Latest news with #DurbanHighCourt
IOL News
8 hours ago
- General
- IOL News
Postponed funeral of councillor to go ahead after court ruling
THE former proportional representative councillor of Lindelani, KwaDukuza, Sebenzile Sibiya whose postponed funeral was the centre of a dispute between her in-laws and her maiden family following her death on May 16. Image: Supplied A FAMILY in KwaZulu-Natal North Coast is relieved that the Durban High Court ruled in its favour to grant them the right to bury their daughter-in-law after her maiden family held a bogus funeral service while her corpse was at a funeral parlour. Sebenzile Sibiya, née Mthembu, died on May 16 after she fell ill. She was a proportional representative councillor of Lindelani, KwaDukuza, in the North Coast. Her funeral was postponed after her maiden family, the Mthembus, wanted to bury her. Her in-laws approached a local induna, Pinky Ndunakazi, to intervene after negotiations between the two families reached a stalemate. Her interventions were scuppered after the Mthembus ignored her when she visited the family accompanied by izinduna from nearby villages. "We found the wife of the deceased's brother, who said her husband was the one who was supposed to speak on behalf of the family but was not around," said Ndunakazi. When Ndunakazi asked for her husband's number, she refused and said she would rather take her details and give it to her husband to call her back. "I left my number, but he didn't call. Then the Sibiya family ended up approaching the court," said Ndunakazi. At the centre of the dispute was where she would be buried. The Mthembus preferred Lindelani, in KwaDukuza, but the Sibiyas insisted on Gingindlovu, where the deceased's husband, who died in 2021, is buried. The couple also had a house in Gingindlovu but spent most of the time in Lindelani, where Sebenzile was a PR councillor. According to a Sibiya relative who spoke on condition of anonymity, they overlooked the dispute on May 17, a day after the PR councillor died, when they discovered the Mthembu family occupying the Lindelani property. The relative said things got a little heated when the Mthembu family said the funeral service will be held in Lindelani and the burial will be in Gingindlovu. "The brother of her late husband, who was handling the Sibiya estate, was irritated by that. He said the deceased was a married woman and the Mthembu family shouldn't be at the forefront of the funeral arrangements. He stood up and left after it was clear that they were not reaching any agreement with the Mthembus," said the relative. The relative said one of the Sibiya family members told the Mthembus that if they wanted her to be buried in Lindelani, they should have asked and not dictated to them. "They ended up saying they are putting in a request to the late husband's brother for her to be buried in Lindelani. The reply was that they will get feedback once the Sibiya family has sat down for a meeting to discuss their request." After the Sibiya meeting, it is alleged that the family agreed that her funeral service would take place in Lindelani and she would be buried in Gingindlovu, next to her husband. Gunmen burst in and said they were sent by the Mthembus to tell the Sibiyas that the funeral and burial would be in Lindelani. Then on May 22, the Sibiyas approached the Durban High Court to seek an interdict against the Mthembus and the funeral parlour, barring them from proceeding with the funeral. The funeral parlour was served with the interdict on the following day, as well as the Mthembus, who refused to sign the court order. The Mthembus continued with their sham funeral in the presence of the police, who ensured that the funeral parlour didn't release the corpse per court order. Last Thursday the Durban High Court ruled in favour of the Sibiyas. "We are just relieved that we will now proceed with funeral preparations and bury her in a dignified manner," said a Sibiya family member. The Sibiyas said they don't believe the Mthembus would attend the funeral service on Saturday, as they had already had theirs on May 24. Numerous attempts to get comment from the Mthembu family via texts and calls were unsuccessful, as the phone of the brother of the deceased rang unanswered. SUNDAY TRIBUNE
IOL News
12 hours ago
- Business
- IOL News
Witness in Zandile Gumede trial prefers waste pile over irregular expenditure
Former mayor of eThekwini, Zandile Gumede, with her supporters outside the Durban High Court. Image: Nomonde Zondi In the R320 million Durban Solid Waste (DSW) tender fraud case involving former eThekwini municipality mayor Zandile Gumede, a State witness has told the Durban High Court that she would prefer not to have a pile of rubbish picked up than to deal with irregular expenses for not following due process. The witness, who cannot be named as per court order, is currently being cross-examined by advocate Jimmy Howse SC, who is counsel for Sandile Ngcobo, a fifth accused who was a deputy head of supply chain management (SCM) in eThekwini. Gumede, Ngcobo, and 20 others are facing numerous charges, including money laundering, racketeering, fraud, corruption, and contravention of the Municipal Finance Management Act and the Municipal Systems Act relating to the tender. The witness told the court that waste collection is not an emergency, but a critical service. The court has heard that the Durban Solid Waste Unit had sought authority in December 2017 to get experienced service providers to collect waste from January 2018. This is because the contract of service providers was going to expire on December 31, 2017. In November 2017, the unit advertised a tender for waste collection, but they claimed that they received a lot of