'Civil society outraged at increased police brutality', 16 March 2021

The eight activists who were arrested last Friday during a protest against the Ikwezi coal mine were released after appearing at the Dannhauser Magistrates Court on Monday morning... Nkanyiso Mthombeni, from the Newcastle Environmental Justice Alliance, said there was video footage of the three activists charged with public violence, apparently showing them throwing stones at police officers. Mthombeni said the organisation would nevertheless be laying charges of unlawful arrest against the police after one of the protesters was arrested by one of the mine’s security guards... According to environmental justice action organisation groundWork, it was unclear why the police decided to fire rubber bullets as it was a “peaceful protest and this horrible incident took place while community representatives and mine personnel were busy in talks for a suitable venue to engage with the protesters”. “What happened in Dannhauser cannot be viewed in isolation from the incident that claimed the life of a bystander, Mthokozisi Ntumba, in Braamfontein during a student protest. The police brutality that we keep witnessing is a serious threat to our democracy and the rights of people to protest and express their concerns and views.” ...