ANC boots councillor handed life sentence for raping girls at gunpoint

The Ga-Rankuwa Magistrate’s Court heard how Sipho Maselane would give his victims lifts in his white Toyota Corolla and drive them to secluded areas where he would rape and rob them at gunpoint.

Pretoria - Disgraced Winterveld ANC councillor Sipho Maselane has been booted out of the party after he was convicted on four counts of rape and four of robbery with aggravated circumstances and sentenced to life. Maselane was also sentenced to a total of 58 years imprisonment by the Ga-Rankuwa Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday.
Maselane, who was described as a serial rapist by Magistrate Dan Mogotsi, preyed on unsuspecting victims from taverns in and around Soshanguve.
He would give his victims lifts in his white Toyota Corolla and drive them to secluded areas where he would rape and rob them of their valuable items at gunpoint.

Two of his victims were 14 when the crimes were committed in December 2014 and February 2015.
The other two victims were aged 30 and 37.
Regional party spokesperson Bafuze Yabo said the decision to expel him was taken during the first meeting of the newly-elected regional leadership convened in Arcadia on Thursday night.
Yabo said members of the regional executive committee (REC) talked at length about Maselane’s conviction before they resolved to remove him as ward 9 councillor with immediate effect.
They also recommended that his ANC membership be expunged.
“Sexual offences and gender based violence remain pernicious acts of turpitude,” Yabo said.
Perpetrators should be condemned in the strongest of terms.
He said the meeting was also used to reflect on its recent elective conference and the state of the party.
Yabo said the party resolved to bring in its former leaders to serve in its integrity commission in line with the 53rd national ANC conference.
“The ANC in Tshwane suffered a big blow in the 2016 local government election as a result of internal squabbles.
“This committee must assist the newly elected leadership to resolve non-branch related matters in addition to its prescribed work.”
He said executive members noted that business during the regional conference was not fully concluded due to unforeseen delays.
It was resolved, during the meeting, that a conference would soon be reconvened and concluded at a time to be determined by the new leadership.
“The REC will at once begin the process in earnest, with the intention to convene the last part of the Regional Conference before the ANC Provincial Conference sits,” Yabo said.

Legal poser for Duduzane Zuma's lawyer

Duduzane Zuma, the son of scandal-plagued former president Jacob Zuma, arrives at the Johannesburg Specialised Commercial Crime Court on charges of corruption. Picture: Siphiwe Sibeko/Reuters

More than a decade ago Acting Judge Mike Hellens made a ruling that helped to define the law around legal causation. But now that he has returned to his position as a defence advocate, and has chosen to take on Duduzane Zuma as a client, Hellens may have to argue against his own ruling.
In 2006, Hellens was the presiding officer in S vs Tembani, a case involving a Tembisa man who shot his girlfriend in a fit of rage.
She was taken to hospital, but received negligent medical treatment and later died.

Tembani tried to argue that he should not be charged with murder - rather attempted murder - because of the hospital’s negligence, but Hellens ruled that a poor health-care system did not absolve the attacker of responsibility for her death.
It is this case law, which was later backed up by a Supreme Court of Appeal ruling that agreed with Hellens, that has enabled the State to charge Zuma with a second count of culpable homicide.
Appearing on Thursday at the Randburg Magistrate’s Court, Zuma stands accused of being responsible for the deaths of two people after his reckless driving led to a crash between his Porsche 911 and a minibus taxi.
While the first charge concerns how Zuma was responsible for the death of Phumzile Dube, the second concerns another passenger, Nanki Mashaba, who died five months after the 2014 incident.
The State suggested that Mashaba’s death was caused by the trauma she sustained during the accident, and has even used S vs Tembani to initiate the charge.
It’s a bizarre situation for Hellens, who if he decides to argue against the principles of S vs Tembani, will be disagreeing with himself.
“It’s entirely possible, and legal. He has different functions in this matter.
“Defence advocate Mike Hellens could argue against Acting Judge Mike Hellens,” said one legal expert directly involved in S vs Tembani, who asked not to be named.
The expert said there was room to argue that the case was wrongfully decided, but that it may not be required if Hellens chooses to argue the facts of the case, instead of the principles set by S vs Tembani.
It’s understood that Zuma’s defence team will argue that Mashaba’s death was unrelated to the crash, challenging the State’s causal links.
The State would likely have to prove that injuries sustained during the incident led directly to her death.
It will also have to explain why the National Prosecuting Authority failed to initiate prosecutions for four years since magistrate Lalita Chetty, in an inquest in 2014, found that Zuma was driving recklessly and could be held accountable for the deaths.
The case was postponed until August 8 to allow disclosure of the State’s evidence to Zuma’s defence team.
Duduzane Zuma also appeared in the Commercial Crimes Court in Johannesburg on Monday.
He was charged with corruption for his alleged role in attempting to bribe former deputy finance minister Mcebisi Jonas, seemingly at the behest of the controversial Gupta family.

Mashaba demands meeting with Oliphant, Gigaba over illegal immigrants

Joburg Mayor Herman Mashaba. Picture: Nhlanhla Phillips/African News Agency (ANA)

Johannesburg - Joburg mayor Herman Mashaba has written to Labour Minister Mildred Oliphant and Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba requesting an urgent meeting to address the issue of local businesses employing undocumented foreigners. Mashaba said he has received numerous complaints from unemployed  Joburg residents about businesses that prefer hiring undocumented foreigners instead of locals. 
He said this issue has to be addressed as some companies hired foreigners so that they could avoid the need to adhere to labour laws. "During my visit to the community (Slovo Park), residents complained of how a neighbouring factory were employing undocumented immigrants in contravention of the law. By employing undocumented immigrants, these business owners are flouting immigration and labour laws and acting against the interest of over just 900 000 residents in Johannesburg who are unemployed," said Mashaba. 
"These businesses also serve to exploit undocumented immigrants, unable to exercise labour rights of their own." Mashaba said the responsibility of ensuring the safeguard of borders and the adherence to labour laws fell within the boundaries of national government.  
 

 

"This situation continues to stem from the failures of national government to guard our borders and address the crisis of illegal immigration in our country. Government intervention is also crucial to preventing the exploitation of undocumented immigrants who, by virtue of their status, can sometimes be forced to work under unsafe conditions," he said.
Mashaba has often taken a strong stance against undocumented foreigners. He has previously stated that preferences for services will be given to Joburg residents and he does not "run a city of the world". 
"The intention of this engagement with the two Ministers will be to ensure that efforts to address this issue are stepped up in Johannesburg. It requires the departments to work with the city and ensure that a plan is in place to identify offending employers and correct the situation," said Mashaba.