Magistrate laid to rest after committing suicide

Nadia Samie
04 January 2007

The Port Elizabeth magistrate, who committed suicide in his chambers last week, did so because the fight against crime had become too much for him, it was said at his funeral. Crime is firmly in the spotlight at the dawn of 2007, as the Eastern Cape laid to rest Abe Marais, a leading member of the legal fraternity.

At the funeral service, Pastor Bas Peters described the late magistrate as someone, “who fought the good fight against crime and wickedness in the world, day by day." In his address, Peters likened the work that justice department employees did to that of the biblical Elijah, who fought against the forces of evil.

Marais colleagues, including fellow magistrates, state prosecutors and lawyers, wore their legal gowns at the service as a sign of respect.

Sixty-one-year-old Marais left a suicide note on his desk before he shot himself in the head at the magistrate's court in Port Elizabeth.