Whistle Blower
The right to freedom of expression is protected by Section 16 of the Constitution. This right includes: Freedom of the press and other media. Freedom to receive and share information and ideas. Freedom of artistic creativity. Academic freedom and freedom of scientific research. The limitations on freedom of expression must be reasonable and justifiable in an open and democratic society. VIGILANT CITIZENS MAKE ALL THE DIFFERENCE John Venediger westville1@gmail.com
I have decide that i am not going to accept the offer from the investigation officer at the Westville police. Instead i request an in-depth investigation into what has been happening in my case over the last 2 and a half years.
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This week, i received call from the investigating officer at the Westville police station advising me that the magistrate in my case, had finalized my case and that i had been released. And would i remove my blog posts with regards to this case. I did accept that offer and agreed to remove the pages critical of the Pinetown magistrates court. I have changed my mind. And want an investigation into the Pinetown magistrate court and there collusion with staff at the Durban Ethekwini municipality in and organized attempt to rob me of my home. I want justice.
The Pinetown Magistrate Court uses violence & bribery to force payment from those they charge with wrongdoing. We demand an investigation.
See below, i have had a similar experience. For me, what started out as my complaint about extortion in the Durban municipality water works department, turned into prison time & involuntary psychiatric treatment.
Read below. KwaZulu Natal performance snapshot. By AGSA Auditor General South Africa.
You may ask how i got to the figure of 75 Billion rand ( $ 3.8 billion USD ) irregular spending in KZN. That information comes from the Auditor general SA financial reporting. See part of it below how in KZN, The department of Transport had Irregular spending of R5.5 billion in one year. And the department of of education was R1.45 Billion and the department of Health came to 1.5 Billion rand. At year end 2019, the balance was R44.5 billion in irregular spending. And this link will take you to another R17 billion irregular spending. Irregular spending in 2022. Irregular spending should not be more than a few thousand rand each year. It is this bad behaviour by some of our public servants who take advantage of there jobs to rob, steal and plunder the financial resources of the province of KwaZulu Natal. Money that should be used in improving the services to the poorer areas.
Below, AGSA Provincial Audit outcomes snapshot KZN 2019-20
The Pinetown Magistrate Court in coordination with the Durban municipal staff use violence and bribery to force payment from those the Pinetown magistrate court charges with wrongdoing. In each case, where this consortium of government employees has charged me there has first been a premeditated attack on ..
1. my property my home,
2. my office equipment,
3. my telecommunications
4. and my clients.
5. Slander
There modus operandi is to attack me and when I defend myself, charge me and put me in prison or a mental hospital. I want justice.
Tuesday. 18 March, The Westville police came to fetch me at my home in Westville at 11 am this morning and took me to the Pinetown magistrate's Court. After a short meeting between the investigating officer and the prosecutor i was told i could go back home, and i should return to court again on the 28th March this month.
It is now 1 pm. It would seem that nobody really new what they should do with me and no arrangements had been made. From what i understand it is their intention to send me back to Fort Napier Hospital in Pietermaritzburg. I insisted that i be given a reason for my return to the hospital, however no one had an answer. The charges against me are damage to property that i say was self defence.
CAS No 202.01.2023 has been postponed.mp3CAS No 202/01/2023 Malicious Damage to Property. I went to court this last Friday 28th February 2025 and the Magistrate advised me that the results of the assessment were still not ready and that i must return to court on the 28th March 2025.
I am at home now, arrived back on Monday 30th December 2024, after my stay of 29 days at Fort Napier Hospital ward 9A, in Pietermaritzburg. Next court date is 28th January 2025. The cost was in the region of R50 thousand rand ( $2500 USD ) paid for by the state. After my last doctor consultation the Investigation officer from SAPS Westville pick me up at the hospital and delivered me back to my home in Dawncrest, Westville.
