Lockdown has fueled police brutality, says UKZN Professor
An academic at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) says police brutality has been part of our policing mechanism since before lockdown.
Professor Sadhana Manik says all the lockdown has done is simply create a further fertile environment for officers to flex their muscles.
READ: IPID probes two cases of alleged fatal police brutality in KZN
She gave a presentation on policing and citizens rights during a webinar hosted by the institution on Wednesday.
Manik says prevalent abuse of power by police goes back at least a good decade on average but is now only being exposed thanks to recorded accounts often shared on social media platforms.
"IPID, the police watchdog, reveals that more than 42 000 complaints have been made about the police between 2012 and 2019. These include rape, killings, torture.
"That is an average of 5 250 complaints annually. The police who are designated law enforcement officers during the state of disaster are actually suppose to be peace officers.
ALSO READ: IPID: 3 dead at the hands of police since lockdown
"Social media is replete of civilians being assaulted by the police for non-compliance with lockdown measures," says Manik.
