Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC) Justice and Peace Commission chairperson Bishop Victor Phalana on Monday explained that until the government finds the political will to enforce profound changes in the ethos of policing in the country, more deaths are inevitable.  

Last week a by-stander Mthokozisi Ntumba was allegedly shot dead by police during protests over the non-registration of students at the University of the Witwatersrand in Braamfontein.

Ntumba had just left a clinic in the vicinity after a consultation with Dr Tebogo Sedibe when he was shot, apparently three times.

The SACBC expressed its shock at the tragic event and loss of life, saying Ntumba joins a long list of people, by far the majority black men, killed or murdered by the South African Police Service.  

Bishop Phalana said Ntumba’s death is sign of structural problems in the policing system, calling on Police Minister Bheki Cele to take appropriate measures to de-militarise the police, saying it is now ten years since the National Development Plan called for this to be addressed and nothing has so far been done. 

“He should stop rhetoric that encourages policy brutality. He should review the poor training received by the public order police officers, especially its over-reliance on the use of force when it is black protestors, with no room for negotiation and many other non-violent interventions, and he should ensure that there are consequences, not only for lower ranked police officers, but also the command structures in charge of the operation that has resulted in loss of human life,” Phalana appealed.