A rastafarian candidate attorney's claims that Postnet violated his right to privacy by opening a package he wanted to post and finding dagga and R13 000 cash inside, has been referred back to the Blue Downs magistrate's court.
This follows a Cape High Court ruling that the magistrate's court proceedings had been conducted in an irregular manner because it allowed the candidate attorney to raise his claims before he even pleaded to the charges against him.
The candidate attorney, Garreth Prince, who came to prominence after he vowed to ensure that dagga be legalised, appeared in the Blue Downs magistrate's court in September 2004 on two charges of dealing in dagga or the possession of dagga.
The state alleges that Prince had approached the Brackenfell branch of Postnet in October 2003 to send a parcel.
One of the employees said she had seen Prince in the post office earlier and overheard him inquire about sending cash by post.
This was not allowed and she mentioned it to her colleagues.
They opened the parcel and found R13 000 in cash inside as well as a large block of dagga.
Prince alleged that Postnet had infringed his constitutional right to privacy by opening the parcel and that the evidence obtained was in contravention of the Interception and Monitoring Prohibition Act.
Prince then asked the magistrate to postpone the case and he approached the Cape High Court to review the magistrate's finding.
In a judgment handed down on Friday, Justice Burton Fourie dismissed the review application.
Judge Fourie set aside the proceedings and referred the case back to the magistrate's court to be heard before a different magistrate.