R2P PROTEST SYMPOSIUM
The Right to Protest Project (R2P) presents its first annual Protest Symposium themed “The State of Protest in Post-Apartheid South Africa”
Date : 5 December – 6 December 2022
Venue: Witwatersrand University
The Protest Symposium aims to critically analyze and engage the current challenges encompassing the right to protest in South Africa. In the midst of the nation grappling with the aftereffects of COVID-19, the growing inequality gaps, and the lack of redistribution of public resources, endemic rates of public and private sector corruption as well as institutionalized gender-based violence, racism and xenophobia marginalized communities often use different forms of protest action to voice out their dissent. However, the mainstream narrative of protesters being violent instigators has sought to criminalize protestors and minimize outrage at these intersecting challenges faced by many persons and groups. This has resulted in the further justification of human rights violations by police and private security companies during protest action.
Taking place at a time when South Africa is at a political crossroads facing multiple crises, this symposium is a gathering of academics, students, and activists who wish to contribute to promoting and protecting the right to protest. These series of workshops and seminars seek to formulate collaborative interventions to address challenges in the current protest landscape.
For enquiries please contact the following:
Project Coordinator – Busisiwe Zasekhaya, Busisiwe.zasekhaya@wits.ac.za , 082 322 0383
Communications and Engagements Officer- Omhle Ntshingila-Omhle.ntshingila@wits.ac.za, 082 322 0512
The Right2Protest Project (R2P) is a civil society coalition working to advance the constitutional right to protest. R2P is based at the Centre for Applied Legal Studies which is a leading human rights centre in the Wits Law School. R2P is looking for a Communications and Engagement Officer to join our dynamic team. The appointment is a short-term appointment.
QUALIFICATIONS, SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE REQUIRED:
- Matric Certificate
- 2-3 years of experience working in the civil society sector
- Paralegal experience is an advantage
- A demonstrated interest /experience in coalition/movement building in the human rights and social justice sector
- Experience in developing workshop material and facilitating workshops
- Ability to undertake research and produce written reports for publication
- Proficiency in MS Office and other design tools
- Good oral and written communication skills
- Proficiency in several South African languages will be an advantage
- Willingness to travel extensively
- A relevant degree will be an advantage
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Co-developing and implementing the R2P communications strategy
- Co-developing and implementing the R2P advocacy strategy
- Co-developing R2P advocacy material
- Assisting in drafting the annual state of protest report
- Organising and facilitating workshops
- Engagement with different stakeholders (media, public, state officials etc.) on different platforms through press statements, interviews and opinion editorials, public presentations
- Building relationships and a network of partner organisations working on protest issues in all 9 provinces
- Representing R2P in civil society forums
- Managing R2P’s social media platforms
TO APPLY
To apply please submit the following:
- A covering letter motivating why you have the necessary skills, experience and/or qualifications for this position as well as the names and contact details of 2 referees;
- A detailed CV;
- An academic transcript (if relevant); and a writing sample of no longer than 5 pages.
- All applications should be sent to Sibongile.Ncube@wits.ac.za.
Please note that we are looking for candidates who wish to pursue a career in social justice. Individuals from previously and currently disadvantaged population groups are particularly encouraged to apply. Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
CLOSING DATE: 30th June 2021
]]>USE OF DEADLY FORCE AGAINST WITS STUDENT PROTESTERS
The Right2Protest Project and its member organisations are horrified by footage circulating of extreme use of force by police against student protesters which has reportedly resulted in a person being killed. As social justice organisations, we are committed to promoting the constitutional right to protest and reforming institutional responses to protest action.
The Right2Protest Project (R2P) is a coalition of organisations working to promote the right to protest. R2P and its member organisations are aware of reports that someone has been killed by police in Braamfontein following responses to student protests at Wits University. We condemn in the strongest terms excessive use of force against protesters who are trying to exercise their constitutional rights to protest and to education, which has now reportedly resulted in a bystander’s violent death at the hands of the police.
The Constitution guarantees the right to protest in a manner that is peaceful and unarmed, which includes protest that is disruptive. Through our work, we know that protesting is one method used by people in our society to voice concerns on the issues that impact them in order to bring about meaningful social change. Financial barriers to accessing higher education is an issue that has been at the heart of our student movements since at least 2015 when #FeesMustFall protests shut down campuses around the country and successfully advocated for zero fee increases. The current #WitsAsinaMali protests originated as a means of raising awareness on the financial challenges faced by students.
We are also keenly aware that the response to protest action by both public and private bodies often seeks to suppress dissent instead of engage on the issues raised. Unfortunately, this has been compounded recently by the pandemic and regulations which necessarily limit gatherings. It is especially troublesome that this clampdown – and the fatal shooting – happens a week after the President uplifted the previous restrictions on political gatherings.
