Sex offenders register law will be on minister’s desk by month-end: department - TimesLIVE

The department of justice and constitutional development aims to submit two draft proposals to amend the law governing the National Register for Sex Offenders (NRSO) to the minister by the end of October.

The department’s head of legal services, Steven Ralekwa, said this at the department’s offices in Tshwane on Wednesday, where Build One South Africa (Bosa) leader Mmusi Maimane and deputy leader Nobuntu Hlazo-Webster led a march to demand public access to the register.

Bosa called for the government to make the register publicly accessible and said this would help people protect themselves and their families from sex offenders.

Ralekwa said the department was working on proposals to open the register to the public while protecting the rights of those listed on it.

“At the moment, it’s only certain persons that may access the register, but we intend to open it up to a broader scale,” Ralekwa said.

Bosa members outside the department of justice and constitutional development on Wednesday, waiting to hand over a memorandum demanding that the sex offenders register be made public. Picture: Refilwe Kholomonyane He said two draft proposals had been finalised and were being prepared for submission to the minister for consideration.

The department was also completing a memorandum explaining the proposed changes.

“We intend, before the end of this month, to have those two drafts before the minister’s desk for her decision,” he said.

In February 2025, minister of justice and constitutional development Mmamoloko Kubayi announced that the register would be made public by the end of that month.

The leader of Bosa, Mmusi Maimane, and Johannesburg mayoral candidate Nobuntu Hlazo-Webster lead a march to the department of justice and constitutional development. Picture: Refilwe Kholomonyane However, the deadline was missed because existing legislation restricts the publication of information from the register.

In September 2025, she directed the department to prepare legislative amendments to allow public access.

Ralekwa said the department had to consider why the register was initially made inaccessible to the public and how the law could be changed without compromising people’s rights or putting communities at risk.

“The government needs to balance the protection of vulnerable people with the rights of those on the register,” he said.

Mmusi Maimane and Nobuntu Hlazo-Webster outside the department of justice and constitutional development in Pretoria, where they handed a memorandum demanding that the sex offenders register be made public. Picture: Refilwe Kholomonyane Speaking to TimesLIVE, Maimane said the government had taken too long to act on the issue, despite Bosa campaigning for public access to the register for about two years.

“South Africa has had a government that literally cannot solve its problems. Load-shedding took 18 years. Water-shedding is going to take 16 years. Making sure that we publish the National Register of Sex Offenders, we can’t wait 16 years,” he said.

Maimane said measures introduced to deal with gender-based violence often focused on responding after a crime had been committed, rather than helping people protect themselves beforehand.

“Making the register public should form part of broader efforts to prevent sexual violence and hold perpetrators accountable,” he said.

Maimane warned that the party would return to the department if it failed to act.

“We will go to court and get a supervisory order to ensure that this department does its job,” he said.

Maimane also criticised government leaders for speaking about gender-based violence without ensuring that the necessary laws were in place. “If you don’t act, don’t talk.”

Maimane said the fight against gender-based violence should not be left to women alone.

“I call on men to take responsibility for challenging sexual violence and holding perpetrators accountable,” he said.