Cape Town professor Cyril Karabus has spoken out about his arrest and incarceration in Abu Dhabi.

Cape Town - Cape Town professor Cyril Karabus has spoken out about his arrest and incarceration over the last four months on charges of manslaughter and falsifying documents in Abu Dhabi.

He told the Cape Argus on Thursday he was losing patience and was frustrated with the legal system in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). He said he wanted to come home to his family and friends.

“Things are not great. I would like to go home now to my family. I miss the Cape Town weather, my friends and working in my garden,” he said.

He was speaking from an apartment in Abu Dhabi, where he is living with Dr Elwin Buchel, the former head of gastroenterology at the University of Pretoria.

Buchel, whom he had never met in person before, offered him accommodation after he was granted bail last month.

“I am grateful for people like him and others who have sent messages of support from around the world. It’s very heart-warming,” Karabus, a specialist paediatric oncologist, said.

The UCT emeritus professor was arrested on August 18 while in transit in Dubai to South Africa from his son’s wedding in Toronto, Canada.

“It was very upsetting. No one gave me any warning about the pending arrest. I was very shocked and upset… I still am,” he said.

Karabus’s passport was confiscated at the airport.

After more than nine postponements due to missing medical records, which surfaced this week, he is expected to appear in court on January 3.

Karabus, 77, is accused of causing the death of a three-year-old Yemeni cancer patient who had myeloid leukaemia. He was convicted and sentenced in absentia to a three-and-a-half-year jail term.

Prosecutors argue that he failed to give her a blood transfusion during her treatment at the Sheikh Medical Centre in 2002, while working as a locum. Karabus is adamant that the medical records contain the girl’s medical history which is “vital” in proving his innocence. The medical file includes his notes, lab reports, as well as details of the three-week period before he started treating the girl.

“I did everything I could do for her. Unfortunately she had a blood disease which has 85 percent mortality rate. One in seven patients survives. Sadly, she was one of those that didn’t survive,” he said.

Karabus, pictured, is a senior paediatric specialist who headed Red Cross Children’s Hospital Ontology unit for more than 30 years.

“I decided to work as a locum in Abu Dhabi because I wanted to earn some extra money… unfortunately, doctors in South Africa don’t get paid much.

“Now I regret making that move, I now advise other people not to do it,” he said.

Karabus, who has a pacemaker, fears he might run out of medication soon.

“Although Buchel and embassy representatives are helping me access some of my medication, I’m afraid I might run out shortly.”

When he was granted bail, a medical committee was supposedly appointed by the court to review his medical records, but Karabus and his lawyers are still in the dark about the committee.

“We don’t know if that committee was appointed and if the people involved in it know anything about blood diseases. I have no idea what they are doing. There is not a lot of transparency here… I don’t know how much longer they can drag this on,” he said.

nontando.mposo@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

The Opposition to Urban Tolling Alliance need R3.8 million to appeal the court ruling.

A total of R3.8 million. That is what it will take for the Opposition to Urban Tolling Alliance to reach the R10.8 million needed to appeal against a court ruling that frustrated its plans to have e-tolls scrapped.

While a shortfall of R3.8 million would not prevent the case from getting to court, it was still needed to add to the R7.8 million already raised to ensure a smooth progression of matters.

Alliance chairman Wayne Duvenage said on Thursday: “The call for financial support is now even greater as we will need additional funds to meet the costs of the appeal.”

He said, however, that the alliance would not wait to have the full amount to get the wheels of justice grinding.

“Most members have already given the alliance the mandate to pursue the appeal, and affidavits and other papers necessary to set the process in motion are expected to be completed by January 9,” said Duvenage.

“UPHOLD THE RULE OF LAW”

“The legal recommendation to Outa and its members to appeal is precisely to uphold the rule of law. Outa met with their legal team and reviewed the recent judgment.

“The meeting concluded that the judgment raised serious concerns which cannot go unchallenged. The judge’s interpretation of section 27 of the Sanral Act effectively renders public participation meaningless and is out of line with other Constitutional Court decisions on the right of fair administrative action,” Duvenage said.

The alliance had argued that the public participation process – done in 2007 when the decision to toll was made – was so inadequate that it was illegal.

“KEEPING THE PUBLIC IN THE DARK”

They argued further that the SA National Roads Agency Limited had kept the public in the dark to avoid opposition to the project so that it could build the roads in time for the World Cup in 2010.

But Judge Louis Vorster dismissed these arguments, saying information published in the Government Gazette and newspapers was adequate to inform interested parties of the proposed toll declaration.

Judge Vorster ruled further that the capital costs of the proposed toll scheme, its operating costs and tariffs to be imposed were not matters that were open for public participation by interested or affected parties as they were exclusively matters of the executive government.

