The safety at Blue Downs Magistrate’s Court has come under the spotlight following the murder of Pastor Albern Martins.
|||Cape Town - The safety of officials at Blue Downs Magistrate’s Court has come under the spotlight following the murder of Pastor Albern Martins, accused of abalone smuggling. He was gunned down outside the building on Friday.
On Wednesday, the Cape Argus asked staff members and the public about their safety concerns at the court.
While lawyers said it was business as usual for them, other court officials said they were afraid to attend court.
“We are scared but what can we do? We must work, we don’t have a choice,” said a woman who did not want to be named.
A teenage mother said she had gone to the nearby Blue Downs clinic Friday morning and had she gone a little later she might have been caught in the cross-fire.
Martins was shot in the head at point-blank range. There have been two other shootings at the court in recent years.
In September 2010, Phindile Nqabeni, 28, was killed inside the court building when he and two others tried to escape by overpowering a policeman in the holding cells and stealing his gun.
Four months earlier, 26s gang member Shahiem Samson was gunned down in front of bystanders outside the court.
Two rival 28s gang members were later arrested.
National Prosecuting Authority spokesman Eric Ntabazalila said:
“There are security measures in place and the NPA is satisfied with those measures.”
Justice Department regional head Hishaam Mohamed said he had not received any complaints from staff regarding safety concerns.
Last May, Mohamed told Weekend Argus that the department had improved security at eight courts - Wynberg, Cape Town, Bellville, Kuils River, Blue Downs, Athlone, Somerset West and Atlantis magistrate’s courts.
The upgrades included security cameras, improved access control measures and cell security.
jade.otto@inl.co.za
Cape Argus