshackle huts and tents is adorned with religious paraphernalia and an Afrikaans language bible.
Many poor white communities also struggle with alcoholism, violence and abuse, but at Coronation Park social problems have declined.
“We kicked a lot of the worst ones out and the fighting and violence has gone down,” said Hugo Van Niekerk, who has managed the camp over the past few years.
Van Niekerk, who solicits donations and helps community members find odd jobs, successfully fought an eviction order last year from the local municipality but he expects little help from the council or government on housing.
“We won’t get houses from this government. If we were black maybe yes, but we are white.”
03-29-2010, 06:48 AM #5913
Man wag twee maande vir operasie
NELSPRUIT - ‘n Man is sy werk kwyt omdat hy nou al amper twee maande wag op ‘n operasie om ‘n fraktuur aan sy arm te herstel. Sy vrou moet nou maar ‘n ander heenkome in Gauteng gaan soek terwyl hy in Rob Ferreira Hospitaal lê en wag dat hulle sy arm herstel waarmee hy, ‘n ketelmaker, sy brood en botter verdien.
Mnr. Bennie Pieters (25) van Lydenburg het Woensdag oor sy stryd met twee staatshospitale sedert einde Januarie vanjaar, met Laevelder gesels. Hy was op 29 Januarie in ‘n motorfiets-ongeluk en het verskeie beentjies in sy linkergewrig gebreek. Hy is in Lydenburg Hospitaal opgeneem waar hy twee weke behandel is voordat hulle hom ontslaan en gesê het hulle kan hom nie help nie.
"Hulle het gesê dat hulle nie ‘n spesialis het om my te opereer nie en dat die teater te klein is," het Pieters vertel. Hulle het hom telkens Voltaren teen die pyn op sy boud gespuit, wat só ‘n abses gevorm het dat bykans een liter vog gedreineer moes word. Pieters is toe blykbaar aangesê om op 10 Maart by Rob Ferreira aan te meld waar hy geopereer sou word. Hy het in Nelspruit aangekom, maar die hospitaal het glo niks geweet van die beplande prosedure nie. "My naam is nooit eens op ‘n lys gesit nie," het hy bygevoeg.
Hy is aangesê om in die hospitaal te bly waar hy sedertdien wag. Daar word egter telkens vir hom gesê dat daar nie ‘n teater beskikbaar is nie en dat die operasie eers die volgende week gedoen sal word. "Ek was al lus om my goed te pak en te loop, maar daar is vir my gesê dat ek dan my bed en plek op die teaterlys kwyt sal wees. Met my aankoms moes ek twee dae lank vir ‘n bed wag."
Pieters se stem het verlede maand hees geword en dit word waarskynlik deur ‘n knop aan die regterkant van sy keel veroorsaak. Dokters by Rob Ferreira voer nou glo aan dat dit is waarom hulle hom nie kan opereer nie. "Ek het al ‘n privaat dokter oor dit gespreek en hy het my verseker dat dit niks is om my oor te bekommer nie. Ek ervaar ook geen pyn nie, maar my stem het onlangs hees geword," het hy vertel.
Hy het ‘n ander geneesheer by Rob Ferreira hieroor gespreek, wat gesê het dat hulle die oorsaak van die heesheid moes bepaal voordat hulle hom narkose kan gee. Hy is gevolglik Maandag na Steve Biko Hospitaal in Gauteng vervoer vir ‘n skandering aan sy keel, maar dit is nooit gedoen nie. Hy het Dinsdag teruggekeer na Rob Ferreira en is glo aangesê om volgende week terug te keer Gauteng toe vir die prosedure. "Die knop pla my nie, my arm is nou prioriteit en dit is hoekom ek na Rob Ferreira gekom het."
Pieters het sy werk in Vanderbijlpark bedank en na Lydenburg verhuis om ‘n belowende aanbod te aanvaar. Sy werkgewer het hom ‘n maand siekverlof gegee, maar het hom intussen laat weet dat hy nie langer vir hom kan wag nie. Hy het sy verbande afgehaal en gewys hoe skeef die gewrig al aangegroei het. Snags ervaar hy geweldige pyn en verloor soms die gevoel in sy vingers. Hy kan ook glad nie meer sy gewrig beweeg nie.
