Looters are human and need to be treated as such, asks Gender Equality Commission
The Commission for Gender Equality calls for an investigation into the inhumane treatment of some of the looting suspects as police continue with operations to recover stolen goods.
This is in the aftermath of the large scale civil unrest, looting and violence that erupted in KwaZulu-Natal and spread to Gauteng two weeks ago.
Now that calm has returned, the South African Police Service (SAPS) have embarked on operations in various areas assisted by the South African National Defence Force (SANDF).
They raid suspected houses, shacks and other premises in search of looted food, household equipment and goods.
Chairperson of the Commission for Gender Equality (CGE), Tamara Mathebula says while the Commission condemns any form of looting, it cannot ignore the inhumane treatment of people.
“As a human rights institution, the CGE cannot put a blind eye to various videos circulating in the social media platforms wherein men, women, the elderly and children were treated in an inhumane manner for stealing. The Commission does not condone any form of stealing; however, degrading people and dehumanizing them does not also make it less of a crime. There are many ways of punishing people without having their rights infringed as purported in the videos that we have seen,” says Mathebula.
“Equally, we were appalled by the unfortunate incident of women who were made to swim in something that looked like water/alcohol spillage. No matter how angry those who made those women to do such an act allegedly in Mamelodi Mall, it cannot be that women were objectified or demeaned in such a manner. Those women in the videos are mothers, sisters and aunts to many. Imagine the humiliation they will suffer for having been subjected to such acts.”
Mathebula says it is for this reason that the Commission calls for investigations in these incidents in order to have a punitive measure against those who have been found to have erred in the process.
“The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa in Chapter 2 guarantees everyone rights. And those rights extend to the looters too. The law must be applied but not in the manner in which people had their dignity and bodily integrity removed,” says Mathebula.
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