Racial brutality against whites concealed from the media by the ANC (African National Congress)

A few weeks ago, international headlines were made when students of the
University of the Free State gave some hostel cleaners a concoction to
drink, apparently containing urine. Shortly afterwards, the public outcries
about racism and human rights began.

cid:000d01c8b038$38e46b10$6502a8c0@oem973aa8a3f10On the subject of racism,
please read the story of Nico Bruwer (25).

Nico was arrested in Polokwane for reckless driving on the night of 6
January 2008. After he was arrested, he asked four times if he can call his
family to tell them where he was, but they refused. (According to SA Law,
you are allowed one phone call when you are arrested.)

He was thrown in a dirty cell with 25 other inmates. His arms were held and
his head shoved in a dirty pillow, so his screams couldn't be heard - while
he was repeatedly raped and assaulted. Later he lost consciousness from
shock. The policemen on duty didn't once come to check on what was happening
in the cells.
The next morning he was harassed by one of the rapists. Hours later Nico was
released on bail after his family finally found him. He broke down and they
rushed him to hospital where he was admitted and tested for HIV.
Nico and his wife, Rose-Mary (24) was married on 1 March 2008. Nico also
have a son (5). He and his whole family is traumatized by this experience.

What you may not know is that this is the ** second ** time this year a
young white male was raped in the Polokwane Police cells.

Why am I asking you to forward this? Because this is also racism. This is
crime in its worst form. Yes, what happened at UFS was despicable, but
nobody was PHYSICALLY hurt. But because it was ** WHITE ** students doing it
to ** BLACK ** workers, everybody made a huge deal about it. Now that a
white male was raped by black criminals while in police custody, virtually
nobody knows about it. No big cries from overseas condemning this absolute
disregard for human rights or basic human dignity. Nico Bruwer's whole life
will be forever influenced about what happened that night. But because he
is ** WHITE **, nobody cares.

But you should care. Think about your husbands, sons and brothers. Forward
this to as many people as you can. Let this email travel all over so that
the whole world can see what is ** REALLY ** happening in South Africa.

Lets show the world that we are sick and tired of the hate, the war and the
lack of respect for humans and their lives.
Oh, and don't forget the absolute disgrace of what the SAPS have become -
they who are supposed to keep us safe.
Yes, they recently wasted their time assaulting students in Stellenbosch and
ransacking pubs for 130g of dagga. But a rape in Police cells goes
unnoticed.

And while you are doing this, please say a prayer for Nico Bruwer and his
family. Ask God to give his wife strength to support her new husband during
this terrible time. To give them peace, wisdom and dignity when they surely
do not feel like they have any. And that his HIV test comes back negative,
because he already has so much to deal with, and he does not need this added
to his pain.

Crime Focus : May 2008 - Issue 16

Issue #16 - May 2008
In this issue:
INTRODUCTORY LETTER

SUPPORT THE COURT CHALLENGE AGAINST THE DISBANDMENT OF THE SCORPIONS!

