Hitmen say Hofmeyr mayor hired them

By Barbara Hollands

THE often violent political intrigue that has beset much of South Africa has now reared its ugly head in the Eastern Cape where a town councillor has made astonishing allegations of a sinister plot to kill him by political rivals.
Evan “Boeta” van Heerden,  an independent councillor in the Karoo town of Hofmeyr, near Cradock, said he feared for his life after learning of two foiled plots to kill him.
Van Heerden, 42, who was elected as ward councillor of the town, claimed that two sets of hitmen were hired – allegedly by the town’s ANC mayor and his cronies – to shoot him.
And, adding to the intrigue, a  DA chairman in Hofmeyr  was allegedly number two on the hit list.
The allegations have been strengthened by a recording, which is in Weekend Post’s possession, taped secretly during a meeting with the second hitman, in which a man called “Aubrey” implicates  Mayor Khaya Nqiqi in the murder plot.
Tsolwana Municipality mayor Nqiqi, who was found guilty of assaulting an elderly woman in February, has vehemently denied playing any part in the alleged assassination scheme.
“I don’t do such things. I don’t go to people to ask them to kill others. That is not constitutional,”  Nqiqi said.
Speaking exclusively to Weekend Post, Van Heerden said the first hit was foiled because the two murderers for hire decided the R5 000 deposit on the hit was not enough, while the second potential hitman warned Van Heerden’s wife about the plot.
Van Heerden claimed some ANC officials in the municipality were disgruntled when he was elected as ward councillor in the local government elections in May last year.
He first heard he had been targeted by killers when fellow Hofmeyr resident and DA chairman Vuyisile “Jomo” Blom, 29, was told by two strangers that they had been hired to kill the Hofmeyr councillor for R20 000.
Blom had met the men in order to buy a spare car part from them in Tarkastad.
“When they heard I was from Hofmeyr,  they said they had a job to do  there and when I asked what that was,  they said a group of people gave them a R5 000 deposit to shoot the ANC councillor there. I  knew there was no ANC councillor in Hofmeyr so I asked them to describe the man,” Blom  said.
He said he immediately knew from their description that Van Heerden was the target.   “He is the only big coloured guy who drives a black Navara bakkie in Hofmeyr.”
When Van Heerden  heard of the plot, he set up a meeting with the hitmen in Zola Township in Tarkastad,  which was also attended by Blom.
“I felt protected by God when I went to meet them. They had spent two days watching me, but decided the R5 000 deposit they received was not enough. They told me who hired them and the mayor was one of them.”
Blom was equally rattled when the men told him he was “second on the list”. 
“They said I was to be removed because I give Boeta [political] advice,”  he said.
Van Heerden said shortly after reporting the matter to the police, a man called Aubrey had approached his wife and told her of another alleged attempt to kill him.
Shortly thereafter, he came across Aubrey and thanked him for tipping off his wife.
“He said there was more [to tell] and I gave him a lift to my home and we sat in my kitchen and I secretly taped what he said on my BlackBerry. He said the mayor wanted me out but that he couldn’t kill me because we were involved in soccer together.”
Van Heerden said he then confronted Nqiqi.
“I met him in my office at the Hofmeyr Town Hall and played the recording to him. 
“He told me to report the matter to the police station, which I had already done.”
In denying the alleged plots, Nqiqi said he had “accepted” Van Heerden and worked with him on a daily basis.
Police spokeswoman Warrant Officer Cynthia Nkamba said a charge of conspiracy to murder had been opened at the Hofmeyr police station and  was being investigated.

This is a version of an article that first appeared in the print edition of Weekend Post on Saturday July 7 2012. 

