People of colour are tired, sick to death, exhausted at never-ending struggle – Archbishop of Cape Town

Photo above – Religious leaders in Cape Town and Pretoria held prayer vigils on Trinity Sunday in solidarity with people who have died at the hands of law enforcement officers during lockdown in South Africa and abroad

Archbishop of Cape Town: “We are tired, sick to death [and] exhausted at the seemingly never-ending struggle that people of colour still face”

The Primate of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa, Archbishop Thabo Makgoba of Cape Town, joined other Christian leaders in a multi-faith vigil on Sunday to stand in solidarity with people who have died at the hands of law enforcement officers during lockdown in South Africa and abroad. Two vigils took place: one outside St George’s Cathedral in Cape Town and another outside St Alban’s cathedral in Pretoria.

Speaking at the Cape Town vigil, Archbishop Thabo said: “We are gathered here because Black Lives Matter, whether in South Africa, the United States, France, Australia or elsewhere.

“Our prayers here today have been for Collins Khoza and all those he represents in South Africa who have been killed by forces deployed by the State to enforce lockdown regulations. They have been for George Floyd and all those he represents in the United States, for Adama Traore and all those he represents in France, and for David Dungay, an indigenous Australian who died saying ‘I can’t breathe’, and all those he represented.”

Archbishop Thabo added: “We are here because we are tired, sick to death, exhausted, at the seemingly never-ending struggle that people of colour still face, well into the 21st century, 50 years after the American civil rights struggle, 25 years after the end of political apartheid, to be treated equally by arms of the State.

Archbishop Thabo

“We are here because we protest against the wanton, unnecessary use of violence by police and soldiers who break the laws they are entrusted to uphold and assault protestors of whatever race who declare that Black Lives Matter.

“We are shocked at the way in which the SA National Defence Force, with the most rudimentary, inadequate reasoning imaginable, has exonerated its soldiers of any culpability in Mr Khosa’s death, and at the repudiation of their minister’s statement that the matter has not been finalised.

“We are shocked at the blatant disrespect for law and order shown by members of the Buffalo, New York police squad, 57 of whom resigned from their unit not because two of their number were implicating in assaulting a 75-year-old man, inflicting head injuries, but because the two were suspended.

“In South Africa, when President Ramaphosa announced that he would send law enforcement forces to our communities, he made a clear plea to both the police and the military that this should not be a time for ‘skiet en donder’ [violent action]. His words have fallen on deaf ears.”

In recent days, at least 12 people have reportedly died in South Africa at the hands of the police and army troops. “We recognise that investigations are still ongoing,” Archbishop Thabo said, “but we are deeply concerned that the plight of our sisters and brothers is going unnoticed and forgotten.”

See also –
[[] https://archbishop.anglicanchurchsa.org/ ]