"My vrou verdien slegs R2 500 ‘n maand en ons kan nie oorleef sonder my salaris nie. Sy gaan nou maar terug Vanderbijlpark toe en ek sal by haar aansluit as ek eendag hier uitkom," het hy vertel. "Ek het met ander pasiënte gepraat en gehoor dat van hulle tot volgende jaar op operasies moet wag." "Ek het in Nelspruit aangekom met net een stel klere, ek sou mos na die operasie terugkeer na Lydenburg Hospitaal om daar aan te sterk. Ek het niks. My broer help maar waar hy kan."
Laevelder het betroubaar verneem dat vier teaters by Rob Ferreira ten volle benut kan word. Die enigste ortopeed by die hospitaal, dr. Kevin Steyn is glo egter onder geweldige druk om al die pasiënte te help. Dr. Gerhard Goosen, senior mediese bestuurder by die hospitaal probeer blykbaar sy bes om ‘n tweede ortopeed in die hande kry.
Die DA is ook bewus van Pieters se situasie en die party se provinsiale leier, mnr. Anthony Benadie, het hom in Rob Ferreira kom besoek. Mnr. Mpho Gabashane, woordvoerder van die gesondheidsdepartement, het teen druktyd nie op navrae gereageer nie.
03-29-2010, 06:51 AM #5914
Seks-, dwelmnes in Ermelo
Dis Woensdag, 09:30. ’n Klein groepie polisiemanne kom bymekaar in die parkade van ’n hotel in Ermelo. Hulle is tot die tande toe gewapen.
Hul teiken is die Jakaranda-woonstelgebou ’n paar blokke weg wat hulle spottenderwys “Lagos” gedoop het.
Dis gevaarlike werk. Polisie-informante het die afgelope jaar al twee keer gewaarsku Nigeriese sindikaatbase soek ’n sluipmoordenaar om van insp. Magda Scholtz van die speurtak ontslae te raak.
Nigeriese dwelm- en mensehandelaars gebruik twee geboue, bekend as die Jakaranda-woonstelle, as basis en hou hier vroue aan om as prostitute te verkoop.
Dié woonstelle behoort aan ’n plaaslike sakeman wat duidelik nie omgee wat op sy eiendom gebeur nie – solank hy die huurgeld ontvang.
Om die woonstelgebou is vervalle en vlooibesmette huise met smerige mure en plafonne wat swart gebrand is. Dit is die sindikaat se dwelmhuise en dis waar die base bymekaarkom.
Polisiemotors hou met skreeuende bande voor die eerste gebou stil. Oorkant die pad kyk vier mans in ’n wit Golf wat hier aangaan.
“Dis een van die sindikate se karre,” sê Scholtz.
Insp. Shane Beherens hou sy R5-geweer gereed. Hy loer versigtig om hoeke en deur vensters.
Die meeste van die prostitute het reeds hul kamers ontruim. Die gerug is dat die sindikaat hul seksslawe tydelik op ’n ander dorp versteek.
Daar is immers ook polisielede wat kop in een mus met van die bendelede is.
Pakke kondome – gratis uitgedeel deur die regering – bottels Vaseline, sigaretstompies en leë plastiek banksakkies waarin die dwelm crack was, getuig van bendelede en die prostitute se haastige vertrek.
In een van die kamers is ’n vrou egter nog besig om haar goed in ’n sak te gooi.
Die polisie klop aan haar deur. Binne word ’n toilet gespoel.
’n Polisieman lag en sê: “Wanneer jy die toilet hoor spoel, moet jy weet hulle raak ontslae van crack en ander dwelms.”
Die vrou sê haar naam is Lisa. Sy is 29 en beweer sy gebruik vier maande al nie dwelms nie. Maar haar oë vertel ’n ander verhaal.
Haar gesig is erg geskend, glo deur ’n koppelaar wat suur in haar gesig gegooi het om haar te “straf”.
Sy val oor haar woorde.
“Ja, ek werk vir die Nigeriërs… Ek is van Pretoria en het een van hulle in ’n klub in Arcadia in die stad ontmoet.
“Ek was toe nie op straat nie, maar hulle het my dwelms gevoer en hier is ek nou – op straat.”
Skielik hardloop iemand verby die venster. Iemand wat die hasepad kies. Beherens is soos blits by die deur uit, hy hou sy geweer dreigend voor hom.
’n Bakkie se enjin skree in trurat. Die verdagte het weggekom.
In nog ’n woonstel vind ons ene Simone, waar ’n Nigeriër met die naam Peter haar toesluit.
