South African Institute of Race Relations on the ramifications of the killing of Eugène Terre'Blanche

JOHANNESBURG : SAIRR ON MR TERRE'BLANCHE'S RECENT MURDER


Dear Members,



Please see below a statement issued by the South African Institute of Race Relations (SAIRR) on the killing of AWB leader Eugene TerreBlanche. Amcham is a member of the IRR which is the leading independent research and policy organization in South Africa.



This statement is circulated for information purposes.

Above comments come with compliments of the American Chamber of Commerce in South

Africa

Subject: Statement by the South African Institute of Race Relations on the ramifications of the killing of Eugène Terre'Blanche



Dear readers,



The Institute desisted from issuing a formal statement in the immediate aftermath of the killing of Mr Terre'Blanche in order to first gauge the broader social, political, and international reaction to the killing. The Institute is now in a position to make the following points.



Racial tensions in the country appear to have increased significantly in recent weeks. This appears to be chiefly as a result of incitement by the ruling African National Congress to ‘shoot and kill’ the Afrikaner ethnic minority in the country. The anxiety around this incitement may well have influenced opinions across the broader white community. What appears to be the case is that much of the racial rapprochement that characterised the first 15 years of South Africa’s democracy is being undone. This rapprochement saw both black and white South Africans come to occupy a middle ground on race relations upon which the maintenance of future stable race relations depends.



Since 1994 the number of white farmers and their families murdered in South Africa is conservatively put at around 1 000. It may very well be much higher. There are currently an estimated 40 000 commercial farmers in the country. Over this same period in the region 250 000 South Africans out of a total current population of approximately 47 million have been murdered. Criminal violence can therefore be described as ‘rampant’ and has done considerable damage to the social fabric of the country. However, this is not to say that all murders in the country are a function of simple criminal banditry. In an environment where law and order has largely collapsed the consequences of incitement by political leaders to commit murder must be taken seriously.



Over the same period the policy measures put in place by the Government to raise the living standards of the black majority have failed to meet expectations. The key interventions of affirmative action and black economic empowerment have been exploited by the African National Congress to build a network of patronage that has made elements of its leadership extremely wealthy. The party also appears to have been so overwhelmed by corrupt tendencies that it is no longer able to act decisively against corrupt behaviour.



It has also through incompetence and poor policy been unable to address failures in the education system which are now the primary factor retarding the economic advancement of black South Africans.



At the same time the party is acutely aware that its support base of poor black South Africans has begun to turn against it. Violent protest action against the ruling party is now commonplace around the country.



In order to shore up support in the black community the ANC increasingly appears to be seeking to shift the blame for its delivery failures onto the small white ethnic minority, which today comprises well under 10% of the total population of South Africa. Here parallels may be read to the behaviour of Zanu-PF in Zimbabwe when that party realised that its political future was in peril. The ANC Youth League’s recent visit to Zanu-PF which saw it endorse that party’s ruinous polices are pertinent here.



In such an environment it is plausible to consider that the ANC’s exhortations to violence may be a contributing factor to the killing of Mr Terre'Blanche. Certainly the ANC’s protestations to the contrary seem ridiculous as the party is in effect saying that its followers pay no attention to what it says - this from a party that routinely claims that it is the manifestation of the will of all black South Africans. This is not to say that a labour dispute or some other matter could not have inflamed tensions on the Terre'Blanche farm. Rather it is to say that a number of different matters should be considered in determining the motivation for the crime.



Certainly the ANC’s exhortations to violence have created a context where the killings of white people will see a degree of suspicion falling around the party and its supporters.



It is of concern therefore that the police’s senior management are on record as saying that they will not consider a political motive or partial motive for the killing of Mr Terre'Blanche. This suggests an early effort to cover up the ANC’s possible culpability for inciting the crime.



