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SA man jailed for life by New Zealand court South African-born Dunedin psychiatrist Colin Bouwer has been sentenced to life imprisonment by a court in Christchurch, New Zealand, e.tv reported on Monday night. The court found Bouwer killed his wife, Annette, with a lethal cocktail of medicines on January 5 last year because of his affair with another Dunedin psychiatrist, Anne Walsh, and for a substantial insurance payout. His children, Greg, 17, and Anthea, 15, would not afterwards comment on their father's sentence, but his wife's family welcomed the sentence and conviction, the television station said. "The verdict is no surprise because some of the evidence was extremely overwhelming," brother-in-law Arthur Roddock said. "There was never a doubt in our minds Colin was guilty... We feel justice has been served. It (the sentence) doesn't bring Annette back... but in some way it is some sort of vindication." Last week prosecutor Robin Bates told the jury that soon after beginning an affair with Walsh at a conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, in late 1999, Bouwer began writing false prescriptions for sedatives and blood sugar-altering drugs that produced symptoms Mrs Bouwer began demonstrating a few days later. "The trip to Copenhagen is the beginning of the end for Annette. Bouwer says there was no affair but common sense will tell you an affair was well under way," he said. "Three weeks after his return from Copenhagen, Annette - until then a healthy woman - starts to have significant health problems." After the onset of Mrs Bouwer's illness and long before doctors had made a diagnosis of her, he "stupidly" told professional colleagues overseas that his wife was terminally ill. He also allegedly gave her blood sugar-altering drugs even while she was an in-patient "because it would be wise for her to have a hypoglycaemic event in hospital". On the day before Mrs Bouwer died, Bouwer collected a final false prescription for a fatal dose of insulin and arranged to be alone with his wife for an extended period while his children watched a cricket game on television at Dr Walsh's home. "It's a time when nobody is going to be watching (Mrs Bouwer) and nobody is going to be concerned about her. Just in case the end of the cricket wasn't long enough, a walk on the beach was arranged to give that little bit extra so that when they returned, Annette would appear to be asleep and there wouldn't be any wish to wake her," Bates said. "The Crown says it's very likely that before the walk on the beach, he injected insulin into his wife." Despite Bouwer's "charade" of playing the role of the concerned husband, his failure to seek help for his wife in her last days was a situation "no caring husband - let alone a doctor - would not have allowed to continue unless he wanted the outcome to be her death." When questions began to be asked about her death, Bouwer allegedly began to create a new charade that he had prostate cancer, but that his torture as an anti-apartheid activist in South Africa in the 1970s precluded examination. Bouwer claimed he had become depressed and obtained the drugs to kill himself but they were found by his wife and used by her to commit suicide, Bates said. "There was no cancer, no torture, and no depression. In fact Bouwer was promoted (in the South African military) in the month he claimed he was tortured," he added. Also last week, defence lawyer David More used his final address to the jury to attack the Crown's case. He said it required ridiculous assumptions, "quantum leaps of logic", and flawed evidence. But More accepted that Bouwer might have invented his past as an anti-apartheid activist in South Africa and might have had extramarital affairs with two women during his two-and-a-half years in New Zealand. More said Bouwer might have obtained drugs identical to those found in his wife's autopsy, and might have lied about having cancer. But none of that made Bouwer a murderer, More said. Thanks to IOL.co.za [ Top ]  Kytie Koekblik ColumnKytie Koekblik Washington D.C. - Wat ‘n magiese week. Daar is net een woord daarvoor, Madiba Magic. Die week het egter nie so goed begin nie. Maandag-oggend het ek met ‘n hol kol op my maag opgestaan. My een rich kid American vriend en ek sou Maandag oor lunch tien maande se heartbreaking issues uitstryk. Hy het aangebied om al die pad van Arlington af in te ry na Bethesda om te kom praat. Ek wou nie opgewonde raak nie. Dis is dieselfde vriend saam met wie op die 12de September vanjaar na Kuba sou gaan. OP daardie Dinsdag oggend 9/11 was hy ook oppad Bethesda toe om die laaste