Police misconduct under national lockdown? Scorpion Legal Protection takes a look at a case of a man who says he was socialising with his friends when the police allegedly assaulted him and his friends and humiliated them by ordering them to jump up and down in front of the neighbours.
First we’ll discuss the alleged assault. Clearly, the rights of the man and his friends were violated when the armed forces assaulted them. This is unacceptable, as it goes against their mandate and human rights in general. Under the lockdown certain rights have been suspended, but this does not include your constitutional right to dignity. The man and his friends have the right to report the assault, even if they can’t identify the members involved.
So where can he report the incident?
For members of the police – he can report the incident at the nearest police station and to the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID). IPID is independent of the SAPS and its mandate is to conduct independent and impartial investigations of alleged police misconduct.
For members of the SA National Defence Force (SANDF) – he can report his complaint to the South African Military Ombudsman on 012 676 3800 or their toll-free number 080 726 6283 (080 SAOMBUD) or email intake@milombud.org or milombud@milombud.org.
However, the man and his friends are clearly violating the regulations of the lockdown. The Disaster Management Regulations 11B (a) states that for the period of lockdown every person is confined to his or her place of residence, unless strictly for the
purpose of:
- performing an essential service
- obtaining an essential good or service
- collecting a social grant, pension or
- seeking emergency, life-saving, or chronic medical attention.
The man and his friends were disobeying the lockdown orders as they were socialising outside, and not for the purposes of performing essential services. But this does not in any way condone the alleged actions of the police officers and members of the SANDF concerned.
In terms of the address to the members of the SANDF on the evening of the 21-day lockdown, President Cyril Ramaphosa called on SA’s security forces to “save lives and not violate the rights of the people of SA”.
Tips:
- Police/armed forces misconduct should be reported. You don’t need to be able to identify them to report them.
- Deliberately disobeying lockdown rules is a criminal offence that could lead to a fine or imprisonment.
Follow Scorpion Legal Protection on Facebook for more updates and information on your rights during the lockdown.
* This is only basic advice and cannot be relied on solely. The information is correct at the time of being sent to publishing.