PLETTENBERG BAY NEWS - Bitou’s deputy mayor, Nokuzola Kolwapi, has been summonsed to appear in the Plettenberg Magistrate’s Court on 23 June to face charges of firing a gun in public on 21 December last year during her son’s homecoming umgidi cultural celebration.
Although not named, the Southern Cape Police’s spokesperson, Warrant Officer Chris Spies, confirmed that a 55-year-old suspect “was summoned in relation to the referenced case number” to appear for contraventions of the Environment Conservation Act.
Kolwapi was featured in a video that had gone viral on social media, showing her brandishing what appeared to be a 9mm handgun.
Spies said the suspect “has yet to appear in court, and the police are not at liberty to divulge particulars of individuals involved at this stage”.
Kolwapi previously claimed the weapon depicted in the video was a toy gun or replica.
A request for comment has been sent to Kolwapi and will be added once received.
The instruction to charge Kolwapi was made by the Directorate of Public Prosecutions on 5 March, in terms of the Environmental Act, and media queries about why the charges were not brought in terms of the Firearms Control Act were sent in, and have yet to be addressed.
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