SAPHOR calls for transparency in out-of-court settlements

The South African Prisoners’ Organisation for Human Rights (SAPOHR) has called for transparency in the out-of-court settlement process for criminal cases.

This as they express concern about the alleged corruption within the criminal justice system, citing a lack of trust in prosecutors. The settlement aims to alleviate the backlog of court cases.

However, SAPOHR warns that it risks turning justice into a commodity accessible only to the wealthy. Critics argue that this undermines the integrity of the legal system, opens the door to potential abuse, and exacerbates inequality within the justice system.

Prisoners’ rights activist, Golden Miles Bhudu says, “The settlement cannot be done by themselves alone. Because they themselves are people we are not trusting, we have trusted. They must do this right in public, in the open and they must be transparency and the taxpayers must know how these things work. So, people don’t know how these things work it’s only them who knows how works that’s why do as they please.”