Music rang out in St George's Mall as hundreds of people protested against the forceful removal of Goodman Nono.
|||Cape Town - Music rang out in St George’s Mall on Wednesday as about 200 people, many of them musicians, gathered to protest against the forceful removal this week of blind busker Lunga Goodman Nono.
In the past 24 hours:
* Capetonians have opened their hearts to the Nono family, donating guitars, money and legal services.
* Nono has been put in touch with his brother, Lungiswa Goodwell Nono, with whom he lost contact 10 years ago.
* Three city law enforcement officers have been suspended after their bosses saw pictures of how they handled Nono.
* Mayor Patricia de Lille has promised to review the city’s policy on busking.
On Monday, Nono, who has occupied a spot on the corner of St George’s Mall and Shortmarket Street since 2008, was manhandled by a group of city law enforcement officers and his guitar was smashed.
They claimed he was contravening city by-laws by performing for longer than his permit allowed. A video of the incident that went viral on social media shows the officers dragging Nono along the pavement while his weeping daughter and wife looked on.
Three law enforcement officers have since been suspended following the incident and their hearings will take place this week, says the city’s executive director for safety and security, Richard Bosman.
“While the investigation into this incident is ongoing, it has been deemed that the actions of these officers were not in keeping with this administration’s commitment to building a caring city that respects every resident’s right to dignity,” said Bosman.
Bosman said that on Tuesday he had received a call from Nono’s brother, who hasn’t had contact with his brother for a decade. “It is pleasing that out of this unfortunate incident, the silver lining of the reuniting of these brothers has occurred.”
A crowd gathered at Nono’s spot on Wednesday, singing and playing drums. Some carried placards which read “Shame on the city” and “No police brutality”.
Nono was given a hero’s welcome when he arrived with his wife Abigail and 10-year-old daughter Portia. He thanked the crowd for their support and treated them to a song on his new guitar, presented to him by a passer-by who saw Monday’s incident.
Nono has received another guitar from acoustic guitarist Tony Cox, and The Rooftop Recording Studio has offered to record and mix a song for him.
Nono described Monday as a “terrible day”. His lawyer, Aadil Kirsten of Kirsten Attorneys, said it would pursue legal action, but declined to say more.
Bonile Dokolwana of the League of Friends of the Blind in Grassy Park, an organisation that trains partially sighted and blind people to be independent, said he was “saddened” by how Nono had been treated.
“He was only trying to make an honest living for his family. When you have a disability, you are sometimes undermined and taken for granted,’ said Dokolwana, who was blinded in 2004 during an assault by robbers. Dokolwana met Nono briefly at the centre. “He loves making people happy with his music.”
Meanwhile, De Lille said the city would review the regulations governing busking.
“I have instructed that a review of the laws and regulations governing busking be undertaken to ensure that we avoid similar incidents. We need to ensure that we maintain the necessary balance between upholding law and order, and the right to artistic and other forms of expression at all times.”
She said every effort would be made to conclude the disciplinary process as quickly as procedures allowed.
nontando.mposo@inl.co.za
Cape Argus