Theleak-SA

On Sunday, ANC presidential hopeful and Minister of Human Settlements, Lindiwe Sisulu, wrote a letter to fellow ANC member Derek Hanekom and to the acting ANC disciplinary committee chairman asking them to consider disciplinary charges against ministers who were exposed in the leaked Gupta e-mails.

Sisulu did not divulge to Independent Media the contents of her letters but she confirmed writing them: “I have written letters to Derek Hanekom and the acting chair of the disciplinary committee.”

She made her intentions known when she addressed a banquet in memory of ANC struggle stalwart Ahmed Kathrada, hosted in Joburg on Sunday by the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation. Hanekom is the chairperson of the foundation.

In her address, Sisulu accused ANC members with Gupta links of being responsible for the low turnout of voters to the polls in the August 3 national municipal elections last year, leading to the ANC’s loss of three metropolitan municipalities of Joburg, Tshwane and Nelson Mandela Bay Metro.

This comes after political parties and civil society organisations had laid criminal charges against those allegedly implicated in state capture. So far, police have yet to act against those implicated. Sisulu’s calls also come as the country awaits the outcome of a full bench of the High Court in Pretoria on an application to force Zuma to appoint a judicial commission of inquiry into state capture.

On July 4, the DA’s David Maynier laid criminal charges against Mineral Resources Minister Mosebenzi Zwane, Atul Gupta, Ajay Gupta, Rajesh Gupta, Ronica Raghavan and Kamal Vasram at a Cape Town police station.

The charges included racketeering, money laundering, assisting another to benefit from the proceeds of unlawful activities, and acquiring, possessing or using the proceeds of unlawful activities in terms of the Prevention of Organised Crime Act; and submitting false or untrue tax returns.

The charges follow reports that public funds were allegedly laundered through a complex web of front companies, and used to pay for Vega Gupta and Aakash Jahajgarhia’s wedding at Sun City in 2013. Public funds were reportedly laundered from a Free State dairy farm project via Dubai to pay for the extravagant wedding while Zwane was Free State MEC for agriculture.

At the time, Maynier said the fact that public funds, meant to assist the poor, were allegedly used for the Guptas' wedding was "grotesque".

Despite topping the charts with her hits, Lady Zamar's musical abilities have often been questioned by critics, which has left her angry and frustrated.

Lady Zamar has worked with some of the biggest names in the industry over the course of her short career but told TshisaLIVE she was sometimes accused of not being a real musician.

"The most difficult people to deal with are those who believe that I am not a musician. I get it a lot. I became angry when I was told that I wasn't a real musician. In actual fact, I have screengrabs of telephone conversations, which I have emailed to myself, to remind myself that this is what this person thinks of me.

"It is the hardest thing, when you work with a person and give 100% and they turn around and say to you that he does not think you are a real musician, and tells you that you do not know anything about music. I don't care whether people are arrogant or think that I am arrogant but don't disrespect my artistic value," Lady Zamar said.

She revealed that she often also got angry when people accused her of lip-syncing on stage, to the point that she felt compelled to prove herself to the fans by singing some of her sets acoustically.

"I always feel like I need to respond to critics of my music because I put a lot of work into my music. I feel very offended when people accuse me of not doing enough. My friends are my best support structure. They always tell me that it's not that bad and I should ignore it," she added.

Despite this, Lady Zamar said she was humbled by her army of followers which seems to be growing by the day.

More than anything, the musician wants her fans to know that despite topping the charts with hit after hit, she is just a normal person. That is why she is currently filming a documentary about her life.

"I feel like there is a big divide between artists and their fans. Fans say things about musicians but they don't know what is happening behind closed doors. I want to show them that. I want them to get to know me when I am performing, when I am angry, when I am on the road. There is a lot of crazy things, it's not all glitz and glamour," she said 

The documentary, which will be filmed by several production teams and woven together, is set for release by the end of the year.

It's all part of building a legacy as one of the biggest stars in South Africa and proving that she is not only a real musician, but is also here to stay.  

Johannesburg - African National Congress MP Makhosi Khoza on Friday, said that she would not be attending her disciplinary hearing on Sunday, after the Pietermaritzburg High Court ruled that the party's provincial leadership was invalid.

"For that reason alone, apart from the other material flaws in the disciplinary process initiated against me, the rescheduled disciplinary hearing is a nullity and cannot be proceeded with. Any conduct to the contrary will, at the very least, be in constructive contempt of the judgment and unlawful," she wrote in a letter on Friday night.

