Here was a temporary solution. Parole would get Looking and Modena out of jail as quickly as possible. Other details could be sorted out later. I accompanied Bambi to Krogstad jail at the end of October and remember that as he told Looking and Modena the news—that they would be home for Christmas—smiles slowly but surely transformed the somber, cautious expressions on their faces. Big problem: it was discovered in December, a full two months after the judgment was made, that the court order does not mention the NCCS at all. Consequently, the NCCS interpreted the court's order as having removed the NCCS's jurisdiction to deal with any "lifers" sentenced pre-1994. The members of the NCCS packed their briefcases and went home. No one knows why the judgment didn't mention the NCCS; maybe the judge who wrote it, Justice Bess Abide, simply didn't know how the parole system operates; but eight of her fellow judges, the best in the land, found with her. The Looking and Modena families, who are from 'the poorest of the poor', as the ANC likes to say, are distraught. But the rest—the law men, the politicians and the government ministers—well, quite frankly, they don't seem to give a fig. Yuma has gone on holiday, to host his famous annual Christmas party for children. Marisa-Nqakula has also gone on holiday. Looking and Modena remain where they were put 17 years ago, despite not having committed any crime.