My ward was 9A and the food was very good, vegetables meat or fish, fruit and pudding or yogurt. Each patient had his own bedroom. Very well managed, clean friendly & helpful staff and a safe and comfortable environment. Big plush green grass court yard that was about 30 meter x 25 meter and plenty of place to sit around. Everything is provided by the hospital that include clothing, medication and there is a TV lounge and a dining room. The manager Mr Maharage and Matron Mrs Mabea were always in attendance. There were 5 Doctor psychiatrists and each patient would have a consultation once a week.
Premeditated attack on my home & office using various government departments.
I have faced 11 criminal complaints / charges, each of which I believe to be a premeditated attack on me involving one or more government department.
First Case: Criminal summons No 10610804 dated 3rd February 2017. Contravening building regulations. Three warning notices then a criminal summons was issued against me for the late submission of my building alteration plans. I complained that the Pintown Inner West Development Building inspectorate stone-walled the approval of my plans submitted by my architect. The Ombudsman reviewed my complaint and agreed with my concerns. Ombudsman recommended that a OMB file be opened - "Failing to approve building plans timeously by not providing complainant with accurate information."
Second Case: Criminal summons No 11828623 dated 16th October 2018, Contravening the Newcance and behaviour noise and sound. Three warning notices then a criminal summons was issued against me for making a noise. Municipal staff altered the by-law " Nuisance and Behaviour in Public Places By-Law, 2015 , Published in Kwazulu-Natal Provincial Gazette No 1490 on 11 September 2015. To state that "any noise or sound to emanate from a private residence or business premises" constitutes an offense. Consequently, I was charged with making a noise.
Third Cases: Criminal summons case No 202/01/2023 damage to property. Municipal staff repeatedly damaged my property, cut holes into my plumbing below ground after i opened a case on the 21st February 2017 at the offices of the ombudsman and head of investigations with regards to irregular activity in the Durban plumbing department, and also damage to my office equipment & interfered with my job & clients. Despite my attempts to seek assistance from the Westville police, I was forced to defend myself and was charged and imprisoned for doing so.
Fourth Cases: Criminal summons case No 139/04/2024 damage to property. Municipal staff damage my roof , my walls , the driveway Damage appliances inside the house , damage to the geysers. Place what looked like an IED improvised explosive device at the entrance to the driveway. Murder threats repeatedly damaged my property, cut holes into my plumbing below ground after. The munici[la staff repeatedly attacked my home over a period of 7 years.
5, Fifth Case:- Application No 409/24 Charged with harassment. Charged with harassment for using self defence to protecting my property.
6. I have spent four months in jail or hospital, which has severely impacted my income and job. I must have compensation for the loss of pension income, damage to property and office equipment, and repeated disconnecting my fiber and communication lines ( the disconnection of my Telkom line occurred 9 times and i had to move my office to Olivedale Johannesburg in order to continue working ) and there was huge cost . My Telkom fiber line had been disconnected at the junction box in Westville.
Spying on my home and office.
Section 14 of the South African Constitution, which protects the right to privacy, reads as follows:
1. Everyone has the right to privacy,
2. which includes the right not to have their person or home searched.
4. Their property searched;
5. Their possessions seized; or
6. The privacy of their communications infringed ...
I am given to understand that it is illegal to ..
a. view or record any private property other than one’s own
b. or which one controls or has rights over, or
c. any activity therein or thereon,
d. unless express written permission by those holding those rights has been given.
In short, any person observing or recording against your wishes is infringing your constitutionally guaranteed rights and is directly in breach of the law.
My prison cell i was locked in while waiting to go into Court room A
It was in this cell No 21 where i was attacked and assaulted by the inmates i shared the cell with.
on the left is the Cell toilet.
Pinetown Magistrate's Court and there treatment of older people.
The Older Persons Act, 2006 (Act 13 of 2006)
A. I am 74 years old and recently the Pinetown Magistrates court did wrongfully issue a warrant for my arrest in October last year. And they did not prevent the 3 x violent attacks, assault & robbery while i was in the courthouse.
B. I have been summoned to court 24 times over the last two years, sent to prison for two and a half months and forced to go to the Fort Napier Hospital for 30 days when i have already been for 4 assessments.
