South Africa ranks 20th globally for the most endangered species:
With 477 species at very high risk of extinction in the wild, South Africa ranks 20th on a list of countries with the most endangered species, according to a study titled Red List Nations.
The information is based on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List, “a critical indicator of the health of the world’s biodiversity”.
The study found that “the number of endangered species continues to increase year after year, with current figures estimating that around 16 000 different species could become extinct in the near future”. These species include mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, molluscs and other invertebrates
With 1 233 endangered species, Indonesia tops the list. “Aside from its stunning beaches and scenery, this Asian country is known for their production of palm oil and coffee which has been detrimental to animal species in the area, including the Javan Rhino,” of which only an estimated 60 remain, according to the study.
The black rhino, native to Eastern and Southern Africa, is also listed as critically endangered. According to the IUCN, there were only 6 195 in 2021.
With 1 178 endangered species, the United States is second on the list, followed by Australia (1 067), Mexico (953), Brazil (856), Madagascar (849), India (813), Malaysia and Colombia (755 each), and the Philippines (693).
Among those species is the Madagascar teal. Data by BirdLife International says there is a population of 1 900, which is declining.
Causes of population declines
Demand from Asia for wildlife parts and products continues to drive the trade in species, exacerbated by the involvement of organised crime networks, according to The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).
But that is not the only reason that causes species to become endangered. The National Geographic Network says habitat loss is a major reason species end up on the endangered list. This is caused by human activities such as clearing land for housing, industries, crop and livestock farming, hunting and poaching, as well as the invasion of alien vegetation and fauna. The report also suggests looking into other threats such as mining and quarrying, logging and wood harvesting, as well as agriculture and forestry effluents to slow down the further decline.
Habitats must be protected if endangered species are to survive.
Species in decline
The report looked at species that are most affected by these threats. Insects took the number one spot. This was followed by reptiles, fish and arachnids.
“With the impacts of climate change becoming increasingly prevalent in today’s society, it may come as no surprise that insects have seen an increase in threat since 2017. Insects are vital to the decomposition of waste on our planet, and without them, there would be so many more species vulnerable to endangerment,” the report found.
The report noted how crucial it is to protect them. Two of the biggest threats to insects include pesticides and loss of habitat.
The Endangered Species Coalition says by protecting habitats, entire communities of animals and plants can be protected. Parks, wildlife refuges and other open spaces should be protected to conserve species. The coalition suggests “10 easy things you can do to save endangered species”, among them not using herbicides and pesticides, recycling and buying sustainable products, becoming involved in a local initiative or nature centre and growing indigenous plants.
Lesego Chepape is a climate reporting fellow, funded by the Open Society Foundation for South Africa.
If there’s one thing you do this week…:
Countrywide
? The Metropolitan Opera in New York hosts some of the best performers in the world and, with its Live in HD series, you can see it in the comfort of select Ster-Kinekor cinemas until 3 June.
This year’s season features the world premiere of The Hours, the company premieres of Champion and Medea as well as four additional new productions.
The Met Live in HD series will be screened at Cinema Nouveau Rosebank Mall, Bedford Centre and Brooklyn Mall in Gauteng; Gateway in Umhlanga, KZN, and Garden Route, Somerset West and Blue Route in the Western Cape. Book online at https://sterkinekor.com/. Tickets are R200.
Johannesburg
? Between late 2017 and 2021, artist Sethembile Msezane went through a challenging period of personal loss and her works on the show Liguqubele iZulu at BKhz in Johnnesburg reflect on these experiences.
Msezane’s monochromatic paintings of cloud formations express loss, and the feelings of anger, uncertainty and pain which come with it, as being fluid, unpredictable and changing.
Through these paintings, which use rainwater, plants used for making snuff and Msezane’s breath to create patterns over the canvas, the artist shows, rather than there being a simple path to healing, one has to constantly reflect on, and work through, loss.
The exhibition ends on 20 May with a conversation between the artist and BKhz. Dress code is all white. No RSVP required. Everyone is welcome. Free admission.
? Fourways Farmers Market is now a three-day treat — open on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays — offering great food, delicious cocktails.
Fridays@Farmers, with opening times from 3pm to 10pm, launched in February.
Take a break from the busy city and stop by for post-work drinks with friends overlooking a beautiful dam. Early afternoon is a good time for young families.
The market day includes selected traders and live music.
