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Zimbabwe Ends Election, Court Rejects Extension HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's election ended with thousands still waiting to vote Monday after the High Court rejected an opposition demand for an extra fourth day of voting on the grounds of cheating by President Robert Mugabe. Opposition lawyer Eric Matinenga said top High Court judge Paddington Garwe had ruled that he had no jurisdiction to keep polling stations open further. Another judge had Sunday ordered an unscheduled day of voting Monday. "There's no extra day," Matinenga told reporters outside the court shortly after riot police, some firing tear gas and shooting into the air, had dispersed thousands of voters waiting outside polling stations in and around Harare. The opposition Movement for Democratic Change argued that its supporters had been deliberately disenfranchised by the late opening of polls Monday and previous long delays. "If thousands of people are not allowed to vote then this is a stillborn election," said MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai. Polls in opposition strongholds in the capital opened five hours late on Monday and remained closed elsewhere. Registrar-General Tobaiwa Mudede told state television before the court decision: "We have told presiding officers to close polling stations at 7 p.m. (noon EST), and we have indicated to them that this is when voting should end. As I speak, voting has ended." Tsvangirai said the voting hours had been manipulated at the cost of his supporters. He says Mugabe has used violence and cheating to cling to power in the once prosperous nation, which faces an economic and political collapse that could spill over into neighboring countries, including regional giant South Africa. South Africa's rand currency has been battered by fears of contagion from Zimbabwe's crisis. COUNTING STARTS ON TUESDAY Information Minister Jonathan Moyo, a close Mugabe aide, said vote counting would begin Tuesday and a result could be known early Wednesday. The U.S. embassy in Harare said earlier four American diplomats, two of them election observers, had been freed after being held for five hours by police northwest of Harare. "The United States is going to protest the incident in the strongest terms directly to the government of Zimbabwe," State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said in Washington. The United States has been one of the most vociferous critics of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and the way his government has organized the presidential elections. Tsvangirai, posing the toughest challenge of Mugabe's 22-year rule, also said one of his top lieutenants had been arrested in southern Zimbabwe. He urged restraint on his followers and seemed to be preparing them for a stolen result. In what at times seemed like valedictory remarks at a news conference, Tsvangirai suggested his life was at risk. "They may want to arrest me and at worst kill me but they will never destroy the spirit of the people to reclaim their power," he said. The opposition charges Mugabe sharply reduced the number of polling stations in Harare and slowed the voting to a snail's pace to rob the opposition of votes. Registrar-General Mudede said the government had complied with the earlier High Court order by keeping polls in Harare open until 7 p.m. "We feel that we allowed the majority of the people who wanted to vote the opportunity to do so, although we cannot say everybody." He said about 5 million of the 5.6 million eligible voters were thought to have voted, which was a good turnout. Mudede said voting resumed late on Monday because it took time to call electoral staff back to work after the first High Court order. Tsvangirai said in a statement to his followers he shared their fears that the election result would be rigged. But, apparently worried about a violent opposition reaction, he declared: "Restrain yourselves so you do not allow their sinister plans to succeed... do not succumb to their provocative traps." The election campaign was marked by widespread violence in which independent monitors say 33 people died, most of them MDC supporters killed by militia from the ruling ZANU-PF party. MDC official Learnmore Jongwe said details were sketchy on the arrest of MDC Secretary-General Welshman Ncube near the Botswana border but suggested it was connected with treason charges against Ncube, Tsvangirai and another MDC official. They have denied the accusation that they plotted to assassinate Mugabe. Thanks to IOL.co.za [ Top ]  Kytie Koekblik ColumnKytie Koekblik Washington D.C. - In die voorstad van Washington DC, Bethesda is daar ‘n enkele groot ruim huis met ‘n platdak. Die huis kon net sowel in die voorstad Kuilsrivier in Kaapstad gewees het. Dit is die Big Cheese se huis. Obviously het hy die huis gekoop omdat dit hom aan Suid-Afrika herinner het. Die Big Cheese het deur die voordeur van sy platdak huis geloop