The Musina Municipality did not want to officially confirm that its mayor, Nkhanedzeni Godfrey Mawela, was arrested on Saturday night on charges of assault, following a brawl at a tavern at Muswodi.
On Sunday morning the spokesperson for the police in Limpopo, Brigadier Motlafela Mojapelo confirmed that a 39-year-old man was arrested by the police in Muswodi, near Mutale. This follows an incident on Saturday night at a local tavern. During the incident a 25-year-old man was assaulted and had to be taken to hospital for treatment.
Mojapelo said that the suspect handed himself over to the police shortly after the incident and was subsequently arrested. He is scheduled to appear in the Mutale magistrate's court on Monday, 28 February.
Shortly after news of the arrest broke, rumours started flying that the suspect is a prominent political leader and in fact one of the mayors in the Vhembe district. It was further rumoured that the physical fight followed soon after a heated argument at the tavern. Musina's newly elected mayor is the 39-year-old Nkhanedzeni Godfrey Mawela.
The spokesperson for the Musina local municipality, Mr Wilson Dzebu, said that the municipality is currently not in a position to comment on the matter. He said that they have heard about the incident, but they do not know whether formal charges were laid against the mayor. Dzebu said that he hopes to be able to speak to the mayor before his possible court appearance on Monday morning.