13 June 2008
CCT 64/07 [2008] ZACC 11
Walele v City of Cape Town and Others

Woodstock man wins appeal - 16 June
A Walmer Estate resident has won an appeal in the highest court to stop his neighbours from putting up a four-storey building next to his property. Walele said the city approved the building plans based simply on a signature by the Building Control Officer (BCO). The Constitutional Court handed down judgment setting aside the judgment and order of the Cape High Court, in which that court dismissed the review application instituted by Walele. Walele's victory didn't come easy with the City of Cape Town and the (friend of the court) City of Johannesburg, arguing that Walele was not entitled to a hearing in relation to his neighbours' building plans and that the city had complied with the Building Standards Act. Walele only met success when he turned to the Constitutional Court for leave to appeal. - IOL website
Keyphrases :
Constitution of the Republic of South Africa. Section 25
National Building Regulations

Building plans spat goes to top court - 26 March
The constitutional court has been asked to rule on whether neighbours should have the right to object to the building plans of adjacent properties before they are approved by local authorities. According to Local Government Research Centre director Clive Keegan, at issue is whether a municipality is under a duty in terms of the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act to give the neighbours notice of building or alteration applications they receive, and an opportunity to make representations before it decides on the applications. Advocate Jeremy Gauntlet, representing the Johannesburg council, told the court on February 21 that if the application succeeded, it would significantly affect the way local authorities considered building plan applications. - Business Report website

See also :
20 March 2007
10695/2006 [2007] ZAWCHC 6
Chairperson of the Walmer Estate Residents' Community Forum and Another v City of Cape Town and Others

13 June 2008
CCT 41/07 [2008] ZACC 10
Merafong Demarcation Forum and Others v President of the Republic of South Africa and Others

A legislative flip-flop too far for judges - 18 June
The dismissal of an application by residents of Khutsong opposed to their municipality being part of North West has raised questions about the legislature's duty to facilitate public involvement. The Constitutional Court on Friday dismissed the application by residents who wanted the court to declare that the Gauteng legislature failed to comply with its constitutional obligation to facilitate public involvement before the approval of the Constitution Twelfth Amendment Bill by the National Council of Provinces. The court produced six judgments , four of them against the residents' application. - allAfrica website

SACP fights boundary decision - 17 June
A third court battle over the controversial redrawing of provincial boundaries has just begun in the Constitutional Court. The Moutse community filed an application last Friday to challenge the government's decision to incorporate Moutse into Limpopo province. Moutse comprises 53 villages and used to be part of Mpumalanga. This follows last week's unsuccessful application to the Constitutional Court to have Khutsong included into Gauteng province, rather than North West ; and the successful application to have Matatiele's borders incorporated into KwaZulu-Natal as opposed to Eastern Cape. - The Times website
Keyphrases :
Constitution of the Republic of South Africa Amendment Bill
Cross-Boundary Municipalities Laws Repeal and Related Matters Bill

Residents threaten to make Khutsong ungovernable - 16 June
Undeterred by the recent Constitutional court ruling, Khutsong residents have vowed to make area ungovernable. On Friday, the Constitutional court ruled that the Merafong Municipality is part of the North West Province. Residents had approach the Constitutional Court to declare government's decision to relocate the area from Gauteng to North West unconstitutional. - SABC News website

See also :
18 August 2006
2 CCT73/05A [2006] ZACC 12
Matatiele Municipality and Others v President of the Republic of South Africa and Others

4 June 2008
CCT 3/07
Shilubana and Others v Nwamitwa
Right of woman to succeed as Hosi (Chief) of the Valoyi traditional community in Limpopo

At long last, tribe has a female chief - 5 June
Tinyiko Shilubana's long battle to have her election as chief of the tribe declared legal ended in her favour in the Constitutional Court yesterday. The highest court in the land said its decision to enforce Shilubana's chieftainship was based on the "constitutional right to equality". - The Times website

2 June 2008
CCT 19/07
Nyathi v Member of the Executive Council for the Department of Health Gauteng and Another
Application to declare section 3 of the State Liability Act 20 of 1957, to be inconsistent with the Constitution

Soon you can sue State and get paid - 3 June
The constitutional court has confirmed that Section 3 of the State Liability Act is inconsistent with the country's constitution. The section stipulated that no execution, attachment or like process could be issued against the State, so a person who obtained a judgment against the State was never financially compensated. But after Monday's ruling, the State can no longer shirk its obligations and people with judgments against the State can now take steps to be compensated. - IOL website

29 May 2008
CCT 86/06
S v Shaik and Others
Appeal against a confiscation order  issued in terms of the Prevention of Organised Crime Act 121 of 1998 (POCA)

Confiscating the proceeds of crime - 30 May
The Constitutional Court on 29 May 2008 dismissed the appeal of Mr Shabir Shaik and two of his companies against the confiscation of their property in 2006, thus making the State R34 million richer at their cost. The Constitutional Court confirmed that the property concerned is the proceeds of crime pursuant to the provisions of the Prevention of Organised Crime Act, 1998 (POCA). But what actually happens to the confiscated property and how does the process work? -  Article by Andre Vos of Deneys Reitz on the itinews website

Court strikes down Shaik's assets appeal  - 30 May
Schabir  Shaik, former financial adviser to African National Congress president Jacob Zuma, yesterday lost his Constitutional Court bid to reverse the seizure of his and his companies' assets, worth about R34m. This could be the end of the legal road for Shaik in his battle to overturn a 15-year jail sentence handed down in 2005. - Business Day website

Court ties Shaik to Zuma - 30 April
Schabir Shaik's bribery of ANC president Jacob Zuma has been proved and established, says South Africa's highest court. But while ruling that Shaik must pay back the more than R33-million in benefits he received because of his corrupt relationship with Zuma, the Constitutional Court on Thursday found it was "neither necessary nor appropriate" to examine whether Zuma believed the payments he received from Shaik were bribes. - IOL website

22 May 2008
CCT 38/07
Independent Newspapers (Pty) Ltd v Minister for Intelligence Services and Another
Application seeking the disclosure of portions of the record of proceedings in Masetlha v President of the Republic of South Africa

Warning : a shift at the Constitutional Court - 5 June
The  lengthy judgement holds serious implications for a range of constitutional developments. Two aspects of the case are particularly noteworthy. The majority of the court rejected the argument that the newspapers' lawyers were entitled to examine documents on a confidential basis to prepare for its case. - Mail & Guardian website

Concourt delivers landmark judgment - 29 May
The Constitutional Court handed down a landmark decision last week in the application by Independent Newspapers against Ronnie Kasrils, the Minister for Intelligence Services, for access to secret documents before the Constitutional Court. The documents formed part of the record of the (ultimately unsuccessful) court proceedings brought by former National Intelligence Agency (NIA) Director-General Billy Masetlha, to have his suspension and dismissal. - IOL website

8 May 2008
CCT 42/07
Mphela and Others v Haakdoornbult Boerdery CC and Other
Restitution of land

Constitutional aspect in contractor case queried - 14 May
The Constitutional Court yesterday expressed concern that an Eskom contractor who lost an arbitration award had not raised any constitutional issue. Lufuno Mphaphuli & Associates, which was Eskom's main contractor in an electrification project, lost an arbitration award to Bopanang Construction, a company it had subcontracted to do a portion of the work. - allAfrica website

Big split on the cards for divorce privacy law - 11 May
Detailed legislation operates in Britain and Australia to balance press freedom with divorce-action privacy. But this week Alec Freund SC, appearing for the Sunday Times's parent company, Avusa, asked the Constitutional Court for a remarkably simple ruling : to throw out the whole of Section 12, including all of its clauses, and throw open divorce courts immediately. No replacement legislation, no suspension, no amendments : just dump it - and trust the media to report responsibly, and rely on the courts to take care of the privacy needs of parties to divorces on a case-by-case basis. - The Times website
Keyphrase :
Edmonton Journal vs Attorney General (of) Alberta

State changes tack in divorce law hearing - 9 May
Counsel for Justice Minister Brigitte Mabandla, Adv Ismail Hussain, had trouble explaining to the Constitutional Court yesterday why the minister's written submissions on the constitutionality of the Divorce Act did not match his oral submissions. Mabandla, in her written submissions, did not oppose the recent striking down of the section prohibiting the publication of any information that came to light during the court action, but said the order of invalidity should be suspended for 18 months while the legislature amended the law. - allAfrica website

Rights of children cited in Divorce Act application - 21 April
The Media Monitoring Project (MMP) says it agrees with the Sunday Times that a section of the Divorce Act limits freedom of expression and is unconstitutional, but says the aim of protecting the privacy of children of divorcing parents is also important. This is because of the right enshrined in section 28(2) of the constitution, which states that the best interests of the child are paramount in all matters concerning the child. - allAfrica website

Rights of children cited in Divorce Act application - 21 April
The Media Monitoring Project (MMP) says it agrees with the Sunday Times that a section of the Divorce Act limits freedom of expression and is unconstitutional, but says the aim of protecting the privacy of children of divorcing parents is also important. This is because of the right enshrined in section 28(2) of the constitution, which states that the best interests of the child are paramount in all matters concerning the child. The organisation has applied to be admitted as a friend of the court in the Sunday Times' application to the Constitutional Court for an order declaring that section 12 violates the constitution. - allAfrica website

Lifting the lid on divorce cases - 7 April
What started as an attempt by a divorced couple to stop a newspaper from publishing details about their paternity fraud suit has led to developments that are likely to affect how the publication of divorces is handled in the future. - Business Day website

MEC in court over unpaid child grants - 9 April
Eastern Cape social development MEC Sam Kwelita will be back in court next month, this time on a charge of contempt. Care House, a children's home in Middelburg, Eastern Cape, claims Kwelita "wilfully and in bad faith" failed to comply with a court order to pay place-of-safety grants for orphaned and vulnerable children in its care. The home wants the MEC to be jailed or held personally liable for R37248 if he does not pay within 10 days. It also wants the court to order Social Development Minister Zola Skweyiya to investigate the noncompliance. Last week the Constitutional Court, in a case which dealt with unpaid social grants, rapped the MEC over the knuckles for not paying attention to court judgments against the Eastern Cape provincial government. This is the fourth high court application for payment of these grants in the past two years. The Legal Resources Centre (LRC) is preparing another application on the same issue. - allAfrica website

See :
28 March 2008
CCT 37/07
Njongi v Member of the Executive Council Department of Welfare Eastern Cape Province

Eviction by Authorities

Tenant eviction tip : "engage" - 4 June
Avoid a losing legal battle with tenants by first going the route of "meaningful engagement" - court case. Setting new precedent for evictions and a victory for the right to housing, 400 occupiers in a derelict building in the Johannesburg Inner City reached a consensus with the City that they would not be evicted but that the City would upgrade the buildings in which they occupied and in the interim would be provided with temporary accommodation. Ms Andrea Godfrey of Shepstone & Wylie believes that the critical precedent is the meaningful engagement between the occupiers and the City no engagement efforts were made by the city prior to bringing the Eviction Application, despite the city being fully aware that people would be rendered homeless as a result of their application and only once reasonable efforts of engagement fail can the municipality proceed with the eviction however homelessness which will occur must be taken into account and the city's capacity to remedy this problem. - realestateweb website

See also :
19 February 2008
CCT 24/07
Occupiers of 51 Olivia Road, Berea Township and Another v City of Johannesburg and Others

Cape Provincial Division. An executive minded decision

3 June 2008
340/07
Stewart v Botha (340/2007) [2008] ZASCA 84
Delict – liability of medical practitioner to a child born with congenital defects – failure to inform mother who would have terminated pregnancy – wrongfulness – legal policy

2 June 2008
220/07
Kungwini Local Municipality v Silver Lakes Homeowners Association (220/07) [2008] ZSCA 83 (RSA)
Local authority – rates and taxes – section 10G(7) of Local Government Transition Act 209 of 1993 – whether local authority substantially complied with this section in increasing property rates – validity of municipal council resolution and subsequent local authority notice

2 June 2008
519/07
Ovation v Executive Officer Financial Services Board (519/2007) [2008] ZASCA 82
Appointment of a curator to take control and management of an institution under s 5 of the Financial Institutions (Protection of Funds) Act 28 of 2001 – court having a wide discretion and entitled to order that the costs of curatorship be defrayed from the assets of investors held by the institution – court further entitled to restrict payments to investment beneficiaries and disinvestment from the institution under curatorship

Ovation trustees lose battle - 2 June
The trustees of three pension funds that had money invested with Ovation Global Investment Services have lost a case in the Supreme Court of Appeal. The trustees were appealing a previous High Court ruling which effectively allows the curators of Ovation to fund their operations with investors' money. Ovation was placed under in March last year as part of the broader scandal at Fidentia, in which hundreds of millions of rand were allegedly stolen from widows and orphans. Ovation was under the control of Fidentia, even though it was owned by deceased businessman Angus Cruikshank. The curators of Ovation exhausted the company's reserves some time ago and are funding their operations by means of a levy imposed on investors. - Moneyweb website

2 June 2008
453/07
P Langeveldt v The State (453/2007) [2008] ZASCA 81
Motor collision – factual dispute – no misdirection on the part of trial court

2 June 2008
609/07
EAL Mocke v The State (609/2007) [2008] ZASCA 80
Accused convicted of murder by regional magistrate on evidence of single witness – no reasons given nor credibility findings made by magistrate on evidence of witnesses. On appeal – this held to be misdirection entitling appellate court to interfere and reassess evidence itself - Conviction and sentence set aside and replaced with one of being accessory after fact to murder. Sentence – two years of correctional supervision imposed. Costs – State ordered to pay wasted costs occasioned by non-appearance of its representative on attorney and client scale

2 June 2008
291/07
City of Cape Town v Helderberg Park Development (Pty) Ltd (291/07) [2008] ZASCA 79
Administrative law – section 28 of Land Use Planning Ordinance 15 of 1985 (Cape) – whether gives rise to independent cause of action for compensation – whether compensation claimable flowing from ultra vires decision not set aside – order in para 13

30 May 2008
462/07
NCSPCA v Openshaw (462/07) [2008] ZASCA 78 (RSA)
Interim relief - refusal of – delay by appellant in instituting principal action – right to interim relief forfeited – reasonable apprehension of irreparable harm not established - Order in para [31]

30 May 2008
482/07
Egglestone v The State (297/2005) [2008] ZASCA 77
Criminal law – appeal against multiple convictions and sentence – consent – what is – indecent assault – what is – S v F still the law – owner of escort agency having sexual intercourse with and indecently assaulting prospective prostitute during on-the-job training – participation in training not amounting to consent – convictions for rape and indecent assault confirmed. Order in para [29]

30 May 2008
430/07
Director of Public Prosecutions : Transvaal v Venter (430/2007) [2008] ZASCA 76
Murder and attempted murder – family members – amnesia and temporary non pathological diminished criminal responsibility – effect on sentence – effect of minimum sentencing legislation – need for standardised and consistently severe sentences for violent crime – retributive and deterrent elements outweigh personal considerations – sentence of 18 years appropriate. Order in para [34]

30 May 2008
553/07
Enslin v Nhlapo (553/2007) [2008] ZASCA 75
Liability of property owner – cattle straying onto a public road – legal duty - negligence

30 May 2008
358/07
Lancino Financial Investments (Pty) Ltd v F J Bennet (358/2007) [2008] ZASCA 74
Pleading – Exception upheld – Almost invariable practice for court to give pleader opportunity to amend - Order for costs – Where separate orders for costs made for separate aspects of the hearing, order must indicate to taxing master how costs are to be apportioned

30 May 2008
510/07
Sasria v Slabbert Burger Transport (510/2007) [2008] ZASCA 73
Insurance policy – interpretation – absence of clear indication that words to be given special meaning rather than 'ordinary dictionary meaning' compatible with their content in the policy – contra proferentem rule applied

30 May 2008
532/07
Stokes v The State (532/07) [2008] ZASCA 72
Extradition – s 19 of Act 67 of 1962 – only offences disclosed to requested state and fugitive constitute offences in respect of which extradition was sought – 'sought' to be interpreted to mean 'successfully sought'

30 May 2008
411/07
Saayman v Visser (411/07) [2008] ZASCA 71
Liability of homeowner in relation to the shooting of a 16 year-old boy by a security guard stationed at the premises - test to determine negligence on part of homeowner - reliance on expertise of security company - in totality of circumstances homeowner held not liable

30 May 2008
207/07
Bastian Financial Services v General Hendrik Schoeman Primary School (207/2007) [2008] ZSCA 70
Contract – public school – liability of school for contractual damages – whether s 60(1) of Schools Act 84 of 1996 renders the State liable for claims for contractual damages against a public school

30 May 2008
307/07
Hexvallei Besproeiingsraad v Geldenhuys (307/07) [2008] ZASCA 69
Water – public water – diverting water contrary to terms of court order to non-riparian land – interdict granted

30 May 2008
395/07
Oliphant v The Road Accident Fund (395/2007) [2008] ZASCA 68
Motor vehicle 'driver' working on his engine – spanner he was using slipped and dropped onto two electrical contact points causing vehicle to start and set off in reverse injuring the claimant – 'freak accident' – negligence not proved

Victim of freak accident loses compensation bid - 2 June
The Supreme Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal by a Free State woman against a ruling that held she did not have a claim against the Road Accident Fund for injuries she sustained when her husband's vehicle reversed into her. The appeal court ruled it was a "freak accident" and no one should be held liable. Sanna Oliphant instituted proceedings in the Free State High Court against the fund for damages arising from injuries she suffered when her husband's car knocked her over in front of her house in December 1999. - allAfrica website

29 May 2008
255/07
M H Blake and Another v Z Cassim and Another (255/2007) [2008] ZASCA 67
Contract – sale of immovable property – no obligation on seller to define form of guarantee before making demand for furnishing it – written agreement stipulates clearly time when guarantees to be furnished – seller entitled to cancel for failure to furnish guarantees on due date

29 May 2008
434/07
Kini Bay Village Association v Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Municipality (434/2007) [2008] ZASCA 66
Appeal against order for payment of security for costs in terms of s 13 of the Companies Act 61 of 1973 by impecunious appellant representing residents of affluent seaside suburb – court of first instance exercising discretion in strict sense – appeal court entitled to interfere only where material misdirection established even in case involving a constitutional issue

29 May 2008
349/07
Edcon Pension Fund v The Financial Services Board of Appeal and Another (349/07) [2008] ZASCA 65
Pensions – whether right to bring transfer application under s 14 of Pension Funds Act 24 of 1956 accrued to appellant before Act 39 of 2001 came into operation

29 May 2008
372/07
Apco Africa v Apco Worldwide (372/2007) [2008] ZASCA 64
Companies Act 61 of 1973 – s 344(h) - winding up of a company on the basis that it is just and equitable to do so

29 May 2008
305/07
Director of Public Prosecution v Henry (305/07) [2008] ZASCA 63
Power of Court of Appeal to interfere with exercise of discretion as to costs by court of first instance – only in event of misdirection, irregularity or no grounds on which court acting reasonably could have made the order it did

29 May 2008
632/07
McIntosh v Premier, KwaZulu-Natal (632/07) [2008] ZASCA 62
Delict – cyclist falling in attempt to avoid pothole in road - legal duty of Province apparent from statute – additional considerations when weighing up reasonableness of public authority's conduct

