'We will deal criminals a blow'

Pretoria- Communication, co-ordination and accountability are key to fighting crime, Safety and Security Minister Nathi Mthethwa said on Monday.

Addressing the crime summit 2008 in Midrand, Mthethwa said it was not a matter of having too little information on criminal activities, but rather that it was not always used to reduce crime levels.

"With these three [communication, co-ordination and accountability] the criminals will without a doubt be dealt a severe blow." Mthethwa said accountability would also help root out corruption in the ranks of the police.

He said corruption, "while practised by a small few", always had the same result: the loss of public confidence and the creation of an environment where crime flourished. There had also been a "lot of talk" about a legislative regime which favoured the perpetrators and not the victims.

This required informed debate and assessment. "We need to debate from an informed point of view and not shoot from the hip.

Meanwhile back at the Ranch

" Man killed for stealing wallet

A Free State man was killed for allegedly stealing a wallet and cellphone at Bohlokong in Bethlehem, police said on Monday. Police spokesperson Sergeant Mmako Mophiring said a man was found dead at about 04:30 on Sunday in a rented room in Bohlokong after he was apparently assaulted by members of the community.

"They accused him of stealing a wallet and a cellphone.Source

'Stolen car killer' gets bail

Johannesburg - The man accused of killing five people while driving a stolen car while under the influence of alcohol on the wrong side of Johannesburg's M1 freeway was granted bail in the Randburg Magistrate's Court on Monday. Magistrate Mziwamadoda Mati ordered the accused, Siyabonga Miaka, 25, to pay bail of R5 000 and his case be postponed to March 24 next year for further investigation.

Miaka allegedly stole a Toyota Condor and was driving on the wrong side of the highway when he hit a vehicle carrying employees of the Johannesburg Manhattan nightclub.

Killed in the collision were Ntsundzukani Mabasa, Wisani Maswanganyi, Faith Moyo, Solly Ngomane and Elvis Ritshuri. "I am setting bail at this amount so that the community is not left to think that the court did not take this matter seriously...

"I don't want to leave a bad taste in their mouths because this is a very serious matter," Mati said. Source

Murder: Brothers plead innocent

Ramsgate - Two brothers pleaded not guilty in the Ramsgate High Court on Monday to murdering Austrian footballer Peter Burgstaller on a KwaZulu-Natal south coast golf course.

Thokozisi Msani, 26, and Simo Msani, 22, are accused of robbing and shooting Peter Burgstaller, 43, on the Selbourne Golf course on the KwaZulu-Natal south coast in November last year.

Burgstaller was in South Africa and had hoped to meet with Fifa delegates attending the preliminary draw for the 2010 World Cup.

"The deceased (Burgstaller) was shot on the 12th tee.

Burgstaller had been hoping to gain accreditation in a bid to attend the preliminary draw for the 2010 World Cup. When Burgstaller was found on the golf course, his cellphone was missing and it is believed that R320 was also stolen. Source

Kei Ripper suspect dies after ‘stoning’

A MAN linked to the Kei Ripper serial killer investigation has died in East London’s Frere Hospital from severe head injuries.

Police spokesperson Superintendent Mtati Tana said the man – who cannot be named until relatives have been informed – was assaulted by community members after he allegedly attacked Mvuleli Mdolo and Mkalowu Makhwenkwe with a knife and toy gun.

Mdolo and Makhwenkwe, his neighbour, were walking home on a footpath when an unknown man wearing a balaclava and a dreadlocks wig accosted them near Madiba informal settlement outside Butterworth.

He apparently pulled the gun and said he wanted Mdolo’s private parts. Mdolo broke the toy and the man pulled a knife. The two men wrestled and Makhwenkwe screamed for help.

Residents from Madiba informal settlement and nearby Extension 24 rushed to his rescue, and allegedly stoned the suspect. Mthatha police spokesperson Captain Jackson Manatha said a murder docket would now be opened against the community.

“They can’t take the law into their own hands.” At least four attacks, and likely more, have occurred in the area since October. In all the cases, mutilation or attempts were made. Not all the attacks were fatal. Police are still investigating whether they are linked Source

Scorpions go job-hunting

Cape Town - Three hundred and sixty-four officials resigned from the National Prosecuting Authority between January 1 2006 and September 27 2008, and a quarter of these (89) came from the Department of Special Operations (DSO or the Scorpions).

Enver Surty, the justice and constitutional affairs minister, gave these figures on Monday in a written answer to a question from Len Joubert of the Democratic Alliance. In addition, half (194) of the resignations came from the National Prosecution Service.

