Indholdsfortegnelse for 2023-01-03 i Cape Argus

Police report was classified to save lives Police chiefs say they classified the Charl Kinnear report because they feared that individuals who gave evidence in the Ipid probe could be harassed or assassinated. This is according to a parliamentary reply submitted by the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid), Police Minister Bheki Cele and Deputy Minister Cassel Mathale. The Anti-Gang Unit commander was shot and killed on September 18, 2020, outside his Bishop Lavis home. According to reports, Kinnear had been investigating a gun racket at the police headquarters in Pretoria involving high-ranking officers. Freedom Front Plus leader Dr Pieter Groenewald – who was among MPs recently told by police committee chairperson Tina Joemat-Pettersson that members would need security clearance to view the report – had…

POLICE confiscated five unlicensed guns in various areas of Mitchells Plain in the days leading up to the New Year. Several suspects, aged 31 to 48, from Mandalay, Lentegeur and Mitchells Plain are due in court after tip-offs from the public led to their arrests. Meanwhile, in a joint operation three suspects, aged 30, 32 and 37, were arrested after the kidnapping of two Chinese nationals, aged 48 and 52. The two brothers were found in Khayelitsha on December 26 and 28, respectively. One was dead and the other rushed to hospital. The brothers were abducted in Mowbray on December 22 at 10.45pm. Provincial commissioner Lieutenant-General Thembisile Patekile praised police for bringing the perpetrators to book.…

IT HAS become a stock type of news story in our country. A racist incident leading to outrage, promises of prosecution by politicians, opportunity for anti-racist lectures, a flashpoint for hotheads followed by calls for calm by moderates. It is not tame media coverage which is to blame for the way in which we digest these stories, it is a total lack of engagement with the subject matter compounded by a flagrant disregard for news objectivity which is to blame. Witness the manner in which our print media along with their commentators (rank-and-file influencers and opinion-makers), jump to conclusions, treating readers like absolute morons requiring remedial aid for a disease known as racism, one associated with our nation’s egregious past. In the process, editors fail to provide readers even the…

Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was sworn in as Brazil’s president yesterday, delivering a searing indictment of far-right former leader Jair Bolsonaro and vowing a drastic change of course to rescue a nation plagued by hunger, poverty and racism. In a speech to Congress after officially taking the reins of Latin America’s biggest country, the leftist said democracy was the true winner of the October presidential vote, when he ousted Bolsonaro in the most fraught election for a generation. Bolsonaro, who left Brazil for the US on Friday after refusing to concede defeat, rattled the cages of Brazil’s young democracy with baseless claims of electoral weaknesses that birthed a violent movement of election deniers. “Democracy was the great victor in this election, overcoming … the most violent threats to freedom…

Mamelodi Sundowns strengthened their stanglehold at the top of the Premiership standings, extending their advantage to five points with a win on Friday as the Premiership season resumed. However, it is not only defending champions Sundowns who are set for a top-three finish. Here, Mihlali Baleka looks at the sides that could finish in the top three. Mamelodi Sundowns After a topsy-turvy start to the league, the Brazilians finally looked the part in the latter stages of the first half of the season, winning seven games on the trot. Sundowns’ purple patch didn’t come without changes. The technical team had to be restructured as Rhulani Mokwena became the sole head coach. Granted, Mokwena is in his infancy in the role but his side’s recent performances are of a team that'll…

SINCE his international debut in the Centurion Test match against India in December 2021, Marco Jansen’s stock as an all-rounder has gone up in the longest format of the game. The left-arm fast-bowling all-rounder has been a great addition to South Africa’s bowling attack in Tests, picking up 36 wickets in eight matches at an average of 19.02 in 2022. With the bat, he has shown glimpses of being reliable, especially when he registered a half-century against Australia in the second Test at the MCG. His stellar performances in 2022 meant Jansen has earned a nomination for ICC’s Emerging Player of the Year award. “It didn’t start great, my first over in Test cricket went for 14 (12). I haven’t really thought about it yet or reflected, but it’s gone…

The Kaapse Klopse are synonymous with the Cape and the spirit of freedom, festivity and colour. Rooted in the history of Struggle among the under-classes of the city for hundreds of years, the Carnival will now be sponsored by a betting company. There is already support among the minstrel fraternity for this sponsor, mainly due to the cash and other material incentives the sponsorships may yield. It remains the prerogative of the City of Cape Town to organise the Carnival, mobilise resources for it and to make resources available to Cape Flats communities. This is a carnival of the people for the world to remember our slave history. Gambling is viewed as a legitimate recreational and leisure activity in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), but healthcare professionals and policymakers are well aware…