reelings te tref. Toe bel hy my en se, “A plane just crashed into the World Trade Center.” Minute later toe bel hy weer met ‘n freaked-out klank in sy stem en se, “A plane just crashed into the Pentagon.” Dis nie eers nodig vir my om te vertel wat verder gebeur het nie. Ek en die Rich Boy het nie daardie dag mekaar gesien nie en ook nie Kuba toe gegaan nie. Daarom wou ek nie eers opgewonde raak vandeesweek Maandag nie. Ek het net so ‘n voorgevoelentjie gehad dat ek nie die Rich Boy vir lunch in Bethesda sou sien nie, daarom het ek nie eers ‘n restaurant uitgekies nie. Dit was ‘n verskriklike verlammende gevoel van dejavu toe die Rich Boy, soos op die 11de September, my bel en ek dieselfde woorde hoor: “Did you hear about the plane crash in New York?” My Maandag wat begin soos Dinsdag die 11de September, ‘n dag waarop als verander het. So toe sien ons mekaar wel nie Maandag vir lunch nie. Rich Boy en ek en die wereld gebeure in New York City werk nou maar eenmaal nie uit nie. En nodeloos om te se, die issues is nogsteeds nie opgelos nie. So my dag begin toe op 'n redelike down noot. Gelukkig kry ek toe die e-mailtjie wat my uitnooi na ‘n perskonferensie by die Suid-Afrikaanse Ambassade met ene former president Nelson Mandela. Ek wou huil en lag. Destyds op Grahamstad was ek 'n arme verdwaalde 21-jarige dogtertjie met sterre in die oe. (deesdae is ek 23 en ‘n verdwaalde dogtertjie met selfs meer sterre in die oe) wat Mandela se VIP sekuriteitsmense gebug het tot hulle ingewillig het dat ek buite in die tuin buite ‘n restaurant vir Madiba kon wag. Toe Madiba uitstap op die 29ste Junie 1999 toe hardloop ek verby die PA wat reeds gese het “No more photographs” en ek steek my hand uit en ek se met talle trane in my oe: “Can I please shake your hand? I just want to shake your hand?” Waarop Madiba toe my hand skud en al die fotograwe naderroep en se, “Let’s take a photo together.” So ek het hierdie maar moviese groot foto van myself en ‘n glimlaggende Madiba wat ek oor die oseane na Washington DC gebring het. Van Grahamstad tot in Washington…Meer as twee jaar later, kry ek weer my tweede kans in hierdie leeftyd om Mandela te sien. Hierdie slag is ons in die Capital City of the world en ek is ‘n reporter. So Dinsdag oggend wag ‘n baie gespanne Kytie toe met haar groot foto vir die perskonferensie om te begin. Die oomblik na die perskonferensie toe storm ek na die tafel waar Madiba sit met my reusagtige foto en ek sien Madiba begin te lag. In die foto het ek swart hare, deesdae loop ek met bottelblonde hare rond. Ongelukkig stuit die Secret Service toe my plannetjies en dieselfde PA van destyds beveel dat Madiba nie tyd het om enigiets te sign nie. “My bosses will fire me,” maak Madiba ‘n grappie. “I’m so sorry.” Daarop sink ‘n klip in my maag in, dit was so naby en ook so so so vreeslik ver… Honderde fotograwe mob toe Mandela se tafel en almal wil sy hand skud en fotos neem en ek raak verdwaald tussen al die mense en ek wil huil en huil van senuwees en teleurstelling. En toe kom die magic woorde uit sy mond uit: “Where’s that young lady? Doesn’t she want to shake my hand?” En toe druk ek deur die fotograwe tot by hom en skud sy hand. Sou nou is ek nogsteeds op Cloud Nine. Maar ek is ook hartseer, vreeslik hartseer. Mandela was moeg, en oud. Vir my verteenwoordig daardie man al die hoop, en geloof en ideale en liefde van hierdie lewe. Niemand kon sy gees breek of verbitter nie, nie eers die jare in die tronk nie. Die mense wat hom van sy human rights ontneem het , het hom nooit van sy humanity ontneem nie. Terwyl hulle kleiner geword het, het hy groter geword. Vir my simboliseer hy die mees perfekte human being. As ek sy gesig sien, wil ek huil. As ek hom hoor praat met soveel courage en conviction sonder om bang te wees vir die consequences, wil ek myself ook ophuil omdat ek soveel bewondering vir hom het, soos ek vir geen ander mens het nie. Dinsdag het Madiba oor sy gesondheid gepraat. Volgens hom het die dokters gese sy kanker is onder beheer. “But if the doctors are mistaken, I’m still a winner,” het Madiba gese. Volgens hom is die eerste ding wat hy in die after life gaan doen, om te soek vir die naaste branch van die African National Congress om sy membership te renew. Die tweede ding wat hy gaan doen is om aan al die billionaires in daardie nuwe wereld te vertel wat al die billionaires in hierdie wereld doen. Volgens Mandela help die biljoeners van hierdie wereld hom om klinieke, skole en gemeenskapsale te bou vir die armes. Ek hoop hulle gee ons oupa’tjie ‘n bietjie rus voor hy na die afterlife vertrek. Hy het so, so moeg gelyk. Watter ou man kan die wereld vol reis en publieke speeches gee en talle