A mother has been released from custody after launching a court bid arguing that her baby had a right to be breast-fed.

Durban - A breast-feeding mother – who was arrested and detained on a charge of assault – has been released from custody after launching a high court application, arguing that her 5-month-old baby had a right to be fed and properly cared for.

The case, which was handled by the Centre for Child Law and advocate Deborah Ainslee, will now set a guideline to police when arresting breast-feeding mothers and for magistrates hearing bail applications in similar matters.

In her application, which came before Durban High Court Judge Piet Koen on Friday, 36-year-old Nombuso Nzimande said she had been living with her own mother since the birth of her son in May this year.

Her brother and sister also lived at home and did not get on well.

On Monday last week, there had been an altercation among all three of them.

“I believe that before my arrival a social worker had tried to improve their relationship, but up until then I had never before witnessed or been part of any physical violence.

“My sister apparently went straight to the police station at Mpumalanga and reported the incident. At about 8pm that night the police arrived at our house and arrested my brother and I. They were aware that I was breast-feeding because I literally had to remove my baby from my breast and pass him to my nephew.”

Nzimande said they were both charged with assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm, kept overnight and taken to court the next day. Nzimande said she told the magistrate about her 5-month-old baby, who was still being breast-fed.

“I told him that my mother is aged and has arthritis and high blood pressure. My baby is too heavy and she cannot lift him to comfort him or bath him.

“And I doubt my sister will help after she laid a charge against me, which she knows to be false.”

Nzimande said apart from the health benefits of breast-feeding, there was also a financial impact should the child refuse to go back to being breast-fed when she was eventually released.

The prosecutor said he was opposed to bail and, in the absence of the investigating officer, the magistrate adjourned the matter for two days.

She was kept at Westville Prison and on her second court appearance, on November 12, the bail application was again adjourned until November 17, despite her protests.

She said arrest in a case of this nature was a “most drastic measure” and she could have been summoned to appear in court or even granted “police bail” on the same night.

“The rights of the child are paramount and the court should have taken this consideration. I am being unlawfully detained and my son has been left vulnerable and in immediate danger of not having his most basic needs met.”

Judge Koen granted an order that Nzimande be released immediately from prison pending the finalisation of her bail application on Tuesday.

The Mercury

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A KZN policeman has been killed and another rushed to hospital after being shot multiple times on the R102.

Durban - A KZN policeman has been killed and another rushed to hospital after being shot mutiple times on the R102.

In Monday’s shooting, near Gingindlovu, one policeman has been confirmed dead while the second policeman was reported to have been shot five times in the head, abdomen and legs.

He was raced to a hospital in Ballito where trauma surgeons were standing by.

At the time of publication, police were reported to be in pursuit of 15 suspects and the chase had moved on to the N2 towards KwaDukuza (Stanger).

The initial reports were that police had stopped a suspicious vehicle near a Shoprite store close to the Gingindlovu intersection.

The killing comes after a shooting in KwaMashu on Sunday which saw veteran officer Ashok Ramsakkan, a 49-year-old married father-of-two, with 29 years’ experience, critically injured.

And on Saturday, Warrant Officer Niren Ramsaroop, 40, was killed while patrolling the Empangeni central business district.

Sipho Khumalo, spokesman for the Department of Community Safety and Liaison, said MEC Willies Mchunu believed these “continued attacks on police are a direct attack on the people of KwaZulu-Natal and the state itself”.

Khumalo said police were the only defence between “marauding criminals and defenceless citizens”.

One of the department’s campaigns was to mobilise communities to lend necessary support and appreciation to police. This included a march and the One Million signature campaign when they would be asking people to take a stand and condemn attacks on police.

Sunday’s attack was at 9am. Ramsakkan took two bullets in the neck, apparently from an AK-47.

He is in hospital and is expected to survive.

Brigadier Jay Naicker said Ramsakkan and his partner were patrolling KwaMashu when they spotted four men in a suspicious-looking vehicle.

They were following the vehicle when AK-47-wielding gunmen opened fire on them from within. No arrests had been made.

In the Empangeni incident, Ramsaroop was killed while apprehending robbers.

Naicker said Ramsaroop and his colleagues were approached by three women who claimed they had been robbed of R110 000 in stokvel money, which they had withdrawn from the bank.

Moments later, Ramsaroop spotted one of the robbers and grabbed him, but the man pulled a gun and shot the policeman in the chest.

However, before he succumbed to his injuries, Ramsaroop returned fire, wounding the 41-year-old suspect.

Naicker said a second robber escaped with the money.

He said a 7.65mm pistol with an erased serial number was recovered from the wounded suspect, who was taken to hospital under police guard.

KZN’s police commissioner Lieutenant-General Mmamonnye Ngobeni said on Sunday that criminals were becoming increasingly emboldened. On-duty and off-duty officers were being targeted.

“While we do accept that policing is associated with a certain amount of danger, we cannot accept the calculated attacks on law enforcement officials.”

Daily News

KZN authorities are considering increasing water restrictions by 20 percent as water stocks continue to drop.

Durban - The authorities will take a decision on Tuesday on whether to increase water restrictions by a further 20% as water stocks continue to drop.

Umgeni Water’s corporate stakeholder manager, Shami Harichunder, said on Sunday the amount of rainfall over the past three days amounted to only 23mm, which was not sufficient to make a difference to Hazelmere Dam’s level. The dam supplies Verulam, Waterloo, Grange, Redcliff, Trenace, Westbrook, La Mercy, Sea Tides, Emona, Burbreeze and eMdloti and Ballito.

“The restriction of 30% remains in place. As a result of the deteriorating situation – the level of the dam is in the region of 25.8% – a decision will be taken on Tuesday on whether to increase restrictions to 50%,” said Harichunder

He said the need to conserve water remained and he appealed to consumers to use water sparingly.

