Residents of Tshikota marched to the Louis Trichardt Magistrate's Court on Thursday, 21 July, to hand over a memorandum of grievances in which they complain to the justice system about the withdrawal of cases against a suspected dangerous man in the community.
The suspect had been charged in at least four different cases, including possession of unlicensed firearms, robbery, and extortion, between September 2021 and June this year. Residents say that, since the court withdrew these cases against him, he has been seen back in the community. They blame the justice system for not protecting them as perpetrators involved in various crimes committed in Tshikota are often seen walking free, even after they had been arrested several times. The residents accuse the prosecutors and local magistrate of bungling cases.
In their memorandum, they called for a new magistrate and prosecutor to preside over the cases of this suspect, and that an independent investigation be conducted into the court's management as well as the state prosecutor.
All entrances to and from Tshikota were blocked since 04:00 on Thursday morning. No-one was allowed to go to work or school. Taxi and bus owners supported the protest by transporting the participating residents to the Total garage in Krogh Street in Louis Trichardt, from where they started their march to the magistrate's court.
According to community leader Mr Adam Manari, residents had also marched to the magistrate's court on 17 December 2021 to protest against the same thing, and that the court had not even responded to their memorandum of grievances. At the time, they also complained about the fact that the suspect's cases were being thrown out of court, while he continued to commit crime. This, Manari said, had left the community baffled. "They want to know why this man is getting away with his crimes every time. Clearly, there are corrupt officials in the court, and we want them to be excused from handling the suspects cases," said Manari.
The memorandum was received by the acting court manager of the Louis Trichardt Magistrate's Court, Mr Andries Matakala, who was accompanied by the head prosecutor, Mr Masia Masia, and magistrate Mr Bennie Smith. Matakala promised residents that the cases would eventually be reinstated. He also said that a new prosecutor and magistrate would be appointed to the cases.