interviews doen en vroeg opstaan en laat gaan slaap? Madiba kan. En dis die een ding wat ek met my sal saamdra en wat ek van hom leer. Niks, maar niks is onmoontlik nie. Jy moet vashou aan jou ideaal; bly glo in jou ideaal en al sit jy ook 27 jaar in die tronk vir daardie ideaal, bly hoop. Kytie K. Kytie Koekblik would like you to respond to her tongue-in-cheek running commentary on suburban life in America in this editorial. Fresh off the boat, she is ready to explore and experiment with American bath plugs and to drive on the other side of the road. You can contact her here. © RSA-Overseas & Matheson Communications [ Top ] Four cops convicted for brutal dog attacks Four men were found guilty on several charges in the Pretoria High Court on Monday after admitting to setting their police dogs on illegal immigrants in a 1998 "training exercise" along with two other colleagues. Jacobus Petrus Smith, Lodewyk Christiaan Koch, Robert Benjamin Henzen and Eugene Werner Truter were each convicted on three counts of assault with the intent to do grievous bodily harm. Henzen and Truter were furthermore found guilty on a charge of attempting to defeat the ends of justice for signing a false entry in the dog unit register. The other two accused, Nicolaas Kenneth Loubser and Dino Guiotto, denied guilt on all charges, which also included one of corruption. The state withdrew the corruption charge against the other four men, as well as the charge of attempting to defeat the ends of justice against Smith and Koch. The six were all members of the Northeast Rand police dog unit. They were suspended without pay after their arrest in November last year. Some of them subsequently resigned from the police. They were taken into custody shortly after SABC TV screened video footage showing dogs being incited by policemen to attack three Mozambicans - Gabriel Pedro Timane, Alexandre Pedro Timane and Sylvester Cose - on the morning of January 3 1998. The four who accepted guilt said in their pleas read to court that the event was an exercise aimed at teaching inexperienced police dogs to attack on their handlers' instruction. Smith said he was told by his chief instructor that Guiotto's dog was reluctant to bite people in an attack situation. The instructor suggested he should seek an opportunity to rectify the dog's behaviour. The instructor cited the arrest of illegal immigrants or other suspected criminals as an example of such an opportunity. Smith said he did not regard this instruction as unusual. On the day of the attacks, Smith and Koch spotted three suspicious-looking people at a taxi rank near Benoni. They arrested the men and found that they were illegal aliens. Koch informed the five other accused, who then joined Smith and Koch with their dogs at an open veld in Brakpan. Onlookers arrived, and the "exercise" was moved to another spot near Benoni. All four men admitted to inciting more experienced dogs to bite the immigrants in order to show Guiotto's dog how this should be done. Prosecutor John Welch asked the court to deliver judgment according to the guilty pleas. Judge Willem van der Merwe acceded after considering the matter during an adjournment. In his plea, Smith admitted to inciting his dog, Rex, to bite the three men, and to assaulting them. He said he had acted out of "bravado" and a "rush of emotion". Koch, for his part, said he never hit anyone but had encouraged his dog, Jakkals, to attack the three men. Henzen confessed to hitting Alexandre Timane with his elbow and to inciting his dog to attack Gabriel Timane. He furthermore acknowledged he had signed a false entry in the dog unit register which stated the attacks were the result of the three men resisting arrest. Truter in his plea admitted to encouraging his dog Dingo to bite Gabriel Timane, and acknowledged that he had signed the false register entry. Koch, Henzen and Truter all admitted to deliberately neglecting to intervene to stop the attacks. The judge granted a request for the matter to proceed in two separate trials - one for the four convicted men, and another for the two who pleaded not guilty. The trial of Smith, Koch, Henzen and Truter was postponed to Wednesday for evidence in mitigation of sentence. Their bail of R2 000 each was extended. Loubser and Guiotto are to appear before the judge again in the afternoon for a trial date to be determined. Their bail of R2 000 each was also extended. The three complainants were present at the court on Monday. [ Top ] Middle East peace talks set for South Africa Israeli peace activists and Palestinian officials are to meet in South Africa this week to discuss ideas for an Israel-Palestinian