The Fourways Farmers Market is at the Modderfontein Reserve. Entrance is R20. There are electronic payment options at the market but make sure to carry cash if you are visiting during load-shedding to avoid disappointment.
Pretoria
? On the first Saturday of every month, Brooklyn Mall in Pretoria hosts one of Gauteng’s finest antiques fairs, known for its carefully curated selection of top dealers from the South African Antique Dealers’ Association.
Every month there’s a superb collection of high-quality vintage pieces to browse, ranging from period jewellery to beautiful tableware, collectable ceramics and unusual treasures from yesteryear, such as antique snuffboxes, old-fashioned cameras and even gramophones.
The fair is open from 9am to 3pm in the Woolworths Court at Brooklyn Mall, Pretoria. For more info: thecollector.co.za
Cape Town
? Take the hassle out of planning an interesting date and go with an intimate cocktail and snack pairing evening at Woodstock’s StrangeLove Cocktail Lounge. On Saturday, 20 May, pop in and meet like-minded singles in a relaxed and informal setting.
The dress code is cocktail, meaning semi-formal, with a touch of glam. Tickets are limited to keep the event exclusive and include three craft cocktails whipped up by the mixology team and paired with snacks.
ID is required when you enter, for safety purposes and to keep the events exclusive.
Ages: 38+. Saturday, 20 May from 5pm to 8pm. StrangeLove Cocktail Lounge, Hope Distillery, 7 Hopkins Street, Salt River, Cape Town. Cost: R450pp, and R350pp for Curated Connections members.
? UB40 featuring Ali Campbell adds another chapter to a story that began in the Birmingham, England, suburb of Moseley in 1979 when UB40, taking their name from the form given to individuals claiming unemployment benefits, started putting an indigenous British slant on Jamaican reggae. Lead singer Ali Campbell joined Birmingham singer and toaster Pato Banton to top the UK charts again with Baby Come Back in 1994. Paying homage to the songs that inspired them, UB40 also released three volumes of the Labour of Love series, covering Jamaican standards such as Eric Donaldson’s Cherry Oh Baby and Lord Creator’s Kingston Town.
30 May, 8pm, Grand Arena, GrandWest Casino and Entertainment World, 1 Jakes Gerwel Drive, Acacia Park, Cape Town. Tickets are R625 to R1?660.
Durban
? Attention food and wine lovers. Get ready for a weekend of indulgence, entertainment and fun at The Country Market Food and Wine Festival 2023.
The festival promises to be an unforgettable experience for attendees of all ages. Sample the finest gourmet food, local produce, baked goods, cured meats, sweets and crafted confections.
At The Country Market Food and Wine Festival, you’ll have the chance to taste and buy food from the finest vendors around. You’ll get to meet the makers behind the products, learn about their craft and discover new flavours that will delight your taste buds.Camp Orchards, Friday, 26 May at 2pm. For more info quicket.co.za.
Corruption rap for NPA pair for failing to prosecute Bushiri:
After two months, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has yet to decide whether to prosecute two of its senior advocates for corruption for failing to charge self-proclaimed prophet Shepherd Bushiri over the alleged rape of children and young women.
According to an information sheet seen by the Mail & Guardian, a criminal docket was sent to the Pretoria magistrate’s court on 1 March for the NPA to make a decision about whether to prosecute Adina van Deventer and Alicia Roos for corruption and defeating the ends of justice.
This has raised questions among senior law enforcement and NPA sources about whether the authority would be objective in the matter, given that it has steadfastly defended Van Deventer and Roos’s handling of the Bushiri prosecution.
Bushiri fled South Africa for his native Malawi in November 2020, days after he and his wife Mary were released on bail of R200?000 each by the Pretoria magistrate’s court. They had been arrested on fraud and money-laundering charges involving more than R100 million.
The case against Van Deventer and Roos was opened in March 2021 by Lieutenant Colonel Phumla Mrwebi — an officer with the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI) — known as the Hawks — who was the lead investigator in the rape and human-trafficking leg of the probe into Bushiri’s alleged crimes.
The M&G has also established that the Hawks allegedly “forced” two of Bushiri’s alleged victims, who attended his Enlightened Christian Gathering and were aged 17 and 21 when the alleged rapes and trafficking occurred, to make withdrawal statements, exonerating the accused rapist.
The angry parents of some of the victims, who spoke on condition of anonymity, claimed that Hawks officers obtained the withdrawal statements from their children, who are now in their early twenties, without a guardian or legal representative present.
