Retired theatre practitioner and teacher Peter Voges has been nominated for a Standard Bank Ovation Award at the National Arts festival on his first attempt as a playwright.

Cape Town - Retired theatre practitioner and teacher Peter Voges has been nominated for a Standard Bank Ovation Award at the National Arts festival on his first attempt as a playwright.

Voges, 79, wrote ‘Henrietta with Love’ after experiencing a racial identity crisis when he was questioned about being coloured.

“A nurse at False Bay asked me what I was, to which I answered 'coloured'. She then said no, you don’t look like you live in Manenberg, and that got me thinking because she assumed that all coloured people lived in Manenberg.”

The nurse then went on to question him on his accent, claiming that “coloureds do not speak good English”.

That got Voges thinking about doing something that would change people’s perspectives on how they view things, to which he wrote ‘Henrietta with Love’.

The play, which ends its run at The National Arts Festival in Grahamstown on Wednesday, was set in Alicedale in Athlone which came about in 1946, and was especially written for Lee-Ann van Rooi in her first leading role.

The play confronts racial issues, traumatic stress disorder or “troubles of the mind”, as well as the sheer volume of emotional turmoil expressed by Van Rooi in her portrayal of Henrietta.

Voges, who suffers from various health problems, including computer vision syndrome and arthritis, wrote the play with a pen, after which Van Rooi typed it out and sent it to Artscape director Marlene le Roux, who helped with the production of the play at the theatre.

He has been treated terribly by many people, but did not let that define who he was.

He said he found comfort and solace through his writing by creating opportunities for many theatre practitioners.

After watching his play at Artscape last year, Voges was left in awe at the work portrayed by Van Rooi, and could not believe that his play had made it.

“When you are in the audience, you feel when the audience is with you, there is an atmosphere.

“They are reacting to the lines. I was told that I spoke the lines throughout.

“I sat there and thought, oh my God, I wrote that, and it was absolutely an amazing feeling,” Voges said.

After hearing about his nomination, Voges was left feeling humbled because he did not expect that kind of reward.

He said he did not do things for accolades or recognition, but to help people by either opening their way of thinking, or by giving them opportunities to better their lives.

He credited Van Rooi and Le Roux for the success that came with the play.

He is currently in the process of producing two new plays, which will explore various issues of abuse, alcohol related problems and other social issues.

leletu.gxuluwe@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

Waiting in queues at the Mitchells Plain Community Health Centre has been drastically reduced after the implementation of an innovative system that has cut waiting times by almost two hours.

Cape Town - Waiting in queues at the Mitchells Plain Community Health Centre has been drastically reduced.

This after the implementation of an innovative system, Back-to-Back (B2B) that has helped improve the flow for patients collecting chronic medication, cutting waiting times by almost two hours.

The Chronic Disease Management (CDM) programme works hand-in-hand with B2B to avoid unnecessary delays that kept patients at the facility longer. The bulk of patients serviced at the centre are chronic patients, with more than 10 000 residents from surrounding areas in Mitchells Plain going there weekly.

The B2B system requires chronic patients to return for a check-up and a new script on the date corresponding to their last available repeat while the CDM programme helps package medication for the pre-planned visits.

Eastridge grandmother Caroline Rhoode, 60, said not having to queue for hours was an advantage, especially on cold days. The centre’s waiting room was almost bare. Previously, lines stretched beyond the entrance.

Rhoode, who looks after her five grandchildren and is the primary caregiver to a son suffering from schizophrenia, said she hated leaving her grandchildren at home with their 25-year-old uncle.

Rhoode spoke to the Cape Argus as she collected her son’s medication. “It’s better because otherwise we have to sit here a whole day. Sometimes I have to find babysitters for the kids or leave them at home. I can now leave early to look after my grandchildren.The only thing they can improve on is their trauma unit. When my son goes into a fit, I have to wait with him here for hours until someone comes to help,” said Rhoode.

The centre’s Dr Neal David said the CDM highway required management to restructure the way the centre operated. “We made available additional storage areas and constructed shelving to accommodate more than 2 000 folders. We established a numerical filing system.