settlement, said officials on both sides on Sunday. The meeting will unite Palestinian officials with Israeli peace activists including Yossi Beilin, an architect of the Israeli-Palestinian interim accords who was a leading cabinet minister in Israel's previous, more moderate government. Ever since that government was ousted in February, Beilin has been in touch with Palestinian officials in an effort to reach a formula that could be proposed when negotiations resume. The effort has been criticised by many in Israel as undermining the hawkish stance of the current government. Beilin said he did not expect a breakthrough from the talks in South Africa, which he said would be hosted by President Thabo Mbeki. Mbeki's spokesperson confirmed this on Sunday night. He was unable to say whether the Israeli government knew or approved of the meeting. Beilin met Mbeki at a private visit to SA in August, where it is understood the two discussed the possibility of Mbeki becoming involved in efforts to get the Middle East peace process back on track. Beilin said his goal is a detailed peace plan that leaves some options for negotiation, and that agreement on the plan is "at least a year away". Palestinian cabinet minister Nabil Sha'ath said he would take part in the talks and that he expected the meeting to be useful despite the fact that Beilin is no longer in the Israeli government. Thanks to IOL.co.za [ Top ]  Nel's KitchenRagel Nel Ragel Nel Washington D.C. - If groupies for musicals existed, then I would be one. My musical of choice? Rent. In order to understand this work of genius without experiencing it for yourself (but if you're going to be in New York City where it's been running since 1996, go to it!), you need to erase everything you've ever known about musicals. Scrap it, because this baby is everything BUT your conventional "Guys & Dolls", "Grease", "Gigi" or any Andrew Lloyd Webber kind of show. Not that those vintage ones aren't great either, but... But, Rent is unique, because it's MODERN. It plays out today (well, during the 90's, to be exact, but it still appeals. We still "speak their language". ) and the characters are young (and older), hip New Yorkers. The music and songs are hip too. In fact, the late producer, composer and writer, Jonathan Larson, referred to it as a "Rock Opera". (More about him later.) So it appeals to a younger crowd - and that was Larson's original ambition: to create something that will draw the young back into the theatre - without turning off older audiences. It's a musical in the full sense of the word, because the spoken dialogue is minimal. Therefore the songs tell the story and you'll get the gist of the plot even if you only hear the music (the soundtrack is a worthy investment of 40+ tracks available on double CD/Cassette.). Ask anyone who's ever been unfortunate enough to cross my path: I make them all listen to all my favourite songs. But, it has to be added, my annoying habit works, because by the end of their Rent 'sampler', most reluctant-at-first listeners are hooked and have a desperate desire to see the musical for themselves. You can trust me - no really! - because I've already seen it three times, and will happily see it three times more. (Some people see Nutcracker year after year - which is also great, make no mistake - and some others watch "Miracle on 34th Street" EVERY Christmas, so don't look at me like that!) Besides, the fact that I'm still gushing about it three viewings later, must be some indication of how good it is. Speaking of Christmas, that, not so coincidentally, is the time of year during which our musical kicks off. (And then it follows the characters for a year until the next Christmas.) Christmas Eve actually ("Eight p.m., Eastern Standard Time."). We meet our characters, a group of struggling artists living in Alphabet City, a part of Greenwich Village in New York City, famous for being a popular dwelling place for present and past Bohemians. It doesn't take long for us to catch on that the characters live in an industrial loft with no heat (not a pleasant experience in a New York winter, you can be sure.), but they can't and don't complain too much, because the property belongs to a friend (thanks to his marriage to a wealthy socialite who doesn't mind supporting her husband's bohemian friends as long as she can wear the pants in the relationship.) who allows them to stay there for free. Soon though, he has a change of heart and threatens to charge them a year's worth of rent if they don't do him a nasty little favour. Hence the title, and thus, the already riveting plot thickens. And, as the saying goes, it never rains it pours