SUPPORT FROM COSATU

These are some of the matters the alliance seeks to challenge in the appeals court, saying Judge Vorster failed to even consider many of the grounds it had brought to his attention.

Duvenage appealed to those opposed to the toll gantries to visit www.outa.co.za for information on how to make donations aimed at helping with the appeal process.

Cosatu, which has always dissuaded people from buying e-tolling tags, on Thursday urged Gauteng drivers to support the alliance’s fund-raising drive. However, spokesman Patrick Craven would not indicate how the union federation would assist in the drive to have the tolls scrapped.

“We will discuss that when we get back from the holidays. But we urge people to help the alliance. We think they are right in what they are doing,” he said. - The Star

Bill Gates, Microsoft boss and the richest man in the US, is back at work after a sandboarding accident in Cape Town.

Cape Town -

Bill Gates, Microsoft boss and the richest man in the US, is back at work after a sandboarding accident in Cape Town.

Gates, 57, was admitted to hospital on Thursday last week after dislocating his shoulder during a day out with his family in the sand dunes near Atlantis.

The Gates family, who live in Seattle, were holidaying in Cape Town.

A family spokesperson said Gates had received treatment at a local hospital.

“Bill Gates received treatment for a shoulder injury at Netcare Blaauwberg Hospital in Cape Town, South Africa, on Thursday, December 20th, after taking a fall while sandboarding at a local tourist area during a family vacation. Local doctors treated and released him. Bill is continuing with his planned activities.”

The city’s disaster risk management spokesman Wilfred Solomons-Johannes confirmed that Gates had dislocated a shoulder.

He said Gates had left Cape Town a week ago, the day after the accident.

Gates’ wife, Melinda, posted a photograph on her Twitter account on the day of the accident. The photograph was of the couple shaking hands and chatting with Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu. It had apparently been taken at the Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation Youth Centre in Masiphumelele.

“Fantastic visit with @desmond_tutu at his Youth Center this week in South Africa--his joy is visible and contagious,” she tweeted.

The Cape Times contacted a number of sandboarding companies based in Atlantis, all of which said Gates had not visited them.

Cape Times

Nazeer Mohamed’s family received one muffled call apparently demanding a ransom of R150 000 ... and then nothing.

Johannesburg -

A distraught Sandton family have just one wish for the new year – to find out what happened to their son and, if possible, to get him home.

“We miss him, we love him and we just want him back,” Nazeer Mohamed’s distraught sister Zaheera said on Thursday. “He’s part of the family and we’re just not whole without him.”

Mohamed, 32, has been missing ever since he got into a black Nissan Navara with three unidentified men on December 7.

The men had arrived at Mohamed’s second-hand car dealership, NZR Motor City in Jules Street, just off the Joburg CBD. Mohamed told his mechanic he would be back in 15 minutes.

It wasn’t unusual for him to do this, his mother Shahieda explained. Mohamed, who had been in the motor trade for the past six years, would often accompany clients to the bank to collect payments or sign off payments.

Police and a private investigator hired by the family have been led through a maze.

Detectives assumed that if he was missing, he would pop up in due course, or if he had been kidnapped, his kidnappers would send out a ransom demand.

Instead Mohamed has vanished; his cellphone has been inactive since the moment he disappeared, and not a cent has moved out of his bank accounts.

Mohamed’s parents were alerted to his disappearance by the security company at the yard, after it phoned them at 6pm that Friday to say the gates of the dealership were open and staff wanted to go home, but didn’t know where Mohamed was.

“They told my father his car was still parked there and they didn’t know where Nazeer was. My dad rushed there and we then realised something was wrong when we couldn’t find him,” Zaheera said.

Zaheera received a muffled call on her mother’s cellphone the day after he disappeared, apparently demanding a ransom of R150 000. When the call was traced, it led to a payphone. There has been no contact of any kind since.

Private investigator Imraan Khan got a tip that Mohamed had been spotted, but when he checked it out, the informant had seen Mohamed days before he went missing.

When Khan checked the Navara’s registration plate, Amandla GP, he found it was false and registered to a white Mercedes-Benz truck.

He has been following tip-offs about the three alleged abductors across three provinces.

“We’re searching day and night,” he said yesterday, “but we’ve reached a dead end. We need the public to come forward and help with any information they might have about Nazeer.

“My brother and I live at home – we are taking care of our parents. A few days before he went missing, we all went out together as a family for dinner and he was acting normally. We would have realised it if something was wrong,” Zaheera said.

She refuses to give up hope.

“I believe he’s alive. I hope someone sees his photo and recognises him and he comes back to us,” she said, sobbing.

Mohamed is slightly built and 1.6m tall.

Anyone who has any information should contact Lieutenant-Colonel Hennie Punt at 082 319 9844 or the family on 076 891 5507.

