Hillary Gardee: Dissent now kills people, SA’s democracy ‘under threat’

Economic Freedom Fighters’ (EFF) members came out in their numbers to support the Gardee family after three murder suspects had been arrested over the weekend.

The accused – Sipho Lawrence Mkhatshwa, 39, Phillemon Mhlabunzima Lukhele, 47, and Albert Gama, 52 – made their first appearance in the Nelspruit Magistrate’s Court yesterday.

They will remain behind bars until 9 June when they return to court to face charges including conspiracy to murder, kidnapping, rape, murder, possession of a firearm and defeating the ends of justice.

Hillary Gardee’s murder case

High degree of political violence

Hillary Gardee, the daughter of the former EFF secretary-general Godrich Gardee, was laid to rest over the weekend after she went missing at the Nelspruit Plaza end of April.

Gardee’s body was discovered several days later outside Mbombela.

Political analyst Daniel Silke said there has always had a high degree of political violence in SA.

“We had it in KwaZulu-Natal from the 1980s on an ongoing basis due to heightened levels of tension in South Africa on a broad level,” he said.

Democracy under threat

Silke said there was a polarisation of politics in South Africa with a reduction in the levels of tolerance for dissenting political views, which also contributed to the physical dangers to those affiliated with politics.

“This is a serious moment in our democratic history in South Africa”, he said, adding:

“On the one side of democracy was freedom for dissenting voices and political parties and those associated with political parties to operate freely without any fear for themselves or their family”.

Silke said that side of the democratic equation is potentially under threat.

“In line with the general degrading of personal safety in South Africa, which has affected ordinary citizens for many years, this has spread to the political realm and political elites in South Africa,” he said.

Swift arrest…

Clinical psychologist Prof Gerard Labuschagne said arresting people within a few days was pretty good, considering most murders don’t get solved at all.

Labuschagne said he hoped the police had arrested the correct people in the Gardee murder.

“Pressure from politicians to arrest could lead to arresting anyone, whereas in normal circumstances a detective might hold off on the arrest to gather more evidence,” he said.

“Otherwise, you risk people getting bail or having the case withdrawn,” he added.

…but 72 hours too long

Professor Jaco Barkhuizen, head of the department of criminal justice at the University of Limpopo, said the fact that police needed the minister to tell them they had 72 hours to find the suspect was concerning.

“Seventy-two hours is too long, it should be 48 hours. It should be a standard response,” he said.

Meanwhile, it has been confirmed that an employee in the Mpumalanga ANC chief whip’s office was one of those arrested.

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