Najwa Petersen looked suspiciously ”normal” only hours after her husband Taliep’s funeral, one of Taliep’s sisters told the Cape High Court on Thursday. She also did not give a convincing answer when asked whether she was involved in the theatre personality’s murder, Ma’atoema Groenmeyer said.
Fidentia chief executive J Arthur Brown was on Thursday late for a scheduled appearance in the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court, on charges that include fraud involving the Transport, Education and Training Authority (Teta). In the dock without him were co-accused Dr Piet Bothma, Teta’s chief executive, and Jacobus Theart.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) on Thursday proposed six steps to help the economy weather the current storm. ”Overall, sustainable and consistent policy is required,” DA spokesperson Kobus Marais told a media briefing at Parliament. ”Reverting to knee-jerk, short-term and populist measures will do more harm than ever before,” he said.
Taliep Petersen’s sister gave up on the 10111 emergency number on the night her brother was killed, driving to a police station instead to get help, the Cape High Court heard on Thursday. Ma’atoema Groenmeyer told the court she believed her abortive 10111 call was the first attempt that anyone made to summon police.
Authorities are boosting security at Table Mountain to fight crime, which has caused a drop in tourist numbers, a Cape Town city official said on Thursday. Councillor Simon Grindrod said the mountain’s Signal Hill area — popular with lovers seeking a secluded spot or tourists wanting unparalleled views across Table Bay — will have 24-hour security.
Ajax Cape Town’s brave 2-0 win over Orlando Pirates at the Athlone Stadium saw them reclaim their position at the top of the Absa Premiership standings. There was action from the outset as Ajax started the game at a cracking pace, with Nhlanhla Shabalala and Nathan Paulse bringing out saves from Bucs keeper Senzo Meyiwa within the opening six minutes.
In the agony of remorse, one of the men arrested for Taliep Petersen’s murder painstakingly wrote out a 15-page confession detailing his role in the murder. But it was Taliep’s wife, Najwa, who actually pulled the trigger after giving her husband a last embrace, Waheed Hassen said.
South Africa’s skills problem remains massive, Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka said on Wednesday. ”The scale of the problem has become bigger in the interim. There’s a need for us to up our game,” she told a media briefing on the 2007 report of the Joint Initiative on Priority Skills Acquisition.
Najwa Petersen was the one who fired the shot that killed her husband, Taliep, the Cape High Court heard on Wednesday. The claim was made in a confession by Waheed Hassen, one of the hit men she allegedly hired to carry out the killing. The confession was admitted unopposed as evidence.
Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Helen Zille was emerging as a person who would go to extremes to cover up the truth, a former member of the DA said on Tuesday. ”[She is] a person who criticises the judiciary and the media because their duties do not fit her political agenda,” Kobus Brynard, a Western Cape MPL for the African National Congress, said.
One of the alleged killers of entertainer Taliep Petersen made a written confession that he had committed ”a terrible sin”, the Cape High Court heard on Tuesday. However, the accused, Waheed Hassen, maintains the confession was false, and that he was coached by police on what to say.
South Africa does not need the likes of sacked Sunday Times columnist David Bullard, Minister of Arts and Culture Pallo Jordan said on Tuesday. ”He is the type of person South Africa does not need within its borders,” he told a media briefing at Parliament.
Democratic Alliance leader Helen Zille on Monday vowed to take her fight against the Erasmus commission to the Constitutional Court. The commission was set up by Western Cape Premier Ebrahim Rasool in December 2007 to investigate the City of Cape Town’s probe into controversial councillor Badih Chaaban.
One of Taliep Petersen’s alleged murderers has told the Cape High Court he confessed to a role in the killing in the hope of getting ”help” from the authorities in other criminal cases he faced. Waheed Hassen also told the court that he was assaulted by police and that he witnessed the beating of an armed-robbery suspect.
The Cape High Court on Monday watched a police video in which murder accused Waheed Hassen not only admitted to a role in the killing of Taliep Petersen, but expressed remorse. The video came at the start of the second day of a trial within a trial, in which Hassen is contesting the admissibility of statements he made to the police.
United Democratic Movement leader Bantu Holomisa on Monday asked President Thabo Mbeki to meet South Africa’s ”collective leadership” to discuss three critical matters of concern. In a letter to Mbeki, Holomisa said, firstly, that there was the question of South Africa’s involvement in resolving the tribulations of Zimbabwe.
