Celeb Twitter Round-Up: Skhumbuzo Mbatha Arrested for Drunk Driving

Actor Skhumbuzo Mbatha has landed himself in hot water after being caught drinking and driving over the weekend.

According to reports, Mbatha – best known for portraying Meneer Manaka, a teacher on the popular soapie, “Skeem Saam” – was stopped at a police roadblock in Parktown, an upmarket suburb in Johannesburg, Gauteng, on Saturday night, 8 March.

After smelling alcohol inside his vehicle, officers from the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD) conducted both breathalyser and blood sample tests on Mbatha. They determined that he was under the influence of alcohol, exceeding the legal alcohol limit of 0.05 grams per 100 millilitres of blood.

Mbatha was then taken by JMPD officers to a nearby police station, where he was officially charged with drunk driving. The following morning, Sunday 9 March, he was released from detainment after posting R1 500 bail.

Over on Twitter/X, folks poked fun at Mbatha’s situation. Some made reference to “Skeem Saam”, blaming the woes of “Meneer Manaka” on his on-screen rival, Principal Alfred Magongwa:

A few peeps reckoned that Mbatha didn’t have enough *ahem* “cold drink money” to give to the officers so that he could continue on his merry way (or perhaps they were too upright to accept any form of bribery, alleged or otherwise):

Others thought that everyone was blowing Mbatha’s arrest out of proportion, and that he makes mistakes just like everyone else:

Still, that doesn’t take away from the fact that drunk driving is a serious offence. After all, it can seriously endanger the lives of not only the driver, but also everyone else in the vicinity, be it other motorists or pedestrians.

@IamOkuhle_ and @Xolani_Malinga2 spoke for the rest of Twitter/X with these emphatic tweets:

Well said!

Mbatha is expected to appear in court sometime this week. ‘Til then, stay safe out there, folks – and DON’T drink and drive!

Image Credit: Source