Sy kom van Durban af, sê Simone. Sy’t nie enige dokumente of ’n bewys van identiteit by haar nie.
“Wat dink jou ma doen jy in Ermelo?” vra Scholtz deur die veiligheidshek. “Werk in ’n videowinkel, of wat?”
Sy’s duidelik bang vir Peter. In die middel van haar voorkop is ’n brandmerk, maar sy hou vol dis 'n geboortevlek. Sy sê sy’s nog net drie weke op straat.
Beherens slaan ’n venster stukkend met sy pistoolkolf en druk die loop versigtig deur die gordyne voor hy loer wat binne aangaan.
’n Polisieman bring ’n koevoet en die veiligheidsdeur word weggebuig. Daar’s twee mans binne, een van hulle ’n Nigeriër, in ’n dwelmslaap.
“Kom, kom, kom!” skree Beherens. Hulle lig hul koppe en kyk hom met leë oë aan.
Die polisie beweeg na die volgende Jakaranda-woonstel. In een van die kamers kry hulle drie vroue, half in ’n koma weens dwelms.
Een van hulle, Mildred, kan skaars op haar voete staan. Sy’s glo 30, maar lyk dekades ouer. Haar kop rol van die een kant na die ander en haar oë sukkel om te fokus.
Mildred erken sy is nog onder die invloed van crack nadat sy vier rocks teen R180 by ’n Nigeriër gekoop het.
“Ek het verlede nag twee klante gehad. Die een het my R80 betaal en die ander R100.”
Sy wys na ’n brandmerk op haar boarm en trane rol oor haar wange terwyl sy vertel hoe haar koppelaar haar met ’n strykyster gebrand het.
“Daarna het hy my geslaan en in die kas toegesluit.”
Mildred is as eiendom gemerk – letterlik. Op haar boarm is die naam van haar koppelaar, meester en dwelmverskaffer getatoeëer. Sy naam is Ike.
* Die stryd in Ermelo duur voort.
Nege Nigeriërs is verhoorafwagtend en is op 16 April in die hof vir hul borgtogaansoek.
Stanton Francis is die speurder by die polisie se eenheid teen georganiseerde misdaad wat aan die hoof staan van die ondersoek. Hy sê een van die mans agter tralies wou hom met R2 000 omkoop om na die saak “om te sien”.
Dié Nigeriër en sy meisie word nou ook aangekla van omkopery.
’n Aanklaer wat spesialiseer in die doen en late van mense wat georganiseerde misdaad pleeg, gaan die saak teen die sindikaatlede behartig en die departement van binnelandse sake is ook betrokke by verdere ondersoekwerk.
Francis sê nog inhegtenisnemings word verwag.
03-29-2010, 06:53 AM #5915
MXit klaar met kubermisdadigers
JOHANNESBURG. – MXit is klaar met kuber-misdadigers en mense wat sy netwerk vir bedenklike bedrywighede misbruik.
Dié sosiale netwerk het ’n veldtog van “geen geduld” teenoor oortreders aangekondig.
Luidens ’n verklaring sal enigiemand wat voortaan eksplisiete materiaal of materiaal wat aanstoot gee hier uitruil, sonder waarskuwing van die netwerk verban word.
Mnr. Herman Heunis, uitvoerende hoof en stigter van MXit, het in ’n verklaring gesê: “Te lank het ’n groep wat minder as 0,1% van MXit-gebruikers beslaan, ons reputasie skade aangedoen met hul voortdurende misbruik van ons gemeenskap deur onwelvoeglike en soms misdadige gedrag.”
Volgens Heunis was dit tot onlangs baie moeilik om skuldiges op te spoor en vas te trek, maar danksy nuwe ontwikkelinge laat skuldiges “ ’n definitiewe elektroniese spoor”.
“Ons gebruikers se reg tot privaatheid is en sal altyd van uiterste belang wees. Ons het geen voornemens om kommunikasie tussen gebruikers te sensor nie, maar wanneer iemand ons platform gebruik om op onskuldige mense toe te slaan, gaan ons hulle verwyder,” sê Heunis.
Hy sê ook alle verdagte gedrag wat moontlike misdaad aandui, sal aan die polisie oorhandig word.
“Ons grootste verantwoordelikheid is om ons meer as 19 miljoen gebruikers te beskerm en ons sal alles in ons vermoë doen om skuldiges uit te wys en toe te sien dat hulle aan die pen ry,” sê Heunis.
