South Africa must address the legacy of excessive use of force by the police
By The Conversation
Professor Frans Viljoen
South Africa has a painful history of police using excessive force against protesters. In one of the worst incidents under the apartheid government 69 protesters were shot in cold blood by police outside a police station in Sharpeville in 1960.
One of the legacies of that terrible day is that no one was held to account. No one was ever held criminally responsible or civilly liable for the deaths. Instead of identifying, naming and holding responsible those who shot protesters, the apartheid state brought charges of public violence against 70 residents of Sharpeville who were part of the protests.
Sharpeville
Gauteng
South-africa
Marikana
North-west
Mpumalanga
Kwazulu-natal
Pretoria
Ficksburg
Free-state
Ermelo
Bushbuckridge