In a day where several senior members of the ANC across the country were arrested and appeared in court, a senior party member in KZN handed himself to Durban police for allegedly pointing a loaded firearm at an MEC.
Former eMalahleni ANC regional chairperson Arthur Zwane, who stands accused of pointing a firearm at KZN CoGTA MEC Sipho Hlomuka (who is also ANC KZN deputy provincial secretary), inside ANC offices, was accompanied by his lawyer when he handed himself to the police on Thursday.
He was later granted bail by the Durban Magistrate Court and released to come back at a later date.
The incident happened around 1pm on November 4 when Zwane allegedly stormed the ANC’s provincial headquarters in central Durban and had a verbal showdown with Hlomuka.
During the heated argument, some of those who present said Zwane accused Hlomuka of working with his party’s regional enemies to destroy him and drew the gun.
The gun was later taken after he was overpowered by Hlomuka and another senior member of the provincial top five who later tried to mediate between the two by first having a meeting with Zwane in a Johannesburg hotel.
However, that failed as a livid Hlomuka later laid charges against Zwane at the Durban central police station on November 7.
According to information obtained by Independent Media from party insiders, Zwane’s decision to hand over himself was meant to pre-empt a pending arrest that would have embarrassed him.
“His lawyer handed him over to the police,” said a source.
The spokesperson of the police in KZN, Brigadier Jay Naicker, said Zwane was granted R1000 bail and he would come back to court on February 18, 2020.
The spokesperson of the ANC in KZN, Ricardo Mthembu, said he was not aware that Zwane handed had himself over to the police.