Hy doen ook ’n beroep op MXit-gebruikers om nie persoonlike inligting met vreemdelinge uit te ruil nie en om hulle “vir seker” nie persoonlik te ontmoet nie.
“Om vreemdelinge te nooi om jou vriend op MXit of enige ander sosiale netwerk te wees, is presies dieselfde as om jou voordeur oop te maak sonder dat jy weet wie dit is wat klop.
“Dit is net nie slim nie,” sê Heunis.
03-29-2010, 08:03 AM #5916
ATM bombers flee with bag of money
ATM bombers fled with a bag stuffed with money after they blew up the automatic teller machine at the Excel Service Station on the Van der Hoff Road Extension in Rietfontein in the early hours of Friday morning.
The five armed men arrived in a white Volkswagen Golf 5, with no licence plates, just after 00:35 and while one of the men was setting the first charge of explosives in the money dispensing drawer of the machine another of the men was watching the petrol attendants and cashier in the shop. The surveillance camera footage clearly shows the vehicle driving out of sight and the men hiding as the first charge explodes, taking out the privacy screen as well as the ATM’s cover.
Two men then proceeded to break the ATM open with their hands while the other broke open the sliding door of the shop, causing the cashier to flee. This robber, who was armed with an assault rifle then entered the store and went behind the counter while a second explosives charge was set in the ATM. Following this second blast, the footage shows the men breaking the machine even further and holding a bag ready. A smaller built robber then climbs into the ATM and takes out the money, handing it to the others to put inside the bag. The driver then pulled up to the ATM and first got out before the whole group sped away.
Sonia Pereira, from the Excel Service Station, told Kormorant that when the first explosives detonated it woke up the cashier in the store and she was immediately faced by the robber armed with the R5 rifle. The cashier fled into the bathroom at the back. Pereira explained that the robbers threw her cellular phone into the garbage and did not attempt to find or confront her although he did keep watching through the window for her. She said that the two petrol attendants, who were in the waiting room, were told by the robbers to lie on the ground and they were kept there until the robbers left.
No-one was injured, although the cashier was extremely traumatised. Pereira said that the whole incident took approximately six minutes. The robbery is being investigated by the Phokeng Organised Crime Unit. Capt. Adéle Myburgh, North West SAPS spokesperson, confirmed the incident and said that charges of business robbery and a contravention of the Explosives Act were registered.
• According to information the same group of men are thought to be responsible for another ATM bombing in Temba soon after this incident.
03-29-2010, 08:09 AM #5917
Police documents scattered in park
A RESIDENT of Paarl came across a large amount of classified police information which had evidently been dumped on the bank of the Berg River near the Arboretum. Amongst the documents were police files of various cases, forensic and fingerprint reports, affidavits and even pay slips.
After Grant Momplé made this discovery, he collected many of these files and took them to Paarl Police Station to report the matter.
But according to him nobody in the charge office was in the least interested in his discovery.
This was evident on Tuesday morning, when the Paarl Post investigated the site, still finding remnants of police reports scattered in the bushes.
According to a source, such classified documents must be disposed of by means of shredding or burning. But this is not being done, and officers are simply disposing of the documents in their rubbish bins.
This rubbish is in turn placed in plastic bags and left at the side entrance to the police station until it is collected by the municipal refuse removal trucks.
Vagrants then often take these bags and scrounge through them elsewhere, in search of anything which they can use.
The fact that affidavits have been found amongst the rubbish is a reason for great concern, as these affidavits are supposed to be stored indefinitely in case files.
03-30-2010, 05:50 AM #5918
Cosatu defends singing of ‘shoot the boer’ lyrics
COSATU yesterday opposed the banning of the lyrics “shoot the boer”, saying yesterday that they were part of the historic fight against apartheid.
“Cosatu agrees fully with the ANC’s argument that the song (Ayasab’ amagwala – The cowards are scared) is part of the historic fight of the people against apartheid, led by the ANC,” it said.
The High Court in Johannesburg ruled on Friday that the use of the words “dubula ibhunu” (shoot the boer) was unconstitutional and unlawful.
“Cosatu is concerned at the implications of the court’s ruling that the words are unconstitutional and illegal.” It conceded that the words could be seen as promoting racial hatred and inciting violence.
Hanging himself in public?
Julius Malema's recent "struggle song" has led to another charge of hate speech against him -- in the same week that the Equality Court found him guilty of the same charge deriving from his comments on Jacob Zuma's rape accuser.
