DRAMA erupted at the Madlanga Commission on Thursday after businessman Stuart James Scharnick was arrested following an alleged confrontation with a journalist.
Scharnick, who has been described as an associate of suspended Deputy National Police Commissioner Shadrack Sibiya, was arrested by police after Sowetan journalist Herman Moloi opened a criminal case of intimidation against him.
The incident reportedly happened during a break in proceedings at the commission in Pretoria.
Moloi had been carrying out his duties when he allegedly filmed Scharnick speaking to suspended National Coloured Congress MP Fadiel Adams.
According to reports, Scharnick later confronted the journalist over the footage, which he allegedly claimed had been posted on TikTok.
The confrontation was captured on video, with the incident quickly becoming one of the day’s major talking points at the commission.
Police subsequently arrested Scharnick after the intimidation complaint was opened.
Reports indicate that the arrest took place outside the Brigitte Mabandla College in Pretoria, where the commission is sitting.
The arrest has also triggered concern among media organisations.
The South African National Editors’ Forum (SANEF) condemned what it described as an attempt to bully and intimidate Moloi while he was covering the proceedings.
The Madlanga Commission has also condemned the intimidation of journalists attending its hearings.
Scharnick’s arrest adds another dramatic twist to a commission already dominated by explosive testimony about alleged corruption, criminality and political interference within South Africa’s criminal justice system.
The intimidation allegations against Scharnick will now move into the criminal justice process as police deal with the case opened by Moloi.
The Madlanga Commission continues.
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