Groenewald orders review of parole decision for Griekwastad murderer

Correctional Services Minister Pieter Groenewald. Picture: Gallo Images Correctional Services Minister Pieter Groenewald has ordered a review of a decision to grant the Griekwastad murderer parole. The Griekwastad murderer, who was 17 and cannot be named in terms of the Criminal Procedure Act because he was a minor at the time of the heinous crime, was convicted of killing three members of the Steenkamp family.

On April 6, 2012, 44-year-old Deon Steenkamp and 43-year-old wife Christeland 14-year-old and teenage daughter Marthella were murdered in the living room on their farm Naauwhoek in the Northern Cape. The Correctional Supervision and Parole Board (CSPB) in Upington approved the 29-year-old murderer’s parole placement effective from 26 March 2026, until the expiry of his sentence on 13 March 2034. However, following careful consideration of the matter, Groenewald resolved that the decision be subjected to a review process in accordance with the provisions of the Correctional Services Act, 111 of 1998.

Departmental spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo said the decision has been referred to the Correctional Supervision and Parole Review Board for review. “In terms of section 75(8) of the Correctional Services Act, any decision of a Correctional Supervision and Parole Board is final, except that the Minister, the National Commissioner or the Inspecting Judge may refer the matter to the Correctional Supervision and Parole Review Board for reconsideration and pending the outcome of the decision of the Correctional Supervision and Parole Review Board, the decision of the Correctional Supervision and Parole Board is suspended.” Nxumalo said, therefore, until the review is undertaken, the parole placement decision made by the CSPB is suspended. “This is pending the outcome of the review by the Correctional Supervision and Parole Review Board, which is required to consider the full record of proceedings and either confirm or substitute the decision in accordance with the Act.” “The Minister emphasises that this referral is not a determination of the merits of the case, but a lawful step to ensure that parole decisions are subjected to proper oversight, comply fully with legislative requirements, and uphold public confidence in the correctional system,” Nxumalo said.