Retired Journalist and Wife slain at their home in KwaZulu Natal

The bodies of a former Daily Dispatch journalist and his wife were discovered in their home in Pinetown on Friday afternoon, KwaZulu-Natal police said.

They were identified as journalists Graham Lizamore, 62, and his wife Kate, in her fifties, who had both formerly worked for the Daily Dispatch and who have recently moved to KwaZulu-Natal.

A police spokesman stated that “The couple were found partially decomposed. The woman’s head was covered in a plastic bag and the man’s ankles and wrist were tied,”

The bodies were discovered by a relative, who visited the house, found the door open and the couple dead inside..

Police confirmed there were no signs of the couple having been robbed and that the motive was unknown.

New source

Why Africa Has Gone To Hell

by James Jackson

White Zimbabweans used to tell a joke—what is the difference between a tourist and a racist? The answer—about a week.

Few seem to joke any more. Indeed, the last time anyone laughed out there was over the memorable headline “BANANA CHARGED WITH SODOMY” (relating to the Reverend Canaan Banana and his alleged proclivities). Zimbabwe was just the latest African state to squander its potential, to swap civil society for civil strife and pile high its corpses. Then the wrecking virus moves on and a fresh spasm of violence erupts elsewhere. Congo, Ivory Coast, Sudan, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, even Kenya. Take your pick, for it is the essence of Africa, the recurring A-Z of horror. And as surely as Nelson Mandela took those steps from captivity to freedom, his own country will doubtless shuffle into chaos and ruin.

Mark my words. One day it will be the turn of South Africa to revert to type, its farms that lie wasted and its towns that are battle zones, its dreams and expectations that lie rotting on the veldt. That is the way of things. Africa rarely surprises, it simply continues to appall.

When interviewed on BBC Radio, the legendary South African jazz musician Hugh Masekela spoke of the 350-year struggle for freedom by blacks in South Africa. The man might play his trumpet like a dream, but he talks arrant nonsense. What he has bought into is a false narrative that rewrites history and plays upon post-colonial liberal angst. The construct is as follows: white, inglorious and bad; black, noble and good; empire, bad; independence, good; the west, bad; the African, good. Forgotten in all this is that while Europeans were settling and spreading from the Cape, the psychopathic Shaka Zulu was employing his impi to crush everyone—including the Xhosa—in his path, and the Xhosa were themselves busy slaughtering Bushmen and Hottentots. Yet it is the whites who take the rap, for it was they who won the skirmishes along the Fish and Blood Rivers and who eventually gained the prize.

What suffers is the truth, and—of course—Africa. We are so cowed by the moist-eyed mantras of the left and the oath-laden platitudes of Bono and Geldof, we are forced to accept collective responsibility for the bloody mess that is now Africa. It paralyses us while excusing the black continent and its rulers.

Whenever I hear people agitate for the freezing of Third World debt, I want to shout aloud for the freezing of those myriad overseas bank accounts held by black African leaders (President Mobutu of Zaire alone is believed to have squirreled away well over $10 billion). Whenever apartheid is held up as a blueprint for evil, I want to mention Bokassa snacking on human remains, Amin clogging a hydro-electric dam with floating corpses, the President of Equatorial Guinea crucifying victims along the roadway from his airport. Whenever slavery is dredged up, I want to remind everyone the Arabs were there before us, the native Ashanti and others were no slouches at the game, and it remains extant in places like the Ivory Coast. Whenever I hear the Aids pandemic somehow blamed on western indifference, I want to point to the African native practice of dry sex, the hobby-like prevalence of rape and the clumps of despotic black leaders who deny a link between the disease and HIV and who block the provision of antiretrovirals. And whenever Africans bleat of imperialism and colonialism, I want to campaign for the demolition of every road, college, and hospital we ever built to let them start again. It is time they governed themselves. Yet few play the victim card quite so expertly as black Africans; few are quite so gullible as the white liberal-left.

“On the eve of this millennium, Nelson Mandela and friends lit candles mapping the shape of their continent and declared the Twenty-first Century would belong to Africa. A pity that for every one Mandela there are over a hundred Robert Mugabes.”

So Britain had an empire and Britain did slavery. Boo hoo. Deal with it. Move on. Slavery ended here over two hundred years ago. More recently, there were tens of millions of innocents enslaved or killed in Europe by the twin industrialised evils of Nazism and Stalinism. My own first cousins—twin brothers aged sixteen—died down a Soviet salt mine. I need no lecture on eggplants and neck-irons. Most of us are descendents of both oppressors and oppressed; most of us get over it. Mind you, I am tempted by thoughts of compensation from Scandinavia for the wickedness of its Viking raids and its slaving-hub on the Liffe. As for the 1066 invasion of England by William the Bastard…

The white man’s burden is guilt over Africa (the black man’s is sentimentality), and we are blind for it. We have tipped hundreds of billions of aid-dollars into Africa without first ensuring proper governance. We encourage NGOs and food-parcels and have built a culture of dependency. We shy away from making criticism, tiptoe around the crassness of the African Union and flinch at every anti-western jibe. The result is a free-for-all for every syphilitic black despot and his coterie of family functionaries.

