DA demands accountability on Hawks raiding comedian's home over satirical video

There is a storm brewing over a Hawks raid on the home of Cape Town comedian and influencer Anton Taylor.

Taylor has revealed that the raid took place after he posted a satirical video on social media in March this year.

Senzo Mchunu, the now-suspended minister of police, reportedly laid criminal charges against Taylor on the basis that he considered the TikTok video 'extremely, extremely hurting and damaging'.

Mchunu was suspended in July following accusations by KZN Police Commissioner Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi that he was involved with criminal syndicates interfering with police work.

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In the video Taylor, in character as a Czech criminal, 'jokes' that he bribed Mchunu and was unhappy that the KZN police boss was taking action against criminals in the province.

In a follow-up clip on 29 August, the comedian describes the raid as 'an intimadatory excercise' by Mchunu and 'a serious abuse of power'.

Lisa Schickerling, MP and DA Spokesperson on Police, says the party has written to Acting Minister Prof. Firoz Cachalia, to demand a full explanation of how South Africa’s top law enforcement body was mobilised to raid the home of Taylor.

'When satire triggers a Hawks raid, we have to ask what has become of state power', echoes National Assembly Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Police, the DA's Ian Cameron.