On 12 December 2012 the Safety and Violence Initiative (SAVI) – a newly established unit at the University of Cape Town (UCT) – hosted a public seminar titled ‘Safety and Violence in Khayelitsha’. The purpose of the seminar was to provide a platform for discussion about the causes of a lack of safety and widespread…
In August 2012 the O’Regan/Pikoli Commission of Inquiry was established to investigate allegations of ineffective policing and breakdown in relations between the police and the community in Khayelitsha. Its establishment followed sustained campaigning and advocacy by the Social Justice Coalition (SJC) and partner organisation over a number of years and the lodging of a formal…
Mthetwa To Go To Court In Attempt to Stall Commission of Inquiry into Policing in Khayelitsha On 29 October 2012, the O’Regan/Pikoli Commission of Inquiry (CoI), tasked with investigating problems with policing and crime in Khayelitsha, conducted its first hearing. Activists and members of the Social Justice Coalition, Treatment Action Campaign, Equal Education, Triangle Project…
SUPPORT THE COMMISSION OF INQUIRY INVESTIGATING PROBLEMS WITH POLICING IN KHAYELITSHA! SJC ORGANISES FOUR MARCHES IN ONE DAY FOR IMPROVED POLICING IN KHAYELITSHA & FOR INCLUSION OF CAPE TOWN’S POLICE AND LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES IN THE COMMISSION OF INQUIRY JOIN US IN KHAYELITSHA, 6 OCTOBER 2012, 10h00 – 12h00 In August 2012 the Commission of…
Article by Gareth Newham (Programme Head – Crime and Justice Programme, Institute for Security Studies) Appeared on Institute for Security Studies website, and the Cape Times newspaper on 31 July 2012 Recent events in Khayelitsha in the Western Cape have highlighted how the failures in the criminal justice system in general, and policing in particular,…
The Social Justice Coalition’s vigil at Solomon Mahlangu Hall in Makhaza attracted about 300 people who share a concern for safety in their communities. Vigilante killings have been responsible for the death of eleven people in Khayelitsha, where “mob justice” has become an increasingly frequent response to the State’s failure to adequately curb crime and…
This letter from some SJC branch leaders was hand delivered to the Office of Premier Helen Zille on 14 June 2012, and printed in the Cape Times on 15 June 2012.
Corruption Watch (CW) and the Social Justice Coalition (SJC) have filed a joint application for leave to intervene as co-applicants in Part B of the matter of Freedom Under Law v National Director of Public Proseuctions, case No. 26912/2012 brought in the North Gauteng High Court. In addition to the grounds of challenge raised in the principal application, the application brought by the SJC an CW asks the court to review and set aside decisions of the NPA to halt the prosecution of Lt. General Mdluli for his alleged involvement in murder and corruption.
On Saturday 25 February a group of 16 students from the University of Cape Town’s Students for Law and Social Justice (SLSJ) came to Khayelitsha to offer free legal advice to residents of RR Section. Facilitated by the SJC, a number of people came to seek advice – ranging from issues such as police brutality…
The Social Justice Coalition (SJC),Treatment Action Campaign (TAC), Free Gender, Equal Education (EE), Triangle Project and Ndifuna Ukwazi submitted a formal legal complaint demanding a Commission of Inquiry into the Khayelitsha criminal justice system. The complaint against SAPS, the Metro Police and their interface with the prosecuting authority and judiciary was prepared by the organisations…