A TUMULTUOUS YEAR
STORIES THAT SHOCKED THE EASTERN CAPE IN 2013:
FROM 123 children crammed into one classroom and the shock killing of model Reeva Steenkamp at its beginning, to the death of world icon Nelson Mandela at its end, 2013 was a turbulent news year in the Eastern Cape.
In January, parents picketed outside a primary school in Pearston, where a staggering 123 young pupils where crammed into a single classroom because of the crippling teacher shortage. The youngsters had spent two weeks crammed into the classroom in temperatures of up to 37°C.
On Valentines Day, February 14, the country woke up to the news that Port Elizabeth-born model and law student Reeva Steenkamp had been shot dead, after her boyfriend – international Olympic hero Oscar Pistorius – allegedly mistook her for a burglar.
Pistorius said he was woken by a noise at about 3.45am. He grabbed a gun and shouted a warning before firing four shots at “the intruder”, hitting Steenkamp twice in the head, once in the arm and once in a leg. During his brief first appearance in court, Pistorius shook uncontrollably and wept.
He was granted R1-million bail on February 21, after 3½ days of testimony and argument.
At Steenkamp’s private funeral in Port Elizabeth on February 21, more than 100 mourners crammed into the hall at Victoria Park where tears flowed.
Pistorius’s trial will start on March 3 when he faces a murder charge and a lesser charge of violating provisions of the Firearms Control Act.
If found guilty, Pistorius could face at least 25 years in prison.
One of the biggest events in Nelson Mandela Bay politics was the day mayor Zanoxolo Wayile and deputy Nancy Sihlwayi resigned from council, paving the way for new mayor Ben Fihla, 81, to be sworn in.
A couple of months later, the DA in Nelson Mandela Bay was embroiled in a row over a racist e-mail which hammered the ANC’s 19-year rule, labelling it a failure which had done nothing more than produce “dumb idiots who wait for handouts”.
The e-mail was copied from an anti-ANC blog and forwarded by DA councillor Stanford Slabbert.
In August, Slabbert was kicked out of the DA, a decision which he immediately appealed, while lashing out at the “unfair” process.
Things became even more heated when city manager Lindiwe Msengana-Ndlela quit after months of political pressure, interference and alleged threats of violence at the end of July.
She demanded a R3.2-million payout, but in November her lawyers served the mayor with a letter notifying him of her intention to sue for R8-million.
In July, Port Elizabeth “monster” husband Frederick Gordon was convicted of assault after harrowing testimony and medical evidence fell short of securing a conviction of attempted murder. Gordon had locked his wife Avril up in their Forest Hill flat between November 2010 and March 2011, during which time he beat, burnt and raped her with sharp objects.
Gordon, who must still be sentenced, appears in court again on January 17.
Also in July, on the national scene, Cosatu general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi was accused of rape by a 26-year-old woman whom he claimed had demanded a R2-million bribe for her silence. Vavi, who admitted to having consensual sex with the woman, was suspended and faces charges of bringing the organisation into disrepute.
In September, a well-known Port Elizabeth restaurateur who allegedly slit his wife’s throat and then claimed they had been attacked, was charged with premeditated murder.
American national Nathan Lewis, 44, who owns Pierre’s Bistro at The Bridge, was arrested shortly after he rushed his wife, Debbie, 36, to Greenacres Hospital, where she was declared dead on arrival.
Lewis was released on R20 000 bail and will be back in court in February.
In October, a former Garden Route teenager was implicated in the murder of her mother.
Phoenix “Racing Cloud” Theron, 18, was accused of conspiring to kill her mother with her boyfriend Kyle Maspere, 18, and Godfrey Scheepers, 20.
She had allegedly hugged her mother and told her she was “sorry for fighting” with her before Maspere allegedly strangled Theron from behind.
The case was remanded to January 23.
World attention focused on South Africa last month with the death of Madiba in his Houghton home on December 5, followed by 10 days of mourning and a string of commemorative events.