Should any allegations of a political cover-up arise in the pending murder trial of the two young men accused of the Terre'Blanche murder the political consequences could be significant. Should evidence be led that the two young men acted with what they understood to be the tacit backing of the ANC, and a causal link between their actions and incitement by the ANC be established, then the possibility of charging the ANC’s senior leadership in connection to the murder arises. Equally plausible is that the Terre'Blanche family and the Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging could bring a civil suit against the ANC and the Government.



It is possible that the killing of Mr Terre'Blanche will greatly strengthen the hand of a new hardened right wing in South Africa. In life Mr Terre'Blanche attracted a small, uninfluential, and extremist following. He will not be mourned for what he stood for. However, in death he may come to represent the experiences of scores of minority groups in the country who perceive themselves as being on the receiving end of racist and now also violent abuse from the ANC. In effect therefore Mr Terre'Blanche may be seen as having been martyred for a minority cause in the country.



The implications of a resurgent right wing will be numerous. It is most unlikely that this right wing will take the form of camouflage clad henchmen on horses in shows of force. The ANC has also often, wrongly, identified groups including the political opposition, Afriforum, agricultural unions, and even this Institute as ‘the right wing’. This silly ‘red under every bed’ attitude in the ANC saw it lose the trust of many civil society and political groups. These groups could all be defined first and foremost by the common belief that they had to act within the bounds of what the Constitution prescribed.



But the ANC belittled and undermined them. It also undermined parliament, the national prosecution service, and the various human rights and other organisations that were established under the Constitution. It may yet usurp the independence of the courts and the judiciary. The result was a shutting down of many of the democratic channels that were created for citizens in the country to make the Government aware of their concerns and circumstances.



The resurgence of a new political consciousness among minorities could drive an altogether different political force. Such a movement will draw its strength chiefly from a hardening attitudes in the white community but perhaps also in the Indian and coloured communities. These will be views that in the main have come to subscribe to some or all of the following points:



That the Government has corrupted and debilitated many of the country’s internal democratic processes for political or civil expression that were established under the Constitution
That cooperation with the current Government of South Africa is therefore fundamentally unfeasible and therefore futile
That the Government is unable to restore law and order in the country
That the Government is therefore unable protect its citizens
That the Government has a hostile agenda against minority groups


However it is equally, if not most likely, that many minorities who subscribe to the five points above may simply get so fed up that those who can will pack up and go. Here they may take the advice of President Zuma to remain calm as they pack up their businesses and their families and calmly board aircraft for Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the United States, and Great Britain. With the exodus will leave much of the tax and expertise base of the country.



Should the ANC, however, find itself facing increased political resistance it will in many respects have a tiger by the tail. Firstly, the ANC depends greatly on the tax income paid by white South Africans to balance South Africa’s books. Secondly, it depends entirely on the food produced by a small number of white farmers to feed the country. Thirdly, white South Africans still dominate the skills base of the country. Finally, and most importantly, much white opinion since the early 1990s has been moderate. White South Africa has been willing and often eager to cooperate with the Government in building an open, non-racial, and prosperous South Africa. Losing that cooperation will to an extent put an end to any serious chance that the ANC has of leading South Africa to become a successful and prosperous democracy.



While the ANC will be inclined to blame whites for this, and may even take drastic action to confiscate white commercial interests as they are currently doing in agriculture, these actions will be ruinous for the economy. The result of such ruin will be to drive a deeper wedge between the ANC and its traditional support base and thereby hasten the political decay of the party.



When General Constand Viljoen decided to throw his lot in with democracy in the early 1990s the right wing in South Africa was a spent force. So it should and could have remained. The ANC could have taken advantage of white expertise and tax revenue to realise their own vision of a better life for all. Things have however gone badly wrong for the party. Corruption has destroyed its ability to meet the demands of its constituents while racial bigotry has now seen it defending its image against what should have been an insignificant and dying neo-Nazi faction in the country.



The failure of sensible South Africans to take back the racial middle ground in the country will be serious. Polarisation will beget further racial conflict and a hardening of attitudes on all sides. This is perhaps the greatest leadership test that the current Government has faced and it is one that they cannot afford to fail.



