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100 signatures reached
To: The National Commissioner of Correctional Services, The Correctional Supervision and Parole Board (Western Cape), The Minister of Justice and Correctional Services
KEEP KEITH BIRD BEHIND BARS – SURVIVORS STILL LIVE IN FEAR
A few days ago, one of Bird’s surviving victims was contacted by a prison warden and shown his photo to “prepare” her for a Victim–Offender Dialogue. She became physically sick, lost sleep and appetite, and ended up in the hospital. She was only informed about a week before the session. She did not feel she had a real choice.
During the VOD, she could not bear to look at him; the one time she did, she saw him smirk, and the look in his eyes terrified her. She has been told nothing clearly about whether this VOD is linked to parole. She is still waiting for the counselling that was promised after the session.
She has asked us to tell the world – without using her name – that she begs the authorities not to let him out, that she and the other survivors will not be safe, and that she is afraid he will come for the victims who are still alive. She fears that victims will not be informed if he is considered for release at all.
We call on the Department of Correctional Services, the Western Cape Correctional Supervision and Parole Board, and the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services to take the following clear steps in the case of convicted serial rapist and double murderer Keith Bird:
- Confirm in writing that Keith Bird will not be considered for early release or parole at this stage, and that any future consideration will strictly follow minimum‑sentence and victim‑participation laws.
- Register all surviving victims and affected families under section 299A of the Criminal Procedure Act, and ensure they receive written notice of any Victim–Offender Dialogue (VOD), parole hearing, or change in his status, with enough time to respond.
- Provide proper counselling and psychological support to the victim who recently attended a VOD with Bird, and to any other victims or families who request it, before and after any further contact with Correctional Services.
- Fix how VODs are handled, so that no victim is called into a VOD without clear information, real choice and emotional preparation, and so that VOD is not used simply to make Bird look “ready” for parole.
- Publicly commit that there will be no “silent release” of Keith Bird. If his status is ever considered, victims and the affected community must be informed and allowed to make representations.
At the same time, the world is watching the Epstein scandal, where powerful networks of abusers and enablers are being exposed and where international experts insist that no person should be beyond the reach of justice. The message is clear: we can no longer look away, minimise, or quietly forgive sexual abuse and trafficking.
Why is this important?
If we allow a man like Bird – a convicted serial rapist and double murderer, with possible undisclosed victims – to be slowly prepared for release behind closed doors, we betray every survivor, here and across the world.
When we act alone, the system can ignore us. When thousands of us speak together, the system is forced to listen. In the Keith Bird case, a surviving victim has already been re‑traumatised by a poorly handled Victim–Offender Dialogue: she was given barely a week’s notice, became physically ill just from seeing his photo, and left the session terrified after watching him smirk at her – with no proper counselling or clear information about whether this is linked to parole. On her own, she can be ignored. When the community and people across South Africa stand behind her, she becomes impossible to ignore.
When we act alone, the system can ignore us. When thousands of us speak together, the system is forced to listen. In the Keith Bird case, a surviving victim has already been re‑traumatised by a poorly handled Victim–Offender Dialogue: she was given barely a week’s notice, became physically ill just from seeing his photo, and left the session terrified after watching him smirk at her – with no proper counselling or clear information about whether this is linked to parole. On her own, she can be ignored. When the community and people across South Africa stand behind her, she becomes impossible to ignore.
Public pressure works. During Bird’s original court case, community mobilisation helped to keep him behind bars and made sure his crimes did not disappear quietly into the system. The same is true now: if the Department of Correctional Services and the Parole Board believe no one is watching, they can process VODs and parole decisions behind closed doors and treat victims as a box to tick. But if they are flooded with signatures, letters, media questions and social media posts, they are forced to take victims’ rights seriously and to account publicly for every step they take in this case.
This campaign is also bigger than one offender. Around the world, the Epstein scandal has shown what happens when sexual predators are protected, and survivors are kept in the dark: abuses multiply, and “justice” becomes a deal between powerful men instead of real accountability. By joining this campaign, you are helping to set a benchmark in South Africa that says: no more secrets, no more silent releases, and time must mean time for serial rapists and murderers. Every signature increases the pressure, every share spreads the message, and every voice makes it harder for authorities to ever quietly open the prison gates for Keith Bird – or anyone like him – while survivors still live in fear.