Anaheim Man Calls His Jailing by Police in Cape Town Unjust

An Orange County man who was arrested for allegedly interfering with Cape Town police said Friday that his detention in a South African jail was unjust and might cause him to leave the country.

Ronald Minor, 31, of Anaheim, was one of five U.S. citizens arrested last weekend during a nationwide state of emergency. Police, who held Minor in custody for several hours, dropped charges against him Thursday.

“It made me think,” said Minor, in a transatlantic telephone interview. “ I broke no law. And I just wonder what they would have done if I were black. I am white and I know I am privileged here.

“I came here to open my eyes and to know what this place was like. I’m finding out.”

Minor said he had come to South Africa to play the trombone in the Cape Town Symphony Orchestra. He said he would decide within the next month whether to leave the country.

The incident began on June 14, when Minor tried to help a black woman whom he said was screaming for help as two white men forced her into an automobile. Minor repeatedly asked the men to identify themselves, and the two--who were dressed in civilian clothes--finally said they were police officers. At that point, Minor and a female South African companion, identified only as “Hazel,” were arrested and detained for several hours.

Passport Returned

Minor added that his passport was held for five days before it was returned to him and the charges were dropped. He also had to pay an attorney $500 to represent him.

“Like my lawyer said, it was a storm in a teapot. It was a very minor thing,” Minor said. “In Orange County, or L.A., a plainclothes cop like that would have identified himself when asked. But not here. I guess they feel protected.”

Minor also said the experience had given him cause for reflection.

He said he suspected that his telephone was being tapped by South African authorities and stressed that police had threatened him during the hours he was detained.

“They made some very overt threats,” he said. “They threatened me with six months in jail without contact with anyone. I’m technically not supposed to say this to you, but that’s what happened.”

Minor said he lived in Durban on the eastern coast of South Africa for 2 1/2 years as a concert trombonist before returning to Orange County last January. He spent three months in Anaheim but then left two months ago for Cape Town, where he has been playing as a non-contract musician with the symphony in that city.

He also said that his passport expires next month and that he would decide by then whether to abandon South Africa.

“I don’t really want to go back to Southern California. But I’m thinking of going to Italy where I have some friends. I’ll decide by July,” Minor said.

‘Good News’

U.S. State Department spokesman Bruce Ammerman said earlier Friday that he was unaware that the charges had been dropped against Minor but observed: “That’s good news. I’m glad to hear about that.”

Ammerman said three of the four other Americans arrested last week have been released. One has left South Africa and one is planning to leave.

Benton L. Minor, a Cal State Fullerton music professor, said his son telephoned Thursday to say he had been to court and that all charges against him and his female companion had been dropped.

His father, who has taught music at Cal State Fullerton for 19 years, said Friday that he was relieved to hear that the charges were dismissed and “I’m sure he is too.”

“He just said everything was OK and not to worry and he would be writing to us,” the elder Minor said.

The Pretoria government proclaimed a state of emergency last week in anticipation of protesters observing the 10th anniversary of the uprising in the black township of Soweto.

Others Released

Two other Americans, Scott Daugherty, 19, of San Diego, and Rodney Williams, a retired Army lieutenant colonel from Hawaii, were released late Wednesday night from South Africa’s Pollsmoor Prison, Ammerman said. On Friday, Daugherty left Cape Town by air and Williams left Cape Town by car for Johannesburg with plans to leave the country next Wednesday, he said.

The Rev. Brian Burchfield, a Lutheran missionary from Seattle living in South Africa, was arrested June 15 but released a few hours later and remains in South Africa.

A fifth American, whose identity had been withheld by the U.S. State Department, was identified Friday as Charles R. Zechman, 50, a missionary, originally from Lewisburg, Pa., and a resident of South Africa since 1981.

A consul officer from the U.S. Embassy in Pretoria visited Zechman shortly after noon Friday at a prison in Nylstroom. The U.S. officer determined that Zechman was well, not physically mistreated and not in need of medical care, Ammerman said.

In the presence of a local prison official, Zechman told the officer that he had signed a statement asking to be deported and that he had done so voluntarily.

“Mr. Zechman’s primary concern was for his aged mother living with him in Nylstroom,” Ammerman said. The consular officer visited his mother and found that a local woman was caring for her.