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The EFF in court appearance Monday after a protest near Clicks (supplied, Melikhaya Xego)
- Sixteen people arrested during a protest at Clicks in Stellenbosch appeared in court on Monday.
- They were angry that their case was stalled on Friday and to avoid the weekend in jail they approached the Western Cape Superior Court.
- They were released after a warning on Saturday and warned to return to Stellenbosch Magistrates Court on Monday.
The 16 people arrested during a protest over Clicks’ TRESemme hair product online advertisement appeared in Stellenbosch Magistrates Court on Monday, after the case was stopped on Friday, infuriating the defendants.
The party’s regional chairman, Melikhaya Xego, said this comes after an urgent request to the Western Cape Superior Court on Saturday to release them with a warning.
They were due to appear in court on Friday to face charges of alleged violation of an interim order, and their vice president, Nosipho Makamba-Botya, faces one charge of alleged assault on a police officer.
Clicks made a second successful bid for an interim order to prevent harassment of buyers and staff during the protests, after its initial attempt to intercept the protests was thwarted.
Xego said that all those arrested, including six non-members who it said were detained by police in the chaos of all fleeing, had provided their names and addresses Thursday night. He said the Makamba-Botya charge relates to being arrested while “he feels at peace.”
Investigating officers must verify that everyone’s name and address are correct before a court can consider bail.
READ | Clicks hair protests: 16 arrested EFF members must appear in court earlier than expected
Xego said it was claimed that some people gave false names and addresses and that police had to start over on Friday.
However, when the EFF lawyer was ready to request bail on his behalf at 3:00 p.m. on Friday, no prosecutor was available.
Outraged, top EFF leaders were consulted and the Western Cape chapter was given permission to take the delay to the Western Cape Superior Court.
Xego said the group was released with a warning to be in court on Monday. On Monday the case was postponed until October 2.
The party feels the delay was a ruse to keep its members behind bars for as long as possible in Stellenbosch.
“You don’t touch Stellenbosch,” Xego said.
The EFF pledged to keep the Clicks closed from Monday to Friday for carrying the Unilever product ad that displayed a black model’s hair as “dry and damaged” and “curly and dull” and a white model’s hair as “normal”. The party said it was racist, and finally Clicks and Unilever agreed.
After a meeting between the EFF and Unilever on Thursday, the party closed the matter.
