The cases that take the longest
On sexual offence matters, the team set a goal to cut the backlog by 80% and has finalised 16 of 48 cases since 25 May. These are rarely quick. Where DNA is involved, the investigation has to be completed before a trial can even begin, and every delay is more time a survivor spends carrying an unresolved case.
Divorce is complicated in a different way. A single file can hold domestic violence, questions about a survivor’s safety, and the future of children and shared assets all at once. The team is working to reduce a divorce backlog of 365 matters by 65% and has finalised 30, with
Mediation House assisting on the hardest of them, helping settle disputes over children and property so that cases flow more seamlessly through the system.
Stopping cases from quietly slipping away
At the district court, the team turned to a quieter loss. Out of a hundred domestic violence matters, Onicca has seen only five or ten reach a conclusion while the rest are withdrawn.
The reason is often financial. A woman who is unemployed while her partner earns may decide she cannot risk his imprisonment, and reconciliation is what she says at the counter even when dependency is what sits behind it. The team also meets the roots of these cases, sometimes childhood trauma or untreated mental health, and works to connect people with help rather than only process a docket.
Their goal is for at least 70% of matters to continue, and they have taken the message into the community, arranging their first outreach in three or four days and planning more through Women’s Month.
One team, sharing the load
The court manager, magistrate, NPA prosecutors, SAPS, correctional services, social development, legal aid, private attorneys and Mediation House now plan side by side, meeting weekly instead of monthly.
A continuous roll sets matters down over consecutive days, so testimony that once stretched across months is heard in weeks, and virtual hearings let people take part without finding transport money they may not have. When departments work together, Onicca says, cases move faster and everyone shares the cost.
Trust worth keeping
As matters close faster, confidence in the court is returning. Onicca wants this to outlast the 100 days. The team has seen what it can do, she says, so there is no reason to stop.
Limpopo justice cluster