en in die voorportaal gaan sit, plat op die mat. ‘It was quite the emotional trip,” het hy gese. Hy het sy rugsak en tasse omgekeer en wat van sy lewe van 28 jaar in Suid-Afrika oor was, het op die mat gele. Die Big Cheese is terug in Washington DC na sy dental trip na Suid-Afrika. Obviously het ons mos ‘n klompie connections in die media-bedryf - dis immers wat ons doen vir ‘n lewe - en daarom is die Big Cheese se terugkeer na Suid-Afrika in die Cape Times aangekondig: “Pack your gums, we’re going on safari.” ‘n Dental safari. Natuurlik het die werk aan sy tande hom nie veel gekos nie, amper $200 vir een kroon en drie groot fillings. Maar die Big Cheese moes ook die ander los eindes gaan vasmaak. Sy hele lewe staan nou al vir amper 16 jaar in iemand anders se garage in bokse. Ongelukkig het water amper als in die bokse uitgewis. Wat nie onder water was of heeltemal onprakties was nie, het hy teruggebring Washington DC toe: “The remnants of my 28 years in South Africa. My memory stuff.” Hy kon amper niks red nie, net sy ou movie projector wat aan sy groot-oupa behoort het; en sy coin- en skulp collection. Sy twee kindertjies met hulle Amerikaanse aksente speel deesdae met die skulpe. Sy stamp collection van “homeland stamps” het nie die vloed survive nie en lyk soos chocolate-pudding, en ook nie die spul fotos van amper dertig jare van sy lewe nie. Sy formative years, in Suid-Afrika, het in Suid-Afrika in bokse agtergebly. Toe die Big Cheese my begin vertel van sy bokse, toe dink ek wat Kytie is, aan die junk wat ek in my 15 stuks “memory bokse” opgaar in Suid-Afrika in ‘n garage in Blouberg strand. My goeters, my herinneringe, my lewe, my musiek, my ou diplomas en eistedfodd sertifikate, briefies van al my vriende van sub A tot standerd 10. En toe ek aan daai bokse dink toe begin die memories deur my kop flash: Die sigaret wat in een van daai bokse le met ‘n briefie van die coolste ou in die hele De Kuilen hoerskool; die Marie-beskuitjies wat ‘n ou vir my gegee het in st. 9 (wat ‘n funny soort ding om vir iemand te gee, Marie-beskuitjies, en my eerste kys in my lewe, ene “Heinie,” het ook vir my Marie’s aangestuur toe ons op die bus sit oppad na ‘n skool-uitstappie toe. Almal , plus ene meneer Victor, weet toe ons is “gekys” en toe se ek vir Heinie op die daad af omdat ek wou doodgaan van embarrasment…) Natuurlik is ek hierdie hele week al meer as officially homesick. Vir my Suid-Afrika en vir die Big Cheese se Suid-Afrika; ons het almal ons eie herinneringe aan daardie landjie en (on)gelukkig proe al daardie memories na politiek en ‘n knippie disillusionment . En nostalgia. Na wat nooit weer kan wees nie. Na mense wat ons nooit meer sien nie. Die Big Cheese se toe hy voor daai bokse sit en sien hoe die vloed sy hele geskiedenis uitgewis het, toe huil hy. Want van sy memories was daar niks oor nie. ‘n Enkele klompie goed het toe wel die vloed oorleef. In 1975 het die Big Cheese en sy broer besluit om hulle eie wyn te produseer. Hulle het destyds alles saamgedoen, asof hulle twin brothers was. Na hulle ‘n uitgeval het ‘n tyd terug, praat die twee nie meer met mekaar nie. Ek kon die Big Cheese se glimlag so effe sien bewe toe hy my vertel van die 27-jaar oue wyn. Hy het sewe bottels van die “HB Special” in daai bokse gehad. “The Home Brew Special my brother’s very original name for his wine.” Die eerste 1975 bottel het ‘n eenvoudige handgeskrewe label gehad wat al effe gefade het. Hulle het ‘n later rubberstempel laat ontwerp met ‘n prentjie van druiwe en die woorde HB Special daarop vir die bottels van 1977/78. “Right then and there, I cracked the 75 special and poured myself a doppie.” Die wyn wat hulle self gebrou het, het die smaak van ‘n verouderde, soet sjerrie gehad, vertel die Baas. “Jislaaik, its was good. My whole life of SA flashed back before me, my house at the time, the girl I was dating, the doppie was a reminder, it was quite amazing.” Dit was soos om dood te gaan (ons almal hoor mos jou hele lewe speel soos ‘n blits in jou kop af voor jy die dag die gees gee) Die Big Cheese se met ‘n verstommende spoed toe is dit asof hy als onthou wat hy lankal vergeet het. Hy het onthou van die trips na Skipskop en die reusagtige Bonfires wat hulle destyds gemaak het op die strand; hy het onthou dat hy op ‘n stadium ‘n “farm in Africa” gehad het op Pearly Beach; duisende herinneringe het skielik deur sy kop gespoel. Skielik was hy nie die Big Cheese of Onofisiele Suid-Afrikaanse Ambassadeur in Washington DC nie. Sy Suid-Afrika was nie ‘n Suid-Afrika in sy kop wat deur expatriates bespreek en gekritiseer word nie. Dit was nie ‘n apartheidsstaat met ‘n bitter geskiedenis wat mense wat hulle regte ontneem het nie. Dit was vir ‘n oomblik net die Suid-Afrika van ‘n jong seun sonder internet-tegnologie en battery-aangedrewe speelgoed wat visvang en so leer Cape Flats Afrikaans praat en die lelikste vloekwoorde op die aarde leer. Vir ‘n paar oomblikke was dit weer net ‘n Suid-Afrika waarin jy die see en die hawe en die rooi-aas