Hawks man under fire over Jub Jub tweets
2012-10-17 10:37
Johannesburg - A tweet by Hawks spokesperson Colonel McIntosh Polela about Vaseline and murder-convicted kwaito star Molemo Jub Jub Maarohanye, made news headlines on Wednesday morning.
"JubJub spending 1st nite [sic] in prison. Bail has been denied after being found guilty of murder, attempted murder & racing while high," Polela first tweeted on Tuesday, shortly after judgment was handed down in the Protea Magistrate's Court.
A second tweet followed a while later: "I trust that JubJub's supporters gave him a jar of Vaseline to take to prison."
Another twitter user asked him: "Wha'ts Vaseline for in Prison?" to which Polela replied, "Polishing specialized prison shoes!"
‘Prisons are where monsters are made’
Several users commented on his tweet, with one user saying: "Really? Rape jokes from the police spokesperson?" and another said, "Coming from a officer of the court that is low! Scrapping at the bottom of the barrel for comments now are we? [sic]".
Writer Osiame Molefe also wrote about Polela’s tweets in a blog post titled “South African prisons are where monsters are made, McIntosh”.
The tweet from Tuesday - after Maarohanye and his co-accused Themba Tshabalala were found guilty of murder - was still on his profile on Wednesday morning.
Beeld newspaper said it contacted him about what he had written, but he declined to comment.
On Twitter, Polela describes himself as an award-winning spokesperson, best-selling author, French student, hunter and rifles fanatic, and literature nerd.
It also says: "My tweets are 4 my tweeps. No publishing."
Maarohanye and Tshabalala were found guilty on four counts of murder, two of attempted murder, using drugs, racing on a public road, and driving under the influence of drugs.
They were drag-racing in Protea North on March 8 2010 when they crashed into a group of schoolboys.
- SAPA
