Latest news with #SouthAfricanPoliceService
IOL News
8 hours ago
- IOL News
Brutal murder of Northpine grandfather leads to life sentences for attackers
Hashim Dennis, 75, was washing before prayers when the robbers struck. Image: Supplied The killer who murdered Northpine grandfather Hashim Dennis has been sentenced to two life terms. Reagan Davids was convicted by the Western Cape High Court in March for his role in the brutal murder of the 75-year-old and the attempted murder of his wife, the then-69-year-old Kulsoem, at their Northpine granny flat in January 2020. Daughter Ibtisaam Williams said her traumatised mother Kulsoem rushed into the main house, covered in blood, shortly after 4am to say their father had been stabbed and beaten to death. The grandmother survived by playing dead after she was stabbed and Ibtisaam also escaped with her life after being attacked by an unknown second intruder in the main house. During the investigation, it was established that the attackers had been hired by Ibtisaam's husband Brent Williams to kill his in-laws and make it look like a robbery gone wrong. Although Williams and Davids denied any involvement in the attacks, Williams was captured on the CCTV surveillance cameras dropping off the two men close to his home on the morning of the attack. Williams died shortly before the conclusion of his murder trial, while the third perpetrator is still unknown. Davids was found guilty for housebreaking with intent to commit murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances, two counts of attempted murder and murder. He was sentenced to life for the murder of Hashim Dennis and the attempted murder of his wife, while he got 10 years for attempted murder of Williams' wife and 15 years each for his other crimes. He will effectively serve 40 years, as the South African Police Service praised the work that put Davids away. They said in a statement: 'The suspects attacked the wife's parents, fatally stabbing the father-in-law. The wife who was running late that morning, heard the commotion and managed to lock the suspects outside the main house. 'They fled the scene over the garage roof and were picked up by Brent Williams nearby. 'Following an intensive investigation led by Detective Captain C. Louw and Detective Sergeant T. Rapiya, both Williams and Davids were arrested and charged. 'Williams died in custody in February 2025 due to a heart attack and the case proceeded against Davids alone.'
Daily Maverick
12 hours ago
- Daily Maverick
Eastern Cape cop back at work after pleading guilty to armed robbery, 12 more still on duty despite criminal records
A Nelson Mandela Bay police officer who pleaded guilty – in a disciplinary hearing – to charges of armed robbery, possession of stolen property and the possession of an unlicensed firearm has returned to work after a two-month suspension. The DA's Yusuf Cassim however said there were serious irregularities with the officer's disciplinary hearing. A police officer who was working in the child protection unit at the Mount Road Police station in Nelson Mandela Bay has been reinstated, although redeployed to a different police station, after pleading guilty on charges of armed robbery during a disciplinary hearing. This was confirmed by Eastern Cape MEC for Community Safety, Xolile Nqatha, in a written reply to the provincial legislature. Nqatha said the docket for the armed robbery case was opened in Stormsriver and that the criminal matter is still ongoing. He also confirmed that 12 police officers with criminal convictions are currently serving in the South African Police Service (SAPS) in the province, and 217 cases involving police officers are under investigation. Most of the convictions were for police officers helping prisoners escape. The cases included: A police officer at Mount Road SAPS was convicted of assault with the intent to do serious bodily harm. He has received a suspended sentence; An officer in Kareedouw was found guilty of fraud and fined R12,000 in court, of which R6,000 was suspended; An officer working at the Graaff Reinet SAPS was convicted of reckless and negligent driving and paid an admission-of-guilt fine; Officers in Paterson, Tsolo and Kirkwood have all been convicted of helping prisoners escape and received prison sentences of between 6 months and a year; and An officer in Mthatha paid an admission of guilt fine of R1,500 for fraud. The Democratic Alliance's Yusuf Cassim criticised the fact that 12 police officers with criminal convictions, and hundreds more facing criminal charges, are still active members of the Eastern Cape SAPS. 'Not only have these officers broken the law they swore to uphold, they also violated the trust of the residents they serve, some going so far as putting criminal elements back on the street in a province where you are more likely to be raped or murdered than anywhere else in the country,' he said. He said the officer from Mount Road SAPS accused of armed robbery had returned to duty this month, but was redeployed to Kinkelbos SAPS. 'The officer pleaded guilty in an internal disciplinary hearing to aggravated robbery, possession of stolen property and unlawful possession of a firearm, receiving a two-month suspension without pay. The criminal case against him remains ongoing.' He said the officer's disciplinary hearing was chaired by a captain despite the SAPS Discipline Regulations of 2016 requiring that an officer with the rank of brigadier or higher must chair the case. 'This breach raises serious questions about other disciplinary cases that have allowed convicted criminals to remain in positions where they are supposed to enforce the very laws they have been found guilty of breaking,' he said. 'Were their disciplinary hearings also chaired by junior officers? Were proper procedures followed before allowing these criminals to remain in the service? Who authorised these outcomes?' he asked. 'I will be writing to the National Commissioner to request a comprehensive review of all SAPS members with criminal convictions or pending criminal charges in the Eastern Cape, including an examination of the disciplinary processes followed in each case and whether these processes complied with national regulations,' he said.
