Anglican Church calls for judicial inquiry into Police, Premier's action in Hangberg community

The Anglican Church of Southern Africa today [Friday, 1 October 2010] called for a judicial commission of inquiry to probe alleged police brutality in the Hangberg community in Hout Bay.

A resolution adopted by the church’s three-yearly Provincial Synod, meeting in Benoni, also said the commission should investigate the circumstances around Premier Helen Zille’s visit to the community and “her failure to accommodate the request for ongoing dialogue in matters of land restitution and the development of communities.”

The resolution was proposed by Bishop Garth Counsell of Cape Town. The synod is the ruling body of the Anglican Church in South Africa, Angola, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland and the island of St Helena.

The full text of the resolution reads:

That the Synod:

• Noting the violence that erupted in the community at Hangberg on Tuesday 21 September 2010 and Wednesday 22 September 2010;

• Deplores the action of the City of Cape Town’s Metro Police;

• Offers its sympathy to those who were maimed and traumatized by this action;

• Gives support to task teams of the community as it seeks to assist the community in dealing with the situation, and encourages the local government to pursue meaningful dialogue in such situations;

• Supports the call for a Judicial Commission of Enquiry to investigate circumstances of alleged police brutality in the area and the circumstances surrounding the Premier’s visit and her failure to accommodate the request for ongoing dialogue in matters of land restitution and the development of communities.