The Democratic Alliance (DA) said Minister of Justice Ronald Lamola’s decision to ‘enter the fray’ surrounding #FeesMustFall activist Kanya Cekeshe’s application for leave to appeal showed ‘contempt for the judiciary’.
Staff WriterThe the Johannesburg Regional Court this week refused Cekeshe’s application for leave to appeal his 2017 conviction on charges of public violence and malicious damage to property.
DA Shadow Minister of Justice Glynnis Breytenbach said in a statement that ‘(not) long after the Court judgment was handed down, Minister Lamola, the person responsible for the administration of justice in South Africa, tweeted “we note the dismissal of both the leave to appeal and bail for fees must fall activists (sic) Kanya Cekeshe by the Johannesburg Magistrate Court. We’re in the process of urgently assisting him with an application for presidential pardon or other legally available avenues”.’
Breytenbach noted: ‘For the minister to enter the arena, making a mockery of the hard work of the National Prosecuting Authority in pursuing the case and securing a conviction, and showing contempt for the judiciary by suggesting that their work should simply be undone by the stroke of a Presidential pen is something that should concern us all.’
She added: ‘If there are no consequences for delinquent behaviour, how will the criminal justice system hold those responsible for the serious offences now being exposed in the Zondo Commission of Inquiry and other commissions dealing with graft and wrongdoing? On what basis should prosecutors and the ([the police] continue to work hard in difficult circumstances to hold people to account if the attitude of the minister is simply to expunge criminal records and assist in obtaining presidential pardons?’
Breytenbach said: ‘This approach smacks of the Zuma-era approach to justice and accountability, and is simply not acceptable. Our Constitution dictates that every citizen is equal before the law, and equally any person who has been convicted of wrongdoing should be held accountable for their actions.’
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