Johannesburg – Criminal charges have been pursued against the executive Mayor of Johannesburg, Cllr Mpho Phalatse by the Al Jama-ah, after the statue of former Palestinian President Yasser Arafat was found in her office.
The charges are based on vicarious liability.
The statue was erected in commemoration of Arafat showing solidarity with Palestine. According to Abubakr Thapelo Amad, Gauteng provincial leader of Al Jama-ah, the statue was also part of a protest with how the councillors were being mistreated in the chambers.
“The statue was erected first in commemoration of former President Yasser Arafat and then secondly because he was an anti-Apartheid activist. He was pro anti-Apartheid. Our issues resonate, are not so farfetched from each other, they are alike. So, for these reasons we decided he was the right figure.”
Amad explained that the only reasons charges were opened, was because they [Al Jama-ah] were not informed or consulted on the matter of the statue being removed.
“We were not consulted. We believe as lawmakers, as councillors in the city of Johannesburg… if there was anything wrong that we [had] done the city should have followed due processes…. That process was never followed, and our statue was taken away from where it was erected in the absence of our knowledge.”
The statue was removed a day or two after it was erected, and its disappearance was not followed up as Amad believed a homeless person or someone passing by had taken it. On February 7, they received a lead that the statue was hidden in the city council.
Although the statue was put up without consulting the city, Amad explained if the city wanted it taken down, they should have followed proper procedure which they failed to do so.
“As the law-making body…. they should have written us the letter, if we were contravening with any by laws of the city, they need to write us a letter to say ‘you are contravening with the laws of the city. So could you kindly remove this statue by this date’ and if that is not followed then there have to be penalties. We need to be charged penalties.”
Amad went on further to say the city could then launch a court application or an urgent court application to get the statue removed but none of these were followed. He claimed that they did not want to go to court because they did not want to be outed as a pro-Israeli organisation.
“Because of the sentiments they have, they didn’t even want to follow the court processes because they would have been incriminated by their statements of being a pro-Israeli organisation.”
The reason for charging them with vicarious liabilities and not theft is because they do not know if they stole the statue as one body or hired someone else to “do their dirty work” said Amad.
According to Amad, the constitution allows one to protest but it doesn’t say how. As long as laws are followed, any protest is allowed. He stressed had they done anything wrong, they would have been charged. The protest was not hidden or done in darkness.
An enquiry has been opened at the Hillbrow police station, on the advisement of the colonel in charge, due to the prominent figure that Al Jama-ah is pressing charges against. Amad remains hopeful that after the enquiry is done, charges will be formally laid out and action will take place.
There has been no comment from the mayor regarding the charges.
