Three men pleaded not guilty to the execution-style murders of two foreigners in Inchanga.

Durban - Three men pleaded not guilty to the execution-style murders of two foreigners in Inchanga.

Siyabonga Ngubane, 27, his brother, Lwazi Ngubane, 19, of Hammarsdale, and Sanele Mkhize, 21, of Port Shepstone, pleaded not guilty yesterday at the Pietermaritzburg High Court to two countsof murder and robbery with aggravating circumstances.

Mkhize is chargedwith an additional count of the theft of a motor vehicle.

The State alleges that on February 9 last year, the trio, with other assailants, killed Ethiopians Polos Getachow and Dselegen Yenefulo and then stole a white Nissan bakkie belonging to the victims, as well as airtime vouchers and cash at Mhlope’s Shop in Inchanga.

The State alleges that the gang of assailants plotted to rob the victims and armed themselves with firearms.

On the day of the incident, they approached the victims at their shop and ordered them to lie on the ground. The victims were both shot in their heads.

The suspects then fled with money from the register and the other stolen items.

The trio pleaded not guilty, claiming that they were not at the scene of the crime and that there is nothing connecting them to the murders. The State intends relying largely on circumstantial evidence, which includes statements made bythe accused to a magistrate after their arrests, aswell as statements madeby their alleged accomplices.

The trial is proceeding.

Daily News

With Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi due to arrive in July, the race is on to finish work on a new Durban museum celebrating the life and work of Mahatma Gandhi.

Durban - There is a race against time to finish work on a new Durban museum celebrating the life and work of Mahatma Gandhi.

The museum in Dr Goonam (Prince Edward) Street in the CBD has been stalled by a funding row, fuelling fears it will not be completed in time for an official opening by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, when he arrives in the city just weeks from now.

The provincial government had made a commitment to contribute R1.25 million, with the Indian government making available the same amount as initial funding for the project.

But the KwaZulu-Natal government subsequently informed Gandhi’s granddaughter, Ella - who is on the trust responsible for the Gandhi Memorial Museum - that it was not in a position to fund the project.

According to a letter to Gandhi, signed by provincial acting director-general Frikkie Brooks, and dated April 1, 2016, the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Trust had failed to furnish required information to the premier’s office on time.

Some of the conditions the provincial government had set for the transfer of funds were that banking details and a list of the trustees be forwarded to the premier’s office.

The Daily News has seen a copy of the letter.

The letter indicates the trust was promised financial assistance in the 2009/10 financial year and the organisation was requested to submit an agreement from the Indian government for the process to be taken forward.

“None of those documents have reached our offices on time. A business plan, banking details and a tax clearance certificate were requested for the payment to be made, and these were never received; In the light of the above as well as the current government budget cuts that are in place, the Office of the Premier regrets to inform you that it will not be able to assist your organisation financially, or make payments to any service providers that your organisation may have appointed,” reads the letter.

Another letter from the office dated July 27, 2009, addressed to Dr Khorshed Ginwala, chairwoman of the trust, confirmed that R1.25 million would be transferred to the trust upon receipt of a signed agreement with the Indian government.

After building work began in 2014, R1.25m from the Indian government was released to the trust to continue with the work.

But the funds subsequently dried up, and the project stalled, with the contractor still owed about R1.1m, according to Gandhi.

Ginwala on Tuesday confirmed to the Daily News that work on the project had stopped although the main structure had been completed.

According to Ginwala and Gandhi, the building, though complete, was an empty shell.

Ginwala said the provincial government was no longer transferring the funds to the trust. However, she referred questions on the funding to Gandhi.

“The idea was to have the Indian prime minister, who will arrive in Durban in July, open the museum officially. For the trust it doesn’t sit well that the promised funding becomes an issue now.

“We have sent what they required but we are told that it was not on time. We hope that this will be resolved amicably in time for the prime minister’s arrival,” said Ginwala.

Modi was expected in Durban on July 9, the eThekwini Municipality confirmed to the Daily News’s sister paper, the Tribune Herald.

The museum was intended to showcase memorabilia representing Gandhi’s work in India and South Africa.

The idea of a museum was developed by the trust, which was set up to look after two properties which were donated to the then Natal Indian Congress by Mahatma Gandhi in 1913 before he left South Africa.

His granddaughter on Tuesday explained the congress was later incorporated into the ANC.

She was anxious not to be seen to be discrediting some of the role players involved when the project was initiated, but explained why there had been delays in providing the provincial government with the documents.

“The Indian government donated R1.25 million which was released when the building process started in 2014. We work with volunteers so we have been unable to attend to all the correspondence with different stakeholders, hence the delay in furnishing the provincial government with the papers it required to release the promised funds.

“I’m sorry that we’ve had to make people wait for this museum,” Gandhi said.

She said the provincial government had later requested details on what the money would be used for, but this proved difficult.

“We can’t give them such details because we still owe the contractors money and they are the only ones with such details. We were hoping that the Indian prime minister would preside over the official opening of the facility when he comes to Durban in July,” she said.

She said they were working on a plan to resolve the problem.

Brooks could not be reached on Tuesday, but Ndabe Sibiya, spokesman for the premier’s office, said this morning that the matter was being resolved.

He said Premier Willies Mchunu would meet the High Commissioner of India, Ruchi Ghanashyam, in Pietermaritzburg, to deal with this and other issues before Modi’s visit.

Sibiya said the previous premier, Senzo Mchunu, had met Gandhi and Indian Consul-General, Puneet Kundal, this year and said the matter had been taken forward.

“The matter was resolved, it is now a question of dealing with administration,” he said.

Gandhi said: “If possible we would like to see this project properly concluded as soon as possible. We would not like adverse publicity to mar the goodwill and respect we have enjoyed thus far among all the role-players.”

The completion of the museum was reportedly originally set for October 2012.