Sincerely,



Frans Cronje

Deputy CEO

South African Institute of Race Relations

9th Floor

Renaissance Centre

16-20 New St South

Gandhi Square

Johannesburg

Tel: + 27 11 492 0600

www.sairr.org.za

Comments by Sonny

Statistics in SA are known to be tarnished by the SAPS and ANC and do not alway

reflect correctly!

Killer of 3 AWB men threatened

12 April 2010, 07:42
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A former Bophuthatswana policeman who shot dead three AWB members in 1994 is living in fear for his life after finding a threatening note in his room last week.

Ontlametse Menyatsoe, who is a member of the SAPF in the North West, discovered the note in his room at the Hammanskraal Police College where he was on a course.

The note read: "Wat ek belowe aan jou is pyn, hartseer, honger of self die dood. Pasop" (What I promise you is pain, heartache, hunger and death. Beware).

Gauteng provincial police spokeswoman Captain Julia Claassen confirmed that police were investigating a case of intimidation.

Menyatsoe told Pretoria News the letter was the first real threat on his life since he drew international attention for shooting the AWB members in front of a television crew on March 11, 1994.

On that day, AWB members Nicolaas Fourie, Jacob Uys and Alwyn Wolfaardt were fleeing Bophuthatswana in a Mercedes Benz after a failed AWB invasion of the homeland.

It is alleged that Fourie had fired at stone-throwing locals and members of the then Bophutha-tswana Defence Force until he was shot. His car came to a halt.

Journalists approached the car to investigate but retreated when soldiers fired on them.

As the camera crew fled, they filmed Menyatsoe shooting the AWB men dead at point-black range.

Menyatsoe was granted amnesty by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in 1999, on the grounds that the killings were politically motivated.

He said: "Since that incident, nothing threatening has ever happened at all. This (note) scares me because with my experience something like this is a real threat which means that I am not free or safe, and maybe they (AWB) are still after me.

"Though I am in hiding, I am not even safe here," he said.

Menyatsoe said he picked up the note and was about to throw it in the rubbish bin. Then he knocked on his neighbour's door to see if he had been sent a similar letter.

"I thought it was maybe a hoax, that it was not real. The guy denied getting something similar, the one next door was just as surprised. I grew more worried."

Menyatsoe said he was rattled as the letter came when the AWB was mourning the death of Eugene Terre'Blanche, who was buried on Friday.

However, he said he was sceptical as there was no evidence the letter was indeed sent by the AWB.

Menyatsoe said when he arrived at the training college in January, he noticed a young white man who was always staring at him.

The man once saw him wearing a Cheetahs rugby jersey and asked him what he knew about rugby.

The man continued making derogatory remarks.

"The other time he walked right into me in the dining hall during breakfast. He pretended not to see me and we bumped into each other. He then made some remark and again I ignored him," he said.

Menyatsoe said he felt the killing of Terre'Blanche might have angered the young man, who probably sent the letter.

This article was originally published on page 3 of The Pretoria News on April 12, 2010

The Star

Comments by Sonny

He was also a cold blooded murderer!

Vengeance is sometimes very sweet!

What happened to the young white man?

Surely, he has a nmae and a face.

Is he now the prime suspect in this evil saga?

DA NEWSLETTER 12 APRIL 2010

A tale of two tantrums

Apart from other traumatic events, the past week will be remembered for two very public tantrums.

Both made worldwide news because they threw the choices facing South Africa into sharp relief. And both were characterized by a retreat into racial insults as an alternative to logic and reasoned debate.

One was the confrontation between ANC Youth League leader Julius Malema and BBC journalist Jonah Fisher. The other was the confrontation between AWB secretary general Andries Visagie and political analyst Lebohang Pheko.

Confrontations like these make South Africans anxious, because they symbolize the ever-present danger of a retreat into conflicting racial nationalisms.

