Senior ANC member in Newcastle, Arthur Zwane, who is facing attempted murder charges for allegedly shooting a security guard who asked him to sanitise his hands, will spend Christmas a free man.
The eMadadeni Magistrate Court granted him bail after he spent close to two weeks in jail. Zwane and two others were arrested last month after the incident at a Newcastle hardware store.
An ANC member close to Zwane said the former eMalahleni regional chairperson was released on bail on Wednesday.
Zwane, who is also a former ANC KwaZulu-Natal provincial executive committee (PEC) member, has had brushes with the law before.
Late last year, Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs MEC Sipho Hlomuka pressed attempted murder charges after Zwane allegedly pointed a firearm at him.
He was granted R1 000 bail at the Durban Magistrate’s Court in January in that case.
National Prosecuting Authority provincial spokesperson Natasha Kara could not confirm whether the case is still on.
Zwane is expected back in the eMadadeni Magistrate’s Court at the end of January.