SUNDAY 17 September at 18:30 on SABC 2:
In
Fokus:
LAW AND
DISORDER
Police arrested 27 suspects during a crime blitz in the
greater Port Elizabeth area over the past weekend. The suspects are
supposed to appear in the Port Elizabeth Magistrate’s Court this week on
charges ranging from murder to armed robbery. But at this court the wheels
of justice may again grind to a protracted halt for both the suspects and
the victims.
 Courts
stand empty because of too few magistrates. Magistrates have to handle up to
40 cases each per day. The National Prosecuting Authority in the Eastern
Cape blames the Police for shoddy work. The Police in turn blame
inexperienced prosecutors. Victims of crime wait endlessly for justice to be
served – and justice itself becomes the biggest victim of an inefficient
system.
Producer Keith Sayster spent time at the Port Elizabeth
Magistrate’s Court and tells the story of Sandra Langeveldt - a mother at
her wit’s end with justice: she’s had to wait almost 10 years for the
murderers of her son to get their day in court.
AND …
GIFT OF THE GOGOS
Aids robs people of life in their prime - and it robs
grannies of a carefree old age.
 In
some countries in sub-Saharan Africa, around half of all orphans live in
grandmother-headed households. Just when grannies reach the age of expecting
comfort and being cared for by their offspring, their offspring die and
leave them with orphans to take care of. People who die of Aids, are often
at their most productive age and the breadwinners of extended families.
The UN Special Envoy for Aids in Africa, Stephen Lewis, is a
Canadian with passion and commitment to minimize the effects of Aids. On his
numerous visits to poor areas in Africa, he was struck by the effect of Aids
on grandmothers.
To alleviate their financial burden and give comfort, the
Stephen Lewis Foundation launched the Grandmothers to Grandmothers project.
This network of Canadian grandmothers gives support to grandmothers in
Namibia, Kenya, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Lesotho, Mozambique, Rwanda,
Swaziland and South Africa.
Our Focus story tracks the lives of a South African gogo,
Lindeni Mbotho of Molweni in KwaZulu Natal and Loretta McDonald, a
grandmother of Toronto, Canada. Lindeni takes care of 11 orphans. She relies
on donations of second hand clothes which she sells to survive and provide.
Loretta worries about not being able to give her
grandchildren guidance, because she sees so little of them. She makes and
sells beads to support the grannies in Africa, whose dire circumstances
touch her deeply.
Their lives are
worlds apart, but these grannies have a connection through shared
grandmotherly concerns. |