C. It is wrongful to take away a pensioners source of income after i complained about municipal corruption.
D. This Pinetown courthouse that did offer me / encourage me to use bribery to deal with the wrongful charges against me.
E. This has affected my income and I need to recovery my pension money. I work for my pension. The Pinetown Magistrates court has taken away my
income.
PRVG-Audio-OlderPersons-Booklet-2006.mp3The Older Persons Act, 2006 is intended to protect, promote and maintain the status, rights, well-being and security of older persons. It is an Act that aims at combating the abuse of older persons.
WHO QUALIFIES TO BE AN OLDER PERSON IN TERMS OF THE ACT?
An older person is the person who, in the case of a male, is 65 years of age or older and, in the case of a female, is 60 years of age or older.
WHAT IS AN ABUSE OF AN OLDER PERSON?
An abuse of an older person occurs where any person, in a relationship where there is an expectation of trust, does something or fails to do something that causes harm or distress or is likely to cause harm or distress to an older person.
WHAT ARE THE TYPES OF ABUSE THAT AMOUNT TO ‘ABUSE OF OLDER PERSONS’ IN TERMS OF THE ACT ?
Physical abuse, which means any act or threat of physical violence towards an older person, e.g. pushing, clapping, biting, throttling, stabbing, threats with a fist, threats to kill, etc.
Sexual abuse means any conduct that violates the sexual integrity of an older person, which includes sexual penetration by a genital organ or object, flashing of genital organs, compelling an older person to watch a sexual act, the use of sexual slurs against an older person such as bitch, whore, sluts, etc.
Psychological abuse means any pattern of degrading or humiliating conduct towards an older person, which includes repeated insults, ridicule or name calling; repeated threats to cause emotional pain; repeated invasion of an older person’s privacy, liberty, integrity or security, etc.
Economic abuse includes depriving an older person of economic or financial resource he/ she is entitled to by law, including those that he/she requires out of necessity, e.g. failing to provide money or food to the older person; children with an older person to force him/her to pay for the well-being of your children; employing an older person to take care of your children without a salary; using the old age pension funds, retirement funds or finances of an older person to pay for your expenses without her permission; etc.
Economic abuse also means disposing household effects or property that belongs to an older person, e.g. selling the house, furniture or any other goods of the older person without consent of such older person; spending the retirement funds or inheritance of the older person without consent; etc.
WHAT ARE THE RIGHTS OF OLDER PERSONS IN TERMS OF THE OLDER PERSONS ACT? THE ACT GIVES THE OLDER PERSONS THE RIGHT TO:
Participate in community life in any position appropriate to his or her interest and capabilities;
Participate in inter-generational programmes;
Establish and participate in structures and associations for older persons;
Participate in activities that enhance his or her income-generating capacity;
Live in an environment catering for his or her changing capacities; and
Access opportunities that promote his or her optimal level of social, physical, mental and emotional well being.
WHO MUST REPORT THE ABUSE OF OLDER PERSON?
Any person who suspects that an older person has been abused or suffers from an abuse - related injury.
Voiser-2025-02-20-vTGkVor6.mp3My Hearing Aid, Fort Napier Hospital and the Pinetown magistrate's courtroom.
One of the reasons the Pinetown magistrate's court is sending me to Fort Napier Hospital they tell me, is because i do not hear well enough inside the courtroom. My hearing is not as good as it should be and there is noise coming into the courtroom from the passages. And i cannot hear enough of what the magistrate and the prosecutor are saying. The magistrate and prosecutor are Zulu men and there pronunciation and accent is difficult for me to hear clearly what is being said as i am in the doc and not close enough to the podium. There is no sound equipment in the courtroom only a voice recorder.
To improve my hearing i use a hearing aid that have hearing aid assist. Unlike the normal hearing aid, they require a Cell Phone to change the settings in the hearing aid. I have only recently bought them and there is a problem when i am in the courtroom using them. They stop working. And i need to cup my ears to hear what the prosecutor is saying. So, i am standing in the doc, wearing my hearing aid, and cupping my ears at the same time trying to hear what is being said to me. The magistrate is understandably getting a bit anxious because i keep asking him to "say that again please Your Honour."
