Tightrope walker says he was pushed off wire by city official

Musemwa, 37, claims that on 20 April , while he was performing near Cafe Caprice in Camps Bay, the officer pushed him off his wire. He injured his ankle and knee and since then he says he finds it hard to keep his balance and to stand without support.

He says doctors at Somerset Hospital told him it would be risky to operate on his ankle and the recovery period might be more than six months. He decided not to go ahead with the operation.

Musemwa laid charges on 20 April at Camps Bay police station against the officer. He was given a case number and asked to bring a form from the hospital. But when he brought the form, on 22 July, he found the docket for the assault case had disappeared and the case number referred to an unrelated housebreaking case.

However, three women police officers who had helped him to open the case in April were on duty. Musemwa had made a copy of his statement and one of them acknowledged that the signature on the statement was hers, he says.

The police officers told him that the docket had been tampered with, says Musemwa.

In response to questions, SAPS corporate communications Lieutenant Colonel Andre Traut told GroundUp on 10 July that his office had no record of Musemwa’s case.

But on 28 July Captain FC Van Wyk of SAPS Western Cape Media Centre confirmed that the incident had been reported on 20 April and referred to the City of Cape Town’s law enforcement department “for further handling”.

“The complainant is encouraged to raise his allegation that the case docket has been destroyed with police management”, van Wyk said.

The City of Cape Town’s Executive Director for Safety and Security, Richard Bosman, said the City “is in the process of investigating these allegations, including what disciplinary steps are to be taken.

“We are still waiting on Mr Musemwa to provide us with the necessary documents in order to follow up on this matter.”

Musemwa had obtained permission from the cafe owner to span his wire approximately 2 metres above the ground. He walked in his socks on the wire from one building to another, dancing on the wire and drawing crowds with stunts performed with a bicycle wheel.

Musemwa is known to his fans as Moso-Moso and his cassette is titled Lovhilingana Sango, meaning “The world is mixed up”. He uses his acrobatic skills to promote his album.

He came to South Africa in 1996 and has permanent residence status. He performed “one man comedy” in schools in Venda before teaching himself tight rope skills. Before he injured his leg his dream was to break the world record for tight rope walking.

“My life is ruined,” he says. “All my savings have dried up. Since the incident I am not working. I have two children, Fortunate who is 13 years old and Prince two years old, and a wife to take care of. We have a small garden but it is difficult to work in it.”