A bill that would erase criminal records for those found guilty of violating Covid-19 lockdown laws has been passed by the South African parliament.
More than 340,000 people were found guilty of violating South Africa‘s strictest laws, which included not wearing masks, drinking alcohol, and violating curfew, among other things.
Records will now be cleared for those who admitted guilt and paid fines.
The majority of South Africans have supported this bill.
Numerous complaints had been made about people losing out on employment opportunities due to their criminal records.
It has to be approved by the National Council of Provinces, and then signed into law by President Cyril Ramaphosa but there is little doubt it will become law.
During the parliamentary debate on the Judicial Matters Amendment Bill, it received strong political support.
The left-wing Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) welcomed some aspects of the bill but refused to support it in its entirety.
“The prosecutions and persecutions that came about as a result of the regulations flowing from the Disaster Management Act during the pandemic demonstrated the depth into which our judiciary system could be used to severely limit the rights of individuals,” said EFF MP Veronica Mente.
“May the law never again be used in pursuit of sinister motives such as what happened during Covid,” she said.
The Covid restrictions in South Africa were only completely lifted in April 2022, after it became clear that many people had lost their jobs and that businesses had suffered severe losses as a result of the pandemic.
Source-BBC
