The Criminal Procedure Act grants civilians the power to effect arrests, and private security personnel are categorised as civilians. However, such actions must strictly adhere to the law to avoid crossing into the realm of kidnapping.
Protests are spiking across the country as political campaigns start mobilising votes for the 2024 general elections. Activists are continuing the fight against complicity in human rights violations, whether perpetrated by public or private institutions. In this context, a grey line has emerged between lawful arrests and what amounts to illegal kidnappings of activists on the ground.
Understanding the difference is crucial for safeguarding individual liberties and upholding the rule of law. The Criminal Procedure Act grants civilians the power to effect arrests. Private security personnel are also categorised as civilians for the purposes of effecting arrests.
However, such actions must strictly adhere to the law to avoid crossing into the realm of kidnapping.
Section 42 of the act outlines the circumstances under which a civilian, including a private security guard, can arrest a person without a warrant. These include apprehending someone who commits or attempts to commit an offence listed in Schedule 1 of the act or when the person reasonably believes the individual has committed an offence and is trying to escape arrest. Additionally, a private person may assist in pursuing a suspect if they believe the pursuer has the authority to make the arrest.
During and after protests, any attempts at civilian arrests of activists’ or protesters’ at houses become void and potentially unlawful kidnappings.
As correctly re-emphasised in the case of Matshete v Minister of Police, “an arrest, being as drastic an invasion of personal liberty as it is, must still be justifiable according to the demands of the Bill of Rights”. It is crucial to note that a civilian arrest must be limited to offences specified in Schedule 1 and not extend to entering people’s houses after protests.
The duties of private security personnel are only valid when there is an imminent offence, and the suspect is fleeing from arrest. Any arrest made without meeting these criteria ventures into the territory of kidnapping, particularly if the offence does not fall under

Schedule 1.
During and after protests, any attempts at civilian arrests of activists’ or protesters’ at houses become void and, potentially, unlawful kidnappings. Presiding officers have a crucial role to play in ensuring the legality of arrests. They must be vigilant and actively intervene to ascertain whether a particular person is rightly or wrongly appearing before the court. This vigilance should extend beyond the standard 48-hour detention period to prevent unlawful and unreasonable deprivation of an activist’s right to liberty.
While the issue of who has the authority to effect arrests may not be widely discussed, the lack of discussion does not legitimise potentially unlawful actions. The Bench must remain highly vigilant and proactive in addressing such matters to prevent any complicity in the illegal detention of activists.
Preserving rights
The principle of lawful arrest is fundamental to a just and democratic society. As protests continue to shape the political landscape, it is vital to preserve the rights and freedoms of all citizens. Law enforcement agencies and private security firms must be aware of their limitations and responsibilities, ensuring that arrests are carried out in strict accordance with the law.
As political campaigns and public participation in election campaigns intensify, so too does the need to distinguish between lawful arrests and kidnappings. Civilian arrests, including those made by private security personnel, must adhere to the stipulations of the Criminal Procedure Act, limiting their scope to Schedule 1 offences. Any deviation from this path risks compromising the liberties of activists and protesters and threatens the fabric of democracy.
The duty to uphold the rule of law and safeguard individual rights lies not only with law enforcement, but also with the presiding officers who must act as guardians of justice. Only by adhering to these principles can we strike the delicate balance between ensuring public safety and protecting the values and spirit of the Constitution of South Africa, including the right to freedom of assembly as enshrined in Section 17 V.5077

There are fears that more people will be separated by the introduction of a minimum salary level for those wanting UK family visas. Families living in the UK and abroad have raised concerns about what new rules will mean for them as they try to reunite with foreign spouses. In December, the Home Office, which says migration to the UK is too high, announced a package of measures to reduce net migration, following a spike in arrival numbers. V.5318
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An Ethiopian asylum seeker, who does not speak English, claims he was duped by a senior immigration official into paying an admission of guilt fine when he thought he was paying for bail.Two Western Cape High Court judges have condemned the official`s `deplorable` behaviour, set aside the fine, and ordered the immigration official be taken off the case. Tsegaye Esyas claims Annelise van Dyk treated him like an animal which led to him attempt suicide while in police cells. V.5320
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EREMY MAGGS: I want to stay with crime now. Individuals with a criminal record may be faced with significant challenges when seeking employment, I think that’s a given. Here in South Africa, employers may legally exclude an applicant from consideration for a position if having a clean criminal record is what is termed an inherent requirement of the job. That phrase, inherent requirement, is important, but what exactly does that mean, and when can an applicant be lawfully excluded for having a criminal record? V.5321
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As a South African who has adopted a nomadic work lifestyle alongside my wife, Ingrid Lotze, I’ve been an interested observer of South Africa’s snail-pace digital nomad visa (DNV) development process. Despite the optimism surrounding its introduction, the visa seems to miss several crucial marks for digital nomads like us. V.5322
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DA MP says hours lost continue to result in persons being unable to collect their ID documents due to unmanageable queues The DA has been inundated with complaints that the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) systems are offline, resulting in long queues and delayed processing of documents. Through questions posed to the Minister, the DA can now reveal that the DHA has lost over 77 years’ worth of working hours due to system downtime and load-shedding from 2019 to date. Concerningly, this data only relates to hours lost for the application of smart IDs, meaning decades more of working hours could have been additionally lost in other spheres such as passport or visa applications. V.5314
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Home Affairs’ seemingly endless court battles set the department back more than R110-million between April 2023 and the end of February this year. This was revealed in a written parliamentary response by minister Aaron Motsoaledi. He said the department accumulated a litigation bill of R117 692 996.3, higher than the R72 637 944.51 spent the year before. V.5315
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Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) this week revealed that Cape Town International Airport (CTIA) has achieved a ground-breaking milestone by processing more than 10 million passengers over a single financial year. This is the highest number of regional and international passengers processed since COVID-19 V.5316
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In recent years, South Africa has seen a significant influx of immigrants from various African countries, as well as other parts of the world. This has raised important questions about the country`s immigration policies and their impact on job creation for both locals and immigrants. The South African immigration system, like many other countries, is a complex and ever-evolving process that aims to balance the country`s economic needs with its social and cultural interests. Let`s take a closer look at how this system intersects with job creation in South Africa. The South African government implemented the Immigration Act of 2002, which outlines the country`s immigration policies and procedures. Under this act, foreigners are required to obtain a visa or permit to enter, work, or study in South Africa. The type of visa or permit required depends on the intended purpose of the individual`s visit and their country of origin. V.5312
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Due to system downtime and load-shedding, the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) lost nearly 141,000 hours of Smart ID application and production time between the 2019/20 and 2022/23 financial years. Minister Aaron Motsoaledi revealed this figure in a recent response to questions raised in Parliament by Democratic Alliance MP Adrian Roos. Motsoaledi provided a breakdown of smart ID production and application hours lost to technical difficulties and load-shedding per province for each financial year from 2019/2020. These disruptions hit home Affairs offices in the Eastern Cape the hardest, with over 34,000 hours to rotational power cuts and system downtime. Mpumalanga offices lost the next-highest number of hours at 17 V.5313
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Home Affairs Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi has said the public has shown great support for the final White Paper on citizenship, immigration and refugee protection which appeared in the Government Gazette on Wednesday. Briefing the media, he addressed what he saw as a long-overdue need to replace an outdated Citizenship Act, as well as enact proposed changes to existing legislation. V.5306
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