A man who took part in a KwaZulu-Natal Road Traffic Inspectorate (RTI) fitness test died in an ambulance, an inquiry heard.

Pietermaritzburg - A man who took part in a KwaZulu-Natal Road Traffic Inspectorate (RTI) fitness test died in an ambulance, an inquiry heard on Monday.

“When I turned on the electrocardiogram (ECG), it indicated that the patient (Lenny Nxumalo) had passed on,” said Vusimuzi Patrick Xaba, who works for the Emergency Medical Rescue Service as an intermediate life support said.

He was testifying in Pietermaritzburg before a commission of inquiry into the death of eight people after an RTI fitness test in the city in December last year.

The victims took part in a four-kilometre run at Harry Gwala Stadium. The event formed part of a fitness test for RTI job applicants.

More than 34 000 people qualified to apply for 90 advertised RTI trainee posts. Of these, 15 600 attended a fitness test on December 27, and a similar number on December 28.

Xaba said he did cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on Nxumalo but this was unsucessful. He then handed him over to his colleague, Lindokuhle Molefe.

Nxumalo was in a critical condition in an ambulance stationed at a medical tent outside the stadium.

“When I opened the door at the back, the patient had defecated himself,” he said.

Xaba told the inquiry he checked Nxumalo's vital signs and discovered immediate CPR was required.

He asked two of his collegues to conduct CPR while he prepared a drip, but he discovered that Nxumalo's veins had collapsed.

Xaba said he used an ECG to find Nxumalo's pulse and it showed that he had died.

“I told Molefe and crew that the patient 1/8Nxumalo 3/8 had passed on,” he said.

Xaba was criticised by the lawyer of the department of transport , Ravenda Padayachee, for not filling in a hand over report as stated by the EMRS manual.

There were no records of the treatment done by Xaba on Nxumalo.

“You may criticise me but as far as I am concerned I did my job well. It had passed my time to knock off work, but i went to fetch another patient far away and continued working,” Xaba said.

Earlier Molefe testified that he did not know if any treatment was done on Nxumalo because when he was handed to him he was not given his medical history.

Padayachee accused Xaba of not doing a diligent job because Molefe said he put on the ECG on Nxumalo to determine if he was still alive.

“Someone taking over a patient may use his own machine to confirm the correctness of the results,” Xaba said.

He said he did tell Molefe of the treatment he had conducted on Nxumalo before handing him over.

The inquiry continues.

Sapa

Twenty-three people were airlifted to safety from a ship that ran aground on a sand bank off the harbour entrance to Richards Bay.

Durban - Twenty-three people were airlifted to safety on Monday from a ship that ran aground on a sand bank off the harbour entrance to Richards Bay.

National Sea Rescue Institute spokesman Craig Lambinon said this happened as the vessel tried to exit the harbour in 10-metre swells.

Three tugs were attempting to pull the 230-metre long coal cargo ship, the Smart, off the sand bank.

Lambinon said that shortly after 4pm the order was given by the captain to abandon ship as “the structural integrity of the ship was compromised”.

A NSRI vessel was launched and four sorties were flown by the Transnet Ports of Authority helicopter to lift all the ships crew and a Transnet pilot from the vessel.

Netcare 911 spokesman Chris Botha said that none of the crew sustained serious injury. It was mostly “bumps and bruises”.

Lambinon said the SA Maritime Safety Authority was en route to investigate and begin evaluations to save the ship.

Transnet ports spokeswoman Lunga Ngcobo said she could not immediately comment on the incident and that she was on her way to Richards Bay.

Sapa

A would-be hijacker was shot dead by the driver of the vehicle he was attempting to hijack in Pinetown, KwaZulu-Natal.

Durban - A would-be hijacker was shot dead on Monday by the driver of the vehicle he was attempting to hijack in Pinetown, KwaZulu-Natal police said.

Captain Thulani Zwane confirmed the shooting.

He said four men attempted to hijack the car in Alberts Road. The driver, a man believed to be in his 50s who was wounded in his stomach, returned fire, fatally wounding one of the four men. He was driving with his wife when they were attacked.

Zwane said the three other hijackers fled in a getaway vehicle.

Netcare 911 spokesman Chris Botha said the husband and wife had both been shot. The husband was taken to hospital in a critical condition while the wife was in a serious condition.

A worker from a nearby workshop who spoke on condition of anonymity said: “I first heard three shots. Then there was a slight pause and then suddenly there were five shots in rapid succession.”

He said he ran out and saw the dead hijacker lying at the entrance to the complex of mini-factories and auto repair businesses.

“I came past the car to see what had happened and the woman said: 'Please help us, we've been shot'. She was hit in the leg. She was amazingly calm, but he was in pain, real pain,” he said.

He and fellow workers secured the scene around the Toyota Camry, and called paramedics and the police.