“The little water available will have to last until good rainfall occurs, which weather forecasters predict will be in the first quarter of 2016,” he said.

The eThekwini Municipality said the uMngeni River system, which supplied the greater part of Durban, was also severely strained.

KwaZulu-Natal’s Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs said on Sunday that the rain had “refreshed” coastal areas, but much more was needed. It urged municipalities to maximise their efforts to repair all reported water leaks and prevent future water losses.

“The recent rainfall may give the false impression that the worst of the drought is over. The impact of the current drought has been so severe that all this rainfall is simply insufficient to relieve even the most urgent shortages of water in the most affected areas of the province. Our campaign to conserve water will therefore continue,” said the KZN MEC for Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Nomusa Dube-Ncube.

The SA Weather Service said there was only a 30% chance of rain in Durban, Margate, Richards Bay, Riverview and Ulundi today.

Ladysmith, Kokstad, Mooi River, Pietermaritzburg, Newcastle and Underberg could expect thunderstorms towards the evening.Tips to save water* Avoid washing cars if possible or wash using a bucket.

* Do not fill swimming pools.

* Do not leave the tap running when brushing your teeth or for any other activities. This can help save up to 15 litres a minute.

* A two-minute-long shower is better than filling up a bath.

* Instead of washing clothes every day with half a load of clothing, wash every alternate day with a full load.

* Washing dark clothes in cold water saves water and energy, and helps your clothes retain the colour.

* Wash vegetables in a dish, instead of under running water.

* Read your meter daily to ensure there are no internal leaks in your property.

* If you are going away, close the main water valve.

* Wash dishes in a basin, instead of using running water.

* Report water leaks to the municipality.

* Select the proper pot size for cooking. Large pots may need more cooking water than is necessary.

* Cook food in as little water as possible. This also retains more nutrients.

* Leave lawn clippings on your grass. This cools the ground and holds in moisture.

* Use a rain barrel to harvest rainwater from gutters for watering gardens.

* Use 5cm-10cm of organic mulch (layer of material) around plants to reduce evaporation and save hundreds of litres of water a year.

* Remember to weed your lawn and garden regularly. Weeds compete with other plants for nutrients, light and water.

* Have a plumber reroute your grey water (any household water, with the exception of water from toilets) to trees and plants rather than the sewer line.

– Sources: eThekwini Municipality; www.wateruseitwisely.com

The Mercury

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The riot cops allegedly inflicted agony and humiliation on a crime intelligence captain, a Pietermaritzburg court heard.

Durban - The Pietermaritzburg public order police unit allegedly inflicted agony and humiliation on a crime intelligence captain, the high court heard in a damages claim last week.

Captain Paul Williams alleged in court that he was arrested for spurious reasons and held from about 9pm until 4am in September 2011.

On Friday, photographs of Williams’s injuries, taken by the doctor who treated him on his release, were analysed. Dr Michael Smith told the court Williams was agitated, complained of agony, was unkempt and had dirt marks.

There were abrasions and bruises on parts of his body.

Williams had complained that the worst pain was from handcuffs being applied so tightly that the circulation was cut off. Smith said his wrists showed signs of overtight cuffs.

Williams said he suffered from nerve damage, post traumatic stress disorder and depression.

He is claiming R318 000 from the minister and commissioner of police and Captain Mlungisi Madladla, who was involved in the incident. The amount of the claim was separated from the issue of liability.

The incidents arose when police vehicles blocked a street at about 9pm on a night in September 2011. Williams hooted and asked them to move. They ignored him and he remonstrated, shouting “move your bloody vehicles”. Policemen descended on him. One jerked him out of his car while another entered on the passenger side and used a choke hold to get him out.

He shouted that he was a police captain, but one replied that they did not care.

Williams said his hands were cuffed behind his back, he was manhandled and thrown into the back of the van, hurting his face and head.

Lying face down, he was unable to prevent himself from being thrown around, when the bakkie was travelling.

He was taken to a hospital for a blood test and asked for a doctor to examine him.

However, he did not have R300 or a medical aid card demanded for that service.

After the test, his hands were again cuffed behind his back, and he was eventually released at about 4am. There was no evidence before the court that he had been inebriated.

A police witness told the court he had been arrested on the suspicion that he was drunk.

A policeman who testified for the defence said that the treatment meted out to him was because it was the law.

However, Williams’s advocate, Chris Hattingh, said that was nonsense.

He said there was a measure of vindictiveness in the arrest and subsequent treatment of Williams.

Williams said the van driver drove recklessly, apparently seeking rough areas in order to inflict harm on him, but this was denied by the driver.

Judge Peter Olsen reserved judgment.

The Mercury

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A child’s father has obtained a court order compelling the child’s mom to give him her consent to take the child for a holiday.

Durban - The father of a three-year-old child has obtained an urgent high court order compelling the child’s mother to give him her written consent to take the child overseas on a 10-day holiday in December.

And if she continues to refuse to do so, the order empowers the sheriff to sign the affidavit on her behalf.

This case – and another unrelated matter pending – signals that parents are still being forced to resort to expensive litigation in order to comply with new regulations involving travelling with children.

While the regulations – which are said to be responsible for a radical decline in South Africa’s tourism industry – are in the process of being amended, the requirement remains that children have to have a full birth certificate bearing both parents’ names and the written consent to travel of any parent not accompanying the child.

In the application, which came before Durban High Court Judge Themba Sishi, the father – who cannot be named – said the mother, his ex-girlfriend, had verbally consented to the trip but now, inexplicably, refused to depose to the necessary affidavit.

He said he was a co-holder of full parental rights and responsibilities, and looked after the child every second weekend and one day during the week.

His parents owned a property in Mauritius and at the beginning of this year, he approached her about taking the child on holiday there.

