TWO men were arrested at an anti-vaxx protest in Sea Point, on the Promenade, on Saturday.
The protest, attended by about 100 people, was the fifth protest in Cape Town this year, where protesters were against mandatory vaccines and vaccine passports.
Police spokesperson Captain FC van Wyk said the two men, aged 25 and 51, were arrested on charges of failing to wear a mask in public, contravening the Disaster Management Act.
“Both were released on a warning, and will appear in the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court on November 17, on the mentioned charges,” said Van Wyk.
Noleen Glasgow, a drama teacher from Plumstead, was injured at the protest, while defending another protester who had a child with them. Glasgow was hit with a baton by a police officer.
“I was concerned for the child’s emotional well-being. I was more worried about his emotional state,” she said.
Glasgow said she couldn’t believe the police would hurt someone with a child.
“They kept on saying, this is your friendly police force. How friendly was that?” she asked.
The Plumstead resident said police officers were aggressive and rude.
“They came as if they wanted to make an arrest, they were extremely aggressive,” she said.
She added: “How much money are they spending at these protests, when there is real crime happening in the world?”
Another protester, Malika Harris said she was surprised at the police presence at the protest.
“There was a lot of police intimidation at today’s peaceful protest. The police and their vehicles were parked all along the main road,” she said.
Glasgow said, in France, people aren’t wearing masks or sanitising.
“They realised it was a scam. We can do it too. We must stand together and not allow them to intimidate us,” said Glasgow.
At the same time, a vaccination drive was hosted for the Cape Town minstrels, at the Lentegeur Psychiatric Hospital, in Mitchells Plain.
The initiative was hosted by the Provincial Minister of Health Nomafrench Mbombo.
The Pennsylvanians are entertaining those in attendance at Lentegeur Hospital as they head to get vaccinated | @WeekendArgus pic.twitter.com/6wz3ACr21p
— Keshia Africa (@africaquiche) October 9, 2021
The groups in attendance were Valhalla Community Entertainers, Lavender Superstars, Tygerberg Youth Development, and Pennsylvanians Minstrels.
The troupes walked around the hospital grounds, before heading to the vaccination centre.
The Cape Town minstrels are at the Lentegeur Hospital Vaccination Drive. | @WeekendArgus pic.twitter.com/E1CGoGczf3
— Keshia Africa (@africaquiche) October 9, 2021
Mark Petersen, a member of the Pennsylvanians for the last 35 years, chose to be vaccinated on the day.
“Our captain told us we need to get vaccinated, so I decided to come today. We want to be healthy and proceed with our annual celebrations,” he said.
One of the nurses at the hospital, Ziyanda Ntsintsi said she was excited to have the minstrels at the hospital.
“This means a lot to us. The patients inside haven’t gotten to see the outside world because of the pandemic,” said Ntsintsi.
Gift of the Givers showed up and provided lunch, with snacks to all in attendance. Project manager for Gift of the Givers Ali Sablay said they want to honour the health-care workers that are doing the vaccinations.
“We want to show them that we are supporting them. We know their work can be traumatic, and we want to stand behind them,” said Sablay.