Senator Isaac Magagula has called for a review of the Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence (SODV) Act, saying such a law is allegedly being abused to target certain people in society.
He urged the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs to consider setting up an ad hoc committee with the aim of reviewing the Act and investigating whether it was being applied in the correct manner.
The senator, who is the Chairperson of the ministry’s portfolio committee, clarified that he was not against the law, but noted that there were concerns from members of the public that the law was allegedly being abused.
This was during the debate of the ministry’s first quarter performance report in the Senate chamber yesterday.
While making his submissions, the senator urged Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, Prince Simelane, to ascertain whether the law was indeed being applied in the right manner.
“I am not against the law, I also believe it is a good legislation to curb domestic violence. However, there are concerns that it is not being applied correctly. There is a feeling that it is being weaponised to target certain people in society,” he submitted.
Magagula said there were concerns raised by some members of the public, who they represented as legislators, pertaining to the manner in which the law was being applied. He urged the minister to set up the committee to review the application of the legislation as well as look into the concerns raised by the public.
Senator Magagula also noted that there was friction between the ministry and the Judiciary, as previously pointed out by the minister in Parliament.
He questioned if the ministry was able to work with the Judiciary, following that the minister once informed parliamentarians that he was advised to stay out of the Judiciary’s operations, yet it was under his portfolio.
“What is the situation like at present, and has the conflict been addressed?” said Magagula.
He further commended the minister for taking the matter on and doing all he could to ensure there was harmony between the ministry and the Judiciary.
He added that there was a need for the ministry and the Judiciary to have an engagement so as to sort out their differences, which might negatively impact service delivery.
Senator Magagula further questioned if the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) was capacitated enough to address corruption.
“Is the ACC capacitated enough to deal with the issue of bobhabuli in the country?” he said.
He further noted that in the minister’s report, he pointed out that the ACC did not have enough vehicles, which affected their effectiveness as they execute their mandate.
He also questioned if the six VW Golf cars that were procured for ACC investigators were still available.
He further commended Chief Justice Bheki Maphalala for setting up the Commission of Enquiry to look into the alleged corruption within the Master of the High Court offices.
Magagula also questioned if the report of the committee had been finalised and whether it would be made available to them so they could interrogate it.
The minister welcomed the proposal for setting up the ad hoc committee to look into the applicability of the SODV Act.
“I welcome the proposal from the chairperson as this is in line with the country’s Tinkhundla governance system where people are offered an opportunity to make their contributions in the review and enactment of legislations,” said the minister.
He also noted the questions raised on the capacitation of the ACC, pointing out that the corruption concerns were raised by Emaswati during the Sibaya People’s Parliament in 2023.
He said corruption was a major concern in the country as it derailed economic growth. The minister said he would provide detailed responses in writing.
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