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Newcastle Municipality’s Deputy Mayor, Cllr Musa Thwala has yet again found himself the target of criminal acts.
On 14 March 2022, the Deputy Mayor made national headlines after a shooting outside his home in Madadeni, KwaZulu-Natal.
The incident took place when Cllr Thwala’s bodyguards noticed a suspicious vehicle across the road from his residence at a nearby shopping complex. When the guards approached the said vehicle, the suspects inside opened fire.
The guards retaliated, seeing one of the bodyguards shot in the head, the other in the hand and one suspect being injured.
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According to Cllr Thwala, while the crime is still being investigated, he is now facing another attack. This time, the perpetrators are using the digital world to wreak havoc in his life.
“Two months ago, my phone number was hacked, and I could not get any form of network,” he began.
This resulted in him opting to obtain another phone number, as he didn’t feel comfortable about the sudden technical issue. However, he said this was just the beginning of his troubles.
“I then started receiving phone calls and messages from colleagues and friends, all of whom asked if I was alright. When I said that I was, I found that an individual had been calling and messaging my colleagues and friends saying that I was in trouble, and I needed financial help and would pay them back as soon as the issue was sorted out. The person would ask them to pay between R1 500 to R3 000.”
Furthermore, Cllr Thwala said he immediately approached his service provider who confirmed that an individual had done a sim swop and gained access to the number he had originally been using.
As a result, he said that he then took the necessary steps to have the number blocked and opened a case at the Newcastle SAPS.
However, regardless of his efforts, the problem persisted. In fact, he said it has now escalated to the point where the perpetrator is inviting people to pay a substantial amount of money to him to secure a position at the Newcastle Municipality.
Believing that the culprits are determined to tarnish his name and bring him to disrepute, Cllr Thwala explained that he has approached the SAPS again, following up on the matter.
With the SAPS confirming that the investigations are in full swing, Cllr Thwala emphasised, “This whole situation is scary and stressful.”
As Cllr Thwala finds himself defending his name, what are your thoughts on the above-mentioned?
Share your views in the comment section below.