Three men briefly appeared in the Thohoyandou Magistrate Court last Thursday, charged with assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. The men, between the ages of 64 and 36 stand accused of assaulting a policeman, who is also a popular radio DJ.

Their case was postponed to April 13. The three accused are not in custody.

Their appearance is the sequel to an incident that happened at a filling station in Sibasa during the festive season, where Mulalo Masindi, aka DJ Mawelewele (30) of Tshaulu-Mutshetshe, was allegedly assaulted severely. He is a policeman, based at Mamelodi, and also a DJ at Univen FM.

In an interview, Masindi stated that he was surprised by three unknown people, as he was parked next to a filling station at Sibasa. “I was on my way home at around 19:00, when my friend decided that we should stop for him to buy something from the garage,” he said. He added that while he was still parked there, people in a car came, parked alongside him and accused him of blocking the way.

“I told them that I was just waiting for someone who had gone to buy something. The way I was parked allowed me to move away if someone wanted to go. I said that I would open the way for anybody who wanted to go away,” he said.

Mawelewele said the driver of the other car insulted him with vulgar words. “As someone who keeps the peace, I did not want to prolong the argument and decided to go as soon as my friend came back,“ he said. Apparently, the other car followed and they stopped side by side at a traffic light not far from the garage. He said the occupants of the other car told him to stop his car.

‘I am a peace-loving person who believes in solving problems and not fighting. This made me stop, thinking that they wanted to apologize for what they had done,’ he said. Mawelewele said he was surprised to see that the men were not coming for peace but were violent. They pulled him out of the car and he was subjected to a severe beating by three of the men. He said all the time he was asking them what wrong he had done, but they did not give him an answer.

“The assault lasted about 15 minutes and they left me sprawled on the ground, bleeding heavily. Luckily I managed to get the number plate of the car they were driving, which provided a clue to the police, who traced the suspects,” he said. He added that the whole incident has left him greatly traumatized and he feels compromised.

“I am a role model to the youth and they do not expect me to bear bruises. These bruises portray me as a very violent person, which I am not. I had to cancel a lot of live appearances, which made me lose a lot in terms of earnings. I could not go to people with swollen eyes and bruises,” he said.

Mawelewele said he was just waiting for the wheels of justice to move at their own pace and he wished his assailants got what they deserved.

Univen Radio station manager Ms Tshilidzi Shirinda said it is unfortunate for the station to find one of its trusted anchors assaulted. The spokesperson for the Thohoyandou police, Const Avhafarei Tshiovhe confirmed that three men had appeared in court and that they were out on warning.