A Mpumalanga man had to accept the judgement from Mpumalanga High Court Acting Judge Henk Roelofse that he would not be able attend his grandfather’s funeral in another province during the nationwide Covid-19 lockdown.
Yesterday (27 March, 2020), the Mpumalanga High Court issued the first judgement on the issue since government implemented a nationwide lockdown in an attempt to curb the spread of Covid-19 coronavirus. The judgement will set precedent for others who may turn to the courts during this time to seek exemption from the rules as set out in the Disaster Management Act.
The circumstances of the application were described by Acting Judge Roelofse as extremely upsetting and illustrative of “the crude effects of the final lockdown regulations upon a family”.
The applicant, a man from Mbombela, explained in his application that his grandfather died in a fire at his Eastern Cape home. The applicant did not want to break the law and requested exemption from the regulations barring inter-provincial travel for purposes of attending the funeral next week. He also wanted to support his mourning mother who is based there. The documents were drawn up shortly after he received the terrible news yesterday morning and within a few hours, judgement was delivered.
Roelofse expressed his sympathy towards the man and acknowledged that what the applicant wanted to do was “urgent and deserving.” Yet, he could not grant his request and explained why. “In doing so, I will be authorising the applicant to break the law under judicial decree – that no court can do.”
Roelofse expounded on the relevant regulation. “Regulation 11G provides that any person who contravenes the restriction of movement of persons and goods shall be guilty of a criminal offence and, on conviction, be liable to a fine or imprisonment for a period not exceeding six months, or both such fine or imprisonment,” he stated in his judgement.
The applicant labelled the regulations as unfair in as far as it prevented him from going to the funeral. Not even the applicant’s arguments relating to his good health, his not having been in contact with infected persons and his lack of contact with those from abroad could help his case. He promised to adhere to all other regulations, including taking all necessary precautions to prevent contamination or the spreading of the virus. However, Roelofse stated that the applicant would expose himself and others to unnecessary risk and even death if his application was granted – even if he conducted himself carefully and diligently.
Roelofse reiterated that the law prohibiting the envisioned travelling could not be superseded, as the declaration of disaster and the publishing of the regulations had a very important purpose: curbing the spread of Covid-19.
Also read: Everything you need to know about the lockdown regulations
