CALLS FOR ARREST OF MAGISTRATE IN WOMAN CAR DRAMA

NHLANGANO – Members of the public are calling for the arrest of the magistrate, who was involved in an altercation with a woman, regardless of the decision by the female companion, not to open a case.

This is the Nhlangano-based judicial officer who was involved in a public squabble with a female passenger after she alighted from a moving vehicle the magistrate was driving.  The passenger, after alighting from the vehicle, as per video footage seen by this publication, started running away from the automobile.  As she fled from the automobile, the judicial officer, who was occupying the driver’s seat, stopped the car and alighted in haste. His efforts to catch up with the fleeing female occupant were delayed, as he fell onto the tarmac upon alighting. However, the judicial officer got up and chased after the woman thereafter.

Commotion

The commotion, which was caught on various closed-circuit television (CCTV), happened along Bethusile Street, within the central business district (CBD) of Nhlangano, in the Shiselweni Region. As the judicial officer purportedly quarreled with the female, security guards stationed along Bethusile Street reportedly intervened. Following the publication of the article yesterday, members of the public took to different social media platforms, wherein they called for the arrest of the magistrate. Some alleged that he was above the law by not being arrested. Members of the public said, had it been an ordinary citizen, the matter would be treated differently.

Some were questioning how a custodian of the law could commit such an offence, when he had ruled on several cases of a similar nature.  Adding their voice was One Billion Rising Campaign Africa Regional Coordinator, Colani Hlatshwako. She concurred with the call for action to be taken against the judicial officer.  She said her organisation was concerned about the escalating number of cases involving prominent figures that were left to die down.  Hlatshwako said several public figures were walking scot-free, instead of facing the law. She said this was setting a bad precedent for others, as they would do the same, knowing that they would not be punished.  “It just gets worse when the custodians of the law are the ones perpetrating violence, as this means people will not take courts seriously.

“At this point, the law seems not to apply to everyone (unemehlo),” she said. Hlatshwako said she did not blame the female companion for not opening a case, as she might have seen that the perpetrator was a prominent figure and nothing would be done to him. She said this was reflecting on the weakness of the justice system of the country. She added that violence is also a crime, regardless of the perpetrator and where it was committed.

Adding, the regional coordinator said it did not matter if the survivor did not want to open a case, but the law still had to take its course. Chief Police Information and Communications Officer Senior Superintendent Phindile Vilakati, stated that police were investigating the matter, regardless of the female companion not opening a case.She stated that they were doing so based on the Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence (SODV) Act 15/2018.  Vilakati stated that they would act on the findings of their ongoing investigation after it is completed. She shared that they investigated cases of this nature, among others, as they were guided by the law.

Engaged

Meanwhile, a seasoned prosecutor was engaged to establish when they forced a person to testify, given that the female companion did not want to open a case.  The prosecutor said the woman could be made a compellable witness.  The prosecutor, however, said their hands were almost tied when it came to such situations, where the person who was supposed to be a complaint resisted to open a case against the alleged perpetrator.   According to the senior prosecutor, even if that particular person (the person who is supposed to be the complaint), can be declared a compellable witness, they can summersault during the trial, thus making the case weak.

“Such situations render our hands tied, as the prosecution relies on the docket and/or statements recorded by the police, so that if that particular person has decided not to open a case, then the prosecution cannot do anything further than that,” said the senior prosecutor. The prosecutor, however, highlighted that there was an exception in cases involving children. “Such people need to undergo counselling, as in most instances, they found themselves in a precarious situation,” added the senior prosecutor. High Court Registrar Nosipho Mazibuko, was questioned if action has been taken against the magistrate, and if not ,when would be taken taken. She was also asked for their comment following that the magistrate is the custodian of the law.

Mazibuko was also asked if the senior magistrate would be allowed to continue working and presiding over matters of a similar case as they might be enrolled in his court, yet such allegations had been made against him. Mazibuko declined to comment, save to say that they were waiting for an official report of the incident.

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