30 Januarie 2011 verskyn daar ‘n volblad artikel in ‘n bylaag van ‘n koerant met ‘n vleiende foto van die aktivis George Bizos. ‘n Artikel wat ‘n mens groter insae gee in die sienswyse van volksvreemdes wat in die goeie ou tyd burgerskap verkry het in Afrikanerland soos enige Afrikaner, en watter invloed dit gehad het op ons nasionalisme en samelewing.
Die raaklees van ‘n vroeëre berig oor Schabir Shaik met die opskrif: “Zoeloes moes Indiërs, wittes uitgemoor het, sê Shaik”, het onwillekeurig die naam van Jürgen Kögl by my opgeroep en die verband van geknoei agter die rug van die Afrikanervolk deur volksvreemdes om ander mense as die Afrikaner bevoordeel te kry voor die gees geroep.
Die beeld van Bizos as verdediger en voorvegter vir juis dié mense wat daarop uit is om ons te vernietig het my geprikkel om hulle van nader te bekyk. Behalwe sommige van hulle se veelbesproke korrupte en misdadige lewenstyl, het hulle almal die Afrikaner as teiken gekies en stelsels en beleidsrigtings wat hy aangelê het om homself te beskerm en te handhaaf, aangeval, beswadder en ondergrawe net waar hulle kon. ‘n Onderlinge gemeenskaplikheid wat reg en onreg feitlik sinoniem gemaak het.
From Wikipedia.
SCHABIR SHAIK
Schabir Shaik is a South African businessman from the Berea, Durban, who rose to prominence due to his close association with South African President Jacob Zuma during his time as Deputy President. On 2 June 2005, he was found guilty of corruption and fraud, which also led to the dismissal of Zuma two weeks later from his position as Deputy President. |
A South African of Indian origin, Shaik studied electrical engineering at the M.L. Sultan Technikon, but was caught cheating in a High Voltage Engineering T5 exam on 28 May 1990 and was barred for 12 months. He claimed to have obtained a master's degree, but no record of this was found at the Technikon; he later admitted he did not earn the qualification.
He had a long-standing friendship with Jacob Zuma, who needed assistance with his finances after returning from political exile in Mozambique in 1990. Zuma had been elected Chairperson of the African National Congress, and Shaik assisted him financially, mostly in the form of interest-free loans with no date of repayment.
On 27 February 1995, Shabir Shaik established a company known as Nkobi Holdings, using the family name of the late ANC Treasurer Thomas Nkobi, without consent and approval of the Nkobi family.
Nkobi Holding was initially wholly owned by Shaik. The shareholding went through various permutations subsequently, however Shaik was at all relevant times a director of, and exercised effective control over, all the corporate entities within the Nkobi group.
In 1994 he failed in an effort that would have seen Malaysian partners paying off the ANC's huge R 40 million overdraft, which was taken out in preparation for the 1994 general election. His brother, Chippy Shaik, was in charge of arms acquisition at the Department of Defence, which allowed Shaik to bid on a lucrative contract to supply Valour class patrol corvettes to the South African Navy.
On 21 May 1996, Nkobi Holdings and the French defence contractor Thomson-CSF went into a joint venture as Thomson Holdings, a South African company. It tendered for various contracts, among which the upgrading of Durban International Airport, a national identity card, road projects for the N3 and N4 highways, the third cellular telephone network, and smart card technology. A company called Kobitech which is part of the Nkobi Holdings group, was initially a one-third shareholder in a consortium (under the name Prodiba) to produce the South African driving licence card. The first card was produced on 2 March 1998, a contract that was initially awarded for 5 years, later extended and then renewed for another 5 year period ending on 28 March 2009. During the second half of 2007 Kobitech sold their share in Prodiba to one of the remaining shareholders, Face Technologies.
Main article: Schabir Shaik Trial
Shaik was put on trial for fraud and corruption at the Durban High Court from 11 October 2004. During the course of the trial, Shaik admitted that he falsified his qualifications and business achievements.
The trial ended on 4 May 2005, with Judge Hilary Squires delivering his verdict on 2 June. Shaik was found guilty on two counts of corruption and one count of fraud, with judge Squires stating in his 165-page verdict that there was "overwhelming" evidence of a corrupt relationship between Shaik and Zuma. The fraud charge related to testimony by Ahmed Paruk, Shaik's auditor, that Shaik held a meeting with him and Shaik's financial manager, where it was agreed that false journal entries be made in order to alter Nkobi Holdings' financial statements. The second corruption charge relates to alleged attempts to solicit a bribe to Zuma from Thomson CSF.
On 8 June he was sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment on each of the two counts of corruption, as well as 3 years on the count of fraud. The sentences will run concurrently, giving him an effective 15 year prison term. He has been given leave to appeal against this sentence on 26 July, and his bail has been extended until then. His appeal to the Supreme Court of Appeal failed on 6 November
As a consequence of the ruling, Zuma was dismissed from his post as deputy president by President Thabo Mbeki on 14 June.
