Table of contents for 2022-03-25 in Cape Times

Siphokazi Vuso siphokazi.vuso@inl.co.za A 29-year-old homeless man who did not give up on his dreams despite adversity has been awarded a fully funded PhD admission in Canada. The man, who asked that his name be withheld, was recently awarded his Master’s and has now been accepted on a scholarship to do his PhD in Canada in September. A resident of the Elim Night Shelter in Elsies River, he said with no source of funding and nothing to fall back on, he had applied for his Master’s education in South Africa in 2017. “I eked out just enough money to pay for my flight to South Africa and arrived in January 2018. As I suspected, as an international student, I was not allowed to register for the semester without paying the…

Siphokazi Vuso siphokazi.vuso@inl.co.za DA DEPUTY Deputy Chief Whip in the City Errol Anstey has maintained there was nothing wrong with his ‘racist’ remark to fellow councillor and senior party member Tandeka Gqada that “her food was in the Eastern Cape”. In an emotional letter, Gqada detailed the pain of being humiliated during a caucus session lunch break last week. “Anstey responded that my food is not here, it is in the Eastern Cape, I must go to the Eastern Cape because my food is there. I was shocked by his response and I said to him to be careful because this statement could be blown out of proportion. “I decided to approach Errol. I said to him I did not like what he said to me, that my food…

IN MANY respects this year’s World Tuberculosis (TB) Day, commemorated annually on March 24 (yesterday) assumed greater significance because it would reveal the progress or lack of it towards reaching the 2022 targets set in the UN High Level Meeting political declaration and the WHO Director-General’s Flagship Initiative Find.Treat.All. The annual ritual is to raise public awareness about the devastating health, social and economic consequences of TB, and to step up efforts to end the global TB epidemic. The date marks the day in 1882 when Dr Robert Koch announced that he had discovered the bacterium that causes TB, which opened the way towards diagnosing and curing this disease. Though the full picture of the state of global TB will emerge with the publication of the World TB Report 2022…

Thulani Dasa | Khayelitsha OVER the past few weeks, we’ve seen Police Minister Behki Cele visiting the Cape Flats after several mass murders in Gugulethu and Khayelitsha. What he fails to tell us is how many convictions there have been for the murders since his last visit. Until there are convictions, all his cheap rhetoric remains hollow to many of us who live in fear of crime in Khayelitsha. His incessant imbizos are a waste of time and ridiculous, especially when we note that this is the minister who voted for the policing budget to be cut by R47 billion. Minister Cele increased VIP protection, by R1.4bn, for him and his comrades in corruption, so they could continue to live their lavish lifestyles with more protection in their…

Marsha Dean marsha.dean@inl.co.za THE work of acclaimed activist and photojournalist Rashid Lombard has found a home at UWC, with the launch yesterday of the Rashid Lombard Archive. Born in Port Elizabeth in 1951, Lombard moved to Cape Town in the 1960s. He worked as a freelance photographer for national and international newspapers and was a member of Vukalisa, an artists’ collective that worked in communities to encourage the importance of cultural activities. Lombard promoted South African jazz music through his photography and went on to become the director of the Cape Town International Jazz Festival and the chief executive of espAfrika. He received the Order of Ikhamanga in Silver for his contribution to arts and culture and his dedication to promoting jazz music that has put South Africa on the…

BREAKING POINT Edel Coffey Loot.co.za (R225) Sphere AN innocent mistake. A lifetime of guilt. Susannah has two beautiful daughters, a high-flying medical career, a successful husband and an enviable life. Her hair is glossy, her clothes are expensive; she truly has it all. But when – on the hottest day of the year – her strict morning routine is disrupted, Susannah finds herself running on autopilot. It is hours before she realises she has made a devastating mistake. Her baby, Louise, is still in the backseat of the car and it is too late to save her. As the press close in around her, Susannah is put on trial for negligence. It is plain to see that this is not a trial, it’s a witch hunt. But what will the…