Cyclist can sue due to pothole crash - 29 May
A cyclist who fell trying to avoid a huge pothole in the road in the Kamberg area can sue the KwaZulu-Natal department of transport for damages, the Supreme Court of Appeal held today. The SCA upheld an appeal by Pietermaritzburg advocate Allister McIntosh, who was a keen cyclist, against a high court decision that he was solely to blame for the serious injuries he sustained in the fall. - The Times website

29 May 2008
638/06
Makambi v MEC, Education, Eastern Cape (638/06) [2008] ZASCA 61
Constitutional law - whether High Court has jurisdiction to review termination of emoluments and benefits of educator in state school

29 May 2008
270/2007
Minister of Agriculture v Bluelilliesbush Dairy Farming (270/07) [2008] ZASCA 60
Animal Diseases Act 35 of 1984 – compensation under s 19(2) read with regulation 30 – animals slaughtered because of infection or reasonably suspected infection with bovine tuberculosis – dairy herd – 'fair market value' connotes value of animals free of infection

29 May 2008
247/07
Amanita Premier Oils v Praysa Trade (247/07) [2008] ZASCA 59
Contract of sale – delivery of groundnuts – terms of contract – court reversing factual findings of trial court – finding in favour of supplier / plaintiff

28 May 2008
509/07
Matshona v The State (509/2007) [2008] ZASCA 58
Appeal to Supreme Court of Appeal against the refusal in a high court of a petition seeking leave to appeal against a sentence imposed in a regional court – leave to appeal to the high court should have been granted – merits of the appeal against sentence to be determined by the high court

28 May 2008
119/07
Brown v Mbhense (119/07) [2008] ZASCA 57
Land Reform (Labour Tenants) Act 3 of 1996 – action in terms of s 33(2A) – definition of 'labour tenant' – requirements for proof of

Ground-breaking judgment on tenant rights - 29 May
An illiterate 67-year-old woman, who has lived on a farm in the Umgeni district of KwaZulu-Natal all her life, has been declared a "labour tenant" by the Supreme Court of Appeal, giving her the right to lodge a land claim against the portion of the farm she calls home. The majority judgment handed down on Wednesday has been labelled "ground-breaking" by Mahendra Chetty of Durban's Legal Resources Centre, particularly because it comments on the vulnerability of labour tenants and suggests that a less "technical and precise" approach should be adopted when assessing labour tenancy agreements. - IOL website

27 May 2008
389/07
Chairman, State Tender Board v Supersonic Tours (Pty) Ltd (389/07) [2008] ZASCA 56
State tenders - disqualification of tenderer by State Tender Board from tendering for future State contractsm - when competent - interpretation of regulations made under the State Tender Board Act 68 of 1968 and the Preferential Procurement Policy Framework Act 5 of 2000 - Procedural fairness as required by the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act (PAJA) 3 of 2000 - Income Tax Act 58 of 1962 - possible contravention of s 4 - papers sent to the Commissioner, SARS, to enable him to investigate

26 May 2008
282/07
Ernst Bester Trust v Commissioner South African Revenue Service (282/2007) [2008] ZASCA 55
Income tax – Act 58 of 1962 – sales of sand – capital or revenue ; s 22 – trading stock deduction – when allowed – SARS practice

22 May 2008
306/07
Cillie v Geldenhuys (306/07) [2008] ZASCA 54
Prescription – acquisitive prescription of praedial servitudes – difference between positive and negative servitudes – scope of servitudes and servient owner's power to impinge on the servitude – doctrine of notice does not apply to real rights

14 May 2008
172/07
Koumantarakis v Mystic River (172/07) [2008] 53 ZASCA
Sale of land - Meaning and effect of clause in an agreement of sale in terms of which a bank guarantee must be provided whether the seller acted reasonably in rejecting the guarantee. Seller not entitled to reject the guarantee and cancel the agreement

3 May 2008
165/07
Gounder v Top Spec Investments (Pty) Ltd (165/07) [2008] ZASCA 52
Husband and wife – marriage in community of property – whether loan agreement entered into by one spouse without written consent of the other falls within ambit of s 15(2)(b) of Matrimonial Property Act 88 of 1984 where it incorporates agreement to register mortgage bond over the parties' fixed property as security for the loan

Healthcare : legal mortis setting in? - 30 April
The battle for control of the R70-billion private healthcare industry has been ratcheted up as the regulator of medical schemes turns to the Constitutional Court to define its jurisdiction and the minister of health releases draft price-control regulation. The Council for Medical Schemes (CMS) is turning to the Constitutional Court over a Supreme Court judgement which the regulator says will free up to two thirds of medical schemes from regulation. The CMS asked for leave to appeal to the Constitutional Court last week on the grounds that as a regulator it is bound to enforce equity and the current legal judgement will lead to discrimination against the old and sick. - Mail & Guardian website

Landmark court ruling on torture - 11 April
In the first case of its kind since the advent of the constitution, the Supreme Court of Appeal ruled yesterday that evidence obtained through the use of torture was inadmissible, even when the evidence was reliable and necessary to secure the conviction of an accused facing serious charges. It set aside three convictions and the sentences of Bongani Mthembu. The evidence secured to convict Mthembu was obtained from an accomplice, Sudesh Ramseroop, who was tortured. - allAfrica website

See :
10 April 2008
64/2007 [2008] ZASCA 51
Mthembu v The State

Fidelity fund victory for agents - 1 April
An estate agency has won a court victory that will benefit estate agents who sell property without having a valid fidelity fund certificate. The Supreme Court of Appeal of SA has ruled that a seller does not have the right to have commission returned if it emerges that the estate agent was operating without a fidelity fund certificate. - Moneyweb website

See :
28 March 2008
666/06 [2008] ZASCA 38
Taljaard v Botha Properties

Durban

Ballito man fined R30 000 - 28 May
An accused who operated a burner lab operation at an exclusive resort near Ballito, on the North Coast, was recently fined R30 000 by the Durban Commercial Court, following a piracy conviction. Ejas Ali was fined R30 000. Another accused, Idrees Mahommad of Orient Heights, Pietermaritzburg, was recently fined R15 000 after he pleaded guilty in the Pietermaritzburg Magistrate's Court to the piracy charge. - The Post website
Keyphrases :
Recording Industry of South Africa (RISA)
South African Federation against Copyright Theft (Safact)

Pretoria

Judgment delayed again in Maree trial - 28 May
Judgment in the fraud case against former National Empowerment Fund (NEF) CEO Sydney Maree has been delayed for the fourth time in the Specialised Commercial Crime Court in Pretoria. It is now expected to be delivered in July. The former special adviser to then trade and industry minister Alec Erwin and famous athlete has pleaded not guilty to charges that he stole nearly R1m from the NEF, saying that the case is a smokescreen to cover up a breach of corporate governance. At the heart of the case, which has dragged on for four years, is whether the NEF and Deutsche Bank entered into a contract, which gave the bank first refusal on NEF contracts in return for drafting a business plan for the fund. If so, this would run counter to the Public Finance Management Act, which requires that work is put out to tender. - allAfrica website

Madisha sues unions and SACP - 2 April
Former Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) president Willie Madisha claims he has been discriminated against because of his purported support for President Thabo Mbeki and has taken his case to the Equality Court. He is suing Cosatu, the South African Democratic Teachers' Union (Sadtu) and South African Communist Party (SACP) for R400 000 in damages. He also wants to be reinstated and a public apology. - allAfrica website

Braamfontein

18 April 2008
JS 693/00 [2008] ZALC 43
Maluleke and Others v Johnson Tiles (Pty) Ltd

28 March 2008
JR 1350/06 [2008] ZALC 39
Equity Aviation Services (Pty) Ltd v AWUZA on behalf of Kruger and Others

Cape Town

19 March 2008
C 429/2007 [2008] ZALC 30
City of Cape Town v South African Municipal Workers Union

Johannesburg

25 April 2008
JR102/05 [2008] ZALC 56
Metcash Trading Africa trading as Metro Cash 'n Carry v Commission For Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration and Others

25 April 2008
JR 2853/07 [2008] ZALC 55
Edgars Consolidated Stores Ltd v Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration and Others

24 April 2008
JS 444/05 [2008] ZALC 53
Swanepoel and Others v Fidelity Corporate Services (Pty) Ltd

22 April 2008
J533/08 [2008] ZALC 52
Mofubetsoana v Deputy Minister of Justice and Another

22 April 2008
J 542/2008 [2008] ZALC 45
HOSPERSA and Another v MEC for Health Gauteng Provincial Government

18 April 2008
JR2397/06 [2008] ZALC 58
Emfuleni Local Municipality v Sekhabisa NO and Others

18 April 2008
JR 1354/03 [2008] ZALC 44
Communication Workers Union and Others v Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration and Others

18 April 2008
J 486/07 [2008] ZALC 42
Hlongwane v Cisco Systems South Africa (Pty) Ltd and Another

1 April 2008
JR1605/05 [2008] ZALC 50
Karen Beef (Pty) Ltd v Bovane NO and Others

31 March 2008
J 1357/07 [2008] ZALC 41
Mathosi and Others v Kintetsu World Express (Pty) Ltd and Another

28 March 2008
J 68/08 [2008] ZALC 40
EOH Abantu (Pty) Ltd v Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration and Another

28 March 2008
JS 987/05 [2008] ZALC 26
National Union of Metal Workers of South Africa and Others v SA Truck Bodies (Pty) Ltd

28 March 2008
JR 2877/06 [2008] ZALC 24
Discovery Health Limited v Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration and Others

Illegals have labour rights of citizens - 7 April
South African employers have the same duty of care to illegal foreign employees as they do to South African citizens, according to a precedent-setting Labour Court judgment, which ruled that illegal immigrants have the same labour rights as other workers. The Johannesburg Labour Court ruled last week that an Argentinian dismissed by Discovery Health when his work permit expired had the same labour rights as a South African citizen. - allAfrica website

27 March 2008
JR 1717/06 [2008] ZALC 38
Woolworths (Pty) Ltd v Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration and Others

27 March 2008
JR 1845/04 [2008] ZALC 37
Cashbuild South Africa (Pty) Ltd v Myhill N.O and Others

27 March 2008
JR 717/06 [2008] ZALC 36
Bearam Ambigee v Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration and Others

26 March 2008
JR 1128/07 [2008] ZALC 35
Minister of Home Affairs v General Public Service Sectoral Bargaining Council and Others

26 March 2008
(JR 1244/05 [2008] ZALC 34
Jusayo v Mudau NO and Others

22 March 2008
JR 832/07 [2008] ZALC 33
South African Post Office Limited v Jansen and Others

22 March 2008
JR 1959/06 [2008] ZALC 32
Nestle South Africa (Pty) Limited v Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration and Others

19 March 2008
JR1363/07 [2008] ZALC 49
Davis Plumbing Civils CC v Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration and Others

Ekurhuleni barred from docking wages - 19 May
The Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality will have to stop deducting money from the salaries of close to 8000 of its municipal employees after unions won an interim interdict in the Labour Court last week. Shadow Shongwe, regional manager of Independent Municipal and Allied Trade Union, which brought the action with the South African Municipal Workers Union, said the interdict, preventing the city from deducting payments from the salaries of workers who collectively owe close to R20m in rates and taxes, was a victory for the municipal workers. - allAfrica website

Port Elizabeth

25 April 2008
P 143/07 [2008] ZALC 54
Jordaan v Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration and Others

16 April 2008
P 257/06 [2008] ZALC 57
South African Police Services v Safety and Security Sectorial Bargaining Council and Others

Doctor fights for the right to be guided by his conscience - 5 June
Seven years after effectively being dismissed by the Mpumalanga health department for supporting the dispensing of anti-retrovirals for rape survivors, Dr Malcolm Naude is fighting for the rights of all public service doctors and nurses to follow their conscience when treating patients. Naude and his legal team from the AIDS Law Project believe that doctors are guided by the Hippocratic Oath rather than government policy. The case was recently heard in the Labour Court, seven years after Naude was dismissed. - allAfrica website

Bullard : sorry, but I'm suing - 19 April
Canned writer David Bullard has apologised to readers of a column that got him axed for racism. But now he plans to sue the Sunday Times for breaching labour law. - IOL website

Satirically speaking . . . - 25 April
After lengthy discussions with media students at the University of KwaZulu-Natal Pietermaritzburg campus, I have discovered that David Bullard has hit a nerve. It is not the insult or racist nerve that has been widely discussed ; but the innate prejudice that lies within every human being that he has exposed. For you see, it is not that David Bullard criticised African heritage, but that he forced South Africans to think about their past and possibly where their future is headed if things carry on in this downward spiral. (Column by Michelle Atagana). - Thought Leader blog

Spot the racist - 23 April
The furore raised by the satirical column by David Bullard two weeks ago, Uncolonised Africa wouldn't know what it was missing, had some potential to elicit meaningful debate, but in the end, it came to reveal more about what is desperately wrong with South African society than lead to constructive discussion. [Comments appended]. - Moneyweb website

David Bullard and the colonial question - 17 April
Column by James Myburgh. - Politicsweb website

See also :
Uncolonised Africa wouldn't know what it was missing - 7 April
Sunday Times website

Johannesburg

18 April 2008
JA 48/04 [2008] ZALAC 2
Maepe v Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration and Another

20 March 2008
JA 16/2006 [2008] ZALAC 1
State Information Technology Agency (SITA) (Pty) Ltd v Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration and Others

Illegals have labour rights of citizens - 7 April
South African employers have the same duty of care to illegal foreign employees as they do to South African citizens, according to a precedent-setting Labour Court judgment, which ruled that illegal immigrants have the same labour rights as other workers. The Johannesburg Labour Court ruled last week that an Argentinian dismissed by Discovery Health when his work permit expired had the same labour rights as a South African citizen. - Business Day website

Stumbling block - 13 June
The litigation in the Land Claims Court in which one of the first communities to succeed with a land claim is proceeding against Agriculture and Land Affairs Minister Lulu Xingwana is a serious indictment of her office and department. By all accounts, the GaMawela community did everything by the book - an arduous task involving complex studies, a scattered community and vested mining interests - to win back its ancestral land, of which it had been dispossessed from the 1820s to the 1980s. In 2006, the court ordered that the land be returned to them. - Business Day website

Community to defy state over land rights - 12 June
A community of land reform beneficiaries says the government is preventing it from taking full ownership of the land restored to them after a successful land claim. The community was concerned that because of the extent of a ministerial decree, Agriculture and Land Affairs Minister Lulu Xingwana might introduce a party of her choosing to develop the land without the community’s consent. - allAfrica website

Community fights curbs on land claim - 15 April
The first South African community to have successfully approached the Land Claims Court for the restoration of their land is heading back to court. Ten years after lodging their claim they are still seeking redress for the systematic dispossession, which started in the 19th century and continued until the 1980s. The GaMawela community, whose land is in the Steelpoort area of Limpopo, had their land restored by an order of the Land Claims Court in 2006. However, a condition imposed by the land affairs minister on the transfer agreement imposed an "unnecessary burden and restraint" on the community to deal with their land as they see fit. - Business Day website

See also :

Tortuous road back to land of ancestors - 8 June 2004
The GaMawela community in Mpumalanga, granted rights to 2000ha land from which they were evicted in the 1950s, still has a long way to go before getting back their land, according to a recent judgment. Judge Moloto of the Land Claims Court ruled on Friday that the community of 300 people was entitled to the land in terms of the Restitution of Land Rights Act
Business Day website

Court returns land to tribe of 'rain-makers' - 4 June 2004
A tribe known for its rain-making rituals on Friday won back rights to its ancestral land owned by mining giant Anglo Platinum in a case that set a precedent for similar claims. A land claims court ruled in favour of the Gamawela clan, who lost a stretch of land in the north-eastern province of Mpumalanga in the late 1800s when the South African Republic ceded it to a white farmer. - IOL website

Randburg

Land claims case makes progress - 21 May
The Wildebeestfontein Evaton Community Organisation (WECO) hosted a feedback session at the Saul Tsotetsi Sports Centre on Sunday for their members regarding their massive land claim case ("", Vaal Weekly: April 9-15, 2008). In this story, the Office of the Chief Land Claims Commissioner confirmed a R48 million settlement for people who were forcibly removed from Evaton, Sebokeng, Boipatong, Orange Farm and Palm Springs. - News24 website

Man finally laid to rest on farm - 5 May
The funeral of a Limpopo man, who was kept in a mortuary for six weeks because of a dispute between his family and a farm owner on whose land they lived, finally took place yesterday. Senios Mokoena, 72, was laid to rest on Welverdiend farm near Hoedspruit at an emotionally-charged funeral. Mokoena's death and burial has been the subject of disagreement between his family and farmer Hannes Wessels, who refused them permission to bury their relative on his farm. He claimed Mokoena's name did not appear anywhere on the list of people residing on the farm. The matter was finalised at the Randburg court last week after the Maruleng local municipality, with the support of Mabhudafasi, had taken the matter to the land claims court, challenging Wessels' decision.  But the two parties reached an out-of-court settlement after the farmer relented and allowed the family to bury Mokoena on the farm. - Sowetan website

Pretoria

Income accrues to a taxpayer only if he is "entitled" to it - 17 April
This was the finding of a recent court ruling. The judgement of the Pretoria Tax Court in ITC 1824 70 SATC 27 which has just been published, brings welcome clarity to some previously  uncertain aspects of income tax law, and holds important tax planning lessons. - Moneyweb Tax website

13 June 2008
12156/05 [2008] ZAWCHC 34
Treatment Action Campaign and Another v Rath and Others

South African court bans AIDS vitamin trials - 13 June
A South African court on Friday issued an order banning unauthorised clinical trials of vitamin therapies for AIDS conducted by a team including a former adviser to President Thabo Mbeki. The Cape High Court ruled against German physician Matthias Rath and US doctor David Rasnick, a former member of Mbeki's AIDS advisory council, in response to a case brought by the lobby group Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) and the South African Medical Association (SAMA). The two bodies accused Rath of conducting illegal clinical trials among poor blacks and profiteering by selling and distributing unregistered vitamin treatments among poor communities. - Reuters website

Rath's quackery quashed - 14 June
Aids activists call for Minister's dismissal after court rules against vitamin vendor. Friday's Cape High Court ruling against controversial vitamin entrepreneur Matthias Rath has put an end to his quackery in South Africa. But, thanks largely to the support he enjoyed from Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, Rath's fraudulent legacy continues. Where pedlars of so-called Aids cures continue to prey on the sick and desperate. Unsurprisingly, the Treatment Action Campaign has now called for Tshabalala-Msimang's dismissal. - The Times website
Keyphrase :
Medicines Act

6 June 2008
A116/2004
C C van der Berg v State
Appellants appeared in the Cape Town Regional Court on a charge of contravening section 20 read with sections 1, 82(a) and 90 of Act 56 of 1986 (colloquially referred to as illicit diamond buying or IDB). They pleaded not guilty, but were found guilty and sentenced to a fine of R8 000,00 or 18 months imprisonment plus 2 years imprisonment suspended for 5 years on condition that the Appellants were not again found guilty of a similar offence during that period. Appellants appeal against their conviction. It is common cause that the Appellants were caught by means of a police trap or undercover operation. The fundamental issue in this appeal is the application of section 252A of the Criminal Procedure Act 56 of 1977, which deals with traps and undercover operations. Section 252A was introduced into the CPA by way of an amendment and came into effect on 29 November 1996. The date of the offence was 18 April 2000