ANC CONFIRMS THAT IT WANTS THE SCORPIONS DISBANDED FOR POLITICAL REASONS

DA CALLS ON MINISTER TO GET THE BASICS RIGHT

WHY SHOULD WE PAY FOR CRIME? DA CALLS FOR TAX RELIEF

PRESIDENT ASKED ABOUT LACK OF PROGRESS ON THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM REVIEW

DA WINS THREE YEAR STRUGGLE TO HAVE PSEUDOEPHEDRINE RECLASSIFIED

10111 CAN'T TAKE YOUR CALL

INTRODUCTORY LETTER

Having been to Zimbabwe twice in past weeks - once to monitor the
election, and then to monitor the recount of votes - it was
fascinating to see how the country is now run as a virtual police
state, with heavily armed police constantly visible, and members of
the defence force in full combat gear patrolling the streets.
One feels quite safe from any criminal elements that may be present
(Zimbabwe has a very low crime rate compared to South Africa anyway).
But one doesn't feel very secure in the presence of the Zimbabwean
police.
And that's the problem with Deputy Minister Susan Shabangu's populist
appeal to police to "shoot the bastards". It's the first step down the
road towards a police state.
Let me be quite clear: there is no party - and that certainly includes
the ANC - that has been tougher on crime, criminals, and the failures
of our criminal justice system than the Democratic Alliance.
The police and citizens of this country already have the absolute
right to use lethal force if threatened by a criminal, but for
Shabangu to call for our police to ignore their regulations (the
regulations that prevent them from shooting you or me in the back),
and to ignore our constitution, is to call for the police to act as
judge, jury and executioner.
Our police know their rights and, if the government would actually
train them to some level of proficiency, and equip them adequately, we
could turn the crime situation around. For a politician illegally to
give them the 'right' to murder whomsoever they target as a 'threat to
the community' cannot be allowed. She will not stand in court to keep
those SAPS members from jail, and our police know that.
Jacob Zuma, like the DA, called for the police to be tough on crime;
but he called for that to happen within the law. Thankfully,
Shabangu's superiors have ordered her to tone down her populist rabble
rousing. Her declarations sound wonderful, until it's your son they
shoot as he runs for a bus because they believe he's a criminal and a
threat.
One fifth of the SAPS budget is already paid back to citizens in civil
claims for shootings, beatings, being locked in cells overnight to be
gang-raped, etc. - let's not call for that to become 90%.
Kind Regards
Dianne Kohler-Barnard MP
DA spokesperson on safety and security

Back to menu >>

SUPPORT THE COURT CHALLENGE AGAINST THE DISBANDMENT OF THE SCORPIONS!

Join the Democratic Alliance and other political parties outside the
High Court in Pretoria on 20 May 2008 to form a combined opposition to
the undemocratic, unconstitutional attempt by the ruling party to
prevent their high-ranking officials from being investigated and
prosecuted according to the laws of South Africa.
The protest will be held in front of the court building, corner of
Vermeulen and Paul Kruger Streets at 9.30 am.
We are urging all concerned citizens who can to attend the protest on
the day that the Court will hear the application from a member of the
public to stop the government's attempt to disband the Scorpions.

Back to menu >>

ANC CONFIRMS THAT IT WANTS THE SCORPIONS DISBANDED FOR POLITICAL REASONS

In April, DA leader Helen Zille met Secretary-General of the ANC Gwede
Mantashe to discuss the future of the Scorpions, where he made it
clear that the ANC is pushing for the dissolution of the Scorpions for
its own political purposes.
"Mantashe admitted at the press briefing after the meeting that the
main reason for dissolving the Scorpions was for its 'persistent
hatred of the ANC', and labelled it a political unit on a witch-hunt
against ANC officials, including Jacob Zuma," said Zille.
Zille said that Mantashe went so far as to say that the eight year
investigation into Zuma was an 'abuse of power'.
"It is deeply ironic that Mantashe sees the Scorpions' investigation
into Zuma as an abuse of power. He cannot see that the real abuse of
power is when high-ranking ANC officials allegedly use their positions
to line their own pockets," she said.
In light of these remarks, the DA has written to Minister of Justice
Brigitte Mabandla urgently seeking a public guarantee that the cases
brought against Jacob Zuma and Jackie Selebi will not be undermined by
the decision to disband the Scorpions.
"Already the proposed disbanding of the DSO (Directorate of Special
Operations) has severely stunted its ability to fulfil its crime
fighting obligations. It has been reported that seven out of the eight
investigators assigned to the Selebi case are leaving the DSO. This
raises very real questions about whether there will be sufficient
capacity remaining in the DSO to bring both the Selebi and Zuma
matters to court effectively," said DA spokesperson on Justice Dr
Tertius Delport.
"The DA calls upon the Minister to issue a public statement in which
she details exactly what steps will be taken to guarantee the
integrity of the current DSO cases. If she fails to do so, then the
public can be forgiven for thinking that this government is no longer
serious about the cause of justice," he said.

