Tuesday, 8 April 2025

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) notes the brutal assassinations of Mr. Andrew Shabalala, Sheriff of Secunda, and Mr. Thapelo Mojapelo, Acting Sheriff of Giyani, as well as the attempted assassination of Mr. Pramodh Ora, Acting Sheriff of Vanderbijlpark.

These targeted killings represent a disturbing and escalating assault on the very foundation of South Africa’s justice system. The murder of officers tasked with carrying out lawful court instructions is not only a criminal act, it is a direct attack on the rule of law and the authority of the state. This growing trend occurs within the context of a failing justice system: the National Prosecuting Authority is increasingly ineffective, policing is deteriorating, and crime syndicates have grown emboldened, further undermining the credibility of our criminal justice framework.

The EFF views these developments as more than isolated incidents, they are coordinated and systemic attacks that seek to intimidate and destabilise the work of the courts. We note, with grave concern, reports of criminal syndicates operating in and around sheriff offices, exploiting the vulnerability of a system riddled with inefficiency and neglect.

We, therefore, call upon the Minister of Justice and the Minister of Police to urgently intervene and take decisive action to ensure the protection of sheriffs and other officers of the court. In line with the requests made by the South African Board for Sheriffs, the EFF note that this must include deploying police support during high-risk operations such as evictions and auctions, the fast-tracking of firearm authorisations for sheriffs, and a comprehensive review of the Sheriffs Act to introduce protection, risk cover, and benefits for those who put their lives on the line for justice.

The EFF will take this matter to the Portfolio Committee on Justice and Constitutional Development in the National Assembly. We demand accountability, transparency, and swift justice for those who orchestrated and carried out these attacks. The rule of law cannot be compromised by cowardly assassins acting in the interests of criminal syndicates.

The EFF extends our heart condolences to the families of Mr. Shabalala and Mr. Mojapelo, and wish strength and healing to Mr. Ora. May their courage in service to justice never be forgotten, and may their souls rest in revolutionary peace.

ISSUED BY THE ECONOMIC FREEDOM FIGHTERS

Leigh-Ann Mathys (National Spokesperson) 082 304 7572

Thato Lebyane (Media Enquiries) 078 304 7572