City Press

Match-fixing investigation damp squib

2014-11-30 17:00

Fifa has no jurisdiction over those no longer in football

The old adage that justice delayed is justice denied could come into play in the SA Football Association (Safa) match-fixing scandal regarding Bafana Bafana’s 2010 World Cup warm-up matches.

Top legal experts told City Press Fifa had no jurisdiction over people who no longer belong to any football structure.

This comes as head of national teams Lindile “Ace” Kika, who is one of five Safa officials named in a Fifa report on the matter, resigned this week.

Others no longer with Safa are former president Kirsten Nematandani, former head of referees Adeel Carelse, another referee boss Steve Goddard and former chief executive officer Leslie Sedibe.

Five Safa officials – Nematandani, Kika, Carelse, acting chief executive Dennis Mumble and Bafana Bafana manager Barney Kujane – were suspended in December 2012 after they were mentioned in the match-fixing report.

But their suspensions were reversed and they were reinstated a month later.

Kujane and Mumble are the only remaining officials who were named in that report.

Two weeks ago, Fifa secretary-general Jérôme Valcke said four officials who were implicated in the report had been asked to make representations to Fifa’s ethics committee.

He said closing the issue as soon as possible was in the best interest of all concerned.

Michael Murphy, an expert in sports law, said it would be difficult for Fifa to summon those outside football circles. He said the only way to go about it would be to use laws of the land to open criminal charges if there was a case to answer.

“Fifa has no jurisdiction over any private individual and cannot subpoena them. Fifa can only sanction people who are attached to clubs or associations as they are affiliates of Fifa. It is difficult but not impossible depending on the matter. Let’s say they feel there’s a case to answer for these individuals; they should lay criminal charges using laws of the land.”

Zola Majavu, a prosecutor who was a PSL chief executive, said: “I don’t think they have any jurisdiction. That is why it would have been better to have a judicial commission established by the president. That body would have subpoena powers.”

Fifa’s ethics committee already made contact with Carelse earlier this month, but he said he was not sure if he would attend after he sent them a long list of questions.

He has also called for a judicial commission of inquiry “so the truth can come out”.

Goddard said he has been in contact with the Fifa investigators and said he was still waiting to hear from them. Nematandani said he had not heard anything from the committee, but he would want the opportunity to clear his name. Efforts to contact Kika and Sedibe failed.

Safa refused to comment and referred questions to Fifa, which said: “The ethics committee is an independent judicial body and is composed of two separate chambers – an investigatory chamber independent from the adjudicatory chamber. In line with this independence, Fifa does not have any influence over the writing of investigatory reports or over the findings of any investigations. Furthermore, we cannot provide you with a timeframe on any matter solely handled by the ethics committee.”

Black History Month

THANDISIZWE MGUDLWA

FEBRUARY is Black History Month. 

Also known as African-American History Month in America. 

The month is an annual observance in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom for remembrance of important people and events in the history of the African diaspora.

Questionably though, many Black African Diaspora countries across the world continue to ignore this month long celebration of it's own history.

Historical records note that the precursor to Black History Month was created in 1926 in the United States, when historian Carter G. Woodson and the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History announced the second week of February to be "Negro History Week.

"This week was chosen because it coincided with the birthday of Abraham Lincoln on February 12 and of Frederick Douglass on February 14, both of which dates Black communities had celebrated together since the late 19th century.

Also reported is, "From the event's initial phase, primary emphasis was placed on encouraging the coordinated teaching of the history of American blacks in the nation's public schools. The first Negro History Week was met with a lukewarm response, gaining the cooperation of the Departments of Education of the states of North Carolina, Delaware, and West Virginia as well as the city school administrations of Baltimore and Washington, D.C."

In addition, "Despite this far from universal acceptance, the event was regarded by Woodson as "one of the most fortunate steps ever taken by the Association," and plans for a repeat of the event on an annual basis continued apace."

During the Negro History Week's launch, Woodson had remarked that the teaching of Black history was essential to ensure the physical and intellectual survival of the race within broader society:

"If a race has no history, it has no worthwhile tradition, it becomes a negligible factor in the thought of the world, and it stands in danger of being exterminated. The American Indian left no continuous record. He did not appreciate the value of tradition; and where is he today? The Hebrew keenly appreciated the value of tradition, as is attested by the Bible itself. In spite of worldwide persecution, therefore, he is a great factor in our civilization."