5 June 2008
10977/2005
C Nevin v University of Cape Town
In 1995, the plaintiff was accepted by the defendant as registered a student pursuing the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Research Unit for Exercise Science and Sports Medicine. On 8 October 2001 the plaintiff submitted a thesis for examination entitled "Initiation and Control of Gait from First Principles – a Mathematically Animated Model of the Foot". The defendant, in terms of its procedures appointed three experts to examine the plaintiff's thesis and make recommendations. The findings of the experts were unfavourable to the plaintiff. An independent assessor appointed by the plaintiff to reconsider the plaintiff's thesis reached the conclusion that "there were no reasonable prospect that the plaintiff's thesis would be a contribution to science and that it therefore lacked the necessary standard of proficiency for the defendant to confer a PhD upon the plaintiff". After the plaintiff was advised that he had not been awarded a PhD, he instituted action against the defendant claiming various forms of relief (including monetary claims totaling R 19 651 550.00). The action arises directly out of the plaintiff's relationship with the defendant as a student and the fact that he was not awarded a PhD. The defendant's contention was that in every aspect the plaintiff's claims were unsustainable and his action is therefore vexatious. Accordingly on these grounds the defendant launched an application seeking an order that the plaintiff provide it with security for costs in the amount of R75 000, 00 in respect of the action

4 June 2008
A725/2007
Minister of Safety and Security and Another v O E Bosman
This is an appeal against an order granted by the magistrate, Paarl in favour of the Respondent. The Respondent (Applicant in the court a quo ) launched an urgent application on notice of motion in the Magistrates' court, seeking relief, inter alia for condonation of the late service of the notice in terms of Section 3(4)(a) of the Institution of Legal Proceedings against Certain Organs of State Act 40 of 2002. The Appellants (Respondents in the court a quo), opposed the application and in limine, raised the issue that in terms of the Magistrates' Court Act 32 of 1944, as amended, the magistrate lacked jurisdiction to hear such an application

4 June 2008
3279/2008
P van der Merwe and Another v J Els and Another
This is an application for an interdict to restrain alleged unlawful competition on the part of the respondents. The applicants base their claim squarely on the principles laid down in the well-known case of Schultz v Butt, in that the present case also concerns the copying of the hull of a catamaran and the applicants also claim that such copying amounts to unlawful competition

2 June 2008
7390/2008
T Crawford-Browne v T A Manuel and Another
The Applicant seeks an order directing the Respondents to comply with an Order by Judges Blignault and Davis given on 26 March 2003 under case number 5129/2002, in terms of which it was ordered that discovery be made, within ten days, of documents containing the advice of the International Offers Negotiating Team and Financial Working Group in respect of the Strategic Armaments Acquisition Programme. Prayers 2 and 3 of the Notice of Motion seek an order that the Respondents be found to be in contempt of the March 2003 Order, and an appropriate sanction in respect of such contempt

30 May 2008
11077/2006
Laingville Fisheries (Pty) Ltd v Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism
It was decided by the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism that, upon expiry of the then existing medium-term quotas in 2005, future fishing rights would be allocated for a period of fifteen years, instead of the much shorter periods utilised until that stage. This judgment concerns the validity of the allocation of some of the long-term fishing rights in the hake deep sea trawl sector of the fishing industry. The allocations were made in terms of the Marine Living Resources Act 18 of 1998. They were made, in the first instance, by the Deputy Director-General, who is the second respondent in these proceedings. The Minister (the first respondent herein), acting in terms of s 79 of the Act, had earlier delegated to the DDG the power to deal with the allocation of long-term fishing rights in the HDST sector

20 May 2008
A101/2008
F J Joubert v E Joubert
This is an appeal against the dismissal by Motala J of an application which was on 15 January 2008 brought as a matter of urgency and in which the following relief was sought : Condoning the Applicant's failure to comply with the Rules of the above Honourable Court in relation to forms, time periods and service, and permitting this matter to be heard urgently in accordance with the provisions of Uniform Rule 6(12(a). That a rule nisi do issue calling upon the Respondent to show cause on the 31st January 2008 why : - The minor child, Jacques, should not be enrolled at St George's Grammar School (Grade 6) with immediate effect ; The Respondent should not be prohibited from having the minor child assessed by any expert without a Court Order allowing her to do so ; The Respondent should not be ordered to pay the costs relating to Part A of this application. That the relief referred to above operate forthwith as an interim order, pending the outcome of this application

16 May 2008
A256/2007
C Fransen v State
The appellant was convicted on a charge of housebreaking with intent to steal and theft in the District Court at Oudtshoorn. Because of his previous convictions sentencing was referred to the Regional Court in terms of section 116(3)(a) of Act 51 of 1977. Appellant was sentenced to 3 years imprisonment. The appellant appeals against his conviction : on the grounds that there was an absence of direct evidence that he had in fact broken into Complainant;s premises ; that the Magistrate drew an erroneous inference that Appellant had committed the offence because he was found to be in possession of the stolen goods ; that the Magistrate erred in finding that the State witnesses had corroborated one another ; that the Magistrate erred in rejecting the explanation given by Appellant which, it is alleged, was reasonably possibly true ; and that the Magistrate erred in basing his conviction on an inadmissible admission made by Appellant

15 May 2008
1351/08
Entsha Henri Pty v Hessequa Municipality and Others
Urgent application for the review and setting aside of a decision made by the executive mayor with regards to the applicant

7 May 2008
A250/2006
City of Cape Town v Arun Property Development (Pty) Ltd and Another
The appellant in this matter took an exception to the first respondent's particulars of claim on the grounds that in three principal respects they were vague and embarrassing. The principles applicable to the taxation of party and party bills of costs in general were not in issue and require little comment. The starting point is Rule 70(3)

6 May 2008
13354/2007
Pick n Pay Retailers (Pty) Ltd v SARS and Others
This application is about the procedural and substantive propriety of the detention by Mr Collin Jansen (the second respondent), an employee of the South African Revenue Services, acting in his capacities as a customs officer in terms of the Customs and Excise Act 91 of 1964 (CEA) and as an inspector in terms of the Counterfeit Goods Act 37 of 1997 (CGA) and the seizure of 19524 pairs of beach sandals (the seized goods) imported into South Africa from China by Pick 'n Pay Retailers (Pty) Ltd (the applicant) in containers TGHU 467653 and TGHU 7265570 (the containers) by virtue of a warrant granted by Senior Magistrate M A Attridge the (fifth respondent) on 5 September 2007 in terms of section 6(1) of the CGA. It is also about whether the seized goods are counterfeit or not and if not whether they should be returned to the applicant
Keyphrase :
Crocs (Footwear)

Africa warms to trademarks - 24 April
The protection of brands is becoming increasingly important in Africa, particularly in light of the upcoming World Cup and some recent court decisions. Darren Olivier, director of Bowman Gilfillan Inc, explains. - Marketingweb website

30 April 2008
12024/2007
S Vermaak v Additional Magistrate (Kuilsrivier)
A review matter based on the findings of the respondent as he chaired the post mortem of the deceased. The exact time of death was under dispute

29 April 2008
153/2008
Faas v State
An appeal in terms of Section 65 of the Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977 against the refusal by a Magistrate of the Blue Downs Magistrate's Court to grant bail to the Appellant on 19 December 2007, case no 153/2008 which was handed down on Friday 29 April by the Hon Ms Justice Y S Meer

25 April 2008
A560/2007
Ndzelu v State
The appellant was convicted on 25 July 2005 in the Regional Court, Wynberg, on a charge of raping a girl aged eleven during 2002. The matter was referred to this court for sentencing in terms of section 52 of Act 105 of 1997. The conviction was confirmed on 30 November 2006 and the appellant was sentenced to life imprisonment. He was subsequently, on 5 February 2007, granted leave to appeal against both the conviction and sentence. An application for bail pending appeal, however, was refused despite the fact that the State did not oppose the application

When love is no more - 10 June
A well-known surfer and a Knysna businesswoman, who is also the widow of an apartheid-era homeland minister, are waging war in the courtrooms of Cape Town and Knysna after he lost out on a high life of restaurant dinners and overseas trips when she dumped him. Ian McDonald, 67, one of the founders of the famous Gunston 500 surfing contest, now known as the Mr Price Pro, is suing Lesley Young, 62, widow of former Bophuthatswana finance minister Leslie Young, for maintenance. They were partners for seven years. Initially, he demanded half her estate, reportedly with a total worth of R30-million. Now McDonald is asking the court to award him half of a Port St Francis property, or alternatively, that Young pays him maintenance deemed reasonable by the Court. Young's counsel, former Pretoria High Court Judge Anne-Marie de Vos said McDonald's brother and son were legally obligated to support him, but that according to a Constitutional Court ruling, his former partner was not. - IOL website
Keyphrase :
Judge Anton Veldhuizen
Magistrates Court. Knysna
Roelof van Riet SC

Urgent application dismissed from court - 28 May
Pinnacle Point Resorts (PPR) were delighted with the High Court decision to dismiss the application brought against them by WESSA (Wildlife & Environment Society of South Africa). The urgent application filed against PPR earlier this month to immediately cease irrigation of more than 75% of the multi award winning golf course in Mossel Bay was finally resolved in the Cape Town High Court today. Judge Veldhuizen ruled in favour of Pinnacle Point and dismissed the application for the interim relief, together with costs. - Pinnacle Point Beach and Golf Resort website

Pinnacle Point artefacts fight continues - 22 May
The urgent High Court application by environment group Wessa for an interdict to stop irrigation of the Pinnacle Point golf course near Mossel Bay that is damaging priceless archaeological deposits in caves below the course has still not been resolved. Earlier this week, the respondent, golf estate development company Pinnacle Point Resorts, applied to have the application dismissed because it said not all the parties who were involved in the issue had been cited as respondents. - IOL website

Judgment reserved in Mossel Bay golf course case - 19 May
The Cape High Court has reserved judgment in an urgent application by the Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa (Wessa) to stop the developers of a golf estate in Mossel Bay from irrigating the golf course. - SABC News website

Pinnacle Point investors 'set to lose assets' - 19 May
The battle resumes in the Cape High Court on Monday concerning golf course irrigation damage to archaeological deposits of immense global significance in caves below the Pinnacle Point golf estate at Mossel Bay. Wessa (Wildlife and Environment Society of SA) is applying for an urgent interdict to force the golf estate development company, Pinnacle Point Resorts, to immediately stop irrigating two practice greens and 12 of the 18 holes on the course. The case is being heard by Judge Anton Veldhuizen, who said that while it was common cause that the deposits were being damaged by water, he had to weigh the potential monetary loss to home owners if the golf course was effectively destroyed.In his affidavit, the development director of the resort, Lance Kinnear, said there were more than 700 home owners who each had "a direct and substantial interest" in the case and who would be substantially negatively affected if the interdict was granted. - IOL website

Court to rule on Muslim polygamous marriages - 14 May
The Cape High Court is to decide on a case which could have serious implications for the Muslim community, namely whether polygamous Muslim marriages should be recognised under South African law. As the law stands now, polygamous African customary marriages are recognised, but religious marriages still enjoy no such protection - leaving many women from these marriages destitute when their husband dies without a will. - allAfrica website

Order issued against radio station manager - 12 May
The Cape High Court has granted a final sequestration order against the former finance manager of Cape Town radio station, Heart 104.9, after his wife filed an affidavit saying that she and her husband did not oppose the application. It is now known that Mario Roos, who disappeared at the end of February after auditors started investigating the radio station's financial affairs, left South Africa on March 7. According to his wife, Monique, she had been unaware of his whereabouts until he recently telephoned her and said he was in London. She told him a provisional sequestration order had been granted against him, and that a final order would be granted.  Mrs Roos said he understood the application and did not intend to oppose it. She has been cited as a respondent and indicated that she also did not intend opposing the order. - IOL website

Civil cases add to Cape High Court backlog - 18 April
The Cape Law Society says it is concerned about the backlog in civil cases in the Cape High Court. The society says that on average, cases take more than two and half years before they are heard. This is despite the fact that such cases are ready for a hearing. The society's Adam Pitman says the backlog began about a year ago when the Transport Department scrapped the Arbitration Forum dealing with Road Accident Fund (RAF) cases. RAF cases are now being referred to the High Court. Pitman says on any given day, 50% of the cases in court are RAF cases. - SABC News website

Carmichele Compensation Case

State gets Carmichele to recall attack saga - 11 April
Photographer Alix Carmichele, who was brutally assaulted and whose precedent-setting case changed common law principles relating to liability on the part of the authorities, yesterday again had to recall the day and details of the attack on her more than 12 years after it happened. In a move to challenge what the state sees as a "suspect" increase in Carmichele's claims, the ministers' legal team cross-examined expert witnesses, and then Carmichele, both on her neck injury and sums involved in the claim. - allAfrica website

Court to decide compensation for attack victim - 7 April
Photographer Alix Carmichele's 12-year precedent-setting legal battle to hold the departments of justice and safety and security liable for a vicious attack suffered at the hands of a known sex offender in 1995 goes back to the Cape High Court today, to decide the amount of compensation she is to receive. Carmichele is seeking compensation of more than R4,6m, including more than R2m for loss of future earnings, after fighting her case all the way to the Constitutional Court. The country's highest court ruled the departments were liable as police had been warned beforehand about the offender. - allAfrica website

Erasmus Commission Case

Zille accuses Rasool of lying in his Cape Town 'Spygate' affidavit - 8 May
Cape Town mayor Helen Zille has accused Western Cape Premier Ebrahim Rasool of lying under oath in an affidavit he made to the Cape High Court last week in a case in which the city council of Cape Town is seeking to declare the Erasmus commission into the "spygate saga" unlawful and unconstitutional. Zille, who is also the leader of the Democratic Alliance (DA), filed an affidavit yesterday in response to one by Rasool last week in which he alleged Zille may have played a bigger role than she has admitted to in the city's dealing with private investigating firm George Fivaz & Associates (GFA). - allAfrica website

Judge is the right choice for inquiry : Rasool - 2 May
Premier Ebrahim Rasool has defended his choice of Judge Nathan Erasmus to chair the inquiry into allegations of maladministration and spying in the City of Cape Town, saying that the job required judicial training. Countering allegations by the city that it was inappropriate for a judge to sit on a commission of inquiry, Rasool said his decision was informed by precedents in the province and nationally, in which sitting judges had performed this role. - IOL website

Judge Erasmus is allowing himself to be abused : Zille - 22 April
The ANC has tried and failed to achieve what it wanted through due process of law, under the Constitution. It cannot find anything that I, the City of Cape Town or the Democratic Alliance did wrong in what it has dubbed the "Spygate saga", a name that has stuck without foundation in the facts. So they have to find another route, via the Erasmus Commission, which we argue is an illegal and unconstitutional political hit squad that the Premier is using to by-pass the due process of law. We are prepared to take our case to the Constitutional Court if necessary to expose this commission for what it is. [Column by Helen Zille]. - Politicsweb website

Erasmus commission set to continue - 14 April
Erasmus commission chairperson Judge Nathan Erasmus on Monday dismissed an application by the City of Cape Town for the commission's suspension. The commission will begin hearing evidence from witnesses on the City of Cape Town's so-called "spy saga" on Tuesday. - Mail & Guardian website

Cape Town launches legal challenge to Erasmus Commission - 8 April
Today I [Dirk Smit] have launched an application with the Cape High Court to challenge the legality of Premier Rasool's new Commission of Enquiry into the City of Cape Town's probe of Cllr Badih Chaaban. We will also ask the Court to pronounce on the legality of the first Erasmus Commission. - Politicsweb website

See also :
Affidavit challenging Erasmus Commission
Summary of legal opinion on Erasmus Commission

Eviction by Authorities

Delft Eviction Case

An executive-minded decision - 20 April
The issue of land claims and homelessness continues to be one of the most pressing of our social problems. Unsurprisingly, the courts have been drawn into the intricacies of this problem, particularly when it comes to squatters and their removal. Recently, in the Johannesburg City case, the Constitutional Court sought to guide authorities confronted with the dilemma of the removal of a large group of people who reside in unsafe buildings but who have nowhere else to live. The court's judgement ruled that the relevant authority engaged with the affected dwellers before eviction could take place : "Engagement is a two-way process in which the city and those about to become homeless would talk to each other meaningfully in order to achieve certain objectives". This follows earlier qualifications to the previously absolute right of an authority or land owner to evict persons, but its full implications do not appear to have reached Cape Town. On March 10, the Cape High Court ordered the eviction of about 20 000 residents from the Joe Slovo settlement. - Mail & Guardian website

Joe Slovo residents voluntary reallocate [sic] - 23 May
While some residents of the Joe Slovo informal settlement in Cape Town wait for a court's judgement which will determine their future, others have started voluntarily moving to temporary relocation areas in Delft. More than 50 families have relocated over the past week, with another 70 set to join them over the next week, according to Thubelisha, government's housing agent mandated to implement low-cost housing in the area. - allAfrica website

See also :
[Cape Provincial Division]
10 March 2008
13189/2007
Homes & Others v Various Occupants & Others

Constitutional Court. Tenant eviction tip

Fidentia Case

Trial may be historic - 17 June
Fidentia's J Arthur Brown might make legal history if his rape claim goes all the way to court and results in a conviction. Previously, male sexual intercourse without consent was not recognised as rape, but as sexual assault or sodomy, until the legislation was changed late last year. District surgeon Dr Paul Theron said Brown was raped in the back of a police van while being transferred from court to Poll smoor prison. Booth said Brown was receiving antiretrovirals and trauma counselling. - allAfrica website

Court moves J Arthur Brown - 11 June
Alleged Fidentia fraudster J Arthur Brown has been moved to Goodwood prison after a court heard that Pollsmoor prison gangs had targeted him. Last month, Brown’s lawyer, William Booth, told the Cape Regional Court his client had suffered an “extremely humiliating” sexual assault while he was being transported in a van from the court to Pollsmoor prison. District surgeon Dr Paul Theron told the court yesterday Brown was a "marked man". He said : "If he is kept at Pollsmoor, the risk of him being sodomised is high". Theron, who used to work at Pollsmoor, expressed reservations about Brown being held there. - The Times website

State wants to keep Brown in jail after wife's flight - 13 May
Susan Brown, the wife of Fidentia CEO J Arthur Brown, fled SA with her children for Australia on April 25 with an unexecuted arrest warrant hanging over her head, the Cape Town District Court was told yesterday. Her husband was arrested on Friday on the same warrant and the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) yesterday applied for an order in terms of the Criminal Procedures Act to keep him locked up for a further seven days, pending an application from the NPA to have his bail on two other charges, totalling just over R1m, cancelled. - allAfrica website