But the fact that the majority of South Africans express this anxiety is actually good news. It shows that most of us do not want this kind of future, because it can produce no winners. Moments like these are actually important because they mobilize the moderate majority into realizing that we have to work towards a non-racial alternative, where everyone has the opportunity of a decent education and a job, and where everyone protects each other’s rights.

Crises tend to galvanise South Africans. We turn them into opportunities to face the real issues, and make the right choices.

But first we must understand precisely what these choices are. We know which option we want to avoid. It is symbolized by both Malema and Visagie.

Malema’s sinister tantrum, and resort to racial insults, has been analysed in every newspaper, and from every angle. Visagie’s outburst, and its context, warrants closer scrutiny.

Many people who have seen the relevant footage have concluded, incorrectly, that Visagie and Pheko represent the alternative choices facing South Africa. They do not.

They both represent the same option. In the short snippet available on the internet, their confrontation proceeds like this:

Pheko: You versus us.
Visagie: But can’t you understand that we have our own history, our own culture, our own language, our own religion.
Pheko: From your perspective, Mr Visagie, and it’s a very narrow perspective.
Visagie: It is not a perspective, it is a real fact.
Pheko: do you care about the starving millions of African people in this country?
Visagie: I care more….
Pheko: Do you care about the farm workers who are being oppressed in this country?
Visagie: I care….
Pheko: Do you care….
Visagie: No, no, no, don’t interrupt me. I am finished.

At this point Visagie rips off his lapel microphone, issues an expletive, and ends up in a confrontation with the show’s presenter, Chris Maroleng.

What struck me, when I watched this snippet on You Tube, was the sad fact that talk shows often fail to present the real alternatives facing South Africa. They make it seem as if opposing racial nationalisms are the only choices South Africans have.

The truth is that the ANC elite, behind the mask of race rhetoric, cares as little for the poor and dispossessed as the AWB. Following the example of Robert Mugabe, the network of connected ANC cronies is taking South Africa down the pathway of corruption and criminalization towards the failed state. In the failed state, the poor always suffer most, while the corrupt elite accumulate more and more wealth.

This trajectory is destroying South Africa’s capacity to grow the economy and create jobs. It is undermining education. The ANC elite actually know this. That is why they are so desperate to disguise their delivery failures. They are doing this by turning a racial minority into a political scapegoat.

Race mobilization is the only card the ANC has left. It will seek every opportunity to use it. Ethnic mobilization is the only card the AWB has ever played.

They both represent the future that South Africa’s moderate majority wants to avoid.

We have to build the political vehicle that will enable South Africans to choose the real alternative. We are well on our way, but there is a long way to go.

In the next few years, we must work towards realigning politics to bring together all South Africans (who currently find themselves in many different parties) into one powerful political force that crosses racial boundaries and offers the alternative to racial nationalism.

We must win elections in more provinces and, eventually, nationally. Winning is not an end in itself. It is necessary to implement the policies that are necessary to make our democracy work and ensure the promised better life for all South Africans

That is the vision we must all work for – every day, wherever we are and whatever we do.

Signed Helen Zille

Comments by Sonny

The ANC is using bully tactics during public debate!

It is time for their demise from SA politics.

Used condoms found at ET murder scene

2010-04-10 10:12
Print article Email article

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Johannesburg - Allegations have emerged that a used condom was found in the farmhouse bedroom where AWB leader Eugene Terre'Blanche was murdered, the Star newspaper reported.

The newspaper said this has led to claims that Terre'Blanche was involved in a sexual relationship with his alleged killers, 28-year-old Chris Mahlangu and a 15-year-old boy.

Terre'blanche's body was found by detectives with his pants pulled down and his genitals exposed.

The newspaper reported that investigators placed the condom, and its content, in a crime kit, to be sent for forensic testing and will reveal the identity of Terre'Blanche's sexual partner.

One of the charges made against the alleged killers during court proceedings this week was of crimen injuria.

At the time prosecutor George Baloyi explained the charge of crimen injuria as: ".... they pulled down his [Terre'Blanche's] pants to his knees and exposed his private parts".

