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Sitole told Parliament that an “independent” discipline unit needs to be established The Portfolio Committee on Police has heard that discipline management needs reform to address loopholes and the conflicts of interest which protect police officers accused of violence from facing consequences. Archive photo: Ashraf Hendricks National police commissioner General Khehla Sitole has admitted to Parliament that discipline management at the South African Police Service (SAPS) needs to be overhauled. This comes after MPs used findings from a recent Viewfinder investigation to question SAPS abou...

SERI is a public interest law centre providing dedicated socio-economic rights assistance to individuals, communities and social movements.

The meeting may be the first time that SAPS is compelled to respond to a recent Viewfinderinvestigation which revealed that senior police officers routinely exploit legal and regulatory loopholes to protect their colleagues implicated in violent crimes including assault, torture, shootings, rape and unlawful killings. Police have not responded to queries from Viewfinder and it skirted questions on the issue in Parliament last week. The chairperson of Parliament’s portfolio committee on policing (PCP), Tina Joemat-Pettersson, spoke to Viewfinder on Friday. “We (the committee) agree that...

Ben Winks is an independent advocate specialising in constitutional and international law, and a visiting researcher at the University of Johannesburg.   Ten years ago, South Africans watched in horror as major news outlets broadcast blow-by-blow footage of the brutal killing of Andries Tatane.  The 33-year-old maths and science teacher from Ficksburg in the Free State had been leading a peaceful community protest against water shortages and other government failures.  We watched him being pummelled with batons by half a dozen armoured policemen and shot in the chest from less than 2m awa...

When violence is policy: How do we curb police brutality? 25 Apr 2021 Strong-arm tactics: South African Police Service officers enforce social distancing on 28 March during last year’s hard lockdown as shoppers queue outside a supermarket in Hillbrow, Johannesburg. Photo: Marco Longari/AFP It was one of the most horrific collective experiences we witnessed in post-apartheid South Africa. It wasn’t immediately apparent to those watching from home what had happened as Andries Tatane clutched at his chest. Within minutes, his death would be broadcast to millions of South Africans. Last week ...