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South Africa marks the annual celebration of Freedom Day on 27 April. Freedom Day is a public holiday that is celebrated to commemorate the country’s first democratic elections which took place in 1994.
On 27 April 2020, South Africa celebrated Freedom Day in lockdown. Due to restricted movement, public spaces that would normally be busy were empty. These include Vilakazi Street which is home to the Mandela House, as well as the Apartheid Museum.
Justice must continue
The Department of Justice has to continue its services, in spite of the nationwide lockdown, as justice is recognised as an essential service.
Donald Makhani, the Acting Director of Court Operations, says the department had to procure protective gear such as masks, gloves, goggles, disposable suits and thermal scanners.
In addition to this, people who enter courts are expected to fill out a questionnaire which asks them Covid-19 related questions, an example being if they have recently travelled internationally or have been in contact with someone who has been diagnosed with the coronavirus. This also makes it easier to conduct contact tracing.
In order to further reduce the chances of Covid-19 spreading in courtrooms, court cases appear via audio-visual on a screen, meaning people do not have to be in the same space.
The South African Police Service is also expected to don protective gear while on duty. In terms of correctional facilities, the Covid-19 crisis presents a challenge as prison populations can’t be moved elsewhere. However, if a correctional facility worker is found to be ill, they are quarantined to prevent the coronavirus from spreading to the entire prison population.