Africa casts a long and toxic shadow across our consciousness. It is patronised and allowed to underperform, so too its distant black diaspora. A black London pupil is excluded from his school, not because he is lazy, stupid or disruptive, but because that school is apparently racist; a black youth is pulled over by the police, not because black males commit over eighty percent of street crime, but because the authorities are somehow corrupted by prejudice. Thus the tale continues. Excuse is everywhere and a sense of responsibility nowhere. You will rarely find either a black national leader in Africa or a black community leader in the west prepared to put up his hands and say It is our problem, our fault. Those who look to Africa for their roots, role-models and inspiration are worshipping false gods. And like all false gods, the feet are of clay, the snouts long and designed for the trough, and the torture-cells generally well-equipped.

I once met the son of a Liberian government minister and asked if he had seen video-footage of his former president Samuel Doe being tortured to death. ‘Of course’, he replied with a smile. ‘Everyone has’. They cut off the ears of Doe and force-fed them to him. His successor, the warlord Charles Taylor, was elected in a landslide result using the campaign slogan He killed my ma, he killed my pa, but I will vote for him. Nice people. Liberia was founded and colonised by black Americans to demonstrate what slave stock could achieve. They certainly showed us. Forgive my heretical belief that had a black instead of a white tribe earlier come to dominate South Africa, its opponents would not have been banished to Robben island. They would have been butchered and buried there.

When asked about the problem of Africa, Harold Macmillan suggested building a high wall around the continent and every century or so removing a brick to check on progress. I suspect that over entire millennia, the view would prove bleak and unvarying.

On the eve of this millennium, Nelson Mandela and friends lit candles mapping the shape of their continent and declared the Twenty-first Century would belong to Africa. Whatever. Meantime, the vast natural resources have been frittered and agricultural production since independence has halved. A pity that for every one Mandela there are over a hundred Robert Mugabes.

Visiting a state in west Africa a few years ago, I wandered onto a beach and marvelled at the golden sands and at the sunlight catching on the Atlantic surf. It allowed me to forget for a moment the local news that day of soldiers seizing a schoolboy and pitching him head-first into an operating cement-machine. Almost forget. Then I spotted a group of villagers beating a stray dog to death for their sport. A metaphor of sorts for all that is wrong, another link in a word-association chain that goes something like Famine… Drought… Overpopulation… Deforestation… Conflict… Barbarism… Cruelty… Machetes… Child Soldiers… Massacres… Diamonds… Warlords…Tyranny… Corruption… Despair… Disease… Aids… Africa.

Africa remains the heart of darkness. Africa is hell.

Source
____
Hat Tip: JP

News from SA

Mystery surrounds UK couple found murdered The family of an elderly couple, who were found bludgeoned to death near their home, are to fly in from the US to identify their bodies. Full Story...

Cop fired for allegedly raping sister A Free State constable under investigation for allegedly raping his sister has been fired, the Independent Complaints Directorate said. Full Story...

Rapist gets two life sentences A 33-year-old man who strangled and raped his neighbour's 12-year-old daughter was given two life sentences by the Pietermaritzburg High Court. Full Story... More arrests for Kagiso robbery Two more people have been arrested for a robbery that took place at a supermarket in Kagiso, west of Johannesburg on Saturday, bringing the total to four, Gauteng police said. Full Story... Three in court for F State mayor's murder Three people appeared in the Wepener Magistrate's Court on Monday in connection with the murder of Naledi municipal mayor Motlatsi Motloi. Full Story... St George's Mall shootout accused gets bail One of the men arrested in connection with an armed robbery in St George's Mall and the subsequent shootout in the city centre has been released on bail of R2 000. Full Story... Somali teen murdered at shop A Somali teenager has been killed outside a shop on Sweet Home Farm near Nyanga. Full Story... Mountain mugging alert A safety action group has declared parts of Table Mountain "no-go zones" after muggers, brandishing broken bottles and knives, attacked hikers and residents in at least 10 incidents since May. Full Story... Hijacker shot after bullets barely miss girl An off-duty police officer has killed a suspected hijacker after bullets whizzed past his sleeping daughter near Overport. Full Story... Man in dock for wife's death: Family in shock The husband of murdered Franschhoek resident Chanel du Toit has appeared in court in connection with her death. Full Story...

Cops moved by granny's rape 2010-07-19 14:26:11
Durban police officers, shaken by the rape of a 92-year-old woman, have tried to bring her some comfort on Mandela Day, which happened to be her birthday. Full Story...

