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Billy Downer
William (Billy)John Downer is a retired South African prosecutor, known for his prosecution of high profile government corruption cases. Background After Downer graduated from Stellenbosch University he was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship to study at the University of Oxford, United Kingdom, where he obtained a Bachelor of Civil Law degree. He thereafter, joined the South African Department of Justice, the forerunner to the National Prosecuting Authority. In 2021, he retired in Cape Town, South Africa. Jacob Zuma prosecution Despite his retirement, as of 2022, Downer was still prosecuting the former President of South Africa, Jacob Zuma, on charges of fraud and corruption. The case against the former President relates to a government arms procurement deal, dating back to 1999. In 2005, Downer secured the conviction of Zuma’s financial advisor, Schabir Shaik.The prosecution of Zuma has taken many years with Zuma having been accused of using Stalingrad tactics to evade his ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stellenbosch University
Stellenbosch University ( af, Universiteit Stellenbosch) is a public research university situated in Stellenbosch, a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Stellenbosch is the oldest university in South Africa and the oldest extant university in Sub-Saharan Africa, together with the University of Cape Town - which received full university status on the same day in 1918. Stellenbosch University (abbreviated as SU) designed and manufactured Africa's first microsatellite, SUNSAT, launched in 1999. Stellenbosch University was the first African university to sign the Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Knowledge in the Sciences and Humanities. The students of Stellenbosch University are nicknamed "Maties". The term probably arises from the Afrikaans word "tamatie" (meaning tomato, and referring to the maroon sports uniforms and blazer colour). An alternative theory is that the term comes from the Afrikaans colloquialism ''maat'' (meaning "buddy" or "mate"), originally u ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
South African Arms Deal
The Strategic Defence Package, popularly known as the Arms Deal, was a major defence procurement programme undertaken to re-equip the South African armed forces for the post-apartheid era. It is commonly associated with the large-scale corruption that is alleged to have taken place during and after the procurement process. Some critics have said that the Arms Deal was a defining moment or turning point for the African National Congress (ANC) government, less than five years into its tenure. Following decades of sanctions and a major review of its functions and strategy, the Department of Defence sought to modernise its defence equipment and prepare to participate in a broader range of peace-keeping, defensive, and possibly offensive operations outside South Africa's borders. In 1998, Parliament and the cabinet of President Nelson Mandela, both dominated by the ANC, approved a Defence Review Report which entailed large scale procurement of defence equipment. In December 1999, the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1956 Births
Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim Elliot and Pete Fleming, are killed for trespassing by the Huaorani people of Ecuador, shortly after making contact with them. * January 16 – Egyptian leader Gamal Abdel Nasser vows to reconquer Palestine (region), Palestine. * January 25–January 26, 26 – Finnish troops reoccupy Porkkala, after Soviet Union, Soviet troops vacate its military base. Civilians can return February 4. * January 26 – The 1956 Winter Olympics open in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. February * February 11 – British Espionage, spies Guy Burgess and Donald Maclean (spy), Donald Maclean resurface in the Soviet Union, after being missing for 5 years. * February 14–February 25, 25 – The 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union is held in Mosc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stellenbosch University Alumni
Stellenbosch (; )A Universal Pronouncing Gazetteer. Thomas Baldwin, 1852. Philadelphia: Lippincott, Grambo & Co.A Grammar of Afrikaans. Bruce C. Donaldson. 1993. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter. is a town in the province of , situated about east of |
South African Rhodes Scholars
South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz'' ("south"), possibly related to the same Proto-Indo-European root that the word ''sun'' derived from. Some languages describe south in the same way, from the fact that it is the direction of the sun at noon (in the Northern Hemisphere), like Latin meridies 'noon, south' (from medius 'middle' + dies 'day', cf English meridional), while others describe south as the right-hand side of the rising sun, like Biblical Hebrew תֵּימָן teiman 'south' from יָמִין yamin 'right', Aramaic תַּימנַא taymna from יָמִין yamin 'right' and Syriac ܬܰܝܡܢܳܐ taymna from ܝܰܡܝܺܢܳܐ yamina (hence the name of Yemen, the land to the south/right of the Levant). Navigation By convention, the ''bottom or down-facing side'' of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Living People
