"Lotto players, go out in numbers to go play. You might just be the one destined to win the gigantic amount."

Johannesburg - The cold front is well and truly here this weekend, but national lottery operator Gidani promises to warm things up with a hot and guaranteed R55 million jackpot on Saturday night.

And the chilly weather is unlikely to be a deterrent for many South Africans who will no doubt brave the long queues for a chance at winning the highest Lotto jackpot ever.

This “warming” gesture from Gidani follows seven rollovers in recent weeks.

“Lotto players, go out in numbers to go play. You might just be the one destined to win the gigantic amount,” Gidani spokesperson Thembi Tulwana urged.

Since 2007 Gidani has created 271 millionaires – 104 from Gauteng, 44 from the Western Cape and 43 in KwaZulu-Natal.

And all Lotto players will be praying that they become the lottery’s 272nd millionaire tonight.

Gidani boasts that all its winners are still wealthy – not one is yet broke.

“Winners are offered emotional counselling and financial advice with reputable financial institutions. After a period of three months we do a winner wellbeing survey to see how things are going. And since Gidani took over the running of the National Lottery there has been no winner running out of money,” Tulwana said.

However, a Zimbabwaen man who won the jackpot in 2001 was not so lucky. He had spent R5 on a Lotto ticket and won a cool R14m under former lottery operator, Uthingo.

At the time Batsirayi Mupfawi’s wish was to finish his matric. But a R1.6m house, a holiday in Disneyland and a string of debt collectors later, that dream was never realised.

Saturday Star

The man who was to bring Bara TV to Soweto has allegedly pocketed more than R1 million of the start-up funding.

Johannesburg - The man who was to bring Bara TV to Soweto has allegedly pocketed more than R1 million of the start-up funding.

Dr Mveleli Gqwede, popularly known as the flamboyant “Dr Love”, is still being sought by the Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital’s board to account for money donated by Capitec Bank for the channel.

Capitec donated R1m which included a wraparound billboard erected at the hospital.

The Department of Health is also investigating Gqwede’s alleged misuse of the money.

Gqwede has denied wrongdoing.

After his two-year stint with Soweto TV where he hosted his own show titled On Call with Dr Love, Gqwede last year announced he had come up with the concept of Bara TV, saying the free-to-air health and lifestyle channel would benefit residents in the township and educate them about the medical facility.

He said through the TV programmes he hoped to dispel the negative publicity that surrounded Bara which had in the past been in the firing line for its patient care, its lack of proper equipment and security.

The TV channel was supposed to have been run from the hospital’s Glyn Thomas House, but never got off the ground.

Minutes of a board meeting held on February 21 show that the issue of Gqwede’s non-disclosure of how the money was used was discussed.

The meeting was attended by the hospital’s chief executive, Sandile Mfenyana, and a representative from the Health Department.

At the meeting, the board revealed that it had signed a memorandum of understanding with Gqwede.

Subsequent to this, Gqwede and the board’s chairman, Gideon Sithole, met Capitec. Gqwede, allegedly on his own, then signed a one-year contract with Capitec under his own company’s name.

He is alleged to have then instructed the bank to transfer the R1m into his personal account.

The board maintains it knew nothing about the money, saying up to now Gqwede had not submitted a report on Bara TV. It said all monies collected and raised in the name of the hospital had to go into the hospital’s board account for central control and accountability.

It is also understood that in a meeting held with Capitec, Gqwede promised to give a full report on what he did with the money but has not done so.

A source at the hospital said when approached to account for the money, Gqwede allegedly transferred up to R200 000 into a different account and also failed to say how he had spent the money.

A second source said that an employee at the hospital, whose name is known to the Saturday Star, has also pocketed some of the money.

Sithole confirmed that the board was aware of the matter.

The Health Department’s spokesman Phume Khumalo could not confirm if any action had been taken against Gqwede, saying this was dependent on the outcome of the probe.

Meanwhile, Capitec said it had not been informed of any investigation or misappropriation of funds.

“Yes, we can confirm that we have a contract with DLV Entertainment Pty Ltd (which) owns the advertising rights in and on Baragwanath Hospital,” said Charl Nel, the bank’s head of communications, in its marketing and corporate affairs division.

Nel said the pricing for the billboard was determined by the potential exposure of the bank and that it had identified the deal with Gqwede as cost effective.

“The agreement only refers to this outdoor advertising for one year and the contract expires on September 30, 2013. We have no intention of cancelling this outdoor advertising before the contract expires,” he said.

On LinkedIn Gqwede describes himself as the executive producer of Bara TV and DLV Productions. However a company search with the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) shows that while a Mr Mveleli Gqwede has a company registered, it is not a production company.

Apparently Gqwede left Soweto TV on bad terms but the TV channel said the sponsorship of his show had ended and the show had been axed.

On Friday, Gqwede said he had no contractual agreement with the hospital board and wasn’t aware of the investigation.

“The board has nothing to do with this. Hence there was no need for them to be present when I signed the contract with Capitec,” he said.

He said after the board meeting Sithole phoned and demanded to know what had happened to the money.

Gqwede pointed out that while the board had nothing to do with the contract with Capitec, it had, however, given him the go-ahead.

“They (the board) signed a letter giving me permission to launch Bara TV,” he said.