Police and forensics experts could be seen working at the scene late on Monday afternoon.

Sapa

A man who allegedly shot dead a colleague at Durban's King Edward VIII Hospital served a four-year sentence for a previous murder conviction.

Durban - A man who allegedly shot dead a colleague at Durban's King Edward VIII Hospital served a four-year sentence for a previous murder conviction.

Magistrate Vanitha Armu, who denied Khulekani Aubrey Ntuli's application to be released on bail, said Ntuli had served four years of an eight-year sentence after being convicted of murder in 1992.

Since his release, Ntuli had worked for nearly 18 years at the hospital before the fateful day of February 28 this year, when he is alleged to have killed Sipho Mfayela, 54.

Armu rejected Ntuli's assertion the exceptional circumstance required for him to be released on bail was the fact that he had been in Johannesburg with his brother on the day of the shooting.

“On the day there were two eyewitnesses. He was extremely well known at the hospital. There is no mistake that he was the person who could have killed Mfayela.”

Ntuli faces charges of murder, pointing a firearm, and possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition.

After the shooting, the 43-year old is alleged to have pointed his gun at another staff member before fleeing.

The court was also told that Ntuli suffered from a terminal illness, but the details were not disclosed.

Armu said she believed it was “most unlikely” that Armu was in Johannesburg at the time of the murder, despite his brother testifying that he was.

Ntuli denied that he was on the run for three months, but told the court that he had sought extended leave in February so that he could write an examination he was studying for.

He was arrested in Hillbrow, Johannesburg, in May.

Earlier, the arresting officer Vusi Nkosi testified that Ntuli had a dream before his arrest and was not surprised when police arrived, the Durban Magistrate's Court heard on Monday.

He said Ntuli had told him that the night before “he had a dream of an overflowing river that he was unable to cross”.

“I had a conversation with the accused. He said he was avoiding all vehicles with the ND (Durban) registration,” said Nkosi.

However, Ntuli's lawyer George Pooran told the court that his client intended to plead not guilty, as he was in Johannesburg at the time of the murder and did not know he was wanted by police.

Ntuli was staying with his brother when he was arrested and according to Nkosi had claimed on the day of his arrest to be wearing the same T-shirt that he was wearing when he allegedly killed Mfayela.

Nkosi said Ntuli's brother had stated “blood is thicker than water” when asked by police why he had not told them that Ntuli was staying with him.

Armu remanded Ntuli in custody until September 16 for his next court appearance.

Sapa

Newcastle's organised crime Unit, its dog unit and its public order policing unit have been evicted for not paying the rent, the Newcastle Advertiser reported.

Durban - Newcastle's organised crime Unit, its dog unit and its public order policing unit have been evicted after the Department of Public Works failed to pay the rent, the Newcastle Advertiser reported on Monday.

According to the report, locks were changed and members of the three units as well as the police vehicle workshop unit were locked out of the premises when the sheriff served eviction notices.

Some 200 police officers and 15 dogs were affected.

Captain Shooz Magudulela was quoted as describing the eviction as, “a disaster that was going to affect staff morale,” but explained that it was the responsibility of the provincial department to ensure that the rent had been paid.

Provincial spokesman Thulani Zwane could not be reached for comment.

According to the newspaper, the landlord, Anton van Kaampen, declined to comment until he had spoken to his attorneys.

Sapa

A coal-carrying vessel has buckled and broken in two while trying to leave the Port of Richards Bay.

Johannesburg - A coal-carrying vessel ran aground at the Port of Richards Bay on Monday, according to Port authorities.

“Whilst leaving the Port of Richards Bay at 2.10pm today (Monday) the vessel MV Smart, carrying 147 650 tons of coal, ran aground off the Port’s entrance channel,” said Captain Rufus Lekala, the Chief Harbour Master of Transnet’s National Ports Authority (TNPA).

He said the vessel finished loading at Richards Bay Coal Terminal (RBCT) at approximately 10.10am on Monday and sailed from the terminal just before 1.30pm.

At the time of the incident, the vessel was no longer under TNPA pilotage.

It is said the vessel experienced engine failure upon leaving the Port.

“Three TNPA tugs tried to assist the vessel but to no avail. The vessel has buckled and broken in two and is partly submerged,” Lekala said.

Twenty-three crew members, including the master of the vessel, were airlifted to safety by a TNPA helicopter.

TNPA said it was closely monitoring any impact on the environment and there is no anticipated economic impact on the Port of Richards Bay.

“The entrance channel is safe for shipping. However, due to current adverse weather conditions, ingress and egress to the port has been suspended until further notice,” he said. - Sapa

“A fully laden taxi had collided with a bakkie before rolling several times (and) coming to rest on its wheels.”

Durban - Eighteen people were injured, three seriously, in an accident involving a taxi and a bakkie in Old Dutch Road, Durban, on Tuesday morning, paramedics said.

