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/ 29 December 2007

Zuma supporters decry new charges

Supporters of Jacob Zuma, the new leader of the African National Congress, protested on Saturday that new corruption charges against him were part of a politically inspired vendetta. Zuma’s supporters have cried foul over the timing of the charges, a little over a week since he was elected leader of the ANC.

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/ 7 December 2007

State to pay millions for Shaik’s legal fees

The state will foot Schabir Shaik’s legal costs at the Constitutional Court next year when he fights to retain his assets worth about R33-million, the Star newspaper reported on Friday. In an application to the Durban High Court recently, Shaik indicated that he had no cash and would need about R2,5-million to cover legal costs.

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/ 1 December 2007

Richtersveld celebrates land restitution

The Richtersveld community in the Northern Cape celebrated on Saturday after regaining land taken from them in the 1920s. Spokesperson for the Department of Public Enterprises Lulu Bam said ten years of court battles saw state-owned diamond mining assets, held by the Alexkor mining company, being granted to the community.

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/ 29 November 2007

Acting NDPP to be briefed on Zuma

A ”final briefing” on whether African National Congress deputy president Jacob Zuma would have to face new corruption charges would be given to the acting National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP) on Thursday. The National Prosecuting Authority said in a statement that the prosecution team was due to brief Mokotedi Mpshe on the case.

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/ 28 November 2007

Zuma takes battle to Constitutional Court

African National Congress deputy president Jacob Zuma on Wednesday applied to the Constitutional Court for permission to challenge aspects of the investigation against him by the national director of public prosecution (NDPP). Zuma plans to challenge the issuing of a letter of request secured by the NDPP to get documents from Mauritius.

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/ 27 November 2007

No judgement yet in chieftaincy tussle

Two cousins took their battle for chieftaincy of the Valoyi tribe to the Constitutional Court on Tuesday, in a case that challenges customary law in their tribe that says only men may be chiefs. Tinyiko Shilubana and Sidwell Nwamitwa each insist that they are the rightful head of the Valoyi tribe.

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/ 25 November 2007

I’m fit to govern, says Zuma

African National Congress deputy president Jacob Zuma is ”ready” to be the country’s president if asked to do so, the Sunday Times quoted him as saying. ”If I am asked I will be ready for the task,” he told a function for black businessmen in Sandton, Johannesburg, on Friday.

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/ 23 November 2007

Zuma speaks out against crime in SA

South Africans must speak up if they want the death penalty back, African National Congress deputy president Jacob Zuma said on Friday. Speaking to about 250 people at an anti-crime rally at Mitchells Plain on the Cape Flats, he also called for ”extraordinary measures” against crime.

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/ 21 November 2007

FXI due in court over Masetlha documents

The Freedom of Expression Institute (FXI) will appear in the Constitutional Court on Thursday in the case of Independent Newspapers versus the minister of intelligence. The FXI said on Wednesday it would argue that Intelligence Minister Ronnie Kasrils did not follow proper procedure when trying to withhold certain documents from the public.

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/ 19 November 2007

NPA: Still no decision on Zuma charges

<a href="http://www.mg.co.za/specialreport.aspx?area=zuma_report"><img src="http://www.mg.co.za/ContentImages/243078/zuma.jpg" align=left border=0></a>There was no word yet on whether African National Congress deputy president Jacob Zuma would have to face new corruption charges as the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) was still considering the case, an NPA spokesperson said on Monday. "It is a very painstaking process of consideration," said NPA spokesperson Tlali Tlali.

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/ 16 November 2007

E Cape govt ‘at war with the poor’

The increase in the number of cases where the Eastern Cape provincial government is contesting the right of poor citizens to access social grants suggests that the majority party is at war with the poor, Democratic Alliance leader Helen Zille said on Friday, writing in her weekly newsletter.

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/ 15 November 2007

Matatiele residents march on Maritzburg

Matatiele residents were set to march through Pietermaritzburg on Thursday to the KwaZulu-Natal legislature in protest over their incorporation into the Eastern Cape. Matatiele-Maluti Mass Action Organising Committee chairperson Mandla Galo said that at least 45 minibus taxis had transported residents to Pietermaritzburg.

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/ 11 November 2007

How football beat apartheid on Robben Island

Forty years after Robben Island detainees formed the Makana Football Association inside the island fortress, the club was officially recognised by Fifa, the sport’s international governing body. Now the little-known story of how prisoners set up their own league under the noses of the warders is to be told in a feature film.

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/ 9 November 2007

Sachs tells how he crafted ANC’s code of conduct

Designing a code of conduct for a liberation struggle in exile was the most significant work of his career, Constitutional Court Justice Albie Sachs said on Thursday. ”To my mind that was the beginning of the constitutionality at the heart, at the core of the freedom struggle,” Sachs said in delivering the second annual Abdullah Omar Memorial Lecture.

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/ 8 November 2007

Zuma’s future hinges on NPA’s next move

With just more than a month to the African National Congress presidential election, Jacob Zuma will be waiting to see whether the National Prosecuting Authority will recharge him for corruption. Court rulings on Thursday clarified the status of searches and documents related to the investigation against him concerning alleged corruption in the arms deal.

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/ 8 November 2007

Zuma to approach Constitutional Court

African National Congress deputy president Jacob Zuma will approach the Constitutional Court for leave to appeal two of Thursday’s Supreme Court of Appeal judgements, said his lawyer. They would also ”observe with keen interest” whether the rulings emboldened the National Prosecuting Authority to again indict Zuma on any charges.

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/ 1 November 2007

Matatiele closer to E Cape incorporation

The district of Matatiele moved a step closer to being permanently incorporated into the Eastern Cape after the KwaZulu-Natal legislature in Pietermaritzburg on Thursday voted by a narrow margin in favour of the controversial Constitution 13th Amendment Bill. Heated debate between opposition parties and the ruling African National Congress preceded the vote.

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/ 30 October 2007

Thousands attend Matatiele demarcation hearings

More than 3 000 people packed the local soccer stadium in Matatiele as the second day of public hearings on the region’s controversial incorporation into the Eastern Cape started on Tuesday. Matatiele was incorporated into the Eastern Cape on February 28, hours before voting started in the local government election of 2006.

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/ 23 October 2007

One for the workers…

Earlier this month the Constitutional Court ruled in a case with tremendous consequences for ordinary South Africans and our system of labour relations. The appeal involved the dismissal, more than seven years ago, of Zingisile Sidumo by Rustenburg Platinum Mines. Sidumo was employed to patrol the mine’s high-security facility, where precious metals are separated from lower-grade concentrate.

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/ 21 October 2007

… and another one for nose studs

Several weeks ago the Constitutional Court ruled in a landmark case on religious and cultural expression in public schools. In 2004, Sunali Pillay, then a learner at Durban Girls’ High School, pierced her nose and inserted a small gold stud. The school objected to the stud on the basis that it contravened the school’s code of conduct.

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/ 12 October 2007

Hlophe in opposition’s crosshairs

Cape Judge President John Hlophe’s refusal to resign is a typical example of persons holding high office refusing to face the consequences of their actions, says Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Helen Zille. ”By refusing to step down, contrary to the dictates of good governance, such senior office-bearers undermine our young democracy,” she said on Friday.

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/ 9 October 2007

Chief justice mum on Hlophe and Pikoli

Chief Justice Pius Langa steered clear on Tuesday of the controversy around Cape Judge President John Hlophe and suspended National Director of Prosecutions Vusi Pikoli. He told students at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban that he knew there were many who wanted him to speak on President Thabo Mbeki’s decision to suspend Pikoli.