And by 1929, The Journal of Negro History was able to note that with only two exceptions, officials with the State Departments of Educations of "every state with considerable Negro population" had made the event known to that state's teachers and distributed official literature associated with the event."

Churches also played a significant role in the distribution of literature in association with Negro History Week during this initial interval, with the mainstream and black press aiding in the publicity effort.

"Negro History Week was met with enthusiastic response; it prompted the creation of black history clubs, an increase in interest among teachers, and interest from progressive whites. Negro History Week grew in popularity throughout the following decades, with mayors across the United States endorsing it as a holiday," reveal archives.

On 21 February 2016, 106 year Washington D.C. resident and school volunteer Virginia McLaurin visited the White House as part of Black History Month. When asked by the president why she was there, Virginia said, "A black president. A black wife. And I’m here to celebrate black history. That’s what I’m here for."

Meanwhile, criticism of the Black History Month include whether it is appropriate to confine the celebration of Black history to one month, instead of the integration of Black history into the mainstream education the rest of the year. 

Another criticism is that contrary to the original inspiration for Black History Month, which was a desire to redress the manner in which British schools failed to represent Black historical figures as anything other than slaves or colonial subjects, Black History Month reduces complex historical figures to overly simplified objects of hero worshiping. 

And Black celebrities such as actor and director Morgan Freeman and actress Stacey Dash have criticized Black History Month, with Freeman saying, "I don't want a black history month. Black history is American history." Freeman has argued that there was no White History Month, because white people did not want their history relegated to just one month.

The global Black community should follow suit from the on-going work by these communities on advancing their history for the benefit of all.

Either way, the question remains: Are Black people being taught their history for self reliance and development or they still depending on other racial groups to lead their advancement as a people?

Black History Month

Sowetan

Pictures of students sleeping in toilets 'staged': UP management

By Kgothatso Madisa | Feb 14, 2017

Pictures of University of Pretoria (UP) students sleeping in bathrooms and outside are staged, this is according to the varsity management.

Pictures have been circulating on social media showing students, allegedly without accommodation, sleeping inside toilets.

According to the students, there is a residential area crisis as UP is unable to accommodate most of them.

The students also claimed that the residence issue is negatively impacting their studies and livelihood in general as they cannot afford to travel home after classes on a daily basis and are therefore forced to find sleeping spots in and around the campus.

"We have reason to believe that the pictures of students apparently without accommodation on social media have been staged," said media officer Candice Jooste.

The varsity went on to deny all allegations citing that some of the people shown in pictures are not registered students.

"Last night the University and the Temporary Student Committee engaged with a group of students who claimed to be without accommodation. We offered accommodation to all of them for the night but they refused."

"We have since discovered that out of the group of ten students, four were already placed in residences, three of them were not students and one had outstanding financial issues. The University was able to find permanent accommodation for the other two," she said.

Students also claimed that the university deployed security to remove all students sleeping on campus and that during the student removals on Monday evening, one heavily pregnant student was "repeatedly assaulted on Hatfield Campus by Fidelity Security as students who had no residence placement were sleeping in campus for shelter".

UP has since called for the student to lay an official complaint.

"We condemn all types of violence against students and staff and encourage the complainant to report the matter so that we can investigate."

Jooste said that student and parents alike must be aware that accommodation is limited and that only 15% of the student population could be accommodated.

"As it is in all higher education institutions in this country, official University residences have capacity to accommodate approximately 15% of the student body. For this reason, some of the key criteria used by the university in residence admission is academic eligibility, academic achievement, financial need and year of study with preference given to first years.

"The University is  committed to and will do everything in its control to ensure that, within the limits of space available in our official residences, eligible students are assisted to find accommodation," explained Jooste.

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Sowetan

Snoozing 'sex pest' nabbed

By Jeff Wicks | Feb 14, 2017

An Eshowe teen managed to escape her rapist after he fell asleep after sexually assaulting her at the weekend‚ police said.

A police source with knowledge of the investigation‚ who spoke to TMG Digital on condition of anonymity‚ said that the 17-year-old girl had been kidnapped by her attacker at gunpoint late on Saturday night.

“She was dragged into the bush close to her home and raped. The man later fell asleep and she used her chance to escape and ran straight back to her house to raise the alarm‚” the source said.