She said a plan had been drawn up in 2009 by then premier Dr Zweli Mkhize, and Ginwala, among others, who then decided that a monument be built on one of the properties donated to the NIC.

Daily News

The Hawks have arrested a third person in connection with the theft of R7.5 million from the KwaZulu-Natal cooperative governance and traditional affairs department.

Durban – A third person has been arrested by the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) in connection with the theft of R7.5 million from the KwaZulu-Natal cooperative governance and traditional affairs (Cogta) department.

Cogta spokesman Lennox Mabaso said on Wednesday that the departmental official was arrested and appeared in court and was released on R10 000 bail.

Last year December a second official was arrested, who was alleged to have bypassed the department’s security controls in November and allegedly managed to send a payment to the businessman instead of the Ingwe Local Municipality for whom it had been intended.

The theft was picked up when the municipality complained that it had yet to receive the money.

That employee failed to report for work after making the unauthorised transaction.

The businesman, Mex Dhladla, appeared in the Pietermaritzburg Magistrate’s Court in connection with the missing money. He was released on bail of R50 000.

It was not immediately clear what the role or position of the female employee was who appeared in court on Wednesday.

African News Agency

Security guards and cleaners at a number of government hospitals in Durban have gone on strike, demanding they be made permanent employees.

Durban - Security guards and cleaners at a number of government hospitals in Durban have gone on strike, demanding they be made permanent employees.

Joe Sibiya, of the South African Public Services Union (Sapsu), said workers at King Dinuzulu Hospital (formerly King George V), Prince Mshiyeni and King Edward VIII hospitals were already on strike.

Workers at other hospitals, including Wentworth Hospital, were expected to join the strike soon, he said.

He said the workers - including security guards and cleaners - were poorly paid and the union wanted them to be made permanent staff and get higher salaries and benefits.

Sibiya said they were supported by section 198 subsection 3 of the Amended Labour Relations Act, which deals with temporary worker employment.

He said they were trying to talk to the Department of Health to address their grievances.

Nurses union, Denosa, ruled out a sympathy strike, although they supported the Sapsu strike in principle.

Denosa KwaZulu-Natal provincial organiser, Mandla Shabangu, said: “We feel there should be platforms where these issues could be discussed without services being brought to a standstill.”

KwaZulu-Natal Department of Health spokesman, Sam Mkhwanazi, said: “While the right to a peaceful protest and picket is legal in South Africa, it is against the law to prevent or interfere with anyone to exercise his or her right to access health care services, or any service for that matter. In this regard, the department would like to implore those who are picketing to ensure that they don’t interfere with others’ rights.”

The Daily News was awaiting a response from the department to follow-up questions at the time of publication.

Daily News

The alleged mastermind of the grenade attack in which 9-year-old Yetska Pillay and her grandmother died, has had his conviction overturned.

 Durban - A horror grenade attack on a family, which resulted in the death of a young Reservoir Hills girl and her granny has taken a dramatic twist, with the man once blamed for the crime walking away free from a life sentence.

Durban businessman Logandhoran “Yegan” Naidoo was convicted in 2013 on two counts of murder relating to the deaths of 9-year-old Yetska Pillay and her granny, Patricia Pillay, 54. He was also found guilty of attempted murder, possession of explosives, endangering or causing loss of life, and conspiracy to commit murder.

But, in a turn that has left the victims’ family shocked and puzzled, three judges of the Pretoria Appeal Court ruled that the State had not proved its case against Naidoo beyond a reasonable doubt and overturned the convictions and sentence.

However, Judge NB Tuchten, who penned the judgment, said he wished to make it “entirely clear” that the verdict should not be regarded as a vindication of Naidoo’s character.

“I strongly suspect that the appellant (Naidoo) is a criminal who has made a career in violent crime,” he said in his judgment.

“But even the most unscrupulous, evil person may only be convicted when the court is satisfied that there is proof beyond a reasonable doubt that he committed the crimes charged against him. In my view the learned trial judge should not have been so satisfied. It follows that the appellant was entitled to his acquittal.”

The grenade incident, two days before Christmas Day in 2006, took place at a Nelspruit home where Yetska, her father Kevin and other family members were visiting Kevin’s mother Patricia.

According to the judgment, two men - Mohamed Khan and Zameer Khan - had received a hand grenade, allegedly from Naidoo, and travelled in a car he allegedly supplied to the Nelspruit home, believing a woman, Verisha Govender, lived there.

Govender apparently had had a relationship with Zameer.

“Mohamed walked to the house, pulled the pin of the grenade and threw it through the window into the house. The grenade exploded,” the judge said.

The shrapnel killed Yetska and Patricia Pillay and wounded Kevin’s sister Daphne.

Govender, the intended victim, was not in the house.

The two Khans, from Chatsworth, were arrested in 2009, tried and jailed for life the following year.

Turning to Naidoo’s appeal, the judges said the evidence concerning a report which Naidoo had made to a policeman, Warrant Officer Cleo Loganathan, that Naidoo had seen his erstwhile business associate, Sidney Penderam, handing the grenades to Mohamed, was uncontradicted.

Naidoo claimed that Mohamed, a former worker at his construction business, and Penderam, with whom he had had a falling out, had conspired against him and had falsely implicated him as masterminding the grenade attack.

Judge Tuchten said it was very difficult to accept that Mohamed did not want to proceed with the grenade attack because of his protestations, in an alleged telephone conversation with Naidoo, on the grounds of humanity, compassion, guilt or remorse.

“I think his alleged change of heart (to come clean) was in fact a change of strategy. Perhaps the trial judge was correct and the change of strategy arose because Mohamed faced the inevitability of a conviction and he decided to take others (down) with him,” he said.

