Cape Town - Ses’khona People’s Rights Movement leader Andile Lili has lashed out at the justice system saying that people should take the law into their own hands and kill criminals.
An angry Lili was speaking outside the Bellville Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday, where sentencing proceedings against him and eight others were yet again postponed because they didn’t have money to pay their lawyers.
Lili told a crowd gathered at court: “The justice system fails our communities, we must kill rapists and robbers in our communities because the courts are failing to protect the poor.
“Criminals are arrested and get free because the courts are taking the wrong decisions.”
Lili and his co-accused were found guilty of contravening the Civil Aviations Act in August, after they emptied buckets of human waste at the Cape Town International Airport.
The matter has been postponed a number of times, the last in June, after the convicted men failed to raise money to pay their legal defence team. On Tuesday, the group admitted they still didn’t have the money.
This would normally result in the withdrawal of the defence team, causing yet more delays as the men sought free legal aid representation, who would then also need time to prepare.
However, advocate Pearl Mathibela and attorney Ntuthuko Msomi decided to proceed with the case anyway, “in the interest of justice”.
Msomi said: “We have decided to proceed representing the accused due to the number of community members involved.”
Outside court Lili, who was recently elected to the ANC’s provincial executive, attacked the courts for failing the poor.
He said justice has been dragging for Ses’khona members because they didn’t have money to pay legal fees, and that this was wrong.
“Every time we come here the case is postponed. This court always takes wrong decisions,” said Lili.
“The decision to find us guilty was [also] wrong.”
The matter was postponed until August 18 .
Daily Voice