Pretoria: South African police have uprooted cannabis grown near President Cyril Ramaphosa's office in Pretoria. The plants belonged to activists from the indigenous Khoisan community, some of whom have camped in the area for three years. Their leader, self named titled King Khoisan, clung on to large cannabis plants as police dragged him away.
He and some fellow activists were detained for "dealing in dagga [cannabis], illegal plantation and cultivation of dagga as well as failure to wear a face mask in public when ordered to do so by a police officer," a statement said. King Khoisan's wife expressed anger over the incident in an interview. "I am very, very cross," Queen Cynthia said. "The president don't want to come," to talk to them, she said. She said that the people had been using the plants for medical reasons, such as cancer and high blood pressure.
The Khoisan are South Africa's oldest inhabitants but now form a small minority in the country. The personal use of cannabis in private places was decriminalised in South African in 2018.
