Presidential adviser Zizi Kodwa is on the warpath - and the target of his ire is no less than Mzwandile Petros.
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Presidential adviser Zizi Kodwa is on the warpath – and the target of his ire is no less than Gauteng Police Commissioner Mzwandile Petros.
“Yes… I want answers from ‘Petros’. I had a lot of respect for him and his work but he has disappointed me. His disappearance and silence from all of this gives an impression that he is aware of something. I want him to tell me what he knows. I want him to tell me who ordered my arrest and why I was the target when I did nothing wrong. There was definitely a motive behind all of this. I want to know what it is.”
Kodwa was speaking to Independent Newspapers after private toxicology tests this week revealed there was zero alcohol percentage in his blood on the night of his arrest.
The former ANC Youth League spokesman was arrested last month 200m from the Rosebank police station.
Two police constables from the station allegedly drove with Kodwa around Joburg before locking him up in the cells on suspicion of having driven drunk. Since that day Kodwa, who was with on his way from a party with friends, has steadfastly maintained his innocence, denying that he touched a drop.
Upon receiving his tests this week, Kodwa took to Twitter and expressed his sentiments saying “I told them banyile ngekhe ndibayeke (They are in s**t, I won’t let them go).”
“I still stand by the comments I made on Twitter. Vulgar as they might sound. I simply meant they (the SAPS) were in big trouble now,” he said yesterday.
Kodwa said soon after his arrest he penned a letter to Petros demanding an explanation for what transpired on the night and why he had been wrongfully arrested.
“I wasn’t asking him (Petros) for preferential treatment above other drivers, or favours. All I wanted was for him to tell me why I was subjected to such scrutiny and abuse by these police officers. To this day, he still hasn’t replied to me and I guarantee he will not be replying anytime soon. I find this very suspicious. As a politician and a South African citizen I have the right to know,” he said.
Kodwa has since filed in a civil claim against Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa and acting National Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Nonhlanhla Mkhwanazi for R5 million.
His lawyer, Gugulethu Madlanga, said the parties involved had to take responsibility for their actions.
The State duly dropped its charges against him, the day after the tests came back negative.
Yesterday, Kodwa - who got married last week and is in Cape Town on honeymoon - added he had also filed a separate lawsuit against the two police officers.
He added: “My name and reputation has been tainted. You Google my name and news reports about me drinking and driving will always be there. I’ve suffered immense damage. President Jacob Zuma is my employer. His name has also been dragged through the mud.”