/ 18 April 2007

Star of Tsotsi pleads guilty to fraud

Award-winning Tsotsi actor Presley Chweneyagae pleaded guilty to a charge of fraud when he appeared in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday. He was given a fine of R5 000 or six months’ imprisonment.

He only had R3 000 in his possession and will settle the outstanding amount at a later stage.

The 22-year-old star was arrested on January 23. He was accused of driving with a fake Ivorian driver’s licence doctored to look like an international driver’s licence.

His defence lawyer, Shane Lowley, said a fraud conviction would jeopardise the actor’s chances of getting work in the United States and Europe, and that this was enough punishment already. ”He was made an offer [of buying the licence] and he succumbed to the temptation; now he is being punished for that,” he said.

State prosecutor Matthews Rampyapedi said this issue would have been avoided had Chweneyagae followed the correct procedure for getting a licence. ”He is a danger on the roads and the situation might have caused a disaster in the future, especially since we have high statistics of accidents on the roads,” he said.

Rampyapedi was, however, satisfied with the actor’s plea.

On handing down Chweneyagae’s sentence, magistrate Estelle Biljon said she took into account the seriousness of the crime committed and the actor’s personal circumstances.

”I regard the crime committed serious as it involves an element of dishonesty, but I understand that the act committed was not premeditated,” Biljon said, adding she accepted the actor’s feelings of remorse and that he did not have a criminal record.

”The court realises that it’s not easy to follow procedures of obtaining a licence, but we will not excuse any fraudulent means of getting a driver’s licence,” she said.

Apology

After the court proceedings, Chweneyagae said he felt bad about what he did. ”I want to say sorry to all my fans, friends and family. I’m only human and sometimes people make mistakes. I just want to say sorry to all South Africans and I want other people to learn from my mistakes,” he said.

He said he will be conducting talks at various schools to teach young children that crime does not pay.

On how he felt the sentence would affect his career, he said: ”I believe in my talent, so I will try and use that,” adding that he deserved the sentence.

The actor also said he will be applying for a new licence but refused to mention at which testing station.

His mother, Aggie, along with family and friends were there to offer their support.

Two other people also appeared in court on the same charges as Chweneyagae. They too were given the same sentence.

All three told the same story about a man named ”Alli” who offered to sell them the Ivorian licence, which would later be turned into a South African licence. They paid the man R3 000.

The man, 35-year-old Keita Tidiane, also known as ”Alli”, from Côte d’Ivoire, has since been sentenced to five years in prison. He pleaded guilty to 10 charges of fraud.

Chweneyagae won an award for outstanding performance by a lead actor for his role in Tsotsi at the Black Movie Awards in Los Angeles last year, heading off competition from established actors including Denzel Washington, Cuba Gooding and Tyrese Gibson.

His portrayal of a tsotsi (thug) in the movie received rave reviews from critics. The movie won an Oscar for best foreign film at last year’s award ceremony. — Sapa