Hawks arrest former MK Party youth leader Bonginkosi Khanyile for inciting public violence

Former MK Party youth leader Bonginkosi Khanyile, 34, faces charges of contravening the Riotous Assemblies Act and conspiracy to commit public violence for his threats in March to disrupt the May general elections. 

He was arrested on Friday. 

Khanyile had in March said there would be no elections without the MK Party after the IEC wanted to bar its leader Jacob Zuma from contesting for a seat in the National Assembly due to his 15-month prison sentence for contempt of court.

“If they remove MK and remove Zuma as the face of the campaign, there won’t be elections in South Africa,” he said at the time.

Khanyile also faces charges for allegedly inciting violence and instigating the fatal July 2021 unrest.

The former MK youth league leader was arrested by the Hawks’ KwaZulu-Natal Crimes Against The State unit, said Hawks spokesperson Col Katlego Mogale.

“The announcement also made connotations that the citizens of the country must gather together and loot the country as previously done in July 2021. A criminal case was reported at Brixton police station and Khanyile was arrested at the Durban magistrate's court while appearing for the July 2021 matter,” Mogale said.

Khanyile is expected to return to the same court on September 23 for both cases after being released on bail.

A month after threatening to disrupt the elections, Khanyile posted a video on social media in which he said he was a changed man who had stopped making reckless statements inciting violence.

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