Summary of today’s news from the Afrikaans news media: SAPS sergeant Gert du Toit was shot dead in Soweto by a 15-member robber-gang amongst whom were two cops; an Afrikaner couple in Lynnwood, Pretoria was told by two unknown black men who’d moved into their home: ‘white man I’ve taken your house, you must now leave’ ; Reformed church members in Daspoort/Elandspoort smallholdings now feed 280 people a day;
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2010-06-06 Sergeant Gert du Toit, 31, of K9 unit, Johannesburg gunned down – two gangsters arrested for his murder ‘may have been cops’
Johannesburg K9unit cop sergeant Gert du Toit, 31 was gunned down in cold blood while chasing an armed 15-member gang which had just robbed a convoy of cash-transit vehicles. Among the gangsters arrested later, according to Beeld newspaper’s reliable information, were cops from the Sharpeville- and Sebokeng SAPS stations. Du Toit’s collegues constable Musa Arthur Kefwa and two Coin-security guards were injured during the fierce gun-fight.
Genl. Bheki Cele, the national police head, who lavishly praised the murdered policeman for his valor, also claimed at a press conference afterwards that he ‘could not confirm that no police officers were involved in the crime,’ reports Beeld journalist Hilda Fourie. “I can’t call them police members, they are criminals in police uniforms,’ he was quoted as saying. Amongst the others arrested also was a man who had been out on bail for committing a similar crime, and an ex-employee of Coin-security. The company confirmed the latter.
Alicia, the wife of Sergeant Du Toit -- Toitjie to his friends and colleagues – was on duty as a police clerk at the temporary police control room in the radio-room of the now defunct Brixton emergency-response unit in central Johannesburg. The temporary control room was installed specifically for any crimes relating to the World cup 2010 football tournaments.
His distraught wife listened to her husband and his colleagues chasing the criminals on the radio and heard that he was shot dead with a bullet through the left-side of his body. One of his colleagues who was on the scene of the shooting told Beeld that Du Toit’s body was lying just outside the police vehicle. “It looked as if he had jumped out to hide behind the vehicle,’ he said.
The huge armed gang showed up in five cars between 7 and 8 am to attack the Coin-security van on the N1 south between the Maraisburg and Nasrec-entrances. The attack took place only a kilometre from Soccer City Stadium where the football tournament kicks off on Friday.
SAPS national spokeswoman brig. Sally de Beer said robbers in two cars forced the Coin-vehicles off the road and gangsters grabbed bags full of cash after shooting the two Coin-security guards. They left behind the cars and fled in other vehicles waiting for them. An SAPS patrol spotted the fleeing gang convoy on the Old Potchefstroom Road heading for Soweto – and chased them. “During the chase suspects fired at the police members and hit one member (Kefwa) in a hand. With the police vehicle still in pursuit the gang convoy drove at high speed to Protea South in Soweto, where a gunfight erupted and Sergeant du Toit was fatally injured.
During the chase one of the thugs’ vehicles drove into a yard – forcing a woman seated there with an infant to flee to save her life.
Four suspects were arrested at the scene of the shooting. Police confiscated three vehicles and eight firearms – amongst them a Chinese-made AK47 assault automatic rifle; and two government-issue attack carbines: an R4 and an R5, as well as a pistol. An hour after the robbery of the vans the N1 was blocked off causing a massive backups.
A Chinese TV team filmed the scene from their car windows. Gauteng SAPS communications chief brig. Govindsamy Mariemuthoo said police were ‘expected to make more arrests soon’.And that ‘s the only way the public gets to hear about crimes – if police have made a ‘successful arrest’.
