The disruption of the Senzo Meyiwa trial on Tuesday over an alleged plot by unknown people who, according to the police, have conspired to kill state officials in the case, is deeply worrying. Police officers acting on intelligence about the conspiracy took into questioning three men who were inside the courtroom where five men accused of Meyiwa’s murder in 2014 are being tried. Although police said the men were later released after questioning and that security has been heightened around the court officials involved, the drama raises concern about the safety in our courts.
Police said the alleged conspirators behind Tuesday’s scare have been frequenting the trial court with the intention of identifying judicial officers, police and prosecutors involved for assassination. It has been more than 12 years since Meyiwa was shot in the home of his girlfriend and singer Kelly Khumalo in Vosloorus. His family has been yearning for justice for far too long now.
The trial of those accused of Meyiwa’s murder has seen enough drama with stop-starts, changes of judges, sideshows and now threats to people behind the case. It would appear from the police statement following Tuesday’s drama that there are those who are devising criminal methods to derail this case from reaching finality. However, the state can’t ill afford to allow our criminal justice system to be hijacked by thugs who obviously stand to benefit from a failed trial.
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The perpetrators behind this plot must be found and exposed. The decade-long delays in prosecuting the perpetrators behind Meyiwa’s murder have already eroded public trust in the criminal justice system and played into perceptions of high-profile people being protected. Any threat on the judiciary, prosecution, police and officials in this matter, therefore, must be viewed as an attack against the state that deserves the harshest punishment in law.
The last thing we need is threats directed at those who are seeking to restore the rule of law in this country and ensure criminals and murderers are jailed. The public rely on the courts to guarantee the protection of their rights and when violated by lawbreakers, the judiciary is the last line of defence.
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