Sello “Chicco” Twala (Photo by Gallo Images/Sowetan/Bafana Mahlangu)
Chicco Twala has spoken out for the first time since handing his son Longwe over to the police for alleged theft last week. The music mogul made headlines last week after a video emerged in which he could be heard instructing police to shoot his son should he try to escape.
He told The Sowetan that his son had been battling a drug addiction for over 15 years and had now resorted to theft to feed his addiction. This despite over R1 million in rehabilitation efforts to help him get over the addiction.
Though he had allegedly stolen recording studio equipment in excess of R300,000 in the past, Longwe was handed over to the police for allegedly stealing the cellphone of a family friend.
In the video that emerged last week, Chicco slated his son for dragging his name through the mud.
He said in part: “I’ve always said that I wish he was the one who killed Senzo Meyiwa so that he can rot in Jail. My name is destroyed. Everyone when they see Chicco Twala, they see a criminal.”
The inclusion of Senzo Meyiwa in his angry rant sent waves on social media, with most reviving calls for those responsible for his murder to be exposed.
Twala had previously told Power FM that he did not believe that Meyiwa was killed by robbers.
He said at the time: “If those people can just tell the truth, let’s forget about the contradictions. Someone pulled the trigger. Someone killed Senzo that night and these six people, why are they quiet? I’m not buying the story about the robbery, personally, I don’t buy the story about the robbery. Someone knows who killed Senzo among those people. They must be arrested if needs be – all of them. I heard my son saying it was a robbery gone wrong. I would disagree with him. What if it’s a hit?”
However, he told Monday’s Sowetan that he believed Longwe’s story about the day Meyiwa was murdered.
“I believed Longwe’s story about what happened on the day Senzo was killed. He might be a junkie, but he is not violent. He does not carry a gun. If Longwe had murdered Senzo, I would have handed him over to the police.”
Also read: Senzo Meyiwa’s murder: What Chicco, Longwe, Zandile, Kelly and the police have said so far
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