I have received 5 criminal summonses from the Pinetown Magistrates Court. And 6 warning notices from the Westville metro police. And i have spent 2 and a half months in Westville prison for no good reason.
Before I went to prison, the Westville Police came to my home to arrest me. They took me to the Westville police station, where they processed me and locked me up in the station prison for the night. The following morning, they put me into a police van and took me to the Pinetown Magistrates Court. That happened 3 times in 1 week.
Subsequently, they took me to Westville Prison and subjected me to another mental examination at Khan Hospital. I am 74 years old and have never needed a mental exam before. My office and home get broken into while I was out, resulting in my wide-format printer being broken. They also got onto the roof and damaged the gutter, fascia boards, and barge boards. More recently, they broke two of my computer screens. Someone picks the locks to my office.
I can't forget the beating I received and the struggle to walk afterward. I had just arrived in the Westville prison courtyard for 10 minutes when one of the guards grabbed my arm and beat me with his baton in the small of my back with such force that I screamed for him to stop. Another guard came to my rescue. I struggled for two weeks to walk and kneel afterward.
I had only been in Westville Prison for a week when they moved me to cell No 1. Is the cell where they lock up the prisoners for the night and load them into transport vehicles the next morning and taken to the various magistrate courts.
Later that night, I was held up for ransom in the cell at knifepoint and threatened with a glass weapon. There are about 60 prisoners in the cell and i was the only white person. They gave me a mobile phone and a Capitec bank number, instructing me to call for help and deposit money into that Capitec account. That morning, I was taken to the courthouse.
I really do not want to go to Fort Napier Hospital in Pietermaritzburg. Some patients have died there or there have been attacks on the patients.It has been 18 months into this trial for the same criminal summons. There is still no verdict. But i have been sent to prison 3 times. I have been to the court +-18 times.
I need the intervention of the state president Cyril Ramaphosa and Justice Raymond Zondo. Who need to review my case as I am under attack from government departments and especially those who I complained are involved in the Umgeni water board supply chain irregularities. I write about corruption and do not want to be left at the mercy of the corrupt.
My constitutional rights protect me from evidence wrongfully obtained. 35(5) Says, Evidence obtained in a manner that violates any right in the Bill of Rights must be excluded if the admission of that evidence would render the trial unfair. Because I have been jailed for no good reason, I request the intervention of the state president Cyril Ramaphosa and the honorable Justice Raymond Zondo.
John. Back home. The fight goes on. I will be 75 this year.
Apple Airpod Pro, Fort Napier Hospital and the Pinetown courtroom..mp3Apple Airpod Pro, Fort Napier Hospital and my complainant & the Pinetown courtroom.
One of the reasons the Pinetown magistrate's court is sending me to Fort Napier Hospital is because i dont hear everything that is being said inside the courtroom. My hearing is not as good as it should be and there is noise coming into the courtroom from the passages. And i cannot clearly hear everything the magistrate and the prosecutor say. There is no sound equipment in the courtroom only a voice recorder.
To improve my hearing i bought Apple Airpods Pro that have hearing aid assist. Unlike the normal hearing aid, they require an iPhone to change the settings in the AirPods. The iPhone & the AirPods communicate via Bluetooth. I have only recently bought them and there is a problem when i am in the courtroom using my AirPods Pro. They stop working. And i need to cup my ears to hear what the prosecutor is saying. So, i am standing in the doc, wearing my hearing aids, and cupping my ears at the same time trying to hear what is being said to me. The magistrate is understandably getting a bit anxious because i keep asking him to "say that again please Your Honour."
I have received 5 criminal summonses from the Pinetown Magistrates Court. And 6 warning notices from the Westville metro police. and was forced to take 4 mental evaluations and 30 days in the Fort Napier psychiatric Hospital in Pietermaritzburg.
And i have spent 2 and a half months in Westville prison and 1 week in the Rk Khan hospital in Chatsworth and 30 days in Fort Napier psychiatric hospital for absolutely no good reason.
EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THOSE EVENTS WAS A PLANNED ATTACK ON ME BY THOSE WHO SUPPORT CORRUPT ACTIVITY IN THE PROVINCE OF DURBAN KWAZULU NATAL. THEY HAVE TAKEN AWAY MY PENSION AND MY JOB.
Your Honour, I respectfully wish to bring to your attention that I have significant difficulty hearing and understanding the proceedings. The magistrate and the prosecutor, both of whom are Zulu and speak softly, are challenging for me to follow due to my hearing impairment. ( 60% hearing in left and right ear. ) Additionally, i did make an effort and purchase a hearing device however the settings are not optimized for this environment, as there is no amplification, only a microphone recording the proceedings. Attached is my hearing test, which indicates that I have 60% hearing in each ears. Kindly consider that the 25 times i have been to court the state has not satisfactorily provided a legally aid lawyer as i understood they would do. The legalAid service could not assist me as we could not agree on away forward other than i plead guilty and i was concerned they may have given me the blue note suggesting i use alternative methods to deal with case No 202/01/2024. And that disturbed me very much.
I am afraid of and do not trust the PM Court.mp3The Pinetown magistrate's Court
I am afraid of and don't trust the Pinetown Magistrate’s Court. After the magistrate’s clerk, sitting in front of the magistrate’s podium, gave me a blue paper with the name Detective Sergeant ---------- handwritten on it, I felt uneasy.
There is a procedure we follow each time just before I walk out of the dock: I ask the prosecutor to write the date and time of the next hearing on a slip of paper and hand it to me. On this occasion, I was also given the blue slip of paper. This felt like the court staff were offering me an alternative way other than following the normal legal courtroom procedures.
This makes me anxious, and I am not sure that the magistrate’s court will deal with me in an honest and truthful manner. I have had the following bad experiences at this courthouse:
On two occasions, I have been robbed inside the holding cell used by Court A. Court A is the courtroom I go to for hearings. Prisoners are held there just before they are taken to Westville Prison.
On another occasion, I was placed in a cell with six other prisoners who attacked me and damaged my mobile phone and damages my glasses and i had a cut lip.
I believe these are planned attacks on me because I am an activist raising awareness about irregular spending at the eThekwini Durban municipality.
Today, during the court hearing, the prosecutor said to me that they have booked me in, or are going to book me into a psychiatric hospital for further analysis. I asked the court to reconsider as i have already undergone analysis four times.
The medication i was forced to take while in the R K Khan hospital in Chatsworth was either an overdose or the wrong medication that hurt me so bad i did not recover for weeks afterwards. It effected my walking and memory and my thinking. It was a frightening the first night they gave it to me i had a terrible feeling of doom and gloom came over me and i could not see through what felt like a white sheet that was in front of my eyes and for a time I could not walk property. I kept wanting to fall over. it was the most terrible feeling of hopelessness and the worst i have ever experienced. I was convinced there would be no recovery, and all my clients would no longer be there and i would be without income. i felt awful and refused to take any more medication and that brought me into conflict with the resident doctor who said he will send me to Fort Napier.
I am an activist and it would be better for the authorities to focus on the irregular spending in the many departments of government and especially the eThekwini Durban municipality.
I have done nothing wrong. It is the Westville Blog that creates an awareness with regards to corruption in our Municipality.
To keep sending me to the Westville prison and to a mental asylum is the wrong thing to do. This will be the 5th time i have to go for mental observation. This is using the departments of government to silence the Westville Blog.
The last time i was in the R J Khan hospital they put me in a ward with many young men of the age 18 to 25 who were angry, aggressive and who violently attacked me and kicked me in the face. I could see that there was going to be an attack on me and i jumped off my bed to put my shoes on and run, when i was bent over to grab my shoes someone kicked me in the face. I started shouting for the security guard who arrive quickly.
News24: The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) has demanded files and documents regarding several multimillion-rand projects that were concluded by Umgeni Water.