submissions and needed extra time to go through all of the proposals.. The witness during this time worked at the tenders and contracts unit. Part of her job included issuing letters of award to those who had won tenders. She said that after the Bid Adjudication Committee (BAC) gave the DSW the go-ahead to get service providers and approved the quotations, that decision needed to be reviewed by the Executive Acquisitions Committee (EAC), which was established by former city manager Sipho Nzuza to advice him. The BAC-approved quotations are subject to compliance checks, and then letters of appointment will be issued to the service providers. Howse asked her if it made sense that the EAC had to consider this on January 29, 2018, when the service providers should start collecting waste on January 1, 2018. The witness said that had she been instructed to do otherwise, she would have. "I was following due processes," she said. Howse asked her if she had approached any of her supervisors to tell them that there were not going to be waste management services in January, considering the email that was sent by a DSW contract administrator stating that this was an emergency. She said no and added that this was not the only contract she was dealing with. Additionally, Howse asked her if the SCM policy had any distinction between critical and emergency. She said it was her view that this was not an emergency and she continued to refer to SCM policies. She said the DSW Unit had a sole mandate to ensure contracts for waste management and illegal dumping. 'Failure to have those contracts does not result in an emergency. That is a failure to properly plan. In my view, Mr Howse, this was not an emergency,' she said. On December 28, 2018, the witness said Ngcobo had asked her to prepare the letters of award for the contractors, who were going to collect waste in January 2018. Howse said this was after his client received a call from the city manager enquiring about the letters of award.
IOL News
24-05-2025
- IOL News
How the family of slain MUT lecturer Chanlall Dwarika seeks closure after justice is served
Slain engineering lecturer Chanlall Dwarika. Image: Supplied The family of slain Mangosuthu University of Technology (MUT) lecturer said they would carry the grief of his brutal murder for the rest of their lives. This is after the Durban High Court sentenced his killers to life imprisonment. Engineering lecturer, Chanlall Dwarika, 61, was kidnapped on May 28, 2023, and his body was found in the bushes of Durban's infamous township, Inanda, on June 3, 2023. On the day he was kidnapped, he had come to his investment property in Sea Cow Lake to conduct maintenance as the property was being renovated. His killers, Thobani Mhlongo and Kwanele Makhaye, with whom he provided food, lived on this property. The agreement was that they would look after the material for renovations, as it kept being stolen. The killers' co-accused, Siyabonga Freeman Mahaye, also lived on the property. On the day of the kidnapping, CCTV footage from the area showed Dwarika speaking to three men, who then forced him into the rear of his Honda CR-V. The trio forced him to hand over his bank cards and ATM PINs. Several withdrawals were made. At some point, Mahaye left his co-accused and took the bank cards. Mhlongo and Makhaye kept Dwarika at knife point, driving him to the Inanda bushes where they killed him. They disposed of his Honda by setting it alight before fleeing the scene. When he failed to return home, his family reported him missing to the police. His pictures were circulated on social media, and MUT held a media briefing calling for his safe return. The post-mortem results revealed that his throat had been slit and partially decapitated. Judge Khosi Hadebe described the trio as low lives and sentenced Makhaye and Mhlongo to life imprisonment each, 15 years each for robbery with aggravating circumstances, and five years each for the kidnapping. Mahaye was sentenced to five years' imprisonment for kidnapping and 15 years' imprisonment for the robbery. Dwarika's daughter Ayuushi Dwarika-Rajbansi said they were happy with the life imprisonment imposed by the court. 'The sentences were fair and we are happy that the perpetrators got life sentences,' she added. She said she did not know if the family would ever find closure because of how her father was killed, adding that justice was served. 'The perpetrators were caught and reprimanded for what they had done. Their actions did not go unpunished. There is closure in that aspect. However, the way my dad passed, I don't think we will ever get closure. It will be a pain that we will carry for life.' She said they were happy with Sihle Mkhize's confession because without him, the police were not going to be able to crack her father's case. Mkhize was acquitted on Wednesday when the court handed down its judgment. He was with the killers when they killed Dwarika, and he told the court that he went to tell his supervisor at work about what his friends forced him to witness. When Mkhize told the court what happened, he said Dwarika begged for his life, and his co-accused killed him like a goat. At one point, Judge Hadebe asked him if he needed to take a break as he would get emotional while leading his evidence. [email protected]
The South African
23-05-2025
- The South African
Suspects receive life sentences for MUT lecturer's murder
