Minister of Justice and Correctional Services Ronald Lamola has suspended a KZN acting Magistrate, who was accused of awarding questionable sentences to sex offenders.
Acting Magistrate K Bodlani, who is based in Umlazi, has been suspended pending an investigation into her fitness to hold office as a magistrate after several complaints against her conduct, by the community, including opposition parties.
Minister Lamola announced his decision this afternoon saying that Bodlani was referred to his department by the Magistrates Commission.
He said the preliminary assessment has uncovered numerous serious irregularities and shortcomings indicating that several of her decisions were taken on special review in terms of section 304 (4) of the Criminal Procedure act.
He said in terms of the act, she was found to have riddled with serious shortcomings and incompetence as she imposed lesser sentences to serious cases.
Bodlani was assigned to the sexual offence court to deal with rape against children by adults.
Lamola said it was discovered that in all such cases, Bodlani imposed lesser sentences where the accused were either cautioned or strongly reprimanded and in some cases she imposed suspended sentences.
“The suspended sentences she imposed were found have been incompetent and incomplete,” said Lamola.
In the same statement, Lamola said some of Bodlani’s judgements, on special reviews at the high court were met with serious rebukes with Judges questions her fitness to hold office.
In some cases, judges said her judgement was outrageous, bizarre, disturbing to the extreme, and shockingly inappropriate, and completely contrary to the very factors relevant to sentencing.