"It follows as a matter of course that any potential disciplinary steps to be taken, could only be decided upon by a newly elected [Provincial Executive Committee] PEC, after a constitutionally compliant Provincial Elective Conference has taken place and new Provincial Office Bearers have been duly elected."

Khoza addressed her letter to the the presenter of the ANC KZN's disciplinary committee, Ravi Pillay; to ANC secretary general, Gwede Mantashe; ANC chief whip, Jackson Mthembu; and National Assembly Speaker Baleka Mbete.

On September 12, the Pietermaritzburg High Court ruled that the KwaZulu-Natal provincial ANC elective conference in November 2015 was unlawful. In that conference, then ANC chairperson, Senzo Mchunu, was defeated by then provincial secretary Sihle Zikalala and it paved the way for Mchunu’s subsequent removal as KZN Premier in 2016.  Some MECs were also removed along with Mchunu in what was seen as purge. 

Judge Jerome Dube set aside the conference and its outcomes and ordered Zikalala to pay the costs. 

In her letter on Friday, Khoza said that she would deal with her defence at an appropriate time.

"Accordingly it is clear that the invalid disciplinary hearing against me cannot be proceeded with, and that my attendance at such void process is unnecessary. All my rights remain reserved, including seeking such urgent declaratory relief as may be necessary to protect my rights to the fullest," she said.

On September 10, Khoza's disciplinary hearing was postponed to September 17, ANC KwaZulu-Natal spokesman Mdumiseni Ntuli after Khoza’s attorney Smanga Sithini asked for more time to prepare his case. Sithini arrived at the headquarters 45 minutes after proceedings were set to start at 9am on Sunday morning.

Khoza was charged in July for, among other things, ill discipline, failing to comply with ANC policy, provoking division, and bringing the party into disrepute, with all but one of these relating to posts she made on her Facebook page.
 
She has been a vehement critic of President Jacob Zuma and his fitness to lead the ANC. Her provocative behaviour has earned Khoza many critics but has also seen her garner a large and sympathetic group of supporters.
 
Khoza says she has received death threats as a result of her statements and that the life of her daughter has also been threatened. Her attorney Smanga Sithini told the committee that Khoza was not in the province and when she met him on Saturday night she said new threats had surfaced. 

On Friday, Police minister Fikile Mbalula said that police had identified a 17-year-old Gugulethu girl as the person sending threatening messages to Khoza and several ministers.

He said that a link had been established between the young woman and the Democratic Alliance (DA) based on “information posted on social networks”, but added that police had not found any official proof that the girl was a member of the DA.

Describing the girl as a “troubled minor”, Mbalula said that investigations included interviewing the girl’s parents, social workers, occupational therapists from the place of safety where the girl was kept and others who had succumbed to her offences.
 
The young woman had also threatened “about seven people” who were members of the National Assembly, he said, including Communications Minister Ayanda Dlodlo and Social Development minister Bathabile Dlamini.

Cape Town - How R14 million was loaded onto the meal card of Walter Sisulu University (WSU) student Sibongile Mani remains a mystery, with the university, financial aid and the vendor responsible for making the payment refusing to accept responsibility.

On Wednesday, Parliament’s higher education portfolio committee was briefed by WSU, payment company Intellimali and the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS).

Mani sparked a storm after it was discovered she had blown more than R800 000 of the R14m erroneously loaded onto her card instead of the monthly R1 400 allowance in June.

Intellimali has since instituted a forensic investigation and lodged a criminal case with the SAPS.

It has repaid WSU the money spent by Mani.

Briefing the committee, WSU vice-chancellor Rob Midgley described the overpayment as “extraordinary” and said it had caused enormous reputational damage.

“This has been a massive wake-up call to everyone. The institution has seriously suffered as a result.”

He said WSU was in support of any process to investigate the matter.

“We are not suspecting rogue behaviour from our staff members,” Midgley added.

He said a spreadsheet of amounts due to students had been sent to Intellimali.

Midgley maintained it was accurate, with the names of more than 14 000 students, including Mani’s.

“We have no reason to doubt the integrity of our system,” he said.

The error was picked up by the university’s system of reconciliation of the distribution of student funds on its campuses.

“There was a delay in reconciliation; we were handing over from campus to institutional-based systems when we picked up the discrepancy.”

NSFAS also distanced itself from the error. Intellimali chief executive Michael Ansell said the spreadsheet file was processed correctly and no error report was registered after the money was uploaded. 

“There was no oversight, no error or negligence,” he said.

