Category Archives: Justice Malala

No end in sight for police brutality in South Africa

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/feb/21/south-africa-police-brutality-shooting

No end in sight for police brutality in South Africa

by Justice Malala

People thought they would see no more peaceful protesters shot by police, but the force is turning violent again.

In July 2009 South Africa's then new police commissioner, Bheki Cele, told a newspaper he wanted the law to be changed to allow police to "shoot to kill" suspects without worrying about "what happens after that".

Two months later a young woman, Olga Kekana, was going out with three friends in a Pretoria township when she was shot through the head. The car she was travelling in was "mistaken" by police for one driven by car hijackers.

Survivors said the police had given no warning. Eight policemen opened fire. The car Kekana was in had 13 bullet holes. The police fled the scene and did not help the injured.

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