Justice Malala
by Justice Malala
In July 2009 South Africa’s then new police commissioner, Bheki Cele, told a newspaper he wanted the law to be changed to allow police to “shoot to kill” suspects without worrying about “what happens after that”.
Two months later a young woman, Olga Kekana, was going out with three friends in a Pretoria township when she was shot through the head. Her car was “mistaken” by police for one driven by car hijackers. Survivors said police had given no warning. Eight officers opened fire. The car had 13 bullet holes. Police fled and did not help her.
When news broke out that Hilton Botha, the lead detective in the prosecution of Oscar Pistorius, was facing attempted murder charges after firing at a minibus taxi carrying seven people in 2009, many began to wonder about the state of police.
Soon after the shooting of 34 striking workers at Lonmin’s Marikana mine last August by police, the Botha charges draw attention to this question: Is democratic South Africa’s police service turning into a violent force akin to its apartheid predecessors?
When Mandela became president in 1994, police were a paramilitary force. In a symbolic change, they were renamed Police Services and began a process of demilitarisation. In 2009, when Zuma was elected President, ministers started speaking of “tough policing” and called for police to “shoot to kill”. The re-militarisation of police began. The results are evident everywhere.
Andries Tatane, a mathematics teacher and community activist, was attacked at a peaceful protest in 2011 by 12 policemen who beat him with batons, kicked him and shot rubber bullets into his chest at close range. He died.
Evidence is mounting that many of the Marikana dead were shot while fleeing, and that 14 were shot and killed 300 metres from where the initial massacre took place. Police have admitted at the Farlam Commission that they planted weapons near the dead.
“The safety of the public is not negotiable. Don’t be sorry about what happened,” Police Commissioner, Riah Phiyega, told officiers. She said this as 28 members of a notorious police unit were appearing in court on more than 70 charges, including murder.
The Institute for Security Studies in Pretoria has reported that the number of people shot dead by police doubled in the four years to 2010. Deaths in custody or resulting from police action numbered 860 in 2009-2010 compared with an average 695 a year during 2003-2008.
Police claim they are the victims, pointing to killings of police to defend their “tough” stance against citizens. Yet figures for police murders have dropped since 1994, when 265 officers were killed. The figure declined to 178 in 2000. Only 92 officers were killed in the 12 months to March 2012. But the government continues to paint a picture of a police service under siege, with Cele saying in 2011: “A policeman should not die with his gun in his hand.” Cele was later fired by Zuma, but not for this or other outrageous statements.
Are incidents of police brutality and trigger-happiness going to stop soon? Not likely. The ANC emerged from planning meetings in January 2013 with a warning to protesters such as Andries Tatane. ANC leader Ngoako Ramathlodi, a Deputy Minister of Prisons, said the government would use an “iron fist” to deal with the “seas of anarchy”. On February 14, Zuma announced “tough” measures to deal with citizens protesting against poor services. Marikana will not be the last time we see evidence of a police service going off the rails. More blood will be spilt. In 1994 we thought we had turned our backs on such incidents. We were wrong. the guardian
by Justice Malala
In July 2009 South Africa’s then new police commissioner, Bheki Cele, told a newspaper he wanted the law to be changed to allow police to “shoot to kill” suspects without worrying about “what happens after that”.
Two months later a young woman, Olga Kekana, was going out with three friends in a Pretoria township when she was shot through the head. Her car was “mistaken” by police for one driven by car hijackers. Survivors said police had given no warning. Eight officers opened fire. The car had 13 bullet holes. Police fled and did not help her.
When news broke out that Hilton Botha, the lead detective in the prosecution of Oscar Pistorius, was facing attempted murder charges after firing at a minibus taxi carrying seven people in 2009, many began to wonder about the state of police.
Soon after the shooting of 34 striking workers at Lonmin’s Marikana mine last August by police, the Botha charges draw attention to this question: Is democratic South Africa’s police service turning into a violent force akin to its apartheid predecessors?
When Mandela became president in 1994, police were a paramilitary force. In a symbolic change, they were renamed Police Services and began a process of demilitarisation. In 2009, when Zuma was elected President, ministers started speaking of “tough policing” and called for police to “shoot to kill”. The re-militarisation of police began. The results are evident everywhere.
Andries Tatane, a mathematics teacher and community activist, was attacked at a peaceful protest in 2011 by 12 policemen who beat him with batons, kicked him and shot rubber bullets into his chest at close range. He died.
Evidence is mounting that many of the Marikana dead were shot while fleeing, and that 14 were shot and killed 300 metres from where the initial massacre took place. Police have admitted at the Farlam Commission that they planted weapons near the dead.
“The safety of the public is not negotiable. Don’t be sorry about what happened,” Police Commissioner, Riah Phiyega, told officiers. She said this as 28 members of a notorious police unit were appearing in court on more than 70 charges, including murder.
The Institute for Security Studies in Pretoria has reported that the number of people shot dead by police doubled in the four years to 2010. Deaths in custody or resulting from police action numbered 860 in 2009-2010 compared with an average 695 a year during 2003-2008.
Police claim they are the victims, pointing to killings of police to defend their “tough” stance against citizens. Yet figures for police murders have dropped since 1994, when 265 officers were killed. The figure declined to 178 in 2000. Only 92 officers were killed in the 12 months to March 2012. But the government continues to paint a picture of a police service under siege, with Cele saying in 2011: “A policeman should not die with his gun in his hand.” Cele was later fired by Zuma, but not for this or other outrageous statements.
Are incidents of police brutality and trigger-happiness going to stop soon? Not likely. The ANC emerged from planning meetings in January 2013 with a warning to protesters such as Andries Tatane. ANC leader Ngoako Ramathlodi, a Deputy Minister of Prisons, said the government would use an “iron fist” to deal with the “seas of anarchy”. On February 14, Zuma announced “tough” measures to deal with citizens protesting against poor services. Marikana will not be the last time we see evidence of a police service going off the rails. More blood will be spilt. In 1994 we thought we had turned our backs on such incidents. We were wrong. the guardian