and we soon learn that a few of the characters are terminally ill with AIDS. That's part of Larson's (somewhat prophetic) drive behind the story: the ill characters not only want to "make" it in their different art forms, but they're also aware that their days are numbered and therefore wish to leave some lasting legacy through their work. Mark, the narrator and a wannabe documentary maker, aspires to capture something important on film, and Roger, a musician, spends a lot of time searching for that one great, elusive song. ("One song glory.") If the plot sounds vaguely familiar, it's because it is. Larson derived his own inspiration from Puccini's La Boheme, the famous opera that centers around a group of 19th Century Parisian artists who also struggle to fight off a landlord as well as the illness of those days: phthisis (tuberculosis of the lungs). Larson did put a clever modern spin on the original plot, (especially visible in his choice of character names: Rudolfo becomes Roger, Marcello becomes Mark, etc.) which inevitably changes when set two centuries later. But that La Boheme connection is also why he referred to Rent as a rock OPERA. Larson also borrowed the famous candle scene from the first act of La Boheme, using it in the first act of Rent as the way Mimi and Roger fall in love ("Would you light my candle?"). Larson himself lived in Greenwhich Village, and many of his own daily encounters and experiences are intrically woven into the plot. It's hard to believe that he, like his characters, was also struggling to make it and his family was shocked to find out - only after his premature and sudden death - just HOW much he had struggled financially. (He waited tables at a local diner until the end. He could have gotten himself a corporate job as a - to quote him directly - "three piece suit", possibly at an ad agency making a lucrative living by composing jingles, but he enjoyed the freedom that came with the diner job and spent most of that free time working to compose his plays and musicals.) Apart from AIDS, Rent also deals with other issues of the day like drugs, homosexuality, morality, poverty and being homeless, as well as the "usual suspects", love and relationships. Before Rent, he wrote another musical called "tick, tick...BOOM!" (an autobiographical piece originally entitled 30/90), but it never quite took off. Then came Rent. Sadly, Larson never lived to witness its success: He died of an aneurysm just before his dream was about to be realized: one night before Rent's off-broadway premiere in February 1996, and two weeks shy of his 36th birthday. In retrospect, it's almost as if Larson knew that he wasn't going to be around for a long time. The catch phrase of the musical that will echo in your mind long after you've seen it or heard the music, is: "No day but today." Yes, fine, we've all heard the sayings "grab the day" and "live each day to its fullest", but somehow, when Larson says it, you sit up and listen and become aware of just how much you've taken life for granted. His whole universally appealing message is to celebrate life, no matter how dire the circumstances ("to people living with, not dying from disease" one of the choruses jubilates, following the claim by one of the AIDS patient characters that he is scared and stumped, simply because "reason says I should have died three years ago.") He manages to convey that message successfully and with sensitivity without getting preachy or morbid. No doubt that he may make you cry, but there is also plenty of laugh out loud humour. But don't take my word for it. Please go and see... no, EXPERIENCE... it for yourself. * In 1996, Jonathan Larson was awarded a posthumous Pulitzer Prize for best drama. That same year, Rent and Larson virtually made a clean sweep of the Tony Awards, winning the Tony for best musical, best lyrics, best book and best actor in a musical. Unfortunately, all of them were awarded posthumously. Larson's first musical, "tick, tick...BOOM!", has just ended a critically acclaimed off-broadway run in New York City infront of packed houses, starring actress Molly Ringwald. Actor and director Spike Lee is in the process of casting actors for Rent, the feature film. In the mean time, Rent the musical continues to wow audiences during its annual tours of the United States and the UK. For those opera lovers who still have doubts and wonder whether they'll enjoy something as unconventional as Rent, chew on this: Luciano Pavarotti's young wife (he married his much younger former assistant, remember?) acquired rights to translate Rent into Italian, and so far, the all-Italian production has enjoyed just as much