“There has been an improvement for main pharmacy total waiting time from 185 minutes to 76 minutes. Patients who receive their packaged medication at the chronic unit because of the B2B system wait about 5-10 minutes.”

gadeeja.abbas@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

Judgment is expected next week in a bank card fraud case involving a man accused of ATM cash withdrawals with the use of cloned bank cards.

Cape Town - Judgment is expected next week in a bank card fraud case involving a man accused of ATM cash withdrawals with the use of cloned bank cards.

A warrant for the man’s arrest was also authorised on Wednesday, when he failed to appear in the Specialised Commercial Crime Court in Bellville, Cape Town, before magistrate Sabrina Sonnenberg.

The court heard that Sylvester Mgijima, 32, of Khayamandi near Stellenbosch, was in fact incarcerated in another case, and the magistrate stayed the warrant until July 14, when she is to hand down judgment.

Prosecutor Ezmerelda Johnson alleges that he obtained the bank cards of two victims, Johanna Kloppers and Roberto Guidotti, and used a skimming device to extract the data from the magnetic strips, including the pin numbers.

He is charged with conspiracy to commit fraud, eight counts of fraud, six of forgery and one of violating the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act, during October, 2013.

The alleged fraud involves a total of R11 019.

African News Agency

A Cape Town family has raised R10 000 for information which may help find their sister who mysteriously disappeared three months ago.

Cape Town - A family has raised R10 000 for information which may help find their sister who mysteriously disappeared three months ago.

Raymonde Boltman, 23, vanished without a trace from a bus stop in Mitchells Plain.

Her sister Rodelphia Boltman, 30, has distributed a flyer which states: “We are appealing to everybody who has information about our sister, information that leads to us finding her will be richly rewarded, a R10 000 reward.”

Raymonde, who has a five-month-old baby girl named Riana, went missing on the morning of April 20, after waiting for her Elsies River bus at 5.05am at the Clocktower bus stop in Lentegeur.

The young mom was last seen by her mother, who had dropped her off at the bus stop.

Reports from fellow commuters are that Raymonde never boarded the bus.

Rodelphia previously told the Daily Voice that Raymonde works at a plastic factory in Elsies River and would never switch off her cellphone or tablet or miss a day of work.

She also says her sister is a dedicated mother who would never stay away from her baby.

Relatives opened a bank account after her disappearance, calling it the Raymonde Fund, which they used to raise the reward money.

*Anyone who can assist the family, is asked to contact Genevieve on 074 954 6088 or Rodelphia on 060 427 7885.

*Raymonde Fund: Account number 1470242506. branch code 470010. Capitec bank.

Daily Voice

A policeman and a warden spent the night in holding cells after being caught at roadblocks for drunken driving.

Cape Town - A policeman and a warden spent the night in police cells after being caught at roadblocks for drunken driving over the weekend.

Bredasdorp SAPS commander Lieutenant Colonel Marie Louw says the two law enforcement officers and two other civilians were nabbed over the weekend during roadblocks held in the area in conjunction with traffic officers.

“Four people were arrested for drunken driving, of which one is a policeman from Genadendal and one a member of Correctional Services,” states Louw.

According to Louw, the cop is a 47-year-old Warrant Officer based at Genadendal SAPS in the Overberg and the warden, 43, is based at Helderstroom Correctional Centre near Caledon.

Daily Voice

The two female traffic officers who were shot by robbers trying to steal their firearms in Harare, Khayelitsha, were unarmed.

Cape town - Two female traffic officers escaped with their lives when they were shot by brazen robbers who thought they could steal their firearms.

But the officers were not armed when they stopped to buy food at the Spar in Harare, Khayelitsha, just after 11am on Tuesday.

The two robbers were seen on CCTV footage approaching the officers before opening fire on them.

One of the women was shot in the leg and the other in the stomach.

The bleeding officers jumped into their vehicle and drove themselves to Mitchells Plain Melomed Hospital for medical assistance.

The suspects fled in a green Toyota Avanza

The City’s Mayoral Committee member, JP Smith, says the robbers were out to steal the officers’ firearms but didn’t realise they were not armed.

Smith said video footage from the Spar shows two armed suspects approaching officers quickly before opening fire.

“It is alleged the motive behind the shooting was robbery and that the suspects were after their firearms. It was later reported the officers did not carry any official firearms,” Smith says.

The suspects were still at large by last night.