Back to menu >>

DA CALLS ON MINISTER TO GET THE BASICS RIGHT

While the comments made by Deputy Minister of Safety and Security
Susan Shabangu that police should simply "kill the bastards" will more
than likely resonate with the majority of South Africans who are sick
and tired of crime, it is an astonishing admission of failure on the
part of the government, said the Democratic Alliance in April.
"Rather than playing to the gallery, Shabangu and her Department
should be focusing on getting the basics of policing right: high
quality recruits, professional training and adequate equipment," said
DA spokesperson on safety and security Dianne Kohler Barnard.
"Unless these basic three elements are in place, the police will never
get the upper hand in the fight against crime."
Kohler Barnard revealed that, in reply to a DA parliamentary question,
the Minister of Safety and Security admitted that the police were
short of 7,458 bullet-proof vests. Given the fact that there were 1124
police stations in the country, this meant that there was an average
shortage of seven bullet-proof vests per station.
"To learn that the same Deputy Minister who created confusion over the
right of police to use deadly force is also partly responsible for the
failure to issue basic safety equipment shows that the Minister and
his Deputy are all about playing to the gallery and not doing their
actual jobs. The rush to score cheap political points simply serves to
distract the public from the real problems - our police are not even
properly equipped to perform their duties," said Kohler Barnard.
"Last year, I conducted a series of police station visits and learned
that most stations visited were short of torches, handcuffs, vehicles,
cell phones, radios, roadblock kits, pepper spray and portable blue
lights. We therefore call upon the Minister of Safety and Security and
his deputy to focus their attention on the basics of policing and to
make sure that every police officer is kept safe," she said.

Back to menu >>

WHY SHOULD WE PAY FOR CRIME? DA CALLS FOR TAX RELIEF

The Democratic Alliance wrote to the South African Revenue Service in
April requesting that it consider extending a tax rebate for
security-related expenses to private citizens as well as businesses.
"South Africans spent a massive R40-billion on private security in
2007, picking up the tab for the state's failure to protect them from
crime, but individuals may not claim tax relief for these expenses,"
said DA spokesperson on finance Kobus Marais.
Private security costs in South Africa were a mere R 2 billion short
of the government's entire SA Police Service budget (R42-billion), and
more than double that of its prisons (R12-billion) and court
(R10-billion) budgets.
"Currently, individuals are offered no tax relief for private security
costs, including for erecting defensive walls, armed-response
services, razor wire, guard dogs, insurance or any other security
expenses which relate to non-business activities," said Marais.
He said the party had proposed as early as 2004 that private citizens
be allowed to claim back money they had spent on providing security
for themselves. The DA's policy document 'Freedom from Fear' called
for tax relief of up to R5 000 or 5 percent of taxable income spent by
households on verifiable private security-related expenses.
"Members of the public ought to be allowed to claim the money back, as
they are providing for themselves a service that is the responsibility
of the state," he said.
The party's 2008 Alternative Budget called for VAT rebates on
expenditure such as burglar bars, alarm systems, boom gates,
surveillance cameras, motor vehicle tracking devices and rapid
response teams.

Back to menu >>

PRESIDENT ASKED ABOUT LACK OF PROGRESS ON THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM REVIEW

In April, the Democratic Alliance wrote to President Mbeki asking for
the public to be given an update on the review of the Criminal Justice
System (CJS).
"The review was heralded as a long overdue plan to create a new CJS
that did not suffer from inefficiency, and lack of cooperation and
coordination. It was promised that new structures and processes at
different levels would bring the courts, prisons and police together
in the fight against crime, and held the promise of significant
reductions in levels of criminal activity," said DA spokesperson on
Justice Dr Tertius Delport.
"The DA calls upon the President to issue a public statement detailing
the progress made on the CJS review. It is important that we know how
serious government is in developing strategies to combat crime,
especially given the increasing rate of murder, house robberies and
hijacking in the country," he said.
Delport said that the Presidency needed to provide the necessary
leadership in moving the review forward including, if necessary,
creating an interim structure to guide the process.
"Given the challenges faced by our prisons, the courts, and the SAPS
in the face of our high violent crime rate, the review ought to have
made significant progress to date, but unfortunately, the overall
review has made virtually none," said Delport. The DA had also
submitted parliamentary questions to the Minister of Justice asking
for an update on the review and had received no reply as yet.
"The public have a right to know what is happening," he said.

