Jason Venter has been waiting for his mother's alleged killer to go on trial in South Africa for more than two years, living a life in limbo and hoping to get some closure after her death. The problem is that the country's legal system is jammed up, and tens of thousands of other cases are also waiting to be heard.

The courts face overwhelming backlogs, with delays pushing some trials out as far as four years. Observers warn that these delays erode public trust, particularly in a nation grappling with high crime rates.

Jason, who remembers his mother Charlene as my best friend and a beacon of kindness, continues to suffer with every postponement, feeling each delay is a renewed loss. After being set on fire in a suspected act of gender-based violence, Charlene passed away in May 2023.

These cases are compounded by a staggering judicial backlog that the auditor-general estimated at around 37,000 cases, with actual numbers possibly closer to 100,000. Causes range from inadequate staffing—only about 250 judges serve a population exceeding 60 million—to administrative inefficiencies.

The plight of Jason and families like him underscores a desperate need for judicial reform in South Africa. Senior government officials admit the system struggles but assure that plans are in place to hire more magistrates and extend working hours to address these critical delays.

For now, families continue to endure endless waiting, hoping for reform that will restore faith in a system that currently feels broken.