Asked what he had done with the money, he replied: “We have bought equipment from Germany and have set up the studio.”

He added: “This is nothing but a smear campaign.”

He declined to comment on how much of the money was left in his account. He said Bara TV was still going ahead and that he was just waiting for more funding.

Saturday Star

Dr Mveleli Gqwede stunned many when he said that he had a crush on Bob Mabena and left tongues wagging at a night-club when he decided to go for DJ Phat Joe.

Johannesburg - In August 1999, it was reported that Dr Mveleli Gqwede was arrested at his flat in Craighall Park with fugitives Sipho “Killer” Nkuna and Lassie Sibiya.

Sibiya and Nkuna escaped from the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court after they appeared on charges of involvement in a multi-million-rand car-theft syndicate and 16 hijackings.

Gqwede, a close ally of Winnie Madikizela-Mandela at the time, appeared in court but was not charged nor was he asked to plead. At the time he was known to own a plush medical practice in Vosloorus on the East Rand, where he employed two permanent doctors.

In 2001, Gqwede stunned many when he told a local free-to-air television channel that he had a crush on Bob Mabena and left tongues wagging at a Durban night-club when he decided to go for DJ Phat Joe.

In 2010, he denounced his homosexuality, saying he was “done with men” and that he had gone back to his ex-wife and the mother of his two children, Nomxolisi Mji.

In 2011, it was reported that Dr Love left the church of controversial Prophet Paseka Motsoeneng, also known as Mbhoro, and went to the Gracehouse church in Randburg.

Gqwede became a celebrity in the 1990s after openly campaigning for the rights of homosexual people.

Gqwede was born in the former Transkei in 1967, the second of four children to Viola Gqwede, a schoolteacher, and a father who left him when he was four. He was schooled in the Transkei and passed his matric with flying colours at the age of 16 in 1983. In the 1990s, he was known to dress well and have bodyguards.

It has also been reported that he was awarded a bursary to study medicine and enrolled at Medunsa.

Saturday Star

The man charged with murdering Nhlanhla Gasa is expected to confess to killing him, revealing that the two were lovers.

Durban - The Kwadukuza (Stanger) man charged with murdering Durban businessman, Nhlanhla Gasa, is next week expected to confess to killing the millionaire, revealing that the two were lovers.

According to well-placed sources Gasa, 63, a father of four – among them TV personality Noni Gasa and Miss South Africa 1997 Mbali Gasa Ngqula – had a romantic relationship with the 25-year-old man which became tempestuous.

The two, according to Gasa’s business associates, relatives and some Durban gay men, had met at an Umhlanga bar where the young man was a barman.

Gasa and the man, a father of three who has been described as “a possessive and jealous lover”, hit it off and began a relationship soon after.

Gasa is said to have given the young man one of his cars to use and often gave him cash before the relationship turned sour.

“His recent lover was very young, jealous and possessive,” said a business associate.

Asked about the gay rumours last night, family spokesman Louis Seeco said the family was aware of them.

“It would have been very difficult for his children to ask their father about these rumours,” he said.

“In Zulu tradition, you wouldn’t dare ask and he had never told his family that he was gay.”

He said the family would issue a “full” statement next week.

Gasa, an associate of President Jacob Zuma who held 19 directorships, was fatally stabbed in his Umhlanga home late last month.

Police found a blood trail leading from the house to the garage, suggesting Gasa was dragged there after he was murdered. There were no signs of forced entry.

His body was found with multiple stab wounds, floating in the Tugela River near KwaDukuza. His burnt-out Jaguar was found nearby.

After an extensive three-week investigation, the young man was arrested in Groutville this week after hiding in the Eastern Cape.

According to a police source, Gasa’s estranged wife, Sinenhlanhla, was initially a suspect, but this changed when the arrested man’s friend – who had seen him dump a bloodied body into the river – informed police.

The friend is said to have turned state witness.

Provincial police spokesman Colonel Vincent Mdunge, who described the case as “sensitive”, said the accused man, who appeared in court this week on Tuesday, had not made a confession.

“Therefore the motive for the murder is still unknown,” he said, adding the man was now consulting with his lawyer.

He appeared briefly in the Durban Magistrate’s Court and remains in custody at the Durban North police cells after his case was postponed to next week. He will appear on Tuesday.

He faces charges of premeditated murder, malicious damage to property and robbery with aggravating circumstances.

During his court appearance, he told the court that he did not have his own attorney and would like to use the services of legal aid.

His state-provided attorney, Hycenth Mlotshwa, asked magistrate Anand Maharaj for a postponement in order to further consult with his client.

National Prosecuting Authority spokeswoman, Natasha Ramkis-son, has said while there had been hearsay reports that the accused may confess, all legal processes would be followed.

This included his right to be granted a legal representative.

Gasa’s associates have said that during the short-lived relationship, the businessman had given the man one of his cars.

One of his mother’s friends said the young man had been seen driving the car in the Groutville area but the family didn’t think much of it, assuming it belonged to one of his friends.

A long-time business associate of Gasa said he was “openly gay” hence his separation from Sinenhlanhla.

Another business associate said: “I was acquainted with him and yes he was openly gay. It was not a secret.”