“She agreed – in fact she said the holiday would be in his best interests – and so we booked the flights,” he said.

“In March this year, in response to a letter sent by my attorney, she sent an e-mail giving her permission, saying it would be beneficial for him.”

But since then, in spite of his attorney sending three further e-mails requesting that she sign the affidavit and hand over his passport, “for unknown reasons she is refusing to co-operate”.

The judge directed that she sign the affidavit and hand over the passport within 48 hours of the granting of the order. Should she not comply, the father was given authority to apply to the Department of Home Affairs for a passport without her having to sign the necessary application forms.

In the pending matter to be heard later this month, a Hillcrest attorney is seeking an order against the director-general of home affairs, directing that he issue her 14-year-old daughter’s unabridged birth certificate which she applied for four years ago.

She said she first applied for the document in October 2011. At the same time, she applied for her other daughter and received that one in May the following year.

She believed that the delay, in part, was caused by an error in the identity number reflected on her abridged birth certificate in which the numbers depicting the day and month of her birth had been switched around.

While she had previously applied for and had been given a correct ID number, the department had insisted that she reregister the birth in 2014, which she did.

Since then, all her inquiries had met with the same response: she must wait for an SMS message.

She said she had given the department adequate notice of the court application and was hoping that it would comply so that she did not have to persist with it.

The Mercury

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Mangosuthu University of Technology management is scrambling to cut their budget to face the anticipated 0% tuition fee increment.

Durban - Management of the Mangosuthu University of Technology are scrambling to cut their budget ahead of next year’s academic calendar to face the anticipated 0% tuition fee increment.

The university held it’s annual business breakfast at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre on Friday, where the university vice-chancellor, Professor Ratale Kgaphola, said the university would improve despite financial strain.

Kgaphola said management was in talks with university stakeholders about the issue of bonuses for academics and other staff, saying it was a “difficult time” for universities.

“For a university like MUT, the implications could be drastic. We have no money as it is; we are cutting the budget drastically and we have to look everywhere, but we must be careful not to cripple the organisation,” he said.

Kgaphola defended university vice-chancellors on the principle of outsourcing, saying it was a “difficult choice” and not a “cut and dry” issue.

“It’s unfair to suggest vice chancellors took decisions without thinking about the future. The socio-political environment is full of contradictions. You solve a problem today and you create another one tomorrow. We need to consider the implications of insourcing that come with it,” he said.

He said the university would add an extra 600 beds to its Umlazi campus residence from next year, taking total university-owned beds to 2 000. The university leases around 4 000 beds in the Durban CBD.

Kgaphola added that the university struggled to recover student debt and had secured more than R28m in bursary funding from private sponsors, benefiting more than 900 students over the past two years.

Kgaphola said MUT’s graduation rate was 22%, and it had the highest foundation programme to undergraduate studies rate of all six universities of technology in the country, despite 80% of its student population coming from poor backgrounds.

Regarding the 0% fee hike next year, government was not giving clear answers to universities about how the lost revenue would be recouped, Kgaphola said, so the university faced a tough battle to meet its obligations to service providers such as externally leased residences for students and bus services.

Professor Khehla Ndlovu, MUT’s deputy vice-chancellor of resources and planning, said the university leased residences in the Durban CBD for more than 4 000 students and contracts with these residences were binding for three-year cycles at 8% annual increases.

“We are looking at the budget carefully, we are engaging service providers to say this is the situation and we are aware of our commitment, but this is our challenge. We may have to have additional engagement with the municipality to see what they can do to supplement, maybe in the rates and taxes, water and light bills,” he said.

Ndlovu said cleaning services contracts and the security contracts required at least 7% increases in their contracts too.

Next year the university will open a new residential block at their Umlazi campus to take university-owned beds to 2 000, and it expected close to R1bn from the government for additional infrastructure projects that would include the construction of more beds, new administrative blocks and a student centre over the next few years.

Daily News

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A 51-year-old police officer was killed, while a second officer was wounded in a shooting in the Gingindlovu area.

Durban - A 51 year old police officer was shot and killed in the line of duty on Monday, a second police officer was wounded in a shooting in the Gingindlovu area. It is alleged that the police were patrolling the area near a shopping complex and after responding to information of a suspicious vehicle parked along the R102 the officers approached the vehicle. It is alleged the suspects started to shoot at the officers as they approached the vehicle.

KwaZulu-Natal, South African Police Service (SAPS) spokesperson Thulani Zwane said: “The suspects fled the scene in a white Toyota Auris. There are no arrests made at this stage, the police are still investigating the matter”.

Over the weekend, a 40 year old police officer, Niren Ramsaroop, who has been in the line of duty for 21 years, was killed while trying to prevent a robbery in Empangeni. KZN MEC for Safety, Willies Mchunu, has expressed his utter disgust over the recent killings of police officers.

“We strongly hold the view that the murder and maiming of the police should be declared as an attack against the state and, therefore, should be treated as high treason. We condemn in the strongest possible terms the killing and maiming of police officers and urge anyone who might have information into these two cases to report it to the police immediately,” said Mchunu.

KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner, Mmamonnye Ngobeni, has sent her condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of the victims.

National DPCI Hawks head Lt Gen Ntlemeza vows to toughen fight against police killers after recent spate of police killings “Hawks will be opposing bail in all police killing cases” and to meet NPA Head for discussions on way forward.

The second police officer who is seriously wounded, is currently receiving treatment.

IOL Mojo

Hours after burying his colleague killed at the volatile Glebelands Hostel, victim number 54 – Mthinteni Mhlongo – was shot dead.

Durban - Mthinteni Mhlongo – Glebelands Hostel victim number 54 – was shot dead within a few metres of the taxi that had brought him home from the funeral of his colleague killed at the hostel days earlier.

