Category Archives: Irene Kuppan

Daily News: Kennedy Road’s 13 murder accused still wait for bail

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The Kennedy Road Thirteen have now appeared in court 6 times – each time in the face of an often drunken and armed ANC mob making open threats against AbM and its leaders. On each occasion the prosecution have failed to provide any evidence that the accused may be guilty of the crimes for which they have been arrested. On each occasion the case has been remanded to give the police a chance to provide such evidence – and in each case they have failed to do so. Are these endless delays not a means of achieving their detention without trial and without a bail hearing? The Kennedy Thirteen were severely assaulted in the Sydenham Police Station after their arrest and are also being subject to assault in Westville prison.

http://www.dailynews.co.za/index.php?fArticleId=523269

Kennedy Road’s 13 murder accused still wait for bail

November 05, 2009 Edition 2

Irene Kuppan

Thirteen people accused of the murders of two residents of the Kennedy Road Informal Settlement will spend at least two more weeks behind bars as they wait for the outcome of their bail application.

Although it seemed as if Magistrate B Mbulawa would give a judgment on the bail application yesterday, she eventually adjourned the case to November 18 without reaching a decision.

Mbulawa said after reflecting on all the evidence before her, she felt she needed to know which charges each of the 13 accused faced before reaching her decision. She said it would be unfair to deal with the case as if all 13 were facing the same charges.

For this to be clarified, an identity parade would have to be held for witnesses to point out which accused were allegedly involved in which offence, said investigating officer Inspector Krishna Naidoo.

The case was then adjourned, giving Naidoo two weeks to conduct the identity parade.

The 13 suspects, who appeared in the Durban Magistrate’s Court yesterday, are said to be part of a gang that allegedly attacked residents at the informal settlement in September, killing two and injuring others.

The charges they face include two counts of murder, two counts of attempted murder, two counts of robbery with aggravating circumstances and two counts of assault with the intent to do grievous bodily harm, public violence and malicious damage to property.

Earlier in the bail application, Naidoo told the court some of the accused were part of a safety forum at the settlement and, while the committee operated, it imposed harsh regulations on the community.

Naidoo said according to residents, unhappiness about these rules and regulations had led to the violence in the area.

Under cross examination by defence advocate Terence Seery yesterday, Naidoo conceded that it was unlikely that 10 people (in the forum) would take on a community of 7 000 people.

The policeman said he was unaware that seven of the 10 members of the forum were Xhosa.

Seery said his instructions were that on the night of the attacks, a group of people was moving through the community shouting anti-Xhosa slogans in Zulu and it was this group that was the aggressor on that night.

Responding to Seery’s questions about a possible motive for the attacks, Naidoo said witnesses claimed that when they were being attacked they were asked why they were revolting against the forum.

The advocate questioned whether the friction between the Xhosa and Zulu communities, which the policemen referred to earlier, could have been a motive for the alleged attacks.

Daily News: No decision on resistance to shack demolition

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http://www.dailynews.co.za/index.php?fArticleId=4549096

No decision on resistance to shack demolition

August 08, 2008 Edition 1

Irene Kuppan

The Durban High Court yesterday reserved judgment in the Reservoir Hills’ shack dwellers’ legal battle to prevent the eThekwini Municipality from demolishing their shacks.

The shack dwellers, who have already been granted an interim interdict, are seeking a final interdict against the council, preventing it from evicting them or demolishing their homes.

The six Arnett Drive Settlement residents were granted the interim order earlier this year, after the municipality’s Land Invasion Unit des-troyed four shacks at the settlement.

According to the shack dwellers’ heads of argument, the residents had lived on and built shacks at the Arnett Drive informal settlement.

In August last year the residents extended their shacks, which had become cramped and overcrowded, to make room for their families.

They said in November that the council’s land invasion unit marked each of the extended shacks and the new ones with an X.

The shack dwellers said in January the land invasion unit demolished three shacks on one occasion and later destroyed a fourth one.

According to the residents, these shacks belonged to three families, all of whom had children.

