Table of contents for 2022-07-20 in Cape Times

AN Mpumalanga police officer has opened a case of attempted murder against his superiors, accusing them of suffocating him with a plastic bag and using an electrical device to shock him into confessing to a crime he did not commit. In an exclusive interview, Sergeant Andries Zongezile Somzi told Cape Times’s sister paper Pretoria News that he remained traumatised after the incident, which took place last month. “It’s still difficult to sleep peacefully. I don’t know when last I felt safe at work. The sight of any police station reminds me of the night I was tortured for four hours non-stop by senior police officers who failed to apprehend suspects, but tried their best to pin the crime on me,” said Somzi, a Kwaggafontein police station officer based in Vlaklaagte.…

“SILENCING Independent Media is the ruthless aim of Pravin Gordhan and Cyril Ramaphosa” said Dr Iqbal Survé, executive chairman of Independent Media, who also asked if South Africa could still claim to have a democracy when the media was muzzled from showcasing a diversity of views or from holding those in public office to account. This as Standard Bank – which has reneged on its submission to the Competition Commission where it said it was not closing the Group’s company bank accounts – has now expressed its intention to shut the banking facilities of the country’s largest independent media organisation. Survé said they too had now succumbed to political pressure and collusive conduct in the banking war against the Sekunjalo Group of Companies. “The political pressure at play has nothing…

A lack of progress in negotiations since COP 26 has been raised as a cause for concern by South Africa at the 13th Petersberg Climate Dialogue in Berlin, Germany. The dialogue, which ended yesterday, was aimed at addressing a range of issues including emission reduction and adaptation. Speaking at the event, Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Minister Barbara Creecy said not enough progress had been made in multilateral negotiations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) on key areas since COP 26. The discussions on loss and damage, finance, adaptation, and the just transition remained trapped in process-related discussions, she said. “Last year in Glasgow some developing countries were vilified for stressing their national circumstances in relation to some of the desired outcomes in the Glasgow…

PAROW community activists and the police’s Anti Gang Unit (AGU) are seeking the public’s help to identify the bodies of two unknown men found under a bridge in Parow. The men, with stab wounds, were found wrapped in blankets on Monday. Police spokesperson Joseph Swartbooi said both victims were declared deceased on the scene by the medical personnel. “Parow police attended a complaint on Monday, July 18. On arrival at the scene in Cloete Street, they found the bodies of two unknown males wrapped in blankets who had sustained stab wounds to their bodies,” said Swartbooi. Parow community activist Franchesca Walker said the community needed to have a campaign to call for the end of brutal crime in the area. “This kind of heinous act shocked the community, I mean…

A developing nation like China with an array of successes in the economy, science, technology and innovation has become the subject of praise and criticism at the same time. Such circumstances have brought the necessity for China to tell its own story. The exercise will help China communicate with the world way beyond traditional diplomatic channels. In China and among pundits of China, observers, analysts and scholars, the exercise is promoted using the moniker: “Telling a China good story”. Last year saw the subject of telling a China good story becoming a priority even at the highest levels of the Chinese government. The initiative talks to notions beyond traditional diplomacy, and more towards public diplomacy and soft power. How does China plan to achieve such a feat in a world…

Firefighters in south-western France battled yesterday to contain massive forest wildfires and Britain recorded its highest ever temperature as a heatwave rising from the south settled over western Europe. Southern and western Germany and Belgium were also braced for potentially record-breaking temperatures as the heatwave, which scientists attribute to climate change, edged north and east. A temperature of more than 40°C was recorded yesterday for the first time in Britain, the Met Office said. Authorities have put Britain, which often struggles to maintain key transport services when hit by unexpected weather such as heavy snow or high winds, on a state of “national emergency” over the unprecedented temperatures. Transport minister Grant Shapps said it would take many years to fully upgrade Britain’s infrastructure to cope with higher temperatures, after at…

With an Omicron offshoot spearheading a burgeoning Covid-19 wave in Europe, countries need to accelerate vaccine uptake and bring back measures such as mask wearing and ventilation to avoid stricter measures, a senior World Health Organization (WHO) official has warned. WHO regional director for Europe, Hans Kluge, urged countries to take action to avoid overwhelming health systems as the spread of the Omicron subvariant, BA.5, gathers steam. Close to three million new Covid-19 cases were reported in Europe last week, which accounted for nearly half of all new cases globally. Hospitalisation rates have doubled over the same period, and close to 3 000 people die of the disease every week, he said. Kluge said stabilisers must be implemented to avoid much stricter measures. “I don’t think society is ready for…

