Professional Update
A
monthly newsletter for KZN Attorneys from the Kwazulu-Natal Law Society

1 June 2009

This professional service draws attention to current and important items of news
 and members are directed to the hosts' websites

InfoUpdate 11 of 2009
Recent Judgments

Electronic copies of this information may be obtained from our librarians at help@lawlibrary.co.za or click on the underlined hyperlink where relevant

North Gauteng High Court (previously Transvaal Provincial Division) - http://www.saflii.org.za/za/cases/ZAGPPHC/ ; Court rolls at http://www.saflii.org/blog/?page_id=79

26 May 2009
25351/2008 [2009] ZAGPPHC 75
Mthimunye and Others v Nyembe and Others

26 May 2009
51646/2008 [2009] ZAGPPHC 74
Steffnutti & Bressan Earthworks (Pty) Ltd v Minister of the Department of Water Affairs and Others

21 May 2009
A50/2007 [2009] ZAGPPHC 73
Majola v S

18 May 2009
27212/2002 [2009] ZAGPPHC 66
Shackleton Credit Management (Pty) Ltd v Grober and Another

17 May 2009
26557/09 [2009] ZAGPPHC 76
COSATU v Telkom SA Ltd and Others

The judgment giving permission to Vodacom to list on the JSE

South Africa union COSATU seeks to stop Vodacom listing - 11 May
South Africa's government-allied labour federation COSATU, warning about the risks to jobs, is seeking a court order to stop the listing of telecom operator Vodacom. Vodacom is due to debut on May 18. The listing, one of the biggest on the Johannesburg bourse in years, will give Vodafone a 65 percent stake in Vodacom and end a shareholder pact that restricted it to operations only in southern Africa. COSATU was also seeking to block a communications watchdog decision that Vodacom was not obliged to obtain written approval for the transfer of Telkom's stake to Vodafone. -
Your Communication News website

S Africa regulator still considering bid to block Vodacom sale  - 12 May
The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa Ltd, the telecommunications regulator, is still deciding whether it will oppose a bid to block the sale by Telkom South Africa Ltd of its mobile-phone business. -
Bloomberg website

Vodacom, Cosatu and Icasa in court - 16 May
Cellphone giant Vodacom, will face telecommunications regulator Icasa and union federation Cosatu in the Pretoria High Court at 10am on Sunday. "We have been served an urgent application by Cosatu and Icasa to interdict the Vodacom listing on Monday," Vodacom said in a statement. "We are opposing," it added. This followed the announcement on Friday by the Independent Communications Authority of SA (Icasa) that telecoms group Telkom SA needed its approval to dispose of its Vodacom shares to the UK's Vodafone. - IOL website

Cosatu welcomes Icasa decision - 16 May
The decision of the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) to rescind its ruling on Telkom South Africa's sale of its Vodacom shares to Vodafone was welcomed by the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) on Friday. - Mail & Guardian website

Icasa won't oppose Vodacom ruling, independence questioned - 18 May
Communications regulator the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) on Monday said it would not oppose the judgement handed down by the High Court on Sunday, regarding the Vodacom and Vodafone merger. Sunday’s judgement meant that the Congress of Trade Unions (Cosatu) and Icasa did not get the interdict they sought, and this signalled the go-ahead for mobile operator Vodacom to list on the JSE and restructure, so that UK-based Vodafone holds a majority 65% interest in the company. The remaining 35%, which was held by Telkom, was unbundled and the company listed on the JSE on Monday. - Creamer Media's Engineering News website

Labour movement to discuss possible boycott of Vodacom - 20 May
South African labour movement, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) has threatened a boycott of mobile network provider Vodacom. This follows the recent High Court decision of judge John Murphy, dismissing with costs the joint application by it and the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) seeking an urgent interdict to prevent the listing of mobile provider Vodacom, and the sale of R22.5 billion worth of Telkom shares in the company to UK operator Vodafone. - IT news website

22 May 2009
Statement to clarify Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA’s) decision regarding the Vodacom/Vodafone transaction
SA Government Information website