They said members of the unit told them they would be back to demolish the remaining shacks, which is when they took the matter to court.

The residents’ legal team said the council had no right to evict shack dwellers or demolish their homes without a court order.

They also said that no legal basis for the demolition of the homes had been placed before the court by the municipality.

The residents also pointed out that the council and land invasion unit refused to discuss the demolitions with them, or respond to any of the letters sent to the council by their lawyer.

In its papers, the council said it had only destroyed those shacks that were unoccupied.

It added that they did not destroy occupied shacks and had no intention of destroying the resident’s homes.

Faded

According to the municipality, during the visit in November, an X was placed on the twelve newly-erected shacks, which was necessary for the housing section to distinguish the newly-erected shacks from pre-existing marked shacks.

The council said during the next visit in January by the land invasion unit, three unoccupied shacks and a half-built structure were demolished.

The council denied that residents were told the land invasion unit would return to des-troy all the shacks, saying the unit had spoken only to one woman who was extending her shack.

She was told it was unlawful to do so and told to demolish it. The unit said it would return the next day to find out if she did.

The council that said it played an important role in provision of housing for the poor and is often unfairly targeted regarding its efforts to provide housing.

Daily News: Order won to prevent harassment – Tenants take landlord to court

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http://www.dailynews.co.za/index.php?fArticleId=4457569

Order won to prevent harassment
Tenants take landlord to court

June 16, 2008 Edition 1

Irene Kuppan

THREE Motala Heights residents, who descri-bed their landlord as a “something of a dictator” who has “sown fear and terror” in the area, have successfully gone to court to protect themselves from harassment by the landlord’s relatives or employees.

The residents – James Pillay, Gonum Pillay and Mallie Govender – were granted an interim order preventing Ricky Govender from instructing his employees or relatives from threatening or assaulting them.

The order, which was granted by Durban High Court Judge Gregory Kruger on Friday, also prevents Govender’s relatives and employees from trespassing on the property on which the residents live.

This is not the first time the residents and landlord have locked horns in court.

Pillay, his wife and Mallie obtained a court order last year to prevent the landlord from evicting, harassing, threatening or abusing them.

In his affidavit before court, Pillay said Govender had not harassed or assaulted them in his personal capacity since then, but had been doing so through his “various agents, employees, family members, skivvies and lackeys”.

Pillay has lived in Motala Heights for the past 37 years and, like Mallie, had a written lease agreement with the previous landlord.

He said when Govender bought the property their lease agreements were ceded and assigned to the new landlord.

Since 2002 the three residents have been paying rent of R150 a month to Govender.

According to Pillay, the legal action began when Govender threatened to bulldoze their homes last year.

Intimidatory

He said his landlord’s “intimidatory tactics” included dumping waste onto their property, burning plastic waste near their homes and refusing to allow the residents to remove the waste.

“In truth he holds himself out as something of a dictator who appears to have curried favour with the local police station in Pinetown, and who has, through his intimidation, threats and acts of violence, sown fear and terror throughout the residents of Motala Heights,” Pillay said.

He said in December he and Mallie had received phone calls from people threatening to burn their houses down.

In March this year he found a petrol bomb about 5m away from his house.

Pillay noticed the petrol in the bomb was a mixture of petrol and 2-stroke oil, the kind of oil used to run small motorbikes.

He said Ricky Govender’s son had a similar motor bike and that he had seen the oil on his landlord’s premises.

Pillay added that recently he was erecting a fence on his property when Ricky Govender and relative Shag Govender began swearing at him, said they were going to evict him and threatened to tear his house down.

In May, Pillay said Leon Govender, a friend of the landlord’s, parked his car in Pillay’s driveway, obstructing it and later verbally abused him.

Pillay said he was later wrongly arrested for damage to the car and was kept in police cells for two days before being released on warning.

He believes the landlord has plans to develop the property and for this reason wants the residents evicted.

“I think that he sends people to harass me so that I will eventually give in and leave the property.”

Pillay described the run-ins with the landlord as not just petty incidents, but part of a “war of attrition”, a campaign by Govender to drive them off his property.