During a protests staged by musicians in Durban last week, 32 artist were arrested by the police.
They appeared in court today.
So many artists gathered outside the Pinetown magistrate’s court on Wednesday during the court hearing.
They made use of this medium to call on the government to amend regulations that will favour the music industry.
Creative sector organisations were also outside the court in solidarity with the accused.
These people from KwaZulu-Natal in one voice called on President Cyril Ramaphosa to relax lockdown regulations so they could get back to business.
They suggested that the venues could be opened to accommodate only 70% of their usual capacity.
They also added that the curfew should be extended to 2am.
Koze Kuse hitmaker, Mondli Ngcobo, said apart from their general interest which they are relaying to the president, they also want the court to be lenient on their colleagues who were arrested last week.
“What we want to see is their release on warning without a criminal record. That is our main focus,” he said.
Ngcobo said that after last week’s protest, they were able to get a satisfying response from the government.
Last week, these 32 artist were arrested after several artist gathered to stage a protest in Durban.
They hosted a roadside music concert on the N3 in Durban near the Pavilion Shopping Centre which restricted commuters from plying the road.
The arrested artists who were granted bail are currently facing charges of illegal gatherings and contravening road traffic and disaster management laws.
Dozens within the creative industry have gathered outside the Pinetown magistrates court where 32 artists are expected to appear on charges of contravening the road traffic & disaster management act for a protest staged last week on the N3 #ArtistsProtest @TimesLIVE pic.twitter.com/L2onCMrbnW
— Orrin Singh (@orrin417) September 9, 2020
