This is where I’ll post all xenophobia-related news.
Feel free to ignore.
This is where I’ll post all xenophobia-related news.
Feel free to ignore.
I hope that you’re safe during all of this. Take care of yourself and your family.
Thievery like this is also a cause of our current situation. I’m going to try to blow this up. Hopefully we will succeed. Or not.
https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2019-09-10-your-move-south-africa/
The difference between the South African football team and a tea bag is that the tea bag stays in the cup.
BOOM! South Africa burn.
just be careful, some footie fans take their teams very seriously.
SAA employees go on strike after rejecting deal. SAA cannot afford any wage/salary increases, it is deep in debt and Govt is also deep in debt and poo as revenue from income did not meet expectations (due to people emigrating and people starting to avoid paying tax).
And the good news just rolls in.
Apparently a lot of police officers with Casspirs and water cannons left for the Cape Town airport. Will post updates once received.
Strike is into its 5th day, and nobody’s budging.
Updated (yes, they have started a secondary strike already) :
It is now nearing the end of 2020.
In Port Elizabeth it seems as if a groom was dismissed for stabbing a horse. Said groom incited others to stand with him, and, well…
At this stage things are quite messy. We should get firm details on the what and why later on.
Poor horses
Wow, just frickin awful. Unreal. More useful words escape me
What… Those poor horses!
“We expect you to stand on guard not only against direct assault on the principles of the Constitution, but against insidious corrosion”
Nelson Mandela, 1995
The last few days was extremely depressing and full of paranoia.
Anyway.
So, the backstory to all this can be found here.
But I will summarize it for you.
Zuma abused his position as President during his term, and allowed the three Gupta brothers to effectively capture the State, which means that they was able to enrich themselves and loot State coffers with impunity.
After his term ended, a special commission was set up to gather the facts of State capture, and Zuma was supposed to testify.
Unfortunately Zuma stonewalled the commission of enquiry in every way possible.
Which prompted the State to issue a Summons in order to force him to appear before the Commission.
Zuma did not do due diligence.
/inserts lots of legalese and back-and-forth etc between the two parties
Zuma repeatedly blocked the court, and criticized them for being too harsh with him.
He was also given an opportunity to say something in mitigation of sentence.
[72] In response to the directions, Mr Zuma addressed a 21-page, unsigned letter to this Court. He did not depose to and file an affidavit of no more than 15 pages, as he was directed to do. Accordingly, it can only be said that this response was patently, and defiantly, non-compliant with the directions. Unfortunately, but not entirely unexpectedly, Mr Zuma once again squandered an opportunity to follow and respect this country’s legal processes which guarantee all citizens fairness and equality before the law. His conduct demonstrates a deliberate choice to, instead of furnishing this Court with mitigating factors, once again air his views through inflammatory statements intended to undermine this Court’s authority and portray himself as a victim of the law. All of this, besides being scandalous, is totally irrelevant to the question of sanction upon which he was directed to make submissions.
[73] It is unbecoming and irresponsible of a person in Mr Zuma’s position to wilfully undermine the law in this way. Mr Zuma had every right and opportunity to defend his rights, but he chose, time and time again, to publicly reject and vilify the Judiciary entirely. I have already detailed the lengths to which this Court has gone in this matter to safeguard Mr Zuma’s rights despite his insolence towards this Court. Consequently, there is no sound or logical basis on which Mr Zuma can claim to have been treated unfairly or victimised by this Court. His attempts to evoke public sympathy through such allegations fly in the face of reason. They are an insult to the constitutional dispensation for which so many women and men fought and lost their lives.
[96] In sum, the position in which Mr Zuma finds himself is of his own making and has nothing to do with the violation of any of his rights. And his attempt to equate legitimate legal processes with a witch-hunt is dangerous, unfounded and intolerable.
[97] The cause for concern regarding Mr Zuma’s statements does not stop there. Mr Zuma is no ordinary litigant. He is the former President of the Republic, who remains a public figure and continues to wield significant political influence, while acting as an example to his supporters. This leads me to the final point and exceptional feature of this matter that justifies the punitive sanction that I impose: the unique and special political position that Mr Zuma enjoys as the former President. He has a great deal of power to incite others to similarly defy court orders because his actions and any consequences, or lack thereof, are being closely observed by the public. If his conduct is met with impunity, he will do significant damage to the rule of law. As this Court noted in Mamabolo, “[n]o one familiar with our history can be unaware of the very special need to preserve the integrity of the rule of law”.
[98] Mr Zuma is subject to the laws of the Republic. No person enjoys exclusion or exemption from the sovereignty of our laws. To borrow from this Court’s judgment in CCT 295/20:
“[i]n our system, no one is above the law. Even those who had the privilege of making laws are bound to respect and comply with those laws. For as long as they are in force, laws must be obeyed.”
It would be antithetical to the value of accountability if those who once held high office are not bound by the law.
[101] Finally, it is not insignificant that Mr Zuma’s contemptuous conduct relates to his duty to account for the time that he was in Office and is accordingly inextricably linked to his constitutional obligations as a public office-bearer. For these reasons, Mr Zuma’s flagrant and disdainful breach of this Court’s order is intertwined with the oath that he took to uphold the Constitution. In Pheko II, this Court maintained that cases of contempt of court are particularly troubling where constitutional rights and obligations are at issue. This applies equally to the breach of constitutional obligations. This factor is pertinent to the determination of the appropriate sanction in this matter.