Describing him as a giving, humble and ethical businessman the associate said it was an open secret that Gasa had sexual relationships with young men, particularly students.

“He would give them loads of money,” she said. “Most people who knew him were aware of his sexual preferences, but that doesn’t change the fact that he was a generous and humble man.”

A Durban gay socialite said there is a “large” community of gay married men who are known as “after nine”.

The term is coined from the SABC TV mini-series that followed the exploits of black gay men in modern society.

It delved into the secret underworld of a black gay businessman and his inner struggles to find a way to deal with the torment of revealing his true sexuality to his wife and family.

The socialite said while Gasa had not divulged his sexual preferences to the world, he also didn’t hide it, like other wealthy Durban men who went to great lengths to portray themselves as staunch traditionalists who would never engage in such relationships.

Seeco said Gasa’s two sons had attended this week’s court proceedings. “The sons said they had never seen the suspect before,” he said, emphasising that Gasa’s four children loved their father unconditionally, despite the gay rumours.

Independent on Saturday

Four men who allegedly robbed a shop in Isipingo, KwaZulu-Natal have been arrested, police said.

KwaZulu-Natal - Four men who allegedly robbed a shop in Isipingo, KwaZulu-Natal have been arrested, police said on Saturday.

Colonel Vincent Mdunge said the men were arrested on Friday.

Earlier on Friday, after a group of five men robbed a shop of an undisclosed amount of cash and cigarettes. They also robbed customers in the store.

“Isipingo police were notified of the robbery and they immediately responded to the complaint. Within 30 minutes after the robbery, four suspects were arrested while they were still in the vicinity of the scene,” Mdunge said.

The fifth man managed to run away from the police.

“The outstanding suspect who is still at large has been identified and he will be arrested soon.”

The four would appear in the Umlazi Magistrate's Court on Monday. - Sapa

An interim report following hearings into the alleged non-delivery of textbooks was being compiled and would soon be presented to Parliament, the SAHRC said.

Johannesburg - An interim report following hearings into the alleged non-delivery of textbooks was being compiled and would soon be presented to Parliament, the SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) said on Saturday.

SAHRC spokesman Isaac Mangena said the commission had concluded preliminary investigations into the matter.

“An interim report following this hearing would be compiled by April 30 and presented to Parliament,” he said.

The SAHRC hearings into the alleged non-delivery of school textbooks began on April 2, with the Eastern Cape and Limpopo reportedly being the most affected provinces.

“The commission invited the presence of the director-general at the department of basic education and all provincial MECs of education from the beginning of the hearing, to present oral and written responses to a listed number of questions around the challenges of delivery of learning material to schools,” said Mangena.

The panel had decided to not declare the proceedings closed and to hold further consultations with interested parties who have not presented their submissions yet, he said.

“After all submissions have been received, a consolidated report on the state of delivery of learning material to schools in the nine provinces, containing recommendations will be submitted to Parliament for implementation,” said Mangena. - Sapa

In a bid to cut down on bike-jackings, anti-crime network eblockwatch has launched a community support system for cyclists.

Johannesburg - A month ago, a young Joburg woman fell victim to violent gang rape.

The woman, in her mid-twenties, was riding her bicycle with her husband along the R21 at the R25 off-ramp near Kempton Park when three armed men attacked them.

They took the couple to an open veld. The woman was gang-raped before the suspects robbed them of two bicycles, an iPod and a cellphone.

The suspects were later arrested in Tembisa. It’s understood the group was linked to 10 other incidents where cyclists were robbed.

Bike-jackings, however, continue to occur at an alarming rate in Joburg and the rest of the country.

The most recent bike-jacking occurred on Thursday morning when a man was attacked and robbed of his mountain bike in Groenkloof, Pretoria.

In a bid to cut down on bike-jackings, anti-crime network eblockwatch has launched a community support system for cyclists.

Andre Snyman, head of eblockwatch, said the network had created a Facebook page for cyclists to register themselves on so that all cyclist can be looped together.

“When they’re in trouble, the community members closest to them will be able to help them if they’re in trouble,” said Snyman.

It would require cyclists to register on eblockwatch’s cycle support system for R45 a month. Once cyclists have registered, they will be given specific details as to how the system works.

They will also be given a hotline number to call should they be in danger.

“We will also turn their cellphones into tracking devices to catch those who rob them,” said Snyman.

“The idea is to create a massive cyclist group that will be called on to assist fellow cyclists closest to them if the need ever arises.”

Snyman said that a number of cyclists had already registered with eblockwatch and that the support system had been a success thus far.

“We have managed to nab a good few criminals who have robbed our cyclists,” said Snyman.

“These days bikes are very expensive and can cost anywhere between R5 000 and R90 000, so criminals are now targeting cyclists ever so often.”

Eblockwatch is working together with the SAPS as well as several bike shops around the country, said Snyman.

“We’re also sending our members information on where the bike-jacking hot spots are and information on how cyclists can be safe when riding,” he said.

“Bike shops around Joburg and the rest of the country will assist us in providing information to our members.”

Snyman said that bike-jacking had increased this year at an alarming rate.

“These crimes are happening on a weekly basis, it’s absolutely shocking. “It needs to come to an end. Hopefully the eblockwatch support system will assist in keeping cyclists more safe on the road,” said Snyman.

