Name: Tiisetso Mofokeng
Student number: 15085295
The spread of COVID 19 brought a widespread disruption to our country and even the whole world
which needed an immediate response from the government. The community and various parts of the
government had difficulties in dealing with the COVID 19 situation at hand.
The implementation of COVID 19 measures additional challenges for the criminal justice in our country
and as a result there have been limited hearings and considerable delays in the prosecution of cases and
delays in bail applications for accused people. The postponement of court cases resulted put strain on
already overcrowded prison systems . The suspension of court hearings, appearance and trials resulted
in delayed court proceedings. The pressure of quarantines, a high rate of infections, and the death of
criminal justices professionals, compounded by the economic fallout, insufficient resource and social
unrest caused by covid 19, harmed the agencies and interfered with their job and ability to carry out
their mission effectively. Another key challenge was the availability of those working at court including
court staff, legal representative and prosecutors. The judiciary was affected by reduced number of
judges and personnel due to rotation of court staff. Despite public health measures such as ban on
gatherings, curfews and lockdowns which jeopardize public safety and health. Some COVID-19
measures, which were issued particularly in the judicial system, created much confusion amongst Legal
practitioners because they were confused as to which matters have to be dealt with in court. This also
lead to inconsistency in the application of the hearing of cases because urgent cases might be excluded.
This situation infringe the victim's fair trial rights. These difficulties affected access to justice for victims
of crimes and general fair trial rights of people who are arrested. Despite the challenges faced by
criminal justice systems, My research highlights that good practices were undertaken to stabilize the
effects of COVID-19 during court proceedings or dealing with court matters. There were some good
initiatives involving bail and bond at police and prosecutorial level, also provision of free bail and bond
for accused persons, the revision of bail and bond of those in pre-trial detention. The COVID-19
measures that reduce the operation of courts and prevent visits to prisons had severe Consequences for
prisoners and their families. Access to amenities such as visitation rights, access to food, medicine and
other essential things. Prisoners were not able to physically consult their Lawyers. There are also
negatives and positives about the measures that were implemented. The Correctional services had to
release people on parole or other inmates to avoid overcrowding. They had to provide space for
incoming mates and this created an impact on the community because more criminals were released
before the time they were sentenced. These inmates might cause havoc knowing very well that there is
no space for them at prison.
Question 2
1.1. Former Transnet executive arrested in corruption case by Rédaction Africanews with AFP;last
updated 29/08/2022
1.2. Former Transnet executive arrested Brian Mofele has been arrested in connection with the multi
million dollar corruption case. He appeared in court and was granted bail of R50 000. He faces
charges of fraud and breach of public finance regulations, linked to a 93 million bribery and fraud
case surrounding the purchase of more than 1000 locomotives. Transnet own all of South Africa’s
railway, ports and pipelines. His lawyer said he pleads not guilty and the prosecution said that the
arrest was a crucial step in holding account all those suspected of being at the heart of Transnet
state capture. The opposition DA welcomed the arrest in a statement as a beginning of justice.
1.3. I found the article interesting because a report on corruption in South Africa during the Zuma
presidency described Transnet as the “primary site” of state corruption. A special commission
chaired by Zondo revealed that contracts worth billions of rand had been improperly awarded to
entities linked to the Gupta family.
1.4. This article relates to the criminal justice system because corruption is one of the biggest challenges
the criminal justice system. Corruption looks like it even runs through the officials who have control
of the justice system. Corruption even disrupts the process of justice because officials of the courts
are also bribed. Almost every month there is a story of corruption in South Africa and this shows
that we steal have a long way in dealing with corruption.
1.5. The accused and the judge
1.6. Justice has not been served because the trial is still ongoing
