South Africa: legal advice sought on police's English-only policy

[Harold F. Schiffman]

Legal advice sought on polices English-only policy

Published in: Legalbrief Today Date: Tue 30 January 2007 Category: General
Issue No: 1754

Western Cape Police Commissioner Mzwandile Petros has taken legal advice
following threats of court action over his English-only language policy.

The good news is the Commissioner of Police has... gone to the State
Attorney in Cape Town, who has asked to study our documents and legal
opinions, the director of the Centre for Constitutional Rights of the FW
de Klerk Foundation, Paul Hoffman, said yesterday. Hoffman said the
Foundation would allow the other side to study its case and expected a
response within a week or so. A report on the News24 site notes the matter
came to light after a group of Afrikaans-speaking members of the police
approached the Foundation when they felt their language rights were being
trampled on. Afrikaans is the first language of two-thirds of the
population in the Western Cape. Hoffman said the provincial police's
deputy commissioner, Ganief Daniels, earlier on Monday told
radiosondergrense that police were sensitive to the rights of Afrikaans
speakers and that, in the near future, new standing orders would see these
sensitivities taken into account. The Foundation said it hoped the problem
would see a negotiated settlement.

http://www.legalbrief.co.za/article.php?story=20070130084547387

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