Khayelitsha sub-council chair Patrick Mnxunyeni says he spent four hours at the Bothasig police station in Cape Town on New Year's Eve, protesting he was engaged in legitimate work shortly after curfew kicked in.
He said he had been accused of breaking curfew and of drinking and driving.
Mnxunyeni denies that he was under the influence of alcohol but said he was stopped outside his home after 9pm last night.
According to the adjusted lockdown level 3 regulations, the evening curfew is 9pm.
“I was stopped close to home after 9pm, I explained that I was attending to an emergency in Khayelitsha F-section, there was an electrical issue, and I got delayed.”
He said he had a permit on him and e-mails from Eskom to support his version of events but he was still kept for four hours.
“This office can confirm that a 54-year-old man was detained at Bothasig police station last night at around 21:40 after he was arrested by the traffic department for driving his vehicle under the influence of alcohol,” police spokesperson Andre Traut said.
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