Muizenberg police station in Cape Town closed due to case
He clambered onto his bicycle, and rode off into the side-streets behind Muizenberg’s famous “Surfers’ Corner” coffee and surf shops.
‘Constitution gives me the right to protest’
Police officers gave chase, and the ensuing pursuit was captured on video by News24, up to a main intersection, where police appeared to have lost the trail, only picking up his cellphone.
Gwynne-Evans confirmed that he evaded both a police motorcyclist and police van. But he later visited the Muizenberg police station to retrieve his cellphone.
There, he was charged for “leaving place of residence without reason”, under the Disaster Management Act, and for staging an illegal protest.
He told News24 he would defend himself in court.
“I will be telling the court that the Constitution gives me the right to protest. But, more than that, it gives me the right to live a full life.”
He said that, with some police being allegedly overly heavy-handed – and actually compromising people’s safety – it was unconscionable.
He would argue that the Constitution “is the supreme law of the land” and that the Disaster Management Act was “inferior” to the Constitution, and protected South African’s rights. In the Constitution’s Bill of Rights, certain rights were “non-derogable” – meaning they could never be overruled or taken away.
“We have these incredible rights, which have been hard fought for, through the Constitution. There are a lot of incredible police doing amazing work – to make our lives better, to make our lives safer. And then there are just a few police who are over-extending themselves, over-reaching themselves, and breaking the law, as a result.”
He is due to appear in court on 6 August.
