Cape Town – ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba has shifted his stance on the death penalty in South Africa.
Previously an advocate for capital punishment, Mashaba now believes it would be ineffective and unfair under the current justice system.
He argues that justice in South Africa is not evenly applied, as those with resources can evade punishment.
Addressing over 600 conference delegates at the Birchwood Hotel on Tuesday, Mashaba emphasised the party’s goal of concluding the three-day conference with a robust stance on crime, shifting the focus from criminal rights to the rights of victims and society.
Mashaba expressed concerns that a dysfunctional state should not determine who lives or dies.
Instead, he suggests changing minimum sentences to ensure violent criminals are not released to harm others.
“This fact was conveyed to me by experts who demonstrated the relative disadvantage experienced by poor South Africans compounded by the ineptitude of our current criminal justice system, that is why I believe the right approach is to change minimum sentences so that violent criminals may never be released to harm another person again,” EWN quoted Mashaba as saying.
In his address, @HermanMashaba said, after a proper research that was done, SA is not ready for capital punishment because only the poor will become victims. I hope we are not totally writing it off https://t.co/tzbRHxywYH
— Pearl Mashaba🇿🇦 I 💚ActionSA (@okaMashaba) September 12, 2023
He added, according to IOL: “We cannot tolerate a South Africa where law-abiding citizens live in fear while criminals act with impunity. Central to addressing this is ensuring that criminality is met with harsh consequences,” he said.
“It is certainly true that I have been a believer in capital punishment as I have watched law-abiding South Africans being raped, murdered, and pillaged by violent criminals who should never have been set free.
Additionally, he proposes seeking restitution from criminals through prison labour, a practice already in use in some South African prisons.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
