The Rastari community has been identified by the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) as an ‘Equality Focal Area’ (EFA) that warrants special treatment from the law.

R250 000 Budget for Rasta Round Table

This is according to a ‘Concept Document’ drawn up by the SAHRC in January 2025 following the organization’s Christmas call to halt all cannabis arrests. It is expected to be tabled at the ‘Rasta Round Table’ meeting between members of various Rastafari organizations and representatives of the state at a venue in Johannesburg on 26 February 2025.

The Concept document, which was leaked to Cannabiz Africa, was prepared by Naleli Morojele signed off by Commissioner Tshepo Madlingozi on 3 February 2025 put a R250 000 budget to the event, primarily to pay for travel costs for delegates.

It says "Approximately 45 participants from stakeholders will be invited to attend the roundtable. Travel and accommodation will be provided for approximately 25 people, which will be limited to members of the Rastafari community from all 9 provinces, as well as experts. Participants from government and other state institutions will be responsible for their own travel and accommodation arrangements. "

The SAHRC says the EFA designation is to halt cannabis arrests and meet the other discriminatory challenges faced by South African Rastas. The concept document says it is for these reasons “that the EFA has designated the Rastafari as a priority community to assist in a strategic manner that would address their systematic challenges and barriers.”

The SAHRC has also called for new regulations to guide the cannabis industry that would recognize Rasta rights.

The concept was floated past the security cluster in a meeting between the SAHRC and the Justice Department on 29 January 2025, at which it was also confirmed that government officials would attend the Rasta Round Table.

Continued Arrests are an Attack on Rastafari Dignity and Faith

The SAHRC says: “The continued search and arrests of Rastafari people (especially based on their outward Rastafari appearance) suggests not only discrimination against their persons, but also the criminalisation of their faith. People reported experiencing a violation of their dignity, by the SAPS, when searches and seizures are conducted in front of their children. Parents also discussed the difficult decisions they are forced to make when schools ban their children’s dreadlocks, causing a predicament of being unable to fully practice their faith or to pass it down to their children.

In relation to other state services, Rastafari report not having their dietary requirements adequately catered for at public institutions such as hospitals and places of deprivation of liberty. Their religious wedding ceremonies are also not recognised as valid marriages at the Department of Home Affairs.

Rastafari are also excluded from the workforce due to the criminal records they have as a result of cannabis-related sentences handed down to them.

Additionally, gaining licences to sell cannabis products is a costly bureaucratic process, which ultimately excludes them from the formal and legal cannabis industry, despite the Rastafari having been at the forefront of the struggle for the decriminalisation of cannabis.

The Rastafari people with whom the EFA has consulted with express a general feeling of being ‘non-persons’ treated as second-class citizens, and that they are discriminated against based solely on their faith and use of cannabis as a sacrament.”

What the SAHRC Wants to Come Out of the Rasta Round Table

The SAHRC goes on to say the “expected objectives of the meeting are the protection and promotion of the constitutional and human rights of Rastafari and other cannabis users in South Africa. By:

a. The cessation of unlawful arrests of adults for private cannabis use and possession

b. The cessation of unlawful prosecutions of adults for private cannabis use and possession

c. The cancellation of historical criminal records for those convicted for cannabis related offences

d. To begin the process of having Rastafari wedding ceremonies recognised as legitimate marriages by the state through the Department of Home Affairs

e. The elimination of barriers experienced by Rastafari to access licencing for the cultivation of cannabis and sale of cannabis products

f. Engagement on the possibilities of a complete decriminalisation of all cannabis related activities

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