CAPE TOWN - We will be toy-toying with you in court with our cabbages ...
These were some of the words of support bestowed on the Tshwane man who was been fined for growing vegetables on the pavement outside his home.
Djo Ba Nkuna, also known as the “Cabbage Bandit”, shared in a social media post this week that Tshwane Metro Police Department (TMPD) officers had served him with a notice to appear in court over his use of the municipal property to grow vegetables.
Ba Nkuna has been at loggerheads with Tshwane Metro police officers after they received a complaint about his vegetable garden – a garden he says he uses to feed his community.
According to an update from Ba Nkuna’s Facebook page this week, he was served with a notice to appear in the Wonderboom Municipal Court on November 23.
“The might of the law has been unleashed upon me and my cabbage patch … I am charged with: ’Intentionally interfere in any manner to the property of the municipality’ by planting cabbage outside at the corner (exact quote). (2) I am issued the maximum fine of R1 500 to be paid within 30 days and a permanent criminal record for planting cabbage and onions. No by-law cited,” he wrote.
These charges, he said, he will defend in court.
“We must change the outlook and attitude towards food security and hunger. The road is long, but enlightenment is on the horizon. We must not give up, no matter what we face. Thank you for the support, prayers and your offer of assistance.”
Community organisation Siyabuya said they were standing behind Djo.
“Everyone who grows vegetables to feed the poor deserves a medal, and they deserve to be copied in every city and town in the country.
“When millions are going hungry, those same patches of land can also feed the poor, as Djo BaNkuna has been doing. The mayor of Tshwane should be visiting Djo to praise him, not sending police to threaten him,” they said.
He has also garnered support through his social media, with hundreds of South Africans pledging their support, with some wanting to donate through his legal funds while others are saying they will be “packing up the courtroom” when he appears in court in November.
Cape Times