Cosatu's Vodacom plea 'risk for rand' : judge - 26 May
Vodacom won legal permission to list on the JSE last week - despite union protests - to avoid destabilising the stock market, devaluing the rand and inflicting severe injury to the reputation of the government, says the judge who granted the go-ahead. If the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) had been allowed to prevent the listing, it could have triggered a contagious sell-off of shares in other sectors of the economy as foreign investors lost their faith in SA as a sound investment destination. Those are the among the reasons North Gauteng High Court Judge John Murphy dismissed an application by Cosatu to halt the listing, according to his written judgment published yesterday. - Business Day website

15 May 2009
24781/2008 [2009] ZAGPPHC 60
Groenewald v Pieters and Others

15 May 2009
16198/2008 [2009] ZAGPPHC 59
Initiative SA Investments 163 (Pty) Ltd v City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality and Another

15 May 2009
13235/2009 [2009] ZAGPPHC 58
Value Logistics Limited v Van Zyl and Another

15 May 2009
5824/2009 [2009] ZAGPPHC 57
Lawyers for Human Rights v Minister of Safety and Security and Others
Application concerning the lawfulness of the detention centre for persons said to be "illegal foreigners"
Keyphrase :
Musina Police Station

See also : South Africa. Foreign Policy

15 May 2009
A1000/2006 [2009] ZAGPPHC 56
S v Mlambo

15 May 2009
A647/2008 [2009] ZAGPPHC 55
S v Tshepiso

15 May 2009
A47/2009 [2009] ZAGPPHC 54
S v Shibambo

15 May 2009
55989/07 [2009] ZAGPPHC 53
S v S

14 May 2009
46716/08 [2009] ZAGPPHC 52
V Z v V Z

14 May 2009
42154/2006 [2009] ZAGPPHC 51
Kutumela v Minister of Correctional Services and Another
Unlawful detention

14 May 2009
4421/08 [2009] ZAGPPHC 50
Dreyer v Botha

8 May 2009
38578/2005 [2009] ZAGPPHC 65
Beegte v Bruwer

30 April 2009
A1482/2005 [2009] ZAGPPHC 41
S v Thaedi and Others

30 April 2009
58132/2007 [2009] ZAGPPHC 40
Tsenelo Media Solutions (Pty) Ltd v Brand IQ (Pty) Ltd and Another

30 April 2009
11991/2005 [2009] ZAGPPHC 39
Strydom v Van der Griendt

29 April 2009
A240/07 [2009] ZAGPPHC 38
Bosch v Du Plessis

29 April 2009
5580/06 [2009] ZAGPPHC 37
Absa Technology Finance Solutions (Pty) Ltd v Hattingh trading as Corner Savings Supermarket

29 April 2009
22024/06 [2009] ZAGPPHC 36
Morgan Air Cargo (Pty) Ltd v Sim Road Investments CC and Another

29 April 2009
15320/09 [2009] ZAGPPHC 35
Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation and Others v President of the Republic of South Africa and Others
Keyphrase :
Presidential pardons

Webster's killer stays behind bars - 1 May
apartheid activist David Webster 20 years ago, will not receive a presidential pardon any time soon. The North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria granted an interim interdict on Wednesday preventing President Kgalema Motlanthe from granting pardons to prisoners convicted of politically motivated apartheid crimes. In 2008 then president Thabo Mbeki established a "special dispensation" for the granting of pardons to people who had been convicted of offences allegedly committed in pursuit of political objectives. A reference group chaired by former Cabinet minister Tertius Delport examined 2 114 applications for pardons - including Barnard's. - Mail & Guardian website

Remembering David Webster - 1 May
Twenty years ago today South Africa was in the grip of a State of Emergency called by a repressive government so that it could put troops into townships, and arrest, detain and torture its citizens as it fought to keep apartheid alive. They were days of darkness, violent and full of fear. At the University of the Witwatersrand where Webster worked, the police were a common site on campus, bent on suppressing student activists, by arbitrary arrests and detention. They planted spies, disrupted meetings, shot rubber bullets and hurled teargas canisters. I remember the day Webster was killed and the service that was held for him at the university in the days that followed. - Laurice Taitz on the
Nothing to do in Joburg besides . . . website