Daily Voice

Another three years of major roadworks are being planned for the main access routes to the South Peninsula.

Cape Town - Residents and businesses in the deep south, who have had to cope with eight years of traffic delays from the ongoing rehabilitation of Main Road, are set to face another three years of roadworks on Kommetjie Main Road and Ou Kaapseweg.

The city is hoping to alleviate the severe congestion along Kommetjie Main Road and Ou Kaapseweg, and said the intention is to have two-way traffic flow at all times.

But Janine Myburgh, president of the Cape Chamber of Commerce and Industry, described the situation of having major problems on both road routes to the South Peninsula as well as on the railway line as being “like a perfect storm”.

However, she said the road improvements were long overdue and in the long-term interests of the South Peninsula, so there was little alternative but to put up with the inconvenience in the short term.

Myburgh said because of the Main Road rehabilitation - which started in 2008 - more people had been forced to use Ou Kaapseweg, which was now severely congested.

She said there had been a great deal of residential development in the Noordhoek Valley and along Kommetjie Road, so traffic growth had been quite exceptional.

Two new shopping centres in Sun Valley and Noordhoek had attracted even more traffic, including commercial delivery vehicles and they all had to use Ou Kaapseweg, Myburgh added.

She said the chamber was also concerned about the effect on tourism because there was now effectively only one route to Cape Point - over Chapman’s Peak and down Glencairn Expressway to Simon’s Town.

Capacity limitations

Patrick Dowling, who heads the Kommetjie Residents’ and Ratepayers’ Association and the Far South Peninsula Community Forum, said he hoped the authorities did not think that by improving internal road systems to cope with current demand, it would give them the green light for thousands more units being approved and built in the area.

“The three major access routes to the valley and their inherent capacity limitations still remain an issue. We have not seen detailed plans on how to resolve it,” Dowling said.

Mayoral committee member for transport Brett Herron said the work would be undertaken in two contracts, the first of which was planned to start before the end of 2016 and finish by mid-2019, if all went according to plan.

It would entail the upgrade of Kommetjie Main Road, between Ou Kaapseweg and a point just west of Capri Drive, to a four-lane dual-carriageway with shoulders/cycleways and pavements for pedestrians.

It would also include the upgrade of Ou Kaapseweg between Kommetjie Main Road and a point just north of Noordhoek Road to a four-lane dual-carriageway, also with shoulders/cycleways and pavements for pedestrians as well as the upgrade of the Silvermine Road/Ou Kaapseweg intersection.

Herron said the second contract would include the upgrade of Kommetjie Main Road between Capri Drive and Houmoed Avenue, but that was still in the planning stage.

Regarding the ongoing Main Road rehabilitation, Herron said the stop/go system was expected to be in place until mid-September 2016, after which the remaining construction work could be carried out while maintaining two-way traffic.

“The provisional completion date is October/November 2017, pending bad weather and any unforeseen challenges.”

Cape Argus

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UCT has received four offers from parties who are willing to take its controversial statue of Cecil John Rhodes.

Cape Town - UCT has received four offers from parties who are willing to take its controversial statue of Cecil John Rhodes.

In addition it could also find a new home at a former presidential residence - the Groote Schuur homestead in the city.

The statue, which was removed from UCT’s upper campus on April 9 last year, remains in storage, with the university still in the process of applying to Heritage Western Cape (HWC) for its permanent removal.

In a report compiled by heritage specialist Ashley Lillie on behalf of UCT, he recommended that HWC issue a permit authorising the removal of the statue and that it remain in safe storage until a decision is made about an appropriate permanent location.

According to the report, which is dated November 11, the four offers to house the statue came from the Crow Foundation in the US, the owner of a series of properties adjacent to the Cheetah Foundation at Paardevlei in Somerset West, the Nooitgedacht Estate near Stellenbosch and the South African Institute for Heritage Science and Conservation (SAIHSC) at Twee Riviere, Langkloof, which is midway between Port Elizabeth and George.

The report says the Crow Foundation was willing to pay for the relocation of the statue to a sculpture garden in Texas “that includes works of Winston Churchill and Vladimir Lenin on condition that the Foundation would become the owner of the statue”. The SAIHSC has proposed the relocation of the statue to its campus “where it may serve the purposes of education and research”.

