After victory for Afrikaans in Stellenbosch, DA pressure forces the SAPS to withdraw its 'English only' policy
14 April 2023
“All Provincial Commissioners will be instructed by the National Commissioner to withdraw any provincial language instruction, which is in conflict with national policy”.
This was the response to a written Parliamentary Question in which the Democratic Alliance DA queried why the Western Cape Provincial Commissioner of the South African Police Service SAPS issued an instruction that A1 victims’ statements would only be taken down in English.
Just like our victory at the University of Stellenbosch last month where the South African Human Rights Commission found that the SU violated the human rights of Afrikaans-speaking students, the DA considers this directive a huge victory.
On 13 March 2023, I wrote to both the National Police Commissioner and Western Cape Provincial Commissioner advising them that this instruction went against the provisions of both section 6 of the Constitution and the Use of Official Languages Act, 2012.