The Star

The amount of alcohol confiscated on Cape beaches has risen and authorities say it could rise further over New Year.

Cape Town -The amount of alcohol confiscated on Cape Town beaches has risen and authorities say the total could rise further as many plan to ring in the new year on the beach.

Alcohol on beaches has been repeatedly mentioned as one of the biggest concerns and one of the causes of people drowning, especially during the festive season.

On Monday, the Cape Argus reported that 2 144 bottles of alcohol had been confiscated from beach-goers on various beaches last weekend.

On Thursday, Nathan Ladegourdie, spokesman for law enforcement specialised services, said that the total confiscated had risen to over 2 300 bottles of alcohol.

“We have law enforcement patrolling on the beaches and on some beaches they do check as people enter and quite a few more bottles came in today,” Ladegourdie said.

He said that it was mostly adults who were found with alcohol in their possession and that some even tried to hide the bottles in various containers.

“We get some people that put it (alcohol) in different bottles and hide it in bags and some come to the beach already intoxicated,” he said.

Ladegourdie said people bringing alcohol to the beach raised the possibility of drowning and they “act out” and make the day on the beach unpleasant for other beach-goers.

Ed Schroeder, Western Province lifesaving co-ordinator, said they appreciated the effort made by law enforcement to keep alcohol off beaches and added that there had been no drownings on Thursday.

“Last Saturday there was a case of close drowning in the Muizenberg area and in Melkbos a 15-year-old almost drowned, he was under the influence of either drugs or alcohol,” Schroeder said. He said that law enforcement was very tough this year.

“It’s a well-known fact that people try to bring alcohol on to beaches even if there is law enforcement and this causes lots of problems… it is a big no no,” Schroeder said.

Muizenberg was one of the hot spots for alcohol confiscations, Schroeder said. He said authorities were expecting a rush of people on New Year’s Day and that the amount of alcohol on the beaches was likely to be high.

“We are gearing up and we are ready for them,” he said.

yolisa.tswanya@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

Midnight tonight marks the end of an anxious wait for more than 9 000 Independent Examination Board Grade 12s.

Pretoria - Midnight tonight marks the end of an anxious wait for more than 9 000 Independent Examination Board Grade 12s at 183 schools who will finally see how they fared in their year-end exams.

IEB head Anne Oberholzer said they had “more than lived up to expectations”.

She said 8 959 full-time pupils wrote the exams while 534 part-time and 1 568 full-time pupils wrote advanced programme maths and 502 the advanced programme English.

“These are A-Level equivalent and written in addition to the National Senior Certificate. We are very proud of this programme and the results,” she said.

A supplement of the results will be published in the Pretoria News Weekend on Saturday.

Pretoria News

Former Durban mayor, Trevor Warman, 86, has died of injuries he sustained in a car crash which also claimed the life of his wife.

Durban -

Former Durban mayor, Trevor Warman, 86, has died of injuries he sustained in a car crash which also claimed the life of his wife, Yolande, 86, earlier this month.

Warman, who suffered broken ribs among other injuries, was in intensive care at the Umhlanga Hospital. He died on Christmas morning from a lung infection.

Family friend, John Rae, said the former city councillor and mayor was making good progress but was re-admitted to the unit as his lungs were “very bad”.

“It was too much. The news of his wife’s death and his injuries, he just couldn’t stand it. It is very sad,” he said.

The couple were involved in a collision with another vehicle on the M41 near Umhlanga.

Serving on the city council for 10 years in the early 1960s before being elected mayor unopposed in 1968, Warman served two terms before taking up a position in the provincial government.

He was, for many years, Speaker in the legislature and was an avid athlete, running the Comrades Marathon twice, playing hockey in his sixties and serving on the Natal and SA Referees’ Association. He also played rugby for the province in the 1940s.

Warman will probably be best remembered for the founding of Warman House in 1999, an alcohol and drug rehabilitation centre in Morningside.

His remains will be committed in a private ceremony followed by a memorial service in the new year for the couple. A date is yet to be decided.

The Warmans leave their three children, Ann, Anthony and Hylton, 10 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

The Mercury

After sustaining several injuries, bodysurfer Anton Magnus has been reported to be in a stable condition in a Cape Town hospital.

Cape Town - After sustaining several injuries, bodysurfer Anton Magnus has been reported to be in a stable condition at Milnerton Medi-Clinic where he is recuperating.

The 34-year-old Wynberg resident collided with a swimmer at Clifton’s 1st Beach on Wednesday.

Magnus was rescued by lifeguards from the Clifton’s Surf Lifesaving Club and airlifted to the clinic.

“The medical staff at the hospital confirmed that the condition of the patient is stable,” Wilfred Solomons-Johannes, the spokesman for the city’s disaster risk management, said.

It remained unknown what the swimmer’s condition was, Solomons-Johannes said.

