Northern Cape SAPS reverses controversial ‘English-only’ instruction following outcry

IN A VICTORY for language rights, the South African Police Service (SAPS) in the Northern Cape has reversed a controversial instruction that mandated all official police statements be taken down in English only. 

The decision follows intervention from various stakeholders, including the Democratic Alliance (DA) and AfriForum, as well as a prior ruling by the Kimberley High Court.

The DA in the Northern Cape welcomed the rectification, emphasising the importance of upholding multilingualism in law enforcement. 

Lisa Schickerling, DA deputy spokesperson on Police, confirmed that the Northern Cape provincial commissioner, Lieutenant-General Koliswa Otola, conceded that the directive was in contravention of a previous court order. Otola stated that the instruction was immediately repealed once it was brought to her attention.

Schickerling acknowledged Otola's swift action, noting that such errors could significantly violate victims’ rights. She stressed that SAPS’s commitment to a functional level of multilingualism ensures that victims of crime are treated with dignity and that criminal cases stand a fair chance at successful prosecution.

AfriForum also hailed the reversal as a major victory for language rights. 

In a letter dated March 20, SAPS members in the Northern Cape were instructed to disregard the earlier order issued by Northern Cape deputy provincial commissioner Major General L Ngubelanga, which required that all SAPS documents in the province be in English only.

Alana Bailey, AfriForum’s head of Cultural Affairs, expressed relief at the swift withdrawal of the directive. She revealed that various institutions, including AfriForum, Solidarity, and Cape Forum, had considered legal action against the policy and had lodged a formal complaint with the Pan-South African Language Board (PanSALB).

Bailey highlighted concerns that some crime victims had already suffered rights violations due to the instruction. Reports surfaced of police officers, who were neither trained translators nor first-language English speakers, being forced to take down statements in English.

“It is particularly perturbing that senior SAPS members are not taking note of these challenges, as the instruction of March 12 demonstrates,” she said.

Bailey also referenced a similar instruction issued in 2016 in the Northern Cape that was successfully challenged and withdrawn in 2017 following legal action by Solidarity. She urged the public to remain vigilant and report any attempts to infringe on language rights.

“The rapid withdrawal of this instruction proves that action against it can indeed be successful. Language rights can only be realised when the speakers of the languages concerned jealously guard them,” Bailey emphasised.

The reversal of this directive reaffirms the legal and constitutional right of South Africans to receive essential services in their preferred language, particularly in critical matters such as crime reporting. The incident serves as a reminder that public vigilance and prompt action by civil society organisations can effectively safeguard fundamental rights.