Indholdsfortegnelse for 2024-08-26 i Cape Argus

Two suspects are expected to appear in the Strand Magistrate’s Court today on charges of dealing in drugs valued at more than R4.9 million. The suspects were arrested in Strand on Friday by members of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation’s (known as the Hawks) South African Narcotics Enforcement Bureau team in Western Cape, together with Crime Intelligence’s counter-narcotics team. Provincial spokesperson for the Hawks, Warrant Officer Zinzi Hani said the suspects are aged 21 and 38. “The team acted on information received about a vehicle allegedly transporting drugs en route to Cape Town from Gauteng, which was spotted on the N2 and stopped. “During the search, the officers discovered 71 000 mandrax tablets (71 packets) as well as 14kg (14 bricks) of cocaine and an undisclosed amount of cash.…

The Hawks have requested a review of a decision by a magistrate in Khayelitsha to release three suspected cash-in-transit (CIT) robbers who survived a shoot-out with the police’s Special Task Force several weeks ago. This was revealed by the national head of the Hawks, Godfrey Lebeya, yesterday, as officers called on the public to help them trace the three men. During the dramatic shoot-out, eight suspects were declared dead while five survived. At the time, the task force and the Hawks were hailed as heroes by Capetonians after it was revealed that the group had been intercepted before they could embark on a heist. The suspects allegedly opened fire on the task force as officers approached the house where they were hiding out. In the property, police found of assault…

A PROPERTY developer from Italy who has a number of homes in Cape Town has shared the agony, turmoil and financial loss that came with inheriting a squatter. Mary Ronna’s story started in 2021, when she found a beautiful run-down four-bedroom house in Vredehoek that needed a bit of TLC but had all the fine points of a dream guest house. “When you come to this country as a visitor, you have a different sort of humbleness and you want to abide by the country’s laws that you live in,” she said. Ronna was inspired by hostels around the world and wanted to bring a low-cost high-quality guest house to Vredehoek. A serial entrepreneur, she wanted to provide guests with moderately priced rooms for South Africans and international guests in…

Nobody is perfect and we all err. But we all have access to God’s mercy and anyone can improve themselves. Ironically, God’s mercy is limitless, but humans are much less forgiving. Example, when we harm others, the Torah, Bible and Qur’an advise that we must remedy the harm first instead of asking God for forgiveness and trying to bypass the victim. This is a double-edged sword as God advises forgiveness as those who need to forgive also require God’s forgiveness for their own antics. Where am I going with this? A friend hired a plumber to work on a leaking underground pipe. Since he was at work, my friend asked me to check on the plumber. On arrival, I saw the plumber having lunch. I asked if he had fixed…

The attack by Israel on April 1 which killed seven members of the charity, World Central Kitchen (WCK), is reminiscent of the attack on June 8, 1967 on the USS Liberty, an American Intelligence vessel, by Israel. In both cases, Israel claimed they were attacked because of mistaken identity. WCK founder Jose Andres does not believe this. First, all three vehicles had the WCK emblem displayed on their roofs, so it was identifiable from the sky. Second, the convoy of three vehicles was attacked in succession by drones. Hence, this attack could not have been a mistake. Towards the end of March, the WCK indicated that their kitchen had distributed 42 million meals in the Gaza Strip. After the attack, the WCK suspended its aid work in Gaza. But what…

The Springboks have the opportunity to stamp their authority on world rugby and possibly grab the Rugby Championship title with one hand over the next fortnight, when they host the All Blacks in back-to-back Tests on home soil. The Boks find themselves in the fortuitous position, so long the dominion of their old foes, New Zealand. For once, it is South African rugby that is the envy of the sport – the Boks have stability and continuity in their coaching staff, have an embarrassing wealth of depth and talent in each position, while having the capacity to blood new, exciting young players to further develop their squad, seemingly on a whim. Under coach Rassie Erasmus, and with the introduction of assistant coach Tony Brown, the World Cup champions are also…

LUBUMBASHI: Renewed fighting between Democratic Republic of Congo’s army and M23 rebels broke out yesterday around a densely populated town in eastern North Kivu province, where the rebels are waging an insurgency, the army and M23 said. The M23 captured the town of Kirumba, the economic hub of Congo’s Lubero territory, at the end of June. It also seized the nearby town of Kanyabayonga around the same time. M23 said government forces attacked several rebel positions around Kirumba yesterday and that fighting was ongoing. | Reuters…

Novak Djokovic, fuelled by an emotional Olympic triumph, has new Grand Slam records in his sights at the US Open, where title rival Jannik Sinner hopes to shake off a doping controversy. Defending champion Djokovic can become the oldest Open era champion at the tournament if he secures a fifth title, a record he would share with Jimmy Connors, Pete Sampras and Roger Federer. The 37-year-old would also move to 25 Grand Slam triumphs, taking him clear of the 24 he currently shares with Margaret Court. The final Grand Slam of the year comes at a critical time for Djokovic. This year he was succeeded as Australian Open champion by Sinner, who also relieved him of his world number one ranking. Carlos Alcaraz took his French Open title, with the…

