| Andries Tatane | |
|---|---|
| Born | February 22, 1978 |
| Died | April 13, 2011 (aged 33) Ficksburg, Free State, South Africa |
| Nationality | South African |
Andries Tatane (22 February 1978 - 13 April 2011) was a 33 year old South African citizen who died during a service delivery protest in Ficksburg. Six officers were arrested on 16 April 2011 in connection with his death and are currently still in police custody. Two of them will stand trial for murder, while the remaining four are facing charges of assault.[1][2]
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Andries was a member of the ANC until 2008 when he left the ANC to join the breakaway party COPE. In the months before he died he left COPE to join the Meqheleng Concerned Citizens (MCC), an autonomous local community organisation.[3] He was a mathematics teacher, a community activist, journalist, community newspaper publisher and possible independent candidate for the municipal elections due to take place in May 2011. He was married to Rose Tatane.[4]
On 13 April 2011, Andries Tatane, together with 4000 other protestors,[5] took to the streets and marched to Setsoto Municipal Offices, in Ficksburg, Free State, South Africa. They were protesting poor service delivery in their area. The protestors were met by police officers, who attempted to disperse the crowd with water cannons. When Tatane saw them "picking" on an old man, he tried to intervene, at which point a few police officers pulled him out of the crowd and began to kick him and beat him with batons, before finally shooting him twice in the chest with rubber bullets.[6] Tatane collapsed shortly after, and died on the scene 20 minutes later.
While Tatane's death as a result of police action during a protest is by no means a unique event in South Africa, it had notably garnered greater nationwide attention than any previous such occurrence. One of the main reasons for this was the fact that the entire incident was caught on camera, and later broadcast during the prime time evening news[7] of the national broadcaster, the SABC.
Following Tatane's death, there has been public outrage about the manner in which he died.[8]
The murder has been described as "a watershed moment in public perceptions of state violence after apartheid".[9]
An investigation into his death was launched by the Independent Complaints Directorate's commission. The South African Police Service has also launched their own internal investigation into the matter. The six officers alleged to have been involved in the incident have subsequently been arrested and remain in police custody,.[1] The death of Tatane has placed both the issue of rising anger over a lack of service delivery as well as police brutality in the media spotlight, with comparisons being drawn[10] to the deaths of Hector Pieterson and Steve Biko at the hands of police during the height of apartheid.
It has also emerged that this was not an isolated incident[11][12] and that the ICD has investigated 1 769 separate incidents of people dying in police custody or as a result of police action in 2010.[5] National Police Commissioner Bheki Cele's statement in late August 2009 that police officers should be able to "shoot to kill"[13] without worrying about the consequences will undoubtedly be brought to the forefront again.
The ANC's National Spokesperson, Jackson Mthembu, condemned the brutality, but also chastised the SABC for broadcasting the footage during the prime time news, citing the fact that it might have upset sensitive viewers,[5] calling on the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) to investigate the SABC's editorial decision. Mthembu has been one of the most vocal supporters of planned legislation to introduce a Media Appeals Tribunal to govern the South African media;[14] legislation which is currently held in abeyance.
After visiting the Tatane family in Meqheleng, Ficksburg, on 19 April 2011, Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town, Dr Thabo Makgoba, directed attention to the lack of justice and delivery on promises which had preceded the incident and points out the irony of the protesters having been met with water cannons, “attacked with the very thing they don’t have the pleasure of in their daily lives.” He called on the Minister of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Sicelo Shiceka, to “visit and see the appalling conditions under which God’s people live” and the Minister of Human Settlements, Tokyo Sexwale, to “provide houses". He added that "Minister Nathi Mthethwa and President Zuma should publicly apologise for this embarrassing act of aggression by police.”[15]
The Archbishop has subsequently said: “Let us affirm and call for a renaming of our police services back to 'safety and security' and not a police 'force', for this force seems to maim and kill rather than offer safety and security.” [16]
There was an election boycott in the area following the murder of Tatane.[17]. In May 2011 it was reported that the Meqheleng Concerned Citizens group was a credible structure with growing influence.[18] However by December 2011 it had degenerated to the point of being described as "a toothless organisation led by calculating tenderpreneurs".[19]
In poetry, Andries Tatane's death is referenced in a work by Adam Haupt, entitled "For Andries Tatane".[20]