CASE AGAINST ZILLE POSTPONED

The leader of South Africa's opposition Democratic Alliance, Helen
Zille, appeared in court briefly on Tuesday alongside 10 others
arrested in an anti-drug march in Cape Town at the weekend.

Zille, also mayor of Cape Town, appeared in the Mitchells Plain
magistrate's court on a charge of contravening the Gatherings Act
following her arrest on Sunday.

The case was postponed to October 26 for further investigation.

Zille's lawyer, Frank Raymond, complained to the magistrate that the
charges made no sense as the march had been a peaceful and legal one
for which permission had been obtained from the authorities.

"She was charged with knocking on a door," he said. "I don't quite
understand it."

Zille, 56, was arrested following her participation in a community
protest in the suburb of Mitchells Plain on Sunday afternoon, which
saw demonstrators marching on the houses of suspected drug dealers and
distributing petitions demanding an end to the illegal trade.

Drug abuse among youngsters is a major concern in Mitchells
Plain.

Politically motivated

Zille told a press conference after Tuesday's court appearance that
the arrests had been politically motivated, but declined to elaborate.

"Decisions that should be made on policing grounds appear to be made
on political grounds," she said. "Tragically, we saw it 20 to 30 years
ago. We want to get to a police force that is non-aligned, that takes
policing decisions on policing grounds and that protects people's
rights under the Constitution."

Zille has likened her arrest to the apartheid-era whites-only
government's regular clampdowns on pro-democracy demonstrations.

"Why are peaceful protesters harassed and arrested and not the people
doing the drug trade?" she asked.

"My lawyer was told I had been arrested for knocking on somebody's
gate, but the people behind the gate can allegedly carry on a drug
trade in full view of everybody and carry on with impunity."

Zille is at the helm of the largest South African city not run by the
ANC, which has made several attempts to unseat her.