Justice Minister guilty of rights violations
Justice and Constitutional Development Minister Brigitte Mabandla is guilty of violating the fundamental rights of people by failing to process applications for pardons by prisoners aligned to the IFP.
The SA Human Rights Commission, which made the ruling, has ordered the Minister to process the applications within the next three months. Mabandla is also required to give monthly progress reports on the matter to the Commission, says a report in The Mercury. The decision follows a complaint from the IFP that over the past three years Mabandla has done nothing to review the cases of 384 IFP political prisoners who had applied for presidential pardons. Applications for pardons are scrutinised by the Justice Minister before recommendations are passed on to the President, who has the final say on whether inmates will be pardoned or not. Full report in The Mercury (subscription needed)