WE ADMIT TO THE FACTS BUT WE ARE NOT CRIMINALS
Sanitation with dignity: Gatherings Act is unconstitutional and makes criminals of peaceful protestors
Today, twenty-one SJC leaders and supporters stand trial at the Cape Town Magistrates' Court, following an act of non-violent civil disobedience on 11 September 2013. On that day, we chained ourselves to the railings outside the office of Mayor De Lille and were arrested, detained and charged with contravening the Regulation of Gatherings Act by convening and attending an illegal gathering.
This case is about the struggle for decent sanitation and the constitutional right to peaceful protest. We admit the facts and challenge the constitutionality of the Regulation of Gatherings Act.
Fighting for clean and safe sanitation
The affidavit (to be found here) submitted by our General Secretary, Phumeza Mlungwana, describes the years of attempts to engage with the City of Cape Town and Mayor De Lille on the urgency of the sanitation crisis facing poor and working class residents in Cape Town's informal settlements. It describes a history made up of countless letters, emails, phonecalls, submissions, meetings, and protests.