Tuesday 07 September - DAILY NEWS SUMMARY
The Citizen (www.citizen.co.za) Page 1 – Will NPA fight Zuma parole?
Page 7 – Delay in extradition
Page 8 – Outcry over tutus, lipstick captions Pretoria News (www.pretorianews.co.za) Page 1 – IEC dismisses favouritism claims
Page 4 – Life Esidimeni had 16 nursing 600 patients The Star (www.iol.co.za)
Dispute over Jacob Zuma’s medical note forces another postponement of arms deal trial
Gradual decline in Covid-19 vaccine demand Business Day (www.businesslive.co.za)
Jacob Zuma’s bid to remove Billy Downer in his criminal trial is postponed New Covid-19 variant spread slower in SA in August than in July
연합뉴스 (www.yonhapnews.co.kr)
남아공 새 변이 C1.2 확산 둔화 “전체의 1.5%”
Will NPA fight Zuma parole?
There has been a widespread outcry over the decision to grant Jacob Zuma parole on medical grounds and experts agree it is a decision that is open to a challenge, with the NPA saying it will make a decision on Thursday.
• The Citizen (Gauteng)
• 7 Sep 2021
• Simnikiwe Hlatshaneni – simnikiweh@citizen.co.za
There is ample ammunition to challenge the government’s decision to grant former president Jacob Zuma medical parole, but the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) may have no interest in doing so, according to experts.
After weeks of the NPA fighting to get Zuma to provide a medical report proving he isn’t fit for jail time, Zuma convinced a parole board to grant him parole from his contempt of court jail sentence based on a medical report which deemed him too sick to serve the 15-month prison sentence handed down to him.
NPA spokesperson advocate Mthunzi Mhaga said the NPA would not comment on whether it would challenge Zuma’s parole until the matter appears before court on Thursday.
The Centre for the Advancement of the South African Constitution said until the department of correctional services divulged more information about how Zuma’s parole decision was made, the event raised more questions than answers.
“We do not have sufficient information from the department to determine whether a proper process was followed in granting medical parole to Mr Zuma,” said centre director Lawson Naidoo.
He said the questions that arose included who requested the parole – Zuma, his medical team or the department itself?
What the conditions attached to the granting of parole are?
Did the department follow the process as outlined in the law properly and was Zuma treated like any other prisoner would?
“I am not sure the NPA would have any interest in challenging this decision – they were not the prosecutors in the contempt charge,” he added.
A legal expert close to the case who did not want to be named claimed that the department appeared to have ignored section 79 (3) of the Correctional Services Act, amended in 2011, to include a stricter process to grant medical parole.
Another law expert, Dr Delano Cole van der Linde at Stellenbosch University, said a decision to place a prisoner on medical parole must occur within the framework of section 79 of the Act.
Moreover, a decision to place someone on medical parole was an administrative decision subject to review by a court under the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act 33 of 2000.
The latter compels government to enact administrative action that is lawful, reasonable and procedurally fair and the right to written reasons for administrative action as contemplated in Section 33 of the constitution.
“Section 79(3) of the Correctional Services Act provides that the minister must establish a medical advisory board to provide an independent medical report to the national
commissioner, correctional supervision and parole board or the minister, as the case may be, in addition to the medical report referred to in subsection 2(c),” Van der Linde said.
“The wording of this provision is peremptory and in other words compulsory. This has also been confirmed by the North Gauteng Division of the High Court in Derby-Lewis v Minister of Justice and Correctional Services 2015 (2) SACR 412 (GP) (29 May 2015) where it was held that ‘an independent medical report must be provided in terms of section 79(3)’.”
Van der Linde believed the provisions of the Correctional Services Act were not followed if the medical advisory board was not established and an independent report was not provided and considered. The public concern was that the provisions allowing for medical parole could be abused.
“The original intent of the provision for medical parole is to provide prisoners with terminal illness a dignified death outside of the prison. The public therefore has a legitimate interest in wanting those who have contravened the laws of the land to serve their sentences out,” Cole said.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) and civil rights group AfriForum are planning to challenge Zuma’s medical parole in the courts. DA leader John Steenhuisen has indicated the party would argue that the department did not follow the proper channels before making the decision.
AfriForum policy head Ernst Roets called it a violation of justice that could not be accepted.
“The civil rights organisation is in consultation with its legal team about the possibility of applying for an urgent review application.”
Delay in extradition
INQUIRY REOPENS: ALLEGED GAY PAEDOPHILE WANTED ON 40 COUNTS
• The Citizen (Gauteng)
• 7 Sep 2021
• Bernade e Wicks bernadettew@citizen.co.za
Court to hear evidence about claims UK laws discriminate against man.
