South Africa’s “Khoisan King” was detained outside President Cyril’s office for growing marijuana

In South Africa, the king of the Khoisan community, who has been staging a live-in demonstration in the Union Buildings for over three years, has been arrested for growing dagga, or cannabis. According to the BBC, numerous cannabis plants growing near South African President Cyril Ramaphosa’s office in Pretoria were removed by South African police officers. Besides King Khoisan, two other people, a man and a woman, were also arrested for the same reason, IOL reported.

A small number of members of the Khoisan community as of 2018 lived in tents in front of the SA President’s office, just meters from the towering statue of former President Nelson Mandela. They have camped there hoping to visit President Cyril Ramaphosa to discuss concerns about recognition, territory, language and regaining their identity, IOL said.

Queen Cynthia’s response to her husband’s arrest

During an interview with IOL, King Khoisan’s wife expressed her displeasure at the incident. She stated that a large number of police officers with firearms were present when her husband was arrested. She described the situation as follows: “The king tried by all means to stop the police from removing the plants, but four police officers dragged him from the garden to the Nelson Mandela statue,” she said.

Queen Cynthia added that the community has long used dagga (the cannabis plants) for medicinal reasons and people visit them regularly when they are unwell. She also expressed her dissatisfaction that no one from the President’s office took any notice or tried to talk to them about her problem.

According to IOL, she said they have been there since November 2018 and “Ramaphosa never took a minute of his time to address or acknowledge their presence, but they are now bringing the police to torment us.” She went on to say that the police even destroyed their tents in search of illegal items so that other people could be arrested, and that their entire family, including their 9-year-old son, was traumatized. Because he was unhappy and scared, he didn’t even go School.

Additionally, the Khoisan community is considered to be the ancient residents of the nation; However, they currently make up a small minority, the BBC reported.

(Image: AP/Unsplash/Representative Image)

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