logo
ActionSA slams NPA for failing to successfully prosecute those implicated in state capture

ActionSA slams NPA for failing to successfully prosecute those implicated in state capture

Eyewitness News2 days ago

CAPE TOWN - With this week marking three years since former Chief Justice Raymond Zondo handed over the last chapters of the state capture commission of inquiry report to the president, ActionSA has slammed the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) for failing to successfully prosecute those implicated.
NPA head Shamila Batohi is under pressure from opposition parties to quit the job over botched state capture cases and extradition matters.
Batohi will be before Parliament's Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) on Wednesday to provide a status update of corruption prosecutions.
ALSO READ:
• Batohi adamant she won't resign despite repeated calls for her head by opposition parties
• Ramaphosa announces meeting with NPA boss to clear the air about perceived knots
Meanwhile, ActionSA said it was planning to stage a protest in Pretoria on Thursday to call for her removal.
ActionSA's parliamentary leader, Athol Trollip, said that the irregular handling of an extradition linked to the asbestos corruption case in the Free State was not an isolated blunder but a pattern.
"There is supposed to be a war against corruption in this country. Nobody has seen one shot fired and the blame must be laid at the door of the NPA and the national director of public prosecutions."
He said his party would not be intimidated by former executives implicated in the state capture project who now served in the parliamentary benches as MPs of the MK Party.
"They're defending themselves rather than being an effective opposition. They defend themselves in portfolio committees on matters under serious discussion. We are not going to be threatened by gangsters in this Parliament."
The party said it would be introducing a zero tolerance corruption bill later this year to plug the gaps in enforcement and deterrence in the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Hitman jailed for life after attacking elderly couple on son-in-law's orders
Hitman jailed for life after attacking elderly couple on son-in-law's orders

The Citizen

time3 hours ago

  • The Citizen

Hitman jailed for life after attacking elderly couple on son-in-law's orders

Davis was handed two life sentences for a deadly stabbing and two attempted murders carried out at dawn, under orders from the victims' son-in-law. A Cape Town man has been sentenced to two life terms for killing an elderly man and attacking his wife during morning prayer, in a paid hit ordered by the couple's son-in-law. The High Court Western Cape Division handed Reagan Davis two life sentences and 15 years for the murder of 75-year-old Hashim Ahmed Dennis and the attempted murder of his 70-year-old wife, Kulsoem Dennis, and their daughter, Ibtisaam Dennis. The attackers targeted the couple while they were preparing for the sunrise prayer. Elderly couple targeted while preparing for sunrise prayers Davis, 35, stood trial alongside the elderly couple's son-in-law, Brent Williams. However, Williams died on 10 February 2025, just before the state closed its case. After Williams died, the trial continued against Davis. National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) regional spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila said that senior state prosecutor Advocate Evadne Kortje proved that the murder was a contract killing and Davis was paid R1 000, which he used to buy takkies. Kortje led evidence from 10 witnesses, which revealed that Williams and his wife, Ibtisaam Dennis, stayed with the elderly couple. ALSO READ: Western Cape police launch investigation after Mauritian killed in apparent hit Ntabazalila said the couple had two children and marital problems. 'Williams hired Davis and another man, unknown to the state, to invade and attack his in-laws to 'neutralise' his marital problems. At the time, the elderly couple stayed in a flatlet in the couple's yard,' Ntabazalila said. CCTV footage showed Williams travelling with the two co-perpetrators in his red maroon bakkie to the area of 6 Conifer Close in the early hours of 31 January 2019. The son-in-law dropped Davis and the other man off and drove off to wait until they finished the job. Son-in-law dropped perpetrators off near house Davis and the other man gained access to the house through the security gate, which was not forced open. Devout Muslim worshippers prepare for Fajr, or the sunrise prayer, at approximately four in the morning. Around the world, worshippers offer one of the five daily prayers of the Islamic faith. The taking of Wudu, which is the cleansing ritual required before praying, is the first step in each prayer. Ntabazalila said that while the elderly husband was busy with the cleansing ritual in the bathroom, his wife was seated on the bed reciting passages from the Holy Quran before they would pray Fajr at 4.30am that day. ALSO READ: Murder witness shot dead outside Lenasia Magistrate's Court The Dennis' normally open the sliding door of their flatlet so that their daughter or grandchildren could join the prayers or come in. Kulsoem Dennis heard the voice of an intruder asking where the money was in Afrikaans before brutally attacking her. The intruder struck the wife on the head, neck, and chest with a firearm. 'She chanted, 'Allahu-Akbar' (God is Great) until she hit the floor. Severely injured and in shock, she lay on the floor, pretending to be dead as her burga (headscarf) fell softly over her face and she kept her eyes closed,' Ntabazalila said. Wife pretended to be dead According to the NPA, the wife heard shoving noises as the attackers ransacked the room. They assaulted Hashim Ahmed Dennis as he stepped out of the bedroom. 'When it quieted down, she got up and found her husband on the floor, deceased, bleeding from various stab wounds. He had 15 stab wounds,' Ntabazalila said. The couple's daughter heard a noise and noticed a bright light from her parents' flatlet. When she went to investigate, she was met with a knife-wielding intruder who charged at her. ALSO READ: Five arrested after Mpumalanga police officer killed in apparent hit [UPDATE] Ibtisaam Dennis quickly turned around and closed the sliding door to the main house, saving herself and her two children. CCTV footage showed the two attackers sprinting back to Williams' vehicle, getting in the bakkie and driving away shortly after the attack. The daughter called the police and her sister as she discovered the home invasion and the attack on her parents. Ntabazalila said that the police investigation identified Williams as the mastermind behind the attacks. Williams was arrested on 20 May 2020. Mastermind behind attack was the son-in-law Police arrested Davis on 10 June 2020. He did not provide an alibi to the investigating officer. In aggravation of the sentence, Advocate Kortje argued that the murder was premeditated, executed with direct intent and excessive force, and committed in the context of a robbery and housebreaking. He described it as a contract killing orchestrated by the son-in-law. 'The attempted murder of Mrs Dennis involved sadistic violence against a vulnerable and elderly woman at peace during a prayer in the bedroom of her home,' Ntabazalila said. ALSO READ: Mother who allegedly hired hitmen to murder 'drug-addict' son remains behind bars The court sentenced Davis to: 15 years' direct imprisonment for housebreaking with intent to commit murder, 15 years for robbery with aggravating circumstances, Life imprisonment for the attempted murder of the wife, 10 years for the attempted murder of the daughter, and Life imprisonment for the premeditated murder of the husband. It ordered the sentences of housebreaking with intent to commit murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances and attempted murder of Ibtisaam Dennis to run concurrently with the two life sentences. Two life sentences and 15 years The Western Cape Director of Public Prosecutions, Advocate Nicolette Bell, praised the investigation and prosecution team's efforts to bring justice to the victims. 'It can never be overemphasised how important human life is, and the NPA will continue being vigorous in its pursuit of these cases to serve as a deterrent to would-be murderers,' Bell assured.

