The Strand jaywalking saga returned to CapeTalk this morning after first featuring on #BarbsWire on 5 November, when a TikTok about a jaywalking fine went viral. The man at the centre of the video called in to explain his side of the story. He confirmed that he received a R500 fine for crossing Strand’s municipal road outside the official pedestrian intersection. “Yes, I am the famous person that got a nail for jaywalking,” he told Lester, setting the scene for a lively discussion.

He explained that he had crossed the road roughly 400 metres from the designated crossing, choosing a spot with a central island that allowed pedestrians to pause safely. “I crossed the road maybe 400 metres away from the intersection. I didn’t even see the roadshow that was going on and literally, I just got accosted by law enforcement saying I jaywalked,” he said. When officers threatened arrest, he told them, “No, you can’t.” Despite this, the citation was issued, and he is due to appear in court next week.

While admitting he technically broke the law, he argues the designated crossing is unsafe because the pedestrian green light and the car green light operate at the same time. “The pedestrian green light to proceed and the car green light to proceed are on at the same time,” he said. His follow-up TikTok videos, showing the intersection, have reached nearly 600,000 views, and he says lawyers even contacted him after seeing the clips. “So the City of Cape Town expects you to cross at an intersection where you could probably get hit by a car instead of crossing 300 metres away where you have a centre island,” he said.

He added that City enforcement is inconsistent. He described an incident where his car tyre extended a few centimetres over a white line, and he was threatened with a R3,000 fine. “And then they threatened me about my dash cam,” he said. He is now preparing to challenge the jaywalking fine in court, having collected “three and a half folders of evidence” on pedestrian safety and traffic enforcement, including statistics he attempted to obtain under the POPIA process. The City refused to release the information. “How about enforcing the people at intersections to stop, not jump red lights and cause accidents with pedestrians,” he said.

He confirmed he will not pay the R500 fine unless ordered by a court. For him, the matter is about principle and pedestrian safety rather than the fine itself.

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