“Mohamed’s character and the evil nature of the crime is significant. Mohamed was, even by the standards of criminality prevalent in our country, a particularly reprehensible criminal. He was a hired assassin. He took money without compunction to kill a woman against whom he had no personal animosity.”

Judge Tuchten said there was a strong possibility that Mohamed was a professional murderer.

“He agreed to use a weapon which he must have known would probably cause collateral damage. Not only would the grenade harm the target of his assassination attempt, but it would also harm those who were in the vicinity,” he said.

“He took no steps to establish whether his target was in the house. He took no steps to mitigate the risk of collateral damage.”

Mohamed, in his evidence, said he was a member of the gang called Bad Company and that Naidoo was its leader.

“The central question on appeal, therefore, is whether, firstly, the uncorroborated evidence of Mohamed, a single witness and co-perpetrator, a member of a criminal gang, a user of hard drugs and a proven liar in his testimony, both in a related case and the present case, is sufficient to prove the case against the appellant (Naidoo) beyond reasonable doubt,” the judge said. “And, secondly, the evidence of the appellant to the contrary should be rejected as not being reasonably possibly true.”

He said the evidence of a single witness or accomplice must be treated with caution.

Kevin Pillay told POST he and his family were disappointed that Naidoo’s conviction and life sentence had been set aside.

“I am still studying the judgment. My family and I did not get the closure we wanted. We are shocked by the court’s verdict,” he said. “Our pain, anguish and trauma continues.”

Naidoo, incidentally, was an accused in the R31.4 million SBV robbery of 2006. He was subsequently acquitted. At the time it was the biggest cash robbery in South Africa.

POST

In an article in the SA Medical Journal, two healthcare professionals flag the issue of excessive drinking among adolescents, and suggest that teenagers undergo screening.

Durban - Children should be screened for alcohol use and exposed to regular interventions about the associated dangers, as underage drinking is getting out of control.

In an article in the June issue of the South African Medical Journal, Professor Neo Morojele and Leane Ramsoomar flag the issue of excessive drinking among adolescents as a “significant public health problem” in South Africa.

South African National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence national co-ordinator, Louina le Roux, agreed and said the latest South African Community Epidemiological Network on Drug Use report, released in February this year, showed that the main drugs used in KwaZulu-Natal by those under 20 were alcohol, at 39%, and dagga, at 44%.

The report also showed that there had been a sharp increase of people under 20 being admitted for treatment for alcohol abuse, from 39% to 63% in the past three years.

The average age of admissions had also dropped from 37 to 28, meaning that people were drinking excessively at an earlier age to develop a dependency that needed treatment.

Young people tend to engage in binge drinking, defined as women consuming four drinks, and men five, in a short period.

This is associated with long-term progression to problem drinking and alcohol-related problems, including road and other accidents, violence and crime.

The medical journal article suggests that since young people tend not to seek help for their alcohol use, measures such as screening, interventions and referral for specialised treatment should be carried out by doctors and nurses at clinics.

Screenings can be done using questionnaires designed to detect alcohol abuse, and brief interventions such as talks on alcohol use have also been found to be effective in reducing consumption among adolescents.

Le Roux said the average age at which children tried alcohol was 13 years for girls and 11 for boys.

“Although many young adults drink responsibly or abstain altogether, alcohol is the drug of choice among youth. Binge drinking is a common problem and becomes popular in mid-adolescence and peaks during college years.”

She said early detection of alcohol-related problems could only yield positive effects if the children and their families were offered assistance and support.

She added that research showed that young people who started using alcohol before the age of 21 were more likely to be involved in violence, attempt suicide, engage in unprotected sex or have multiple sexual partners and develop alcohol-related problems later in their lives.

kamini.padayachee@inl.co.za

The Mercury

There was a low-intensity “hidden” civil war in SA, and things were going to get worse unless the country moved to full industrialisation, said political economist Moeletsi Mbeki.

Durban - There was a low-intensity “hidden” civil war in South Africa, and things were going to get worse unless the country moved to full industrialisation to increase the economy, said political economist Moeletsi Mbeki in Durban on Wednesday night.

Addressing the audience during the launch of his book A Manifesto for Social Change: How to Save South Africa, Mbeki said the violence among ANC supporters in KwaZulu-Natal was a sign of that war.

The book, which he co-authored with his niece, Dr Nobantu Mbeki, who has a doctoral degree in economic theory from the University of Manchester and is a lecturer in economics at Wits University, explores what is wrong with the South African economy and society.

“South Africa has what we call the hidden civil war. Part of it is becoming visible like we are seeing within the ANC in KZN.

“This is a very troubling situation for the future of the country,” he said.

When asked when he thought the hidden war would come to the surface, Mbeki said: “What we are saying in this book is that an explosion of this nature is inevitable in South Africa.”

He said the carnage could only be avoided with “a very radical restructuring of our society”, which would industrialise the country and lead to massive employment.

“We will have an explosion, but I can’t say when,” he said.

Mbeki said the country had the highest murder rate after Syria, which was at full-blown civil war.

“We have on average 18 000 murders a year in South Africa. We are not at war, but we have rate of violent death next Syria, and Syria is at war. Unlike Syria, ours happens year in and year out. The civil war in Syria will come to an end and then those violent deaths would stop.”

He said the cause of the trouble in the country was that more than 50% of young people were unemployed and either depended on their employed family members or government grants.

He said government leaders overtaxed the private sector in order to pay themselves and their support staff, public servants, at a rate of more than 20 times the salaries earned by similar staff in the private sector.

South Africa’s public sector was one of the highest paid in the world.

He said President Jacob Zuma’s salary was higher that those of the prime minister of England and chancellor of Germany.

“Now if you compare the GDP of South Africa with England or with Germany there is no comparison, but our president earns more money. “Now you go down into the civil service. The civil servant in South Africa earns more money than equivalent people in the private sector. So the political elite uses its power to enrich themselves and its support systems. This is one of the sources of conflict in South Africa.”

