Siyabonga Cyprian Cwele - The Minister of State Security
Current Position(s) Minister of State Security South Africa (2009 - present)
Member of Parliament, National Assembly, (1994 - present)
Political Party Member, African National Congress,
Previous Position(s)
Minister of Intelligence, Government of South Africa (2008 - 2009)
Education / Degree(s)
AND NOW FOR HIS WIFE
Sheryl Cwele
Director of Health and Community Services
South Africa, Hibiscus Coast Municipality, Government & Public Administration, Public Service/ Administration
Current Position(s) Director of Health and Community Services, Hibiscus Coast Municipality , South Africa (2002 - present)
AND SHE SELLS DRUGS!!!
Importing cocaine into South Africa, recruiting young white women on the pretext of arranging short-term jobs for them overseas.
The State Security Minister was urged to prove that he was in no way involved in the matter or to resign from the Cabinet.
Minister's wife cleared....
2009-06-18
A senior Hibiscus Coast municipal employee alleged to have links to an international drug trafficking ring has been cleared of charges relating to the misuse of the KwaZulu-Natal city’s resources.
Sheryl Cwele, the wife of State Security Minister Siyabonga Cwele, was investigated in connection with her e-mail correspondence with drug mule Tessa Beetge, who is serving an eight-year sentence in a Brazilian prison.
The municipality’s investigators found that Cwele, the director of health and community services, had used council resources in her correspondence with Beetge, which might have breached municipal policies, but had been on too small a scale to require disciplinary action be taken.
“The findings confirmed that there were almost 11 e-mails exchanged between Sheryl and Tessa. These relate to international travel arrangements and related delay, and prayers, and theological messages,” he said.
“The conclusion of the investigation is that if there was any breach of the policy, then it would have been a minor one which did not necessarily warrant disciplinary action.”
http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/Ministers-wife-cleared-20090618
Security minister's wife in court for drugs
2010-01-29 Sheryl Cwele, 50, wife of State Security Minister Siyabonga Cwele, appeared on charges of drug dealing in the KwaZulu-Natal High Court on Friday.
She was arrested in Port Shepstone on Friday morning and brought to Pietermaritzburg. She is the director of health and community services for the Hibiscus Coast (Uvongo/Margate) municipality.
She was arrested in Port Shepstone on Friday morning and brought to Pietermaritzburg. She is the director of health and community services for the Hibiscus Coast (Uvongo/Margate) municipality.
http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/Security-ministers-wife-in-court-for-drugs-20100129
Sheryl Cwele to stay behind bars
2010-01-29
Sheryl Cwele to stay behind bars
2010-01-29
Cwele, who was arrested at her office on Friday morning, would remain in jail until her bail application is heard next Friday.
Sheryl Cwele still behind bars
2010-02-01
Bail application papers for Sheryl Cwele, 50, wife of State Security Minister Siyabonga Cwele will be filed in the KwaZulu-Natal High Court on Tuesday.
Cwele’s lawyer Mvuseni Ngubane said: "We will file bail application papers early on Tuesday and the State will file on Thursday. What is happening is the exchange of papers."
The bail hearing would take place on Friday, he said.
Sheryl Cwele denies drug charges
2010-02-02
Sheryl Cwele, 50, the wife of State Security Minister Siyabonga Cwele, has denied being involved in drug trafficking.
In bail application papers filed in the KwaZulu-Natal High Court on Tuesday, Cwele describes how she got involved with the man accused of working with her to traffic drugs.
"I wish to categorically state that I never knowingly participated in any drug trafficking, conspiracy or incitement to deal in drugs as set out in the indictment or at all," said Cwele.
Sheryl Cwele's bail papers not filed
2010-02-02
The filing of bail application papers for Sheryl Cwele, wife of State Security Minister Siyabonga Cwele, was delayed in the KwaZulu-Natal High Court in Pietermaritzburg on Tuesday.
Cwele’s lawyer Mvuseni Ngubane on Monday said the papers would be lodged early on Tuesday.
