Silent vigil against ‘law enforcement brutality’
Updated | By Martine van der Walt Ehlers
The South African Council of Churches (SACC) will host silent vigils in St Alban's Anglican Cathedral in Pretoria and St George's Cathedral in Cape Town on Sunday.
The SACC says they are alarmed by recent developments in South Africa, and in the United States, in which innocent people died at the hands of law enforcement.
"We were shocked to learn of the final declaration of the SANDF on the death of Collins Khosa with absolving the defence force members involved in his death," says SACC general-secretary, Bishop Malusi Mpumlwana.
"Since the enforcement of the lockdown in South Africa, at least 12 people are believed to have died at the hands of police and military officers deployed by the state to enforce lockdown regulations.”
He adds: "Whilst everybody recognises that investigations are still ongoing, the reality of the deaths of these citizens, is of serious concern, and a blot on the tapestry of our constitutional democracy.”
On Friday, President Cyril Ramaphosa expressed his "deepest regret" at the deaths of Khosa and ten other South Africans, allegedly at the hands of the country’s security forces.
He was speaking at the launch of an anti-racism campaign by the African National Congress and its alliance partners aimed at demonstrating solidarity with black Americans after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
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Ramaphosa: 'Deep regret' at death of Collins Khosa, others at hands of police
Ramaphosa was speaking at the launch of the ANC's anti-racism campaign on Friday. "The unjustified use of violence by security forces against civilians including in our own country is one such example," he said.
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