Back to menu >>

DA WINS THREE YEAR STRUGGLE TO HAVE PSEUDOEPHEDRINE RECLASSIFIED

It was a victory for the war on tik that a DA request to the Medicines
Control Council to have pseudoephedrine reclassified had finally
succeeded, said the Democratic Alliance in March.
"A reply to a parliamentary question indicates that a request, which
the DA made to the MCC in July 2005, has finally been agreed to and,
as soon as the necessary legislative amendments are in place, it will
become much more difficult for backyard tik manufacturers to produce
this deadly substance," said DA spokesperson on health Mike Waters.
Waters said that the DA would now be tackling other measures to reduce
the supply of tik, and would call on the Minister for Safety and
Security to take a number of specific steps to halt the illegal import
of raw pseudoephedrine.
"Tik is causing havoc in many Cape Town communities, and is
increasingly filtering through into other areas, fuelling our murder
and rape epidemic. The SAPS' own figures show that 80% of crimes are
linked to drug abuse. The supply needs to be stopped, but no
comprehensive plan to do so exists. This is a scandal," he said.
The DA called on Safety and Security Minister Charles Nqakula to
reinstate the specialist Narcotics Bureau, which was closed in 2004 as
part of the SAPS restructuring process.
The party also called for the re-establishment of Operation Neptune, a
highly successful marine anti-poaching unit.
Waters said that research had also shown that the import of raw
pseudoephedrine was becoming increasingly tied up with perlemoen
poaching, with Chinese syndicates bringing in large supplies of the
product and exchanging it for perlemoen, so that no money ever changed
hands and deals were difficult to track.

Back to menu >>

10111 CAN'T TAKE YOUR CALL

The DA in Mpumalanga were very concerned to learn that the SAPS number
10111 was not being answered.
"This is apparently happening all over the province. There could be
numerous reasons for the delay, but a traumatised member of the public
does not want to hear the telephone just ringing and ringing when they
need help. These calls need to be answered within three rings," said
DA provincial spokesperson on safety and security Clive Hatch.
Hatch said that the DA have posed a number of questions to the MEC for
safety and security to establish why there were delays in answering
calls made to 10111.
"The DA is trying to establish where the 10111 centres are situated,
how many people man the phones, how well equipped are these people to
handle traumatised people on the line, what is the average response
time for the SAPS to answer a call made to 10111, and what is the
average time for the SAPS to act on such a call?" said Hatch.
Hatch said that the DA was also concerned that prank calls and cutting
of telephone lines harmed the relationship between the SAPS and the
public and urged the public not to slow down a system developed to
save lives.
"Such delinquent, irresponsible acts need the stern hand of the law
and an appropriate punishment. The Department of Safety and Security
should advise the public about which calls should be made to 10111 and
which calls should be made to the local police station," he said.

Back to menu >>

MILLION MAN MARCH POSTPONED TILL JUNE

SHABANGU'S COMMENTS DANGEROUS

FRIDAY FOOL: JEWEL THIEF ATTEMPTS A "MISSION IMPOSSIBLE"

DOES ZUMA HAVE THE METAL TO MEET WITH ZILLE?

AM I WAITING TO BECOME A VICTIM?

DID YOU KNOW?
In a reply to a DA parliamentary question, it has been revealed that
backlogs at forensic science laboratories (FSL) throughout South
Africa have increased by 66% since last year.
• In 2007, there were 4,874 chemistry samples (drugs and chemical
samples) awaiting analysis, compared to 8,716 this year.
• Last year, there were 22 questioned documents (altered documents)
awaiting processing; this year, there are 387.
• Total backlogs of evidence awaiting analysis have increased from
6,086 (2007) to 10,121 (2008).
• The waiting period for results has increased from 54 days (2007) to
60 days (2008).
• Waiting periods for ballistics tests have increased from 40 days to
42 days and chemistry waiting periods have increased from 56 days to
68 days.
• Staff vacancies have increased from 15 (May 2007) to 24 (December 2007).

LINKS
SHEDDING LIGHT on the electricity crisis
THE SILENT MAJORITY - a voice for the voiceless.
Visit the DA WEBSITE - for all the latest news
ARE YOU A VICTIM OF CRIME? tell us your story
Read the latest updates on crime on our CRIME BLOG
In touch with the AGRICULTURAL COMMUNITY
A behind the scenes look at SA POLITICS
CONTACT US with your views and queries
SUBSCRIBE to our other newsletters:
SAToday
Agriculture-matters
Health Matters
Business Brief
AIDS Focus
DA@WORK
Welfare Watch
The Report Card
Enviro-Matters

Fight back farmer kills midnight attacker

 Fight-back farmer kills midnight attacker

May 02 2008 at 09:48AM

By Sharika Regchand

A 54-year-old Richmond farmer, despite stab wounds in his back, shot both his attackers and killed one of them in his bedroom on Wednesday night.

