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Minister confirms big new step in making the National Register of Sex Offenders public

Daily Maverick · · 709 words · By Estelle Ellis
Constitutional law Public Safety and Child Protection Government Accountability and Legislative Process
open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-04-28-minister-confirms-big-new-ste…

psychologyDetected Techniques

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Loaded Language 80% confidence
Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.

fact_checkFact-Check Results

16 claims extracted and verified against multiple sources including cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia.

schedule Pending 6
check_circle Corroborated 5
verified Verified By Reference 2
help Insufficient Evidence 2
info Single Source 1
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“A draft Bill to facilitate the National Register for Sex Offenders being made accessible to ordinary citizens has been drafted and circulated for comment”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent sources (SAnews, Fasken, and other web results) confirm that Minister Kubayi has directed legislative amendments to make the NRSO accessible to the public.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Megan's Law is the name for a federal law (and informal name for similar state laws) in the United States requiring law enforcement authorities to make information available to the public regarding re…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megan's_Law
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — In the United States, sex offender registries exist at both the federal and state levels. The federal registry is known as the National Sex Offender Public Website (NSOPW) and integrates data in all s…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex_offender_registries_in_the…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — A sex offender registry is a system in various countries designed to allow government authorities to keep track of the activities of sex offenders, including those who have completed their criminal se…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex_offender_registry
+ 3 more evidence sources
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“the Minister of Justice, Mmamoloko Kubayi, confirmed in an answer to a question in Parliament”
CORROBORATED
Web search results from the South African Government and news reports confirm Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi provided responses in Parliament regarding the NRSO's accessibility.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The National Register for Sex Offenders (NRSO) is a sex offender registry in South Africa which contains the details of people convicted of sexual offences against children or mentally disabled people…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Register_for_Sex_Offe…
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web search NEUTRAL — The Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, Mmamoloko Kubayi, has directed her department to attend to the necessary legislative amendments that will allow the National Register for Sex Of…
https://www.sanews.gov.za/south-africa/kubayi-orders-legisla…
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web search NEUTRAL — We remain committed to safeguarding children and vulnerable persons by ensuring the NRSO is accessible in a lawful and responsible manner. While doing so and as part of the Minister’s commitment to en…
https://justice.gov.za/m_speeches/2025/20250917-PQ-oral-repl…
+ 1 more evidence source
info
“Kubayi was answering a question from Build One South Africa (Bosa) deputy leader Nobuntu Hlazo-Webster”
SINGLE SOURCE
While the Minister's responses are confirmed, the specific detail that she was answering Nobuntu Hlazo-Webster of Bosa is not explicitly corroborated across multiple independent sources in the provided evidence, though Bosa's involvement is mentioned in a related context.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — This article displays the various political parties' party candidate lists for the 2024 South African general election. The National Assembly of South Africa is elected every five years by party-list …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Party_lists_for_the_2024_South…
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web search NEUTRAL — A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, [1][2] making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a mi…
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minister_(government)
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web search NEUTRAL — The meaning of MINISTER is agent. How to use minister in a sentence.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/minister
+ 1 more evidence source
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“they had drafted amendments to the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Act”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
Wikipedia and web search results confirm the existence of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Act and ongoing efforts to amend it.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Common law offences are crimes under English criminal law, the related criminal law of some Commonwealth countries, and under some U.S. state laws. They are offences under the common law, developed en…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_law_offence
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013 (popularly known as Nirbhaya Act) is an Indian legislation passed by the Lok Sabha on 19 March 2013, and by the Rajya Sabha on 21 March 2013, which provides for …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criminal_Law_(Amendment)_Act,_…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Act, 2007 (Act No. 32 of 2007; also referred to as the Sexual Offences Act) is an act of the Parliament of South Africa that reformed a…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criminal_Law_(Sexual_Offences_…
+ 3 more evidence sources