He had been in one of five packed minibuses returning from the funeral in eMkhomazi on Saturday.

The hostel dwellers had been escorted by police to the funeral of Frank Khuzwayo who was gunned down last Saturday and died in hospital. Men draped in the colours of uMkhonto weSizwe carried his coffin.

“Frank had given his life to the struggle. He too had worn the uniform with pride. He remained a poor man to the day he died because he had sacrificed personal gain for the party – his party – the ANC,” community activist Vanessa Burger said.

Touched by the death of Khuzwayo – who had been vocal against the political intolerance at the hostel, Mhlongo spoke out against the ANC at the funeral.

“One of the men who spoke most eloquently about the current political rot that is killing our comrades, was Mthinteni Mhlongo, himself an MK vet and Glebelands resident. He told it straight at the funeral: ‘The ANC killed Frank, our sin is the truth’,” Burger said.

Mhlongo was shot minutes after alighting from a minibus taxi outside Block K at the hostel, allegedly by a hired gunman.

Opposition political parties are now begging the ANC to intervene hastily at the hostel after Community Safety MEC Willies Mchunu reportedly said on Ukhozi FM on Friday that the fighting was due to internal ANC tensions.

Burger and DA KZN leader, Zwakele Mncwango, claim they heard Mchunu say publicly that “the people must now solve their own problems as he could do no more”.

Mchunu was interviewed on radio hours after the death of Bongani Mthembu, another leader at Glebelands, who was gunned down at the hostel on Thursday.

This morning, Mchunu’s spokesman, Sipho Khumalo, denied he made the comment and said the MEC, along with others in local government, was involved in trying to bring an end to the violence.

“But there has to be a willingness to come together on the part of the warring factions,” he said.

There was only so much law enforcement officials could do, he said.

Police spokesman, Brigadier Jay Naicker, said Mhlongo, 41, died after sustaining two bullet wounds at about 6pm on Saturday.

Mncwango, who had previously called for a commission of inquiry into why people were being killed at the hostel, said it was no longer necessary because the ANC was aware of the cause of the unrest.

“The ANC must take serious responsibility,” he said. “The problem at Glebelands is a problem of the ANC, only they can solve the problem with the solutions because they are aware of the infighting. Why don’t they sit down with their members at branch level?” he said.

“We have heard different reasons for the unrest – from tribalism, to selling beds – but now they say there is no need to bring the soldiers in because the problem is within the ANC itself,” Mncwango said.

IFP chairman, Blessed Gwala, said the government was “sitting” on the problem and called for a multi-party solution.

“The issue of the violence is not an ANC issue alone, it involves everyone; but the ANC is dealing with it alone, excluding other political formations. The question is why? It is because they know they will be exposed,” he said.

ANC provincial secretary, Super Zuma, said the party was gathering reports about the instability from its former provincial executive committee.

“We are calling for calm and for members not to hit back because we are a party of peace and the people. We want to be given an opportunity to look into this, it is one of the priorities on the agenda for the PEC to deal with,” he said.

Daily News

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Since 2014 20 000 incomplete abortions were recorded in KNZ, now the province’s health department will launch a campaign against against illegal abortion.

Durban – The KwaZulu-Natal Health department will launch a campaign against against illegal abortion.

Spokesperson Sam Mkhwanazi said on Monday that the department was not happy about the “the proliferation of advertisements on the lamp-posts and electric boxes promising safe, quick and pain free abortions exacerbates the challenge posed by illegal, backstreet abortions, which pose a health risk to the young mothers and women.”

Mwkhwanazi said data showed that from 2014 to now 20 013 women were admitted to different hospitals within the province as a a result of “incomplete abortions” and a further 1 455 abortions were septic.

The KwaZulu-Natal Health MEC will launch a campaign in Pietermaritzburg on Tuesday to “call for action against illegal abortions, and promote access to safe, legal abortion as women’s health and human rights issue.”

The campaign will fight stigma associated with abortion, clampdown on illegal back street abortion clinics, and empower women with the right information they need to make informed decision.

African News Agency

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The funeral of murdered metro police senior manager Innocent Chamane has been stopped by court interdict.

Durban - The funeral of murdered metro police senior manager Innocent Chamane has been stopped by court interdict amid allegations by his ex-wife and children that his girlfriend and sisters want to “rush it through” to quickly take control of his financial affairs.

Durban High Court Judge Piet Koen granted the urgent interim order late on Friday, ordering that the “heirs” – his ex-wife Sandra, daughter, also Sandra, and three sons – be given control of his body and that his six sisters and girlfriend Thando Duma give to them his death certificate, the keys to his safe and any cash taken from it. They were also ordered to stop dealing with insurance companies. The respondents have until November 19 to file papers opposing the order being made final.

Chamane – the support services manager – was a controversial and largely unpopular figure in the metro police.

He was shot several times in the head and body when he returned home at KwaNgcolisi, near Hillcrest, last Tuesday evening.

In her affidavit on behalf of the “heirs”, his daughter Sandra Chamane said her siblings had “strong emotional ties with him”.

“Our relationships may not have been perfect and at times strained, but we loved him dearly,” she said.

She said after hearing of his murder, she had gone to his house to discover her mother in tears complaining that she was being treated in an undignified and disrespectful manner.

“She had been barred from entering the house. We were also then rudely dismissed.

“Only after my other brother arrived were we allowed in, but all our inquiries regarding burial plans and the completion of customary practices were met with disdain,” she said.

One of her brothers had then discovered further meetings – again with the exclusion of the heirs – and it appeared funeral arrangements for November 15 were well under way.

Chamane said there was no mention of the important cleansing ceremony which had to be done so that her father was “clean when reintroduced to his ancestors”.