kan ruik. Die Suid-Afrika van ‘n jong idealistiese Engelse tiener wat sy identiteit probeer skep deur so stout moontlik te wees. En obviously, kan geen Suid-Afrikaner se herinneringe kleurloos bly nie. Net ‘n boytjie uit die liberal Engelse suburbs met maybe ‘n skoot ambisie en meer as ‘n skoot simpatie vir die massas sonder stemreg. Die Big Cheese word toe weer daai jong idealistiese twentysomething wat actually heimlik die ANC support terwyl hy met sy balsak op sy skouer rondloop en elke aand sy gun skoonmaak in service van die Suid-Afrikaanse Weermag. Die Suid-Afrika in sy kop. En op ‘n dag is hy skielik in sy forties en hy bly in Bethesda in Maryland in ‘n huis wat hom aan sy moederland herinner en hy gaan op ‘n trip Suid-Afrika toe waar hy sy ou self ontdek. Hy ry in ‘n rental kar ry hy met alles wat hy van sy Suid-Afrikaanse lewe oorgehou het in sy kattebak. Hy gaan besoek sy ou buddie waar sy gun versameling nou al jare in die kluis toegesluit word. Ja, se sy buddie, ek voel nie te secure met soveel wapens in my huis nie. Jy word mos met jou eie guns doodgeskiet deesdae. Die Big Cheese gaan verkwansel die spulletjie gewere aan’n auctioneer en hy neem afskeid van die windbuks wat sy persent was toe hy net ‘n 9-jarige laaitie was wat enige voel probeer skiet het. Hy verkoop toe ook sommer die spaarwiel van sy ou jeep wat op die agtersitplek van die rental kar le. Die res van sy junk sluit ‘n ou dril press in wat hy vir R60 aan ‘n cash converter verkoop deesdae is die “Cash Converters” mos regoor Suid-Afrika en meer volop as ‘n hoekkafeee. “I needed to be the victim of a cash converter,” se die Baas. Met daai R60 koop hy vandag vir homself ‘n lunch special in een van Bethesda se talle restaurante. En toe hy amper niks meer oor het om weg te gee of te verkoop of om in sy bagasie na Amerika in te pak nie, toe sit hy met die bottels HB special wat hom laat dink aan die broer waarmee hy nie meer praat vandag nie. Hy kon nie die bottels inpak en huis toe bring nie; hy wou dit ook nie net langs ‘n vullisblik/asblik/rubbish bin/trash can neersit vir die een of ander dronkie om nog dronker te word nie. Op die ou end van die dag is die bottels HB in die drein af en een enkele bottel sit nou ‘n rak in Bethesda saam met die ton African curios wat hom aan sy roots, sy Suid-Afrika in sy kop, herinner. Die Big Cheese se Suid-Afrika was hierdie trip nie ‘n tipiese toeriste Suid-Afrika nie. Die Big Cheese boikot mos die Waterfront. Dit was ook nie die Suid-Afrikaners wat vandag daar bly, se Suid-Afrika nie. Dit was die Suid-Afrika van sy memory-boks. Sommige mense vra vir die Big Cheese van watter land hy af kom oor sy snaakse aksent net effentjies gekleur is met Amerikaanse-rr’e en hy sug en knik, Amerika, But actually I grew up here. A long time ago. Die Big Cheese is actually op ‘n US paspoort. Sy paspoort is mos gekonfiskeer deur ‘n koptoe- bureacrat in die SA ambassade. Hy is nie toeris nie en ook nie meer ‘n Suid-Afrikaanse resident nie. Vra vir die Big CHeese “Hoe gaan dit in Suid-Afrika.” Sy antwoord is altyd, “depends on where you stand.” Staan jy in Cross Roads of in die Waterfront??? Die Big Cheese voel soos ‘n bietjie soos ‘n toeris wat ‘n lekker time in Suid-Afrika het want dit is mos ‘n beautiful country en hy kan sy dollars uitgee want die exchange rate is goed vir 'n Amerikaanse toeris maar as ekspat kan hy nooit ophou dink aan squater kampe en honger mense en Aids babatjies en die stygende crime statistiek nie. Nooit kan hy weer net ‘n boytjie van Cape Town wees nie en nooit kan hy weer ‘n in Suid-Afrika bly sonder om te wonder hoekom hy nie snags op die Leeukop van sy verlede kan gaan sit met ‘n bottel Tassies nie. 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 ] Mandela speaks out on his mission in the ANC Since he stepped down as president in 1999, Nelson Mandela has maintained a hectic schedule of public engagements, meetings, foreign travel and active campaigning for the building of schools and clinics by big business. But since his illness in 2001, from which he is now fully recovered, he appeared to be standing well back from the political arena. As he marked the 12th anniversary of his release from prison in February, he was making a surprising and controversial political comeback to change the government's application of its HIV/Aids policy. In a wide-ranging interview with Group Political Editor John Battersby, Mandela talks about his mission within the ANC and his hopes and fears for the future of multi-party democracy in South Africa. Zimbabwe Q: What are the chances of a free and fair Zimbabwean poll? A: It is better to leave this matter (of Zimbabwe) to multilateral organisations like the SADC. However good an opinion of an individual may be you can bring about a great deal of confusion and I want to avoid that. If there is violence in the country it is an indictment against all the leaders, whether they belong to Zanu-PF or MDC - real leaders will avoid that. Other leaders would have stopped that