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| Sheryl and Frank Get 20 Years |
Sheryl Cwele, wife of South Africa’s intelligence minister and, her Nigeriansidekick, Frank Nabolisa have been convicted of drug trafficking for recruiting young women to smuggle drugs into the country.
Religion was often evident during the trial and seemed to be a connection between Sheryl and two women she was accused of recruiting to traffic cocaine, Tessa Beetge and Charmaine Moss. The trial also highlighted how SA has been caught up in international drug trafficking – and how white women from resort towns along KwaZulu-Natal’s south coast – usually unemployed and desperate for money – are lured into becoming drug carriers.
Cwele, who is married to minister Siyabonga Cwele in charge of state security, recruited women to act as drug mules in order to smuggle cocaine into South Africa from Turkey and South America, a judge found. She was found guilty of drug trafficking by the Pietermaritzburg High Court.
Judge Piet Koen said it was clear that Cwele and her co-accused Nigerian Frank Nabolisa had worked together to recruit two women to work as agents to transport drugs. The two had pleaded not guilty to dealing or conspiring to deal in drugs, procuring a woman called Charmaine Moss to collect drugs in Turkey, and procuring another woman, Tessa Beetge, to smuggle cocaine from South America.
In a spectacular fail, Cwele had appealed to the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) against her conviction alone, while Nabolisa appealed both his conviction and sentence. The SCA obviously saw nothing new in the case and dismissed their appeals against their convictions. Not only that but the court set aside the sentences imposed by the trial court and replaced them with a sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment for each of them.
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| Beetge Drug Mule |
Beetge, of the KwaZulu-Natal south coast, was arrested when 10kg of cocaine was found in her luggage in Brazil in 2008, and is serving a jail sentence in Sao Paolo.
Charmaine Moss, a professional beauty therapist and former police officer, told the court she met Cwele in 2005 when they both took their children to a choir on the KwaZulu-Natal south coast.
They lost contact and then "bumped" into each other in 2007 at a shopping centre, where Cwele told Moss about a job opportunity overseas. She would be a beauty therapist or a caregiver and earn R25,000 in two weeks, the court heard.
Moss decided against taking the offer when she became suspicious after Cwele introduced her to Nabolisa, who was described as an agent who organised overseas jobs.
Moss, who was told to go overseas and pick up a parcel with unspecified contents, turned down the offer when she suspected something was amiss. She turned State's witness. Cwele promised them a salary of R25,000 for two weeks work.
Moss said in her evidence that Cwele had approached her and mentioned that she had worked overseas a number of times in 2005, but that she now held a permanent position with the Hibiscus Coast district municipality. "Sheryl informed her that she had been contacted again to work overseas and that she had been directed by 'the Lord' in her dream to offer 'work' to her," the judgement states. "When Charmaine showed interest in the offer, Sheryl advised her that a firm in Sandton would secure the work for her and that she would be paid R25 000 for the two weeks that she would be overseas. Her airfare would also be covered."
In conversations with Moss, Cwele referred to arrangements being made for visas and tickets by her "brother Frank". In answer to an inquiry about why her brother was involved, she responded that he was one of the partners in the firm that organised the overseas work. After some delay Moss travelled to Johannesburg, where Nabolisa had taken her to a friend's hotel, which she described as "very scary".
Moss called Cwele and told her that Nabolisa had said she should ask her [Cwele] what she [Moss] was going to do in Turkey, the judgement states.
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| Sidekick Frank Nabolisa |
"Sheryl advised her there was nothing serious, that she should not speak to anyone and that she would be required to bring back a packet for Frank. But by then Moss had already lost interest in the overseas engagement, having decided the previous evening that she would no longer go overseas. Since she knew of the availability of courier services to deliver parcels from one country to another, she became suspicious and decided that she would go back home."
On top of the evidence from Moss, there was drug mule Tessa Beetge's arrest at São Paulo Airport in Brazil on June 13 2008 for drug trafficking, after two packets containing 9.25kg and 1.025 kg of cocaine were found in her luggage. She received a sentence of seven years and nine months' imprisonment, the judgement continues.
