TREAT ZILLE WITH RESPECT, SAYS ANC BIG SHOT

ANC secretary-general Kgalema Motlanthe says the arrest of DA leader
and Cape Town mayor Helen Zille is "very unfortunate". She should be
treated with respect and dignity to protect the image of South Africa.

Although the rule of law had to take its course, he said, the status
of Zille's office should be considered.

His comments in Johannesburg yesterday came amid scenes of jubilation
outside the Mitchell's Plain magistrate's court where Zille and
residents welcomed Amien Maker, a Muslim cleric, as he emerged from
court.

Said Motlanthe: "Without changing the principle that all shall be equal
before the law and that ... the rule of law should be applied without fear
or favour, we think that a person holding such high public office should
be treated with some decorum of respect.

"If there are questions she needs to answer and there are certain
charges preferred against her, those should be handled with the
dignity that her office called for," he said.

He raised concerns about the political implication of the incident
internationally. "We find it very unfortunate. If these kinds of
developments ... are read about (abroad), it would give a negative
picture about the country," Motlanthe said.

Maker, the People's Anti-drug and Liquor Action Committee (Padlac)
leader, was arrested on Sunday after Zille had knocked on an alleged
drug dealer's door during a protest march in Woodlands.

While he returns to court on October 26, Zille and eight others
arrested with her on Sunday, will appear in court today.They all face
illegal gathering charges.

Yesterday outside court a tearful Maker said: "It is about how as a
concerned person the mayor stood up for what is right.

"She has shown the courage to knock on a (drug) merchant's door,
something ordinary people expect police to be doing. I salute her."

Earlier during a placard demonstration outside court, Zille vowed to
sue acting premier Leonard Ramatlakane for claiming that she flirted
with vigilantism and had broken the law by participating in an
illegal demonstration.

"Ramatlakane should read the constitution. People have right to
freedom of assembly, to peaceful protest and to free speech. That is
what we were doing.

"There was nothing remotely violent about the march. If MEC
Ramatlakane wants to smear me, he could find himself seriously sued.

"I'd like to know which law I've broken. I think police are breaking
laws by not arresting known drug dealers. I need to ask him why.

"Yes, I will be taking legal action. I will help the moulana (Maker)
and the imams to sue Ramatlakane for defamation. How dare he say
these people are vigilantes? They are the exact opposite," Zille said.

Lentegeur resident Bahia Abrahams said: "How can he brand us as
vigilantes? We are ordinary parents trying to protect our children
from falling to drugs. The mayor is right to sue him. We'll stand by
her."

ANC provincial secretary Mcebisi Skwatsha, joined the fray yesterday,
saying "there is a fine line between mobilising communities and
organisations to work with police to combat crime, and
vigilantism".

"This is more so in communities with a long history of gangsterism,
substance abuse and crime. Politicians have a special responsibility
to ensure in these volatile situations, they stand on the correct
side of that line. The law must take its course."

Meanwhile, two men accused of murdering Lentegeur neighbourhood watch
member Abdurghman Sydow changed their decision not to apply for bail.
Andre Williams and Ivan Allie will apply for bail later.

In another case, seven men charged with arson and public violence
will return to court on November 29. They are accused of setting
alight a house during violence that erupted days after Sydow's murder.