Indholdsfortegnelse for 2024-03-06 i Cape Argus

Police have reportedly reopened the case involving a senior and joint staffer of UCT and the Western Cape Department of Health and Wellness, accused of rape and sexual assault of a former student and department staff member. The alleged victim was recently informed by email, seen by the Cape Argus, on February 22, that the docket was at the national director of public prosecutions (NDPP), and the case was reopened for further investigation, while a new investigating officer had been assigned to it. When contacted, the investigating officer said to refer all queries to the provincial communications officer. Police spokesperson Joseph Swartbooi, however, said to refer all enquiries to the spokesperson of the NDPP for a response. The NDPP said yesterday that it would respond in due course. The reopening…

THE Bellville Specialised Commercial Crimes Court finally sentenced insolvency practitioner Bernard Gutman to 10 years direct imprisonment after he delayed the fraud and money laundering case against him for over 15 years. The National Prosecuting Authority said Gutman caused unreasonable delays and numerous frivolous review applications to the high court. He was convicted on 29 counts of fraud and a count of money laundering, and was sentenced to 12 years‘ imprisonment of which four years were suspended on condition that he was not convicted for the same charges throughout suspension. He was also handed eight years direct imprisonment and the court ordered six years imposed on the money laundering count run concurrently with the sentence imposed on the fraud counts. The NPA said he was effectively sentenced to 10 years’…

In her quest for “fair skin”, an Ivorian YouTuber recently visited a market stall in Abidjan to receive several injections promoted as containing whitening agents. The influencer, who asked to remain anonymous, waited 10 days in vain to see any results. “Clearly, I’ve been ripped off,” she warned. The young woman is part of a growing number of customers across West Africa who seek to reduce the melanin in their skin because being fair is associated with higher status, privilege and beauty. The global market value for bleaching treatments is projected to jump from an estimated $10 billion in 2021 to $16 billion in 2030. Dozens of Facebook pages in Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Niger and Senegal promise “uniform whitening”, thanks to various creams or injections. It is a gateway to…

I once saw a skeleton of a woman who had been waiting for a prince in shining armour. She met scores of illustrious men who were born to no titles but achieved fame by their own energy and genius. When men approached and lauded her for being a perfect creature, she would thank them for the evident sincerity of the compliment, but not for the extraordinary publicity given to it. When people questioned her behaviour, she would give them plausible excuses for not agreeing to their proposal. In her absent-mindedness, she could not fathom the fact that the man she had been waiting an eternity for was a mirage. Equally, when I heard several political parties proclaiming to their followers that they would create jobs in the next administration, I…

International mediators were with Hamas negotiators in Cairo yesterday for talks on a truce to pause nearly five months of fighting in Gaza before the Muslim holy month of Ramadaan, which begins early next week. Envoys from the Palestinian militant group and the US were expected to meet with Qatari and Egyptian mediators for a third day of negotiations on a six-week truce, the exchange of dozens of remaining hostages for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and increased aid to Gaza. Israeli negotiators have so far stayed away from the talks, despite growing diplomatic pressure for a truce to take effect before Ramadaan. Israeli media reported that the country’s negotiating team boycotted the talks after Hamas did not provide a list of living hostages. Senior Hamas leader Bassem Naim told AFP…

THALENTE Mbatha is living a dream. A bit-part player at SuperSport United, the young lad from Kwa-Mashu, in Durban, was looking to work at establishing himself with Matsatsantsa a Pitori when he got the call many players long to receive. “I received a call from Orlando Pirates that they want my services,” the 23-year-old explained to the media this week, during an open training session ahead of the Buccaneers’ DStv Premiership tie against Cape Town Spurs. “I was confused, I didn’t know what was happening.” A mommy’s boy through and through, Mbatha needed to tell his mother the news. And so when Pirates called him a second time, he did not answer his phone. “I did not take the second call until I was home with my mother and when…