Snyman has advised all cyclists in the country to always cycle with a partner or in a group.

“It’s very dangerous to cycle all alone,” Snyman said.

Saturday Star

The Pretoria High Court heard that evidence given by the officer investigating the murder of Zanele Khumalo was unreliable as part of his testimony was not documented.

Pretoria - The Pretoria High Court on Friday heard that evidence given by the officer investigating the murder of Zanele Khumalo, allegedly killed by her boyfriend Thato Kutumela, was unreliable as part of his testimony was not documented.

Advocate Anneke van Wyk was referring to the testimony of detective constable Raboya Maboa who claimed he and Kutumela had a conversation about the deceased en route to the hospital where Kutumela’s blood was drawn.

It is alleged that Kutumela killed Khumalo on April 21, 2011 after visiting her at her parents’ Garsfontein home.

She was found by her parents when they returned home from work.

Her naked body was covered with a blanket. She had been strangled and raped.

Maboa told the court he had read Kutumela his rights on April 28, 2011, outside the Lynnwood Bridge Woolworths branch, where Kutumela worked at the time, and explained to him that he would have his blood taken for tests.

He claimed he told Kutumela that “everyone was a suspect, including the family of the deceased”.

Kutumela did not object to having his blood taken, the court heard.

En route to the hospital, Kutumela allegedly told Maboa that Khumalo was his girlfriend and she was five months pregnant with his child.

Maboa said Kutumela told him that he and Khumalo would often meet at the Woolworths branch in Garsfontein.

Maboa testified that Kutumela told him that they met at that Woolworths on the evening prior to her death.

From there, he took a taxi to Mamelodi and they spoke again, on the phone, between 9pm and 10pm. Kutumela told Maboa that they spoke throughout that night, making use of free minutes after midnight.

When asked by Van Wyk if he had documented the conversation which allegedly took place in a police van, in the form of a statement or a diary entry, Maboa said he had not.

Van Wyk said there was no physical evidence before the court to indicate that the conversation took place.

The case will continue on May 27.

Pretoria News

A shop owner has been shot and wounded while fighting off robbers who took an undisclosed amount of cash during a daring robbery.

Cape Town - A Chinese shop owner has been shot and wounded while fighting off three robbers who took an undisclosed amount of cash during a daring daytime robbery in Main Road, Sea Point, on Friday afternoon.

The robbery is the sixth attack on Chinese-owned businesses in the Western Cape since the beginning of the year and the third in Cape Town in the past two weeks.

The 62-year-old man was shot inside his store next to Goldies Home Cooked Foods in the busy stretch of road.

A witness said he came face to face with one of the robbers.

“He was a fat man. He was carrying a white bank bag in one hand and he had a gun in the other. I heard a shot and then, there he was right in front of me.”

The man, who did not want to be named, said the robber told him that he needed a hostage.

But his first and only reaction was to “run like hell” to the other side of the road.

The man, who admitted that he was lucky to escape, said when he reached the other side of the main road he could not believe that he had got away unharmed.

Colonel Tembinkosi Kinana said preliminary investigations indicated that two men entered the shop and held up the Chinese man at gunpoint, before demanding cash.

“One of the men fired a shot, wounding the owner in the shoulder. Police managed to arrest one of the suspects, the others fled in the get-away car.

Kinana said a firearm believed to have been used in the attack was recovered.

A close friend of the victim said his friend had lived in South Africa for 28 years.

“He and his wife run the business. And they’ve been in Sea Point for almost two years,” he said.

The man said the couple sold genuine leather and crocodile skin bags, and were very good people.

He added that the wife was unharmed and had left the scene in the ambulance with her husband when he was rushed to a nearby hospital.

Another witness told Weekend Argus the suspects had parked their car around the corner in Worcester Street. She saw the men park their vehicle, get out and walk into the store.

“I could not see into the store but I heard the gunshot,” she said.

By late afternoon, news of the shooting had spread like wildfire through Sea Point .

The crowd at the crime scene grew as investigators combed the area for clues.

Employees of nearby coffee shops, restaurants and supermarkets, and their customers gathered outside to question police and other bystanders about the incident.

But business resumed as police wrapped up the crime scene. People sat drinking coffee and chatting about the drama.

Community Safety MEC Dan Plato, who along with deputy provincial police commissioner Major-General Peter Jacobs had met representatives of the Chinese business community this week, said there was growing concern over the spate of robberies targeting Chinese-owned shops.

Jacobs said after the meeting that the shop owners kept money on the premises, making them easy targets.

He warned owners not to keep large amounts of cash in their shops.

“If we look at the amount of money being taken, we are seeing amounts in excess of R400 000 being stolen at a time,” he said.

Plato said last night he had called the Chinese embassy and business representatives.

Plato also urged Chinese businessmen to make use of banking services.

“Many of them refuse to use our banking services because they say the costs are too high. But who keeps that kind of cash on their premises?” he asked.

Weekend Argus

Neighbourhood watches in the crime-plagued Highway area have proposed that the taxi industry be on the invitation list for a high-level meeting to address the scourge.

Durban - Neighbourhood watches in the crime-plagued Highway area have proposed that the taxi industry be on the invitation list for a high-level meeting to address the scourge.

