Today is Thursday. The thugs in blue always arrive on a Thursday or Friday. Why? So that they can intimidate and insult you. And lock you up in a cage for the weekend. And steal your weed. Or extort money from you. Extortion mafias are a big thing in South Africa.
A recent bust in Kraaifontein, Cape Town, was a textbook affair and, thanks to the brave victims live-streaming the whole episode, it went viral all over social media. On Monday morning the case was thrown out by the magistrate – declared nolle prosequi.
Exactly the same scenario played out in Genadendal, Caledon, Western Cape, last Friday. The husband wasn’t at home. The wife was arrested and spent the weekend in a cage. They have a 1yr old child who was present during the arrest. The case was declared nolle prosequi on Monday morning.
And again in Klerksdorp, North West province last week (nolle prosequi).
And again in Johannesburg yesterday (extortion).
And again in Pretoria this morning (street bust).
These are only cases we get to hear about at Fields of Green for ALL. We are certain there are many more.
This is the ugly face of prohibition. “Pot shops” continue to open up every day on every second street corner, operating with any number of dodgy “licenses”. International interest is piqued by the plight of rural farmers in Pondoland but scant notice is given to all the other subsistence Dagga farmers in our country. No academic articles are being written about the unfortunate victims of today’s bust. The police received a tipoff, called the media, and swooped on a vehicle on the N1 highway outside Pretoria. Here at Fields of Green for ALL we have enough experience to know that the large amount of Dagga came from a rural area where the farmers are just trying to put food on the table.
There’s no attention being paid to the rampant corruption and malfeasance on the part of the SAPS and the inequality the shouts at us from our #StopTheCops Arrest Helpline EVERY DAY. Yes, we have come a long way since the days of 1000 busts a day – pre the 2018 ConCourt judgement BUT… We are not free until we are all free.
Here at Fields of Green for ALL we will not stop until the South African Police Service are brought into line with our vision for respect for the Human and Constitutional Rights of ALL.
In August 2023 the South African National Commissioner of Police issued a directive with regards to Dagga busts and the law.
HERE IS THE DIRECTIVE. DOWNLOAD IT. PRINT IT. Show it to the cops and maybe it will help.
Myrtle & Paul-Michael (Head of our legal team) pick apart the directive.
The ignorance around certain issues is very frustrating – on the part of the public AND the cops. Here are the main points:
AMOUNTS – both our community AND the police need to get this straight, once and for all.
INCARCERATION – this is a difficult issue and is intertwined with much bigger issues around the police following the directives of their superiors. Info from the SAPS Annual Performance Plan tells us that they have received upwards of 40 directives this year alone. We think the Dagga one just got lost along the way, or lost in translation, corruption, whatever…
What to do?
KNOW YOUR RIGHTS – Follow this link to download, print & READ.
CALL OUR HELPLINE IF THE COPS COME FOR A VISIT
READ OUR MANIFESTO – For evidence-based solutions to the South African Dagga conundrum.
The two main points from the directive above give rise to all sorts of other issues that need to be sorted out with regards Dagga and the South African Police Service. The stakeholders are numerous and the strategy is complex.
SUPPORT OUR WORK – Take Action so that Fields of Green for ALL can continue to fight for change!
Sue the bastards for ignoring a directive they were made aware of, for all the stresses (emotional, mental, spiritual, physical, social, community, family, etc), the mental anguish, the humiliation of being treated like a criminal, the physical abuse of incarceration, , the detention, the lost time in court apearances. You were wronged, you have recourse in the law. Use it.
The police ignore these directives – I was arrested 4 April 2024 after stating that thus directive us in force.
And am now facing my trial date 11 September after the Act came into force allowing transportation for personal use.
Hi Donavin,
Sadly they do or they are just not circulated / no training. If you havent done so already please give Charl a call on our 24hr number. What are you charges ?