TOM EATON | Bigger than cabbage: you reap what you sow, Tshwane

The story of Tshwane’s “cabbage bandit” is small but important, not least because it has revealed that banditry has become a dramatically less violent occupation than it used to be.

In case you missed it, or have called the police in Tshwane and are wondering why they still haven’t arrived, the short version is that Tshwane’s finest are embroiled in a high-stakes battle against a certain Djo Nkuna of Theresapark, who is being fined R1,500 for growing vegetables on the pavement outside his house.

According to Mr Nkuna, the authorities didn’t seem to have a problem with him planting flowers and grasses at first. But when he went to the dark side, transforming into an agricultural Moriarty by growing vegetables for people, the Tshwane Metropolitan Police Department (TMPD) apparently decided it was time to end his diabolical campaign of vigilante nutrition.

Now a minor curiosity from a backwater of Tshwane is a big national news story about a brave gardener trying to feed the people and the state sending its goons to crush him.

Since the story broke many people have wondered why Mr Nkuna deserved that type of reaction, but I think it’s pretty obvious that the police were simply protecting their own, making sure that Bheki Cele never has to compete for his job against a more skilful, humane and charismatic candidate, such as a cabbage.

The TMPD, however, seems to be worrying about something much more incendiary than replacing the top echelon of the police with vegetables.

Mr Nkuna, it told 702, had been making comments on social media that seemed to condone “grabbing city land”.

The use of the G-word made everything clear and revealed just how badly the entire thing had been handled.

The TMPD could have focused on a minor violation of bylaws. They could have explained, quite rightly, that agriculture on pavements is not a good idea, and not least because it requires pedestrians to step out onto busy roads. After all, what happens when cabbages are replaced by pavement-dwelling livestock?

They could have kept it small, sensible and boring, citing chapter and verse. But instead they dispatched an army of officers, then doubled down and justified it with the G-word; and now a minor curiosity from a backwater of Tshwane is a big national news story about a brave gardener trying to feed the people and the state sending its goons to crush him.

Yes, the police were probably following all sorts of legitimate protocols. No, pavements are not zoned for agriculture, and with good reason.

But if the law is to be respected, it must be shown to be an ally, and this week the TMPD made it look like the pettiest of tyrants.