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

17 July 2009

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

InfoUpdate 15 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

3 June 2009
30972/2009
Riley v Ferreira
Rights of surrogate parents
Not yet online

Nkwinti gets order against attorney - 14 July
Rural Development and Land Reform Minister Gugile Nkwinti has obtained an urgent court order against an attorney who alleged "disappeared" with almost R5-million earmarked for a land claim settlement. Judge Ephraim Makgoba granted an order on Tuesday in the High Court in Pretoria. It compelled Brandfort attorney Zibutha Mokoena to immediately pay almost R4-million to Limpopo farm owner Morris Chokoe or to the department. -
IOL website

FSB flexes its muscles to protect consumers  - 11 July
This week, the FSB applied for the provisional curatorship of New Era Insurance Company after an FSB inspection of the company found that it was allegedly contravening various sections of the
Long Term Insurance Act, including not having provided proper reports to the FSB since 2007. The company has 227 000 lives assured, for which it receives premiums of R70 million a year. In an affidavit submitted to the Pretoria High Court in support of the curatorship application, Dixon detailed extensive lapses in the insurance company's governance and financial controls. New Era's chairman and controlling director is Sandile Majali, who appears from Dixon's affidavit to have managed the company with little reference to fellow directors, which resulted in a depletion of the capital the company is required by law to hold as insurance that policyholders will be paid out. - Personal Finance website

Curators appointed to Imvume boss's company - 8 July
The Gauteng North High Court has appointed curators to look after New Era Life, an insurance company. A director of New Era is Sandi Majali, who is notorious for the role he played with Imvume, the key player in the Oilgate saga as the company that channeled R11m into the ANC's coffers. Other New Era directors include : Maria Coelho, Krumchund Hariparshad, Chupu Mathabatha and Ndabezinhe Mtshali. The auditors are KPMG. New Era is a company that specialises in funeral policies pitched at the lower end of the market. It has about 8 000 policyholders. The curatorship order was granted on Tuesday following an application by the FSB's executive officer Dube Tshidi. -
Moneyweb website

Majali ‘abused funeral funds' - 18 July
The Financial Services Board (FSB) wants Oilgate kingpin Sandi Majali prosecuted for risking the funeral savings of poor people to prop up his cash-strapped Imvume Resources. This emerges in a damning 122-page report, which also shows how Majali short-changed the Limpopo government of millions. FSB insurance boss Jonathan Dixon confirmed that the report, which concludes that Majali and New Era contravened at least nine separate laws, will be sent to the SAPS and National Prosecuting Authority. The FSB placed New Era under curatorship last week because of Majali’s breaches of governance. -
The Times website

See also :

Majali and his lawyer Barry Aaron avoid arrest for money laundering

'Warrant for ANC funder" - 6 July
Controversial funder Sandi Majali has avoided arrest for money-laundering after striking a deal with prosecutors, according to a report. An arrest warrant was issued against Majali this week in connection with money-laundering allegations involving a KwaZulu-Natal tender, according to Talk Radio 702. However, Majali's lawyers had reached an agreement whereby Majali would make submissions regarding the money-laundering case while the arrest warrant remained open, said the radio station. - Dispatch Online website

Zuma gets his way with JSC choices - 20 July
Advocate Vas Soni, who mainly represented the government in his career, also created controversy when as an acting judge he stopped the Mail & Guardian newspaper from printing a follow-up story about oil company Imvume Management and its boss Sandi Majali donating R11-million to the ANC after a controversial deal with Petro-SA. Soni found Imvume and Majali's rights to privacy, dignity and reputation outweighed the newspaper's freedom of expression and press freedom. It later emerged the story was accurate and the ANC had to pay back the donation. -
IOL website

Rights Commission application irks judges - 27 May 2009
Constitutional Court judges yesterday expressed irritation at the Human Rights Commission which lodged an application to be admitted as friend of the court a few days before a hearing into the matter challenging the constitutionality of a section in the Promotion of Access to Information Act. The case arose out of a request that Stefaans Brümmer, a Mail & Guardian journalist, made to the Department of Social Development for access to certain information concerning the relationship between its then minister, Zola Skweyiya , and Sandile Majali. - allAfrica website
[InfoUpdate 11 of 2009]

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