Who and what is AfriForum?

AfriForum is an Afrikaans civil rights organisation that protects the rights of minority groups at national as well as provincial level, and anyone who can identify with AfriForum’s principles and objectives may join the organisation. AfriForum’s community plan focuses on mobilising communities to thus take control of their own streets and neighbourhoods again. AfriForum ensures that your constitutional and civil rights are recognised and protected at national level.

Wie en wat is AfriForum?

AfriForum is ’n Afrikaanse burgerregteorganisasie wat die regte van minderheidsgroepe op sowel nasionale as provinsiale vlak beskerm, en enigiemand wat met AfriForum se beginsels en doelstellings kan identifiseer, mag by die organisasie aansluit. AfriForum se gemeenskapsplan fokus daarop om gemeenskappe te mobiliseer om só weer beheer terug te neem oor hul eie strate en woonbuurtes. AfriForum verseker dat jou grondwetlike én burgerregte op nasionale vlak erken en beskerm word.

AfriForum: Administration of justice in Brits dealt deathblow

AfriForum’s Private Prosecution Unit was today shocked by the developments in one of the cases of child abuse in Brits in which the Unit is currently involved. This follows after the court once again postponed the case against two men and the mother of a young girl. The accused persons stand accused on various charges of rape of a young girl who was four when the alleged crimes were committed in 2018. The postponement follows after the court indicated that the regional court magistrate was sick and that no relief magistrate had been arranged. The case could also not be postponed to February, because the regional court magistrate would by then probably have been transferred to Ga-Rankuwa and no new appointment has been made yet. The presiding magistrate could also not make contact with the regional court president to determine when a new magistrate would be available.

“It seems that the State’s so-called commitment to the fight against violence against women and children has now finally become lip-service. How can the Department of Justice and courts allow that this case of horrific child abuse, which has been dragging for such a long time due to the ineptness of the NPA, cannot proceed simply because a court isn’t available and no further arrangements have been made,” says Adv. Gerrie Nel, Head of AfriForum’s Private Prosecution Unit.

According to Adv. Nel, this case exemplifies the collapse of our criminal justice system and it is a shame that the victims of crime are being denied justice as a result thereof. The collapse of the criminal justice system was discussed at an AfriForum conference on 18 October 2021 and the tendency to postpone cases rather than prosecute has now once again been confirmed. “Here we have a victim who was four years old at the time of the alleged incidents and now, after three years, has still not been able to testify about it. This places unnecessary pressure on children to testify after such a long time about something so traumatic,” says Adv. Nel.

Furthermore, the Private Prosecution Unit, in November 2021 welcomed the confirmation made by Adv. S. Mzinyathi, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) in Pretoria, to the Unit that this case would be transferred to senior prosecutors in the Pretoria North Magistrate’s Court. On 9 December 2021 the prosecutor in Brits, however, indicated that she was not aware of the DPP’s instruction and the accused’s lawyer was also not in court on that day, because he allegedly had COVID-19. The case was then postponed to today in order to determine a trial date.

“Inexplicably the instruction of the DPP has supposedly changed and an advocate from the office of the DPP will prosecute the matter in Brits. As predicted in December 2021 the ineptness of the prosecuting authority has now led to a further delay. The Private Prosecution Unit welcomes the fact that a state advocate has been appointed to prosecute the matter and we will continue to monitor the proceedings,” says Adv. Nel.

A provisional date for pretrial proceedings has been set for 23 March 2022.