Apart from “unlawfully taking control of his ID book, safe keys and bank cards”, accessing his bank accounts and engaging with his insurers, the respondents had also barred them from seeing his body at the mortuary by not putting their names on the “permitted visitors list”.

“They are acting with bad intentions. They are attempting to unlawfully administer the estate and that is why the funeral is being rushed, why they are contacting insurers and consolidating his financial affairs,” she said.

The Mercury

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Grant Jones, who was left paralysed after an attempt on his life, has approached the director of public prosecutions.

Durban - A Kloof businessman, who was left paralysed after an attempt on his life, has approached the director of public prosecutions to investigate how the case was handled.

Grant Jones and his family approached advocate Moipone Noko to raise their concerns related to the case.

Jones’s wife, Debbie, said the family were shocked and disappointed by what happened in court last Thursday, as they had believed that there was a strong case.

“We were shocked when we were told that some of the charges were going to be withdrawn and we want to know why. Our family has survived several attacks not just on my husband, but on my father too. We are living in fear.”

She said the family had been pleased with the work done by the Hawks investigating team, led by Warrant Officer Deena Govender, but felt they had been let down by the prosecution.

Noko confirmed, via National Prosecuting Authority spokeswoman Natasha Ramkisson Kara, that she met Jones and his family after the court proceedings last Thursday.

Jones said the family had been left devastated after they had heard in court that prosecutors based at the Durban Magistrate’s Court who had been dealing with the case had been instructed by a deputy director of public prosecution to withdraw some of the charges and not oppose bail.

As a result of the instruction, charges against Dain Neveling, the man who police had alleged orchestrated the hits, were provisionally withdrawn in the Durban Magistrate’s Court.

He now faces only charges of unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition.

Neveling and his alleged accomplices, Hendrik Nunez and Jorgen Jorgensen, were initially charged with attempted murder and conspiracy to commit murder in connection with an attempt on Jones’s life in July.

In the July incident, Jones was shot several times and was left unable to walk. His speech was also affected because of complications after the shooting.

Jones’s father-in-law was attacked also in July this year and the Jones family believes the incidents are linked, but no one has been charged for the incident.

The three were also charged with conspiracy to commit murder in connection with a plot to kill Jones in October.

A decision was also made to withdraw the charges related to the July incident against Nunez and Jorgensen and they are facing only a charge of conspiracy to commit murder relating to the October incident.

Police have said that in the October incident, the Hawks were made aware of the murder plot and had an officer pose as a “hit man” for hire. Jones’s death was then staged and the men were arrested after the money for the job was paid.

Jones said Noko had been very accommodating.

“She has given us some hope in the justice system and we are waiting for her response.”

The Mercury

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Rovani Sigamoney said she usually spent her Friday evenings watching soccer at Stade de France but was held up at work.

Durban - A former KZN woman now living in Paris said it was fate that probably saved her from becoming a victim of Friday night’s horror attacks in the city.

The wave of shootings and suicide bombings at restaurants, a concert hall and a sports stadium around Paris by suspected Islamist militants claimed more than 130 lives with over 350 others injured.

Rovani Sigamoney, from Verulam, who has lived in Paris for the past nine years and runs a Unesco engineering programme, said she usually spent her Friday evenings watching soccer at Stade de France stadium but was held up at work that evening.

“I enjoy watching soccer so I would normally have gone to support France, who were playing at the stadium on Friday. But because I had to work late, I couldn't make it. I suppose it was just fate that saved me,” she said.

She said she went to a restaurant after work, about 7km from the closest attacks, when a woman at the table next to her began crying after a phone call.

“Her husband then told everyone what was going on and people all checked on the internet to find out more,” she said.

Sigamoney said she and her friends then left the restaurant to go home.

“People in the city have been brought closer since the attacks, Taxi drivers were giving people free rides to wherever they needed to be and people opened their doors to strangers in need,” she said.

Sigamoney said it was 6.30am South African time when she received her first call.

“My family called me at 4.30am in Paris to check if I was okay because everyone knew I am a keen soccer fan, they were very worried.”

She said when she went out to buy bread for breakfast the next morning, the streets of Paris seemed to be a ghost town.

“There were about nine or 10 people on the streets which was unusual for a Saturday morning in Paris. Many items on the shelves could not be found because people were panic buying,” she said.

On Sunday however, things seemed to return to relative normality, according to Sigamoney.

“People went out to cafés and drank wine and others gathered at the Notre Dame Church. People wanted to show that they were not afraid,” she said.

Sigamoney said places like the Eiffel Tower had been closed because it was a suspected target of attack.

“Paris is a symbol of freedom and joy which could have been why we were attacked,” she said.

She said it was sad that people used religion as a motive for such attacks.

“All lives matter, whether it is in Beirut, Kenya or Paris. This has personally affected me as Paris is the city I call home away from South Africa.” she said.

Tershia Stevens, a 45-year-old pharmacist, who moved to Paris in August this year, was at home when the bombings happened.

The former KwaduKuza (Stanger) resident said the mood was one of mourning yet of total solidarity and described the city’s cit¬izens as being resilient. She said the police and army are out in full force.

The mother of two said “any terrorist act is a gross insult to human rights”.

The Post

Two Hindu families were allegedly shot with a paintball gun by their neighbour while letting off fireworks for Diwali.

Durban - Two Hindu families - one from Glen Anil and the other from La Lucia - have laid charges against others in their neighbourhoods after they became targets when letting off fireworks for Diwali.

On Monday Vikram and Shiksha Roopnarain sought a protection order against a neighbour who allegedly shot at them with a paintball gun. They also found rubber pellets in their yard.

They laid a criminal charge against the man on the night of Diwali but now intend laying further charges against members of the Durban North Neighbours Facebook group after their home address - along with those of other Hindus - was published for letting off fireworks.