The African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) president sang the song at his 29th birthday celebrations in Limpopo this month, and again last week while addressing students at a rally at the University of Johannesburg.
The song lyrics include "dubul' ibhunu" (shoot the Boer), and "ziyareypa lezinja" (these dogs are raping).
ANC secretary general Gwede Mantashe defended the song last weekend, saying: "Anyone who relegates this song to hate speech is part of those who are trying to erase our history. That would be unfortunate, as it is a struggle song that was used when we were still fighting for liberation. This song will not be erased from our history because of people who are sensitive."
The song echoes the slogan "Kill the Boer, kill the farmer", associated especially with late ANCYL president Peter Mokaba. On Monday this week, civil rights group AfriForum Youth laid a charge of hate speech against Malema at the Equality Court.
This was the same day on which the Equality Court found Malema guilty of hate speech for comments he made about Zuma's rape accuser. Addressing students at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology in January 2009, Malema said, "When a woman didn't enjoy it, she leaves early in the morning. Those who had a nice time will wait until the sun comes out, request breakfast and ask for taxi money. In the morning that lady requested breakfast and taxi money"
The Mail & Guardian asked five high-profile experts on freedom of speech, constitutional law and both Afrikaner and black nationalism what they thought of Malema's recent bursts into song.
* Hermann Giliomee, historian and author of Afrikaners: Biography of a People, said the song was "dangerous and likely to incite some people".
* Pierre de Vos, constitutional law lecturer at the University of Cape Town, said songs like these were sung at a specific time "when an apartheid government needed to be overthrown. Because we are in a democracy, there is no need for those songs. If you follow human rights, Mr Mantashe's defence will not hold -- apartheid is no more."
Because of Malema's history and the insecurity of minority groups in the country, "some people are reacting to the person saying it", instead of what is being said, De Vos said.
* Melissa Moore, acting director of the Freedom of Expression Institute, said, "It is extremely worrying that the leaders of our country view this kind of speech as acceptable. This indicates a blatant disregard and disrespect for fundamental human rights and the well-being of South African society.
"Malema's statement amounts to hate speech, which is a form of speech that is not protected by the Constitution. Section 16(2) (c) of the Constitution prohibits the advocacy of hatred that is based on race, ethnicity, gender, religion and that constitutes incitement to cause harm. The statement clearly incites harm to a specific group of people based on their race and ethnicity. Such speech should not be condoned and should not go unpunished."
* Zandi Radebe, spokesperson for Blackwash, a Black Consciousness youth social movement based in Soweto, said, "Malema's behaviour is predictable." Blackwash condemns any hate speech, regardless of who it comes from. "For me the issue is: Why do we continuously applaud the behaviour of people like Julius Malema? He makes the same noise and we give him the same reaction, I'm really tired of this."
* Jane Duncan, professor of journalism at Rhodes University, said, "Struggle songs help people to remember the spirit of resistance that led to South Africa's transition to democracy. For as long as South Africa remains untransformed on many levels of the social formation -- for instance, racism or economic inequalities remain -- these songs will continue to be sung, as people take courage from the spirit of resistance from the past to overcome the injustices of the present."
"The song as sung by Mokaba could not be considered hate speech, even when people sung it at Mokaba's funeral, and the Human Rights Commission [HRC] erred in making this judgement at the time. In order for speech to constitute incitement to cause harm, specific targets of that harm need to be identified. The song cannot be said to be directed at specific individuals, and in fact, the song is strongly metaphorical in that it refers to the system of apartheid being killed, so the specificity of speech that is necessary for something to constitute incitement to cause harm was absent.
"In addition, the HRC extended the definition of harm too far, to include psychological harm to 'minorities or vulnerable groups': forms of harm that are virtually impossible to prove as they are too subjective. If the song was not hate speech then, then it is doubtful that Malema's rendition of the song constituted hate speech either.
"The point is that these struggle songs will not go away, and banning them out of existence will merely reinforce their mystique, leading to greater determination to chant them.
"The tide is turning against Malema; every time he opens his mouth, it becomes clearer that he is not leadership material. He should be allowed the space to hang himself in public. The tendency of many social actors to cry 'hate speech' every time Malema says something outrageous may backfire against those with genuine grievances in the long run.