By 13:30, Cwele’s legal team had yet to file the bail application papers. The bail hearing is set to take place on Friday.
Sheryl Cwele wants to test cocaine
2010-02-03
Alleged drug dealer Sheryl Cwele has denied ever “knowingly” participating in drug trafficking or related charges and has demanded that the State should locate the cocaine she is alleged to have dealt in so that she can determine “if it is in fact cocaine”.
In an affidavit in support of her bail application, to be heard on Friday, 49-year-old Cwele - who is married to State Security Minister Siyabonga Cwele - said that when she asked, through her legal representative, that the cocaine in question be made available for testing, the State’s response was that it “must be somewhere in Brazil”.
“It is clear that the State has not even seen the alleged cocaine, let alone tested it to ensure that it is in fact cocaine,” she said.
Cwele said she was concerned that the State had decided to charge her and tell the court that it was ready to proceed to trial when it may “well be obliged to retrieve the substance, which may no longer be in existence, from Brazil".
“It is not in the interest of justice to keep me in custody when the State still has to go hunting for cocaine,” she added.
Cwele complains in her affidavit that a large portion of the investigation docket given to her in the case is in Portuguese and said that by putting allegations against her in Portuguese the State acted unconstitutionally.
Sheryl Cwele case is private
2010-02-04
The state security department declined to comment on Thursday on the drug charges against Sheryl Cwele, who is the wife of State Security Minister Siyabonga Cwele. "We wish to advise that the matter is before the courts and that the accused be accorded her rights to dignity and a fair trial which must be respected. Any inquiries must be directed to the National Prosecuting Authority or the lawyers representing her," said spokesperson Brian Dube.
They would also not make any further comment on the matter.
Ms Cwele denied being involved in drug trafficking in her bail application papers filed in the KwaZulu-Natal High Court in Pietermaritzburg on Tuesday.
"I wish to categorically state that I never knowingly participated in any drug trafficking, conspiracy or incitement to deal in drugs as set out in the indictment or at all," she stated.
Sheryl Cwele a flight risk, court hears
2010-02-04Sheryl Cwele, the wife of State Security Minister Siyabonga Cwele, should not be granted bail because she is a flight risk, the State argued in the KwaZulu-Natal High Court in Pietermaritzburtg on Thursday.
Cwele was also likely to interfere with the investigation or trial, the State argued in papers filed with the court opposing bail.
It had a strong case against her and intended calling five witnesses, it submitted.
Sheryl Cwele has 3 valid passports
2010-02-04Drug trafficking accused, Sheryl Cwele, 49, currently has three valid passports, travels abroad regularly and a record of her 16 trips overseas between 2001 and 2009 indicated that she'd made mainly round trips "barely sleeping on the other side" before returning to South Africa.
The purpose for these visits was "not clear". These are the findings of a department of home affairs investigator, Willem Vorster, whose affidavit was filed in theKwaZulu-Natal High Court by the prosecution in opposition to the granting of bail to Cwele, also says forged RSA passports are "readily available" and that "factories" making them are run mainly by illegal foreigners of West Africa origin.
In her affidavit filed earlier this week, Cwele said she had lost her passport and currently has a temporary passport which she applied for in December last year as the family was travelling to Mozambique. She had also applied for a permanent passport which was awaiting collection.
Cwele added that although it was a work requirement for her to have a passport she is "not really a regular traveller" and that the last overseas trip she undertook was a work-related one to Sweden in 2007 or 2008.
According to Ludick when he arrested Cwele at the entrance to the Hibiscus municipality building where she works on Friday last week, she was "suddenly locked", and when the doors were opened it was clear that staff were trying to protect her.
Ludick said police had to search the building to find Cwele.
"She was found hiding behind a desk, in the dark, and which was not even her office."
Cweles not estranged - lawyer
2010-02-05
It was not true that State Security Minister Siyabonga Cwele and his drug trafficking accused wife Sheryl have been estranged for five years, a court heard on Friday.