Meanwhile, Eastern Cape police said the search had been called off for the body of a 15-year-old boy who was allegedly attacked by a shark at Second Beach, in Port St Johns on Tuesday.

Police spokesman Captain Mduduzi Godlwana said the youngster’s father had confirmed the trousers recovered belonged to his son, Liya Fibili.

Godlwana said the police suspected the boy was “eaten” by a shark. He said the beach had in recent years become a common spot for shark attacks.

It was reported on Thursday that over the past three years, the number of shark attacks at the beach totals six.

janis.kinnear@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

A Soweto police constable has appeared on charges of attempted murder while his colleague is fighting for his life.

Johannesburg -

A Soweto police constable has appeared in the Orlando Magistrate’s Court on charges of attempted murder while his colleague – who he allegedly shot – is fighting for his life in hospital.

The constable, who is stationed at the Diepkloof police station, was granted R3 000 bail and the case was postponed to January 10. It is alleged the constable handed himself over at the Orlando police station on Sunday after he allegedly shot his colleague during an argument.

According to Independent Police Investigative Directorate spokesman Moses Dlamini, the two officers were at a braai with two other people when the fight began.

“One of the police officers was attacked by his police friend and two civilians. He then went inside the house and got his firearm. He went outside to seek medical attention but was attacked,” he said.

Meanwhile, North West police said they were concerned about the rising number of police officers who killed their loved ones and themselves.

In the latest incident, a 33-year-old constable allegedly shot and killed his 32-year-old girlfriend before turning the gun on himself yesterday in Geelhout Park, Rustenburg.

Another officer shot his girlfriend and then killed himself in Modimong village, outside Taung, on Christmas Day.

kutlwano.olifant@inl.co.za

The Star

Scores of people competing for 90 traffic officer posts were treated for dehydration when they collapsed after the fitness test.

Pietermaritzburg -

There was mayhem in Pietermaritzburg on Thursday when 15 000 job applicants were put through their paces for 90 provincial traffic officer jobs. And, another 17 000 applicants are expected in the city again on Friday.

Desperate for work, many of the applicants over-exerted themselves when they were asked to run 4km in 30 minutes and had to be treated for heat exhaustion and dehydration. Those who failed to make the cut-off do not go through to the next elimination round for the jobs.

So many collapsed that there was insufficient space in the medical tent and many people were treated in the sun, on the grass in the Harry Gwala stadium where the job application process was under way.

At 10.30am an ambulance bus arrived followed by more ambulances. People were ferried to hospital and, at 4pm, the fitness tests were temporarily stopped as there were no spare hospital beds for the steady stream of patients suffering from dehydration.

For many of the hopeful candidates, it was a day of endless waiting in queues. Not only did they have to wait to take their fitness test, but afterwards they waited for hours again to collect their identity documents or driving licences which they had handed over on arrival.

Despite this, many were still pleased that they were able to participate.

Slindile Gabele, 31, who was still waiting her turn to run, said she left Newcastle at 2am.

“I am very nervous, but I believe I will make it,” she said.

As she was unemployed she was desperate for a post, she said.

Nomathemba Cele, 27, of Umlazi, who failed to complete the fitness test in the allocated time, was livid.

She complained there was no water on the route and that those who had collapsed from dehydration had to make their own way back to the stadium.

Pointing to patients being treated on the ground, she said it was disgraceful that there was no shelter.

Cele said that applicants were given very short notice of the fitness test. They were only informed this week.

“Bearing in mind it’s Christmas, when everybody eats a lot, we had no time to prepare for the fitness test. I thought I would just have to do some exercises today,” she said.

KZN Department of Transport spokesman Kwanele Ncalane said the successful applicants were told to return to take part in the next phase of the process which was a driving test.

Those who made it would then undergo further competency tests followed by an interview. “It is a lengthy process. Only the best candidates will make it,” he said, adding that the process would hopefully be wrapped up by the end of January.

According to Ncalane the advert said they could be called at any time for an interview, and, while he conceded that the job seekers had to wait in the heat for their turn to complete the fitness test, he said that traffic officers were required to work in all weather conditions.

sharika.regchand@inl.co.za

The Mercury

Two women were arrested at a roadblock on the West Coast road after police found 96 bags of dagga in their car.

Cape Town -

Two women were arrested at a roadblock on the West Coast road after police found 96 bags of dagga in their car on Thursday.

Provincial traffic chief Kenny Africa said that shortly after the arrests women were arrested, a man travelling on the same road was nabbed when money bags filled with dagga were found in his car.

Africa said the incidents were only a few of the people arrested for the possession of drugs at roadblocks over the festive season.

Earlier this month law enforcement officers found 200 parcels of dagga, worth about R182 000, inside the boot of a car stopped at a roadblock on the N1.