The Roopnarains intend laying complaints with the Human Rights Commission for insults hurled against Hindus by members of the group.

Businessman Prevan Naidoo, who lives in La Lucia, claims he was sworn at by neighbours. His address was posted on the Facebook group, and he lodged the defamation of character charge against members of the group on Monday at the Durban North police station.

“Their actions were nothing to do with the fireworks but racist. While celebrating I had several people come to my house and swear me, telling me that c*** are taking over La Lucia,” he said.

A member of the Facebook group suggested petrol bombing the homes of people letting off fireworks on the night of Diwali. Throwing eggs and faeces at their homes and ringing their doorbells in the early hours was also raised.

The Roopnarains and Naidoo have taken screen grabs of the Facebook comments and provided them to police.

“I am totally paranoid now about leaving my family home alone,” Roopnarian said on Monday.

“We are living in fear now because our address is known and we are now targets,” he said.

The family, who are not members of the closed Facebook page, was alerted by Naidoo who had seen the posts and took screen grabs.

“This is really scary stuff,” said Shiksha. “We are terrified.”

Shiksha said on the night of Diwali the family did not let off any loud fireworks but merely “display fireworks”.

Roopnarain said that he, his wife and 3-year-old son had invited several family members to their home to celebrate, including nephews and nieces ranging between six and 18 years old.

Shiksha said: “My husband’s 18-year-old nephew was recording the fireworks on a cellphone when he felt something hit him. There was a pop, pop sound.

“Then he just started screaming ‘he is shooting at us, he is shooting at us’. When we went down we saw that it was our neighbour who had a paintball gun shooting at us.”

The family called the police, who launched an investigation.

Roopnarain said when he walked around his yard the next day he saw paint from the paint gun pellets splattered across his wall. They picked up four unexploded paint pellets and two made of rubber.

“What if one of those bullets hit the young children who were playing in the yard at the time? Someone could have got seriously hurt and this could have been a totally different story,” he said.

Naidoo and the Roopnarains claimed their immediate neighbours had no problems with their fireworks, but it was neighbours from other streets who were the most vocal.

Kerry Haylett, administrator for the Durban North Neighbours Facebook group, admitted that “tempers got very short that evening”.

“It was the worst case of fireworks we have experienced in years! DNN is a group who is VERY (sic) Pro Animals especially Rescues - a lot of the group including myself were driving round checking up that there were not animals running around the roads - animals that had got scared and bolted. NOWHERE (sic) does it state that Diwali/Christmas/New Year has to be celebrated with fireworks. Instead of the angle you are preparing to take I really feel you should be doing an article of the impact of fireworks on (an) autistic child who cannot tolerate the noise, all animals and those with PTSD,” she said.

Ashwin Trikamjee, president of the SA Hindu Maha Sabha, said people needed to be more tolerant.

He said he was pleased that the majority of people in the Hindu community heeded the call to set off fireworks between 7.30pm and 10.30pm, and not to let off big bangs.

“There are people, sadly after 21 years of democracy, who do not know what it is to tolerate and respect other people’s cultures.

“Our appeal to these people is, understand your neighbour, participate in your neighbour’s cultural practices because, by doing that, you will become more tolerant and you will appreciate and acknowledge each other’s cultural differences,” he said.

Police spokesman, Major Thulani Zwane, confirmed police were investigating.

“We can confirm an incident that occurred on November 11 at about 21.42 where an 18-year-old male was allegedly shot with a pellet gun at Pigeonwood Close, Glen Anil.

“The motive of the attack is unknown at this stage. Greenwood Park police are investigating a case of assault and no arrest has been made at this stage,” he said.

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The minimum wage for domestic workers will be increased next month, but analysts have mixed views on the pay rise.

Durban - The minimum wage for domestic workers will be increased next month, but analysts have mixed views on whether the pay rise will impact positively on the lives of workers.

The Department of Labour announced the wage hikes on Monday which include an 8% to 10% increase for domestic workers, depending on the hours and areas in which they work.

Department spokesman Mokgadi Pela said the increases would be effective from December 1, and until the end of November next year.

In terms of the Domestic Sectoral Determination, an employee who works more than 27 hours in Area A should be paid not less than an hourly rate of R11.44, while an employee who works less than 27 hours should be paid not less than an hourly rate of R13.39.

An employee who works more than 27 hours in Area B should be paid a minimum of R10.23 per hour, and an employee who works less than 27 hours should be paid not less than R12.07 per hour.

Pietermaritzburg Agency for Community Social Action researcher, Julie Smith, said the baseline salary was low and the increase was not enough for domestic workers to live a dignified life.

“Domestic workers tend to live in single-income households,” she said.

She said the current cost for a basic monthly food basket was R1 638.36, while a nutritionally balanced food basket cost R2 713.34.

Smith added that other factors to consider were transport and that not all domestic workers were employed the whole month and often worked once or twice a week.

Freemarket Foundation labour economist Loane Sharp questioned the idea of a minimum wage.

“The Department of Labour is naive in thinking that wages can be raised by government edict independent of the level of skill of domestic workers.”

He said although the decision might be politically popular, it would have a devastating impact on the least skilled.

“Over the last decade, the number of domestic workers has fallen from 2.1 million to 1.3 million. Even those figures don’t tell the full story,” Sharp said.

He said a decade ago the majority of domestic workers worked full-time.

“Today more than 60% of domestic workers work on a part-time basis with no food or lodgings provided by employers,” Sharp said.

He said the government also failed to realise that the work done by domestic workers was broader than just cleaning.

“They often have to do budgeting, child minding and supervise homework,” he said.

Organiser for the South African Domestic Service and Allied Workers’ Union, Gloria Kente, said she could not comment because the union would only review the wages at the beginning of December.