"The Equality Court's recent ruling against Malema's 'hate speech' underlines the problem. His statements were stupid and misogynistic, but the court's ruling has broadened the definition of hate speech so much that speech that is merely considered to be harmful can now be proscribed. This means that huge swathes of speech on political matters can now be punished. Society as a whole is set back by such rulings, and it is important for us to see this bigger picture and not be blinded by our disdain for Malema. Future judgements proscribing socially necessary speech will be based on this precedent."
03-30-2010, 05:56 AM #5919
AfriForum undecided on Malema interdict
Civil rights group AfriForum has yet to decide whether it will still seek a high court interdict to stop ANC youth league president Julius Malema from singing the words "shoot the boer".
This, after the High Court in Johannesburg ruled on Friday that the use of the words "dubula ibhunu" (shoot the boer) was unconstitutional and unlawful.
The court action was brought by Delmas businessman Willem Harmse to prevent his colleague Mahomed Vawda from using the words on banners and singing them during a planned march against crime.
The ANC has indicated its intention to appeal against the ruling.
"We are working on that," ANC spokesman Jackson Mthembu said on Monday.
He said the ANC's lawyers received the ruling and documents pertaining to the case on Monday morning.
Although he could not indicate exactly when papers would be filed with the Constitutional Court, he said the legal team had been instructed that the matter was urgent.
The ANC believes the high court would have reached a different conclusion had it consulted the party about the struggle song's history and purpose.
Last week, AfriForum threatened to apply to the High Court in Pretoria for an urgent interdict to prevent Malema from singing the words "shoot the boer" unless he apologised in writing by 4pm on Friday for repeatedly doing so in public. It later extended the deadline to Sunday.
Malema sang the words at his birthday celebration in Polokwane on March 4, at a student gathering at the University of Johannesburg on March 8, and again last Monday at a Human Rights Day rally.
AfriForum's legal representative Willie Spies said on Monday he was still waiting for instructions from AfriForum and the agricultural union TAU-SA on whether to proceed with the interdict application.
They had yet to study the order of the court in the Harmse matter to determine how wide it was, he said.
Should it be found to be wide enough, then there would be no need to proceed.
In a statement last week, Spies said the interdict's purpose would be twofold: to protect the country's people and to protect Malema himself "as his continued contempt for the pending legal process may end up costing him dearly".
The words "shoot the boer" form part of the struggle song "Ayasab' amagwala" (the cowards are scared).
In 2003, the Human Rights Commission determined that the song "Kill the Boer, Kill the Farmer" amounted to hate speech.
FF Plus leader Pieter Mulder laid a criminal charge against Malema after he sang the song at the university. AfriForum submitted a complaint to the Johannesburg Equality Court on March 12.
The FF Plus and the Afrikanerbond followed suit, complaining to the Equality Court and the SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) on Tuesday.
The DA indicated on Wednesday that it planned to lay 351 complaints against Malema with the SAHRC for singing "shoot the boers".
Cosatu: 'Shoot the boer' was part of struggle
The Congress of SA Trade Unions (Cosatu) on Monday said it opposed the banning of the words "shoot the boer", saying they were part of the historic fight against apartheid.
"Cosatu agrees fully with the ANC's (African National Congress) argument that the song Ayesaba Amagwala [The Cowards are Scared] is part of the historic fight of the people against apartheid, led by the ANC," it said in a statement.
The South Gauteng High Court ruled on Friday that the use of the words "dubul' ibhunu" [shoot the boer] was unconstitutional and unlawful.
"Cosatu is concerned at the implications of the South Gauteng High Court's ruling that the words ... are unconstitutional and illegal."
Cosau said it conceded that if interpreted literally, the words could be seen as promoting racial hatred and inciting violence.
However, it said that such songs had evolved in the context of a society "where the black majority were disenfranchised at the barrel of a gun by a small white minority and their illegitimate government".
"The words reflect the extreme anger of people who were systematically attacked and murdered by the state ... were denied all basic rights and did not have any constitutional and legal means to fight back."
The songs sung in those days inevitably reflected the armed struggle against a system which was condemned as a crime against humanity, Cosatu said.
"Cosatu fully embraces every effort to forge unity and bury the racial divisions of the past. This does not however mean that we have forgotten the pain and suffering of the past."
AfriForum seeks interdict against Malema
Meanwhile, lawyers for civil rights group AfriForum and trade union TAU-SA will on Thursday apply for an urgent interim interdict to stop ANC youth league president Julius Malema from singing Ayesaba Amagwala.
