Cape Town - South Africa's witness protection programme enabled the successful prosecution of notorious gangster George "Geweld" Thomas at a trial in June last year in which 20 "protected" witnesses were kept safe and testified, said National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesman, Eric Ntabazalila.
Seventeen members of the Cape's most notorious numbers gangs were convicted and seven life sentences were handed down, including for 28s gang boss Thomas, thanks to the testimony of the brave witnesses, Ntabazalila said.
The Cape Argus recently reported on a State witness, Shileen "Linkie" Jacobs, who was killed after she had agreed to take the stand to testify against four alleged gang members accused of a triple murder.
She is believed to have been assassinated in a gang hit and was found in a pool of her blood in Hydra Avenue in Ocean View last Monday.
A full magazine had been emptied into her chest.
Days later, the four men accused of murdering Kim Roberts and newlyweds Shannon and Leonard Fortune, the case in which Jacobs was due to testify, were set free when the NPA dropped all charges against them.
A terrified community later watched the four accused, Taswell Koopman, Mario Theunis, Tyron Taylor and Carl Barendilla, roaming the streets like "celebrities".
Ntabazalila said Jacobs was never in the witness protection programme, as her family had told the media, and had refused to enter it.
"There was an induction for her into the programme where it was explained how it works and after listening to that, she refused to be admitted. She made a statement that she doesn't want to be admitted into the programme."
A witness must voluntarily enter the programme, but after Jacobs refused, she was taken to a place of safety for women and children, said Ntabazalila. But she ran away from there and was gunned down.
He said the witness protection programme worked when entrants complied with its rules, but prosecutors and police could only do so much.
The Witness Protection Act does not allow prosecutors or police to force a witness to be admitted to the programme. If a witness refuses, "the prosecutors and police's hands are tied", he said.
Deputy Justice Minister John Jeffrey told the Cape Argus last year that the Office for Witness Protection, established under the Act, was a covert office and its functions were secret in order to ensure the programme's integrity and the safety of witnesses and their family members, who also had to agree to join the programme.
"Thus, not much attention is given to publicising the programme, but rather potential witnesses who may qualify are requested to apply to join it. Witnesses and the evidence they provide in criminal matters are crucial in securing the successful prosecution of criminals. This is even more apparent in cases of organised crime such as gang-related crimes, drug-related crimes and human trafficking. Witness protection encompasses both physical and psychological protection," Jeffrey noted.
He revealed that in 2013/14, 3.7 percent of witnesses and relatives left the witness protection programme and in 2014/15, that figure dropped to 1.2 percent (four people).
"There have been instances in which witnesses were harmed or killed, but in these cases, witness protection was offered to them but they did not want to be admitted to the programme.
"There have also been instances where witnesses have given their testimony and, despite the recommendations by the programme that they should not go back to their homes (danger area), they nonetheless insisted on returning," he noted.
Cape Argus