Madam Deputy Speaker, today marks the historic occasion in 1960, when 69 people were killed in Sharpeville, protesting against carrying the dreadful dompas. It was this document that made the life of every black African man and woman a living hell. It was also the most graphic illustration of one group's oppression over another on racial grounds. Throughout the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, we witnessed many more occasions where people revolted against a system of brutal oppression and paid with their lives for the liberation of all.
Today, we are in a free South Africa, where every citizen has the right to vote and choose who their government will be. [Interjections.] We have a South Africa with a Constitution that guarantees every citizen the right to equality, the right to life, the right to dignity, the right to freedom and security of person, as well as many other rights.
Sadly, we have seen how many of these rights have not been diligently defended by the very government that is supposed to protect them. In the criminal justice system, we have a Police Service that claims to be tough on crime and in the process arrests suspects on the basis of reasonable suspicion or belief that they have committed an offence. In most cases, the reasonableness criteria are not adhered to, and it later transpires that there has been no prima facie evidence justifying the subsequent conviction in a court of law. This is disgusting, Madam Deputy Speaker. [Interjections.] This means that innocent citizens are being jailed wrongfully, in a direct contravention of the Constitution and their right not to be deprived of freedom without just cause.
The Constitution provides that the object of the Police Service is to prevent, combat and investigate crime, to maintain public order, to protect and secure inhabitants of the Republic and their property, and to uphold and enforce the law. Yet, for the 2008-09 financial year, the number of murders reported to police was 18 148. For that year, the police had a 27% detection rate and a conviction rate for murder as low as 14%. This is indicative of poor quality investigations and upholding of the law.
The total case intake by the Independent Complaints Directorate for death in police custody or as a result of police action, for the same period, was 915 people, almost worse than what happened in the apartheid years, which translates to a 15% increase annually. [Interjections.] What happened to the human rights of South Africans?
The Correctional Services Act requires that prisoners must be detained under conditions of human dignity. Overcrowding in many of our correctional centres makes this impossible. Some centres have occupancy levels of over 200%. In 2008-09 the Department of Correctional Services told us that they had incurred legal liabilities of almost R1 billion, as a result of bodily injury and assault. This amount constitutes 74% of the total legal claims against the department. This clearly illustrates that the department fails to ensure safe custody of inmates. How many houses could we have built with that money?
We owe it to the legacy of the people who died at Sharpeville; we owe it to the legacy of people such as Helen Joseph, Helen Suzman, Robert Sobukwe, Steve Biko, Lillian Ngoyi, Aunty Lizzie Abrahams, Ray Alexander, and many more. We owe it to their legacy to defend the Constitution, to protect the rights of all, especially the vulnerable and the poor. The problem with the ANC is that they have become more bourgeois than the bourgeoisie. That is the problem. [Applause.]
Unless we do that, we will be judged by history, and not your version of history, Madam Deputy Speaker, the history with many versions, that we have violated the legacy of those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom. What we cannot allow is that our beautiful country takes the road of economic destruction, political shambles and social disintegration. Let us not go down the road of Zimbabwe. This we owe to our children. Thank you. [Applause.]