All news items
20 May 2014
South Africa’s police service on Monday resumed its fight against court orders to probe crimes against humanity, committed in Zimbabwe.
Two previous South African courts have ruled that the country’s prosecuting authority and the police have a duty to investigate such crimes, because South Africa is a signatory to the international Rome Statute.
The Statute is the foundation for the...
20 May 2014
The South African Police Service (SAPS) did not have the power to investigate claims of crimes against humanity committed in Zimbabwe if the perpetrators were not in SA, it was argued in the Constitutional Court yesterday.
The case centres on whether the government is legally allowed to investigate such crimes outside SA’s borders.
The court heard arguments on whether the Implementation of...
20 May 2014
The Constitutional Court on Monday heard arguments by the South African Police Service (SAPS) asking it to overturn a Supreme Court of Appeal ruling that compelled South African authorities to investigate alleged crimes against humanity which occurred in Zimbabwe.
The court’s decision could provide “practical content” to South Africa’s domestic and international...
19 May 2014
The Seriti Commission of Inquiry into the 1999 arms deal was adjourned on Friday, a spokesman said.
The commission would resume on Monday when Admiral Jonathan Kamerman would start his testimony, spokesman William Baloyi said.
Former secretary for defence Pierre Steyn completed his testimony on Friday.
Other witnesses expected to testify in June included former president Thabo Mbeki, former...
16 May 2014
Lieutenant-General Pierre Steyn resigned as secretary for defence before the 1999 arms deal was signed because he thought it was a dodgy deal.
Steyn pointed a finger at the then minister of defence, the late Joe Modise, and the then department of defence’s chief of acquisition, Chippy Shaik, as key people involved in manipulating the Strategic Defence Procurement Package (SDPP)....
15 May 2014
The 1999 arms deal procurement was irregular and unjustified, the cabinet flouted the law and there was collusion between some top people.
This is according to former secretary for defence Lieutenant-General Pierre Steyn, who started giving evidence on Wednesday morning before the Arms Procurement Commission’s public hearings in Pretoria.
The commission is investigating the 1999 arms...
8 May 2014
Richard Obidima’s scissors fly over little Heath Prior’s head. The barber has gently placed a big, strong hand on the 2-year-old’s back. It’s a bit of comfort as he swops swiftly between blades to shape a mohawk above a pair of small ears.
As he swivels the boy around to see the top of his head in the mirror, Obidima starts to tell a brief history of his life. He’s...
5 May 2014
The government would bring a new law to give statutory effect to the Border Management Agency, a body being set up to co-ordinate government departments’ efforts to control South Africa’s points of entry, Home Affairs Minister Naledi Pandor said on Friday.
She was opening the new port of entry control centre at Cape Town harbour.
Ms Pandor said the centre was the first of its kind and...
29 April 2014
The Arms Procurement Commission has confirmed former president Thabo Mbeki and other senior decision makers in the multi-billion rand arms deal will now appear before Judge Willie Seriti’s inquiry in the first week of June.
Mbeki is expected to testify on 5 June and will be preceded by other senior politicians who served in his cabinet at the time, including Trevor Manuel, Mosiuoa Lekota...
23 April 2014
Think of it like buying a car. A very expensive car.
The price was signed at R29.992 billion in 1999, but turned into R46.666bn with inflation and the fluctuations in exchange rates (the contracts were signed in dollars, euros and Swedish krone).
The state paid about R8.5bn in cash, which ran through the Department of Defence (DoD) budgets. (Think of that as a deposit on your very expensive car...