By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Police have confirmed that one person has been arrested for smashing windows and glass doors at the Constitutional Court.
Images show that at least one window has been totally smashed, while double doors and other windows were hit with a hammer.
National police spokesperson Lt-Col Robert Netshiunda said the SAPS were called at midmorning as a man was found breaking the windows.
When police arrived, the man, estimated to be in his mid-30s, was still busy with his attack.
Netshiunda said he did not stop smashing them until police fired a warning shot.
He was taken into custody and will appear in court shortly.
According to Netshiunda, the man told police why he was smashing the windows, but Netshiunda said that information would not be made public until he had a psychiatric evaluation.
Alison Tilley and Mbekezeli Benjamin from the Judges Matter project said while it was not clear whether the incident was related to the release of the Zondo Commission’s report into state capture, “it is nevertheless gravely worrying”.
Judges Matter is an independent transparency project that monitors the appointment of judges, their discipline and misconduct and the governance system of the judiciary in South Africa.
“Judges Matter condemns this outrageous attack on the Constitutional Court building as a symbol of our judiciary and constitutional democracy in South Africa,” said Tilley and Benjamin.
“We call on law enforcement authorities to act swiftly to investigate, arrest and prosecute those responsible for this damage and to take urgent measures to protect critical institutions of our democracy,” they added.
Justice Minister Ronald Lamola has called the attack on the Constitutional Court an attack on democracy.
“The Constitutional Court is a powerful symbol of our constitutional dispensation, the supremacy of the Constitution and the rule of law in our country. Any person who attacks the Constitutional Court – or any other of our democratic institutions for that matter – is attacking democracy and what it represents,” Lamola said.
“The site of the Constitutional Court is a historical landmark as it represents our struggle for freedom. It was specifically designed to reflect the values of our new constitutional democracy, and Nelson Mandela himself called the building a beacon of light, a symbol of hope and celebration,” added Lamola.