Subsistence agriculture makes for a hard life, particularly in areas that are badly hit by HIV. Put farming and Aids together, add drought or disease, and you have a diabolical mixture of circumstances. This assertion has become an article of faith in many African countries, not least South Africa — said to have the highest number of HIV-positive citizens in the world.
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Deputy President Jacob Zuma must have been aware of bribes sought by Durban businessman Schabir Shaik on his behalf, High Court Judge Hillary Squires said as he convicted Shaik on two charges of corruption and one of fraud on Thursday.
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Judgment in the Schabir Shaik fraud and corruption trial in the
Durban High Court is expected to be completed by midday on Thursday. On Wednesday Judge Hillary Squires adjourned the delivery of his verdict for a second consecutive day.
Opting for an outside field on neighbouring Kings Park instead of the main ground at the Kingsmead Soccer Stadium in Durban on Wednesday, Bafana Bafana coach Stuart Baxter was able to get into the task in hand of preparing his side for the Cape Verde World Cup qualifier on Saturday without too much interference.
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Judge Hillary Squires was preparing on Wednesday morning to deliver the last 114 pages of a 165-page judgement in the Schabir Shaik fraud and corruption trial in the Durban High Court. Squires’s secretary Margaret Parker said she was hoping the judge’s voice ”holds up”.
Reporters started gathering at the Durban High Court on Tuesday morning as security was being beefed up ahead of the judgement in the Schabir Shaik fraud and corruption trial. Judgement is expected to continue until Wednesday afternoon.
Bafana Bafana preparations suffered another blow on Monday when Sibusiso ”Rhee” Zuma was ruled out of the squad to play Cape Verde in a World Cup and Afcon 2006 qualifier on Saturday, due to injury. Apart from Zuma, there is doubt about the availability of South Africa’s number-one goalkeeper, Hans Vonk.
Police and the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty against Animals (SPCA) were on Monday investigating an incident in which a cat was strangled and thrown into a garden at the Bluff yacht club in Durban. Meanwhile, there is still no progress in the search for those who microwaved a live cat at the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s Pinewood residence.
The person responsible for microwaving a live cat at the University of KwaZulu-Natal could be slapped with a fine of up to R20 000 or a prison sentence of up to four years, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said on Thursday. R31 700 has been pledged for information leading to the arrest and conviction of this person.
People attending Saturday’s imbizo (meeting) called by Inkatha Freedom Party leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi will be allowed to enter the Princess Magogo Stadium with sticks, shields and knobkieries, KwaZulu-Natal police said on Friday. Buthelezi has come under fire for calling the imbizo.
Legal experts must decide if Saturday’s imbizo (meeting) of the Zulu nation in Durban is traditional or political before police decide whether traditional weapons will be allowed at the gathering. On Thursday, a spokesperson said Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini has distanced himself from the imbizo.
Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini on Thursday said the drafting of a constitution for KwaZulu-Natal is intended to ”culminate in the restoration of the monarch to its [sic] rightful position and status”. He was speaking to members of a constitutional ad hoc committee in Durban.
A cat was killed by being cooked alive in a microwave oven belonging to students at a men’s residence at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, reports said on Thursday. The cat reportedly died an ”extremely painful” death. Provincial education minister Ina Cronje has condemned the act as ”barbaric” and ”shocking”.
The African National Congress in KwaZulu-Natal on Wednesday called on the Zulu nation not to attend an imbizo (meeting) at KwaMashu, south of Durban, on Saturday. The imbizo was called by Inkatha Freedom Party president Mangosuthu Buthelezi in his capacity as traditional prime minister.
Siyabonga Nkosi’s brace earned Bloemfontein Celtic maximum points away from home when they beat Lamontville Golden Arrows 2-0 in a Castle Premiership encounter on Sunday. Meanwhile, Jomo Cosmos escaped relegation when they beat fellow relegation candidates Dynamos 4-1 at the Rand Stadium.
A 16-hour stand-off between police and a man who had threatened to shoot himself at Phoenix outside Durban ended when the man dozed off on Thursday afternoon and was arrested. Police spokesperson Inspector Alan Govender said the drama started on Wednesday when the man’s wife asked a policeman friend of theirs to trace her husband, a salesman, who had been missing for two days.
