Arrested activist given go-ahead for Chapman's Peak protest

Activist Fiona Hinds will be able to protest at the construction site of the controversial toll plaza on Chapman’s Peak, in Cape Town, again after the removal of her bail conditions, according to a report on Thursday.

The Wynberg Magistrate’s Court removed the bail conditions during her appearance on Wednesday for alleged malicious damage to property, the Cape Times newspaper reported.

Hinds, who occupied the site for five days, allegedly spray-painted “Murray and Robbers” on netting attached to fences. She was removed by order of the court on Monday.

Hinds’s attorney, Graham Taylor, said he would make representations to the prosecuting authorities to have the charge against his client dropped.

“It is a long shot to prosecute people for graffiti on a construction site,” he said.

“The agenda appears to be to use the criminal justice system to keep her off site.”

Construction was set to resume on Thursday after rain kept workers away.

The case against Hinds was postponed was to March 23.—Sapa