Johannesburg - A KwaZulu-Natal man is in legal hot water for circulating pornographic images that he had allegedly altered to include the faces of President Cyril Ramaphosa, Police Minister Bheki Cele, and his wife Thembeka Ngcobo.
Thabiso Scebi Nene, 34, appeared in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court yesterday after his arrest on Sunday by the Hawks. This followed an investigation into the images which started circulating online at the beginning of the month.
It is not confirmed if the images, that Nene had also sent to police officers, were taken originally or if they were in fact manipulated.
The Hawks traced the images and arrested Nene in Azalea, Pietermaritzburg, and seized the device that was allegedly used as well as SIM cards and a multitude of pornographic images found on the device.
Nene appeared briefly in the magistrate’s court, stone-faced and clad in a woollen green hoodie, to face charges of contravening the Cybercrime Act 19 of 2020. His legal counsel explained to the court that they had received instructions and explained to Nene the penalty for the crime committed.
The court was also told that Nene had no previous convictions, pending cases, or warrants issued for his arrest.
After this, the court was requested to transfer the matter back to the Pietermaritzburg Central Magistrate’s Court for the next appearance.
Due to administrative issues, a request was made for Nene to be detained in the interim at the Moot police station until his next appearance.
Mike Bolhuis, a specialist investigator of serious violent and serious economic crimes, said cybercrime had become one of the largest crimes in the world, and the situation was no different in South Africa.
Bolhuis said in South Africa, in particular, it was the largest crime committed where mostly large sums of money were involved, with “sextortion” being no exception.
“This person may have a political hatred for the powers that be and unwillingly landed themselves in contravening cyber laws, and this applies to anyone placed in such a situation.
“Usually, criminals commit this crime either to gain exposure, gain attention, slander, break down someone, or even to get money.
“The country needs to realise that cybercrime is a crime like any other, and it is very harmful and dangerous. It hurts people everywhere, including institutions and the economy. It does not help, and it is extremely harmful and dangerous.”
The case against Nene was transferred back to Pietermaritzburg and postponed to May 30.
The Star