Update: Dagga Couple’s Julian Stobbs shot dead in robbery, but cops clueless
Stobbs was apparently killed during a robbery on their property in the early hours of Friday morning.
The Dagga couple, Julian Stobbs and Myrtle Clarke react after the Constitutional Court in Braamfontein ruled that the private use and cultivation of Cannabis is legal. 18 September 2018. Picture: Neil McCartney
Julian Stobbs, better known as one half of the so-called Dagga Couple, who waged a legal battle for the legalisation of cannabis has apparently been shot dead in a robbery.
According to information, Stobbs was killed in the early hours of Friday morning, at the property he and his partner Myrtle Clarke owned near Lanseria in Johannesburg.
Details are sparse, but robbers apparently entered the property, where the couple also operated a private club, and shot Stobbs in his bedroom, before making off with their cellphones and other property.
READ MORE: Mourners pay their last respects to Dagga Couple’s Julian Stobbs
“We cant find any such report but maybe it’s because Lanseria SAPS falls under national (keypoint),” Gauteng SAPS spokesperson Brigadier Mathapelo Peters said.
However, AfriForum’s head of community safety, Ian Cameron, confirmed the incident to News24, adding that information received from different law enforcement agencies suggested that three or four men entered the premises at around 02.30am on Friday.
READ MORE: Everything you need to know about the ‘Dagga Couple’
He further said it’s alleged the men stole belongings and left, before returning. It’s believed they shot Stobbs on returning to the house.
Stobbs hosted his #Hotboxshow, live on Facebook, just hours before the incident.
News24 has also not been able to reach police about the incident.
Tributes from friends and dagga activists have started appearing on social media shortly after news started leaking of the murder of the slain activist.
Tragic. This is tragic. Jules Stobbs was one half of the dagga couple. They are good people. He was a good man. Whether you agreed with his mission or not, he fought so that particularly poor people would not be criminalised for growing, selling, and consuming dagga. pic.twitter.com/bRWHemuBJP
— Lester Kiewit (@lesterkk) July 3, 2020
#RIP to the homie Jules Stobbs I’m saddened by this news… @DaggaCouple gave us a huge platform every year, and even included us on the Virtual D-Day 2020. You will be remembered & missed by many ❤️ It’s officially #Fuck2020
— Chron Burgundy (@chronburgundy) July 3, 2020
Stobbs and Clarke shot to infamy in 2010, when they were arrested for drug possession and dealing, leading to their five-year-long battle to see dagga use legalised. They initially lost in the Pretoria High Court in 2013, but continued their battle all the way to Constitutional Court.
Read more about Stobbs and Clarke, and their fight for legal cannabis use here.
The couple started the Non-Profit Organisation Fields of Green For All, which sought to give a voice to concerns around drug policy reform, specifically focused on the use of cannabis and related products.
This eventually led to the legalisation of cannabis for personal use in 2018.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
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