I had too much to drink - Jacques Pauw recants story on V&A Waterfront arrest
16 February 2021 2:08 PM
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Journalist and author Jacques Pauw has backtracked on his original version of events relating to his arrest at the V&A Waterfront.
Pauw issued a statement on Tuesday afternoon apologising for false information contained in a Daily Maverick column about his arrest which was published last week.
The investigative journalist was arrested at the V&A Waterfront on Saturday 6 February and detained overnight for charges of theft, supposedly due to an outstanding restaurant bill.
In the column he wrote last Friday, titled
‘My memory was blurred’
But it turns out his account of some of what happened that night is false and he has apologised.
In his apology, Pauw said he was detained overnight and released at noon the following day on a warning, and appeared in the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court on a charge of theft last Monday.
“I denied this charge at the time and still do. I maintain that my arrest and detention was unlawful.”
Following “reflection” and evidence which was presented to him, Pauw said he realised there were “errors” in the article.
“I had too much to drink in the restaurant and my memory was blurred. The ordeal of the experience of the arrest and having to spend the night in jail compounded my emotional state.