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IFP members challenge dismissals in court 2010-07-19 13:46:24
Three expelled IFP members have lodged court papers in the Pietermaritzburg High Court challenging their dismissals and the legality of the current party leadership. Full Story...

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I am afraid of my own anger: distraught dad 2010-07-19 13:15:09
A KwaZulu-Natal father fears for his two-year-old son's safety after the boy's penis was cut in eZimangeni in eNanda. Full Story...

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Granny raped days before 92nd birthday 2010-07-19 12:57:28
Experienced Durban policemen, shaken by the rape of a 92-year-old woman, clubbed together to bring her some comfort on her birthday which she shares with Nelson Mandela. Full Story...

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Cop killed in road rage incident 2010-07-19 11:33:23
An off-duty policeman was shot through the windscreen of his car after confronting three men in Cape Town. Full Story...

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Shooting victim was reformed gangster: gran 2010-07-19 13:50:39
Hours after receiving a chilling SMS warning him to watch his back, a Cape Flats dad has been gunned down. Full Story...

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Durban man shot in hijacking 2010-07-19 09:30:26
A 53-year-old man has been shot and wounded after his car was hijacked outside his house in Pinetown, Durban, according to paramedics. Full Story...

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Toddler found with tongue, penis cut off 2010-07-19 09:20:40
A two-year-old KwaZulu-Natal boy is in a critical condition after his tongue and penis were cut off, according to police. Full Story... Ice cream shop owner found dead in fridge
A 34-year-old man was found dead inside a fridge and his parents were injured at their ice cream shop in Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape police said. Full Story...

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Ponzi scheme accused stops auction
A man accused of fleecing people of millions in a Ponzi scheme has managed to halt the sale by public auction of two expensive cars he allegedly bought with investors' money. Full Story...

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Man plunges to death in freak lift accident
Leigh Kenton Roomes had tried to help his friends when they got stuck in a lift at an apartment block in Cape Town. Full Story...

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Killer dad slays entire family
Five people, including three children, burnt to death after their father torched their home after an argument with his wife. Full Story...

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ATM bomber's freak shot kills cop
A bullet from a shot hastily fired by an ATM bomber climbing over a fence hit a police constable under the armpit killing him. Full Story...

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House declared unsafe after fire
Johannesburg police are investigating the cause of a fire that claimed the lives of two children in Norwood. Full Story...

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Policeman gunned down in Gugulethu
Western Cape police are investigating the fatal shooting of an off-duty officer in Gugulethu this weekend. Full Story...

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Safmarine officer suspended
A senior Safmarine officer has been suspended amid allegations that he raped a trainee on the Kariba vessel. Full Story...

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Police probe death of cadet sailor 2010-07-18 17:47:52
Police are investigating the death of a young South African woman whose body was found drifting in the sea off the Croatian coast last month. Full Story...

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Ethiopians found dead in shop - police 2010-07-18 16:32:34
Two Ethiopians were found dead in their spaza shop in Walmer, near Port Elizabeth, according to police. Full Story...

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Man found dead inside fridge 2010-07-18 16:28:10
A 34-year-old man was found dead inside a fridge and his parents were injured at their ice cream shop in Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape. Full Story...

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Guard dies in hospital after robbery 2010-07-18 15:11:38
A security guard shot during a robbery at a supermarket in Kagiso has died. Full Story...

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Teen shot dead in Soweto shebeen fight 2010-07-18 13:10:08
An 18-year-old youth was gunned down by a group of men in a tussle at a shebeen in Dobsonville, Johannesburg police said. Full Story...

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Guard shot dead in Somerset West 2010-07-18 12:35:30
A security guard was shot dead in what is believed to have been a robbery-related incident in Somerset West, Western Cape paramedics said. Full Story...

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'Drop bribe charges and pay me R1m' 2010-07-18 11:42:46
A suspended prisons manager wants a pay-out of more than R1 million for 460 leave days - and his full pension in exchange for being let off the hook for serious corruption charges. Full Story...

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Cape nudist beach a crime hotspot 2010-07-18 11:33:58
People have been urged to avoid Sandy Bay, Cape Town's famous nudist beach, after two men were robbed by armed and "aggressive" thieves. Full Story...

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Gunman follows victim to hospital 2010-07-18 07:31:53
A relentless gunman shot a young man in the leg before following him to a nearby hospital, where he shot at security guards and then became involved in a gunbattle with patrolling police. Full Story...

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Metro Cop run over at roadblock 2010-07-17 22:03:05
A Johannesburg metro police officer was injured when he was ran over by a motorist who refused to stop at a road block in Soweto. Full Story...

