Political Assasinations in South Africa

David Bruce, The Con

Political assassinations appear to be on the increase in post-apartheid South Africa – especially in more recent years – with researcher David Bruce suggesting as many as 450 people have been killed since the advent of democracy.

Intra-party violence has increased in KwaZulu-Natal since the Inkatha Freedom Party’s splintering of the National Freedom Party. Inter-party violence, especially within the ANC, has also seen a spike to mirror the increased competition for resources, tenders and government positions.

A template for Marikana was made in Ermelo a year ago

by David Bruce, Business Day

IN JANUARY last year, the operational response services component of the South African Police Service (SAPS) was moved out of the "crime prevention" division and re-established as a full police division in its own right. The units that comprise the division are the Special Task Force, the National Intervention Unit, the Public Order Police and the Tactical Response Team.

The Road to Marikana: Abuses of Force During Public Order Policing Operations

by David Bruce, SACSIS

During apartheid some of the most notorious instances of police brutality were the killings of demonstrators involved in peaceful protests. It therefore made sense that one of the issues that received concerted attention during the police reform process of the 1990s was public order policing.

An important initial step in this regard was the introduction of new legislation. The Regulation of Gatherings Act, in fact, came into force in January 1994 prior to the formal transition to democracy. A special Standing Order ‘on crowd management during gatherings and demonstrations’ was eventually also adopted by the South African Police Service (SAPS) in 2002. These documents were intended to entrench a policy framework in terms of which the primary role of public order police was to support the right of members of the public to assemble and demonstrate.