It appears SA is struggling to protect its laws from being exploited by those seeking to make a living through unlawful means. The ongoing story of illegal miners holding out underground in Stilfontein and the court case of bogus lawyer Teboho Motse in Rustenburg are recent points of reference. The state has in many instances been exposed for its lethargy when coming to rooting out lawlessness in all spheres of society.
In the case of Motse, the former murder convict was released on parole only for him to progress to a new criminal career as a fake lawyer. The parole system is a necessary tool in the attempt to afford convicts a new lease on life after years behind bars. We trust that Motse satisfied all the basic requirements needed for someone to qualify for an early release from prison through parole. But what is clear in this matter is that the state did not align its systems well enough to know where Motse lived and what he was doing while on parole. It is for this reason that the convict who seemed to have read the law well in prison, and perhaps having observed the lax attitude by officialdom towards keeping order, fancied his chances to emulate a lawyer.
He represented clients in court cases in North West until his bogus state was finally bust last year. This after the high court in North West set aside cases in which Motse represented clients, after "gross irregularity" in them was spotted. That led to all the cases he handled being set aside after it was finally discovered he was not registered with the Legal Practice Council.
Crime does not pay, as the elders have always warned us. But for the likes of Motse, now facing new criminal charges, the unguarded environment was inviting enough for him to take a chance.
The same goes for the illegal miners. It's now two decades since the government declared that the zama zama operations are illegal. At the time the activity was confined to closed gold mines in Welkom. But because the government just talked about the illegality of the activity without bold steps to stop it, the problem spread to the North West and Gauteng.
Now the zama zama operations have reached Limpopo and Mpumalanga.
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SOWETAN SAYS | Lethargy by state affords crime a chance
Image: Thulani Mbele
It appears SA is struggling to protect its laws from being exploited by those seeking to make a living through unlawful means. The ongoing story of illegal miners holding out underground in Stilfontein and the court case of bogus lawyer Teboho Motse in Rustenburg are recent points of reference. The state has in many instances been exposed for its lethargy when coming to rooting out lawlessness in all spheres of society.
In the case of Motse, the former murder convict was released on parole only for him to progress to a new criminal career as a fake lawyer. The parole system is a necessary tool in the attempt to afford convicts a new lease on life after years behind bars. We trust that Motse satisfied all the basic requirements needed for someone to qualify for an early release from prison through parole. But what is clear in this matter is that the state did not align its systems well enough to know where Motse lived and what he was doing while on parole. It is for this reason that the convict who seemed to have read the law well in prison, and perhaps having observed the lax attitude by officialdom towards keeping order, fancied his chances to emulate a lawyer.
He represented clients in court cases in North West until his bogus state was finally bust last year. This after the high court in North West set aside cases in which Motse represented clients, after "gross irregularity" in them was spotted. That led to all the cases he handled being set aside after it was finally discovered he was not registered with the Legal Practice Council.
Crime does not pay, as the elders have always warned us. But for the likes of Motse, now facing new criminal charges, the unguarded environment was inviting enough for him to take a chance.
The same goes for the illegal miners. It's now two decades since the government declared that the zama zama operations are illegal. At the time the activity was confined to closed gold mines in Welkom. But because the government just talked about the illegality of the activity without bold steps to stop it, the problem spread to the North West and Gauteng.
Now the zama zama operations have reached Limpopo and Mpumalanga.
SowetanLIVE
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