The unit has been given the green light to investigate allegations of corruption and maladministration in the affairs of the water board in KwaZulu-Natal, and to recover any financial losses suffered by the state through corruption and negligence.
I have recently spent 2 and a half months in westville prison.mp3I HAVE RECENTLY SPENT 2 AND A HALF MONTHS IN WESTVILLE PRISON AND A WEEK IN THE R K KHAN HOSPITAL. THAT WAS A PLANNED ATTACK ON ME AND WESTVILLE BLOG BY THOES WHO PARTICIPATE IN THE LOOTING OF THE DURBAN MUNICIPALITY.
Something is wrong, I don't think this was necessary. I am 74 years old and have never been for a psychiatric evaluation and i do not have a criminal record, So while i was in prison they forced me to do 3 psychiatric evaluations at R K Khan Hospital in Chatsworth and a 4th evaluation at the Westville prison. And the resident psychiatric doctor at R K Khan hospital is telling me that he is unable to deal with me and i will need to go to the Fort Napier facility that is far away from Durban for a few months to be assessed. Those evaluations were nothing less than an assault on me
The Durban eThekwini Municipality. It is the Durban municipality that used the organs of state to attack those who oppose their corrupt behavior. As they have done so by using the magistrates courts issuing 3 criminal summonses against me. What the management of this municipality should be doing is finding the 4.3 billion rand (read page 132) that went missing in 2021 according to the South Africa Auditor General's office.
Harassment at my home
Food tampering. Someone gets into my flat and contaminate my food. It has the effect of paralyzing my muscles and makes it difficult for me to move around. I cannot easily leave my flat to go somewhere. And i find it impossible to securely lock out intruders. Recently i purchased an expensive alarm but have found that it is being jammed or that the wifi connection has stopped working. So i have no way of securing my flat and cannot go for my walk each day. I am well and truly home bound. A horrible situation when i live on my own.
Damage to my property and office equipment over the last two months.
Yesterday 29th October someone got into my flat and brushed paint on a new pair of shorts i bought the day before.
BIC Firelighters i found at my window. Three days ago.
Last week. Damage to my home.
A willful and purposeful attack on my home
The head of the eThekwini Municipality anti corruption unit.mp3IOL: Durban. The far-reaching effects of fraud and corruption, which have placed South Africans and the economy in a vulnerable position, came under scrutiny during a seminar in Durban.
The head of eThekwini Municipality’s anti-corruption unit has raised concerns about the failure to act against those the unit has flagged for allegations of wrongdoing, saying this undermines the fight against corruption.
Thulani Ntobela, the City’s integrity and investigations unit (CIIU) head, was speaking on the City’s communication platform, eThekwini Matters.
Speaking on the City’s success when it comes to dealing with the cases before it, Ntobela said it was difficult to measure the success when the recommendations of the unit were not implemented.
“Success is a difficult word because our success depends on how the people take our recommendations forward.
“For us to say we have made some findings, recommendations are not a success if the perpetrator is not put in jail, or is still an employee of the municipality and has not been dismissed, nor remedial steps were taken.
Ntobela said some managers simply provided reasons why the recommendation could not be implemented, even in the face of overwhelming evidence.
“In some cases we open a case and the police investigation takes long, until we lose track of that case. We look and cry as (our cases fail).”
Speaking on the cases that the unit has resolved, Ntobela revealed that when he started there a few months ago, the unit was still dealing with cases dating back to 2017 that had not been concluded.
“We had cases of 2017, 2018, 2019. The negative impact that those cases have is that it does not yield any results when you successfully solve them because they have been subjected to prescription.
“You cannot go and recover the money because its been more than three years. That was my focus, to say, let’s clean all the backlog so we can focus on the current and the future.”
He said to date the unit had dealt with cases from 2017 and were now halfway with cases from 2019, and hopefully by January they would be dealing with cases from 2020 onwards.
DA leader in eThekwini Thabani Mthethwa said the city manager should account for lack of consequence management in the municipality.
He said if heads of department do not act on CIIU recommendations, then the city manager must act.
