Indholdsfortegnelse for 2023-12-01 i Cape Argus

A FOURTEEN-year-old Grade 8 girl from Woodlands High School fears going back to school after a Grade 10 learner allegedly sexually assaulted her on the school grounds. The incident, which happened in October, left the outspoken girl shattered. “That was a Friday, my transport didn’t show up, so I was waiting with three of my friends and this boy to leave. My friend’s transport showed up and the two of us waited. He then went to the toilet and as I was walking down the stairs, he approached me and pulled my arm. “He pushed me against the wall and started kissing me,” the girl said, while wiping her tears as she continued to described the assault. She added that she tried to push him away but he was too…

The Cabinet has reaffirmed the demands of the BRICS countries for an unconditional ceasefire and an end to the violence in the Israel-Palestine conflict. Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni made this claim to the media yesterday in reference to the decisions reached during the Cabinet meeting on Wednesday. Ntshavheni said that the Cabinet had demanded an end to the indiscriminate attacks that also target civilian infrastructure and the “deplorable” killing of people. She said that the Cabinet was pleased that UN Secretary-General António Guterres and President Cyril Ramaphosa, in his capacity as chairperson of BRICS, had called an extraordinary joint meeting to discuss the Middle East situation. “As a prominent voice of the Global South, the outcome of the extraordinary meeting bolsters the international call for solidarity, tolerance and…

A Macassar mother has laid a charge of assault against her daughter's Grade 5 teacher who smacked her in front of her peers. Danielle Koopman said she was shocked when her 11-year-old daughter told her about the slap that took place in the classroom, at Firgrove Primary School, on November 14. “The teacher threw a bottle of water at my daughter, the child that sat next to her laughed and she thought it was my child. “When she tried to explain that it wasn’t her, she got smacked,” Koopman said. She said her daughter immediately informed the deputy principal. “I then left a message on the school's private group and the principal phoned me on the morning of the 15th and in our engagement no remorse was shown. “He apologised…

The government’s failure to maintain and upgrade its infrastructure is coming home to roost – in a devastating fashion. This week, at least two major companies signalled their intention to downscale and disinvest in South Africa due to load shedding and seaport and rail issues. Volkswagen warned that it would have to undergo radical restructuring to remain profitable in South Africa. The automobile manufacturer has been in the country for almost 80 years and its manufacturing plant in the Eastern Cape has more than 3 500 employees. Steel corporation ArcelorMittal SA could slash a further 3 500 jobs as it looks to offset a 74% drop in share price over the past year. Also citing power cuts and rail challenges, ArcelorMittal said: “In the circumstances, the ArcelorMittal SA board and…

John Plumtree has been marching to Pretoria in some form or another for over 30 years and he says nothing has changed in terms of what is required for a Sharks win at Loftus Versfeld. As a player for Natal in the ’90s and as coach of the Sharks and Hurricanes, nothing has changed – the forward battle trumps all else if the Bulls are to be corralled. “There is plenty of excitement in our backline,” Plumtree said, after naming an unchanged squad apart from Aphiwe Dyantyi coming in for the injured Werner Kok for tomorrow’s URC derby. “Aphiwe provides a slightly different skill set to Werner. Aphelele Fassi is in good form. Makazole Mapimpi will be better off for the run he had last week. Our midfield is starting…

It’s just under two weeks until the most anticipated festival of the year, Hey Neighbour, and excitement is building. Over the past few months, the first annual Hey Neighbour Festival announced an all-star cast of international acts unlike any we’ve seen since 2018’s Global Citizen festival, which brought the likes of Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Pharrell and Ed Sheeran to Mzansi. This time we’ll be seeing the likes of Kendrick Lamar, HER, Khalid, The Chainsmokers, and Swedish House Mafia. There’ll also be top local acts, including Grammy award winner Zakes Bantwini, Nasty C and Anatii. First, what’s up with that name? Well, the festival explained that it comes from the idea that the event aims to connect attendees through immersive experiences and give them a chance to reconnect with themselves, humanity, and…

THE South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD) has condemned a visit by senior Hamas leaders to Cape Town. This after a three-person Hamas delegation met with Palestine solidarity activists on Wednesday and the Al Jama-ah political party in Parliament yessterday. In a statement released yesterday, SAJBD national chairperson Karen Milner said: “The SAJBD is disgusted by the presence of Hamas on our soil. Three Hamas representatives, including its representative in Iran, Dr Khaled Qaddoumi, are currently in South Africa to attend a Palestinian solidarity event. “The SAJBD is saddened by all loss of innocent lives in this conflict. We call on our government to demand from Hamas the unconditional release of all the hostages.” At the briefing on Wednesday, the delegation said a two-state solution was no longer viable,…

The Department of Social Development has cleared the air following this week’s difference of opinion between Minister Lindiwe Zulu and her deputy, Hendrietta Bogopane-Zulu, over the awarding of the contract to manage the GBV command centre. This comes after Bogopane-Zulu said that she was not made aware of the appointment of a new service provider to manage the command centre. This was after Vodacom’s contract came to an end. This resulted in the appointment of Brilliant Telecommunications as its replacement. According to the deputy minister, the minister had a hand in the appointment of the new service provider, an assertion that the minister denied during an interview with eNCA. Yesterday, following a countrywide outcry suggesting that the command centre had collapsed, the department, through its spokesperson Lumka Oliphant, said it…

