Pretoria - A former member of the mayoral committee (MMC) in the Thulamela Local Municipality has been arrested on charges of intimidation, the South African Police Service (SAPS) in Limpopo said on Saturday.
"Members of the South African Police Service provincial investigations unit and the tracking team have, this morning Saturday, 6 June 2020 at about 11h00, arrested a 38-year-old member of the Thulamela municipal council which is operating in Thohoyandou. This [happened] after cases of intimidation were opened at Thohoyandou Police Station last night [Friday],” Limpopo SAPS spokesman Brigadier Motlafela Mojapelo said in a statement.
The suspect was allegedly one of the Thulamela Local Municipality MMCs who were "reshuffled" during a council meeting on Sunday, May 31. Following the reshuffle, he allegedly sent an intimidatory video clip to the two complainants.
Without identifying the irked MMC by name, Mojapelo said police officers who had been looking for him subsequently received information that he was reported to be somewhere in Polokwane. “The suspect was then apprehended at his house in Polokwane this morning [Saturday],” Mojapelo said.
Acting Limpopo police commissioner Maj-Gen Jan Petrus Scheepers commended the officers for their swift response. “The arrest of the suspect will send a strong message to everyone that the police in this province will promptly act against anyone who threatens to kill any person for whatever reason,” said Scheepers.
The detained former MMC would appear in the Thohoyandou Magistrates' Court on Monday, Mojapelo said.