Criminals are targeting courts to pay revenge, eliminate rivals: Nel

Justice and Constitutional Development Deputy Minister Andries Nel speaks to the media outside the Booysen’s Magistrate’s Court in Johannesburg.

Justice and Constitutional Development Deputy Minister Andries Nel says criminals who are seeking to extract revenge or eliminate opponents are starting to target courts.

This comes after two people were killed and three others were wounded outside the Booysen’s Magistrate’s Court in Johannesburg on Tuesday.

The circumstances surrounding the shooting incident remain unclear.

Nel says, “They (Criminals) know that the target will be at our courts on a certain day and at a certain time, and they can plan around that, so we need to secure our courts not only inside but the precincts and the areas outside.”

He says security measures will be significantly heightened across the country’s courts and the department is collaborating with law enforcement to ensure safety measures are tightened.

Nel says, “The key point here is that we have a collective duty as government and as society to ensure that our courts of law are places of safety where both those who work there as well as members of the public can come with confidence to see justice being served.”

He adds, “This incident and others didn’t take place in the court it took place in parking lots and on the streets. Now we are engaging with police to up visible policing, we are also exploring how we can make use of crime wardens and deploy technological means in the form of CCTV coverage.”