Operation Drug Watch, a LeadSA collaborative initiative between the Cape Argus, 567 CapeTalk, 94.5 Kfm and Western Cape law enforcement agencies, was started just over a month ago to curb the drug trade in the province.

At the time, Western Cape police commissioner Lieutenant-General Arno Lamoer said that the success of drug busts at the Cape Town International Airport had driven drug smugglers away from the airport and that they were now transporting drugs by road.

Meanwhile, on Sunday eight people were arrested at a Bellville flat after being found with 222 bunches of the drug, Khat, said police spokesman Frederick van Wyk.

He said the drugs had an estimated street value of R7000.

Over the past week, police also reported that khat worth R5 520 had been seized.

Since the launch of Operation Drug Watch more than 8 000 people have been arrested and more than R5 million worth of drugs have been confiscated in the Western Cape.

Dagga, mandrax and tik account for most of the confiscations and are linked to most arrests.

Of all the arrests in the past month, the Manenberg police station had the most arrests – contributing 6.53 percent of the number of arrests made, followed by Mitchells Plain and Delft.

neo.maditla@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

The National Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is calling for the cancellation of uShaka New Year’s Eve parties.

Durban - The National Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (NSPCA) is calling for the cancellation of the controversial uShaka New Year’s Eve parties, saying any entertainment in-volving captive animals was against policy.

Last week, Isobel Wentzel, the head of the NSPCA’s national wildlife unit, said she was satisfied the animals and fish were not at risk.

She said she had received assurances from management at the theme park that the planned parties would not be near the creatures, and that they would be monitored for stress.

However, on Thursday Wentzel told The Mercury the NSPCA was opposed to keeping wild animals in captivity and using them in entertainment events.

“We were discussing it with them (uShaka) and trying to get them to change their minds,” she said.

The parties made the headlines last week, when animal activists started an online petition to have them stopped. They argued that the noise levels from music on the three dance floors would stress the marine and reptile life in the park.

A petition of more than 7 000 signatures was handed in at eThekwini metro manager S’bu Sithole’s office.

Sithole, who was on leave said he had no knowledge of the events and, therefore, could not make comment.

Shawn Thompson, chief executive of uShaka, said the events would be held away from the animals, and all sound speakers were indoors which would contain the sound levels.

A meeting held yesterday between activists and Sea World officials has led to a suggested compromise, to be discussed with the organisers today.

The Mercury

President Zuma's call for a national cleansing ceremony should include cleansing the "roads of death", says Sanco.

Johannesburg - President Jacob Zuma's call for a national cleansing ceremony should include cleansing the “roads of death”, the SA National Civic Organisation (Sanco) said on Friday.

“We are of the opinion that Africans have neglected one key component of dealing with the living dead - the spirit and souls of people dying on our roads,” said Sanco spokesman Dumisani Mthalane in a statement.

On Friday, SABC radio news reported that Zuma wanted to hold a national cleansing ceremony to restore moral values in the country.

He was reported to have said the ritual would be of great importance in the light of incidents such as the Marikana tragedy, the rape of elderly women, and political assassinations.

He said people who were not cleansed, harboured grudges.

Mthalane supported Zuma's call, saying people needed to go back to their roots.

“There are ways - we believe - African, traditional and cultural ways used by our forefathers to deal with tragic events such as road accidents, unfamiliar patterns of behaviour, etc.”

Mthalane said rituals needed to be performed “by those entrusted with powers to communicate with the spirits to contain bad luck or (the) re-occurrence of tragic events”.

He said a ritual of “Ukuvala Umkhokha”, whereby bad incidents were prevented from reoccurring, should be carried out.

A national cleansing ceremony would thus be a positive step for the country, said Mthalane.

“The move will help bring some normality, and (the) observance of morals and important African values back to the fore in our nation.”

Sanco condemned the number of festive season road deaths and accidents.

“It is sad when lives become mere statistics.” - Sapa

Before Lilitha “Nini” Mgwebi had the chance to don her new Christmas clothes, she was allegedly snatched.

Cape Town -

It has been three days since a Khayelitsha girl went missing on Christmas morning and her desperate mother is pleading for her safe return.

Before five-year-old Lilitha “Nini” Mgwebi had the chance to don her new Christmas clothes, which still had the price tags attached, she was allegedly snatched a few metres from her house in Khayelitsha’s Green Point informal settlement.

After giving her daughter breakfast around 9am, Abongile Mgwebi, 28, said her little girl rushed outside to play with her friends.

“She wasn’t even washed yet so I just put some clothes on her, gave her pap and told her she must hurry back so I can wash her and dress her up for Christmas,” her mother said.

A short while later a neighbour told Mgwebi her daughter was playing at a tap around the corner.

But an hour later, the mother became worried when her sister’s son, who had also been with the children, returned home without Lilitha.

