Comedian and television personality Anton Taylor says that his latest altercation with the Hawks and suspended police minister Senzo Mchunu has motivated him to go even harder.
Anton, a man who has now become renowned for his occasional social media skits, has found himself at the wrong end of the law. In June this year, the comedian’s house was raided by the Hawks, a branch of the South African Police Service that investigates organised crime, economic crime, corruption, and other serious crimes in the country.
According to various reports and Anton’s testimony, the raid was in connection with a satirical skit uploaded by the TikTok comedian, which was posted in March this year. In the video, Anton pretends to be a fake Czech crime boss claiming he “bribed” Police Minister Senzo Mchunu with a BMW and three sex workers to attack KZN police boss Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi.
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When suspended minister Senzo Mchunu discovered the video, he was unimpressed and pressed charges against Anton. The case against him was classified as a “crime against the state”, on par with treason.
Meanwhile, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) declined to prosecute, saying that there was no reasonable prospect of success.
Anton has since made a brief appearance on the national radio broadcast station, 5FM where he provided more insights into the matter.
He claimed that at the time, he was out of the country visiting his sister and brother-in-law in America. Only later, he woke up to 10 missed calls from his landlord informing him about the raid.
Meanwhile, his phone had also been confiscated in the process, but he says that the Hawks captain expressed remorse, claiming that the minister had taken the video personally.
When the comedian was asked whether the incident would deter him from making similar videos revealed that, in contrast, it only motivated him to go harder.
“I’m going to go harder! I took a couple of days off and now I’m going to double down,” he said.
“Obviously, he has upset me, and at the time, it was very stressful, so I am going to double down. I think we can all agree that as South Africans, we make jokes, we make fun of things, and I think it is one of the cool aspects about us as a people.”
Meanwhile, the station’s digital Law Consultant, Rorke Wilson, claims that Anton’s actions were completely law-abiding.
“This was absolutely a law-abiding situation. When it comes to freedom of expression in South Africa, particularly in satire and comedy, we have fantastic protections for it. For anyone who is a bit of a law nerd, please go read the Laugh It Off South Africa case, where we have a judge who is defending our sense of humour in South Africa.”
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Also see: Ian Cameron Condemns Hawks for Raiding Influencer’s Home Over Satirical Video
