South African rapper Lehlogonolo Katlego Chauke, known professionally as Shebeshxt, was arrested at his home in Polokwane on Wednesday in connection with an alleged road rage shooting that left a motorist critically injured last month, police said.
Detectives obtained an arrest warrant on Tuesday and executed it at the rapper’s Bendor residence on Wednesday morning, according to Limpopo Chronicle reports.
The arrest relates to an incident on Oct. 19 in Polokwane, where a 34-year-old male motorist was shot and seriously injured during a confrontation at a petrol station. The victim remains in critical condition at a Polokwane hospital, police confirmed.
Police opened an attempted murder case after the motorist was shot during a confrontation on a Polokwane street, with the matter transferred to the provincial murder and robbery unit as inquiries intensified, according to police statements.
Limpopo police spokesperson Colonel Malesela Ledwaba confirmed that police in Westenburg outside Polokwane are investigating an attempted murder incident that occurred on Oct. 19 in Polokwane.
Provincial Commissioner Lieutenant General Thembi Hadebe directed the Murder and Robbery Unit to handle the case, with the team instructed to investigate with a view to arrest, Ledwaba said.
According to media reports, the confrontation allegedly began after an argument over driving, with the dispute escalating at a petrol station where the two men confronted each other before shots were fired and the victim collapsed.
Following the October incident, Chauke presented himself to police accompanied by his lawyers and was briefly detained before being released pending investigation, according to multiple media reports.
The rapper has been involved in several controversies and past legal incidents that have kept him in the public eye, according to South African media reports.
Chauke, 26, rose to prominence in 2021 with his hit track “Ke Di Shxt Malume” and has since collaborated with several South African artists. In June, his nine-year-old daughter Onthatile died in a car accident that also left the rapper hospitalized with serious injuries.
Police said further information will be released as the investigation progresses. Reuters could not independently reach Chauke or his legal representatives for comment.