IMPEACHED Western Cape High Court Judge President John Hlophe has officially received his dismissal notice from President Cyril Ramaphosa, who yesterday handed him the letter informing him of his “immediate removal from office”. Signed by Justice and Correctional Services Minister Ronald Lamola, the letter indicated that Ramaphosa’s decision to remove Judge Hlophe was recorded and signed in Bela-Bela on March 1. “I write to inform you that pursuant to the Judicial Service Commission's finding that you are guilty of gross misconduct; and a resolution adopted by the National Assembly with a supporting vote of more than two-thirds of its members calling for your removal from office, President Ramaphosa has decided, in terms of section 177(2) of the Constitution, to remove you from office with immediate effect. A copy of the…

PARENTS and a Neighbourhood Watch were on high alert following an attempted kidnapping and reports of a suspicious vehicle circling a Mitchell’s Plain school. Oval North High School principal, Nazeem Jacobs, wrote a letter to parents in which he cautioned that both junior and senior learners were targeted. This, after a learner fought off attackers while walking to school last week, and another learner reported a suspicious vehicle following them. “Please be aware of attempted abductions of some of our learners. “Similar reports have been reported by our neighbouring schools. “It is not only our younger learners who are targeted but also our older learners, up to matriculants,” he said. Western Cape Education Department (WCED spokesperson Bronagh Hammond confirmed the attempted kidnapping last Tuesday, while later that week another learner…

SOUTH African children were at increased risk of being diagnosed with non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as diabetes and high blood pressure at tender ages. The warning was made as food health organisations observed World Obesity Day on Monday, and raised concern about the sporadic increase of child obesity in the country. Healthy Living Alliance (Heala) warned that there was a surge of deaths from NCDs globally, and within the perimeters of the country: from 1997 to 2018, 60% of deaths were related to NCDs. This called for a sense of urgency in providing solutions and prevention methods to deter an increase in childhood high blood pressure and diabetes. The African Centre for Obesity Prevention (Action) shared that children were vulnerable to an obesogenic environment. Children with overweight parents, and those…

Greece has recorded its warmest winter, a leading weather scientist said yesterday. Kostas Lagouvardos, research director at the Athens national observatory, told AFP that winter temperatures in 2023-2024 on average stood at 11.8ºC. “This is the highest average temperature in December, January and February” since records began in 1960, he said. The observatory said it had analysed preliminary data from the EU’s Copernicus climate change service. The past decade has witnessed the six warmest winters, it said. Since 1960, the maximum average winter temperature has increased by 1.8ºC. Lagouvardos said the Athens area, central and north-eastern Greece, eastern Crete and the Cycladic islands were at risk of drought this year. Last year was the worst in terms of forest fires with nearly 175 000 hectares ravaged and over 20 people…

POLICE yesterday made a breakthrough in the case of a 7-year-old Saldanha Bay girl whose disappearance two weeks ago has captivated South Africa. A highly-placed police source yesterday confirmed that two suspects had been arrested for the disappearance of Joshlin Smith. According to the same source, a third suspect is still wanted. Now it is believed that the girl had allegedly been trafficked for R20 000. The Grade 1 learner from Diazville Primary School disappeared on February 19 from her home in the Middelpos informal settlement. According to past reports, the girl’s mother, Kelly, had left her in the care of her boyfriend, Jacquin Appollis, while she went to work. However, Appollis reportedly said he last saw Joshlin in the afternoon while she was playing with friends outside. A…

THE family of murdered Cape of Good Hope (CoGH) SPCA veterinarian Dr Natheem Jacobs said they were happy with the progress of the case, as his alleged killer was expected to go on trial in the Wynberg Regional Court next week. Jovan Williams returned to the Athlone Magistrate’s Court this week, where Jacobs’s family relived the horror of his murder on March 2 last year. The veterinarian, who worked for the CoGH SPCA, was stabbed during a scuffle after a group of thieves attempted to steal the wheels of Jacobs’s wife’s car, which was parked outside their Garlandale home. Jacobs was rushed to hospital but died on the way. His death sparked outrage among residents as thousands of mourners attended his Janazah, or funeral. After months of searching, SAPS Lieutenant-Colonel…

