One of the councillors of the ANC in the Nkandla Local Municipality in northern KwaZulu-Natal is out on bail after he was arrested for being in possession of an illegal firearm.
The ward councillor’s name is known to IOL, but he cannot be named until he pleads when he returns to Melmoth Magistrate’s Court on August 14.
According to sources within the Musa Dladla region (King Cetshwayo district) of the ANC, the councillor, 30, was arrested in the farming town of Melmoth.
It is unclear what he was doing there at the time of his arrest. However, he spent a night behind bars and got bail of an undisclosed amount the following day.
NEWS: A Councillor of the ANC in the Nkandla local municipality in northern KZN is out on bail after he was arrested for being in possession of an illegal firearm and ammunition. The Councillor cannot be named until he pleads when he returns to court on 14 August 2023. @IOL
— Sihle Mavuso (@ZANewsFlash) July 27, 2023
The sources provided IOL with the SAPS case number (CAS 64/07/2023) and the police in KwaZulu-Natal confirmed the arrest and said the councillor would return to court mid-August.
The SAPS spokesperson in the province, Constable Thenjiwe Ngcobo, said the councillor was nabbed in the Fahlaza area.
“Melmoth police are investigating a case of unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition following an incident in which a 30-year-old man was found in possession of a firearm and ammunition on July 13, 2023, in the notorious Fahlaza. It is alleged that the suspect failed to produce a firearm licence. The suspect was arrested and made his first court appearance on July 14, 2023, before the Melmoth Magistrate's Court. The matter was remanded to August 14, 2023,” Ngcobo said.
The Speaker of Nkandla Local Municipality, Sibusiso Sibiya, confirmed that they knew of the arrest of one of their councillors.
“I asked the ANC’s chief whip about the matter, and he told me that they are aware of the arrest. Again, today (Thursday) we had a special council sitting, and I saw the suspected councillor, and I asked him about the matter. He asked to be excused, saying he will come back to me to explain this after their meeting, and he did not,” Sibiya said.
Sibiya added that now that the councillor has not given him an explanation, he will write a formal letter to hear his side of the story.
Nkandla municipality is under the control of the IFP, and it recently won a by-election heavily contested by the ANC.
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