Stats tell the story . . . it’s time SA restores the death penalty

THE accused, Henri van Breda, 23, was so unconcerned that he even dozed and yawned on a few occasions while judge Siraj Desai read the verdict in Van Breda’s triple murder trial this week. When the judge finally reached the end of his lengthy judgment, the accused had even temporarily closed his eyes a few times. The dozens of cameras around him did not seem to focus his senses.

Van Breda was found guilty on all five counts: the murders of his own parents and older brother, the attempted murder of his sister and defeating the ends of justice. Heinous crimes anywhere, punishable by the heaviest sentence possible.

In parts of the Middle East and Africa, even petty thieves spend sleepless nights and days agonising over their fate once caught. Because it may cost them limbs or even their right to life. But in SA, undergoing a criminal trial is just another of those long, boring things you have to endure. Then you simply do a stint in jail.

Van Breda is one of many who simply fall asleep in SA courts while justice is being served on them. That’s because the procedure is largely inconsequential. That is, if you are one of the unlucky criminals who are caught. The result is that our country has one of the highest crime rates on earth. This lawlessness not only affects the quality of life, it chases away investment.

The 19 016 murders in the year ended March 2017 propelled SA to 34.1 murders per 100 000 people, say the police in their annual crime statistics report, published on October 24 2017. At 52-a-day, this is one of the highest peacetime murder rates. Last week alone, no less than five of our compatriots were killed by gun-wielding criminals robbing people at their homes, at their businesses or in cash-in-transit vans. SA is in the company of the DRC, Chad, Lebanon, Mali, El Salvador, Mexico, Brazil and Venezuela. While the African states have no reliable data, about 91.8 and 81.2 murders per 100 000 people are reported in El Salvador and Venezuela respectively every year.

By comparison, the UK experienced “only” 709 murders in the year ending March 2017, says its Office for National Statistics. This translates to 12.1 murders per one million people.

Of course, I expect the most optimistic among us – call them apologists – to point out enthusiastically that SA’s murder rate has halved from the 67 murders per 100 000 people in the years between 1994 and 2009. That is indeed a significant and worthy achievement. I don’t expect such apologists to point out the equally undeniable fact that that was an abnormal time in which SA was on the brink of civil war. My point here, is that if SA hopes to realise its full social and economic potential, we need to tackle criminality aggressively and mercilessly. We must enforce the rule of law ruthlessly. There must be drastic consequences for breaking the law. Even criminals respond to incentives.

Right now not many seem to care about getting caught. They have nothing to fear even when caught. The result is the ridiculous situation that lawabiding citizens have to live in constant fear of being murdered in their own homes.

Even by their own relatives. In any normal society, the first duty of government is to keep its citizens safe. Not in ours. Amending the constitution to qualify that clause that inaccurately says “everyone has the right to life” would be a good start. This right to life has to be fairly – and legally – taken away from anyone who has unfairly and illegally taken away “the right to life” of others.

The excuse that South Africa cannot have the death penalty restored, simply because it was abused in the past holds no longer. We have a human rightsbased justice system whose transparency and fairness is indisputable.

The first duty of the government is to always keep its citizens safe