By Rorisang Modiba
- Molemo “Jub Jub” Maarohanye was arrested on 14 June 2026 after allegedly forcing an e-hailing driver into a vehicle and firing a shot at him in Edenvale.
- Police found a pellet gun at his home, and the NPA dropped three serious charges, leaving Jub Jub facing one count of pointing an object resembling a firearm
Molemo “Jub Jub” Maarohanye has been here before. Not in Edenvale, not with an e-hailing driver, but in this position — his name in the news, his face on the front page, the law waiting for him at the end of it.
This is the third time in 16 years.
It started on 8 March 2010, on a street in Protea North, Soweto. Maarohanye and a co-accused, Themba Tshabalala, were drag racing when their cars ploughed into a group of schoolchildren. Four boys died. Two others were seriously hurt.
The Protea Magistrate’s Court convicted him on four counts of murder and two counts of attempted murder in October 2012 and sentenced him to 25 years in prison. He did not stay on that sentence. In 2014 the South Gauteng High Court reduced the convictions to culpable homicide and cut his sentence to eight years, backdated to 2012. He was released on parole on 5 January 2017, after serving just over four years.
He came out promising to do better. In interviews and public appearances he said prison had changed him. He rebuilt his career, first in music, then as the host of Uyajola 9/9, one of South Africa’s most-watched reality shows.
Five years later, the law came again. In February 2022, actress Amanda du-Pont opened a rape case against him, alleging he raped her during their relationship. Three other women came forward after she spoke publicly. Prosecutors enrolled 13 charges in total, including rape, attempted murder and assault, relating to incidents allegedly committed between 2006 and 2009.
He was arrested, released on R10,000 bail, and waited. In July 2024 the National Prosecuting Authority withdrew every charge, saying there were no reasonable prospects of a conviction.
Now it is June 2026. Police arrested Maarohanye on Sunday, 14 June, after an alleged confrontation with an e-hailing driver in Edenvale, east of Johannesburg. According to police, he accused the driver of having a relationship with his girlfriend, forced him into a vehicle, stopped him from leaving, and fired a shot in his direction before fleeing. The driver was not hurt and reported the matter to police.
Police booked him on kidnapping, unlawful discharge of a firearm, and defeating the ends of justice.
Then they searched his home and found a pellet gun.
A pellet gun does not qualify as a firearm under South Africa’s Firearms Control Act. The unlawful discharge charge could not stand. The kidnapping and defeating the ends of justice charges fell away. The NPA replaced all three with a single count of pointing an object likely to make a person believe it is a firearm. NPA spokesperson Magaboke Mohlatlole confirmed the revised charge.
There was a separate legal fight running alongside that one. Police had held Maarohanye from Sunday without bringing him before a magistrate. His legal team went to the Johannesburg High Court on an urgent basis on Tuesday, 16 June — Youth Day, a public holiday. They argued the delay beyond the 48-hour statutory limit violated his constitutional rights. The High Court agreed and ordered his release. He was granted R5,000 bail.
The NPA said it remains committed to handling the matter fairly and impartially.
Maarohanye returns to the Germiston Magistrate’s Court on 22 June 2026. The investigation is ongoing.
Pictured above: Molemo “Jub Jub” Maarohanye, rapper and host of Uyajola 9/9, was granted R5,000 bail by the Johannesburg High Court on 16 June 2026.
Image source: Molemo “Jub Jub” Maarohanye/ Facebook Page
