Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis has joined calls for drug dealers to not get bail and has written to the National Prosecuting Authority in this regard. 

His letter follows a visit to Mitchells Plain, where he saw a suspected drug dealer back in the area days after he was arrested by metro police officers in Woodlands.  

The suspect was allegedly found with 30 packets of tik on 9 April, and was later granted R3,000 bail “after-hours by the standby prosecutor, without a hearing by a magistrate or any opposition from SAPS or the NPA”. 

Hill-Lewis claims the individual also had prior charges of murder and assault against him.  

“This is a person with prior charges of murder, assault and drug possession, who is preying constantly on young people and is a danger to the community, and yet the police and NPA did not oppose bail. This is a shocking outcome and we will be back again and again until a person like this is behind bars,” said Hill-Lewis in a statement. 

As such, the mayor wrote to the Regional Director of Public Prosecutions to raise his concerns, noting that prosecutors must be instructed to oppose bail for drug dealers in each case. 

“Prosecutors should amplify the voice of communities when calling on magistrates to deny bail for those who are preying on our youth, our schools, and neighbourhoods. Selling tik to our children can never be a crime where bail is simply not opposed by the prosecutor.” 

Hill-Lewis used this opportunity to reiterate that the City’s appeal for investigative powers to be devolved to municipalities, which he believes will increase the low conviction rates for gang-, gun- and drug-related crimes and support under-resourced police stations. 

“As it stands, our officers routinely make over 2 000 drug arrests annually and participate in over 1 000 drug raids. With investigative powers, we could seriously disrupt the drug trade, which fuels violent crime and gangsterism.”

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