Vagrant may not drink at V&A

2003-10-30 18:17

Cape Town - The Cape High Court warned a vagrant on Thursday he may not enter the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront (V&A) premises to drink.

Judge Siraj Desai thereby relaxed an interim interdict against vagrant Patrick Smith, which had banned him from entering the Waterfront premises at all.

The case was placed before Desai for final adjudication after Judge Dennis Davis had in July temporarily interdicted Smith and his companion Ganief Benjamin from entering the V&A premises.

The action resulted from their alleged harassment of visitors to the Waterfront and Waterfront staff.

Davis said at the time he was aware that Smith and Benjamin posed a problem at the Waterfront, but their right to freedom of movement was guaranteed by the Constitution and they were therefore entitled to be heard.

On Thursday Desai said there were complex social issues involved that had to be thoroughly debated in court.

He said a final interdict to ban the two from the Waterfront permanently, without thorough debate, would seriously infringe their constitutional right to freedom of movement.

Desai adjourned the proceedings to November 27 and requested the Legal Resources Centre (LRC) to appoint counsel free of charge to argue on behalf of Smith and Benjamin.

Desai said the legal aid authorities should be approached as an alternative if the LRC was unable to assist the two men, and if legal aid was also unable to assist them it was necessary for the Waterfront counsel Bernard David to approach him in chambers about it.

In that event he would consider the next appropriate step, the judge said.

The judge relaxed the restraint order as it applied to Smith after Smith told the court he was the complainant in an assault charge lodged with the Waterfront police.

Desai said the modified interim interdict allowed Smith access to the police at the Waterfront for this purpose.

Desai warned Smith: "I have given you access to the Waterfront police for legitimate reasons, but you are warned that you may not go there to drink."

- SAPA