Third Fidentia accused named - 25 April
A third accused will join Fidentia boss J Arthur Brown and Piet Bothma, the suspended CE of the Transport Education Training Authority (Teta), in the dock on fraud and money-laundering charges relating to the collapse of Fidentia - and charges against more people could follow. Jacobus Theart, a broker, was arraigned in the Cape Town Magistrate's Court two weeks ago on an unrelated charge to the Teta allegations and was charged alongside Brown and Bothma. - allAfrica website

US court finds Goodwin can be extradited - 25 April
Steven Goodwin, the man prosecutors claim is the mastermind behind Fidentia's collapse, has lost his bid for freedom. A US court this week upheld his extradition to SA and refused him bail. The position taken by the US court may dash hopes of South Africans who planned to appeal against extradition on the same grounds - among them John Stratton, who is linked to the killing of mining magnate Brett Kebble. - allAfrica website

Browns delay estate order - 18 April
Former Fidentia boss J Arthur Brown and his wife Susan have bought some time to stop a provisional sequestration order against them being made final in the Cape High Court. This is because of a pending application for leave to appeal the refusal of Judge Dennis Davis, who first heard the application, to step down. - allAfrica website

Goodwin to hear if US arrest is legal - 18 April
The man considered by many to be the main architect of Fidentia's fraudulent investment scheme, Steven Goodwin, was willing to come back to SA to face trial. However, negotiations with investigators floundered last year after he refused to consider jail time. Instead, Goodwin, who has been living in Australia, was arrested early this month at a Los Angeles airport by US customs and immigration authorities at the request of the Directorate of Special Operations (Scorpions). Goodwin is expected to hear today in a US court whether his bid to have his arrest declared illegal is successful. He has argued SA has no legal extradition agreement with the US - which makes his arrest illegal as it was executed only to have him extradited to SA. - allAfrica website

See also :
Transvaal Provincial Division. Extradition - Fidentia Case below
Regional Court. Cape Town. Fidentia Case below

Kebble Case

'Yengeni must give back Kebble's cash' - 30 April
The joint trustees of late mining figure Brett Kebble's estate want the Cape High Court to order former ANC chief whip Tony Yengeni to repay more than R250 000 they say he received from Kebble. Yengeni has said he will defend the action. In April last year, the Cape High Court provisionally sequestrated Kebble's estate, and the order was made final on June 13. - IOL website

Kebble estate seeks Gleason cash - 23 April
Trustees for Brett Kebble's estate are pursuing legal action against financial journalist David Gleason, Kebble's friend of nearly 30 years, in a bid to recover R1,3m made in donations to him. Gleason, in court papers resisting a request by the trustees for summary judgment, defended the payments he received personally from Kebble and those made to his company, David Gleason Publications, between 2003 and 2005, saying Kebble had been helping him financially. He is to return to court in August to defend himself against claims by the trustees of Kebble's insolvent estate. - allAfrica website

See also Transvaal Provincial Division. Extradition - Kebble Case below

Taliep Petersen Case

Najwa's new lawyer 'double-booked' for trials - 22 May
Najwa Petersen's latest heavyweight lawyer appears to have made a high-profile double-booking in taking on the case. Senior advocate Johann Engelbrecht assured the Cape High Court on Wednesday that he would be ready to proceed when the Taliep Petersen murder trial resumes on July 28. - allAfrica website

Third Najwa advocate pulls out - 20 May
Najwa Petersen's third advocate, Klaus von Lieres und Wilkau, has withdrawn from the high-profile Taliep Petersen murder trial because of a "shortage of funds". Petersen's defence was set to launch its case in the Cape High Court today, but Von Lieres und Wilkau indicated that his "mandate" had ended "last Friday". - allAfrica website

Sick leave denied - 8 May
The moment was presumably too big for alleged hit organiser Abdoer Raasiet Emjedi, who unsuccessfully pleaded ill health as the spotlight moved from widow Najwa Petersen to him in the Taliep Petersen murder trial. The State alleges that Emjedi arranged two hitmen to kill Taliep Petersen, but Emjedi has pleaded not guilty to all charges in the matter, including murder and conspiracy to commit murder. It is alleged that Najwa Petersen liaised with now State-witness Fahiem Hendricks, who in turn sub-contracted Emjedi to recruit alleged hitmen Waheed Hassen and Jefferson Snyders. Petersen and Snyders have also pleaded not guilty, but Hassen has admitted complicity. - allAfrica website

Petersen intruders 'not real robbers' - 6 May
The robbery in the Petersen household on the night of Taliep Petersen's murder was no ordinary house robbery, the Cape High Court heard on Tuesday. Superintendent Piet Viljoen, commanding officer of the police's organised crime unit, told the court he was so sure of this that he was willing to stake his reputation on it. He said his suspicions were immediately aroused when he arrived at the Petersen house in Athlone the morning after the murders and found the safe still filled with jewellery, valuable old and foreign currency, watches and sunglasses. Furthermore, Najwa Petersen, who was now standing trial for the murder of her husband, was desperate to hold on to what she called her "business phone", when Viljoen wanted to take it for analysis. - allAfrica website

Travelgate Case

Travelgate creditors postpone meeting - 23 May
A meeting of creditors in the Travelgate saga, which was to consider resolutions to absolve a host of MPs of their debts in the liquidation of Bathong Travel, was postponed to August by agreement among the parties yesterday. The agreement was triggered by an urgent application to the Cape High Court from two of the creditors in the matter asking that the meeting be stopped. The meeting was to discuss resolutions that would have let more than 100 MPs off their debt running into millions. Among the respondents in the matter were Parliament, the Master of the High Court and other creditors such as SAA. - allAfrica website

Xenophobia Refugees

Cape Town to fight court order to move displaced - 10 June
City authorities vowed Tuesday to challenge a court order to move some 3 500 immigrants living in a camp near a popular tourist destination after they were forced from their homes in a wave of xenophobic violence. The sprawling camp on a wind-swept beach near the Cape of Good Hope has come to symbolize South Africa's dilemma about what to do with the tens of thousands displaced by the attacks that erupted a month ago. Cape Town's High Court ruled late Monday that the city must open community centers to house the displaced. - Associated Press website

Plan to sue government for millions - 27 May
Fourteen refugees trawled the Cape High Court for legal representation on Monday, spearheading an attempt to launch a class action suit against the government. The refugees say they want a court order compelling the government to reimburse them for the losses they suffered when their businesses were looted and their money stolen. The men say they want to leave South Africa because they feel unsafe. The 14 are part of a group of refugees camping outside the Cape Town police station after they fled the violence which has erupted in the townships. Most of them left their businesses behind and some have not been in contact with their families. - IOL website

See also :
Witwatersrand Local Division. Xenophobia Refugees below
Regional Courts. Xenophobia below

5 June 2008
19/2007 [2008] ZAKZHC 37
G v Sixty-six Others
Mental Health Care Act17 of 2002

8 May 2008
6146/1998 [2008] ZAKZHC 35
Springgold Investments (Pty) Ltd v Guardian National Insurance Company Limited

4 April 2008
9238/2005 ; 10785/2005 [2008] ZAKZHC 36
African Bank Limited trading as ab Commerce v Covmark Marketing cc trading as Covmark Marketing and Others

31 March 2008
2084/2007 [2008] ZAKZHC 26
Dasarath v Hulett Aluminium (Pty) Ltd and Another

27 March 2008
2899/2008 [2008] ZAKZHC 22
Den Braven SA (Pty) Limited v Pillay and Another

Zulu divorce battle sent to ConCourt - 16 June
Durban pensioner Elizabeth Gumede has been married to her husband, Amos, in terms of customary Zulu law for 40 years. She says he never allowed her to work outside the home. Instead, she cleaned their house in Umlazi, looked after her husband and raised their four children. Yet now that the couple are seeking a divorce, she can legally be left poor and destitute. Specific legislation and codes governing Zulu law in KwaZulu-Natal deem the man to be the owner of all family property. Durban high court Judge Leona Theron has declared the offending legislation unconstitutional and Gumede's case is now headed for the constitutional court for final consideration. - IOL website

 

Precedent-setting ruling over billing - 13 June
Attorneys cannot recover fees from clients if they are shown to have acted unprofessionally and against public policy. This is the precedent set by a case reported in South Africa's law reports in which a Durban divorce lawyer tried to sue a client for more than R200 000 for legal work done in attempting to get back his daughter, who had been taken to England by his ex-wife. The case was argued before Judge H J Liebenberg in the Durban High Court last year and judgment was handed down in July. However, it has only recently been reported in the law reports and is deemed to be of "public interest and importance". - IOL website

Helicopter sale goes to high court - 27 May
Two Durban aviation enthusiasts have lodged a high court claim against former club rugby player Gerald Williams, claiming he sold them a dud helicopter. It is alleged that the Westland Wasp helicopter, bought from Williams by businessmen Christian le Clezio and David Neethling, was used by the Royal Navy in the 1982 battle for the Falkland Islands. The aircraft is being kept in a hangar at Durban's Virginia Airport after being deemed "a disaster waiting to happen". Le Clezio and Neethling want their R600 000 back. - IOL website

An Yue Jiang

Ship of shame leaves Luanda - 7 May
Contradictory reports about the Chinese vessel An Yue Jiang, which is carrying a lethal cargo destined for Zimbabwe, surfaced yesterday. Some said it had offloaded its cargo of weapons in Angola while others reported that this was not the case. The International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) and International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) said late yesterday that fellow trade unionists in Angola had informed them that the ship had left Luanda after unloading a cargo of cement and construction material only. "No attempt was made to offload any armaments, and the ship sailed after taking on fuel and food. - Namibian website

German bank gets court order to seize Chinese ship's cargo - 22 April
Germany's government-owned KfW bank got a court order to seize a Chinese ship's cargo of weapons bound for Zimbabwe. But the ship set sail before the order could be served. A court in the South African city of Durban had issued an order for the bank to seize the cargo of Chinese arms onboard the "An Yue Jiang", Kreditanstalt fuer Wiederaufbau (KfW) spokesman Michael Helbig told "Spiegel Online". - DW-World website

Namibian rights group out to prevent Chinese arms ship docking - 22 April
A Namibian rights organization was preparing Tuesday to go to court to try to stop a Chinese freighter carrying weapons destined for Zimbabwe from offloading at Walvis Bay port in Namibia but port control there said it had received no such request from the vessel. - Monsters and Critics website

Unions bid to halt Zimbabwe arms ship - 22 April
Civil society and labour movements yesterday increased pressure on SA and neighbouring governments to stop a consignment of arms and ammunition on a Chinese ship from being delivered to Zimbabwe. The Southern African Litigation Centre (SALC), which won a court bid last week to impound the arms, sent letters yesterday to the justice and defence ministries calling on them to uphold the Durban High Court judgment and dispatch the navy to impound the goods. - allAfrica website

Urgent bid to halt Zim arms shipment - 18 April
An urgent application is being brought in South Africa's High Court to block an arms consignment onboard a ship in Durban's port from reaching Zimbabwe. The urgent application aims to suspend the grant of a conveyance permit allowing the transport of arms, currently on board the An Yue Jiang anchored in Durban's port, to the government of Zimbabwe and to prohibit the off-loading of the consignment and any transport of it through or over the Republic of South Africa. - The Times website

12 June 2008
EL 80/2008 ; ECD 180/2008 [2008] ZAECHC 78
Godfrey and Others v Jaftha and Another

9 June 2008
881/06 [2008] ZAECHC 77
Kameni v Road Accident Fund

5 June 2008
978/06 [2008] ZAECHC 72
Ntsontsoyi v Road Accident Fund

4 June 2008
EL 791/07 ;  ECD 1590/07 [2008] ZAECHC 71
Damler Chrysler Financial Services South Africa (Pty) Ltd v Madikiza

4 June 2008
CA 377/2007 [2008] ZAECHC 63
Jansen v Compensation Commissioner

30 May 2008
3465/04 [2008] ZAECHC 60
Van der Linde and Another v Road Accident Fund

29 May 2008
6047/07 [2008] ZAECHC 70
Public Service Accountability Monitor and Another v Director General : Office of the Premier : Eastern Cape Provincial Government and Another

Eastern Cape ordered to release survey - 30 May
A Grahamstown High Court judge on Thursday ordered Eastern Cape Premier Nosimo Balindlela to release the full version of a survey of service delivery in the province. The Public Service Accountability Monitor (PSAM), which brought the application, said the survey had been withheld from the public since it was completed in mid-2006. The 882-page Rapid Assessment of Service Delivery, based on a survey of over 12 000 households, was commissioned by the premier and produced by the Fort Hare Institute of Social and Economic Research. PSAM said it took the matter to the high court after the province's director-general and Balindlela refused to release the report on the grounds that it was 'primarily an internal planning document' and that it was incomplete until factored into 'the relevant plans of departments and municipalities'. - Legalbrief website
Keyphrase :
Promotion of Access to Information Act 2 of 2000

Court orders Premier to release report - 3 June
Eastern Cape Premier Nosimo Balindlela would abide by a court order to release full findings of a survey on perceptions of the government's performance and service delivery, her office said yesterday. Provincial spokesman Phaphama Mfenyana said the report would be made public "in the coming days". Last week, Grahamstown High Court Judge Elna Revelas ruled in favour of the Rhodes University-based watchdog, the Public Service Accountability Monitor , which approached the court to compel Balindlela to release the report after attempts through internal procedures failed. - allAfrica website

29 May 2008
1115/07 [2008] ZAECHC 69
Matu v Minister of Safety of Security

29 May 2008
1007/07 [2008] ZAECHC 68
Qaukeni People's Organisation trading as Inkonjane Community Radio v Task Team of Inkonjane FM And Others
Whether or not a breakaway group of an association can continue to act, convene general meetings on behalf, conduct elections with a view of changing the board of directors of the association from which it had excised itself or broken away

29 May 2008
4108/05 [2008] ZAECHC 62
Avante Fishing Enterprises v Rafel Ondernemings CC

28 May 2008
CA&R/2008 [2008] ZAECHC 76
S v Gqirana

27 May 2008
31/08 [2008] ZAECHC 59
S v Njalavu

26 May 2008
9229/05 [2008] ZAECHC 75
Venter v Sackstein NO and Others

26 May 2008
EL 201/2005 ; ECD 681/2005 [2008] ZAECHC 67
Hotel Reservation Worldwide (Pty) Ltd v Ristow and Another
Final interdict – restraint of trade – analysis – no ground for granting relief

26 May 2008
814/2008 [2008] ZAECHC 61
Fuller v Kenton Eco Estate Ltd and Others
The applicant applied as a matter of urgency for an interim interdict to stop construction of a development pending the determination of an administrative appeal concerning the first respondent's environmental authorisation to proceed with the development. Doubt was expressed about whether the applicant had established a prima facie right. The court preferred not to deal with this issue in detail as it involved the subject matter of the administrative appeal. It was held, however, that the applicant had failed to establish the apprehension of irreversible harm and that the balance of convenience favoured him. It was also held that the applicant had misconceived the urgency of the matter. The application was dismissed with costs

23 May 2008
CA & R 244/07 [2008] ZAECHC 58
S v Magidigidi

23 May 2008
CA & R 238/2007 [2008] ZAECHC 57
S v Fosi

23 May 2008
1471/95 [2008] ZAECHC 51
Currie v Road Accident Fund

22 May 2008
718/07 [2008] ZAECHC 74
John Gabriel Klopper trading as JK Structures v Burris Lance CC trading as Protec Services
Contract for the conveyance by a public carrier of a 17·5 ton excavator by road – excavator damaged in transit while being driven beneath an overhead bridge on a national road – damage caused by the carrier's driver's negligence – carrier liable for damages for breach of contract

22 May 2008
2223/2006 [2008] ZAECHC 66
Boss v Road Accident Fund

22 May 2008
1115/08 [2008] ZAECHC 65
Great Kei Municipality v Kema

20 May 2008
4421/2005 [2008] ZAECHC 64
Bishini and Others v Minister of Safety and Security

16 May 2008
55/2008 [2008] ZAECHC 56
S v Nongingi

16 May 2008
6104/07 [2008] ZAECHC 50
Booysen v Warren-Smith

14 May 2008
1427/06 [2008] ZAECHC 47
Firstrand Bank Limited v Mayeza

13 May 2008
202/2006 [2008] ZAECHC 46
Manina v Minister of Safety and Security and Another

12 May 2008
979/2006 [2008] ZAECHC 45
Peter v Road Accident Fund

12 May 2008
945/2008 [2008] ZAECHC 39
Appolis v Commissioner of the Correctional Services and Others

9 May 2008
1647/2007 [2008] ZAECHC 38
Nonaye v Minister of Safety and Security and Others

7 May 2008
20070177 [2008] ZAECHC 37
S v Sisi

7 May 2008
20080069 [2008] ZAECHC 36
S v Bam

7 May 2008
CA&R320/06 [2008] ZAECHC 35
S v Burger

6 May 2008
656/07 [2008] ZAECHC 34
Ostling NO v Road Accident Fund

5 May 2008
6113/2007 [2008] ZAECHC 33
Ehrlich v Minister of Correctional Services and Another

5 May 2008
676/2007 [2008] ZAECHC 32
King v King

24 April 2008
890/2007 [2008] ZAECHC 31
MEC, Department of Education, Eastern Cape Province and Another v Bodlani ; Bodlani v MEC, Department of Education, Eastern Cape Province and Another

24 April 2008
1034/2004 [2008] ZAECHC 30
Madyibi v Minister of Safety and Security and Another

EC widow gets R3m damages - 6 May
Mthatha High Court has ordered Safety and Security Minister Charles Nqakula to pay R3million to a Transkei widow who was shot and wounded by her late husband. Her policeman husband Phumzile Madyibi eventually turned the gun on himself. The widow, Florence Dideka Madyibi, of Corana township, sued the minister for R4.5m over the abuse she suffered, claiming her numerous appeals to have her husband's service pistol taken away from him were ignored. - Dispatch Online website

24 April 2008
2/2008 [2008] ZAECHC 29
Manong Associates (Pty) Ltd v Eastern Cape Department of Road and Transport and Others

17 April 2008
361/04 [2008] ZAECHC 28
Bouwer v Bouwer and Another

15 April 2008
1481/2007 [2008] ZAECHC 27
B Braun Medical (Pty) Limited v Fresenus Kabi South Africa (Pty) Ltd

10 April 2008
48/07 [2008] ZAECHC 49
S v Lessing

10 April 2008
176/07 [2008] ZAECHC 48
S v Mduma

5 June 2008
189/2008 [2008] ZAFSHC 35
S v Kgomotsana

5 June 2008
293/08 [2008] ZAFSHC 34
S v Mothisi

2 June 2008
A455/07 [2008] ZAFSHC 33
S v Languza

26 May 2008
232/08 [2008] ZAFSHC 32
S v Nteleki

26 May 2008
257/08 [2008] ZAFSHC 31
S v Phire

16 May 2008
3105/2007 [2008] ZAFSHC 30
Yellow Star Properties 1087 (Edms) Bpk v Lurama 149 (Edms) Beperk

15 May 2008
1590/2007
De Beers Consolidated Mines Limited v The Regional Manager, Mineral Regulation Free State Region : Department of Minerals and Engergy and 3 Other
No internal appeal lies from the refusal of the Deputy Director to grant a conversion of a prospecting permit (paragraph [5]). The provisions of section 96(3) with regard to the internal appeal provisions are not prescriptive. Old order prospecting permits which were in force when the MPRDA came into operation on 1 May 2004, remain in force for a period of two years from 1 May 2004. (Paragraph [6] last paragraph). Order granted directing second and third respondents to convert applicant's old order prospecting permit into a prospecting right