Speech’s name shock

By Shaanaaz de Jager

SIPHIWO “Speech” Sohena who has been dogged by controversy and fired or suspended from several high-ranking municipal positions over the past decade is in line for yet another top local government post in the Eastern Cape – but this time under a completely different name.
Opposition politicians have now questioned the motives behind the sudden change of name with Democratic Alliance MPL Dacre Haddon  saying: “The question to be asked is why  Mr Sohena is changing his name at this stage and applying for this position under his new name.
“Could it be that, given his [past] employment record it could be a hindrance in him obtaining employment, and [this] has necessitated a name change?”
Sohena, under his new name Siphiwo Caga, was recently appointed acting municipal manager of Nxuma, which includes the  Bedford and Adelaide regions, and appears likely to be appointed permanently to the position. He was deployed to the position by Eastern Cape MEC for Local Government and Traditional Affairs  Mlibo Qoboshiyane earlier this year.
But Sohena denied there was anything sinister about his change of name and said he had never kept it a secret from his employer. “When I was appointed at Bhisho I did disclose to them who I am and I had documents to prove that.”
When he was still known as Sohena he was twice either suspended or fired from senior positions following allegations of “gross mismanagement” and corruption.
In spite of this he was appointed head of Operation Clean Audit 2014 – which falls under the Local Government and Traditional Affairs Department.
Sohena first raised eyebrows after being  suspended by the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality where he worked as human resources manager in 2004  following allegations of corruption, nepotism and bribery.
He later left the municipality after being awarded a generous golden handshake believed to be at least R1-million. He was then fired from the Sundays River Valley Municipality in 2008 after facing 11 charges of corruption and mismanagement.
Sohena admitted to Weekend Post on Friday June 1 that he had changed his name to Caga, but said there were valid reasons for the move.
“I was born as Siphiwo Caga but after the divorce between my parents my mother changed [my name] to Sohena.
“During my adulthood I discovered I belong to the Caga family and as such I made all the rituals and approached home affairs to change my particulars accordingly.”

This is a shortened version of an article which first appeared in Weekend Post on June 2.

PE’s Elizabeth Donkin a hospital of horrors

By Shaun Gillham

PATIENTS at Port Elizabeth’s dilapidated Elizabeth Donkin psychiatric hospital are living in overcrowded wards – with some having to sleep on the floor – and are subjected to abuse and neglect by uncaring nursing staff, former patients and voluntary workers have alleged. 

One former patient vowed to “rather jump off Van Stadens Bridge” than be re-admitted to the facility which has been rocked by two suicides in the past two months.

Current and former patients who spoke to Weekend Post on condition of anonymity and a group of volunteers also claim that:
* Patients are degraded and made to feel like criminals in some wards;
* No distinction is made in the treatment of patients suffering different conditions – nervous breakdowns as opposed to drug abuse, for example;
* Patients are “herded” into showers in groups of up to six people while being verbally abused by staff;
* Patients are forced to immediately “go cold turkey” from any former medication such as sleeping tablets or tranquillisers and smoking upon entering the facility;
* There are not enough doctors and psychologists and sometimes days go by without patients being seen by them.

The father of the most recent suicide victim, Adam van Nies, believes overcrowding in E Ward, where his son was being treated, may have contributed to the young man’s death. Adam hanged himself with a sheet in a hospital bathroom on Sunday April 15. His father said he was told there were 60 patients in E Ward but only room for 32.

Although not yet officially confirmed, but verified by Elizabeth Donkin residents, one patient is believed to have simply walked out of the main gate of the complex within the last few weeks.

Humewood police spokesman Captain Stan Jarvis said while his interactions with the institution had been primarily around the recent suicides, there were “serious issues” being investigated by hospital management, the results of which would be presented to the provincial health department.

Eastern Cape Department of Health spokesman Sizwe Kupelo has denied there is overcrowding at the facility. However, DA Eastern Cape shadow MEC for Health, John Cupido, slammed conditions at the Donkin, saying it had a history of overcrowding.

“Two recent suicides at an institution that has a past record of one to two suicides per decade is proof overcrowding is having a direct effect on the patients’ well-being – and the ability of the clinical and nursing staff to do their jobs effectively,” he said.

When contacted for comment, clinical head of the hospital, Dr Stoffel Grobler, confirmed he was taking steps in a bid to improve the facility. However he said he was “not authorised” to speak to the media about any of the allegations or the conditions there.

This is a shortened version of an article that first appeared in the print edition of Weekend Post on Saturday April 14, 2012.

State medical scheme change has pensioners worried

By Shaun Gillham

THOUSANDS of elderly former government employees are facing uncertainty over their medical support following a government decision to transfer them on to a state medical aid scheme.
MP Elza van Lingen, who heads the DA in the National Council of Provinces, has come out fighting for some 16000 former government employees who are now being transferred from Medihelp to the Government Employees’ Medical Scheme (GEMS) where they will allegedly receive fewer benefits.
The group of pensioners from around the country, who all retired before July 1992, are mostly over 80.
According to Van Lingen, who has slammed the November 2010 cabinet decision, there was no public participation and the decision had been unilaterally taken by government.
She said the administration of the pensioners onto the new scheme had been “chaotic”. Van Lingen explained that the pensioners were informed of this migration on February 10 through the press.
Andre du Plessis, one of the pensioners affected by the decision, said while he did not have a problem with GEMS, he was very concerned about the administration process to get members registered.
“After we were informed about the transfer to GEMS on February 10, we were told there would be an information session, we would be informed telephonically and we would get application forms. “Not one of these three things has happened,” he said.

