Justice in South Africa ?
In 2004, an eight year old girl was raped in a Mandalay mosque. In 2006 a Burundian man, Nizigiyimane Saidi, was found guilty in the Khayelitsha regional court of raping the girl by magistrate Gaynor de Wee.
The matter was then referred to the Cape High Court for sentencing, but in an announcement that has shocked the girl’s family and the public, the judge set aside the conviction after the regional court magistrate had failed to respond to queries about the trial.
Mr Justice James Yekiso, the Cape High Court judge said he was “unable to make a determination on whether those (trial) proceedings were in accordance with justice”. He then set aside the conviction.
Some other reasons he gave were that there was no record of the interpreter having been sworn in and that the magistrate never bothered to interrogate conflicting statements made by the victim.
To rub salt in the wounds of the victim and her family, the court didn’t even bother to tell them that the man had been set free. Apparently they had to hear of it via a friend of the family!
“I am very angry about this and we are going to try to go to Khayelitsha court to bring it up again,” the girl’s mother said.
Apparently the director of public prosecutions Rodney de Kock, will be looking into the matter on Tuesday.
Is it any wonder that people are losing faith in the justice system? Recently we have seen police lying in court cases, investigations improperly done, drunk judges swearing at people, corruption and now judges that free people who have been convicted.
To me it seems that at all levels we have such incompetance that the law is becoing a joke! Things like these make headlines around the world and show South Africa in a very bad light! This makes a direct impact on investment and tourism - things we desperately need to improve the lives of so many of our fellow South Africans!
It really seems that we need a total overhaul of our justice system - from the police, all the way through to the Supreme Court. It is essential to restore the faith and trust people have in the criminal justice system. It is about time that the government steps up to the plate to deal with these issues!
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