Minister Lamola provisionally suspends Magistrate
Minister of Justice and Correctional Services, Mr Ronald Lamola, MP, has provisionally suspended Ms K Bodlani, an acting Regional Magistrate at Umlazi, Kwa-Zulu Natal pending the outcome of an investigation into her fitness to hold office as a magistrate.
The matter was referred to the Minister by the Magistrates’ Commission. A judicial quality assessment of Ms Bodlani’s work revealed serious irregularities and shortcomings, most notably that a number of her cases had to be sent on special review in terms of section 304(4) of the Criminal Procedure Act as several serious shortcomings and incompetent sentences were imposed by her.
She was allocated to the Sexual Offences Court and dealt with cases of child victims who were raped by adults and the prescribed minimum sentence for such offences is life imprisonment.
In almost all the finalized cases which were assessed, Ms Bodlani imposed sentences where the accused were cautioned or strongly reprimanded or wholly suspended. The suspended sentences she imposed were found to have been both incompetent and incomplete.
After a substantial number of Ms Bodlani’s judgments went on special review to the High Court, the reviewing judges raised serious questions as to her suitability for judicial office. They found the sentences she imposed as, amongst others, “incorrect for incompleteness, incompetent, outrageous, disturbing to the extreme, shockingly inappropriate and completely contrary to the very factors relevant to sentencing.”
In terms of section 13(3)(a) of the Magistrates Act, 1993, the Minister, on the advice of the Magistrates Commission, may provisionally suspend a magistrate from office if the Commission, after affording the magistrate a reasonable opportunity to be heard regarding the desirability of such provisional suspension, is satisfied that reliable evidence exists indicating that an allegation against that magistrate is of such a serious nature as to make it inappropriate for the magistrate to perform the functions of a magistrate while the allegation is being investigated; and if an investigation has been instituted by the Commission into such magistrate’s fitness to hold office.
“Our judicial officers must display the highest levels of competency and ability. If they do not, it has the potential to undermine the administration of justice and may result in the community and the public in general losing faith in the ability of the courts to dispense fair and appropriate justice,” said Minister Lamola.
A report in which the provisional suspension and the reasons therefore are made known, must, in terms of section 13(3)(b) of the Act, be tabled in Parliament by the Minister within seven days of such suspension.
Enquiries
Chrispin Phiri
Spokesperson: Ministry of Justice and Correctional Services
Cell: +27(0) 81 781 2261