“We want all role-players to take part, including the taxi service,” said Nikki Mohlmann, who is on the executive committee of the Kloof Community Policing Forum.

“Criminals often use taxis to escape.”

Rick Crouch, the Democratic Alliance councillor for Kloof and Gillitts, said he had spent yesterday morning at a planning meeting for the event, scheduled for Wednesday at Hillcrest’s City Hill Church. He said the provincial premier and the entire cabinet were expected to attend.

Crouch questioned the effectiveness of police reinforcements, saying they were acting reactively instead of proactively. “It hasn’t stemmed the tide at all,” he said.

“I still receive daily reports of housebreaking and businesses being broken into, and people going around casing out houses. I don’t think the task force is making a dent.

“They should have the names of everybody out on bail and on parole. They are the number-one suspects. They should be harassing them,” Crouch said. “They’re a small minority, these repeat offenders.”

Police spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Vincent Mdunge hit back, calling Crouch’s remarks “discouraging and irresponsible for a leader” and said he was instigating public panic.

He said the task team had brought a high degree of police visibility and included the Hawks, a highly-trained technical police deployment and highly-experienced investigators and docket handlers.

“In the past eight days, since the deployment started, there have been only unsuccessful (break-in) attempts.”

Citing two incidents, he said police had immediately made it to one crime scene, where they arrested four people. In another, the owner of the property refused to charge a suspect.

He said that the provincial police commissioner had toured the entire Highway area, up to Hammarsdale.

“Feedback we have received from the general public is that there is peace of mind and some people even sleep with their windows open.”

Meanwhile, a neighbourhood watch spokeswoman in Waterfall said there was still no sign of extra policing.

Karen Baxter of the Waterfall Three watch said this week two people who claimed to be “just walking” one night this week were suspected of having thrown house-breaking equipment – hammers, spanners and a crowbar – into the bush upon seeing a patrol.

“

Meanwhile, Mohlmann added that

“incidents keep on happening”. One of the latest was at a garage in Kloof where attendants were held up at gunpoint in their locker room.

Independent on Saturday

Authorities blame each other for the chaos in the roll-out of Aarto.

Johannesburg - Authorities blame each other for the chaos in the roll-out of the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences Act (Aarto) in which fines have been withdrawn, cases struck off the roll and some court judgments not captured on the traffic register.

The Saturday Star can reveal that the Joburg metro police (JMPD) blame the Road Traffic Infringement Agency (RTIA) for its own problems with implementing Aarto.

The RTIA has previously accused the JMPD of failing to comply with the act by issuing traffic fines by ordinary mail as opposed to by registered mail.

But the JMPD claims that the agency’s failure to issue courtesy letters or enforcement orders result in traffic offenders ignoring infringement notices.

The JMPD further says that no ID blocks are currently active on national traffic information system (e-NaTIs), meaning law enforcement has no direct impact within the City of Joburg.

Since the roll-out of Aarto in 2008 within the city, there has been no service level agreement between the council and the RTIA on the issuing of infringement notices.

There is also no similar agreement with the SA Post Office for the delivery of the notices via registered mail to motorists. The agency, however, hit back at JMPD yesterday, stating it had failed to upload infringement notices directly on to the national contraventions register of eNaTIS such as is being done by the Tshwane Municipality.

RTIA spokesman Mthunzi Mbungwana said allegations made against the agency over compliance with the act are without substance.

Mbungwana said letters, which have been written to JMPD asking them to add companies as co-accused when summonsing representatives, have been ignored.

“It is for this reason that cases of this nature are struck from the roll,” she said.

“The format of a section 54 summons is prescribed in terms of the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Act, 51 of 1977 and cannot be deviated from.”

The Aarto nightmare for the local authorities includes the fact that some functions in the e-NaTIs system are not in operation.

Court outcome results, for instance, are not captured.

This could also be the reason why the road traffic authorities don’t know how many drivers have been convicted for drunk driving or speeding.

Two weeks ago the Saturday Star reported that road safety campaigners were frustrated by the lack of statistics on convictions of drivers and licence suspensions.

Aarto was intended to change drivers’ behaviour and reduce road accidents by allocating demerit points to the driving licences of traffic offenders.

Some summonses are printed without critical information such as ID numbers, which has resulted in some cases being struck off the roll, the Saturday Star was told.

Mervyn Cirota, the DA’s public safety spokesman for Joburg, said this week that the rollout and enforcement of Aarto remains unattainable.

“These facts clearly indicate that the Aarto is an abject failure,” he said.

“If the roll-out could not be successful after a five-year waiting period, it is questionable whether there is a real possibility as to whether there can ever be a meaningful and effective implementation.”

Howard Dembovsky, chairman of the Justice Project SA, said the “ineptitude” of all the players involved in Aarto has resulted in it being a failure.

“But what is most disturbing about this entire scenario is to see the JMPD acting like babies and effectively saying Boohoo! The RTIA is stealing our lollipop,” he said.

“This coupled with the fact that the proposed amendments to the Aarto Act effectively seek to reduce traffic fines income to nothing more than an additional stealth tax type of income… proves beyond any doubt what we have been saying for years.”

He said traffic fines were never intended to adjust anyone’s behaviour, but were intended rather to make money for those who issue them.