| own correspondent SERPENT CRESCENT Vivian de Klerk Loot.co.za (R225) Picador Africa IN THE small rural town of Qonda, South Africa, the power and water supplies are unreliable, property prices are down and citizens are slowly suffocating in the acrid smoke from the municipal dump. Recently retired English teacher Megan Merton has lived here all her life, most of it at No 8 Serpent Crescent. So who better than this self-styled pillar of society to shine a spotlight on the decline and dysfunction, not to mention the dubious activities, past and present, of many of her neighbours. Nefarious deeds and bad behaviour deserve harsh treatment and appropriate retribution, if not consignment to one of Dante’s fiendish nine circles of hell. At least that’s what Megan believes – in fact,…

Two years after groundWork and the Vukani Environmental Justice Alliance Movement in Action, represented by the Centre for Environmental Rights, launched the Deadly Air Case, Judge Colleen Collis of the Pretoria High Court released her judgment, declaring that the poor air quality in South Africa’s Mpumalanga Highveld region “is in breach of residents’ section 24 (a) constitutional right to an environment that is not harmful to their health and well-being”. It is significant that she did so on the eve of Human Rights Day since we, as civil society, had argued since 2004 (when we published The Balance of Rights, which gave an environmental justice reading of the Bill of Rights) that Section 24 is an immediately realisable right. This judgment is of enormous significance because it recognises that the…

The death toll from twin attacks in central Somalia has risen to more than 30, the Beledweyne city police chief said yesterday, with Al-Shabaab insurgents saying they were targeting politicians ahead of elections. The first attack in Beledweyne was by a suicide bomber, and killed two politicians. Minutes later, a car bomb exploded outside the city’s main hospital. “The terrorists carried out the first attack using a suicide bomber and readied a car loaded with explosives in front of a hospital to cause more casualties,” said Colonel Isak Ali Abdulle. The bombings occurred the same day as three people were killed in an attack near Mogadishu’s airport that was also claimed by Al-Shabaab. The airport complex houses the UN, aid agencies, foreign missions and contractors, and the headquarters of the…

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has said he will not resign, rejecting opposition calls for him to step down ahead of a no-confidence move against him in his toughest challenge since coming to power in 2018. Pakistan’s parliament will convene today to start proceedings into a no-confidence motion. It could take seven days before an actual vote to decide if Khan will be removed. The bid for a vote of no confidence has raised the risk of constitutional, administrative and economic crises amid a pending International Monetary Fund review on the next tranche of a $6 billion (about R88bn) rescue package. The IMF review was scheduled for this week but has yet to happen. Opposition parties filed their motion this month, saying the former cricket star had lost his…

CANBERRA: Almost 5% of Australian university students have been sexually assaulted since starting university, a report has found. Universities Australia (UA) on Wednesday published the results of the 2021 National Student Safety Survey. It shows that 4.5% of about 44 000 participant students said they experienced sexual assault. One in six students have been sexually harassed since starting at university and one in 12 has been sexually harassed in the past 12 months, said the report. Some victims said they did not know how to report the incidents to their institutions.…

YANGON: Myanmar’s military did not commit genocide against minority Rohingya Muslims during 2017 operations in Rakhine state, but crimes may have been committed by personnel on an individual level, an army spokesperson said yesterday. Junta spokesperson Zaw Min Tun was responding to a US announcement that it had formally determined genocide and crimes against humanity had taken place in “widespread and systematic” attacks. The US formally determined that Myanmar’s army committed genocide and crimes against humanity in its violence against the mainly Muslim Rohingya minority, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday.…

Loyiso Sidimba loyiso.sidimba@inl.co.za | Political Bureau INCOMING Chief Justice Raymond Zondo yesterday assured South Africans that as head of the judiciary he would be fearlessly independent and withstand any political pressure during his two year tenure. Justice Zondo, who officially becomes the country’s top judicial officer from April 1 following his appointment by President Cyril Ramaphosa earlier this month, addressed the media at his offices in Midrand, Johannesburg. “I believe that I am strongly independent and that will remain. I believe that I can handle any political pressure,” he said. “I would never make a finding against somebody other than because the evidence justifies it and the law justifies it.” Justice Zondo continued: “I believe that the judiciary must be fearlessly independent and I believe that is for every…