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Suspected robber fires on cops 2010-07-17 17:17:50
A man allegedly fired shots at police officers outside a hospital in Atlantis after being spotted by a person claiming to have been robbed by him. Full Story...

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Suspectd robber killed during in Kagiso 2010-07-17 16:57:27
A suspected robber was shot dead during an armed robbery at a supermarket in Kagiso, west of Johannesburg. Full Story...

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Cop shot dead in Soweto 2010-07-17 12:12:50
A 32-year-old police constable was shot dead by a gang of ATM bombers at Braamfischerville in Soweto, Gauteng police have said. Full Story...

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Gum choke woman 'can't run own life' 2010-07-17 09:30:27
A SA Revenue Service employee who suffered brain damage earlier this year after she choked on chewing gum, is said to be unable to handle her own financial affairs. Full Story...

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Women jump off moving train to escape robbers 2010-07-17 09:20:08
Somerset West police say that four women jumped off a moving train to escape two robbers who threatened them with a beer bottle. Full Story...

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'We Zulus are going to beat you up' 2010-07-17 09:35:09
Moses ka Moyo has lived in Hillbrow for the past 11 years. Along with at least 400 other immigrants living in a block of flats, he was one of the recipients of a door-to-door leaflet blitz. The message was stark. Full Story...

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Trafficking of people, the Cup crisis that never was 2010-07-17 09:23:01
Forty thousand: that is how many cases of human trafficking were predicted to occur during the World Cup. Kasiefa Ajam finds out the actual number of reported cases. Full Story...

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Is it really xenophobia? 2010-07-16 16:32:56
Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa has cautioned the media over its reporting on the issue of the "so-called" xenophobia. Full Story...

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Taxi driver charged after toddler killed 2010-07-16 14:16:50
After being rescued from an angry mob, the taxi driver accused of killing a four-year-old girl in an accident on John Dory Road in Durban will soon have to face the law. Full Story...

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Bottle store murderers hear their fate 2010-07-16 15:21:11
Three men who cut short the promising life of 19-year-old Jonny Canos in a brazen robbery in June 2006, have received a heavy sentence for the crime. Full Story...

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ATM bombed in supermarket, witnesses shaken 2010-07-16 11:45:06
A group of armed men held up staff and blasted open an ATM at a supermarket in Nuffield, Springs. Full Story...

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Distraught mom: My child died a tik hostage 2010-07-16 11:15:13
A Cape Flats girl beaten to death had over 30 bruises on her battered body when she died. And cops say the man accused of her murder used her as a pawn for drugs. Full Story...

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'I feel like Semenya' 2010-07-16 11:39:23
A Cape Town woman says she was told to take the "Caster test" after Home Affairs mistakenly classified her as a man. Full Story...

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Initiate's death: Members, staff tight-lipped 2010-07-16 10:26:21
A 21-year-old man has been killed at an illegal initiation school in Joburg, allegedly after being beaten with sticks. Full Story...

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Cele pledges high-profile strategy 2010-07-16 08:22:50
National police commissioner General Bheki Cele has promised to maintain the high police visibility employed during the World Cup, although "for obvious reasons" there could not be the same number of officers as there had been during the event. Full Story...

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'Bizarre acts of love' 2010-07-16 06:30:04
A young mother strangled her two children with a cellphone charger cord "out of love for them", a leading psychologist has testified. Full Story...

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Durban sailors robbed at sea 2010-07-16 07:27:04
Two sailors anchored off Barra Lodge, near Inhambane in Mozambique, woke up to find a man with a knife about to cut their fuel line. Full Story...

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Wary foreigners scared to sleep at home 2010-07-16 08:31:45
Some Somali shopkeepers have returned to informal settlements across the Western Cape to repair their looted shops, but are still too scared to sleep in their homes as they fear being attacked overnight. Full Story...

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Man arrested over Winelands murder 2010-07-16 07:44:16
A 26-year-old man was arrested in Franschhoek on a charge of murder in connection with the death of Chanel du Toit, who was found strangled on the Dieu Donne wine estate. Full Story...

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God saved me - carnage survivor 2010-07-16 06:42:09
"All I remember is seeing the car flying through the air, praying I would survive, and then the explosion." This is the sole recollection that survivor Jacob Sekgothe has of the crash after a high-speed car chase between police and suspected robbers. Full Story...

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Paralysed soapie star wins damages case 2010-07-16 07:34:47
Soapie star Erik Holm, who is claiming millions in damages from a company which owned the waterfront shopping centre where he dived into a lake and became paralysed, will receive half of the damages he can prove he suffered. Full Story...

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Cops to 'stamp out xenophobia myths' 2010-07-16 07:30:58
Police have vowed to "smoke" anyone committing crime or spreading rumours of violence. Full Story...