Saturday Star

Police have arrested a woman in the so-called Gumtree murder case, bringing the number of people accused of the murder of Olwyn Cowley, 21, to five.

Cape Town - Police this week arrested a woman in the so-called Gumtree murder case, bringing the number of people accused of the murder of Olwyn Cowley, 21, to five.

The woman, Tania Majiedt, is believed to be the girlfriend of Jason Elias, who has also been charged in connection with Cowley’s murder.

The couple appeared in the Western Cape High Court on Friday alongside co-accused Soegbudien Abvajee, Shawaal Staggie and Rameez Felix, for a pre-trial conference.

The State alleges that Elias, Staggie and Felix made contact with Cowley in August last year under the pretence that Elias was interested in buying a silver BMW 325ti, which Cowley had advertised on Gumtree.

The trio and Abvajee then met Cowley at a Shell petrol station in Century City around 5pm on August 30 and Elias took the car for a test drive, while Abvajee and Cowley accompanied him.

Cowley was shot dead along the way and his body was dumped along Baden Powell Drive, it is alleged.

The State also alleges that Elias gave Cowley’s cellphone to Majiedt at her home in Highlands Village, Mitchells Plain, where he and Abvajee also washed Cowley’s car.

According to the charge sheet, Majiedt disposed of the cellphone.

While the State does not allege that she was at the petrol station or in the vehicle when Cowley was shot, she has also been charged with murder.

A post mortem showed that Cowley had been shot several times.

The five face charges of murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances and the unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition. The State intends to prove that the murder was premeditated.

The case is expected to return to the high court next month.

It was previously reported that, at the time of Cowley’s murder, Abvajee was a parolee who had a string of previous convictions and was once one of the Cape’s most wanted men.

He served eight years behind bars for armed robbery and was paroled from the Drakenstein Medium A Correctional Centre for good behaviour about four months before Cowley was killed.

However, his parole was revoked in September last year.

Weekend Argus

Campaigning ahead of by-elections has started in Tzaneen, Limpopo.

Limpopo - Campaigning ahead of by-elections has started in Tzaneen, Limpopo on Saturday.

The Democratic Alliance's (DA) Lindiwe Mazibuko addressed a crowd in Zangoma, greater Tzaneen, at a ward currently led by the African National Congress (ANC) earlier on Saturday.

During her address, Mazibuko criticised the ANC, for their reaction to the party's “Know Your DA” campaign.

“The ANC this week were hopping mad because the DA put up a picture of Nelson Mandela embracing Helen Suzman. They hate it because it reminds them of inconvenient truths of what the DA has done in the past, and what it is doing today,” Mazibuko said.

By-elections were expected to take place in the contested ward 24, on Wednesday.

The ANC was confident to retain control over the ward.

“ 1/8We are 3/8 most certain that it will achieve a resounding victory during the upcoming by-elections,” ANC provincial task team secretary Joy Matshoge said in a statement.

Earlier this month, the ANC failed to register a candidate to contest a by-election in the Tswaing municipality, after the DA ward 14 councillor resigned.

The by-elections there are also due scheduled for Wednesday. - Sapa

Blade Nzimande announced a R10m construction skills development and job creation project in Bredasdorp, to uplift the youth in the community.

Johannesburg - Minister of Higher Education Blade Nzimande announced on Saturday a R10 million construction skills development and job creation project in Bredasdorp, Western Cape to uplift the youth in the community.

Nzimande said it was an attempt to “ease the material conditions” of the community to tackle poverty and unemployment to avoid crime.

“Working together with the Construction Seta and the local municipality we have decided to honour the memory of the young Anene Booysen through this project,” he said.

“She was working on a construction site where RDP houses were being built when this incident took place. She was actively contributing to ensuring a better life for herself and her family through working on that construction site.”

On February 2, 17-year-old Booysen was raped and murdered.

Booysen visited a Bredasdorp nightclub on Friday, February 1. A few hours later, she was gang raped and mutilated. She was found at the construction site where she worked the next morning. She died in hospital later that day.

Nzimande said the partnership with the Construction Sector Education and Training Authority (SETA) and the Cape Agulhas Municipality would contribute to the reduction of the high unemployment and poverty rates.

He said the department wanted learning and training opportunities channelled to townships and rural areas.

“I have requested my department to ensure that skills development and training are taken to townships and rural communities because that is where these are needed the most,” he said.

“From the discussions the CETA has had with them and the municipality, it was collectively decided that the CETA would contribute R10 million to address the skills needs of the community.”

A skills and development centre will be opened and named in honour of Booysen.

Nzimande urged the youth in Bredasdorp to make use of the opportunity.

The African National Congress (ANC) in the Western Cape welcomed the programme.

“While one does not want to be seen to make political mileage out of such an issue, it is instructive that for all its talk of schemes to aid the youth in the Western Cape by the (Democratic Alliance) DA, it is the ANC that is delivering,” provincial chairman Marius Fransman said.

“Similar schemes would be initiated throughout the province.” - Sapa

South Africa is yet to decide whether to send its troops to CAR, according to a report.

A decision on whether South African soldiers would be redeployed to the Central African Republic would be made later this week, a newspaper reported.