right at the beginning by sitting down to talk. It is better if you have got a strong case to call your adversary and say: I want you to justify your position... and then try to sort the matter out and make compromises. That is how you become a nation-builder. I would like to leave the matter of whether the election will be free and fair to the SADC. It is better for me to make my humble contribution to the SADC and let them examine very carefully any proposal which I make. Q: Do you think that South Africa can deal with the sensitive land issue in a way that does not precipitate the kind of crisis it has in Zimbabwe? A: We are certainly in that position. We have been very careful on the land question. We have taken into account the fact that the white minority has actually monopolised land rights in this country. And we have passed legislation with a big majority to deal with the land question. We have set up structures to deal with this question systematically, taking into account that whatever wrong was committed during the time of apartheid and of previous regimes, there are nevertheless some people who have got legitimate rights to land - who have bought it quite legally under the old system - we can't just uproot them. But the land which is owned by the state - by the various departments such as defence - we want to take that land and make it available for occupation by the masses. We have the land claims court, which is going on very well. And it is not a matter which is likely to lead to bloodshed and the killing of people. Q: Should South Africa not have spoken out more clearly in condemnation of attacks on the media in Zimbabwe? A: We must understand the person we are dealing with. I have worked very closely with President Mugabe. If you attack him publicly he will never respond. The best way to persuade him to take any action is to respect him - as the SADC is doing - to discuss it with him confidentially. That is the only way you can move him. If you go public, you will never be able to persuade him. That's why I agree with the cautious and diplomatic policy of the SADC. The media The media is the cornerstone and groundplan for democracy. Sometimes journalists say things about us that we don't like. But what hurts me is not the fabrications, but when I know that what they are saying about me and my country are correct. Nevertheless I have confidence in the media in general, because we cannot entrench democratic principles without the media. All those persecuting journalists should stop that and recognise that this is a sector of the community - throughout the world - which is helping us to entrench democratic values and helping people get on with their lives. If we take offence to the point of stifling the freedom of the press, then we are killing democracy. HIV/Aids Q: In your recent call for universal access to anti-retroviral drugs to treat HIV/Aids, were you talking only about HIV-positive pregnant women and rape victims or all HIV-positive people in the country? A: I agree with the government completely on its policy of testing - not only drugs like nevirapine but all anti-retroviral drugs. It's not only mother-to-child transmission that is of concern to me. Many people are dying every day. Young people. People in their 20s and their 30s and their 40s. I look at The Sowetan on Fridays. They have a list of people who are dead. It used to be half a page. Then there was a page. Now, if you look at it there are two pages full. Once there were two-and-a-half pages. I met someone this week from Orlando East who says the number of people who are dying is astonishing. And a big business firm told me they had to introduce regulations because their work was disrupted by people every week wanting to go to funerals and as a result they will only allow people to attend funerals on one day each week. So it's a major crisis. It's a war. And that is why I say that the government, while I support their research... we have given the impression that we don't care for the thousands of our people who are dying. The well-off people can go to private doctors, private clinics and private hospitals and get treatment because they have got the resources. But the tragedy is that the poorest of the poor cannot go to doctors and private clinics. They can only go to public hospitals and the policy of the government applies to public hospitals where (these poor people) have no access (to anti-retrovirals). It is because of this that we have created the impression that we don't care for the people who are dying. That is a matter of concern to me. The only way of meeting that criticism is to say: we are conducting our scientific research and when we have completed it we will make our findings public. But in the meantime people should be free to go to anybody whom they think will help them with their illness. The biggest responsibility is on the people themselves because the toxicity of some of these drugs is extremely dangerous. But we