Hello Everybody,
Happy Sunday to you. Well as promised I am going to share South African day to day news, mostly not published. The following three stories were sent to me by a friend and this is what happened in the Natal region last month.
What is of a concern is the escalating crime in that area and farm murders!.
Story no 1
Mick Hampson was shot & killed on 20 September 2013 on his farm in Eston in Natal Midlands.
The (Natal) Witness printed a report. This was misleading to the extreme.
His murderer was a SAPS/CIA agent and will never be arrested.
I try (in vain) to tell his neighbors who did it and what is going on. Only told I am been negative, and then told, "If you tell us, then what can we do about it? So stop telling us. . ."
I could scream!
I have known Mick Hampson since the 1960s. He is a few years older than I am. I knew his father, now dead.
The following was told to by his neighbor whom I have also known since the 1960s.
The afternoon of 27 September 2013 Mick was at his house on his farm in Eston about 30 km from Pietermaritzburg on the South Coast road, and he was told there are people up to no good trespassing on his farm. He grows sugar cane.
He got into his bakkie and drove down to find them.
His son, Murray, was shooting monkeys with a shotgun not far from where Mick was, so Mick called his son to come and help arrest the trespassers. (Vervet monkeys are vermin.)
They arrested the two suspects and drove to get them to the police station.
Mick was driving, and Murray was on the back holding his shotgun at the suspects.
Suddenly one suspect lunged at Murray with a knife. A scuffle broke out, and the suspect wrenched the shotgun from Murray. He aimed at Murray, but the safety catch was on, and Murray was able to run away and hide in the sugar cane.
Then the (now) gunman turned the gun on Mick and shot him through the cab window. Safety catch was turned off, obviously.
This suspect was trained, and he had been taught, many things about this kind of tactic. His upbringing and what people as CIA and others taught him allowed him to achieve this goal.
He is a criminal let out of jail, and the police use him.
See the E-mails, which I sent to some other neighbors.
The (Natal) Witness report, 28 September 2013, is a pathetic version. I was told by his neighbor to get the right version from the Witness newspaper, and from the local Security company. So I bought the copy of Witness and Google Magma, I did not expect to find what I read. (Neighbor's wife did not like my asking relevant questions.)
Story no. 2 and sort of linked to the first story.
Timeline of Thulani Sokhela.
The Africans who know him refer him to as Spot-on. In addition, someone gave him the name Shadrack.
Born between 1958 and 1962 on the Hilton College Estate.
He has an older sister, Spongeli. And a younger sister Bonseli.
His mother is Mandlovu Sokhela and his father died while on the Hilton College Estate about 1969. I did not know him.
His mother took on another person called Fannit Sikhakahane. He died sometime before 1980.
It is obvious that his uncles are the twins, Dr. Patrick Sokhela and Mr. Protus Sokhela.
His mother with her family came to work for my father about 1972. Working in citrus orchards, cutting sugar cane and felling wattle trees etc.
He likes to be close to Europeans, trying to think and behave like them. He has a skin on the pale side. About 5 ft 8ins or 5ft 10 ins., (I did not measure him.) Athletic build, slim and quick actions. He does not stand out from the rest.
During the 1980s, he and his family went to work for the Natal Parks Board and for Mr. Errol and Mrs. Ruth Carr on the farm The Crags.
21 June 1994 Thulani Sokhela, Mswanwenkosi Sokhela and Into Sikhakhane attacked Mr. Errol Carr and Mrs. Ruth Carr at The Crags house. Both were hurt and went to hospital for the night.
They were arrested about a week later. Case number, 31/6/94, Cramond.
They were found guilty and sentenced to six years jail.
Early 1995 Thulani escaped from the new Pietermaritzburg prison. He threw a blanket over the head of a warder and escaped. The police found him in the Sweetwaters area and shot him dead for resisting arrest.
The Natal Witness published the article.
Mr. & Mrs. Carr was glad he had been shot.
Early 1996 Bongani Ndlovu told me that Thulani is alive and well, married and living happily in the Sweetwaters area.
Bongani and Thulani had both worked for me.
Middle 1996 Capt Lionel Peters, an Asian Indian police officer told me, "I shot him in the balls." (Sic)
A year later, Capt. Gweliwe, also SAP, told me, "I shot him in the balls. . ." (Sic).
Both were lying and covering up what happened to Thulani.
How could two police officers shoot the same person in the balls? This report was made up.
About 2000 Bongani told me that Thulani now lives in the Table Mountain area and is extremely happy. He had moved. He gave me contact address in East Street, PMB, where I could find people who knew where he is staying. I did not follow that up.
30 October 2008 Hilton College teacher, Mr. Derek Veenstra "jumped" mysteriously off a cliff on the Hilton College Estate. A police helicopter found his body on 31 October 2008 at the bottom of the cliff. Thulani Sokhela is a suspect. This case has not been solved.
28 August 2010, Erika Croeser was attacked in her cottage on Msinsi Game Park and had her throat slashed. She died on the scene. Her husband, Mr. Morne Croeser was later arrested and stood trial. He was found guilty and sentenced to 23 years in jail.
Morne never admitted he had killed his wife. He was having an affair with a Mrs. Sinclair at the time of the killing.