The Western Cape Government’s Department of Health and Welfare has announced 192 babies were born at public health facilities in the Province on January 1. And of those born on New Year’s Day, 94 were boys and 98 were girls. The first baby, a boy, was born at Mitchells Plain Hospital at 12.25am, weighing 3.6kg, to mother Ashiekia Ellie. Two sets of twins were also born, one set at New Somerset Hospital, and the other at Tygerberg Hospital. The Health Department congratulated the families of the newborns on the safe arrival of their little bundles of joy and wished them many years of happiness and good health. The department said the parents should cherish their time together with their little ones, as parenthood was one of the most fulfilling –…

A PHILIPPI woman died on Sunday in a fire that destroyed about 300 shacks. Gift of the Givers spokesperson Ali Sablay said: “Teams were called out at 4.30am on Sunday by community members of Polar Park in Philippi. Over 300 structures burnt to the ground and nearly 1 000 people were displaced. A woman perished in the fire.” The NGO team was on site as early as 10am on Sunday to assist those who had lost their belongings. Another fire destroyed several structures in Masiphumelele informal settlement on Saturday, killing three people. The City’s Fire and Rescue Services spokesperson, Jermaine Carelse, said: “A crew from the Kommetjie fire station were the first to be dispatched. From a distance you could see the raging inferno, and we immediately called for additional…

THIS festive season, in light of the spike in kidnapping cases across the Western Cape, parents are frantic over the safety of their children. A Cape mother detailed what she believes to be an attempted kidnapping tat the Kenilworth Shopping Centre on December 23, which prompted the family to open a police complaint. Kensington resident and mother Nabeelah Martin, 28, said she was standing in the queue to pay for items at Mr Price when a woman looked directly at her and said “shhh”, placing a finger on her lips. The woman then grabbed the hand of Martin’s 5-year-old daughter standing beside her, but facing the opposite direction. “She wasn’t smiling or making a joke. It was a fear thing, the way her gesture was made. I just brushed it…

A new year rings in new opportunities, new approaches, new challenges and new ideas. Join me in welcoming whatever we allow ourselves to become, with whatever it is that 2023 provides us with to work with. Our ultimate experience of 2023, and any other year for that matter, will be what we do with what we are dealt with. So take 2023 and give it your all, especially when it comes to promoting inclusivity, community, neighbourliness, friendship, love and caring among all. We owe it to ourselves to unconditionally love and be loved. I am starting off my columns for 2023 with a comment on an article that was written by a colleague of mine, Nomzamo Yuku. It is about the theft of artwork created by Sea Point street vendor…

A NEW set of wheels, purchasing property and furthering studies are some of the new year’s resolutions made by some Capetonians as we enter the new year. While some have abandoned the tradition partly due to some of these resolutions becoming unattainable due to various reasons where they later renege, to some these give them a sense of control over what’s happening in their lives and keep them focused. The Cape Argus took to the streets yesterday asking Capetonians what they were looking forward to in 2023, their hopes, dreams, aspirations and their new year’s resolutions. Some were hopeful that the year brings more job opportunities, an end to corruption and load shedding. Ridwaan Connelly from Mitchells Plain said he was hoping for an end to lawlessness and a better…

THE community of Bardale in Mfuleni are demanding that the SPCA comes to their aid after an 8-year-old boy survived an attack by a pit bull. Avethandwa Ndengane was attacked by a neighbour’s dog on December 14 while on his way to a spaza shop. His injury has caused him to limp and this has angered his neighbours following recent horrific attacks by pit bulls. The boy’s dad, Thandikhaya Qokoqa, 39, with his mother, Nomalungelo Ndengane, 47, opened a case at Blue Downs police station hoping the owner would be held accountable. “The only reason that led me to take this matter to the police is that the owner of this dog is negligent. Even after the attack, he swore at us and left, leaving the dog inside his…

Happy New Year and welcome to 2023. We hope you enjoyed the celebrations and had a peaceful festive season. South Africans were blessed to be spared the full impact of load shedding over the Christmas and New Year weekends – which had marred much of 2022. While everyone will have been grateful for the respite, many will also have been suspicious that Eskom had surprisingly found the capacity to keep the lights on for Christmas “due to a lower demand for electricity”. Load shedding was kept down to Stage 2 for New Year’s Eve. This was likely a temporary reprieve – a grace period – and when the euphoria passes, we would all do well to brace for a return to reality and the daily challenges we faced last year.…

The festive season is over and the league is back in full swing and stuttering Cape Town City will be looking to get into the top eight when they meet revived SuperSport United at Cape Town Stadium today (5pm kick-off). Matsatsantsa have been much-improved this season under the guidance of veteran coach Gavin Hunt and are third in the league. The team from Tshwane are seven points adrift of league leaders Mamelodi Sundowns and are in the hunt for the title. Also today (7.30pm kick-off) 11th placed Royal AM host eighth placed TS Galaxy at Chatsworth Stadium. The Rockets will be looking to get better at converting draws into wins as they have only lost three league games this season but have drawn seven, which is the joint highest in…