The Citizen
20 hours ago
- The Citizen
Greenspark community marks Youth Day with powerful anti-drug campaign
The Greenspark community in Fochville took a firm stand against drug abuse on Youth Day, using the occasion to raise awareness and inspire change among local youth. March and sports unite youth against drugs Led by community activist Glen Fourie, the event began with a peaceful march from Greenspark Primary School to the local stadium. Once there, young people enjoyed a day of soccer and netball, promoting healthy alternatives to substance use. 'If you go to the police holding cells at Fochville, they are full of young people who stole to get money to buy drugs,' Fourie said. He emphasized the urgent need for intervention, especially in areas with limited recreational opportunities. Former addicts share their stories Community member Calvin Fourie, a recovering addict, shared his journey: 'I started using drugs because of peer pressure. I didn't know what I was getting myself into. Now, I feel sorry for the young users who have to sleep outside in the winter cold because of their choices.' Calvin is now clean and actively shares his experience to help guide others. Plans to build a safer, drug-free Greenspark Driven by concern and hope, residents are determined to change the narrative in Greenspark. Future plans include: Workshops to teach youth healthy coping strategies Collaboration with the South African Police Service (SAPS) and Departments of Health and Social Services Involvement of churches and local businesses The possible installation of boom gates at town entrances to curb criminal activity Broad support from community stakeholders The event received strong backing from various sectors. Traffic officers from Merafong City Local Municipality ensured safety during the march, and local churches and government departments pledged continued support. At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
Zawya
a day ago
- Business
- Zawya
South Africa: Sars teams up with law enforcement to combat illicit fuel trade
The South African Revenue Service (Sars) is working with other law enforcement agencies to combat illicit fuel trade, which costs the fiscus approximately R3.6bn per year. In the past four months, the National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure (Natjoints) has carried out several interventions. A joint intelligence team, comprising Sars and South African Police Service (Saps) officials, has identified 23 targets across Gauteng, Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal. In addition, 13 criminal cases were registered with Saps, supported by Sars trade investigators, for customs and excise contraventions, and fraud. 'The intelligence-driven joint enforcement interventions included search-and-seizure operations targeting certain fuel storage facilities and depots, as well as random sampling of tanker transport to test the fuel viscosity and composition. In some cases, adulterated diesel – analysed in these investigations – had up to 68% paraffin content,' Sars said. Over the past decade, countries along the Maputo Corridor (South Africa, Eswatini and Mozambique) have become primary targets of the illicit fuel trade, which is driven by organised criminal networks that smuggle and illegally adulterate fuel. Sars has established that some importers declare fuel amounting to 40,000 litres or less, whereas investigations reveal that up to 60,000 litres of fuel are imported. 'This is called under-declaration and documents are falsified to perpetuate this fraudulent activity. Sars has also detected a national trend, where many of the fuel-storage and distribution depots are involved in the adulteration of all fuel products, especially through illegal mixing of diesel with paraffin. 'Fuel adulteration costs the fiscus approximately R3.6bn per year, according to statistics by the International Trade Administration Commission,' Sars said. Faced with such carefully planned criminality, government agencies are working together more closely to detect, prevent and combat fuel adulteration, and enforce the Customs and Excise Act. Sars noted that the illicit economy is a global phenomenon that threatens South Africa's society, economy, and national security. 