MUTASA DISTRICT: A community group in rural Zimbabwe is making reusable sanitary towels. The Chiedza Community Welfare Trust, in Zimbabwe’s Mutasa District, began sewing cloth sanitary pads when founder Gladys Mukaratirwa realised local girls were missing school every month because they could not afford disposable products. Mukaratirwa said: “If you calculate two to five days per month, it’s about 45 days per year of school time which is wasted, so we realised there was a need for them to have a sustainable source of sanitary pads.” The group sells its pads to individuals and charities for distribution to schoolgirls and vulnerable women. | Reuters…

LONDON: Mattel is “bringing Barbie to life” with a new immersive experience. The toy company behind the fashion doll and model car series Hot Wheels is to celebrate its two best-selling brands with a real-life version of the Barbie Dream Camper and the Hot Wheels Hauler, which will tour across Smyths toy stores in the UK over the summer. Both experiences were kicked off at Slough HQ in early July but will begin a tour of 18 Smyths stores across the UK on Friday, with the Barbie Dream Camper setting off from Milton Keynes and the Hot Wheels Hauler setting off from Bury. | Bang Showbiz…

In A victory for human rights, a full bench of the Western Cape High Court has found that a series of demolitions and evictions by the City of Cape Town that took place in 2020, including that of Bulelani Qolani in Khayelitsha, was unlawful and unconstitutional. The demolition of homes and the eviction of occupiers in Emploweni/Entabeni, Khayelisha, Mfuleni and Hangberg were declared unlawful and unconstitutional after the court found that the City’s interpretation and application of counter-spoliation was inconsistent with the Constitution. Qolani was dragged out of his Khayelitsha shack naked in 2020 when armed metro police officers arrived with members of the City’s Anti-Land Invasion Unit (ALIU), accompanied by private contractors. The City officials proceeded to demolish his shack with crowbars. The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC)…

DESPITE ongoing challenges with learner placement in the province, plans for the Ottery Youth Care Centre continue to drag. This came to light following a question to Western Cape Education MEC David Maynier by ANC Western Cape committee member for education, Khalid Sayed. The centre was closed a year ago, with Sayed wanting to know what the future plans were and what was happening with the staff. The centre had been a bridge for at-risk youths, saving them from the clutches of Cape Flats gangs, with the help of teachers, psychologists and more. According to Maynier, a year later they were still developing plans. “An inter-departmental task team co-ordinated by the WCED Planning Branch has been established to develop plans for 2023 and beyond. “A matching and placing process…

SMILES from ear to ear and a loud “Yes! there goes the dog” were among the interjections that came from a packed Western Cape High Court public gallery yesterday as Leonard Mzingeli was handed three life terms for rape and murder. A few minutes before a nervous Mzingeli would hear his fate he aggressively stood up and pointed at a photographer to stop taking pictures of him. He had been found guilty of killing and raping Amahle Quku, 17, in 2020. Mzingeli also raped and attempted to murder another woman, Grace Mufadu, whom he stabbed more than 20 times, eight months prior to Quku’s death. He pleaded not guilty to two counts of rape claiming he was in a secret love affair with the two women. Mzingeli only admitted to…

President Cyril Ramaphosa needs to understand that being asked to account is far from being bullied, as he claims, unless he thinks he is immune to being asked difficult questions. Perhaps being treated with kid gloves by his comrades in Parliament and in the ANC has made Ramaphosa forget what true accountability means. His remarks at the recently concluded 15th SACP national congress that former State Security Agency boss Arthur Fraser’s criminal complaint against him and other “related matters” were an effort to stop him from renewing and uniting the ANC are in stark contrast to the president who preached about a clean, transparent and accountable government after occupying the country’s highest office. Ramaphosa has repeatedly refused to come clean on why millions of US dollars were hidden in furniture…

