Legal Articles and Guides

A sting operation by the SAPS, the Hawks and Interpol has foiled a human-trafficking incident that could have led to at least 14 young women from as many countries falling prey to a fake Internet modelling competition, notes a Sunday Tribune report. Among the women who were lured to the web-based scheme was a 24-year-old South African from Bloemfontein, while others came from as far as Barbados and several Asian countries.

Eight years after being released on parole for ‘health reasons’‚ convicted fraudster Shabir Shaik is still regarded as being ‘terminally ill’ – despite his house arrest conditions being relaxed so that he can work and attend sports should he wish to. A TimesLIVE report says this has emerged in a response by Minister of Justice and Correctional Services Michael Masutha to a parliamentary question from the DA.

Pressure is building on the NPA to take the case of alleged rhino poaching kingpin Dumisani Gwala out of the Magistrate's Court and into the High Court. According to a TimesLIVE report, activists and political parties said last week that allegations of corruption and intentional delays in Gwala's case – which has been remanded at least 14 times since it was moved to the Egwelezane Magistrate’s Court in Zululand in the beginning of 2016 – meant that justice was unlikely to be seen.

Alleged fake lawyer Brenda Wardle, who regularly provided legal analysis for prominent news organisations for years, was yesterday adamant she would conduct her own defence in her fraud trial involving more than R0.5m. Not only will Wardle prepare her own papers for trial, she told the Port Elizabeth Commercial Crimes Court that she also wants to conduct her own defence at her intended bail appeal.

The Road Traffic Management Corporation has welcomed a sentence handed down to a motorist guilty of reckless‚ negligent and inconsiderate driving, says a TimesLIVE report. The Cullinan Magistrate’s Court sentenced Olayori Abdul Bakare to a fine of R10 000 or two years imprisonment. His driver's licence was suspended for five years.

Uber SA has called for an urgent ministerial meeting to address the on-going war between its partner drivers and the traditional metered taxi industry, especially in Gauteng. A Cape Times report says this comes after an Uber driver-partner, Lindelani Mashau, died on Monday after suffering serious burn wounds. Mashau was in his car when it was set alight – allegedly by metered taxi drivers – outside Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria over a month ago.

The mother of two Olympic athletes is facing a 15-year prison sentence after being accused of forging her deceased husband’s will and trying to defraud his estate of millions, says a Saturday Star report. Adelene Toxopeus (58), mother of Olympic marathon runner Irvette van Zyl and mother-in-law of Olympic hurdler LJ van Zyl, has been accused of forging several documents to swindle millions from the estate of her late husband, Pieter.

More than 11 years after he was shot in the leg by police and then detained for 64 days, during which time he had to have his suppurating leg amputated, a former bricklayer has finally got justice, says a News24 report. Judge Thoba Poyo-Dlwati, in the KZN High Court (Pietermaritzburg) ordered the Minister of Police to pay Sinovuyo Godlo almost R7.8m in compensation and to pick up the bill for his legal fees and expert reports.

Slamming corruption in SA as a cancer ‘eating at the fabric of our society’, Gauteng High Court (Johannesburg) Judge Ellem Jacob Francis yesterday set aside Prasa’s controversial R3.5bn contract with Swifambo Rail Leasing for new locomotives too tall for SA's rail network, notes Daily News.

Parliament’s Communications Committee has condemned the recent intimidation of journalists, and has sent its condolences to the family of Suna Venter, says a News24 report. Committee chairperson Humphrey Maxegwana said the committee was saddened to hear of Venter's death, adding that she had left an indelible legacy of speaking truth to power.

The Western Cape government is to blame for the death of a baby at an unregistered daycare centre‚ a judge has found. Five-month-old Ava Barley suffocated after she rolled off a bed at a Cape Town daycare centre in 2010. A report in The Times notes Judge Daniel Dlodlo, of the Western Cape High Court, found that despite its excuses and ‘bald denials’ of responsibility, the Social Development Department was liable to pay damages to her parents‚ Craig and Riette Barley.

The use of cellphones in prisons was one of the concerns expressed by KZN High Court (Durban) Judge Esther Steyn when she handed down a 31-year prison sentence to a man who haunted his ex-girlfriend through Facebook messages while in prison, says a Daily News report. Steyn said something needed to be done about it.

The judgment handed down by the SCA last week regarding the filming of Henri van Breda’s criminal trial is a significant one, writes Willem de Klerk, an experienced litigation attorney and Johannesburg-based media lawyer, in an analysis on the News24 site. He says it adds to a body of law developed in recent years that promotes the principle of open justice and finally closes the door on the blanket exclusion of cameras in court.

Murder-accused Henri van Breda has won his battle in the SCA to prohibit Media24 from live-streaming his trial, notes a News24 report. ‘The matter is remitted to the High Court for reconsideration in accordance with the principles set out in the judgment,’ the SCA ruled yesterday, ordering Media24 to pay Van Breda's costs.

Two posh mansions owned by a Cape Flats pastor accused of running a multi-million rand Ponzi scheme has gone under the hammer. According to a report on the IoL site, the five-bedroom Plattekloof house of Colin Davids, the director of Platinum Forex Group, was sold within 10 minutes at an auction held at the property in Melkhout Street. Bidding started at R2m and the highest bid received was a whopping R4.6m.