Clampdown on minstrels over ‘sordid stuff’

20150214-Cape Town- Minstrels at Athlone Stadium for the end of season trophy presentation The Woodlands Community Entertainers entertain the crowds Picture Enrico Jacobs

20150214-Cape Town- Minstrels at Athlone Stadium for the end of season trophy presentation The Woodlands Community Entertainers entertain the crowds Picture Enrico Jacobs

Published Feb 15, 2015

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Cape Town - Cape minstrel troupes have once again clashed with City of Cape Town officials after complaints from Bo-Kaap residents that they use drugs, urinate on their propertis and block roads.

JP Smith, the city’s mayoral committee member for safety and security, filed an urgent court application to prevent the minstrels from parading in central Cape Town and the Bo-Kaap on Saturday.

Smith said city officials would also consider “laying criminal charges” and “threaten withholding sponsorship money at the end of the year if (the minstrels) do not comply with our by-laws now”.

Saturday’s parade was to mark the end of the minstrel’s annual competition at Athlone Stadium where trophies were awarded to the best singers, costumes and troupes. Smith said complaints from Bo-Kaap residents had prompted the city to take action.

“Residents march in the streets until 3am. The minstrels block roads and do other sordid stuff. Residents find condoms and say that minstrels use drugs and urinate on their properties,” said Smith.

“They are also contravening city by-laws and should apply to have these marches.”

The Western Cape High Court said the minstrels and city should mediate on the issue, and a compromise was reached. In the end, only five minstrel troupes based in Bo-Kaap were given permission to march.

The court ordered that the minstrels should stop their parade by midnight. Smith said the city would have officials with cameras recording the troupes.

“Our video unit will be there to record this. We will warn them and record what they are doing. On Monday we will probably be back in court for their contempt of court,” he said.

Smith said the city would also challenge the Cape Cultural and Carnival Committee and ask back its R2 million as it has breached contractual agreements.

Weekend Argus obtained e-mail communication between Smith and other parties, including minstrel bosses. Smith had planned to get the court order and in all likelihood would have attempted the arrest of minstrel troops in the city. He wrote in these e-mails about “measures to stop the illegal street marches”.

He continued: “With regard to retrospective punitive measures in terms of the applicable laws, please ensure that the video unit is present as they have already taken some footage and other footage can be gotten off the CCTV cameras.”

He said city officials would also discuss “laying criminal charges” and “threaten withholding sponsorship money at the end of the year if they do not comply with our by-laws now”.

Smith told Weekend Argus: “That will end up in court too.”

Western Cape ANC leader Marius Fransman attended the minstrels competition at Athlone Stadium on Saturday.

He said Smith “should be investigated for abusing his power”.

“He wants to get people arrested. He is a politician not a policeman.

“They want to arrest people as if this was a security state,” said Fransman.

Bo-Kaap residents who attended Saturday’s court hearing included Seehaam Samaai from the Bo-Kaap Civic Association.

She said they did not have lawyers but reached a compromise with the city’s lawyers.

“We spoke on behalf of the people of Bo-Kaap. The city wanted to stop all the troops from coming into the city centre and into the Bo-Kaap. They don’t want them to come in,” she said.

“They are trying to suppress us but they can’t stop our culture.”

Weekend Argus

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