DA launches WhatsApp line to report Police and Army abuse and advise the public
1 April 2020
Today the Democratic Alliance (DA) launched a dedicated WhatsApp number (067 977 9324) and email address ([email protected]) where members of the public can report any acts of assault, abuse or bribery by law enforcement officers.
They can also send the DA their questions regarding their legal rights during the Covid-19 lockdown.
We will use these platforms to advise citizens on their rights and to raise and lodge their complaints with the relevant authorities and oversight bodies.
The WhatsApp number and email address will be monitored by a task team of DA MPs that form part of the security and justice clusters in Parliament. They are experts in their fields and will be able to provide expert advice to the South African public.
The nation is only six days into this lockdown and we have already seen increased violence at the hands of those who were tasked with protecting and serving us. On Tuesday, reports indicated that the police shot two nurses at the Bongani Regional Hospital in Welkom, and on Monday, an Ekurhuleni Metro police officer was arrested for allegedly shooting and killing a Vosloorus man while enforcing the lockdown.
There are numerous videos on social media showing police and army officers increasingly brutalizing and humiliating members of the public. Some South Africans were threatened and assaulted in their own backyards and while standing in line to buy the essentials. This is a gross abuse of the power entrusted to the South African Police Service (SAPS) and the South African National Defence Force (SANDF).
That is why there is an urgent need for oversight and monitoring of SANDF’s deployment in the country, as well as the police’s conduct.
South Africa is a constitutional democracy and not a military state. We must adhere to the rule of law, the Bill of Rights, and the Constitution at all times.
We remind law enforcement officials that this is a state of disaster, not a state of emergency. The role of the military is to ensure that lockdown measures are enforced while remembering that South Africans do have rights, even in these unprecedented times. These rights have been hard-fought for and must not be so flagrantly disregarded and disrespected by those few in uniforms that misunderstood their mandate.
We believe it is important for South Africans to adhere to the lockdown regulations and agree that those who do not comply should face the consequences of their actions within the law. However, we strongly condemn the brazen acts of violence, humiliation and degradation committed against our citizens.
It is these increased incidences of violence and brutality on the part of law enforcement officers, enforcing the lockdown, which strengthens our call for an ad hoc committee of Parliament to perform oversight of the Executive and ensure the protection of civil liberties during the lockdown.
Issued by John Steenhuisen,Leader of the Democratic Alliance, 1 April 2020
