Cape Town - A group belonging to queer organisation Free Gender in Khayelitsha, in collaboration with other civil society organisations, marched to the Site B police station on Tuesday over the lack of police resource allocations in the area, which it said was compromising victims of hate crimes.
The organisations demanded that the findings and recommendations of the Khayelitsha Commission of Inquiry into allegations of police Inefficiency be implemented.
The march was sparked by the murder of Phelokazi Mqatyana, a lesbian, whose case was struck off the court roll after the police failed to provide a docket before the court, and which resulted in the suspect accused of the murder being released.
The protesters demanded that President Cyril Ramaphosa, Minister of Police Bheki Cele, Minister of Justice and Correctional Services Ronald Lamola, and Minister of Women, Youth, and Persons with Disabilities Maite Mashabane attend a hearing led by the movement.
They also demanded that the president and ministers visit the family of Mqatyana and apologise for these injustices, and that the investigating officer, detective commander, station commander and cluster detective face disciplinary charges.
Among the recommendations made by the commission were the urgent revision and re-allocation of more human resources to Khayelitsha’s three police stations, and the adoption of training courses and research programmes to address domestic violence.
Zukiswa Vuka from #Unite Behind, said that while the recommendations were robust, detailed and implementable, no action had been taken in the past eight years.
“After working well with the complainant organisations for a few months, the police stopped working with them,” said Vuka.
“The irresponsible, unprofessional, unethical and unlawful manner in which the police have conducted themselves showed their continued contempt for the case, and the thousands of other unsolved rape and murder cases,” she added.
Reverend Alan Storey, minister at the Central Methodist Church, said police in Khayelitsha had contributed to the undermining of the dignity of vulnerable people, and especially members of the LGBTQIA+ community.
Storey said police had two objectives, which were to protect the vulnerable, and hold into account those that violate them, adding that in the case of Mqatyana, they had done neither.
Police spokesperson FC van Wyk confirmed that a warrant of arrest had been issued for the accused and investigations were continuing.