No bail for drug dealers with violent rap sheets, says mayor

Cape Town's Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis wants prosecutors to oppose bail for drug dealers with a violent past.

Speaking to CapeTalk's John Maytham, he said he encountered a dealer twice last week who he saw being arrested by the City's Metro Police earlier this month.

The man was allegedly found in possession of a large quantity of tik in Woodlands, Mitchell's Plain, earlier this month and was granted R3,000 bail.

"He has a very violent rap sheet, which was not even looked at by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA)... That is why they didn't bother to oppose his bail because they didn't know about his violent rap sheet."

Hill-Lewis explained that this particular individual has three previous arrests for assault, one previous arrest for murder, and one previous arrest for drug dealing.

And in this case... he was not even put before a magistrate, the bail was granted by the senior prosecutor who in the criminal procedure law actually does have the power to grant bail in minor matters.

"Is a person with such a violent past considered a minor matter? Where it doesn't even go before a magistrate and have his bail opposed? That is completely unacceptable.

"So, no, I would not oppose bail for first-time offenders. Bail's a very important civil right. But certainly, where there's evidence of a person being a violent offender, the very minimum that the police and the NPA should do is at least oppose the bail. If the magistrate then decides to release them, so be it. They may even decide to appeal that ruling. But to not even oppose it, I think, is unforgivable."