The report says the public consultation process had also resulted in other possible locations being suggested.

“The latter are however locations in the public domain such as museums, Rhodes Memorial, Groote Schuur Estate and so forth, where both the desirability of the locations and the attitude of the owners remain untested.

UCT is however in agreement with suggestions that the possible placement of the statue at the Groote Schuur homestead should be investigated.”

It says Rhodes Memorial “is a carefully designed memorial within the precincts of which it would be difficult to position the statue without interfering with the structure of the whole”.

The homestead, on the other hand, “given its position on the Estate bequeathed to the nation, warrants serious consideration”.

In a press release, which followed a week after the statue’s removal last year, the university called for public comment regarding its proposed permanent removal.

According to Lillie’s report, 227 comments and registrations from interested parties were received during the period provided.

“Slightly under half of those responding (but more than half of those who provided some form of comment relating to whether or not the statue should be relocated) are opposed to the removal of the statue from the university (some of these suggest relocation to a less visually significant place on campus). Many of the comments opposed to the removal from its current location or removal from campus were generally based on the contribution made by Rhodes by way of donating the land on which the University is located and suggestions that removing the statue will be an attempt to erase history,” it stated.

In September, a copy of a draft heritage statement was distributed to all interested parties. Thirty-nine comments were then received by October 20.

In a statement in February, Heritage Western Cape said it had considered the heritage statement made in November and “had requested greater clarity as to the views of the student body, specifically that of the Students’ Representative Council and the Rhodes Must Fall movement in respect of the proposed removal of the statue”.

On Wednesday, UCT spokeswoman Patricia Lucas said the additional information, which had been requested from the university, would be delivered on the new deadline of July 13.

ilse.fredericks@inl.co.za

Cape Argus

A 70-year-old woman is in a critical condition after being hit by a train in Cape Town this morning, ER24 said.

Cape Town – A 70-year-old woman is in a critical condition after being hit by a train in Cape Town on Thursday morning, ER24 said in a statement.

ER24 spokesperson Chitra Bodasing said the woman was walking across train tracks in Athlone when the accident happened.

"The woman was found laying in the middle of two train tracks. She was conscious but in a critical condition. She sustained amputations to both her legs below the knees and both arms below the elbows," Bodasing said.

The woman was taken to hospital for further treatment.

Authorities remained on the scene for further investigations.

African News Agency

Two men were killed and two are in critical condition following a shooting in gang-ridden Hanover Park.

Cape Town - Two men were killed and two rushed to hospital following a shooting in gang-ridden Hanover Park, the Western Cape Health department said on Thursday.

Spokesperson Robert Daniels said the two men who survived the shooting were rushed to Groote Schuur Hospital by Western Cape Government Health Emergency Medical Services (EMS) at 10h00.

The men – aged 31 and 42 – were in a critical but stable condition after they both sustained multiple gunshot wounds in Hanover Park.

“The bodies of two more men aged 19 and 27 were removed from the same area by Forensic Pathology Services,” said Daniels.

He added that EMS were not currently entering Hanover Park without a police escort.

African News Agency

Two suspects in connection with a shooting in Hermanus after police units in Grabouw and Caledon located their vehicle on the N2.

Cape Town - Two suspects have been arrested following a shooting in Hermanus, Western Cape police said on Thursday.

The province’s Constable Ncedani Lucas Nofemela said the arrest of two males – aged 28 and 29 – took place on Wednesday, shortly after the shooting incident.

Members of the South African Police Service in Grabouw and Caledon responded to the incident report, armed with a description of the suspects’ vehicle after they had fled the scene.

The vehicle was tracked down and located near Grabouw on the N2 national road, in the direction of Cape Town. Police ordered the suspects to pull over after which they searched the vehicle, finding two 9mm pistols with three magazines and 21 9mm rounds. The serial numbers of the firearms were filed off.

Both men are expected to appear in the Grabouw Magistrate’s Court on Monday for possession of illegal firearms.

African News Agency

The bail application for two employees of Cash Payment Services accused of being part of the country’s biggest social fraud syndicate has been postponed.

Cape Town - Two employees of Cash Payment Services, who had hoped to launch a joint bail application on Thursday, following their arrest last month as alleged members of the country’s biggest social grant fraud syndicate, have to wait until late next week to do so.

