Johannesburg – ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba has clarified his about-turn on capital punishment, which he has since distanced himself from after years of agitating for the policy to be adopted as part of ActionSA’s policy.
Mashaba, who opened the party’s policy conference at the Birchwood Hotel on Tuesday, told the more than 600 delegates to the conference that the party must emerge from the three-day conference with a tough-on-crime approach that changes the conversation from the rights of criminals to the rights of victims and society.
"We cannot tolerate a South Africa where law-abiding citizens live in fear while criminals act with impunity. Central to addressing this is ensuring that criminality is met with harsh consequences," he said.
On capital punishment, he said: “It is certainly true that I have been a believer in capital punishment as I have watched law-abiding South Africans being raped, murdered, and pillaged by violent criminals who should never have been set free.
“I believe many South Africans have witnessed the brutality of certain crimes in South Africa and shared my guttural reaction to these heinous acts.”
He said his strong views on capital punishment had been refined after the Senate came together and debated the policy last month.
“Chief among these concerns is the highly flawed state of our criminal justice system and the costs associated with navigating it.
“The South African government has a long way to go in terms of becoming a capable, efficient, and trustworthy matrix of institutions.
“The question of who lives and dies should not be a matter that should be entrusted to this wholly dysfunctional government.”
During his opening address, the former Joburg mayor also paid his condolences to Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi and the Zulu Royal family following the death of the traditional prime minister and founder of the IFP, who died in the early hours of Saturday after a recent back surgery.
“We offer our deepest condolences to his family, to the Buthelezi clan, to King Misuzulu and the royal family, to the IFP, and to the entire Zulu nation.”
He said Buthelezi had dedicated his life to being a pillar of society and a great leader whose void and impact will be felt for a long time to come.
Mashaba, who had been critical of the City of Joburg following the deaths of 77 people who perished after a five-storey building caught fire over two weeks ago, also took time to pay his respects to the families of the fire victims.
“The disaster is a result of the failure of all three spheres of government that allowed the breakdown of the rule of law by the illegal hijacking of buildings and permitted the building’s neglect,” he said.
The Star