On 2 October 2007 his appeal to the Constitutional Court for his conviction and sentence for corruption and fraud was turned down with the court ruling that "An appeal against conviction and sentence does not bear any reasonable prospect of success".
However, the court ruled that there might be a constitutional issue related to the seizure of assets belonging to him and his company and granted leave to appeal on that point. The court dismissed this appeal in April 2008. Prosecutor in the case, Anton Steynberg, said afterwards that Shaik's only option now is to petition then-President Kgalema Motlanthe.
10. But then, even if these could be regarded as loans despite all the evidence to the contrary, the basis on which they were made would, in our view, unarguably amount to a “benefit” within the meaning of the word in the Corruption Act. [The Code also requires Cabinet Ministers to declare "benefits".]
11. Thus, although Zuma had contended to Parliament that the sums of money he had received from Shaik were loans and hence did not have to be declared, the court found that the money given to Zuma could not have been loans and even if they were, these “loans” were given on such beneficial terms that they would constitute a “benefit” for the purposes of the Corruption Act – let alone the Code of Ethics. Zuma was therefore misleading Parliament when he claimed otherwise. This may very well have constituted fraud for which Zuma may – if he was charged – very well have been convicted and sentenced to three years imprisonment.
12. When Zuma was fired as Deputy President by President Thabo Mbeki after the Shaik verdict, he also resigned as a member of Parliament despite the fact that Mbeki had made no effort to fire him from Parliament. There was a very good reason for his sudden resignation. If he had remained an MP, the Ethics Committee would have had to re-open the probe against him and would have had to accept the factual finding in the Shaik case that the “evidence” provided by Zuma that the money received from Shaik was a “loan” and not a “benefit” as defined by the Code, was fake.
JÜRGEN KÖGL
The French Connection: Jurgen Kogl
A businessman who was reportedly Jacob Zuma's largest benefactor after Schabir Shaik.
Kogl was linked to French arms company Thales (formerly Thomson CSF) and accused of paying off Zuma's car and property debts worth hundreds of thousands of rands.
He was caught up in Shaik's corruption trial when his name came up in an encrypted fax confirming his link to the French company, who has been convicted of fraud and corruption (Written by quantumleap on Feb-1-08 6:23pm
From: pillsbottlesneedles.blogspot.com)
Kogl is an ex-Namibian who managed empowerment company Africa Renaissance.
He has a connection to Thabo Mbeki and the ANC.
In the Selebi affair, Kogl's name creeps into a top-secret National Intelligence Estimate (2005) that Selebi allegedly leaked to Agliotti.
The report contained allegations against Selebi made by Kogl.
Selebi allegedly tasked Agliotti to find out who exactly Kogl was.
In the wake of the successful United Nations led and managed transition of Namibia into political independence in 1989, Jürgen Kögl, together with well known South African sociologist and politician Dr F van Zyl Slabbert and labour affairs lawyer Charles Nupen founded a consulting firm which aimed at providing strategic and political analysis to companies operating or wishing to operate in Southern Africa.
Jürgen Kögl is a third generation born Namibian who read civil engineering and economic history at the University of Cape Town. After spending six years managing the family owned industrial engineering firm in Namibia, he joined stockbroker Max Pollak & Freemantle at the Johannesburg Stock Exchange in 1987and specialised in trading and asset management of fixed income and hybrid financial instruments.
Given the experience in Namibia's transition, throughout the 1990's Jürgen Kögl chaired various forums, which contributed to the peaceful revolution of South Africa's political democratic order. These included forums to engage the conservative white community in the election of 1994 and to facilitate various contributions to the 1996 constitution of South Africa. ( My beklemtoning) Bogenoemde het betrekking op die “Conservative Dialogue Program” wat geloods was deur Idasa) In addition he chaired and facilitated various conflict preventing initiatives in the wake of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission finding. These include chairing a forum called by the Deputy President of South Africa and the former Chiefs of Staff of the South African Defence Force.
Jürgen Kögl advises some 15 local and foreign blue chip clients and serves on the board of various companies, including Deutsche Telkom. He serves as trustee of various family and NGO trusts and is a founding member of the Women's Development Bank, the CIDA endowment trust and various black investment holding companies. (Business Day, 2008-05-10, Chantelle Benjamin)
Barbara Masekela and Kogl have attracted media attention for their alleged links to the controversial arms deal.
Masekela allegedly turned down an offer to go into business with French company Thint because she had only just stepped down as ambassador to France, while Kogl and his company Cay Nominees are alleged to have made "substantial" payments to ANC president Jacob Zuma. Kogl also has a longstanding relationship with President Thabo Mbeki.
Apart from serving as an ambassador to two important South African allies, she was an independent nonexecutive director of Altron and has served as director of Standard Bank, the SABC and the International Marketing Council, as well as trustee of the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund and the Nelson Mandela Foundation.
