When justice is weaponised against the powerless

SOUTH Africa lives with a contradiction that we often pretend not to see, we do not have a single justice system. We have two. The first is fast, harsh, and designed for the poor. The second is slow, cautious, and endlessly negotiable, a luxury reserved for the powerful.

- NYANISO QWESHA

FORMER Bosasa chief operations officer Angelo Agrizzi has entered into a plea agreement with the State, admitting to charges of corruption and money-laundering linked to the company's controversial contracts with the Department of Correctional Services. Independent Newspapers Archives

(Independent Newspapers Archives)

Walk into any magistrate’s court on a Monday morning.

You will see shackled young men arrested for shoplifting food, for stealing copper to sell for taxi fare, for taking a cellphone to pawn for rent. These are “survival crimes,” born not of greed but of hunger and unemployment. Their cases move quickly. Bail is often unaffordable. Sentencing is swift. Jail time is normal.

Contrast that with the treatment of those who steal millions or sometimes billions through public procurement fraud, tender manipulation, financial engineering, or outright looting of state institutions.

Their crimes destroy hospitals, schools, water systems, and trust in government. Yet they arrive in court flanked by senior counsel, not shackles. Their cases stretch for years through postponements, review applications, and “technical challenges.” They are never rushed. They are rarely imprisoned. Some have the leisure to fight extradition from abroad, funded ironically by the proceeds of the very crimes they deny.