Mining industry, government at odds over High Court ruling on mine dump rights - 13 June
South Africa's mining industry and the Department of Minerals and Energy (DME) are at odds over a December ruling in the Bloemfontein High Court that the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act (MPRDA), of 2002, does not apply to all of South Africa's old mine dumps. The case was brought to court by diamond giant De Beers, following a decision by the DME to grant prospecting rights to Ataqua Mining over the dumps at De Beers' Jagersfontein mine, in the Free State, where mining operations ceased in 1971 - in other words, long before the implementation of the MPRDA. In their ruling on December 13, 2007, Judges Kruger and Beckley set aside the granting of the prospecting rights, noting that the provisions of the MPRDA do not apply to the Jagersfontein dumps. - Creamer Media's Mining Weekly website

See also :
13 December 2007
3215/06 [2007] ZAFSHC 74
De Beers Consolidated Mines Ltd v Ataqua Mining (Pty) Ltd and Others

15 May 2008
5254/07 [2008] ZAFSHC 29
Kubu tsa Tlhabiroe Construction CC JV and Others v Moqhaka Local Municipality

15 May 2008
5209/06 [2008] ZAFSHC 28
Rantso v MEC, Department of Health

15 May 2008
842/2008 [2008] ZAFSHC 27
Bridgestone SA (Pty) Ltd v SA Truck Bodies (Pty) Ltd

15 May 2008
761/2007 [2008] ZAFSHC 26
Mphatsoe v Mohlala

8 May 2008
1133/2008 [2008] ZAFSHC 25
Khomo v Khomo

8 May 2008
59/2008 [2008] ZAFSHC 24
S v Tsholo and Others

5 May 2008
019/2004 [2008] ZAFSHC 23
Muller v Vrystaat Provinsiale Regering and Another

30 April 2008
1781/08 [2008] ZAFSHC 22
Nel NO and Others v Cilliers NO

24 April 2008
5700/2007
Sonja Beeston v Tsiu Vincent Matsepe NO en 4 Ander
Insolvensie – eggenote se eise ingevolge artikel 21(4) van die Insolvensiewet 24 van 1936. Applikant moet aantoon dat sy 'n regsgeldige titel gehad het tydens die verkryging van die betrokke bates (par [57]). By die oorweging van die bewering wat die applikant maak ten aansien van al die transaksies, moet gekyk word na die aard en substansie van die transaksies, asook al die omstandighede van die saak ten einde te bepaal wat die ware bedoeling van die insolvent en die applikante was met die onderskeie transaksies. Jooste v De Witt NO 199(2) SA 355(%) te 362C-E ; Snyman v Rheeder NO 1989(4) SA 496(T) ; Beddy NO v Van der Westhuizen 199(3) SA 913(HHA) te B-F

24 April 2008
201/2007
Griesel v Liebenberg
Spoliation is not a delict which gives the unlawful possessor (spoliatus) an action for damages against the owner who resorts to self-help

19 March 2008
108/2008 [2008] ZAFSHC 16
S v Manale

19 March 2008
2578/2004
Kok v Dalton
Nalatigheid – toets – verweerder het eiser, 'n vermeende inbreker met 'n vuurwapen verwond. Hy het tussen bome deurgeskiet. Verweerder moes redelikerwys skade aan eiser voorsien het. Abstrakte en relatiewe benadering tot nalatigheid bespreek [36]. Dit word nie van 'n persoon verwag om skade met wiskundige sekerheid te voorsien nie [38]. Hof bevind verweerder 80% nalatig en eiser 20% omdat hy besluit het om weg te hardloop toe verweerder hom beveel het om stil te staan en ‘n waarskuwingskoot geskiet het [43]

13 March 2008
4136/05 [2008] ZAFSHC 15
Van Niekerk and Another v Van Eeden and Others

13 March 2008
A833/2007 [2008] ZAFSHC 14
S v Jeje

13 March 2008
122/2008
Mogopodi v The Membe of The Executive Council of The Free State
Civil proceedings – Notice under section 3(2)(a) of the Institution of Legal Proceedings against Certain Organs of State, Act 40 of 2002. Purpose of notice is to give organ of State an opportunity to investigate merits. Notice is peremptory and must be adequate [7]

6 March 2008
996/07 [2008] ZAFSHC 13
S v Kele and Others

28 February 2008
5711/07 [2008] ZAFSHC 12
Van Den Berg v Senwes Beperk

28 February 2008
A262/2005 [2008] ZAFSHC 11
Minister of Safety and Security v Moloi

27 February 2008
6567/2007 [2008] ZAFSHC 17
Ixhanti Lethu Trading (Edms) Beperk v Matjhabeng Munisipaliteit and Others

21 February 2008
A338/2004 [2008] ZAFSHC 10
S v Mokhemise

21 February 2008
18/2005 [2008] ZAFSHC 9
S v Ndaba

7 February 2008
1535/2006
Saila v Thulo and 6 Others
Review – must be brought within reasonable time [6]. Conversion of Certain Rights into Leasehold or Ownership Act 81 of 1988 Discussed [6]. Inordinate delay (7 years) caused serious prejudice to respondents [1]. Prescription – Applicant's right to have house transferred to her prescribed after 3 years [12]. Application dismissed

11 June 2008
7321/06 [2008] ZAKZHC 39
Meer Hardware CC v Nedbank Limited and Others

1 April 2008
AR 336/2007 [2008] ZAKZHC 29
Progress Bulk Carriers Limited v Sylvia Shipping Company Limited and Another

1 April 2008
AR 416/07 [2008] ZAKZHC 23
Santam Limited and others v Segal

27 March 2008
1659/07 [2008] ZAKZHC 33
Sader v Warda Butchery CC t/a RS Butchery

20 March 2008
2491/06 [2008] ZAKZHC 25
Oosman and Another v Khan and Others

19 March 2008
4327/06 [2008] ZAKZHC 24
Ngcobo v Minister of Safety and Security

Law firm ignored cautions on 'touting' : Law Society - 19 June
Partners at Durban law firm Meumann White had defiantly continued offering 'sweeteners' to mortgage originators and estate agents to secure conveyancing work, in spite of repeated cautions from the KwaZulu-Natal Law Society that they were breaking touting rules. This was the gist of submissions made by Advocate Yoga Moodley, for the Law Society, in its application to have six past and present partners of the firm struck from the roll of attorneys. - Legalbrief website

Legal firm in trouble over R1.7m touting claim - 18 June
Prominent Durban legal firm Meuman White spent R1.7million on gifts, advertising, sponsorships and entertainment – but denied the firm was touting for business. The claim was made in response to the KwaZulu-Natal Law Society's application for the partners to be struck from the roll of attorneys and conveyancers. The case, which starts tomorrow in Pietermaritzburg High Court, is set down for three days and is regarded as a test case, vital to conveyancers, estate agents and the property industry. - Dispatch Online website

Lawyers face touting charges - 17 June
Five past and present partners of one of Durban's biggest law firms will be fighting for their professional lives on Wednesday when the KwaZulu-Natal Law Society applies to have them all struck from the roll of attorneys and conveyancers for touting for business. The case is considered a test of the law society's rules on how attorneys conduct business. The matter has been set down for three days in the Pietermaritzburg High Court before Deputy Judge President Phillip Levinsohn, assisted by Durban advocate and Acting Judge Barry Skinner. - IOL website

Former Comrades CEO off the hook - 18 June
An application by the state to set aside the acquittal of former Comrades Marathon Association CEO Linda Barron on culpable homicide and drunken driving charges was struck off the Pietermaritzburg High Court roll on a technicality on Tuesday. Judges Thumba Pillay and David Ntshangase concurred that the state's founding affidavit, in its review application, did not contain sufficient information to make out a case, and needed to be more specific. The matter was removed from the roll and state advocate Dorian Paver indicated he would relaunch it in coming months. - IOL website
Keyphrase :
Chas Smit

NPA seizes assets from alleged drug lord - 10 June
Members of the NPA's Asset Forfeiture Unit have seized five immovable properties and several vehicles belonging to an alleged drug lord in Pietermaritzburg. The assets are valued at R5 million. The owner is alleged to have been trafficking Mandrax and cocaine for 10 years. She is currently out on bail of R50 000. Police say Joyce Khomane is the ring leader of a syndicate. - SABC News website

Man who killed for a DVD player sentenced to life - 27 May
Pietermaritzburg High Court Judge Kate Pillay sentenced a 27-year-old man, Mlungisi Ngubane, to life plus 15 years’ imprisonment here yesterday for the "callous and heinous" murder of a 71-year-old woman in the Pietermaritzburg area on August 7 last year. "That a picture paints a thousand words cannot be more true when one has sight of the photo album, in this case depicting the deceased after this brutal killing," the judge said. She said words could not describe the trauma and indignity the elderly victim - Nomalanga Lena Gcabashe - suffered in the last moments of her life. - Witness website

Rapist gets two life sentences - 13 May
A 36-year-old man who repeatedly raped his own daughter and niece, both aged 12, while forcing them to watch pornography was given two life sentences in the Pietermaritzburg High Court on Tuesday. The man was convicted in the regional court and referred to the High Court for sentencing. Judge Piet Koen said the man isolated the girls and repeatedly raped them, one by one. - IOL website

Seven face charges for Greytown terror reign - 8 May
Seven alleged gang members appeared in the Pietermaritzburg High Court on Wednesday for the start of their trial amid heavy police presence. The men, Thokozani Ntanzi, Muhle Mkhize, Sibongiseni Mchunu, Sibongiseni Mkhize, Vusimuzi Ndawonde, Mziwandile Mkhize and Nkosikhona Mkhize face 17 counts. They have been charged with three counts of murder, six counts of attempted murder, six counts of robbery with aggravating circumstances and two counts of illegal possession of firearms and ammunition. - IOL website

Magistrate sues minister - 6 May
Magistrate Ashin Singh said on Monday that bullet-proof vests had surrounded his home to arrest him in an early morning raid. He told the Pietermaritzburg High Court : "Policemen stood at every door and window. Warrants to search my home and my office were not lawful". Singh was testifying in a case in which he is claiming R2,87-million from the minister of justice and constitutional development. His claim is made up of R2,5-million for insult and R370 000 costs to defend himself from prosecution. - IOL website

Court sets aside subpoenas for Scorpions - 5 April
The Pietermaritzburg High Court on Friday set aside subpoenas on Scorpions bosses advocate Gerrie Nel and investigator Andrew Leask calling on them to testify on the sentence of a man convicted of possessing cocaine. The subpoenas were issued at the behest of Pietermaritzburg magistrate Ashin Singh. - IOL website

Tenants confined to 'hen house' - 5 May
Tenants claim that a farmer at Thornville, near Pietermaritzburg, has placed them in a "hen house" after a court ruled that the farmer, who is also a policeman, build them new dwellings after he evicted them and demolished their homes. Lilyfontein farmer Jabulani Goge, who bought the farm in 2005, was ordered by the Pietermaritzburg High Court in April 2007 to rebuild the homes he had demolished when evicting the 20 tenants who were living there. - IOL website

Boy gets leave to appeal - 26 April
A boy who was 13 when he was found guilty of the murder of his friend and spent two years in prison was given permission on Thursday to appeal to the Supreme Court of Appeal against his conviction. The boy was arrested in September 2004 for stabbing his friend, Nkosikhona Ngobese, 14, in Mpophomeni, Howick. A day later he pleaded guilty in the Pietermaritzburg Regional Court to murder and was sentenced to eight years' imprisonment to be served at the Ekuseni Youth Development Centre in Newcastle. The case went on appeal to the Pietermaritzburg High Court in 2006 where the murder conviction was confirmed.
 - IOL website

'Showy mayor' takes on ANC - 7 May
An IFP mayor who wanted to buy a new mayoral robe and limo but was instead fired, will today challenge his dismissal in court. Petros Ngubane, the mayor of Umvoti municipality in Greytown, in the KwaZulu-Natal Midland, got the boot when he pushed for a 12 percent increase to finance "the purchase of a new luxury R400 000 vehicle and new ceremonial gowns, robes and chains to the tune of R225 000".  ANC councilors instead passed a vote of no confidence in him and rejected the draft budget. Ngubane's challenge of his dismissal will be heard today in the Pietermaritzburg high court. - Sowetan website

Ousted mayor takes council to court - 22 April
Ousted Ukhahlamba municipality mayor Vikizitha Mlotshwa has taken the council to the Pietermaritzburg high court to protest his removal. Mlotshwa was removed two weeks ago when councillors of his own party, the IFP, adopted a motion of no confidence in him. Mlotshwa insists he legally remains the mayor. - Sowetan website
Keyphrase :
Municipal Structures Act

KZN man burned, axed to death - 22 May
A woman was sentenced in the Pietermaritzburg High Court on Tuesday to an effective 18 years' imprisonment for the brutal murder of her fiance. Thirty-two-year-old Soliwe Mzobe pleaded guilty to one count of murder, one count of arson and a charge of theft. She admitted to setting her 59-year-old fiance, Matolweni Kunene, on fire before assaulting him with an axe at his home in Port Shepstone on the night of November 23 2007.  Mzobe explained in her plea that Kunene was her late sister's husband. "My mother insisted that I marry him after my sister died. In order to escape the marriage, I ran away from him, but was forced to return home when my family traced my whereabouts," she told Judge Kevin Swain. The mother of one said that during her term of engagement to Kunene, he became physically and verbally abusive towards her and accused her of being in a relationship with her friend, Zandile Chiliza. - IOL website

Truck owner sues for damages - 20 May
A new Hanover businesswoman has won R274 580 in damages after her articulated truck was damaged when the road it was on collapsed, resulting in the truck toppling down an embankment. Elizabeth Rommelspacher sued Transport, Community Safety and Liaison MEC Bheki Cele for the damage.  Court papers said the department was obliged or duty bound to ensure that all public roads in KwaZulu-Natal were safe, and that roads were constructed to carry vehicle traffic safely. - IOL website

Wife-stabber gets 15 years in jail - 8 April
Mthandwa Dlamini, 29, who stabbed his common law wife at least eight times, was on Tuesday sentenced to 15 years in prison in the Pietermaritzburg High Court. Dlamini - in a fit of rage - had accused his wife of infidelity and had stabbed her to death. Dlamini said : "Overcome with remorse and appalled by my actions I telephoned the police and told them what I had done". - IOL website
Keyphrase :
Judge Kevin Swain

Killer's child in adoption tussle - 11 May
The four-year-old son of slain Pietermaritzburg mother Valencia Vather is at the centre of a legal tussle between her brother and her husband - the man convicted of murdering her. Neshendran "Nico" Vather was this week jailed for life in the Pietermaritzburg High Court for stabbing his wife to death in their Prestbury home in 2005. He left his son, who was two years old at the time, beside his dead mother's body before going out for a night of drinking and sex. Vather has opposed a move by his brother-in-law, Reynard Royappen, to adopt his son, for whom he has been caring since Valencia's death. Royappen, who is single, has also assumed the role of father to his sister's two daughters from a previous marriage. He is in the process of adopting Valencia's 14-year-old daughter, the younger of the two girls. - IOL website

Cold killer shrugs at life in jail - 7 May
Guilty and sentenced to life behind bars! That was the fate of convicted murderer Nishendren "Nico" Vather at the Pietermaritzburg High Court on Tuesday. Judge Piet Koen and two assessors found that the evidence in the marathon murder trial proved Vather's guilt beyond all reasonable doubt. Described as a "cold and callous monster" by both Koen and state advocate Deelan Naidoo, Vather smiled as he was led down to the court holding cells after sentence was passed. - IOL website

Man killed his wife, then went drinking - 7 May
A 35-year-old man was sentenced to life in prison by the Pietermaritzburg High Court today for the murder of his wife. The court heard that Nico Vather fatally stabbed his wife, placed their two-year-old son next to her body on their bed, went drinking, satisfied his urges with two prostitutes and spent the rest of the night at the home of friends. The child stayed next to his mother’s body until 5am when Vather came home with his friends. These horrific details were recounted in court, before Judge Piet Koen sent Vather to jail for life. Vather was convicted of murder in 1992 and sentenced to 15 years’ jail, but in 2002 he was released on special remission of sentence. Koen said that had Vather served the full sentence his wife Valencia would still be alive. Vather was also convicted of indecent assault in 1991 and assault in 2004. The judge said he had a propensity to violence and society should be protected from him. - The Times website

Witness says he lied after HIV infection threat - 6 May
An awaiting trial prisoner who gave evidence against Pietermaritzburg wife-murder accused Nico Vather a week ago told the Pietermaritzburg High Court yesterday he lied after Vather threatened to pass the HI virus on to him. "He [Vather] told me that if I happen to say anything he will give me his Aids by cutting his hand and assaulting me and giving me his blood", Jason Chetty told Judge Piet Koen and two assessors. Chetty, a former cellmate of Vather's in Pietermaritzburg’s New Prison, confirmed evidence he gave on April 25, about a fight he allegedly witnessed between Vather and another detainee, Mark David, in prison, and said David subsequently confided in him that he was going to testify against Vather at his trial to "get revenge".  - Witness website

Vather trial assault evidence - 26 April
The Pietermaritzburg High Court was told yesterday that a fellow prisoner had given evidence against accused wife murderer Nico Vather because he had assaulted the man. Jason Chetty, who is an awaiting-trial detainee, said prisoner Mark David testified in court that Vather had confessed to David that Vather had killed his wife Valentia because Vather had assaulted David. - TIOS website

Vather confessed to me : landlady - 22 April
Yet another state witness revealed in the Pietermaritzburg High Court on Tuesday that accused killer Nershendren "Nico" Vather confessed to murdering his wife. Testifying yesterday, Vather's landlady, Martha van der Merwe, said that on the morning after Valentia had been killed, Vather told her that he had done it. - IOL website

Prison pal blamed for wife's murder - 20 April
Nershendran "Nico" Vather, accused of killing his wife, has attempted to pin the murder on an "obsessive" businesswoman and convicted killer in the Pietermaritzburg High Court. The state alleges that Vather stabbed his wife, Valencia, 38, in their home following a stormy marriage. Vather, 32, has pleaded not guilty. He claimed in a statement that businesswoman Yasmin Shaik - whom he befriended while they were both in prison about eight years ago - was with Valencia and their son when he left home on the night of her death. - The Times website

Wife was alive when I left, Vather says - 16 April
A man on trial in the Pietermaritzburg High Court for his wife's murder denied guilt on Tuesday, saying his wife was alive when he left home the night she was killed. Nershendran (Nico) Vather is alleged to have murdered Valencia Vather in the home they had been renting in Prestbury, Pietermaritzburg, on November 2, 2005. - IOL website