Aprotracted bid to ship alleged paedophile Lee Nigel Tucker back to the United Kingdom, where he’s wanted on more than 40 counts, looks set to drag on even longer after the Constitutional Court yesterday upheld an order to reopen his extradition inquiry.
This will give Tucker an opportunity to present evidence in support of his claims that the UK’s laws discriminate against him because he is gay and that he has been vilified in the media.
The evidence wouldn’t change the original outcome of the inquiry, which was that Tucker was liable to be surrendered.
But it could help sway Justice and Correctional Services Minister Ronald Lamola, who now has the final say on whether to hand him over.
Tucker fled to South Africa in 2000, with the charges against him, which include sexually assaulting two then teenage boys, dating back to the ’80s and ’90s. He was finally arrested in Cape Town in 2016 and an extradition inquiry was convened.
The magistrate presiding over the inquiry found there was sufficient evidence to warrant his prosecution and he was liable to be surrendered. Tucker was remanded in custody at
Pollsmoor Prison pending a final decision to be made by the minister.
In 2017, the Western Cape High Court shot down an attempt by Tucker to have the outcome of the inquiry set aside. But it did reopen the inquiry so he could present evidence the presiding magistrate had originally refused to accept.
This evidence would be passed on to the minister, via a transcript of proceedings and possibly a report.
This prompted another appeal, this time by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), which argued the evidence in question was irrelevant for the purposes of an inquiry and that the ruling had the effect of further delaying an already drawn-out process.
That appeal wound up before the Constitutional Court in November last year, and Tucker’s legal team did not oppose it – taking a different line, though, that without finding the final outcome of the inquiry was incorrect, the high court could, in fact, not reopen it. But, in the end, the majority bench still upheld the high court’s ruling.
In a judgment penned by Justice Leona Theron, the country’s apex court found while the presiding magistrate had not been tasked with considering the evidence in question at the inquiry, he had been obliged to accept it and that the high court had been spot-on when it ordered the reopening of proceedings to remedy this.
“Allowing a sought person to lead evidence relating to surrender promotes their right to a fair hearing.
“It affords them the liberty to raise pertinent evidence that they feel might be relevant to the minister’s decision from the start of their extradition proceedings and have that evidence recorded in open court,” said Theron,
“It does so without prejudicing or disadvantaging the prosecuting authorities or the requesting state and ensures the sought person’s concerns relating to surrender are recorded in the
transcript of proceedings and the possible report forwarded to the minister.” – Affords them liberty to raise pertinent evidence
Outcry over tutus, lipstick captions
EXPERT: BETTER PLANNING REQUIRED FOR EVENTS
• The Citizen (Gauteng)
• 7 Sep 2021
• Asanda Matlhare asandam@citizen.co.za
Department’s panel discussion slammed on social media.
Images of lipstick and tutus, posted by a panel from the Gauteng department of community safety, resulted in a social media backlash that saw them hastily removed.
The panel was discussing gender-based violence and femicide as part of Women’s Month.
The images were deleted after social media users said they mocked gender-based violence.
The panel captioned the images “The lipstick represents that you can always speak up about your grievances and you don’t have to hold on to any sign of abuse” and “The tutus
symbolise you can wear anything you are comfortable with as a woman”.
South African Medical Research Council scientist Professor Rachel Jewkes was appalled women wore tutus at the event.
“It objectifies women’s bodies and a form of gender representation of women as sexual objects.
“Nobody is suggesting that you would have an event for men where they are all made to wear boxer shorts and dance, so why do we think tutus are suitable for women,” she said.
Jewkes added it was important for gender-based violence to remain a topical issue, but the events held around it should be constructive.
“I don’t think public events stop men from beating up women and the one major concern I have is that these events are often seen as being enough, rather than being seen as a small part of what is a much bigger initiative,” she said.
Chief executive of the Soul City Institute for Social Justice and gender activist Phinah Kodisang said too much attention was focused on hosting events.
“The administration we put into doing events could be put into good use in getting us closer to tangible solutions,” she said.
People Opposing Women Abuse (Powa) communication manager Thandiwe McCloy said government events required more planning.
“When planning events or campaigns, government should consult with a variety of experts in the field of gender-based violence, rather than work in isolation, to reduce the risk of having any backlash,” she said.
