The Randburg Magistrates’ Court has granted R15,000 bail to a man accused of breaking into a women’s restroom at a Sandton restaurant, demanding to take a witness’s picture, and threatening to kill three people. This is the latest development in a case that has garnered a lot of public attention since a video of the altercation went viral earlier this month.
National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago confirmed that Lawrence Chamurwa Mudzinganyama, 40, appeared in court on Thursday facing a total of ten charges: three counts of intimidation, three counts of assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm, three counts of crimen injuria, and one count of fraud.
The charges all stem from an incident at Vlamo Restaurant in Sandton on September 18, which was captured on video and quickly spread across social media, sparking widespread condemnation.
According to the state, Mudzinganyama walked into the women’s powder room at the restaurant and demanded to photograph one of the witnesses.
He is further accused of threatening three witnesses with violence and death during the altercation threats that, according to earlier reports, included chilling statements about his willingness to use firearms against those present.
On September 20, Mudzinganyama was first taken into custody at the Randburg police station and later released on a warning due to a single intimidation charge.
However, Kganyago stated that following a more extensive investigation that included gathering witness accounts and obtaining video footage of the incident, the state later filed additional charges.
Armed with this fresh information, prosecutors sought to the court to reconsider his earlier release on a warning and to have formal bail terms set in the interests of justice a motion the court ultimately granted.
Mudzinganyama was granted R15,000 bail by the Randburg Magistrates’ Court, subject to a number of stringent requirements. He is prohibited from directly or indirectly interfering with any witnesses in the case, including employees of Vlamo Restaurant, and he is required to report to the Randburg police station once a week. In addition, he was told not to leave Gauteng province until the issue was resolved and to turn over his passport and any other travel documents to the investigating officer.
Since then, the matter has been rescheduled until October 15, at which point it will be sent to the regional court for additional procedures.
Beyond the courtroom, the confrontation’s viral nature has had repercussions.
In the days following the incident, Vlamo Restaurant confirmed that it had opened its own case with police and said it was strengthening security measures in response.
Mudzinganyama has also reportedly lost a commercial lease and stepped down from positions he held at other companies following the backlash.
Separately, Transport Minister Barbara Creecy ordered an investigation by the South African National Roads Agency (SANRAL) into a company with alleged links to Mudzinganyama, examining its appointment and contract compliance an inquiry that remains ongoing as the criminal case proceeds.