Courts 'help rich exploit the poor'

10 July 2015 - 02:02 By Ian Beddowes, Spokesman for Housing Class Action, Berea

We are happy to see the ANC and the SACP take on the judiciary. The partisan approach taken by the courts in opposition to the government and in alignment with the opposition and its foreign backers is no different from their daily routine of removing property from the hands of the working class and enriching banks and estate agents.The pretence that the judiciary is fair, objective and above criticism is not borne out by our experience with the way evictions are carried out every day through the use of courts which have not the slightest intention of complying with the laws of South Africa as they are written and even less of recognising the constitution.In fact, as far as the majority of the working class and the poor are concerned, there is no constitution, at least not one which protects them.To access the courts, including the Constitutional Court, requires large sums of money which people who have been evicted do not have.Further, how can people who have been traumatised and brutalised by the uniformed thugs of the Red Ants, Bad Boys, SA Police Service, Johannesburg Metro Police Department and similar bodies have the strength to resist?The legal system regards the theft of a cellphone as a crime punishable by imprisonment, but the theft of a house is not a crime.The legal system must be replaced with a system of justice accessible to the whole population...

There’s never been a more important time to support independent media.

From World War 1 to present-day cosmopolitan South Africa and beyond, the Sunday Times has been a pillar in covering the stories that matter to you.

For just R80 you can become a premium member (digital access) and support a publication that has played an important political and social role in South Africa for over a century of Sundays. You can cancel anytime.

Already subscribed? Sign in below.



Questions or problems? Email helpdesk@timeslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00.