Court Security

Theft highlights lax court security - 12 June
Security at the Pietermaritzburg courts is under the spotlight after the theft of a High Court judge's laptop on Monday morning. CCTV camera footage shows a well-dressed man entering the second floor of the High Court building through a fire escape entrance. The second floor houses the judges' chambers. The thief's face is clearly visible on camera footage, which shows him pacing up and down the corridors, scoping out the scene before he made his move. - IOL website

Zuma Case

Zuma trial only in 2010 - 18 May
Jacob Zuma will not go on trial for corruption, fraud and other criminal charges until he is president of the country. And it might even be deep into his first term before he has to take a seat in the dock. "Given the agreements reached by all the parties concerned at our Thursday meeting with Vuka Tshabalala, the judge president of KwaZulu-Natal, I can't see a criminal trial taking place before 2010," Michael Hulley, Zuma's attorney, told Weekend Argus day. - IOL website

Top judge takes Zuma prosecutor to task - 13 May
KwaZulu-Natal Judge President Vuka Tshabalala has taken the province's deputy director of public prosecutions to task for setting down for trial the corruption case against African National Congress (ANC) president Jacob Zuma without consulting him or the other parties to the case. In a letter to prosecutor Anton Steynberg last week, Tshabalala said : "While you allege that the matter was set down for August 4 2008, no arrangement was made with me and I have not had any contact with your office in this regard". - AllAfrica website

NPA date blunder casts new doubt on Zuma trial - 13 May
An astonishing administrative oversight by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) could further delay the troubled prosecution of African National Congress (ANC) president Jacob Zuma, raising the prospect that SA’s next president could be sworn in early next year while still facing criminal charges. The administrative lapse came to light yesterday when it emerged that the NPA - which has faced a torrent of criticism over its handling of the now seven-year-long Zuma probe - apparently failed to consult KwaZulu-Natal Judge President Vuka Tshabalala over a date for the trial. It has said publicly, however, that the trial would commence in August. - Business Day website

Zuma's Mauritius case postponed - 18 April
The case against the president of the African National Congress (ANC) in Mauritius has been postponed, the SABC reported on Friday. The case has been postponed to May 7. Ayesha Jeewa Zuma's lawyer told SABC News that the case had been postponed because the defence team wanted to study the affidavit filed by Mauritian Attornery-General Rama Valayden. The Attorney-General's office said it had filed the affidavit to oppose Zuma in a bid to stop the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) from getting access to documents for its corruption case against him. Valayden is opposing Zuma's bid to stop the documents from being sent to South Africa, said the SABC. - IOL website

6 June 2008
700/2008 [2008] ZANCHC 25
Botha and Another v Hendriks NO and Others

23 May 2008
729/2007 [2008] ZANCHC 26
Dauth and others v Minister of Safety and Security and Others

23 May 2008
394/04 ; 99/06 [2008] ZANCHC 24
Coetzee v Malan ; Coetzee v Padongelukkefonds

9 May 2008
461/2007 [2008] ZANCHC 22
Riley v Sliep NO and Others

22 April 2008
30/08 [2008] ZANCHC 20
S v Van Staden

18  April 2008
10/2007 [2008] ZANCHC 19
S v Williams

4 April 2008
CA&R 83/07 [2008] ZANCHC 21
S v Maasdorp

4 April 2008
CA &R 52/07 [2008] ZANCHC 18
Bestuursraad van Laerskool Sentraal,Kakamas v Sersant van Kradenburg and Another

28 March 2008
15/2008 [2008] ZANCHC 17
S v Brown

20 March 2008
CA&R 14/2007 [2008] ZANCHC 23
S v Nhlathi

7 March 2008
29/2005 [2008] ZANCHC 16
S v Nelson

9 June 2008
A446/2008 [2008] ZAGPHC 165
S v Mavungu

6 June 2008
A790/06 [2008] ZAGPHC 164
D F Projects Properties v H Savy Insurance Company Limited

6 June 2008
23917/08 [2008] ZAGPHC 163
Du Bruyn v Nasionale Kommisaris SAPD and Another

6 June 2008
7049/08 [2008] ZAGPHC 162
Barrat, Ex parte

6 June 2008
37053/07 [2008] ZAGPHC 160
EGL Eagle Global Logistics (South African Proprietary) Limited v Eagle Logistics CC and Another

3 June 2008
39358/2007 [2008] ZAGPHC 154
National Director of Public Prosecutions v Van Zyl and Others

3 June 2008
54967/2007 [2008] ZAGPHC 153
Lotter and Another v Roos and Another
Cancellation of agreement of sale

3 June 2008
42073/2007 [2008] ZAGPHC 152
Best Care Medical Supplies CC v Standard Bank of South Africa Ltd and Another

3 June 2008
12464/2006 [2008] ZAGPHC 151
Ledwaba v NTT Toyota Groblersdal and Another

3 June 2008
11860/2006 [2008] ZAGPHC 150
Rothauge v Nedbank Limited and Another

2 June 2008
63/15/2005 [2008] ZAGPHC 158
S v Maphanga

2 June 2008
A07/08 [2008] ZAGPHC 157
S v Dube

2 June 2008
A430/08 [2008] ZAGPHC 156
S v Mahlangu and Another

2 June 2008
19804/2007 [2008] ZAGPHC 149
Lejay Mining Supplies BK v Brits

28 May 2008
14386/2008 [2008] ZAGPHC 143
Glenister v President of the Republic of South Africa and Others
Keyphrase :
Scorpions

Judge refuses to interfere with government - 29 May
Judge Willie van der Merwe is adamant that Joburg businessman Hugh Glenister's court bid to save the Scorpions involves "crucial and important political matters" - but says he does not have the power to decide them. The judge said he could not interfere with the government's processing of legislation that would dissolve the Scorpions, "even if it may be said (that this process) may detrimentally affect the Scorpions in that it will lose expertise and its ability to fight serious crime". - IOL website

Court bid to save Scorpions fails - 29 May
The Pretoria High Court yesterday dismissed Johannesburg businessman Hugh Glenister's bid to stop President Thabo Mbeki and his cabinet from persisting with legislation to disband the Scorpions. Judge Willem van der Merwe said the high court did not have jurisdiction to hear the matter and said it involved important political matters that could fall within the jurisdiction of the Constitutional Court. - allAfrica website

Sting in the tale - 29 May
The Pretoria High Court's ruling that it does not have the jurisdiction to intervene to prevent the government from disbanding the Scorpions is clearly a setback for those fighting for the unit's survival, especially in the light of the indecent haste that has marked the process so far. Just as Johannesburg businessman Hugh Glenister's original application intended to prevent the government from preparing enabling legislation became obsolete when the bills in question were rushed through, so Judge Willie van der Merwe's decision could result in further attempts at saving the Scorpions by means of court action being overtaken by events. - allAfrica website

NPA boss wants to give new set-up a chance - 29 May
Acting head of the National Prosecutions Authority (NPA) Mokotedi Mpshe kept his options open when he reacted to the Pretoria High Court's decision to turn down businessman Hugh Glenister's application to stop the government from disbanding the NPA (Scorpions). Mpshe said that the NPA would abide by the court's decision, and the merger of the Scorpions and the South African Police Service (SAPS) had to be given a chance. - allAfrica website

Second law to scrap Scorpions before Parliament - 23 May
The second piece of legislation needed to give effect to the decision to scrap the elite Scorpions crime fighting unit - the National Prosecuting Authority Amendment Bill - was tabled in Parliament yesterday. The bill is companion legislation to the SA Police Service Amendment Bill which was tabled last week. It will provide for the repeal of the sections of the NPA Act under which the Directorate of Special Operations, or Scorpions, was created. - allAfrica website

Scorpions bills 'nothing to do with Polokwane' - 22 May
The introduction of three bills recently to transfer the Scorpions to the police service was a result of a continuing process since 2006, and had nothing to do with the African National Congress (ANC) resolution in Polokwane to disband the Scorpions, the Pretoria High Court heard yesterday. The government was responding to Johannesburg businessman Hugh Glenister's application to stop President Thabo Mbeki and the safety and security and justice ministers from initiating legislation to dissolve the Scorpions. - allAfrica website

Scorpions fleeing the nest, court told - 21 May
The intended dissolution of the Scorpions had had a detrimental effect on the effectiveness of the prosecution-led unit, which had a conviction rate of between 84% and 92% since it started operating in 2001, the Pretoria High Court heard yesterday. The disbanding of the Scorpions would serve no government purpose as it would transfer a functional unit into the South African Police Service, which was not coping with the high levels of contact crimes such as murder and aggravated robbery, it was said. - allAfrica website

The Scorpions concern - 11 May
Hugh "Bob" Glenister, the enigmatic Johannesburg businessman who calls himself "a concerned citizen" and has applied for an interdict in the Pretoria High Court against the government's plan to disband the Scorpions, talks volubly. He is a serious man seeking nothing less than "the truth" about the imminent disbanding of the elite crime-fighting unit and the vindication of his constitutional rights. His formidable legal team is an elite fighting body in itself, comprising attorney Kevin Louis and advocates David Unterhalter and Alfred Cockrel. For legal fees and a publicity campaign, Glenister has been thus far set back R600 000.  - IOL website

New name, same job? - 11 May
The new police team to replace the Scorpions in the fight against organised crime will be selected by South Africa's top cop and will be called the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI). This is according to the General Law Amendment Bill approved by cabinet last week, but which has yet to be tabled in parliament, given that the state law adviser needs to first consider whether to certify it as constitutional. - IOL website

23 May 2008
G19/00006/2008 [2008] ZAGPHC 155
S v Brown

20 May 2008
19471/2003 [2008] ZAGPHC 147
Matthews, Ex parte

20 May 2008
51061/2007 [2008] ZAGPHC 145
Tritan Developments (Pty) Ltd and Others v MD Maluleke Leasing (Pty) Ltd and Others

16 May 2008
A1790/2002  [2008] ZAGPHC 146
S v Tshoane

16 May 2008
A1249/2006 [2008] ZAGPHC 139
S v Khumalo

13 May 2008
A831/2005 [2008] ZAGPHC 135
Trustees of the time being of the Biowatch Trust v Registrar Genetic Resources and Others (Open Democracy Advice Centre as Amicus Curiae)

Biowatch says to appeal Constitutional Court cost order - 19 May
Non-governmental organisation (NGO) Biowatch said it would lodge an application for leave to appeal to the Constitutional Court against the order that it pay the legal costs of Monsanto South Africa – the local component of the world's largest genetically modified (GM) seed company. This came after Biowatch had put in a court application for access to information on decision-making about the permitting of GM crop applications. - Creamer Media's Engineering News website

12 May 2008
CC7/07 ; CC192/07 [2008] ZAGPHC 148
S v Mokoena ; S v Phaswane

7 May 2008
CC247/2006 [2008] ZAGPHC 140
S v De Clercq en Andere

Saambou duo discharged on all counts - 8 May
Two high-ranking former Saambou Bank officials who faced charges related to the bank's collapse in 2002 were discharged yesterday when Pretoria High Court Judge Willem van der Merwe found they had no case to answer. The court ruled that former director Charles Edwards and former financial manager Gerhardus de Clercq could not be found guilty of 10 counts of fraud, one of theft and two of contravening the Companies Act, involving R640m. - allAfrica website

7 May 2008
A475/2007 [2008] ZAGPHC 131
S v Becker and Others

6 May 2008
15383/2005 [2008] ZAGPHC 130
Minister of Trade and Industry and Another v EL Enterprises and Another

5 May 2008
A597/2006 [2008] ZAGPHC 132
S v Van Der Merwe

30 April 2008
13281/2008 [2008] ZAGPHC 127
Ziphi Nkomo Consultants CC v Ziphi Nkomo One Labour Hire CC and Others

30 April 2008
17536/2008 [2008] ZAGPHC 126
Coetsee v Coetsee
Permission to remove minor children to Abu Dhabi

29 April 2008
1012/07 [2008] ZAGPHC 134
Hillcrest Village (Pty) Ltd and Another v Nedbank Limited and Others

Director wants houses back after dodgy Nedbank auction - 5 May
A director of a property development company who alleges that he was defrauded by Nedbank and his company's joint liquidators wants all 137 properties sold to the bank for a nominal value of R750 each to be returned to the company. Eddy de la Pierre, the director of Waterkloofspruit Properties, said last week that the properties were worth about R400 million two years ago and would fetch considerably more today. - Business Report website

Nedbank was dishonest in auction : judge - 30 April
A Pretoria high court judge has found "overwhelming evidence" of fraud or collusion between Nedbank and liquidators, including controversial liquidator Enver Motala, in the auction of more than 100 properties owned by a Pretoria property development company. Mavundla declared the dissolution of Waterkloofspruit Projects void and revived the company in liquidation. He ordered that the company's liquidation and distribution account at the master of the high court be reopened ; that new liquidators be appointed ; and that Nedbank and the joint liquidators pay the cost of the application, which was brought by Hillcrest Village and a family trust represented by Crystal Cooper de la Pierre and Robert de la Pierre. At the auction in March 2001, Nedbank bought the 137 vacant stands and two developed stands for about R100 000, an average price of R750 a stand. - Business Report website

29 April 2008
4741/2006 [2008] ZAGPHC 133
Hillcrest Village (Pty) Ltd and Another v Waterkloofspruitprojects (Pty) Ltd and Others

29 April 2008
A343/08 [2008] ZAGPHC 125
S v Nkosi

29 April 2008
A342/08 [2008] ZAGPHC 124
S v Tusi and Another

29 April 2008
A341/08 [2008] ZAGPHC 123
S v Mnyakeni and Another

29 April 2008
A334/08 [2008] ZAGPHC 122
S v Bagadi

29 April 2008
A333/2008 [2008] ZAGPHC 121
S v Mashila

25 April 2008
A1242/05 [2008] ZAGPHC 120
S v Olwage

25 April 2008
A245/07 [2008] ZAGPHC 115
S v Nelani and Another

25 April 2008
31496/2004 [2008] ZAGPHC 114
Roeing NO v Coetzee

25 April 2008
25911/2007 [2008] ZAGPHC 113
Ninham Shand (Pty) Limited v Municipal Manager City of Matlosana and Others

25 April 2008
24201/2007 [2008] ZAGPHC 112
Volkswagen of South Africa (Pty) Ltd v Commissioner South African Revenue Service

24 April 2008
A497/2004 [2008] ZAGPHC 119
S v Van der Merwe

24 April 2008
CC257/2005 [2008] ZAGPHC 118
Director of Public Prosecutions v King

E-mails back Sars case against King - 9 June
Lawyers for the South African Revenue Service (SARS) presented damning evidence on Friday, in the form of memos and e-mails from businessman Dave King's offshore bank, which talk openly about hiding money from the taxman who is "chasing" King. The documents are important to SARS's case in the Pretoria High Court as they support SARS's argument that King restructured his holdings solely to avoid paying tax, although he allegedly told an inquiry the assets were transferred from his company, Ben Nevis, to offshore company Metlika because of exchange control concerns. - allAfrica website

King loses appeal bid to stop Sars seizing assets - 3 June
The taxman can finally proceed with its claim to have the South African assets of Metlika declared executable for Ben Nevis's tax debts, after the Pretoria High Court yesterday dismissed an appeal application by businessman Dave King's lawyers. Ben Nevis is a trust owned by King. The South African Revenue Service (SARS) alleges that the assets include companies in which Metlika is the shareholder, as well as wine farms, a holiday home and the Sandhurst home in which King lives. The court also issued an order yesterday in which it held that assets belonging to Carmel Trading should be regarded as the assets of liquidated Hawker Air Services, making it possible for SARS to lay claim to the R100m proceeds from the sale of a Falcon 900B, as it has a claim against the group. - allAfrica website

King says he owns assets - 30 May
A legal battle is raging in the Pretoria High Court over who owns the assets of Metlika Trading, with businessman Dave King insisting for the first time that he is the beneficial owner of the South African assets, a claim disputed by Metlika Trading. The South African Revenue Service (SARS) has been trying for some time to seize Metlika's assets, which it alleges were transferred from Ben Nevis. - allAfrica website

King fails to delay SARS lawsuit - 30 May
Businessman Dave King yesterday lost a bid to postpone a case brought by the South African Revenue Service (SARS) for the right to sell shares in a British Virgin Island company. SARS is trying to recoup taxes it says King owes, and wants to sell the shares as it maintains they were transferred to hide King's wealth. The court also ruled yesterday that the case against Ben Nevis and King could be separated, and the King case would be heard at a later date. - allAfrica website

22 April 2008
A217/2007 [2008] ZAGPHC 111
S v Sthenjwa

18 April 2008
A39/06 [2008] ZAGPHC 105
Director of Public Prosecutions Transvaal v Magistrate Benoni and Another

16 April 2008
18910/07 [2008] ZAGPHC 136
Waltloo Meat and Chicken SA (Pty) Ltd v Silvy Luis (Pty) Ltd and Others

16 April 2008
3298/2006 [2008] ZAGPHC 104
Independent Municipal and Allied Workers Union and Others v President of the RSA and Others

16 April 2008
26801/ 2007 [2008] ZAGPHC 102
Drs De Beer & De Jager Radioloe v Padongelukkefonds

15 April 2008
5871/2007 [2008] ZAGPHC 99
Padi v Dail Direct Versekering Bpk

7 April 2007
A280/08 [2008] ZAGPHC 97
S v Nyambosi

4 April 2008
50444/2007 [2008] ZAGPHC 103
Body Corporate of Fucia Gardens and Others v Bakenkop (Pty) Ltd trading as Wierda and Others

4 April 2008
36775/06 [2008] ZAGPHC 101
Chieftain Real Estate Incorporated in Ireland v City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality and Others

4 April 2008
A866/07 [2008] ZAGPHC 100
S v Kotze

4 April 2008
35986/2006 [2008] ZAGPHC 96
Roche Products (Pty) Ltd v Commissioner for the South African Revenue Service

2 April 2008
3106/2008 [2008] ZAGPHC 93
Breitenbach v Breitenbach

2 April 2008
11693/2008 [2008] ZAGPHC 92
Universal Equipment (Pty) Ltd and Another v Babcock Africa Services (Pty) Ltd

27 March 2008
36853/2006 [2008] ZAGPHC 95
Moresport (Pty) Limited v Commissioner for the South African Revenue Service and Others

Our Chinese are now black - 19 June
In a landmark ruling, the Pretoria High Court ruled yesterday that South Africa's 10 000-strong ethnic Chinese community be included in the definition of "black people" for purposes of black economic empowerment status. This follows a 2007 application brought against the minister of labour, the minister of trade and industry and the minister of justice by the Chinese Association of South Africa, a private organisation representing the interests of South Africans of Chinese descent. The government originally opposed the motion, but in April this year withdrew its intention to fight the case. - The Times website

South African court classifies Chinese as "black" - 18 June
South Africa's High Court has decided that the Chinese qualify as 'black people' for disadvantaged status that grants them privileged legal rights, SAPA news agency reported Wednesday. Judge Cynthia Pretorius ordered that the Chinese be included in the definition of black people under the Broad-Based Economic Empowerment Act and the Employment Equity Act that grant benefits to Africans, coloureds and Indians. - Monsters and Critics website