This is a shortened version of an article that first appeared in the print edition of Weekend Post on Saturday March 31, 2012.

Dalai Lama saga: ‘A visa delayed is a visa denied’

THE Dalai Lama has had to cancel his trip to Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s forthcoming 80th birthday as his representatives in New Delhi say the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) still hasn’t informed Tibet’s spiritual leader of the status of his visa application to South Africa.

In a media statement issued today Stevens Mokgalapa, the DA Shadow Deputy Minister of International Relations, said “a visa delayed is a visa denied”.

“I will today be submitting parliamentary questions to the Minister of International Relations, Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, demanding a full explanation of why the department took so long to make a decision,” he said.

“The inescapable conclusion is that the South African government has predictably strung the Dalai Lama along to make it impossible for him to plan his trip.

“That way it could avoid making a decision that would either upset the Chinese or upset millions of peace-loving South Africans and citizens around the globe. But by delaying the decision on the Dalai Lama’s visa, the government made its choice. It allowed China to dictate its foreign policy.”

Elections: Tight contest for control of region

By Patrick Cull and Yolandé Stander

THE battle for control of Eastern Cape municipalities is on a knife-edge with politicians and analysts both agreeing Wednesday’s local government election will prove to be one of the most hotly-contested days at the polls since South Africa became a democracy in 1994.

All eyes, both nationally and throughout the province, will be on Nelson Mandela Bay, where the DA is confident that, with the support of other parties, it can keep the ANC below a 50% majority. The ruling party, in turn, is adamant this outcome is “not even in our thinking”.

While there is not expected to be a “dramatic change” in the balance of power at the Buffalo City Municipality, the DA was likely to see a “favourable increase” in votes, according to analysts.

Essentially what will determine the outcome in Nelson Mandela Bay is the percentage poll.

The DA wants a minimum of 70% turnout in the wards it controls – it failed in most instances to hit this target in the 2006 local government election – with a far lower percentage poll in those areas that are typically ANC strongholds because of an election protest stay-away.

If that happens, the possibility of a DA-led coalition will be enhanced. Both the DA and Cope have stated that they are open to a post-election coalition.

DA mayoral candidate Leon de Villiers said the DA was confident it could lead a coalition of parties after the elections, adding this was based on the fact that the ANC lost 20% of its support in the metro in the last general election in 2009.

“With the current cash-flow crisis in this metro, the poor service delivery, corruption and the ongoing infighting within their ranks, ANC voters are becoming increasingly despondent, so they are going to lose further votes,” he said.

A further indication that the DA believes it will be heading a coalition in Nelson Mandela Bay after May 18 is that national leader Helen Zille will be in the metro on Tuesday and election day – the fifth time she will have campaigned here.

On top of that the “tracking” of support for the ANC and DA suggests the result will be close.

The basis of the DA’s belief that they can defeat the ANC rests on the results of the 2009 general election when the ANC polled 50.14% in the national election in an 81.2% poll and 49.64% in the provincial election in an 80.6% poll.

In the national election in 2009 the opposition parties which could possibly form a coalition after the May 18 election – the DA, Cope, African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) and Freedom Front Plus along with the Independent Democrats – took 47.77%.

In the provincial poll they won 48.14%.

Cope mayoral candidate Smuts Ngonyama was as bullish as De Villiers, saying his party had “substantial support” and was going to do well.

However, ANC regional secretary Zandisile Qupe rubbished these claims, saying his party was very confident it would not only retain control of the metro, but also make inroads into other areas. “The possibility of a DA victory is not even in our thinking,” he said.

Port Elizabeth political analyst Joleen Steyn Kotze said the result of the election in the Eastern Cape would depend on the internal battles within the ANC, which could lead to increased voter apathy. “We have seen various incidents of conflict between different factions within the ANC,” she said.

“There are already claims that the candidature of the ANC in the Alfred Nzo Municipality (covering the north-eastern side of the former Transkei) is rigged. These factors, cumulatively, could lead to an increase in voter apathy as the perception that political parties are too concerned with internal power struggles rather than the voter could emerge.”

