Case against Sam 'Mshengu' Chabalala postponed for bail decision

A decision on whether businessman Sam "Mshengu" Chabalala, 25, will be granted bail will be made on Monday.

Mpumalanga Hawks spokesperson Capt Dineo Sekgotodi said Chabalala was remanded in custody by the Middleburg magistrate's court on Friday after he appeared for a bail application.

The Hawks arrested Chabalala on Thursday last week. He had previously been arrested in September 2019.

“The businessman, who was initially arrested last year and subsequently charged for fraud, corruption and possession of an unlicensed firearm, had been out on R200,000 bail following his arrest in Nelspruit.

“His latest arrest emanates from allegations that he attempted to corrupt a senior police official in Mpumalanga to get his impounded motor vehicle released, and also to make his initial case disappear,” said Brig Hangwani Mulaudzi last week.

Chabalala was in the limelight in 2019 when he flaunted his wealth by taking a 72-car convoy to the Durban July.

The Sowetan reported in September 2019 that the flamboyant businessman, who goes by the Chabalala clan name Mshengu, was arrested by the Hawks following a lengthy investigation into his citizenship.

He was alleged to have tried to bribe Hawks officers with R40,000 when he was nabbed.

At the time, it was alleged he had also tried to bribe home affairs officials who were probing how he acquired a South African identity document.