Blue Bulls player Bees Roux granted R100 000 Bail

The South African sporting world has been shocked by the recent court case involving Blue Bulls rugby player Bees Roux and the murder of Ntshimane Johannes Mohale. According to sources, Bees Roux allegedly beat Mohale to death after he pulled Bees over for driving under the influence of alcohol. Bees has since been granted R100 000 Bail and a court date has been set for October 15th. A clear motive for the brutal assault is still unclear.

Photo by Cornel Van Heerd, Beeld
There is till a dark cloud over the happenings in the early hours of that fateful Friday morning in Hatfield, Pretoria. Mohale allegedly told his colleagues that he would drive Roux home as he was drunk, it is still unclear why Bees was not arrested on the spot for drunken driving.

It is also unclear why Mohale's colleagues did not follow the pair to Bees's home. Mohale was found lying on a street in Hatfield, Pretoria close to where Bees was being held.

It was reported that Bees's credit card was used in the early hours of the morning at a Mc Donalds fast food restaurant while the Blue Bulls player was in police custody.

The state made it clear that Bees earned R850 000 per year and that he would plea "Not Guilty" to the charges of Murder and Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol against him.

Bees was granted R100 000 Bail and was quoted as saying "I am not a flight risk" and "I don't want to live like a fugitive".

Bees has traveled Ireland, France and Australia to play rugby. It is also reported that Bees has a bank account in France containing 5000 Euro's as he played rugby there for 3 months 

Emotions ran high during the first court hearing. Mohale's brother Richard Taukobong called out to Roux "You fucking Dog" as he was led to the dock.

The magistrate hope that the time leading up to the trial will allow for some of the mysteries in the case to be answered.

Source www.news24.com

Taking it to the streets

If you live in South Africa you will be aware of the Public Servants strike taking place all over the country. These masses of unhappy workers have resorted to acts of public violence and discontent with their salaries and working conditions.

The demonstrating and rioting Public Servants have set out to cause havoc, attempting to block off the N1 North  and N1 South highways. (basically attempting to Block access to and from Gauteng and further affecting the financial sector of Gauteng). However, the police stopped this attempt dead in its tracks as they did not even allow protesters to come close to the highway off-ramps. This is one of the efforts of the police that was successful in curbing the efforts of the unhappy protesters

Public Servants have gone as far as neglecting their oaths taken in the name of their profession. Nurses and doctors have ignored patients in need, often just sending them home regardless of the severity of their illness or wounds. Protesters have stormed hospitals and have harassed patients. Police efforts have been overwhelmed by the sheer size of the protesting mobs. It has been estimated that over 1 million protesters took to the streets this week to show their discontent towards the poor renumeration that they receive.

The education system has been hit hard by the striking Public Servants. Schools have to be closed as mobs have been storming schools and harassing teachers and students. In one incident, a Molotov Cocktail was thrown over a school wall into the grounds of the school. Non protesting teachers either refuse to come to work as they fear for their safety or they use the time to catch up on work and excess preparation.

The Mobs are protesting against their salary increase this year and are asking for a higher salary increase and a R1000 housing allowance. The protesters have every right to express their discontent with their salary increase but the methods that are being used have to be questioned. Violence and harassment along with attempts to interfere with the productivity of the state are not ways to get on he good side of the government officials. Many of the protesters have lost their jobs and even ended up in jail.

There is another side to the story as these Public Servants are often being under paid and struggle to support their families. My mother is a school teacher at a Government Primary School and she does not earn close to enough money to support a family, if her circumstances were different she would be in serious financial trouble. It is because of this that I respect the requests of the protesters, but the way that they have conducted these demonstrations is despicable.

As South African's we are used to protests and they seem to happen around the same time every year. However, the severity and magnitude of these protests seems to increase with every year. If you wish to read more follow the link to Nickolaus Bauer's Closet Capitalist Blog     

The South African Dream

Xenophobia has become a word that is synonyms with South Africa. The Xenophobic attacks on May 21st 2008 turned the World's attention towards the violence that so many foreign nationals are experiencing on a daily basis. Xenophobia is not something that is easily explained or that is easily fixed. It is a problem that will plague South Africa for many years to come, seeing that we are one of the strongest economy's in Africa and large groups of impoverished foreign nationals make the journey to the "Rainbow Nation" in an attempt to find a better life. However, upon arrival they only receive threats, cold shoulders and violence.

"According to the Oxford Standard English Dictionary (OED), the word xenophobia consists of two parts: xeno (a combining form meaning "guest, stranger, foreigner") and phobia, ("fear, horror or aversion, especially if morbid"). Definition: A deep antipathy toward foreigners". The 2010 World Cup brought in thousands of foreigners, the majority of these individuals were here to watch the World Cup and to enjoy the rare occasion. However, a large group of foreign nationals came to South Africa with the intention to capitalize on the influx of tourists and to make money, many of these individuals had no intention of returning home. These immigrants often take the role of street vendors, construction workers, domestic workers and other low paying jobs. These individuals "undercut" the local workers as they are willing to work for less pay and often are more motivated to work, seeing that they are fighting to survive. It is because of this that violence has become a common occurrence towards these immigrants.

Many middle class South African citizens are ignorant towards the constant abuse these foreign nationals are experiencing "The public perception of an "outbreak" of xenophobia is somewhat mistaken -- xenophobic attacks have never stopped, and research by the Forced Migration Studies Programme (FMSP) at Wits University shows that in the past two years there has been at least one attack a month on groups of foreign nationals". The influx of foreign labor for the World Cup has not reignited the Xenophobic violence, but instead has brought it back into the public eye. Foreign nationals are faced with discrimination and threats of violence on a daily basis. A study done by the UCT Graduate School of Business has revealed that Xenophobic discrimination is rife in the South African Corporate sector and foreigners are insulted and excluded on a daily basis. Management often turns a blind eye, as to deal with these Xenophobic slurs would lead to drawn out ramifications and creating a divide in their work room. "According to the study, a common theme from the interviews was that there are negative psychological effects which foreign employees experience in South Africa today. The findings suggest xenophobia is not uncommon and that most foreign workers have experienced some level of discrimination at work". Workers have to adopt a victimized state of mind as companies often adopt the attitude that if these foreign workers do not abide to the harsh working environment they will be replaced by the large mass of unemployed individuals, who in some cases are waiting outside the work place gates.

To make matters worse for these foreign nationals, employers are often forced to adopt negative attitude towards employing these foreign individuals "Many report that they have been fired from restaurants and construction sites after their employers were told that hiring foreigners would identify them and their property as "legitimate targets" when attacks begin afresh". The South African work force is undermining these individuals as they have no where to turn, no where to work and no one who cares. Their attempt to give themselves and their families a better life often ends in discrimination, homelessness and in some cases death. There seems to be no end in sight for Xenophobic violence as it is a culmination of different factors, often where individuals are fighting for their lives. The general public is concerned with the way that our local workers and residents are discriminating against the foreign workers. However, we must remember that our local and impoverished worker is also fighting to survive and is willing to fight and even kill if it means that his family can eat.

The problem of Xenophobic violence is something that has many factors and outside contributors. To solve this problem will take many years and a unique policy to changing the attitudes of the local workers towards foreign nationals. Until we can muster up a new and unique way of tackling this problem we will continue to see acts of violence and discrimination.