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IEC dismisses favouritism claims
Commissioner says they were at pains to make critics understand the move was not for the benefit of a specific party
• Pretoria News
• 7 Sep 2021
• KAILENE PILLAY
| | JACQUES| NAUDE| African| News| Agency(ANA)IEC Chairperson Glen Mashinini at a press briefing at Election House in Centurion.
THE Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) rejected claims that reopening the candidate registration process was done to favour the ANC following its failure to register more candidates.
IEC chairperson Glen Mashinini yesterday announced that September 18 and 19 would be used for voter registration, and that it was also “reasonably necessary” to amend the timetable and reopen candidate registrations.
The announcements followed the Constitutional Court’s dismissal of an urgent application made by the IEC, seeking to postpone the 2021 local government elections last month.
Mashinini said the commission had undertaken measures to ensure they complied with the Constitutional Court order and that a voter registration weekend was “a necessity” ahead of the elections.
This voter registration weekend would offer all eligible citizens an opportunity to register or update their registration details. All 23 151 voting stations would open, from 8am to 5pm, on both days.
Mashinini said, in view of the fact that the voter registration process had been re-opened, a number of amendments to the electoral timetable were necessary, including the need to set a new deadline for candidate nominations.
“The scheme of the Municipal Electoral Act is such that the voter registration deadline is intended to precede the candidate nomination deadline.
For example, persons can only be nominated as candidates once registered on the voters’ roll and provided they are registered in the relevant segment concerned. It is, therefore, necessary
to allow political parties and independent candidates an opportunity to nominate candidates after the registration weekend of September 18-19, 2021, has occurred and after the voters’
roll has closed,” he explained.
There were currently 77 970 candidates, of which 911 were independent.
Following the voter registration weekend, Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma will be expected to proclaim the new date of elections, he said.
The proclamation will be made on September 20, following the voter registration weekend.
Following the proclamation of the election date, the commission will publish an amended election timetable, which would provide truncated time lines.
IEC commissioner Mosotho Moepya said the IEC rejected allegations that it was seeking to advance the position of one party. He said the commission had been “at pains” to make critics understand that their decision was not to benefit the ANC or any specific party.
IEC vice-chairperson Jane Love echoed his sentiments, saying that the commission could only act on the basis of the court order and within its mandate.
“We have to enable the right of all those eligible to vote to exercise their right to vote, and for those eligible to stand for elections to be able to do so.
“We have to treat all parties and independent candidates equally,” she said.
Chief electoral officer Sy Mamabolo said the commission would be “technically” ready to deliver on voter registration weekend, as all logistical items – including personal protective equipment – were stored in warehouses. He said that training for staff had already been done and the commission would only have to confirm venues for that weekend.
The commission had also acquired 40 000 voter management devices, which would be used for the first time over the registration weekend.
“This will facilitate the process of voter verification almost instantaneously.
“This will allow for the inspection voters’ roll to be prepared and for objections to close on September 23, 2021,” the Mashinini said.
He also announced that applications for special votes would open on September 20 and close on October 4.
Mashinini said the use of special votes would take on heightened importance in this election because of the need to de-congest voting stations on Election Day.
Meanwhile, according to Ipsos, an independent market research company, almost half the country would draw a cross next to the name of the ANC, while the support for both the DA and the EFF were also in double figures.
Its study found a steady decline in support for the ANC, while the DA and the EFF support stayed relatively constant, “however, none of these two parties were threatening the position of the ANC as the most popular party in the country”.
Ipsos interviewed 1 501 randomly chosen South Africans, from 18 to 75 years of age, in August.
Respondents were selected by using a random digit dialling (RDD) computer program.
Ipsos also found that seven in every ten people indicated they would vote in the coming local government elections.
Life Esidimeni had 15 nursing 600 patients
• Pretoria News
• 7 Sep 2021
• ZINTLE MAHLATI
zintle.mahlati@inl.co.za
THE Life Esidimeni inquest has heard how mentally ill patients at a Life Esidimeni Group facility had 15 nurses servicing about 600 patients.
The inquest resumed yesterday being heard virtually by the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria.
The inquest aims to investigate whether anyone should be held criminally liable for the deaths of 144 mentally ill patients who died after being moved to various Gauteng NGOs.
The move was the Gauteng Department of Health’s goal of cutting costs.
A former nursing manager at Waverley Care Centre, one of several Life Esidimeni facilities housing mentally ill patients, testified yesterday.
Zanele Buthelezi worked at the facility when the project was undertaken to move thousands of mentally ill patients from Life Esidimeni to NGOs. She faced questions from a legal representative of the former head of mental health in Gauteng, Dr Makgabo Manamela.
