He appeared with an unshaven face, wearing a grey hoodie and presumably a week away from drugs since he has been behind bars. Longwe Twala, the son of music executive Chicco Twala, was back in court on charges of theft after his father accused him of stealing household items and studio equipment worth over R200 000.

THE ARREST

Longwe appeared at the Randburg Magistrate's Court today and unlike with his first appearance, his father was not present. Chicco said that he opened the case to teach his drug addict son a lesson after he stole from him while he was overseas. "He had been clean and I let him come back home. I bought studio equipment because both my sons are sound engineers. But he stole equipment worth over R200k from my studio," Chicco told the media outside court last week. Longwe and his brother Sello (34) were arrested for theft last week. Sello was released due to lack of evidence that he could have been an accomplice.

POSTPONED

The case was postponed due to Longwe's legal aid lawyer not being present in court and for bail application. Chicco admitted that his son has a drug problem and he would rather see him behind bars than have him roaming the streets. "My son is a drug addict. He has been an addict since the age of 17 years old. I have taken him to over 30 rehab centres and we have tried to help him as a family, but we failed" he said. Longwe will be back in court next week Monday.