Grant Warren,speaking to The Natal Mercury from his hospital bed on Thursday, said he had had an "horrific" experience.

He said he went outside with his weapon at about 10pm on Wednesday when his dog began barking but saw nothing and went back into the house.

"My wife Muffy and I were packing - we were going away for the weekend," he said.

About midnight, while they were watching TV, shots were fired through his bedroom window and two men entered.

"I rolled over to get my weapon from the bedside table and fell on the floor. Both men jumped on me. One held me down while the other stabbed me," he said.

Wrestled

Warren freed his hand and shot one of the men, who then left. He then shot the other man two or three times. Wounded, the man wrestled with Warren and bit his arm.

"I was getting weaker and weaker. My wife hit him on the head with the bedside lamp. I then hit him on the head with my gun," said Warren.

At some stage, one of the men also kicked and assaulted his wife.

Warren said the attackers had cut through an electric fence to get on to his premises.

In the past four months his office, which is in the house, and factory had been broken into four times.

Police Superintendent Henry Budhram said the motive for the attack was being investigated.

He said police had found the body in Warren's bedroom.

"There were bloodstains on the walls and floor... the large window was smashed open and a knife was also found near the deceased," Budhram said.

sharika.regchand@inl.co.za

DA@WORK 5 May - Remember the unemployed on Worker's Day

DA@WORK 5 May

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

"What is… important is developing a new spirit of community
activism.... this means moving away from a victim mentality that stops
us from taking control of our lives…it means each one of us taking
responsibility for the community in which we live and encouraging
others to do the same. If every law-abiding resident … became the eyes
and ears of the police, crime rates would drop."
DA Leader Helen Zille led an anti-crime march in Port Elizabeth last
Saturday. Read the full address here >>

http://www.da.org.za/da/Site/Eng/Speeches/Speech.asp?ID=1558

DA PROPOSES BORDER SAFETY REVIEW

South Africa's international land borders are as porous as the
proverbial sieve, with tens of thousands of refugees streaming into
the country each week, alongside gun smugglers, drug traffickers and
stock thieves, said the Democratic Alliance last Tuesday.

The party has called for the deployment of SA National Defence Force
troops to the worst-affected border regions to bring the situation
under control.

"There is a security vacuum in our border and rural areas," DA safety
and security spokesperson Dianne Kohler-Barnard said.

The Border Control Co-ordinating Committee (BCOCC), the body
established to oversee border security, was not doing its job, and the
SA Police Service - tasked with the actual patrols - was seriously
under-equipped.

"Despite having been created in 2001, the BCOCC still has no complete
overall strategic plan relating to borderline policing, as well as no
divisional policy relating to borderline operations," she said.

South Africa was experiencing a flood of refugees, who were entering
the country at the rate of 28 000 a week. Besides Zimbabweans fleeing
the troubles in their country, there were also huge numbers of
Nigerians, Kenyans and Congolese.

DA defence spokesperson Rafeek Shah called for the urgent creation of
a specialised SANDF unit, paramilitary in nature, to police South
Africa's long land borders, as well as the establishment of permanent
border monitoring posts in high-risk areas.

According to a DA document distributed at the briefing - titled
"Sealing our Borders" - land border patrols are operating at 71
percent under capacity. There are also no permanent staff allocated to
air patrols along South Africa's land borders.

Further, the SA Police Service faced serious equipment shortages.

"There are frequently no fences in place and no compensating equipment
such as helicopters, horses or quad bikes to patrol borders in areas
not accessible by conventional vehicles."

There were between three and five million illegal foreigners in South Africa.

The document calls for the role of the SANDF in borderline security to
be looked at again.

"The DA believes that if the SAPS is going to retain responsibility
for maintaining our borderline security, then not only must the SAPS
border activities be overhauled, but the support role of the SANDF
needs to be revisited," it states.

Read the full document … click here to continue >>

http://www.da.org.za/da/Site/Eng/News/Article.asp?ID=8867

REMEMBER THE UNEMPLOYED ON WORKERS DAY

While Workers Day commemorates the contribution of workers to society,
it also reminds people of SA's chronic unemployment, said the
Democratic Alliance last Wednesday.

