THE DA has said that it has found “alarming security failures” at the Pinetown Magistrate’s Court where it conducted an “oversight visit” on Monday following reports of a lawyer who was arrested for allegedly being in possession of dagga and allegedly attempting to smuggle a parcel of this substance to a detainee.

DA member of the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) Billy Mzamo said what was learnt during the visit paints “a deeply troubling picture of systemic neglect and compromised security at one of KwaZulu-Natal’s busiest courts”.

Mzamo said the party’s observations revealed the following:

• Non-functional security equipment: The entrance body scanner and bag x-ray scanner have been out of service for more than 10 years, leaving the court wide open to contraband smuggling;
• Critical staff shortages: The court has 13 vacancies, which significantly undermines its ability to operate effectively;
• Inadequate SAPS presence: There are not enough court orderly police officers on duty, and shockingly, there has been no commanding officer for over two years;
• Security breaches with detainee access: Lawyers visiting their clients in holding cells are not accompanied by SAPS members due to capacity shortages, creating an unacceptable security risk.

Also read: Pinetown police applauded by acting head for major arrests

“These failings collectively compromise the safety of court staff, the public, detainees, and legal practitioners, while also undermining the integrity of the justice system itself,” said Mzamo.

He added that his party will escalate the matter to the Minister of Justice and the NCOP select committee on Security and Justice for urgent intervention and it will  demand a provincial audit of court security systems, staffing levels, and maintenance of security equipment across all courts.

“The current state of the Pinetown Magistrate’s Court is a disgrace and an indictment on government’s failure to maintain basic safety infrastructure,” said Mzamo.

The Highway Mail has sent a media enquiry to the Department of Justice to find out more about security measures implemented at the court, in particular, with regards to body searches, especially on legal practitioners.

The department is yet to respond to the media enquiry.

Also read: Lawyer arrested at Pinetown court

Meanwhile, the acting station commander at the Pinetown Police Station, Colonel Ronnie Heeralall, has said that he is of the view that the arrested 47-year-old lawyer “abused the relationship of trust he had with the court security guards at access control”.

Heeralall has commended the on-duty Pinetown SAPS officer, Sergeant Matt Janse van Rensburg, for his vigilance which resulted in the officer noticing the suspicious actions of the attorney who allegedly had concealed a 320g parcel of the substance on his person.

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