South Africa Police Enforcement of Alcohol Ban Ignites Debate

28 March 2020 4:26pm

Police and army patrols in South Africa began at midnight as the lockdown came into effect and continued throughout the course of the day in the townships and suburbs to enforce the new regulations.

No-one except for key workers is allowed to be out in public unless they are buying food or medication.

There has been some resistance to the new normal.

A few people have been arrested – one a cyclist in Johannesburg and others who were found with alcohol in a Cape Town township.

The sale of alcohol has been banned here for the next three weeks – but it hasn’t gone down well.

Videos circulating on social media show law enforcement workers using force to get people to toe the line.

In one such video, a man is wrestled to the ground by two police officers. In another, a soldier is seen kicking a man after refusing to part with his alcohol.

The new regulations are aimed at making sure that people are not out socialising, and practice social distancing.

Even so, there’s been much talk here about how these rules amount to an abuse of rights.

To that, South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa said drastic steps are needed to save lives.

And South Africa – even with its liberal constitution – allows for certain freedoms to be limited for the greater good.

Health experts here argue that preventing a health catastrophe is one of those times.