Officials from the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development conducted a site visit to the Wynberg Magistrate's Court.
Image: Supplied
Officials from the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development visited the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court in Cape Town following a shooting incident inside the court building earlier this week.
The department’s Director-General, advocate Doc Mashabane, together with the Acting Secretary-General in the Office of the Chief Justice, advocate Marelize Potgieter, and the Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions in the Western Cape, advocate Nicolette Bell, conducted a site visit.
This follows the shooting of an a man, allegedly linked to the Junky Funky Kidz (JFK) on the fourth floor outside courtroom D on Tuesday, April 8.
The victim is alleged to have sustained three gunshot wounds to his head.
Urgent interventions were implemented during a meeting with stakeholders.
Image: Supplied
The targeted hit caused chaos inside the courtroom as people in the building fell to the floor for safety.
The question on everyone’s lips is how the shooter/s managed to get inside the court building with a firearm going undetected.
The visit aimed to ascertain the circumstances surrounding the incident and determine whether any security lapses had occurred. This intervention formed part of the government’s response, intending to review and strengthen security protocols at court facilities.
The meeting was attended by a range of key stakeholders, including the Chief Magistrate of Wynberg, senior officials from the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, prosecutors, court administrators, security officers, and representatives from the South African Police Service (SAPS).
The Director-General engaged with stakeholders from the Office of the Chief Justice, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), Legal Aid South Africa, the SAPS, and senior officials within the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development. The discussions focused on evaluating current security measures and identifying appropriate corrective actions where necessary.
The victim's body being removed from the court building.
Image: Armand Hough / Independent Newspapers
Ndwakhulu Rambau, National Head of Security in the Department, as well as the Western Cape Provincial Head of Security, were also part of the delegation and contributed to the technical assessment and recommendations.
The SAPS confirmed an investigation is under way to bring the perpetrators to book.
As part of immediate interventions, the Director-General directed the installation of a security scanner, tightening of access control to the prosecutors' and magistrates' offices, and the enhanced vetting of court officials. The Director-General further directed that officials urgently finalise a report on the incident, which will be submitted to the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, Mmamoloko Kubayi, and the Chief Justice, Mandisa Maya.
While widespread speculation has been that the victim was a witness in a court matter, this is not the case.
The Western Cape spokesperson for the NPA, Eric Ntabazalila, confirmed the victim was not a witness.
“The NPA has just been advised that the deceased who passed away following an alleged shooting inside the Wynberg Magistrate's Court building was an accused who appeared at Court D,” Ntabazalila said.
robin.francke@iol.co.za
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