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Oscar Pristorious South African Judicial system deeply flawed
As a South African who has gone through the SA judicial system when my ex husband, also a celebrity in an abuse case, highlighted how inept and corrupt the judicial system is. Working with the Supreme Court where I was their chief witness, it took nearly four years before the case was brought to trial. The reason for this was that the docket was often stolen at the police station from where it was to be delivered. It was only after I flew from Los Angeles to SA and personally picked up the file from the Supreme Court, handed it to the chief police officer in his area, and had the policeman in charge of the delivery of the summons on the phone all the while he drove to his house that he was charged. When the case finally reached court, the prosecution canceled all witnesses including expert witnesses and he was acquitted. They refused to offer any explanation as to why they deliberately lost the case.
Abuse cases are seldom won in SA. South Africa boasts one of the best domestic violence laws in the world yet do not have the means to implement them. When I worked in the domestic violence court in Johannesburg, it was run by two men who also dealt with licensing and noise abatement. The restraining order forms the women needed to fill out were kept in separate piles along the floor and they had to bend down and pick them up. More often than not the restraining orders were not delivered as the men bribed the police officers not to deliver them. Bribery and corruption in SA is the norm. Rarely do traffic officers issue tickets as they first ask for a bribe. In December people were warned about police who stopped drivers demanding money. The government set up a special task force a few years ago to weed out the corrupt police force called the Scorpions. They were disbanded as they proved to be as corrupt as the police.
The President himself was charged with rape but was acquitted. One of his arguments used in his defense was that if a man believes a woman wants to have sex it is his duty to have it. The crowd threw stones at a woman at court believing she was the accuser. After the case, she sought asylum in Holland. The case drew further controversy when the President, who headed the National AIDS council knew that the victim had AIDS. His explanation was that he took a shower afterwards.
It will be a huge surprise if Reeva Steenkamp receives justice.
Abuse cases are seldom won in SA. South Africa boasts one of the best domestic violence laws in the world yet do not have the means to implement them. When I worked in the domestic violence court in Johannesburg, it was run by two men who also dealt with licensing and noise abatement. The restraining order forms the women needed to fill out were kept in separate piles along the floor and they had to bend down and pick them up. More often than not the restraining orders were not delivered as the men bribed the police officers not to deliver them. Bribery and corruption in SA is the norm. Rarely do traffic officers issue tickets as they first ask for a bribe. In December people were warned about police who stopped drivers demanding money. The government set up a special task force a few years ago to weed out the corrupt police force called the Scorpions. They were disbanded as they proved to be as corrupt as the police.
The President himself was charged with rape but was acquitted. One of his arguments used in his defense was that if a man believes a woman wants to have sex it is his duty to have it. The crowd threw stones at a woman at court believing she was the accuser. After the case, she sought asylum in Holland. The case drew further controversy when the President, who headed the National AIDS council knew that the victim had AIDS. His explanation was that he took a shower afterwards.
It will be a huge surprise if Reeva Steenkamp receives justice.
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