“I asked him where she was and he said she’s still at the tap and that’s when I went to look for her. We searched the area, even used loudspeakers but nothing.”

The family also scoured the nearby veld, known to be a “dumping ground” for bodies. At 6pm Mgwebi went to the police station to report the child missing.

Unable to fight back tears, Mgwebi complained that the police search only started the following day.

“They just took my statement and didn’t even go look for her. Maybe she would have been found by now,” said the shattered mother.

Although she fears the worst, Mgwebi has begged the perpetrators to return the child.

“Whoever took my child, please bring back my Nini.”

Neighbour Nellie Venge said after hearing the news she couldn’t enjoy her Christmas Day.

“She was such a kind child, always smiling. Now you can’t even trust your own children outside. I just hope they bring her home alive.”

Provincial police spokesman Captain FC Van Wyk said a search had been launched to find her.

Lilitha was last seen dressed in pink trousers and a long-sleeved pink-and-white striped golf shirt.

Police want anyone with information to call investigating officer Sergeant Bernard Mouton on 082 522 2884 or 021 360 2308, or Crime Stop on 08600 10111.

Meanwhile, police are looking into the identity of the body of a girl found on Thursday in Grassy Park following the disappearance of six-year-old Jennifer Williams.

She disappeared near her home in Parkwood in Grassy Park last Thursday morning. She was at an informal gaming arcade in Parker’s Walk.

Jennifer was last seen in a two-piece yellow suit, patterned with black dots.

Anyone with information should call Crime Stop on 086 001 0111, or investigating officer Warrant Officer Juanita Kleinsmith on 021 700 3900/071 604 8358.

* Meanwhile the search continues for a Mitchells Plain girl, Kauthar Bobbs, 6, who vanished while playing with friends in Freedom Park in October.

The grandmother was arrested on the eve of Kauthar’s sixth birthday.

Van Wyk said the investigation continues.

Missing Children SA said that about 10 children remain missing in the Western Cape.

This year alone, 153 children were reported missing while police reported 115 were found.

The organisation said between May 2011 and April this year, the highest number of cases reported to their organisation was in December, with 66 cases; October, with 53 cases; and February this year, with 53. In that period, 12 of the missing children had been found dead.

A report by the Missing Persons Bureau said a child goes missing every six hours in the country.

Cape Argus

A KZN woman escaped with grazes and bruises after a juvenile rhino rammed into her and tossed her into the air.

Durban - A Durban North mother on a game walk in KwaZulu-Natal escaped with grazes and bruises after a juvenile rhino rammed into her and tossed her into the air.

A ranger at Hluhluwe Game Reserve has been hailed as the hero of Vanessa Maitland’s encounter, saving her from a goring by distracting the animal.

Sabelo Mdlalose, a senior tour guide at Hill Camp, was within his rights to shoot the animal, but instead chose the non-lethal route because, “it was a baby and we had lost so many rhinos already”.

Mdlalose also believes no lives were lost that day because moments before the drama unfolded, the walking party rescued a tortoise, which was stuck in the mud.

Maitland had the scrape with the white rhino last week, on a morning walk with her family.

The four-year-old charged from behind, rammed her, scooped her off the ground and flung her into the air. The impact concussed her.

Maitland, a maritime archaeologist, shared Mdlalose’s views. She said their walk came to a halt when her 14-year-old daughter, Courtney, spotted a tortoise stuck in the mud, about 150m from a waterhole where a group of rhinos were gathered.

“The rhinos didn’t hurt us because we saved the tortoise,” she said.

“While Mdlalose helped Courtney with the tortoise, he kept warning us that the rhinos at the waterhole were known to be slightly aggressive,” she said.

Maitland said Mdlalose asked them to move upwind, so that their scent would be carried to the rhinos and they would leave.

“We saw three rhinos coming toward us. I didn’t realise something was wrong until Sabelo picked up pieces of wood and threw them at the rhinos. All I heard next was Sabelo shouting, ‘run, people’.

“At this point, the one older rhino and a younger one had veered into the bushes. The remaining one kept coming.”

Maitland’s only concern at that point, she said, was Courtney’s safety. A sense of relief enveloped her when she saw her mother, Charlotte Firbank-King, shielding Courtney in nearby shrubs.

Maitland saw her partner, Colin Donald, make for a tree.

“My brother-in-law, Anthony (Hunneyball), stood very still and at the last minute did a Spanish bullfighter move and dodged the rhino. Sabelo was pointing his gun at the rhino and I kept thinking, ‘don’t shoot, don’t shoot’.”

Maitland said:

“I felt the horn go straight through (between) my legs and I was in the air. When I woke up, I saw Colin run over and he was blurry, so I must’ve passed out.

“I’ve jumped out of planes and crashed my bike several times, but this was my greatest adventure,” she said on Thursday.

