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Eleven of the 53 military veterans accused of taking two ministers and a deputy minister hostage have previous convictions ranging from robbery to murder, the Pretoria Magistrate's Court heard on Tuesday.

Of the 53 accused, 42 were granted R500 bail each as the State did not oppose the applications. One accused did not appear in court as he was still in hospital and 11 others would formally apply for bail on Friday.

The court heard that the 11 accused had previous convictions, with one of the accused out on parole for murder at the time of the alleged hostage situation.

The State did not specify the convictions of each of the 11 accused, but said the crimes ranged from robbery to murder. Of those who had previous convictions according to the State, the legal representative of Zakhele Ximba, said the information was incorrect. They argued that Ximba did not have any previous convictions.

State prosecutor, advocate Sanet Jacobson, said most of the accused's profiles were checked on the fingerprint database, but Ximba's profile was not. Some of the accused had their profiles checked via their ID numbers. She added that the Ximba had a pending matter as well.

It was further alleged, that another accused, who was listed as having a previous conviction was granted amnesty in 1994. The court asked that the amnesty deal be submitted to it. It was not specified what the crime was. On Friday, the court was expected to hear whether the State was opposing the remaining bail applications.

Continuous assault

During the bail applications on Tuesday, advocate Dali Mpofu, SC, representing 30 of the accused, raised issues around what he said was the "continuous assault of the accused".

He further alleged that cellphones were confiscated from the accused without their permission, while they were also forced to hand over their pin numbers for investigations.

New charges

The court also heard that the charge sheet had been amended, with the accused now facing 27 charges. The 53 accused face one charge of conspiracy to kidnap and 26 charges of kidnapping.

It is alleged that there were 26 people at the meeting, who were allegedly held hostage.

Originally, it was contended that only Minister of Defence Thandi Modise, her deputy, Thabang Makwetla, Minister in the Presidency Mondli Gungubele and two bodyguards were allegedly held hostage. It was also reiterated by the State that the possibility of adding terrorism related charges had not been ruled out.

News24 reported on Monday that the State was in discussions about adding terrorism related charges.

If a decision was taken to add terrorism charges, they would first have to be authorised by the National Director of Public Prosecutions before adding them to the charge sheet, Jacobson added.

News24 previously reported the hostage drama started at 19:15 last Thursday at St George's Hotel when a group of military veterans demanded an audience with President Cyril Ramaphosa and his deputy, David Mabuza, to address their concerns.

Modise, Makwetla, Gungubele were allegedly held hostage for close to three hours.

The group of veterans, who met with the government, was demanding millions in reparations for their role in the anti-apartheid struggle.

The group included MKMVA members as well as former members of the Pan Africanist Congress' Azanian People's Liberation Army (APLA) and Azapo's Azanian National Liberation Army (Azanla).

The police earlier reported that 56 people were arrested, however in court, 52 accused were present, while one was in hospital.

Suspended African National Congress (ANC) secretary-general Ace Magashule has asked the State for a list of witnesses who implicated him in the R255-million Free State asbestos corruption case he faces.

Magashule, controversial businessman Edwin Sodi, former Mangaung mayor Olly Mlamleli, former human settlements head of department Nthimotse Mokhesi and others appeared in the Free State High Court in Bloemfontein on Tuesday.

The court heard that the defence was still dealing with notices the State submitted in terms of Section 212(B) of the Criminal Procedure Act, which usually contain facts that are not in dispute.

The defence lawyers said they would respond to the notices before the accused's next court appearance.

Magashule's advocate, Laurence Hodes, SC, told the court that they requested a list of State witnesses who implicated Magashule and were referred back to the docket.

"We can revisit [the request] closer to the trial," State advocate Johan de Nysschen said.

"It's quite logic[al] that they will have to read the whole docket, and I don't want to bind myself by five or 10 witnesses."

The case was postponed to 3 November for pre-trial proceedings.

News24 previously reported that Sodi also intended to lodge two applications - one relating to the admissibility of evidence the Zondo Commission heard about the asbestos case, and another on whether Magashule's former personal assistant, Moroadi Cholota, is a State witness.

