The brutal murder of Elvis Nyathi on Wednesday night, the 6th April 2022, is a tragic and outrageous act of vigilantism that must be condemned by all law abiding people.

The SAHRC is deeply concerned by unequal policing and community safety across various communities across South Africa. It is an observation that communities, burdened by higher levels of unemployment and poverty have access to proportionately fewer policing resources. This in turn results in higher levels of crime, however, these circumstances do not under any circumstances justify individual or group acts of vigilantism.

The Commission reiterates its call on community leaders, politicians, state officials and community leaders from refraining from encouraging ordinary members of communities to take the law into their own hands. It is unlawful and highly dangerous to have disparate groups of ordinary community members entering people’s homes and without due process accusing them of criminality and taking violent, often deadly action.

The Commission calls on the South African Police Service (SAPS) and all other state institutions tasked with law enforcement to provide the necessary resources to affected communities to ensure that they feel safe and can fully enjoy their basic human rights. The Commission calls for a thorough investigation into the death of Mr Nyathi, and for those responsible to be charged and prosecuted.

The Commission is also deeply concerned by vulnerable groups, especially foreign nationals  being targeted and scapegoated for the prevalence of social ills within communities. Various individuals as community leaders, and groups have emerged recently, stoking flames of xenophobia which places the blame for social ills such as crime, poverty and unemployment solely on migrants within South Africa.

The Commission hopes that swift action will deal with the criminality that the Diepsloot community members are concerned with, and calls on all concerned, officials and the community of Diepsloot to remain law abiding and to resolve issues in a manner that is acceptable in a democracy and to ensure that social cohesion is also attained.
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Issued by the South African Human Rights Commission

Gushwell Brooks – Communications Co-ordinator Tel: 082 645 8573 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.