Issued by Ministry for Justice and Constitutional Development
24 April 2001
The Ministry for Justice and Constitutional Development, has noted with great concern, the ongoing public demonstrations at the courts at Pietersburg in the Northern Province and in the Free State town of Parys, respectively.
Firstly the Ministry wishes to reiterate its condemnation of the heinous crimes alleged to have been committed by the nine Noordelike Rugby Club members on the farm, Dendron, in the Northern Province and the killing of Mr Rampau allegedly by a Mr Piet Odendaal in the Free State Province's town of Parys, and many other forms of crime against farmers and other citizens of our country.
Indeed the Ministry understands the outrage these and other incidents have caused in the various communities. The Ministry furthermore, respect the Constitutional rights of people to publicly voice their anger and dismay over these and other incidents. The picketing and the demonstrations as seen recently at the courts, are however obstructing the very same Justice the community would want to see meted out. Incidents of people interrupting the court proceedings or assaulting family members of the accused outside the court are unacceptable and must be stopped. The courts must be allowed to dispense justice without interruptions or prejudice or even perceptions thereof.
It is quite clear that the public would want to see bail for the accused being denied. Indeed a position shared by the Ministry. It should be emphasised however, that the Constitution guarantees the right to be released on bail unless the interest of justice otherwise dictates. Furthermore, the Constitution and the law guarantee the independence of the courts. This means that neither the Minister nor the President may interfere in the way courts are functioning.
When bail application comes before court, the courts are required to consider all relevant factors such as the seriousness of the crime, details of the accused, the concerns of the community and other relevant factors. Thereafter the court takes a decision. These decisions are taken as this forms part of the evidence placed before the court.
It is therefore necessary that the community organise themselves and send its representatives to meet with their local Prosecutor and Head of the Magistrates court to discuss better co-operation and to enhance the role of the community in the administration of justice.
One of the problems experienced by the courts is that when bail applications are before court, there are no witnesses. The Ministry urge the public therefore, to ensure that whenever a serious case comes before the court, a representative from the organised community should be present to give evidence, if necessary, or at least give an input to the prosecutor concerned.
The government has also taken a step ahead of amending the bail law in 1995, to give the courts greater powers to refuse bail in appropriate cases. This law is working well. However due to many concerns arising out of the spate of serious crime in different parts of the country, the bail law was again amended in 1998, so as to compel courts to refuse bail in appropriate cases. The public must remember however that a person is presumed innocent until found guilty. Bail is also not a punishment or acquittal, but a device to ensure that accused persons may be able to stay out of prison provided they attend their trial.
The community has furthermore raised its concern regarding the structure of our courts. The Ministry wishes to state that our justice system is in the process of transformation. It is well known that during apartheid years, all institutions, including the Police and the Courts, were compelled to apply apartheid laws and to do what the law required that is to maintain the apartheid system. Our courts were also not representative for many years. The culture in our courts still reflects some of these elements. The situation is however being turned around. The Ministry has managed to effect changes in this regard both in terms of representativity as well as the attitudes adopted towards people, especially those who were previously disadvantaged and treated unfairly by the apartheid justice system.
Indeed the Ministry is concerned about crime and we have no doubt that as the justice system is transformed and as co-operation between different role players is built up, the situation will change.
The Ministry urges the leaders of the various community to suspend the demonstrations at courts, which unfortunately result in the disruption of the court proceedings to allow justice to take its courts in an atmosphere conducive to an effective and efficient justice system.