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- Justice Minister Ronald Lamola is trying to push through a Bill that could clear the names of hundreds of thousands of people who ended up with criminal records for breaching Covid-19 lockdown regulations.
- Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Justice and Constitutional Matters aims to finalise the Bill before the end of 2023.
- Lobby group AfriForum says it will monitor the Bill's progress.
More than 340 000 thousand people who earned themselves criminal records by breaching Covid-19 lockdown regulations between March 2020 and January 2021 could have their names cleared soon thanks to the Judicial Matters Amendment Bill.
Although most of them avoided jail time and ended up paying fines for their misdemeanours instead, they ended up with criminal histories.
Justice and Correctional Services Minister Ronald Lamola submitted the Bill for consideration by Parliament in March.
Among its aims is to: "Provide for the expungement of the criminal record of a person who is deemed to have been convicted and sentenced in respect of an offence contemplated in any regulations that have been made in terms of Section 27(2) of the Disaster Management Act, 2002, in respect of which an admission of guilt fine has been paid or [the person has] appeared in court in terms of a summons or written notice."
The committee overseeing Lamola's portfolio told News24 on Tuesday that it was planning to conclude matters relating to the Bill before the end of the year.
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Committee chairperson Bulelani Mangwanishe said: "We have advertised for public comment. When we come back from the constituency period, we will conduct public hearings. We intend to conclude the Bill by October".
Lobby group AfriForum's Jacques Broodryk commended the development as a step in the right direction.
AfriForum had sought clarity from the government on the criminal records of people who failed to wear face masks, drove home after curfew hours and jogged on the beach when the law prevented them from doing so.
Broodryk said:
He said that they had received several complaints from people who were denied job opportunities and visa applications because of their criminal records.
"It's been two years of people being adversely affected by these criminal records. Some of the regulations did not make sense to begin with. We'll be monitoring this process with the aim of applying pressure so that it is sped up," he added.
Attorney Melusi Xulu said while there was a high chance that thousands of people would benefit from the Bill if passed, those who committed other crimes, such as trading in counterfeit liquor and looting, might not be so lucky.
After the committee finalises the legislation with input from the public hearings, the Bill is expected to be discussed in the National Assembly before it reaches the president for promulgation.
