PRESIDENT Jacob Zuma has again sought to deny that which seems obvious to most South Africans, telling parliament there is no reason to investigate police brutality.
Answering opposition questions, Zuma asserted that the recent cases of alleged policy brutality did not constitute a trend that needed to be examined.
“The incidents that we all condemn are very few … It does not for now require a commission to investigate that. I don’t think it does,” he said.
It is in the nature of parliamentary politics that the opposition will demand more commissions of inquiry than the country needs or can afford. It is a way of putting a spotlight on issues that can be embarrassing to a ruling party.
But the government does have an obligation to examine each demand and to accede to those which really are in the national interest.
Zuma’s first mistake was to fail to anticipate the demand in his preparations for his quarterly question- and-answer session in the National Assembly.
The current Marikana commission headed by Judge Ian Farlam could be one reason not to launch the probe the opposition asked for. Its findings could well reflect upon the culture of the current police service and offer suggestions for improvement.
But to argue that the cases are few is disingenuous. The nation is deeply troubled by the litany of reported cases involving police beatings, dragging a man to his death and injuring another in a similar assault.
The fact that so many have been filmed or photographed suggests a much bigger problem. It is obvious that only a small percentage of abuses will be captured on video.
If the president had announced such a probe first, the opposition would not have had that stick to beat him with.
But he missed that opportunity. Now he needs a better answer than denial.
We would argue that there are many other ways to address the patent problem. One of those would be to stop putting civilians in charge of the police and to give the job to an experienced and respected career police officer.
The current commissioner, Riah Phiyega, appeared out of her depth at the Marikana commission this week.
She had none of the commanding presence that could bring the service under control.
Her suggestion that the questions about her competence were “a veiled gender debate” was a canard.
It was just what it purported to be – a debate about her suitability to command the police service.
Zuma need not necessarily appoint another commission into police behaviour, but he must acknowledge that we have a problem and offer some credible response.
Denial is not the answer.
Our Opinion: Denial is not an answer
Answering opposition questions, Zuma asserted that the recent cases of alleged policy brutality did not constitute a trend that needed to be examined.
“The incidents that we all condemn are very few … It does not for now require a commission to investigate that. I don’t think it does,” he said.
It is in the nature of parliamentary politics that the opposition will demand more commissions of inquiry than the country needs or can afford. It is a way of putting a spotlight on issues that can be embarrassing to a ruling party.
But the government does have an obligation to examine each demand and to accede to those which really are in the national interest.
Zuma’s first mistake was to fail to anticipate the demand in his preparations for his quarterly question- and-answer session in the National Assembly.
The current Marikana commission headed by Judge Ian Farlam could be one reason not to launch the probe the opposition asked for. Its findings could well reflect upon the culture of the current police service and offer suggestions for improvement.
But to argue that the cases are few is disingenuous. The nation is deeply troubled by the litany of reported cases involving police beatings, dragging a man to his death and injuring another in a similar assault.
The fact that so many have been filmed or photographed suggests a much bigger problem. It is obvious that only a small percentage of abuses will be captured on video.
If the president had announced such a probe first, the opposition would not have had that stick to beat him with.
But he missed that opportunity. Now he needs a better answer than denial.
We would argue that there are many other ways to address the patent problem. One of those would be to stop putting civilians in charge of the police and to give the job to an experienced and respected career police officer.
The current commissioner, Riah Phiyega, appeared out of her depth at the Marikana commission this week.
She had none of the commanding presence that could bring the service under control.
Her suggestion that the questions about her competence were “a veiled gender debate” was a canard.
It was just what it purported to be – a debate about her suitability to command the police service.
Zuma need not necessarily appoint another commission into police behaviour, but he must acknowledge that we have a problem and offer some credible response.
Denial is not the answer.
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