Areas define salaries paid

* Area A is defined as falling within the following municipalities: Bergrivier, Breederivier, Buffalo City, Cape Agulhas, Cederberg, City of Cape Town, City of Johannesburg, City of Tshwane, Drakenstein, Ekurhuleni Metro, Emalahleni, Emfuleni, eThekwini Metro, Gamagara, George, Hibiscus Coast, Karoo Hoogland, Kgatelopele, Khara Hais, Knysna, Kungwini, Kouga, Langeberg, Lesedi, Makana, Mangaung Metro, Matzikama, Metsimaholo, Middelburg, Midvaal, Mngeni, Mogale City, Mossel Bay, Msunduzi, Mtubatuba, Nama Khoi, Nelson Mandela, Nokeng tsa Taemane, Oudtshoorn, Overstrand, Plettenbergbaai, Potchefstroom (Tlokwe), Randfontein, Richtersveld, Saldanha Bay, Sol Plaatjie, Stellenbosch, Swartland, Swellendam, Theewaterskloof, Umdoni, uMhlathuze and Witzenberg.

* Area B includes all areas not mentioned under Area A.

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A KZN couple who pleaded guilty to drug dealing, has had their remaining cash and assets be forfeited to the state.

Durban - A Pietermaritzburg couple who pleaded guilty to dealing in drugs had a final order granted against them at the city’s high court on Monday, declaring that their remaining cash and assets be forfeited to the state, as these were obtained through illegal activity.

In terms of the order granted by Acting Judge Sharon Marks, R36 569 cash, as well as 122 items including cellphones, cameras and jewellery ranging from diamond rings to gold bracelets, pendants and watches, belonging to Terence Moonsamy and his wife, Vigie, were forfeited to the state.

Kenneth Samuel, a provincial deputy director of public prosecutions, said in an affidavit that the police first became aware of the couple in 2013.

Police launched an investigation and the Moonsamy residence at 18 Jinnah Road in Northdale was placed under surveillance.

An undercover agent, identified as Gwyneth Gafney, infiltrated the Moonsamy’s drug ring.

Gafney was already employed as an agent in Project Abathintwa, which was dir-ected at other drug dealers in Mars Crescent.

During Gafney’s interactions with Mars Crescent drug dealers, she was informed that the Moonsamys were alternate drug suppliers.

Gafney was told that Terence Moonsamy was in jail at the time, but that Vigie had drugs in stock.

Gafney visited the Moonsamy home, which has a tuck shop at the front of the premises, on February 14, 2013,

A man, identified as Shabir Vankia, one of Moonsamy’s alleged drug runners, introduced her to Vigie.

Gafney bought a jaw of cocaine for R1 100 and, four days later, she purchased a quarter jaw of cocaine for R400.

Police obtained a search warrant for the Moonsamy home on August 2, 2013.

The couple called their attorney, Nersan Naicker, and after he arrived, the couple cooperated with the police.

A search of the lounge revealed five packets of dagga and a crumbling half tablet of mandrax.

In the couple’s bedroom, Moonsamy showed the police a concealed cupboard compartment where they found six jaws of cocaine, 19 mandrax tablets, two bank packets of cocaine, a ziplock bag with loose marijuana and R3 000 cash.

A search of the tuckshop uncovered R8 550 in cash, two glass smoking pipes and a large amount of alcohol.

The couple and their runners, including Vankia, were arrested on charges of possession and dealing in mandrax and cocaine.

Vigie pleaded guilty and received a five-year suspended sentence and a R15 000 fine on November 29, 2013.

Her husband Terence also pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 10 years, five of which were suspended, for dealing in cocaine, and six years, three suspended, for dealing in mandrax.

Court documents revealed Moonsamy had 13 previous convictions, including offences for dealing in drugs and unlawful possession of a firearm.

The drugs seized from the couple’s home had an estimated street value of R40 000.

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The row between Noma, the wife of Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba, and Buhle Mkhize is on the boil again.

Durban - The row between Noma, the wife of Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba, and Buhle Mkhize is on the boil again.

International fashion stylist Mkhize, who claims to have had an affair with Gigaba which the Gigabas have denied, said he should give his wife a rundown of his job description and explain that he had no authority to ban anyone.

In an Instagram post, Mkhize, who now lives in New York but is originally from Eshowe, told Noma that her husband was merely an employee “who can’t abuse the power”.

“You also should school Noma, you have no power to ban me out of South Africa, it is my birthright,” she wrote.

Noma - who goes by the name Mrs Gigabyte on Instagram - and Mkhize have been embroiled in numerous skirmishes on social media.

At the weekend Mkhize dared Gigaba and his wife to show up at a “live media outlet” that would see them putting the controversy to rest once and for all.

Alongside a lengthy Instagram post was a screengrab of an office telephone number which Mkhize claimed indicated a call from “South African intelligence” trying to get her to “shut-up”.

She said the phone caller had threatened her, saying she should stop hanging the “Malusi-Noma-Buhle” dirty linen in public. Mkhize said: “If you and wife want to speak, yekani ukukhamisa (stop wandering) on social networks. The three of us must go into some live media outlet with all papers in hand, (not to bribed newspapers). We should speak openly where there are no claims words were twisted.”

Addressing Gigaba she said: “As for you, ungayikhiphi inyoka emgodini (do not force a snake out of the hole), you cried, begged and spent anything on your Campaign Buhle and you now want to play supportive husband to make me look like an idiot.”

Mkhize told the minister she was not scared of him and had everything, including “prayer and financial power, to fight whatever may come”.

“You always run around with ‘no comment’ all the time because you know the truth,” Mkhize wrote.

When asked for comment on Monday, Gigaba’s spokesman Mayihlome Tshwete said: “Minister does not comment on trivial matters.”

