Former Ukhozi FM presenter and Jacob Zuma supporter Ngizwe Mchunu left police headquarters in Durban in handcuffs on Monday and is headed to Gauteng to face charges.

The police would not immediately confirm the charges but Mchunu — wearing a buff and scarf bearing the South African flag — told followers on social media that he was sought in connection with being an instigator in riots that plunged KwaZulu-Natal into chaos last week. 

Mchunu, has called for Zuma to be set free after his incarceration two weeks ago at the Estcourt correctional facility in compliance with the Constitutional Court order.

The former broadcaster, who stopped working at Ukhozi FM in 2020, was initially scheduled to hand himself over at Durban Central police station but this changed later in the day and he handed himself over at the police headquarters. 

His lawyers Styx Mdladla and Vusi Khathi told TimesLIVE that Mchunu would be taken to Gauteng to appear before the Randburg magistrate's court by Wednesday. They would not confirm the charges against their client. However, it is understood he is said to have contravened an “old riotous act”, according to his lawyers. 

His wife Lindi Khuzwayo told SowetanLIVE's sister publication TimesLIVE: “I came here with incense and a traditional rug. I will burn the incense and ask our elders to watch over him during this time.

“I want to know who will look after my husband inside there because he suffers from chest pains and needs his medication.”

TimesLIVE