Sheryl Cwele's lawyer Mvuseni Ngubane told the Pietermaritzburg High Court the couple had spent the December holidays together in Mozambique.
"The allegation is a lie. It does not exist.......
Minister Cwele at court for wife
2010-02-05
State Security Minister Siyabonga Cwele attended the bail application for his wife Sheryl Cwele in the KwaZulu-Natal High Court on Friday.
His appearance surprised journalists as he and his wife had been estranged for more than four years, according to court papers.
The court gallery was full of Cwele's relatives and friends.
'No special rules' for Sheryl Cwele
2010-02-05
Cabinet have not discussed a drug trafficking case against the wife of State Security Minister Siyabonga Cwele, says Deputy Police Minister Fikile Mbalula.
"Why would cabinet discuss a specific case," Mbalula said at a media conference at the ANC's offices in Cape Town on Friday.
"The courts and law enforcement agencies are dealing with the matter."
"There is no way cabinet can change into a judiciary or bench of judges to determine the case of an individual."
Fikile Mbalula. said the case was being treated "just like any other".
"There are not special rules for somebody because they are a wife of somebody."
"There is always a problem with media in South Africa. You put the cart before the horse. "
“You don't know even know the facts but you are already calling for people to die."
Sheryl Cwele granted R100 000 bail
2010-02-05
Sheryl Cwele, the wife of State Security Minister Siyabonga Cwele, was granted bail of R100 000 by the KwaZlu-Natal High Court on Friday.
After hearing arguments from Cwele's lawyer and the State prosecutor, Judge Sharmaine Balton said she was satisfied the minister’s wife would not evade trial or interfere with the State witnesses.
“I am very concerned about the period that she will have to wait. It's unacceptable that the applicant should languish in prison too long before the start of the trial,” she said.
The State had earlier indicated it would be ready for trial in October.
Giving reasons why Cwele should not be granted bail, State prosecutor Ian Cooke said he was concerned that the accused had been out of the country 16 times in less than a year and had three passports.
Ngubane said his client deserved bail, as the State had a weak case.
“The State does not have the cocaine that it alleges was smuggled by my client. We will request the State to furnish us with the cocaine so that we can inspect it.”
Sheryl Cwele's drug trial date set
2010-02-12
The drug trafficking trial of Sheryl Cwele, wife of State Security Minister Siyabonga Cwele, and her Nigerian co-accused will begin on October 11, the KwaZulu-Natal High Court in Pietermaritzburg heard.
3 Brazilians to testify in Sheryl Cwele case
2010-10-11
Three Brazilians will testify in the drug trafficking case against the state security minister’s wife and a Nigerian national, the KwaZulu-Natal High Court in Pietermaritzburg heard on Monday.
The drug trafficking case against Frank Nabolisa and Sheryl Cwele, 42, the wife of State Security Minister Siyabonga Cwele, started at 10:00 on Monday.
The court heard that the State would call Jean Carlos de Bortole of the Brazilian Federal Police, Carolina Passato Braga, and Denilison Ricardo Maia who examines drugs.
Mom hopes for daughter's release
2010-10-12
Tessa Beetge, the South Coast woman who was arrested in Brazil in 2008 for being in possession of 9.2kg of cocaine, is eager to return to South Africa and put everything that has happened behind her, according to her mother, Marie Swanepoel.
I made a big mistake - Sheryl Cwele witness
2010-10-12
South Coast beautician Charmaine Moss testified on Monday that she made a "big mistake" by putting her trust in her friend Sheryl Cwele - wife of State Security Minister Siyabonga Cwele - who is on trial with Nigerian Frank Nabolisa for trafficking in cocaine.
Moss said Cwele told her she had recommended her to an agency that previously found Cwele work overseas, because she had a “dream” that God wanted her to.
Cwele told her she had worked overseas “16 or 17 times” for the same agency after her husband left her in 2005.
It was arranged for Moss to fly to Johannesburg and on to Turkey, once her visa was obtained. At first Moss said she did not ask questions about the agency, the work she was to do, or salary of R25 000 (for two weeks’ work) that Cwele said she would be paid.