The Scorpions staff members have been feeling decidedly insecure ever since the ANC decided in Polokwane a year ago to shut the unit down and amalgamate it with the police.

Many of the investigators did not want to be at the mercy of the police hierarchy, and available for posting to any other police department. Some may also have feared the vengeance of the pro-Selebi hierarchy.

It has long been said that the Scorpions have had such a good reputation that they should find it easy to obtain other jobs either in the private sector in South Africa or in other countries. Prosecutors too have enjoyed the 85% success rate of DSO investigations. Source

Armed gang attacks Pakistanis in Mthatha

NINE Pakistani men were attacked and robbed by an armed gang of four in Mthatha at the weekend. The group burst into a house in Chief Nkwenkwezi Drive in Mthatha’s Southridge Park late on Saturday night.

Superintendent Mzukisi Fatyela said the gang attacked the men with knives they found in the house, seriously injuring one man, before stealing 14 cellphones and cash and fleeing the scene on foot.

The critically injured man was taken to the Nelson Mandela Academic Hospital. The other men were treated for minor injuries and discharged. A 23-year-old was arrested in connection with the attack yesterday morning.

Another four armed men shot and wounded a 30-year-old Pakistani man in his home in Tsolo on Saturday night. He was hit in the thigh. His attackers fled with cellphones. No arrests had been made. Source

Two people were stabbed to death during celebrations following circumcision rites .

Captain Jackson Manatha said a 24-year-old man was stabbed and killed in Ngqamakhwe on Friday afternoon. “It was at a traditional ceremony at Nyulula village when men who had built the hut for the initiates were given money to buy liquor.

Others who did not participate in the building came and wanted to take the liquor forcefully.” Manatha said an argument ensued and Yanga Ngwendu was stabbed, allegedly by a 26-year-old man.

The man was arrested and is expected to appear in the Ngqamakhwe Magistrate’s Court today. In another celebration in Butterworth on Friday afternoon, a 25-year-old man allegedly stabbed a 53-year-old woman to death.

Manatha said it was not clear why Neliswa Futshane was killed, but police suspect that liquor played a role. The 25-year-old would appear before the Butterworth Magistrate’s Court today.


In another case, a 19-year-old woman was raped in Butterworth after attending a ceremony for boys about to undergo circumcision. Manatha said she attended an umtshotsho – a dancing ceremony for boys before they went for circumcision – on Friday night.

She was there to support her boyfriend. Police arrested a 28-year-old, who was expected to appear in the Butterworth Magistrate’s Court today Source


Women raped after break-ins
A Pietermaritzburg man twice raped women in front of their families in separate incidents in 2007, the Pietermaritzburg High Court heard on Monday.

The alleged rapist, Vusi Mseleku, 42, and his co-accused Thulebona Zuma, 30, also allegedly robbed the families of several items before they left. On Monday, the mother of a woman raped in May in 2007 said Mseleku and Zuma barged into their home while the family was asleep.

Zuma fired a shot which narrowly missed her leg, and her husband and others were tied up with shoe laces. The mother pointed out Mseleku as the rapist. Last week, the second rape victim told the court Mseleku had caused her so much pain that she cried out during the rape.

Mseleku and Zuma allegedly forced their way into this victim's family home in July 2007, and robbed the family of many items. They allegedly pretended to be policemen searching for a man. Members of the family had their hands tied behind their backs with bandages.

The woman said Mseleku raped her while her hands were tied behind her back. Zuma was also charged with the rape because he allegedly kept watch during both rapes and prevented resistance or escape.Source

Cops act on 'fiddled stats'

Johannesburg - Limpopo police are taking "corrective measures" after allegations that crime statistics at the Tzaneen police station were being manipulated to enhance the station's performance image.

The Sowetan reported on Monday that pressures to lower national and provincial crime figures was causing some police stations to change figures so that their stations could be seen to be performing well. Source

Man kills brother over food

A 30-year-old man was arrested on Monday for allegedly killing his brother in a fight over food in Ennerdale, near Vereeniging, Gauteng police said.

Spokesperson Constable Edwin Ntsheo said the man handed himself to police and confessed to having killed his brother with a spade at their home in extension six on Sunday night.

"When their mother was about to go work at 06:30 today [Monday], a neighbour alerted her to somebody lying at the back of the house. She checked and it was her 26-year-old son."

Ntsheo said the man was found lying in a pool of blood three metres from the kitchen door. He had multiple injuries on his head and upper body.

"When the suspect was asked why he killed his brother, he said they fought over food last night [Sunday]. Their parents said they did not hear the attack because they were drunk." Source