Pardons for apartheid crimes : must the President hear the victims? - 7 May
For constitutional law nerds like myself this is a facinating case. It is obvious that it would have been morally and politically more correct to give the victims an opportunity to make representations about the pardons. Granting political pardons is a highly emotive issue and has not always been dealt with in a consistent and morally tenable manner and giving the voiceless victims an opportunity to have their say might have helped to legitimise this process. But having said that, I am conflicted about whether the judgment by Seriti J is correct. - Pierre de Vos on the
Constitutionally Speaking website

Pardon? - 8 May
Last week's ruling on the presidential pardons process could have far-reaching implications and, some say, affect the president's power to grant pardons in future. -
Mail & Guardian website

28 April 2009
57536/2007 [2009] ZAGPPHC 43
Croukamp v Minister of Defence and Others

28 April 2009
34514/2008 [2009] ZAGPPHC 42
Rhino Plat (Pty) Ltd and Another v Minister of Minerals and Energy and Others

28 April 2009
33002/2004 [2009] ZAGPPHC 34
Sampsons Building (Pty) Ltd v Stanlib Wealth Management Ltd and Another

Court clears way for prosecution of cases from apartheid era in South Africa - 5 May
A court decision today confirming the obligation of prosecutors in South Africa to investigate cases from the apartheid era, especially those involving persons who have been denied amnesty, will help guarantee justice for victims, the International Center for Transitional Justice said. In its ruling, the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria dismissed a request for permission to appeal by the National Director of Public Prosecutions and the Minister of Justice against a ruling by the High Court in December 2008 that overturned several amendments to South Africa's Prosecution Policy. The new policy would have allowed the National Prosecution Authority to grant indemnities to persons who had not been granted amnesty by South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission. -
New Liberian website

Zille accuses Zuma of obstructing justice - 8 may
President-in-waiting Jacob Zuma and the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) are deliberately obstructing the high court application seeking a review of the NPA's decision to drop the criminal charges against Zuma, DA leader Helen Zille says. "They can spend as much taxpayers' money as they want to subvert the legal process, whereas our resources are limited", she charged in a speech at the World Justice Project conference, delivered on her behalf by newly elected leader of the opposition in Parliament, Athol Trollip. -
IOL website

Boeremag chief cracks up in court - 5 May
South Africa's most expensive criminal proceeding - the Boeremag treason trial - for which the taxpayer has forked out more than R20-million thus far, was again in session for less than 30 minutes on Monday. Monday's court session was brief, with the alleged Boeremag military commander, Tom Vorster, having an emotional outburst. A clearly unhappy Vorster told Judge Eben Jordaan that he was tired of being trampled on by the State, which he claimed was disregarding his rights. "My co-operation is ending now. I will no longer tolerate the unacceptable behaviour from the State and the investigating team towards me", Vorster said. The matter stood down to today for Vorster to decide on the way forward. -
IOL website

Ex-officers up in arms over medical aid subsidies - 2 May
Some former members of the South African Police Service are embroiled in a legal battle with the SAPS and its medical aid scheme Polmed after they were notified that, although they may continue with their membership of the scheme, they will no longer be subsidised by the police force. The members say it is unfair and contrary to the scheme's rules, while the scheme says it is lawful and that it can, in any event, no longer afford the subsidies for the members because this would place the scheme in insolvency. Trade union Solidarity launched an urgent Pretoria High Court bid on behalf of 88 members of the medical scheme in which members asked that their membership of the medical aid fund be restored in full. -
IOL website

Doctors take guideline tariff battle to court - 11 May
The Department of Health may have to update the guideline tariffs for medical services after associations that represent more than 7 000 medical practitioners launched an application in the Pretoria High Court to challenge the department's determination of the tariffs, arguing that the rates are too low. The health department apparently indicated this week that it will not oppose the application, which asks the court to instruct the department to produce a revised 2009 Reference Price List (RPL) by September this year. -
Personal Finance website

Milne troubles land in court  - 20 April
The North Gauteng High Court had granted an application for the provisional sequestration of Jack Milne, the former managing director of PSC Guaranteed Growth (PSCGG) Fund, with the intention of having an inquiry into his estate, one of the liquidators, Ivor von Diggelen, said on Friday. -
Business Report website
Keyphrases :
Income Tax Act
Stock Exchanges Control Act
Tigon