Asked how many mentally ill patients were housed at the facility, she confirmed that it was 580, but other records show it was 604. Buthelezi also confirmed that 15 nurses worked at the facility.
She also admitted this staff number fell far below the required number.
The number of staff meant each nurse would have to take care of about 46 patients.
Buthelezi said this number would increase depending on how many nurses were on duty.
She said she was not in charge of staff appointments and that it was the responsibility of head office officials.
The inquest also heard that some of the family members of patients who had initially been housed at Waverley objected to their families being moved to some of the NGOs.
The families requested a meeting with former health MEC Qedani Mahlangu.
The families had gone to inspect a few of the NGOs and were not pleased with the conditions.
Buthelezi told the inquiry she had witnessed Manamela accompanying NGOs to fetch patients from Waverley,
but Manamela has disputed this. Buthelezi had also expressed concerns that the transfers were done in a rush.
She said about 60% of Waverley’s patients were not dischargeable or suitable for placement in NGOs. “We pointed out to them that specific (mental healthcare users) were prone to relapsing and were thus not suited to be placed in an NGO. They needed a structured environment.
“We had mental healthcare users who were just not dischargeable at all but notwithstanding our remonstrations, they were discharged,” she said.
Dispute over Jacob Zuma’s medical note forces another
postponement of arms deal trial
By Sihle Mavuso 1h ago
Durban - The dispute between the legal team of former president Jacob Zuma and the State over whether the medical note from the military health services is enough to back up his claim that he is sick, has thrown another spanner in the works.
This is as the National Prosecuting Authority on Tuesday announced that the previously scheduled court hearing set down for Thursday and Friday this week would be postponed by consent of all parties involved.
In a brief statement, Mthunzi Mhaga, the spokesperson for the NPA, said the postponement would allow their doctors to consider the note presented by Zuma.
“We confirm that the special plea hearing relating to Mr Zuma's case will be
postponed virtually, by consent of all the parties, to 20 and 21 September, to enable the State-appointed medical team of specialists to consider the medical evidence in co-operation with Mr Zuma’s medical team.
“In view of the medical reports being confidential, no further comment will be issued as all issues relating thereto will be ventilated in court at the next hearing,” Mhaga said.
Last week, the spokesperson of the Jacob Zuma Foundation, Mzwanele Manyi, said the sick note from the military health services, an arm of the State, was enough, and should not be questioned by the NPA.
Manyi said the matter was ready for the court and if the NPA was not convinced, it must argue that matter before the Pietermaritzburg High Court, where Judge Piet Koen issued the order when the matter was heard last month.
The case is related to the arms deal corruption trial, where Zuma is accused of pocketing millions in bribes.
When it was supposed to start, Zuma applied to have the lead prosecutor in the matter, advocate Billy Downer SC, recuse himself, arguing he had compromised himself by leaking information to the media, sharing sensitive details about the case with CIA spies, among other accusations.
However, Zuma fell sick and the matter had to be postponed, hence he is arguing that the note from the military doctors is enough to prove his claim.
Gradual decline in Covid-19 vaccine demand
By Rudolph Nkgadima 3h ago
SOUTH Africa has administered more than 13 million Covid-19 vaccines, as it continues to ramp up its vaccination drive.
With 16% of the country's adult population having been fully vaccinated, government data shows that there’s been a gradual decline in the number of people getting vaccinated.
Government has set a target of administering 300 000 Covid-19 vaccines per day and when vaccinations were opened to the 18-35 cohort the target seemed
attainable but the momentum has now dwindled.
According to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) about 203 825 vaccines were administered in the last 24 hours.
SA’s latest vaccine numbers
A study commissioned by the Solidarity Fund in partnership with GCIS has revealed the reasons behind the slow uptake.
The study conducted between May and June by Ask Afrika revealed that young people are the least willing to get vaccinated against Covid-19 with concerns over side-effects as the main barriers among those between the ages of 18 to 24.
According to the study, about 36% of the youth are significantly unwilling to take the vaccine. Ask Afrika chief executive Andrea Rademeyer said that those 60 and older were more willing to get the vaccine.
Rademeyer said that concerns over side-effects were the main barriers among the 18 to 24 and 50-plus age groups.
“This is a big, big challenge for the youth, you can very clearly see, 18 to 24-year- olds are least willing to get vaccinated. This very clearly indicates that we need a lot more communication around the side of things,” she said.
Meanwhile, in KwaZulu-Natal an average of only 30 000 people turn up per day to be vaccinated against Covid-19 despite the goal being 60 000 to reach herd immunity.