Cwele mentioned she might work in a health spa, be a caregiver or do administrative work.
”I trusted my friend - later I realised I made a big mistake, Charmain said. She testified further on Monday that she decided to abandon the offer by Cwele and Nabolisa of work after an incident when Nabolisa told her she was "asking too many questions" and slapped her across the mouth the day before she was due to fly to Turkey.
She said she started to ask questions after becoming "nervous" because Nabolisa drove her through a seemingly "bad" area in Johannesburg. "Something told me I was in the wrong place," said Moss.
Sheryl Cwele subsequently explained her job was to bring a parcel back from Turkey for "Frank", but she did not accept. Nabolisa took her to the airport and paid for her flight home, she said.
Mother of 'drug mule' testifies
2010-10-13
Swanepoel told the court how excited her daughter was when Cwele allegedly organised an overseas job for her which would see her getting free travel, free accommodation, free clothing and £1 000.
She said her daughter had been told she would work in London.
Sheryl Cwele gave assurances....
2010-10-14
They’d met with Cwele at her Hibiscus Coast municipal office who assured them they had nothing to worry about. Cwele said Beetge’s flights would be paid for, she’d be accommodated in a top London hotel, given clothing and earn a thousand pounds doing “admin work”. Prior to her departure from Durban (on May 14,2008) Cwele gave Beetge a warm (leopard coloured) “good luck “ coat to wear and an envelope with R500 to pay for her flight to Johannesburg.
Six days later Cwele called to say Tessa had landed safely at “JF Kennedy airport”, but after that when Swanepoel tried to reach Cwele she did not call back.
At midnight on Friday, June 13, 2008, Swanepoel got a call from Beetge to say she was arrested for drug trafficking at Sao Paulo airport.
”Within half an hour I called Sheryl to tell her Tessa was arrested...She called me the next morning and said we should await a call from the Brazilian embassy but nothing happened.”
In the period that followed she said she tried to “get answers” from Cwele but her office would not put her through and Cwele did not answer her cellphone.
Man claims he was recruited by Sheryl Cwele
2010-10-11
The boyfriend of a woman imprisoned for drug trafficking told the KwaZulu-Natal High Court in Pietermaritzburg on Thursday he was also recruited to "work" overseas by Sheryl Cwele, wife of State Security Minister Siyabonga Cwele. "When she (Cwele) was arranging for Tessa Beetge to go overseas, she also asked if I was interested and I turned the offer down," said Hendrik Claasen.
Tessa Beetge's story:
The fate of Sheryl Cwele was sealed by an email she sent to drug mule Tessa Beetge outlining flight details from South America, Beetge's mother, Marie Swanepoel, told the Mail & Guardian this week.
"Email me back for more clarity if you need. Looking forward to seeing you. Missed you so much my darling friend," Cwele wrote. But the scheduled flights were cancelled and Beetge emailed Cwele saying she was "freezing my butt off in Peru".
"Frank is telling me to wait and wait and wait, and then when its [sic] time to go, I am ready, and they cancel everything again," wrote Beetge. "I'm getting a little upset about it because mom is asking questions and saying things I don't like to hear. I can't keep telling her I'm coming home and then I don't."
An email from Cwele said Nigerian Frank Nabolis had informed her about the delays, "which is for your own good really". "Keep well and avoid people who may end up asking a lot of questions," she wrote.
Fifty-eight-year-old Mrs.Swanepoel, Beetge's mother has a thick file of correspondence, including copies of all SMSs Cwele sent to her daughter's phone. After scraping together the funds for the airfare, Swanepoel visited Tessa in prison last year and brought back her cellphone to retrieve all messages for the police.
Zondi said the Hawks were not investigating the minister in connection with the case. "We're satisfied that this issue relates to Mrs Cwele and her alone."
'Is she hiding behind her husband?'
In a letter to her mother, dated July 20 last year, Beetge asked why Cwele and Nabolis had not been arrested yet.
