MAKHADO (LOUIS TRICHARDT) – The 25-year-old Zaheer Asvat, who was recently sentenced to six months imprisonment after being found in possession of an illegal substance, is a free man once again.

Asvat’s conviction followed an earlier suspended sentence which came into affect after he was again caught with an illegal substance (drugs) in his possession. He is, however, once again a free man after he was released on a presidential amnesty that was passed by government earlier this year.

The amnesty was granted to some prisoners who were serving out jail sentence for a short period of time, regardless of how long they had been imprisoned or how much more of the sentence had to be served. The amnesty was granted from June 13 until August 9 and it was authorised by the Minister of Correctional Services.

In response to this amnesty, provincial DA spokesperson Timothy Maanda expressed his concern, saying “The government is undermining the rule of law, and the victims involved will lose faith in the South African legal system”. He also added that this amnesty is just to gain support for the government’s election strategy and that the DA condemns this irresponsible act.