20110415
SAPA

The killing of a man during a protest in Ficksburg, allegedly at the hands of the police, was widely condemned by political parties, trade unions and civil society on Thursday.

"This is really bad for the province and the country and we call for a thorough investigation on this matter and anyone who is found to have misused his powers... must face the might of the law," Congress of SA Trade Unions (Cosatu) Free State secretary Sam Mashinini said.

The union federation was "shocked and disgusted" by the death.

The Pan Africanist Youth Congress of Azania said: "We have said it before: that militarising the police will not yield any good results in fighting crime, but will only result in the police unleashing brutal force against the poor," secretary-general Lucky Khoza said.

The National Union of Metalworkers of SA said the assault was a reminder of apartheid hit squads that used to "kill and torture our people in townships".

"We are really worried that our country is gradually degenerating into a police state where the police are a law unto themselves," regional secretary Andile Zitho said.

The Democratic Alliance said footage of the killing, broadcast on SABC news, showed the ANC government was willing to use apartheid-era policing tactics to clamp down on service delivery protests.

"It's a deplorable and desperate act that shows just how badly this administration has lost its way," MP Wilmot James said.

"It is also completely unacceptable that the ANC government has now attempted to censor the broadcast of this story by writing to the Independent Communications Authority of SA."

Media Monitoring Africa welcomed the decision by the SABC to give prominence and attention to the crime, but was concerned about discrepancies in how the story was reported.

The National Education, Health and Allied Workers' Union called on police commissioner General Bheki Cele to ensure those responsible for the crime were charged.

"This reckless conduct by the police is nothing new and the unions have experienced it first-hand," spokesman Sizwe Pamla said.

African Christian Democratic Party president Kenneth Meshoe said the police behaved like a "pack of hyenas".

According to the SA Municipal Workers' Union the incident was a reflection of the current state of South Africa's democracy. Spokesman Tahir Sema said the government needed to "rein in" the out-of-control forces and engage with them on how service delivery issues could best be resolved.

The Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation said it raised important concerns about the standard of police training and the overall standard of leadership within the SA Police Service.

"The use of force needs to be recognised for what it is... and appropriate steps taken to ensure that members are able to uphold the appropriate standards for using force," it said in a statement.