“A fully laden taxi had collided with a bakkie before rolling several times (and) coming to rest on its wheels,” Rescue Care spokesman Garrith Jamieson said.

The injured were treated on the scene before being taken to various Durban hospitals. - Sapa

A tight economy and old-fashioned greed have contributed to an increase in theft by domestics, according to an expert.

Johannesburg - A tight economy, rising food prices and transport costs have contributed to an increase in theft by domestic workers, particularly in Joburg and Durban.

Alan Carey, operations director of Justicia Investigations, said crimes investigated by Justicia covered a wide range, including theft of money or jewellery and staged break-ins to more sophisticated crimes such as passing on information taken from bank statements and financial documents to syndicates.

“Although most theft within homes involves opportunistic, petty theft, criminals do use vulnerable people earning low wages to get information.”

Carey put the increase in what he formally termed “domestic dishonesty” down to a combination of the pressures of a tight economy as well as old-fashioned greed.

He added that homeowners should prevent unpleasant situations by locking away valuables and not leaving money lying around.

According to Statistics South Africa, more than 1 million people work as domestic workers in South Africa.

Cases investigated by Justicia in the first half this year were up by 70 percent on the number of cases handled in the first half of last year.

Most of the investigations were focused on Joburg and Durban.

Labour lawyer Michael Bagraim, said he did not believe there had been an increase in theft by domestic workers in Cape Town over the past three years.

But because of retrenchments, domestic workers are often the only breadwinner, earning up to R3 000 a month, and there had been cases of theft of consumables, he said.

“I work with three domestic worker cases a week and it hasn’t got worse.”

natasha.bezuidenhout@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

Maritime officials were on high alert after a fully laden coal ship, lodged on a sandbank in high seas off Richards Bay.

Durban - Maritime and environmental officials were on high alert on Monday night after a fully laden coal ship, registered in Panama, lodged on a sandbank and began breaking up in high seas off Richards Bay.

The drama started earlier in the afternoon when the ship, Smart, carrying 148 000 tons of coal, was leaving the harbour in 10m swells.

Craig Lambinon, a spokesman for the National Sea Rescue Institute, said Transnet had put out a call to help three of its tugs which were trying to pull the vessel free of a shallow sandbank adjacent to the port exit channel.

“Our volunteer sea rescue duty crew launched and the NSRI helicopter rescue unit swimmers were dispatched to be on standby at the helicopter pad.

“Just after 4pm the structural integrity of the ship was compromised and the captain ordered the crew to abandon ship.”

Lambinon said a rescue swimmer was taken to the ship by helicopter and hoisted aboard where he assisted the 23 crew members and a port authority ship’s pilot up to the helicopter in relays.

Netcare 911 paramedics, who were waiting on the shore while the rescue operation was in progress, examined them all.

Spokesman Chris Botha said while they were shaken, there were no injuries.

Meanwhile, as crowds gathered at Alkantstrand, the ship began to break up. A witness said: “The swells caused the ship to bounce on the sandbank and it broke its back. The tug boats couldn’t get near it as the water was too shallow.”

Terry Hutson, The Mercury’s shipping correspondent, said if the ship snapped completely in half then the coal would wash ashore or sink.

“The problem mainly lies with the oil on board,” he said, estimating that a newly loaded ship at the beginning of its voyage would have up to 1 000 tons of heavy fuel.

“It is a massive operation to clean up this amount of oil and the risks are high,” he said.

Wayne Munger, community conservation manager at Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, said an oil spill would have a huge impact on the environment.

“It will affect everything from the fish to the birds, and if it gets into the harbour or mangrove swamps it will damage the delicate ecosystems in place there,” said Munger.

Port and South African Maritime Safety Authority (Samsa) officials were said to be in meetings last night, conducting investigations and evaluating how to save the ship, and were not available for comment.

The big waves in Richards Bay affected other beachgoers. Surfer Freddie le Roux broke his leg while surfing yesterday afternoon and was admitted to hospital.

* Meanwhile, the 12-day operation to salvage the cargo ship that ran aground off Buffels Bay near Knysna came to naught yesterday as the vessel began to sink about 70 nautical miles off the coast.

Still laden with more than 300 tons of oil and 15 000 tons of rice, damage to the Kiani Satu’s bow discovered on Sunday became worse yesterday morning, resulting in the ship taking on a massive amount of water.

“She is sinking. We are going to have to wave her goodbye,” said Captain Nigel Campbell, of Samsa.

Earlier, the salvage crew on board the ship were flown off the vessel.

A decision was taken for the salvage tug to pull the vessel further out to sea, where, Campbell said, it was hoped the cold water would “solidify” the oil on board, limiting its spread.

Department of Environmental Affairs spokesman Zolile Nqayi said the department had accepted that the vessel would sink. “Of course we are keeping a constant eye on the situation. Much of the oil has already been pumped into one of the working tanks, and that is where we expect it to stay when she goes down.”