He said the political elite survived by taking the profit from the enterprises of the economic elite.

“They tax the profit of the private enterprises. One of the ways of taxing is, for example, Durban Harbour. It is the most expensive harbour in the world because the government uses it to tax the goods that come in and out of the country,” he said.

The Mercury

A KZN magistrate who refused to authorise an adoption by a Canadian couple claims there is a "racist motive and commercial interests".

Durban - A Verulam Children’s Court magistrate under fire for his refusal to authorise the adoption of a 2-year-old child by a Canadian couple says there is a “racist motive and commercial interests” behind this.

He insists that the child should be removed from the foster home where he has been living since his mother abandoned him at 15 days old in a pit latrine, and that attempts should be made to “reunite him” with his maternal grandmother.

Read: SA baby's chance at new life in Canada foiled

Magistrate Vallaraman Kathuravaloo on Wednesday filed an affidavit in opposition to the finalisation of an interim order obtained recently in the Durban High Court by foster mother Ruth Grobler, allowing her to keep the child.

She alleges that when the adoption application came before the magistrate, he insisted the granny come to court.

When she did, he simply asked her if she wanted the child, and when she said yes, ordered that the child be handed over to her.

The mother of the child, now apparently living with her in Lusikisiki, was also present.

Grobler, in her affidavit, alleged that Kathurvaloo had a history of opposing inter-country adoptions, and in 2010 made allegations that they were nothing more than “child trafficking”.

Read: 50 kids left in limbo by Canada/SA trafficking row

This allegation - which resulted in Canada refusing to allow adoptions from South Africa for three years - was investigated and found to be unfounded.

But the magistrate says he, as the “whistle-blower”, was never interviewed.

Referring to a report by Durban advocate Sarah Jane Linscott - who was appointed by a court at the time as a curatrix to represent the interests of six children in the process of being adopted by Canadian couples - he said it was a “worthless piece of biased information from someone who is clearly pro-adoption”.

“The report was only used to influence the director of public prosecutions, not to prosecute anyone when clear evidence existed that child trafficking was being perpetrated in the guise of legitimate adoptions.”

The magistrate also denied making any order giving the child to the granny, saying he had merely “recommended this”, and had Grobler and social workers come to court the next day, as they had been asked to do, he would have listened to their concerns.

“This is an unwarranted attack on my integrity and competence as a judicial officer,” he said. “Grobler is wailing and gnashing her teeth that I want to return the child to a mother that wanted to murder him. I deny that.”

Although social workers' reports at the time the child was abandoned said the biological father was unknown, the magistrate indicated he had now had contact with him “and he has informed me he wants his child and there are no allegations against him”.

The magistrate said he believed “commercial interests” were too high in inter-country adoptions for “common sense to stand in the way”, and claimed that according to a website of a Canadian adoption agency, the cost could be R500 000 a child.

“These financial interests need to be investigated. The interim order should be discharged,” he said.

The adoption proceedings are on hold and the child will remain with Grobler until the application comes back to court in October, the earliest date on the court roll.

tania.broughton@inl.co.za

The Mercury

Maintenance defaulters could find their tax refunds slashed, as the Department of Justice explores new ways to clamp down on non-payers.

Durban - Maintenance defaulters, be warned: you could soon find find your tax refunds slashed, as the Department of Justice explores new ways to clamp down on those who shirk their maintenance responsibilities and wants to recruit the help of Sars.

Advocate Mulalo Netshisaulu, of the department’s Promotion of the Rights of Vulnerable Groups unit, said on Wednesday that they were investigating the possibility of drawing up a memorandum of understanding with Sars.

“So if they (defaulters) are receiving funds from Sars, we can take a portion to cover the maintenance of the children.”

Netshisaulu was speaking at the department’s launch in Durban of the national maintenance enforcement strategy. It’s aim is to “reduce and ultimately eliminate maintenance default from all our court rolls”.

It discusses plans to explore setting up a similar memorandum of understanding with the Department of Labour, in respect of pension funds and the funds that defaulters receive after they resign.

In addition, studies are in the pipeline to assess the viability of amending the maintenance act to provide financial assistance to complainants in maintenance disputes and of obtaining clearance certificates for emigrants.

The latter could mean parents who were trying to skip the country without settling their maintenance obligations would be refused the necessary documents until they paid up, Netshisaulu said.

The department, along with the National Prosecuting Authority, which co-hosted on Wednesday’s launch, has the issue of maintenance default on its radar.

The department revealed on Wednesday that it dealt with more than 160 000 new maintenance applications in 2015/16

It is in KwaZulu-Natal that the largest percentage of the country’s children live and where recent statistics showed that almost 2 million children - 43.8% of all the province’s children - live with just their mothers.

Steven Pretorius, the founder and chairman of Fathers-4-Justice South Africa, said they supported any move to encourage maintenance payments. “We are firmly of the view that parents must pay their fare share and must honour their commitments,” he said, “We tell our fathers to pay their dues.”

Speaking on the passing of a new law last year which allowed maintenance defaulters to be blacklisted, Pretorius said they had also supported that move.

He pointed out, however, that on the flip side was the issue of access to children.

A parent who was not receiving maintenance would often deny the other parent access to the child, he said, and this was to the detriment of the child.

“At the end of the day, our priority is the children,” he said.

The director of Families South Africa in Durban, Zama Mabaso, said the types of measures in discussion could have a positive impact on the problem of maintenance default if they were implemented.

“I think it would be good,” she said.

“People are abdicating their responsibilities, and if they could access that money, it would be worth thinking about.”

The Mercury

No postmotem has been performed on the body of an 18-year-old KZN female who was murdered, dismembered and burnt beyond recognition, stalling the case against her boyfriend.