want people to regard themselves as free to go to public hospitals to help themselves. This is the only way that we can remove the impression that we don't care for the lives of people who are dying. Q: Do you think you are making headway in the ANC with these proposals? A: I have confidence in the leadership of the ANC. We must not look at gossip about what is happening. I am going to be the last person to be accused of having divided my organisation. I will take the right stand but I will fight inside. I'll campaign for it inside on the platforms of the ANC. I have confidence that we will reach a settlement. Q: Will that happen at the planned meeting of the ANC's national executive committee from March 15-17? A: We have discussed the matter with officials. On Monday I will be attending a meeting of the national working committee. And on the 15th I'll attend the meeting of the NEC. These are regular meetings. The matter may be resolved even before I go to the national executive committee. Q: Why is there such a fundamental conflict between senior members of the ANC over such a crucial matter? A: On any issue there will be differences of opinion. That we should welcome, because correct decisions are arrived at if the matter is thoroughly canvassed and the opinion of everyone is accommodated. When you take that decision everybody now says: my views are included in that decision. That is what has been the tradition of the ANC. When I became president of the ANC, in my first meeting I told members of the national executive that I don't want lapdogs. I want people who are going to criticise me so that when we go out we have looked at the matter from all angles and we have the maximum support of our people, including those who had reservations. Once their point of view is expressed without fear or favour - even if it is rejected - a person is satisfied. So we must allow that free debate. The ANC Q: Are you concerned that the ANC is becoming an organisation of lapdogs? A: No, I don't think the ANC is becoming an organisation of lapdogs. I think people are expressing their honest opinions. When you sit down and discuss with them they always listen very attentively and take a decision, whether you agree with it or not. Once an issue has been fully debated and they put their point of view, I am always satisfied. Q: There is a feeling that there is not the same degree of open debate within the ANC as there was five years ago and that people do not feel as free to speak their minds. A: If that is the position, then that is a mistake. I don't think that is the case. In the meetings I have attended, people have expressed themselves freely both against the president and against me. The president and SA's image Q: There have been recent articles in international publications which have been highly critical of the president, particularly in relation to the HIV/Aids policy. Does this concern you? A: I am keen that the president, the ANC and the government should project a favourable image and I will do everything within my power to ensure that we achieve that. But this is a democratic world and people are perfectly entitled to express themselves on matters of public policy, whether they are internal or foreign organisations. You must remember that I have said that a free press is the essence of democracy. If we take exception to the extent of stifling the freedom of the press to express itself, then we are killing democracy. Therefore, I don't regard it as something very strange that the media - local and foreign - should criticise us. We should be used to criticism and use that criticism as a mirror to see how we appear in our work and the image we are projecting. So I welcome such criticism, even if I don't agree with it. National unity Q: At the Voortrekker Monument this week you made a powerful appeal for unity among the country's diverse peoples as you paid tribute to a Boer fighter in the campaign against the British. Do you see progress on the unity issue? A: The most outstanding characteristic of South African society is that we have marginalised the right-wing and we have been able to unite our people. Those who say South Africa is still a divided country on the basis of race or ethnicity - I'm afraid I can't agree with them, because we have united the country. But we are dealing with a system which has been there for more than three centuries. There are still pockets of resistance but they are few and far between. Let us wipe them out firmly and without compromise - but let's not lose the proper perspective. The main picture is that we are united in South Africa. We speak with one voice. So what I said at the Voortrekker Monument is something I believe in and that is taking place every day. Buthelezi Q: You recently described Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi as a "formidable survivor". He has recently been sharply critical of the President on HIV/ Aids and other issues. Does he still have a leadership role in