The Man Who Spread Fake News About Cyril Ramaphosa’s Assassination Plan is Termed 5 Yrs Jail

The Man Who Spread Fake News About Cyril Ramaphosa’s Assassination Plan is Termed 5 Yrs Jail

An unemployed man, who lied on social media about a plan to assassinate South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, was sentenced to five years in jail by a local court.

Who is the man?

His name is Elrico Kaizer Kasper, 38 yrs old. On Wednesday, the De Aar Regional court sentenced him 5 years jail under the country’s cyber fraud laws. said Mojalefa Senokoatsane, the spokesperson for the National Procecuting Authority (NPA).

What did Kiazer do?

the incident took place in March 2023.

“Kasper posted on his social media page that ‘some people’ were planning to assassinate President Cyril Matamela Ramaphosa, during his visit to De Aar, on Human Rights Day celebrations,” said Hawks spokesperson Nomthandazo Mnisi.

He said a disruptive operation consisting of the Hawks Serious Organised Crime Investigation team and Crime Intelligence was operationalised and the team located the accused.

Why did Kaizer do this?

The Hawks Spokesperson, Mnisi said, “He was then taken in for questioning and he admitted to having posted such, citing the frustration of unemployment.”

Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation Provincial Head Major General Steven Mabuela, congratulated the team, including the prosecution team for the sterling work done.

“The National Prosecuting Authority welcomes the sentencing of the accused, and hopes this sentence will work as a deterrent to other perpetrators of cyber crimes.

“Is it important that people should be aware that the dissemination of false information through social media platforms, will lead to people being prosecuted.”

South Africa’s Unemployment Condition

On May 14, 2024 Reuters reported that South Africa;s unemployment rate has climed up before elections in the country.

The unemployment rate rose for the second quarter in a row to 32.9% in the first three months of this year, data showed on Tuesday, two weeks before the governing African National Congress faces its toughest election yet.

The increase from 32.1% in the fourth quarter of last year brings the official unemployment rate closer to the record high of 35.3% reached in late 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Joblessness has risen about 10 percentage points in the three decades since the ANC came to power under liberation hero Nelson Mandela and is a key concern among voters.