There is either no discrimination in the Free State or people do not know their rights, Karthy Govender, commissioner of the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC), said on Friday.
He was reacting to the low volume of cases being heard in two equality courts visited during a three-day tour by the commission to the Free State.
The equality court in Botshabelo had no cases in the past year while only eight cases were heard in the Bloemfontein region.
”[It’s] unusual,” Govender said in Bloemfontein when asked about the use of the courts.
”The level of under-utilising I am quite surprised with.”
Earlier, the commission said that equality courts in the Free State were under-utilised or not even operating at all.
The SAHRC has been visiting the province over the past three days to meet various stakeholders and the populace.
The delegation was led by chairperson Jody Kollapen and CEO Tseliso Thipanyane.
The SAHRC said equality court cases in the Free State end up with the police but are not referred to the courts.
Equality courts have been in existence since 2003 to combat racism and reverse the effects of apartheid and the injustices of the past.
Since then, judges and magistrates have received training to enforce the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act of 2000.
”The SAHRC sees this under-utilisation as an injustice to the affected communities as they could be sitting with gross violations without receiving the necessary recourse,” a media statement from the SAHRC read.
Govender said the commission would consult stakeholders on how the equality court process could be streamlined. — Sapa