"Is she hiding behind her husband? Why is he covering her ass?" wrote Beetge. "Who is to say he isn't involved, which I'm sure he could be."
In a written account of events leading to her arrest, Beetge said Cwele had told her she was going to London to do "admin work" and that she was asked to reconcile the books of a company en route. Her mother and father accompanied her to speak to Cwele at the municipality.
After flying to Johannesburg, Beetge was dropped at a "brothel whorehouse" by Nabolis for the night. "I was exhausted, frightened shitless, but they told me they would collect me first thing in the morning."
Instead of flying to London, Beetge said she was put on a flight to Bogota in Colombia. From there she flew to Lima, where Nabolis instructed her by phone to hand over her bag overnight to "a little guy called Carlos". She then left for Johannesburg, making the doomed transit stop in São Paulo.
Describing the airport search, Beetge wrote that she saw a little black bag being pulled out of her suitcase. "The detective pulls it out and opens it. It's full of cocaine."
Beetge recalled asking herself: "God, why? I'm angry and ready to murder Frank and Sheryl for doing this to me," she wrote.
"Frank is telling me to wait and wait and wait, and then when its [sic] time to go, I am ready, and they cancel everything again," wrote Beetge. "I'm getting a little upset about it because mom is asking questions and saying things I don't like to hear. I can't keep telling her I'm coming home and then I don't."
An email from Cwele said Nigerian Frank Nabolis had informed her about the delays, "which is for your own good really". "Keep well and avoid people who may end up asking a lot of questions," she wrote.
Fifty-eight-year-old Mrs.Swanepoel, Beetge's mother has a thick file of correspondence, including copies of all SMSs Cwele sent to her daughter's phone. After scraping together the funds for the airfare, Swanepoel visited Tessa in prison last year and brought back her cellphone to retrieve all messages for the police.
Zondi said the Hawks were not investigating the minister in connection with the case. "We're satisfied that this issue relates to Mrs Cwele and her alone."
'Is she hiding behind her husband?'
In a letter to her mother, dated July 20 last year, Beetge asked why Cwele and Nabolis had not been arrested yet.
"Is she hiding behind her husband? Why is he covering her ass?" wrote Beetge. "Who is to say he isn't involved, which I'm sure he could be."
In a written account of events leading to her arrest, Beetge said Cwele had told her she was going to London to do "admin work" and that she was asked to reconcile the books of a company en route. Her mother and father accompanied her to speak to Cwele at the municipality.
After flying to Johannesburg, Beetge was dropped at a "brothel whorehouse" by Nabolis for the night. "I was exhausted, frightened shitless, but they told me they would collect me first thing in the morning."
Instead of flying to London, Beetge said she was put on a flight to Bogota in Colombia. From there she flew to Lima, where Nabolis instructed her by phone to hand over her bag overnight to "a little guy called Carlos". She then left for Johannesburg, making the doomed transit stop in São Paulo.
Describing the airport search, Beetge wrote that she saw a little black bag being pulled out of her suitcase. "The detective pulls it out and opens it. It's full of cocaine."
Beetge recalled asking herself: "God, why? I'm angry and ready to murder Frank and Sheryl for doing this to me," she wrote.
COMMENTS FROM READERS:
Is a friend of a criminal not also a criminal ? Is hubby not senior person in the ANC ? Oops, I forget, once you in the boat with Zuma, apart from keeping you daughters away from him, you are safe from any form of legal issues.
"Sent from Cwele's personal email at work " Interesting how Ms Cwele defines "community services":
What is more disturbing to say the least is that Sheryl is a mother who got other mothers to do her dirty work…in turn killing the hopes and dreams of most
A friend of a friend will make sure she gets off! A friend of a criminal is a criminal but not if your friend is somebody high up in the ANC, then it becomes innocent until proven guilty!
Eish, note to self, never use work e-mail to direct the mule. Daft! Duh! You'd think Hubby would have given her a couple of pointers...or at least questioned all the heaps of moola?
