There is very little to celebrate on Freedom Day in light of reports that police seem to be clamping down harder on Rastafarians despite a roundtable convened by the SA Human Rights Commission in Boksburg earlier this year.

(Picture above: Rastafarian delegates in a moment of prayer at the Rasta Round Table in February)

Members of the community have expressed concern that arrests and raids have increased, citing ramped up police operations in Gauteng and Mpumalanga.

For them, the historical April 27 Freedom Day celebrations marking South Africa’s transition to democracy 31 years ago mean little until the battle to fully legalise cannabis is won.

 “The ambiguity between personal and recreational use and sale is also a bone of contention as ganja sellers often find themselves in confrontation with the system,” said Sista Molebogeng of the Zayan community in Kwamhlanga, Mpumalanga, who laments the continuing incarceration of Rastas and the confiscation of their stock, despite a police moratorium on Rasta arrests issued in August 2023.

Sista Molebogeng also believes that government programmes such as the Cannabis Masterplan, the blueprint for incubating a cannabis economy for South Africa and Operation Phakisa, meant to speed up social and economic upliftment through job creation, have failed marginalised groups, including the Rastafari community. Also, high compliance standards and exorbitant fees have kept out a large sector of Rastafarians willing to enter commercial trade, she said.

Echoing these sentiments, Tekla Sion and Bicaela Selassie from Tembisa in Gauteng ask for greater rights and recognition. As traditional cannabis growers, they demand acknowledgement as the first group of pro-cannabis campaigners to challenge prohibitionist legislation. “The first people they [legislators] must consult is us,” the two Rastafarians argued vociferously.

The SA Human Rights Commission has identified Rastafarians as an Equality Focal Area (EFA) deserving of special treatment from the law and in February convened a roundtable in Boksburg on the East Rand to try to secure Rastas more rights. Human rights and cultural activists, police top brass and representatives from the Rastafari community engaged in discussions to try to resolve tensions following complaints of alleged harassment and apparent insensitivity towards Rastas in policing cannabis laws pertaining to use and possession.

The SAHRC has yet to release its report on the discussions. However, it said the report would try to be as representative of the main roundtable stakeholder demands and viewpoints as possible.

Currently, the Cannabis for Private Purposes Act, 2024 sets the conditions for cannabis cultivation for personal consumption but forbids the commercial trade in the plant. The grey zone emanating from unclear regulations has been a source of confusion for everyone, including the police.

However, police have resisted demands to relax police protocol when handling Rasta-related matters saying they have a right to intervene where a life or lives are perceived to be in danger and where proof exists of the harbouring of fugitives. Rastas have in turn argued that the sanctity of holy sites such as churches and shrines deserves to be respected and protected and should be immune from raids.

Since those discussions, Cannabiz Africa has received information from various parts of the country that police had not moderated their stance in the aftermath of the roundtable.

The roundtable was not the first time the SAHRC had intervened on behalf of the Rastafari community. Late last year, the commission wrote to the national police commissioner to express concerns about the violations of the rights of especially Rastafari members pertaining to possession and use of cannabis, citing the police issued moratorium from August 2023.

#