JPSA expressses concern after Anti e-toll banner protesters is allegedly manhandled by SANRAL staff

Small groups of people draping anti e-toll banners over bridges under which the GFIP e-toll roads pass have become a regular sight in Johannesburg of late and up until this morning, all of these peaceful and benign protests which have met with mass public support have been incident free.

At approximately 07:50 this morning, a small group of anti e-toll protesters gathered outside the SANRAL customer service centre at the BP Oasis on the N1 South at Beyers Naude drive to take a photograph of themselves holding the banner that they had been displaying on the bridge over the N1 freeway earlier.

Suddenly and without warning, a group of SANRAL employees came storming out of the building  and started grabbing at the banner, pushing protesters around and shouting at them that they are “not allowed to do that” outside SANRAL’s premises.

The SANRAL employees pushed protesters, manhandled women and grabbed at their banner in a short scuffle that broke out and this led to an exchange of angry words.  Thankfully, the protesters did not respond violently and male protesters simply positioned themselves between the SANRAL employees and the female protesters to prevent further manhandling.  Shortly thereafter, the protesters left.

Section 17 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa holds that “Everyone has the right, peacefully and unarmed, to assemble, to demonstrate, to picket and to present petitions” and it is not necessary for small groups of persons to “apply for permission” to exercise their constitutional right to picket.  Furthermore, no person other than a police officer above the rank of warrant officer is authorised to order any gathering to disperse and indeed, use physical force to disperse picketers.

The SANRAL customer service centres are not national key points and therefore it is not against any law for people to take photographs outside their offices and the way in which SANRAL employees reacted is little short of disgusting.

JPSA was not involved in this protest however; we condemn the heavy-handed tactics used by SANRAL employees against these peaceful protesters in the strongest possible terms.  No-one, including SANRAL employees, has the right to take the law into their own hands and should they have wished to disperse the protesters, all they had to do was call the police.

Two of the women who were manhandled by SANRAL employees have laid charges of assault common against the people concerned.

Howard Dembovsky

National Chairman – Justice Project South Africa (NPC)