Cape Declaration on Decriminalising Poverty and Status, adopted by consensus by the participants of the convening of the Campaign to Decriminalise Poverty and Status held in Stellenbosch, South Africa between 27 and 29 September 2022.
Having a cabinet member with an exclusive focus on the police has had at least four immediate adverse consequences, argues Lukas Muntingh. He asks if it is time for an evaluation of this role.
A decline in disciplinary actions does not mean that the police are more disciplined than before
That the Zondo Commission did not make recommendations for systemic reform of the National Prosecuting Authority is unfortunate and is a lost opportunity. The NPA is in need of reform and this centres on two issues: institutional independence and accountability.
Officers of Western Cape’s anticrime programme work closely with police and they often have joint operations
By L Muntingh, J Mangwanda, K Petersen, T Lorizzo and V Petrovic
In a series of five Issue Papers, Lukas Muntingh and Jean Redpath take a few steps back and ask whether we are indeed problematising the correct issues and, if so, are we problematising the issue in a manner that will restore trust and thus legitimacy in the NPA. From this position we can also examine our current and future expectations of the NPA.
Given the NPA's track record so far, a drastic departure from the current approach appears to be necessary when dealing with prosecuting those implicated in the Zondo report.
The NPA is perhaps one of the most unaccountable institutions of state. While the decision to prosecute is reviewed by a court, the decision not to prosecute is taken in secrecy and it is this decision, not to prosecute, that is perhaps even more important than the decision to prosecute.
The Detention Justice Forum (DJF) released a statement in response to the findings of the Judicial Inspectorate for Correctional Service on solitary confinement in South African prisons.
The Detention Justice Forum (DJF) released a statement in response to the findings of the Judicial Inspectorate for Correctional Service on solitary confinement in South African prisons.
It should not be necessary for civil society or political parties to take the National Prosecuting Authority’s decisions on review in court — an expensive, cumbersome and slow method of holding the institution to account and ensuring that corrective action is taken.
The NPA’s reputation has suffered much damage in the past 10 years. There is ample evidence that there exists more than the possibility of interference in its independence and operation, and that this has had adverse consequences for its perceived independence.
This report covers four cross-cutting topics based on a survey undertaken of five African countries (Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa and Zambia) By L Muntingh, J Mangwanda, K Petersen & J Redpath
KwaZulu-Natal has long suffered from inadequate, corrupt and violent policing. Recent events have simply made it more obvious. The problem of policing in the province dates from before the transition to democracy. Policing is a national function - in South Africa is in crisis and in KwaZulu-Natal the crisis is magnified, writes Jean Redpath.
The severity of the punishment, if caught, is not a deterrent to committing crime. If consumers of alcohol can be fairly certain that if they get behind the steering wheel of a vehicle that they will be stopped and tested, they will be less likely to do so and make alternative arrangements or postpone their travel.
The number of prisoners writing matric is so frightfully small that we are left pondering how this is even possible 27 years into democracy. The fewer than 200 prisoners writing matric annually pales in comparison with the 111,000 sentenced prisoners in South Africa – less than half a percent.
How much discretion does a prosecutor have to decline to prosecute? Is mediation always a good thing? Is there sometimes an obligation to prosecute? Does compensation for the victim trump societal criminal justice interests? These are vexing questions, especially when attempting to answer them in the abstract. A recent case may help in crystallising some thoughts.
The Constitutional Court on 14 May 2021 overturned a judgement of the Supreme Court of Appeal, which had limited the Minister of Police's liability for unlawful detention to the point at which they could have applied for bail. The judgement is important for the evolving jurisprudence on liability for lawful detention on the continent.
The Constitutional Court on 14 May 2021 overturned a judgement of the Supreme Court of Appeal, which had limited the Minister of Police's liability for unlawful detention to the point at which they could have applied for bail. The judgement is important for the evolving jurisprudence on liability for lawful detention on the continent.
On 4 December 2020, the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights unanimously held that vagrancy laws and related by-laws are incompatible with the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child and the Maputo Protocol on the Rights of Women.
On 10 April 2020, Mr Collins Khosa was brutalised, tortured and murdered in his own home by security forces deployed to enforce South Africa's Disaster Management Act ("lockdown") regulations. The family of Mr Khosa brought an application to court to attempt to ensure such brutality does not happen again. The court ordered the Minister and various agencies of state to take a range of preventative measures. The state was ordered to pay costs.
Over 163,000 people are in correctional facilities in South Africa. Outbreaks of Covid-19 in these prisons can have catastrophic consequences for both prisoners and the public healthcare system.
PRESS RELEASE: Launch of the Decriminalisation of Petty By-Laws Campaign in South Africa
Today, World Homeless Day, marks the official launch of a civil society campaign to decriminalise poverty-related by-laws in South Africa. We reject the effective criminalisation of poverty through municipal by-laws currently targeting the poor and the most marginalised in South Africa.
Today, World Homeless Day, marks the official launch of a civil society campaign to decriminalise poverty-related by-laws in South Africa.
The New Times reports that The Minister of Justice, Johnston Busingye, told the newspaper in a telephone interview that this step finally means that Rwandans can now be fully governed by the laws that they have made themselves. The said laws were enacted between 1885 and 1962, when Rwanda obtained independence from Belgium.
The New Times reports that The Minister of Justice, Johnston Busingye, told the newspaper in a telephone interview that this step finally means that Rwandans can now be fully governed by the laws that they have made themselves. The said laws were enacted between 1885 and 1962, when Rwanda obtained independence from Belgium.
The Director of Public Prosecutions(DPP) in Kenya on 12 March 2019 issued practice directions on how to handle the offence of touting. This offence was among the many offences identified as petty and was the subject of extensive stakeholder engagement to have it decriminalised. The Office of the DPP conducted a further research ,and paid visits to select remand facilities in Kenya in partnership with ICJ Kenya and other stakeholders. The findings of the research informed the decision by the DPP to issue practice directions on how to deal with the offence of touting.
On 20 February 2019 a group of non-governmental organisations submitted a request to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and to the Ombudsman to take a position on the right of prisoners to vote.
