SA justice, and society, goes on trial with Oscar Pistorius
WHEN Oscar Pistorius steps into the dock tomorrow, he will not be the only one on trial as the world’s eyes turn to South Africa. Since the news broke of the 2013 Valentine’s Day killing of Reeva Steenkamp, global interest in the case has grown. This was again evident when foreign news channels interrupted their programming this week as Judge Dunstan Mlambo announced his decision to allow much of the trial to be televised live.
From tomorrow, the spotlight will be on Judge Thokozile Masipa, the prosecution, defence, witnesses and the respective families. But there are many other people and factors on trial here. South Africa’s image will be placed firmly at the centre of the spectacle, which is, rightly or wrongly, about more than just the manner of Steenkamp’s death.
As with South Africa’s prolonged bid to have British citizen Shrien Dewani returned to this country to stand trial for the murder of his wife, Anni, our justice system will be under scrutiny amid debates about its efficacy and weaknesses.
Already, there has been criticism that Pistorius has received preferential treatment, especially considering the circumstances surrounding his arrest, his subsequent release on bail to live in luxury with his family, and his December holiday in Mozambique.
All this adds to the perception that in South Africa the rich enjoy more freedom and comfort from the justice system than their poorer counterparts. That is hard to dispute. For one, they can afford the best legal teams to fight their cases and exercise every option to stay out of jail. When they do that successfully, the feeling that the justice system works only for the well-off is further entrenched in the eyes of the public, and especially the poor.
Even before it has started, the “Oscar saga” has demonstrated elements of a “rich man’s trial”. This has been evident in the hardly surprising legal trickery of both the defence and the prosecution as they attempt to pile pressure on each other.
Only last week, media leaks inferred that the prosecution did not quite have all its ducks in a row, with prosecutors waking up too late to the fact that they could not access Pistorius’s encrypted phone data.
The trial will bring to the fore many of the ugly elements of modernday South Africa — a high crime rate, gender violence and the brutal nature of our society. So, when the first witness takes the stand, South Africa’s image will form the backdrop to the footage being screened throughout the world. The outcome of this trial — whether Pistorius is found guilty or acquitted — will not only have consequences for the Olympian. Much of what our society is about will be on trial as well.