Cape Town - The Social Justice Coalition (SJC) has told the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court how it lost control of a demonstration in which protesters chained themselves to the railings outside mayor Patricia de Lille’s office last year.
The SJC’s general secretary, Phumeza Mlungwana, told the court on Tuesday that the coalition had not applied for permission for the protest because it was “supposed to be attended by only 15 people”.
It had been unable to prevent more members from joining the protest.
The 21 accused, including Zackie Achmat, were arrested under the Illegal Gatherings Act.
The coalition’s executive committee had decided to stage the chaining to compel De Lille to accept a memorandum of demands, Mlungwana said.
“We limited (the protest) to 15 people to comply with the law.
“But people joined in, saying they were prepared to get arrested.
“When we arrived at the Civic Centre, people were already there,” she said.
Mlungwana testified that a taxi had dropped the 15 people in Hertzog Boulevard where two people had been waiting for them with padlocks and placards.
There they chained themselves together and walked towards the Civic Centre.
Initially, only the group of 15 had chained themselves to the staircase railings leading up to De Lille’s office.
As the protest started drawing attention, more people arrived at the steps and tied themselves to the chains, Mlungwana said.
“We were singing and chanting.
“Other members joined because they knew the songs and ended up singing with us,” she said.
The city and the SJC had been at loggerheads over the provision of sanitation in informal settlements, especially in Khayelitsha.
Mlungwana said in September last year the coalition had decided to take “very strong action” to draw attention from De Lille’s office and the public.
After about an hour of protesting, a security guard warned the group that there would be consequences for their actions.
De Lille refused to meet the group outside, Mlungwana testified.
“All the people who formed part of the chain were arrested.
“A few of the others who joined in support were also arrested.
“We were not violent or aggressive.
“We needed to draw attention to the issue of sanitation,” she said.
All 21 accused pleaded not guilty to a charge of convening a gathering without notice in violation of the Regulation of Gatherings Act and taking part in an illegal demonstration.