DOJ MUST ACT NOW TO PROTECT MAGISTRATES

ORGANISATIONS representing judges have sounded a dire warning that the escalating threats and intimidation directed at judicial officers are not only undermining the justice system but are putting the very lives of magistrates at risk.

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This is a declaration of a state of judicial emergency. The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development (DOJ&CD) must now abandon business-as-usual and work around the clock to erect a shield of security for these frontline guardians of our law, both within courthouses and, critically, in their homes and communities. The brazen increase in reported attacks and threats against the judiciary must be condemned in the strongest possible terms. This is not merely criminality; it is an assault on the pillars of our constitutional democracy - the rule of law.