We strongly oppose excessive use of force to disband peaceful protest action which is protected under the Constitution. We call for an independent investigation into the incident to ensure police accountability and it is our fervent hope that this situation can be resolved peacefully without further violence.
Issued by:
- The Right2Protest Project
- The Centre for Applied Legal Studies
- The Right2Know Campaign
- Lawyers for Human Rights
- The Centre for the Advancement of Community Advice Offices in South Africa
- Ndifuna Ukwazi
- Socio-Economic Rights Institute
- Equal Education Law Centre
For inquiries, please contact:
From the Right2Protest Project
| Busisiwe Zasekhaya | |
| 081 583 8888 | |
| Busisiwe.Zasekhaya1@wits.ac.za |
From the Equal Education Law Centre
| Tad Khosa | |
| 081 346 0180 | |
| tad@eelawcentre.org.za |
The right to speak out against injustice without fear of reprisal is under threat in South Africa. Right2Protest is a relatively new organization, founded to defend and advance the rights of peaceful protesters there. Recently, Stanley Malematja, Right2Protest’s attorney, spoke to the Open Society Foundations’ Human Rights Initiative’s Sharan Srinivas about his work.
What does Right2Protest do?
We try to ensure people are able to exercise a basic right: the right to express themselves peacefully. This right lies at the heart of democracy. Governments, and the business interests they frequently act to protect, often see protesting in different terms. They see protesting, and protesters, as a threat.
By contrast, how does Right2Protest see protesting?
We want the state to understand that people are taking to the streets to protest the infringement of their right to a healthy environment; or their right to clean water, for example. A protest should not be seen as a wildfire; people should be able to protest unarmed and peacefully. The right to protest is enshrined in the South African constitution; anyone should be able to exercise it. I hope that our work helps to place protest in the public imagination as a right, and not a threat.
And how do you hope to do that?
We provide legal assistance to protesters across South Africa. This includes providing legal advice to community groups on how to go about organizing a peaceful protest. We also file bail applications for people who are arrested while protesting. When our cases go to trial, we refer the matters to our member civil society organizations. Right2Protest also organizes workshops on how to better equip South Africans to organize and participate in protests peacefully and legally.
What drove you to take on the job as Right2Protest’s attorney?
I was driven to take on this role because Right2Protest is uniquely positioned to address the needs of indigent South Africans. It was formed as a coalition of 11 civil society organizations and social movements. Right2Protest listened to the grievances of protesters and responded to their trauma. I saw how Right2Protest is advancing the right to protest in South Africa and wanted to be a part of that.
Can you share a typical example of Right2Protest advancing that right?
Peaceful protesters often are arrested on frivolous charges. For example, one afternoon, recently, I received a phone call on the Right2Protest project’s 24/7 hotline. The call was from Soweto Township. The police detained five people for protesting against an electricity company that disconnected a community’s power supply without prior notice. My job was to get the protesters out of jail and get the prosecutors to drop the bogus charges lodged against them.
Another example: I had to rush to the North West province recently in response to a call on our hotline. I had to consult with leaders of a remote and isolated community, who were protesting against a mining company in their area that had closed a public road without providing an alternative route. Many of those protesting were mineworkers; yet, the company’s response was to obtain a High Court interdict order against the protest and dismiss some of its employees who were protesting.
Is it common for businesses or corporations to try to use interdictions that way?
Companies often seek these sorts of interdictions, or what some know as injunctions, to stifle the right to protest. They frequently put protesters in a position where they have to find (and pay for) a lawyer quickly in order to defend their basic rights. Given the distances involved—we are in Johannesburg and represent clients in the most remote parts of South Africa—this can be a huge challenge.
What are some of the most difficult challenges that you and Right2Protest face in your work?
Our greatest challenge is a lack of capacity, meeting the demands of those who reach out to us. Some police officers and government officials also have a bad attitude against protesters. We can overcome these challenges through practical measures, but it is not always easy. For example, I advise my clients that it is best not to protest after Wednesdays. Monday is the best day to protest because we have enough working days to bail people out if they are arrested, and they do not have to deal with the trauma of spending their weekend in a holding cell. I also tell clients to inform me before the protest so I can prepare for emergencies.
What are the goals for Right2Protest’s work in the next five years?
Right2Protest is gaining momentum. We are endeavoring to work with trade unions on how they can picket and protest in the face of new regulations on labor protests. In the next five years, Right2Protest must work to change the state’s attitude that protests are always violent. When we do workshops and we then hear that protests occurred without violence or arrests, I know that we are succeeding.
