Court shooting prompts urgent review of safety measures

The recent security breach at the Wynberg Magistrate's Court has shone the spotlight on safety and security at court buildings with the Ministry of Justice looking into measures including off-site testimony.

According to the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, the metal detector at the court was not functioning and had not been reported. 

This comes after Dingalomoyo Chintso, 49, was shot and killed inside the court building on Tuesday.

According to reports, Chintso was initially suspected to be a State witness; however, it appears he was a murder accused set to appear at the court. 

Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, Mmamoloko Kubayi, said the security breach and the issue of metal detectors were preliminary factors that are being investigated.

Kubayi said “such things should not happen in a courtroom or building”, having received information that the metal detector at the court did not work. 

“What we are trying to understand is the issue of the metal detector because I am (told) that the metal detector did not work but no report was registered. We can go and discipline the security officer but we have got to find a way to prevent such instances from happening again,” she said.

Kubayi said there would be engagements regarding off-site testimony. 

“At Wynberg, there is a problem despite the high security. It’s not regular that you find a court being notorious like that in terms of having witnesses being killed. We have a high level of gang-related matters being brought into that court. We will have a conversation with the judiciary to introduce off-site testimony for the witnesses so that they do not come to the court. 

“When they come to court, you don’t fear only that the witness will be killed, you fear for the magistrate. You fear for anyone who is in the courtroom when the trigger is pulled because the bullet can go to anyone.

“I am paying particular attention to that court and areas where we have high levels of gang-related matters,” said Kubayi.  

Alison Tilley from Judges Matter, a legal NGO, said the incident also brought the safety and security of judicial officers to the fore again following a study conducted by the Democratic Governance and Rights Unit (DGRU) of UCT.

“We are very concerned about the safety of everybody in the court building, including judicial officers, staff, and members of the public. We know this has been a concern from magistrates arising from previous research into conditions at courts.

“In this instance, it was as a result of the metal detectors not working, resulting in a gun being smuggled into the building. 

“It’s part and parcel of the difficulties we have in court buildings generally. There is a lot of concern regarding the state of the infrastructure and whether court buildings are being maintained. There are a lot of issues that need to be dealt with in addition to security,” said Tilley.

According to the DGRU study - an inaugural survey of South African Magistrates investigating their perceptions of their work environment - almost a quarter (23%) of magistrates said they had been personally threatened or harmed because of their work.

Many of the threats were related to the outcome of a matter that the magistrate presided over. Others received threats when dealing with gang-related cases.

The Provincial Community Police Board spokesperson, Rafique Foflonker, said it is “outrageous and utterly unacceptable that violence of this nature has crossed the threshold into our courts”. 

“Courts must remain sanctuaries of justice, not battlegrounds for lawlessness. We are calling for an urgent, high-level review of security protocols at all court facilities in the province.

“We further call for a review of the strategy between SAPS, the Department of Justice, and court security services to reinforce physical and procedural safety measures immediately... Metal detectors, access control systems, and personnel must be audited and tested regularly,” said Foflonker.  

Crime expert, Calvin Rafadi, said: “Past threat analyses have confirmed what is becoming increasingly obvious: our courts are under threat from brazen criminal elements who have no regard for the law."

Cape Times