VIDEO: Social worker wrongfully accused of selling alcohol worth R20k during lockdown

THE case of a KwaDabeka woman who was arrested by police on 23 July for a stash of alcohol her sister bought for her traditional wedding has been dismissed.

Zipho Mkhize’s arrest angered some community members who gathered outside the Pinetown Magistrate’s Court, yesterday (Wednesday, 5 August).

The alcohol, valued at R20 000, according to Mkhize was purchased before the second ban on the sale and distribution of alcohol was imposed in July under the Disaster Management Act regulations.

She said she bought the alcohol in June.

The first ban on the sale of alcohol was imposed on 27 March. On 24 May president Cyril Rhamaphosa announced that alcohol sales could resume from 1 June.

By Monday, 13 July the ban had been implemented again because evidence showed a direct link to trauma admissions in hospitals, where resources were needed to deal with Covid-19.

Mkhize is a social worker and the founder of Katsi Youth in Action, an organisation which was started to help rehabilitate youth who are addicted to drugs.

One of the protesters, Sibongile Buthelezi said: “They did not find anyone buying or even drinking on the premises. They took all the alcohol. Why did they leave the stack of groceries which was bought for the celebration?”

ALSO READ: NGO pamper and empower gogos 

Buthelezi said the alcohol belonged to Mkhize’s sister who was supposed to have her traditional wedding in June but the event was postponed because of the lockdown.

“All the slips, bank statements and invitation cards were presented at the police station but they did not care,” said Buthelezi.

Mkhize’s matter was dismissed.

Mkhize added that the alcohol that was taken by the arresting officers had still not been returned to her.

The KwaDabeka police station confirmed they were aware of the case.

READ THE FULL STORY IN NEXT WEEK’S EDITION OF THE HIGHWAY MAIL.

Caxton Local Media Covid-19 reporting

Dear reader,
As your local news provider, we have the duty of keeping you factually informed on Covid-19 developments. As you may have noticed, mis- and disinformation (also known as “fake news”) is circulating online. Caxton Local Media is determined to filter through the masses of information doing the rounds and to separate truth from untruth in order to keep you adequately informed. Local newsrooms follow a strict pre-publication fact-checking protocol. A national task team has been established to assist in bringing you credible news reports on Covid-19.
Readers with any comments or queries may contact National Group Editor Irma Green (irma@caxton.co.za) or Legal Adviser Helene Eloff (helene@caxton.co.za).

At the time of going to press, the contents of this feature mirrored South Africa’s lockdown regulations.

Do you want to receive alerts regarding this and other Highway community news via Telegram? Send us a Telegram message (not an SMS) with your name and surname (ONLY) to 060 532 5409.

You can also join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

PLEASE NOTE: If you have signed up for our news alerts you need to save the Telegram number as a contact to your phone, otherwise you will not receive our alerts.

Here’s where you can download Telegram on Android or Apple.