Firbank-King said she heard Mdlalose tell the animal: “Don’t make me shoot you. When I turned to see where the rhino had gone, I saw Vanessa lying in a foetal position. She was as still as anything.”

Mdlalose, a ranger for six years, said he was charged once before, in 2009, but never hit.

“We learnt that two rhinos were recently killed by poachers in the same area. The rhinos were scared. They saw us and we looked like the people who killed their neighbours, so they charged.”

Maitland and Firbank-King were full of praise for Mdlalose.

“It takes a special type of person to show restraint. If he shot the rhino, not a person would say he had done something wrong. He has such integrity,” Maitland said.

For Mdlalose, the incident emphasised the need to respect one’s surroundings.

“I always think of the universe as a single substance with a single soul. In the spirit of the wild, you have to have a spirit of the heart. I couldn’t shoot. I had to protect the baby,” Mdlalose said.

rizwana.umar@inl.co.za

Daily News

“Armed and professionally trained security guards should have been deployed on these dangerous trains,” railway-aligned unions said.

Pretoria -

Security on trains must be upgraded in the wake of the murder of a train driver in Pretoria, railway-aligned unions said on Friday.

“Armed and professionally trained security guards should have been deployed on these dangerous trains,” said union officials in a joint statement.

Train driver JP du Plessis was found stabbed to death in a stationary train outside Hercules station in Pretoria on Tuesday.

Police spokesman Lt-Col Lungelo Dlamini said this week that two cellphones had been stolen from the scene of the murder, “possibly by two men who were seen crossing a railway line after the train had stopped”.

On Friday, Federation of Unions of South Africa (Fedusa) general secretary Dennis George and the United Transport and Allied Workers Union (Utatu) and SA Railworkers Union (Sarwhu) general secretary Steve Harris said that Du Plessis “played a critical role in providing the service of cost-effective public transport for poor communities in Gauteng for the last 17 years”.

His killing was “senseless,” said George and Harris.

The two unions' general secretaries said that they had called on Metrorail to upgrade security measures in the past, but “it has fallen on deaf ears”. - Sapa

“Fewer people died on Mpumalanga roads this festive season compared to 2011.”

Mpumalanga -

Fewer people died on Mpumalanga roads this festive season compared to 2011, the provincial community safety, security and liaison department said on Friday.

“Fatalities have been reduced from 2011’s 118 to 102in 2012,” said department spokesman Joseph Mabuza.

He said there had also been a decrease in the number of accidents.

“Since the beginning of December 2012, the province has recorded 426 accidents as compared to 452 in 2011.”

The Gert Sibande region had the most accidents with 43 being reported, the Nkangala region was second with 31 and Ehlanzeni followed with 28.

MEC for community safety, security and liaison Vusi Shongwe said although they had made progress in reducing road crashes and fatalities, there was still room for improvement.

He agreed with national Transport Minister Ben Dikobe Martin’s call for road users to prioritise life over convenience.

“Our road users need to begin valuing life even more while they are driving. We need to learn to be more tolerant to one another and stop breaking the law needlessly,” he said.

On Thursday, Shongwe joined traffic officials in conducting a roadblock on the N2 between Piet Retief and Ermelo, where over 330 vehicles were stopped and checked.

A total of 109 fines were issued and 27 unroadworthy cars were taken off the road. One person was arrested for driving with a fake licence. - Sapa

The matric examinations of 2012 were declared fair, valid and credible by Umalusi.

Johannesburg -

The matric examinations of 2012 were declared fair, valid and credible by Umalusi on Friday.

“We hereby approve the release of the results of the national senior certificate examinations administered by the department of Basic Education,” said Umalusi CEO Dr Mafu Rakometsi.

He said the same approval was issued for the exams administered by the Independent Examinations Board (IEB).

“We are satisfied that the examinations were fair, valid and credible.”

Umalusi - the Council for Quality Assurance in General and Further Education and Training - approved the exams after various quality control measures, including moderating and approving question papers, verifying internal assessments, monitoring the conduct during exams, and monitoring and verifying the marking and final results.

Rakometsi said exams conducted for qualifications available through Further Education and Training (FET) colleges and Adult Basic Education and Training (Abet) were also approved - with the exception of N3 Electronics.

“These results are being withheld pending an investigation.

We suspect some irregularities,” said Rakometsi. - Sapa

Celebrations abound as 98.20 percent of IEB candidates pass this year's exams.

Anina Faul is a bit of a doomsday prop-het. “I’m one of those people who think I will fail, but then I end up doing really well,” said the anxious teenager yesterday.

But there was no need for Faul’s nerves. She notched up 11 distinctions in 12 of her subjects in the 2012 Independent Examinations Board (IEB) exam, ach-ieving in the top 1 percent for seven of her subjects in the results released today. Faul secured a spot on the coveted list of IEB candidates praised for their outstanding achievement.