What is Sheryl Cwele doing with multiple ID's and passports? If you travel with your husband who happens to be a cabinet minister you will get a diplomatic passport which gives you diplomatic immunity. Besides, you only need one passport to travel. And you only need an ID to be identified. Unless of course you are involved in criminal activities. Looks like this ministers wife is up to her neck in drug smuggling. Will minister Cwele be classified as a criminal according the minister of police Mtwetwhe's definition that - 'a friend of a criminal is a criminal'.
And yet, The masses will continue to vote ANC. This is the wife of the NIA minister – this is pretty serious
But yet, you South Africans will carry on beating the drum that South Africa is a great place and safe for visitors to the WC 2010. Now we have FIFA promising free schooling. Not sure if that is with every WC ticket purchase or over inflated air travel / over inflated accommodation etc etc ? The circus just keeps getting better.
But yet, you South Africans will carry on beating the drum that South Africa is a great place and safe for visitors to the WC 2010. Now we have FIFA promising free schooling. Not sure if that is with every WC ticket purchase or over inflated air travel / over inflated accommodation etc etc ? The circus just keeps getting better.
Again the criminals that rule us, hey Police commissionar, a friend of a criminal is a criminal, how about a husband?
If you want a political party that you can trust then any one of the others would be a better choice than the ANC. Does nothing about what has been happening over the last 5 years get through to you. This is proof what I've been saying for many years, namely, that the ruling Black elite is in cahoots with criminals (all sorts, including the Mafia and Nigerian syndicates) to decimate the South African White population.
Yeah right; this Mrs Cwele was all behind it. She had a nerve to use a white girl(am not being racial) to do her tricky business cause us blacks we always look suspicious, She is too clever neh and look at where she has landed now. Mrs Cwele, nigerians are always thinking of how to make quick money, thats their talent & wena whatever you were trying, you landed poor people in your K##@#
March 6, 2011
The trial, which began in Pietermaritzburg, will be heard by the high court in Ramsgate until March 18.
The defence of Cwele and her co-accused, Frank Nabolisa, was dealt a blow last year when Judge Piet Koen ruled that intercepted phone calls between the two and convicted drug mule Tessa Beetge were admissible as evidence in court.
This was soon followed by a blow to the s tate, when Koen ruled against its application to allow Beetg e to testify via Skype from jail.
Brazilian authorities had approved the state's request for Beetge to testify by means of the internet-based service, but Koen agreed with the defence that Beetge should be in court to explain how she was recruited.
Cwele and Nabolisa allegedly conspired to recruit Beetge and Charmaine Moss as drug mules.
Moss told the court she turned down the offer because she was suspicious.
The wife of state security minister Siyabonga Cwele....................
Sheryl Cwele, wife of State Security Minister Siyabonga Cwele, will be on her home turf today when her lawyers launch her defence in the KwaZulu-Natal south coast town of Ramsgate against charges of drugs trafficking.
Cwele, who lives in Port Shepstone and was an Hibiscus Coast municipal manager, is well known in the south coast community.The trial, which began in Pietermaritzburg, will be heard by the high court in Ramsgate until March 18.
The defence of Cwele and her co-accused, Frank Nabolisa, was dealt a blow last year when Judge Piet Koen ruled that intercepted phone calls between the two and convicted drug mule Tessa Beetge were admissible as evidence in court.
This was soon followed by a blow to the s tate, when Koen ruled against its application to allow Beetg e to testify via Skype from jail.
Brazilian authorities had approved the state's request for Beetge to testify by means of the internet-based service, but Koen agreed with the defence that Beetge should be in court to explain how she was recruited.
Cwele and Nabolisa allegedly conspired to recruit Beetge and Charmaine Moss as drug mules.
Moss told the court she turned down the offer because she was suspicious.
http://www.timeslive.co.za/local/article952452.ece/Ministers-wife-drugs-trial-resumes
The wife of state security minister Siyabonga Cwele....................
