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Moja Love presenter Xolani Maphanga has handed himself over to the police, according to sources close to the investigation into his alleged assault of an elderly woman suspected of dealing in drugs.
According to two highly placed sources, Maphanga handed himself to the Soshanguve Police Station in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
The source revealed:
Maphanga and one of his crew members, Bongani Sibanyoni, allegedly assaulted suspected family members in Soshanguve during their drug-busting show, Sizokuthola, last month.
In the application for the warrant of arrest seen by the City Press dated last Friday, Constable PN Zondi asked the Soshanguve Magistrates' Court to grant a warrant of arrest for Maphanga and Sibanyoni.
Also read: Police hunt for Moja Love presenter Xolani Maphanga for alleged assault of elderly woman
The application, which was granted by the magistrate, reads: “You are hereby directed to arrest him/her and bring him/her before a lower court (viz court) … at Soshanguve Magistrates' Court in accordance with the provisions of section 43 of the criminal procedure act.”
The magistrate said both Maphanga and Sibanyoni must be informed that they had the right to consult with a legal practitioner of their choice, and if they could not afford one, they may apply for a legal aid officer.
Last month, City Press reported that Maphanga, together with his crew and police, went to a property in Soshanguve where drugs were allegedly manufactured and sold.
The allegations are that Maphanga and Sibanyoni assaulted members of the family, who later opened charges of assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm - allegations which Maphanga and the station denied.
Before the arrest warrant was issued, senior police officers from the Soshanguve Police Station met with Moja Love's management, where the case was discussed. It is allegedly during that meeting that the police were shown footage of the crew's visit.
It was following that meeting that Moja Love's communications officer, Nonzwakazi Cekete, issued a staff communication informing the staff of the discussion they had with the members of the SA Police Service.
The memo, which City Press has seen, alleged that the police had said they were commanded to arrest Maphanga and charge him with assault.
The channel executives responded to the memo by asking the crew to give the recording of the show to the police to prove that the family had not been assaulted.
Cekete’s memorandum read:
The sources said the channel's bosses were worried when the names of top ANC and other officials in Tshwane were mentioned as some of the people using the organisation to prevent the channel from fighting crime.
The memo also stated that there was no way the crew could have assaulted the family because the show had introduced new measures of busting drug dealers. The team had a new presenter and a sniffer dog unit when going to suspects’ houses.
In the alleged assault incident, the production was led by police from the Soshanguve Police Station to a suspected drug lord known as Tebogo.
The memorandum further read:
Last month, Cekete confirmed that the channel's executive met with the team from Soshanguve, but said it was not for Maphanga as he did nothing wrong.