The Kingsmead College pupil was one of 8 796 private school students who passed the IEB exams, netting the board a pass rate of 98.20 percent, a slight improvement on last year’s pass rate of 98.15 percent. All those who passed gained entry into tertiary study.

Anne Oberholzer, the chief executive of the IEB, said she was pleased with the results – and that 83.6 percent of pupils achieved entry to degree study – a “significant” improvement from last year’s 81.67 percent.

“Learners are realising that it’s not enough to just pass – that they have to pass well. I think the hype nationally around the quality of the pass rates – that a 30 percent pass is not enough – has seen both learners and teachers realise they need to extend themselves to their very best.

“They have to strive towards what universities are looking for. Even if you go on to a job after school, you have to be confident to read and write properly, you can add and subtract, and your life skills are important. You have to have substance behind those marks.”

There were 1 586 candidates who wrote the Advanced Programme (AP) courses offered by the IEB in maths, benchmarked as equivalent in demand to UK A-levels, securing a pass rate of 84 percent while 502 candidates wrote AP English, scoring a pass rate of 97 percent.

To achieve, schools needed committed parents, children “who are prepared to put in the hours” and a qualified and committed teaching force. “We’re a tiny group of schools, but there are a number of state schools doing as well as us. It’s just that it’s not pervasive enough. We need more schools to have those three things coming together.”

Next week will see the release of the state school matric results.

Graeme Bloch, an education specialist, said order and discipline helped make private schools function well. “It’s better ordered, more disciplined, especially in teaching and obviously better resourced (both facilities and the preparation of the kids). Well done to those who did well. Success only comes with hard work.

“Much is to learn and there are many problems (at private schools), from bullying to sexism, to bad behaviour and elitism sometimes. Still, 92.5 percent of kids are in public schools and it is here we must focus. No excuses, but realism, and no slogans or quick fixes. There is a lot to fix, and lots to learn, but this is where the real challenge is. Some public schools do okay. Most don’t. Parental involvement and accountable leadership by teachers, departments and politicians is what is needed.”

There has been a marked improvement in exam results nationally, with better pupil performance achieved, and a higher percentage of subjects whose raw marks were accepted after moderation, according to the Council for Quality Assurance in General and Further Education and Training, Umalusi.

Yesterday the council announced its approval of the results for all 2012 national exams, and said they had been written under fair and valid conditions and results could be released to pupils and the public at dates chosen by the administrators.

The exams are administered by the IEB, the Department of Basic Education and the Department of Higher Education and Training.

Umalusi chief executive Dr Mafu Rakometsi said: “There was a lot of hard work that went into the results and preparing them to be released, and the milestone achievement is a product of combined efforts by learners and parents.”

Speaking during a media briefing to show their confidence in all the qualifications, chairman Professor Sizwe Mabizela said: “Umalusi is satisfied that nothing has compromised the integrity or credibility of the examination process.

“We are satisfied that the examinations were fair, valid and credible,” Mabizela said.

He said problems in KwaZulu-Natal had been investigated and appropriate action would be taken.

A total of 527 335 full-time pupils and 120 352 part-time candidates had enrolled for the national senior certificate examination, with 61 subjects presented for standardisation with Umalusi.

So what are Faul’s plans? She is heading to the University of Johannesburg next year to study audiovisual communication to become a film-maker.

It’s a career choice her father, who wanted her to become a chartered accountant, “is coming around to”.

“If I’m going to do something with my life that I’m passionate about, then it has to be film-making. I really want to do something creative and I love movies, and go to watch them all the time.”

She dreams of walking in the footsteps of Tsotsi director Gavin Hood. “My big sister has already told me she wants to be my date when I win an Oscar.”

The IEB results were released last night while matriculants at non-IEB schools will have theirs on January 3.

-Saturday Star

Presidency had no update on the state of Mandela's health on Saturday morning.

The presidency had no update on the state of former president Nelson Mandela's health on Saturday morning.

“We have not heard any news or updates on our side,” said spokesman Mac Maharaj.

Mandela is receiving home-based care since being discharged from hospital on Wednesday.

He was originally flown from Qunu in the Eastern Cape to Pretoria on December 8 to receive treatment for a lung infection. He also underwent gallstone surgery.

Meanwhile, the former statesman's grandchild Zaziwe Manaway reportedly told Eyewitness News that Mandela was “alert”.

“He is very alert. My grandfather still wakes up in the morning and reads the newspaper so he is also aware of what is being said about him,” Manaway told the news station.

Mandela has a history of lung problems, having suffered from tuberculosis towards the end of his 27-years spent in prison.

Well wishes have been pouring in for the elderly statesman and his family. -Sapa