Asanda Cebisa and Elliot Jiligisa appeared briefly in the Bellville District Court on Thursday, before magistrate Ronald Riekertss launch their joint bail application.

The court however heard that the prosecutor in the matter, senior State advocate Simon Leope, was on leave, and would only be available on July 14.

Leope is attached to the Specialised Commercial Crime Prosecuting Unit, in Bellville, Cape Town.

The company, Cash Payment Services, is contracted by the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa), as part of the social grants system.

In December last year, three women and two men, formerly in the employ of Sassa’s Gugulethu office in Cape Town, were jailed for seven years each for corruption and fraud.

They appeared in the Bellville Specialised Commercial Crime Court, before magistrate Sabrina Sonnenberg.

In the current case, Noelene Barbeau reported last month that a KwaZulu-Natal woman was believed to have masterminded the syndicate, with most of the illegal grant withdrawals seemingly made in the province.

Police had also raided a house on KZN’s South Coast where official equipment and software were being used to produce fraudulent social grant cards, she reported.

Sassa is a national entity run by the national Department of Social Development.

According to Barbeau, Neliswa Msimango, 46, and Msali Ngcobo, 30, both from KZN, were among 15 arrested recently by the Hawks, police crime intelligence, Sassa’s fraud management and compliance department, and a private auditing and accounting firm.

Among the 15 arrested were eight Sassa officials and the two Cash Paymaster Services employees involved in Thursday’s proceedings.

According to Hawks spokesman, Major Robert Netshiunda, the syndicate operated inter-provincially and had allegedly defrauded Sassa of more than R2.3 million involving more than 200 social grants.

“This syndicate forms part of a broader ongoing criminal investigation involving more than 4 776 fraudulent social grants, amounting to more than R34.7m,” he said.

African News Agency

An alleged thief who was trying to dodge security guards by jumping over residents’ walls bit off more than he could chew when he ended up in the wrong yard.

Cape Town - An alleged thief who was trying to dodge officers by jumping over residents’ walls bit off more than he could chew when he ended up in the wrong backyard.

The male suspect ended up face-to-face with a fierce pit bull who nearly had him for dinner.

According to Facebook group, Police Pics and Clips, the thief and an accomplice had struck at a convenience store in Somerset West on Monday evening.

The shop’s owner pressed the panic button during the robbery and security guards from the Vetus Schola Group showed up soon afterwards.

The guards managed to catch one suspect in the parking lot, but the second suspect thought he could vanish between houses in the area.

But landing in the wrong yard nearly cost him an arm and a leg.

The unlucky suspect managed to jump back up on the wall, only to find that security had arrived on the scene.

So he was forced to jump back into the yard.

Police Pics and Clips shared pictures of the mauled and bloody thief on Facebook with a caption that read: “This clever thief was fleeing from a security company after trying to steal some goods.

“He started jumping fences in his ill-considered haste to get away, and jumped straight into the waiting jaws of a loving pit bull!

“Well done to the response officers of Vetus Schola Group!”

Chris Miller, CEO of Vetus Schola, confirmed that security guards apprehended both suspects and handed them over to police.

Daily Voice

Two hundred and twenty-two teaches in the Western Cape have been found guilty of corporal punishment in the last year.

Cape Town - Two hundred and twenty-two teaches in the Western Cape have been found guilty of corporal punishment in the last year.

That is the statistic provided by the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) for the 2015/16 financial year.

Spokesman Paddy Attwell tells the Cape Argus the WCED found there was no grounds to press charges in a further 205 cases.

“Teachers were found guilty in 222 cases, while 74 cases were still pending by the end of the financial year [March 31],” Attwell says.

Beating children in the classroom is illegal in terms of the South African Schools Act, 501.

Attwell says if teachers are lashing out at kids, they’ll have to face the music themselves

“[The punishment is] a final written warning, coupled with a fine or suspension, and dismissal in serious cases of assault,” says Attwell.

SA Democratic Teachers Union (SADTU) Provincial Secretary Jonavon Rustin says: “The union has made it clear that this is something we can never condone.

“I think the department can place more focus on helping teachers to positively deal with the behaviour of learners,” Rustin adds.