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[media-downloader media_id=”229″ texts=”Click here to download the State of Protest Report”] ]]>
]]>The MEC has further suggested that the provincial government will not be visiting communities that are initiating protest action to express their grievances.
The remarks by the MEC are disheartening and they undermine the constitutional right to protest, in a country where there is growing dissent and lack of accountability, protest action is one of the very few ways in which marginalised communities can hold the government accountable.
Too often, protest action is the last resort and communities have often exhausted all lines of communication available to them, to no avail. Too often, reports about violence in protest ignore that these are the result of the authorities closing down any other space for communities to be heard; in fact, in many cases violent and repressive conduct by the police are a driver for conflict in protest situations.
In a context where the system has failed and often criminalised protesters, the MEC’s ‘war on protest’ fails to address the real issue which is that community members have no access to their councillors or decent services. The MEC fails to understand that many communities face intimidation when trying to organise marches, and often enough marches are unlawfully banned by the authorities. These remarks undermine the democratic values South Africa was built on: government officials are servants of the people, they should be available to these same people should mechanisms fail within councillors’ offices.
If the MEC wants to reduce the number of protests that happen outside of the Gatherings Act, make it easier for communities to protest! It is often officials themselves who go outside of the Gatherings Act to ban protests for made-up reasons — this practice needs to end.
At the same time the Gatherings Act itself has clauses which are unconstitutional – this outdated law needs to be replaced because it infringes on protesters’ rights!
If the MEC wants to declare war on something, declare war on police brutality! Declare war on unconstitutional anti-protest laws! Declare war on councillors and local government who shut communities out of the processes that affect their lives! This “war on protest” will only lead to more protests, and more conflict.
The Right2Protest Project and R2K KZN call upon the MEC to fulfil his mandate and to engage with those taking part in protest action. Protesters have the right to have their voices heard. Denying them that right is an atrocity.
#Ends
We invite communities to use the Right2Protest Hotline (0800 212 111) which offers free legal advice for protesters who are having their rights undermined. The number is operational during business hours. Follow the Right2Protest Project on Facebook and Twitter.
]]>Remember #FeesMustFall and Free the Fallists
In commemoration of Youth Day 2018, a collective of civil society organisations and activists have come together to launch a campaign aimed at highlighting the plight of #FeesMustFall activists whose lives have been adversely affected by their involvement in the protests that took place in 2015/2016.
As we commemorate forty-two years since the historic June 16th protests in 1976, we also reflect on the #FeesMustFall protests where students were criminalised for exercising their constitutional right to protest and for demanding that higher education in South Africa should be free and accessible to all.
These protests were aimed at giving substance to section 29(1)(b) of the Constitution which states that “everyone has the right to further education, which the state, through reasonable measures, must make progressively and accessible”.
In 2018, many of the activists who were involved in the #FeesMustFall protests are still facing criminal charges. Some have been suspended from university and are unable to continue with their studies. Those who have managed to graduate are struggling to find employment as a result of having a criminal record. Many of the activists are still awaiting trial. A substantial number of students who are not activists, but were arrested by riot police, are in the same position.
The extent of the adverse impact that the protests have had on the many student activists is not fully known. There are still questions as how many students are still going through the criminal justice system as a result of the protests and how the various universities have responded through sanctions.
In order to ascertain this information, the South African History Archive, on behalf of the collective, has submitted various Promotion of Access to Information requests to the Department of Justice, South African Police Service and various higher education institutions in a concerted effort to better understand how far the ramifications of the protests go. This will enable a broader understanding of the struggles that #FeesMustFall activists are facing and inform future strategies on how to resolve them.
The collective will be addressing a letter to the National Prosecuting Authority requesting it to respond to the charges against the #FeesMustFall activists who have not been convicted – either by dropping the charges, bringing those arrested before the courts in a timeous fashion in order to exercise their right to a fair trial, or consider other remedial actions.
Education is a universal right and demanding the right to free and accessible education should not be criminalised.
We call for support from all sectors of society using the hashtags #RememberFMF and #FreeTheFallists.
*ENDS*
For further comment contact:
Name: Stanley Malematja – Attorney- Right2Protest Project
Contact No: 084 906 5773
E- mail:Stanley.Malematja@wits.ac.za
Name: Anele Nzimande – Television Producer
Contact No: 079 521 0754
Endorsed by:
Right2Know Campaign
Right2Protest Project
South African History Archive
Socio-Economic Rights Institute
UCT Progressive Alumni
UCT Court Support Collective
Centre for Applied Legal Studies
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