President Zuma Behind Bars

Visiting Soweto – News24 photo

Not really but when I saw the photo my wicked sense of humour took a turn for the better!
But now that I have your attention here is my most favourite person in the news again.
After failing to take charge of Pretoria’s Metro Police after getting kicked out of Ekurhuleni Metro Police he is once again at it..

All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players: they have their exits and their entrances; (thanks to William Shakespeare – As You Like It: Act 2 Scene 7)
As I stand in the wings watching the play unfold in South Africa the often used quote by Shakespeare comes to mind.
We have a comedy in the making with the appointment of Robert McBride to be the next head of the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID).
In a time when the South African Police has such a tarnished image of corruption, brutality and a total disregard of basic policing, one is left to wonder why this appointment is being made.
I find it totally laughable that the ANC’s Western Cape chairman, Marius Fransman, has the gumption to state that McBride is “a hero, patriot and committed civil servant to the people of South Africa”. As far as my memory serves me, once upon a time, civil servants and especially those representing the government had to be beyond reproach with no criminal records, strong morals and impeccable ethics.
Our incumbent president Jacob Zuma has in the last while stated most categorically that he is trying to clean up the government (can he start with himself, I wonder?) and then we hear about McBride, once again surfacing like a rotten smell which just doesn’t want to go away.
When completing your application for employment in the government you are asked if you have ever been found guilty of any criminal act. Now even if we discount the Magoo Bar bombing in which civilians were killed because it was politically motivated (shouldn’t this ruling then also be applied to the Boeremag who accidentally killed a women while blowing up train lines?).
McBride and others members of his terror cell were granted amnesty for the attack. The Truth and Reconciliation commission actually stated that this act was a “gross violation of human rights”.
Or even if we by some long stretch of the imagination should agree that McBride was totally sober after his Christmas party celebrations when he crashed his car on the way home. And we would then also have to wonder how he was found not guilty of trying to defeat the ends of justice while the doctor who issued the results of the blood test without even seeing McBride was found guilty of misconduct. We would also have to ignore the bullying of witnesses by his security minions to a point where they and their families were to terrified to state anything in court. Mcbride was found guilty and sentenced to five years imprisonment. This was later set aside leaving many wondering who was pulling the strings.
Then we have a small incident of being arrested in Mozambique while doing some gun running. Was he just trying to smuggle arms and ammunition into places such as KZN where innocent victims were being slaughtered just to try destabilising the area? He was found guilty and sentenced to jail time but once again his powerful friends in the ANC pulled some strings and he was sent back to South Africa.
What about being involved in an assault case while in the company of underworld bosses at some escort agency? Wonder if he and the previous head of the police and Interpol, Jackie Selebi, were house friends?
In looking at the farce of appointing heads of police we must include Bheki Cele and Mangwashi Victoria Phiyega in this illustrious gathering of players. None of the previous appointments made any positive impact on crime in South Africa and it may be stated that crime actually got worse. Police brutality by far exceeds anything that the previous government did. Corruption is seen as an additional source of income to some police.
SO HOW DOES MCBRIDE EVEN COME INTO CONTENTION FOR THIS POSITION WHERE HE WILL BE INVESTIGATING PEOPLE FOR THE VERY SAME THINGS HE IS GUILTY OF?
1) President Zuma’s ANC are not serious about fighting crime or corruption. Is it far more lucrative to have it continue while they are in power?
2) Why did Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa support the nomination of McBride. Was pressure put on him by higher powers?
3) Does President Zuma want to avoid the possibility of having someone appointed from outside the ANC who would be independent of politics? Maybe Zuma learnt his lesson when he appointed Thuli Madonsela as public prosecutor!
4) According to the (Democratic Alliance) DA the advertisement for the post seems to have been tailored to McBride’s CV. Makes me wonder who was responsible for authorising the changes…
In a recent survey people were asked about problems in South Africa and it is not surprising that fear and mistrust of the police came second to being murdered during a robbery!!

 

Pigeon

For many years I mistook the Rameron Pigeon for the common Rock Pigeon because I was just going on pure size alone.
And to be honest most of us just see a Pigeon and don’t even pass it a second glance!

For the last while I have been slightly more observant to the various birds that I do get to see and what a difference it has made. Suddenly there is an entire new world out there waiting to be discovered.

 

Whitethroated Swallow

As summer draws to an end our visitors will soon be leaving us.

 

Who, me worry in Africa?

As the rest of the world watched the memorial service for the late Nelson Mandela, a very serious breach of security was playing itself out right next to Pres Obama. It has since come out in the washing, that the person contracted to do the sign language translation was not capable or accredited to do so. He also had no security clearance and is currently under investigation for murder.
In our history here in South Africa, we had another breach of security when in 1966 Dimitry Tsafendas stabbed Dr. Verwoerd to death in the House of Assembly. Tsafendas (who I actually met years later, but that is a story for another day) gained access by posing as a messenger and walked right up to Verwoerd. Before anybody realised what was happening he pulled out a knife and stabbed Verwoerd to death.
I am just glad that nothing like this happened at the memorial service, but it could just as easily have happened. My mind boggles at the repercussions that would have swept across the world if Obama had been killed by a man who the ANC had previously hired for their gathering in Bloemfontein and has now been classed as “unstable”.
At least Zapiro once again came to the rescue, and injected a bit of humour here. For those who haven’t seen the cartoon – ENJOY!!

 

here we go again

Lion

It is now 2014 and it is going to be a year filled with changes and challenges for the entire planet. Some will be good and then there will be those that aren’t so good as well.

As far as blogging goes I did have quite a long break last year which was mainly attributable to some serious work pressure. We are finally coming to the end of a multi-million rand project which has been running for the last five years. Last year just got progressively worse as time went by. Towards the end of the year it was a case of meetings, change specifications, more meetings, more changes to a point where days just seemed to blend into one long procession of work, sleep and eat.
I did try keep up with reading those blogs that I follow, and even if I didn’t post anything on your blogs, I took note of what was happening in your lives. This year I am really going to try my utmost to be far more active on my blog and in replying to yours as well.
So to all my blogging buddies may the next year be all you hope for and may you receive all you need.