We are appalled at Gerhard Ackerman’s attempt to escape the hands of justice, which to us is a clear admission of guilt. We also cannot ignore the impact that this has on the victims involved. When we look at the President’s 5-point plan to combat GBV crimes, there is nothing in our experience that proves the effectiveness of that plan on any level in the system.
The case in question again highlights the distorted human rights issue that we have in this country, which is: the rights of the offenders are trumping the rights of the victims by far, and we have made no progress toward recognizing the supremacy of the rights of victims in the system. It appears the rich and powerful are even more so immune to the might of the law, as we do not believe Ackerman would’ve received bail had it not been for the influence of his co-accused, Paul Kennedy.
Unfortunately, people blame the victims for reporting the abuse that we now know led to the death of Kennedy. This blame leads to the victims being further victimized.
It is our opinion that the NPA should have submitted an application to have his bail revoked at the last court hearing given the weight of the charges against him. And in retrospect, Ackerman should have never been granted bail in the original case in the Alexandra Magistrate Court. When the matter in Alex appeared before the court, he already had prior offenses and other pending matters against him. This should have been indicative of his non-eligibility for bail in the first place.
WMACA will continue tracking developments in this case.
For further comment, please contact
Miranda Jordan: 083 250 6821
Luke Lamprecht: 065 168 2971