Odwa Mkentane odwa.mkentane@inl.co.za THE SOUTH African National Taxi Council (Santaco) has distanced itself from the protest by the Cape Amalgamated Taxi Association (Cata) and Congress of Democratic Taxi Associations (Codeta) members which turned violent yesterday with a number of vehicles destroyed and passengers injured. Three Golden Arrow buses were set alight yesterday morning in Nyanga, Phillipi East and Kraaifontein and passengers were injured. Three trucks and a Quantum were also set alight and another bus stoned in Bloekombos in Kraaifontein. Drivers and owners affiliated with Cata and Codeta blocked the N2 as they drove in a convoy to the city centre to march to Premier Alan Winde’s office. They handed over a memorandum of grievances calling on officials to stop impounding their vehicles, among other issues. Santaco spokesperson Nazeem Abdurahman…

Adam Brink | Member of the Cape Bar BOTH Russian ambassador Ilya Rogachev and his assistant, Mr Alexander Arefiev (who contributed pieces in yesterday’s Cape Times), need to be reminded of their country’s history with Nazism. They take the credit for Soviet Russia beating Nazi Germany, describing how “over 8 million Soviet soldiers sacrificed their lives to liberate the world from the ‘brown plague’” (in the ambassador’s words). They object to it being suggested that they attack their “weaker neighbours”. The actual events are a little less heroic. Hitler’s invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939 (triggering World War II) was enabled by the Soviet Union’s having entered into a non-aggression pact with Germany a week before, on August 23, 1939. It was ratified by the Supreme Soviet…

OWN Correspondent IN WHAT has been hailed as groundbreaking in the fight against tuberculosis (TB), the World Health Organization (WHO) has for the first time recommended that children with TB and drug-resistant forms of TB (DR-TB) should be cared for in their communities. This landmark new guidance was partly informed by a programme developed by Doctors Without Borders (MSF) and partners in Khayelitsha. "A systematic review was conducted to assess evidence on the impact of decentralised and family-centred, integrated approaches on case detection and the provision of TB preventive treatment (TPT). The evidence showed that combined health facility and community approaches…increased the number of children and adolescents diagnosed with TB and decentralised services can increase the levels of TPT initiation,” said WHO. The Khayelitsha MSF programme began focusing on the…

Okuhle Hlati okhule.hlati@inl.co.za THE South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) wants those aggrieved by its findings that the Brackenfell High School was not involved in what was termed a “whites only” matric event two years ago to challenge its decision in court. An application for judicial review must be made within 180 days of the date on which all internal remedies were exhausted. SAHRC Education Commissioner Andre Gaum found the organisers of the event did not directly or indirectly discriminate against 12 pupils on the grounds of race and there was no need to determine fairness. “While the Commission found, through its investigation, that some of the school’s officials knew about the event, as details were shared by parents/guardians and learners of the school on WhatsApp, Facebook and by word…

A TERRIBLE KINDNESS Jo Browning Wroe Loot.co.za (R225) Faber TONIGHT 19-year-old William Lavery is dressed for success, his first black-tie do. It’s the Midlands Chapter of the Institute of Embalmers Ladies’ Night Dinner Dance, and William is taking Gloria in her sequinned evening gown. He can barely believe his luck. But as the guests sip their drinks and smoke their post-dinner cigarettes a telegram delivers news of a tragedy. An event so terrible it will shake the nation. It is October 1966 and a landslide at a coal mine has buried a school: Aberfan. William decides he must act, so he stands and volunteers to attend. It will be his first job, and will be – although he’s yet to know it – a choice that threatens to sacrifice his…

| Julian Richfield I AM A MAN Jerry Mofokeng Wa Makhetha Loot.co.za (R225) LUX VERBIS JERRY Mofokeng was born in Moema Street, Orlando West, in Soweto and is a well-known stage and screen actor, director, and arts administrator. A drama graduate of Wits University, he has played leading roles in films such as Cry the Beloved Country, and Mandela and De Klerk. His memoir, I am a Man, is an extraordinary intimate look at much that has shaped the inner man. “In this volume, I’m going to give you the benefit of my life’s journey. I have had high highs and low lows. That’s life. I am going to open envelopes that are quite sacred to me. Please accept the contents with generosity and grace. I am going…