But Attwell says heavy-handed teachers is not a big problem in the province, making up only 4.5 percent of total cases in SA .

He says: “Stats SA figures for these provinces are as follows: Eastern Cape: 30.3 percent, KwaZulu-Natal: 21.4 percent, Free State: 18.4 percent, Mpumalanga: 11.5 percent, Gauteng: 4.6 percent and Western Cape: 4.5 percent.”

Daily Voice

A Cape family believes their sister would still be alive if police had arrested her boyfriend when she tried to lay a charge of assault against him.

Cape Town - A Gansbaai family believes their sister would still be alive if cops had arrested her boyfriend when she tried to lay a charge of assault against him.

Bongiwe Jujuse’s body was found at the side of a sandy road at the edge of Masakhane, Gansbaai, early on Tuesday morning.

She had five stab wounds to the chest and stomach.

Bongiwe’s sister-in-law Funyana Maboza says: “Instead of helping her police said he beat her because she stabbed him. If they arrested one of them there wouldn’t be a dead body now.”

According to Nombeka Maboza, 36, her sister’s boyfriend allegedly said he stabbed her in revenge for stabbing him in the arm during an argument on Sunday.

The 36-year-old moved back in with Bongiwe over the weekend after he moved out two weeks ago.

But, according to Nombeka, things quickly became violent and Bongiwe and her lover fought again on Sunday.

She claims Bongiwe went to Gansbaai SAPS on Monday to lay a charge of assault but was told her boyfriend beat her because she stabbed him.

“If only they arrested him on Monday my sister would still be alive,” says Nombeka.

Lieutenant Colonel André Traut says a case of assault was opened on Monday but the murder took place before the suspect could be arrested.

“The case was under investigation at the time of the murder and a warrant for the arrest of the suspect was yet to be issued,” explains Traut.

Traut adds that the 36-year-old suspect was arrested after the murder and is due in court once he has been charged.

Daily Voice

A Cape Town man who was brutally assaulted in a suspected homophobic attack now fears for his family’s safety.

Cape Town - A man who was brutally assaulted in a suspected homophobic attack now fears for his family’s safety.

Last month Gino Jonkers, 22, from Crawford was beaten in the face and choked, allegedly by a 15 and 18-year-old when he visited his uncle in Eerste River.

The beauty spa consultant said the youngsters shouted: “Maak die moffie vrek!” (Kill the gay man) during the attack.

He said he managed to escape when his attackers took a break during the savage beating.

Just over a week after his attack, Gino’s cousin Wayne Jonkers, 30, from Wesbank was also targeted in an alleged revenge attack after Gino spoke out.

Wayne Jonkers said he went to visit his brother in Blombos Street in Eerste River on Saturday when he came under attack, allegedly from the same 15-year-old who assaulted Gino.

Wayne explains: “I was walking down the street on Friday and saw these boys sitting on the electricity box. One then said: ‘Hulle het seker die p*** laat kom om my te moer.” (They probably sent him to assault me).

“I didn’t even know this was the boy from Gino’s story. I didn’t know about the story until I saw it in the Daily Voice and I told this boy that.”

He says the youngster then started throwing stones at him and his friend, which shattered the back window of his friend’s car.

“When we turned around to chase them, this 15-year-old boy pulled out a gun and started chasing us,” says Wayne.

“We ducked and dived. I’m from the Northern Cape and we don’t know guns, we only know about throwing stones and people stabbing each other, no guns.

“Ek’t amper in my broek gek** want ek’t toe my dood gesien (I nearly crapped myself because I thought I was going to die). It was only the car between us and the boy with the gun.”

Wayne said he knows the boys, and when police arrived at the scene, he was nearly arrested because he wanted to retaliate and kill the youngster.

“When police arrived they argued that they had no gun, and he even told me in the presence of police: ‘Jy’s in jou p***’ (You are dead meat). He can be glad I live in Wesbank, far from him,” Wayne says angrily.

Wayne says he laid a charge with Kleinvlei Police station but is yet to receive a case number.

Police spokesperson, Constable Noyoliso Rwexana, has confirmed the incident and says a case of malicious damage to property is being investigated.

The 15-year-old appeared in the Blue Downs Magistrates’ Court on a charge of assault on June 24, but the 18-year-old is still at large.

