Justice delayed cannot remain justice denied in South Africa
· Citizen
Sadly, in many cases, the wheels of criminal justice in South Africa grind so slowly that, effectively, they do not move at all.
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This means those involved in corruption and mafia-associated crimes, such as murder, kidnapping and blackmail, effectively get away with it.
At least, that is the perception of ordinary South Africans who have, for decades now, watched the legal twisting and turning of someone like former president Jacob Zuma as he repeatedly ducks having his day in court.
But he’s not the only one – cases involving the politically connected drag on for years and sometimes even vanish into thin air.
That’s why it is refreshing – surprising, but refreshing – to see that the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) is, apparently, not going to let the quest for justice of the victims of the Life Esidimeni tragedy evaporate.
Nearly 10 years after 144 mental patients died in 2016 after a shambolic process of transferring them to new care facilities, the NPA says it will be pursuing criminal charges against those implicated by the judicial inquest into the affair.
In July 2024, inquest Judge Mmonoa Teffo found former Gauteng health MEC Qedani Mahlangu and former director of mental health services Makgabo Manamela liable for the deaths of nine patients.
In another almost unprecedented show of emotion, the NPA described the case as “one of the most serious human rights violations in democratic South Africa”.
It added: “For nearly a decade, families of the deceased have endured prolonged delays in the pursuit of justice.”
The NPA also acknowledged “the pain and frustration experienced by affected families during this period”.
The decision to prosecute, it said, “marks a critical step toward accountability and justice for the victims and their families”.
It should also set a precedent. All those whose looting and incompetence has hurt or killed people should be called to account.