‘White man I took your house and you must now leave…’
2010-06-06 Life-partners Mrs Loraine Steyn and Sven Bergman, left, told Beeld newspaper that two black men had moved into their Lynnwood home on June 5 2010 - slept in their daughters beds, drank their beer, showered and moved the furniture about: “But they didn’t break in to steal, they had moved into our home”, said Ms Steyn. Her partner Sven was told: “White man I took your house and you must now leave’. http://www.beeld.com/Suid-Afrika/Nuus/Wit-man-ekt-jou-huis-gevat-20100606
Hilda Fourie of Beeld reports that Mr Bergman made a citizen’s arrest of the two men on Friday-night when they returned home shortly before 5pm – and saw the door ajar. Bergman walked through and around the house but saw no-one at that time. The SAPS they’d alerted also saw no-one and left again. An hour later Bergman was seeing off Ms Steyn, who was all set to leave with their two daughters Onica, 9, and Kyla-Lee, 5, to take them to her parents for an overnight visit. While they were talking to each other they spotted a man climbing across the back gate with Steyn’s bicycle across his shoulder. “I shouted at him: ‘who the donner do you think you are?’ said Bergman.“He ignored me as if I didn’t exist.’
The black man then went into the back door – Berman ran around the house and caught him before the home-invader could climb up the stairs. Bergman said he kept asking the man what he was doing thre - but he continued to ignore the home-owner. Bergman then ran back to the rear gate because he’d seen another man there. “I knew one man was in my house so I left him and fetched the other one. I asked him who they were and what they were doing in my house. The one with the bicycle than came walking out of my house armed with a kierie - and said he was going to take my house. “ Bergman managed to bundle the two men back into the house while Mrs Steyn phoned the police, who showed up in short order and arrested the men. During the police investigation it was determined that the men had slept in their beds, drank beer, showed, ate buttered bread, moved furniture around and even hung up some flags which came from Bergman’s collection. SAPS sergeant Lynnette Erasmus said the men are aged between 23 and 27 years. A ‘case of housebreaking is investigated’, she said. They are expected for a remand hearing in the magistrate’s court soon. http://www.beeld.com/Suid-Afrika/Nuus/Wit-man-ekt-jou-huis-gevat-20100606
Reformed church members help poor Pretoria communities with food-aid; home-knitted pillows…
Project “Give your Heart’ – helping poor communities in Elandspoort, Daspoort, Pretoria-West and Danville – has put its volunteers to work, knitting knee-pillows for the elderly, reports Beeld journalist Salette Cloete.
From this report one cannot however tell whether this fundraiser benefits poor Afrikaners or not – under South African censorship laws, race-related news content is not allowed.
Poor Afrikaners get no government food-aid, housing or benefits – because they are ‘whites’
However at least one-third of the 3-million Afrikaners are destitute, homeless, unemployable and living in miserable conditions as squatters; often in tent-towns. Unlike black empoverished communities in South Africa, these white SA citizens however receive no government benefits, no food-aid from the government – and are even denied most access to the job-market - by law; and often turned away from public health facilities.
Aching poverty of Afrikaners:
Watch the recent documentary about the aching poverty of these Afrikaners, screened on IKON-TV in the Netherlands by filmmaker Saskia Vredeveld:
Vredeveld was also interviewed on a Dutch radio programme about her film:
- Listen to her interview on Radio 1 in Dutch:
- http://www.radio1.nl/contents/10372-arme-blanke-in-zuid-afrika?autostart=12170
120 people a day get food-aid in Elandspoort…160 in Daspoort
Mrs Cathy van Rensburg runs the “Wen-Saam’ (Win-together) project from her home in Elandspoort. She said she ‘couldn’t look past all the poverty around us and do nothing. We launched the project in 2004 and now feed around 120 people each day.” Other volunteers are Mr Jan Bezuidenhout and Mr Sakkie Hartzer; and Mrs Magriet Muller of the Reformed church Wapadrand.
Mr Bezuidenhout has been delivering food-aid to about 160 people in Daspoort over the past twelve years. The Daspoort community centre opens its doors in the middle of July he said – so they need volunteers, furniture, clothing and paint. The training centre will train ‘people from the community in skills so that they can empower themselves,’ he said. Mr Sakkie Hartzer said one of the biggest problems is to find housing for the poor in Pretoria West. He said the church is the driving force behind the “Give Your Heart’ project.
- Potential donors may enquire with Mrs Magriet Muller at telephone Pretoria 012 993 2816 or082 689 6307.http://www.beeld.com/Suid-Afrika/Nuus/Gewone-mense-maak-hier-n-verskil-20100606
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