Dispersal of prohibited or riotous gatherings, and manner of dispersal.
48. (1) Whenever—
(a)
a gathering which has been prohibited in terms of section 46 takes place or is proceeded with; or
(b)
any of the persons attending a gathering (whether or not the gathering has been so prohibited)—
(i)
kill or seriously injure, or attempt to kill or seriously injure, or show a manifest intention of killing or seriously injuring, any person; or
(ii)
destroy or do serious damage to, or attempt to destroy or do serious damage to, or show a manifest intention of destroying or doing serious damage to, any valuable property, whether movable or immovable,
a police officer of or above the rank of warrant officer may call upon the persons attending the gathering to disperse, and for that purpose he shall endeavour to obtain the attention of those persons by such lawful means as he deems most suitable, and then in a loud voice order them in each of the official languages to disperse and to depart from the place of the gathering within the time specified by him.
(2) If within the time so specified the persons assembled have not so dispersed and departed, a police officer of or above the rank aforesaid may order the police under his command to disperse the gathering and may for that purpose order the use of force, including, subject to the provisions of section 49, the use of firearms and the other weapons therein mentioned, but the degree of force which may be so used shall not be greater than is necessary for dispersing the persons assembled, and the force used shall be moderated and proportionate to the circumstances of the case and the object to be attained.
Restriction as to use of firearms or other lethal weapons to disperse gatherings.
49. (1) Firearms or other weapons likely to cause serious bodily injury or death shall not, by virtue of the power conferred by section 48, be used to disperse a gathering until weapons less likely to cause such injury or death have been used and the gathering has not been dispersed, or unless or until any of the persons attending the gathering—
(a)
kill or seriously injure, or attempt to kill or seriously injure, or show a manifest intention of killing or seriously injuring, any person;
(b)
destroy or do serious damage to, or attempt to destroy or do serious damage to, or show a manifest intention of destroying or doing serious damage to, any valuable property, whether movable or immovable.
(2) Firearms or other weapons likely to cause serious bodily injury or death shall be used for the purposes aforesaid with all reasonable caution, without recklessness or negligence, and so as to produce no further injury to any person than is necessary for the attainment of the object aforesaid.
Action to combat state of unrest.
50. (1) If a police officer of or above the rank of warrant officer is of the opinion—
(a)
(i)
that the actions of a particular person contribute towards the continuation of a state of public disturbance, disorder, riot or public violence which exists at any place within the Republic; and
(ii)
that the detention of that person will contribute towards the termination or combating of that state of public disturbance, disorder, riot or public violence; or
(b)
that the detention of a particular person will contribute towards the prevention of the resumption, at the same place or at any other place in the Republic, of such a state of public disturbance, disorder, riot or public violence,
he may without warrant arrest that person or cause him to be arrested and, subject to the provisions of this section, cause him to
