New wine into old wineskins: A theological reflection on police brutality in South Africa
South Africa is one of the most violent countries in the world with different types of violence associated with crime, gender-based violence, and sexual violence amongst others. While the South African Police Service (SAPS) is supposed to protect the most vulnerable victims of violence in communitie...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Africajournals
2024-01-01
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| Series: | Pharos Journal of Theology |
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| Online Access: | https://www.pharosjot.com/uploads/7/1/6/3/7163688/article_11_105_1__2024_up.pdf |
| _version_ | 1827744577361018880 |
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| author | Katleho Mokoena |
| author_facet | Katleho Mokoena |
| author_sort | Katleho Mokoena |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | South Africa is one of the most violent countries in the world with different types of violence associated with crime, gender-based violence, and sexual violence amongst others. While the South African Police Service (SAPS) is supposed to protect the most vulnerable victims of violence in communities, they are also the perpetrators of violence in various forms of police brutality such as using excessive force and torture which leads to death in some cases. Police
brutality is not a new phenomenon in South Africa; the South African Police (SAP) during apartheid was para-military and known for its brutality. It was transformed into SAPS in democratic South Africa to regard human dignity in policing. However, police brutality is still a major problem, especially towards the poor in society. This was also evident during the COVID-19 lockdown as
South Africa was one of the top countries that had the most brutal lockdown enforcement in the world. This article provides a theological reflection on police brutality from the biblical text Mark 2:18-22 ‘…no one pours new wine into old wineskins…’ This article argues that the SAPS has not transformed regarding policing that upholds human dignity. It argues that SAPS is losing
confidence in communities as wounds of the past are re-emerging. This article proposes Ubuntu in the SAPS for its transformation and emphasises collaborative efforts to combat police brutality, heal wounds, and restore human dignity. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T04:49:13Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-8facba8665ba4bda993e7ebed69413b6 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2414-3324 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T04:49:13Z |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | Africajournals |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Pharos Journal of Theology |
| spelling | doaj.art-8facba8665ba4bda993e7ebed69413b62023-11-17T20:10:07ZengAfricajournalsPharos Journal of Theology2414-33242024-01-011051https://doi.org/10.46222/pharosjot.10511New wine into old wineskins: A theological reflection on police brutality in South AfricaKatleho Mokoena0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4653-4142PhD candidate (University of Pretoria, South Africa) and Research Fellow - University of Religions and Denominations, IranSouth Africa is one of the most violent countries in the world with different types of violence associated with crime, gender-based violence, and sexual violence amongst others. While the South African Police Service (SAPS) is supposed to protect the most vulnerable victims of violence in communities, they are also the perpetrators of violence in various forms of police brutality such as using excessive force and torture which leads to death in some cases. Police brutality is not a new phenomenon in South Africa; the South African Police (SAP) during apartheid was para-military and known for its brutality. It was transformed into SAPS in democratic South Africa to regard human dignity in policing. However, police brutality is still a major problem, especially towards the poor in society. This was also evident during the COVID-19 lockdown as South Africa was one of the top countries that had the most brutal lockdown enforcement in the world. This article provides a theological reflection on police brutality from the biblical text Mark 2:18-22 ‘…no one pours new wine into old wineskins…’ This article argues that the SAPS has not transformed regarding policing that upholds human dignity. It argues that SAPS is losing confidence in communities as wounds of the past are re-emerging. This article proposes Ubuntu in the SAPS for its transformation and emphasises collaborative efforts to combat police brutality, heal wounds, and restore human dignity.https://www.pharosjot.com/uploads/7/1/6/3/7163688/article_11_105_1__2024_up.pdfmark 2:21-22ubuntupolice brutalityheal woundshuman dignitysaps |
| spellingShingle | Katleho Mokoena New wine into old wineskins: A theological reflection on police brutality in South Africa Pharos Journal of Theology mark 2:21-22 ubuntu police brutality heal wounds human dignity saps |
| title | New wine into old wineskins: A theological reflection on police brutality in South Africa |
| title_full | New wine into old wineskins: A theological reflection on police brutality in South Africa |
| title_fullStr | New wine into old wineskins: A theological reflection on police brutality in South Africa |
| title_full_unstemmed | New wine into old wineskins: A theological reflection on police brutality in South Africa |
| title_short | New wine into old wineskins: A theological reflection on police brutality in South Africa |
| title_sort | new wine into old wineskins a theological reflection on police brutality in south africa |
| topic | mark 2:21-22 ubuntu police brutality heal wounds human dignity saps |
| url | https://www.pharosjot.com/uploads/7/1/6/3/7163688/article_11_105_1__2024_up.pdf |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT katlehomokoena newwineintooldwineskinsatheologicalreflectiononpolicebrutalityinsouthafrica |