Our legal system’s flaws revealed

Although lay people are not equipped to pass judgment in important legal matters, there is a growing perception the murder case against Shrien Dewani is falling apart. South Africa has spent a lot of time and money to ensure Dewani stands trial here for allegedly orchestrating a fake hijacking that led to his wife Anni’s death in November 2010. A private plane was chartered to bring him from the UK to Cape Town after a lengthy, costly extradition process. He’s received special care at Valkenberg Hospital, three witnesses were flown from London, and so on. The legal and other expenses must run to many millions.

Yet it seems insufficient attention was paid to ensuring some consistency in the testimony of state witnesses. There is a difference between coaching witnesses – which is not allowed – and preparing them to face rigorous cross-examination. In this matter we have seen witnesses contradict each other, contradict their own written statements and contradict their own testimony in earlier trials. On top of this, a state ballistics expert has been forced to admit his investigation was sloppy, while a police officer told the court he had lost his pocket book. What a mess.

Remember, the Oscar Pistorius murder case started with police bungling at the crime scene and has thus far produced a verdict and sentence many find unsatisfactory. And yesterday we remarked on what looked like police ineptitude in the murder of Senzo Meyiwa.

These are just a few high-profi le cases. Imagine what could be going on in others that attract less public scrutiny. Our justice system is on trial. That includes the work of police, prosecutors and various legal officers. Regrettably, justice is not being well served.