Duo posing in snaps labelled ‘Scumstead’ facing probe TWO Plumstead High School learners photographed brandishing weapons and alcohol while dressed in their uniform have been suspended as an investigation is under way. The Western Cape Education Department (WCED) confirmed that the conduct of the learners is being investigated as the pictures, labelled “Scumstead”, show two teen boys holding knives, a gun and alcohol. The images sent tongues wagging over the weekend, as social media users revealed the images were captured in a lane near the school. The school subsequently issued a letter to the parents, saying an investigation into the disturbing images was under way. WCED spokesperson, Millicent Merton, said the matter was being dealt with in terms of its code of conduct. “I can confirm that an investigation is…

Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber’s directive for officials to remove illegal immigrants from the streets is making headway in Cape Town. According to the City, over the past few weeks, the department conducted several operations with law enforcement and police to operationalise its mandate. Mayco member for safety and security JP Smith said that last week Home Affairs officials, supported by members of the City’s law enforcement, followed up on information about undocumented persons living in District Six. Following that operation, Smith said, Home Affairs teams conducted yet another tracing operation yesterday, descending on an area along the N1 between Paarden Eiland and Woodstock, where several informal structures had been erected, allegedly to house undocumented immigrants. “Minister Schreiber and the City have made good progress working together. Last week, we…

South Africa is drifting into a dangerous period. Wearing large blinkers dished out by politicians and experiencing the relief of having survived a collapsed parliament, its citizens are not fully informed of three huge threats. The first is the obvious threat of industry mafia groups that have hijacked the economy at every level. These mafia groups are milking billions from Eskom, Home Affairs, the construction industry, road and rail freight services, water and health services, as well as from the private sector. I was in Sir Lowry’s Pass Village recently, where the community has waited decades for a high school to be built for their children. I was shown a half-built school, standing abandoned for six months because of corruption. The second threat is political party funding. The Western Cape…

The brazen display of weapons and acts of defiant violence are forcing teachers to leave the education profession. Pupils have now become gangsters, leaving educators with no choice but to abandon educational institutions across the province and the country. At many schools, such brazen acts of defiance are normalised as stakeholders feel powerless to deal with the problem. Many dangerous assaults have left educators shaken and nervous about the potential for violence at other schools. The 2024 school year has been a shocking and frightening one. Unless we implement zero-tolerance policies for thuggery and crude intimidation, it will spread across all educational institutions. It is only a matter of time before unruly pupils brandish pepper spray, stun guns and shocking devices to intimidate fellow learners and teachers. School violence represents…

The intellectual scope on the formulation of the theoretical thesis about the formation of the Government of National Unity (GNU) spawned a nightmare of intense debate across the political and socio-economic spectrum of South Africa. The fiercest polemics of predilection and predisposition on the form and the content of the GNU symbolised the Berlin Wall, which came to represent the ideological divisions of the Cold War era. The defining moment of the ideological differences was between the intellectual forces of bourgeois democratic revolution and the intellectual forces of the national democratic revolution. The growing perception became to be that the national democratic revolution, led by the black political parties, represents the aspirations of the black people in general and the African people in particular while the bourgeois democratic revolution, led…

Hezbollah launched hundreds of rockets and drones at Israel yesterday, as Israel’s military said it struck Lebanon with around 100 jets to thwart a bigger attack, in one of the biggest clashes in more than 10 months of border warfare. Missiles were visible curling up through the dawn sky, dark vapour trails behind them, as an air raid siren sounded in Israel and a distant blast lit the horizon, while smoke rose over houses in Khiam in southern Lebanon. Three deaths were confirmed in Lebanon and none in Israel, where damage appeared to be limited. Hezbollah indicated it was not planning further strikes yet. Israel’s foreign minister said the country did not seek a full-scale war. Any major escalation in the fighting, which began in parallel with the war in…

LONDON: A British woman yesterday celebrated her 102nd birthday by skydiving out of a plane and said she hoped her daredevil antics might inspire other elderly people to stay active. Manette Baillie said it was “a bit scary”, adding “I must admit I shut my eyes very firmly.” Baillie said she wanted “others getting towards 80 and 90 not to give up anything. Just keep going”. It’s not the first time that the centenarian has taken on a daredevil challenge. She drove around the Silverstone motor racing circuit in a Ferrari at 210km to mark her 100th birthday two years ago. | AFP…