'Tax evasion, smuggling, illegal transactions, illicit manufacturing and fraud undermine the rule of law, erode public trust, distort markets, deprive governments of revenue, and enable corruption and organised crime. 'The pervasiveness of these illicit activities in our country demands that all enforcement agencies work jointly to curb their harmful practices. The illicit economy is complex and requires a whole-of-government response among public entities, the private sector, civil society, and international partners,' Sars said. Sars commissioner Edward Kieswetter expressed his appreciation to the Sars and Saps teams and other government departments for their untiring efforts to detect, combat and prevent the scourge of the illicit economy. 'The criminal syndicates engaged in these brazen acts have become emboldened to act callously, with no restraint, in pursuit of their rapacious and criminal gains. 'These syndicates can only underestimate our resolve to eradicate this criminality at their peril. These acts threaten the very foundation of our society. Our message is clear: we will spare no efforts to crush them,' the commissioner said. Kieswetter said State agencies will collaborate and work within the law to confront illicit trade. The joint intelligence team also found the following: - 953,515 litres of contaminated diesel fuel. - Six fuel depots that were in contravention of Sec. 37 of the Customs and Excise Act 91 of 1964, as amended. - Assets and contaminated fuel to the value of R367,274,330, leading to further investigation, and criminal and civil liabilities. - Two so-called fuel 'washrooms', one of which is a rare mobile 'washroom' fitted on a transport truck, used to remove paraffin markers. - Twelve fuel transport trucks, which were identified after a suspected false declaration on importation of an average of 15,000 litres of fuel per tanker.
IOL News
2 days ago
- IOL News
Eastern Cape floods: Another body found as death toll rises to over 90
Another body has been found in the Eastern Cape following the devastating floods that left more than 90 people dead and several missing. Image: File Another body was found on Wednesday in the Eastern Cape following the devastating floods that left more than 90 people dead and several missing. Ahmed Bham, head of Gift of the Givers' search and rescue team, told broadcaster Newzroom Afrika that the airwing of the South African Police Service has been instrumental in finding the bodies. "We have a multi-disciplinary search and rescue team consisting of the South African Police Service, Department of Health and Gift of the Givers. We said over the next two days, we are going to intensify our searches, and we are lucky to have the (SAPS) airwing assisting us. We were in the flight as well to look at the Mthatha Dam, flying to the rivers, when we recovered two bodies at the same place yesterday (Saturday)," said Bham. "While hovering and doing our searches we saw that something was odd in the water. We sent in our rescue diver and he confirmed that it was a third body. Our other teams are working around the Mthatha River quite intensively with the 'crocs' - the boats that they use in this type of situation, along the river on both sides, combing the area with K9s." On Saturday, IOL reported that Police Minister Senzo Mchunu confirmed the revised death toll, up from 78 the previous day, in a meeting with officers and rescue personnel. More than 38 people have been rescued thus far, while search and rescue teams remain on the ground recovering additional bodies, SAPS spokesperson Athlenda Mathe said. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad loading This comes as families continue to search morgues for loved ones who went missing during last week's catastrophic weather events, which caused severe flooding to engulf parts of Mthatha and surrounding areas in the early hours of Tuesday morning, SABC News reported. President Cyril Ramaphosa visited some of the affected communities where he expressed his heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families in the affected communities. The president also visited the collapsed Efata Bridge in Mthata, where a taxi transporting school children was swept away, killing at least six learners as well as the driver and conductor, while others remain missing. Get your news on the go, click here to join the IOL News WhatsApp channel. IOL News