South African politics? A: Minister Mangosuthu Buthelezi is indeed a formidable minister and we cannot ignore him. He made his contribution to South African history. We have wiped out all the leaders who were in the Bantustan system but not him. We have used the fact that he worked with a Bantustan government. We have used the fact that he worked with the apartheid government. They financed him, for example, to oppose sanctions. (Former President FW) De Klerk said this openly in July 1991 and said (then Finance Minister Barend du Plessis) had given him money. There is no question about that. He did not challenge that. We have also used very serious allegations against him which I don't want to repeat. Nevertheless, we have failed. He has beaten us in two free and fair elections. We must acknowledge that he is a formidable survivor who we cannot ignore. He remains my friend. He has never been my enemy. We have differed. But he remains one of my closest friends, whose opinion I respect very highly. In fact, I am planning to visit the king, Goodwill Zwelithini, at Nongoma, and Buthelezi at his place at Kwapindangene. I want to take these two to the grave of King Cetswayo to pay my respect there. I have enormous respect for Buthelezi. When I was in jail he was one leader who was communicating with me and calling big meetings to celebrate my birthday and when I was ill he was able to write to me. Multi-party democracy Q: How do you see the future of multi-party democracy in South Africa, given the overwhelming dominance of the ANC? A: The ANC, however strong it is, is a multi-party democratic organisation and it believes in that. As long as the ANC respects free and fair discussion - inside and outside the ANC - and listens carefully to the views of other decision-makers, there is no danger in the ANC becoming stronger than it is at the moment. The danger will only arise when the ANC forgets its history and its background - that we have fought for the freedom of expression, for the bill of rights, which is independent of the government. Anybody whose rights are challenged can go to any of the institutions we have created - the human rights commission, the public protector, the national director of public prosecutions and, above all, the constitutional court. As long as those organisations are there, then the bill of rights will become a living document. As long as we stick to a constitution which guarantees the rights of every South African, irrespective of his ethnic background, then there is no danger in the ANC becoming stronger than it is today. That is why some of us are careful. Whatever discussions we are having with the ANC, we don't want ever to be accused that we divided our organisation. If we have reservations, we have ample opportunity to express them inside the platforms of the organisation. Thanks to IOL.co.za [ Top ] Big investors sue SA for wrongful arrest Two American investors who, until they were arrested, wanted to pump R860-million into the South African economy, have launched what is the biggest lawsuit ever against the South African government. Californians Clint Henri Graves (senior) and his son, also Clint Henri Graves, are claiming R2,6-billion for wrongful arrest. National Director of Public Prosecutions Bulelani Ngcuka, Justice Minister Penuell Maduna and Safety and Security Minister Steve Tshwete are cited as defendants. Before their arrest in 1998, shortly after they arrived in the country, Graves and his son had started negotiations with Home Affairs Minister Mangosuthu Buthelezi regarding various projects: A 520-bed hospital they planned for KwaZulu-Natal; two casinos in Mpumalanga and a 112-storey building in Midrand. Graves (senior) had also secured a Leeds-based doctor, Charles Moore, to provide doctors for six months, at no charge, to help deal with the cholera epidemic in KwaZulu-Natal. Instead father and son were arrested and denied bail. Graves (junior) was accused of leading people to believe that he had acquired diamond rights in three South African mines and of unlawfully using certificates to this effect to obtain overseas loans. He spent three years awaiting trial in a Benoni prison, charged with fraud amounting to R4,5-billion. His father spent four months in prison before charges were withdrawn. He was released and returned home. When Graves (junior) got to court last year, a Johannesburg magistrate acquitted him after finding that Graves had not intended to deceive and that false documents had been neither drawn up nor issued. In court papers, the two said they met Buthelezi shortly after arriving in the country to look at investment opportunities and he gave them the go-ahead. Ebrahim Holt, a lawyer for the two, said his clients had been in a dilemma about their claim because it would dig into the pockets of taxpayers if they won. However, Holt said, his clients had been robbed of their liberty, their good names had been damaged and they had suffered loss of income because of their