Related categories * :Year of birth missing (living people) / :Year of birth unknown * :Date of birth missing (living people) / :Date of birth unknown * :Place of birth missing (living people) / :Place of birth unknown * :Year of death missing / :Year of death unknown * :Date of death missing / :Date of death unknown * :Place of death missing / :Place of death unknown * :Missing middle or first names See also * :Dead people * :Template:L, which generates this category or death years, and birth year and sort keys. : {{DEFAULTSORT:Living people 21st-century people People by status ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Star (South Africa)
''The Star'' is a daily newspaper based in Gauteng, South Africa. The paper is distributed mainly in Gauteng and other provinces such as Mpumalanga, Limpopo, North West, and Free State. ''The Star'' is one of the titles of the South African Independent News & Media group (INL), owned by Sekunjalo Media Consortium whose founder and chairman is Dr. Iqbal Survé. For many years, ''The Star'' was owned by the Argus Printing & Publishing Company, controlled by the Anglo American Corporation. The Irish Independent News & Media (INM) bought and renamed the Argus in the early 1990s. Sekujalo acquired INL in 2013. Content The content published in ''The Star'' focuses on leading daily national, local and international national news and analysis. Its leader and opinion page offers a platform for thought leaders to contribute their opinions on topical news. Products ''The Star'' houses the ''Business Report'' newspaper (a widely-read financial newspaper in South Africa), as well a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stalingrad Legal Defense
The Stalingrad legal defense is a strategy usually used by a defendant to wear down the plaintiff or legal proceedings by appealing every ruling that is unfavorable to the defendant and using whatever other means possible to delay proceedings. Typically a meritorious case is not presented by the defendant. The term comes from the World War II era Battle of Stalingrad where the Soviet Union won the battle by wearing down attacking German forces over the course of 5 months. A notable use of this legal defense strategy was by former South African president Jacob Zuma in attempting to avoid giving testimony before the Zondo Commission The Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture, Corruption and Fraud in the Public Sector including Organs of State, better known as the Zondo Commission or State Capture Commission, is a public inquiry established in Janu ... into state corruption. Zuma used a number of legal challenges, medical delays, private prosecutions ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Schabir Shaik
Schabir Shaik is a South African businessman from Berea, Durban, who rose to prominence due to his close association with former South African President Jacob Zuma during Zuma's time as Deputy President. On 2 June 2005, he was found guilty of corruption and fraud, which also led to Zuma's dismissal by then President Thabo Mbeki. Early life A South African of Indian origin, Shaik studied electrical engineering at the M.L. Sultan Technikon. 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 Holdings was initially wh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jacob Zuma Corruption Charges
Jacob Zuma, the former president of South Africa, is currently facing criminal charges relating to alleged corruption in the South African Arms Deal, 1999 Arms Deal. He was first indicted on the charges in June 2005, but attempts to prosecute him have been beset by legal challenges and political controversy. He is currently charged with two counts of corruption, one count each of racketeering and money laundering, and twelve counts of fraud, all arising from his receipt of 783 payments which the state alleges were bribes from businessman Schabir Shaik and French arms company Thales Group, Thales. The Arms Deal, a major defence procurement package, was signed shortly after Zuma was appointed deputy president in 1999, and both Shaik and Thales had financial interests in the underlying contracts. By 2003, Zuma was one of several South African politicians rumoured to have benefited improperly from the deal, and these rumours appeared to receive substantiation during Schabir Shaik tria ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rhodes Scholarship
The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom. Established in 1902, it is the oldest graduate scholarship in the world. It is considered among the world's most prestigious international scholarship programs. Its founder, Cecil John Rhodes, wanted to promote unity among English-speaking nations and instill a sense of civic-minded leadership and moral fortitude in future leaders, irrespective of their chosen career paths. Initially restricted to male applicants from countries that are today within the Commonwealth, Germany and the United States, the scholarship is now open to applicants from all backgrounds and genders around the world. Since its creation, controversy has surrounded its initial exclusion of women, its historical failure to select black Africans, and Cecil Rhodes's own standing as a British imperialist. Rhodes Scholars have achieved distinction as politicians, academics, s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