Nqayi said the ship’s German owners, Esmeralda Schiffahrts, had given an assurance that all the costs - including sinking, salvage and pollution clean-up - would be covered by the company and its insurers. -

Additional reporting by John Harvey.

lauren.rawlins@inl.co.za

The Mercury

A Morningside man was most likely on his way to deposit money for his church when he was murdered in his garden.

Durban - William (Bill) Daly - whose family founded the iconic fruit cordial company W. Daly & Son in 1881 - was most likely on his way to deposit money for his church when he was murdered in the garden of his Morningside home.

Daly, 89, the last surviving son of the company founder, was found on Monday by his long-time domestic worker, Maureen Ngema. He had a rag tied around his neck and stuffed in his mouth.

His ankles had been bound with his shoes laces and his wrists were tied together with a key chain he normally had clipped to his belt.

The murder has shocked his neighbourhood and the Durban business community.

Ngema, 67, said she made the grisly discovery after noticing that the house she lives in on the property in Maple Road had been burgled.

Ngema, who has worked for Daly since 1985, said she had left the house at 4.30am for a check-up at Addington Hospital after a foot operation.

She arrived back at the house at about midday with her youngest son, Mandla, who worked as Daly’s gardener.

After making their way along the path on the side of the house and passing the dense foliage, they saw that the door of her living quarters was open. “The windows were broken and the burglar bars were bent aside. Inside, it had been ransacked,” said Ngema.

As she made her way back to the main house to tell her employer, her son inspected the premises before running to inform his brothers who work nearby, she said.

“He (Daly) didn’t answer the doorbell so I turned back.”

It was then, she said, that she spotted his body lying face up in the pathway leading to the back door of the property.

“I screamed and cried, I did not even get close, I could see it was him.”

Her screams alerted neighbour Clive de Vos. “I pulled him by the arm and showed him,” said Ngema.

Police spokesman Captain Khephu Ndlovu, who was at the crime scene on Monday, said Daly usually deposited his church’s Sunday offerings at a bank on Monday mornings.

“An already written-out deposit slip was found on him. He must have been on his way to the bank,” Ndlovu said.

Police suspect that robbery was the motive for the murder, as Daly’s pockets had been emptied and his bank cards, wallet, keys and ID were strewn on the floor, along with his panic button. It is unclear how the intruder/s entered the property, which is monitored by a security company, as the front and back entrances were locked.

Daly’s niece, Pat, arrived a few hours after the discovery of his body, from her home in Hilton, near Pietermaritzburg.

The narrow, secluded street was blocked by police cars and Pat was in tears as she walked into the house where her father, Dudley, who died in his sleep in December at the age of 98, had also grown up.

Neighbours and the police comforted Pat and Ngema as the two women sobbed. Mandla was also emotional.

“He (Daly) was like a father to me. Why did they have to kill him? He was an old man who did nothing bad to anyone,” he said.

De Vos said Daly was well liked in the neighbourhood.

“Everyone knew him, especially because of his vintage cars.”

He said Daly had stuck to a routine, doing certain things on certain days, which probably made him a “soft target”.

De Vos said crime was so rife in the area that after a year of living in Morningside, he had sold his house to move back to Johannesburg.

“I’ve had to hire a security guard. He comes in from six in the evening to six in the morning,” he said.

A few weeks ago criminals scaled his fence and told the guard he was interrupting their work, he said. “Luckily I came out and we were able to chase them away.”

Rose Boyle, who has lived in the area for almost 30 years, described Daly as “an absolute gentleman”. From her house in Anerley Road she would see Daly driving off in his vintage cars.

“Shocked does not begin to describe how I feel about what happened to him. I’m absolutely sick and horrified,” she said. “I can’t believe someone would do such a thing to an old gentleman.”

Another neighbour who did not want to be named said she was “gutted and angry” at the way Daly, whom she also described as a gentleman, had died.

“This is a horrible way for him to go. He was old and frail; there was no need to murder him,” she said.

Although she did not really know Daly, she, like many others in the neighbourhood, had noticed him because of his vintage cars which she said he kept “spick and span and was himself always smartly dressed”.

A case of murder and house robbery is being investigated by the Durban Central police.

Daily News

Shortly before Vusi Nombika died under a collapsed sandbank, he allegedly voiced concerns to his manager about safety at the building site.

Durban - Half an hour before construction worker Vusi Nombika died, he allegedly voiced concerns to his manager about safety at the building site, according to a fellow worker.

Nombika, 27, of Folweni, was buried alive last week when a sandbank collapsed while he was digging a trench at a building site of the New Covenant Church in Redhill.

Another worker, Nana Ngubane, was injured in the fall. He is said to be in a stable condition in hospital.

