It is no coincidence that there has been a spate of kangaroo court incidents and the necklacing of several alleged robbers in Khayelitsha, experts say, as there is a breakdown of the criminal justice system in the area and a distrust of police.
On Sunday, two men, one necklaced and the other stoned to death, were killed within a 3km radius in Khayelitsha. This brought the number of people killed by kangaroo courts in the area to eight in less than two weeks.
Last week, a 1 000-strong crowd killed three men by necklacing them after a kangaroo court had found them guilty of stealing a generator. Five days before, three bodies were found in sand dunes in Macassar.
In November, activists working in Khayelitsha, including the Social Justice Coalition (SJC), the Treatment Action Campaign, Equal Education, the Triangle Project and Ndifuna Ukwazi, submitted a dossier to Western Cape Premier Helen Zille calling on her to use her powers to establish a commission of inquiry into apparent failures of police and the criminal justice system in Khayelitsha.
In the document, compiled over two years, the NGOs said these failures included:
* The lack of co-ordination between police and prosecuting authorities, which resulted in dockets being lost and cases being struck off court rolls.
* Investigating officers routinely failing to ensure that witnesses were present at trials, causing lengthy postponements.
* Witnesses often being intimidated because they were not protected from criminals.
* Insufficient visible policing in Khayelitsha.
Copies of the letter sent to Zille were also sent to Community Safety MEC Dan Plato, provincial police commissioner Arno Lamoer, mayor Patricia de Lille, mayoral committee member for safety and security JP Smith and Justice Minister Jeff Radebe. Zille told the Cape Times she was seeking legal advice on whether to appoint a commission. The dossier had been sent to the city’s metro police and SAPS for comment, with the latter yet to respond.
“I believe there are clear grounds to conclude that the trust relationship between the police and the residents of Khayelitsha is seriously strained. That contributes to my analysis of the situation, but I cannot act without complying with all the legal precepts, which is what I am currently doing,” Zille said.
“Many people do feel vulnerable to crime, they don’t feel safe in their homes and neighbourhoods and they don’t trust the police and broader criminal justice system to address crime effectively.”
The SJC’s Joel Bregman said there was “certainly a causal link” between systemic failures of Khayelitsha’s criminal justice system and the kangaroo courts.
“SA’s constitution is considered to be one of the most progressive in the world and affords all a number of vital… rights. Among those are the rights to human dignity, life, freedom and security of the person, property and access to courts.
“These (and many others) are routinely trampled on as people, especially those living in our country’s underserviced informal settlements, continue to experience high levels of crime and inadequate access to and quality of the justice system,” Bregman said.
He said, however, the Social Justice Coalition did not condone acts of vigilantism as it “further fuels the cycle of violence and crime and exposes people, including children, to terrible scenes of brutality”.
Plato said he was concerned about what seemed to be a breakdown in communication between communities and police in Khayelitsha.
He said he would raise the issue with police chief Lamoer and ask for a full report on the crime situation and policing in the area. - Cape Times