ActionSA has slammed the justice system after it emerged that the prime suspect in the brutal massacre of 12 people in Saulsville was released on parole just months ago, a revelation they say exposes the state’s weak and failed approach to violent criminals, where the rights of offenders are prioritised over the safety of law-abiding citizens.
This follows National Police Commissioner Gen Fannie Masemola’s confirmation during a community and media briefing outside the hostel on Monday that one of the suspects being hunted is a parolee released only three months ago. The man, previously imprisoned for attempted murder, extortion, and other serious offences, is known to police and is related to some of the victims.
Masemola also revealed that police have charged the owner of the illegal shebeen operating from the very hostel room where the mass shooting took place.
The attack unfolded when gunmen stormed the room and opened fire on patrons, killing 12 people and injuring 13 others. Three of the victims were children aged three, 12, and 16.
ActionSA MP Dereleen James said that although the full circumstances of the suspect’s parole remain unclear, it is already evident that the justice system’s weak protocols allow violent criminals to re-enter communities they should never have access to.
“South Africans continue to be terrorised by violent criminals because our justice system, which is meant to protect law-abiding citizens, far too often extends grace to individuals who have shown a complete disregard for human life and deserve to rot away in prison. Instead, they are routinely released on parole after committing some of the most egregious crimes, including rape and murder.”
James added that ActionSA remains unapologetic in its zero-tolerance stance on criminality and believes the parole system must be overhauled to ensure those guilty of the most serious offences never get a second chance to reoffend.
“ActionSA believes this is precisely why our policy that life must mean life, where criminals are actually punished, is critical to reversing the weak and failed approach the GNU continues to pursue, an approach that places the rights of criminals above the safety of law-abiding citizens,” she said.
The Star
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