Central SA
"Fake king" in cuffs after extortion claims─── 09:30 Thu, 15 Sep 2022
A man claiming to be the “king of Harrismith” is expected to appear before the Harrismith Magistrates Court on Thursday, 15 September 2022, following his arrest on Tuesday.
SAPS spokesperson, Mmako Mophiring, tells OFM News that the suspect was arrested and charged with trespassing and malicious damage to property after he allegedly went around the Eastern Free State town, claiming that he owned it, demanding rental fees from business owners.
Some community members also complained that he would break the locks on residents' houses and demand them to move out, claiming that “everything belongs to him”.
They say they did not feel safe in their homes as the suspect would enter as he pleases, at any time of the day or night. He was allegedly very aggressive when approaching people.
Alison Oates, caucus leader of the DA in the Maluti-a-Phofung Local Municipality, claims that “King Letsitsa Moloi” (who had changed his name from Sika Lucas Moloi) has had numerous court interdicts against his “continued harassment and intimidation”.
Moloi was allegedly on the forefront of the illegal occupation of at least 80 newly built houses in Schoomplaas, where the Bloemfontein High Court issued an eviction notice in 2021.
“It has been brought to our attention that a letter, in the name of the ‘king’s trust’, was handed over to business owners at the local shopping centre. The letter demanded that all rental monies be paid into the ‘king’s bank account', claiming that the land belongs to him. The letter is a blatant attempt at extortion and intimidation.
“The ‘king's trust’ has further been linked to letters delivered to businesses within the CBD, in which the business owners were informed that because their businesses are on the ‘king’s land, they - the business owners - would have to give/gift the fake king with items from their shops,” said Oates.