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03 June 2022 | Story Nitha Ramnath and Andre Damons


The criminal justice system in South Africa is not the solution to fixing the country’s crime problem, according to Gareth Newham, Head of the Justice and Violence Prevention Programme at the Institute for Security Studies (ISS).

Newham was part of the University of the Free State’s (UFS) webinar titled Crime in South Africa – who is to blame? which is the first instalment of the Thought-Leader webinar series.  Adriaan Basson, Editor of News24, Prof Joy Owen, Head of the Department of Anthropology at the University of the Free State (UFS), and Justice Dennis Davis, retired Judge at the High Court of Cape Town, were also part of the panel, which was facilitated by Prof Francis Petersen, Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the UFS. 
 
Newham also said that the criminal justice system is a reactive system. “Problems can be addressed through proper policing, where the job of the police is to identify where the crime is and who is responsible,” he added. “To reduce the murder rate, we need to look at information available and start developing evidence-based prevention programmes in specific localities,” said Newham. Newham added that there needs to be an overhaul of the SAPS and a rethinking of what we expect from the police. “SAPS needs to build public trust and must be trained in communication, problem solving, and the de-escalation of violence,” added Newham.

Newham pointed out that foreign nationals are not the cause of crime in South Africa.

All South Africans are responsible for crime in the country

According to Prof Owen, all South Africans are responsible for crime in the country. We are responsible for curbing it, eradicating it, and removing it. We are also responsible for supporting it, maintaining it, and incubating it.

“We are part of a larger ecology that is responsive to the other. And to understand the complexity of crime, we need to consider the system, not merely its parts. If we do, this wisdom might prevail as we admit that we are indeed all part of a societal problem, and by implication the solution we are waiting for.” 

“Whose responsibility is it then to ‘combat’ crime? Yours and mine. How? We need to build the social compact. We need to recognise the value and strength that exist in our co-relating. Recognise our responsibility to each other. Understand the dynamics of power, and how a collective response from the bottom up can manifest a different reality – Operation Dudula is a case in point, yes. But so too are other community-driven organisations such as Equal Education, and most noticeably, Gift of the Givers,” said Prof Owen. 

She also asked the question – given the recent statistics with the unemployment rate in South Africa being 35,3% and the youth unemployment rate 66,5%, have you wondered why the crime rate is not higher? South Africa has one police officer for every 413 civilians. 

“The majority of those living in South Africa are not committing crimes, even if we recognise that crimes are underreported in South Africa; even if we understand that we will never have enough police officers to prevent crime. Think about it. Do we understand that most of those who are resident in South Africa are law-abiding citizens? Do we understand that daily, men and women make a conscious choice not to rob another?”

Any solution to crime in South Africa, according to Prof Owen, will have to be multifaceted, multipronged, and holistic. Poverty needs to be eradicated; we need to ensure food security and active engagement in livelihoods that secure our collective well-being. 

SAPS have not functioned properly for many years

Basson, who talked from the perspective of a journalist with 20 years’ experience, said we cannot look at crime in the country without looking at our history, as the country has a violent history. Crime is not something new that started in 1994. The history of colonialism and apartheid marked by crime against certain people because of their race, contributed and is still contributing to many of the issues that underline and caused the crime we have in our country today.
According to Basson, unemployment, poverty, and inequality also contribute to crime. He said the police have not functioned properly for many years. It has not acted as a protection service for South Africans – especially those who cannot afford private security. This can be attributed to corruption in the leadership of the police. 
 
“We have a big problem with our police, and unfortunately, I do not see a way out. I also do not think our current administration has a clear strategy to fix the police. The current Minister of Police has been fired as police commissioner due to a dodgy building contract (which was overturned in court many years later), and now it feels like he is still not done, as he acts more like the police commissioner than the political head,” said Basson.

Judge Davis added that while the police produce good evidence from time to time, shoddy work often prevents convictions, which is exacerbated by the absence of forensic skills. “A complete degradation of the system exists and there is the need for an overhaul of the SAPS,” added Judge Davis. He stressed that the huge levels of corruption within the SAPS compounds the problem even further and questioned whether we are attracting the right people into SAPS. 

