“Mob violence, no justice at all”: South African Archbishop Says amid Vigilante Attacks

The Local Ordinary of Cape Town who doubles as the spokesperson of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC) bemoaned the widespread violent attacks in South Africa.

He said, “Crime is a very big problem in South Africa, and we can understand the anxieties and the worries of people, especially in a place like Diepsloot, for example, where there have been so many murders.”

“Places like Khayelitsha here in the Cape, there have been several murders, as in many other places, and we can understand how crime impacts on the lives of people. But we can't just say that this is because of foreigners,” the 65-year-old South African Archbishop told ACI Africa.

The April 6 killing of the young man has caused protests with inhabitants of South Africa’s Gauteng Province saying they are fed up with high crime rates and large numbers of undocumented migrants, the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) has reported.

“Hundreds of protestors took to the streets of Diepsloot on Wednesday, April 6, following the murders of several people over the weekend. On Wednesday night a Zimbabwean foreign national was allegedly dragged out of his house, beaten, stoned, and set alight by a mob group,” the SABC report further indicated.

In the April 7 interview with ACI Africa, Archbishop Brislin urged South Africans not to “take the law into their own hands.”

“Let's stop disobeying the law. Citizens, South Africans, as well as people from other countries should obey the law of our country,” he said.

The South African Archbishop added, “The fact of the matter is that certainly there are foreigners who are a criminal element; there's no doubt about it; some South Africans are part of the criminal element as well. We've all got to make sure that we try to identify where these problems lie.”

He went on to say, “Most foreigners, most people from other countries, migrants, refugees are law abiding people, just like most South Africans are law abiding people, people who just want to get on with their lives to earn a living, to look after their families.”

The Catholic Church leader called on the South African government to intervene and “manage the situation”. 

He said, “I think it's very important for the government, for Home Affairs, for law enforcement agencies to manage the situation of migrants and refugees, and asylum seekers.”

“As long as people are not documented, it's going to be very, very difficult for law enforcement to prevent criminal elements among them, and also for the protection of people from other countries,” Archbishop Brislin said.

He observed that “while there is accusation about foreign nationals being involved in violence, we mustn't forget that they are very often victims of violence and crime as well.”

Asked about the role of the law enforcement agents amid mob violence that demonstrates a form of lawlessness, the Archbishop said, “The type of lawlessness seems to be growing in South Africa in general. And my impression is that the police are absolutely overwhelmed by it.”

“You get very, very good policemen and policewomen who are really trying their best to bring about law and order and to protect the lives and the properties of people. But they are simply overwhelmed. I think that this is a real issue that has got to be addressed,” the Archbishop of Cape Town told ACI Africa April 7. 

(Story continues below)

The Archbishop underscored the need to increase the number of law enforcement agents in communities.

He said, “We need more law enforcement, to be available, to get to know the communities in which they work, and to equip them with all the necessary equipment that is necessary for law enforcement.”

The SACBC spokesperson also emphasized the need to “root out corruption” in the country.

“If our politicians and if our government agencies are corrupt, then that lends license to people to be corrupt as well,” he said, and added that corruption is “not something that can be resolved just in one sector of society. There's got to be an overall approach to root out corruption at every level of society.”

He regretted the fact that “some members of the law enforcement agencies are tainted by corruption” and appealed, “Please stop the violence; please let's work together to root out criminality.”

“Let's respect the laws and let's stop the violence. Let's stop getting involved in mobs because we will make terrible mistakes that will cause the loss of life and injury to many people,” Archbishop Brislin appealed during the April 7 interview with ACI Africa.