His brother and co-worker, Vincent Ngubane, said Nombika had been worried about the possibility of a collapse. He said Nombika warned the manager about the dangers of digging the trench without proper safety measures in place.

“He told the manager he was afraid that the sand might fall on to him. But the manager told him to stop worrying and continue working.”

Moments later, Ngubane heard the other workers shouting.

“I turned to see what was happening. I couldn’t see Vusi. I then realised he was buried under the sand that had collapsed on him.”

He said they started digging where the men had been buried and managed to pull his brother to safety. By the time they got to Nombika, he was already dead.

Ngubane said they were working without signed contracts and had no safety gear - hard hats or rubber boots.

He claimed that after the accident, the construction company had tried to get them to sign employee contracts, but the workers had refused.

The company manager did not respond to repeated phone calls from the Daily News.

Nombika’s aunt, Mantombi, said she was devastated by her nephew’s death.

She added that he was the breadwinner in the family.

“He was a lively character filled with humility. He took care of us. He would buy us groceries every Friday.”

She said Vusi had no children and had been an orphan.

“Someone from the company came to see us. They said they would take care of the funeral arrangements and they gave us R1 000,” she said.

Labour Department spokesman, Nhlanhla Khumalo, said work at the site had been halted pending an investigation.

A written notice had been issued to the company, he said.

Khumalo said the department was doing all it could to ensure a safe environment for all workers.

“But this is a difficult task because some employers are negligent and others are ignorant.

“This is what leads to injuries and fatalities,” he said.

Daily News

Police raided two used spare car parts dealers in KZN where a stolen bakkie was in the process of being chopped up.

Durban - Police raided two used spare car parts dealers in Isipingo where a stolen Isuzu bakkie was in the process of being chopped up for its parts.

Two men, aged 33 and 32, have been arrested and charged with possession of stolen property.

It came after officers from the vehicle task team traced the signal of a tracking device on the vehicle to a used-car dealer in Gopal Singh Road on Sunday, where they discovered the bin of the bakkie.

The bakkie was stolen at North Beach on Thursday, but its tracking device began emitting a signal only on Sunday.

When officers arrived at the premises where the signal was coming from, the owner of the dealership said he had bought it from another dealer in the same road.

When police went to the second dealer, they found the rest of the bakkie. It was in the process of being stripped of its parts.

On Monday, officers from the vehicle task team, Isipingo pound and the Road Traffic Inspectorate descended on the dealership for further investigation.

Police sources say that the owner had been on the police’s radar for some time.

“He is quite a big player and has been operating this chop shop under the guise of a used dealership for some time. He is well connected and has been working with corrupted police officers for a long time,” the source said. Investigators spent most of Monday combing the property for parts that might have originated from stolen vehicles.

While officers probed the premises, the owner paced the ground while his lawyer, Arvina Harricharand, negotiated to have the business opened.

“You cannot just shut it down. Only a high court order can do that,” she said.

Police Captain Thulani Zwane said the men were expected to appear in court on Tuesday.

Daily News

A missing Durban man is feared dead by his wife after he was abducted by armed hijackers.

Durban - A missing Durban man is feared dead by his wife after he was accosted and abducted by armed hijackers on Monday night in Mount Moriah, near Phoenix.

Dumisani Mdlalose returned to his home at about 8pm and was approached by three armed men who put a gun to his head and forced him back into his BMW 318i before speeding off with him.

His wife, who was in the passenger front seat, ran away from the men unharmed and called for help in the community.

Mdlalose’s neighbour, Panuel Zondi, said the father of a three-year-old boy had parked in his driveway and was opening the gate when three armed men approached him at gunpoint.

“There were three armed men, they forced him back into his car and his wife managed to escape.

“They did not give chase to her, she ran away into the community and asked for help from neighbours, but it was too late, they were gone,” he said.

Zondi said Mdlalose’s wife was visiting hospital mortuaries around Phoenix searching for her husband on Tuesday morning.

“It’s a very difficult situation because we do not know whether he is alive or not. Some neighbours and friends of the family are assisting Mrs Mdlalose by taking her to the hospitals to search for him.

“But there’s a lot of concern because we do not know whether it was a opportunistic hijacking or if they had been sent by someone,” he said.

Asked if hijackings were frequent in Mount Moriah, Zondi said they were not, but cars were often broken into. “It’s very strange, in an area like this I can say this is very unusual,” he said.

Zondi said no shots were fired and the missing BMW was black with tinted windows and a Lesotho number plate.

He was not aware if a tracker had been installed in the vehicle.

Police spokesman Captain Thulani Zwane confirmed a case of hijacking and kidnapping was being investigated by the Phoenix SAPS.

Daily News

Eight pupils accused of murdering a KZN teen sobbed in court when told they would have to remain in custody.

Durban - Eight pupils accused of murdering a KwaZulu-Natal teenager sobbed in court on Monday when told they would have to remain in custody.