We agree that you are black, South African court tells Chinese - 19 June
They have already taken over much of the continent’s economy. Now they have gone one step farther. The Chinese in South Africa were officially declared "black" yesterday. In a landmark ruling the Pretoria High Court accepted the Chinese as a "previously disadvantaged" group. This means that – at least in legal terms – Chinese South Africans will now be included in the definition of black people in legislation covering lucrative black economic empowerment (BEE) deals. - Times Online [UK] website

Chinese say : we want to be black - 16 June
Buffalo City's Chinese community want to be considered black. Yesterday, they said they supported a move by the Chinese Association of South Africa to ask the courts to redefine them as "black people". If approved, the move will see them benefiting from BEE and employment equity laws designed to restore historical injustices of the past. The Sunday Times reported yesterday that the Chinese Association would on Wednesday ask the Pretoria High Court to include their members in the definition of "black people" in the Broad-Based Economic Empowerment Act and the Employment Equity Act. "We would definitely support the move, as we were shunted from pillar to post in the past," East London's Chinese Association chairperson Soong-Fong Lee said. - Dispatch Online website

New twist in R1 land deal - 16 June
Defiant Mpumalanga authorities are reportedly trying to bulldoze through the illegal sale of 118 hectares of prime development land on which the province's R1bn 2010 World Cup stadium is being built. Government lawyers ignored threats of interdicts and public protests on Friday and proceeded with an application to transfer ownership of the land into the name of the Mbombela local municipality, which sits in the capital of Nelspruit. The land was originally owned by the poor Matsafeni community of farmworkers, but was secretly and illegally sold to the municipality last year for just R1. Lawyers for the Matsafeni community, led by international human rights attorney Richard Spoor, have also pointed out that the sale took place in violation of the trust deed and without the necessary community approvals. They successfully convinced the Pretoria High Court to remove the trustees responsible for the sale, and to place the trust under administration pending a full forensic investigation. Mbombela's city manager Khayalihle Mpungose said on Friday, however, that his lawyers were transferring ownership of the land into the municipality's name regardless of protests by the Matsafeni or a signed agreement by Mpumalanga's cabinet to renegotiate the deal. - News24 website

Son barred from selling parents' paintings - 13 June
An elderly couple have obtained a Pretoria high court interdict against their son, who they claim is selling off some of their valuable artworks. Acting Judge Mac Jooste interdicted 41-year-old Raphael Sher, of Faerie Glen, from selling or disposing of seven paintings - all done by well-known artists. His parents, Sam and Anna Sher, who live in California in the US, indicated that they would head back to court soon to recover proceeds accrued from two of the paintings already sold by their son. Sam Sher said they put some of the paintings in the custody of their sons. "At no stage did we transfer ownership of any of the artworks... to (our sons). It was made clear they would be merely the custodians". - IOL website

Military’s HIV ban unlawful - 16 May
South Africa's High Court in Pretoria has ruled that the military's exclusion of HIV-positive people from recruitment, promotion and foreign deployment is unconstitutional. "This case is not about the relevance of HIV in a military context," argued senior advocate Gilbert Marcus. "The case is about the exclusion from recruitment, deployment and promotion of HIV-positive people, without any individual assessment of the state of their health".- PlusNews website

Defence Force taken to task for inconsistent HIV policy - 16 May
Thabo, an accomplished trumpeter and former music teacher, could not join the air force band after he went for auditions two years ago - because he was HIV-positive. Yesterday, his case, and two others involving serving members of the military, formed the basis of an application brought before the Pretoria High Court. - allAfrica website

South African military AIDS policy faces court challenge - 15 May
The South African military's blanket exclusions of HIV positive members is not medically justified and ignores government policy, lawyers for service personnel union told a court Thursday. - AFP website

SA govt taken to court over Zim farms - 7 May
Free State farmer Crawford von Abo is taking action in the Pretoria High Court to have the government forced to compensate him R80 million for the seizure of his 14 Zimbabwean farms, unless it acts to protect his rights. He wants the court to declare that he not only has a right to diplomatic protection against the Zimbabwe government's violation of his rights, but that the South African government is obliged to provide this. - Politicsweb website

Country 'pledged to aid evicted Zimbabwe farmer' - 7 May
The South African government had undertaken to do its best to help a Free State farmer whose Zimbabwean farms were appropriated for resettlement without compensation. This came out in the case that involves Free State farmer Crawford von Abo, who is taking President Thabo Mbeki, Foreign Minister Nkosazana DlaminiZuma and Trade and Industry Minister Mandisi Mpahlwa to court to force the government to ratify a treaty that protects South African investments abroad, or pay him R80m in compensation. Fourteen farms that he had owned since the 1950s were taken for resettlement without compensation. The high court heard evidence yesterday that the Danish, German and French governments intervened to prevent the confiscation of land belonging to citizens from those countries, some of them living on farms bordering Von Abo's, but to date there had been no "meaningful response from the South African government", resulting in the loss of Von Abo's farms. There is some debate in law as to whether a court has the right to compel the South African government to become a party to the International Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes, which would enable Von Abo to take action against Zimbabwe, which is a signatory. - allAfrica website

Watchdog, Telkom lock horns in court - 25 April
Argument began in the Pretoria High Court yesterday in a legal clash with a R3,7bn fine at stake that pitches Telkom against the Competition Commission. Telkom's legal team spent the day arguing that neither the commission nor the Competition Tribunal had the jurisdiction to intervene in issues involving telecommunications operators because the industry had a regulator of its own. - allAfrica website

Tug-of-war between mother and grandparents - 2 April
In a potentially groundbreaking case for the rights of grandparents, a Mpumalanga couple are asking the Pretoria High Court to grant them access to their five-month-old granddaughter. The baby's mother is in Grade 12 and the child's father (the couple's son) died in a motorbike accident a few days before the child's birth. He was 19. Although grandparents do not have an automatic right of access to their grandchildren, the couple claim it is in the girl's best interest to get to know her family. While the courts have expressed in several judgements that grandparents do not have an automatic right in this regard, the new Children's Act favours such contact if it is in the best interest of the child. - IOL website

MXit messages get 'obsessed' woman in trouble - 2 April
The parents of a matric pupil at a top private school in the city have obtained an interdict against a woman in her 20s who they claim is obsessed with their teenage daughter since their meeting through a MXit chatroom. Pretoria High Court judge Khami Makhafola interdicted the woman, from Durban, from contacting them or their daughter.  - IOL website

Extradition : Fidentia Case

SA-US extradition treaty in spotlight - 21 May
Legal advisers for alleged Fidentia fraud mastermind Steven Goodwin turned to the Pretoria High Court on Tuesday in an urgent bid to have his arrest in the US set aside. He wanted the court to review and set aside Justice Director-General Menzi Simelane's request to the US, which resulted in Goodwin's provisional arrest, pending his extradition. - IOL website

US court finds Goodwin can be extradited - 25 April
Steven Goodwin, the man prosecutors claim is the mastermind behind Fidentia's collapse, has lost his bid for freedom. A US court this week upheld his extradition to SA and refused him bail. The position taken by the US court may dash hopes of South Africans who planned to appeal against extradition on the same grounds - among them John Stratton, who is linked to the killing of mining magnate Brett Kebble. - Business Day website

Twist in Fidentia extradition challenge - 17 April
John Stratton, the man accused of masterminding the murder of Brett Kebble, is considering joining a Constitutional Court bid with an accused Ecstasy dealer and an alleged stem-cell fraudster to test SA's extradition agreements. Stratton's lawyer, Webber Wentzel Bowens director Rael Gootkin, said yesterday Stratton was awaiting the full judgment of Pretoria High Court Judge Ferdi Preller on stem-cell case accused Stephen van Rooyen and alleged drug dealer Nello Quagliani, and instructions from the Constitutional Court before deciding whether to join the application. - allAfrica website

Twist in Fidentia extradition challenge - 17 April
Criminal proceedings can make for strange bedfellows. John Stratton, the man accused of masterminding the murder of Brett Kebble, is considering joining a Constitutional Court bid with an accused Ecstasy dealer and an alleged stem-cell fraudster to test SA's extradition agreements Stratton's lawyer, Webber Wentzel Bowens director Rael Gootkin, said yesterday Stratton was awaiting the full judgment of Pretoria High Court Judge Ferdi Preller on stem-cell case accused Stephen van Rooyen and alleged drug dealer Nello Quagliani, and instructions from the Constitutional Court before deciding whether to join the application. - allAfrica website

Fidentia accused tests extradition - 16 April
A landmark Pretoria High Court ruling that there is no extradition agreement between the US and SA, could see one of the alleged masterminds in Fidentia’s multibillion-rand fraud scandal, Steven Goodwin, going scot free again. Goodwin, who fled to Australia days after Fidentia was placed under curatorship in February last year, has challenged his April 5 arrest in a Los Angeles court on the grounds that Pretoria Judge Ferdi Preller has ruled that there is no extradition agreement with the US. - Business Day website

See also :
Cape Provincial Division. Fidentia Case above
Regional Court. Cape Town. Fidentia Case below

Extradition : Kebble Case

John Stratton fights South African murder extradition - 3 June
An Australian businessman wanted by South African authorities as a suspect in the murder of a failed mining magnate is battling to halt extradition proceedings in Pretoria's High Court. Perth-based John Stratton is wanted by South Africa's special crime prosecution agency, known as the Scorpions, as an alleged co-conspirator in the brutal murder of Brett Kebble near his Johannesburg home.  - The Australian website

Gold and guns ; how a South African murder led to Perth - 2 June
Dodgy South African mining companies and crooked cops - it was never going to be long before the trail led to Perth. West Australian mining figure and one-time R&E director John Stratton has been named in a $US1 billion lawsuit against PricewaterhouseCoopers by the new directors of R&E. Another person named in that affidavit is Hendrik Buitendag, the former financial controller of R&E who also resides in Perth. In the affidavit, lodged with the High Court of South Africa, R&E alleges that PwC was negligent in its auditing of the company's books from 2000 until 2003. PwC plans to fight the claim. The affidavit alleges the directors of JCI, including Kebble, Stratton and Buitendag, "acting in their capacities as directors of JCI and in their personal capacities, devised a scheme, which scheme was intended to wrongfully through theft, deprive Randgold" of 2 million Roodepoort Deep Limited shares. There are claims of other share thefts. Since migrating to Perth, Stratton and Buitendag have done plenty of business together in small-cap listed mining explorers. - The Age website

See also Cape Provincial Division. Kebble Case above

13 June 2008
07/23990 [2008] ZAGPHC 171
Morrison and Others v Vaughn and Others

13 June 2008
22007/2006 ; 2006/23048 [2008] ZAGPHC 170
Totalgaz Southern Africa v Solgas (Pty) Ltd and Another ; Easigas (Pty) Ltd v Solgas (Pty) Ltd and Another

10 June 2008
2005/25726 [2008] ZAGPHC 169
Botha v Botha
Interpretation and application of Section 7(2) of the Divorce Act

6 June 2008
06/6258 [2008] ZAGPHC 161
Naidoo NO Grace Naidoo Family Trust and Another v Old Town Investment 69 CC (2000/056726/23) and Others

4 June 2008
28811/2007 [2008] ZAGPHC 159
Leas trading as Build4You v Van Kerckhoven and Another

22 May 2008
04/17901 [2008] ZAGPHC 142
De Klerk v Road Accident Fund

19 May 2008
13815/2008 [2008] ZAGPHC 144
Mpofu v South African Broadcasting Corporation Ltd and Others

Court overturns Mpofu suspension - 20 May
The SABC board suffered a blow yesterday when its decision to suspended CEO Dali Mpofu was overturned by the Johannesburg High Court, just days before Parliament discusses a motion of no confidence in the public broadcaster's board. The African National Congress (ANC) caucus is baying for the board's blood and is expected to push for a vote of no confidence when the issue is debated in the National Assembly on Thursday. - allAfrica website

14 May 2008
07/27391 [2008] ZAGPHC 138
New Reclamation Group (Pty) Limited v Eskom Holdings Ltd

30 April 2008
05/15044 [2008] ZAGPHC 141
Rademeyer v Minister of Correctional Services

30 April 2008
06/13865 [2008] ZAGPHC 128
Mazibuko and Others v City of Johannesburg and Others (Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions as Amicus Curiae)

Crucial leaks in Mayor's attack on water ruling - 20 May
The attack by Johannesburg mayor Amos Masondo on the judgment of Judge Moroa Tsoka in the Phiri water case is premised on a number of misconceptions about the role of the judiciary in enforcing the Bill of Rights in the constitution. First, when judges are called upon to adjudicate whether law or conduct of a public or private institution infringes a right in the Bill of Rights, they are not "making policy" or playing a political role as suggested by Masondo. They are fulfilling a constitutional duty imposed by the country's supreme law to interpret these rights and to grant appropriate relief to those whose rights are violated. - allAfrica website

City of Joburg to appeal Soweto water meter ruling - 14 May
The battle between the right to access to water and ensuring people save water is not over in Soweto as the City of Johannesburg is to appeal against the court's decision to have the pre-paid water meters in Soweto removed, writes Bathandwa Mbola. The municipality is to appeal against the court's decision, Johannesburg Executive Mayor, Amos Masondo announced on Wednesday despite residents highlighting major problems with the metering system. - allAfrica website

Court ruling on water sets 'global precedent' - 6 May
A landmark High Court ruling against a multimillion-dollar prepaid water scheme in South Africa's largest township, Soweto, has been heralded as a global precedent in the struggle for the basic human right to water. The City of Johannesburg is expected to appeal the judgement and residents realise that "the struggle will not end anytime soon". - allAfrica website

Pre-paid water meters on trial - 29 April
Judge Tsoga of the Johannesburg High Court will sit today, 30 April 2008, at 11h30 to deliver his verdict on the Phiri residents' application to have prepaid water meters declared unlawful. The application was heard in the court from 3 –5 December 2007. After nearly 5-months of consideration, the Coalition Against Water Privatisation hopes that Judge Tsoga sees the prepaid meter as poor residents of Phiri have experienced it. Whatever the judgement is that he delivers, the struggle for access to water will continue – in the courts and on the streets. - Anarkismo website

24 April 2008
A5022/2007 [2008] ZAGPHC 116
Prinsloo on behalf of Prinsloo v Road Accident Fund

23 April 2008
07/17136 [2008] ZAGPHC 110
Balduzzi v Rajah
Eviction

18 April 2008
A1246/2006 [2008] ZAGPHC 106
S v Mazibuko

17 April 2008
06/5172 [2008] ZAGPHC 107
Mxolisi v Minister of Correctional Services

9 April 2008
02/24921 [2008] ZAGPHC 129
Maluleke (in her capacity as representative of the estate of the late Dumakude Patrick Mtshali) and Others v Minister of Home Affairs and Another

31 March 2008
08/8143 [2008] ZAGPHC 91
New Seasons Auto Holdings (Pty) Ltd, Ex Parte

Lawyer turns to higher court to fight referral - 17 June
A prominent Gauteng lawyer referred by a judge to the Law Society is to appeal to a higher authority. Johannesburg High Court Acting Judge Roland Sutherland granted Springs lawyer Zehir Omar leave to appeal against this referral, and against a ruling involving a wealthy Indian businessman recently deported from SA. Sutherland ruled that human rights lawyer Omar could turn to the Supreme Court of Appeal in both instances. - Sunday Times on the Legalbrief website

Hansie's bookie takes Dubai sheikh to court - 8 June
Former bookie Marlon Aronstam has put a wealthy Arab royal in his place over unpaid debt. Aronstam, who emerged as the man who had bribed late cricketer Hansie Cronje during the country’s match-fixing scandal several years ago, went to court to attach a R1.8-million winning horse belonging to Dubai's Sheikh Rashid bin Mohammed Al Maktoum. In the process Aronstam outed the young royal, who had tried to hide his secret splurge on horses in South Africa from his father, Dubai's ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. The two parties have since reached a confidential out-of-court settlement. - The Times website

Vodacom BEE case dismissed - 8 June
The Johannesburg High Court has ruled against an interdict filed by the Tiger Consortium against Vodacom over the cellular operator's black economic empowerment (BEE) deal. The Tiger Consortium has been ordered to pay costs, including that of two senior counsel. - Moneyweb website

Vodacom faces court move from BEE loser - 5 June
Black consortium that failed to survive the first round of short-listing for part of Vodacom's R7,5bn empowerment deal is taking the cellular operator to court in a bid to halt the process. The Tiger consortium will seek an urgent interdict in the high court on Friday, with Vodacom preparing to defend the action so its long-awaited transformation can continue. - allAfrica website

FNB heist trial stalled by court bomb hoax - 11 June
Lawyers and court officials were left milling outside the Johannesburg High Court in the cold yesterday after a bomb scare closed the court down for nearly two hours while police searched the building. Among the cases being heard yesterday was the trial of nine men accused of robbing First National Bank (FNB) of R46m. The case has made headlines, not just because it is thought to be the biggest cash sum ever stolen, but also because its records were among the files and documents stolen from the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) offices at the high court in April. - allAfrica website

Heist video contested in court - 30 May
The electronic surveillance footage of South Africa's biggest bank robbery is a bone of contention in the Johannesburg High Court. Two days after the R46-million robbery, First National Bank got an electronic surveillance expert to download the footage of the daring heist. The footage is expected to reveal in detail how the gang entered the FNB depot, subdued staff and loaded boxes of money into a minibus. It is expected to show the faces of the alleged robbers and conclusively put them at the scene. - IOL website

Former envoy in money row with businessman - 26 April
Barbara Masekela, South Africa's former ambassador to the US and France, and her company, Mabusele Investments, have lodged papers in the Johannesburg High Court demanding Jόrgen Kφgl and his company, Khula Accounting Management Services, account for how they spent her money during the five years she claims he administered her finances. Both Masekela and Kφgl have been drawn into the ongoing scandal around the country’s controversial arms deal. In 1999, Masekela declined an offer to go into business with French arms company Thint because of a potential conflict of interest, as she had been South Africa's ambassador to France until the previous year. Instead, she referred Thint to her friend Kφgl, who the Scorpions suspect was the conduit for a bribe from Thint to ANC president Jacob Zuma. Kφgl denies acting as an agent for Thint. - The Times website

Developers to sue Joburg for clearances - 14 April
Property developers are set to take legal action against the City of Joburg this week to force it to issue clearance certificates in terms of the Municipal Systems Act. Since November, the city has been refusing to issue clearance certificates until the amount payable on an account - including arrears - is paid in full. Some property owners reckon this is illegal. Section 118 of the Municipal Systems Act states that owners are only liable to pay two years' arrears. Despite this, the city is refusing to issue Section 118 clearance certificates. - IOL website

Widow sues taxi dealers, directors - 13 April
A Chinese widow who had previously flown to South Africa to sue a minibus taxi dealer is in court again. She first served court papers only on taxi dealer China Auto Manufacturers (CAM), but this time around included a company called Whalinger SA and its directors, Chi-Te Chung and Ismail Mia Asmal. Initially Yang-Ping Ke, the director of Shanghai Huangyan Economic and Trade Company Limited, filed an urgent application in the Johannesburg High Court asking for CAM to be liquidated so that she could be paid the money they owed her, more than $19-million (R148-million). - IOL website