"Workers Day reminds us of the millions of unemployed and discouraged
workers... it serves as a stark reminder of South Africa's chronic
unemployment problem," said DA labour spokesperson Anchen Dreyer.

The International Monetary Fund's 2007 report noted that the country's
high unemployment rate emphasised how government needed to revise
onerous labour market regulations that encouraged unemployment, Dreyer
said.

She said: "The DA has long contended that relaxing onerous labour laws
will make it easier for both the unemployed and the growing volume of
discouraged job-seekers to enter the job market."

"This Worker's Day must be used to address the growing challenges
faced by the unemployed if we are to realise our goal of reducing
poverty and halving unemployment by 2014."

"While South Africa's narrow unemployment rate of 23 percent is
alarmingly high, the broad definition of unemployment at 36 percent is
reaching crisis proportions."

"Disturbingly, the number of discouraged workers is on the rise in
South Africa. Specifically, the number of discouraged job-seekers have
increased by 431 000 to 3.4 million between September 2001 and
September 2007."

"The 3.9 million narrowly defined unemployed in the years to September
2007 indicates that there are almost as many discouraged job-seekers
as there are active job-seekers," she said.

Dreyer said in conclusion that government had to consider how labour
market policies and trade union actions affected unemployment and the
prospects of millions of South Africans.

ESKOM TARIFF INCREASES WOULD BE RECKLESS

Allowing Eskom's requested 53 percent tariff increase would be
reckless, the Democratic Alliance said last Tuesday.

Expecting government and, in particular, the public, to condone a 60
percent tariff increase was without grounds or basis.

"It is the DA's view that an agreement to any additional tariff
increases would be reckless in light of the prevailing failures by
government and mismanagement on the part of Eskom," said party
minerals and energy spokesperson, Hendrik Schmidt.

In a submission to the National Energy Regulator (Nersa), tasked with
regulating the electricity, piped-gas and petroleum pipeline
industries, the DA said it recommended an independent inquiry into
South Africa's energy crisis before any tariff hikes could be
considered.

"The electricity crisis with which we are now faced has been fraught
with Eskom mismanagement and government failure - the mismanagement
has led to a serious loss of confidence in Eskom's ability to manage
its own affairs, both from a financial as well as an operational
perspective."

"An independent multi-disciplinary task team must urgently be
appointed to investigate the causes of and possible solutions to the
current crisis. Merely agreeing to the increases would most probably
lead to further mismanagement."

Schmidt said that the party had requested an independent commission of
inquiry to assess Eskom's culpability in the crisis, its current
production capacity and its ability to provide continuous future
supply on 19 March 2008, a request which had so far been ignored.

Tuesday was the final day for written submissions to Nersa on the
proposed tariff hike, and Schmidt said the DA proposed that until
completion of the inquiry, no application for an increase be
entertained by NERSA.

Read the full document … click here to continue >>

http://www.da.org.za/da/Site/Eng/News/Article.asp?ID=8868

For more on the electricity crisis, visit SHEDDING LIGHT

http://sheddinglight.wordpress.com/

DA CHAMPIONS THE FIGHT FOR RETAINING THE SCORPIONS

The Democratic Alliance will again ask the Speaker of Parliament to
suspend the process to disband the Scorpions, the party said on
Sunday.

DA chief whip Ian Davidson said he had asked Baleka Mbete to halt the
legislative process to disband the Directorate of Special Operations
(Scorpions) in March pending the outcome of a legal challenge to the
process on Constitutional grounds by concerned citizen Hugh Glenister.

"I have not as yet received a reply from her," said Davidson.

In the light of the release of the Khampepe Commission report on
Monday, in which Judge Sisi Khampepe plainly recommends that the
Scorpions be retained within the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA),
and following on the decision last Wednesday by President Thabo
Mbeki's cabinet to approve the General Law Amendment Bill and the
National Prosecuting Amendment Bill in advance of the two Bills being
tabled in Parliament this week, Davidson would again be writing to the
Speaker to reiterate the DA's call.

Speaking on the Scorpions earlier in the week, DA leader Helen Zille
said that Cabinet should explain to South Africans why they took a
dramatic U-turn in approving the bill to incorporate the Scorpions
into the SAPS.

