JOURNALIST, WRITER AND FILMMAKER MALACHI MUKETE TALKS POLICE BRUTALITY, AND SHARES INCIDENCES POLICE HAVE TRIED TO PLANT DRUGS ON HIM.

We caught up with Malachi for further insight on his views on police brutality, and the ultimate purpose of his video:
Why do you think there is so much police brutality towards ethnic minorities?

“Police brutality is a problem that affects all people of course. However it would be silly to ignore the fact that it affects black people dis-proportionally. Where a white man is brutalised by police it is never because he is white. However in my opinion, when black people are brutalised by the police it is because of their race. The disproportionate of the amount of black people killed or harassed by police is testament to that fact that black lives are devalued by institutions of authority in this country.”

Have you ever experienced police brutality personally or close to home?

“I have never personally been brutalised by the police. I have however been the victim of police harassment. As a teenager, I had several number plates of undercover police cars memorised because of the frequency of being stopped and searched, (not to mention I have not once committed a crime). I have even had incidences where police have tried to plant drugs on me, to which I was lucky to spot before it happened.

Most poignantly, and to highlight the savagery of police, I recently attended a march to show solidarity to Mike Brown. During the march I spoke to two officers – one of them had insulted a friend of mine’s mother just to provoke her to retaliate. The other described how he would “have shot Mark Duggan 10x more ‘coz he deserved to die” to me. It’s sad to say that these are the types of attitudes common amoungst many officers, which then translates into their violent behaviour as a whole force.”

Do you think things will ever change?

“Things HAVE to change because our very lives our in danger within white dominated societies. People may not realise it but black people across the world are victims of global terrorism. So as a people become more and more marginalised and oppressed, their ability to recognise and build resistance against said oppression increases.”

If things were to change, what do you think would be the driving force?

“If things were to change the driving force would be a shift in consciousness among young people. If more young people were to come to the realisation that there is a better way of doing things, and that dismantling the current system is a prerequisite of realising true equality – then things will start to change.”

What do you want people to take away from your video?

“The most important thing that I want people to take away from the video is that, we as a people need to take charge of negotiations that happen within institutions of authority that have previously abused us. We need to make it clear to them that they [police, government etc] are lucky that some of us are even willing to just talk because frankly they don’t even deserve it, or our time. As I mentioned in the video, the number of young people who are willing to not use discourse as a means to resolve their differences is increasing. The police need to realise this and act accordingly before it’s too late.”

As of now, Malachi Mukete is currently working on a new media project called ‘The Movement’ which aims to be a good news platform as well as giving a wider perspective on current affairs. The platform is set to launch in December this year. Malachi is also working on a book called ‘The Anatomy of the Mind’ which will consist of a number of short think pieces he’s written over the course of the year. The book will be accompanied with a number of short films and is due to be released in the spring of next year.

For more on Malachi Mukete check out his website here. To connect please see below: