Court backlog nears 50 000 criminal cases

SA is waking up with a Covid-19 hangover as public facilities face the gargantuan task of catching up on all the services that were shut down or limited during lockdown. Across the country’s courts there was a backlog of nearly 50 000 criminal cases at the end of last month. A Weekend Argus report says at the beginning of this month, nearly 21 000 people were reportedly awaiting approval from Sassa for disability grants which had not accepted new applications since the beginning of lockdown. In the country’s courts, the backlog of criminal cases is now ‘a matter of serious concern’, according to the Department of Justice & Constitutional Development. By the end of August, there was a backlog of 68 171 cases at the High, Regional and District Courts – an increase of nearly 29 000 added to the already large backlog before lockdown. By the end of September, the backlog decreased slightly to 49 160. A case is considered to be ‘backlogged’ if it is still open six months after first appearance at a District Court, or nine months at a Regional Court. Spokesperson for the department, Steve Mahlangu, said the courts had not been spared the effects of Covid-19. ‘In addition, the absence and rotation of staff and other court role-players, as well as court closures due to decontamination efforts, have all had an impact on backlogs and court operations.’ The report says a court optimisation committee has been set up in order to oversee the backlog as well as efficient functioning of the courts in the time of Covid-19.