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| KILLED FOR BEING AGAINST POOR SERVICE DELIVERY : Ficksburg Teacher, Andries Tatane lies bloodied and lifeless after being beaten and allegetly shot by police. (Picture by: Willem Van Der Berg/Volksblad.) |
Andries Tatane was killed on April 13, 2011 , during a march against poor service delivery in Ficksburg, Free State Province.I've always believed that he was an innocent man who was killed because he hated poor service delivery, but Johann Nel, one of the seven policemen accused of beating Tatane to death, said the Teacher was not a peaceful protester who tried to protect older people during a protest march in the town as it had been alleged by the media.
Nel said in a video of the protest, shown to the court on Wednesday, a discussion could be heard that Tatane tried to enter the municipal building unlawfully.
"Tatane tried to enter... tried to get the keys of the building and is not the peaceful man you tried to convey to court."Let's look at this naked issue from a PR view, surely we all know that a lot of service delivery protests in South Africa always turn violent. We've seen in the past people turning protests into opportunities to steal from others or vandalising property.
We may all been convinced that Tatane was just an innocent man trying to voice out his views just like any other person, but the media always wants to sell and will go an extra mile by sensationalising and twisting stories.
As much as I believe that the shooting by the police took place, I think we can argue that perhaps the police are just unfortunately being framed by the media to look like they're are heartles and brutal (the framing theory).
Sometimes our police face the danger of losing their lives as well due to unruly and violent protesters and they have to respond by force, isn't there a possibility that the same thing might have happend in this incident?
The media is there to keep us informed about what's happening around us, but we need to understand that they also choose what they tell us, how they tell it and also how they want us to react to what they tell us (propaganda). Which is probably why police often appear as the monsters in our society.
This is my view, what's your view on the matter?
Nic, it is unfortunate that a life was lost. Looking at it from an objective point of view, I do not believe that killing is the answer, what happened to arresting people? I may not know why the police did what they did but I'm sure this matter could have been handled differently.
ReplyDeleteTrue Patience, but I also think that we should also start looking at our police with a good eye. They are there to protect us, and if people are going to challenge them by force during protests, they'll have to react!
DeleteThis was the first time I have witness such a brutal incident or not on television. The poor man who was trying to correct wrong died for that and that is South Africa for you. He only wanted what was his and that's all. All we can hope for is justice to be done.
ReplyDeleteIt truly unfortunate, we should also learn a lesson from this incident! We all have the right to protest against our government, but let's be peaceful while doing that!
DeleteThe main problem is that there is lack of consistent communication between the local government and local communities that is why we find that people are tired of waiting for so long and not be informed pertaining service deliveries, thus they will end up reacting with anger towards their councilors. The media will always make sure that they report about bad behaviors done by government officials so that the government can act immediately.
ReplyDeleteWell said Lucky, our government also needs to start looking at such incidents with a serious eye. It has almost become normal when people die during protests!
DeleteThis was so brutal, and Andries Tatane is not the first unarmed person to have been murdered by the police during a protest for service delivery in this country after apartheid. But to the stupid constitution shoot to killed by Bheki Cele, thank you so does the apartheid legacy still exist in this country or what? Tatane died doing something he believed was right as a citizen of South Africa and he will always be remembered for being brave as well as his death due to the miscarriage of the state law
ReplyDeleteThe "Shoot to kill" idea has an effect somehow, but our media needs to also represent sides of the stories, our police's concerns are not brought to our attention! They're always painted in a negative way!
DeleteThis is absurd,so what does this mean now? We should not complain when we do not approve of something; I thought people in South Africa had the freedom of speech and if people do not like something,they will not change how they feel because they are forced to act in a certain way.
ReplyDeleteIt's a threat to our democracy Siyasanga, one which our leaders need to pay attention to!
DeleteWe need more good service delivery and less blood.Our government must communicate with the society. I am not blaming the government for the poor service as it does issue out the budget but the money gets to the wrong hands of our municipality which we ellected.
ReplyDeleteNokuthula, you are right. The primary reason why people take to the streets is because information about services is not communicated to them properly!
DeleteSadly Tatane is no more that is why the media will keep on writing false information about him because he cannot answer for himself..After all he's a hero because he died for other people
ReplyDeleteIndeed his name will stay in our hearts for a long time, the sruggle for a better country still continues!
DeleteI cannot believe that freedom of speech has turn into a dengerous situation like this.
ReplyDeleteI think we also need to be careful on how we exercise that freedom, we need to be responsible in our expressions aswell.
DeleteHe is a hero because he died for the right thing and those who killed him wont have peace .
ReplyDeleteTo us, the remaining citizens, it is more about what lessons we take from this incident. We need to also learn that rights go along with responsibilities - let's not misuse them when we express ourselves.
DeleteThis is just not on point, does it mean now we can not complain about the poor service delivery that we are experiencing in this country? killing a man is no excuse it is murder end of story.
ReplyDeleteWe all deserve proper service delivery, being brutally killed for fighting for whats right is not a solution, there is still alot that needs to be done in terms of the government providing for the people. Is every South African demanding service delivery going to be killed?
ReplyDelete