The Durban High Court has given life sentences to suspects who killed and kidnapped Mangosuthu University of Technology (MUT) lecturer, Chanlall Dwarika. Dwarika was kidnapped and murdered in May 2023. The suspects, who lived at his property in Sea Cow Lake, kidnapped the deceased with the intention of stealing money from his account. According to Reaction Unit South Africa (RUSA), during the kidnapping, the suspects instructed the deceased to contact his wife and tell her to have his bank cards ready. 'The Electrical Engineering lecturer was handed down his phone by the suspects and instructed him to call his wife at their home in Ethekwini (location withheld), KZN, to have his bank cards sent to the vehicle when they arrived at the gate,' said RUSA. Dwarika attempted to contact RUSA for assistance. However, the suspects noticed and removed the phone from his possession. RUSA said, 'This angered them (the suspects) and they drove him to a canefield and slit his throat.' The deceased was found partially decapitated in a cane field in Inanda. One suspect was convicted of kidnapping and robbery with aggravating circumstances and sentenced to five years. The two other suspects were convicted of kidnapping, robbery with aggravating circumstances and murder. They were both sentenced to five years for kidnapping, 15 years for robbery and life imprisonment for murder. Terry Jabulani Ngomane (35) was sentenced to 25 years in prison for murdering and robbing a pensioner and ex-police officer at his home in Theunissen. Ngomane received 20 years' imprisonment for murder and 10 years' imprisonment for robbery with aggravating circumstances. 'Five years' of the robbery sentence will run concurrently with the murder sentence, meaning he will serve an effective 25 years behind bars,' read a police statement. Ngomane killed Sabata Tsoai at his residence in May 2018. 'His hands and feet were tied with cables, brutally assaulted and killed. His body was discovered a day later, with his property scattered throughout the house in Theunissen,' mentioned a police statement. Additionally, a firearm safe was found open with a missing firearm and the victim's cellphone. Let us know by leaving a comment below or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1. Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X, and Bluesky for the latest news.
IOL News
22-05-2025
- IOL News
Courtroom antics: Zithulele Mkhize's Bluetooth chair brings laughter during Zandile Gumede fraud trial
Former mayor of eThekwini, Zandile Gumede. Image: Nomonde Zondi There was joy and laughter at the Durban High Court as the 13th accused in the fraud case against the former mayor of eThekwini, Zandile Gumede, appeared in person after attending virtually since June 2024. After she complained about doing his work during court proceedings, Judge Sharmaine Balton ordered Zithulele Mkhize to physically appear in court on Thursday. He brought a cozy chair that captivated everyone, including court employees. The massage chair with Bluetooth was positioned at the back of the courtroom. When the accused, counsel, and court employees first arrived in court, they were enthralled by the chair at the entrance and would start laughing as soon as they spotted Mkhize. He would be greeted with his clan names by his fellow accused, who were delighted to see him. 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 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. Next Stay Close ✕ Zithulele Mkhize's chair that sparked laughter at the Durban High Court. Image: Nomonde Zondi Counsel from neighbouring courtrooms stopped by to observe the chair. Some accused would sit in it during breaks. Mkhize listened to a State witness testify in court while sporting a black memory foam neck cushion and black clothing that matched his chair. As court proceedings started, He would occasionally get up to scratch himself. According to a medical report that was read into the record, Mkhize must not sit for longer hours. Judge Balton on Wednesday had ordered that Mkhize would be allowed to bring a comfortable chair and could stand up when he needed to. The State noted his presence, and counsel appointed by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), advocate Reshma Athmaram, who was not amused by the chair, said she noted that his chair has electronic devices. 'May the court remind him that there are to be no recordings of court proceedings,' she said. Advocate Willie Lombard replied by saying that the chair was not capable of that, and the buttons were for controlling it. He stated that his client was present in court both physically and mentally. Outside court, a source close to Mkhize said he abides by the court rules and he has never shown any disrespect to the State. 'Since 2019, he has respected the court and continues to do so,' the source said. Additionally, the source said on Wednesday, Mkhize had gone to the Hillcrest Hospital before court proceedings started due to the pain he was experiencing. 'He was put on a drip and sent home so he could make it for court proceedings on time,' she said. She added that because of the cold weather, he had a blanket over him. The source said Mkhize was taking medication and on physio treatment for disjointed disks in the spine as a result of sitting on the court benches over the past five years. 'He is continuing with treatment while waiting for a verdict on a possible operation.' She added that Mkhize intends not to go against anything that the court says, and that he does not want to derail the matter, although doctors have instructed him not to sit for longer hours. 'In respecting the court, he has gone against the doctors' instructions,' she said. The 22 accused in this matter are facing multiple charges, including money laundering, racketeering, corruption, and contravention of the Municipal Finance Management Act and the Municipal Systems Act relating to a R300 million Durban Solid Waste (DSW) tender. So far in the trial, the new witness has testified about her role in the municipality. The trial continues.
