Justice and correctional services minister Ronald Lamola has strongly condemned an attack on the Constitutional Court on Wednesday morning when a suspect broke the windows of the court with a hammer.

Commending police for making a swift arrest, Lamola said: “The Constitutional Court is a powerful symbol of our constitutional dispensation, supremacy of the constitution and the rule of law in our country.

“Any person who attacks the Constitutional Court — or any other of our democratic institutions for that matter — is attacking democracy and what it represents.”

The site of the Constitutional Court, he said, is a historical landmark. “It represents our struggle for freedom. It was specifically designed to reflect the values of our new constitutional democracy and Nelson Mandela himself called the building a beacon of light, a symbol of hope and celebration.”

National police spokesperson Lt-Col Robert Netshiunda said on Wednesday police were called at midmorning as a man was found breaking the windows. 

When officers arrived, the man, estimated to be in his mid-30s, was still busy with his attack. Netshiunda said he did not stop smashing the windows until police fired a warning shot.

He was detained and is expected to undergo a psychiatric evaluation.

TimesLIVE