Zille said less than two years ago cabinet had endorsed the Khampepe
Commission's recommendation to retain the Scorpions in the National
Prosecuting Authority.

"So what has changed?" said Zille.

"What has happened in this period that warrants the disbanding of the
most successful crime-fighting unit in the country?"

Zille said it was the African National Congress leadership that
emerged from Polokwane which wanted to disband the Scorpions - in
order allegedly to protect high profile members from investigations.

Zille said two weeks ago that ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe had
apparently admitted the ANC wanted to see the Scorpions closed down
because it was targeting ANC leaders in its investigations.

"The dissolution of the Scorpions will weaken the fight against
crime," she added.

Zille said the DA and sectors of civil society would continue to fight
to prevent this happening.

SIGN THE PETITION TO STOP THE DISBANDING OF THE SCORPIONS >>> CLICK HERE

http://www.mypetition.co.za/index.php?page=sign_petition&petition_id=39

SUPPORT THE COURT CHALLENGE AGAINST THE DISBANDMENT OF THE SCORPIONS!

Join the Democratic Alliance and other political parties outside the
High Court in Pretoria on to form a combined opposition to the
disbandment of the Scorpions.

The protest will be held in front of the court building, corner of
Vermeulen and Paul Kruger Streets at 9.30 am on 20 May 2008, the day
of the court hearing of the application by Hugh Glenister to stop the
government's attempt to disband the Scorpions.

DID YOU KNOW?

• The number of South African Police Service (SAPS) officers boarded
for health or stress reasons has more than doubled in the past year.

• In reply to a parliamentary question, the Minister of Safety and
Security revealed that increasing numbers of South African Police
Service (SAPS) members are being declared unfit for duty for stress or
health reasons.

• The Democratic Alliance (DA) has found that since 2005, the number
of police officers declared unfit for duty due to health problems has
increased by 146%, and the number declared unfit for stress reasons,
by 100%.

RELEASE OF KHAMPEPE COMMISSION REPORT - WILL IT MAKE IT HARDER FOR THE ANC?
http://www.eyeoncrime.co.za/?q=node/349

THE IMPORTANCE OF A CRIME SCENE
http://www.eyeoncrime.co.za/?q=node/348

GUEST LETTER: SHOOTING FROM THE HIP WILL NOT SOLVE CRIME
http://www.eyeoncrime.co.za/?q=node/347

Question mark over farmer's killing

May 05 2008 at 08:18AM

By Jeff Wicks

The death of a KwaZulu-Natal farmer, who was shot dead while driving
towards his home on Thursday night, has raised fears of
land-claims-related violence in the area.

A police spokesperson, Superintendent Zandra Wiid, said the incident
happened at Nqabeni, near Harding, as Winston Fynn drove home.

"The shooting took place at approximately 6pm... An unknown number of
assailants shot at his vehicle and he was struck once in the upper
thigh."

"He continued to drive to his farm house, where he later died... At
this stage the detectives cannot reveal the suspected motive for the
attack, and to date no arrests have been made."

Wiid would not be drawn on whether the attack was related to land claims.

Many farmers in the Nqabeni area, which is between Harding and
Izingolweni, have allegedly been victims of violence and intimidation
linked to land claims on their farms.

According to a police report on land invasions in the Nqabeni area,
there has been significant squatter encroachment on farmland.

The report tells of farmers' attempts to legally evict squatters.

"When the local sheriff attempted to move the squatters he was shot
at, and that was the end of his attempt to move them."

KwaZulu-Natal violence monitor Mary de Haas questioned whether the
attacks were aimed at driving farmers off their land.

"Fynn said he was experiencing problems with the illegal occupants in
terms of lack of control over cattle, damage to crops and implications
over sustainable land usage."

"The murder of Fynn should not be seen in isolation. Recently Mr and
Mrs Baker, who also farm in the area, were held at gunpoint and robbed
of valuables," said De Haas.

"The police say that land claims issues had not been identified as the
motive for the killing, but the facts about the situation in Nqabeni
suggest otherwise," she said.

jeff.wicks@inl.co.za

This article was originally published on page 3 of The Mercury on May 05, 2008

Source:Source:IOL

http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=15&art_id=vn20080505054259318C326982For
more information visit http://www.dienuwesuidafrika.com

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