Mr Zuma is no ordinary litigant. He is the former President of the Republic, who remains a public figure and continues to wield significant political influence, while acting as an example to his supporters… He has a great deal of power to incite others to similarly defy court orders because his actions and any consequences, or lack thereof, are being closely observed by the public. If his conduct is met with impunity, he will do significant damage to the rule of law. As this Court noted in Mamabolo, “[n]o one familiar with our history can be unaware of the very special need to preserve the integrity of the rule of law”. Mr Zuma is subject to the laws of the Republic. No person enjoys exclusion or exemption from the sovereignty of our laws… It would be antithetical to the value of accountability if those who once held high office are not bound by the law.
Safety and Security Minister Charles Nqakula’s proposal to amend the Constitution so as to allow Police to detain arrested suspects for longer than 48 hours before charging them in a Court of law, sounds like a spectacularly unwise idea. He is arguing that Police find it difficult to always formulate a charge before the end of the 48 hour period and suspects are then set free and even sue the Minister for wrongful arrest. There are at least three ways to respond to the Minister of Safety and Security.
On the Cape Talk with John Maythem this afternoon, Peter Gastrow suggested we should re-look our Criminal Procedure model and investigate whether it would not be better to move towards a more inquisitorial system, like on the Continent. That way Magistrates, say, could play a more active role in the run up to a trial. Interesting suggestion worth exploring I think.
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