He added that the system feedback had confirmed Mani had received her R1 400 monthly allowance, but told how she had checked her balance several times before her spending spree. 

“We have all records on her spending until we deactivated the card.

DURBAN - POLICE arrested two people impersonating law enforcement and military authorities at the funeral of Durban’s alleged hijacking kingpin, Sandile “Chillies” Bhengu.

Police spokesperson Colonel Thembeka Mbhele said the two were arrested at the Wentworth Cemetery, where Bhengu was buried.

"Two suspects were arrested for impersonating Road Traffic Inspectorate and Navy officials by wearing their uniform at the cemetery," she said.

They were expected to appear in the uMlazi Magistrate’s Court on Monday. 

At Bhengu’s uMlazi funeral, helicopters circled the area where the funeral service for the 36-year-old took place. Motorcycle riders escorted his body to the cemetery, while young men and women danced outside the community hall. The funeral was attended by hundreds of people.

Police searched their bags for weapons and staged roadblocks. 

On Friday night, several cars were stolen in neighbouring Chatsworth and burnt in uMlazi, allegedly in his honour. One was burnt at the spot in uMlazi’s B section where the alleged kingpin was shot at the end of August.

On social media many celebrated Bhengu, but this has opened up wounds for many who have been victims of crime. Victims said people 
like Bhengu terrorised the community. 

Sandile 'Chillies' Bhengu

One 32-year-old Bluff woman who was hijacked on her way home three months ago, was angered by people on social media who appeared to be in awe of Bhengu. 

“People talk nonsense and say he was not brutal. They don’t know how brutal the trauma is that you go through after the hijacking. It changes your life in a bad way – you are always suspicious, always scared, always anxious.

“I had an incident after my hijacking because I thought I was being hijacked again, I could have died. People who have never gone through this would go and celebrate until they lose one of their own,” said the woman. 

Another 28-year-old woman from Newlands, who was hijacked in January, said the incident robbed her of her freedom. 

“These people take more than your car, they take your freedom. I am quite frankly disgusted at the glorification of a low-life criminal. Those who celebrated, I say spare a minute for those who lost lives, relatives, their freedom, because of crime,” she said. 

Another woman on social media claimed that Bhengu had killed her father in 2014. 

“He shot and killed my dad in front of us… and took off with our car leaving us in the middle of nowhere with my dad’s dead body. We begged him to take the car and spare my dad’s life. Today we have no father because of him.”  

Attempts to contact the woman were unsuccessful. 

A Chillies fan had a message for the police. Picture: Sibusiso Ndlovu/ANA Pictures

At the funeral service, one man held up a placard which read: “They killed our friend and now they are here to witness their brutality, shame on you cops.” 

Police presence was heavy in uMlazi during the week and deployed officers kept a watchful eye at the funeral and at various spots in the township.

Bhengu was killed in a shoot-out with police on August 30 after he was allegedly caught removing a tracking device from a stolen vehicle in uMlazi. 
The car had been stolen in Chatsworth, police said.

Police Minister Fikile Mbalula issued a stern warning in the lead-up to Bhengu’s funeral, assuring residents that threats made to commit crime such as carjacking and killing of police officials to glorify thuggery would not be tolerated.

Julius Malema EFF leader  is set to graduate with a BA Honours Degree in Philosophy with Unisa on Wednesday, his party announced on Tuesday.

"We are proud of this achievement as it impresses upon all to value education," EFF spokesman Mbuyseni Ndlozi said on Tuesday.

"With all the pressures of serving our people in the EFF, Parliament and Africa, the CIC Julius Malema still made time to improve his education. We say this with the full knowledge that fees remain the biggest stumbling block for many to access education. To that end, the qualifications of the CIC must be proof that those who demand the end to fees in universities do so because they are indeed academically deserving," Ndlozi said.

Early on in his political career, the former ANC Youth League president’s matric results came under the spotlight when an emailed list did the rounds showing that he had only achieved an H in maths and a G in woodwork, both on the Standard Grade (SG).

At the time the ANCYL branded the emailed list as a “faked” attempt to discredit their leader, but a senior source at the department of education confirmed that the digital copy of Malema's results was “genuine”.

The email also revealed that Malema, 27, passed matric with Es in Sepedi HG and second language Afrikaans HG, an F in geography HG, D in history SG and a C in second language English HG, the latter being his highest mark.

Malema graduated with a  Bachelor of Arts degree in 2016.

He will be formally awarded his BA honours degree during a graduation ceremony on Wednesday evening.