There was laughter in the Pretoria High Court on Tuesday when "Rottweiler" and "KGB" emerged as some of the <i>noms de guerre</i> assumed by the alleged Boeremag coup plotters. One called himself "Motherfucker" and another "Volla", accused-turned-state-witness Henk van Zyl told the court.
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?ao=119751">Whites were to be ‘slaughtered'</a>
White fears of a massive slaughter by blacks were fuelled at meetings attended and addressed by some of the Boeremag treason trialists, the Pretoria High Court heard on Tuesday. The court was told of meetings where the predictions of Boer ”seer” Siener van Rensburg were used to incite whites to action.
Children are not obliged to attend school in the year they turn six, Education Minister Naledi Pandor said on Monday. Children should be taken to school in the year that they turn seven, unless their parents can provide proof that their child was ready for school at an earlier age, the minister told reporters in Pretoria.
The Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) signed a deal on Monday for a loan of R56-million for the construction of a hotel in Bel Ombre on the southern coast of Mauritius. The hotel project forms part of a broader initiative for the development of the Bel Ombre sub-region.
While the fate of two South Africans being held for suspected terrorist activities in Pakistan remained unclear on Friday, an independent analyst described their situation as bleak. If tried in Pakistan, the death penalty is mandatory for terrorism and the definition of the crime very broad, the analyst said.
Minister of Health Manto Tshabalala-Msimang on Thursday promised South Africans an accessible, caring and high-quality health system. She was speaking at the media launch of the Department of Health’s Strategic Priorities for the National Health System: 2004 to 2009 in Pretoria.
Hundreds of Telkom workers are expected to take part in protests on Thursday against planned retrenchments at the company, the Solidarity trade union said. Employees at the Telkom’s head office are expected to present the company’s management with a petition signed by thousands of Telkom workers countrywide, the union said in a statement on Wednesday.
An application to exclude 107 documents from the evidence against the 22 Boeremag treason-trial accused has failed, with the judge describing the application as premature and unfounded. The judge said he was unsure what documents he was being asked to exclude.
Describing murderer, rapist and kidnapper William Kekana as ”Satan incarnate”, Judge Monica Leeuw in the Temba Circuit High Court on Tuesday sentenced him to six life sentences plus 60 years. ”He is the real reincarnation of the devil himself. I would say he is the devil personified,” Leeuw said, staring at Kekana in the dock.
Killer rapist blames apartheid
A new R5 coin with added security features was launched at the South African Mint Company in Pretoria on Tuesday in a bid to outsmart counterfeiters. The new coin, seven million of which will come into circulation next Monday, sports a silver-coloured border with a bronze-coloured centre.
Convicted murderer and rapist William Kekana told the Temba Circuit High Court on Tuesday he had murdered members of a Pretoria family because they were white. Kekana’s remark elicited a gasp from the presiding judge and the public gallery. "I found it very easy and simple to commit the crimes," Kekana said.
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?ao=119316">Kekana is guilty</a>
A South African delegation visiting Equatorial Guinea held talks with their counterparts in that country on Monday in an attempt to ensure a free and fair trial for eight alleged mercenaries. Foreign Affairs department spokesperson Ronnie Mamoepa they had agreed that the trial should be fair and that the men have access to lawyers.
William Kekana was found guilty in the Temba Circuit Court on Monday on all 14 charges relating to the hijacking, abduction, murder and rape of Janine Drennan and members of her family. Judge Monica Leeuw described Kekana as a ”pathological liar” who tried to blame his now-dead accomplice.
The last surviving member of the infamous Stander gang, Allan Heyl, could be released on parole next November, the Correctional Services department said on Friday. After considering his case earlier in the day, a parole board has recommended a parole date of November 1, 2005, said spokesperson Molwantwa Mosiane.
Four of the 22 Boeremag treason trialists lost their bid on Friday in the Pretoria High Court to secure bail. Acting Judge Peter Mabuse dismissed the bail applications of Mokopane medical doctor Johan Pretorius Jnr and Bela-Bela farmers Gerhardus ”Oom Vis” Visagie, Rudi Gouws and Herman van Rooyen.
The Tshwane University of Technology has obtained a court interdict barring students from its GaRankuwa campus, where they caused hundreds of thousands of rands’ damage on Thursday. The interdict was obtained in an urgent application in the Pretoria High Court on Thursday night, a university spokesperson said.
