Musa Khawula abandons bail application

by Zintle Mdaka

The controversial blogger known for bashing celebrities, Musa Khawula has withdrew his bail request during his brief appearance at the Randburg Magistrate’s Court.

Musa faces charges of Crimen Injuria, hate speech and violating Section 19 of the Cyber Crimes Act 19 of 2020. This case comes from the disdainful comments he made about businessman Ze Nxumalo and his wife Tamaryn Green-Nxumalo on his X (formerly Twitter) account.

According to the brief abstract shared by Newzroom Afrika, Musa’s lawyer Ofentse Nkwang told the court that applying for bail in this matter would be a futile exercise because he still had to apply for bail in another matter in the Forchville Magistrate’s Court.

“I have consulted with the accused. There have been certain developments from the last sitting. The accused was charged for another matter in the Carletonville court, where he is appearing.

“After consulting extensively with the accused, we have decided to abandon the bail application. We will not be proceeding with the bail application anymore. I’m not quite sure how far the investigations are with regard to this matter,” Ofentse said. Musa is expected back in court on the 18th of February.

In the Carletonville matter, Musa reportedly hit someone with his car and fled the scene in February 2021.

National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana said: “It was alleged that on February 20, 2021 at around 6pm near Mponeng Mine in the West Rand, the complainant and his wife were driving home on a narrow road when they noticed a Volkswagen Polo parked along the roadway. At the time, Musa was standing next to the vehicle naked on his lower body.

“Reports allege that Musa had another man in his car. Him and the complainant exchanged words, and Musa drove off in a huff. As the complainant was standing outside his car, Musa hit him with his car as he drove off.

“A member of the community policing forum driving on the same road later found the injured complainant and alerted the police. The accused was arrested shortly thereafter at a nearby tavern at Mponeng Mine. He made his first court appearance on 22 February 2021, where he was granted a R1, 000 bail,” Lumka said.

X users weighed in on the matter:

 

Also see: Musa Khawula’s bail hearing postponed while he remains in custody