According to investigative documents, the victims were led to the Sheraton Hotel in Pretoria by Bushiri’s runners, where they were raped by the church leader.
Some of them were paid amounts ranging “from R5?000 to R25?000 to silence them”.
Corruption case against the NPA
After Mrwebi opened the case against Van Deventer and Roos in March 2021, more than three months after Bushiri fled South Africa, there was no activity on the criminal docket until September 2021, according to an internal police report.
The report shows the next activity on the docket was on 1 March this year when it was booked and taken to the Pretoria magistrate’s court for a decision on whether to prosecute Van Deventer and Roos.
The docket was booked out about five days after the M&G published its first investigation into allegations that the two advocates had shielded Bushiri from prosecution by impeding his arrest.
In an affidavit against the two prosecutors, which as been seen by the M&G, Mrwebi claimed that after she completed her Bushiri rape probe in February 2019, the NPA — on two occasions in August and October 2019 — “blocked” Bushiri’s arrest when he was supposed to appear in the magistrate’s court on fraud charges.
This included allowing the accused rapist to appear virtually.
“It is clear that this move was to block me from arresting him. After that [Van Deventer and Roos] never communicated with me until Bushiri escaped,” Mrwebi alleged.
She then opened a corruption and defeating the ends of justice criminal case the prosecutors.
Mrwebi again declined to comment.
An officer aware of the investigation into Van Deventer and Roos’s conduct said it was “suspicious” that the docket was only booked out five days after the M&G had published its first investigation, after the case had “remained dormant” for nearly two years.
“Now the NPA is going to play both judge and jury regarding prosecutors it has publicly defended,” said the source, who asked to remain anonymous.
On 12 May, the M&G sent detailed questions to the NPA requesting comment. On Tuesday, 16 May, spokesperson Mthunzi Mhaga apologised for the delayed response and requested an extension, asking Gauteng spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana to comment.
On Thursday, Mahanjana posted a message on the NPA media WhatsApp group to say she was on leave. The NPA has not responded.
Previously, communication director Bulelwa Makeke said the NPA was satisfied with the work its advocates had done on the Bushiri rape and trafficking case.
Makeke said the NPA’s director of public prosecutions, advocate Sibongile Mzinyathi, was satisfied that the “prosecutorial decision taken in the case was correct and in line with the prosecutor-guided investigation principles, where a prosecutor is best placed to make an assessment on whether or when a matter is ripe for enrolment”.
Hawks ‘forced’ the withdrawal statement
According to a well-placed source, Colonel Corrie Maritz of the Hawks’ serious and violent crime office assigned Lieutenant Colonel Adelaide Mboweni and Colonel Nkele Ndlovu the task of going to Bushiri’s alleged victims to obtain withdrawal statements.
The parents of three victims told the M&G that the officers had called to say they wanted to visit and discuss the rape case.
“Ndlovu called me last year sometime to say she wanted to speak to me about the case but I was not at home at the time. When I returned, my daughter told me that she was asked whether she wanted to continue with the case or withdraw,” one parent said.
“My daughter eventually relented and said she was tired of the case because it was dragging [on for] long, and she wanted to focus on her tertiary education. I believe she was forced by the Hawks to withdraw.
“I called [Mboweni] to ask where she got the right to speak to my child without me present.
“The officer said she was assigned to go to my daughter and the officer said she didn’t know much about what was going on.”
The parent of two alleged victims also said two “black female Hawks officers” had tried to get withdrawal statements but the parent and the daughters refused.
“We can never withdraw from this case. We wanted to take it to the end — that’s why we refused,” they said.
Maritz, who heads the Hawks’ serious and violent crimes unit, was named in a July 2020 investigative report by Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation judge Frans Kgomo on “delaying” Bushiri’s arrest for rape.
The NPA had allegedly said it could not prosecute Bushiri for rape until it had concluded the fraud and money-laundering section of the probe.
Maritz had initially led the fraud investigation.
“A status report of the investigation is requested because it appears that the money-laundering investigation under Colonel Corrie Maritz may be the delaying factor,” Kgomo wrote.
The DPCI judge’s office acts as an ombudsman for all Hawks-related matters.
Responding to queries from the M&G on Thursday, Hawks spokesperson Brigadier Nomthandazo Mbambo said the investigating officer — whom she did not name — said they were not aware of withdrawal statements being taken.
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