Justice week closes in Bushbuckridge as small claims courts can now hear R30,000 cases
The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development wrapped up its 2026 Access to Justice campaign in Mpumalanga, where officials reported that around 500 people were helped in surrounding communities before the closing event.
Access to Justice Week 2026 closed in Tula Mahashe, Bushbuckridge, on 14 August with the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development reporting that roughly 500 people had already been assisted in surrounding communities before the final day’s programme.
The week began in Calvinia in the Northern Cape and ran across the country, with justice officials, legal practitioners, chapter 9 institutions, civil society organisations and other government departments going into communities. The closing event was published by the Government of South Africa on its YouTube channel.
Deputy Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development Andries Nel told the gathering that the district court in Tula Mahashe has served the community since 1982 and now serves about 140,000 people in Tula Mahashe, Islington and surrounding areas. The regional court based there serves the wider Bushbuckridge sub-district, a population of approximately 750,000.
Nel said Tula Mahashe, Acornhoek and Mkhuhlu were formally proclaimed as places for the holding of a court under the Bushbuckridge sub-district in December 2024, with effect from February 2025. He described the proclamation as an administrative decision with a practical purpose, bringing justice closer to where people live.
He set out four requirements for access to justice: that it be close enough to reach, simple enough to understand, affordable enough to use, and effective enough to make a difference. On affordability, he said the jurisdiction of small claims courts was increased in July from R20,000 to R30,000. He argued that a person owed R5,000 should not have to spend R20,000 on lawyers to recover it.
Simon Masinga, a practising attorney and commissioner of the small claims court appointed by the department since October 2010, explained to the community how the court works. He said access to the small claims court is free of charge, that no attorney is needed to represent a claimant, and that claims are between individuals only. He confirmed the jurisdiction had moved from R20,000 to R30,000, describing the increase as welcome for people who previously had to abandon part of a claim.
Nel also gave caseload figures for the Tula Mahashe court for the period 1 April to 31 July 2026. The court registered 194 domestic violence matters, 98 maintenance matters, 38 small claims court matters and 85 criminal matters. He said behind each number is a person, including mothers trying to buy food and school clothes, women who have found the courage to ask the state for protection, and pensioners or workers trying to recover money.
He used the domestic violence figure to argue that gender-based violence and femicide cannot be solved by the Department of Justice alone. Police, prosecutors, magistrates, social workers, traditional leaders, schools and families all carry responsibilities, he said, and men in particular. He stated that violence against women and children is not a family matter to be ignored, is not part of any culture, and is a violation of fundamental rights and dignity.
The event also covered the National Register on Sexual Offenders. Indeni Manda, director of legal services, told the gathering that schools, crèches and any institution caring for children must screen employees. She listed lecturers, early childhood development practitioners, child care workers, social workers, sports coaches, religious leaders, healthcare workers and volunteers at children’s homes as people who need clearance certificates. She said the register was established under the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Act of 2007 and is a protective mechanism, not an additional punishment. Community members can obtain form seven at their nearest court to be vetted, she said, and the province has vetted staff at special schools, with one private school not yet finalised.
Four schools in the area received certificates of appreciation for having all staff vetted, including educators, cleaners, groundsmen and security personnel. They are Esta special school, Tabatu boarding school, Gamaku special school and Emonisui primary school.
Advocate Josiah Tuli, Director of Public Prosecutions in Mpumalanga, and Advocate Beauty Africa, chairperson of the rapid response task team on trafficking in persons, addressed the gathering on human trafficking. Tuli described trafficking in persons as modern-day slavery and said both children and adults are trafficked, with victims taken to work on farms, in disused mines, in factories, as domestic workers and as sex workers. He said some have no proper travel documents and no free movement.
Africa said Mpumalanga is the only province in South Africa with a memorandum of understanding with another country, Mozambique, and that on Monday 17 August the province would host the Kingdom of Eswatini as part of work towards a memorandum of understanding between Mozambique, Eswatini and Mpumalanga.
The Commission for Gender Equality also sent a message. Her Royal Highness Eureka Muane, a commissioner, said people open cases and sometimes withdraw them out of fear, and that the commission has raised those concerns. She urged the community not to lose hope in the justice system and said the good people in it outnumber those derailing or corrupting it. She closed with the line that the rise of women does not mean the fall of men.
Karabo Mashiten Spielman, chairperson of the South African Women Lawyers Association in Mpumalanga, said the association advocates for the rights of women and children and does not discriminate against men. She noted that the province, with the Department of Justice, ran free legal advice in traditional communities at Gaugoyi and Manzini in 2022, covering wills and estates, maintenance, divorce and customary marriages, and free will drafting in 2024. She announced that free wills week would run from 14 to 18 September 2026, and committed the legal fraternity to working with the department to take justice to the people.
The MEC for Finance in Mpumalanga, Ba Majuba, welcomed guests on behalf of the premier, who sent apologies due to government commitments. Majuba cited section 34 of the Constitution, which guarantees every person the right to have disputes resolved through a fair and public hearing before a court or another independent and impartial forum, and said access to justice work has brought government, the judiciary, the legal fraternity and communities together to address the financial, geographical and informational barriers that keep ordinary citizens out of court.
Nel said the week should not be understood as an event that ends when the programme ends. The person who needs maintenance next week, the woman who needs a protection order next month, the small claims case in October and the family dealing with a deceased estate in December must still be assisted, he said.
Source: Government of South Africa, Closing event of the 2026 Access to Justice campaign
