Somizi charged and released on R1,500 bail over Fikile Mbalula Covid-19 case

Media personality Somizi Mhlongo was arrested and granted bail at the weekend after transport minister Fikile Mbalula laid a charge against him.

On Friday, Mbalula opened a case against Mhlongo at the Sandton police station on a charge of breaching disaster-management regulations related to "information dissemination and misinformation".

Hours before President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that SA's Covid-19 lockdown would be extended until the end of April, Mhlongo had asserted in an Instagram video that Mbalula had given him a heads-up about the extension.

Mhlongo subsequently apologised to Mbalula for his “joke”, saying: “I'm just like you, I did not know about it. I was just guessing.”

Police spokesperson Brig Vish Naidoo said Mhlongo reported to the Sandton police station at the weekend.

"He was charged and released on R1,500 bail, pending a court appearance," Naidoo said.

Mbalula confirmed on his Twitter page that Mhlongo had been arrested. He was responding a question from a follower.