- Music mogul and businessman Chicco Twala has been released on R2 000 bail.
- He is accused of assaulting a City Power employee, who was attempting to fix an electrical fault.
- He allegedly pulled out a gun, cocked it, and aimed it at the head of the employee.
Music mogul and businessman Chicco Twala has been released on bail after his arrest for allegedly pulling out a gun, cocking it, and then aiming it at the head of a City Power contractor, at close range.
Twala was arrested on Monday.
The employee was outside Twala's Johannesburg recording studio to repair a fault, which caused a power outage on Sunday, when he was allegedly assaulted by the music mogul.
National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Phindi Mjonondwane said Twala appeared in Randburg Magistrate's Court on Tuesday, facing charges of common assault and pointing something that resembles a firearm.
"The alleged incident took place at Bloubosrand on 1 May 2022 when two City Power technicians attended to a call of power outage in the area. On arrival, the technicians had to switch off the power and that is when Twala allegedly charged at one of them, strangled him and pointed at him with what resembled a firearm," she said.
"Twala was released on R2 000 bail and will return to court on 26 August as the case was postponed for further investigations."
In a statement on Twitter, the authenticity of which has not been verified, but purported to be from Twala, issued by him while in the police cells, he confirmed that he had been arrested for "pointing a toy gun" at two men he believed were cable thieves.
The statement read:
The statement also said that Twala's arrest served as proof that he had not bribed high-ranking officials to protect his son.
Twala's son, Longwe, was one of the people in the house when Orlando Pirates goalkeeper and Bafana Bafana captain Senzo Meyiwa was shot dead at singer Kelly Khumalo's Vosloorus home in 2014.
Twala has since been dragged into the murder. He once called Radio 702 to clear his name, saying he had been implicated in the murder, yet he was asleep at the time and got a call from Khumalo that Meyiwa had been shot.
City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena said a team of technicians were locating a cable fault, which affected the power supply to residents along Nautilus Road in Bloubosrand. The area had been without electricity since Thursday.
While at the site on Sunday night, "one resident came to them and told them to leave because he had electricity", said Mangena.
Mangena said:
Other residents intervened and the team left without completing the repairs, he added.
A case was opened by the employee, and Twala was later arrested.
Police spokesperson Brigadier Brenda Muridili said a 59-year-old man was arrested for assault and the pointing of a firearm in Randburg.
She added that two toy guns were confiscated from the arrested man.
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The City of Johannesburg's MMC for Environment and Infrastructure Services, Michael Son, said the affected employees would receive counselling and would return to the area to repair the fault "as soon as the situation permits".
"While we understand the frustrations of residents when it comes to power outages, we absolutely condemn this irrational violent behaviour.
"City Power technicians are constantly exposed to dangers to keep the lights on in Johannesburg. A gun-toting madman threatening anybody in the course of their duties is entirely unacceptable and must be dealt with the full might of the law."
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