Durban - The case against a man charged with the murder and dismemberment of a Maqongqo, KwaZulu-Natal, teenager could not proceed on Wednesday because of the absence of the body and post-mortem report.

The Pietermaritzburg Magistrate’s Court heard on Wednesday that the senior public prosecutor was still deciding whether to proceed with the case against Siphelele Chamane, 21, charged with the murder of his ex-girlfriend, Simangele Khanyile, 18.

Khanyile’s body was found in a field on December 22 last year. Her body was burnt beyond recognition and had been cut into pieces. Khanyile’s head has yet to be recovered.

The case has been thwarted because of the lack of a post-mortem and the absence of DNA results to confirm that the body parts were those of Khanyile.

Magistrate M Boikhutso granted a final adjournment until June 22 for the State to decide whether to proceed with its case.

Daily News

An expert has testified that an 84-year-old woman, who was given formalin to drink instead of water, has been left anxious and lonely.

 Durban - Eighty-four-year-old Isabella Smith had once lived an active and happy life, travelling often to visit her five children in England, Canada, Mozambique and Namibia.

However, after knee replacement surgery in May 2010 when she was allegedly given formalin to drink instead of water, she was forced to move into an old age home and is now too afraid to travel.

“She leads a lonely existence in an old age facility. Prior to the operation, she assisted the family in the home and with child care. Her life was filled with meaning, purpose and social interaction,” said clinical psychologist, Nirvernie Elder, who testified during Smith’s civil trial against the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Health.

Read: Pensioner recounts hospital horror ordeal

The trial began this week in the Durban High Court before Judge Graham Lopes. Smith is suing the department for R1 million for medical negligence.

She testified to being admitted to Grey’s Hospital in Pietermaritzburg in May 2010 for knee replacement surgery.

While in the recovery ward after surgery, she had asked for water and said the anaesthetist had instead brought her a cup with formalin. She had taken a huge gulp and had then screamed she was being burned.

Formalin is a colourless solution of formaldehyde in water, used chiefly as a preservative for biological specimens.

As a result of drinking the formalin, Smith said she had to endure excruciating pain and suffering, had to remain in hospital for six weeks longer than she originally had to and suffered other symptoms, including severe vomiting, abdominal pain and diarrhoea.

She said she still could not enjoy a normal diet, had suffered “significant weight loss” and had to undergo a gastroscopy.

Elder’s report said Smith suffered from constant hunger pangs, dizziness, bouts of anxiety, an upset stomach, loneliness and feelings of hopelessness.

She said Smith carried a constant memory of terrible burning pain and of being hurt. The report also said Smith only learnt she had ingested formalin when her friend visited her in hospital and read the medical notes.

The clinical psychologist also found that Smith suffered from chronic post traumatic stress disorder.

On Thursday, Smith’s lawyer, advocate Rocky Ramdass, instructed by Siva Chetty and Company, called their final witness to the stand, D Sithembiso Coka, a specialist physician and nephrologist.

Coka said while he was in training he had seen an average of two to three cases annually in the emergency environment of formalin ingestion.

He said it was unacceptable that Smith was given activated charcoal, to treat the ingestion, one hour and 40 minutes after ingesting the solution.

“It should’ve been given immediately,” he testified.

Coka conceded, though, that the doctors would have had to establish how to treat it and get the ingredients, hence a delay.

He testified that a gastroscopy was not performed within 24 hours of the ingestion as expected and that an ear, nose and throat specialist was not called in.

Coka also found a nurse’s 2am entry to be a “bit suspicious” and said he was more inclined to believe the doctor’s note at 11.30am. The nurse had reported that the patient had spent a fair night and noted that Smith was eating well.

Coka said a patient would not be eating at that time of the morning and that the doctor had reported Smith had vomited that night and in the morning.

The trial continues.

Daily News

The owner of the Field’s Hill crash truck has been summoned to court - nearly three years after the accident in which 24 people died.

Durban - The owner of the Field’s Hill crash truck has been summoned to court. The National Prosecuting Authority on Wednesday confirmed it had served summons on Gregory Govender, of Sagekal Logistics, to appear in court next month.

The content of the summons and charges could only be made public when Govender came before the Verulam Magistrate’s Court on July 13, said NPA regional spokeswoman, Natasha Ramkisson-Kara.

The crash, on September 5, 2013, left 24 people dead and scores injured.

The nature of the case against Govender is unclear, but there have been expert investigations into the roadworthiness of the truck and the condition of its brakes.

The truck was driven by Sagekal employee, Sanele May, who is from Swaziland.

He was initially represented by Sagekal attorney, Theasen Pillay, who later withdrew.

Soon after, it was revealed that May had submitted fake documents when he applied for the truck-driving job.

May pleaded guilty to 24 counts of culpable homicide, two of fraud, one charge of entering South Africa illegally, two of being in possession of fake driving licences, one charge of operating a vehicle without a valid professional driving permit, and one of failing to comply with a road traffic sign.

His legal representative, Professor Mdletshe, welcomed the news of Govender being summoned to court, saying he had been calling for this all along.

Mdletshe said he was “happy” for Govender that he would finally have the opportunity to answer for himself.

Mdletshe had maintained a close relationship with May, whom he described as a victim because of the conditions under which he worked at Sagekal.

Since his arrest, May has received the support of thousands of people on a Facebook group started by Peach Piche.

Reacting to the news of Govender being summoned, Piche said on behalf of the Sanele May Support Group they were “relieved that, albeit slowly, the wheels of justice are turning”.

She said May was serving his sentence and while the prosecution of Govender did not affect him in any way, they believed that - given the condition of the truck - the families of the deceased and the injured deserved to see justice served.

“It is not a case of being vindictive, but we do believe that Govender deserves his day in court. Road safety is important to all of us and something needs to be done about the unroadworthy trucks on the road and resultant carnage and loss of loved ones,” Piche said.

