Case against man who sent threats to Ramaphosa, Hill-Lewis postponed to verify addresses
CAPE TOWN - The case against a man accused of sending several threats to President Cyril Ramaphosa, Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis, and the CEO of a Cape Town-based company has been postponed to verify the accused's address.
Philip Masango made his second court appearance in the Cape Town Magistrates Court on Monday.
The 28-year-old was arrested in Germiston two weeks ago after the businesswoman reported the threats to police.
He faces three counts of assault and five of violating the Cybercrimes Act.
Masango's case was postponed to 9 June for investigators to confirm several addresses he provided the court.
The addresses include properties in Germiston, Gauteng, and Sea Point, Cape Town.
Masango also provided an address for the Church of Scientology in Cape Town.
The church has distanced itself from him.
He also claims to have leased a property at the V&A Waterfront, but the prosecution told the court that there was no record of this.
Masango will be represented by a court-appointed lawyer when he returns to the stand next week.
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They report that the licensing process is too bureaucratic and expensive, creating artificial barriers to their participation in the formal cannabis economy. In the meantime, 'cannabis shops' are mushrooming in many urban centres, despite their existence in a legal grey area. These and other concerns will be taken forward by the SAHRC in partnership with the Rastafari community and other stakeholders. One such initiative was held on 13 March where SAHRC commissioners Sandra Selokela Makoasha and Philile Ntuli hosted a roundtable specifically for Rastafari women, to provide a safe space for expression and discussion of their specific experiences as a result of their multi-fold identity and intersecting social position as Rastafari, women, wives, mothers, caregivers, workers and cannabis producers and traders. But all interventions such as these, by state and non-state actors, will be rendered ineffective as long as the broader South African society continues to stigmatise and discriminate against the Rastafari. From Jan Smuts to Gareth Prince, the struggle against state overreach and for the valorisation of indigenous cultures and practices continues. Tshepo Madlingozi is a commissioner responsible for anti-racism, education and equality at the South African Human Rights Commission and Naleli Morojele is a research adviser at the commission.