AS THE first school term comes to an end, the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) has said that 226 learners for grades 1 and 8 had yet to be placed in the province. Education MEC David Maynier’s spokesperson, Kerry Mauchline, said they were aware that parents were frustrated, but advised they were working on finding placements for the learners. “We ask for their patience and assure them that we are doing everything we can to find places for learners as quickly as possible,” she said. Mauchline said that since February 22, a total of 226 learners for Grade 1 and Grade 8 were not placed, and that out of this number, 14 had registered on time, 129 were late submissions made before the end of 2023, while 84 had only…

AGE is just a number for a pensioner from Gordon’s Bay, who is set to participate in the World Championship of Natural Bodybuilding and Fitness. Cornelius Hendricks, 69, has been selected to represent South Africa in the bodybuilding competition in The Netherlands in June. He will compete in the Master’s Three Class, which is reserved for bodybuilders who are older than 60. “I’m on my way to The Netherlands to stand with the world’s best. “The men are coming from all over the world. It is a dream come true for me,” Hendricks said. Since entering the sport in 1991, the father of two has never looked back – only after his physique. Hendricks said he put in the hard work every day, spending three hours at the gym working…

Clamping down harder and faster on abuses of power by the world’s biggest digital companies: such is the promise of the EU’s new legal arsenal, which comes into full force from tomorrow. The Digital Markets Act (DMA) marks a revolution in competition law, with the power to transform how the world’s biggest players behave online. Its full impact will not be felt immediately, but already, starting tomorrow, six so-called “gatekeepers” will face tougher curbs: Google parent Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, TikTok owner ByteDance, Meta and Microsoft. Drawing the lessons from years of drawn-out legal cases trying – often in vain – to end anti-competitive practices by tech titans, the EU seems to have finally equipped itself with the powers to bring companies to heel. The DMA has a list of dos…

Thailand must do more to tackle air pollution, a government agency has warned, saying more than 10 million people required treatment for pollution-related health problems in 2023. The kingdom’s cities often rank among the worst in the world for PM 2.5 particles – so tiny they can enter the bloodstream – during the early months of the year thanks to farmers burning stubble and exhaust fumes. The National Economic and Social Development Council said, “prioritisation should be placed on … the impact of PM2.5 on public health”. “According to the Health Data Centre system of the Ministry of Health, in 2023 the number of patients with diseases related to air pollution is 10.5 million,” the council said on Monday. It advises Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin on economic and social development…

THE issue of violent crime in South Africa needs urgent attention if we are to win the fight against this scourge. Last Thursday, a University of Johannesburg (UJ) student paid with his life after a taxi-related incident left him dead and another student injured. Reports suggest that this was a taxi shooting gone wrong, with two other people reported to have died in the shooting. When innocent young people die from stray bullets, one has to wonder what kind of a sick society we have become. Violent crime, which involves forceful acts against an individual, with or without a weapon, is so rampant in our society that we have learnt to cope with it. Statistics SA data indicates that between October and December 2022, contact crime levels peaked across all…

Pep Guardiola said yesterday that it is “getting tougher” to win the Champions League as he targets a second consecutive treble with his all-conquering Manchester City team. Defending champions City, unbeaten in 19 games in all competitions, take on Copenhagen in the second leg of their last-16 tie at the Etihad tonight, with the cushion of a 3-1 lead. They beat Manchester United on Sunday to move just one point behind Premier League leaders Liverpool and are through to the FA Cup quarter-finals, where they will face Newcastle. But Guardiola played down talk of a repeat of last season’s heroics at his pre-match media conference yesterday. “It’s better to be here having already won the Champions League but as I said, it (the treble season) is finished,” he said. “The…