Norton legislator Temba Mliswa has condemned state prosecution following his arrest on Friday for the 78th time.
Mliswa said the prevalence of abuse of power with impunity is unprecedented however the government is misfiring and failing to find an appropriate charge to stick.
“Friday’s frivolous arrest was a clear example of persecution. How is an essential service (agriculture) youth development programme, conducted by Govt on a private property deemed a “public gathering”?”, he said.
Mliswa who has 18 children with different mothers questioned if having his family around his farm can be called a public gathering.
“SI 57/2021 is not a law, I’ve had to assist police to understand this. So if all my children and their mothers were at home on the farm, would we be arrested for an unlawful gathering? Right now there are over 30 workers, working on the farm, is this not a so called violation?”.
Mliswa said directives coming from the top must be aligned to laws, not to settle personal scores.
“It’s about time these frivolous charges are challenged and the police are sued for wrongful arrest. Maybe it will help to curtail these willy nilly arrests premised on personal vendettas”, he added.
