Somizi granted bail after lockdown joke drama
The 'Idols SA' judge handed himself over to police after a case was opened against him for contravening the lockdown rules.
Somizi Mhlongo is in hot water following comments he made about South Africa's lockdown.
The drama unfolded last week when Somizi was heard saying on an Instagram Live that the government was going to extend the lockdown. He claimed Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula told him.
Hours later, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that he would be extending the lockdown by two weeks.
Social media users questioned whether Fikile had shared sensitive information with Somgaga.
The minister denied it.
The pair are believed to be close friends. Fikile attended the 47-year-old's white wedding in Janauary.
Somizi took to Instagram to apologise for the comments he made about the lockdown extension. He told his Instagram followers that his remarks were a joke and he had no idea what the president was planning.
Despite accepting the apology, the minister opened a case at the Sandton Police Station on Friday.
Somizi was charged with contravening the lockdown regulations under the Disaster Management Act on fake news and misinformation peddling.
MINISTER MBALULA TAKES ACTION AGAINST NAME DROPPING AND MISINFORMATION BY SOMIZI MHLONGO
— MEDIA LIAISON | Esethu Hasane (@EsethuOnDuty) April 10, 2020
Minister Mbalula will be at Sandton Police Station Friday morning to report the contravention of the Government Lockdown Regulations as
Venue: Sandton Police Station
Time: 10:00am pic.twitter.com/vWI4MNnQMw
Fikile confirmed on Tuesday that Somizi was arrested and released on bail.
According to several reports, bail was set at R1, 500.
He was arrested he is on bail.
— Minister of Transport |Mr Fix (@MbalulaFikile) April 14, 2020
Somizi issued a second apology for the drama he caused.
"This is difficult. I am not okay… I really, really, made a bad joke I never spoke to Fikile about anything regarding that… I would like to apologise again because I can see it is spiraling out of control," he said in a video posted on his Instagram page.