by Thinus Ferreira
South Africa's minister of transport, Fikile Mbalula, has opened a case against the country's TV reality star and choreographer Somizi Mhlongo for allegedly flouting the 21-day Covid-19 coronavirus national lockdown regulations by creating and spreading fake news and misinformation.
Fikile Mbalula announced that he has laid a charge on Friday at the Sandton police station against the Idols judge and star of the reality show Living the Dream with Somizi on Mzansi Magic (DStv 161) who earlier this year shared his wedding build-up and ceremony on MultiChoice's Showmax streaming service in the series Somizi & Mohale: The Union.
Somizi Mhlongo was charged in terms of regulation 11(5)(c) of the Disaster Management Act, in relation to publishing any statement through any medium including social media with the intention to deceive any other person about measures by the government to address Covid-19.
Fikile Mbalula laid the charge after a social media blow-up on Twitter on Thursday night when he and Somizi were both taken to task by the public.
It followed after Dineo Ranaka did an Instagram Live broadcast on Thursday morning in which Somizi Mhlongo was heard saying that Fikile Mbalula told him that president Cyril Ramaphosa would extend the country's national lockdown for a further two weeks before Ramaphosa made the announcement in his Thursday night live televised address.
Fikile Mbalula claims he never spoke to Somizi Mhlongo about an extension of South Africa's national lockdown situation, with Mhlongo who has since apologised on social media and said that he was just joking and that he "did not know about the extension just like everybody else" and that "I apologise to the minister for such a dangerous statement".
Fikile Mbalula said on Friday after he laid the charge,said that "The person who released the video, for whatever reasons, quiet clearly was being disruptive and that is why we forewarn people that do not play with the regulations and disinformation, information peddling and fake news".
"That information, how it was released [by Somizi] - it was meant to be disruptive. Because it [the announcement of the lockdown extension] was not released at the time it was recorded. When I was chatting to him that was recorded in the early-morning show. But it [the announcement of the lockdown extension] was released in the evening," said Fikile who spoke to the media at the police station's gate.
"Quite clearly there is a mischief there by somebody who did it. It was Instagram Live. That's how they did it in the studio and he spoke about me there. The person who released it is not dumb. He was doing it deliberately before the president speaks [sic], to agitate and mobilise the society to say that 'Aah,some of your cabinet members are sitting with their friends, wherever they are sitting, and they are leaking information," said Fikile Mbalula.
WATCH: Minister Mbalula at Sandton Police Station Friday laying a charge against the contravention of Lockdown Regulations. #LockdownSA pic.twitter.com/UgPYisIrx4— MEDIA LIAISON | Esethu Hasane (@EsethuOnDuty) April 10, 2020
In a written press statement Fikile Mbalula said that "I have noted Somizi Mhlongo's apology, however I do not view his utterances as mere joke, the country is going through a serious disaster management period and any misinformation, irregular or unauthorised information being published is both unlawful and not assisting our cause to manage public affairs carefully".
"Even though Somizi Mhlongo guessed right in his speculative discussion - he went further to mislead the public about the source of his information which undermines and is preemptive on government and the president over very sensitive information of a national security caliber," saying that Somizi Mhlongo "has acted very recklessly and irresponsibly".
The Somizi Mhlongo case is the latest high-profile case this week of people who got into trouble for allegedly flouting rules of South Africa's national lockdown period.
While the country's communications minister, Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams, wasn't charged, president Cyril Ramaphosa this week placed her on 2 months "special leave", one month of which will be unpaid, after an image was posted publicly of her doing lunch at the home of South Africa's former deputy minister of higher education and training, Mduduzi Manana.
The Bachelor South Africa's bachelor Marc Buckner of the second season of the reality show screened on M-Net (DStv 101) said on Wednesday that he was allegedly arrested for allegedly violating the national lockdown regulations and fined R1 500 after he was walking back home from shopping.
Police spokesperson Brigadier Vishnu Naidoo told me on Friday night that he can’t confirm whether Marc Bucker was arrested or not but said if a member of the public receives a lockdown period fine and want to challenge that they’re welcome to go to court.
"A written J534 fine you don’t have to pay it if you feel that you have been in any way prejudiced or you feel that you were not given the fine justifiably. Then you can go to court and challenge that."
On Tuesday the Durbanville man, Steven Birch appeared in the Cape Town magistrate's court after a case was opened against him for allegedly spreading fake news about Covid-19. In a widely-shared video message on social media he falsely claimed that the South African government's coronavirus testing kits were contaminated and will infect people.
ALSO READ: Coronavirus: The SABC investigating Somizi Mhlongo over his Covid-19 'dangerous joke' fake news.
