Soli Philander was arrested on Saturday morning and appeared in court on Monday for reportedly violating a peace order following an incident involving an official at the Marion Institute.
The well-known comedian and several other District Six community members have been fighting to reclaim the Marion Institute, a community centre on Chapel Street in Cape Town.
According to Western Cape police, Philander was arrested on charges of contravention of a protection order and common assault.
The comedian took to social media with allegations that a young girl was living with a paedophile in the community centre.
He says Social Development MEC Sharna Fernandez responded to his tweets and acted quickly to take the 4-year-old child to a place of safety.
Philander claims that Peter Agulhas of the Marion Institute has been using his connections within the Cape Town police and the court system to evade any legal action against him.
Philander told Cape Talk, “It’s a protection order that this man took out. I want to clarify that he is not the director of the Marion Institute… He’s under investigation at the Marion Institute for mismanagement and corruption,”
The protection order was issued in December when Philander and other residents tried to physically remove Agulhas from the building.
“On Saturday, he brought out an old protection order that he took out last year when he locked the entire community out of the Marion centre.”
Philander continued, saying, “All I’m trying to accomplish here is that the community of Springfield Terrace, District Six gets fed from the Marion Institute that is supposed to serve them, that belongs to them and this man won’t allow it. This man is enabled by the Cape Town police station and the Cape Town magistrates court. He has a good friend in the courts in Cape Town.”
Soli Philander was released on a warning on Saturday and will return to court on 20 July for further proceedings.
