Pretoria - A judge had harsh words for the police who refused to assist a mining community after protesters embarked on a violent strike.
He said it was no wonder that residents of this country rather look up to civil society in taking over the functions of the SAPS in protecting them.
“The police have a constitutional mandate to prevent, combat and investigate crime, maintain public order, protect and secure the inhabitants of the Republic and their property and uphold the law,” said Judge MJ Ramaepadi, sitting in the Northern Cape High Court.
A community association in the area had on several occasions turned to court in a bid to stop the violent behaviour of the strikers who blockaded the road leading to a mine in the area.
The Maremane Communal Property Association was successful in its first court bid to interdict the protesters from continuing with their violent behaviour. Armed with their court order, the community turned to the police in Postmasburg in the area to assist them in executing the order.
The SAPS gave an array of excuses and refused to assist the community, which included that the court order did not directly order them to step in.
In this regard, the judge said: “It is a matter of grave concern that the respondents (the police) have decided to adopt such an attitude when they are approached by members of the community for assistance in stopping criminal and/or disruptive conduct which brought the activities of the mine to a grinding halt.“
The judge said this was illustrative of the SAPS’s lack of appreciation of their role under the Constitution.
“This is the type of conduct which the court must never countenance,” he said.
“More and more, we see civil society taking over and performing the functions that are in terms of the Constitution reserved for law-enforcement agencies, security agencies, the National Prosecuting Authority and other government agencies.
“Recently, we have seen and heard of AfriForum taking the role of guarding the country’s borders – a function which in terms of the Constitution is reserved for the SANDF. We have also seen and heard of criminal cases which AfriForum has taken upon itself to prosecute – a function reserved for the National Prosecuting Authority.
The judge added that these were a few of the examples where civil society had taken the role of fighting crime, lawlessness and protecting the country’s borders.
“In my observation, all these things are happening because society has lost confidence in the ability of our law enforcement agencies to perform their duties,” the judge said.
The court’s remarks followed an appeal by the police against an earlier ruling in which they were ordered to assist the community in acting against the protesters. During that hearing the judge also awarded a punitive costs order against the SAPS for the community’s legal fees.
He said what happened in this case must be reported to the minister of police for possible investigation into the conduct of the various police officers mentioned in the judgment.
Pretoria News