Right2Know Campaign

Joburg Metro Police try to stop R2K from protesting their anti-protest policies

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Today, Friday 19 June, R2K Gauteng has planned a protest at the Johannesburg Metro Police Department, to demand that JMPD stops undermining the right to protest. This is in response to JMPD’s demand that people who want to protest must pay a R140 “administration” fee and meet an illegal “checklist” of requirements.

See our full list of demands here: https://theright2know.org/?p=5024

Late on Thursday, after going to great lengths to find a reason to stop the protest from going ahead, JMPD issued us a letter telling us that our “request” for a protest “was not authorised”.

  • JMPD says that the “checklist” and the fee are required by Section 3 of the Regulation of Gatherings Act. This is not true.
  • JMPD says that we cannot protest this issue because it should be addressed in court. This is not true and they don’t have a right to stop us from protesting an issue that affects us.
  • JMPD has wasted hours of our organisers’ time on Wednesday and Thursday, waiting for the last minute before telling us that the protest was ‘not authorised’ – leaving no opportunity to get legal support before the protest is due to go ahead.
  • See the letter here.

Many communities and activist organisations have experienced these underhanded tactics from JMPD when organising protests.

R2K remains committed to the right to protest as a constitutionally protected form of freedom of expression. Our experiences in the last two days reaffirms the need to continue to campaign for an end to JMPD’s policies which trample on the right to protest.

We are now faced with a choice: allow JMPD to ignore the Gatherings Act and illegally restrict our right to protest, or go ahead with the gathering as is our legal right. This is a choice that nobody should ever have to make when we have a constitution that protects freedom of assembly.

We have decided to go ahead with pickets of the JMPD offices tomorrow. We have a right to make our voices heard! We demand JMPD respects the right to protest!

See our full list of demands here: https://theright2know.org/?p=5024

11am-1pm, Friday 19 June, JMPD Offices (Wemmer Complex, corner of Loveday and Village), Johannesburg.

For further comment contact:

Bongani Xezwi, R2K Gauteng Organiser on 073 904 1626
Julie Reid, R2K Gauteng Coordinator on 082 885 8969
Murray Hunter, R2K national spokesperson on 072 6725468


Also read:

R2K opinion piece: “When protesters have to teach police what the law says”

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