New twist revealed in Mandoza crash saga

| Wednesday February 17, 2010 00:00

Johannesburg metro police now say they don't believe the singer, whose real name is Mduduzi Tshabalala, was behind the wheel of the Mini Cooper that crashed into a palm tree in the northwestern Johannesburg suburb of Weltevreden Park on Sunday.

Tshabalala was treated at the Helen Joseph Hospital and discharged the same day. The car, which was allegedly being driven at high speed, careered onto a pavement and crashed into the tree before spinning back on to the road. Mandoza was seated in the back seat when paramedics arrived.

Though eye witnesses said Tshabalala was alone in the car when the accident happened, metro police officers now believe that the car's owner, whose name is known to The Times, might have been behind the wheel.

Metro police spokeswoman Edna Mamonyane said officers suspect that the man, who reportedly arrived at the accident scene two hours after the crash with swollen lips, fled the scene after the accident.

'The person who claimed ownership of the car claimed that the person who was driving his car did so without his consent,' Mamonyane said. She said the man sounded surprised when officers told him that his car had been involved in an accident. 'He told officers that he was at a party on Saturday night. When he got to the scene he was reeking of alcohol,' said Mamonyane.

She said that the owner of the car, who failed to tell the police where it had been parked before it disappeared, could not be reached yesterday by the investigating officer, who offered to help him open a case after he said that his car was taken without his permission. Mamonyane said a full statement was yet to be taken from Tshabalala.

Neither the car's owner nor Curwin Eaton, Mandoza's manager, could be reached for comment. (Timeslive.co.za)