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SA filmmaker held in US
22/08/2004 13:59 - (SA)
Nhlanhla Ncaca
Johannesburg - Internationally acclaimed trumpeter Hugh Masekela and his two sons are embroiled in controversy after the arrest of a South African filmmaker in the US on charges of attempted murder.
Filmmaker Mandla Dube, 33, was granted bail of $3m (about R20m) and is being held in an American jail after the car which he was driving crashed into a tree in Los Angeles on July 3. Masekela's stepsons, Patrick, 19, and Adam Wilkinson, 17, and Dube's own four sons were in the car when it crashed.
No one was seriously injured but Patrick and Adam allegedly told police that Dube intended to kill himself and everyone else in the car.
Dube, who is being held in custody, could not raise the US$3m bail.
Dube and Masekela have a relationship dating back to 1996 when Dube filmed Bra Hugh's music video for his song No More Crying.
Masekela said when he visited the US in June this year Dube caught up with him at an LA bookstore where he was signing copies of his autobiography Still Grazing.
Masekela said Dube, excited at seeing his countryman and colleague, willingly agreed to mentor his two sons after the trumpeter introduced them to the filmmaker.
Patrick and Adam are studying film at the American Film Academy where Dube obtained his Masters in cinematography.
Masekela and Dube apparently arranged for a date on which the film-maker would take Masekela's sons to a shoot for a documentary last month.
According to Dube's wife Lindiwe, her husband is a staunch Zion Christian Church (ZCC) member and on the day of the shoot he was fasting.
Before going to the shoot, Dube, who was with four of his children and Masekela's stepsons, went to a mountain to pray. They then drove to the shoot.
She said her husband, who was driving, passed out and crashed the car into a tree. When police arrived, Adam and Patrick allegedly told them that Dube had intended to kill himself and everyone else in the car.
Dube's lawyer, George Holloway, said his client faced six counts of attempted murder and six counts of child abuse.
Dube's bail is high because the police said in their statement that "it appeared as though Dube was trying to hurt the children", said Holloway.
The police also said that Dube was a danger to the community and was a flight risk because of his SA citizenship, the lawyer said.
"The charges are very serious but, as the defendants, we know that this is not a case of attempted murder.
"It is most likely there was a medical condition contributing to the accident," said Holloway.
Speaking on behalf of his sons, Masekela told City Press that he met Dube in 1996, and when he met him again last year, he thought it appropriate to introduce his stepsons to the filmmaker because they were interested in film.
He said one of his sons fractured his shoulder during the accident, but the family did not lay a charge against Dube.
"We never pressed charges against him. It is the police who decided to charge him," said Hugh.
- City Press
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South Africa
