“Government appears to be leveraging the pandemic to suppress dissent” By Stanley Malematja This month, the Ministry of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) published updated regulations with amendments to the December and January adjusted alert level three lockdown. A number of measures aimed at preventing the spread of Covid-19 were relaxed, including bans on gatherings at faith-based institutions. Yet, there have been...

Laws criminalising conduct connected with gatherings do not align with the Constitution By Catherine Kruyer The South African Police Service Amendment Bill, prepared by the Civilian Secretariat for the Police Service and recently published for public comment, is a comprehensive revision of the legislation governing policing in South Africa to align it with the Constitution. The legislation being amended includes the Regulation of Gatherings Act...

Survivors of rape need better support within the criminal justice system, say civil society organisations By Mary-Anne Gontsana “We need a sexual offences court in Khayelitsha immediately,” Nombulelo Sithilanga of Thuthuzela Care Centre told a panel discussion at the Isivivana Centre last month. According to Crime Stats SA, 444 sexual offences cases, including 367 cases of rape, were opened at the three main...

Reclaim the City opposes interdict granted to Growthpoint Properties  By Tariro Washinyira Activist groups Reclaim the City (RTC) and #UniteBehind have opposed an interdict granted in December to Growthpoint Properties. RTC claims that Growthpoint misled the court when it made its application for an urgent interdict and it used a private security company to suppress the organisation’s right to protest. About 30 RTC members...