Dressed in their uniforms as they stood in the dock at the Umbumbulu Magistrate’s Court, they had hoped that because they were school pupils, the court would release them.

But the magistrate was not impressed, telling the pupils during their first court appearance that they faced a serious charge and, if found guilty, could be given “huge” sentences.

“Don’t come here to say you are students. Go and think about extraordinary factors on the day of your bail application,” he said.

The eight pupils, and two other accused who have finished school, were remanded in custody until their bail application on September 2.

Their parents and relatives wept on hearing the pupils would have to remain in Westville Prison for two weeks.

The accused - Zamukulunga Gumede, Fano Lembede, Thabani Nxumalo, Siyabonga Mkhize, Mndeni Nxumalo, Manqoba Malevu, Xolani Nxumalo, Mfundo Makhanya, Nkululeko Gumede, Simphiwe Mtshali - range in age from 19 to 21.

They are alleged to have murdered Sanele Phewa, 18, whose body was found by his teenage cousins near the Umgoqozi River in Umbumbulu on Thursday afternoon.

The cousins had followed a group that stormed Phewe’s house and accused him of stealing their clothes.

The victim’s oldest cousin, Sne, said Phewa was with their 87-year-old grandmother and some children at the time. She said her grandmother had pleaded with them not kill him.

“We are all stressed… especially the children who found him. He looked after the children and my grandmother,” Sne said.

She said the attackers should have contacted the police about the alleged theft, not taken the law into their own hands.

The cousins who witnessed the killing were living in fear of their lives, she said, explaining they went to the same school as eight of the accused.

“I took them back to school. There is no reason for them not to go back to school but they are afraid… because they don’t have anyone to protect them.”.

The accused were arrested at Mthambo High School on Friday.

Police spokesman, Colonel Vincent Mdunde, said it was alleged Phewa was assaulted and stabbed to death “by a group of boys suspecting him of the criminal activities in the area”.

Provincial police commissioner, Lieutenant-General Mmamonnye Ngobeni, said: “We need to emphasise that vigilantism will not be tolerated and perpetrators will be arrested, prosecuted and sent to prison.

“We will effectively investigate this case and further arrests are imminent. We urge the members of the community to work together with the police by giving them information about criminal activities in their areas.”

siyabulela.dzanibe@inl.co.za

Daily News

KwaZulu-Natal premier Zweli Mkhize called for an end to politically motivated crime ahead of national elections in 2014.

Durban - KwaZulu-Natal premier Zweli Mkhize on Tuesday called for an end to politically motivated crime.

“We can't allow any more deaths that are linked to this tension that is associated with the election processes. It really takes the province of KwaZulu-Natal back,” said Mkhize.

Speaking at a provincial government meeting, he said the recent killings of a number of councillors in the province needed to be dealt with.

He welcomed the Independent Electoral Commission's (IEC) investigations into how over 1500 people were on the voters roll in ward 22 of the Abaqulusi municipality but were not resident in the ward.

“There have been some very negative tendencies. People must respect the electoral processes and they need to act in such a way that the elections must always be a reflection of the integrity of the process and the structures involved.

“Tampering with any of the election processes, the voter registration, is unacceptable.”

He said interference in the voter registration process and deaths related to inter-party rivalries and intra-party rivalries needed to be addressed.

He hoped the two-day meeting would offer a solution to end the violence.

A number of members of the Inkatha Freedom Party, the National Freedom Party, and the African National Congress have been killed in the past year.

The most recent death was ANC councillor Makhosonke Msibi in Ulundi earlier this month.

The Abaqulusi ward 22 by-election was postponed for a second time this month after the Constitutional Court ordered an investigation into voter registration in the ward.

Former ANC councillor Andre Lotter had claimed the IEC had not sufficiently investigated how the extra 1525 people came to be on the roll.

An initial by-election date of April 24 was abandoned after Lotter obtained a court order. The IEC was then ordered to investigate whether names had been fraudulently added to the voters roll.

Last month IEC chairwoman Pansy Tlakula said 1525 people were removed from the roll and transferred back to their original wards, as it could not be proved that they ordinarily resided in ward 22.

The meeting aims to review the provincial government's performance over the past year.

Sapa

The port of Richards Bay reopened after heavy swells that caused a bulk carrier to run aground subsided.

Durban - The port of Richards Bay reopened on Tuesday after heavy swells that caused a bulk carrier to run aground subsided.

Work at the port had returned to normal by 6am, Richards Bay port manager Preston Khomo said in a statement.

Operations were suspended on Monday after the MV Smart run aground as it left the port with 147 650 tons of coal in heavy seas. The National Sea Rescue Institute said there was a 10-metre swell.

The 230-metre long ship was abandoned at 4pm after it started to suffer structural damage. Twenty-three people were airlifted from the vessel. None sustained serious injuries.