SOUTH Africa reached the semi-finals of the Women’s Cricket World Cup yesterday after rain washed out their crunch match against the West Indies in Wellington, New Zealand. For abandoned matches, participating teams are awarded a point each, and that’s all the Proteas needed to get to the semi-final. In simple terms, two more wins will get their hands on the trophy, but it is the two games that will probably be the most nerve-racking for the girls from Mzansi. They have shown nerves of steel in their close wins over holders England and New Zealand in the earlier rounds, but equally, South Africa’s vulnerability was on show in the disappointing defeat at the hands of red-hot Australians. There is no doubt, though, that the Sune Luus-captained South Africans are capable…

The US Defense Department was involved in developing biological weapon components in Ukraine, Russia’s Defence Ministry said yesterday. Documents received from Ukrainian employees working at the laboratories have shown that Ukrainian biological projects were developed and approved by the Pentagon, said ministry spokesperson Igor Konashenkov. One of the projects aimed to carry out molecular analysis of dangerous infections endemic in Ukraine, he said. Meanwhile, China yesterday accused the Nato chief of “spreading disinformation” with claims that it has backed Russia’s war against Ukraine amid growing international pressure that it distance itself from Moscow. Nato secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg on Wednesday warned Beijing against providing material support to Moscow’s war effort. A Beijing foreign ministry official said China’s position was consistent, “that Ukraine should become a bridge between the East and West…

Tributes poured in from diplomatic players around the world remembering Madeleine Albright, the first female US secretary of state and one of the most influential stateswomen of her generation, who has died at age 84. Albright, who came to the US as an 11-year-old political refugee, rose to serve as the country’s top diplomat under president Bill Clinton from 1997 to 2001. Clinton, as well as successors George W Bush, Barack Obama and Joe Biden, hailed her historic service. Albright “paved the way for progress in some of the most unstable corners of the world, and was a champion for democratic values. And as an immigrant herself, she brought a unique and important perspective to her trailblazing career,” Obama said. Born in Prague in 1937, Albright’s family – who were…

TOKYO: The ongoing missile tests conducted by North Korea, including the launch of what is presumably a new type of intercontinental ballistic missile on Thursday, pose a serious security threat not only to Japan but to the entire region and the world community, Japanese prime minister Fumio Kishida said. The Japanese leader told a press conference ahead of a G7 summit in Belgium that North Korea’s missile tests are a clear violation of UN Security Council resolutions, noting that Tokyo strongly condemns them. The Japanese government intends to continue to work closely with the US, South Korea and other countries on this issue, the prime minister added.…

New Delhi: The South East Delhi Police on Thursday said that they had arrested a woman drug peddler for allegedly supplying heroin in the capital. More than 200g of heroin was recovered from her. Esha Pandey, DCP of South East Delhi, said that the accused woman was identified as Raheema. A case in this respect was lodged with the New Friends Colony Police Station. “On March 22, police received information that a lady would come near Taimur Nagar, NFC to sell psychotropic substances to an unknown person. Responding to the tip-off, the team laid a trap and nabbed the accused,” the police said.…

