Minister Lamola showing contempt of the justice system in the Kanya Cekeshe matter
15 October 2019
The Democratic Alliance (DA) notes that the Minister of Justice, Ronald Lamola, has decided to enter the fray surrounding #FeesMustFall activist, Mr Kanya Cekeshe’s application for leave to appeal his 2017 conviction. This application was refused in the Johannesburg Regional Court on Monday.
Not long after the Court judgment was handed down, Minister Lamola, the person responsible for the administration of justice in South Africa, tweeted “we note the dismissal of both the leave to appeal and bail for fees must fall activists (sic) Khaya Cekeshe by the Johannesburg Magistrate Court. We’re in the process of urgently assisting him with an application for presidential pardon or other legally available avenues”.
Mr Cekeshe was convicted on charges of public violence and malicious damage to property. These charges are both serious and deserving of consequences. It is precisely because the law has been ignored, and serious infringements have been seen to be without consequences that State Capture was able to take place, and the criminal justice system hollowed out to the shell we are left with today.
For the Minister to enter the arena, making a mockery of the hard work of the NPA in pursuing the case and securing a conviction, and showing contempt for the Judiciary by suggesting that their work should simply be undone by the stroke of a Presidential pen is something that should concern us all.