According to the constitution, everyone who is arrested for allegedly committing an offence has the right to be released from detention if the interests of justice permit, subject to reasonable conditions.
With child sex kingpin accused Gerhard Ackerman rearrested after being in the wind since at least Thursday, questions must be asked about why he remained on bail after his alleged co-conspirator Paul Kennedy committed suicide.
Did NPA drop the ball?
Did the National Prosecuting Authority drop the ball in not applying for Kennedy’s bail to be revoked once he became an accused person facing 740 charges of child rape, abuse and trafficking?
Kennedy allegedly committed these crimes while out on bail for another case on similar charges in Alexandra, which led to his arrest in July 2021. When arrested, Kennedy was allegedly in possession of a cellphone with 253 videos of child pornography.
The indictment also alleged he had a laptop containing 382 images of a similar nature. It now falls to Justice and Correctional Services Minister Ronald Lamola to act swiftly by making sure this never happens again.
In March last year, a parent of one of the victims told us she was “truly disillusioned and horrified by the actions of the state”, calling it a travesty of justice. “The sheer ineptness, lack of action, failure to apply its mind and complete disregard for the children has resulted in numerous other children being abused,” she said.
The ball is in your court, Minister Lamola.