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'Please bring my five-year-old son back' 2010-07-16 07:25:05
For two nights, Lethiwe Ncube has been unable to sleep or eat since her five-year-old son went missing from a house in Yeoville, Joburg. Full Story...

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Deadly beating at 'illegal' initiation school 2010-07-16 07:16:21
Three suspects have been arrested after the 21-year-old's murder, according to police. Full Story...

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Zuma calls for unity 2010-07-15 22:48:54
President Jacob Zuma has appealed for calm amid reports that African migrants are fleeing the country in fear of fresh xenophobic violence. Full Story...

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Trio accused of human trafficking 2010-07-16 00:21:17
Two girls were rescued after the Hawks and the Free State Tactical Response Team raided clubs presenting strip shows. Full Story...

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Woman stabbed and burned after divorce shock 2010-07-15 22:59:43
A Brakpan man stands accused of stabbing his wife, dousing her with petrol and setting her alight after receiving divorce papers. Full Story...

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WC party gives way to migrant fears 2010-07-15 20:21:02
President Jacob Zuma has called for "calm and unity" after reports African migrants are fleeing South Africa for fear of fresh xenophobic violence. Full Story...

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Journo attack 'influenced by xenophobia' 2010-07-15 18:59:58
The Daily Sun says that it -s standing by a report it published which described a xenophobic assault on one of its journalists. Full Story...

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_________________
From Dina

A Familiar Descent

Even in South Africa the denialists will not see all the benchmarks of Zimbabweanism, as each is reached and then passed.

Recent News stories

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Malema's R136,000 monthly dividend

Politicsweb.co.za

19 July 2010

And nine other key articles from the weekend press (July 16 - 18 2010)

10. The Sunday Times report on how Mbhazima Shilowa is struggling to hold his faction together within COPE:

The newspaper reports that "Shilowa's chief lobbyist, Andile Nkuhlu, has resigned and the party's general secretary Charlotte Lobe - who is one of Shilowa's most vocal allies - also wants to throw in the towel. ... Lobe - a key ally in the battle with Lekota - had to be persuaded to stay after she drafted a letter of resignation and threatened to hand it in to the party. Those close to her said she has taken strain as a result of the infighting and was no longer interested in managing the party's day- to-day affairs. Shilowa supporters fear, however, that if Lobe resigns she will have to be replaced by her deputy, Deidre Carter, who is closely aligned to Lekota. ‘We can't allow (Lobe) to leave. We will lose the office (of general-secretary) and we can't have that happening before the elective congress in September,' said an insider who is also a close Shilowa confidante."

9. De Wet Potgieter's feature in the Sunday Independent [NL] on the battle to clamp down on the production of "tik" by restricting the supply of ephedrine:

Potgieter writes that ephedrine, from which tik is manufactured, was upgraded to a Schedule 6 drug earlier this year which meant (inter alia) pharmacies are no longer able to buy or stock the drug in its raw form. "With tightening border controls making it increasingly difficult to smuggle the chemicals into the country, criminals have focused on hijacking stocks legally brought into the country and on armed robberies at storage facilities."

8. The Saturday Star front page report on how Minister of Higher Education, Blade Nzimande, had stayed at the Mount Nelson in Cape Town for 15 days last year:

The newspaper said that Nzimande's spokeswoman, Ranjeni Munusamy, "confirmed that the communist leader stayed at the Mount Nelson Hotel for 15 days, between June and October last year. ‘While Parliament was in session, Minister Nzimande had to stay at various hotels in Cape Town, depending on the availability of rooms and compliance with reduced government rates. (Nzimande) stayed at the Mount Nelson a total of 15 days at a total cost of R40 675,' she said." The Saturday Star added that "some in the ANC's national executive committee (NEC) questioned why the spotlight was being consistently placed on [Communications Minister Siphiwe] Nyanda and not on Nzimande. The matter reached the stage where a senior ANC official raised the matter about Nzimande and the unashamedly colonial Mount Nelson at the last NEC meeting."

7. The extract from Jay Naidoo's memoir - Fighting for Justice - published in the Sunday Independent [NL]:

Naidoo observes that the ANC's ascent to power in 1994 led to a change in political culture. "We had our hands on the levers of power, money in a budget, staff, resources and the conviction that this government by virtue of its democratic election was the only legitimate representative of the aspirations of our people. In the process of tackling so many challenges, we robbed the country of an enormous contribution that all other sections of society could make. The government would give people jobs, houses, social security, schools and clinics and knew what was right for the citizenry. People who had participated in the fight for change now became passive bystanders. At the same time, any criticism of the government was a criticism of the revolution. There were also those who felt that as exiles their contributions to the struggle had amounted to more than the efforts of those who were inside the country. In fact, one person openly said to me: ‘Guys like you and Cyril Ramaphosa have not been brought up in the ANC tradition. You have only recently joined the movement. You have not been schooled in the revolutionary theory of our liberation struggle'."