“Three salvage crew, one from the South African Maritime Safety Authority and two from marine services group Subtech, are on board the coal carrying ship MV Smart that ran aground yesterday afternoon to make an initial damage assessment,” the statement read.

It is believed that the ship's engine failed as it was leaving the port.

Sapa

A doctor could not determine the cause of death of four people who took part in a KZN Road Traffic Inspectorate fitness test, an inquiry heard.

Pietermaritzburg - A doctor could not determine the cause of death of four people who took part in a KwaZulu-Natal Road Traffic Inspectorate (RTI) fitness test, an inquiry heard on Tuesday.

“No specific cause of death was found, but circumstances surrounding the deaths should be looked at. I still don't say it was heat stroke because I don't have all the facts,” forensic medical officer Dr Dhanraj Maney said.

He was testifying in Pietermaritzburg before a commission of inquiry into the deaths of eight people after a RTI fitness test in the city in December.

The victims took part in a four-kilometre run at the Harry Gwala Stadium. The event formed part of a fitness test for RTI job applicants. More than 34 000 people qualified to apply for 90 advertised RTI trainee posts. Of these, 15 600 attended a fitness test on December 27, and a similar number on December 28.

Maney said he could not find the cause of death of the participants after examining specimens of their livers, hearts, lungs, brains, and intestines. He conducted post mortems on Lenny Nxumalo, Sanele Ngcobo, Ntuthuko Sibisi, and Sibonakaliso Mhlanga.

When conducting the post mortems he was given a history of heat stroke for all the participants. He said the fact that the participants were exercising in hot conditions should be considered as the cause of death.

During cross-examination, Ravenda Padayachee, for the provincial transport department, said post mortems on victims of large-scale disasters should only be performed by a specialist forensic pathologist.

Padayachee described the fitness test as a mass disaster because of the number of people who died and the media attention on the recruitment drive.

Maney would continue giving evidence on Wednesday.

Sapa

The Constitutional Court has reduced convicted drug dealer Sheryl Cwele's jail term from 20 to 12 years, a report says.

Johannesburg - The Constitutional Court has reduced convicted drug dealer Sheryl Cwele's prison term from 20 years to 12 years, The Witness reported on Wednesday.

On Tuesday the court ruled that Cwele, who is the ex-wife of State Security Minister Siyabonga Cwele, receive the same sentence as that of her co-accused Frank Nabolisa.

The two were initially convicted in May 2011 of dealing in cocaine by Pietermaritzburg High Court Judge Piet Koen and were each sentenced to 12 years' imprisonment.

The Supreme Court of Appeal later increased their sentences to 20 years.

Nabolisa approached the Constitutional Court, which ruled that the State was required to officially appeal the sentences, before they could be increased in the Appeal Court. Nabolisa’s original sentence of 12 years was reinstated.

In July, Cwele launched a similar Constitutional Court appeal. The bench of 11 judges ruled that her sentence be reduced in light of its findings in Nabolisa's case. - Sapa

In an exclusive interview with The Mercury, fraudster Schabir Shaik speaks about his health, Zuma and justice.

Durban - Four years after convicted fraudster Schabir Shaik was released on medical parole, questions remain about his health – but he insists that hypertension medication is keeping him alive.

In an exclusive interview with The Mercury at his plush home in Innes Road, Morningside, this week, Shaik, 56, said: “I am still on six hypertension drugs. I take six pills in the morning and six in the evening. These are all prescription medicines. I will be on drugs for as long as I am alive.

“I also go for a medical check-up every month,” he said.

Amid great controversy, President Jacob Zuma’s former financial adviser was released on parole on medical grounds in March 2009. He arrived home in an ambulance and was wheeled into his room on a stretcher after he being diagnosed with uncontrolled hypertension, a condition he describes as a silent killer.

Asked if he was terminally ill, Shaik responded that he suffered from “severe uncontrollable hypertension”, a genetic affliction of the vascular system, from which both his parents suffered.

He had changed his eating habits and was now on a strict low-carbohydrate diet. His eyesight had improved as a result.

Shaik said his condition could be managed through medication and by living a healthy lifestyle.

He told The Mercury that when he was in prison, the Correctional Services Department and the Health Department did not have the expertise to manage his condition. So he became a “ping pong ball” between the two state facilities until he was paroled. Shaik was sentenced to 15 years in jail for fraud and corruption involving ANC president Zuma, but only served two years and four months of his sentence. His release sparked questions as to whether he really was in the final stages of a terminal illness – the basis on which medical parole is usually granted.

DA MP James Selfe said the normal grounds for medical parole required that a person be released to die a “dignified and consolatory death”, as the Correctional Services Act put it. Selfe said Shaik may very well be on medication for hypertension, but he was not released legally.