President Thabo Mbeki has reappointed Tito Mboweni as Governor of the South African Reserve Bank for a second period of five years. ”President Thabo Mbeki, after consultation with the Minister of Finance [Trevor Manuel] and members of the Board of the SA Reserve Bank, has decided to re-appoint Mboweni as governor of the bank for a period of five years,” said a government statement.
The Development Bank of Southern Africa’s chief financial officer, Abdul-Kader Mohamed, has been appointed the chief operating officer of broadcast signal distributor Sentech. The appointment was among several approved at Wednesday’s Cabinet meeting in Pretoria, a statement read.
The Cabinet agreed on Wednesday to institute an investigation into foreign land ownership in South Africa and how it impacted on land reforms. Government spokesperson Joel Netshitenzhe said in Pretoria that the audit would be run by the Department of Agriculture and Land Affairs.
A Lutheran Church elder was killed and two others critically injured while travelling to Pretoria on Wednesday afternoon to buy new chairs for their church. The accident happened on the Ben Schoeman highway in Centurion, Gauteng. When the church’s bishop arrived on the scene, he found the church’s money had gone missing.
An impasse in free trade talks between the Southern African Customs Union and the United States is unlikely to be resolved before the US presidential elections. ”The political climate leading up to elections may not lend itself to any material shift in US positions,” the Department of Trade and Industry official said on Wednesday.
Small entrepreneurs, not a handful of magnates, were benefiting most from black economic empowerment, the Department of Trade and Industry said on Wednesday. More than 90% of the beneficiaries of cheap loans, incentives and contract opportunities were black, small, medium and micro enterprises, deputy director-general Lionel October said in Pretoria.
The conclusion of a protracted legal dispute between South African defence industry firms and the United States will improve defence trade between the two countries, US ambassador Cameron Hume said on Wednesday. ”South African companies now have an open field in the American defence industry,” he told reporters in Pretoria.
Elder statesman Nelson Mandela is to meet with the leaders of Burundi on Wednesday who are struggling to agree on a power-sharing agreement to pave the way for elections, a South African official said. Mandela is to go to the Pretoria home of Deputy President Jacob Zuma where Burundi’s President Domitien Ndayizeye and three other political party leaders were to hold a final round of talks.
Moviemaker Disney has until August 12 to notify the Pretoria High Court whether it intends defending a R15-million claim for damages for allegedly infringing the copyright on the song The Lion Sleeps Tonight. Disney Enterprises, Nu Metro Home Entertainment, the David Gresham Entertainment Group and David Gresham Records all received summonses and the particulars of the claim last week.
The last surviving member of the infamous 1980s Stander gang will appear before a parole board shortly for consideration of his possible release from jail. Allan Heyl (52) was a member of the Stander gang, led by former police captain Andre Stander, that committed a string of robberies in and around Johannesburg in 1983 and 1984.
The animosity between the prosecution and alleged Boeremag coup plotters on Monday again reached boiling point when four of the men accused the chief investigating officer of ”generating false statements”. The State on Friday last week handed up a statement by prisoner Wouter Viljoen, who said he had overheard two of the men presently applying for bail discussing how they would flee the country.
Negotiating parties played a waiting game in Pretoria on Monday as South Africa’s two top statesmen attempted to broker a Burundian power-sharing agreement. Generally regarded as the most powerful party in the talks, the CNDD-FDD was not sure if a conclusion would be reached before its departure on Tuesday.
The United States is offering South Africa defence equipment and training to upgrade its forces. Outgoing US Ambassador Cameron Hume said on Friday that South Africa has agreed to the US training and equipping two of its infantry battalions for peacekeeping duty.
Burundi’s President Domitien Ndayizeye and other senior politicians were in Pretoria on Saturday for a fresh round of talks aimed at advancing the peace process in the Central African country. Deputy President Jacob Zuma, South Africa’s mediator for Burundi, is due to meet the parties on Sunday and Monday.
The South African government’s policy to reduce the risk of mother-to-child transmission of HIV remains unchanged, Minister of Health Manto Tshabalala-Msimang said on Thursday. The Medicines Control Council has recommended that a combination of anti-retrovirals be used instead of a single dose of nevirapine.
Investment in the South African economy appears to be on track, said Minister of Labour Membathisi Mdladlana in Pretoria on Thursday following President Thabo Mbeki’s meeting with big business. A meeting was held at the Union Buildings to discuss progress made since the establishment of goals during the Growth and Development Summit in June last year.