South Africa’s (SA) Commission for Gender Equality has raised grave concerns over ongoing forensic DNA backlogs, warning that delayed evidence processing continues to deny justice to victims of Gender-Based Violence and Femicide (GBVF).
Speaking at a five-day Joint National Inquiry on GBVF in Johannesburg, commission representative Tsietsi Shuping highlighted severe operational delays within state forensic laboratories. According to Shuping, Mpumalanga province alone recorded 10 967 outstanding DNA backlog cases during the 2023/2024 financial year.
The commission pointed out that processing delays directly stall criminal proceedings, preventing critical forensic evidence from reaching courtrooms and leaving victims and families without legal closure.
–ChannelAfrica–