Disgruntled Hout Bay residents took to the streets to air their frustration after being left without water for five days. The residents say the City of Cape Town left them high and dry, with not a single tap providing running water in the Imizamo Yethu informal settlement and another section in Hout Bay. Community and human rights activist Roscoe Jacobs said residents have been trying to get the City of Cape Town to attend to the problem since they picked up on the situation. “There were requests for water to be restored to the area, but no response was received, and we know that water is a basic human right. “Only after residents took to the streets to highlight their concerns did we learn the reason for the water being…

ELOQUENCE and lock forwards seldom belong in the same sentence but Ruben van Heerden is a rare case where a rugged engine room man can deliver erudite answers to media queries. Van Heerden, who divides rugby players into those who play pianos and those who shift them, has been a glimmer of light in the dark cloud that has hovered over the Stormers’ URC campaign. The Cape team’s line-out functioned perfectly well at times during the Stormers’ winless tour of Europe and Van Heerden’s partnership with youngster Adre Smith was one of the few reasons for coach John Dobson to smile. “Adre and I are forming a nice combination,” said Van Heerden. “He told me in the gym that I was the head boy and he was the bad boy.…

When Marius Louw joined the Lions, there were doubts surrounding the 28-year-old’s abilities. After all, the inside centre had the big boots of captain Burger Odendaal to fill and had limited opportunities at his former team the Sharks. Few thought that he would be able to match the strength and physicality of then-Wasps-bound Odendaal but now, in many respects, Louw has eclipsed those expectations. Indeed, Louw has crash-balled his way into the consciousness of Lions fans with courageous displays, ploughing into opposition teams with gleeful abandon. He has put in some powerful running performances, never shying away from the contact point, and never being afraid of the crash! boom! bang! of the midfield. Sure, he has made a few mistakes in those moments, but there can be no doubt regarding…

Hoërskool Ben Vorster has confirmed that it is investigating the circumstances around the use of the K-word by one of its learners in a TikTok video. The school said that irrespective of the outcome of the governing body’s investigation, programmes would be developed to inform learners of the various aspects of the school’s ethical code of conduct. The Grade 9 learner can be seen with a girl in the video, and he calls popular YouTuber Sonwabile D an “EFF k*****”. His screen then goes blank. The EFF’s wing in Limpopo staged a protest outside the high school in Tzaneen where its members met with the school’s management. In a statement released by the school, governing body chairperson Eddie Vorster said it launched an investigation after the incident was brought to…

THE man accused of pinging the cellphone of slain Anti-Gang Unit (AGU) detective Charl Kinnear has denied that he is friends with the main accused, Nafiz Modack, saying that their relationship was “business-based”. Zane Kilian returned to the Western Cape High Court yesterday for the continuation of his bail hearing, ahead of the mammoth murder trial next year. While Kilian has already lost a bail application at the Bellville Magistrate’s Court and a subsequent appeal at the High Court, he boldly took to the stand this week where he dropped several bombshells including allegations against lawyers. Kilian, Modack and another accused are facing a plethora of charges including murder, attempted murder and racketeering relating to Kinnear’s death. After explosive testimonies by Kilian that he was allegedly warned by attorney…

The kidnapping trial involving little Abira Dehkta has been postponed until the new year as legal representations for the accused are being finalised. This was revealed at the Wynberg Regional Court yesterday as the six men behind the high-profile snatching returned to court. The young girl was snatched whilst sitting in her school transport vehicle parked at Amber Court in Gatesville on November 4. After the kidnapping took place her school bag could still be seen on the front seat of the transport vehicle. According to the state’s case, five men using two vehicles had followed her driver and sped off with her in a white Nissan bakkie. More than a week later cops called her father, Aslam, and informed him that they found Abira in a shack in Khayelitsha…

THE National Treasury is in support of the devolution of powers to provincial and local governments, despite the country’s president and the ANC opposition to the DA’s Western Cape Provincial Powers Bill. In response to the Western Cape’s recommendations for amendments by the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) to the Division of Revenue Amendment Bill (DRAB), the National Treasury expressed its support for the devolution of rail, housing and bus services to capable provincial and local governments. The DA’s Western Cape spokesperson on Budget, Deidré Baartman, said according to the response to the recommendation of the Western Cape budget committee that fiscal decentralisation be encouraged by the National Treasury…

Stellenbosch must give their all against Richards Bay in the Carling Knockout semi-final on Saturday if they are to make up for losing the last two successive semis in knockout competitions. But while that will require a collective effort, soccer writer MIHLALI BALEKA looks at three players that could win the match for Stellies in uMlazi. IQRAAM RAYNERS Striker Rayners will be the focal point for Stellies against Richards Bay, given that he bagged the man-of-the-match awards in the last two matches and walked away with a cheque of R200 000. Rayners is silky and lethal in front of goal. But it’s his speed and ability to position himself that makes him stand head and shoulders above the rest. And having shown that he can gobble up the pitch in…