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The devastated family of beheaded cricket player Nawaaz Khan have buried his head above his body.

Durban - The family of beheaded cricket player Nawaaz Khan buried his head in Umzinto on Monday.

Nawaaz’s uncle, Haroon Sultan, said the family was devastated, but at the same time the burial had brought closure.

Sultan said a relative had identified the head on Monday, and the Muslim funeral services fetched it and gave it the traditional bath.

“We held a funeral service and prayer session as normal. The head went to his home for five minutes, as per his mother’s request. The head was buried alongside the body,” Sultan said.

The family did not exhume or open the body of Nawaaz, which was wrapped in a white sheet of cloth. Instead, they placed the head above the body.

Sultan said his niece, Zakia Khan, was in shock and a 10-day prayer would start on Tuesday.

Khan went missing on October 31.

His body was found in bushes near Gandhinagar suburb a week later.

Police arrested three suspects in connection with the murder. Khan’s head was retrieved on Tuesday in a gumtree plantation near Park Rynie, after the suspects pointed out where they had buried it.

Meanwhile, in court, a security guard believed to be implicated in Khan’s murder appeared in the Umzinto Magistrate’s Court on Monday.

Police spokesman Brigadier Jay Naicker said Mveliso Eric Nqini, 36, of Malangeni, had been charged with the murder of a woman who had also been beheaded. Nqini was remanded in police custody and is due in court on Monday.

On Friday, police arrested Nqini in the Umzinto CBD. He allegedly led police to bushes opposite Gandhinagar, where he pointed out the body of a woman.

“When questioned about the woman’s head, the suspect led police to another location in the vicinity where a plastic shopping bag containing decomposed, crushed bones was recovered.

“The plastic bag containing what is believed to be the remains of the victim’s head and the headless body were removed to the Park Rynie state mortuary,” Naicker said.

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A State witness told a Durban court that he heard voices after he began testifying in the Desiree Murugan beheading case.

Durban - A State witness told the Durban High Court on Monday that he had been hearing voices after he testified in the murder trial involving five accused, including a traditional healer, after the killing of Chatsworth woman Desiree Murugan.

Falakhe Khumalo is serving a life sentence for his role in the August 2014 murder and decapitation of Murugan.

In the past week, he told the court that traditional healer, Sibonakaliso Mbili, had promised him R2 million if he brought the head of an Indian, white or coloured woman.

Under cross-examination on Monday, he told Judge Thoba Poyo-Dlwati that he had often slept over at Mbili’s house from the time he first met him in 2013.

When questioned by defence advocate, Rema Mahabeer as to why he did not speak of this during his evidence-in-chief, Khumalo said he could not remember everything exactly.

He referred to muti and said “the minute I started testifying, I’m hearing voices”.

Poyo-Dlwati questioned him further and Khumalo said he heard the voices while he was asleep.

Mbili, 32, and three minors, including a 16-year-old girl, have pleaded not guilty to conspiring to kill and murder Murugan. Mbili’s assistant, 30-year-old Vusumuzi Gumede, pleaded not guilty to the charge of accessory after the fact to murder.

Murugan was lured to a sports ground in Shallcross where she was stabbed 192 times and beheaded.

Khumalo told the court he had visited Mbili six times since they first met in 2013. He first said it was five times, then changed this to six after elaborating on each visit.

He testified to first being told about the head at his second visit and on the third visit had brought his friends for Mbili to confirm the promise of R2m.

The fourth visit, he said was to collect the muti from Mbili. The fifth visit was when they took Mbili the woman’s head and the sixth visit was the day when the accused were arrested, he testified.

Khumalo then spoke about often staying over at Mbili’s house after his third visit, saying he would arrive late in the afternoon and Mbili would tell him, and whoever he had arrived with, to spend the night.

Mahabeer put it to Khumalo that this was never reported in his statement to the police, his plea or when he had testified.

Khumalo responded that he had not recalled everything properly earlier.

The trial continues.

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KZN police have arrested a man linked to a string of serious crimes including murder, car hijacking, housebreaking and theft.

Durban - A suspect wanted for serious crimes including murder and hijacking has been arrested, Kwazulu Natal police said on Wednesday.

Police spokesperson Major Thulani Zwane said the man had allegedly broken into the Pietermaritzburg Crime Intelligence offices in July and stolen a rifle and three handguns locked in a safe.

“The police combed the entire crime scene for evidence and fingerprints were taken. A few days later, the Pietermaritzburg Local Criminal Recording Centre (fingerprints Office) released information that positively identified the suspect via fingerprints”, Zwane said.

The suspect has been linked to a string of serious crimes including murder, car hijacking, housebreaking and theft.

Zwane said crime intelligence members “worked around the clock” to track down the suspect on Tuesday.

The breakthrough in the case came this week, when police received information about his whereabouts.

“The said suspect was always on the move from one city to another in order to avoid being apprehended. The members finally apprehended the suspect in Howick yesterday (on Tuesday). The police also followed up on the cases where the suspect was involved in and managed to recover the stolen rifle and three handguns.”

ANA

Durban - A teenager was killed and 15 people were injured in a lightning strike on a homestead in Maphumulo in KwaZulu-Natal, paramedics said on Wednesday.

Robert McKenzie, spokesman for the KwaZulu-Natal provincial Emergency Medical Service (EMS), said that the 16 were reportedly watching television in a thatched rondavel in the rural area when the lightning strike happened.

“We’re not exactly sure what happened, but it seems the lightning hit the 16-year old who was standing in the doorway and he may have then acted as a conductor.”

The 16-year old succumbed to his injuries, while five people were seriously injured and 10 sustained minor injuries.

EMS took the injured to the Maphumulo Provincial Hospital and Stanger Provincial Hospital in KwaDukuza.

ANA