Xolani Khumalo in police custody over assault allegations; ActionSA confirms full support

ActionSA says its Ekurhuleni mayoral candidate and councillor, Xolani Khumalo, has handed himself over to the South African Police Service (SAPS) and has been charged with assault grievous bodily harm, (GBH) and pointing a firearm.

ActionSA leader Funzi Ngobeni confirmed that Khumalo has been detained by police and will appear in the Palm Ridge Magistrate’s Court later today.

Despite the allegations of assault, ActionSA has said it would not suspend Khumalo, describing the charges as false and politically motivated.

Khumalo is also a well-known public figure through his involvement in television programmes like Sizok'thola  focused on crime and community safety, where he has built a national profile for confronting alleged drug dealers and exposing criminal syndicates.

Last year, Khumalo’s activism became intertwined with a high-profile legal battle when a confrontation in Katlehong resulted in the death of Robert “Kicks” Varrie, a suspected drug dealer.

Police initially charged Komalo with murder, robbery, and malicious property damage. The incident divided the community, with some defending his efforts to tackle drug crime and others questioning his methods. Moja Love, the network behind Sizok’thola, ended his contract, and Khumalo spent months attending hearings at the Palm Ridge Magistrate’s Court.

In April 2025, the National Prosecuting Authority provisionally withdrew the charges, citing the need for further investigation.

ActionSA national chairperson Michael Beaumont said the current allegations arise from Khumalo’s previous work confronting a suspected drug dealer.

Beaumont explained that in 2025, the individual was arrested for possession of illegal, unlicensed ammunition, but was inexplicably released by the Katlehong police station and given back the illegal ammunition. The same individual later laid a false assault charge against Khumalo, which police are now acting upon.

“This is the pattern that South Africans are familiar with,” Beaumont said. “Criminals get let free, and those who fight criminals get harassed by the police, who are often involved in these issues.”

Beaumont confirmed that Khumalo would hand himself over to authorities as planned and that ActionSA would be present in support.

“The party will be there in force with him. It's a statement of solidarity because, again, this is something that South Africans are just so familiar with. The police are not doing their jobs and getting criminals off our streets.

''They are heavily implicated in the trade of drugs. And when someone actually challenges those who trade their drugs, the police harass them and arrest them,” he said.

Beaumont said ActionSA had investigated the matter thoroughly and believed the charges were false claims. 

“ActionSA is not going to suspend hardworking community activists who are serving their community on the words of drug dealers.

''Drug dealers are people who are harming our communities. And when they lay charges of assault against the person who is fighting the trade of their drugs, it's very clear that doing that is to stop the work that they are doing,” he said.

Beaumont added that communities strongly support Khumalo’s work.

“Communities are very angry today. They know the work that Xolani Khumalo has been doing. They support the work that he's doing. And like all communities, they know where the drug dealers are. They know where they're operating.

''They've told the police where they're operating. But it is believed that these drug dealers are operating with the support and protection of police members. And that is why nothing happens to them without the people like Xolani Khumalo running the campaigns that he does,” he said.

On the potential impact of the allegations on ActionSA’s local government election campaign, Beaumont said the issue would serve to highlight the work Khumalo is doing in communities plagued by drugs and crime.

''If anything, what this really does is it takes the issue of drugs and crime in Ekurhuleni and the manner in which its operating with the tacit or explicit protection of the police and it elevates it and it elevates the work that Xolani Khumalo is doing in these communities.

''So, we will make this central to his campaign going forward, and we actually think if anything, it’s just going to make people more angry about what they know is going on in their communities,'' he said.

[email protected] 

IOL Politics