Corruption scandal hits The River actor Presley Chweneyagae (Cobra)

The report about actor Presley Chweneyagae‘s alleged corruption stems from the corruption watch publication GroundUp. Specifically, from investigative journalist Raymond Joseph.

Joseph was investigating the nearly R70 million which was received by The Southern African Youth Movement. Chweneyagea was implicated in the first R15 million which was received by the movement in question and the Presley Chweneyagae Foundation, for the play which was co-written and co-directed by Chwenengayae and Tshepo Ratona titled Taking Back The Future.

At the time, the play was aimed at highlighting and bringing awareness to the drug crisis in South Africa as the premise was that of an exploration of “ the lives of young individuals living in a busy, yet lonely street of South Africa’s capital, Pretoria,” as stated by the description.

Moreover, when interviewed about the play, Chweneyagea and Ratona were quoted as stating, “This is a dual artistic project, it constitutes both theatre and film elements. The production will tour three provinces, Free State, Mpumalanga, and the North West Province.”

But instead of the three-province tour, it is reported by Joseph that the play never made it out of Mafikeng following its premiere and five-day run in June 2017. As such, Joseph proposes that Chweneyagae and the Southern African Youth Movement misappropriated the funds.

This a sentiment that the board chairperson Dr. Lekgotla Mafisa denied vehemently when giving his official word saying, “We hope that you are not going to use Mr. Chweneyagae maliciously to sensationalize his participation in the project, of which he is not a beneficiary. The SAYM is a beneficiary and not the Chweneyagae Foundation. Mr Presley Chweneyagae was not paid in his personal capacity.”

However, the report then questions why Chweneyagea’s foundation was included in al the promotional posters, audition calls, etc. However, currently, it seems that Chweneyagea is not bothered as he has not addressed the matter as it is currently not an official legal investigation.

Actor Presley Chweneyagae (Cobra’s) alleged salary on The River revealed

In recent years he has fast become one of Mzansi’s finest. We can all agree he is that star actor we all love to hate. Since his thrust into the limelight is has been winning big.

Presley Chweneyagae is a celebrated South African actor best known for his role on Tsotsi, an Oscar award-winning drama series in 2006.

Currently, he is nailing his on-screen character of Cobra on 1 Magic drama series The River. On The River, he stars alongside a starstudded cast that includes Sindi Dlathu, who plays Lindiwe, and Dandala, who stars as Zweli Dikana.

However, his thrust into the limelight came when he was young, and he furnished his talent with theatre arts. Since his thrust into stardom, he has been wowing Mzansi with unmatched talent.

However, despite enjoying his fair share of fame, the seasoned actor has hogged the headlines for the wrong reasons in recent years.

Presley Chweneyagae has been nabbed several times from domestic violence allegations and fraud allegations. No doubt wonders never cease to amaze. Back then, in 2020, on 5 September, Cobra had a brawl with his wife, which resulted in gender-based violence.

The actor was nabbed and detained at the Pretoria North police station. However, this came in the backdrop of a fraud arrest. He was once forced to pay R5000 for using a fake Ivorian driver’s license. Rumour has it that this was a major blow to his career.

In recent years, it has been reported that several showrunners have distanced themselves from the actor despite being a seasoned actor. Despite all that being said, Cobra has managed to cap his illustrious acting career with accolades, and in 2006 he won big when he was awarded Best Actor in a lead role. He was awarded the precious Golden Horn Award for his outstanding role on The River. In the mix of things, has been wondering how much does Presley Chweneyagae earn from The River.

His illustrious career spans decades, and he starred in drama series in Tsotsi as Tsotsi in 2006. Two years later, he bagged a gig in Menda City. In 2013 he was cast into the starstudded cast of Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom. In the wake of his gig, he also featured in Zama Zama. From there, he bagged several gigs along the way before he secured a lead role on The River as Cobra.

Salaries of actors are determined by experience, roles prominence, and times on scenes. For his Cobra character, the seasoned actor gets around R55 000 from the showrunners of The River.

The River actor Presley Chweneyagae (Cobra) hints on quitting acting

The River actor Presley Chweneyagae believes actors should always remember their backgrounds and who they are.

The 36-year-old appealed to fellow actors to understand their financial standing.

He urged artists with the ability to share their success with the community to do so, so they could empower young people to take over from them one day.

He said his big moment was when he won the award for Outstanding Actor in a leading role for Tsotsi at the Black Movie Awards in Los Angeles, US, in 2006. He said Tsotsi winning an Oscar that year was a moment he’ll cherish forever.

My message to young actors is for them to remain strong because they’re in a challenging industry. They must always remain calm, disciplined and focused.

“I’ll quit acting when I turn 40, and I won’t be in involved in the entertainment industry as I’ll focus on a different work and environment.”

Presley, who plays as Cobra on The River , said he’s been acting for almost 30 years. He’s been an ambassador of South African Youth Movement for many years and visited various provinces with the organisation during lockdown to distribute food parcels to needy communities.

“Being part of the initiative has been informative about diseases like HIV. I’m teaching others about these diseases. I’ve been reaching out to different areas and it hurts to see people in poverty,” he said.

The river actor Presley Chweneyagae speaks out after he was arrested for beating up wife

Actor Presley Chweneyagae has been busted by cops after his wife reported him.

He faces a common assault charge after his wife opened a case against him two weeks ago.

According to him he argued with his wife over a car after she refused to give him the keys to attend a work commitment.

“I left her after taking the keys. The next thing, I got a call from the police that a case has been opened against me. ”

There was no assault on her or myself. I followed the relevant protocols by handing myself over to the police, with whom I am co-operating.” Presley said he was not a violent man or husband and this was the first incident to take place in his home.

“GBV and femicide is a big problem in our country. I take it very seriously and would not wish it on anyone, male or female. I have previously been active on awareness of such issues and will continue to do so in my personal and professional lives. As husband and wife, we do have disagreements. More than anything, she is my wife and the mother of my children, and I have a great respect for her. It is just unfortunate we find ourselves in this situation. The matter is with the law enforcement agencies and I wouldn’t want to comment further for the sake of my family.”

In a statement seen by Dailysun which the wife gave to the police, Presley allegedly assaulted her.

“She refused to give him the car keys, because he always takes the car to drink with his friends and his friends take the car and never brings it back. He then started fighting, pulling her with her clothes and pushing her with his fist,” read the statement

Presley’s wife could not be reached for comment.

Police spokesman Captain Mavela Masondo had not responded to questions.