The vote recount in a number of constituencies in Zimbabwe following March 29 elections is futile because ballot boxes have been tampered with, a South African member of the Southern African Development Community observer team said on Monday.
The Titans snatched a thrilling six-run victory over the Cobras in a Pro20 semifinal played at Newlands on Sunday. The Titans booked their place to play the Dolphins in the final in Durban on Friday. The Cobras required 16 runs for victory off the final over and when Henry Davids struck Roelof van der Merwe for a six off the first ball, the Titans seemed doomed.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) said on Sunday it would again write to National Assembly Speaker Baleka Mbete to request that she reconsider her decision to turn down a request for a special sitting of Parliament to debate the crisis in Zimbabwe. DA chief whip Ian Davidson said his party believed that President Thabo Mbeki’s policy on Zimbabwe had been a failure.
FC Cape Town took Mamelodi Sundowns to extra-time before the Premiership side finally triumphed 2-0 in a Nedbank Cup quarterfinal game played at a wet Athlone Stadium on Saturday night. The first half saw FC Cape Town paying scant respect to the Premiership champions as they dominated the game and at times made Sundowns look ordinary.
The Stormers scored a fifth win in six matches when they beat the Wellington Hurricanes 20-12 to move into fourth spot on the Super 14 log on Saturday. While both teams scored two tries, Stormers flyhalf Peter Grant enjoyed more success with the boot, which ultimately separated the teams at the end.
Though one of Taliep Petersen’s alleged killers has now formally admitted being at the scene of the murder, another is still fighting hard to keep his confessions out of court. It has emerged that not only did the second man, Waheed Hassen, make a formal statement to police, but he also gave them 15 pages of handwritten notes on the December 2006 killing.
Taliep Petersen’s last recorded words, moments before his wife demanded repeatedly that he be shot, were ”God is great”, according to a confession by one of the men charged with his murder. In a surprise move, the confession was admitted unopposed as evidence in the Cape High court on Friday.
Two men who stabbed an elderly woman and cut off her fingers to remove her rings in her apartment in Malmesbury near Cape Town were sentenced to 18 years’ imprisonment on Thursday. Judge Deon van Zyl said the incident, on Christmas Eve in 2004, turned a festive occasion into a grieving one for the woman’s family.
The draft Expropriation Bill will undermine property rights and could scare off foreign investors, the Freedom Front Plus (FF+) said on Thursday. The proposed Bill, tabled on Wednesday, also goes against United Nations guidelines on eliminating racial discrimination, said party leader Pieter Mulder in a statement.
The situation in Zimbabwe is dire and further talks are needed, government communications head Themba Maseko said in Cape Town on Thursday. He said it was ”not helpful” to discuss whether President Thabo Mbeki had said there was ”no crisis” in Zimbabwe, or whether he had been misquoted.
South Africa will not interfere with a shipment of weapons aboard a Chinese ship that is destined for Zimbabwe, government communications head Themba Maseko said on Thursday. All South African authorities can do is to make sure that ”all proper administrative processes” are followed.
The Cabinet has approved the cancellation of a R926,8-million debt owed by Cuba to South Africa, government communications head Themba Maseko said on Thursday. The debt arose out of insurance cover provided to Cuba by the Export Credit Insurance Corporation of South Africa.
The Cabinet is concerned about ”collusive behaviour” in the food industry, leading to higher prices, government communications head Themba Maseko said on Thursday. Meanwhile, thousands of people were expected to take part in a protest against high food prices in Johannesburg on Thursday afternoon.
The Erasmus commission’s sittings have been suspended pending the City of Cape Town’s application to the Cape High Court challenging the commission’s legality. This emerged after a day of behind-the-scenes negotiations on Wednesday between the legal representatives of the various parties involved.
Property will be expropriated if it is in the public interest, according to the draft Expropriation Bill tabled on Wednesday. ”Expropriation in the public interest … provides government with a tool to achieve … land reform,” according to a memorandum attached to the Bill. This will broaden the scope of expropriation from the current narrow term of ”public purpose”.
The trial of the four people accused of murdering theatre personality Taliep Petersen has been adjourned to Friday to allow the state to prepare for a battle over the admissibility of confessions. On trial are Petersen’s wife, Najwa, and three men she allegedly hired to carry out the December 2006 execution-style slaying.