On Saturday, Mthunzi Mhaga, the spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority told the newspaper no further comment would be made on the charge.

"We've said enough. And that is that (the charge) is because Mr Terre'blanche's pants were pulled down to his knees and his private parts were showing. All other evidence will be presented at the trial."

Johannesburg lawyer Zola Majavu, who represents the minor, would neither confirm nor deny to the Saturday Star the discovery of the condom on the murder site.

AWB leader Steyn van Ronge at first told the newspaper that he "can't comment" on the alleged discovery of a used condom at the scene.
Later he told the newspaper that he was not aware of the condom discovery.

"If evidence is presented to support that, I will make a comment," he then said.

It was previously reported that Terre'Blanche had bought whisky and several bottles of cider on the day he was murdered.

The Saturday Star reported that there were claims that Terre'Blanche was seen on the morning of his murder at a bottle store with his two alleged killers.

Along with the crimen injuria charge, farmworker Mahlangu, and the minor, have been charged with murder, house breaking and robbery with aggravating circumstances and attempted robbery with aggravating circumstances.

The case was postponed to April 14. The two had not yet pleaded to the charges.

Right wing leader Terre'Blanche was murdered at his farm outside Ventersdorp a week ago.


- SAPA

News24.Com

Comments by Sonny

Is this another one of the ANC's conspiracies?

Who was he recipient of the condom and the shaft!

Now ET was having sex with his murderers

10 April 2010, 08:12

ET honoured on farm that was not his

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AWB members and local labourers had been hard at work all week digging a brick and concrete crypt that would take both Terre'Blanche and, ultimately, his wife, Martie, alongside him.

But, Terre'Blanche does not own the farm. The only thing he owns, or indeed is associated with, is a company called Deelsaam (Pty) Ltd.

The farm, Witrandjiesfontein, was sold in 2004 according to AWB committee chairman at the time, Andre Visagie, to raise money for Terre'Blanche's legal fees as he tried to stop his conviction and sentence for his assault on and attempted murder of security guard Paul Motshabi in 1996.

Under an agreement struck with the new owner, Terre'Blanche had five years to raise the funds, but in the meantime, rented the farm from the owner.

"He had no income and no salary," said Visagie, so Terre'Blanche turned to speaking to raise cash for fertiliser and seed and to buy cattle, and for his longer-term goal of returning Witrandjiesfontein to the family.

Yesterday though newly elected AWB leader Steyn van Ronge last night was adamant that Terre'blanche had in fact bought back the farm.

He denied too that Terre'Blanche had in fact been estranged from his wife and spent most of the time on the farm, coming into town irregularly.

Van Ronge, however, did admit that AWB members had made a huge financial contribution to the costs of yesterday's funeral, but added that it was a "completely private affair".



This article was originally published on page 5 of Saturday Star on April 10, 2010

The Star

Comments by Sonny

Who's sperm will they find in the used condom?

Is this another ANC conspiracy!

Media wants Zuma meeting about Malema

9 April 2010, 20:06

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South Africa's media will ask President Jacob Zuma for a meeting to discuss the behaviour of ANC Youth League president Julius Malema, National Press Club chairman Yusuf Abramjee said on Friday.

"We will immediately write a letter to President Zuma, where we will express our concerns and appeal for the protection of the media," Abramjee said after an urgent meeting about Malema's treatment of a foreign reporter at a press conference.

"We will also raise media literacy issues. There will also be a request for a meeting," he said.

On Thursday, Malema called BBC correspondent Jonah Fisher a "bastard" and a "bloody agent", and accused him of having white tendencies when he interjected during a press conference on Malema's recent visit to Zimbabwe.

While Malema was criticising Zimbabwe's Movement for Democratic Change for having offices in Sandton, Fisher remarked that Malema lived in Sandton.

Malema launched into a verbal attack which ended with Fisher being chased out of the press conference.

The ANC publicly rounded on Malema, and said it would urgently meet the ANCYL to discuss his behaviour.