So, the Judgment :
[102] The cumulative effect of these factors is that Mr Zuma has left this Court with no real choice. The only appropriate sanction is a direct, unsuspended order of imprisonment. The alternative is to effectively sentence the legitimacy of the Judiciary to inevitable decay.
[132] The applicant submits that punitive costs are warranted in this matter because, firstly, Mr Zuma’s conduct smacks of malice and, secondly, his public utterances and accusations are utterly bereft of supporting facts. The combined effect of these factors renders an ordinary costs order insufficient in the circumstances. The applicant also submitted that Mr Zuma’s failure to oppose these proceedings and explain his conduct to this Court further justifies punitive costs, because it exhibits his total lack of respect for this Court and the judicial process. In support of this, the applicant referred us to the Supreme Court of Appeal’s decision in Compensation Solutions, where the respondent’s failure to oppose the proceedings and justify his conduct was considered to be “deserving of the strictest censure possible”.
[136] Before I go on,I must acknowledge and lament the evident rise in a casual and reckless attitude being adopted by many litigants who see it fit to level unsubstantiated accusations against the Judiciary, both in the public domain and in their pleadings before the courts. This inexcusable state of affairs cannot be tolerated or encouraged. Let me be perfectly clear: it is not permissible for a disgruntled litigant to besmirch the reputation of the Judiciary or its members without fear of consequence. This is not the status quo in our constitutional democracy, and it is patently undesirable that an influential figure, like Mr Zuma, should be allowed to exhibit such behaviour. This is not the first time that Mr Zuma’s malevolent attitude towards the Judiciary has attracted punitive costs, but I sincerely hope that it will be the last. Mr Zuma’s conduct has undoubtedly set an example to the public, so let this costs order follow suit. Let it be known that she or he who abandons all ethical standards in pursuit of a cause must prepare to meet this Court’s reproach, and the award of punitive costs that naturally follows.
The Court Order (verdict) :
[142] The following order is made:
The application for direct access is granted.
The Helen Suzman Foundation is admitted as amicus curiae.
It is declared that Mr Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma is guilty of the crime of contempt of court for failure to comply with the order made by this Court in Secretary of the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture, Corruption and Fraud in the Public Sector including Organs of State v Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma [2021] ZACC 2.
Mr Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma is sentenced to undergo 15 months’ imprisonment.
Mr Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma is ordered to submit himself to the South African Police Service, at Nkandla Police Station or Johannesburg Central Police Station, within five calendar days from the date of this order, for the Station Commander or other officer in charge of that police station to ensure that he is immediately delivered to a correctional centre to commence serving the sentence imposed in paragraph 4.
In the event that Mr Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma does not submit himself to the South African Police Service as required by paragraph 5, the Minister of Police and the National Commissioner of the South African Police Service must, within three calendar days of the expiry of the period stipulated in paragraph 5, take all steps that are necessary and permissible in law to ensure that Mr Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma is delivered to a correctional centre in order to commence serving the sentence imposed in paragraph 4.
Mr Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma is ordered to pay the costs of the Secretary of the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture, Corruption and Fraud in the Public Sector including Organs of State, including the costs of two counsel, on an attorney and client scale.
Unfortunately his supporters twisted things, and inferred that Zuma did not had a proper and fair trial, and was summarily jailed.
Tweets sent out by his daughter further complicated matters, and from there on Zuma supporters encouraged some Zulus to cripple the economy - and from there it escalated into the recent looting and vandalizing spree.
Malema (leader of the EFF) did not help matters, he compounded matters when the Army was ordered to go in and stop the looting. Malema tried to incite his EFF members to fight the Army, but it was not successful.
In the other provinces, most taxi associations then announced that they will not tolerate looting. Most wannabe looters in the other provinces learnt it the hard way when they were on the receiving end of lead jellybeans from the taxi drivers. (The taxi drivers’ reasoning was - if the shops are looted and burnt down, then people will not have jobs and we will also sit without any income).
So far the only burning points is in Natal, which’s the worst at the moment, but the rest of the country is relatively peaceful, with people standing together to guard the shops and repel any looters.
There was a call for all barricades erected by public members to be taken down and the public stand down as well, but most people, including some political leaders, said that they will NOT be standing down until the situation have normalized.
This is an ongoing story. You can view images and videos on reddit r/RSA but be warned, it is not for sensitive viewers.
He and his supporters say he’s being treated unfairly? Sounds like Trump.
First ne’er-do-well anarchist arrested. Unfortunately no names was given.
i know my teacher for the windows 10 speed course i was taking this week was in South Africa and he mentioned stuff was going sour
@Ook - I just hope you and your family are far, far away from all that crap.
Family is in the Eastern Cape. They are safe. It is the best move we’ve made so far.
I bet lots of people now wish they have done the same.
I’m in Gauteng. I have a self-defense gun, which I’m keeping loaded and close to myself.
My car is packed and ready to go.
At this stage it seems as if everything is starting to quieten down, but I will not stand down yet.