Cape Town - Rape in South Africa – this is the tragic tale of two women – one who saw justice dispensed relatively swiftly with her attacker now behind bars, while the other has spent the past decade painstakingly seeking justice through the courts against the inefficiency of the South African Police Services which is nowhere near to finalising her case.
Johannesburg - More than a decade ago in the aftermath of the euphoria around South Africa’s successful hosting of the 2010 Soccer World Cup, the dreams of Joburg businesswoman Andy Kawa came crashing down after she was raped in a 15-hour ordeal on a beach in the Eastern Cape.
At the core of the criminal justice system lies a big responsibility: suitably punishing perpetrators of crimes and exonerating the innocent. Although this sounds like a straightforward undertaking, misleading forensic evidence has proven to be one of the biggest systematic defects — one that has cost many innocent people their freedom.
Sonke Gender Justice has welcomed the Constitutional Court’s confirmation of the decision of the Western Cape judiciary regarding the independence of the Judicial Inspectorate for Correctional Services (JICS) and the rights of prisoners.“We are thrilled the Constitutional Court has confirmed the decision of the Western Cape High Court in declaring sections of the Correctional Services Act unconstitutional.
South African lawmakers have no appetite to restore the death penalty, despite growing calls globally for the reinstatement of capital punishment, as a crime deterrent.
JOHANNESBURG - In a move likely to benefit thousands of South Africans, criminal records – including some of those obtained during the Covid-19 pandemic – will be expunged, according to Deputy Justice Minister John Jeffery.
Restorative justice has been broached extensively by civil society groups since democracy, but in June last year, apartheid era security branch policeman Joao Rodrigues lost his bid for a permanent stay of prosecution, and will go on trial on charges of murder and allegedly attempting to cover up the crime in the 1971 murder of schoolteacher activist Ahmed Timol.
Johannesburg - Among those requesting help in locating missing persons was Minister of Health Zweli Mkhize in his capacity as a former Umkhonto we Sizwe commander in KwaZulu-Natal, who wanted to help the families of missing MK operatives Mandla Mjwara and Mfaniseni Mdlalose to establish their fate and recover their remains.
KwaMashu resident Nomthandazo Mthethwa never knew her father. “I was 4 on the day he was shot,” she says.
The new ConCourt judgment legalising private use of cannabis should lead to a decrease in dagga arrests, but power still rests with the police. To date, cannabis arrests are one of the biggest SAPS arrest categories. Complete decriminalisation would free up R3.5-billion in police resources. This could be put to good use in combating the worrying 7 % increase in the murder rate, contained in the latest SAPS crime stats.
