The African National Congress Youth League in the Eastern Cape confirmed yesterday that it would be convening a congress in the province despite there being an interdict prohibiting it from doing so. The youth league in the Eastern Cape previously disbanded its provincial executive committee resulting in a court order which interdicted it from holding […]
Michael Trapido
Mike Trapido is a criminal attorney and publicist having also worked as an editor and journalist.
He was born in Johannesburg and attended HA Jack and Highlands North High Schools.
He married Robyn in 1984 (Mrs Traps, aka "the government") and has three sons (who all look suspiciously like her ex-boss).
He was a counsellor on the JCCI for a year around 1992.
His passions include Derby County, Blue Bulls, Orlando Pirates, Proteas and Springboks.
He takes Valium in order to cope with Bafana Bafana's results.
Practice Michael Trapido Attorney (civil and criminal) 011 022 7332
Posted inNews/Politics
Why hasn’t Agliotti been charged with fraud?
One of the most fascinating aspects of the Brett Kebble murder trial in the South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg is the fact that the accused, Glenn Agliotti, has not been charged with fraud relating to what appears to be a defence of assisted suicide. The evidence given by Agliotti in the corruption trial of […]
Posted inGeneral
It’s time the youth league took a long look in the mirror
Just when African National Congress Youth League President Julius Malema believed he had an iron grip on the Limpopo province following the banishing of former youth league chairperson Lehlogonolo Masoga via NEC disciplinary channels, along comes the Sekhukhuni municipality to kick him where it hurts most. IOL on Sunday reported the municipality are charging current […]
Posted inNews/Politics
ANC needs a media strategy, not a media tribunal
The undertaking by Justice Minister Jeff Radebe, in his address to the SA National Editors’ Forum in Johannesburg on Saturday night, that the government would not treat the media in the way it was done during the apartheid years is unfortunately of little, or no comfort. The apartheid regime could be lethal to those who […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Xenophobia: Police need to clamp down hard and quickly
The South African government is faced with a major dilemma in the way that it approaches claims of xenophobia in South Africa. On the one hand they cannot be seen to be hysterical as this would only fan the flames created by panic merchants and those who would gain advantage while on the other they […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Malema: The beginning of the end?
Moloko Moloto, writing for IOL, was reporting yesterday that the ANC in Limpopo was considering reconvening the disputed youth league provincial conference which would come as a political blow to ANCYL president Julius Malema. The gist of the article was that the Limpopo provincial executive committee met with Lehlogonolo Masoga — ostracised by Malema for […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Why did Mbeki ‘protect’ Selebi?
Professor Pierre de Vos, South Africa’s leading authority — in my opinion — on constitutional law, has written a blog which is published in the Sowetan today and which calls into question the relationship between former police commissioner Jackie Selebi and former president Thabo Mbeki, arising out of last week’s South Gauteng High Court conviction […]
Posted inGeneral
Healthy debate replaced by political engineering
Monday’s Sowetan is reporting that Limpopo Premier Cassel Mathale was chased out of a meeting by angry members of the ANC in the Waterberg region on Saturday. Allegedly the basis for his being there was to convey a decision taken by the provincial working committee on Tuesday that the Waterberg region should be disbanded for […]
Posted inGeneral, News/Politics
Malema’s police instructions were unconstitutional
In accordance with a formal complaint laid by Democratic Alliance MP Dianne Kohler-Barnard, the Independent Complaints Directorate will assess whether the SAPS acted improperly at the ANCYL conference in Limpopo. The basis for the allegations being that the South African Police Services acted upon instructions given by the president of the African National Congress Youth […]
Posted inGeneral
Don’t forget Mbeki and De Klerk
While South Africa, and its many guests from around the world, celebrate the 19th Fifa World Cup, two of the men who made it possible have been largely overlooked. They are two of our former presidents, Thabo Mbeki and Frederik Willem de Klerk. The former was president when the successful bid was launched, the latter […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Zuma can be prosecuted, even as president
The submissions being made by the senior counsel for the president in the Pretoria High Court are, in my humble opinion, wrong and need to be clarified. Kemp J Kemp SC The counsel for President Jacob Zuma, Kemp J Kemp SC, has again stated that the Democratic Alliance could not force the director of public […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Beleaguered Juju reaches out to ANC
African National Congress Youth League President Julius Malema has warned South African President Jacob Zuma that the ANCYL has been infiltrated and that his comrades have started turning against him. He says the youth league conferences are being split and points to events in the Limpopo and the Eastern Cape as evidence of the insurrection. […]