I can still hear the howls of outrage after musician Molemo "Jub Jub" Maarohanye and his friend Themba Tshabalala were each sentenced to eight years in prison in 2012 following a bizarre incident where the two men killed four youngsters and critically injured two others.
The two men had been drag racing in their Mini Coopers when they each lost control of their cars and plunged into the school children on March 8 2010.
The furore started in the public space once the identity of one of the two men had been published, with many commentators in newspapers and social media already prejudging the case by saying Maarohanye, considering his high profile and perceived wealth, would buy his way out of prison.
This was even before he had been found guilty.
After the courts did indeed find the two men guilty - no instance of Maarohanye using his perceived power and influence to quash the charges - these commentators were still not convinced.
They called for the highest possible sentence. In fact, some were calling for the men to be hanged, or to be sentenced to life imprisonment. These calls were hysterically inappropriate as we do not have the death penalty in this country anymore.
The two men were initially sentenced to 20 years for murder, but the charges were commuted to culpable homicide after they appealed and their sentences were later reduced to 10 years, two of which were suspended.
The two men were released on parole last Thursday, after serving four years of their eight-year sentences.
The release of the two men reignited social media debates about justice favouring the rich. The two men should have served their full sentences, some of the commentators said.
Social media went agog with recollections - some of them highly dramatised and exaggerated - of how the two men, high on drugs and inebriated, were laughing as they plunged into Andile Mthombeni, Prince Mahube, Phomelelo Masemola, Mlungisi Cwayi, Fumani Mushwana and Frank Mlambo who were walking home from school that day.
Mushwana and Mlambo were left severely brain damaged, while the other four died.
The mention of the names in public spaces reopened the wounds which were quietly healing. The anger is quite understandable in these days of entitlement where the rich and influential members of society seem to get their own brand of justice.
But, the outrage also does not take into account that Maarohanye and Tshabalala have indeed paid their debt to society.
They, too, are entitled to the fruits of our brand of justice that is rooted in a human rights culture - meaning they qualify for parole.
Ours is not a retributive criminal justice system. It is a system which has faith in everyone - that everyone, after having paid their debt to society for misdeeds, can still be rehabilitated and reintegrated back into society.
It is a culture that recognises the good inherent in all of us.
It is therefore heartening that some of the families of those children who were killed in 2010 are in line with this culture.
Fezekile Cwayi, the father of Mlungisi, last week said he had forgiven the two men.
In a touching interview with Sowetan last week, Cwayi said that in December he visited the grave of his son in the Eastern Cape. "I told him that Jub Jub and Tshabalala were going to be released [from prison] and that he must make peace with it," said Cwayi.
The fact that he remembered to visit the grave prior to the release indicates that the matter has always been at the top of his mind. It indicates that he had thought about it carefully, before making the decision that he did.
The visit to the grave to consult with his son's spirit is indicative of Cwayi's respect for his son on this matter - because in African spirituality the dead continue to live on in another realm that those who are still alive cannot access except through prayers and private musings.
By visiting the grave, not only did Cwayi want to explain to his son what was coming up, but also that he had to give his blessing to the family's decision to make peace with what had happened, and to extend an olive branch to Maarohanye and Tshabalala.
It takes immense courage for one to lose a loved one in a gruesome manner and still find forgiveness, which is the highest form of the milk of human kindness.
Without discounting or disrespecting the bitterness that still hangs over the members of some of the other families affected by this tragedy, the fact that Cwayi and the other families have forgiven the two is commendable.
I believe I speak for many when I express my sincere hope that Maarohanye and Tshabalala do not insult the families, and society at large, by reverting to their old ways.
The families need to heal. Society needs to heal.
lComments: fredkhumalo @post.harvard.edu
Jub Jub and friend deserve forgiveness for their crime
I can still hear the howls of outrage after musician Molemo "Jub Jub" Maarohanye and his friend Themba Tshabalala were each sentenced to eight years in prison in 2012 following a bizarre incident where the two men killed four youngsters and critically injured two others.
The two men had been drag racing in their Mini Coopers when they each lost control of their cars and plunged into the school children on March 8 2010.
The furore started in the public space once the identity of one of the two men had been published, with many commentators in newspapers and social media already prejudging the case by saying Maarohanye, considering his high profile and perceived wealth, would buy his way out of prison.
This was even before he had been found guilty.
After the courts did indeed find the two men guilty - no instance of Maarohanye using his perceived power and influence to quash the charges - these commentators were still not convinced.
They called for the highest possible sentence. In fact, some were calling for the men to be hanged, or to be sentenced to life imprisonment. These calls were hysterically inappropriate as we do not have the death penalty in this country anymore.
The two men were initially sentenced to 20 years for murder, but the charges were commuted to culpable homicide after they appealed and their sentences were later reduced to 10 years, two of which were suspended.
The two men were released on parole last Thursday, after serving four years of their eight-year sentences.
The release of the two men reignited social media debates about justice favouring the rich. The two men should have served their full sentences, some of the commentators said.
Social media went agog with recollections - some of them highly dramatised and exaggerated - of how the two men, high on drugs and inebriated, were laughing as they plunged into Andile Mthombeni, Prince Mahube, Phomelelo Masemola, Mlungisi Cwayi, Fumani Mushwana and Frank Mlambo who were walking home from school that day.
Mushwana and Mlambo were left severely brain damaged, while the other four died.
The mention of the names in public spaces reopened the wounds which were quietly healing. The anger is quite understandable in these days of entitlement where the rich and influential members of society seem to get their own brand of justice.
But, the outrage also does not take into account that Maarohanye and Tshabalala have indeed paid their debt to society.
They, too, are entitled to the fruits of our brand of justice that is rooted in a human rights culture - meaning they qualify for parole.
Ours is not a retributive criminal justice system. It is a system which has faith in everyone - that everyone, after having paid their debt to society for misdeeds, can still be rehabilitated and reintegrated back into society.
It is a culture that recognises the good inherent in all of us.
It is therefore heartening that some of the families of those children who were killed in 2010 are in line with this culture.
Fezekile Cwayi, the father of Mlungisi, last week said he had forgiven the two men.
In a touching interview with Sowetan last week, Cwayi said that in December he visited the grave of his son in the Eastern Cape. "I told him that Jub Jub and Tshabalala were going to be released [from prison] and that he must make peace with it," said Cwayi.
The fact that he remembered to visit the grave prior to the release indicates that the matter has always been at the top of his mind. It indicates that he had thought about it carefully, before making the decision that he did.
The visit to the grave to consult with his son's spirit is indicative of Cwayi's respect for his son on this matter - because in African spirituality the dead continue to live on in another realm that those who are still alive cannot access except through prayers and private musings.
By visiting the grave, not only did Cwayi want to explain to his son what was coming up, but also that he had to give his blessing to the family's decision to make peace with what had happened, and to extend an olive branch to Maarohanye and Tshabalala.
It takes immense courage for one to lose a loved one in a gruesome manner and still find forgiveness, which is the highest form of the milk of human kindness.
Without discounting or disrespecting the bitterness that still hangs over the members of some of the other families affected by this tragedy, the fact that Cwayi and the other families have forgiven the two is commendable.
I believe I speak for many when I express my sincere hope that Maarohanye and Tshabalala do not insult the families, and society at large, by reverting to their old ways.
The families need to heal. Society needs to heal.
lComments: fredkhumalo @post.harvard.edu
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