[imagesource:flickr]

A Northern Cape man has received a five-year prison sentence for cyber fraud after posting about a plot to kill Ramaphosa on his social media pages.

Elrico Kaizer Kasper, 38, was sentenced by De Aar Regional Court on Wednesday for the incident dating back to March last year.

His incriminating post said ‘some people’ were planning to assassinate President Cyril Ramaphosa during his visit to De Aar, during Human Rights Day celebrations on 21 March, according to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Mojalefa Senokoatsane via The Citizen.

“A disruptive operation consisting of the Hawks serious organised crime investigation team and crime intelligence was operationalised and the team located the said accused,” Senokoatsane said.

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

Kasper appeared before the court many times leading up to his prison sentencing this week.

Senokoatsane said the NPA welcomes the sentencing of the accused and hopes this sentence will work as a deterrent to other perpetrators of cybercrimes.

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

I am afraid the free speech argument won’t necessarily work for you in these kinds of instances. There remain things that some people cannot say.

Leading up to the elections, Statistics South Africa revealed the official unemployment rate has grown from 32.1% to 32.9% in the first quarter of 2024.

No work and no money create idle minds that can easily slip into dubious – and even criminal – territory.

[source:citizen]