Bodyguards could have saved Shinzo Abe if they shielded him or removed him from the line of fire in the 2.5 seconds between a missed first shot and a second round of gunfire that fatally wounded him, eight security experts who reviewed footage of the former Japanese leader’s assassination, have said. The failure to protect Abe from the second shot followed what appeared to be a series of security lapses in the lead-up to the assassination of Japan’s longest-serving prime minister on July 8, the experts said. Abe’s killing in the city of Nara by a man using a homemade weapon shocked a nation. Japanese authorities, including Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, have acknowledged security lapses. Police are investigating. Six witnesses at the scene were interviewed and multiple videos online, taken…

Jakarta: Scores of people were rescued after a ferry sank due to bad weather off the coast of an Indonesian island but 13 others remain missing, a search-and-rescue official said yesterday. The KM Cahaya Arafah, which carried 77 passengers and crew on board, capsized in waters off Indonesia’s Ternate island on Monday evening, as it was sailing to nearby Halmahera island. Villagers sailed out in their longboats to help authorities with the search-and-rescue operation. “Sixty-four survivors were evacuated to Tokaka village after villagers found them swimming to the shore,” said Fathur Rahman, of the local search- and-rescue agency. | AFP…

QUITO: Thirteen prisoners were killed at a prison in the Ecuadorean city of Santo Domingo this week, Ecuador’s prison agency said, the latest incident of deadly jail violence. The government of conservative President Guillermo Lasso attributes prison violence to fights between gangs over control of territory and drug trafficking routes. Last year, 316 prisoners died during riots in various prisons across Ecuador. The police and the armed forces were retaking control of the penitentiary, the SNAI prisons agency said on Twitter. It earlier called the incident a “dispute”. Violence at the prison in Santo Domingo in May led to 43 deaths. | Reuters…

WILMINGTON: Twitter Inc’s showdown with Elon Musk over his $44 billion (about R750bn) takeover faced its first test yesterday when a judge weighed the company’s bid for a fast-tracked trial which it says it needs to ensure deal financing doesn’t come unravelled. The San Francisco-based company is seeking to resolve months of uncertainty for its business as Musk tries to walk away from the deal over what he says are Twitter’s “spam” accounts. Twitter has asked Chancellor Kathaleen McCormick of the Delaware Court of Chancery to find Musk breached the merger agreement and to order him to complete the merger at the agreed price of $54.20 per share. Twitter wants an expedited trial in September because it said Musk is undermining operations by refusing to approve business initiatives, such as…

THE FINANCIAL markets were jittery yesterday ahead of the release of consumer inflation data, which is expected to show that the cost of living in South Africa has accelerated further. The rand danced around the R17-to-the-dollar mark as investors adopted a wait-and-see approach to South Africa’s upcoming headline inflation figure. Statistics South Africa (StatsSA) will publish the consumer price index (CPI) for June today amid historic highs in the US and Europe, which have propelled fears of the onset of a global recession. Inflation data globally continues to show an uncomfortable rise owing to rising energy and food costs, with the US printing a higher-than-expected inflation number of 9.1 percent last week. South Africa’s consumer inflation also quickened by more than expected to 6.5 percent year-on-year in May,…

NOT all financial woes can be attributed to Covid-19 and the lockdown. Sometimes the shoe pinched simply due to a downturn in the economy, a judge said in an application after the owner of a Ford Ranger who could not keep up with his instalments had to return the vehicle to the dealership. FFS Finance South Africa turned to the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria for an order confirming the cancellation of an instalment of sale agreement between the parties and for an order directing the car’s owner, Quintin Vos, to return the Ford Ranger. Vos admitted that he was in breach of his obligations by being in arrears with payments, but told the court that it was impossible for him to keep up with the instalment due to the lockdown.…

ADVOCATE Dali Mpofu said he would argue at the end of suspended Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane’s impeachment inquiry that anything said by former investigator Tebogo Kekana should be taken with a pinch of salt. “If it is to be taken, actually, it should not be taken at all because you are an unreliable witness,” Mpofu said. He made the statement while cross-examining Kekana following his testimony at the inquiry yesterday. On Monday, Kekana insisted that the idea of nationalising the South African Reserve Bank (Sarb) was one that came from Mkhwebane, but Mpofu said the idea was influenced by the interaction Kekana had had with Sarb director Stephen Goodson. “The idea came before we discussed with Goodson,” Kekana said, adding that he did not know what motivated the idea. Mpofu…

