KWAZULU-NATAL has a long history of political violence and criminal activities, and now the province has been singled out as one of the most violent provinces in South Africa.
The recent shootout in uMhlanga, coupled with about 11 political assassinations in the province, have highlighted murders, assassinations, and the lack of value of a person’s life.
The various typologies of violence, deviance and other criminal activities, have only escalated with dire socio-economic conditions and the continual political instability fuelled by corruption, money laundering and intra-party conflict.
Many scholars have adequately researched, explained and discussed that poverty, the lack of food and basic necessities, contribute towards the prevalence of criminal and deviant behaviour in developing countries.
This has been the case in most developing countries, where crime rates continually escalate when unemployment soars and the growth rate of a country constantly declines.
In addition, we are now dealing with unreasonable inflation rates of necessities, which make life challenging for people experiencing poverty. Our unemployment statistics currently ranks among the highest in the world.
However, there is no valid justification for the loss of lives, the lack of value for lives, and continual intimidation, harassment and bullying in all sectors of society. South Africans have now normalised being threatened and bullied by civilians employed in the South African service sector.
The South African Police service officials and the national traffic police unit have become notorious for this and elicit bribes whenever possible. Recently, there was a voice note that has been circulating on WhatsApp prepared by a victim of intimidation and bullying by the unit in the North-West Province.
This voice note is alarming and emphasises how powerless an average civilian can be compared to a police officer. This gentleman was forced to pay a bribe after being threatened that he would go to jail or his family would be destroyed should he not comply. All this was enacted to retrieve R5 000 to R8 000 from the gentleman for an offence he was not even responsible for.
To make matters worse, he explains how corruption is a thread in the system and that the police officers are enabled to intimidate South Africans because they have the support of their superiors within the police system. If this practice is normalised, there are profound implications for South Africans.
This means that despite one’s democratic rights in this country, we are completely powerless and that the perpetrators can easily continue to intimidate and threaten people in pursuit of earning some money.
The threads of mutual respect, work ethic, justice and safety have all been dangerously distorted and lost in South Africa. I often question: is this is what we envisioned for a post-apartheid democratic South Africa? More importantly, how do we address these injustices without being killed, threatened and harassed in these instances?
The abuse of power has become a means to an income. At all hierarchies in our systems in South Africa, power has been abused for personal gain and to garner more significant influence among people. Simply put, employers, too, can abuse their control over employees.
Intimidation and harassment has been normalised, and the average South African would willingly pay the traffic officer a bribe to avoid paying the penalty fee. This has been the noted trend for many years now.
Perhaps we should ask ourselves how we contributed to this normative practice of bribery, intimidation, harassment and corruption in our society. The notion that it's only a couple of hundred rands that we need to pay the officer has now led to a couple of thousand rands, as explicitly explained in our fellow South African’s voice note.
Intimidation can be simplified as threatening or bullying someone to do something the perpetrator wants them to do. This type of pressure can lead to the victim feeling fearful and timid and, in many cases, losing the will to stand up against the perpetrator.
The Intimidation Act 1982 prohibits certain forms of intimidation and is administered by the minister of police. This is of no assistance to South Africans, especially if they are being intimidated by police officers. However, the act does indicate that it is a criminal offence to assault, injure or cause damage to any person to induce him to engage in any act.
It is an offence to threaten anybody in this regard. It is also a crime to commit a violent act towards a person or property and even promote or cause these acts of violence. Other offences include the conspiration of criminal acts of the above nature as well as advising, instigating, assisting and encouraging such behaviour in order to put fear into, demoralise, or induce the general public to do or refrain from doing something. Fundamental to the act is that it is an offence to cause another human being to fear his safety, property and or life.
In hindsight, haven’t we contributed to this corrupt way of life? Today, we face dire threats and consequences if we do not comply with the demands of civil servants.
Historically, KwaZulu-Natal has been an inherently violent province and the home to many political wars in the fight against apartheid. Still, this history should not dictate our society's future state. The upcoming elections will allow us to become proactive in dealing with the ills of our community.
Ideally, the new ruling party should address corruption in all sectors to teach democratic values based on human rights and dignity within our society.
Sheetal Bhoola has a PhD and two Master’s degrees in the social sciences. She is a lecturer, researcher and a freelance writer. Bhoola has been the recipient of awards and academic scholarships throughout her career. Visit www.sheetalbhoola.com.