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.

Still no trial date for simple stock theft case nearly two years after arrest

The never-ending failure of the criminal justice system never ceases to surprise or astound AfriForum’s Private Prosecution Unit. It has taken almost two years, 10 postponements and even the matter being struck off the roll, but still a trial date has not been set in a straightforward case of stock theft. Ikogomotseng Molefe and Manang Bopalale are accused of poaching a prized nyala bull worth an estimated R12 000.

The pair made a brief appearance in the Swartruggens Magistrates Court where the case was postponed until 18 October 2023. The reason this time is that the attorney for the accused is taking maternity leave and a new lawyer will need to be appointed. This can only mean even further delays in finalising this case. This is also not the first time the accused have changed defence attorneys.

The police arrested the two accused on 26 September 2021 while in possession of a butchered nyala carcass. The Private Prosecution Unit assisted the complainant Charl Visser with first of its kind DNA analysis which confirmed his ownership of the carcass. Despite this compelling evidence, the matter has seemingly been postponed in perpetuity.

In July last year the matter was struck off the roll because the investigation had not been completed and the magistrate had refused further postponements.

At the time, when the unit followed up with the investigating officer Warrant Officer Motlhajwe, he laid blame on the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), claiming that the DPP was in possession of the docket.

In that letter, head of the unit, Adv. Gerrie Nel stated: “We are not satisfied that the investigating officer is serious about his work. His protracted failure to complete the investigation has set free suspects who should be in court facing a criminal trial on very serious offences.”

Nel added further criticism saying that the poor state of affairs reflected on the management of the police investigators unit.

The unit’s spokesperson Barry Bateman says that the adage, justice delayed is justice denied, is apt. “It is because of delays like this, and that justice is always out of reach, that exacerbates the incidences of crimes of stock theft and poaching in rural areas.

“If investigators and prosecutors did their jobs correctly and ensured there was swift accountability, there would certainly be fewer instances of such crimes,” says Bateman.