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The Democratic Alliance (DA) notes that the Minister of Justice, Ronald Lamola, has decided to enter the fray surrounding #FeesMustFall activist, Mr Kanya Cekeshe’s application for leave to appeal his 2017 conviction. This application was refused in the Johannesburg Regional Court on Monday.

Not long after the Court judgment was handed down, Minister Lamola, the person responsible for the administration of justice in South Africa, tweeted “we note the dismissal of both the leave to appeal and bail for fees must fall activists (sic) Khaya Cekeshe by the Johannesburg Magistrate Court.  We’re in the process of urgently assisting him with an application for presidential pardon or other legally available avenues”. 

Mr Cekeshe was convicted on charges of public violence and malicious damage to property.  These charges are both serious and deserving of consequences.  It is precisely because the law has been ignored, and serious infringements have been seen to be without consequences that State Capture was able to take place, and the criminal justice system hollowed out to the shell we are left with today.

For the Minister to enter the arena, making a mockery of the hard work of the NPA in pursuing the case and securing a conviction, and showing contempt for the Judiciary by suggesting that their work should simply be undone by the stroke of a Presidential pen is something that should concern us all.

If there are no consequences for delinquent behaviour, how will the criminal justice system hold those responsible for the serious offences now being exposed in the Zondo Commission of Inquiry and other commissions dealing with graft and wrongdoing?  On what basis should prosecutors and the SAPS continue to work hard in difficult circumstances to hold people to account if the attitude of the Minister is simply to expunge criminal records and assist in obtaining Presidential pardons.

This approach smacks of the Zuma-era approach to justice and accountability, and is simply not acceptable. Our Constitution dictates that every citizen is equal before the law, and equally any person who has been convicted of wrongdoing should be held accountable for their actions.

Issued by DA