Joslin Smith: Cape Forum condemns unrest at court

Cape Forum strongly condemns today’s events at the appearance of the accused in the missing Joslin Smith’s case at the Vredenburg Magistrate’s Court. Riots by members of the public at the time of the appearance of the accused were caused after it was insisted that a politician should be allowed inside the court building.

Cape Forum attended the proceedings because this civil rights organisation, together with the community, opposed bail for the accused. Within a few days, more than 1 500 people signed the organisation’s online petition, in which the public can voice their opposition to the granting of bail to the accused.

This morning, the police were forced to fire stun grenades and tear gas at the rioters. Heindrich Wyngaard, Chairperson of Cape Forum, was present and was also affected by the tear gas. According to Wyngaard, the protestors’ actions and the reason they rioted take attention away from the fact that the six-year-old victim is still missing.

“With our petition, we want to ensure that the focus remains on a child from our community who has disappeared and that we have not yet found answers to that,” says Wyngaard.