WYNONA LOUW SPEAKING after their 40-3 thrashing of Cardiff Blues in their United Rugby Championship (URC) match at Cape Town Stadium on Sunday, Stormers head coach John Dobson made it clear that they knew they would have to up their game in certain areas this weekend against Ulster tomorrow (kick-off 3pm). The hosts will be chasing their fourth win at home, and should they cause an upset against the Irish side, who are second on the 16-team URC standings and trail log-leaders Leinster by a single point, it will be the first time since 2018 that the Stormers have won four in a row at home. One of the stand-out features of their game over the last couple of weeks has been their try-scoring. They’ve run in 15 five-pointers in…

Nicola Daniels nicola.daniels@inl.co.za THE community of Zoar in the Kannaland municipality say they are suffering as the water crisis in the town continues, resulting in a cut in the water supply for a few hours every day. They also complain about the quality of the water, which they say is only restored hours after the taps reopen. Following numerous pleas for assistance, the Trust for Community Outreach and Education (TCOE) this week held a gathering with residents from towns across the municipality about the water crisis. Small-scale farmer and resident, Mariann Mars said: “Every year in summer our water gets put off until April of the following year. We only have water for four or five hours a day and we have extremely hot summers. The quality of the water…

Staff Reporter HAILED as a decision vindicating women’s rights to speak about their rape experiences as a critical way to combat the scourge of violence against them, the Western Cape High Court has overturned a gag order preventing a woman from talking about her ordeal. The Women’s Legal Centre (WLC) said it was “inspired” by the judgment handed down yesterday, in which Judge Robert Henney, with Judge Daniel Thulare in agreement, overturned an order made by the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court that the WLC said was “gagging our client from speaking about the fact that she was raped by her ex-boyfriend”. According to court documents, the woman and the man were in a romantic relationship between 2012 and 2015, both working in the fashion industry. According to the woman, she…

Odwa Mkentane odwa.mkentane@inl.co.za IMAGINE waking up with the floor beneath your house caving in as a result of a sinkhole, with your children, including a 7-month old baby, inside. That is what befell Site C resident Nombulelo Mndwane in Khayelitsha when the floor beneath their shack collapsed, forcing her and five children to seek refuge in a local church. More than 30 Island informal settlement residents have moved there due to a collapsed sewer pipe which is causing damage to surrounding infrastructure and the foundation of their homes. Since last week, cracks appeared in their floors and later parts of the ground started caving in. About nine houses have already been affected and some residents said they had lost all their belongings. The City meanwhile said…

Colin Bosman | Newlands EXPLANATIONS, hot air and rhetoric by Russian diplomats in South Africa over the Ukrainian crisis as presented in yesterday’s Cape Times are both misleading and inaccurate. Suggestions that Ukraine is responsible for the war by attacking separatists in the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine are disingenuous and a fairy tale. These Russian-backed and -financed separatist groups are operating inside Ukrainian territory and threatening Ukrainian security. Ukraine has every right under international law to defend its sovereign territory against a Russian push into Ukraine via its two surrogates formally known as Luhansk and Donetsk. The warmongers are in fact Russia, Luhansk and Donetsk not Ukraine. Furthermore, photos of a so-called Ukrainian Nazi paramilitary group which appear in the Cape Times, which Russia suggests are representative…

Chevon Booysen chevon.booysen@inl.co.za WHILE another delay has come up in the sexual assault case against traffic chief Farrel Payne, anxiety and sleepless nights have gripped the woman accusing him of the crime. The trial against Payne was set to get under way in the Cape Town Regional Court this week, but due to the magistrate falling ill on Wednesday and an urgent matter on the roll on Thursday, the trial was postponed to June 2 and 3. Payne’s counsel, who had agreed to the postponement, said they wanted the matter “over with” after requesting an earlier available date for trial to go ahead. The bail of R5 000 for Payne, who appeared in the dock wearing a black suit, has been extended. The complainant, who asked not to be named…