The application asks to court to interdict and restrain Malema from publicly uttering any words or singing any songs or communicating lyrics using words "which can reasonably be understood or construed as being capable of instigating violence, discord and/or hatred" between blacks and whites.
In an affidavit forming part of the court documents, AfriForum's deputy chief executive officer Alana Bailey submitted that "the use of the word 'shoot' in the song was synonymous with the word 'kill'."
"It is my respectful belief that the use of the words by the respondent is calculated to incite racial disharmony and constitutes a call to assassinate white South Africans. I also have no doubt that who the respondent intended to refer to and did in fact refer to, are white South Africans.
Fostering racial hatred
"Here can be little doubt that the respondent on the occasions mentioned called upon members of the ANCYL to kill white South Africans. The only possible reason for doing so, in my respectful view, is in order to foster racial hatred, discord and violence between white and black South Africans."
"We are working on that," ANC spokesperson Jackson Mthembu said on Monday.
Although he could not indicate exactly when papers would be filed with the Constitutional Court, he said the legal team had been instructed the matter was urgent.
The ANC believes the high court would have reached a different conclusion had it consulted the party about the song's history and purpose.
FF Plus leader Pieter Mulder laid a criminal charge against Malema after he sang the words at the University of Johannesburg earlier this month.
The FF+ and the Afrikanerbond complaining to the Equality Court and the SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) on Tuesday.
The DA indicated on Wednesday that it planned to lay 351 complaints against Malema with the SAHRC for singing the song.
03-30-2010, 05:59 AM #5920
Expert questions song ban
A constitutional law expert on Monday said the South Gauteng High Court ruling to ban the words 'shoot the boer' does not seem to make any sense.
The ANC has started legal proceedings to appeal the ruling which found the words to be unconstitutional and illegal.
Delmas businessman Willem Harmse approached the courts after his colleague sang the struggle song during a March last year.
Law expert Pierre de Vos said he feels the ruling is odd, especially since the judge did not seem to have any reasons for his judgement.
"The Constitution itself does not ban any speech; it just says that certain speech is not protected by the Freedom of Expression provision in the Bill of Rights. So this does not seem, to me, to say that a specific phrase is unconstitutional," he said.
The song has caused controversy in recent weeks. ANC Youth League President Julius Malema has sung the song on several occasions recently.
AfriForum marches on
Lawyers for civil rights group AfriForum and trade union TAU-SA will on Thursday apply for an urgent interim interdict to stop ANC youth league president Julius Malema from singing "shoot the boer".
This, pending the Equality Court's final adjudication of the complaint AfriForum laid on 12 March, according to a notice of motion filed with the High Court in Pretoria on Monday.
In an affidavit forming part of the court documents, AfriForum's deputy chief executive officer Alana Bailey said Malema had, on at least four occasions publicly sung, chanted or recited the words:
"Awudubele (i)bhulu" (shoot the Boer/farmer);
"Dubula amaBhuntu baya raypha" (shoot the Boers/farmers. They are rapists/robbers); and
"They are scared, the cowards. You should shoot the Boer/farmer. They rob, these dogs."
"The word 'boer', in this context, is a derogatory word referring to farmers, whites and to Afrikaners in particular," Bailey submitted.
She said it appeared there was more than just one "struggle song" containing similar words.
"The respondent [Malema] may be taking his cue from a prior president of the ANCYL, Mr Peter Mokaba, who commenced meetings with an infamous chant which contained the words: 'Kill the Boer, kill the farmer'," Bailey said in her affidavit.
"These words were declared to constitute hate speech by the South African Human Rights Commission in 2003..."
Bailey submitted that 'the use of the word "shoot" in the song was synonymous with the word "kill".
'Incite racial disharmony'
"It is my respectful belief that the use of the words by the respondent is calculated to incite racial disharmony and constitutes a call to assassinate white South Africans.
"I also have no doubt that who the respondent intended to refer to and did in fact refer to, are white South Africans.
Bailey further submitted the words constituted "a dangerous incitement to violence" against white South Africans.
"The words must be understood, as I am sure they were by the public, to be an instruction that white South Africans should be shot."
Last week, AfriForum threatened to seek the interdict unless Malema apologised in writing by Friday. It later extended the deadline to Sunday.
The High Court in Johannesburg ruled on Friday that use of the words "dubula ibhunu" (shoot the boer) was unconstitutional and unlawful.
The FF Plus and the Afrikanerbond complaining to the Equality Court and the SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) on Tuesday.
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