Kotze said the ANC would “most likely” take all these municipalities, but the percentage remained the question. “We have seen a decline in the support for the ANC provincially by as much as 10%. This is significant, considering the Eastern Cape is seen as the birthplace and heartland of the ANC. Therefore, we may see a decline in the percentage of votes to the ANC and an increase in the opposition, (but) the ANC is still most likely to take the municipalities.”

She did suggest, however, that Cope could be a strong player in municipalities like Buffalo City. “They could be strong contenders for the official opposition. The UDM has been very quiet and has also declined significantly, nationally and provincially, in percentages.”

Rhodes University ,  said the most significant contests had taken place in the run- up to the elections in the struggle over party lists. “How the outcomes of these factional contests will affect voters is worth considering. They may also affect turnout, as people boycott candidates rather than vote for other parties.”

Fort Hare University politics lecturer Lwazi Lushaba predicted although there would not be a “dramatic change” in the balance of power at the Buffalo City Municipality, the DA was likely to see a “favourable increase” in votes.

“There is obvious discontent about how the municipality has been governed over the years and the internal differences in the ANC have negatively affected the smooth running of Buffalo City. The political structure of the municipality has dragged the administration into a vortex of disorder.”

Lushaba said because the DA was the only other “viable party” it would stand to benefit from the disorder.

Beachfront mayhem as vagrants, street kids and illegal car guards “take over”

MAYHEM: Popular Humewood and Hobie Beaches have become a hangout for self-appointed car guards, vagrants and street children. Picture: Mike Holmes

By Patrick Cull and Shaanaaz de Jager

NELSON Mandela Bay tourism bosses have warned that the city’s main beachfront has descended into “a state of lawlessness” with vagrants, street children and illegal car guards terrorising employees and visitors to the area.

Tourists staying at some of the beachfront’s premier hotels have checked out because they felt threatened and the municipality’s acting Safety and Security executive director, Shane Brown, has acknowledged the situation is so concerning it “needs to be dealt with as a matter of urgency”.

Business owners in the area complain they regularly find urine and human faeces on their doorsteps and say patrons are frequently harassed by drunk, self-appointed car guards.

At a popular beachfront hotel a car guard recently ran into the hotel chased by three youths who wanted to throw bricks through the window to get at him, according to a complaint received by DA councillor Dean Biddulph. This was the second incident involving the same man who on another occasion had been chased by a person with a rock who had subsequently pulled a knife.

The incident resulted in two British guests asking for arrangements to be made for them to fly home immediately, according to the complaint.

At another hotel near Humewood Beach a laptop was stolen from a ground floor room, with a complaint to Biddulph that street children were coming onto the property and “harassing guests for money”.

Hotel managers were especially concerned about the safety of tourists and visitors with the Splash Festival coming up this Easter weekend.

There have also been complaints to Biddulph of numerous young street kids hanging around the Hobie Beach area in “gangs” of six to eight.

Puddles of urine and human faeces left on the doorstep of the premises are a regular occurrence at the nearby PE Beach Yacht Club with club manager Michael Toughey saying the mess he and his staff regularly found on the front steps of the club was disgusting.

“These are not car guards, they are vagrants who live on the streets. “They urinate and leave their faeces and litter on our doorstep and we have to clean it up. It is ghastly and intolerable.

A livid Toughey said he had witnessed people trying to get into their cars being harassed by drunk “car guards”. He also pointed a finger at people who sat in cars drinking, which was against municipal by-laws, and smashing their empty alcohol bottles onto the ground in the parking area.

Nelson Mandela Bay Tourism marketing manager Titus Chuene confirmed his office had received complaints about unruly street children and car guards on the beachfront.

“This behaviour is bad for tourism,” Chuene said. He said NMBT served on the beachfront safety forum and during a recent meeting it was decided that Maranatha, a registered non-profit organisation which deals with street children, would work with the department of social development and other social workers in an effort to “re-unite the children with their families”.

Chuene said the NMBT did not encourage people to give street children money and added that a by-law was needed to regulate the “illegal car guards”.

“The city needs a by-law which stipulates car guards must be trained and are registered,” he added.

In an e-mail to Biddulph, he states he has started with a process of establishing a By-Law Enforcement Unit to deal specifically with the enforcement of council’s by-laws.

 (This is a condensed version of an article that was originally published in Weekend Post on Saturday, April 16, 2011.)