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Four years after the start of fraud and corruption investigations into businessman Schabir Shaik in 2001, his marathon high-profile trial finally reached closure on Wednesday. ”Many people told me the trial would last for years,” said chief investigating officer Johan du Plooy, who has mixed feelings about the end of the trial.
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The Schabir Shaik fraud and corruption trial ended on Wednesday afternoon with Judge Hillary Squires saying a judgement will not take place before May 30. ”Like all rivers that eventually reach the sea, we have reached the sea,” Squires said at the end of the case.
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Fraud and corruption accused Schabir Shaik said on Tuesday he was considering legal action after parts of his defence’s closing arguments appeared in weekend newspapers before they had been dealt with in court. ”I’ve been punch drunk for the last four years … I’m entitled to a fair trial and a fair case,” said Shaik.
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The Durban High Court heard on Tuesday that the creation of a non-distributable reserve and the rights of three loan accounts in the books of Nkobi Holdings went beyond the accounting knowledge of fraud and corruption accused Schabir Shaik.
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Schabir Shaik’s advocate Francois van Zyl complained to the court on Tuesday that parts of his closing arguments, which have not yet been dealt with, appeared in weekend newspapers. ”I assume they had access to your arguments,” said Judge Hillary Squires.
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Businessman Schabir Shaik’s defence counsel discussed in his closing argument on Friday the deep-rooted friendship between the fraud and corruption accused and Deputy President Jacob Zuma. The defence began it final argument on Friday.
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The state on Thursday concluded its argument in the Schabir Shaik fraud and corruption trial, saying the controversial encrypted fax is the truth and adds weight to the state’s case. The fax reports an alleged bribe of R500 000 a year for Deputy President Jacob Zuma.
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The prosecution in the Schabir Shaik fraud and corruption trial on Thursday called on the Durban High Court to accept the so-called encrypted fax as a credible source of evidence. The request was based on contradictions in the defence’s case and Shaik’s lack of credibility as a witness.
Bonisiwe Maphumulo sits on a straight-backed chair in the sun outside her thatched, one-room home in rural Msinga, KwaZulu-Natal. What she says next is, most probably, a lie. ”I don’t know what sickness I’ve got,” the 51-year-old widow observes in Zulu, cradling her young granddaughter on her lap.
Current Springbok and Gwent Dragons fullback Percy Montgomery has signed a two-year contract to play for the Sharks. Montgomery will officially join the Sharks on June 1. However, provided he is selected to play for the Springboks, he will only start with the team after the Tri-Nations in August.
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Fraud and corruption accused Schabir Shaik was neither an honest nor a credible witness, the prosecution in his trial case in the Durban High Court said on Tuesday.
”Shaik’s evidence is littered with evasion and equivocations,” prosecutor Billy Downer said.
A 51-year-old alleged drug trafficker appeared in the Durban Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday after the biggest find of the so-called date rape drug Rivotril in the history of KwaZulu-Natal, police said. Yunus Satar Essa was remanded in custody until his next appearance on Friday, police said in a statement.
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The prosecution began its closing arguments in Schabir Shaik’s fraud and corruption trial on Monday, describing the case which began in the Durban High Court in October as an epic. ”Unfortunately it has proven to be anything but heroic,” said prosecutor Billy Downer.
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Deputy President Jacob Zuma contravened his constitutional duty by providing assistance to his friend and financial adviser Schabir Shaik, the Durban High Court heard on Monday. Zuma ”at the very least exposed himself to a situation involving the risk of a conflict between his official responsibilities and private interests”.
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The prosecution began final argument in Schabir Shaik’s fraud and corruption trial on Monday, describing the case that started in the Durban High Court in October as an epic. Prosecutor Billy Downer said the state has succeeded in proving that Shaik used Deputy President Jacob Zuma’s assistance to gain private business advantage.
KwaZulu-Natal finance minister Zweli Mkhize escaped unhurt when the aircraft in which he was travelling made an emergency landing at Durban International airport on Thursday night, Premier Sibusiso Ndebele said. Mkhize was travelling with his wife, May Mashego, and bodyguard Mfihlo Gwala, Ndebele said on Friday.