By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Parliament has passed a bill that will expunge criminal records of people who were convicted of breaching Covid-19 regulations during the implementation of the lockdown regulations.
This is after the Bill was finalised and adopted by the Portfolio Committee on Justice and Constitutional Matters earlier this month.
Thousands were arrested for breaking curfew rules, not wearing a mask, consuming alcohol and visiting the beach or parks between March 2020 and January 2021 as it was prohibited under the Disaster Management Act.
However, if the new regulation becomes law then such criminal records will become a thing of the past.
The Minister of Justice and Correctional Services, Ronald Lamola, tabled the Judicial Matters Amendment Bill in Parliament in March.
On Wednesday, Justice Committee chairperson and ANC MP, Bulelani Magwanishe said the expungement would be automatic for a convicted person who paid an admission of guilt fines should the bill become law.
“It proposes the minister may declare certain category of offences do not result in a previous conviction against the accused and provides an expungement of offences committed in terms of the Disaster Management Act,” Magwanishe said in the National Assembly.
“The proposed section 57(c) provides for the expungement of criminal records of persons whose names appear in the records of the Criminal Record Centre after having paid admissions of guilt fines. The objective of the amendment is to provide for the automatic expungement of criminal records,” said Magwanishe.
Almost all political parties with the exception of the EFF and Al-Jama-ah voted in support of the Judicial Matters Amendment Bill.
It will now be sent the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) for concurrence before it is signed into law by President Cyril Ramaphosa.