What an irony! On Human Rights Day, demostrators in Cape Town were denied their right to proceed with a march in the city, a right guaranteed by the South African Constitution and given legislative effect through the Regulation of Gatherings Act (RGA).
It is not an unusual occurrence for arrogant local authorities to "refuse to give permission" to marchers based on no reason in particular. Of course, according to the law, they do not have the right to "give permission"; "permission" is not even mentioned in the RGA.
But on the streets, it is not the constitution and the law that triumph, it is raw force. When I, representing the Freedom of Expression, spoke to the policeperson in charge and attempted to explain the constitution and the RGA to her, her response was, simply: "Let them just try me! I will arrest them all."
Just another day in South Africa...
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