Hodes, who also represents Sodi, explained that Sodi gave testimony before the commission. The defence's argument relates to the admissibility of the testimony because Sodi was compelled to testify, which eviscerated his right to silence. It was made clear that the testimony could not be used against him in a criminal trial, the court heard.

Hodes said the second application related to the State's so-called star witness, Cholota, who was Magashule's assistant when he was the premier of the Free State at the time when the crimes were allegedly committed.

Hodes argued that, while the State placed on record that Cholota was a witness, she had not yet signed a statement that was drafted for her. He said the absence of a signed statement meant that the State had not secured her assistance. The defence had Cholota as a defence witness, Hodes said.

Asbestos tender

The accused have been charged with fraud, corruption, theft and money laundering, among other charges, related to the R255-million contract for the assessment and removal of asbestos from roofs and/or housing.

It is alleged that, in 2014, two companies were appointed – including Gauteng-based Blackhead Consulting – as service providers to the Department of Human Settlements in the Free State.

The two companies allegedly subcontracted two other companies, one of which did the work for R21-million.

"The ANC is the real champion of the people, and all these others are Mickey Mouse parties."

These were the words of African National Congress (ANC) president Cyril Ramaphosa to scores of supporters in Tshwane on Friday while canvassing for votes ahead of municipal elections.

He was speaking in Ward 22 in Mabopane, Tshwane, where an ANC councillor Tshepo Motaung was recently gunned down. Motaung was shot over 20 times last month by unknown assailants.

Ramaphosa's visit to the area comes just after Deputy President David Mabuza also went to Tshwane on an electioneering drive.

The ANC lost Tshwane in 2016, and Ramaphosa said the party wanted to regain it. He said it was infighting that had led to the party losing power in 2016, and that this "would not be repeated".

"You are in the trouble now because of the manner in which you voted, so lets go out in our numbers and vote for change, because the last time we did not go out in our numbers.

"We should remove these pretenders that claim to work for the communities, and reinstate the ANC - the real champions of the people. The current municipality is only interested in the interests of a few minority, so you in the townships have been left to fend for yourselves.

"Go out in your numbers and vote for change, because last time [in 2016] you did not go out in your numbers which resulted in this situation," said Ramaphosa.

In 2016, the late then-chairperson in Tshwane Mapiti Matsena was the preferred candidate for the region over Kgosientso Ramokgopa. However, the Gauteng provincial executive committee and Luthuli House settled for then-MP and current Rural Development and Land Reform Minister Thoko Didiza as a so-called "compromise candidate".

This move was followed by days of unrest across the metro, as people claiming to be Ramokgopa’s supporters took to the streets and declared, "no Sputla [Ramokgopa’s nickname], no vote". Later, the ANC lost control of the metro for the first time to a DA-led coalition government that has remained in charge ever since.

'You are setting a good example'

Speaking on Friday, Ramaphosa added that "there should never be a situation where Tshwane is in the hands of another party".

"Tshwane is the capital. The Union Buildings are in Tshwane. We can’t therefore let this metro be in the hands of the opposition. This has to be rectified."

Ramaphosa also praised the fact that the ward has since chosen a woman to stand as their ward candidate.

"We are appreciative of the fact that in the ward you choose a woman, and you are setting a good example by choosing a woman that you trust and know will serve you."

He added that, while past ANC candidates had disappointed communities, the current crop, including the newly-elected ward candidate in Mabopane, were not going to "steal from you, employ their friends and family members", but would priorities the needs of communities over their own.

Ramaphosa’s address also came after Defence and Military Veterans Minister Thandi Modise, her deputy Thabang Makwetla and Minister in the Presidency Mondli Gungubele were rescued after being held hostage by a group of military veterans who allegedly demanded R4.2-million each in special pensions.

The ministers were meeting with the Liberation Struggle War Veterans (LSWV), comprising members of various armed groups that fought apartheid, including Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK), the Azanian People’s Liberation Army (APLA) and the Azanian National Liberation Army (Azanla). The group demonstrated outside Luthuli House this week, leading to the evacuation of the ANC’s headquarters.