The Sunday Times reported that if troops were sent, they would be heading to the troubled country as peacekeepers this time, contributing to a 2000-strong Central Africa Multinational Force.

The force would support the transitional CAR government.

President Zuma told reporters at a summit in Chad on Thursday that he had received a “passionate plea” from the leaders of the Economic Community of Central African States (Eccas).

International Relations spokesman Clayson Monyela told the newspaper that government was considering the request.

Opposition party leaders called on parliament to scrutinise the decision closely.

The Democratic Alliance's David Maynier told the paper Zuma had misled parliament about reasons for the first deployment of SA troops to CAR, the paper reported.

Cope leader Mosiuoa Lekota said the move would be “unwise”.

“To support peace doesn't mean you have to take weapons and go into another country,” Lekota was quoted as saying.

In parliament earlier this week, Zuma said he would be extending the deployment of more than 2000 troops to Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo by another year the paper reported. - Sapa

One hundred and thirty six people were left homeless when their shacks were destroyed by floods in Kliptown, Soweto.

Soweto, Johannesburg -

One hundred and thirty six people were left homeless when their shacks were destroyed by floods in Kliptown, Soweto, Johannesburg emergency services said on Saturday.

The people were being moved to Khayalethu care centre in the area and supplied with blankets and food, spokesman Robert Mulaudzi said.

“We are facilitating the relief processes” he said.

The department of social development, housing, Gift of the Givers and South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) were also assisting.

Mulaudzi said the water levels were still high at 1.5 meters.

No one was injured and process of moving people to the hall started around 3pm.

Earlier on Saturday, several motorists and passengers were rescued after they were trapped in flooded roads in Soweto, emergency services said on Saturday.

“They were rescued at Klipspruit Valley and New Canada roads after their vehicles were trapped as a result of heavy rainfall. The roads remain closed,” said City of Joburg emergency services spokesman Robert Mulaudzi.

Four people from two sedans and a taxi were rescued at New Canada road, opposite New Canada train station.

The vehicles were trapped on the flooded road under a bridge in the morning.

Three other people were also rescued from two vehicles at Klipspruit Valley road in Nancefield.

No injuries were reported, said Mulaudzi. - Sapa

A half-built home in Sandown belonging to Julius Malema will be auctioned in May, according to a report.

A half-built home in Sandown belonging to expelled ANCYL president Julius Malema will be auctioned in May, it was reported on Sunday.

“It is definitely focused on the entertainer's market and is at an excellent address,” Pieter Geldenhuys, a spokesman for the auction house Bidder's Choice, told The Sunday Times. “The design is hi-tech and very tasteful,” he said

The three storey home, which was attached by the court to help cover the former African National Congress Youth League head's tax bill, would reportedly go under the hammer on May 9.

Nobantu Mtimde, of Makwande Auctioneers, told the newspaper the initial structure of the house was “almost completely done”.

However, it did not have fittings such as plumbing, ceilings, flooring and glasswork.

Malema brought the property in 2009 for R3.6 million. He had the existing house on the property demolished and began construction on a house with four bedrooms, four bathrooms, a swimming pool, cinema room, coffee bar, jacuzzi, cigar lounge, wine cellar and a lift.

This week, a provisional order for the preservation of Malema's assets was made final by the High Court in Pretoria.

Malema owes the SA Revenue Service (Sars) R16 million. In March, he reportedly missed a deadline to challenge Sars's application for the sequestration of his estate to cover his tax bill.

He also faces charges of fraud and racketeering related to the irregular awarding of a R52m tender to On-Point Engineering in Limpopo. - Sapa

The DA has been rocked by controversy over a campaign to rebrand itself by emphasising its liberal roots.

The DA has been rocked by controversy over draft electioneering proposals drawn up in the Western Cape and a campaign to rebrand itself by emphasising its liberal roots.

Several DA provincial leaders this weekend scrambled to distance themselves from the Western Cape draft proposals, which seek to equate the ANC with the apartheid-era National Party (NP).

Meanwhile former DA leader Tony Leon cautioned the party that it could not win against the ANC in a contest over the past and pointed out that the party was being selective about its history.

Reports emerged this weekend that the Western Cape’s draft electioneering proposals include an image of the ANC logo with the party’s black, green and gold colours replaced by the orange, white and blue of the old South African flag and images that juxtapose photographs of police shooting miners at Marikana last year with those of the infamous Sharpeville Massacre, when apartheid police killed 69 protesters.

The proposals are reportedly to be considered at the party’s provincial election campaign launch next month.

DA chief executive officer Jonathan Moakes said the documents came from an internal presentation in the Western Cape. “It is not intended to form part of our election campaign… It has absolutely no standing”.

Gauteng DA leader John Moodey said the DA in his province had its own campaigns and intended to focus on service delivery. Drawing parallels between the ANC and NP “is not on the DA agenda in Gauteng”, he said.

Mpumalanga DA leader Anthony Benadie said discussions on a campaign were still under way. Comparisons between the ANC and the NP were “definitely not” under discussion in Mpumalanga; it was a Western Cape matter.

Northern Cape leader Andrew Louw said their focus for 2014 elections would be the DA’s successful track record of delivering services to all and telling the DA’s story, not on drawing comparisons.

Moakes said the DA’s 2014 election campaign would focus on telling South Africans what the party stood for.

