Marianne Merten
A Khayelitsha shebeen owner says he has no option but to run an illegal operation because apartheid legislation forced drinking in townships underground. The shebeen owner has applied to the Cape High Court for the return of his liquor worth R130 000.
Last month police from Khayelitsha and Operation Good Hope seized alcohol from Thoninge Ngqengqa. They allegedly failed to identify themselves to him, saying they were looking for drugs.
Ngqengqa has not been charged with an offence related to illegally selling liquor. Instead he has been brought before court for allegedly trying to bribe one of the policemen with R5 000 during the raid.
The liquor was seized under a general authorisation in terms of the Police Services Act. No warrant of search or seizure was produced during the raid or subsequently. The liquor is being kept under the Criminal Procedure Act.
Legal opinion holds that such seizure is invalid as it applies only to public order and goods can only be confiscated at a roadblock or formally cordoned-off areas.
Ngqengqa says he has been waiting for his tavern licence since 1995. In terms of a 1992 letter from the then ministry of finance, trade and industry, it has been government policy that anyone applying for a tavern licence must already operate a shebeen.
The court challenges comes as the office of the provincial police commission has prioritised the crack-down on shebeens using the Liquor Act, Criminal Procedure Act and other legislation.
Two months ago 25 chain stores, some of which are licensed to sell wine on Sundays, were raided. Mainly beer, cider and sherry were seized from 18 of the 25 shops in terms of the Liquor Act.
The majority of the Western Cape’s 10 000 shebeens are allegedly the main sources of income for gangs. By August this year police had conducted 516 raids on shebeens, confiscating 55 000 litres of alcohol.
Provincial Liquor and Firearm Act control commander Superintendent Jacques van Lill – the police representative on the provincial Liquor Board – says the link between shebeens, violent crimes like murder, rape and assaults, and gangsterism is one reason for the initiative.