She, and other supporters even coming from London, had visited May at the Umzinto Correctional Centre since he was sentenced.

“He is doing his utmost to stay positive despite his circumstances and carries the families in his heart.

“He will watch the court case with much interest as it has always been his wish that Govender compensates the families.”

Goods belonging to Sagekal Logistics were auctioned in August last year to recover a debt of more than R866 000 owed to a supplier.

Govender had reportedly said clients were no longer doing business with him after the Field’s Hill crash.

He could not be reached for comment at the time of publication and his attorney, Theasen Pillay, could not speak to the Daily News because he was is in hospital, according to his receptionist.

However, shortly after the incident he said in a sworn affidavit that the truck had returned from a full service before the crash and he denied the brakes had failed.

He also said: “In the 12 years that I have operated my business, we have not once received a fine for operating an unlicensed vehicle, because it is not our practice.”

Daily News

The chief executive of the Oliver and Adelaide Tambo Foundation says Penny Sparrow has shown no remorse for her racist comments.

Durban - Oliver and Adelaide Tambo Foundation chief executive Mavuso Msimang said he found disgraced KZN estate agent Penny Sparrow’s recent comments “very strange” and that she had shown no remorse or contrition for the racist statement which resulted in her being fined R150 000 by the Equality Court.

Sparrow got into trouble in January for a Facebook post about the littering on the beaches at Scottburgh, in which she compared black beachgoers to monkeys.

Last week she was handed a R150 000 fine by the Umzinto Equality Court, but this week was reported to have said that “monkeys are cute” and that she was poor and could not afford to pay the fine. The court ordered she pay the money to the Oliver and Adelaide Tambo Foundation.

Sparrow, who did not appear in court but was represented by her daughter, said she didn’t mean to insult anyone and had issued “a raft of apologies”.

Msimang said the foundation was pleased about the fine, but would meet on Saturday to decide whether it would accept the money.

“Personally I find her (recent) behaviour very strange. She shows no remorse, no contrition for the words that she had uttered and that they were racist,” said Msimang.

Sympathisers organised two online crowdfunding efforts to help Sparrow pay, but they fell flat.

Sparrow is now left to pay off the fine, as ordered by the court, by the first week of August.

“Those who contributed to those efforts were not trying to help her; what they were saying was that they were in agreement with her racist attitude,” said Msimang

He said with South Africa commemorating 40 years since students in Soweto and around South Africa stood up against apartheid, it was frustrating that characters like Sparrow were still around and got support from sections of society.

“We have a long way to go. Government often talks about social cohesion, but there’s a need for leaders to work very hard to make this a reality,” said Msimang.

The Mercury

Sapsu, which is leading strikes at Durban hospitals, has vowed to stick by its demand that temporary workers at government institutions be employed permanently.

Durban - The South African Public Service Union, which is leading strikes at public hospitals in Durban this week, has vowed to carry on with its protest, demanding that temporary workers at government institutions be given permanent jobs.

Workers at Mahatma Gandhi, King Dinizulu and King Edward hospitals went on strike on Thursday.

At a press briefing on Thursday, the interim secretary-general of the union, Moses Tsotetsi, said the Amendments to Section 198 of the Labour Relations Act, which dealt with temporary workers, said workers whose jobs were not time-based, and have been working for more than three months, should be made permanent staff members. He said the protests were about fighting for the law to be enforced.

Tsotetsi said because it was a law that was officially signed in, there was no need for a bargaining council. He said the union was just ensuring that government enforced the law.

“Workers are not willing to back down, as they are tired,” he said.

Workers had been struggling for years and many people who had worked under these terms were young people under 40 years of age, Tsotetsi said.

He said they had been fighting for security guards and cleaners to be hired and to receive a salary of between R5 000 to R6 000 plus benefits. This would increase to the level of government employees after 18 months.

He said the issue was not only for hospitals, but for other departments in the government as well.

When asked if they had considered the impact this could have on services in government departments, Tsotetsi said it was not their intention for this to have a negative impact on services, but they had to fight for the rights of their workers.

Tsotetsi said they were wiling to go to court if necessary, and were in consultation with their lawyers.

Tsotetsi said they would have a legal opinion in the next two weeks.

The union marched to city hall on Thursday to hand over a memorandum to KwaZulu-Natal Premier Willies Mchunu.

The march was led by Zwelinzima Vavi, as part of marking June 16.

The Daily News sent questions to the department of health, but they had not responded by deadline.

Daily News

A top official in the Office of the Chief Family Advocate has, unusually, weighed in on a bitter battle between separated parents over access to their son.

Durban - A senior official in the Office of the Chief Family Advocate has, unusually, weighed in on a bitter battle between separated parents over access to their 2-year-old son, labelling them “serial litigants” and cautioning that their behaviour will leave “permanent scars” on their child and themselves.

She has also accused the attorney acting for the mother of violating the “conciliatory approach” dictated by the Children’s Act and obstructing justice by walking out of a Family Advocate’s inquiry.

The outcome of the litigation - which will come before the Durban High Court again next week - will set the tone for similar cases, with Kgaogelo Josephine Peta, Senior Legal Administration Officer, stating that her office “will not tolerate parties playing chess and abusing the system”.

“They have lost sight of the fact that their child needs both parents.This has rendered them to be serial litigants,” she said.

In particular, she said, the “stern approach and negative effect” of Estelle de Wet, the attorney acting for the mother, “has had a negative effect of exacerbating the already acrimonious relationship between the parents”.

The Mercury previously reported on the matter after the father went to court complaining that De Wet was behaving vindictively and making the access dispute more acrimonious.

De Wet, in her initial response, said this was “simply nonsense” and, in her later response to Peta’s affidavit, says she had, in fact, suggested mediation.

