‘SA has created a toxic culture through lockdown regulations’
There have been reports of alleged brutality by some SANDF and SAPS members.
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Yolanda Mhlathi
28 April 2020, 21:12 [SAST]
Reading Time: 2minutes
South Africa has created a toxic lockdown culture through the aggressive implementation of lockdown regulations. That’s the view Georgette Gagnon, who directs field operations for the UN’s Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.
In a briefing in Geneva on Monday, the office highlighted countries where allegations of abuse appear to transgress key basic freedoms.
Among the countries of concern is South Africa, the Philippines, Hungary, China and Brazil.
Georgette Gagnon described how many countries had adopted a heavy-handed and highly militarized security response to the virus.
She says her office had received reports of disproportionate use of force by security officers in SA, particularly in poor and informal settlements where rubber bullets, tear gas, water guns and whips have been used to enforce social distancing in shopping lines and outside homes.
She pointed to the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) investigations of murder, rape and corruption among other complaints.
The UN says data indicated that more than 17 000 people had already been arrested in South Africa as a result of COVID-19 lockdown violations.
Earlier, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, called on governments to ensure human rights are not violated under the guise of exceptional or emergency measures.
Brutality allegations against SAPS and SANDF:
There have been reports of alleged brutality by some SANDF and SAPS members who have been deployed to enforce compliance to the national lockdown.
Last month, Police Minister Bheki Cele said his department is investigating 26 cases related to police brutality across the country.
An Ekurhuleni Metro Police officer was arrested in Gauteng, in connection with an alleged fatal shooting of a man at Vosloorus township, east of Johannesburg.
A 40-year-old man from Alexandra, north of Johannesburg, died after he was allegedly assaulted by members of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF).
It was reported that the deceased was having a drink with a neighbour inside their yard when a soldier asked them why they were drinking and were not inside the house.
Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula pleads with SANDF personnel to refrain from using excessive force against people.
The graph below provides details of how you can report brutality by security personnel:
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