Court overturns minister's land grab - 27 May
The North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria yesterday ordered the government to restore land to a black farmer evicted last month under its controversial "use it or lose it" policy. The case was brought by land- reform beneficiary Veronica Moos against Arts and Culture Minister Lulu Xingwana, who launched the policy with histrionic fanfare while land and agriculture minister. Moos initially sought a punitive costs order against Xingwana in her personal capacity for her active role in the eviction, but this was later dropped. Yesterday, the new Department of Land Reform and Rural Development, which has been split from agriculture, was given notice that it had 12 hours to restore the 21ha farm near Bapsfontein in eastern Gauteng to Moos. Several government sources told Business Day that beneficiaries close to Xingwana had already been allocated the farm. - Business Day website

DA welcomes farm court ruling - 27 May
A High Court ruling returning a farm to a woman evicted under government's "use it or lose it" policy is a victory for the rule of law and constitutionalism, the DA said on Wednesday. The Democratic Alliance supported a sustainable and legally sound land reform programme in South Africa, spokesperson Mpowele Swathe said. - IOL website

Minister's 'land-grab cronyism' - 1 June
Arts and Culture Minister Lulu Xingwana has been accused of cronyism after evicting land-reform beneficiaries through her controversial "use it or lose it" campaign, and allocating the farms to members of a women's group with which she is closely associated. Xingwana launched the group, Women in Agriculture and Rural Development (Ward), soon after taking over the portfolio in 2006. Ward's declared aims are to increase land ownership by black women. In two recent high-profile cases, in which black farmers deemed unproductive were evicted under Xingwana's "use it or lose it" policy, their farms were allocated to Ward members. They include Della Masilela, chairwoman of Ward's Gauteng branch, whom Xingwana allegedly praised publicly as her "protégé". Masilela confirmed she and five Ward members were allocated Yzervarkfontein farm near Bapsfontein last month after Xingwana publicly evicted emerging farmer Veronica Moos for underutilising her farm. Court documents show Moos tried on several occasions to get the department to honour promises of support and supply her with a valid lease. Themba Masemola said that he was evicted from an ostrich farm near Pretoria a month after a visit by Xingwana. The current occupant, who would identify herself only as Nosipo, confirmed that she was a member of Ward, but denied Xingwana influenced the decision to transfer the farm to her co-operative.  - allAfrica website
Keyphrase :
Lawyers for Human Rights
Proactive Land Acquisition Strategy (Plas)

See also :

South Africa. Anger as new land owners fail to use farms

Land confiscations : white tenants will not be tolerated - 15 April
Moneyweb website

Pikoli Case

Radebe has to deal with Pikoli case - 12 May
Newly sworn-in Justice and Constitutional Development Minister Jeff Radebe's first job will be to deal with the legal hangover caused by the sacking of former prosecutions chief Vusi Pikoli by the previous administration earlier this year. Pikoli has taken former president Kgalema Motlanthe to court after the previous Parliament approved his decision to axe Pikoli, on grounds - among others - that he had disregard for issues of national security. -
Daily News website

13 May 2009
8550/09
Pikoli v The President, the Speaker of the National Assembly and the Chair of the National Council of Provinces
South African President's affidavit deposed (Kgalema Motlanthe's reply to Pikoli)

Mbeki's side to Selebi saga - 14 May
Former president Thabo Mbeki has admitted that he tried to delay the arrest of suspended police chief Jackie Selebi - but says he did so out of fear that it would end in a "shoot-out" between the police and the Scorpions. The former president has further claimed that he had "grave concerns" that then-prosecuting boss Vusi Pikoli's refusal to allow him two weeks to prepare the country for Selebi's arrest would have compromised national security, "plunging the country into turmoil". Mbeki's claims stand in contrast with his original reasons for suspending Pikoli in 2007. At that time, he claimed that he had suspended the national director of public prosecutions because his relationship with then-justice minister Brigitte Mabandla had irretrievably broken down. -
IOL website

See alsoSouth Africa. Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI) ; South Africa. National Prosecuting Authority

InfoUpdate : an Information Service supplied by the KwaZulu-Natal Law Society