Ambassador to US: Washington can wait for pragmatic Ramaphosa:

The president’s choice in selecting a new ambassador amid a historic downturn in diplomatic relations also speaks to an existential dilemma for his party

– The Mail & Guardian

Government U-turn on cannabis food products ban after public outcry:

The government has withdrawn a controversial cannabis ban, three weeks after it was implemented, acknowledging the need for consultation with stakeholders and the public on the proposals.

The department of health had quietly effected the ban on the sale, import and manufacturing of all foodstuffs containing parts of the cannabis plant, including hemp, on 7 March, triggering a backlash from several organisations, which called the move unconstitutional because there had been no prior public consultation. 

In a statement on Tuesday night, the presidency said it would push for more stakeholder and public participation to formulate new regulations that would “limit health risk and the negative impact of foodstuffs containing cannabis and hemp, particularly on minors”.

“In light of further stakeholder consultations, the minister of health will withdraw the regulations under the Foodstuffs, Cosmetics and Disinfectants Act (Foodstuffs Act) to prohibit the sale, importation and manufacture of foodstuffs containing hemp and cannabis,” it said.

According to the statement, Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi had told the presidency that  there were “concerns about unregulated imported foodstuffs flooding the South African market containing hemp and cannabis”.

Organisations and lobbyists in the cannabis industry called the withdrawal of the ban a “victory” but said there was still a long way to go to ensure the regulations were properly developed and enacted to allow the market to thrive.

“We want to be able to create markets for businesses to be able to operate here more, and not less,” said Ayanda Bam, the president of Friends of Hemp South Africa president. 

“We need to be able to tell them [the presidency and department of health] the truth about what the benefits of cannabis products are.” 

Cannabidiol and tetrahydrocannabinol are chemical compounds found in the cannabis plant. CBD is known for its therapeutic uses, including to treat pain, anxiety and inflammation, and does not cause a high, while THC does have a psychoactive effect. Hemp seeds are used in textiles and for consumption. 

Bam added that the debacle highlighted the disconnect between government departments and showed there was a need to consolidate the regulations around cannabis use in South Africa, including for private consumption and trading.

Friends of Hemp South Africa is no longer going ahead with the litigation it had planned in response to the now withdrawn ban but some individual companies might still take legal action for losses incurred while it was implemented, Bam said. 

He added that Friends of Hemp South Africa would institute legal action if processes were not duly followed in the future. 

The presidency said the health department would consult broadly before publishing  revised regulations. 

The withdrawal is a “critical win for logic, legality and livelihoods”, said Tebogo Thlopane, chairperson of the Cannabis Trade Association Africa. “But we remain on high alert. The industry cannot afford policy volatility. We need regulatory certainty, backed by science and common sense.”

In a statement, the association called for the permanent withdrawal of outdated regulatory references, including the 1972 Foodstuffs Act in its current form; immediate industry-government engagement on safe, regulated frameworks for cannabis and hemp-based foods and for the protection of businesses and livelihoods disrupted by “irrational regulations”. 

The rights group, Free SA, said the regulations were implemented in violation of the Foodstuffs Act, stressing: “The government cannot pass sweeping, punitive regulations without consulting the public.”

Spokesperson Reuben Coetzee said the foundation would continue to “closely monitor the situation to ensure that the minister’s commitment is honoured and that the withdrawal of the unlawful regulations is formally gazetted without delay”.

– The Mail & Guardian

Latest bid to shift criminal cases from Skukuza court in Kruger Park attracts renewed criticism:

The regional court president of Mpumalanga, Naomi Annette Engelbrecht, is facing renewed criticism for her latest attempt to transfer criminal cases from the Skukuza regional court — the country’s flagship court for rhino poaching cases — to Hazyview.

The Lowvelder reported this month that Engelbrecht’s move in February to transfer the cases had sparked widespread confusion. It has since emerged that on 6 March, Mpumalanga’s judge president, Segopotje Sheila Mphahlele, issued a directive in terms of the Superior Court Act that no cases can be transferred from Skukuza to Hazyview. 

