In a letter addressed to acting National Police Commissioner Lt Gen Phahlane, Solidarity gave the commissioner one last chance to give feedback on the controversial language instruction issued in the Northern Cape. This comes after the Provincial Commissioner for the Northern Cape, Lt Gen R.P. Shivuri, had issued an instruction that, in future, all affidavits and statements made in this province only be done in English.
“This instruction is in conflict with the provisions in the Constitution in terms of which the state may not discriminate against an individual on the basis of language or culture, Solidarity Deputy General Secretary Johan Kruger said.
According to Kruger, the Northern Cape consists of approximately 53,8% Afrikaans speaking persons and 33% Setswana speakers, while only around 3,3% of the Northern Cape population consists of English speaking persons. “It is disconcerting that traumatised victims, often children, would not be able to make their statements in their mother language. Moreover, the onus would be on police members, whose mother tongue is not English, to translate statements. Should the police member fail in this regard, he or she could be facing disciplinary action, which could have a negative impact on their work,” Kruger explained.
According to Kruger, the trade union would bring a review application should the instruction not be withdrawn with immediate effect and be reviewed.