'Demand for a special pension'

While Ramaphosa did not address the matter during his address to Mabopane residents, ANC spokesperson Pule Mabe earlier told the media that the governing party, although dismayed by the actions of the liberation veterans on Thursday evening, was comforted "by the fact that the SAPS have taken speedy action".

Mabe said the ANC was still open to trying to resolve the matter without ...

Defence Minister Thandi Modise condemned the events on Thursday, which saw disgruntled military veterans apparently hold her, her deputy Thabang Makwetla and Minister in the Presidency Mondli Gungubele hostage after an unsuccessful meeting.

The veterans refused to release the officials until their demands were met, including a demand for a meeting with President Cyril Ramaphosa.

Special forces had to intervene and 56 people were arrested.

Modise said there was no reason for the military veterans, who called the meeting to demand reparations, to act in an unlawful manner.

The veterans want government to pay them a once-off gratuity of R4.2-million, provide assistance from financial institutions to help them establish businesses, and set up medical insurance for their families.

Modise has assured that she will be investigating the finances of the Department of Military Veterans.

“I want to find out where the resources have gone, why the lives of veterans have not improved and why the veterans are not in the houses the State have gone all out to build. Why they do not have access to all the clinics and hospitals in the country. And why, because we said they have education benefits, their children’s school fees were not paid,” she said.

Modise stated that the Department of Military Veterans was established to ensure that no South African military veteran is treated in a sub-human manner.

She explained that she was hoping to have another meeting with specific veterans, despite her unhappiness at the manner in which the veterans handled the situation.

“We did not feel that our lives were in danger but we were unhappy about being refused permission to leave when the meeting clearly had aborted; we do not think any citizens, whether they had volunteered to fight for the liberation of this country, has any right to interfere with any individual’s – whether that individual is the Minister or an ordinary citizen – right to sit or to walk or to do whatever,” she said.

She said Thursday’s incident indicated that South Africa is not a heavy-handed State and that Ministers will go to any length to hear concerns of any citizens.

Gungubele said the engagements between government and the military associations have so far been productive and cordial even though discussions have been difficult, adding that there was no reason for this group to act in an unlawful manner.

Health Minister Dr Joe Phaahla announced on Friday that the Covid-19 vaccination of children between the ages 12 and 17 will start on October 20, with one dose of the Pfizer vaccine.

This follows a recommendation by the Vaccine Ministerial Advisory Committee (VMAC) which was supported by Health MECs and Cabinet.

The Pfizer vaccine has been approved by the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority for this age group.

Phaahla made the announcement during the Department of Health’s (DoH's) provincial oversight visit to monitor the Covid-19 vaccination programme in Diamond City in Kimberley, in the Northern Cape.

“The VMAC advised that, for now, we only give one dose while assessing information which suggests that in a few cases there has been short-lived cases of transient myocarditis after two doses. The timing of the second dose will be informed by further information on this rarely observed side effect which has no permanent risk,” the Minister said.

The Committee also advised that additional doses be given to individuals with compromised immunity, such as people on long-term oral steroids therapy for auto-immune conditions, those with haematological or immune malignancies, people with solid organ or bone marrow transplants, those on renal dialysis and people with primary immunological disorders.

He went on to explain that the advice is that these categories of patients be offered additional doses over the prescribed, but this must strictly be under the referral by their medical doctor.

Phaahla said the DoH believes the vaccination of children will come in handy as schools begin examinations.

DIGITAL COVID-19 VACCINATION CERTIFICATE

Meanwhile, the DoH is pleased with the enthusiasm with which South Africans have embraced the digital vaccination certificate.

“As of 15:30 yesterday, the 14th October, more than 1.5-million certificates had been downloaded. We have also resent more than 10-million SMSes with vaccination codes in case they were not saved after vaccination,” he said.

He highlighted that the DoH acknowledges that many individuals were frustrated when the system was not responsive, saying this was largely owing to large numbers at peak demand times when the server could not cope.

He assured citizens that the certificate development team at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research is monitoring the traffic and making appropriate adjustments.