“Most South Africans will want to hear what the DA has to offer,” he said, dismissing that there would be any negative impact on the DA from the Western Cape presentation.

The DA’s leader in the Western Cape, Ivan Meyer, did not respond to requests for comment.

The ANC slammed the Western Cape proposals, saying “the DA has stooped to its latest low”.

“Not only is comparing the ANC to the NP disingenuous, it is also not factual,” said ANC national spokesman Jackson Mthembu. “The ANC continues to uphold the highest values of a free, transparent and democratic country, which cannot be comparable to the erstwhile apartheid system.”

The DA last weekend launched its “Know Your DA” campaign in Alexandra, Johannesburg with pamphlets depicting Nelson Mandela embracing liberal stalwart Helen Suzman next to the words “We played our part in opposing apartheid”.

This campaign seeks to emphasise the DA’s liberal legacy and that many anti-apartheid activists, including party leader Helen Zille, are prominent DA members.

This version of the DA’s history conspicuously avoids mention of Zille’s predecessor, Tony Leon.

In an interview with Weekend Argus, Leon cautioned the DA against looking to the past.

“You’ve got to stay in the future business; if you get into a contest about the past, the ANC is going to beat you every time. We can have an argument about what the ANC did… but they have all the moral authority because they represented the disempowered,” he said.

“There is always a danger if you start reliving the past that a lot of inconvenient truths come out.”

Leon pointed out that the party’s alliance with the New National Party, which had helped win the Western Cape for the party, and the “die-hard NNP voters” from the Cape Flats were left out of the party’s narrative.

“The reason we formed the DA – let’s not be too precious about it – was to expand the opposition with what was available, and what was available was the NNP. And the reason the DA governs the WC today is because the NNP voters… came into the DA. People are questioning why the white men are being left out of the story; what about the coloured men and women?” Leon said.

Leon was at the helm of the DA’s forerunner, the Democratic Party. The party rose in the hustings to 9.56 percent support, up from 1.73 percent in 1994.

Meanwhile, sharply different views have emerged among opposition parties at Parliament on how to broaden collaboration. With elections due next year, there is pressure to produce concrete agreements.

A DA proposal for dual membership, an approach which led to the party swallowing up much of the NNP 10 years ago and more recently taking in the ID, has been rejected by other opposition parties.

While these parties have welcomed co-operation, one described this as a “non-aggression pact”, while another hinted that egos and personalities were getting in the way.

Cope leader Mosiuoa Lekota said last week there was “a tentative understanding of issues we can take to the electorate that we have agreed (on)”. This included governance arrangements in all spheres of state “if we get the necessary majority”.

However, DA MP and federal executive chairman James Selfe said while the DA was “in the market” for co-operation after the poll, election co-operation was not feasible unless all participated under the same political banner. - Sunday Argus

A film installation celebrating the words of Nelson Mandela is taking over many of the billboards of NY's Times Square.

A film installation celebrating the words of Nelson Mandela is taking over many of the electronic billboards of New York’s Times Square for a few minutes every night for the rest of the month.

The short film was commissioned by the Tribeca Film Institute, an arts organisation co-founded by actor Robert De Niro. “We’re in the crossroads of the world, it’s all about the glitz and the glamour, and all of a sudden you’re seeing this man to remind us of our humanity,” Ndaba Mandela, Madiba’s 30-year-old grandson, said at a special screening of the film on Friday night.

De Niro also attended the event and posed for pictures with Ndaba and Kweku Mandela, another grandson.

The two grandsons worked with film-makers Nabil Elderkin, Andrew van der Westhuyzen and Gregory Stern to choose inspiring quotes from Mandela’s speeches to honour his 95th birthday in July. - Reuters

Readers of the Sunday Tribune have rallied to help in response to a story about baby Songezo Mbambo.

Readers of the Sunday Tribune have rallied to help in response to last week’s story about baby Songezo Mbambo, who had the tips of his fingers and toes amputated after gangrene set in.

This was as a result of acute gastro-enteritis that was not treated in time to prevent hypovolaemic shock setting in, reducing the blood flow to the six-month-old’s extremities.

Since the report, the Sunday Tribune has been inundated with calls from readers anxious to help Songezo, who lives with his unemployed mother and three siblings in a hut without electricity and water in rural Mzimkhulu.

The Mzimkhulu municipality also called and thanked us for highlighting the tragic case.

Spokesman Willie Mgcina said the municipality had intervention plans, one of which would be to build a house with running water and electricity for the family.

He said they were also in discussions with four businessmen who had offered to assist.

Beryl Govender, another caller, said she was collecting blankets and clothes.

Kim Kromoser, from La Lucia, said: “I am also a mother, and I can’t imagine what he and his mother must be going through.”

Songezo’s mother, Khanyisile Mbambo, said her son had gone for a hospital check-up on Wednesday: “His wounds are healing, but he still cries at night because of pain.”

She was delighted to learn of readers’ responses.

“We have nothing, so anything will be appreciated.”

The Sunday Tribune has set up a trust fund for Songezo. Its details are:

Account Name: Community Projects

Bank: FNB Main Branch

Account Number: 50840161249

Reference: Songezo Mbambo

nompilo.mchunu@inl.co.za - Sunday Tribune