Protest and strike action have become commonplace in SA, with roads blockaded, tyres set alight and property damaged almost daily. However, public violence arrests continue to drop annually.
Replying to a question in the National Council of Provinces (NCOP), national police commissioner Gen Fannie Masemola said Public Order Police (POP) made 2,211 arrests for the latter last year.
This was lower than in 2020, despite last year’s July unrest, which plunged KwaZulu-Natal and parts of Gauteng into violence as widespread looting, blockades and destruction to property occurred.
Masemola said there were 3,006 arrests in 2020, 4,087 in 2019, 5,036 in 2018 and 5,166 in 2017.
Asked if police minister Bheki Cele would support or enforce the arrest and prosecution of illegal protest organisers, Masemola replied: “The right to assemble peacefully and unarmed is entrenched in section 17 of the constitution and is respected.
“The SA Police Service will take such steps as may be required and appropriate in instances where offences are committed by individuals during protest action. This may include the arrest of suspects participating in criminal actions such as public violence.”
He said after investigations, dockets were submitted to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) for decisions on whether to prosecute offenders.
FF+ parliamentarian Fanie du Toit posed the question “because violent and disruptive protest action is taking place on a daily basis, with the rights of law-abiding citizens being violated as a result”.
“We are well aware that the economy is under pressure and unemployment is at an all-time high. Municipal infrastructure has dilapidated to such an extent that proper service delivery is almost non-existent. Currently, SAPS negotiate with instigators of violent, illegal protest actions, setting a new norm, instead of arresting the perpetrators,” he said.
Du Toit believed the significant drop in arrests arose from fear of a repeat of the Marikana massacre and a shortage of police officers on the ground.
“Political interference also plays a huge roll. That reference is being made to the Marikana massacre, when SAPS and POP are supposed to act when protest action take place, is of concern. The underlying fear of civil cases being opened against law-enforcement personnel by perpetrators is a concern.
“The capacity of SAPS and POP members is questionable. There is a definite shortage of manpower, as well as working and up-to-date equipment,” he said.
Du Toit was not satisfied with the police’s response.
“The minister of police is playing politics instead of ensuring that citizens’ rights and property are protected. The minister failed to ensure that SAPS and POP members are duly trained and equipped to deal with the situations at hand. Communities and the county have fallen prey as a result of the failure of the minister to ensure the safety of all.”
According to Municipal IQ, a specialised local government data and intelligence organisation which collects information on service delivery protests against municipalities, there was an uptick this year after 2020 and 2021’s eight-year low.
Its MD, Kevin Allan, said protests increased significantly in 2022 and at the current rate “may well reach the record numbers seen before Covid-19 in 2018 and 2019”.
“This shows the artificial dampening effect of Covid-19 on protest activity and that nothing fundamental has changed in protest-prone communities.
“It is very worrying that in the last two months, monthly protest numbers have increased to levels last seen more than two years ago. While Municipal IQ’s historical data on protests shows protest activity often increases in the winter months, this is a big jump and an ominous sign that protest activity is probably set to continue across the country for the rest of the year,” said Allan.
Gauteng remained the most protest-ridden province.
“Gauteng, with 30% of all protests in the country, is the most prominent site of service delivery protests for 2022 so far, as it has been historically. It is followed by the Eastern Cape with 19% and KZN with 18%,” said Allan.
He expressed frustration with government’s response, particularly to the protest in Thembisa in August.
“Municipal IQ has recorded eight major protests in Ekurhuleni over the last year, including four in Thembisa, but all spheres of government seem to have been taken by surprise by the violence of the last protest. Surely government would anticipate that if the community of Thembisa was ignored in the first three protests, the fourth would be an escalation and have a number of negative outcomes.”
Allan said a coherent strategy by all spheres of government was needed to deal proactively with frustration in such communities.
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