Despite the nation's efforts to confront its past, "tubing" torture practices persist in South African policing, highlighting systemic issues in accountability along with a worrying trend of underreported abuses.**
Ongoing Police Torture in Post-Apartheid South Africa: A Dark Legacy**
Ongoing Police Torture in Post-Apartheid South Africa: A Dark Legacy**
New analysis reveals that a form of torture reminiscent of apartheid endures in South Africa, casting a shadow on its human rights progress.**
In a startling reveal, a recent investigative analysis by The New York Times illustrates the persistence of a dark torture legacy in South Africa, which many believed had been left behind with the end of apartheid. The troubling findings demonstrate that a method of suffocation torture known as "tubing" continues to be practiced by police nearly three decades after apartheid's dismantling.
Historically, the act of tubing entailed officers applying a rubber tire tube tightly over the victim's mouth and nose. In contemporary instances, this egregious tactic has transitioned to the employment of plastic bags instead. Partnering with the South African journalism organization, Viewfinder, The Times meticulously sifted through tens of thousands of police misconduct complaints and discovered approximately 1,700 allegations of tubing over an 11-year span. Experts caution that the actual incidence may be significantly higher—many victims likely remain silent, forgoing the filing of complaints due to fear or mistrust of the system.
This analysis challenges the narrative of progress in a nation once heralded for its dedication to human rights and social justice under leaders like Nelson Mandela. Instead, it paints a grim picture of a police force that now seems to perpetuate the very forms of violence it was tasked to eradicate, 'the freedom fighters' ironically overseeing an increase in police brutality against those they once aimed to liberate.
The revelations brought forth by this investigation prompt urgent conversations about police reform, accountability, and the urgent need for the South African government to address and rectify these violations, ensuring that such practices that echo the apartheid era do not continue to mar the nation's moral fabric.