"The aggressive and insultive (sic) behaviour to the said journalist that culminated with Mr Fisher walking out of the [ANC] Youth League press briefing cannot be condoned at all," spokesman Jackson Mthembu said in a statement.

"The unfortunate outburst by Comrade Julius Malema did not only reflect negatively on him, but also reflected negatively on the ANCYL, the entire ANC family, our alliance partners as well as South Africa in the eyes of the international community."

The Congress of SA Trade Unions voiced its support for the ANC's stance and described its pronouncement on the matter a "bold" move.

The National Religious Leaders' Forum said it also wanted to talk to Zuma about Malema.

The Afrikanerbond apologised to the BBC and said it intended lodging a complaint with the SA Human Rights Commission about the matter.

Editors, journalists and media organisations including the Foreign Correspondents' Association, the Professional Journalists' Association and the Freelance Writers' Association attended the "summit" in Sandton.

Input was also made by the SA National Editors' Forum.

"Discussions and debate were open and robust. The media fraternity is united on this issue," Abramjee said in a statement.

The press club believed that Malema's behaviour contradicted Zuma's recent undertaking at the club's Newsmaker of the Year banquet, where he said journalists should not be victimised under any circumstances.

Abramjee said it was decided at the meeting not to boycott ANC Youth League press conferences as "this would amount to irresponsible behaviour by the journalistic fraternity".

However, it was agreed that journalists could walk out of media briefings if they felt their journalistic ethics were being undermined.

At the talks, a steering committee was elected representing various media bodies and organisations.

"The media being treated with contempt must cease immediately, as well as the name calling. We will continue to address issues that infringe on media freedom," said Abramjee.

The ANCYL has threatened to expose journalists' private details in reaction to articles about Malema's directorship of a company awarded multi-million rand tenders in Limpopo.

It has alleged that journalists have sex with politicians for stories, get them drunk to get information from them, and accept "brown envelopes".

A group of political reporters has already lodged a complaint with the ANC over the allegations. - Sapa

The Star

Comments by Sonny

We might as well invite Bob Mugabe to the same press meeting!

They are the ones receiving golden envelopes studded with blood diamonds!

Another Zuma prosecutor demoted

31 March 2010, 07:56

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By Botho Molosankwe

Another Gauteng High Court prosecutor tasked with the prosecution of President Jacob Zuma on charges of corruption has been demoted.

Advocate George Baloyi became the second senior prosecutor on a Zuma case to receive notice of his removal as Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions.

On Tuesday, The Star reported that Advocate Mutuwa Nengovhela, also a member of the team that prosecuted Zuma in the Johannesburg High Court, had been given the responsibilities of a clerk at the Family Court.

Two colleagues at the Pretoria High Court, Advocate Retha Meintjies SC and Advocate Connie Erasmus, have also been demoted and told to take up their new positions as prosecutors at magistrate courts around Pretoria on April 5.

The orders have come from Director of Public Prosecutions Menzi Simelane.

Meintjies is going to the Mamelodi Magistrate's Court where she will work only on sexual offence cases, domestic violence and maintenance issues. Baloyi is to prosecute similar cases in the Pretoria Magistrate's Court.

Erasmus, who worked at the now disbanded Scorpions, will become a prosecutor at the Soshanguve Regional Court.

According to National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Bulelwa Makeke, the reason for the deployment was that most of the serious crimes that plagued the country were being heard in lower courts, mostly staffed by young and inexperienced prosecutors.

"The organisation has a wealth of experienced prosecutors, many of whom are in managerial positions at head office and in the DPP offices, mainly concerned with administration. How is this imbalance of resources benefiting the criminal justice system, especially our courts?

"The ever increasing case backlogs and less than satisfactory conviction rates are a clear sign that the manner in which our courts are resourced with prosecutors is not yielding the positive results that Government and the Justice, Crime Prevention and Security cluster are aiming to achieve," she said.

