Acting Chief Justice Raymond Zondo, on behalf of the Judiciary, says the attacks on public institutions including the Constitutional Court building in Braamfontein, Johannesburg, seek to destroy facilities that the public rely on for the protection of their rights.
A man has been arrested for breaking several windows of the ConCourt building with a hammer.
#sapsHQ Police arrested a 36-year-old suspect following an incident on Wednesday morning where police responded to reports of a man breaking the windows using a hammer, at the Constitutional Court buildings in Braamfontein, Johannesburg. MLhttps://t.co/ZPpCF2Z1Y8 pic.twitter.com/GtoRTt6vwb
— SA Police Service ?? (@SAPoliceService) January 5, 2022
In a statement, Justice Zondo says this comes shortly after other important state facilities experienced unprecedented attacks, including recent threats to cause damage to some Superior Courts. The acting chief justice says he is satisfied that security officials and the police were able to act swiftly to apprehend the suspect and prevent further damage to the ConCourt building.
In the video below, Judges Matter react to Constitutional Court incident:
Acts of Vandalism
On Wednesday President Cyril Ramaphosa has described as concerning, the acts of vandalism at the Constitutional Court.
Ramaphosa says he is yet to be briefed by the relevant Ministers on the matter but says it is a real concern for the country.
It is not yet clear whether the incident has anything to do with the release of the first part of the State Capture Commission report by Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo, on Tuesday. – Additional reporting by Abongile Dumako