When Justice Becomes Unjust

THERE has been a good amount of negative public reaction to the nine-year prison term meted out to Benny Krohne for the abuse and death of a three-year-old toddler, Renaldo Daan, in May 2003.

The legal fraternity will be quick to point out that the charge was one of culpable homicide and not murder, and hence the relatively lenient sentence, but the public aren’t always aware of the nuances of the law. So the public shock at what is seen to be a relatively light punishment for such a serious offence appears entirely justified.Magistrate Gert Retief largely dismissed the arguments of Krohne’s lawyer, who argued for a less severe punishment on the grounds that the accused was the parent of other children whom he had to support and was ‘keen to work for the betterment of their lives’.He said that Krohne had been found to be unreliable in court, lying on several occasions during the trial and giving different versions of events.He added that Krohne had left the toddler to die, without attempting to help him, and furthermore had a long list of prior convictions for among others, assault, housebreaking and theft.Seen against the above, Krohne’s sentence of seven years for culpable homicide, and the additional two years for assaults on the boy and his mother, is exceptionally modest in the circumstances.Members of the public have been quick to point out that non-violent crimes, such as use of marijuana and stock theft, carry far heavier penalties if the accused person is found guilty.In a society which is trying to curb the excesses of woman and child abuse, the sentence in question hardly sends a strong message to perpetrators of these evils against our women and children.Campaigns to stamp out abuse, therefore, will not enjoy much credibility when the justice system lets the accused off too lightly.Of all the many crimes prolific in Namibia, the worst must be violence towards women and children.While we need to clamp down on many others, which include corruption and theft, we should be unforgiving when it comes to human cruelties against the innocent.A three-year-old child cannot defend him or herself in the face of what appears to be consistent violent abuse by the boyfriend of his mother.While violent acts against the mother are also absolutely unacceptable, at least that person is an adult and able to seek the help and assistance of the Police and other parties in the face of abuse.A three-year-old child has no such access, and it is hurtful to all caring people to think of the cruelties the toddler had to endure in his brief lifespan.The post mortem on the little boy’s body showed signs of continuous abuse.Our social welfare system has to be revitalised.It emerged during the trial that the toddler had been treated in hospital for scratches, bruises and abrasions some time before his death.According to a medical report, these injuries could have been caused by a fall, but abuse could not be ruled out.This should, at the very least, have alerted social workers that all was not well in that particular household, and the situation should have been carefully monitored from then on.This could well have saved the little boy’s life.No one should turn a blind eye to abuse and cruelty to children, sexual or otherwise.Whether it be neighbours, teachers, hospital staff, any person picking up signs that a child is being abused should push for the matter to be investigated.Abuse of children is a largely hidden crime, often occurring in the very homes they live in and at the hands of parents or surrogates, but there are usually some who see the signs and should report the matter.No campaign to stamp out child abuse can succeed unless society shows the perpetrators that there will be no tolerance for such evils in our midst.So the public shock at what is seen to be a relatively light punishment for such a serious offence appears entirely justified.Magistrate Gert Retief largely dismissed the arguments of Krohne’s lawyer, who argued for a less severe punishment on the grounds that the accused was the parent of other children whom he had to support and was ‘keen to work for the betterment of their lives’.He said that Krohne had been found to be unreliable in court, lying on several occasions during the trial and giving different versions of events.He added that Krohne had left the toddler to die, without attempting to help him, and furthermore had a long list of prior convictions for among others, assault, housebreaking and theft.Seen against the above, Krohne’s sentence of seven years for culpable homicide, and the additional two years for assaults on the boy and his mother, is exceptionally modest in the circumstances.Members of the public have been quick to point out that non-violent crimes, such as use of marijuana and stock theft, carry far heavier penalties if the accused person is found guilty.In a society which is trying to curb the excesses of woman and child abuse, the sentence in question hardly sends a strong message to perpetrators of these evils against our women and children.Campaigns to stamp out abuse, therefore, will not enjoy much credibility when the justice system lets the accused off too lightly.Of all the many crimes prolific in Namibia, the worst must be violence towards women and children.While we need to clamp down on many others, which include corruption and theft, we should be unforgiving when it comes to human cruelties against the innocent.A three-year-old child cannot defend him or herself in the face of what appears to be consistent violent abuse by the boyfriend of his mother.While violent acts against the mother are also absolutely unacceptable, at least that person is an adult and able to seek the help and assistance of the Police and other parties in the face of abuse.A three-year-old child has no such access, and it is hurtful to all caring people to think of the cruelties the toddler had to endure in his brief lifespan.The post mortem on the little boy’s body showed signs of continuous abuse.Our social welfare system has to be revitalised.It emerged during the trial that the toddler had been treated in hospital for scratches, bruises and abrasions some time before his death.According to a medical report, these injuries could have been caused by a fall, but abuse could not be ruled out.This should, at the very least, have alerted social workers that all was not well in that particular household, and the situation should have been carefully monitored from then on.This could well have saved the little boy’s life.No one should turn a blind eye to abuse and cruelty to children, sexual or otherwise.Whether it be neighbours, teachers, hospital staff, any person picking up signs that a child is being abused should push for the matter to be investigated.Abuse of children is a largely hidden crime, often occurring in the very homes they live in and at the hands of parents or surrogates, but there are usually some who see the signs and should report the matter.No campaign to stamp out child abuse can succeed unless society shows the perpetrators that there will be no tolerance for such evils in our midst.