In Soweto, the removal of Nthabiseng Motsau, the head of sexual offences cases at the Protea Magistrate's Court, could result in delay in the prosecution of a Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital doctor facing 13 cases of sexual assault.

None of the prosecutors would talk to the media.


•This article was originally published on page 2 of The Star on March 31, 2010

The Star

Comments by Sonny

Take off the blinkers.

We are heading for a one party state.

Under the stateless ANC!

Menzi Simelane is a Zuma puppet!

No wonder Malema is studying Zimbabwe violence!

Song ‘a constitutional issue’

CEDRIC MBOYISA

JOHANNESBURG - The ANC is heading to the highest court in the land to defend the singing of the liberation song “shoot the boer”.

“It is an incompetent judgment.

“There is so much injustice that emanates from the judgment,” said ANC spokesman Jackson Mthembu in Johannesburg yesterday.

He and ANC secretary- general Gwede Mantashe addressed the media on the party’s unhappiness with the South Gauteng High Court ruling which banned the singing of the controversial song.

Mantashe said: “The struggle for our freedom was declared as just by the entire world, it is apartheid that was declared evil against humanity.

“That song was not sung under normal circumstances. This is a constitutional matter.”

The controversial song recently shot to prominence again after being sung by ANC Youth League president Julius Malema while addressing his supporters.

As a result, the likes of the Freedom Front Plus, AfriForum and the Afrikanerbond lodged official complaints against him.

But Mthembu and Mantashe argued that the song was taken out of context and slammed the acting judge for not according the ANC an opportunity to explain its case before making a judgment.

“It is not dubul’ ibhunu (“shoot the boer”) that came from nowhere.

“People want to fuel fears which are not there. We did not ban the stem when we took over.

“No judge, except this one, would have considered the matter to be urgent,” said Mthembu.

Mantashe said the judgment could not be enforced and implemented.

“Easy legal victories by any grouping in society will further polarise our society.

Mthembu denied there was any correlation between the “shoot the boer” song and the actual killing of farmers.

cedricm@citizen.co.za

CITIZEN

Comments by Sonny

ANC Corruption and abuse of power should become a Constitutional issue!

Freedom of sceech has become an issue too!

Promote white cop, SAPS told

26 February 2010, 11:40

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In a landmark affirmative action case on Friday the Labour Court ruled that the South African Police Service should promote captain Renate Barnard to superintendent.

Trade union Solidarity, on behalf of Barnard, approached the Labour Court to ensure Barnard's promotion.

The court found in favour of Solidarity and Barnard and ordered the SA Police Service to pay the applicant's costs.

Solidarity general secretary Dirk Hermann said the judgment was a victory for all South Africans.

"We are absolutely delighted. The judgment brought about a new direction in affirmative action," he said after the judgment was handed down.

"This means for the police service that merit is also critical for affirmative action."

Barnard, at the time of the dispute, was responsible for investigating priority and ordinary complaints against the SA Police service.

In 2005 a superintendent level position was created by the police to improve service to the public in view of handling complaints.

In that year Barnard and six other applicants applied for the position.

An interview panel gave her 86,7 percent for the interview and recommended her unanimously.

"Captain Barnard was 17,5 percent better than the next applicant from the designated group. In view of this fact the interview panel recommended that should she not get the position, it will adversely affect service delivery," Hermann said.

However the SAPS divisional commissioner recommended that the position not be filled saying that her appointment would not promote representation.

This, said Hermann, was despite the fact that Barnard was a woman and therefore part of the designated group in terms of the Employment Equity Act.

After pursuing internal grievance procedures without success the case was referred to the Labour Court.

Barnard, on Friday, wearing a teal ankle length dress told reporters outside the court how happy the ruling had made her.

"It was not an easy road, but I am so relieved," she said.

"Thank you to my father in heaven and to Solidarity."

The judgment stipulated that she would be promoted to the post of superintendent with effect from July 2006. - Sapa

The Star

Comments by Sonny

Long live justice in SA!

Affirmative Active is the work of Lucifer!

We shall overcome racism!