Beetge's mother testified that Cwele, a former neighbour had arranged their daughter's trip to Brazil after offering her a job doing administration work overseas. Charmaine Moss, had been told to travel to Turkey and pick up an unspecified parcel, but refused the assignment and instead turned state witness.
The court relied mainly on text messages and emails between Beetge and Cwele to reach its conclusion. In his ruling, Koen said that Cwele was involved in making travel arrangements for the women, and questioned the payment of such a large amount of 25,000 rands ($3,700) for work that required no qualifications.
Siyabonga Cwele has previously said that he had no knowledge of his wife’s drug dealing, and he did not attend court for the verdict. But his wife’s conviction has fuelled calls from opposition politicians for his resignation, and sparked questions about whether she took advantage of his position in government.
Critics have said that if Cwele was unaware of his wife’s drug smuggling, then he should not be in charge of the country's security and intelligence operations, Reuters reports.
Cwele’s accomplice Frank Nabolisa, a Nigerian national, was also found guilty by the High Court in Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal province. Judge Piet Koen said that the pair had clearly worked together to recruit the women as drug mules.
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| Directed by 'the Lord' in Her Dream |
Until her trip abroad, Beetge, a divorcée with two young daughters, had been living with her parents at their home in Margate. On hearing that their daughter had been offered some work overseas, her parents accompanied her to meet Cwele at her office to find out more about the job. After trying to call Nabolisa about the travel arrangements, Cwele told the family about her travels overseas and that the reason for her offering the opportunity to Beetge was because she was tired of travelling.
Beetge's mother, Marie Swanepoel, heard from her daughter on Friday June 13 2008. "Tessa reported to her that she had been arrested in São Paulo for drug trafficking," the judgement states. "After she had received the news of Tessa's arrest, Ms Swanepoel called Sheryl, who promised to call her back the next morning. Sheryl indeed called her as promised and told her that the Brazilian embassy would contact her, which never materialised."
The judgement recaps how the mother visited her daughter in prison in Brazil and brought home her cellphone, a SIM card from Peru and another from Colombia, plus a SIM card from South Africa and a suitcase, which was not the one she had left with on her trip.
Swanepoel used her daughter's password and downloaded all the data messages between Cwele and Beetge and handed the evidence to the police. Email correspondence was then obtained by an investigating officer who had visited Beetge in Brazil.
According to the judgment, Cwele's counsel conceded that she knew the business venture that was to involve Beetge was unlawful. While in Peru, Beetge wrote in an email to Cwele that she was waiting for a reply from her and Nabolisa.
Cwele responded two days later: "Hi Tess, Frank told me about the delay which is for your own good really. I understand you are coming back on Monday/Tuesday? Keep well and avoid people who may end up asking a lot of questions. See you soon, hang in there. Sheryl Cwele."
The judgement states that Cwele recruited Beetge and worked closely with Nabolisa in arranging her return to South Africa. "She even assured Tessa that the delay in her travel arrangements was for her own good, an indication in my view that she had knowledge of the dangers associated with the trip.
"… [S]he knew that Tessa was required to bring back something which it is unlawful to possess. Tessa was thereafter arrested with cocaine in her possession. The inference is irresistible, therefore, that Sheryl knew that the unlawful substance that Tessa was required to bring back was, in fact, cocaine."
Cwele and Nabolisa had both pleaded not guilty to charges including dealing or conspiring to deal drugs, and procuring the two women to smuggle drugs into South Africa. Neither Cwele or Nabolisa chose to testify in court. In the case of Cwele, as she faces her lengthy sentence behind bars, little is known about why she would have become involved in drug dealing.
Drug mule Tessa Beetge is “on top of the world” after only now being informed about the jailing of the pair who recruited her. Beetge, 35, who is serving an eight-year sentence in a Brazilian jail, felt vindicated that Sheryl Cwele and her accomplice, Frank Nabolisa, were in jail, her mother, Marie Swanepoel, said .
“She’s always said it was Cwele and Nabolisa who were behind the whole drug trafficking case and her subsequent arrest
It emerged during that trial that Nabolisa had acquired his South African ID fraudulently after his initial one was withdrawn when he defaulted on maintenance payments to one of two South African women to whom he had been married at different times.
