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

Magistrates Courts

Atteridgeville

Accuser jailed as rape accused walks - 16 July
A woman who accused a man of rape was locked up while her so-called attacker was set free on Thursday, Atteridgeville police said. Inspector Daniel Mavimbela said the woman was charged with perjury in the Atteridgeville Magistrate's Court after it transpired that she had lied and the sex had in fact been consensual. The man has been behind bars since October last year after his bail was denied. - IOL website

Woman sentenced after false rape cry - 20 July
An Atteridgeville woman was sentenced to three years' imprisonment after she falsely accused a man of rape, police said on Monday. - IOL website

Chatsworth

'False rape charges ruined my life' - 13 July
An 18-year-old Northdene girl who laid false charges of sexual molestation and rape against her father is now in hot water. The charges were withdrawn after police found discrepancies and she admitted that she had lied. The girl was charged with perjury and appeared in the Chatsworth Magistrate's Court last Friday. The father, a transport controller, who cannot be named, said the incident had turned his whole life upside down. He now faced the wrath of the community and his family had rejected him. - IOL website

Johannesburg

Motata case draws to a close - 16 July
With Judge Nkola Motata not having testified, what has been put to witnesses on his behalf should not be taken into account, state prosecutor Zaais van Zyl said on Thursday. He was giving closing arguments at the Johannesburg Magistrate's Court on Motata's drunk driving case. He told the court that even if there was a plea explanation it still would not be evidence. He noted that with the accused not having testified, some questions about the accident remained unanswered. "Why did the accused not use one of the many driveways... Why was the impact of the accident so severe . . . Why did he remain in the vehicle after the accident? Why did he hit the wall? Why he was he swearing? Why were there spelling errors in his handwritten note?" Van Zyl questioned. - IOL website

Motata is a master of English, court hears - 16 July
Judge Nkola Motata has no speech impediment, he does not repeat words and he is a master of the English language, state prosecutor Zaais van Zyl said on Thursday. He was describing Motata's normal language as compared to his statements at the 2007 accident scene, which led to the case, where Van Zyl was giving closing argument in the Johannesburg Magistrate's Court. - IOL website

Motata witness biased : defence - 16 July
If judge Nkola Motata is convicted, it would be based on evidence supplied by complainant Richard Baird and nothing else, defence lawyer Bantubonke Tokoto said today. - The Times website

'It's a kiss on the cheek' - 17 July
James O'Shea was granted R50 000 bail by magistrate PR du Plessis, who said he was not a flight risk because he had "substantial assets" in the country. O'Shea's two co-accused were granted R4 000 bail each. O'Shea was arrested earlier this month on eight charges of fraud and theft involving the hijacking of buildings. Sources close to him said his modus operandi was to buy houses on auction and pay deposits with cheques that bounced. The same night he goes to the owners or tenants of the properties, showing them the auction papers and ordering them out. He then allegedly puts his own tenants in them. When auctioneers and banks realise the cheques are dishonoured, they start eviction procedures, which he opposes to stall for time. In the meantime he receives rent on the properties. Police have been collecting evidence against O'Shea since 2006. - IOL website

Kokstad

Teacher sentenced for dragging dog behind car - 14 July
A teacher convicted of dragging his dog behind his vehicle earlier this year was on Tuesday sentenced to 18 months in prison by the Kokstad Magistrate's Court. Half of the sentence was suspended. Andile Jezile also had the option of paying a R3 000 fine. He was arrested in January, charged with seven counts under the Animal Protection Act, and later released on bail. - IOL website

Pinetown

Faked death : no insurance payout - 15 July
The State has claimed in an indictment, served on Tuesday on two accused including a businessman, alleged to have faked his death, that Discovery Life had declined to pay out on a claim filed by the businessman's ex-wife. In the dock in the Pinetown Magistrate's Court were Sundragasen 'Rajen' Chetty and his cousin, Dayalan 'Dean' Reddy. The accused, represented by attorney Zane Haneef, are also facing defeating the ends of justice charges. On October 7 last year near Abelia Road, Kloof, the accused unlawfully and intentionally killed Bharat Bee Lutchman, a homeless individual who frequented Merebank. Two days after Lutchman's fiery death, Reddy falsely identified the deceased's body as Chetty's. Chetty and Reddy will appear in the Durban High Court on October 30 - the provisional trial date. - IOL website

Stellenbosch

Harrowing last hours of student revealed - 18 July
Erin van Rensburg did not want her brother's varsity friend of six years, Jacobus Eksteen, in their home because she thought him "weird". But he came to fix a computer - and the petite 20-year-old student from the University of Stellenbosch disappeared. Her battered body was found three days later, hundreds of kilometres away from home, buried in the sand dunes. On Friday, a tale of obsession and violence unfolded in the Stellenbosch Magistrate's Court as the state opposed Eksteen's bid for bail. - The Times website

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