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Deputy Executive Mayor: Cllr. Nokuzola P Kolwapi.
Police in the Garden Route District in the Western Cape have confirmed establishing a team to lead the investigation into the conduct of the Deputy Mayor of the Bitou Municipality in Plettenberg Bay.
Nokuzola Kolwapi was captured discharging a gun, allegedly in celebration of her son’s initiation, in a video circulating on social media platforms.
VIDEO | Deputy Mayor of Bitou Municipality in hot water: Sifiso Mtsweni:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9u7N3jbiB1U
She has since insisted in a statement that the object was a toy or replica firearm.
Kolwapi says the incident is a symbolic act linked to South Africa’s gender-based violence crisis, arguing that women should not be portrayed solely as victims.
After backlash from the public and political parties for being reckless, she issued a statement claiming it was a toy gun.
Another video and a different angle of the incident then surfaced, allegedly showing her handing the weapon to her bodyguard afterwards.
The Bitou Municipality has since confirmed that the bodyguard is from law enforcement.
Meanwhile, Bitou Municipality spokesperson Andile Namntu says since the council is still in recess, they cannot comment about their own investigations into the matter.
VIDEO | New video of Councillor Nokuzola Kolwapi gun firing incident:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbKs861KJoQ