She retired in March 2003 as executive director for public and corporate affairs for De Beers Consolidated Mines.
Not too long ago, Kogl's other "friend", Jacob Zuma, found himself in a position of considerable embarrassment when Standard Bank wanted to re-posses his Mercedes Benz and friend Schabir Shaik could not on that particular occasion stump up the R180 000-odd that was owing, but Kogl did not find it embarrassing to find that money quick, quick. (With acknowledgements to Chantelle Benjamin and Business Day.)
Soos die persone hierbo, het Bizos hom be-ywer vir wat hy as die verontregtes beskou het.
GEORGE BIZOS
Bizos was the son of Antonios (known to his family and friends as "Antoni") Bizos, the mayor of the small village of Vasilitsi, south of Koroni and Kalamata on the Messinian peninsula of the Peloponese, Greece. In May 1941 at the age of thirteen, George Bizos and his father where helped by seven New Zealand soldiers (Don Gladding, Mick Karup, Peter Martin, John Lewis and three others) who where hiding in the hills to escape Nazi-occupied Greece to Crete. He says the escape did not go well and he was adrift for three days until he managed to attract the attention of crew on the British destroyer, HMS Kimberley, which was on its way to the Battle of Crete. After the battle HMS Kimberley dropped him off at Alexandria, Egypt.[1]
As a refugee he was sent to South Africa and landed in Durban. From there he went by train to Johannesburg. He disembarked at the Braamfontein railway station because it was feared that the Ossewabrandwag would have a demonstration at the central station. The Ossewabrandwag blamed Jan Smuts for bringing the vuilgoed (rubbish) of Europe to South Africa. The local Greek community helped integrate him into society. Bizos did not immediately go to school because he could not speak English or Afrikaans but by 1948 — the year that the National Party was voted into power — Bizos had managed to gain entry into the law faculty at the University of the Witwatersrand. It was here that he says he first became politically active.(my beklemtoning)
Bizos joined the Bar in Johannesburg in 1954.
During the 1950s and 60s he was counsel to a wide range of well-known people including Trevor Huddleston of Sophiatown.
At the Rivonia Trial in 1963–64 he was part of the team that defended Nelson Mandela, Govan Mbeki and Walter Sisulu. The defendants were sentenced to life imprisonment, but spared the death penalty. Although it is sometimes said that he claims to have drafted Mandela's famous speech spoken at the trial, he says that his main contribution was to advise the use of the words "if needs be" before Mandela said that he was prepared to die.[2] Bizos believes that this may have contributed to the avoidance of the death penalty by having Mandela not appear to seek martyrdom. This trial heralded the arrival of a group of tough human rights lawyers — Joel Joffe, Arthur Chaskalson and Harold Hanson.
Bizos was counsel at various inquests into the deaths people in detention.
He has been a senior member of the Johannesburg Bar since 1978. He is a member of the National Council of Lawyers for Human Rights, which he helped found in 1979. He is Senior Counsel at the Legal Resources Centre in Johannesburg in the Constitutional Litigation Unit. He was a judge on Botswana's Court of Appeal from 1985 to 1993.
In 1990 he became a member of the African National Congress' (ANC) Legal and Constitutional Committee, and at Convention for a Democratic South Africa (CODESA) he served as advisor to the negotiating teams and participated in drawing up the Interim Constitution. He was involved in the drafting of legislation, and particularly the Truth and Reconciliation Bill and amendments to the Criminal Procedures Act, to bring it into line with Chapter 3 of the constitution, guaranteeing fundamental human rights to all citizens of South Africa.
In the Truth and Reconciliation Commission hearings, he was the leader of the team that opposed applications for amnesty on behalf of the Biko, Hani, Goniwe, Calata, Mkonto, Mhlauli, Slovo and Schoon families. He was appointed by then President Mandela to the Judicial Services Commission which, in terms of the constitution, recommends candidates for appointment as judges and proposes reforms to the judicial system to erase its apartheid past. Bizos was the leader of the team for the South African Government to argue that the death penalty was unconstitutional, and counsel for the National Assembly in the Certification of the Constitution by the Constitutional Court.
In 2005, Bizos was legal advisor to Nelson Mandela in a bitter legal dispute with Mandela's former attorney, Ismail Ayob.
Bizos represented the following people, among others:
In the 1970s Bizos helped start a Greek school, called SAHETI It embraced Hellenism, yet was non-exclusionist, even during the heart of apartheid. It was here that people like Chris Hani's children were educated.
Bizos is the author of No One to Blame - In Pursuit of Justice in South Africa published in 1998.
His autobiography Odyssey to Freedom was published in early 2007 by Random House, and runs to more than 600 pages.
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Bizos"
In die Verwoerd-era was die immigrasiebeleid om hoofsaaklik mense uit ons stamlande met ‘n Christelike karakter toe te laat. Die afwyking van daardie beleid nadat John Vorster die leisels geneem het, was uiters nadelig soos wat duidelik uit bo-staande blyk.