“As we said last week, this is just the first phase and by the end of October there will be more improvements in terms of access and security,” he promised.

Western Cape Premier Alan Winde has painted a grim picture of policing in the province, revealing a shortage of officers and saying that it's common for the province's 150 police precincts to have "too few boots on the ground".

Winde and Community Safety MEC Albert Fritz were presenting the findings of the provincial government's Policing Needs and Priorities (PNP) report in a digital briefing on Thursday.

"The PNP report is an invaluable resource in understanding the constraints and needs of our police force. The 2020/21 report is no exception and highlights clear recommendations to address this, particularly as these relate to resource constraints within SAPS," Winde said.

The report contained several recommendations, including the recruitment and appointment of additional officers and the training of existing officers through a revised curriculum. Improvements to vehicle fleet management and the upgrading of police stations where needed were also recommended.

The provincial government has threatened to launch an intergovernmental dispute if resources constraints are not addressed.

The report revealed that province had lost more than 11 000 officers over the last decade.

Fritz said: "This has been a feature in the findings of PNP reports over the years. And things are deteriorating. Whereas in 2011/2012, the SAPS had 199 345 service members, by the end of March 2020, this figure stood at 187 358: a decrease of 11 987."

In addition, police resources were not fairly allocated in the province, Fritz said.

He said that while some suburban police stations had one officer for every 100 residents, high-density areas such as townships and the Cape Flats had vastly different statistics.

In Ravensmead, there is one police officer for every 895 people and in Hout Bay, one officer for every 804 people. In the Gugulethu precinct, the ratio is 1: 642, in Atlantis it's 1: 715 and in Harare it's 1:731. The national average is one police officer for every 400 people.

Winde and Fritz used the digicon to lash out at Police Minister Bheki Cele for his statements at an imbizo in Mitchells Plain over the weekend when he said that the government had "put every effort" into policing the Western Cape. Cele claimed the province received the "lion's share" of policing resources.

Winde responded: "This is out of touch with reality. If the national minister will not acknowledge the very serious resourcing challenges that our province faces, and which we have communicated to him in detail, it becomes increasingly clear that he has not adequately engaged with his constitutional function in line with . the Constitution."

There is an estimated shortage of more than 500 detectives in the Western Cape, and of those who are employed, almost half have a caseload of around 200 dockets. The norm is between 50 and 60 dockets.

Gaps in the training of detectives is a key concern for Fritz.

He said that of those detectives eligible for training, 91% had not received training in the Specialised Detective Learning Programme, 88% had not been trained to investigate fraud, and 46% had not completed the Basic Detective Learning Programme.

In 2019, the province gave notice of an intergovernmental dispute over police resources.

"Following clear commitments made on addressing resourcing by the national government, it was decided that the process would be suspended whilst negotiations continued. We want to make clear today that this option of pursuing an intergovernmental dispute remains firmly on the table for the Western Cape government. The latest comments by the minister do not provide us with the confidence that the national government is sticking to these commitments and, if anything, believes enough has been done already," Winde said.

The Information Regulator has urged all political parties to ensure that they lawfully process the personal information of voters when campaigning ahead of the November 1 local government election.

The regulator also pointed out that the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), independent candidates and political parties have a responsibility to ensure that the personal information of voters is safe against loss or misuse.

“During election campaigning, the processing of personal information of data subjects, who are voters in this instance, is inevitable. Therefore, the Information Regulator reminds all political parties that they must ensure lawful processing of personal information as prescribed in the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) 4 of 2013,” it said.

The regulator laid out set conditions for the lawful processing of personal information and has engaged with political parties and a Special Provincial Party Liaison Committee to ensure that POPIA is complied with.

It also noted that there are some exceptions to the applicability of POPIA, adding that Section 26 prohibits the processing of special personal information, which includes the political persuasion of voters.

However, this will not apply to the information of members and employees of political parties in which case section 31 of POPIA says that such processing will be allowed to achieve the aims and principles of the political party.

“To ensure that we protect the constitutional rights of the citizens of South Africa all political parties and candidates must uphold the law and comply with the requirements in POPIA. The Regulator continues to provide guidance and educate responsible parties in applying this law and protecting the rights of citizens,” the regulator stressed.

