Sam ‘Mshengu’ Chabalala. File photo
Image: Mpumalanga Hawks
Businessman Sam “Mshengu” Tshabalala – who shot to infamy after taking a 72-car convoy to the Durban July – is wanted by cops after he twice failed to appear in court.

According to the police’s Brig Hangwani Mulaudzi, Tshabalala is facing two cases, including counts of fraud, corruption and possession of an unlicensed firearm. He is out of bail of R200,000 and R500,000 for the two cases.

“He failed to appear for his two cases on March 6 2020 at the Witbank magistrate’s court, and last week Friday (March 13) in the Middelburg magistrate’s court. The combined amount of the bail posted for the two separate cases has since been forfeited to the state,” said Mulaudzi.

He said the Hawks had “seen a suicide note that was sent to his wife claiming that he is going to commit suicide”.

“Despite the note anyone with information which can lead to the arrest of Tshabalala is urged to contact the investigating officers Colonel Daniel Hall on 071 481 3281 or Captain Dietlof Meyer on 071481 2977. All information will be kept confidential,” said Mulaudzi.

Tshabalala – the owner of Sam Holdings – was arrested in September last year following an investigation initiated by the home affairs department about his status in the country.

“[He] allegedly tried to derail the investigations after he tried to corrupt an official from the department to drop the probe. He paid R50,000 to the official and was nabbed by the Mpumalanga Hawks immediately after paying the inducement. His car at the time was also impounded. He was granted R200,000 bail pending further investigations,” said Mulaudzi.

However, while he was on bail, Tshabalala allegedly tried to “corrupt a senior police official in Middelburg in February this year to release his car which had been impounded and also to make his previous case disappear”.

“He paid R120,000 bribe money, R50,000 down payment and later R70,000 which led to his arrest. He was released on R500,000 bail by the Middelburg magistrate’s court for corruption pending his appearance on March 13 2020.

“He decided not to turn up and two warrant of arrests have been issued against him,” said Mulaudzi.

A Durban police officer will appear in court on Monday on allegations that he tried to solicit a R3,000 fine from a businessman.

The officer, based in Isipingo, south of the city, was responsible for issuing liquor licenses and second hand goods licenses, said SAPS spokesman Brig Jay Naicker.

He said the officer approached the businessman over R9,000 in outstanding fines – but the cop promised the man that he would “ensure that the fines are withdrawn at court if he was paid an amount of R3,000”.

This happened in February this year. According to Naicker, the man paid the officer R1,500 — bit the officer demanded the remaining amount.

The man decided to approach the SAPS Provincial Anti-Corruption Unit and a case of corruption was opened at Isipingo SAPS for further investigation.

“On Friday, March 13 2020 at 1.45pm detectives from the Anti-Corruption Unit conducted a sting operation and the suspect, aged 48, was arrested at a service station in Isipingo as he received the cash from the informant,” said Naicker.

KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Lt-Gen Khombinkosi Jula hailed the arrest. “While it is disappointing to hear of police officers involved in criminal activities we remain committed to ensuring that those who display such criminal behaviour are rooted out of the organisation.

We want to commend members of the community who have come forward to bring such corrupt activities to our attention and we want to assure them that our Anti-Corruption Unit will be arresting more corrupt individuals soon due to ongoing investigations.

During my tenure I will ensure that the Anti-Corruption Unit is strengthened and I want to reassure members of the community that any information with regards to police officers involved in criminal activities will be given the appropriate attention,” he said.

Mlambo urged donors to keep donating blood to ensure that the life-saving blood stocks did not drop.

She said all donors would be screened at the door and mobile sites and their clinics were all equipped with additional antiseptic sprays and alcohol wipes.

“Importantly, we are also encouraging and educating donors to delay donation if they are exhibiting any flu-like symptoms or symptoms of infection until they are in good health or if they travelled to countries with known cases within the last 21 days.

“Finally, we want to reiterate previous statements that SANBS does not test for coronavirus as respiratory viruses are not transmitted through blood and that the public should not use SANBS donor centres as testing centres.”

Grammy-award winning group Ladysmith Black Mambazo have had to suspend their US tour due to the coronavirus.
Image: Via Twitter
Ladysmith Black Mambazo, currently on an international tour in the USA, are set to return home after their concerts were cancelled due to the coronavirus.

The group’s management said their American tour had begun in January and was scheduled to end on March 23 2020.

“The legendary five-time Grammy Award-winning group was still left with performances in Stoughton, Viroqua, Grayslake-Illinois, Chicago, Bloomington, Cincinnati-Ohio, Grand Rapids-Michigan, Buffalo-New York and Viana-Virginia,” its management said in a statement.They will, however, return home on Thursday and will land in Durban.

“Upon arrival, they will be required to go through the necessary screening processes before being allowed to reunite with their families and or continue to participate in any SA public gatherings and or events,” the statement read.

This tour also coincided with the group’s 60th anniversary.

To mark this occasion, the group is also scheduled to take part in the second annual Inanda Dam World Music Festival at Inanda Dam on Sunday, March 29 2020.

“For now, this event is set to continue as planned until we get a different view from authorities about public gatherings in the country amid the Covid-19 outbreak,” the group said.

A total of 51 coronavirus positive infections have been recorded in SA.
Image: 123RF/Jarun Ontakrai
The number of people positively diagnosed with the coronavirus in SA has increased to 51.

The health department announced an increase of 13 patients on Sunday morning – from 38 cases recorded on Saturday.

The health ministry announced that seven of the new cases were in Gauteng, five in the Western Cape and one in KwaZulu-Natal.

This is a developing story.