Johannesburg, SOUTH AFRICA
Soldiers tower over youngsters
in South Africa's Soweto township, forcing them to do push-ups and roll on
the floor as punishment for not adhering to a lockdown meant to halt the spread
of coronavirus.
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| Soldiers on patrol walk past a resident as they enforce a 21 day nationwide lockdown, aimed at limiting the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Eldorado Park, South Africa, March 30, 2020. |
Caught
on camera and circulated on social media, they added to a string of videos
purporting to show violence by security forces deployed to enforce curfew and
confinement across Africa.
Rubber
bullets, tear gas and whips have been used to maintain social distancing in
shopping queues and to discipline citizens caught outside their homes without
valid reason.
"It
seems to be the only way in which authorities know how to deal with the
populace, through violence and humiliation," said Amnesty International's
Shenilla Mohamed, executive director for South Africa, adding
that abuse had also been reported from Zimbabwe, Kenya and Nigeria.
South
African police are investigating the deaths of three citizens allegedly killed
by patrols for defying the lockdown, which came into force last Friday.
"That's
almost the same amount of people that have died from coronavirus," noted
Mohamed, referring to the nation’s latest death toll of five.
One person
was allegedly shot by police on his way home from a bar -- a direct breach of
regulations prohibiting the sale of alcohol during the 21-day shutdown.
Defence
Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula has condemned the reported heavyhandedness and
vowed to withdraw soldiers caught abusing their powers.
To date
coronavirus has infected more than 5,690 people in Africa and killed
at least 195, according to an AFP tally.
The pandemic
has been slow to reach the continent, despite an acceleration in recent weeks,
and numbers remain relatively low compared to other parts of the world.
 |
| This motorist was beaten by police officers for violating the night curfew declared to stop the spread of coronavirus. |
Dozens of
African governments have made use of the extra time to roll out curfews and
shutdowns earlier than their worse-hit counterparts in the West.
But such
measures are difficult to enact in countries where most people live in poverty
and work informally, often in packed urban slums with little access to
sanitation.
"If we
take measures which starve everybody, they will quickly end up being
defied," said Benin's President Patrica Talon on Sunday, adding that his
country lacked the means to enforce public confinement.
As
governments have struggled to keep citizens indoors, their security forces have
been quick to fall back on intimidation tactics, raising widespread concern.
"It is
unacceptable to see such inhuman and degrading treatment against the population,"
tweeted Nicolas Simard, Canada's ambassador to the Democratic Republic of
Congo, in response to a video of masked policemen beating a young man to the
ground in the capital Kinshasa, which went into lockdown last week.
"This
is uncalled for and inappropriate," tweeted Mombasa governor Hassan Joho
after police charged hundreds of commuters waiting for a ferry in Kenya’s port
city.
Clad in riot
gear, they fired tear gas at the crowd before the start of a dusk-to-dawn
curfew, forcing people to the ground and whipping them.
The Mombasa
Law Society denounced the police intervention as "excessive" and
"detestable".
Uganda's
army meanwhile apologised for a "high-handed" response after security
forces violently cleared the streets in the capital Kampala, causing an outcry.
In a
separate incident, two men were hospitalised after being shot by police for
violating a restriction on public transport.
Footage from
Senegal surfaced last week showing policemen beating people found outside after
a night curfew.
In one
video, officials force three young men to do squats after they were caught
exercising at night.
"No
torture, no inhuman degrading treatment and no excessive use of force,"
pleaded Amnesty International's former West and Central Africa director
Alioune Tine.
Police
eventually assured that all "excessive interventions" had been
punished.
Yet the risk
of a beating has done little to stop citizens across the continent from
pursuing their daily activities.
The need to
make a living trumps both fears of catching the deadly virus and encountering
the police, prompting law enforcement officers to step up their show of force.
More than
1,100 people have been arrested for lockdown violations in South Africa,
while Ivory Coast has detained 450 for failing to respect curfew.
Ivorian
Human Rights Movement (MIDH) chief Doumbia Yacouba said many of the detainees
had been beaten and mistreated.
"It is
unacceptable and it adds to the psychosis created by coronavirus," he
said.
Further
cause for concern emerged when Kenyan police called for an inquiry into the
death of a 13-year old boy felled by a bullet allegedly fired by police as they
cleared a slum area last week.
In
South Africa, three young children were wounded when security officials
allegedly opened fire against a man.
Human Rights
Watch has called for urgent investigations into all abuse allegations and
"disproportionate" use of force.
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