Three things give us some hope

Joshlin Smith trial, case of missing cops and BMA show what SA can be

- Professor Mosibudi Mangena

Three happenings in the last little while give a glimpse of what wonderful things we are capable of as a nation.

First is the hard-breaking story of the disappearance of little Joshlin Smith, determined by the court to have been trafficked by her mother Kelly Smith and her two accomplices, Steveno van Rhyn and Jacques Appollis.

To recognise the community's role in searching for Joshlin, the high court in the Western Cape moved its sitting from Cape Town to Saldanha Bay. The proceedings in a multi-purpose hall gave the community an opportunity to follow them from beginning to end.

At the conclusion of the trial, where the accused were found guilty, Judge Nathan Erasmus thanked the women who prayed outside the hall every day just before the commencement of the court proceedings. This was a master stroke to crown the noble gesture of taking the court to the community.

The court did not have to move the hearing to Saldanha Bay, but it did in honour of the community.