She said she only ever acted on instructions from her client and blamed the father for the ongoing litigation.

In his application, the father is seeking an order that he be allowed to be interviewed by the Office of the Family Advocate without De Wet being present because he feels “intimidated and uncomfortable”by her presence because of her confrontational manner and “smirking”.

He claimed that after he obtained a court order instructing the Family Advocate to do an access inquiry, De Wet had written to the office saying the inquiry was a “waste of time”and “the time used could be better spent on matters which actually require investigation”.

Then, when the inquiry was set down, she and her client walked out because he refused to allow De Wet to sit in on his interview.

Peta said the parties had now reached a “deadlock” which was affecting their child. They were putting their selfish needs ahead of his. She urged the judge dealing with the application to take heed of her concerns and the fact that it was “extremely rare” for parties to insist on having lawyers present at inquiries.

“I recommend that they desist from this continuous litigation. The parties have adopted a confrontational approach and their legal representatives are applying an adversarial approach which is not suitable for family dispute matters.

“They must develop a mature, responsible and caring approach in their interpersonal relationship to achieve a situation and routine that works best for the child.

“I recommend that they enter into a parenting plan which should be made an order of the court,”she said.

De Wet, in her affidavit, blames her client for leaving the inquiry.

“The situation seemed beyond resolution and when she decided not to participate on his (the father’s) terms and to leave, I had no choice to but to follow suit.

“It is him who refused to sit in the same room as me.”

She says Peta’s criticisms of her were “entirely unfounded and unfair” and it was the father who was confrontational.

“I am also duty-bound to act in the best interests of my client and to support her in circumstances.”

The mother, in her affidavit, denies she is a “serial litigant” and says it is her ex-partner who has been continuously litigating.

The Mercury

Holidaymakers heading for KwaZulu-Natal are in for an action-packed mid-year break that is estimated to bring in at least R800 million.

Durban - Holidaymakers planning to converge on Durban and the province are in for an action-packed mid-year break that is estimated to bring in at least R800 million to the region.

One highlight of the season will be the Vodacom Durban July (July 2), which, if last year is anything to go by, is worth R440m to the region alone.

Last year, more partygoers from Gauteng attended the society event of the year than local people.

More visitors are expected to visit the province this winter holiday season compared with last year.

Tourism KZN expects about 65 000 international tourists to travel through King Shaka International Airport, a 4% increase from last year.

Domestic travellers to the province are expected to number about 350 000, while hotel occupancies will be about 67% throughout the province, which is above the national average,

The packed holiday programme has already begun with the South Coast’s annual two-month long Sardine Festival (from June 4-July 31), in celebration of the sardine run.

In Ballito, during the top-level surfing Ballito Pro (June 22-July 3), presented by Billabong, at Willard Beach, spectacular motorcycle stunts are on the agenda.

Popular

The popular East Coast Radio House and Garden Show, from July 1-10, is also expected to draw big crowds.

This year, the show at the Durban Exhibition Centre will include the inaugural KZN Travel and Adventure Show from July 8-10.

A ticket to the ECR House and Garden Show gives free entry to the KZN Travel and Adventure Show, and vice-versa.

While the annual May Indaba tourism show in Durban is for trade delegates, the KZN Travel and Adventure Show will enable the public to personally interact with more than 80 tourism destinations, resorts, operators and airlines for the first time.

Significant discounts and show specials for travel and adventure activities will be on offer.

“While Durban remains one of the region’s most popular destinations, this show will uncover some of our hidden gems,” said Ndabo Khoza, chief executive of Tourism KZN, the hosts.

Well-known actor Thato Molamu, who appeared in the soapie Generations, has just joined East Coast Radio as a DJ on Sundays and will be visiting the KZN Travel and Adventure Show as the quickest way to getting to know the province.

Other holiday highlights include: The Durban International Film Festival (June 16-26), the Durban International Boat and Lifestyle Show (June 24-26), the Ugu Jazz Festival (June 25), the Dundee July (July 13), the Keep the Promise Benefit Concert (July 16) and the Elan Property Group Gold Cup (July 30).

Meanwhile, 300 delegates from 23 countries are also expected in Durban from June 27-30 for Africa’s first World Leisure Congress, hosted by the Leisure and Recreation Association of South Africa.

International experts will present their latest research at the congress on the trends in the leisure, recreation and tourism sectors.

Durban’s green corridor will be the focus of some of the panel discussions, with the Inanda Dam precinct highlighted as a case study.

Other sessions will include a focus on Lifesaving South Africa and its role in leisure and tourism, while another speaker will talk about developing Durban as a culinary destination.

Daily News

A shopfitter jumped out of a window in a desperate attempt to escape a fire in a student residence under construction at the Durban University of Technology.

Durban - A shopfitter has been injured after jumping out of a window in a desperate attempt to escape a fire in a student residence under construction at the Durban University of Technology.

Durban central fire station division commander, Trevor Stevens, said the man suffered severe burns in the blaze on Thursday afternoon.

Dr Gopalkrishna Chetty, special assistant to the vice-chancellor of the DUT, confirmed the fire broke out in the Winterton block of the new student village under construction on the Steve Biko Campus.

Stevens said another worker had run to the station, about 100m down the road, to raise the alarm about the fire.

The room on fire was one in which the workers stored their equipment, including paint, paint thinner and their clothes.

“There were two guys in the room, one jumped out of the window on to a ledge, but the other was trapped,” said Stevens.

Firefighters rescued the man and put out the fire which was confined to the one room.

Their colleagues told the Daily News they had heard a commotion while working in the same building.

When they rushed out, they saw the fire and a colleague leaping out of the window on to a concrete slab that serves as a sort of cover to the ground floor of the building.

Others pulled him to safety through the window on the first floor. A student’s room and a portion of the passage was damaged.