Ermelo Court sentences man to life imprisonment for rape of seven-year-old boy
Ermelo Court sentences man to life imprisonment for rape of seven-year-old boy

The Citizen

time5 hours ago

  • The Citizen

Ermelo Court sentences man to life imprisonment for rape of seven-year-old boy

Ermelo Court sentences man to life imprisonment for rape of seven-year-old boy A 41-year-old man was sentenced to life imprisonment for raping a seven-year-old boy in the Ermelo Regional Court on Friday, June 20. According to the National Prosecuting Authority's regional chairperson, Monica Nyuswa, on July 2023, the accused went to his friend's house where he was residing with the victim and requested to sleep as he was intoxicated. ALSO READ: Nkomazi court sentences rapist to 12 years in jail 'The accused shared the room with the victim and his father slept in a separate room. While sleeping, the accused undressed the minor boy and raped him. The victim screamed asking for help and the accused fled the scene. 'The victim was taken to Ermelo Thuthuzela Care Centre for medical examination and psychosocial support,' Nyuswa said. The accused was traced and arrested the same day at Mazakhele Section in Ermelo. Nuyswa said in court the accused claimed that he was intoxicated and denied raping the victim. Prosecutor Chané Rothman led credible evidence of the victim who testified using intermediary services. The victim's father also testified. ALSO READ: Mpumalanga police looking for family of man found dead in Vaalbank 'A medical report confirming injuries to the victim's private parts was presented in court. The accused was found guilty as charged.' Nyuswa said in aggravation of sentence, Rothman argued for the prescribed minimum sentence of life to be imposed on the accused, emphasising that the accused's behaviour warranted a strong societal message. The accused was sentenced to life imprisonment for rape. The court declared the accused unfit to possess a firearm, unsuitable to work with children and ordered his name entered into the National Register for Sexual Offenders. At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!

Hitman jailed for brutal attack on elderly couple planned by son-in-law
Hitman jailed for brutal attack on elderly couple planned by son-in-law

TimesLIVE

time7 hours ago

  • TimesLIVE

Hitman jailed for brutal attack on elderly couple planned by son-in-law

A man who was paid R1,000 to kill an elderly couple as they prepared for Fajr — a sunrise prayer — has been sentenced to life imprisonment for the contract killing in Cape Town. Reagan Davis, 35, was handed two life sentences and 15 years' direct imprisonment by the Cape Town high court for the murder of 75-year-old Hashim Ahmed Dennis and attempted murder of his 70-year-old wife Kulsoem at home in Northpine, Brackenfell, on January 31 2020. Davis was a co-accused with the elderly couple's son-in-law Brent Williams — who died in February before the state closed its case. 'Senior state advocate Evadne Kortje proved the murder was a contract killing and the accused was paid R1,000, which he used to buy takkies,' said National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila. Evidence was led by 10 witnesses which revealed Williams and his wife Ibtisaam Dennis, who lived with the elderly couple, had marital problems. Williams hired Davis and an unknown accomplice to invade and attack his in-laws to 'neutralise' his marital problems. Williams drove the hitmen to the property and they gained access via a security gate at about 4am and entered the couple's flatlet. '[Kulsoem Dennis] heard the voice of an intruder asking where the money was in Afrikaans before brutally attacking her. The intruder hit her on the head, neck and chest with a gun. She chanted, 'Allahu-Akbar' [God is Great] until she hit the floor. Severely injured and in shock, she lay on the floor, pretending to be dead as her [headscarf] fell softly over her face and she kept her eyes closed,' said Ntabazalila. Her husband was attacked as he came out the bathroom and died after being stabbed 15 times. Ibtisaam Dennis called the police, whose investigation confirmed her husband was the mastermind behind the attack.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store