While Ellis Park has always been an ally for the Springboks, they will want to avoid going down to New Zealand for a third straight time at the iconic stadium in the Rugby Championship on Saturday afternoon. With 10 points from their first two matches, the world champions head to a venue in Johannesburg where they last won in 2014 against the All Blacks, and they will be motivated not to extend the nine-year wait for a victory by another year. The Kiwis won the last two clashes. in 2015 and 2022, and could get a rare three victories in a row at Ellis Park over their biggest rivals in world rugby should they win the 2024 showdown (5pm start). It will be the first of two Tests on South…

As the fairytale of football would have it, the prestigious CAF Champions League has served up a storyline worthy of the competition’s rich history. Last season, Botswana Premier League champions Jwaneng Galaxy defied the odds to eliminate a hugely fancied Orlando Pirates outfit from the tournament, announcing their arrival on the continental stage. Fast forward nearly 12 months later and the two teams will renew their rivalry once more at the same stage with a spot in the group stages of Africa’s biggest club competition on the line. The Buccaneers kicked off their Champions League ambitions by overcoming Madagascar’s Disciples FC over two legs, producing a masterclass in the home leg to ensure passage to the next round. Galaxy, on the other hand, overturned a first-leg defeat to beat African…

A TEN-year-old girl with a big heart has beaten her own time to become the newest record holder for the youngest swimmer to complete the Robben Island crossing. Karli Fourie, a Grade 5 learner at Laerskool Van Riebeeckstrand in Melkbosstrand, completed the 7.4km swim from Robben Island to Blouberg Beach alongside veteran swimmer Howard Warrington on Friday in three hours and four minutes. She hopes to raise R50 000 for Home From Home to assist foster children in the Western Cape. A shy Fourie said she chose the charity because she felt for children who had to grow up without a mother and father. “I don’t feel tired and I was not scared because I knew God was with me and his angels would protect me. I feel very proud…

It is fair to state that despite South Africa’s disappointing performance at the recent controversial Olympics there was a cause for celebration: the preliminary findings by Home Affairs regarding Chidimma Adetshina’s citizenship. This is noteworthy because, 30 years post-democracy, a white minister is tasked with investigating and categorising the ethnicity of black individuals. This mirrors the actions of the Bantu Act and the Influx Control Act, which differentiated those “born in South Africa” from those born in “foreign homelands”. The most jubilant were the South African-born blacks from townships and regions, excluding their kin, from “backward homelands”, along with coloureds, whites and Indians. What started as the exclusion of all black people evolved into a coveted status among those black South Africans and minorities who considered themselves part of a…

In a heartfelt gesture of solidarity and goodwill the Chinese consul-general on July 23 donated R150 000 towards the provision of blankets and food packs for those in need. Aimed at alleviating the suffering of vulnerable communities, the contribution reflects the enduring friendship and co-operative spirit between China, our nation and Cape Town communities in particular. The consul’s generous donation has helped provide warmth and sustenance to many during these challenging times of cold winter, demonstrating China’s commitment to supporting local communities. Speaking on the occasion, the consul-general emphasised the importance of unity and mutual support in overcoming global challenges. This act of kindness from the Chinese consul-general has been met with widespread appreciation. Local leaders have praised the donation from China, highlighting its significance as a testament to the…

THE world is undoubtedly observing the tragic developments in Sudan, triggered by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia’s proxy war against the Sudanese people and state since April 2023. This war seeks to reshape Sudan, its state, demography, and potentially its map to further the agenda of an avaricious regional power, with the tacit approval or indifference of certain global actors. The international community is aware of the severe atrocities and violations of international humanitarian law perpetrated by the militia against our people. I affirm that our armed forces (SAF) are fully capable of defeating the militia. SAF is fighting this imposed war with unwavering determination to restore peace and stability, enabling our people to rebuild their lives and repair the national unity and social fabric the war…

Rawalpindi: At least 35 people were killed in two separate bus accidents in Pakistan yesterday, including 12 pilgrims trying to reach Iran, rescue and hospital officials said. Twenty-three people were killed when the bus they were travelling in plunged into a ravine near the town of Azad Pattan on the border between Punjab province and Pakistan-administered Kashmir. In a separate incident, 12 men died when their bus crashed into a ravine on the Makran Coastal Highway in Balochistan, after being prevented from crossing into Iran. The accident occurred 500km from the Iran border town of Pishin. | AFP…

The old saying that ‘dynamite comes in small packages’ could not be more true of Western Province’s seam bowler Nosipho Vezi. Whatever Vezi lacks in height, she sure makes up with her performances, having been one of WP’s leading bowlers the past four seasons down at Newlands. The 23-year-old once again played a pivotal role with the ball last season, claiming 16 wickets at an average of 17.43 to power Province to the CSA Women’s One-Day Cup title. This included a four-wicket haul against the all-star Lions team. She also bagged 11 wickets at an average of 18.72 in the CSA Women’s T20 Challenge. Vezi was acknowledged for these stellar performances at the Western Province Cricket Association awards at Newlands on Saturday evening, being named the One-Day Cup Player of…