The Khosa judgement: reining in state repression and looking ahead

Posted May 24, 2020

People’s Assembly called by Anti-Repression Working Group

Date: Tuesday 26 May 2020
Time: 13h00 – 15h00
Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84939147788
Zoom password: 286338

The Khosa judgement: reining in state repression and looking ahead

The Khosa judgement, issued by the High Court of South Africa on 15 May 2020, in favour of the Khosa family has been received as a victory for human rights and for the people of this country. Mr Collins Khosa succumbed to injuries from an attack by members of the SANDF. He was accused of breaking lockdown regulations when in fact, he was not. Since the start of the lockdown, we have witnessed reports of abuses by security forces (including the SANDF, SAPS, Metro police, private security and other law enforcement) ranging from unnecessary and arbitrary arrests, harassment and ‘milder’ forms of punishment to extreme and excessive uses of force, leading to grave injuries and tragic deaths. As South Africa, along with the rest of the world battles and mitigates the impact of COVID-19, the role of the security forces may remain a feature of public life for the foreseeable future. How do we ensure that the court order lays the foundation for a reorientation of the current militarised and securitised response to the pandemic?

In this people’s assembly, we want to discuss the significance of the judgment and ask how do we leverage the judgement for civil society and the South African public. How can the judgement be used to demand greater accountability going forward?

Panel:

Wikus Steyl, Attorney, Ian Levitt Attorneys
Thulani Nkosi, Senior Attorney, Socio-Economic Rights Institute (SERI)
Franny Rabkin, Journalist, Mail & Guardian
Musa Gwebani, Activist
Pierre de Vos, Claude Leon Foundation Chair in Constitutional Governance, University of Cape Town and author of the Blog, Constitutionally Speaking

Facilitators:

Tasneem Essop, Researcher, Society, Work & Politics Institute (SWOP) and member of the C-19 People’s Coalition
Thato Masiangoako, Researcher, SERI and member of the C-19 People’s Coalition