Legal eagles furious

2003-11-01 07:23

Philip de Bruin

Johannesburg - The legal world reacted in shock on Friday as news spread of the arrest of Groblersdal magistrate Hendrik van der Walt.

"Today is a dark day for the judicial world ... It is the beginning of the end," said a senior magistrate from Mpumalanga.

The Mpumalanga magistrate and many others, as well as prosecutors, voiced their anger at the move.

Van der Walt was arrested for obstructing the ends of justice for releasing two suspects on their own recognizance.

Another magistrate, also from Mpumalanga, said she was living in fear of decisions she had made as a magistrate, which could lead to her being arrested.

"I am too scared to sit on the bench. If I do something wrong in the eyes of police, I'll spend the night in a cell."

One of his colleagues said: "We don't know what actually happened. Magistrate Van der Walt is dead tired. It was a terrible shock. I think he just wants to rest."

Van der Walt was held in custody for six hours on Thursday. He was released on condition he appeared in court on Friday.

On Friday, a colleague said all the lawyers from Groblersdal attended in support of Van der Walt. He said they were unsure of what would happen but that a civil charge would be laid against police.

The charge against Van der Walt has been kept secret. Only Van der Walt and Groblersdal police chief, Braam Claassen, know what the charge entails.

Jan Henning, SC, deputy national prosecutor, said Van der Walt would not set a foot in a court as a culprit until the so-called docket had been studied.

- Beeld