imprisonment. The court papers say the South African government was initially inclined to discuss a settlement out of court, but because of their procrastination, the men decided to go to court. Justice spokesperson Paul Setsetse said the government would defend the matter. Thanks to IOL.co.za [ Top ]  Nel's KitchenRagel Nel Ragel Nel Washington D.C. - Don your greens, lads and lasses! St. Patrick’s Day is almost here. It’s a fine excuse to party like the Irish do and to consume litres of green beer. It’s also the one time of year that I find my red hair to be a really useful accessory. But the celebration was first a religious holiday before it turned into a raucous drunken brawl. Here, in loose (I’m on deadline here!) limerick form, is the brief history of St. Patrick’s Day. In Wales around 385 AD A lad named Maewyn the light did see His family was poor and tough As a boy he was rather rough And hardly well-behaved or saint-ly A group of thieves and marauders Came from Ireland across the sea and the border The boy’s village was raided And as a slave he was traded Spending six years answering orders In slavery he discovered his calling To convert the ungodly and the falling But he needed training, maybe a degree So he escaped to Gaul and a monastery And was made Bishop as his career was stalling In Ireland he was Bishop for thirty years When he died in March there were many tears They made him a Saint and gave him a day So people can remember him in a good way With lots of happiness and Irish cheers So on this fine St. Patrick’s Day Party all your sorrows away Don your greenest frock Pin on it a large shamrock And play Irish for one whole day. That then was the history behind the March 17th celebrations. I decided to keep it short in case you read this after the day and with a hangover. (It’s also short to make up for all the times that I’ve threatened that the column would be brief, and then it ends up being rather long. See, now this time I waited until the end to say that it is a short one, and it worked because it really is!) Next week: a haiku on how to cure a hangover. © RSA-Overseas [ Top ] 'Aloof' Mbeki has a lot to learn - Carter Nairobi - Former US President Jimmy Carter, under fire from the South African government for criticising its Aids policy, hit out on Monday at presidents who stood "aloof" from the disease and said openness was needed. Carter told a health forum in Kenya's capital Nairobi that infection rates had dropped in countries where governments had taken a leading role in the fight against Aids. "In most countries where presidents stand aloof, the rate of infection continues to increase," he told Kenyan health officials, social workers and Aids sufferers. Carter said Senegal, Kenya, Uganda and Nigeria were making notable gains in curbing the spread of Aids, and said leaders who talked boldly about the disease were an inspiration to their citizens. "It is often not realised in Kenya the extraordinary leadership that President (Daniel arap) Moi has taken in declaring several years ago that HIV is a national disaster," he said after meeting Moi, who last year asked Kenyans to abstain from sex for at least two years to combat the disease. After meeting South African President Thabo Mbeki on Friday, Carter said that Africa's wealthiest and most industrialised country had a lot to learn from smaller African countries that were more successful in curbing the spread of HIV and Aids. He urged Mbeki to support anti-Aids programmes. The African National Congress reacted on Sunday by accusing Carter of wanting to treat South Africans as guinea pigs in the fight against the disease. ANC spokesperson Smuts Ngonyama said South Africa did not need foreigners to tell it what to do. Mbeki has long been criticised for questioning the link between HIV and Aids, and for blocking the nationwide distribution of drugs that help prevent mother-to-child transmission and prolong the lives of sufferers. It is estimated that at least one in every seven Kenyans is infected with HIV, but the government says recent efforts to combat the disease are bearing fruit and that the level of infection has fallen to 13 percent now from 14 percent. Kenyan Health Minister Sam Ongeri said more Kenyans were taking anti-Aids drugs after parliament passed laws last year to make cheap generic medicines available. The cost of a combination of three drugs had fallen to two dollars a day from $10 (about R120), he said. "Some pharmaceutical industries are now prepared to give the drugs at a dollar a day - we are getting somewhere," Ongeri said, adding that the government planned eventually to manufacture the drugs locally. William Gates, the father of Microsoft founder Bill Gates, announced a $2-million grant for HIV prevention in Kenya from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Gates accompanied Carter on his African trip, which also included Nigeria. Thanks to IOL.co.za [ Top ] |
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