#EFF Condemns The Anti-Black ‘Shoot To Kill' Of Khuli Chana By The Police This Morning

28 October, 2013

EFF is appalled by reports of the shooting of the young rapper, Khuli Chana, who was shot this morning by police driving in an unmarked VW. The police claim they mistook him for a kidnapper and thus fired shots at him, including on the driver's door, which could be interpreted as intention to kill him as opposed to making him stop the car. Chana had no way of knowing, in a country full of crime and high jacking, that an unidentified car driving in the opposite direction in an on-coming traffic could be the police. This means he was right to avoid them and drive off.

This incident is one of many where police, because of their aggressive posture to policing characterised by the "shoot to kill" principle, have made mistakes putting the lives of innocent civilians into danger. Mistaken identity is such a frequent occurrence which should mean by now police need to take a much modest approach least they commit the same life threatening mistake as in the case of Chana.

Furthermore, EFF condemns the anti-black character of policing in South Africa where every black man, particularly in town and in white areas is a permanent criminal suspect. This flows from the racist ideological orientation of criminology in western modes of policing. Meaning in the final analysis Chana was shot because be is a black man and once you are a black man in an area where police are looking for criminals, you are a permanent suspect.

EFF calls on the SAPS to give a public apology and immediately take harsh action on the police involved. This would reconcile them with the public they are meant to protect and also inculcate a much careful and less aggressive public policing approach. The "shoot to kill" principle has thus not worked and must be ended as it has turned our police into menace to society. Noteworthy, is that the shoot to kill approach to policing is a legacy and hallmark of President Zuma who on many occasions encouraged police to shoot and kill suspects instead of exhausting ways of trying to arrest them as required by the law.

EFF also wishes Khuli Chana a speedy recovery from the wound he sustained in the unfortunate encounter with the police.

Statement issued by the Economic Freedom Fighters, October 28 2013

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