The allegation that elements in the Youth League of the African National Congress used the police to remove rival delegates from a party conference in Makhado in April must be taken seriously. If the allegations are true this behavior may usher in a new era in South Africa's post-1994 politics.
Newspapers in South Africa this week reported that the leader of the Youth League of the African National Congress, Mr Julius Malema, gave orders to senior police members in Limpopo to remove delegates from a youth league electoral conference in April. The delegates were said to be rivals of Mr. Malema who were contesting the leadership of the League in the province. A video posted by The Times appears to show Mr. Malema giving such instructions. Certain newspapers have also reported that the police used force, including firing rubber bullets from their shotguns, to remove Mr. Malema's rivals from the conference.
The Democratic Alliance has since laid a complaint with the Independent Complaints Directorate (ICD) over the matter. The ICD has said that they would investigate.
The South African Police Service Act of 1995 is very clear on the police playing a non-partisan role in South Africa.
To a certain extent it is perhaps not surprising that these allegations have now surfaced for the reasons that follow.
The South African Police Service (SAPS) has a long history of playing a partisan role in South African politics. For fifty years, that role was in support of the National Party government. It was perhaps too much to hope that this institutional memory of loyalty to powerful political movements in the country has been totally done away with.