A drug lord has allegedly fired a warning shot in their war against Moja Love’s drug-busting show, Sizok’thola.
The channel’s internal staff memo, seen by Sunday World, alleged that a suspected Pretoria drug lord with political connections had fabricated a case of assault against the show’s presenter, Xolani Maphanga, and his crew.
The accusation was made after Maphanga and his crew, together with the police, swooped on the alleged drug lord’s property in Soshanguve and tried to confiscate drugs after receiving a tip-off from a police officer.
The memorandum, which we have seen, states that four cops from Soshanguve police station, led by a cop only known as warrant officer Masombuka, held a meeting with Sizok’thola staff last week and told them that a case of assault had been opened against Maphanga and his 10 bouncers at the station by a family of three.
“They accuse the team of wanting drugs, and when they didn’t get them, they allegedly assaulted them,” read the memo, written by Moja Love communication head, Nonzwakazi Cekete, to executives.
According to the memo, the police instructed them to arrest Maphanga and charge him with assault.
“They were mandated to arrest X (Maphanga), but because they understand the credibility of the work we do, they decided to come into the office for a meeting,” read the memo.
The memo further stated the police planned to conduct an identity parade featuring Maphanga and his crew on Tuesday.
“They are getting pressure from above, at the provincial level, which apparently is coming from head office. The complainant is politically connected to the ANC and they have threatened strike action in the community if no action is taken; hence, this case is getting the attention it is getting, “ read the memo.
The executives have now asked the crew to retrieve the recordings of the incident and hand them over to the police as evidence that the family was not assaulted as alleged.
“This recording will help show that the police are now under pressure to pursue the channel due to political pressure, as they indicated in our discussion. It will also show that any arrests or trials would be unfair.
“I am also of the view that we shouldn’t help them make their case but obviously cooperate with them. The police do not know who was present on the scene except Xolani, and only because they know him from X Repo,” read the memo.
The memo also stated that there was no way the crew could have assaulted the family because the channel has introduced new measures to bust drug dealers without using force. We use highly trained sniffer dogs that detect the drugs. There is no need for any forceful measures.
“This is a pure allegation against the production. The production works hand in hand with the SAPS. In this particular instance, we were given a lead by a policeman who directed us to this address,” read the memo.
The memo also said the crew went to the house under the guidance of a police officer, only known as constable Letele from Soshanguve police station.
“When the team arrived, it was revealed that the whole family partakes in the dealing of narcotics. As a channel, we will continue to fight the spread of drugs in South Africa and our communities, with the help of law enforcement agencies and communities. We will do so by following the laws and regulations of South Africa.
“We are happy to be working with DAG K9 Services and our tactical team. We have recovered narcotics to the value of R3-million,” read the memo.
Cekete confirmed that a case has been opened against Maphanga.