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“The changes to the Act will include changes to the sections dealing with the confidentiality and disclosure of information in the National Register for Sex Offenders (NRSO)”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources, including SAnews and Fasken, state that the legislative amendments specifically target the accessibility and disclosure of the NRSO.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Defamation is a communication that injures a third party's reputation and causes a legally redressable injury. The precise legal definition of defamation varies from country to country. It is not nece…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defamation
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (c. 60) (PACE) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which instituted a legislative framework for the powers of police officers in England and Wal…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Police_and_Criminal_Evidence_A…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term crime does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition, though …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime
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“In a statement to Parliament in February 2025, Kubayi said it had become clear that various interest groups were advocating for the release of the NRSO”
CORROBORATED
Web search results confirm Minister Kubayi's statements regarding the public's demand for the register and the timeline for its release (February 2025).
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web search NEUTRAL — Kubayi had wanted the register to be made public after she assumed office. She held a meeting with her team to discuss efforts to combat gender-based violence and femicide.
https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-03-29-sex-offen…
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web search NEUTRAL — Question 1 - Minister on the NDPP recommendation of the suspension of a person implicated in State Capture As per the response from the President on Question 2091 to Honourable member Athol Trollip, t…
https://www.gov.za/news/parliamentary-questions-and-answers/…
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web search NEUTRAL — Mmamoloko Kubayi, the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, who was speaking during a recent gender-based violence (GBV) awareness campaign, said the NRSO was expected to be made public …
https://iol.co.za/thepost/news/2025-02-15-how-public-access-…
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“the State Law Adviser had yet give the green light confirming it was constitutional”
CORROBORATED
Two independent sources (a news report and a BOSA statement) explicitly state that the State Law Adviser has not yet given the green light regarding the constitutionality of the Bill.
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web search NEUTRAL — In her most recent answer to Parliament, Kubayi said that while the amendment Bill had been circulated, the State Law Adviser had yet give the green light confirming it was constitutional.
https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-04-28-minister-…
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web search NEUTRAL — They have not so much as obtained a legal opinion from the Office of the Chief State Law Adviser on the constitutionality of making the register public. In effect, 13 months on, the process remains at…
https://www.politicsweb.co.za/news/13-months-later-sex-offen…
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web search NEUTRAL — The Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, Mmamoloko Kubayi, has directed her department to attend to the necessary legislative amendments that will allow the National Register for Sex Of…
https://www.sanews.gov.za/south-africa/kubayi-orders-legisla…
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“The NRSO is a record of the names of people found guilty of sexual offences against children and other vulnerable people”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
Wikipedia and official information sources confirm the NRSO records individuals convicted of sexual offences against children and mentally disabled/vulnerable persons.
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web search NEUTRAL — Details of offenders convicted before the creation of the register were collected from existing records held by various government departments, while details of offenders convicted since the creation …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Register_for_Sex_Offe…
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web search NEUTRAL — Convicted sex offenders are also not allowed to apply for foster care or adoption, or to work with children. Employers have a legal obligation to ensure that particulars of an individual placed in cha…
https://www.justice.gov.za/vg/nrso.html
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web search NEUTRAL — The NRSO, created in 2007, records the names of individuals convicted of sexual offences against children and mentally disabled persons, has always been off-limits to the public. The aim of making the…
https://iol.co.za/weekend-argus/news/2025-02-15-minister-sha…
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“is currently available to employers in the public or private sectors running schools, crèches and hospitals”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was provided in the search results to confirm the specific current accessibility of the register to employers in schools, crèches, and hospitals.
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“There are about 30,000 sexual offenders noted in the register”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found in the provided search results regarding the specific number of offenders (30,000) in the register.
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“The register, which was established 19 years ago, has never before been publicly available”
PENDING
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“Established in 2007”
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“Listed offenders are barred from working with children or the mentally ill, fostering or adopting”
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“The NRSO took two years to become operational in 2009”
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“In the same year [2019], President Cyril Ramaphosa indicated his intention to ask Parliament to make the register public”
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“In 2020, Ramaphosa announced that amendments would be made to broaden the categories of offenders listed on the NRSO”
PENDING
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.