Police brutality knows no bounds
Mmegi Editor | Thursday August 11, 2016 15:22
Under previous police commissioners, among them Edwin Batshu, and Thebeyame Tsimako, the police made strides in building a good relationship with the communities they serve.
The police engaged with citizens irrespective of their economic status, or how ridiculous their demands or comments may be. This seems to be changing.
On Monday, a group of unarmed young people went to Parliament carrying placards to sensitise elected representatives of the plight that they are facing as unemployed youth. They did not throw any stone at anybody or anything. They did not sing or toyi toyi to grab the attention of the legislators. However, our blood-thirsty and overzealous police officers came with their armoury and sjamboks and used excessive force to disperse the youth, even detaining some of them overnight.
The force far exceeded the one used on troublesome Matsetsenkane gang who terrorised and continue to terrorise residents of Thamaga village. The force used far exceeded the one applied during the 1994 student strikes that were triggered by the ritual murder of Segametsi Mogomotsi. The biggest crime these youth have committed was to dare sensitise the authorities about their plight amid corruption, splashing of funds in the so-called BOT50 celebrations, as well as the short-term but ineffective solutions in the form of Ipelegeng, police volunteers, Tirelo Sechaba and others.
The police have surprisingly become so obsessed with the use of force, and thirsty for action to a point that they use their ‘hammer’ at a slightest provocation. Anybody who dares speak out becomes a target to the police.
During the Monday fiasco, three journalists were detained for wanting to know why their colleague, a television videographer was taken into custody. In May, activists picketing at the traffic lights to highlight growing incidents of child abuse were detained.
This excessive force is not only used against groups of people, as individuals are not spared. Recent figures show that over 62 suspects have died in police custody since 2008.
The police often attribute the cause of death to suicide. With the silence that often accompanies these deaths, from the police authorities, we are left with no option but to conclude that officers have been instructed to kill suspects. They have also been instructed to cause as much injuries as possible should they be called in to calm any situation.
The bottom line is, there was no need for the police to have used the excessive force on unarmed youths who wanted to communicate with their elected leaders. Police brutality starts with small gestures until such a time when the police will kill people in full view of others. The police should protect us and not be our source of fear.
Today’s thought
‘‘We’re not anti-police... we’re anti-police brutality.”
- Al Sharpton