Justice Department dealing with 42 cases of hate crime

The Department of Justice said it was currently dealing with 42 cases of hate crime.

Deputy Justice Minister John Jeffery met with the national task team on the rights of LGBTIQ+ persons on Thursday to get a better understanding of why there seemed to be a spike in hate crimes aimed at the community.

The task team, which includes civil society organizations and police, said it had been tracking pending cases in the criminal justice system involving crimes committed against queer people and the broader community.

Of the 42 pending cases, 30 people were murdered while 12 were raped with the majority of the crimes taking place in the Western Cape and Gauteng.

Anele Bhengu was found disemboweled near Durban in a suspected hate crime last month. She is one of more than a dozen victims of such crimes in South Africa since last year.

“Out of the 42 pending hate crimes cases, approximately 29 cases were reported from 2020 to date. Of these 29 hate crimes, 16 are on the court roll with remand dates with the remaining 13 cases under investigations. It must be highlighted that the cases on the template are being actively monitored with government departments, the National Prosecuting Authority, and civil society to ensure that these cases are thoroughly investigated, and prosecutions follow,” Jeffrey explained.

The number of deaths has continued to increase as the implementation of the Prevention and Combating of Hate Crimes and Hate Speech Bill drags.

The bill was approved by Cabinet in 2018, that same year it was taken to Parliament where it has been gathering dust for three years.

-EWN

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