“Hypertension can be treated inside the prison hospital. It was clear he (Shaik) was released unlawfully for political reasons. The whole thing was a travesty, followed by a cover-up. He shouldn’t have been released on medical grounds,” he said.

But, Selfe added, Shaik’s matter could not be challenged now because he was released on medical parole just weeks before a change in the law kicked in that would have given the inspecting judge of prisons the power to refer the decision for review.

Shaik, who was once a prominent businessman and Durban high-flyer, now spends most of his time confined to his home.

He said that it was ironic that he was now a “prisoner” in his home and unable to enjoy the freedom he fought for.

Speaking in a hoarse voice, Shaik said: “Some days are good. Some days are bad. I don’t even know how long I am going to live. I am not too bad. What can you say? Life is like that. All our lives are up and down.”

There were “many other things” to worry about than him.

“You must worry about J Arthur Brown,” he suggested, referring to the former Fidentia boss who was given a suspended prison sentence in May and fined R150 000 after being convicted on two counts of fraud. Brown had originally been charged with 192 counts of fraud, theft and money laundering.

“That guy (Brown allegedly) stole hundreds of millions and gets a suspended sentence. There is no justice in this country,” Shaik said.

He was also emotional when he spoke about how he had lost his businesses, and about his fraud conviction, which prevented him from being a director of a company or opening a business school.

“The Asset Forfeiture (Unit) took R4 billion from me in cash and assets. I didn’t side with (former president Thabo) Mbeki. I sided with Jacob Zuma.

“Baba Zuma is right for this country. He sacrificed for this province and brought peace and stability.”

Shaik says he has to keep a close eye on his watch before leaving home, to comply with his parole conditions.

His parole conditions in 2011 were six hours of free time, from 12pm to 6pm, on Saturdays and Sundays. He also had two hours’ free time every day during the week at any time of his choice.

Shaik said he now enjoyed more free time – but did not specify how much.

“I do a lot of philosophical reading, I do a bit of yoga, I exercise and swim a little every day,” he said.

But Shaik said that his new lifestyle was “boring and mind-killing”.

“For a person who was involved in business at corporate level, to suddenly stop… But if that’s God’s plan, then I must accept that,” he said.

Shaik said he also devoted most of his time to his seven-year-old son, Yasir. He said the trial and his time in prison had taken a toll on him, but his family had been the biggest casualty. He and his wife, Zuleika, had become estranged, but had since reconciled and were living together.

Shaik maintains that his friendship with Zuma has not changed.

He said the State offered him a plea bargain before he went on trial, but he chose to protect his “comrades”.

Asked if Zuma had repaid him the R2 million “loan”, Shaik said that the issue was “personal”. He spoke highly of Zuma, saying he had been Shaik’s commander in exile, and that “we must protect our president”.

It has been more than four years since Shaik applied for a presidential pardon, but he is no closer to finding out if he will get his freedom.

But Shaik said there were people who had been promised presidential pardons during Thabo Mbeki’s time and who had been waiting longer than he had.

“He (Zuma) hasn’t left me in the lurch, he has to apply his mind to 120 other applications,” he said.

On Friday, Department of Justice and Constitutional Development spokesman advocate Mthunzi Mhaga said Shaik’s application for pardon was in “process”.

“This process is confidential and therefore details of Mr Shaik’s application and any other request for pardon cannot be discussed in public,” he said.

Shaik said he had no regrets and remained adamant that he and Zuma had not had a corrupt relationship. He believed his arrest and trial had been part of a political conspiracy to discredit Zuma.

Selfe said he did not believe anyone should get a presidential pardon as this amounted to subversion of the administration of justice.

“I am opposed to presidential pardons for anybody. Once the court process has run its course the court judgment and sentence must stand,” he said.

The Mercury

Six men allegedly linked to an international child pornography ring have been arrested in parts of South Africa.

Johannesburg - Six men allegedly linked to an international child-pornography ring have been arrested in parts of South Africa, The Times reported on Wednesday.

Police spokesman Lieutenant-General Solomon Makgale said they were arrested last Thursday. Two were teachers from Florida and Carletonville, a school principal from Nelspruit, a lawyer from Lichtenburg, a Pretoria dermatologist and a North West businessman.

Another 26 people were being investigated and more arrests were imminent, police told the publication.

Police also raided several homes at the weekend in KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape, Western Cape and Free State.

“Police raided 15 properties and seized 672 dvds, 22 memory sticks, eight laptops, two computer tablets, 39 external hard drives, 25 books,” said Makgale.

The case had links to Canada, the United Kingdom, the United States, western Europe and Australasia.

The newspaper reported that children as young as five were believed to have been groomed to have sex with each other and adults.

The images are believed to have been generated overseas, and police - with the help of their international counterparts - are investigating whether children from South Africa participated.

Police overseas were also investigating if any of the children were murdered.

The six accused face several charges including child-pornography manufacturing, possession and distribution. - Sapa