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| Security Minister Siyabonga Cwele |
The conviction is the latest blow to South Africa's security services, coming on the heels of the arrest in March of the police's crime intelligence chief over a deadly love triangle a decade earlier. State Security Minister Siyabonga Cwele has ordered his top three intelligence chiefs to quit.
This follows a row over official protection provided for the minister’s wife during her trial on drug-trafficking charges. State Security ministry spokesperson Brian Dube that Gibson Njenje, the head of the State Security Agency’s (SSA) domestic branch – previously known as the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) – had resigned. He would not comment on “other speculation”.
Njenje’s resignation and its acceptance “with immediate effect” was announced within the agency, which is responsible for domestic and international intelligence, Cwele also asked director-general Jeff Maqetuka and the head of the South African Secret Service – now known as the agency’s foreign branch – Moe Shaik, to leave the agency. They have allegedly refused to quit and have sought legal advice in the past week.
Insiders in the SSA say that the breakdown in trust between the minister and his intelligence chiefs are, among others, as a result of his wife Sheryl Cwele’s drug-trafficking conviction
The catalyst for the showdown was a deep unhappiness within the agency after Cwele allegedly ordered that his wife be afforded intelligence protection for the duration of her trial. She was, insiders claim, transported to and from her trial in official vehicles and protected by intelligence-agency officers.
Sheryl Cwele was afforded full protection for the duration of her trial, even though the agency does not have a VIP protection unit and any protection would have had to be authorised by Njenje himself.
Disgraced former director for health and community services at Hibiscus Coast Municipality and convicted drug dealer, Sheryl Cwele, is now officially divorced from her husband, State Security Minister Siyabonga Cwele. The Witness has established that the divorce, which follows hot on the heels of 50-year-old Sheryl's cocaine trafficking conviction in May this year, was granted by Judge Trevor Gorven in the KwaZulu-Natal High Court in Pietermaritzburg on August 23.
According to the application papers, the minister had “lost all love and affection” for his wife and wished to be divorced from her. Court documents revealed the couple had not lived together as husband and wife since 2000 after getting married in 1985.
This contradicts Cwele’s denial at her bail hearing in February 2010 that she is estranged from her husband. In an apparent bid to allay rumours that they had split up at the time, the minister attended the bail application flanked by his bodyguards. He sat directly behind his wife in the dock, but she did not turn to look at him and he did not speak to her.
This wasn't the first time Sheryl had been found to be corrupt, if you can call being the head of an international drug ring corrupt. In April 2005 results of a forensic investigation into alleged fraud and corruption in the municipality, conducted by the Traditional and Local Government Affairs Department were released. Guess what, Cwele applied for her job after the closing date of November 8, 2002. She had no supporting documents, nothing in her application was certified and her application form wasn't even completed.
This shining beacon of South African politics has twice had her contract renewed, despite the fact that she didn’t meet the department’s competency profiles nor the minimum competency levels specified in the Municipal Finance Management Act regulations, required for officials at her level of seniority. She’s been found guilty of: Fraud, Incompetence, Nepotism, and now Drug trafficking
Convicted drug dealer Sheryl Cwele awoke on Friday morning to a new routine – one she will follow until she qualifies for parole, probably after serving at least half of her 20-year prison sentence.
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| Prison Life |
A senior prison official, who asked to remain anonymous, said her day would begin at 5am and end at 3pm, when she would be locked up in her cell. An official told reporters that the former Hibiscus Coast municipality’s director of health services and ex-wife of State Security Minister, Siyabonga Cwele, would be treated like any other offender.
“She will be locked up like rapists, murderers and other common criminals. There will be no special treatment for her,” said the official. The official said that on arrival Cwele was officially booked in, which included having her fingerprints taken. After a body search, Cwele changed into prison uniform – a blue denim skirt and white shirt.
“She started at the prison hospital for a medical check-up, which includes checking that she does not have injuries or illnesses. I’m not sure how long she is going to be at the hospital,” said the official.
Once in the cells, Cwele will start the day with a shower with the other inmates before cleaning her cell. The prisoners then leave their cells to line up on the balcony to be counted before eating a breakfast of brown bread with jam and porridge and a cup of tea.