Former president Jacob Zuma is speaking for the first time since his incarceration following his contempt of court ruling that resulted in a 15 month jail sentence.

Speaking virtually at the "welcome home prayer" held by the JG Zuma Foundation, the former head of state said "something has gone terribly wrong in our country".

"The main aspects of the unconstitutional debacle that ended with my current imprisonment are repeating, yes, I remain a prisoner under very strict parole conditions."

He said many attempts were made to remove him from any leadership position in the African National Congress and the government since 1994.

"The judiciary commission of inquiry was the final measure of those who fear what I represent. There is no legislation in terms of which anyone can direct the president to appoint a commission of inquiry," he claimed.

Zuma continues to insist that the state capture inquiry was unconstitutionally and unlawfully established, because then Public Protector Thuli Madonsela ordered that the power to appoint the its chairperson must be taken out of his hands.

This, she explained, was to avoid any perception of conflict of interest, as Zuma, his son and his friends, the Gupta family, were all implicated in the alleged wrongdoing that the commission was tasked to investigate. Judge President Dunstan Mlambo and two other judges agreed.

The court hearing the bail application of former Mpumalanga MEC Mandla Msibi was forced to adjourn on Wednesday due to a bomb scare.

The Mbombela Magistrate's Court was evacuated after the magistrate received a message that there was a bomb threat in the building, said regional National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Monica Nyuswa.

"The matter sat only for about 10 minutes [and] the investigating officer was testifying," she said.

"A new date for continuation of bail hearing will be communicated."

Msibi was applying for bail after he handed himself over to authorities earlier this week.

He and two co-accused face two counts of murder and a charge of attempted murder. The charges stem from a shooting at the Mbombela Cayotes Shisa Nyama on 22 August in which Dingaan Ngwenya and Sindela Lubisi were killed and Sifiso Mpila was wounded.

Mpumalanga Premier Refilwe Mtseni-Tsipane announced on Monday that Msibi, who was the MEC for Agriculture, Rural Development, Land and Environmental Affairs, was fired with immediate effect.

The province's Cogta MEC Busisiwe Shiba will act in Msibi's place.

The premier said on Tuesday that the seriousness of the charges as well as the impact it would have on Msibi's work were taken into consideration.

Msibi has been relegated to the benches of the Mpumalanga legislature as an ordinary member.

The bail hearing continues.

Eskom is working to avoid load-shedding for the election season, says the power utility's CEO André de Ruyter.

De Ruyter was speaking during an interview with eNCA on Wednesday morning. The power utility last week Thursday introduced stage 2 load-shedding. At the time Eskom was working on returning four units at its Tutuka power station, which experienced conveyor belt failures and boiler tube leaks.

There had also been breakdowns at the Kusile, Komati and Hendrina power stations. Eskom announced that load-shedding would continue until Thursday, 14 October, while it works to replenish emergency reserves.

De Ruyter on Wednesday affirmed that Eskom was working on repairs. "Our current planning is that we will lift load-shedding by tomorrow morning, and that should enable us to go into election season - very important from a democratic process perspective - without any load-shedding going forward," he told eNCA.

"We are planning very carefully to do everything in our power to ensure there is no load-shedding during elections," he emphasised. Eskom is bolstering its reserves and repairing known defects to minimise load-shedding on election day, which will be on 1 November.

He explained that Eskom was well prepared for the rainy season and that the reason for the current lack of capacity was linked to an explosion at Medupi unit 4, a fire at Kendal unit 1, and two conveyor belt failures at Tutuka. He said that once the repairs at Tutuka were complete, the utility would be in a position to meet demand.

Asked about whether South Africa will have a dark Christmas, De Ruyter said that demand over the holiday season is usually low, and that Eskom did not anticipate load-shedding over Christmas.

For the long term, there is a shortage of generation capacity of between 4 000 MW and 5 000 MW. Additionally, the power-generation system is susceptible to breakdown and failure.

"Once we have that capacity added to the grid, we see that there will be a significant improvement in the stability of power generation," he said.