success as the English one. Bravo! On some tours of Rent, high school and college students are not only able to get in for free, but sometimes the first few rows in the threatre are reserved especially for them. All because of Larson's ambition to lure young people to the theatre to attend and experience a live musical performance, thus instilling a love for the arts. To this day, every performance of Rent is dedicated to the memory of its creator, Jonathan Larson. © RSA-Overseas [ Top ] Mugabe vows to crack down on opposition Harare - Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe vowed to crack down on the opposition on Sunday, describing them as "terrorists" sponsored by the British government. In an emotional speech during the state funeral of a murdered ruling party militant whose death he blamed on opposition activists, Mugabe issued a warning to Britain, the former colonial power in Zimbabwe. "Let it be heard in the tall towers of London, in their tall towers elsewhere... we shall never, ever brook (tolerate) attempts to subject us directly or indirectly to colonial rule," said Mugabe. In his comments, Mugabe, known for making inflammatory statements, appeared to be making reference to the September 11 attacks on the United States. In London, a British Foreign Office spokesperson speaking on customary condition of anonymity, said that any suggestion that Britain was supporting any kind of terrorism was "absurd". The spokesperson said Britain has helped fund the Zimbabwean opposition, specifically through the Westminster Foundation for Democracy, a government body set up in 1992 to support democracy around the world. Zimbabwe's farming districts have been convulsed by chaos over the past 18 months, when ruling party militants began occupations of 1 700 white-owned farms, demanding they be redistributed to landless blacks. The government has since embarked on a plan to seize 5 000 farms - nearly all the farms owned by whites - without paying compensation. Opposition officials accuse the government of using land seizures to garner support and intimidate opponents ahead of presidential elections scheduled for next year. The opposition is running on a platform of open and accountable government and its supporters range from black power activists to conservative whites. It has an especially large following among urban educated black Zimbabweans. Bracing for possible violence, the streets of the capital city of Harare were filled with hundreds of paramilitary officers with rifles and machine guns on Sunday. In his speech, Mugabe said activists for the Movement for Democratic Change were responsible for the November 5 abduction and murder of Cain Nkala, a leading ruling party militant who was declared a national hero posthumously by the government. "(It) was the brutal outcome of a much wider terrorist plot by internal, and external terrorist forces with plenty of funding from some commercial farmers and organisations like the Westminster Foundation, which we have established beyond doubt gets its dirty money from dirty tricks, from the British Labour Party, the Conservative Party and Liberal Party and also of course from the government of Tony Blair," said Mugabe. Mugabe supporters held up signs at the cemetery that read, "Kill All Terrorists". Nkala was found strangled in the western city of Bulawayo and MDC officials have denied any connection to his death. Nkala was known for leading many violent farm occupations in the Bulawayo area. There has been widespread violence since Nkala's murder. On Friday, ruling party militants firebombed offices of the opposition MDC in Bulawayo, and randomly beat whites on the city's streets. MDC officials were said paramilitary units had been deployed near their headquarters in Harare to protect them from possible attack by ruling party militants after Nkala's funeral. MDC secretary-general Welshman Ncube denied Mugabe's allegations that the party, which holds 56 of the 120 elected parliamentary seats, has turned to violence. At least 14 MDC members have been arrested in connection to the murder but have not been allowed to see their lawyers. Ncube said they have been tortured into making bogus confessions. Ncube has suggested that Nkala was killed by fellow members of the ruling Zanu party in order to prevent him from testifying about violence committed by party members. A report in the independent newspaper, The Sunday Standard, quoted associates of Nkala saying he was about to fly to Britain to testify there on the unrest when he was abducted from his home by armed men. Thanks to IOL.co.za [ Top ] |
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