King Khoisan in his vegetable garden at the Union Buildings. Picture: Thobile Mathonsi/African News Agency (ANA)
PRETORIA - The king of the Khoisan community that has staging a live-in protest for more than three years at the Union Buildings has been arrested for planting dagga.
King Khoisan was arrested with two others (a man and a woman).
The small group of Khoisan community members has camped in tents just metres from the towering statue of former president Nelson Mandela with the aim of meeting with president Cyril Ramaphosa concerning issues of recognition, land, language and the restoring of their identity.
King Khoisan's wife Queen Cynthia said the dagga plants the king was arrested for had been there for about three years.
“A huge number of police with guns were present during the arrest.
"The king tried by all means to prevent the police from taking out the plants but four policemen dragged him out of the garden to the Nelson Mandela statue.
"We've been using dagga for medicinal purposes for a very long time and people come to us when they are sick on a daily basis.“
Queen Cynthia also said that they are very upset that nobody from the president's office has bothered to talk to them.
"I am very cross. We've been here since November 2018 and Ramaphosa has never even taken a minute of his time to address or acknowledge our presence, yet they now bring in police to torment us.
“They even ransacked our camp trying to find illegal stuff so we can also be arrested.
"This has traumatised our family including our son who is in Grade 9. He did not even go to school because he is upset and traumatised."
The South African Police Service could not be reached for a comment.