6. The Sunday Times interview with Atul Gupta, head of SAHARA computers and aspiring press baron:

Anton Fereira notes that the Gupta brothers "who immigrated to South Africa in 1993, are partnering with Mbeki confidante Essop Pahad - whose magazine, The Thinker, they fund - in launching their paper, which will be edited by former Business Day journalist Vuyo Mvoko. Gupta dismissed suggestions that the paper would be pro-ANC, but said: ‘We will be broadly supportive of the ruling government. What is wrong with that?' Gupta said he planned to shape editorial policy at the paper and would keep a hand on the tiller while it established itself."

5. The Mail & Guardian report on how Mamodupi Mohlala's 10-month tenure as director general of communications has seen a staff exodus from the department:

Jackie Mapiloko and Glynnis Underhill write that five senior managers "have resigned, citing her autocratic leadership in their exit interviews. Mohlala has suspended another six for alleged misconduct and corruption.In the same period the department has spent R1,3-million in legal costs and settlement agreements involving the chief director of human resources, Basani Baloyi, and the chief financial officer, Harry Mathabathe." A source at the department told the newspaper "She manages by fear and no one can take it any more. People feel it's better to be without a job than work for her."

4. The Mail & Guardian report on how communications minister, Siphiwe Nyanda, his deputy Dina Pule, and Director General Mohlala have all lived it up in Cape Town at taxpayers' expense:

Glynnis Underhill and Jackie Mapiloko report that "Invoices leaked to the M&G show the three government officials flew business class, stayed in five-star accommodation and charged hotel meals, room service, telephone, laundry and valet bills to the communications department. While dining alone during his stay at the five-star Mount Nelson hotel in September last year, Nyanda did not stint on life's finer pleasures, invoices reveal. The minister's meal on September 8 last year at the hotel's acclaimed Cape Colony Restaurant started with oysters, followed by a main course of springbok loin and was washed down with a bottle of mineral water and two glasses of Bordeaux-style red Meerlust Rubicon. The wine cost R330 and the meal for one took the bill to R700, tip included."

3. The Sunday Times report that the ANC Youth League had successfully managed to get nationalisation of the mines onto the agenda of the ANC's National General Council later this year:

According to Moipane Malefane and Mzilikazi wa ka Afrika ANCYL spokesperson Floyd Shivambu said the League was "not worried whether nationalisation should happen or not; the question is how we are going to manage it". He also suggested the ANCYL might encourage the ANC to replicate Zimbabwe's land reform programme, saying "many people are misreading what happened in Zimbabwe. There was nothing fundamentally wrong with their land reform programme. In South Africa we can do it without creating perceptions that we are abusing human rights. People who don't agree with the youth league are trying to divert attention and protect their interests. We can't be held to ransom by the interests of minorities. The best way to celebrate Nelson Mandela is to become more decisive in the struggle for economic freedom in our life-time."

2. The Mail & Guardian report on the latest extension of the Zuma family's business empire:

Stefaans Brümmer and Sam Sole report that "President Jacob Zuma met the boss of a South Korean shipping multinational before the Korean signed a major deal with Zuma's nephew on Monday... A spokesperson for Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering confirmed on Thursday that his company's chief executive, Nam Sang-Tae, met President Zuma in Pretoria shortly before Nam signed the shipping deal with Khulubuse Zuma's Impinda Group." The newspaper notes that Khulubuse "has made rapid strides in business since his uncle took power." Most recently, "Democratic Republic of Congo President Joseph Kabila awarded Khulubuse Zuma two heavily contested oil exploration blocks on Lake Albert last month. The contracts are controversial because Khulubuse has no background in the oil business and the exploration rights were taken from Irish multinational Tullow Oil and South Africa's Sacoil, which were originally granted them... Asked whether President Zuma had introduced his nephew's company to them, [the Daewoo spokesperson] initially said: ‘Yes, that's right,' but later said he was not sure."

1. The City Press article on how a Julius Malema company - Blue Nightingale Trading 61 - was cut in on a lucrative contract for the removal and treatment of medical waste from Limpopo's ­hospitals and clinics.

Mariechen Waldner and Piet Rampedi report that Malema is a business partner of Dr Christos -Eleftheriades of Thermopower Technologies, a company facing a series of charges for environmental violations. Eleftheriades's Medicare Process Technologies and Malema's company are partners in Tshumisano Waste Management, a consortium which won the Limpopo contract. "Blue Nightingale, of which Malema is the sole director, owns a 3% stake in Tshumisano....Eleftheriades said that the Tshumisano consortium paid Blue Nightingale a monthly dividend of R136 000." When contacted by the newspaper the ANCYL president denied everything.

______

Hat Tip JP

African Justice

June 04 2010 at 09:35AM
A 20-year-old man was beaten to death by community members in Ngoma
News - Crime & Courts: Alleged thief beaten to death (http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=15&art_id=nw20100604090624148C194347)

June 10 2010
Angry mob kills suspected robber in Sun City village near KwaMhlanga
News - Crime & Courts: Angry mob kills suspected robber (http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=15&art_id=nw20100610124421952C409480)

June 22 2010
Thando Kitshini, 29, from Khayelitsha, was beaten to a pulp then thrown over a concrete slab
News - South Africa: Suspected thief beaten to death (http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?from=rss_South%20Africa&set_id=1&click_id=13&art_id=iol127719543621D124)

June 24 2010
Body found with chop wounds, 22 arrested
News - South Africa: Body found with chop wounds, 22 arrested (http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?art_id=nw20100624124327714C848334)

June 28 2010
A man suspected of being a criminal was stoned to death in Nongoma
News - Crime & Courts: Vigilantism rears its ugly head (http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=15&art_id=nw20100628122658879C684919)

June 29 2010
Mob Torches Suspected Thief in Nyanga
News - Crime & Courts: Mob torches suspected thief (http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=15&art_id=vn20100629125422888C535102)

June 29 2010
Twenty-five people have been arrested after Phoenix violence
News - Crime & Courts: Arrests made after Phoenix violence (http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=15&art_id=nw20100629222237727C524018)

June 30 2010
Mob kill man for attempted attack on family
News - Crime & Courts: Mob kill man for attempted attack on family (http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=15&art_id=nw20100630140301770C789614)

A very strange conspiracy

By Helen Zille, Premier of the Western Cape and head of South Africa's
opposition Democratic Alliance

Note: An ongoing news story in South Africa involves the scandalous allegation that residents a housing development in Makhaza, Khayelitsha. in the Western Cape, which is under the control of the opposition Democratic Alliance were forced to use open toilets, however, as in so many things where politics are involved the situation may not be quite as it appears

The DA leader on the emerging truth about the Khayelitsha toilets saga

Another step closer to the truth behind the toilets saga

One of the ground rules of political communication is captured in the aphorism: When you're explaining, you're losing.

But like all rules, there are exceptions. When things are not what they seem, I believe it is important to explain why. During the Erasmus Commission for example, people advised me to stop talking about the matter because I was merely playing into the hands of those trying to smear me.

I didn't listen and instead used every platform to get the truth across. That we were vindicated of any wrongdoing, coupled with the High Court's finding that former Premier Rasool had violated the Constitution in setting up the illegal Commission, justified my breaking this rule.

I have decided to break it again by explaining another poorly-understood issue: the "open toilets" saga.

Let me be clear at the outset: nothing justifies an open toilet. It is an affront to human dignity. But that is precisely why this saga, as it has been told and re-told over the past six months, makes so little sense. There are too many contradictions and unanswered questions. And too few facts.

The media have reported, again and again, that 55 families in Makhaza were forced to relieve themselves in full public view for over two years. This has been repeated so often, in various ways, that I believed it was true. I apologized in Parliament. And I asked myself: how was it possible for this to happen under a DA administration, and on my watch as Mayor?

But the more I thought about it, the less the story hung together:

If this project started in 2007, why did I only hear about it in January 2010? Why did no-one protest sooner?

Why did none of the numerous DA public representatives in Khayelitsha, ever raise the alarm?

Why had the vigorous local Khayelitsha media never reported on so newsworthy a matter?

During that period, I had participated in numerous talk shows on the local Khayelitsha radio station. Why had no listener ever called in to complain?

Even more mystifying was why the ANC didn't use the "open toilets" against me in the run-up to the 2009 election?

And most puzzling of all: why did Andile Lili, the project's paid facilitator since 2008 (as well as a local ANC Youth League leader), only start to protest against the project when it was 96% complete? Indeed, given that he was the project facilitator, why was he protesting at all?

The answer is simply this: there were, in fact, no open toilets in 2007 or 2008 or indeed until the end of 2009. The 55 toilets that remained open were those installed in the very final stage of the upgrading project -- in November 2009 -- when 96% of the 1,316 toilets provided for each family had already been enclosed. For some reason, the last 55 were not.

Following a newspaper photograph of an open toilet in January 2010, Mayor Dan Plato immediately ordered them to be covered, despite the objections of the 1,261 families who had enclosed their own toilets. But on January 25th, when the City arrived to enclose the toilets, they were prevented from doing so by a small group of people claiming to represent "the community". Two subsequent attempts by the City to erect enclosures, were thwarted when the ANCYL tore them down, despite almost all the individual families requesting, in writing, that the City enclose their toilets.

