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

KwaZulu-Natal High Court : Pietermaritzburg (previously Natal Provincial Division) http://www.saflii.org.za/za/cases/ZAKZPHC/ ; Court rolls via http://www.lawlibrary.co.za/notice/highcourts/index.htm and http://www.saflii.org/blog/?page_id=190

22 May 2009
1630/2009 ; 366/2009 ; 3656/2009 [2009] ZAKZPHC 20
Griffin v Edwafin Investment Holdings Ltd ; Chaplin v Griffin and Another ; Stapleton and Others v Edwafin Investment Holdings Ltd and Others

End of the road for Edwafin - 22 May
Troubled unlisted investment firm Edwafin was reportedly placed in liquidation on Friday, after a failed bid by management place it under judicial management. Fin24.com is in possession of a copy of a letter from law firm GDLK Attorneys which confirms to debenture holders that a provisional order of liquidation has been granted. - Fin24 website

Cops to probe failed firm - 26 May
The police are probing possible charges against the directors of collapsed Hillcrest-based Edwafin Holdings (Pty) Ltd, which was placed under provisional liquidation on Friday, leaving some of its investors virtually penniless. It is estimated that between 1 400 and 2 000 South Africans - lured by the promise of between 15 percent and 20 percent monthly interest - collectively ploughed R200-million into debentures in the investment company. If they are lucky, they will now get back six cents for each rand they put in. - IOL website

Edwafin : Money Skills, Krion revisited? - 28 May
Investors in failed debenture scheme Edwafin need to be cautious that they do not suffer the same fate as those who put their money into Money Skills and Krion. Many Krion and Money Skills investors got a nasty shock after these two schemes were liquidated. The liquidators issued summons against investors to recover money that the schemes had previously paid out to them. - Moneyweb website

13 May 2009
2142/2008 [2009] ZAKZPHC 19
Lafarge Industries South Africa (Pty) Ltd v Howick Retirement Villages (Pty) Ltd

13 May 2009
14275/08 [2009] ZAKZPHC 18
Zululand Gas and Outdoor CC v Morris Centre (Pty) Ltd and Another

29 April 2009
R421/09 [2009] ZAKZPHC 17
S v Zerky

Property taxes - 6 May
Kwanalu sues ministers and municipalities over unrealistic property rates. The KwaZulu-Natal Agricultural Union's (Kwanalu) legal challenge against government and municipalities for their implementation of the Municipal Property Rates Act (MPRA) is now in full swing. Kwanalu has lodged arguments with the High Court in Pietermaritzburg and papers have been served on the national minister of local and provincial government Sicelo Shiceka and 28 other respondents, amongst them the finance minister, the provincial and national agriculture ministers, the provincial MEC for local government and traditional affairs and 21 municipalities in KwaZulu-Natal that have begun implementing the MPRA. Kwanalu's case is supported by affidavits from Agri SA. -
Farming UK website

Couple implicated in wife's murder - 12 May
A businessman and his new wife on Monday pleaded not guilty in the Pietermaritzburg High Court to the murder of his former wife three years ago. Sanesh Manilall, Mumtaz Osman and Mboniseni Mbatha have all denied involvement in Monika Manilall's murder at her Howick West home on February 3, 2006. However, Mbatha's not guilty plea implicated the couple in the murder. -
IOL website

Dying Manilall was shot again - 14 May
An alleged accomplice to the murder of Howick woman Monika Manilall on February 3, 2006 testified yesterday that after Manilall was shot and lay bleeding on the floor of the passage next to her baby, she suddenly jumped up and ran to a bedroom where she activated a panic alarm. Moments later, her executioner fired a second shot through the back of her head. Phumlani Madlala also alleges that after Monika Manilall was killed, the assailants were supposed to murder Osman’s husband. -
The Witness website

'He drove his wife to her killers' - 15 May
Murder accused Sunesh Manilall drove his wife to the Spar supermarket in Howick a day before she was killed so that her murderers could see what she looked like. This was said in evidence in the Pietermaritzburg High Court on Thursday. - IOL website

Twist in Manilall case - 19 May
In a surprise twist yesterday, a man who is currently serving a life sentence after he pleaded guilty last year to shooting dead Howick mother Monika Manilall in 2006, told Pietermaritzburg High Court Judge Herbert Msimang that he, in fact, "knows nothing" about the crime at all. He alleged that following his arrest on the murder charge police told him he would "spend a long time in prison", but that if he admitted his guilt it would be "of help" to him. However, he said after he was sentenced to life imprisonment they failed to keep their "promise" to assist to him. Mdlalose claimed that, for the past two weeks, police "read" the statement to him. He also told the judge that the state advocate, Dalene Barnard, was present when he was "induced" to testify by police and that he had told her that he knew nothing about the case. The court adjourned until today to enable Barnard and the defence advocates to decide what should happen in the light of Mdlalose’s startling claims. - Witness website

Pensioner asks court to set aside house transfer - 13 May
Stephen Mkhize, a pensioner whose Greytown house was auctioned for R8 000 and then sold for R350 000, has applied to the KZN High Court (Pietermaritzburg) to have the initial transfer set aside. The Mercury reports that Mkhize brought the application against the Umvoti Municipality ; Nalini Khan, who had been employed at the municipality as a credit controller ; her brother, Navin Chetty ; the current owners of the house, Vusi and Daphney Dlamini ; Nel and Stevens Attorneys ; the Sheriff of the Umvoti Magistrate's Court ; and the Registrar of Deeds. -
Legalbrief website

Do not resort to murder : judge - 20 May
A Pietermaritzburg woman who pleaded guilty to hiring a hitman to kill her husband was sentenced in the Pietermaritzburg High Court on Tuesday to life imprisonment. Sibongile Mavis Khumalo, 44, will now spend the next 25 years in prison before she can be considered for parole. Judge Rose Mogwera gave Khumalo the opportunity to address the court in mitigation of sentence, after Khumalo said in her plea that she had been driven to her actions after being subjected to years of emotional and financial neglect by her husband. - IOL website
Keyphrase :
Domestic abuse

Man sentenced to life for contract killing - 29 May
Poverty was not a reason for reducing the life sentence of a 29-year-old man who committed a contract murder, a Pietermaritzburg High Court judge said on Friday. Judge Vivienne Niles-Duner sentenced Lindelani Mkhulisi to life imprisonment for the contract killing of Sikukayi Mbanjwa. Niles-Duner said although Mkhulisi was very poor, could not support his family, was in debt and was so remorseful that he pleaded guilty, these were not substantial and compelling circumstances. - IOL website

Court clerks face fraud – 2 June
Two Pietermaritzburg Magistrate's Court clerks accused of defrauding the justice department of over R380 000 were on Tuesday interdicted from selling their assets. Pietermaritzburg High Court Judge King Ndhlovu issued this restraint order against Thamsanqa Nkosi (39) and Thulisile Aurelia Dube (34) preventing any dealings with their fixed properties. The two women, who were accused of defrauding the justice department of R255 900 and R128 980 respectively, were also restrained from tampering with balances in their government employees' pension fund. – iafrica website

Judge : 'tired' of late arrivals - 15 May
Judge Herbert Msimang yesterday said he is tired of prisoners arriving late for trial at the high court in Pietermaritzburg and said he intends taking up the matter with the minister of Correctional Services. - Witness website

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