Now Gino says: “I have a fear for my family living here in Eerste River as I live in Crawford.

“I don’t know what the police are doing, why is this child still roaming around?

“The police are supposed to protect us but when we need them they’re not there, they attacked my cousin and wanted to shoot him.”

Daily Voice

A Cape Town woman and her Nigerian husband, together with other four Nigerian accomplices, have been arrested in connection with an alleged online dating scam.

Cape Town – A Cape Town woman and her Nigerian husband, together with other four Nigerian accomplices, were arrested on Thursday in connection with an alleged online dating scam.

According to a statement on the police’s official Facebook page, the six are to appear in the Cape Town District Court on Friday on fraud charges.

Police said two were arrested in Burgundy Estate and the others at their apartment in Summer Greens.

The arrests resulted from an ongoing investigation into an online dating scam in which unsuspecting women victims were targeted and robbed.

Thus far, seven victims have come forward who have been conned out of a combined amount of close to R400,000 the police said.

It is alleged that the suspects created fake accounts on online dating sites to lure women.

The suspects chatted with the victims for a while before starting to come up with different scenarios which would see women depositing or transferring money to the banking details which the suspects provided.

The 31-year-old Cape Town woman, who allegedly received the money via money market transactions, was found with R50,000 in cash when she was arrested.

All women who had been victims of online dating scams were urged to come forward so that their matters could also be investigated.

African News Agency

Nando's is famous for its funny TV ads and posters, but one customer says there is nothing funny about their "shrinking portions".

Cape Town - Nando’s is famous for its funny TV ads and posters, but one customer says there is nothing funny about their “shrinking portions”.

The fast food chain has come under fire for its tiny leg pieces, breasts, and chips portions and steep prices.

One “peri” angry customer took to Facebook this week to complain about the little chips he got at Nando’s Parktown in Joburg.

Jasveer Morar posted a picture of his sad-looking Nando’s meal and till slip on Monday, explaining that he paid R34.90 for a large chips, but received only a small bowl.

He told Nando’s that he loved their food, but their tiny portions are making it hard to swallow.

He wrote: “Dear Nando’s. I have always been a fan of your jokes, great food and hearty portions. But after going ordering chips yesterday I felt that the joke was on me. After ordering a large chips and being told it was R34.90.

“I paid with the intention it will be enough. When the order arrived I even asked the waiter is this correct. She told me that’s the size. I spoke to the manager and he said Nandos changed the menu and this was the chip sizes they sold. [sic]”

He then explained that Nando’s appears to have no clucking clue about the price of potatoes.

“I am a farmer. I know that potatoes were R120 a bag meaning they were R12 per kg. But the prices have dropped,” he added.

“Currently potatoes are R80 a bag for the best potatoes. That’s R8 a kg but after you make the chips you charging R100 a kg for your chips. And we know you buying in bulk so you not paying R80 for a bag of potatoes.”

He added that the chips portions weren’t the only things shrinking.

“Yes you are trying to make money on sides but even your chicken sizes are smaller meaning that you ripping off your customers off even on your meat. I will support Nandos again but only after you drop your prices.[sic]”

Nando’s did not respond to Jasveer on Facebook, but confirmed they have contacted him.

In a statement to the Daily Voice, Nando’s said: “We have contacted the consumer in question and offered our apologies for the fact that our standard operating procedure was not followed. We have given him Nando’s vouchers to allow him to have a better Nando’s experience.

“At Nando’s we take quality standards and customer experience very seriously. In this case, it seems our standard operating procedure was not followed and an incorrect portion size was served.”

They say they rectified the matter: “We have immediately implemented corrective training across our system, to make sure this never happens again.

“Like everyone, we are feeling the effects of a severe drought, food inflation, a falling rand and a shake-up in the global economic markets. We have not changed our pricing strategy and continue to work hard to make sure we deliver a great quality experience at reasonable prices.”

The Daily Voice decided to do its own size-and-price check in the Cape and bought a mild quarter chicken and chips from Nando’s.

We compared it with a tandoori quarter chicken and chips bought from another restaurant.

The Nando’s meal cost R49.90 while the other meal cost R40.

And judging by the picture, Nando’s has some serious catching up to do.

