The Cultural, Religious and Linguistic (CRL) Rights Commission has urged Rastafarians to be vigilant and report instances of law enforcement brutality to the police and the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID), the body charged with investigating police conduct. The commission was responding to the death of a Rastafari community member at the hands of the police in Cape Town last month.
Commenting on the tragic incident, the CLR said it was unfortunate it had happened on the eve of a new Rasta season that began in September, also known as Peter Tosh month, in commemoration of the reggae star gunned down in Kingston, Jamaica, on 11 September 1987.
It added it was also regrettable that the passing of Ras Isa took place ahead of Heritage Month, with the country celebrating Heritage Day on 24 September 2025.
“We don’t want no peace, we want justice and equal rights,” said CRL Rights Commissioner, Sipho Mantula, a Rastafarian himself, quoting from the famous 1980s song by the legendary Tosh, called “Equal Rights”.
“What is saddening is that the moratorium of August 2023 on cannabis-related arrests was renewed in December last year and this year in January. The directive was issued internally.”
Commissioner Mantula sees a disconnect between national SAPS leaderships and the offices of the police commissioners in Western Cape and Eastern Cape where a disproportionate number of instances of police brutality against Rastafarians and cannabis users continue to be recorded.
“We urge the loved ones to report the murder to Chapter 9 institutions, ideally after IPID has moved in to do its investigations. This is a high-profile incident that also meets the threshold for reparations,” stated Mantula.
Commissioner Mantula also emphasised that contrary to common perceptions, the targeting of the Rasta faithful is not a post-1994 phenomenon; Rastas have been at the receiving end of police violence since prior to 1994. He added there clearly was a need for sensitivity training on the part of the police when it came to dealing with delicate situations such as those Rastas and other cannabis users are being caught up in. Police top brass who were part of the roundtable convened by the SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) back in February involving affected stakeholders conceded such training was requisite.
#