Zelda Venter zelda.venter@inl.co.za FOLLOWING what a judge called a “spectacularly stupid effort to rouse his friend”, a man who set the bedroom curtains alight to get his friend’s attention was convicted of murder and culpable homicide. Thembilizwe Makhenke, of Germiston, this week told the Gauteng High Court, Joburg, that on February 8, he went to the room of his friend Mawande Mafuya to fetch his (Makhenke’s) cellphone from him. Mafuya was apparently asleep and did not hear Makhenke shouting his name outside the door of the outside room. In a bid to catch his attention, Makhenke fetched a bottle of paraffin from his house next door and doused the curtains with it. He said he thought this would catch his friend’s attention. But the fire got out of hand…

Reviewer: Jennifer Crocker Again Rachel Marian Keyes Loot.co.za (R225) Michael Joseph RIGHT up front, I have to confess that I am one of Marian Keyes’ greatest fans, not only as a reader, but also as a person who has gone through a lot in life, from addiction to depression, and yet has remained one of the most entertaining writers and generous people I have ever met. That said, I am also shocked beyond belief that the best-sell Rachel’s Holiday came out 25 years ago. It feels like yesterday. And so, in Rachel Again, Keyes returns to the lovable Rachel, the mad-cap young woman who lived life like it was going to maim her, and frequently did, but this Rachel is of course 20 years older. She’s an addiction counsellor at…

IT IS not fair to associate corruption with black people because the country is run by a black-dominated government. Corruption is wrong whoever does it, and it is wrong to associate it with certain people. Racists deliberately stigmatise corruption because they have an ulterior motive. There is a lot of corruption in the private sector, which is predominantly white, and these racists will not utter a single word about it. The Zondo Commission report has a lot of evidence that the private sector is heavily involved in corruption by the public sector. They were either in the driver’s seat, assisted, or were accomplices. Also, it is highly likely that they were major beneficiaries, more so than public sector officials. Guilty people are misleading members of the public into thinking that…

KYIV: As the conflict in Ukraine ticks on, hospitals and health care continue to be in the firing line – with potentially devastating consequences. The World Health Organization has verified 64 attacks on health-care facilities, personnel and patients since Russia invaded a month ago, with 15 deaths and 37 injuries as a result. “We are in the process of verifying further attacks,” WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a news conference. “Attacks on health must stop. Health systems, facilities and health workers should never be a target.” Outside of direct attacks on health care, the war is likely to have huge knock-on effects. Roughly a quarter of Ukraine’s population has already been forced from their homes, living in uncertain conditions. Medical supplies, such as lifesaving drugs like insulin, are in…

LOS ANGELES: Drake has donated $1 million in Bitcoin to LeBron James’ charity after a big roulette win. The God’s Plan hitmaker scooped a huge prize when gambling on Stake.com and he decided to spread the love to the LeBron James Family Foundation, and he donated $100 000 to a student’s mother. “Anytime I get blessed like that, I always think it’s good karma that needs to be transferred,” Drake said. The pro basketball player James replied: “Wow, wow, wow. “I appreciate it. My kids are going to go crazy for that.”…

MALAWIAN President Lazarus Chakwera has paid tribute to soldiers deployed to combat terrorism and acts of violence in the northern Mozambican province of Cabo Delgado as part of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Mission in Mozambique. The nearly five-year-old insurgency has killed more than 3 700 people and driven more than 800 000 from their homes. The jihadists have abducted more than 600 women and children over the past three years, Human Rights Watch said late last year. In a statement to mark the commemoration of Southern Africa Liberation Day on Wednesday, Chakwera, who is also SADC chairperson, echoed the region’s sympathies with families of personnel of the mission who have “either lost their lives or have been injured in service for the region”. Every year, SADC countries remember…

GENEVA: Four people appeared to have jumped to their death in the Swiss resort of Montreux on Lake Geneva, and a fifth is in a serious condition, police said yesterday. The Vaud cantonal police said in a tweet: “Five people were found at the foot of a building. One of the five victims has been hospitalised and is in serious condition. The four others are dead.” Alexandre Bisenz, police spokesperson, told the 20 Minutes newspaper that the five people appeared to have jumped from their apartment, near the town’s lakeside casino, for reasons unknown. No other details were immediately available.…