Xenophobia Refugees

Court halts relocation of foreigners - 2 June
The Johannesburg High Court has granted an urgent interdict preventing the relocation of foreigners displaced by xenophobic attacks who are being accommodated at the city's Cleveland and Jeppe police stations, Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) said on Monday. The interim interdict was granted by Justice Kathy Satchwell shortly after 5pm, said LHR advocate Jacob van Garderen. It prevents the relocation of the foreigners to a shelter at Vickers Road, City Deep. The application was brought by LHR in conjunction with the Johannesburg Central Methodist Church and Mιdecins sans Frontiθres (MSF) pending an order that would "ensure the safety of the displaced foreigners", the LHR said in a statement. - Mail & Guardian website

See also :
Cape Provincial Division. Xenophobia Refugees above
Regional Courts. Xenophobia below

Court Security

Docket theft puzzles top prosecutor - 15 April
Johannesburg's director of public prosecutions, Charin de Beer, was left puzzled when robbers stole a docket in the Johannesburg High Court on Sunday night, in a daring robbery where shots were exchanged with metro police as the men fled. De Beer said copies had already been given to the accused in the case. - allAfrica website

'Fake cops' take High Court evidence - 14 April
Twelve bogus policemen overpowered Johannesburg High Court guards last night and made off with a safe and documents relating to several high-profile cases. Among these cases was that of one of South Africa's biggest robberies involving R60-million stolen from FNB in a brazen attack two years ago. - IOL website

High drama at High Court - 14 April
Documents of "high-profile cases" were stolen from Johannesburg High Court on Sunday by a heavily-armed gang wearing police uniforms. A reliable source told Beeld that some of the documents were related to the charges against Ekurhuleni metro police chief Robert McBride. - News24 website

Armed gang raids S Africa court - 14 April
South African police are investigating an audacious raid on the Johannesburg High Court. An official said the raiders appeared to know the layout of the building. - BBC News website

Cape Town

Fidentia Case

See :
Cape Provincial Division. Fidentia Case above
Transvaal Provincial Division. Extradition - Fidentia Case below

Durban

Thai sexworkers have their say - 24 April
Details of how sexworkers recruited from Thailand came to Durban and worked for 18 hours a day, servicing clients to repay their R60 000 debts to their "bosses" have emerged in court papers. This week, four young women who worked at an Umbilo brothel pleaded guilty to charges that included racketeering and money-laundering. Each received wholly suspended sentences of 29 years on condition that they leave South Africa, at their own expense, by the end of May. - IOL website

Pietermaritzburg

Fraud : illegals sent home - 15 May
As two illegal immigrants from Uganda were given suspended sentences for cheque fraud in the Pietermaritzburg regional court on Friday, they were arrested by Home Affairs officials tasked to deport them. Tracy Nassuma and Ivan Mawanda pleaded guilty to serious cheque fraud - R72 468 by Nassuma and R43 948 by Mawanda. In terms of a plea agreement, they were given suspended sentences so that they could be deported immediately. They have been in custody for 16 months. - News24 website

Brother tells how he helped in drug deals - 11 May
The brother of alleged Pietermaritzburg drug queen Ramjini Chetty this week testified how he had helped her distribute cocaine. Goonasilen "Gavin" Chetty told the Pietermaritzburg Regional Court how he had assisted his sister in her "drug-dealing business" since the early 1990s. - The Times website

'Drug ring' case starts - 6 May
Accused drug queen Ramjini Chetty, along with four co-accused, appeared in the Pietermaritzburg regional court on Monday for the start of their much anticipated trial. Chetty, 38, Joyce Komane, 44, Surychand Maharaj, 53, Bongi Dlamini, 24 and Jessendran Pillay, 29, have been charged with multiple counts of drug possession, dealing in drugs, racketeering, money laundering and fraud. The charge sheet reflects 36 different counts relating to all the accused. A sixth accused, Sibusiso Dlamini, did not appear in court because he has escaped from custody. - IOL website

Alleged fraudster to go on trial in June - 26 April
A 36-year-old travel agent from Kempton Park in Johannesburg, who is facing 91 counts of fraud, is to go on trial in the Pietermaritzburg Regional Court at the end of June. Sipho Sithembiso Msomi allegedly defrauded five KwaZulu-Natal government departments of more than R20 million using spy software on government computers. The departments involved are Education, Housing, Arts and Culture, Agriculture and Environmental Affairs, and Social Development. - SABC News website

More officials convicted - 24 April
Eighteen government officials were on Thursday convicted for fraudulently acquiring RDP houses in the Pietermaritzburg regional court, the housing department said. "This brings the number of convictions to 29 following yesterday's (Wednesday's) 11 officials who were found guilty in the same court for fraudulently acquiring government subsidised houses," the department said in a statement. All eighteen civil servants have signed an Admission of Debt and have undertaken to pay back the money for the houses with interest. - IOL website

Government officials fined R10 000 for fraud - 24 April
National Housing Minister Dr Lindiwe Sisulu, late on Wednesday, welcomed a court decision to impose "hefty" fines on 11 KwaZulu-Natal government officials who pleaded guilty to housing fraud in the Pietermaritzburg regional court. The 11 accused - including teachers and school principals - appeared in court on Wednesday morning for fraudulently acquiring subsidised houses. The court heard that the accused had falsely claimed in affidavits that they were unemployed at the time of the applications. Their fines ranged between R3 000 and R10 000. However, the sentences were suspended on condition that they did not engage in similar fraudulent activities. - IOL website

Local charity man raided - 27 February
A TIP-off received by the South African Police Service's Organised Crime Unit yesterday morning led to the raiding of the Merrivale home of prominent resident Rick Baratta. Police allegedly searched the house acting on information that narcotics and illegal firearms were kept at the property. Seven of the 26 firearms found on his premises were confiscated for licence verification, police said. - Witness website

Good work : in praise of your police - 31 March
Letter by Rick Baratta. - Servamus website

Xenophobia

Children on trial for xenophobic attacks - 4 June
Ten children are among the 306 people currently facing court charges related to the outbreak of xenophobic attacks in the province. The minors, whose ages were not given, are from Hermanus, George and Milnerton. They have been released into the care of their parents or guardians until their next court appearance. They face a variety of preliminary charges including theft, public violence, possession of stolen goods, assault and assault with the intent to cause grievous bodily harm. - allAfrica website

Nigeria seeks compensation for xenophobic attacks in South Africa - 28 May
Nigeria says it will seek compensation for its citizens who were victims of the recent violence in South Africa. Nigerian Foreign Affairs Minister Ojo Maduekwe says the Nigerian mission in South Africa has already compiled a list of victims. The minister's statement comes on the heels of a trip to Abuja by South African deputy president Pumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, who apologized for the attacks. - VOA website

Nigerians to take legal action against SA police - 13 April
The Nigerian Community in Hillbrow plans to take legal action against the police. This follows several incidents of alleged police brutality. They claim officers use intimidation and other violent methods to extort money from foreigners. Allegations of police intimidating foreigners for a quick buck are not new, but it appears that when targeting Nigerians in Hillbrow, they use more violent means. - SABC News website

See also :
Cape Provincial Division. Xenophobia Refugees above
Witwatersrand Local Division. Xenophobia Refugees above

Bellville

Couple given 14 years for tax fraud - 15 June
A Cape Town husband and wife have been sentenced for a combined 14 years for multi-million rand tax fraud. Petronella and Stephanus Eksteen were prosecuted by the Special Tax Unit of the National Prosecuting Authority for tax fraud involving R6,4-million. Mrs Eksteen was sentenced to four years' imprisonment. A further one-and-half years' imprisonment on some of the lesser charges was suspended. She did not appeal and has started serving her sentence. Mr Eksteen was sentenced to 10 years and applied for leave to appeal to the Cape High Court on his conviction, which was granted. He is out on R75 000 bail, pending the final outcome of his appeal. The couple were sentenced in the Bellville Magistrate's Court on Friday. They were convicted for a tax scam which included more than 4 000 counts of fraud and other miscellaneous counts. - allAfrica website

Charges against DA councillor dropped - 13 June
Charges have been dropped against Delft councillor Frank Martin, accused of inciting squatters to invade incomplete N2 Gateway houses in December, because investigations were incomplete. The DA councillor, who was charged with contempt of court and fraud, appeared in the Bellville Magistrate's court today. He was accused of breaching a court order which prohibited the backyard dwellers from occupying the houses. It was alleged he had encouraged 800 families to move into the houses. Prosecutor Marco Chandler said Martin would be tried in the regional court, but that investigations were incomplete. - allAfrica website

Gateway evictees wait for shelters - 3 June
The relocation of evictees from the Delft N2 Gateway houses is progressing slowly because of delays in acquiring the necessary material to build shelters on a new site. Just over 300 families have been relocated in the last month, and at least another 700 families are still awaiting shelter alongside Symphony and Silversands Way. - IOL website

Pietermaritzburg

'No problem in giving husband's firm tenders' - 18 April
The director of a company that was awarded millions of rands in tenders by the KwaZulu-Natal health department said on Thursday that she saw no conflict of interest in that the husband of the former head of the department was a shareholder in the company. Nomathemba Sithole is a director of Sisa Consulting. Her partner in the business is Solomon Sibeko, husband of Busi Nyembezi, the former head of the health department. The company is embroiled in a controversy following an investigation by a Durban firm of attorneys into the affairs of the department. The firm, Strauss Daly, found that Nyembezi had deliberately interfered in the awarding of tenders to ensure that Sisa Consulting received work from the department. (The Scorpions' statements referred to are public documents obtained from the Pietermaritzburg magistrate's court, where the search warrant was granted. The Scorpions did not leak the documents to The Mercury). - The Star website

Whistle-blower denies implicating MEC - 20 May
A whistle-blower on whose strength the Scorpions implicated health MEC Peggy Nkonyeni in interfering with tendering processes in her department has denied implicating the MEC in the matter. In a five-page affidavit supporting an application by the Scorpions to obtain search warrants, Andile Khoza, manager of supply chain management in the department, said she had raised concern about the inflated cost of a cancer-detecting scanner and the absence of a written quotation from Rowmoor Investments, from whom the device was bought. The warrants were used to raid the health department premises in Pietermaritzburg, including Nkonyeni's offices. - IOL website

Scorpions probe report 'inaccurate'  - 17 April
KwaZulu-Natal MEC for health Neliswa Nkonyeni says she is shocked and surprised over reports alleging the imminent arrests of her department's officials by the Scorpions. The department is under investigation by the National Prosecuting Authority. - Sowetan website

KZN MEC linked to graft claims - 17 April
Health MEC Peggy Nkonyeni has been implicated in investigations taking place into a corruption and fraud scandal in her department. An affidavit submitted to court by the Scorpions contains allegations that the MEC and other senior members of the health department unlawfully influenced decisions related to the procurement of goods and/or services. The affidavit, submitted to the Pietermaritzburg magistrate's court earlier this month, was used in support of an application for warrants to search the department's Pietermaritzburg offices and those of Rowmoor. - IOL website

Health officials 'to be arrested' - 16 April
The fraud-busting Scorpions are reportedly set to pounce on "highly placed persons" in the office of health MEC Peggy Nkonyeni, in connection with the procurement of an ultrasound scanner, whose price was allegedly inflated from R400 000 to R1,5-million. This is part of an ongoing investigation into the health department, police sources said. Last week, former department head Busi Nyembezi resigned after a probe, by a Durban-based firm of attorneys, into the affairs of the department. A fortnight ago, the Scorpions raided the health department's offices in Pietermaritzburg - IOL website

Colleagues applaud councillors' arrest - 14 April
Opposition parties in the Msunduzi Municipality have welcomed the Scorpions' arrest of ANC councillors, a businessman and a property developer on Friday, saying that the law should be allowed to take its course. The arrests and court appearances of council Speaker Alpha Shelembe and executive committee member Themba Zungu were an indication that office bearers were not above the law, the IFP and DA said on Sunday. The two were joined in the magistrate's court dock by businessman Lucky Moloi and property developer Neville Watts. They face charges of corruption and money laundering relating to the sale of a property in the city. - IOL website

Prosecutors consider legal action over toilet restrictions by magistrates - 21 May
Aggrieved Pietermaritzburg public prosecutors have approached the Human Rights Commission and are considering launching an equality court application over the alleged refusal by some district magistrates to allow prosecutors to use their toilets. - Witness website

Case No : 2008/05 SABC1
W Spies v SABC1
Incitement to Imminent Violence - Song - "Get Out"

29 May 2008
22/LM/Feb08 [2008] ZACT 41
Newco v Squires Foods (Pty) Ltd

21 May 2008
25/LM/Mar08 [2008] ZACT 40
Pangbourne Properties Ltd (Pty) Ltd v Siyathenga Property Fund Ltd

21 May 2008
27/LM/Mar08 [2008] ZACT 39
Pangbourne Properties Ltd (Pty) Ltd v iFour Properties Ltd

21 May 2008
28/LM/Mar08 [2008] ZACT 38
Mvelaphanda Holdings (Pty) Ltd v Queensgate Leisure Holdings (Pty) Ltd

21 May 2008
84/CR/AUG07 [2008] ZACT 37
Leonard and Others v Nedbank Limited and Others

19 May 2008
07/LM/Jan08 [2008] ZACT 36
Sherpa Trade and Invest 51 (Pty) Ltd v Tradebush Investment No 123 (Pty) Ltd

19 May 2008
11/LM/Jan08 [2008] ZACT 35
Liberty Star Consumer Holdings (Pty) Ltd v Finlar Foods (Pty) Ltd

19 May 2008
14/LM/Jan08 [2008] ZACT 34
Neotel (Pty) Ltd v Transtel Telecoms Business

14 May 2008
17/LM/Feb08 [2008] ZACT 33
BrandCo, currently Heineken (Pty) (Ltd) and Diageo South Africa v Brandhouse Beverages (Pty) Ltd And Amstel Licence

14 May 2008
16/LM/Feb08 [2008] ZACT 32
Main Street 251 (Pty) Ltd v The House of Busby Ltd

13 May 2008
05/LM/Jan08 [2008] ZACT 31
Powertech Properties and Investments (Pty) Ltd v ABB Powertech Transformers (Pty) Ltd

9 May 2008
39/AM/MAY06 [2008] ZACT 30
Primedia Ltd and Others v Competition Commission and Another

7 May 2008
29/LM/Apr08 [2008] ZACT 29
Saudi Telecom Company v Oger Telecom Ltd

7 May 2008
38/CR/Apr08 [2008] ZACT 28
Competition Commission v Bonheur 50 General Trading (Pty) Ltd and Another

7 May 2008
37/CR/Apr08 [2008] ZACT 27
Competition Commission v New Reclamation Group (Pty) Ltd

30 April 2008
133/AM/Dec07 [2008] ZACT 26
Yara International ASA and Another v Competition Commission of South Africa

22 April 2008
10/LM/Jan08 [2008] ZACT 25
Alternative Channel Limited v m Cubed Life Limited

16 April 2008
19/LM/Feb08 [2008] ZACT 24
Stocks Building Africa (Pty) Ltd v Housing Africa Development (Pty) Ltd

10 April 2008
124/LM/Nov07 [2008] ZACT 23
Sabido Investments (Pty) Ltd ; Sabido Properties (Pty) Ltd v Sasani Africa (Pty) Ltd

8 April 2008
12/LM/Jan08 [2008] ZACT 22
Vodacom Service Provider Company (Pty) Ltd v Global Telematics South Africa (Pty) Ltd

7 April 2008
08/LM/Jan08 [2008] ZACT 21
Umlingo Trade and Invest 71 (Pty) Ltd v Mining Capital Equipment Business, A Division of Longyear SA (Pty) Ltd

1 April 2008
45/CR/May06 [2008] ZACT 20
Competition Commission of South Africa v Sasol Chemical Industry (Pty) Ltd and Others

10 March 2008
27/CR/Mar07 [2008] ZACT 19
Netcare Hospital Group (Pty) Ltd and Community Hospital Group (Pty) Ltd

6 March 2008
6/LM/JAN 08 [2008] ZACT 18
Imperial Group (Pty) Ltd and Roshcon (Pty) Ltd

6 March 2008
4/LM/JAN08 [2008] ZACT 17
HomePlan (Pty) Ltd and Rights, title and interest in and assets of the Alexander Forbes HomePlan Joint Venture between Alexander Forbes and ABSA Bank Ltd

20 February 2008
132/LM/Dec07 [2008] ZACT 16
Lithotech Holdings Ltd and Rotolabel (Transvaal) (Pty) Ltd

20 February 2008
15/LM/Feb08 [2008] ZACT 15
Main Street 615 (Pty) Ltd and Tiger Automotive Ltd

19 February 2008
130/LM/NOV07 ; 131/LM/NOV 07 [2008] ZACT 14
Mergence Africa Property Investment Trust and Another and 8 Property Letting Enterprises held by ApexHi Properties Limited and Another

11 February 2008
98/LM/Sep07 [2008] ZACT 13
Mvelaphanda Resources Ltd and Northam Platinum Ltd

8 February 2008
105/LM/Sept07 [2008] ZACT 12
African Bank Investments Limited and Ellerine Holdings Limited

Victims can sue - 9 June
Victims of anti-competitive practices are free to sue companies found guilty of collusion for damages, according to the Competition Act. As such, Tiger Brands could face civil court cases by the private hospitals that fell victim to anti-competitive practices of its pharmaceutical arm Adcock Ingram Critical Care (AICC), if they decide to sue. - Fin24 website

SABC loses regulations battle - 6 June
The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa has rejected the South African Broadcasting Corp's bid to make it mandatory for pay TV companies to both carry and pay for the pubcaster's channels. The SABC made the "must-carry, must-pay" appeal to Icasa during pay TV policy hearings after the regulator in September granted four new licenses to open up the country's pay TV market, long-monopolized by MultiChoice. - Variety website

PFA rulings should create precedent, says academic - 10 May
If determinations by the Pension Funds Adjudicator (PFA) do not create legal precedent, this could result in legal uncertainty that is not good for either retirement fund members or the industry, a pension law academic says in response to arguments from some pension lawyers that parties not named in the determinations are not bound by them. And a senior pension lawyer also argued recently that, besides certainty, the advantages of the adjudicator's determinations being regarded as judicial precedent are that rights established by the precedent can be relied on and that time-consuming and costly litigation is reduced. - Personal Finance website

Adjudicator takes historic step against provident fund  - 21 April
Some of South Africa's biggest pension funds and administrators have been accused of poor governance after ignoring calls from the office of the pension funds adjudicator to respond to complaints against them. Mamodupi Mohlala, the pension funds adjudicator, has ordered, for the first time in the history of the office, that a default determination be made against the Mineworkers Provident Fund (MPF), after it failed to respond timeously to complaints against it despite receiving four reminders to do so from the adjudicator. - Business Report website

Human Rights Commission sets date for Angloplat meeting - 11 April
The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) will be meeting with platinum giant Anglo Platinum on April 21 over a complaint of human rights abuses that it received from a pressure group, a spokesperson said. Vincent Moaga said that the commission was still compiling a report, after having visited the villages that Angloplat relocated in Limpopo province, where South Africa-based ActionAid said the miner had abused human rights. - Creamer Media's Mining Weekly website