Dear Portfolio Committee on Police,

It is with great concern for our constitutional democracy that I write to you regarding the recent Hawks raid on South African comedian Anton Taylor. Whether the esteemed minister finds the content funny or offensive or not, this was a wholly inappropriate use of police resources - not to mention, a blatant abuse of power. Moreover, the chilling effects this has on our freedom of expression are worth considering. How are we to remain confident in our right to discuss the activities of our government and its officials - even satirically or brusquely - if we are fearful of being branded as terrorists and raided by South Africa's premier policing unit at the whims of an errant minister?

If Anton Taylor created or published content that was offensive or discriminatory or rose to the level of crimen injuria, then the response should have been through the legal system, not to send a team of SIU investigators under the auspices of terrorism to raid a TikTok comedian's home. My questions thus are as follows: a) what punitive or compensatory measures (if any) are being considered by the committee against the esteemed minister? b) what legislative or regulatory measures are being considered to prevent something like this from happening again?

Best Regards,
Stefan