Chetty said: ”The exact cause of the fire is unknown at this stage. Only when the injured workers are interviewed can the exact cause of the fire be established.”

Daily News

A giant advertisement enveloping a Durban building has got tenants steamed up, saying it is depriving them of fresh air.

Durban - A giant advertisement enveloping a Durban building has got tenants steamed up, saying it is depriving them of fresh air.

The canvas, advertising KFC, is wrapped around more than half of the Tasnim Centre building in Bertha Mkhize (Victoria) Street in the CBD.

It stretches from the 5th to the 12th floor of the 13-storey building. These are the residential floors. The lower floors are reserved for businesses.

According to Hafiz Mohamed, an agent who handles all the building’s non-rental income on behalf of the owners, MHT Investments, the advert was put up last week.

He said it would run until “some time” next month.

Mohamed said no authorisation had been sought from the eThekwini Municipality, but said: “We have done both a structural and fire inspection to ensure that the site is 100% safe and we have the relevant approval from both the respective engineers.”

The Daily News visited some of the tenants this week and found one woman cooking.

“The steam just stays in the house, it can’t go anywhere because of this advert. They are suffocating us. They are making money at our expense and they can’t even fix the lift for more than a year,” she said.

In another flat, a man said the poor ventilation was to blame for his family being sick with flu.

“We can’t breathe here; it’s hot and stuffy,” he said.

Tenants asked not to be named.

They had received a notice asking for their “help” in keeping the advert in good condition and making sure nobody damaged or interfered with it in any way.

“We all cut up the last one, to get some air into our homes,” said the man, referring to a previous wrap-around.

Destroying this one - read the notice - would invite a R500 fine and criminal charges.

Tenants had approached the Organisation of Civic Rights, a tenants advocacy group established in response to the Group Areas Act evictions at Warwick Junction in the 1980s.

Chairman Iqbal Mohamed (no relation to Hafiz) said tenants were distraught at being “boxed-in”.

“We went there... and we were astounded. We will take legal action. To add insult to injury, they willy-nilly impose a fine and threaten criminal action, that is ridiculous,” he said.

The organisation has written to the eThekwini Municipality’s Health Safety and Social Services unit to intervene.

He said after initial contact with tenants, many appeared to be from other countries in Africa and they did not know who the owner of the building was.

“Tasnim Centre is one of many such buildings in Durban where migrant, immigrant or so-called foreign national tenants are rendered voiceless and are exploited because they are vulnerable. It is disgusting and utterly disrespectful and to an extent we should hold KFC accountable as well.”

Iqbal Mohamed said the fast-food franchise had a “moral obligation” to assess where their advertisements were being placed and that they were not interfering with the welfare of tenants.

KFC directed the Daily News to the owners because it had followed legal procedures in obtaining the advertising space.

Iqbal Mohamed believes the canvas poses a health risk and is hazardous, while tenants are not being allowed to enjoy the full use of the premises they rent.

“They have to have some kind of legal relief because any lease, verbal or written, means the landlord is duty-bound to ensure that the lessee has full use and enjoyment and that it is habitable.”

However, Hafiz Mohamed said they had not received any complaints from the tenants.

“We are not sure why they are unhappy as the material used is mesh, which allows light and air to flow through; we have never asked the tenants to not open windows. We also feel they should have raised any concerns with us or the landlord. We could have addressed these issues.”

He said the advertising income was beneficial to the tenants because it helped reduce the maintenance cost for the common areas, which in turn meant the tenants would not be burdened with increased rentals.

Hafiz Mohamed said the site would continue to be marketed.

The eThekwini Municipality was asked to comment on Wednesday but had not done so at time of publication.

The Daily News’s sister paper The Mercury, reported in June last year that the city had not been laying charges against those who broke building by-laws because it was not worth the time or effort and the paltry fines for conviction made it worthwhile for offenders to take the risk.

The admission was made in the Durban High Court by a city legal adviser, Mazo Maphumulo, in an application brought by the eThekwini Municipality against a beachfront shareblock building which had allowed a massive billboard to be erected on one side. The judge ordered the billboard be removed.

Daily News

Thirty-five people were injured when three taxis collided on the M4 southbound just after Quality Street in Durban, KZN paramedics said.

Durban – Thirty-five people were injured when three taxis collided on the M4 southbound just after Quality Street in Durban on Friday night, KwaZulu-Natal paramedics said.

Rescue Care paramedics arrived on the scene to find that three taxis had collided in the fast lane of the busy freeway, Rescue Care spokesman Garrith Jamieson said on Saturday.

Two people were trapped in one of the taxis and the fire department was called to assist, as well as more ambulances due to the large number of people injured.

Advanced life support paramedics worked to stabilise the injured, including the two trapped in the taxi, before they were transported to various Durban Hospitals for the further care that they required.

“At this stage it is unclear what caused the three taxis to collide into each other; however SAPS [the SA Police Service] were on [the] scene and will be investigating further,” Jamieson said.

African News Agency

A Durban businessman died after being shot by robbers who made off with cash and airtime vouchers.

Durban – A businessman died soon after being shot by robbers in Durban on Friday.

Police spokesman Lt-Col Thulani Zwane said the man was “accosted” at his business premises in Helen Joseph Road (formerly Davenport Road) by four men at about 4.30pm on Friday afternoon.

“They allegedly robbed him of an undisclosed amount of cash and airtime vouchers at gunpoint. They then shot and injured him before fleeing the scene.”

Garrith Jamieson, spokesman for Rescue Care paramedics, said paramedics managed to stabilise the man before transporting him to a nearby hospital.

However, shortly after arrival at hospital the man went into cardiac arrest and died despite the effort of doctors and paramedics.

Zwane said police were investigating a case of business robbery and murder.

African News Agency