By REGINALD KANYANE
8 April 2025 – The Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Justice and Constitutional Development, Xola Nqola, expressed his shock at the killing of a state witness inside the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court earlier today. Nqola said criminals have become so brazen that they do not care who they shoot or where they shoot.
He further said he struggles to comprehend how these criminals can take a court and turn it into a murder scene. Nqola added that this is a brazen attack, where criminals fear no one.
“It is totally unacceptable. What is more worrying is the fact that these brutal attackers walked into a court building whilst armed when they shot the witness in the lobby. The question now is, how did they manage to enter the building with firearms without being detected?
“During last month’s oversight visit to various courts in KwaZulu-Natal, the committee found most of the metal detectors not functioning. It was not working, and we raised that concern to the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, as well as the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure,” he said.
Nqola said they need to revisit the security at all courts for the safety of the Judges, magistrates, advocates, lawyers, and the public daily, unsuspectingly assuming they are safe when entering the buildings.
The Guardian 