Sheryl Cwele witness was a shoplifter
Mar 7, 2011 12:13 PM | By SapaCharmaine Moss, a state witness in the drug trafficking trial of Sheryl Cwele, had a prior conviction for shop lifting, the Ramsgate High Court heard on Monday.
During cross-examination by Cwele's advocate Mvuseni Ngubane, Moss admitted she was arrested for theft at a Woolworths store in Shelly Beach in 2007. The value of the goods stolen was R3276.55, the court heard. The state alleges that Cwele, the wife of state security minister Siyabonga Cwele, and Nigerian national Frank Nabolisa conspired to recruit Moss as drug mule.
The state alleges that the pair also recruited Tessa Beetge. Beetge was arrested when 10kg of cocaine was found in her luggage in Brazil in 2008.
She is currently serving a jail sentence in Sao Paulo.
Moss, a former police officer, claims that Cwele promised her a job overseas and that she turned it down as she suspected something was amiss.
During her previous court appearance in Pietermaritzburg last year, Moss claimed she was treated badly by Nabolisa in Johannesburg. When Ngubane asked her whether she reported the matter to the police, Moss said she did not. Moss said she had only told her security guard friend at the OR Tambo International Airport.
“He told me that he knew a police officer who was investigating and that he would tell him to call me,” said Moss.
Cwele appeared to be relaxed during court proceedings on Monday compared to other court appearances in the Pietermaritzburg High Court last year.
http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=1466475466278691193&postID=6408974158203735213
'God will solve the problem'
In an interview with The Mercury newspaper a day before her arrest, Cwele insisted she was innocent and said as a Christian she believed "the only person who will solve the problem is God".
http://www.timeslive.co.za/sundaytimes/article963825.ece/Shocking-story-of-top-SA-official
HE shocking story of Sheryl Cwele, wife of SA's intelligence boss, being investigated for international drug trafficking, was broken by the Sunday Times in March 2009.
The high-ranking municipal official on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast had been directly linked by the SA crime intelligence unit to a mother from Margate, who was arrested in Brazil with an estimated R3-million worth of cocaine while en route back to SA in 2008.
The Sunday Times interviewed Cwele, who denied the allegations and any wrongdoing. But scores of startling e-mails, cellphone text messages and prison letters obtained from Marie Swanepoel, the mother of convicted drug mule, Tessa Beetge, told another story.
Thirty detailed text messages between Beetge and Cwele, a director of community services for the Hibiscus Coast Municipality in Uvongo, between May 2 and 29, 2008, revealed that the women were in constant contact. In the messages, Cwele talks to Beetge about a "business venture"; makes flight, collection and visa arrangements for her; orders her to pack warmly and offers her own "good luck" coat for the trip; puts her in touch with her brother "Frank" and wife "Nomsa" in Johannesburg; and tells her she will receive R25000.
Cwele's co-accused, Nigerian Frank Nabolisa, was arrested in Johannesburg in December 2009. Nabolisa, who was in possession of R17000 cash when arrested, was allegedly associated with a R4.5-million drug haul in Ivory Park on June 29, 2008. Cwele was arrested in Port Shepstone on January 29 last year. She appeared in the Pietermaritzburg High Court on charges of drug dealing.
The charge sheet alleged that Cwele and Nabolisa had conspired to import cocaine into SA by using young white women on the pretext of arranging short-term jobs for them overseas.
They were purportedly required to bring back the drugs in their luggage.
During Cwele's interview with the Sunday Times in 2009, she claimed Beegte's friend in Johannesburg had organised the overseas trip.
Beetge had asked her to lie to her parents that she had arranged the trip.
Cwele claimed Beetge had asked her to "make up" the text messages about the business venture, travel arrangements and R25000 payment between the two so she could show them to her mother.
"I'm innocent ... I wish I'd never helped her, but I trusted her and I felt sorry for her," said Cwele . "I don't know whether I'm a stupid Christian or not."
