Paul Makaula in the dock of the Hillbrow Magistrates court in Johannesburg, 6 January 2022. He is accused of using a hammer to smash the windows of the Constitutional Court. Picture: Neil McCartney
The family of the man thought to be behind the vandalism of the Constitutional Court this week has shed new light on what might have driven him to take a hammer to the historic building’s glass facade.
They said he was struggling to rebuild his life after a prison stint and could have reached breaking point.
Paul Makauta made his first appearance in the Hillbrow Magistrate’s Court on Friday to answer to charges of malicious injury to property.
During proceedings, it emerged the 36-year-old father of-three had a previous conviction for murder dating back to 2010, and was out on parole at the time of the incident.
Department of Correctional Services spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo last night confirmed Makauta’s parole had now been revoked.
Speaking to Saturday Citizen afterwards, his brother-in-law, Benjamin Chisari, said Makauta – a former graphic designer – had been convicted of the murder of his then girlfriend in 2010.
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Chisari said he was trying to turn his life around and had studied law while incarcerated.
But after he was released on parole in 2019, Makauta had been unable to find work because of his criminal history.
“[The murder of Makauta’s then girlfriend] came as a huge shock to us as a family because to us he was a loving person and a family man,” Chisari said.
“But he had grown since then.
“As the family, we are all law-abiding citizens and we are very saddened by the incident.
“The first thing that went through our heads when we heard he had been arrested for this was shock because he had shown us he was a changed person and wanted to do right,” Chisari said,
“But we think he wasn’t in his right state of mind and that the pressure he was feeling as a result of coming out of incarceration, not being employed and failing to put food on the table for his children might have contributed.”
Wednesday’s incident at the Constitutional Court came a day after the release of the first of the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture’s reports, sparking speculation it was politically motivated.
But Chisari said Makauta was not affiliated to any political party, nor was he politically active.
The court on Friday also heard that the state was considering bringing additional charges against him.
National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Phindi Mjonondwane said the state was looking at
charging Makauta further under the Critical Infrastructure Protection Act.
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