Spokesperson for the KZN Department of Health Ntokozo Maphisa said although the vaccination programme was going well both the province’s Premier Sihle Zikalala and the MEC for Health have repeatedly made calls to the public to help accelerate the programme by coming out in numbers to get vaccinated, as this was the only weapon we currently have have against this deadly virus.
Jacob Zuma’s bid to remove Billy Downer in his criminal trial is
postponed
The special plea hearing has been delayed to allow the state- appointed medical team of specialists to consider medical evidence relating to Zuma
0 7 S E P T E M B E R 2 0 2 1 - 1 4 : 1 5 N O M A H LU B I S O N J I C A
Former president Jacob Zuma. Picture: SANDILE NDLOVU
Former president Jacob Zuma’s special plea hearing seeking to remove prosecutor Billy Downer from his arms deal corruption trial will be postponed to later in September for the state to consider his medical evidence.
“We confirm that the special plea hearing relating to Mr Zuma's case will be postponed virtually by consent of all the parties to September 20 and 21, to enable the state-
appointed medical team of specialists to consider the medical evidence in co-operation with Mr Zuma’s medical team,” said National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Mthunzi Mhaga.
He said the state would give no further details on the matter as Zuma’s medical records were confidential. Zuma was placed on medical parole 58 days after he was admitted as an inmate at the Estcourt Correctional Services facility in KwaZulu-Natal.
In the criminal case, he is facing 16 counts of fraud, corruption, money laundering and racketeering, and his co-accused, French arms company Thales, is facing four counts.
Among the allegations is that the former president received an annual kickback of R500,000 paid through his former financial adviser, Schabir Shaik, in exchange for shielding Thales from an investigation into the controversial arms deal.
New Covid-19 variant spread slower in SA in August than in July
This could indicate it is unlikely to become dominant in the ways previous mutations such as the Beta and Delta variants have become
0 7 S E P T E M B E R 2 0 2 1 - 1 0 : 1 2 A N T O N Y S G U A Z Z I N
People sit in line as they wait to register next to the Transvaco coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine train, after SA's rail company Transnet turned the train into a COVID-19 vaccination center on rails to help the government speed up its vaccine rollout in the country's remote communities, at the Springs train station on the East Rand on August 30 2021. Picture: REUTERS/SIPHIWE SIBEKO
SA scientists say a new Covid-19 variant, with a concerning number of mutations, spread at a slower rate in August than it did in July.
The so-called C.1.2 variant accounted for just 1.5% of all virus samples sequenced in the country in August compared with 2.2% in July, according to the Network for Genomic Surveillance SA.
The variant, first identified in SA, has been found in a number of countries including Democratic Republic of Congo, Mauritius, Portugal, New Zealand and Switzerland.
The slowing of the spread of the variant could indicate that it’s unlikely to become dominant in the manner that previous mutations such as the Beta and Delta variants have become. The Delta variant, first identified in India, is currently dominant in SA.
남아공 새 변이 C.1.2 확산 둔화 "전체의 1.5%"
송고시간 2021-09-07 18:16 김성진 기자기자 페이지
새 변이 C.1.2(빨간색)의 남아공 내 바이러스 확인 비중
[남아공 게놈 감시 네트워크 NGS-SA 자료 캡처, 재판매 및 DB 금지]
(요하네스버그=연합뉴스) 김성진 특파원 = 남아프리카공화국에서 신종 코로나바이러스 감염증(코로나 19)과 관련, 새로 발견된 변이 'C.1.2'의 확산이 둔화한 것으로 나타났다고 현지 과학자들이 밝혔다.
6 일(현지시간) 남아공 게놈 감시 네트워크(NGS-SA)에 따르면 모든 바이러스 샘플 가운데 C.1.2 의 염기서열 확인 비중은 지난 7 월 2.2%에서 8 월 1.5%로 감소했다.
이 같은 확산 둔화는 이전 다른 변이와 같이 지배종이 되지는 않을 것임을 시사하는 것으로 풀이됐다.
남아공에서 지난 5 월 출현한 C.1.2 는 아프리카에서 보츠와나, 콩고민주공화국, 모리셔스, 짐바브웨 등에서 발견됐고 아시아에선 중국에서 검출됐다. 마찬가지로 유럽에선 포르투갈, 스위스, 영국 등이고 오세아니아에선 뉴질랜드이다.
C.1.2 는 수많은 돌연변이를 갖고 있어 전염성이 높고 중화항체를 감소시키는 것으로 우려됐다.
남아공에선 기존 베타 변이가 기원했으나 아직도 국내 지배종은 인도발 델타 변이다.
