The EconomistApril 4th 2020 Middle East & Africa 411D
uring apartheid in South Africa,
policemen who wanted to control
crowds often reached for the sjambok—a vi-
cious, three-foot-long whip traditionally
made of rhino hide. That symbol of brutal-
ity was banned in 1989. But it is back in use
as police enforce a 21-day lockdown meant
to slow the spread of covid-19.
On March 30th in Hillbrow, a gritty part
of Johannesburg, an unmarked police car
cruised the streets before a plainclothes of-
ficer got out and chased residents who
were deemed to be defying the rules. He
beat them with his sjambok—no questions
asked, no warnings given. Asked to ex-
plain, the uniformed driver of the vehicle
said that people had to be taught to comply.
Orders came from “the top”, he claimed.
Many African governments have told
their people to stay at home to slow the
spread of the virus. On March 22nd Rwanda
became the first country in sub-Saharan
Africa to impose a nationwide lockdown.
Others have followed suit, including Bo-
tswana, South Africa and Uganda. On
March 30th Nigeria shut down Abuja, the
capital, and Lagos, Africa’s largest city.
There is a logic to these measures. Al-
though most of the 49 African countries
known to have covid-19 have fewer than 100
confirmed cases, their health systems will
buckle if the virus spreads rapidly. Govern-
ments also want to stem the flow of people
from cities to the countryside, where medi-
cal services are especially scarce.Yet these measures are fiendishly diffi-
cult to enforce. Lagos is not London.
Roughly half of African city-dwellers live
in slums. Most earn a living doing informal
work. There is little space to isolate oneself
and a persistent need to go out for food, wa-
ter or work. Policies to replace lost income
have been slow in coming.
That would imply security forces ought
to tread carefully. Sadly, few are doing so.
When not sjambokkingpedestrians, South
Africa’s police have been firing rubber bul-
lets at shoppers outside a supermarket and
even at nurses protesting against a lack of
protective gear.
Rwanda’s first fatalities linked to the
pandemic came when police shot dead two
people, allegedly because they had defied
its lockdown. Kenyan police have beaten
dozens and set off tear-gas to enforce a
dusk-to-dawn curfew. On March 31st they
shot and killed a 13-year-old boy who was
standing on his third-floor balcony in Nai-
robi. In Uganda, where the state criminal-
ises gay sex, the police used social-distanc-
ing rules to arrest 20 people who were
living in an lgbt shelter.
The use of excessive force does not bode
well. Lockdowns will not work unless they
have public support. And that support will
be withheld if governments abuse their
poorest citizens in the midst of a pan-
demic. Covid-19 has many nasty side-ef-
fects. The bulldozing of human rights
should not be one of them. 7JOHANNESBURG
Some African governments are enforcing lockdowns brutallyStates of emergencyStay home or be whipped
T
he year had got off to a good start for
Saudi Arabia. After a sluggish stretch
the non-oil economy was growing, and of-
ficials were eager to lure new investment.
The war in neighbouring Yemen seemed to
be winding down. The world had largely
moved on from the murder of Jamal Khash-
oggi, a journalist dismembered by Saudi
agents in 2018. And the kingdom was set to
host the g20 summit in November.
Lately, though, things have not gone to
plan. Muhammad bin Salman, the crown
prince and de facto ruler, locked up several
princes and scores of civil servants in
March. Then he started an oil-price war
that sent crude to its lowest level since- The plunge upset not only Russia, its
target, but also friends from Abu Dhabi to
Washington. And now covid-19 has frozen
the Saudi economy and left it with lakes of
unwanted oil. Far from being a year to
charm diplomats and woo investors, 2020
may leave the kingdom in a deeper eco-
nomic and diplomatic hole.
In different times the arrest last month
of Prince Ahmed, the last living full brother
of King Salman, might have been bigger
news. The police also rounded up Muham-
mad bin Nayef, a former heir apparent, and
dozens of state employees. Saudis close to
the royal court accused the detainees of
scheming against the crown prince. Yet
there is no evidence of any plot. Indeed,
some of the alleged plotters have been re-
leased. Instead the arrests seem to have
been another warning shot by a prince who
BEIRUT
The kingdom was hoping to focus on
diplomacy and growth. Now it can’tA lost year in Saudi ArabiaStalled
Uneasy lies the head that fears corona