Lawlessness rules

THE promise of peace, harmony and to be free from fear set out in section 198 of the constitution has turned into a bad dream for the majority of South Africans.

There appears to be a system breakdown in law enforcement coupled with a dearth of ideas and plans to deal with organised crime and criminal gangs.

The majority of the people of South Africa are forced to organise crime prevention structures like “Wanya Tsotsi”, while others pay for private security services. Those who do nothing for themselves become vulnerable to crime that is not limited to property, but extends to killings and maimings at the hands of marauding criminal gangs who do not believe that the law is effective against them.

South Africans will place their hope in our government to protect them only if and when the law enforcement agencies complement each other in the fight against crime and ensure that duplication of resources is eliminated. We must arrive at a state where all South Africans not only believe that crime does not pay, but can see that it is so.

No right-thinking patriot can condone the apparent paralysis in the law enforcement agencies of South Africa. The present representatives of the people of SA must hang their heads in shame for the spectacular failure of the present law enforcement agencies in solving rising crime. Crime destroys the faith people have in the rule of law.

The apparent indifference of the authorities to the problem of lawlessness that ravages communities in SA borders on complicity with criminals. The Council of the Cape Law Society calls on government to do all in its power to defeat crime and re-instate the faith of South Africans in the rule of law, which is the bedrock of our constitutional order. Lulama Lobi President of the Cape Law Society