“All criminal matters that have been transferred from the regional court sitting in Skukuza to Hazyview regional court, shall be transferred back to Skukuza to be dealt with and finalised at the Skukuza regional court,” read the directive, which was addressed to Engelbrecht, the province’s chief magistrate and Mpumalanga’s director of public prosecutions. 

“No matters shall be transferred from Skukuza to Hazyview or any other court seat without authorisation by this office,” Mphahlele said, adding that the directive would remain in force until revoked or amended in writing by her office. According to the Lowvelder, all cases have been transferred back to Skukuza.

The Skukuza court is situated in Kruger National Park. South African National Parks (SANParks) said it was “taken by surprise” by the latest move from Engelbrecht.

This was “especially since it was not consulted on the intended move by the regional court president or even formally informed as the main victim of crime in the Kruger National Park”, said Isaac Phaala, the spokesperson for the Kruger National Park.

Phaahla said SANParks was grateful to the judge-president for reversing the intended move because “there is the constitutional court ruling in the previous attempt to close the court”. 

“We can only thank the intervention of a higher authority in the matter and hope the directive she [Mphahlele] issued will be honoured by all officials who will occupy the office of the regional court president.”

In October 2019, Engelbrecht decided to close the Skukuza regional court because she wanted to move all cases scheduled for Skukuza to the Mhala circuit court, 100km away. She faced opposition from the now-retired Mpumalanga high court president, Judge Francis Legodi, and the national director of public prosecutions.

At the time, the planned closure sparked a huge public outcry, and a petition to open the court launched by the nonprofit StopRhinoPoaching.com was supported by NGOs including the International Rhino Foundation and Save the Rhino. It ultimately garnered more than 163 000 signatures.

Legodi enrolled a special review application to be adjudicated by the full bench of the Mpumalanga high court on 24 February 2020 to determine whether Engelbrecht was entitled to close the court. 

The special review judgment issued on 22 April 2020 by the high court in Nelspruit ordered that the Skukuza court be reopened. The judgment was notably critical of Engelbrecht’s conduct, noting that it “resulted in actual, and potential harm, to the administration of justice”. 

But Engelbrecht did not re-open the court as instructed. Instead, she took the matter to the supreme court of appeal, where her leave to appeal was turned down. On 1 February 2021, the constitutional court dismissed Engelbrecht’s application for leave to appeal the high court decision, and allowed the court to continue operating inside the park. The revamped court was reopened in April that year.

The Skukuza regional court is world-renowned for its fundamental role in bringing justice to rhino poaching crimes, said Elise Serfontein, the founding director of StopRhinoPoaching.com.

“Why then, would the regional court president, whose responsibility it is to ensure its effective operation, be so persistent in her attempts to close it down?,” Serfontein said.

“Engelbrecht’s deliberate circumvention of procedure and blatant disregard for the constitutional court’s ruling, which upheld the operation of the Skukuza regional court within Kruger National Park, raises serious concerns. Again, her actions invite pressing questions about her true motives.”

The Skukuza court is important to the Kruger National Park in the campaign against poaching of any kind and criminality in the park, Phaala said.

“It has capable court officials [and] a diligent prosecutor who compiles and provides compelling evidence during trials. The court has a 100% conviction rate and metes out harsh sentences to convicted criminals ranging from 55 years to at least 15 years direct imprisonment,” he said.

“It is the safest court in the country and as an organisation we have planned for witnesses, suspects, and their legal teams not to have access problems at the gate. The trial witnesses are mostly rangers who travel long distances and feel safe to testify in Skukuza.”

The Skukuza court has been extremely effective at holding rhino poaching gangs accountable for their crimes, noted Nina Fascione, the executive director of the International Rhino Foundation.

“Black and white rhinos are still very threatened in South Africa, and we’re deeply alarmed that these criminal syndicates may not be appropriately prosecuted if their cases are moved to Hazyview,” she added.

Serfontein cited the high court in Nelspruit’s special review judgment as being particularly critical of Engelbrecht’s conduct, saying that it had actual and potential harmful consequences to the administration of justice. 

“Despite the declaratory order including that a copy of the judgement be sent to the Magistrates Commission, it is not known if any disciplinary actions were taken against her,” Serfontein said. 

Neither Engelbrecht nor the commission responded to questions from the Mail & Guardian.

– The Mail & Guardian

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