Resurrection of the NPA needed

Judge Davis did not mince his words when he said that the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) was guttered under Shaun Abrahams. He added that successful prosecutions were needed, and support from the private bar was important for the NPA to be resurrected. “There are many talented and dedicated prosecutors in the NPA,” he added.

According to Judge Davis, the court system is under tremendous strain, and however skilled or talented the magistrates and judges are, the Stalingrad tactics of holding up cases forever is problematic. He added that hearings should be longer. “Court times are a significant problem, and we do not sit for enough hours and push cases as significantly as we can,” he emphasised.

Judge Davis also touched on the complex parole system and emphasised the need for proper parole officers. He added that a completely inadequate system exists from beginning to end, and that there is a need to use the skills that South Africa has. “Sentencing is also a problem, and no proper sentencing training exists for judges,” he added.

“If we had national security, the July 2021 unrest would not have happened, and we would have had convictions,” he said.
“We also cannot underestimate the effects of apartheid and the social and political consequences of people living on the margins in relation to crime,” Judge Davis added. 

News Archive

Prof. Letticia Moja a winner in her category
2004-08-17

 

Prof. Moja a finalist in award 
'Every member of staff is important to me'

Michelle Cahill - Bloemnuus

IF you are in need of a dose of inspiration, try and get an appointment with Prof. Letticia Moja, the Dean of the Faculty of Health Science at the University of the Free State. It will not be easy as she has an extremely tight schedule, over and above being a finalist in the 2004 Shoprite/Checkers Woman of the Year competition.

 

Although not a born and bred Free Stater, this dynamic woman has come to love the Free State. "Once you get past the mindset of a small town and all the negatives surrounding it, it is an absolutely wonderful experience," Moja said.

Moja was born in Pretoria and grew up in Garankuwa as the second eldest of five children. "That was nothing special. I was not the eldest and I wasn't the youngest," she quipped. She had two younger brothers, one of whom died in a car accident and then two sisters.

She went to school in Pretoria and her first contact with the Free State was when she wrote her matric at Moroka High School in Thaba Nchu. "That was one of the best schools for us at that time," she says. After completing matric, she went on to study medicine in KwaZulu-Natal.

In 1982 she returned "home" and completed her internship at the Garankuwa Hospital. Hereafter she specialised in gynaecological obstetrics at Medunsa.

She became the head of the gynaecological obstetrics unit and later opened a branch in Pietersburg.

"This was just about the most heart-rending time of my life. You saw people travelling for up to three days just to see a doctor," she says. "Here we really interacted with the community."

In 2001 she was invited by the University of the Free State to apply for the job of vice-dean of the Faculty of Health Science. "I wasn't too keen," she says, "but they kept on calling to find out if I had applied or not," she says with a smile. "Eventually I gave in and was appointed."

She thought she would work a couple of years under Prof. Kerneels Nel, then the dean of the faculty. "Unfortunately that was not to be. I had hoped that I could learn from him," Moja says.

Prof. Nel died of a heart attack in 2003 after which Moja deputised for him before being appointed as dean.

"This brought along a whole newset of challenges," she says, "Now I have to work out budgets and I need to know what human resources are," she jokes. This has prompted her to take up her studies again and she is currently doing her MBA.

"It has certainly been a challenge to go into management and without my support structure I most certainly wouldn't have been able to do it," Moja says.

Moja is actively involved in her church and serves on various committees including the Health Professional Council where she is acting president of the Medical and Dental Board and the Provincial Aids Council.

To her no job is menial. She recalls when she used to have "high tea" with her staff in Gauteng and Limpopo. "One of the cleaning ladies used to think her job was menial. That is just not so. No hospital can do without even the lowest position. Imagine stepping over rubbish while you're trying to catch a baby. To me everybody is important no matter what you do. "

Moja's eldest daughter is studying for her B.Accounting degree at Wits . Her youngest daughter is in Gr. 9 at Eunice and she has also brought along her niece, who is in Gr. 8 at Eunice. "You see, we need to be three girls in the house."
She feels honoured to have been nominated by the institution especially as it is traditionally male-dominated. "It is not about me, but about the support structure. Nobody can do it on their own. It is a team effort."
BLOEMNUUS - VRYDAG 9 JULIE 2004

 

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