He testified that a black male had killed Erika and left the scene, running out of the house.
I went to see the NPA State Prosecutor, Advocate Irene Neyt and told her that Thulani Sokhela had killed Mrs. Erika Croeser. I did not see him do it; however I had strong suspicions. Adv. Irene Neyt said to me in her office. "What you say is not farfetched. . ."
She did not call me as a witness. She did say that I could come to court. I did not like her approach, and I felt my life was in danger if I attended the Pietermaritzburg High Court.
She made it clear to the court that Morne was a liar and certainly a criminal. . .
She did not accept that Morne stood by his word that he did not kill Erika.
After the trial, I approached Mr. Morne Croeser's senior council, Advocate Pitman, but he did not encourage me to pursue this matter. He put me off.
Another person told me that Mr. Morne Croeser fears for his children, by Erika if he names the person who slashed Erika's throat. That is why he is not exposing Thulani. He is also by law not allowed to expose Thulani.
1) The Witness Protection Act gives a person like Thulani Sokhela immunity from any prosecution, no matter what he does for the authorities.
2) Under the Criminal Procedure Act 25 (2 A) a person carries out instruction from the police (SAPS) or someone with authority under the police, and even if he/she kills someone he/she will not be charged nor arrested.
3) Section 47 of Criminal Procedure Act. 'This act empowers a member of the public (or farmer) to take into custody using force if necessary, or even to shoot dead someone who has committed a crime such as murder, rape, theft, robbery, serious assault or arson. If suspect cannot be stopped in any other way or tries to escape.' (Check this out, as changes to this law might have happened.)
As it stands, Thulani, if he did the crimes such as killing Mr. Mick Hampson, no police officer, magistrate, state prosecutor, judge will take him to trial.
Others might be caught, but no one will betray Thulani!
End of Timeline concerning Thulani Sokhela.
Story no. 3
Mr. & Mrs. Errol Carr retired to Mrs. Ruth Carr's farm about 1980. They had farmed in the Boston area all their married life.
Early 1994 I went to have afternoon tea with them.
Mr. Errol Carr showed me where he kept his .38 Revolver, on the mantelpiece, hidden from view. He told me that, "This is where I keep it and will use it if I have to. . ."
Unfortunately, he told everybody who came to his house where he kept his revolver.
21 June 1994 at about5pm, he walked outside to feed his dogs. He was immediately attacked by three black males. (See list in the text above.)
Thulani attacked Mr. Errol Carr. Mr. Carr put out his hand to strangle Thulani. Thulani bit him on his hand. However, Mr. Carr was able to throttle him, to some extent.
The other two grabbed Mrs. Carr and escorted her to the gun safe. She was frail. She told her attacker to release her so she could show them the keys to the gun safe. She was released and immediately she pressed the panic button. The two fled and ran out of the house, and Thulani followed. When Mr. Carr went to get his revolver, it was gone.
It was recovered after the suspects were arrested.
They knew where it was and took it.
Mr. Mike Mackenzie told me, "I was expecting the attack. I am listening to the VHF radio channel and was driving on the Greytown/Pietermaritzburg road when the news came through. I went directly to help the Carrs. . ."
The Carrs' used the 29MHz channel to send out the Mayday call. Who knew what was going on and told Mr. Mike Mackenzie. Why did he "know" that they would be attacked?
See!
They decided to sell The Crags, and I bought it and moved on at the end of 1994.
Mrs. Erika Croeser lived about 2km away from the bottom of The Crags when she was murdered.
Thulani is well versed in attack and counter attack. His going for Murray Hampson with a knife is typical how Thulani thinks. His wrenching the shotgun from his grip is also his modus operandi.
Murray Hampson has never been told how to capture a person.
It is well known in security circles. A person pointing a handgun at another who is six meters away. That person whose handgun is pointed at can attack the gunman and disarm him before the gunman has time to pull the trigger. This is capable of those trained in martial arts.
It is call, "Action and reaction". Reaction is always faster than action. . . Learn the subject
Murray should have made the suspects turn their faces towards the ground and lying down while on the bakkie. Or kept a distance from them. Or tied them up etc.
Thulani would have seen Murray's weak point and taken him on and won. . . Taking the shotgun away and killing Mick.
The law was/is on Thulani's side"
This whole thing needs to be talked about and exposed.
American companies such as Monsanto are some of the beneficiaries if they can buy land cheap.
It is cheaper to undermine a farmer then it is to pay him the full price for his farm.
So there we go, it is just fascinating to read the stories of ordinary people who are concerned about crime and land distribution the African way. Intimidate the farmer, force him to leave, make his life a misery, it is easier to distribute the land……..
Cheers,
Your friend,
Laura
Diepsloot is a settlement that portrays how inadequate the current infrastructure actually is. Basic human rights services such as electricity, running water and garbage removal are not available to most of the inhabitants local and foreigners from bordering African countries, of that settlement. Tarred roads are inadequate. The government community homes are falling apart, and residents have built shacks from metal, wood or plastic. These shacks come up wherever a vacant block of land is found. The dirt and poor living conditions raise a criminal element that affects the surrounding suburbs.