@DailyVoiceSA did its own size and price check after a @NandosSA customer's complaint pic.twitter.com/waLFwTamXr

— IOL News (@IOL) July 8, 2016

Daily Voice

Crossroads resident charging motorists a 'toll' to use his yard as a shortcut to beat heavy traffic.

Cape Town - This man spotted a gap in the market and is now charging motorists a “toll” to use his yard as a shortcut.

Ralph Fisher of Crossroads managed to bring tolls to the N2 before the South African Road Agency Limited (Sanral) could.

For a small fee, this wakker entrepreneur has been helping frustrated motorists reach their destination just a little quicker.

Traffic on the N2 between Borcherds Quarry and R300 has been a nightmare since road works started last year.

But if you’re willing to part with R10, and don’t mind your car getting a little mud on it, then you can take a detour through Ralph’s front yard.

Ralph has put up a boom and even “repairs” the road by filling up pot holes.

He tells Daily Voice: “People don’t want to sit in this traffic so they drive through the Klipfontein Mission Station to get to Lansdowne Road on the other side.

“Because so many cars pass through here there are always holes in the road and I refill them every time.

“So last year I decided to make my own boom where I would charge people R10 so they can drive through.

“I usually get my own sand and rubble to fill the road but now I can buy sand to fix the road and I can put something on the table to eat,” he adds. Ralph says he makes up to R150 a day.

The “businessman” even erected his own “Chapmans Peak toll plaza” by stacking bricks outside his home and using a long pole as a boom.

“The board may say R20 but I take any amount and if people don’t want to give anything, I just let them through,” he admits.

And he gave Muslims a freebie on Eid.

“(Wednesday) toe laat ek ’n klomp labarang mense deur kom. They didn’t want to sit in the traffic,” he says.

At 12.30 on Thursday afternoon, traffic was bumper to bumper outside Ralph’s home.

At least three motorists stopped at Ralph’s toll gate but backed off when they mistook the Daily Voice team for police.

Asked if he thought his business was legal, Ralph said: “It must be, it’s not like I am stealing from anyone. Even the police pass through here and they pay. They know I’m only doing this for a candle and a loaf of bread.”

But the City’s JP Smith says Ralph’s operation can’t be legal because it is based on motorists breaking the law.

“It is illegal for anyone to veer off the road to drive on the field or the shoulder of the road unless it’s an emergency,” he says.

Daily Voice

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A 70-year-old Cape Town woman has died a horrific death after being hit by a train which cut off all her arms and legs.

Cape Town - A 70-year-old woman has died a horrific death after being hit by a train which severed all her arms and legs.

Susan Smith was on life support for several hours after the tragic incident, but there was nothing doctors could do to save her.

It’s unclear how or what led the Bokmakierie woman to land under a train at Athlone station early on Thursday morning.

Susan’s sister-in-law, Denise Smith, said she took her daughter to work and when she returned around 6am, Susan was gone.

“She got dressed, her pyjamas were on her bed but she wasn’t here,” Denise told the Daily Voice.

“Around 9am a friend asked me where Susan was because she saw something on Facebook about a woman who was hit by a train.

“I told my friend we were looking for her, then later we found out it was Susan.”

Denise says they rushed to Groote Schuur Hospital, only to learn the life-support machines had already been switched off.

“She turned 70 in May. It wasn’t like her to wander off, so we don’t know why she did it,” Denise said.

ER24 paramedics were the first to arrive on the scene.

Spokesperson Chirtra Bodasing said it appeared that Susan attempted to cross the tracks when she was hit.

“It is understood that the woman was walking across the train tracks when she was knocked by the train.

“She was found lying in the middle of two train tracks. She was conscious but in a critical condition.

“She sustained amputations to both her legs below the knees and both arms below the elbow,” Chitra said.

Metrorail spokesperson Riana Scott, however, said initial reports were that Susan fell while trying to board a train.

“We confirm the incident at 6.20 this morning at Athlone station,” she said.

“According to first reports and some eyewitness accounts it appears that an elderly female commuter attempted to board a moving train and subsequently fell onto the tracks with tragic consequences,” she said.

“Metrorail has already initiated an investigation into the circumstances leading to the incident.”

* Eyewitnesses are urged to contact either the police at Retreat 021 710 5129 or Metrorail on 021 449 4336.

Daily Voice