During the time that the 55 toilets remained open, no person was "forced" to use them. The community is well serviced with an alternative option - one enclosed toilet for every five households which is the national norm for incremental upgrading projects. Given that 96% of the families in the project now have their own toilets, the communal toilets are free most of the time.

In other words, the repeated allegation that - "for two years, 55 families in Makhaza were forced to relieve themselves in full public view" - is entirely without foundation. .

Furthermore, as soon as the City learnt about the open toilets, they attempted to enclose them. But the ANCYL wanted them open, because it suited their agenda. The 55 open toilets happened to be located in the precise area where the ANCYL's leading "thugocrats", Andile Lili and Loyiso Nkohla, conduct their reign of terror. Given the contradiction between the community's wishes and the ANCYL's actions, there is only one conclusion: the open toilets were a direct result of the ANCYL's intimidation in order to drive their political agenda.

I experienced this first-hand when I visited the area to speak to members of the community. I was informed that the last person to openly express opposition to the ANCYL, had to live with the consequences. Despite their palpable fear, the first two families I spoke to said they wanted the City to enclose their toilets. But then a menacing individual arrived, refused to give his name, and said people could only speak to the community through the "committee". It was an instructive, if devastating, glimpse into life in a closed, fear-driven community, run by the "thugocrats" of the ANC Youth League.

Many people understand the political motives of the ANCYL, but argue that we should just put this to rest by providing the concrete-enclosed toilets?

This sounds fair and reasonable. So why can't we erect concrete enclosures for the 55 families? And why did the 1,261 families who enclosed their own toilets, not demand concrete enclosures as well?

I put this to the officials working on the project. And I found the answer instructive.

The upgrading of informal settlements has two phases. The first involves the provision of infrastructure services: roads, stormwater, water, sewage etc. The second is the erection of a top structure (the house). It is essential to ensure that the two phases are aligned. If concrete toilet enclosures are provided on each erf during phase one, they must be removed in phase two in order to incorporate the toilet into the house. This means an additional cost of R4,000 per erf. This amount has to be deducted from the R75,000 subsidy for each family's top structure. This means, in practical terms, that a concrete enclosure in phase one, will result in a house in phase two that is two square meters smaller than it would otherwise have been. If you enclose your own toilet in phase one, it can be incorporated into your house in phase two, and you will reap the benefit of a bigger house. This is why families choose to enclose their own toilets in phase one. It is an empowering and logical choice. That is, until the ANC Youth League decides otherwise.

The saddest aspect of this saga is the pitiful report of the Human Rights Commission, which is full of the factual inaccuracies required to reach the conclusion that the Council violated the human rights of the residents of Makhaza. It is the clearest possible demonstration of what happens when the ANC deploys its parliamentary cadres into institutions that are supposed to be independent of the ruling party. They become extensions of its power abuse instead of limits on its power.

Three years ago when the City was locked in a make-or-break battle with the Province over the unconstitutional Erasmus Commission, Professor Pierre de Vos took me to task for saying: "some judges allow themselves to be used and, unfortunately, (Judge) Nathan Erasmus is one of them." Today, I repeat that in relation to the SA Human Rights Commission: Some Chapter Nine institutions allow themselves to be abused and, unfortunately, the SA Human Rights Commission is one of them.

Source

Hat Tip: JP

Farm attacks and other anti-white violence

Elderly Farmer Stabbed and Robbed

Bloemfontein - Two men have been arrested for attacking 83 year old Tobie Loubser his farm in Koppies Free State on Friday night.

According to police the attackers demanded R40 000 from him, which he did not have and then took R800 and a pistoll before they stabbed him in the face and arms and then drove off in his car.

Farm Family tied up and robbed

Stellenbosch police are searching for six knife-wielding men who tied up a farming couple and their two sons and locked them in a bathroom before fleeing with guns and valuables.

The family were watching television in their home on Cloud Nine Farm in Devonvale, outside Stellenbosch, when the six men, wearing gloves and with their faces covered, stormed in and demanded the key to the safe, said police spokeswoman Rene Matthee.

It is not clear whether the men knew that there was a safe or assumed there was one.

Using belts and ropes, the men tied the family members' hands, and locked them in a bathroom.

The gang ransacked the house, and took five firearms, cellphones, jewellery, two laptops, a Sony camera and six lenses. The items lost were worth about R850 000.

Wife found in Pool of Blood

Monica de Ville

Attackers first tried to smother the slightly-built wife of a DA councillor from Standerton with a towel, then they tried to strangle her with a hairdryer cord before stabbing her in the neck with scissors.

The blade almost hit Monica de Ville's main artery, said her husband, Advocate Rosier de Ville on Monday.

"If they had hit the artery, she would have died."

The attack happened shortly before 10:00 on Friday at the Coupe's home in Leyd Street, Johannesburg .

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From Dina