This Wednesday, King Khoisan was arrested by the police, just in front of the presidency in Pretoria with all his communities; where they had been camping and growing cannabis for three years due to protest.

Since the year 2018; several members of the Khoisan people are housed in tents at the foot of Nelson Mandela's statute. They claim official knowledge of their language and lands.

One of their representatives, dressed in just a loincloth, nicknamed King Khoïsan, was apprehended by the police, while he was clinging to the cannabis stalk more than a meter high, saying "you declared the war ".

In Africa, the consumption and possession of cannabis for private use, called “dagga” in the country, have been tolerated since 2018. But its public consumption and its marketing are still illegal by law.

Several police officers in riot gear, others on horseback, were mobilized to disperse them. Police confirmed in a statement on Wednesday the arrest of four people aged 22 to 54: "They are being prosecuted for trafficking dagga, illegal planting and cultivation, as well as failing to wear a mask in a public place ". They are referred to as Bushmen as in the movie "The Gods Are Fallen on Their Heads"; the Khoisan were called Hottentots by the Dutch settlers who landed in South Africa in the 17th century, in reference to their clicker languages.

King Khoisan's wife expressed her anger over the incident in an interview with South African news site IOL.

“I am very, very angry,” said Queen Cynthia. “The president doesn't want to come,” talk to them, she said. The Khoisan people just wanted to be recognized, she told IOL. The Khoisans use the plants for medical reasons, such as cancer and high blood pressure, she continued. The cannabis had been planted in a vegetable garden.

Ursulla.E

Credit photo: News FR - 24

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