The department has studied the records of the Zonderwater Correctional Supervision and Parole Board (CSPB) and sees the placement of Riaan Botha on parole on 8 May 2009 as normal and in terms of the law.
Riaan Botha qualified for placement on parole because the trial judge's directive in 2002 that two-thirds of the 18 year sentence for murder must be served before any parole consideration was set aside by the Supreme Court of Appeal May 2004. Riaan's successful appeal against the two-thirds condition meant that he was eligible for parole placement after serving only one-third of his sentence in terms of applicable policy and regulation for offenders sentenced before 2004.
Correctional Services Act, Act 111 of 1998 as amended changes an earlier policy that allowed offenders to be considered for placement on parole after completing one third of their sentences. The Act came into effect in 2004, changing the non-parole period for offenders to half of their sentences.
The confusion and concerns raised by among others the media were due to lack of information about the fact that the original sentence conditions of 2002 were set aside by the Supreme Court of Appeal in 2004.
Enquiries:
Manelisi Wolela
Cell: 083 626 0304