The following day‚ police officers traced the suspect and confronted him in the Vuma area.
“When the police approached the suspect he just drew a pistol and pointed it at the police.”
The police opened fire on the man‚ wounding him in the foot.

Police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Thulani Zwane confirmed that the man had been rushed to Eshowe Hospital but was later discharged and detained.
He faces charges of rape and kidnapping.

Daily Sun

National

6 hours ago

FAMILIES’ MURDER HORROR!

By  Zimbili Vilakazi Tuesday, February 14, 2017 11:01

Dead gogo Cecilia Chiliza (69).  ~ 

TWO families from KZN have been ripped apart by brutal murders that left seven people dead.
Cops have launched a manhunt for the suspects who struck in two separate incidents on Saturday.
In the one incident, the Chiliza family had gathered on Saturday night to prepare for a family traditional ceremony on Sunday when gunmen stormed their house.
The family’s happy cheers turned to screams of horror as the unknown killers opened fire on people in the rondavel. Neighbours of the family from Esilahla in Richmond, KZN Midlands, later said they had seen a white Toyota Tazz parked near the house for about two hours before the incident.
Family member Brenda Mngadi (32) told Daily Sun the murderers allegedly first switched off the power before storming into the rondavel and starting to shoot.
Gogo Cecilia Chiliza (69), her son Dumisani Chiliza (43) and her grandchildren Noxolo Dawood (12) and Nkosi Ndlovu (27) died instantly, while three other members escaped with minor injuries.
Brenda said it looked as if the gunmen knew that the family would be holding a gathering.

• In the other incident, three brothers from Matimatolo, north of Durban were ambushed and shot dead on Saturday. They were allegedly returning from a traditional ceremony in the area when they were attacked by unknown suspects who then fled the scene.

KZN police spokeswoman Colonel Thembeka Mbhele confirmed both incidents. No one has been arrested yet. She urged anyone with information to come forward.

Daily Sun

National

2 hours ago

'NEARLY 70% OF SOUTH AFRICANS FEEL UNSAFE AT NIGHT'

By  News24.comTuesday, February 14, 2017 14:44

 ~ 

Almost 70% of South Africans feel unsafe at night, even though their experiences of crime have declined, Statistician General Pali Lehohla said today.
"The crime, although declining in their experiences, is probably not reaching the threshold where they feel safe and secure," said Lehohla.
The survey found that in 2011, 931 000 people said they had experienced at least one incident of housebreaking, burglary or home robbery. This dropped to 807 000 for 2015/16, but it was not enough to make them feel safer.
The Statistician General said researchers had also found that, apart from murder and car theft, crime was under-reported because people felt it was either not serious enough, or that the police could or would not do anything about it.
Housebreaking or burglary was named as the most common crime in South Africa, with murder perceived as the least common among those surveyed.
Crime reporting rates also varied depending on the type of crime. Murder was the most reported, at 95%, while stock theft was the least reported, at 17.3%.
Drugs blamed
The researchers found there had been a decline in the number of people (89.2% to 83.7%) who said they felt safe walking in their area of residence during the day. The percentage of people who felt safe walking around their community at night had dropped from 36.9% in 2001 to 30.7% for 2015/16.
Thirty-three percent of people surveyed for 2015/16 said the fear of crime stopped them from going to parks and open spaces, compared to 32.3% in 2011.
Of those surveyed, 77.5% blamed drug-related needs as the reason for committing crimes.
About half of the 30 000 households surveyed said they took physical protection measures to protect themselves against crime and, said Lehohla, a further study was needed to establish how much money people were spending on this. He said that at last count, the government had spent R30bn, while private households had spent R45bn.
Murder and car theft topped the list of crimes that were reported to police.
Researchers also noted public satisfaction with police had dropped to 58.8% for 2015/16, compared with 64.2% in 2011.
Police statistics
"It is a very serious indictment that that people have lost hope that the police can do something about it," said Lehohla.
During the question-and-answer session, he said a further study could establish whether leadership changes within the police had something to do with this.
Lehohla urged people to report any crime to the police, as these statistics were vital to the police's planning and the government's policies and strategies on crime prevention.
He said Statistics SA was currently helping the police improve their own crime statistics gathering and presentation process.
Statistics SA did not consider the police's statistics as official and aimed to eventually take over this function.
http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/nearly-70-of-south-africans-feel-unsafe-at-night-stats-sa-20170214