UNDER-FIRE President Cyril Ramaphosa’s failure to answer the public protector’s 31 questions relating to the theft of millions of US dollars concealed on his Phala Phala farm could be the turning of the tide, according to political analysts. “This is a clear demonstration that no one is above the law. The president is expected to lead by example in ensuring that there is co-operation with the public protector. This could also mean that for the first time, we will see a sitting president refusing to co-operate with the public protector’s office or challenge the validity of the summons. “The situation is a boost for those who are opposed to Ramaphosa as they are going to argue that he is not fit to hold office,” said Stellenbosch University School of Public…

“IT’S over now,” said Lance Hess, the father of slain Jesse Hess, as tears of relief and tight hugs with State advocate Emily van Wyk were shared in an intimate scene in a Western Cape High Court corridor yesterday after his daughter’s murderer was sentenced to life behind bars. Nearly three years after the crime, David van Boven, Jesse’s second cousin, was handed two life sentences after the bodies of the theology student and her grandfather Chris Lategan were found in their Parow home in 2019. The two were strangled to death but Jesse, a student at the University of the Western Cape (UWC), was also sexually assaulted. Two television sets, a cellphone and a laptop were stolen from the house. Van Boven received 40 years for two counts of…

Cloud hanging over white judge serving in Constitutional Court President Cyril Ramaphosa’s continued insouciance to his constitutional duties coupled with his persistent corruption of the judiciary are all matters of grave concern to those yearning to build a capable state within an appropriate ethical framework and the required competent and incorruptible executive and the judiciary. As originally envisaged, the “Thuma Mina” or ANC renewal battle cry was to be anchored around several pillars: the battle for ANC renewal as it continues its journey to cleanse itself and recover its original values; the battle for the soul of our nation as the ANC gears itself up for the tough electoral battle in 2024; the continued struggle of the black majority for social, economic and racial justice; and the renewed determination to…

He had been just days away from starting the harvest, but the Russian shelling came first, despite his modest farm’s distance from Ukraine’s southern front. In minutes, the flames threatened what was left of this year’s grain crop. “That field was on fire. That one is burning. There it’s burning,” he said, giving only his first name, Viktor, as he paced back and forth on a patch of scorched earth. He pointed to neighbouring plots of wheat as the rumble of outgoing artillery sounded in the distance. On the horizon, two more plumes of smoke rose. Fires are the latest scourge that Viktor and other farmers face in the Mykolaiv region. With the planting season delayed by fighting to retake the area from occupying Russian forces, they must now choose…

The leader of Tunisia’s Islamist-inspired opposition party Ennahdha arrived on Tuesday for questioning by an investigating judge at an anti-terror centre, just days before a hotly contested constitutional referendum. More than 20 security vans were stationed in front of the headquarters of the anti-terror centre where about 200 Ennahdha activists were gathered their leader, Rached Ghannouchi, AFP correspondents said. Supporters chanted Ghannouchi’s name as he entered the building, making a V-sign with their fingers for victory and waving placards. “Stop political trials”, one said, written in both English and Arabic. Ghannouchi, 81, has been under investigation since June amid allegations of corruption and money laundering linked to transfers from abroad to the charity Namaa Tunisia, affiliated with Ennahdha. As part of the same investigation, Tunisian authorities last month arrested former…

London: London’s Heathrow airport, which is suffering from flight delays and caps on passengers owing to staff shortages, faces further disruption as refuellers strike later this week, a union said yesterday. Workers employed by Aviation Fuel Services plan to strike from early Thursday through to early Sunday, trade union Unite said, adding that AFS was responsible for refuelling half of the non-British Airways traffic at Heathrow. Affected airlines included Air France, American, Delta, Emirates, KLM, Singapore, United and Virgin Atlantic, it added. News of the strike comes as official data showed UK wages being eroded at a record pace. | AFP…

Kano: Authorities in northwest Nigeria’s Zamfara state have suspended a traditional chief after he conferred a royal title on a notorious gang leader wanted for deadly raids and kidnappings. Parts of Nigeria have been hit by heavily armed criminal gangs known as bandits, who loot villages and abduct and kill residents. The central government has declared bandit militias terrorists but the gangs still carry out attacks and kidnappings. The traditional emir in Zamfara’s Tsafe district sparked controversy by conferring alleged bandit kingpin Adamu Ada Aleru, 45, with the title of Sarkin Fulani, meaning a chief of the Fulani people. The royal title has sparked outrage.. | AFP…