THE LAST WORD

Security, xenophobia and the rule of law

On 11 April 2022, President Cyril Ramaphosa, in his weekly newsletter, addressed the concerns that have been widely debated around the actions and stances adopted by Operation Dudula, an unregistered community organisation seen to be a split-off grouping from the Put South Africans First movement.

By Peter Bagshawe.

Both movements have an anti-immigrant stance, with Operation Dudula claiming to be driven by the burden placed on public health services, job opportunities and social grants due to the ‘influx of illegal immigrants’ to the disadvantage of South African citizens. Additional accusations of criminality within immigrant communities have been made by Operation Dudula leaders. Operation Dudula came to prominence after the July 2021 insurrection.

Within President Ramaphosa’s newsletter, three extracts resonated and these are quoted below.

“Attacking those we suspect of wrongdoing merely because they are a foreign national is not an act of patriotism. It is immoral, racist, and criminal. In the end, it will lead to xenophobia, whose consequences we have lived through in previous years.

“Even as we intensify our fight against crime, there is no justification for people taking the law into their own hands.

“We are a democracy founded on the rule of law.”

Xenophobia and violent attacks are not new to South Africa and the effects of xenophobia are far reaching and tragic. Between May 2013 and June 2014 there were instances of xenophobia in Cape Town, Pretoria and Port Elizabeth, targeting principally Somali nationals that led to calls by the Somali Prime Minister for intervention and the protection of his nationals. In April 2015 there were waves of attacks against foreign nationals and their businesses that started in Durban and ran through Kwa-Zulu Natal and Gauteng, with Alexandra particularly affected. Malawi announced it would repatriate its nationals, which was followed by other African countries. The South African National Defence Force was deployed to Alexandra to stabilise the situation. In October 2015, attacks targeting Pakistani, Somali, Bangladeshi and Ethiopian owned spaza shops took place over a protracted period in Grahamstown, with low levels of reaction by the South African Police Service being reported. June 2016 saw riots and looting of foreign owned businesses in Tshwane, with March 2019 marked by attacks and looting of foreign owned shops in Durban. In September 2019, widespread riots and looting took place in Johannesburg in conjunction with a nationwide strike by truck drivers protesting the local employment of non-South African drivers. This has been ongoing and has seen escalating violence, blockades of national routes, the burning of trucks and assaults on foreign drivers.

Given the sad litany of incidents referred to above, the call by the President to halt attacks on foreigners and the direct link to xenophobia is not surprising. The linking of criminality or suspected criminality in this regard seems to be directed towards allegations made by Operation Dudula of illegal immigrants being linked to criminal and gang activity, Operation Dudula often refers to the breaching of the Immigration Act by illegal immigrants in entering South Africa. In addition, the current high level of unemployment, lack of service delivery and anger at corruption are factors driving Operation Dudula and its followers.

The fight against crime (including xenophobia) was highlighted by President Ramaphosa and this needs to be looked at from two areas. Firstly, the ability of the South African Police Services to combat crime at a local, rural, or suburban level is not in line with their Mission Statement ‘To create a safe and secure environment for all people in South Africa.’ Logistics, morale, supply chain, management and allegations of corruption and manpower dictate that this cannot, despite the best efforts of many committed serving members, be achieved. The saga of the removal from office of former National Police Commissioner General Khehla Sitole and his fractious relationship with Minister of Police Bheki Sithole has impacted on the administration of the South African Police Service. The appointment of General Sehlahle Fannie Masemola as the new National Commissioner of Police has brought in a career policeman with extensive multidisciplinary experience to head the South African Police Services and in this regard, he deserves support. The downside is that many consider his appointment as linked to his relationship with Minister Cele, with it also being regarded as an interim appointment as the National Commissioner is two years away from mandatory retirement at age 60. Should his appointment be extended, this would have to be by way of the State President obtaining special permission from Parliament for him to continue. The question that arises is how much can Masemola achieve in the period available to him?

The second aspect to be reviewed links to President Ramaphosa’s statement that our democracy is founded on the rule of law. Also on 11 April 2022, National Director of Public Prosecutions Shamila Batohi, addressing the Frederick van Zyl Slabbert Honorary Lecture at Stellenbosch University, said that the rule of law in the country is on ‘life support’. Batohi said that state capture and corruption had cost South Africa over R1.5 trillion and expanded on this by saying that South Africans could not then be blamed for protesting a lack of basic services such as water, sanitation, and basic infrastructure. Batohi committed her department to fighting for the survival of the rule of law and has given a six-month timeline for the commencement of prosecution of those identified as involved in corruption. Here, there is a link to resources being made available to the National Prosecuting Authority from the South African Police Service, the Hawks and, in instances, other Departments of the State together with funding and manpower resources to achieve the six-month target. The Zondo Commission Reports further highlighted endemic corruption and the breakdown of the rule of law which are aligned with the aim of the National Prosecuting Authority.

The State President’s weekly newsletter was measured and targeted a situation that needed to be addressed in line with concerns raised by political parties, the media and society at large. There can be no doubt that the President was not aware of the content of the address given by the National Director of Public Prosecutions whilst the newsletter was being drafted and it is likely that the National Director of Public Prosecutions was similarly unaware of the content of the newsletter. However, having reviewed both, anomalies are apparent, and analysis shows that there is a disconnect at multiple levels within the administration. The removal of the disconnect is essential for the administration of safety, the upholding of the rule of law and the closure of the debate around the outcome of the Zondo Commission hearings. The run up to the 55th African National Congress Elective Conference in December 2022 is likely, based on a divided organisation, to remove focus from several pressing issues that require cohesion on at least a parliamentary level, and this is a further potential bar to the closure of the gaps identified.

PETER BAGSHAWE holds a Bachelor of Law degree from the former University of Rhodesia and a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of the Witwatersrand.