She added: "If there is an official investigation, I will co-operate." But this week in an unsuccessful application for the case against her to be dropped, Cwele's lawyer, Mvuseni Ngubane, drew on an affidavit Cwele made when she applied for bail. In it, Cwele said Nabolisa owned a construction company and needed "white women" to work with him so that he could secure contracts from white people.
She claimed that, at Nabolisa's request, she had approached Charmaine Moss, the other woman they allegedly tried to recruit as a mule, and Beetge to work for his company.
In the high court in the southern KwaZulu-Natal town of Ramsgate this week, Moss said she had turned down the employment because she suspected something was amiss. Beetge's friend, Hendrik Clausen, was also allegedly offered a job, but turned it down.
On Wednesday, in a shock move, Ngubane told the court he had been told to close Cwele's defence. She had not even taken the stand to defended herself.
Judge Piet Koen said he hoped to give judgment in about six weeks, describing the case as "not a run-of-the-mill matter".
HE shocking story of Sheryl Cwele, wife of SA's intelligence boss, being investigated for international drug trafficking, was broken by the Sunday Times in March 2009.
The high-ranking municipal official on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast had been directly linked by the SA crime intelligence unit to a mother from Margate, who was arrested in Brazil with an estimated R3-million worth of cocaine while en route back to SA in 2008.
The Sunday Times interviewed Cwele, who denied the allegations and any wrongdoing. But scores of startling e-mails, cellphone text messages and prison letters obtained from Marie Swanepoel, the mother of convicted drug mule, Tessa Beetge, told another story.
Thirty detailed text messages between Beetge and Cwele, a director of community services for the Hibiscus Coast Municipality in Uvongo, between May 2 and 29, 2008, revealed that the women were in constant contact. In the messages, Cwele talks to Beetge about a "business venture"; makes flight, collection and visa arrangements for her; orders her to pack warmly and offers her own "good luck" coat for the trip; puts her in touch with her brother "Frank" and wife "Nomsa" in Johannesburg; and tells her she will receive R25000.
Cwele's co-accused, Nigerian Frank Nabolisa, was arrested in Johannesburg in December 2009. Nabolisa, who was in possession of R17000 cash when arrested, was allegedly associated with a R4.5-million drug haul in Ivory Park on June 29, 2008. Cwele was arrested in Port Shepstone on January 29 last year. She appeared in the Pietermaritzburg High Court on charges of drug dealing.
The charge sheet alleged that Cwele and Nabolisa had conspired to import cocaine into SA by using young white women on the pretext of arranging short-term jobs for them overseas.
They were purportedly required to bring back the drugs in their luggage.
During Cwele's interview with the Sunday Times in 2009, she claimed Beegte's friend in Johannesburg had organised the overseas trip.
Beetge had asked her to lie to her parents that she had arranged the trip.
Cwele claimed Beetge had asked her to "make up" the text messages about the business venture, travel arrangements and R25000 payment between the two so she could show them to her mother.
"I'm innocent ... I wish I'd never helped her, but I trusted her and I felt sorry for her," said Cwele . "I don't know whether I'm a stupid Christian or not."
She added: "If there is an official investigation, I will co-operate." But this week in an unsuccessful application for the case against her to be dropped, Cwele's lawyer, Mvuseni Ngubane, drew on an affidavit Cwele made when she applied for bail. In it, Cwele said Nabolisa owned a construction company and needed "white women" to work with him so that he could secure contracts from white people.
She claimed that, at Nabolisa's request, she had approached Charmaine Moss, the other woman they allegedly tried to recruit as a mule, and Beetge to work for his company.
In the high court in the southern KwaZulu-Natal town of Ramsgate this week, Moss said she had turned down the employment because she suspected something was amiss. Beetge's friend, Hendrik Clausen, was also allegedly offered a job, but turned it down.
On Wednesday, in a shock move, Ngubane told the court he had been told to close Cwele's defence. She had not even taken the stand to defended herself.
Judge Piet Koen said he hoped to give judgment in about six weeks, describing the case as "not a run-of-the-mill matter".
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